School of People Environment and Planning

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    Bisinis belong olgeta mere long Honiara, Solomon Islands = Informal activities of the women of Honiara, Solomon Islands : 31.798 research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2000) Fakaia, Matthew
    Solomon Islands' women in the Urban Informal Sector (UIS) seem to be invisible to the policy makers both from the perspective of their contribution and their needs. Although government programs aim at assisting small scale entrepreneurs, women as a group are not considered for any form of special assistance. The major reason for this is that most of the enterprises women engaged in, such as petty trading, food processing and livestock raising fall outside census of production survey. Often, these surveys are only conducted among enterprises employing ten or more workers. The small enterprises which are crucially important to the survival of women and their families are ignored. Women have limited access to critical resources like education, land, technology and credit. Hence they are often excluded from employment in the formal sector. Theoretically, the UIS provides employment for the groups excluded from employment in the formal sector. The notion of the informal sector captures certain peculiarities, such as informality of business organization, use of rudimentary technology, lack of separation of consumption and production, ease of entry and exit, reliance on family labour and apprentices and small requirement for capital. This study has been carried out on Solomon Islands women in UIS to view the nature and the extent of their activities today and to critically assess any measures in place to support those activities. The data from the fieldwork shows the importance of UIS activities to the food security of urban households, community development, the national economy and individual empowerment. The study reveals the link between UIS and the rural subsistence economy with reciprocal support of cash and food crops. It also reveals that there are women who could have worked in the formal sector actually chose to work in the UIS, for various reasons. The report concludes with a discussion of measures that could be taken to support UIS women in their activities.
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    New Zealand church initiatives for international development : a taxonomy and assessment framework : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in International Development at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Hart, Claire
    Individuals, groups and organisations are increasingly feeling compelled to take action and become personally involved in the field of development cooperation in an attempt to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of the poor. One such do-it-yourself phenomenon that has been observed in New Zealand involves the Christian church. A grey area has emerged where development activities are now carried out by churches which are amateurs in the field. These initiatives are run by pastors and congregation members acting on the teachings of the Christian faith but with little understanding of the complexities of poverty or development. The altruistic and often selfless intentions of those involved in such initiatives are commendable. But are these do-it-yourself solutions to complex issues of poverty and development really achieving what they say they are? If these initiatives were tested to determine their level of effectiveness, what would the results be? Motivated by these observations and questions, this thesis seeks to explore this emerging phenomenon. It asks, what does it look like? How might it be defined? Is it effective? This thesis calls the phenomenon Church Initiatives for International Development (“CIID”). It argues that CIID is conducted by new development actors and situates CIID in relation to current trends within the industry: the emergence of a fourth channel of development cooperation and the role of religion in development. CIID is compared to current actors in international development, specifically citizen-led initiatives and faith-based initiatives to demonstrate its similarities and differences. A taxonomy outlining the different types of CIID is presented which provides insight into the range of forms that CIID takes. The research also explores how the effectiveness of CIID might be understood. To achieve this, an assessment framework consisting of eight criteria was created drawing upon mainstream and alternative approaches to effectiveness. This framework was then tested through in-depth interviews with six CIID case studies from donor churches in New Zealand. By analysing information from the in-depth interviews with donor churches, the study concludes that CIID is more effective across the criteria of local ownership & participation, collaboration, relationship and partnership, and less effective in the areas of accountability, measuring success, holistic well-being and attitudes and knowledge. The research also reveals that CIID is typically more effective when a development organisation is involved in a partnership with a church that is implementing CIID. The findings on the emerging field of CIID that this thesis presents contribute further insight into the nature of do-it-yourself development initiatives in the fourth channel and the role that NZ churches are playing in international development.
