Arts: Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
A case study of Ngāi Tahu and early European intermarriage on Banks Peninsula : reinstating the female narrative.
(2023) Hampton, Georgia
This research paper is a study of the cross-cultural marriages that occurred between Ngāi Tahu and early European settlers on Horomaka (Banks Peninsula) during the nineteenth century. Māori wāhine (women) were at the very heart of these interactions, intermarrying with the European men. The significant influence of wāhine in these relationships has, however, been undermined by the historiographical accounts of early-missionaries and ethnographers who sought to enforce their own colonial gendered practices upon these women. The paper, focuses on the perspective of the Ngāi Tahu wāhine and reflects on their lives and experiences in these marriages. I weave the stories of my own whakapapa (genealogies) into this project, centring on the intermarriage of my tipuna wahine (female ancestor), Hare Tiki, to American whaler and early Okains Bay settler, Seth Howland. The objective is to reinstate the female narrative, and in doing so, restore the dignity and agency of these wāhine who have long been labelled passive observers of this formative period in New Zealand colonial history.
Open Access
Exploring sinophone liminality : the ghost narrative of contemporary fiction in Chinese and its new perspectives.
(2024) Chao, Di-kai
This thesis employs a Sinophone literature perspective to examine ghost narratives in ten Chinese-language novels published since 2010, originating from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Chinese mainland. It highlights liminality as a point of intersection between these narratives, prompting reflections on the significance of Sinophone Studies in the context of literature and cultural studies. This thesis argues that Taiwanese ghost narratives strategically utilize the anachronistic nature of ghosts and incorporate various cultural symbols to engage in “worlding,” aiming to articulate “Taiwaneseness” amidst multiple layers of colonization. Hong Kong ghost narratives, on the other hand, re-examine the contemporary significance of disappearance discourse, prompting reflections on Hong Kong’s in-betweenness amidst recent social turmoil. Malaysian Chinese ghost narratives, adopting a “post-Chineseness” perspective, contemplate the identity construction of local Chinese within a transnational framework. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese ghost narratives, through “fabulation,” interrogate the essence of history and reality, continually reshaping the contemporary significance of China/the Central Plains. By meticulously analyzing the novels under discussion, this study reveals that ghosts in these ten texts not only embody anachronism, différance, and in-betweenness but also unveil the connotations of liminality. The liminality depicted in these texts resonate with Sinophone communities worldwide as they navigate the complexities of negotiating between Chineseness and localness, serving as active bases for the construction or expression of various Chinese identities. The inspiration derived from this active agency for researchers lies in realizing that the essence of Sinophone does not reside in binary judgments of belonging or non-belonging but rather in an epistemological innovation. Diverging from the approach that views Sinophone as a category excluding literature from the Chinese mainland, this thesis embraces Sinophone as a method to explore the diversity, fluidity, and complexities inherent within the Sinosphere. It seeks to unveil the richness obscured by the oversimplification of the term “Chinese” in Western discourse, which often imposes violent categorizations, thus neglecting the nuanced realities of cultural production and expression.
Open Access
The posthuman beauty myth.
(2023) Pawlowski, Magdalena Diowanna
In this thesis I explore the beauty myth in past and, predominantly, contemporary SF. I begin the thesis by defining the beauty myth, drawing on Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth and Judith Butler’s Bodies That Matter. Wolf convincingly argues that the beauty myth pervades all areas of women’s lives, extending to their reproductive organs. This thesis will then emphasize the entrenched nature of the beauty myth throughout human history, beginning with the young and pure Virgin Mary protagonist, through to more modern heroines such as Octavia Butler’s Lilith. I use various theoretical lenses to understand how and why the beauty myth survives in some SF literature, and in what ways other SF works to deconstruct this gender paradigm. Besides Naomi Wolf’s analysis and Judith Butler’s performativity theory, these lenses include exoticism, the Other/subaltern native, Judith Butler’s performativity theory, Toril Moi’s Kristeva-inspired liminality theory, Foucault’s analysis of power, Rosi Braidotti’s posthumanism, Julia Kristeva’s theory of signification and her theory of the abject, Suvin’s cognitive estrangement, and an examination of gaming and anime culture. Several SF works serve as my primary texts, but I examine the beauty myth in Hannu Rajanemi’s Quantum Thief trilogy, Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2312 and Galileo’s Dream, Ursula Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness, and Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis in most detail. The contrast between the treatment of the beauty myth by the first pair of authors and the second is startling, with the former dressing the beauty myth in futuristic garb while Le Guin and Butler re-imagine not only new worlds but also new ways of being. Unexpectedly, these new ways of being are made possible, in Butler’s trilogy at least, by the womb—the protagonist gives birth to an unforeseen and unfathomable new species, thereby rewriting the beauty myth’s hold over the protagonist and the next generation.
