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    Unpacking ethnology within contemporary paradigms (the practice of packaging, transfer, and delivery) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Creative Arts at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Henare-Findlay, Fraser
    This thesis examines multi-layered notions of Māori identity and descriptions of Māori contextualised against a personal artistic response to being Māori. The art of packaging, transfer, and delivery is presented as an artistic embodiment of Māori identity, illustrating how popular beliefs shape not only the construction of identity but also influence cultural institutions and affiliations. Examples of Māori identity are discussed throughout the study to illustrate how artists and established practices embracing Māori concepts advance Māori identity. The packaged artworks explore the theme of identity by weaving together narratives and concepts that draw attention to the displaced and disconnected perspective of what it means to be Māori. They also shed light on the subjugation and stereotyping of Māori culture and identity. This sense of displacement is intricately linked to the process of postage, delivery, and receipt. Ethnology, which is essentially the comparative study of ethnicity to understand the characteristics of different peoples (races) and the differences and relationships between them, is featured in the thesis title and in the packaged artwork that constitutes the practical component of the thesis. However, it is not extensively discussed within the thesis itself. This is not due to its lack of importance as a field of study but rather because the packaged artworks primarily feature various characters who have been either created for the screen or have developed personas within the music industry. Most of these characters are 'constructed' identities, meaning they have been shaped to adopt the attitudes of the screenwriter. These diverse characters have played a significant role in shaping my own identity and have contributed to who I am today. In this study, a comprehensive examination of Māori identity, art, and the prevalent impacts of stereotyping and discrimination will be conducted through a diverse range of methodological approaches. These multifaceted methods will not only inform the creative and theoretical dimensions of the artwork but also highlight the relationship between Māori identity and the researcher. Key methodologies, such as Kaupapa Māori research and Autoethnography, will be applied, with a particular focus on incorporating personal experiences and reflections into the research process, inspiring and clarifying the intended significance of the artwork.
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    Theorising Māori health and wellbeing in a whakapapa paradigm : voices from the margins : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication and Journalism at Massey University, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE)
    (Massey University, 2022) Elers, Christine
    This thesis explores communication infrastructures at the margins of Indigeneity to understand Māori health and wellbeing meanings, challenges, strategies and solutions, articulated by whānau whose voices have been ignored, or not sought. Māori health and wellbeing understandings, forged amidst ongoing colonial processes of socioeconomic and health inequities, are best articulated by Māori with these lived experiences. The communication platforms established by the settler colonial state are infused with power dynamics that determine the communication rules including who can speak, what can be said and how that should be delivered. The privileging of communicative spaces to experts, leaders, and community champions, shaped by the underlying ideology of whiteness that organises the settler colonial state, forecloses the space to those not fitting these categories. Māori health and wellbeing meanings emphasise the totality of Whakapapa as a basis for communicating health and wellbeing. Kaupapa Māori theory, and Whakapapa as a super-connector of relationships both in the spiritual and physical domains, anchored the research. Rooted in Māori epistemology, the enduring intergenerational relationship between health and land formed the basis for the participants’ understandings of health and wellbeing. Positioned also in dialogue with the Culture-Centered Approach (CCA), we foreground whānau voices through the co-creation of voice infrastructures at the margins of Indigeneity, with whānau members candidly sharing lived experiences navigating health and wellbeing through the establishment of the Feilding advisory group. The interplay of land, rivers and health is a dominant theme. Strategies for improving health and wellbeing include co-creating communicative infrastructures, such as platforms for voices to emerge at the margins of Indigeneity. The campaigns documented buttress the importance of regaining stolen land, (re)connecting to land through the collective establishment of māra kai with the advisory group. Indigenous communication infrastructures disrupt hegemonic, top-down configurations of health and wellbeing campaigns, providing the impetus for localised strategies to emerge into mainstream communicative spaces. Voice and the right for the “margins of the margins” to be listened to by the Crown are also included as taonga in article two, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The co-creation, resource sharing and decision-making about communicative infrastructures can be harnessed to drive health equity.
