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    Leveraging the Samoan Mental Health Policy for Policy Development in Niue
    (Massey University, 2019) Corcoran, Dale; Stewart-Withers, Rochelle
    Mental health is a prevalent, but often ignored area of health. Mental illness can significantly impact the mentally unwell, their families, and the wider community, yet access to proper care can be hindered by availability, ignorance, discrimination, and stigma, and result in human rights violations. This is especially true in developing countries where services may be inadequate or non-existent. Mental health policies can alleviate this situation by improving and prioritising mental health services at a national level. Based on Samoa and Niue’s similarities in terms of their mental health context and the positive analysis and evaluation of the 2006 Samoan policy, this paper concludes that the work done in Samoa is a viable choice for Niue to leverage in their future policy work. Niue would benefit from developing their mental health policy based on the precepts of South-to-South Cooperation by collaborating and sharing knowledge with their neighbour Samoa.
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    Struggling for acceptance : the New Zealand Human Rights Commission : a history of the first twenty years 1978-1998 : presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 1999) Lineham, Rebecca M
    In the past twenty years human rights have commanded the growing attention of both the most powerful and powerless people in the world. The global focus on nuclear and biological disarmament and on the implementation of 'development' programmes in 'developing' countries is evidence of a world more aware of basic human rights. The recent vote for independence in East Timor, the resulting atrocities, and the world's swift reaction to these, further demonstrate that human rights violations will not be tolerated. The United Nations has also renewed its emphasis on human rights, first outlined fifty years ago in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They have both implemented several UN Development Programmes in Asia, Africa and South America, and focused on drafting many new human rights covenants such as the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. [From Introduction]
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    Happiness, ethnic discrimination and human rights in post-colonial / multicultural New Zealand : an exploration of ethnic discrimination as a barrier to the fulfilment of human rights in New Zealand, through a study of the impact of ethnic discrimination from state institutions on the ability of ethnic minorities to pursue their versions of happiness : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Lipsey, Kalym
    The impact of ethnic discrimination on the ability of ethnic minorities to pursue their own versions of happiness has not been explored, especially in a New Zealand context. The pursuing of the primary sources of happiness has an impact on how people live their daily lives. When these primary sources are either hindered or threatened this can have an adverse effect on happiness. This research is positioned in the post-colonial / multicultural setting that is 21st New Zealand. From a viewpoint of liberal multiculturalism, the relationship between recognition of identity and distribution of resources is examined through an investigation of ethnic discrimination. This relationship is explored by positioning happiness as both an object at stake in its navigation and as a pivot point in debate on the status of multiculturalism. This research draws its data from an online survey of 1878 participants in Auckland, New Zealand, with each identifying primarily with one of six ethnic identities (Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Maori, Pakeha and Samoan). The survey asked respondents about their primary sources of happiness and their experiences of ethnic discrimination from state institutions. Survey findings show that ethnic discrimination has a negative impact on the happiness of ethnic minorities when that discrimination puts barriers in place that prevent them from meeting their basic needs, and, therefore their access to primary sources of happiness. The survey findings identify family as the primary and shared source of happiness across ethnic groups. Furthermore, the survey data indicate that it is the state institutions responsible for meeting basic needs, or at least not hindering them, (Work and Income, Ministry of Health and Department of Corrections) that have the highest frequency of reported experiences of ethnic discrimination. Contextualised in a human rights framework, these results raise suggest a possible role for group rights (as compared to individual) in the both the negotiation of the relationship between recognition and distribution and the eradication of discrimination by New Zealand state institutions.
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    Neoliberalism as a producer of criminogenic environments? : an examination of Bolivia's neoliberalization 1985-2003 via a lens of state crime : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Simpson, Rebecca Jane
    The aim of this thesis is to examine the potential for neoliberalism to produce a criminogenic environment via the symbiotic relationship between the global economy’s primary actors, that of states, private capital interests and international financial institutions. This symbiotic relationship reinforces and reproduces neoliberal ideology and thus aids neoliberalism in becoming a cultural producer. The theoretical underpinnings of this thesis are rooted in critical theory and the thesis uses historical narrative to aid in explicating neoliberalism’s global ascension. Moreover this thesis is an examination of this phenomenon via a lens of state crime, in particular stateorganized crime, state-corporate crime and crimes of globalization. For the purpose of this thesis, state crime definitions are grounded in human rights laws and norms which are themselves conceptually grounded in the capabilities approach, an approach which serves as an antithesis to neoliberalism. Lastly, this thesis examines neoliberalism’s potential to produce a criminogenic environment via a single-case study; Bolivia’s neoliberalization for the period 1985-2003. The purpose of this thesis is to shed light upon potential and actual social and economic harms brought about by the economic rationality prescribed by the neoliberal ideology.