Open Access
Becoming ‘Nestorian crosses’: a study of the collecting of the bronze Ordos crosses, their iconography, and materiality.
(2023) Sutherland, Alexander L.
‘Becoming ‘Nestorian Crosses’: A Study of the Collecting of the Bronze Ordos Crosses, Their Iconography and Materiality’ is a new analysis of the bronzes commonly known as ‘Nestorian Crosses’ as coined by Anglican missionary P. M. Scott in 1930. This analysis builds upon recent criticism of Scott and other early scholars and collectors’ identification of the bronzes discovered in the region of Baotou, Inner Mongolia with the Yuan-dynasty yelikewen Christians. By examining the process of how the ‘Nestorian crosses’ became ‘Nestorian’, this thesis recontextualises them within the framework of Chinese art collecting in the twentieth century. In particular, it discusses this process in relation to the creation of the concept, ‘Chinese art’ as argued by Craig Clunas, contextualising the ‘Nestorian crosses’ within the imperialistic and colonial art collecting practices of European and North American art collectors in China. An analysis of early scholarship and correspondence on the crosses reveals that this process was informed by the particular cultural perspectives and biases of scholars and amateur collectors. Drawing on this critique, the thesis presents alternative iconographic readings of the bronzes, highlighting possible, Chinese, Mongolian, and Buddhist sources for their symbolism. Finally, the thesis proposes a greater focus on the materiality of the ‘Nestorian crosses’, by utilising Arjun Appadurai’s ‘social life of things’ in a shift away from purely symbolic analysis. Finally, a spectroscopic analysis of a ‘Nestorian cross’ from the Rewi Alley Collection highlights new avenues for this topic from a material culture studies perspective.
Open Access
Abraham Lincoln from Clay to Jefferson : the evolution of his political rhetoric, 1837-1860.
(2023) Smith, Joshua
As president, Abraham Lincoln delivered two of the most famous addresses in American history. This thesis explores the political rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln before the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural, in the pre-presidential years from 1837 to 1860. It explores Lincoln’s highly significant and imaginative use of his two political touchstones Henry Clay and Thomas Jefferson. Knowing how Americans recognized these two famous politicians, Lincoln made reference in multiple public forums to Clay and Jefferson, especially concerning slavery and the political controversy around the spread of slavery in the 1850s. Lincoln is one of most researched figures in American history and for decades historians have published on virtually every aspect of his political career. Remarkably, the evolution of the Clay and Jefferson references and how Lincoln made use of them as rhetorical devices have only been hinted at by historians. Through the careful study of Lincoln’s speeches and letters it is possible to pinpoint the exact moments when Lincoln used Clay and similarly when he employed the memory of Jefferson. Lincoln’s rhetoric depended on the location of the address, such as northern or southern Illinois and the sentiments of the audience, always with the basic assumption that for the most part his auditors would think of Clay in light of his role in the 1820 Missouri Compromise and Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence. Upon close examination a subtle but clear evolution in Lincoln’s rhetoric away from Clay and compromise and toward Jefferson and first principles. Two years in Lincoln’s political career highlight the arc of this evolution. Firstly .1854 and the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act obliged Lincoln to confront Southern politicians’ apparent success in enabling the extension of slavery into the western territories. Lincoln’s address at Peoria on October 16 was a turning point for him as well as the first time he used Jefferson as an antislavery touchstone alongside Clay. Peoria also established the framework for Lincoln to fight what he would soon label the Slave Power through to 1860. The second year of importance in Lincoln’s rhetorical evolution comes at the end of the decade. In 1859 Lincoln had emerged from the debates with Stephen Douglas as a politician of national prominence. In his Ohio addresses of 1859 Clay has all but vanished. Lincoln from this moment forward references Jefferson as his main touchstone in the fight against slavery. This shift to Jefferson illustrates Lincoln’s self-conscious ascent from local and Whig politician to becoming a player in national politics, someone who would seek the Republican Party nomination for president a year later. In contrast to 1854, 1859 has generally been downplayed or missed altogether as a time of importance in Lincoln’s rise to the presidency. Historians have long stressed the Great Debates of 1858 and 1860 election. Finally, at a single moment of insight, at the moment of his ascent to prominence, Lincoln shifted yet again in his use of his two great touchstones. Only at New Haven, immediately after his stunning success at Cooper Union, did Lincoln begin to see both Clay and Jefferson, as each in their own way inadequate to express American’s troubled relationship with slavery. No longer as much a time to reflect, in Lincoln’s mind the issue of slavery had grown so fraught as to beg the attention of the immediate generation and break away from the compromises of the past.