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    "Celebrate, uplift, resist!" : a mixed methods exploration of suicidality among queer and takatāpui people in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Schimanski, Irie
    In Aotearoa, a growing body of research has demonstrated a greater ‘risk’ for suicidal ideation, self-harm, and attempted suicide among people with diverse sexualities and genders, compared with cisgender-heterosexual counterparts. Few studies have investigated the applicability of explanatory theories of suicide with queer and takatāpui samples. Of those which have, the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide and the Minority Stress Model are commonly utilised, arguably attributing suicidal risk and resilience to one’s internalised processes in application. Alternatively, the Three-Step Theory of suicide and the Theory of Decompensation provide frameworks for understanding how social processes elicit and attenuate suicidality among queer and takatāpui people. The current mixed-methods research consisted of a survey examining the applicability of the Three-Step Theory, and a qualitative study, informed by the Theory of Decompensation, exploring queer and takatāpui people’s perspectives on suicide. In study one, the three steps were tested using survey data from 250 queer and takatāpui people. Step-one, discrimination and hopelessness were positively associated with suicidal ideation, but the interaction of these variables did not predict suicidal ideation. Step-two, among participants with high discrimination and hopelessness, social support was negatively associated with suicidal ideation when social support exceeded discrimination. Step-three, participants who previously attempted suicide (SI/SA subgroup) had greater self-harm behaviours than participants who experienced suicidal ideation but never attempted suicide (SI/- subgroup). Self-harm more precisely categorised SI/SA subgroup membership than SI/- subgroup membership. In study two, twenty queer and takatāpui people were interviewed to explore understandings of suicidality, discrimination, and resilience. Five themes were developed using a theory-driven approach to reflexive thematic analysis, underpinned by social constructionism and the Theory of Decompensation. These themes were “Not just this Amorphous Subject”, “You’re Removing the Responsibility from Society”, “Social Norms Require a Deviant Group”, “the Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back”, and Ethnicity and Resilience to Suicidality. The applicability of step-two and step-three processes were supported, and the influences of ideologies, intersectionality, and privilege on suicidality were discussed by participants. These findings are situated within literature on suicide and the two respective theories used. Implications for clinical practice are discussed in relation to processes of suicidality and co-appraisal of suicide risk assessment.
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    The effectiveness of a guided low intensity cognitive behavioural therapy programme with adult Māori experiencing low mood in a community-based setting : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Elkington, Angus Marangai Brons
    Common mental health disorders such as depression is a leading cause of ill health and disability. The global problem is underscored by a lack of access to evidenced based psychotherapy and under resourced workforce. Low intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LI-CBT) within a stepped care approach is one way to alleviate the burden of mental health and increase service delivery. LI-CBT Studies have been conducted in New Zealand and were effective at treating mild to moderate depression with non-Māori groups and across individual and group formats. However, studies investigating the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with Māori are sparce considering that Māori are at increased risk of poor mental health outcomes. This study investigated the effectiveness of an unadapted individually delivered telephone guided LI-CBT programme, Living Life to the Full with Māori adults using longitudinal multilevel modelling. The current study monitored change in low mood, psychological distress and quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction across 13 time points, which consisted of three weekly baseline measures, eight weekly measures during the intervention and one a six- and twelve-weeks post programme. A total of 20 participants of Māori descent were recruited in which 18 participants completed the Living Life to the Full programme. Multilevel modelling and the variable of time explained a significant portion of variance to provide more conclusive evidence to suggest that on average participants experienced significant improvement in low mood, psychological distress, and quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction comparative to similar LI-CBT studies. The current study fills a void in the literature and supports the effectiveness of low intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Māori experiencing low mood, when delivered by a Māori facilitator. Therefore, the implementation of LI-CBT programmes such as Living Life to the Full can provide greater access, preference, and choice to evidence-based interventions for Māori experiencing low mood.
