Arts: Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
The latent animal image : exposing animal suffering and developing change.
(2025) Johnstone, Shannon
My PhD thesis, The Latent Animal Image: Exposing Suffering and Developing Change (2025), examines the question “why create and view photographs of animal cruelty and suffering?” I am particularly interested in situations where suffering is clearly visible, but we choose not to see it, or perhaps we frame the suffering through a different lens, such as in a roadside zoo. Roadside zoos are privately owned menageries of wild “exotic” animals that have been turned into a business where the public can pay to see, and sometimes touch, the animals. In these zoos, animals spend their lives on display and in confinement. Since roadside zoos are legally sanctioned, open to the public, and they encourage visitors to take pictures, they are a powerful tool to examine and perhaps reframe what it means to look at animal suffering. As a photographer and artist, I have engaged in a three-year photography project depicting the animals who live in these roadside zoos, mostly in the USA. The inspiration for this project rests on the hope that photographing animal suffering can lead to change. This hope needs critical examination, and throughout this thesis, I critique photographs of animal suffering and examine what change (if any) is possible and for whom. The purpose of this thesis is to offer a critical examination of what it means to create and circulate images of animal suffering. As part of this analysis I examine issues of looking, gaze, empathy, and bearing witness. I conclude with a discussion on photography as a form of activism.
Open Access
Samoan diaspora, wellbeing, and climate change adaptation: malaga and the nuances of purpose, place and person in a changing climate.
(2024) Leo Tupuana’i, Luisa Moana
The thesis explores the experiences of 13 members of the Samoan diaspora in Ōtautahi Christchurch, using qualitative Talanoa method to understand their experiences and thoughts about wellbeing, climate change, and adaptation. It offers an alternative insight into the complex ways in which the wellbeing of a diaspora itself may be affected by climate change adaptation in ancestral homelands. This approach draws on Pacific academic literature and philosophy particularly about Samoan culture and traditions of migration and ideas of wellbeing which emphasise cultural values relating to malaga (journeying) and responsibilities to ‘aiga (family). This thesis contributes to the growing body of literature about the limits of ‘migration as adaptation’ in the context of a changing climate. Using the narrative of malaga, as a process of journeying and cultural navigation, the research reported here highlights the importance that participants in Talanoa placed on agency and culturally appropriate forms of proactive engagement with climate change. These forms of engagement were expressed as a sense of Purpose, Place, and Person. One of the key findings of the study is that being able to maintain a sense of agency was central to how participants experienced wellbeing and cared for the wellbeing of others in the context of a rapidly changing change. Climate change was also discussed by participants through a frame of responsibility and autonomy, which spanned from reflections about the macro roles of governments and international actors to the micro actions of individuals. The study calls for greater appreciation of the nuances of the relationships between culture, obligations, and wellbeing in research about climate change and diaspora. All participants identified pre-existing familial obligations that motivated personal involvement in adaptation in ancestral homelands, but the research also highlighted the nuanced navigation participants made around expectations of engagement, and their own sense of ability, appropriateness and cultural connectedness. Finally, this study contributes to the development of Samoan research practices, within the complex, creative and evolving field that is Pacific methodologies that aim to decolonise Pacific research and recognise the diversity of Pacific peoples’ experiences. The qualitative research here was guided by Teu le va and utilised the method, Talanoa.
Open Access
The resilience paradox : a critical analysis of the Aotearoa New Zealand-Pacific partnership for climate crisis resilience building.
(2024) Bland, Lauren
Resilience has become a prominent term utilised in climate and development policy and programming to describe the intersection between disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation and development (Bahadur et al. 2013). Resilience is quickly becoming a catch-all term that promises solutions to the complex and interlacing challenges presented by the climate crisis and failing global sustainable development objectives. However, the term lacks a universal definition, meaning it is often understood and applied differently across disciplines and contexts. As Pacific Island Countries and Territories continue to face the escalating consequences of the climate crisis, many development partners such as Aotearoa New Zealand are centring the concept of resilience within their objectives towards the Pacific. Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2021 foreign policy direction titled the Resilience Approach, frames resilience as the key to empowering Pacific Island Countries and Territories to navigate the escalating challenges arising from the climate crisis, economic instability and increasing geopolitical pressures. This research analyses the dynamics of climate crisis resilience building within the context of the Aotearoa New Zealand-Pacific partnership. It critically analyses the varying complexities and subjectivities within climate resilience policy and programming discourse, to gain a deeper understanding of its practical impacts within resilience implementation. This research highlights diverging conceptualisations of resilience between Aotearoa-New Zealand and Pacific actors, hidden power dynamics inherent within development partnerships, and challenges involved in translating policy rhetoric into meaningful action. The central finding of this research is the ‘resilience paradox’ which describes several contradictions present within the Aotearoa New Zealand-Pacific partnership in terms of climate resilience building, and in the broader context of development partnerships. What this paradox illustrates is there is importance in a process of collaborative reflection on what climate crisis resilience means in different contexts and how this understanding can be effectively applied in practice. The implications of this research suggest that resilience approaches benefit most from being contextually grounded and culturally responsive. There is rich opportunity when partners engage in a collaborative process of shared learning that honours diverse knowledge systems. For genuine resilience outcomes, this research finds that all partners must engage in a process of meaningful transformative change.