Open Access
Who are we and what are we doing? : using the experiences of university educated millennial to understand contemporary neoliberal capitalism in New Zealand.
(2023) Hodgson, Morgan
This thesis uses the experiences of educated millennial precariats in New Zealand, those with university degrees and existing in a state of precarity, to explore the key challenges of capitalism in New Zealand. In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the rise of the gig-economy a new phenomena came to the attention of social scientists: the university educated precariat. This new precariat stood out as the group most affected by the failures of neoliberalism, with their degrees not guaranteeing them jobs as they had been promised, and the addition of student debt and insecure employment placing pressure on their financial security. While this phenomena has been well documented in international literature it has not yet been closely examined in New Zealand, where conditions are different to those seen overseas, including a smaller impact from the GFC, interest-free student loans, and less prevalence of the gig-economy. Through a series of interviews and associated policy analysis, this thesis uncovers that the main site of financial exploitation for the educated precariat in New Zealand is through the rental housing market, rather than the labour market as seen overseas. It uncovers themes of poor capital intensity, and perverse market incentives that encourage housing as the main form of profit speculation in New Zealand. These challenges point to a looming future of increased wealth disparity, and the extension of state subsidised capitalism. If there is seemingly no electorally viable alternative to neoliberal capitalism, how do we address these challenges and produce economic security for the future?
Open Access
Impact of information disorder and digital populism on journalistic practices : a study on the Brazilian press under Bolsonaro's influence.
(2023) Grimberg, Daniela
This thesis discusses how online disinformation and hostility against the press impacted some of the journalistic practices of mainstream news outlets in Brazil under the administration of former far-right president Jair Messias Bolsonaro (2019-2022). The period marked a decline in press freedom in the country, with news outlets and practitioners facing disinformation campaigns, threats, restricted access to government data and events, unjustified lawsuits, and attacks on and off-line. Reports produced by national and international journalism entities in the period have linked the rise of hostility against news practitioners in the country to the anti-press rhetoric and behaviours conveyed by Bolsonaro, whose communication heavily relied on social media platforms. The research sets out to understand Bolsonaro's anti-press rhetoric, amplified by his allies and groups of supporters, and its potential effects on the normative practices of journalists. It explores two sets of data. The first, Analysis Stage 1, employs thematic content analysis to describe the nature of Bolsonaro's anti-press messages on Twitter (X), adding to the scholarship on digital populism, one relevant element of information disorder. The analysis suggests that Bolsonaro's attacks on the press incorporate current global populist trends tailored to the Brazilian context. Analysis Stage 2 discusses the views of mainstream Brazilian journalists on their experiences regarding disinformation and harassment, pointing to evidence that some changes and adaptations have happened in their work practices to tackle misleading content and attacks against the press. The analysis shed light on responses required from news outlets and news practitioners concerning normative practices, such as verification, balance, and objectivity, and the consideration of security measures. Both analyses combined point to a need for transformations in news productions regarding the approach to digital populism; they also reveal that the exposure of individual journalists makes their role central to those transformations.
Open Access
I am a (state)-Chinese: a comparative study of identity formation in the Chinese youth of Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
(2024) Tan, Wei Kann Orson
The identity of Chinese communities who reside outside of China has long been the focus of study, with scholars having focused on the historical struggle of these Chinese communities to develop a self-identity that removes their association with China. The rise of China has once again put the spotlight on these issues of Chinese identity; China’s increasing assertiveness and global prominence in the past decade having sparked a renewed sense of contestation around the conceptualisation of Chineseness as Beijing has begun to dictate a narrative of a singular Chinese identity. As such, this contest is no longer restricted to the simple issue of “what is Chineseness”, but rather, has expanded to include the more salient questions of “how is Chineseness constructed” and who gets to decide that. Given the large number of Chinese communities that exist in the East Asia region, this renewed contestation of Chineseness is seen as an attempt to blur the lines between Chinese nationals and foreign nationals of Chinese descent, and also to orientate the loyalty of these communities to serve Beijing’s interests. As a result of this, there has been an observable pushback from the ethnic Chinese communities, especially from the youth who claim a hybrid state-ethnic identity that rejects Beijing’s narrative. This raises the question of how such a hybrid state-ethnic identity is formed in contemporary times, and how are these identities affected by the contestation of Chineseness. This thesis aims to address these questions by providing a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of how identity formation takes place for ethnic Chinese communities outside of China by examining the experiences of identity formation of Chinese youth from Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. It is hoped that in doing so, this thesis not only addresses the