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    Te whakaohooho, te whakarauora mauri : the re-awakening and re-vitalising indigenous 'spirit' of power, healing, goodness and wellbeing : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Roestenburg, Michelle Waireti Maria
    A ‘spirit’ of Indigenous healing, wellbeing and re-vitalisation has been quietly, yet surely re-awakening our personal-global Indigenous hearts, homes and nations for the last few decades. To trace, track and understand the source, force and course of this movement and release much needed healing into our communities, the stories of six Indigenous people who were raised in ‘against-all-odds’ identity development conditions, yet are now proudly and perpetuatingly Indigenous have been received, held, analysed and synthesised. To ensure the Original teachings, stories and Indigenous-centric scholarship of this research remain grounded in the vital and re-vitalising relevancies of our everyday embodied experiences of Indigenous source, a ‘Mana Wairua’ (‘spirit’ is primary) Kaupapa Māori theoretical form was created. By tracing the growing, yet not well understood movement of Indigenous re-vitalisation into and through my own and other Indigenous people’s hearts, bodies, lives and literature, the power, presence and movement of an indelible Indigenous source force, and the knowings, knowledge and language related to it have been re-emerged. This unstoppable force derives from the source of creation. It inspires the healing, wellbeing and dignity associated with Indigenous identities and development. Even when separated from our people, lands and lifeways, we continue to embody pools of Indigenous knowing that enable us to feel and respond to this force and to our Ancestors. This research confirms, a ‘spirit’ of Indigenous re-vitalisation is indeed stirring in and moving our personal-global indigenous ‘hearts-bodies’ and lives, however, subsequent to the past-ongoing silencing, denigration and dismantling of the institutions that taught us how to understand, speak about and align with it - a yawning discrepancy now exists between our almost unconscious-embodied, ‘individualised’ experiences, and our collective capacities to tune into and deliberately release these life-giving vitalities into all levels of our lives. In accord with Indigenous source and Ancestors, this work calls us to wake up and illumine our personal-collective-global Indigenous minds with the ‘spirit’ of re-vitalisation that is already moving our hearts and bodies. It is time for us to turn towards and come home to the wholeness of our indomitable and sovereign Indigenous healing, wellbeing, dignities and potentials.
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    Assembling the land of milk and money : the work of money in New Zealand’s dairy industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Mouat, Michael James
    Academic and media narratives about the New Zealand dairy industry have reinforced a portrayal which emphasises its steady, almost inevitable evolution into ‘the backbone’ of New Zealand’s export economy. In these narratives rising export revenues have been taken as proof of the valuableness of the dairy industry. However, in this thesis I argue that these currently prevalent understandings of the dairy industry uncritically accept a definition of money as just being a commodity that simply facilitates exchange and measures value. Drawing on my concept of moneyness, my thesis re-investigates money as a form of work and contributes to a different understanding of the dairy industry that re-narrates it as an effect of the way this money work practically assembles and reassembles sets of relations. My moneyness analysis highlights how previously inconspicuous relations became stabilised through the work of tax, loans, and shares, by following moments of controversy to where the way money and the dairy industry worked were practically changed. The work of tax shows how solving the problem of state revenue also translated value into other relations which made the early dairy industry valuable as a sterling accumulation machine. The work of loans shows how the dairy industry became creditable because of the way relations between the state, financial system and dairy industry have been maintained. The work of shares shows how overcoming various problems has arranged and re-arranged cooperative dairy industry value, making it stably commensurable with national value. The effect is to present a historical arc of New Zealand’s dairy industry as characterised by a dynamism that is locally arranged and historically adaptable. The thesis concludes that the creative practices of moneyness have continually stabilised the dairy industry, not in spite of disruptions but because of them.
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    Measuring Māori identity and health : the cultural cohort approach : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Stevenson, Brendan
    Current statistical methods of disaggregating populations by ethnic or cultural identity wrongly assume cultural invariance within an ethnic population over time and place. Calculating risk factors between ethno-cultural populations also wrongly assumes homogeneity of risk, obscuring what may be distinct sub-populations with very different demographics, risk profiles, and health outcomes. The Cultural Cohort Approach (CCA) proposes a novel method for understanding within-ethnic population difference, whereby cultural identity is framed as the enduring membership of multiple related cultural cohorts, rather than the contextual and unstable measure of ethnic group affiliation currently used. It predicts that multiple cultural cohorts exist inside an ethno-cultural population, that these cultural cohorts are resilient and culturally distinct, exist over generations, and can divide at pre-existing social or economic stratifications in response to powerful external forces. The cultural cohort approach unites history, extant identity theories and research to identify and describe these within-ethnic cultural cohorts. The measurement of a Māori cultural cohort joins existing Māori identity research, historical documents, and personal accounts to enumerate distinct Māori cultural cohorts, describe relationships between cultural cohorts, and exclude unrelated cultural cohorts. Across three distinct components of this thesis the Cultural Cohort Approach (CCA) is first described and a worked example of its use in identifying Māori cultural cohorts given. Second, these hypothesised cultural cohorts were mapped to a cross-sectional data collection wave of Māori participants (n=3287, born between 1941 and 1955) from Massey University’s longitudinal Health, Work and Retirement (HWR) study in a test of the CCA’s predictive accuracy using latent class analysis. Third, longitudinal HWR study data for Māori participants (n=1252, born between 1941 and 1955) was used in a second worked example to test the stability of the predicted cultural cohorts using latent transition analyses and further refine the CCA. The Māori cultural cohorts identified using the CCA had clear narratives, shared cultural characteristics, and identifiable cultural differences that persisted across time as predicted. The CCA will allow researchers to better represent the diverse lived realities of ethno-cultural populations and support more nuanced analytical insights into how health and well-being is patterned between distinct cultural cohorts.
