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    Precarious girls : gender, class, and the New Zealand short story : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Creative Writing at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Allan, Tiffany
    This thesis seeks to explore experiences of precarity in New Zealand fiction through an analysis of short fiction by Tracey Slaughter and Alice Tawhai, and my own collection of short stories. The critical component of this thesis explores intersections of identity such as gender and culture that influence and at times compound experiences of precarity. Results of these intersections in the fiction of Slaughter and Tawhai are the decrease in hope and feelings of self worth for characters and subsequent acceptance of unequal and at times abusive relationships for women in the precariat, including a lowered perception of rights for these characters. Slaughter and Tawhai also portray the differing levels of power characters wield in differing settings, showing that differing intersections of identity can fluctuate in power depending on the social environment. My own fiction also explores experiences of precarity. Some of these stories explore in particular the experience of community within the precariat as an enabling and comforting device, and experiences of precarity for rural women, in particular the gender roles expected for financial stability. Other stories explore the experience of precarity for those who are trying to escape this part of society, and the prevalence of mental illness in the precariat and ways characters use to cope with it or to feel safe. The last stories in this collection address family and community within the precariat, and the strong bonds created within the precariat to increase feelings of comfort and hope.
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    A history of intergroup relations in New Zealand : a trade-off between Māori agency and inclusion : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Choi, Yun-Seon (Sarah)
    Growing fragmentation in historical attitudes can be observed alongside increasing political polarization and conflict in many societies, with both of these trends mutually reinforcing each other. Amidst these dynamics, there is a growing urgent need to understand both the politics and psychology of collective remembering. Although there has been much theorizing about the ways that historical narratives are curated by political elites and institutions in ways that promote a positive and moral image of the nation, there has been a lack of research investigating the ways in which such narratives are actually received, internalized, appropriated, and/or resisted by the individuals that they are directed toward. To address this gap, the current thesis identifies and maps out popular historical narratives that are shared by lay individuals embedded in the national context of the United States. Importantly, how and the extent to which these narratives are connected to the present-day context of nations is a key consideration throughout this endeavour. According to theories of collective remembering (Assmann, 2013; Rigney, 2005), historical narratives that are ‘active’ in public discourse ought to incorporate elements from the nation’s distant, mythologized past in continuity with their more recent, living memories to connect the past meaningfully to the present, and to inform a meaningful and coherent sense of national identity over time. By investigating the dynamics of historical narratives, representations, and identity at the level of individuals, while still incorporating the political and social contexts that they are embedded in, the current thesis contributes to bridging the gap between psychology and politics in the domain of collective remembering. Chapter 2 investigated how communicative memories (memories of public events that have occurred within the lifetimes of people alive or personally remembered today) index the present-day climates of societies. The findings from this chapter demonstrated how recent memories of terrorism drive an extreme negative climate in Western countries, while recent memories of national independence underpinned a positive climate across majority world countries. In Chapter 3, I explored how historical narratives are articulated by individuals (embedded in the American context) to give meaning to these historical representations, and thereby orient the nation’s past to its present. This chapter identified popular historical narratives which were anchored in positive representations of national foundations, and in turn, were positively associated with national identification. However, these were identified alongside a popular counter-narrative that was critical of the mythologization of America’s past. Moreover, there was considerable plurality and fragmentation in the narrative landscape, with many American participants failing to articulate a distinct historical narrative at all. In Chapter 4, I employed an experimental approach to show how this fragmentation is reduced, while endorsement of positive narratives about the nation becomes tighter when individuals are reminded of: 1) national foundations (the past reinforcing the present) and 2) a present-day context of intergroup threat (the present reinforcing the past). In Chapter 5, I discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of the studies and their findings within a dynamic framework of historical narrative and identity. The societal relevance of these findings is discussed in relation to the declining resonance of positive national narratives in the United States, amidst increasing domestic polarization and recent failures of the state to respond to crises. This has implications for the narrative resources that are available to political leaders in their rhetoric to mobilize the national identity of their followers and audience. Nonetheless, such rhetorical work does not occur within a vacuum, and the changing social/political context (see Chapter 4) may (re)activate the narratives that are still available within the minds of ordinary Americans today (see Chapter 3)
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    An evaluation of socio-economic classification systems : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1985) Mayo, Robert William
    This thesis evaluates some commonly used socio-economic classification systems. Some of the systems evaluated have been used for many years in the market research industry in New Zealand whilst others are recent additions or are more commonly used in the United Kingdom. The main objective of this study was to test the ability of the systems to predict purchasing levels of consumer products and services. The second objective was to evaluate how well the various systems predict brand choice. A sample of 1596 respondents was provided by AGB McNair from their media survey database. Multiple regression was used to predict the level of usage of each product, with the adjusted R valua of the equation as the measure of the power of the classification system. Nominal variables, such as brand last used, were crosstabulated against the classification categories, and Lambdas calculated. A further measure of the ability of the classification systems to predict brand choice was obtained by performing discriminant analysis, which generated classification tables. The percentage of cases correctly classified provided a further measure of performance. The various classification systems were not very good at predicting purchasing behaviour. The better systems accounyted for about 2% or 3% of the variation in quantities purchased. The various classification systems were also not very good at predicting brand choice. Even though the various classification systems explained little of the variation in quantities purchased and brand choices, they are still very useful. The socio-economic classification systems can be used as a starting poing from which better preditors of purchasing behaviour can be developed.
