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Item The nature and role of the extended family in New Zealand, and its relationship with the State : based on a study of a provincial city : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at School of Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University(Massey University, 2000) McPherson, Mervyl J.In New Zealand there is a widespread perception that European/Pakeha do not have extended families in the way that Maori and Pacific Islands' cultures do. Yet in recent years social policy has been moving away from reliance on the state towards increasing reliance on one's self and one's family. This study uses survey research, a focus group, demographic analysis and policy analysis to investigate the nature of the extended family in predominantly European/Pakeha New Zealand, and perceptions of the respective roles of the family and the state. Discrepancies are identified between what families are doing, what people think they should be doing, and what policy assumes they will do. The key factors affecting the supply of and demand for extended family support are identified and the trends in these analysed. These issues are then integrated in order to assess the implications for policy and the impact of policies on families and the intergenerational social contract. This thesis found that the predominantly European/Pakeha society of New Zealand does have extended families, in the modified sense rather than the classical sense, as categorised by Litwak (1965). That is, extended families which are based on egalitarianism and choice rather than power and control, and are characterised by a loose, informal set of kin relationships involving an interlocking set of nuclear families which may be geographically dispersed and economically independent, but are bound by a sense of obligation based on affective relationships and the exchange of mutual aid services. These family networks are not large, and little support extends to the wider family beyond parents, adult children and siblings. Also of concern for policymakers is that approximately a quarter to a third of participants in this study did not have extended family living close enough to provide any kind of practical support. This study also found that while people generally believe in helping family members, they believe this help should be given by choice, not obligation, and that nuclear family and labour force commitments take priority over commitments to the extended family. A further finding is that in the future we will face increasing demand for support from both family and the state, and a declining supply of family support, especially if policies make it necessary for the young elderly to stay in the labour force. Families are unable and unlikely to do more than they are already doing, which is already the bulk of social support. Theorists such as Thomson (1981) have proposed that there will be breakdown in the intergenerational social contract at the macro-level of the state as a result of neo-liberal policies of self-reliance, particularly for younger generations, and policies which have favoured the older generation at the expense of the young. It is concluded from this study that the balance of support towards the young rather than the old at the micro-level of the family is preventing this macro-level breakdown. But if more responsibility is put onto families, this will cause breakdown in the micro-level intergenerational contract and upset the balance. Thus there is a need for increased rather than decreased state support to complement what families are able to do and prevent breakdown in the intergenerational contract at both the micro-level of the family and the macro-level of society.Item The interrelationship between social support, risk-level and safety interventions following acute assessment of suicidal adolescents : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2001) Smith, Deborah AnneThis project was undertaken largely to address (a) the concern that New Zealand has one of the highest rates of youth suicide in the world, and (b) the limited empirical research available on crisis assessment and intervention for suicidal adolescents in New Zealand. Research on youth suicide has primarily focused upon examining factors which place youth at-risk for suicidal behaviour. Social support was chosen as a variable of interest in this study due to (a) its importance in fostering healthy adolescent development, and (b) its identification as an important factor in increasing risk of suicide, particularly if it is lacking or of a negative nature. The present investigation tested a model comprising three constructs: social support (i.e., negative and positive), assessed risk-level of suicide, and safety interventions (e.g., hospitalisation, respite care). Two studies were conducted: an archival study and a vignette study. For the archival study, a record review was conducted using acute assessment reports from the Child, Adolescent and Family Service (CAFS). Data from 50 attempter files and 50 ideator files were collected in order to establish reliable measures for the vignette study. The vignette study involved administering a vignette-style questionnaire to 23 CAFS clinicians. With the exception of the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) scores in the attempter group, the interrater reliability was good on all indices for the archival study. The vignette study indicated adequate reliability for risk-level ratings based on the multi-rater kappa. The archival study demonstrated that there were significant interactions between group and risk-level (recoded), group and negative support severity (recoded), group and positive support, and negative support severity and total safety interventions (recoded). The vignette study revealed significant interactions between negative support severity (without or with positive support) and assessed risk-level, negative support severity (without or with positive support) and total safety interventions (recoded), and assessed risk-level and total safety interventions (recoded). Overall, results from this study indicated that: (a) the greater the level of negative support severity, the higher the risk-level; (b) the greater the risk-level, the greater the number of safety interventions implemented; (c) the presence of positive support, in addition to negative support, appeared to result in lower risk-level assessments, and (d) certain risk-levels were indicative of particular safety