questions raised, but also provides an analysis of contemporary Chinese identity formation that takes into consideration the impact that a revisionist China has on the struggle to define Chineseness, and the different environment in which these Chinese youth live in as compared to previous studies. Additionally, this thesis seeks to build an “Asian-centric” model of Chinese identity formation which recognises the uniqueness of the experiences of the various ethnic Chinese communities, thereby plugging existing gaps. In order to do so, I propose a theory for political identity formation which borrows from Social Identity Theory. I then build a theoretical framework for contemporary Chinese identity that defines the contestation of Chineseness as a duality of identities, where contemporary Chinese identity sits along a spectrum between a Chinese Political Identity and a Chinese Cultural Identity. This model incorporates existing literature to suggest factors that influence the positioning of Chinese identity along the spectrum. Thereafter, using Q methodology as the core of a mixed-method comparative research design, I analyse the influence of constructivist, symbolists, and external factors on the formation of identity for the Chinese youth from Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. In using Q-method, I am able to tell the stories of these Chinese youth by drawing out major viewpoints that reflect how the identity of these Chinese youths are affected by the nation-building policies of their respective states, the impact of their agency in choosing loyalty to their state, the influence of ethno- symbolism and class-symbolism, and also the impact of external events involving China. This thesis concludes by arguing that the data suggested that constructivist factors are the key drivers of identity formation for the Chinese youth from these states, where nation-building policies have been successful in creating a social imaginary where national identities are ranked and valued above all, and this is reinforced by the agency of these Chinese youth in “choosing” loyalty to their nations, which helps to position the hybrid state-ethnic identity of the youth towards the Chinese Cultural Identity. Furthermore, the data also suggested that external factors play an important role in helping to crystallize the position of their identity on the spectrum, as these factors contribute to a sense of contestation between nations that triggers nationalistic responses from the youth. Additionally, the thesis argues that the data seems to suggest a differing impact of symbolist factors across the four countries. It was observed that class-symbolism was a factor for identity formation in Malaysia and the Philippines, but not in Singapore and Taiwan, which was attributed to the difference in demographic size of the respective ethnic Chinese communities, and the resultant impact of class-symbolism was to draw the Chinese identity away from the Chinese Political Identity. Ethno-symbolism, on the other hand, was observed to have little influence on majority of the Chinese youth in the four countries, with only a small minority per country seemingly being influenced by it, which suggested that China’s ethno-nationalist messaging has limited influence on the positioning of the youth’s hybrid identity on the spectrum. In presenting these conclusions, I hope that this thesis has shown how a multitude of Chinese identities exists, and that these identities sit along the spectrum as a result of a combination of influences from the various factors. It also emphasises the agency of the individual in forming identity and calls into question the usage of terms like Overseas Chinese and Chinese diaspora when referring to these ethnic Chinese communities, which reinforces the sentiment of the Chinese youth to be identified first and foremost by their nationality.
Open Access
Victorian Oamaru: the architecture of Forrester and Lemon
(1986) McCarthy, Cona
Thomas Forrester had trained in Scotland as a plasterer before emigrating to Dunedin in 1861, where he was a draughtsman for the firm of Mason and Clayton. In the early 1870s Forrester moved to Oamaru, which was destined to be one of the colony's leading provincial centres. Here he became Secretary and Inspector of Works for the Oamaru Harbour Board. In 1872 he established, with pioneer businessman John Lemon, a prodigious and highly successful architectural partnership that took advantage of the influential circle of business contacts both men enjoyed through their positions on the Board. Forrester, who was chiefly responsible for the firm's architectural achievements, was a capable architect, and designed a wide variety of building types in a surprising range of styles, and produced a handful of accomplished buildings. Forrester and Lemon were far from major architects, but they did make an outstanding contribution to the architecture of their region. Their greatest achievement was the virtual creation of the Oamaru townscape during the key period of the town's growth and prosperity. In the first chapter there is a biographical account of Thomas Forrester and John Lemon, outlining their careers and varied activities, alongside a description of the development of Oamaru itself. In the second chapter the practice's commercial work is examined, in particular its importance to the development of streetscape in the town. In the third chapter public buildings, churches and schools -Forrester and Lemon's monuments to civic pride,-are assessed. In the fourth and fifth chapters their industrial and domestic architecture is discussed, and placed in its context within the work of the practice. Throughout the study the focus is on Forrester's adaptation of Victorian architectural models to meet the needs of the colonial community. Maps and photographs provide evidence of Forrester and Lemon's impact on the town, a list of buildings tabulates their work, and a list of plans documents the material surviving from the firm.
Open Access
Contemporary organisational culture and competitive advantage : the case of the Crusaders super rugby franchise.