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    He kākano nō te taunuke o te hue : he tuhinga roa hai whakatutuki i ngā tikanga o Te Tohu Kairangi i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Papaioea, Aotearoa
    (Massey University, 2022) Black, Hona
    Nō roto i ēneki tau tata nei kua kaha kē atu te pihi ake o te pūkōnohinohi a ētahi kia whakamāuitia ō rātau tūreo ā-iwi, otirā, kia mōhiotia tō rātau iwitanga i tō rātau reo. Hoi anō, tēraka hoki ētahi e whakapae ana he nenekara noa te whakamāui i ēneki reo, ā, me mātua aro kē tātau ki te whakamāui i te reo Māori whānui. Ko tā tēneki rangahau he urupare i ētahi o ngā urupounamu kua pihi ake i ēneki take, i ēneki whakataunga e hāngai ana ki te tūreo o Tūhoe. Mātua o ēneki urupounamu ko ēneki nā, he aha tēneki reo te tūreo o Tūhoe?, he wāhi nui tonu ōna mō ōna uri, haere ake nei?, he aha ōna āhuatanga kua rerekē i roto i ngā tau? Hai āpititanga atu ki ēneki urupounamu, i te nui o ngā uri o Tūhoe kai tawhiti i ōna maunga, ka uia anō te urupounamu, me pēhea e ora ai te tūreo o Tūhoe i ngā kāinga ōna kai tawhiti i ōna maunga? Hai urupare i ēneki urupounamu i nanaioretia ngā ariā Kaupapa Māori, Tūhoetanga me te rangatiratanga hai tūāpapa mōna. Ka mutu, i nanaioretia ngā tikanga pūrākau hai uiui i ētahi pākeke o Tūhoe i pakeke ake i roto i tēraka reo me tētahi whānau kai tawhiti i ōna maunga. Me te aha ko ngā kai i hua ake i ēneki nohonga tahitanga e aronui ana ki 1) te hira o te tūreo o Tūhoe ki ōna uri, 2) ōna motuhaketanga, 3) te tipu o tēneki tūreo, otirā, 4) te wāhi ki te tūreo ā-iwi me te reo Māori, haere ake nei. Hai āpititanga atu, ko ngā kōrero mō ngā rautaki whakamāui i te reo whānui me te tūreo ā-iwi i ōna kāinga maha, ahakoa tata, ahakoa tawhiti.
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    Mā te whiritahi, ka whakatutuki ai ngā pūmanawa ā tāngata = Together weaving the realisation of potential : exploring the social, cultural and health benefits of whānau-centred initiatives : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Health Science at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Massey University), Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Reweti, Angelique
    The persistence of Māori health inequities, exacerbated by deficit narratives, underscores the importance of conducting research on the strengths and capabilities whānau possess and use in their daily lives in order to actively rethink and redesign health promotion practice in Aotearoa New Zealand in a way that will be beneficial for whānau. Focusing on health promotion within an Indigenous context, this thesis synthesises results from three case studies about whānau-centred initiatives where Māori (Indigenous to New Zealand) values and practices are foundational. A kaupapa whānau research framework, developed in collaboration with whānau, draws on mātauranga (Māori epistemologies/ways of knowing) expressed in pūrākau (epistemological narratives), tikanga (cultural principles), te reo (Māori language), and lived experience, which serve as the foundation for the methodology employed in this research. The findings illustrate the diversity and potential capabilities of whānau-centred initiatives in addressing Māori health inequities, emphasising the critical role of whānau in improving Māori health and wellbeing. A conceptual framework, Tū Kahikatea, is developed to present findings demonstrating the connection between the values underpinning the initiatives and their outcomes. Furthermore, the framework emphasises how whānau-centred initiatives can aid whānau in achieving mana motuhake (mana achieved through collective self-determination and control over one’s own destiny). Consistent with an Indigenous approach to health promotion, this research indicates that health promotion activities that take into account Māori worldviews and values, as well as those generated within Māori communities, will have a greater influence on Māori health outcomes than programmes that take a top-down, single issue approach to health promotion. As part of a global movement for more inclusive healthcare that prioritises Indigenous voices and knowledge systems, this research bridges the gap between academia and local flax roots community action. With new opportunities created by recent changes to Aotearoa New Zealand's health system, findings highlight the diversity and potential of whānau-centred initiatives, and advocate for the continuation of current strengths-based whānau ora practices as a strategy to attain mana motuhake within whānau and thus improve whānau health outcomes.