interventions. Revisions to the social support model were necessary based on the results obtained. For the vignette study, clinicians' responses with respect to the decision-making process for risk-level and safety interventions were also explored using the principles from a grounded theory approach and inductive content analysis. The results indicated that clinicians use a methodical process when assessing risk-level and making safety intervention recommendations. Process models for assessing risk-level and recommending safety interventions are presented in relation to these findings. This study makes several important contributions to the research on youth suicide by: (a) providing evidence for reliable social support concepts - namely, that of negative support, positive support and negative support severity, (b) assessing the relationship that both negative and positive support have with suicide risk-level, (c) examining the relationship between risk-level assessment and specific individual safety recommendations (other than hospitalisation), and (d) providing evidence of a relationship between negative support severity and recommended safety interventions, not previously tested. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of their application to (a) youth suicide treatment and prevention, (b) current or proposed services and procedures for at-risk youth, and (c) future research.Item A sense of belonging : local Sansei women's experiences in Hawai'i : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2002) Olliver-Richardson, Yumiko AnnWhile Issei (first) and Nisei (second) generations of Americans of Japanese Ancestry (AJA) in Hawai'i have been well documented, limited literature exists in relation to non-Issei women, and the Sansei (third) generation. Based on six months of fieldwork in Hawai'i and, in-depth interviews and personal inventories of thirty Sansei women, this dissertation primarily provides an ethnographic investigation into the diversity and complexity of what it means to be a Sansei woman in Hawai'i, focusing on themes identified by Sansei women - of the past, values and social relationships. Drawing on these themes, this dissertation explores how they relate to a 'sense of belonging' in Hawai'i. It also considers the significance and politics of Local identity and the consequences of emphasising the existing historical stereotypes and narratives for Sansei women, AJA and Locals in Hawai'iItem A study of medical, nursing, and institutional not-for-resuscitation (NFR) discourses : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2002) Bickley Asher, Joy LynleyThis study investigates the way that medical, nursing and institutional discourses construct knowledge in the specific context of Not-for-resuscitation (NFR) in a New Zealand general hospital where NFR guidelines are available in the wards and from the regional ethics committee. The thesis argues that there are ranges of techniques that staff use to construct NFR knowledge, enacted through various forms of speech and silence, which result in orderly and disorderly experiences for patients nearing death. The study was conducted through a critical analysis of the talk of health professionals and the Chairperson of the Regional Ethics Committee. Critical discourse analysis, a methodology that is primarily concerned with a critical analysis of the use of language and the reproduction of dominant ideologies or belief systems in discourse, was employed. The researcher examined the transcribed, audiotaped talk of eleven professional staff members of a large metropolitan general hospital, and the Regional Ethics Committee Chairperson. The results of the analysis indicate that medical discourses do not dominate the construction of NFR knowledge within the institution. Nor do the institutional or ethics committee discourses, written as NFR policy documents, dominate by instilling order into NFR practices with patients. Rather, a range of discourse practices within the disciplines of nursing, medicine, management and policy advice work to determine what happens to patients in the context of NFR and, unexpectedly, cardiopulmonary resuscitation. NFR discourses designed by the institution to influence and standardise practice at the bedside are resisted by professional discourses through the techniques of keeping quiet and keeping secrets, forcing others to keep quiet, delays in speaking up, through to speaking up against opposition. These techniques of speech and silence constitute a divergence between institutional discourses and professional discourses, and divergence within nursing and medical discourses. Both medical and nursing discourses underplay the degree of influence their professional power had over NFR events. This research is potentially significant at two levels; firstly because of what it reveals about the way in which health professionals and policy advisors construct NFR knowledge and secondly, because of the relationship between NFR practices in the health sector and societal ideas about control of death at the beginning of the twenty-first century. These findings will have particular relevance for the shaping of future health care policies. The outcomes of this study also point to the need for further research, both into NFR and into cardio-pulmonary resuscitation events particularly with regard to the implications of the policies for patients and their families.Item Senior citizens? : old age and citizenship in provincial New Zealand communities : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University(Massey University, 2002) Kerr, Alison LassieThis research considers the extent and quality of the citizenship of older New Zealanders in the "Third Age", a stage in the adult life cycle between the second age of careers, partnership and parenting and the fourth and final phase of (usually) increasing dependency. The study questions: whether 'senior citizens' have access to the material and cultural resources to enable them to choose between different courses of action in their daily lives; whether existing intergenerational relations enable them to appropriate substantive rights and responsibilities; and what are the relational practices and processes, the networks and affiliations, through which citizenship may be 'performed' by older people? This research was carried out with six groups of elderly people in a range of communities in the province of Hawke's Bay on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The purpose of running six different focus