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    The New Zealand class structure : the demographies of class structure
    (Sociology Dept., Massey University, 1985) Wilkes, Chris; Davis, Peter; Tait, David; Chrisp, Peter
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    Socio-economic status and physical health outcomes : the need for change in theoretical formulations : thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Pinfold, Alistair Mark
    The Black Report (Department of Health and Social Security, 1980) , which was a seminal publication in the field of health inequality, proposed several possible theoretical explanations for the phenomenon of socio-economic health inequality. To date the models proposed in the Black Report have yet to be improved on, or developed greatly. While research in the field of socio-economic health inequality has been substantial, the state of theoretical formulation which attempts to explain such inequality has remained static. The phenomenon of socio- economic health inequality will be established by producing evidence for how socio-economic status impacts on health from many countries, but especially from the United Kingdom, North America, Australasia, and Europe. Potential pathways for socio-economic status to impact on health outcomes will be assessed, and an illustration of potential pathways will be provided with an application. The theoretical approaches of the Black Report, along with a more recent conceptualisation, will be discussed. The potential contribution of psychological factors to socio-economic health inequality will be considered following the establishment of the relationship, proposal of potential pathways, and theoretical formulation discussions to demonstrate how such factors are involved in socio-economic health inequality. From these first four sections it can be deduced that current theoretical formulations to explain socio-economic health inequality are deficient. To contend with this deficiency it is proposed that a more holistic approach, which includes psychological factors, is necessary. Future research should seek to empirically validate links within the confines of a more holistic framework if our understanding of the relation between socio-economic status and physical health outcomes is to improve.
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    New Zealand aid and the development of class in Tonga : an analysis of the banana rehabilitation scheme : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts, Department of Sociology, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1988) Needs, Andrew P
    This thesis examines the bilateral aid relationship between New Zealand and Tonga. Its central purpose is to examine the impact aid is having in transforming Tongan society. This involves a critique of both development theory and of New Zealand government aid principles. The understanding of development and the application of aid by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains greatly influenced by the modernisation school of thought, which essentially blames certain supposed attributes of Third World peoples for their lack of development. Dependency theorists challenged this view, claiming that Third World poverty was a direct result of First World exploitation through the unequal exchange of commodities. This has had some influence on the use of aid as a developmental tool, but has failed to supercede modernisation theory as the dominant ideology. The theory of articulation of modes of production transcends the problems of both modernisation and dependency schools. Its main thrust is that the capitalist (First World) mode of production does not immediately dominate the non-capitalist (Third World) mode but rather interacts with it. Such a conception takes cognisance of the influence of indigenous modes in creating new social formations. This is demonstrated through an analysis of the New Zealand financed Banana Rehabilitation Scheme of Tonga. In order to understand the effect of New Zealand funded aid projects in Tonga, the Banana Rehabilitation Scheme, the largest project funded at present, was used as a case study. The research method demanded a fieldwork component which entailed three months in Tonga in order to collect both historical and archival data only available there. The main fieldwork component was a series of interviews with a cross section of scheme members and other significant actors related to the scheme. This study of the Banana Rehabilitation Scheme shows that the redistributive aims Of New Zealand aid have been undermined by a greater concern with productivity. Emphasis upon the latter has meant that the project has been reoriented in favour of giving greater assistance to those who can produce bananas most easily, those who already had access to land, capital and labour. This category of growers is as much a product of the indigenous social structure of Tonga as of forces impinging from outside. Although through the banana scheme large amounts of money are being pumped into the Tongan economy, its redistributive effects are minimal. The structure of the scheme is such that many of the major benefits accrue to the already advantaged.
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    Class of '84 : class structure and class awareness in New Zealand, 1984 : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Sociology, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1986) Chrisp, Peter M. D
    In 1977, an American Sociologist, Eric Olin Wright, launched an international survey project which aimed to "investigate the contours of class structure and class consciousness in the western World." In 1983, the Social Science Research Fund Committee (SSRFC) funded the New Zealand component of the international project; the 'Jobs and Attitudes' survey. The unique aspect of these projects is the way that they integrate contemporary neo-Marxist theory with a survey technique, through a theoretically-designed questionnaire. Drawing on this theory/data base, this thesis investigates the extent to which class consciousness has developed from the class structure in the specifically New Zealand context, 1984. The predominant finding is that there is a certain tendency for class consciousness to co-vary with class structure. This tendency is stronger for the owning classes - capitalists, small employers, petty capitalists - and weaker for the working class. This, it is argued, lends support to the conception that a class structure offers the potential for the development of consciousness, but does not fully determine class consciousness.
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    Terra Aquarius : a Marxist analysis of the alternative lifestyle in Nimbin : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2000) Murray, Sam
    This thesis looks at the alternative lifestyle culture in Northern New South Wales, particularly those alternative lifestyle participants living around the township of Nimbin. I use a Marxist analysis, incorporating historical materialist ethnographic techniques. The primary purpose of this study was to gain insights into the class structure of modern capitalist societies. I look at Nimbin's rural peripheral status and examine how this has impacted upon transport and work patterns, on migration, and on tourism. I consider the role the alternative settlers play in the rural economy, the "urban" culture introduced by the new settlers, the effects of welfare subsistence on the economy, and the articulation of drug-use with the economy and with the ideology of the alternative lifestyle participants. This analysis also identifies how these processes have led to an engendering of an ethnic or class identity among the alternative lifestyle community, and of their political engagement with the national economy. I show the extent to which the alternative lifestyle community forms a distinct micro-class, the benefit peasantry, and the economic, social and cultural characteristics particular to that class, and the role of migration as the primary class-forming process. On the basis of this research I make predictions about the future development of the alternative lifestyle class, the effect of the alternative lifestyle community on Australian capitalism, and the inter-generational inheritability of the class position as the children of the original migrants reach adulthood.