School of People Environment and Planning

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    Refugee resettlement and ways forward : a dissertation submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2004) Ibrahim, Hassan Haji
    New Zealand has hosted refugees since World War II and is currently one of only ten countries in the world with a refugee resettlement programme, yet little is known about the experiences and unique needs of new refugees who are culturally, racially and ethnically extremely different from New Zealand mainstream society. The focus of this research is to provide an overview of the experiences the Afghan and Somali refugees have undergone prior to resettlement in New Zealand and the hindrances to realising their dreams in New Zealand as their country of resettlement. The structure and aims of the research were guided by Alternative Development theory which focuses on eliminating injustice being done to a particular group on the basis of their race, colour, religion or gender and addressing the priority needs of people to achieve sustainable society. To achieve the research objectives, the research has applied participatory methods (individual in-depth interviews, focus groups with interactive activities and discussion and document review). The research findings indicate that resettlement is a continuum process in which the new refugees are making effort to move away from situation of under-development to a favourable situation of development worthy of decent human life. The research findings also suggest that refugee resettlement, having links with Alternative Development and Human Rights, goes beyond meeting physical needs of refugees. It also covers the restoration and sustainability of people's capabilities. Finally, the research presents practical ways to empower refugees and foster opportunities to develop their own livelihoods and integrate with structures and systems of New Zealand society.
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    New Zealand's energy policy from the world system perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1994) Debahasatin, Jutha
    The World-System Theory of Immanuel Wallerstein is a grand-scale theory that is useful as a framework to understand how New Zealand's path of development has been affected by the country's energy policy. The theory is appropriate in application to energy issues because its macro-level of analysis puts emphasis on both exogenous and endogenous factors. Its special emphasis on historical background and context also adds to an understanding of the New Zealand position. The World-System perspective offers three major concepts directly applicable to the case of New Zealand energy policy, namely, the interplay between politics and economics with a particular interest in the role of multinational corporations (MNCs) and the state, the notion of semiperiphery, and the cyclical nature of the world economy. During the period of the 1970s economic downturn marked by two oil crises, New Zealand as well as most other countries and the MNCs suffered a severe setback. However, while most core states, as well as some successful non-core states and the oil majors, could react appropriately to the crises and retain their potential for growth, the semiperipheral New Zealand could not. The country possessed few options because of her intermediate level of industrialisation and less competent state apparatus compared to the MNCs involved. Lacking the intention to promote local industrial capitalists, the New Zealand state chose wrong strategies, first Think Big and then disinvestment, which together have undermined the bargaining position of local entrepreneurs, over-committed the national hydrocarbon resource and disproportionately promoted the interest of the foreign oil corporations. The overall outcome of the energy policy is therefore detrimental to the country's development.
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    Impact management and social performance in the petrochemical industry in Taranaki : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2000) Whyte, Mandy
    This thesis addresses the practices of the petrochemical industry, in particular exploration and production companies (E& P), in interacting with operations-affected community stakeholders. It does so by reviewing the range of methodologies common to the industry, and by surveying companies active in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. It seeks to answer the question: how can exploration companies minimise their social impacts and conflict with operations-affected communities, and the associated costs, in a mutually acceptable and sustainable way? The thesis challenges the practice of addressing community concerns with, what the author has identified as, a public relations approach, the primary and underlying purpose of which is, it is argued, to further the economic interests of business. It maintains that practices arising from a public relations approach are both socially inappropriate and commercially ineffective when applied to communities who are negatively affected by companies with which they are obliged to share the same social and physical environment. Instead the thesis supports a community development approach to interactions between the petrochemical industry and community stakeholders. This approach emanates from a philosophical framework that espouses human rights and the integration of social, environmental and economic development as an enduring function of commercial enterprise. It is posited that effective management of the dynamics of opposing interests will not be achieved through companies deploying 'nice people' to negotiate with disaffected, disparate and disempowered groups, but through the use of qualified social practitioners and the community development tools of social assessment, participation and empowerment to create mutuality beneficial outcomes.