groups, each over a six week period, was to generate discussion of the issues for older people as well as individual stories about the lives of elderly people in particular local communities. The aim was to investigate the meaning of old age for elderly New Zealanders by critically analysing the term 'senior citizen'. The study built on contemporary theories of ageing and citizenship, using a narrative collective life history approach in order to focus on older people's personal experience of policy, and the capacity for citizenship that they bring with them into old age. The study also identifies national and local government policies, national and local organisations, media representations of old age, local communities, families and the attitudes of elderly people themselves as important influences on the extent to which they are able to exercise and enjoy their rights and responsibilities as senior citizens. My central thesis is that senior citizenship depends on a civil society which supports autonomy and connectedness for all its citizens. The balance between these two aspects of citizenship is culturally determined and sensitive to outcomes in a range of social domains over the life span. Recommendations focus on self-determination and social inclusion for older people through anti-ageist policies and practices at the national and the local level, and further research into the plans and aspirations of senior citizens.Item The lived-in-experience of migration for Samoan women : a cross-cultural phenomenological study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand(Massey University, 2003) Byers, BronwenIn New Zealand between 1950 and 1960 rapid industrial development brought about a corresponding demand for workers. Many Pacific Island male and female workers filled the available jobs. Considerable material has since emerged addressing issues relating to migrant workers, the focus however has primarily been on male workers whilst portraying women in supporting roles. The paucity of material acknowledging Samoan women's social and economic contributions within migration literature, acted as the catalyst for this study. Qualitative research paradigms promote theoretical and methodological liberalism, therefore three paradigmatic constructs, social-constructivism, feminism and phenomenology informed this study's interpretive practice strategies in triangulation. Quantitative data added rigour within the analysis process. The cross-cultural nature of the research and my outsider researcher status also influenced a methodological emphasis for researcher transparency. To ensure this occurred the piloting stages were undertaken with extensive collaboration with gatekeepers in order to achieve appropriate access to the respondents. From the piloting emerged major themes considered characteristic and integral to the migration process as defined by Samoan women. These themes provided the basis for the semi-structured questionnaire, used to elicit the articulated reflections of the individual and collective lived-in-experiences of Samoan women migrants. The extensive verbatim interview material was analysed using interpretive phenomenological data analysis procedures. What was revealed was the significance of the pivotal role and critical impact of the individual and collective social and economic contributions made by the Samoan women respondents. This unique journey thematic focus, allowed for the revelation of the lived-in-experience of Samoan women, commencing from the germination of the idea to migrate whilst still at school, to their reflections on this earlier decision of the migration journey (in some cases) fifty years later. These revelations provide a greater understanding of their experiences in relation to: Schooling -the influencing factors; Choice - the positive and negative affects; Expectations and Impressions - the emotional and physical cost; Language - the linkage between self-esteem and identity; Remittances – women redefining the parameters of traditional obligation; Church - the role in the women's lives; Employment - the lived-in-situation work situations and the complexity of Union membership; Dawn Raids - the hidden affects, and finally Remaining in New Zealand - reflections and the question of belonging. This study celebrates the lives of the first wave of Samoan women pioneer migrants to New Zealand by providing a unique, gendered, cross-cultural representation of their lived-in-experiences of the phenomenon/migration.Item Internal migration and development in East Timor : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University, 2003(Massey University, 2003) Guterres, Aurélio Sérgio CristóvãoMigration has been a subject of interest for scholars and students of development studies for many years, yet the conceptual tools for linking the process of migration and development have proven to be limited. Recent studies in developing countries have begun a re-assessment. Eschewing some of the old macro-economic models, which lay emphasis on rural to urban migration, scholars have employed broadly ethnographic methods to look at population movement and migration in terms of the meanings people ascribe to moving. They see cultural and social factors as being of prime importance. This study extends these approaches and provides an alternative way of looking at migration and development by employing ideas from Development Studies to differentiate population movement and migration resulting from "immanent development" from that which follows "intentional development" or state-led development. This thesis presents a model of that approach and focuses on internal migration and development in East Timor. East Timor has had a long history of colonial development with extremes of government policy under two different colonial regimes, the Portuguese and the Indonesian. Under Portuguese colonisation little development occurred, as the Portuguese were more interested in trade. Forced labour practices, involving the local population in the agricultural plantation activities, were imposed by the Portuguese to provide agricultural export commodities for colonial benefit. The plantation policy was part of a colonial strategy to keep the general population in the countryside, away from the capital Dili. On the other hand, the Indonesian period shows in very stark form the underlying intent of much rural development policy: the desire to impose order through controlling the pace of migration and slowly incorporating rural economies into a widening