(2023) Ratulomai, Sairusi
The way organisational culture is framed, organized and applied is seen by many researchers and practitioners as a key ingredient in organisational successes. This study critically excamines the dynamics and relationships between five significant pillars of organizational culture: organisational values, resilience, innovation, diversity and competitive advantage. The study will use the Crusaders rugby franchise as the major case study. While the Crusaders is often seen as one of the most sucessful rugby teams in the world, little is known about it’s organizational culture, innovation strategies and ethical practices. This study, which is an interdisciplinary approach—at the intersection of business management and sports—attempts to examine what people do not often see—the behind the scene organizational culture which has created conditions for an innovative and cutting edge corporate system which translates itself into high level organizational outputs in the form of sporting success. Sports in the contemporary era is increasingly being corporatized and how this is manifested through institutional relationships, innovative thinking and new products may differ in particular specificities from other organizations but some of the broad trends, principles and processes are similar. The study shows that organizational culture evolves over time, is contextual and often made to fit specific situations and interests. In the case of the Crusaders, there is a complex and dynamic synergy between player-coach relationships, role of fans, management of the organization, handling of diversity issues and engaging with equity principles. The study uses the qualitative, inductive and interpretivist methodology to engage with the organization and its people in a deeper and critical way. It uses Anthony Gidden’s structuration theory to frame the study. While to the rest of the world, the Crusaders manifests sporting success, the deeper epistemological question is, what are the organizational values, structures and innovative norms which contribute to this success?
Open Access
The politics and institutional change in the Senate of Thailand.
(2023) Watanasukh, Purawich
This thesis aims to study the development and institutional change in the Senate of Thailand with two research questions to be answered: 1) How has the Thai Senate evolved? 2) why does the Thai Senate exist? It hypothesises that The evolution and the institutional change in the Thai Senate should be analysed in the broader context of Thailand’s struggling democracy since 1932: 20 constitutions and 13 coups have resulted from a power struggle between the elite and the masses. The power struggle determines the constitution as “the rule of the game”. A constitution designs political systems and institutions. When the constitution changes, it also changes the arrangement of political institutions, including the parliament. The change in the constitution reflects the reality in Thai politics that power relations have changed. The institutional evolution of the Senate is part of constitutional change, which reflects the shift in power relationships in Thai politics. Also, the upper house in Thailand neither represents special interests or social classes nor improves the quality of the legislative outcome. By contrast, the Thai Senate has been “the guardian of the status quo”, a reserved domain for ‘veto powers’ to take certain political domains out of the hands of democratically elected representatives by constitutional means throughout Thailand's political development since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932. Those in power always employ the upper house as a support base to safeguard their power and influence parliamentary politics. It was found that, first, the pre-1997 Senate 1997 was mainly an appointed House, but the appointee, composition, and powers of the Senate vary according to the Constitution. Except for the 1946 Constitution, which stipulated that the senators shall be indirectly elected, at the initial stage, they were selected by the Senate Selection Organisation consisting of the incumbent MPs. The 1947 Provisional Constitution and the Constitutions of 1949, 1968, 1974, 1978, and 1991 stipulate that the senators shall be appointed. In some eras, the Senate had the power to trust the government and was designed to be the power base. Second, the Senate under the 1997 Constitution (2000–2006) was fully elected. In addition to reviewing the legislation, the Senate had two significant powers: selecting and appointing persons in independent agencies, which were newly established under this constitution, allowing the public to punish politicians and high-ranking officials. The Senate under this constitution was designed with the expectation of a non-partisan chamber in line with its core aim of political reform. However, according to the findings of this study, the Senate was also a political support base for powerful political parties at that time. Third, the Senate under the 2007 Constitution was equally split between elected and appointed representatives. On the one hand, it cannot be denied that the design of the Senate under this constitution, drafted after the 2006 coup, must have some level of democratic legitimacy. However, on the other hand, the experience of the Senate under the 1997 constitution demonstrates that if it is entirely elected, the political system would be dominated by political parties with a majority in parliament. Therefore, senators appointed by the nomination committee must include chairmen of various independent agencies and the judiciary. The Senate continues to be responsible for reviewing legislation and has impeachment powers, but appointments to independent bodies are limited. The selection of candidates falls under the authority of the nomination committee, consisting of chairmen of independent agencies and the judiciary. The Senate only has the power to approve or disapprove of elected and appointed senators in the same House. Therefore, a proxy war exists between the majority and the minority. Fourth, the Senate under the 2017 Constitution is a fully appointed House. This constitution was drafted after the 2014 coup. The transitory provisions stipulate that during the first five years after the general election, senators must be appointed by the junta leader. The Senate has the power to elect the prime minister and members of the House of Representatives. It also has the power to monitor and expedite the government’s implementation of the national strategy and national reforms stipulated in the constitution. Furthermore, it has the power to vote on draft laws relating to the National Reform program as specified in the constitution and, most importantly, to amend it. However, as well as the requirement for a majority in parliament, the government must receive one-third of the senators’ votes to succeed. After five years under the transitional provisions, the senators shall come from the self-selection of professional bodies, while the power under the provisional legislation will also cease to exist. However, the remaining power under the constitutional amendments requires one-third of the votes from the Senate and the approval of incumbent appointments from independent bodies. This constitutional design reflects a throwback to the pre-1997 Senate.