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    Kaitiakitanga : Māori experiences, expressions, and understandings : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Beverland, Marjorie Jane Hera
    This doctoral thesis investigates Māori experiences, expressions, and understandings of kaitiakitanga. Kaitiakitanga is understood as a philosophy connected to three realms, the metaphysical, physical, and human realms. Whether the practice of kaitiakitanga has morphed from its customary understanding situated within the metaphysical, physical, and human realms to a human centric practice is a key focus explored in this study. Kaitiakitanga is considered an environmental ethic and concerns Māori responsibilities and obligations regarding land, water, wāhi tapu, and taonga. Kaitiakitanga is often defined to justify the Māori worldview regarding the environment, resource management, and sustainability. There is a solid and growing base of literature concerning Kaitiakitanga as an environment, sustainability, and productivity ethic, which is derived primarily from hapū, iwi, Waitangi Tribunals, and legal contexts. However, further research is needed regarding the human realm and human experiences, expressions, and understandings of kaitiakitanga and its practice. Kawharu (1998) argued in her seminal work on kaitiakitanga, that its implementation is as much about managing people as it is about managing resources and specifically noted that kaitiakitanga is not simply an environmental ethic but a socio-environmental ethic. The human realm is explored throughout this thesis to identify areas to grow and develop kaitiakitanga in ways that enable consistent, accurate, and clear use of this Māori body of knowledge. The study is underpinned by a Kaupapa Māori methodology. Application of Kaupapa Māori requires honouring and privileging Māori people and knowledge and this carried an obligation to apply Māori ways of knowing and being across all areas of this study. Kaupapa Māori principles provided signposts to organise ideas, views, and experiences in a way that carried cultural integrity. The principles also provided the base for organising and theming the information gathered from the kaikōrero. All 24 kaikōrero are Māori and their experiences and knowledge spanned a range of contexts such as mātauranga Māori, education, rongoā, rangatahi, social work, and whānau. Both individual and group hui were held with the kaikōrero. Regarding the human realm, there are several key findings. Whānau and kuia are considered key knowledge holders in the human realm, and they are crucial to maintaining and sustaining kaitiakitanga practices. This study identifies human beings as ‘kaitiaki’, where traditionally kaitiaki were understood only as spiritual beings and guides, and these roles are determined by whānau, hapū, and iwi. Whakapapa and mana whenua is the precursor to being a kaitiaki or carrying kaitiakitanga roles in the human realm. When kaitiakitanga is enacted within the human realm it is not isolated or separate from the metaphysical and physical realm. Te reo, whakaaro, tikanga and mātauranga are critical to the Māori experience, expression and understanding of kaitiakitanga in the human realm. Finally, the practice of kaitiakitanga in the human realm engages all parts of the self which includes the inner being, personality, attributes, values, qualities, emotions, and feelings. This thesis extends on the three realms of kaitiakitanga and adds further layers of discussion related to tikanga and mātauranga. It contributes to the kaitiakitanga literature regarding whānau understandings, taiao, taonga tuku iho and tino rangatiratanga. The use of kaitiakitanga, by who and in what contexts are also presented. New knowledge is highlighted regarding te tuakiritanga, whānau, and kaitiaki understandings and roles. The study reaffirms that the three realms of kaitiakitanga are an inseparable part of its understanding and practice and that, when situated outside of kaupapa that is Māori, kaitiakitanga becomes divorced from its traditional understanding and its underpinning elements, and therefore loses integrity. Traditionally and in contemporary times Māori understand kaitiaki as spiritual beings and guides, this is extended on here by naming people as ‘kaitiaki’. This thesis provides a significant contribution to the human realm of kaitiakitanga or what is described by Forster (2012) as active kaitiaki and by Kawharu (1998) as social spheres. This study affirms kaitiakitanga as an environmental ethic but adds that it is underpinned by Kaupapa Māori whereby whakapapa is a pre-cursor to kaitiakitanga, and kaitiakitanga is led, defined, experienced, and practiced by Māori.