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    Loyalty, commitment and the corporation of kin : Tonga as a case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of M. Phil in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1997) Ramsey, Caroline Judith
    The economic effectiveness of the Tongan kinships in a capitalist economy is dependent, to a significant degree, on the transformations and changes that are made to the way the kinship relationships function. Researchers, such as Parsons (1949), suggest there needs to be a move away from the traditional kinship relationships to individualism and nuclear families, as this is ultimately the most effective way of operating in a capitalist, business environment. However, this thesis seeks to challenge this theory by examining the changes that are occurring in kinships within Tonga. Here modifications to the kinship system seem to be allowing the family to continue to operate as an extended kinship unit both socially and economically. This thesis endeavors to suggest that the utilisation of the kinship structure offers considerable benefits for all of those involved, and because of this there is some degree of sustainablity and durability in these extended family relationships. Essentially economic decisions and resources seem to be shared between kinship members because they seek a common goal to improve the standard of living for both the family and the individual. This is reinforced by the intrinsic senses of loyalty and commitment, which encourage practical working relationships between the family members, reducing internal competition and accommodating the sharing of resources. For the individual involved in such a system the advantages of remaining within the kinship often counter the compromises and sacrifices required. For a young member of the group the system provides security and access to resources that otherwise would have to be obtained independently, which can be particularly difficult as often the young individual lacks both the equity and experience to readily obtain these resources. For the parents who wish to pursue a career the kinship network provides caregivers and accommodation for their children, either nearby or overseas, depending on where work is obtained and where housing and educational opportunities exist for their children. As for family members with entrepreneur aspirations, the other kinship members can add value by supporting their endeavors through their custom, their help in setting up the business, their role in establishing the right business contacts, and through their supplying of goods and services both from home and overseas. Finally for the elderly or those poor of health, the other kinship members provide an essential social welfare service, within the security of the family structure. However, this kinship system, apparent in Tonga, does not survive without commitment and compromise. Family members are encouraged from a young age to acknowledge and adopt traditional ideologies and perspectives which value the kinship system and the obligations which exist within. In addition to this the Tongan people also seek an economic rational for their involvement in the kinship network. Therefore, in moving from subsistence lifestyles to capitalism, Tongan kinships are readjusting their extent and nature of giving, their living arrangements and their attitudes towards investing and saving. These adjustments seem to be providing the kinship members, both at home and overseas, with a functional and rational economic system to work within.
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    Land and lineage : the articulation of social and physical space in an atoll village : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) King, Peter Stanton
    This thesis examines relationships between the social and physical environments of a village on Butaritari atoll in Kiribati. The system of ambilineal descent and land inheritance obtaining there results in complex networks of genealogical relationships which affect most aspects of social life, including land rights. While previous studies conducted in Kiribati have recognised the intimate connection between genealogy and land rights, none has investigated its ramifications for the distribution of land rights within a community. In contrast, this study engages that question as a central concern using a framework which integrates Bourdieu's concepts of social space, field and habitus with post-neo-Darwinian ideas about the relationship between organism and environment. The social space was found to be primarily structured by relationships based upon genealogy and secondarily by age and gender, each of which constituted a field within the wider social space. The genealogical field was defined by a network of positions, each representing a particular descent group. In accordance with the prevailing system of ambilineal descent, residents could belong to more than one descent group and it was upon the resulting networks of relationships between descent groups that the disposition of those groups within the genealogical field was defined. Because land-use rights were associated with genealogical connections the reconstruction of the genealogical field encompassing all of the village residents was a necessary precursor to discovering the distribution of those rights and the genealogical field was a central point of articulation between the social and physical spaces. The fields of age and gender relations provided further points of articulation between the social and physical spaces, the natures of which are examined through discussion of the material culture of the village and village and island politics. Despite a contemporary ideology of egalitarianism there were vestiges of a former hierarchy of social status groups. While the inter-group obligations, rights and responsibilities associated with this hierarchy were no longer practised, the association of contemporary residents with those social status groups bore a relationship to their position within the genealogical field and the amounts of land to which they shared rights.
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    Langoron: Music and Dance Performance Realities Among the Lak People of Southern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea : a thesis submitted for the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
    (New Zealand School of Music, 2007) Wolffram, Paul
    This thesis seeks to describe the indigenous realities, meanings, and perspectives that are central to the music and dance practices of the Lak (Siar) people in Southern New Ireland, Papua Now Guinea. The insights recorded here are those gained through the experience of twenty-three months living in Rei and Siar villages as a participant in many aspects of Lak social life. The music and dance practices of the region are examined in the context of the wider social and cultural setting. Lak performance realities, are indivisible from kinship structures, ritual proceedings and spirituality. By contextualising Lak music and dance within the frame of the extensive and socially defining mortuary, rites my intention is to show how music and dance not only reflect but also create Lak realities. By examining the ethnographic materials relating to music, dance and performance in the context of mortuary sequence broader elements of Lak society are brought into focus. In these pages I argue that Lak society is reproduced literally and symbolically in these performances.
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    Motherhood and the 'Plunket Book' : a social history : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2009) Clendon, Jillian Margaret
    The Well Child/Tamariki Ora Health Book (the Plunket book) is a small booklet given to New Zealand mothers on the birth of a child. It has been used by nurses as a tool to record growth and development from birth to five years since the 1920s. Although use of the book decreases over time, it is frequently kept within the family and handed on from mother to child. Utilising an oral history approach, this study has traced the development of the Plunket book over time and explored the experiences of a group of 34 women and one man who have reflected on their ownership of, or involvement with, Plunket books. The study found that the Plunket book remains an effective clinical tool for mothers and nurses. Mothers have used the book as a tool to link past with present, to maintain kinship ties across generations, to deal with change intergenerationally, and in a manner that contributes to their self-identity as woman and mother. Although mothers were able to use the book to affirm their own knowledge and that of their mothers, a medically dominated discourse persists in the book. The book has also played a role in facilitating the interaction between mother and nurse, providing an opportunity to explore the relationship in detail. The study found that the most successful relationships at any time were those that bordered the division between a professional relationship and a personal one: it was not the information that nurses offered but the interaction and resulting care they provided that was important to the mothers in the study. The study recommends that nurses and other health professionals continue to use the Plunket book as a clinical tool mindful of the fact that the book remains in use beyond the health professional’s immediate involvement with the mother and child, playing an important role in the context of the New Zealand family across generations. Future versions of the book should contain written reference to the strengths and abilities the mother holds as she cares for her child, reaffirming her role and identity as mother not only when her children are younger but as they grow and become parents themselves.