Open Access
Calming overwhelming present emotions: C.O.P.E design, testing and efficacy of a children’s emotion regulation app.
(2023) Donaldson, Tessa
The effective regulation of emotions has been shown to develop across childhood and adolescence. Emotion regulation functions as a protective factor that influences psychological and behavioural outcomes for children and adolescents. Schools have been identified as an appropriate environment for emotion regulation interventions. Additionally, studies have demonstrated efficacy in the use of digital applications (apps) as a tool to deliver mental health interventions. This thesis presents the research, design, development, and efficacy testing of a children’s emotion regulation app titled C.O.P.E: Calming Overwhelming Present Emotions. Four studies will be presented, Study 1 is a systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 studies of emotion regulation interventions taught in the classroom and a systematic review to assess the suitability of apps as an intervention delivery mechanism. Study 2 is a systematic review assessing the suitability of mobile apps delivering mental health interventions. Study 3 is an app development and focus group testing study. Lastly, Study 4 is a community study with 30 participants and a school efficacy testing study with a total of 111 participants. The primary variables of interest were measures of pre-post intervention emotion ratings in app, namely ratings of anger, sadness, and frustration. Analyses also included exploration of intervention effectiveness compared with gender differences, differences in parent reported level of emotion regulation capabilities, and differences in strategy category efficacy. C.O.P.E was found to be efficacious in reducing negative emotions, with moderate to strong effect sizes.
Open Access
Scottish independence and accent variation in the Scottish Parliament.
(2023) Fournier, Marie Elisa
This dissertation examines the vowels of former leaders of Scotland’s four main political parties (namely Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party), Johann Lamont (Labour), Ruth Davidson (Conservative), and Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrat)) over the two or so years leading up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and in the few weeks following the referendum (specifically, from 6 September 2012 to 13 November 2014), with the aim of understanding the extent to which politicians adopt accent features during election campaigns to not only (a) index some political distinction (Wodak 2018), but also ultimately to (b) convince voters to vote their way (Beard 1999: 57). To do so, I built a large spoken corpus from First Minister’s Questions and explored vocalic variation in stressed monophthongs. I combined quantitative methods of acoustic analysis that have been used in recent sociophonetic work (i.e., generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs, Wood 2017)) with qualitative examinations of how phonetic variation changes over real time. I find that all four political leaders change their vocalic features around the time when the date of the referendum was announced to the Scottish electorate by then First Minister Alex Salmond (on 21 March 2013). In doing so, I suggest that they are projecting distinct identities for the public (that may reflect their stance on issues of the referendum and perhaps also their political affiliation). Furthermore, when constructing identities around that important time of the referendum campaign, all four of them use a combination of both middle-class and working-class features which I suggest is to also allow them to appeal to a larger cross-section of the electorate. Interestingly, however, they each revert to their typical pattern of accent behavior before the publication of the Scottish government white paper ‘Scotland’s Future’ (on 26 November 2013). Since the white paper laid out the case for Scottish independence and the means through which Scotland would become an independent country in personal union with the United Kingdom, I argue that the leaders had less need to instruct and inform voters about what becoming independent would mean for Scotland and, also, less need to persuade them to vote in a certain way (Beard 1999: 57) after the publication of the white paper. I also find that the leaders of the opposition parties adopt what appear to look like clear speech strategies (see e.g., Johnson, Flemming, and Wright 1993) between the announcement of the date of the referendum and the publication of the white paper. I am suggesting that they use clear pronunciation to compensate for the fact that unlike Alex Salmond, they did not have the majority voice in Parliament and, as a result, were not given the opportunity to be clear in writing about what independence would mean for Scotland. Finally, since speakers continually imbue accent features with a variety of social meanings (Eckert 2012: 94) they wish to communicate to their interlocuters (Lawson 2009: 51) when constructing identities, I also argue that clear speech overlaps with the working and middle-class features they, like Alex Salmond, use when constructing distinct identities around the announcement of the date of the referendum. To date, this study is the only variationist study to look at the entire vowel space of (Scottish) politicians over the course of a long election campaign. My results provide evidence that politicians change their accents during key times of election campaigns. My analysis suggests that this is to distinguish themselves from their opponents and to make their message more appealing to large sections of the electorate.