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    Aspects of the ecology of feral goats (Capra hircus L.) in the Mahoenui giant weta reserve : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1993) Stronge, Dean Charles
    A field study of feral goats (Capra hircus) was carried out in the Mahoenui giant weta reserve, southern King Country, New Zealand, from March 1992 to February 1993. The reserve supports the main population of the undescribed Mahoenui giant weta (Deinacrida sp.). The dominant woody browse plant in the reserve, gorse (Ulex europaeus), provides protection, shelter and food for weta. The study aimed to provide information on aspects of the ecology of feral goats to better understand their role in the reserve, and to assess any possible effects on weta survival. The activities, foraging behaviour and broad diet of feral goats within the reserve were studied by means of direct observation and autopsies. Gorse was adequate for goat growth only during late spring/summer, and became a maintenance feed at other times of the year. Goat browsing has probably slowed down the rate of succession from gorse to native forest cover but not prevented it. Successional changes may be detrimental to weta survival. Ranges of male and female herds overlapped at all times of the year and animals from several ranges occupied common bedding sites during the year. Feeding (grazing and browsing) was the dominant activity of adult feral goats in the reserve. Females spent more time feeding than males. Grazing and browsing changed seasonally for both sexes, with grazing generally decreasing from autumn to summer, and browsing increasing from summer to spring. In every season females spent more time grazing than males, but males browsed more than females. Greater use of browse by the bucks may be an affect of the presence of the does. Overall goats appear to have little direct influence on weta. A possible reduction in the rate of successional change is probably the most important effect of goats in the reserve. However, in the absence of direct manipulation of the gorse, goats can not prevent succession from occurring. Monitoring systems for the feral goat population and the vegetation community structure are recommended.
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    Rural communities : expressions of 'community' in context : narratives from the Lower Mataura Valley in Southland : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Howden, Shirley Isobel
    Focusing on the notion of 'community', this study utilises a qualitative research approach to analyse the changing nature of rural communities, as expressed by residents in the Lower Mataura Valley, in Southland, New Zealand. This study examines the changes in agriculture as a manifestation of recent economic and social restructuring in Western society, and explores the implications for a specific place-based community, by focusing on the ways in which local residents construct their ideas about this 'community'. The literature review examines past theories and draws from broader social theories to account for the complexity of the term. Likewise, the wider contexts in which the Lower Mataura Valley is influenced by, and exists within, were considered through exploring the socio-economic and environmental conditions occurring at various spatial levels: from local to global. Data collection utilized qualitative methods appropriate for a researcher with local knowledge: principally, in-depth interviews and informal conversations, as well as personal observations and secondary data while in the study area. Data analysis draws on a conceptual framework for reading 'community' by focusing on the meanings, practices, spaces and structures that were constructed, and the way that these constructions were interrelated processes which maintained, or challenged the situated meaning of 'community' in relation to the Lower Mataura Valley. Findings show the importance of understanding the place-specific arrangements and interconnections to local, national and global forces of change in accounting for people's reactions to transition. These constructions highlighted that 'community' is as much a negotiated phenomenon in perpetual process, as it is a form of social life indicative of a particular 'community'. These findings would suggest that there is a need to keep an open mind to how specific place-based communities will be materially and culturally expressed in the future.
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    The New Zealand Defence Force as an agent of development : the case of East Timor : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2003) Hull, Michael Richard
    This thesis aims to investigate a phenomenon that has become particularly apparent since the end of the 1980's and the end of the cold war. During this period there has been not only an increase in intrastate conflict but also a change in international approaches to dealing with it and its aftermath. While many may be familiar with the existence of aid agencies of various types that make attending to the fallout of these conflicts a central part of their business, it would appear that fewer recognise the increasing role that various military establishments are playing in aspects of relief delivery and reconstruction for which they receive aid donor funding. It has been suggested elsewhere that given the expansion of this role, the military may be seen as a development agent and that as such members of the development community could possibly engage with them more. This thesis investigates one aspect of the role of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) in East Timor as a case of a military organisation engaged in a major peace operation that has seen it involved in not only security activities normally associated with the military, but also a range of activities, including some that civilian aid agencies working in the same area have also been engaged in.
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    Gender, culture and business assistance in Western Samoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Shadrake, Andrew
    This thesis examines the question: How far did the planning and implementation of the Small Business Enterprise Centre of Western Samoa take into account the gender and culture perspectives of development, and to what degree are those perspectives reflected in its outcomes? It does so by reviewing the gender and culture perspectives of development, and concluding that each can be divided into two approaches. The gender perspective comprises the market approach, which aims to use women's effort to achieve economic growth, and the empowerment approach, which aims to increase the ability of women to alter the gender balance of women and men, in favour of women. The culture perspective comprises both the utilitarian approach, which advocates adapting development projects to local culture to make them more likely to succeed, and the moral approach, the purpose of which is to reduce the harmful effects of development on indigenous culture. The thesis identifies indicators of the different approaches in a development project, and then uses a four-stage analytical model to discover whether they were present in the Small Business Enterprise Centre of Western Samoa. The thesis concludes that the planning and implementation of the Small Business Enterprise Centre showed a limited application of the market and utilitarian approaches, but did not show any application of the empowerment or moral approaches, though the outcomes of the SBEC included some empowerment of women, and few harmful effects on Samoan culture. The thesis shows the primacy of neo-liberal thinking in New Zealand's overseas small-business development practice during the period 1990-1995, despite its stated concern for women and, to a lesser extent, for culture. The thesis reached three conclusions which concern wider issues: • While the nature of Western Samoan culture, and gender relations, is changing, there is no fundamental inconsistency between them and small business development. • Neo-liberalism can adopt perspectives of development which appear to spring from a concern for social welfare, and turn them to its own ends. • The combination of indicators of different perspectives and the four-stage analytical model used in the thesis can be used, very effectively, for detailed assessment of the planning, implementation and outcomes of a development project.