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    Economic sanctions as a means to enforce human rights in Burma (Myanmar) : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies
    (Massey University, 2004) Thin, Ma Kyi Kyi
    Since the end of the Cold War, human rights has become a central focus of international relationships, especially the relationship between developed countries (the West) and developing countries (the Rest). Burma is one of the developing countries whose relationship with Western governments is premised on the issue of human rights. In the pursuit of human rights enforcement, the United States and the European Union employ economic sanctions against Burma. While economic sanctions are designed to encourage a transition to democratic rule and a greater respect for human rights, studies show that little attention has been paid to the effectiveness of such measurements. In this study, a literature review and field research are carried out as an effort to assess the effectiveness of economic sanctions in Burma.
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    Sea-change : negotiating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - a New Zealand perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Roe, Sinéad
    The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was the first human rights convention of the 21st century. It was notable because of the high levels of involvement stakeholders – disabled people – had in the negotiations process. This project looks at the role played by the disabled New Zealanders in the New Zealand delegation to the Ad Hoc Committee considering the text for the CRPD. It examined to what extent the disability rights movement slogan ‘nothing about us, without us’ was reflected in this process. Through interviews with disabled people who had represented NGOs, national human rights institutions and disabled people’s organisations at the UN, it finds that disabled people were instrumental in drafting a convention that addressed real-life human rights issues for disabled people. Using Stienstra’s (2003) framework for assessing the effectiveness and value of consultation process, it also finds that CRPD negotiations show how the involvement of stakeholders in consultation processes can greatly enhance both the process itself and the results. The process represents a sea-change in terms of how consultations with disabled people should be conducted. With genuine interest and willingness to listen to the lived experience of disability, governments have much to gain from genuine engagement with disabled people and their representative organisations. The implications for social policy are shown to demonstrate how ‘nothing about us, without us’ can move beyond being a mere slogan. When correctly applied during consultations, it can become a transformative and powerful guiding principle for policymakers and legislators alike.
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    The power to reform : water and the poverty of democracy and rights in the era of "good" governance : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2010) Walters, Vicky
    Since the early 1990s the achievement of ‘good governance’ has been the dominant discourse and the determined path to social and economic development. This discourse and its ensuing policy reform prescriptions promise that with the right alignment of actors and the right governance institutions, capitalist economic growth, human rights, and democracy will flourish. Indeed, in the discourse all three are regarded as complimentary and necessary for sustainable economic and social development. Such promises make the discourse very seductive and it has been embraced by international development agencies and many NGOs, citizens and private sector actors. But there is reason to suspect that below this veneer the dynamics of development may not be as progressive as they appear - especially for the deepening of democracy and the expansion of rights for the poor. Based on a year and half of ethnographic fieldwork on governance reforms in the urban water sector in the south Indian state of Karnataka, this thesis presents a critical challenge to the contemporary development paradigm of good governance. The study focuses on two specific propositions that underlie current policies of urban water governance. The first refers to a claim that good governance is both democratic and pro-market. This proposition appears to embody an inherently undemocratic assumption that in order for governance to be ‘good’ a democratic consensus would necessarily, and essentially, have to favour capitalism as a mode of economic organisation and the commercialisation and marketisation of basic services. The second proposition refers to a claim that commercially oriented water services, whether private or public, are good for poor and marginalised citizens and are compatible with the expansion and realisation of human rights. Through the use of detailed critical ethnography these propositions are examined as they intersect at three levels: policy, practice (process), and outcome. In examining the connections and intersections of these three levels of reform I argue that a number of contradictions and tensions exist within, and between what the discourse promises, the everyday practices of how they are implemented, and in the outcomes of such. As the title suggests, this thesis is about the power to reform in the contemporary development era of good governance. But it is also about the power to resist such reforms and the contestations and struggles over the meanings and material realms of development that take place at the site of governance reforms. The ambition of these contestations and struggles is the hope for manifesting more just and humane development in the present and within possible futures.