Open Access
The social organization of prisons
(University of Auckland, 1978) Newbold, Greg
This thesis is about the organizational dynamics of total institutions. It looks at prisons, concentration camps, and, by implication, other custodial systems, examining the relationships between bureaucratic hierarchies at three levels of abstraction. It recognizes a tertiary level, which consists of Departmental chiefs, policy makers and logistics experts; a secondary level, consisting of the local administration of these systems; and a primary or informal level of organization - that of the inmates. Most importantly, it considers these three strata as being interrelated in the pursuit of specific sets of goals. The goals of the first two structures are formally instituted and legally regulated; those of the third are unofficial, informal, and without legal sanction. The dilemma of authoritarian organization is that the mutually incompatible components of group requisites at each of the three levels, must somehow be reconciled with one another if the system is to function at all. In New Zealand, the twin goals of the primary structure of the maximum security prison are stated as being custody and 11rehabilittation” and these objectives are passed on to the prison executive. But since "rehabilitatoin11 has proven difficult to achieve in a custodial context, the fulfilment of one goal necessarily requires the neglect of the other. Since the public {upon whose support the prison is ultimately reliant) is more concerned that these prisoners be contained than reformed, custodial ends have come to gain precedence over treatment objectives. Furthermore, the pressures of the inmate group, who demand a degree of autonomy and freedom from the ministrations of authority, create a situation wherein officialdom is forced to compromise official interests with those of informal power, if order is to be maintained. And this it must be in order that custodial objectives be fulfilled. This project is divided into three sections. The first discusses authoritarian bureaucratic systems in general, particularly in relation to goals, structures, and functions; the second examines a variety of prison situations and discusses them in relation to some of the theoretical concepts introduced in Section One. The third section is the field study. It begins by analysing the disjunction between official statement and action in the Justice Department of New Zealand, and continues with an account of the internal organization of this country's only maximum security prison, Paremoremo. The author is an inmate of the above institution and as such, the study is in part, an ethnographic analysis of prison culture. But it is more, it not only describes this culture; it also attempts to relate components of the inmates' social structure and belief stem to the influences exerted by formal authority. That is, it attempts to integrate the sociology of the community of captives into the matrix of organizational theory itself by viewing aspects of informal structure as being dynamically interrelated with official policy and action. Broadly, then, the substructures of penal bureaucracies are seen as being dynamically interrelated, with each one of their structural components being influenced by, and yet, having an effect upon, each of the others, in a widely varying number of ways.
Open Access
The history of Canterbury as expressed in its buildings
(1932) Sayers, Charles Herbert
the life of a people finds expression in its buildings,this thesis constitutes a modest attempt on the part of the author to view the growth of the province of Canterbury from what, to the historian, is perhaps a new angle. From the new vantage ground, it may be that we shall see such features as the standards of living,the persistency of tradition, the trend of modern ideas,and above all the standard of values of the people,a little more clearly than would be possible from other viewpoints. At the outset the author wishes to disclaim any suggestion that this is a history of the provincial architecture. Such a project would be quite beyond the scope of a work of this size, and would necessitate in many cases a different selection of examples. In the school and domestic architecture, it is true, the architectural development has been traced, but only with the object of demonstrating the development of new ideas and influences. In such cases truly typical examples have been selected. In other cases, such, for example as the modern office building, the example is hardly typical, but is selected because it shows very clearly the trend of certain modern ideas.
Open Access
George Rutherford and his seven sons : the story of their acquisition and disposition of land, 1859-1928 : a case study
(1984) Holm, Janet
Open Access
A history of education in the province of Canterbury, New Zealand (to 1876)
(1929) Oxford, Enid
In this short account of the work of education in the Province of Canterbury, before the provincial governments were abolished, I have collected most of my material from the original reports and records of the schools. I have endeavoured to avoid statistics as much as possible and so make the work more interesting. Many of the records were destroyed when the Canterbury Education Board moved into its new building about five years ago, so that in the majority of cases there is only a passing reference to the schools, perhaps just saying that the school had been established, that it has required repairing, or that it has been marked "satisfactory" or "not satisfactory" by the school inspector. Owing to the migratory nature of the country population, and to the lapse of time since these schools were built, there is excepting in the cases of the larger schools, no first-hand evidence available.