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    Achieving quality teaching in developing countries : identifying factors that influence the delivery of quality teaching in primary schools in rural Cambodia : a research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, Institute of Development Studies, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (The Author, 2015) Arnold, Denise Joy
    At a global level the Education for All focus has shifted from years of schooling to the quality of education being attained. The delivery of quality education is dependent upon quality teaching. While there is no clear definition of quality teaching there are recognised characteristics which lend themselves to quality teaching and therefore are used as proxies to identify what constitutes a quality teacher. Of importance to this study is the fact these same recognised characteristics of what constitutes quality teaching and a quality teacher are reflected in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in Cambodia (MoEYS) goals and teachers in Cambodia clearly identify with these characteristics. Drawing on a case study of Cambodia this research examines the influences that work upon a teacher to either positively influence the delivery of quality teaching or to negatively influence the same. While influences which positively and negatively impact quality teaching are wide ranging, some are definitely more influential than others. Hence there is a clear recognition of the importance of the provision of basic resources for education. The delivery of quality teaching requires basic physical infrastructure and resources such as teacher training, adequate teacher salaries and teaching materials. Without these basic resources a teacher is destined to fail in the delivery of quality teaching. This is particularly relevant in a developing country where the teachers are more likely to be working at a pre-professional level in terms of teaching skills, dependent upon teaching materials and reliant on basic classroom management skills. This is the case in Cambodia. Before any other influences become significant these fundamental needs must be met. There is also an important link between the health of both teachers and children and the delivery of quality teaching. Basic health needs must be met if the delivery of quality teaching is not to be undermined.
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    The effectiveness of aid delivery a comparative study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in development studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Thorpe, Tim
    This study sets up a process for the systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of aid agencies in aid delivery through evaluating the projects and programmes that they are implementing. It evaluates and compares five different aid agencies comprising of a bilateral aid donor, non-government organisation, community based organisation, development bank and multilateral aid donor. The common ground for comparison is that these agencies have all been providing assistance to, or working in, the forestry sector in the Solomon Islands over a relatively long period. The study found that it is possible to apply a systematic comparative evaluation process to aid agencies, and the projects and programmes that they were implementing, despite seemingly large differences in aid philosophy and aid management among them. By applying systematic comparative evaluations such as the one set up in this study it is possible to learn from all agencies how to enhance the effectiveness of aid delivery for the ultimate benefit of donor and recipient alike. The study found that none of the agencies reviewed in the study were necessarily more effective than any other agency in aid delivery. There was likewise no evidence that any one theoretical position on development, or any particular approach to aid delivery was necessarily any more effective when it came to implementing aid projects or programmes. There are too many variables affecting the implementation of projects and programmes for any one approach to aid delivery or theoretical position to be the most effective in all cases.
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    The quest for efficiency : role of human resource management in public sector reforms in Uganda : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2002) Bacwayo, Kukunda Elizabeth
    The context of this thesis is the development strategy of public sector reforms and privatisation. It uses Uganda as a case study, and argues for the need to integrate the issue of human resource management in the privatisation discourse in developing countries. Public sector reforms arose out of neo-liberal thinking that argues against state intervention and recommends market led economic growth. Privatisation is part of the attempt to scale back on the role of the state in economic development and has been integrated in the development policies of developing countries through the structural adjustment programs of the IMF and World Bank. It is required because of the belief that the private sector is more efficient in allocation and use of resources and is therefore the best medium for attaining development goals. Private sector companies in the developed countries which utilise modern techniques of management are comparatively more efficient than their public counterparts. Globalisation and market competition forced organisations to search for ways to be competitive and this partly led to organisations elevating human resource management issues to a strategic level because of the belief that a company's workers add value that make firms competitive. When privatisation is made a requirement by the multilateral aid agencies for developing countries it is based on the assumption that the conditions that make public enterprises inefficient do not exist in the private sector. No empirical evidence is available to confirm or refute these assumptions, particularly in the case of Africa's developing nations. This thesis has contributed to this area by examining the human resource management practices of seven Ugandan organisations, three public, two private and two privatised. The aim was to find out whether there are differences in the way in which private and public organisations manage their employees and if their practices are those associated with effective management of human resources. The practices that were examined were recruitment and selection of staff, training, compensation and employee attitudes. The results from this study did not provide evidence that the differences that were exhibited in the seven organisations were related to ownership. Rather they seem to be determined by the values and culture of managers and the labour market conditions in Uganda. Both private and public enterprises exhibited practices that human resource management literature and practice consider as obstacles to efficiency