market system .It also shows that, despite such heavy control, forms of immanent development once unleashed will exert a strong influence on individual and family decisions to move. This study provides a new way of understanding migration and development from a micro-level perspective using a migration life stories approach. Migration life stories enable us to understand the complexity of migration and the relationship with development. The most exciting novel element of migration life stories approach is the ability of migrants to recall their migration histories and experiences, and to show how migrants’ histories and experiences are connected to migration in a particular context of their life. Thus using migration life stories, this study was able to show how migration is linked to development in the context of East Timor.Item "Someone to walk with me" : supporting caregivers who look after children with mental health problems in statutory care : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University School of Sociology, Social policy and Social Work(Massey University, 2004) Wells, Philippa MaryThe role of support to caregivers in strengthening care outcomes was explored for a group of children and young people with mental health problems in the care of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services. Four studies were integrated in a mixed methods design. In the first study a survey of 237 social workers established that informal support and caregiver factors were regarded as more effective than formal support services to caregivers in strengthening care outcomes for this group. Social workers described poor access to mental health services and deficiencies in their support to caregivers looking after children and young people with mental health problems. In the second study a focus group of caregivers viewed effective support as constituting a number of factors, including, informal support from caregiver networks, boundary setting by caregivers, training and support in managing behaviours and participation by children and young people in school or work. The role of religious beliefs, religious networks and respite care, in strengthening care outcomes was emphasised. Caregivers identified poor levels of support from Child, Youth and Family social workers and from mental health services. In the third study, a composite construct for measuring positive care outcomes for children and young people with mental health problems was established by a group of Child, Youth and Family experts, using a Delphi process. In the final study, case history data for a large group (n=1071) of children and young people with mental health problems in care of Child, Youth and Family were explored in a multivariate analysis. This analysis utilised, as independent variables, those factors identified by social workers and caregivers in studies one and two. The composite criterion designed in study three was employed as the dependent variable in this study. Multiple regression procedures provided some evidence for the role of religiously affiliated care and respite care in strengthening care outcomes for this group. The implications of these findings for Child, Youth and Family are discussed.Item 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 ElizabethThe 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.Item Integrating gender into planning, management and implementation of rural energy technologies : the perspectives of women in Nepal : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies, School of People Environment and Planning at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2004) Mahat, IsharaWomen in rural Nepal are heavily involved in management of energy resources particularly biomass, which constitute the main form of rural energy as is the case in most developing countries. Women's most time consuming activities in rural areas of Nepal are cooking, collecting firewood, and processing grain, all of which are directly associated with the rural energy system. Despite women's strategic interests in improved rural energy in Nepal, energy planners (normally male) rarely consider women's roles, needs, and priorities when planning any interventions on rural energy. This study targeted at rural women in the mid hill region of Nepal, has examined the socio-economic implications of alternative energy technologies (AETs) especially in terms of saving women's labor and time and increasing opportunities for them to participate in social and economic activities. The analysis indicates that there is a positive implication of AETs on women's workload especially with access to the micro hydro mills available in the villages. In general, women have been able to save their labor and time in collecting firewood, and milling activities, although this is not always apparent due to women using the saved time for other household chores. However, AETs were rarely used for promoting end use activities (such as, energy based small cottage industries) in order to enhance women's socio-economic status. In addition, AETs had rather limited coverage and were not able to fulfill the energy demands of all rural households. There were also limitations in the adoption of such technologies mainly due to financial, technical, and social problems. For instance, the solar photovoltaic system and biogas plants were still costly for the poorest households even with subsidies. Consequently, socio-economic gaps within small communities widened and became highly visible with access to such technologies. Women's participation was mainly in terms of their involvement in community organizations (COs) and representation in Village Energy Committees (VECs) rather than their active participation in planning and decision-making processes with regard to AETs. Nevertheless, women were actively involved in providing labor in construction work relating to AETs, and creating and mobilizing saving funds as a means to be involved in small income generating activities associated with AETs. This study ultimately suggests a framework for increasing women's participation in rural energy plans and programs at local and national level, and develops policy measures to enable integration of gender into energy planning and policies. This would help to address practical and strategic gender needs in terms of fulfilling basic energy needs managed by women, and providing them with opportunities to be involved in some social and economic activities, which lead towards the self-enhancement of women.