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    Sustainable land use on the East Coast : a case study of land use change in the Upper-Hikuwai catchment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Zwart, Peter
    This thesis explores the principles of sustainability and applies them to the issue of land use on severely erosion-prone hill country in the East Coast region of the North Island of New Zealand. Sustainability is found to require a biophysical bottom line, implying a need for planning to establish threshold levels of protection for particular classes of land. The study uses a locally developed system of land classification which takes into account the physical causes and remedies of soil erosion as the basis for such a plan. This sets the biophysical bottom line to which land use and management must seek to conform, but above which, remain flexible, according to other societal objectives such as equity or efficiency. The history of land use change, and the policy response to the issue is reviewed for the region, and compared with this plan. The plan is then applied to one catchment subject to severe soil erosion, and where changes in land use are in process and the changes assessed and compared with the attitudes of the landowners and the context in which they have made their decisions. It was found that considerable progress had been made recently towards greater compliance with this plan and toward a pattern of land use more diverse and more consistent with the varying physical capacity of the area. This has been particularly facilitated by assistance from central and local government between 1988 and 1993. The study concludes, however, by highlighting the degree of favour shown to forestry interests over those of farming interests in current method of public support for erosion control. The study anticipates the eventual blanket afforestation of the catchment under this scheme.
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    Banking on foodbanks for poverty alleviation? : a critical appraisal of Palmerston North foodbanks' development practices : a thesis presented in (partial) fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Leslie, Helen Margaret
    Foodbanks entered New Zealand's voluntary welfare sector in the early 1980s when structural adjustment programmes, introduced by the fourth Labour Government, resulted in an increase in poverty amongst certain groups in New Zealand society and concurrently placed greater responsibility on the voluntary sector for the provision of welfare services. While previous foodbank research has focused on examining the issues related to the utilisation, development and growth of this voluntary welfare provider throughout New Zealand, this thesis aims to take such enquiry a step further by analysing the effectiveness of Palmerston North foodbanks' development practice in the alleviation of poverty in New Zealand society. It achieves this task through the application of a theoretical model utilising contemporary development theories and approaches to the data obtained through fieldwork with four Palmerston North Foodbanks. These are: the Salvation Army Foodbank, the Palmerston North Foodbank, the Saint Vincent de Paul Foodbank and the Saint Mary's Foodbank. The conclusions deduced from this process will show firstly, that development theory (traditionally reserved for the analysis of development practice in developing countries) is appropriate to the analysis of Palmerston North foodbanks' development practice and secondly, that although the majority of these foodbanks display some features of the community development mode of development practice referenced in the theoretical model, the mode of development practice most dominantly used is a relief mode. This relief mode of development practice is ineffectual in the long term relief of poverty. The challenge issued is for foodbanks to move towards the articulation of an alternative development mode of development practice which seeks not only to effectively alleviate the very real poverty experienced by foodbank clients, but also to sustain this alleviation.
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    Assistive computer technology and empowerment : the vocational experiences of blind and visually impaired New Zealanders : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2003) Williams, Wendy Elizabeth
    The technology revolution which has occurred in New Zealand over the past 30 years has introduced an array of assistive mainstream and specialised computer technologies (ACT) such as the internet, voice and braille output systems. These technologies compensate for the information access limitations of the blind and visually impaired and promise eventual empowerment. In a few years New Zealanders with sight impairments have travelled from print illiteracy to print literacy, and the memories of the change, its impact, its success and pitfalls are still relatively recent. This thesis seizes the opportunity to explore their impact on empowerment using the vocational experiences of visually impaired and blind people as a case study. Underpinned by a philosophy of empowerment, the study targets individuals who are themselves visually impaired, are of working age and have come into contact with ACT, along with relevant individual specialists and organisations. In methodological terms it is mainly qualitative with a pragmatic and complementary mix of focus groups, personal and specialist (key informant) interviews and a survey. The study discovers that ACT has indeed spawned a range of benefits for participants in their personal and social contexts. It has improved users' information management abilities. Improvement in information management has led to spin-off benefits such as communication, which facilitates social involvement and participation. Participation and improved management of information have improved ACT users' response capability, or their ability to respond to changes in their external vocational environments. These three benefits when applied to the work context have led to increased access for users to another set of personal and social, tangible and intangible resources available through paid and voluntary work and self-employment. However some persistent social barriers and underlying structural factors impede the empowering potential of ACT.