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    The affective resonance of personal narratives : creating a deeper experience of identity, empathy and historical understanding : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Museum Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Roland, Zoë Gabrielle
    As the world plunges into the depths of a modern state of ‘anti-tradition’ (Trueman, 1998), there is a pervasive fear of a future void of empathy (Manney, 2008). The latter, believed to be partially propagated by a decline in exposure to diverse narratives, can be ameliorated through the identification and dissemination of genres which generate affect and humility (Berlant, 2008). The key question this thesis aims to address is; how do personal narratives create affective resonance which encourages the propagation of advantageous outcomes. I argue that personal narratives have the capacity to generate strong affective resonance within their recipients and tellers. Affective resonance, born from universality which create ‘intimate publics spheres’ (Berlant, 2008), has a potent ability for self-reflection and identity growth (Abrams, 2010, Sklar, 2009), empathic responses and action (Gallese & Wojciehowski, 2011; Fiske, 2008), and for developing rich multi-dimensional landscapes of historical understanding (Kosyaeva, Rowe and Wertsch, 2002). The research is based, firstly, on a broad transdisciplinary theoretical framework which comprises literature from diverse disciplines: oral history (Thompson, 2009), literary theory (Weinstein, 2007), philosophy (Benjamin, 1936; de Certeau, 1984) and neuroscience (Gallese & Wojciehowski, 2011). Secondly, Heritage New Zealand’s storytelling website High Street Stories provides the case study through which to investigate participant responses of affect, self-reflection and historical understanding. Through synthesis and analysis of the framework, in conjunction with the case study, a rich expository illustration of personal narratives and their cache of positive outcomes is presented. This dissertation is located in Museum Studies opening a space for the consideration of this multi-disciplinary literature and its connection to affect theory. Furthermore, as a crucial tool for museological practice, personal narratives, through their ‘germinative powers’ (Benjamin, 1936), have the propensity to impart a holistic, multi-dimensional understanding of history, rendering ordinary people as agents and subjects.
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    Restorying indenture : the first Fiji Hindi speakers narrate Girmit : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Gounder, Farzana; Gounder, Farzana
    This research is about the framing of Girmit through Fiji Hindi life narratives. The study is symbolic as it focuses on the life narratives of the first generation of Fiji Hindi speakers. The seven narrators in this study are part of 60, 965 Indian indentured labourers, or Girmityas /ˈgɪrˌmɪtjəz/, who voyaged to Fiji between 1879 and 1916, most to work on the Australian Colonial Sugar Refining Company’s plantations. This study traces their experiences of indenture, or Girmit /ˈgɪrˌmɪt/, through their life narratives. To date, Girmit researchers have relied on official documents about the Girmit system while the Girmityas’ voices are either absent, or, at best, excerpted to support the master narrators’ discourse on Girmit. This study turns to the Girmityas’ life narratives with the question: How do Indian indentured labourers to Fiji construct life narratives in Fiji Hindi to reconstruct their indenture experiences, and through the narration process, negotiate positions of identities and agencies? Beginning with Labov & Waletzky’s (1967/1997), and Labov’s (1972; 1997; 2001; 2004; 2006) high-point analysis, the study analyzes how each Girmit recollection has been re-constructed. Further, using Bamberg’s (1997; 2003; 2004a; 2004b; 2004c) positioning analysis, the study analyzes the Girmityas’ adopted positionings in, and through their life narratives. The interweaving of the two frameworks takes the life narratives from the textual back into the social world of production. The scope of the research is limited to understanding the interconnectivity between structure, focus, and manner of narration, within the bounds of memory, the shared knowledge of cultural ideologies, and the master narratives of indenture, for the purpose of negotiating identities and agencies favourable to the Girmit narrator. The variables conform each other, and help explain why these seven life narratives are told. The research makes the following major contributions: it uses a culturally relevant model of analysis, it details the movement from structural to performative analysis, it analyzes the factors underlying the performativity of the Fiji Hindi life narrative; and it analyzes the consequences these performativities have for the contextually produced self(s). In working towards these contributions, the study also contributes back to the Fiji Indian community.
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    Recovery : a journey and a destination : a phenomenological study of older people recovering at home after surgery : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2002) Wootton, Rayna Margaret
    As world populations age there are more older people having surgery. Hospitalisation for surgery is commonly for the day only or short stay, so most of the period of recovery is spent at home where the older person lives either alone or with a spouse / partner. The purpose of this study was to understand the phenomenon of recovery at home for older people who have had surgery. Thirteen older people, ten men and three women, were interviewed after they returned home following surgery. Four interviews were conducted over an eight week period. Participants were aged between 69 and 88 years with most being in the 70-80 years age group. Hermeneutic phenomenology underpinned by the work of Heidegger was used to examine the phenomenon of recovery as experienced by the participants. The essence of recovery was revealed as enduring my world, caring for and about myself, relating to people and place in my world, and continuing my life. These arose out of four themes -disturbance of one's being-in-the-world; being concerned with; being-with others, and recapturing being-in-the-world. The four lifeworld existentials of lived time, lived body, lived other and lived space were used to illustrate the nature of recovery for the older person. Lived time was of particular significance. Age per se was not perceived by participants as a major factor affecting their recovery. Being at home, the effects of surgery on the body and on daily life, being actively involved in their recovery, the support of others, and knowledge and understanding, were significant in the participants' experience of recovery. Recovery was revealed to be both a journey and a destination.
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    You don't know what it's like : the lived experience of drug dependence : a thesis presented in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Williams, Margaret A. Adams
    This phenomenological study describes the lived experience of drug dependence and relates the understanding gained from this description to drug dependence practice. The participants in this study were 25 adults who had a recognized dependence on one or more psychoactive drugs as identified by the DSM IV criteria of substance dependence. Over a period of eight months the participants were interviewed about their lived experience of drug dependence and the effects of drug dependence on their everyday lives. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed into text They were then analyzed and interpreted hermeneutically against a background of Heideggerian philosophy. Drawing upon Heideggerian concepts with great relevance to this study, three related themes emerged to describe the lived experience of drug dependence: Becoming and being drug dependent - the journey; Being with others; and Being with care. These themes point to the nature of drug dependence and the extent to which the experience affects the whole of the participants' Being-in-the-world. Drug dependence was viewed as a powerful life experience that can be likened to a journey, one that the participants would go to any lengths just to carry on with. The longer they stayed on the journey the more drug dependence affected their whole Being-in-the-world in terms of feeling and being different, both physically and psychically. Through being drug dependent the participants were found to inhabit two worlds, a We world and a Them world. In both worlds the participants found themselves alongside others with whom they related. Such relationships were found to be significant in that not only did being with others impact upon the participants' drug dependence, the participants' drug dependence also impacted upon their being with others. Through their choices and actions each of the participants revealed what mattered to them, that which they were concerned with, and cared for. Encompassed within that which they care for, their Being with care, is the stand each is taking on their own Being in the world, their choice of self, and the meaning they give to their existence. For the participants, the experiential sharing of their lived experience of drug dependence not only enabled them to reflect on their own Being and to find meaning in their lives, but also to provide important insights into the lived experience of drug dependence for all those, including health care professionals, who interact with drug dependent people. Also illustrated in this study is the importance of acknowledging drug dependent persons as valuable human beings and of understanding their needs for the provision of effective care in drug dependence practice. Finally, the use of a hermeneutic data analysis approach has shown the relevance of this method for the unfoldment of new understandings of the human experience of drug dependence.