Open Access
The Godley period of the Canterbury settlement
(1915) Hickey, Mary Margaret
This thesis is intended to form one of a series of investigations into the early history of Canterbury. Scientific historical method and comprehensiveness have been lacking in most of the attempts hitherto made to depict our local provincial history. This has necessarily been so for various reasons, not the least being that the object of the majority of the writers has been mainly to cull interesting incidents and record more or less amusing and interesting reminiscences for popular reading, rather than to present a true view of the community functioning as a whole. A great amount of original material still awaits collection, sitting, and correlating, and to clear the way for that future historian who shall unite literary skill with the true historical sense and give us the classical History of Canterbury in its provincial period, is necessarily a slow work, that will require the co-operation of many investigators. It was with the hope of providing one stone in the foundation on which to build the ultimate edifice that this research was under-taken.
Open Access
Antarctic English lexis : a mixed-methods investigation of its development and formation.
(2023) Kaefer, Stephanie Theresia June
Despite the vast amount of research about the Antarctic continent, little is known about the lexis of the people who temporarily live and work there. The isolation, hostile environment, and logistic limitations of this continent mean that only a select group can visit. As a result, Antarctica is known as one of the most isolated places on the planet. Case studies of isolated communities show that they experience high levels of face-to-face contact between adults who speak varieties of the same language, which can disrupt typical transmission and diffusion processes. This can result in rapid language changes known as contact-induced language change or new dialect formation (NDF). Therefore, the inclusion of extreme and confined conditions of Antarctic research stations could result in intensified faceto- face contact between the adult populations there, which could have implications for contactinduced language change in this environment. This doctoral study explores the effects of an intensified high-contact scenario caused by the ICE conditions of Antarctica on the specific lexis that has emerged there. To explore this, I collected and compiled examples of lexical items anonymously and from online and published sources. I used a selection of the collected lexical items to test the knowledge of former and current workers and visitors to English-speaking Antarctic research stations in a questionnaire survey. This allowed me to investigate their stability over time and space, how they were formed, and the external factors that influence them. I also explored how processes of accommodation, koineisation, NDF, transmission, as well as models of diffusion, play out in this setting. The findings showed that there are distinct lexical items, which were created through different word-formation processes, in the responses of participants from two specific English-speaking national Antarctic programmes (ESNAPs). This tentatively suggests there might be Antarctic English lexicons in two of the larger ESNAPs, a potential lexicon for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) and a potential lexicon for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). They also showed diffusion between stations of different ESNAPs if there were transport links connecting them. Despite the hyper-rapid turnover of seasonal cohorts that occurs in research stations (roughly 12-monthly turnover of staff and visitors) combined with the need to pass on important information, and the intensified levels of face-to-face contact, the overall potential lexicons showed significant stability. However, when lexical change occurred these newer lexical items were morphologically similar to those they replaced, and the changes were transmitted much more rapidly than in the typical contact-induced language change and NDF scenarios of the case studies. These findings highlight how lexis might be affected by settings where isolation, confinement and extreme conditions are factors, where typical transmission and diffusion processes do not occur in communities that are close-knit with strong-network ties. In doing so, they may provide a better understanding of the processes and conditions that might facilitate lexical change and those that facilitate lexical stability.
Open Access
Crowley, Harrison, and the becoming spaces of liminal fantasy.
(2023) Herriot, Benjamin George
This thesis aims to demonstrate the unique ways in which ‘liminal fantasies’ by John Crowley and M. John Harrison challenge the typical escapist and representational modes of reading fantasy, and instead promote new ways of engaging with reality. Drawing on concepts from the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, and the concept of ‘liminal fantasy’ as established in Mendlesohn’s Rhetorics of Fantasy, this thesis investigates how Harrison’s novels The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again (2020) and The Course of the Heart (1992) and John Crowley’s novel Little, Big (1982) and Ægypt series (1987-2007) each problematise their characters’ desire (or lack thereof) for fantasy (or meaning) in their narratives by failing to resolve the ontological balance between the fantastic and the mundane. By leaving signification (be it fantastic or mundane) liminally balanced, both Crowley and Harrison ‘short circuit’ the transcendent methods of interpretation that pose a specific way of reading each text. Furthermore, by applying Deleuze’s philosophy to the fantasy genre alongside notions such as surface reading and ‘writerly’ texts in a way that has not been done before, it is possible to see how both Crowley’s and Harrison’s works affirm life through immanence precisely because they are not restricted to a fixed, transcendent signification. Life, and the affectual experience of living, is a process of continual change not bound by any single fixed idea. As such, each reader can use the texts to ‘become’ and produce new ways of interacting with the actual world through fantasy’s equivalence with ‘virtual’ concepts such as affect, ideology, and history. The actual, here, is the immanent world as it is lived, as opposed to the transcendent fantasies of escape that not only dictate how people live but limit the perspectives of those who believe in them. By problematising the relationship between the fantastic and the mundane within literature, both Crowley and Harrison are able to affirm life as an immanent process, an important feat in a world overflowing with avenues of escape.