Open Access
Publics and purse strings: the South Island Art Project and funding dynamics in 1990s Aotearoa
(2024) Tuffnell, Uma
This thesis explores the role that public funding played in shaping the trajectory and output of the South Island Art Projects, a short-lived Arts Council initiated and funded contemporary arts organisation that produced a series of art projects in public space from 1992 to 1996 against a backdrop of funding shortages and turbulent funding policy change. My research looks at the ways shifting funding criteria played into the formation and structure of the SIAP organisation, the location, timing and focus of three key projects, and the organisation’s unexpected loss of funding in 1995. Asserting that, the funding dynamic brings with it certain challenges that alter the way arts organisations like SIAP operate, and that these influences are amplified where funding requirements shift within a short period of time. The three key project case studies explored in this thesis, Public Practices (1993), Tales Untold (1994), and PRAXIS (1995), highlight different approaches SIAP took to navigating Arts Council funding requirements, working within public space and serving artist interests. They narrow in on moments where SIAP resisted Arts Council expectations within their own programming, overtly or covertly attempted to pursue an independent path, or set aside this approach and pursued alignment. Throughout this writing the SIAP organisation is framed as a project that was vulnerable to broader forces and an outcome of a specific funding structure, yet also strongly resistant towards external influence. The group’s management of funding restrictions aligns closely with theorist Isobel Lorey’s approach to navigating instrumentalism, which suggests management is less about changing the broader system and more about attempting to find “where, within these governing mechanisms, cracks and potentials for resistance are to be found”.
Open Access
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Stand Tu Maia’s Theraplay parenting workshop for fathers and male caregivers.
(2024) Kalauta, Takofe
Men's engagement in parenting programmes can positively impact them and improve their children's life outcomes. However, men are underrepresented in parenting interventions, including the Theraplay parenting workshop (TPW) delivered at Stand in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This study examined the effectiveness of the Therapy parent workshops for fathers and male caregivers in Christchurch to evaluate if it met their needs. In this qualitative research, fathers and male caregivers were interviewed to understand their experiences and address the potential barriers to engagement. The analysis indicates that several factors influenced their engagement, such as the influence of professional support people, agencies understanding and targeting their needs, support with accessibility, and the men’s motivations to want to improve their relationships with their children. The identified barriers were the influences of others, such as professionals and other caregivers, societal expectations regarding their role as fathers, a lack of information, and accessibility. The findings suggest that a targeted approach is needed by service and education providers that meet the needs of fathers and male caregivers to increase their engagement in parenting interventions, and at present, this is lacking.
Open Access
The sharpest tool in the toolbox? The International Criminal Court and the responsibility to protect in Kenya.
(2025) O'Brien, Louis
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) were invoked in the international response to Kenya’s electoral violence in 2007 and 2008. The international response to the crisis in Kenya occurred during a high point of Liberal Internationalist confidence in interventionist solutions, and was considered by many to display the ICC’s value as an R2P mechanism to protect vulnerable populations and prevent violence. Yet the ICC’s cases against prominent politicians Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto ultimately collapsed, and the intervention had significant consequences for Kenyan politics and the ICC’s credibility across Africa. This thesis explores the ideological alignment between R2P and the ICC and their operational divergences, examining how their divergent protection and prosecution objectives in Kenya had costs for the respective projects, domestic political situations, and the development of international criminal law. It interrogates the claim that the R2P and ICC efforts in Kenya presented a successful case study for international crisis intervention, contending that delicate peace outcomes were only thinly attributable to the ICC and R2P norm. Further, it contends that the ICC’s Kenyan cases proved the inherent limits to the Liberal Internationalist aspirations to redefine sovereign responsibility against enduring the power attached to state sovereign authority. These questions provide insights about the relevancy of Liberal Internationalist norms and institutions addressing crimes against humanity in a more contested and “illiberal” period of international politics.
Open Access
ERP-based detection of concealed knowledge : an independent investigation of brain fingerprinting.
(2024) Seren-Grace, Alex P.
Brain Fingerprinting (BFP) is an event-related potential (ERP) based technology that detects concealed knowledge utilising electroencephalography (EEG) to detect a distinct brainwave response pattern called the P300. In a forensic context, BFP is designed to identify when a suspect emits a brain response consistent with recognition of a stimulus comprising significant, specific information pertaining to a crime. The aim of the present study was to independently replicate the Brain Fingerprinting methodology and investigate whether this tool is as reliable and accurate as its inventor and other proponents claim. Over the past century, and especially in recent decades, police and intelligence agencies have applied various technologies in an attempt to detect deception. Favoured forensic tools such as the Control Question Test (or “polygraph”) have been widely criticised by scientists, and these tools are struggling under the weight of comprehensive empirical evidence demonstrating them to be unreliable and inaccurate. Neuroscientists revolutionised “lie detection” by shifting focus away from the constructs of guilt or fear, and instead sought to detect concealed knowledge by measuring recognition of crucial crime-relevant information rather than the traditional method of making inferences about a suspect’s honesty based on their presumed emotional state. While the scientific foundations of the ERP-based Concealed Information Test (CIT) are well-established, supported by decades of research, and generally perceived as legitimate by experts in the field, rival scientists have put forth a variety of different methods for applying the technology, and thus far, no consensus has been reached regarding which method is the most accurate and reliable. Brain Fingerprinting has consistently outperformed other modes of ERP-based concealed knowledge detection in all published research to date, with its proponents claiming the technique is over 99% accurate, whereas other similar methods have often produced higher error rates. However, BFP and those who promote the technology have been consistently criticised and challenged on various grounds, most notably on the basis that their highly accurate results have not been independently replicated thus far. The inventor of Brain Fingerprinting, Dr. Lawrence Farwell, cites 20 Scientific Standards (20SS) that distinguish the BFP method from other ERP-based CIT paradigms, and he posits that researchers who have previously attempted to replicate BFP, and reported low accuracy, have not applied the technique correctly according to these standards. The present study is the first instance of a direct and faithful replication of Brain Fingerprinting, which stringently adhered to the 20SS. It is also the first reported instance of a false positive classification where the BFP method has been applied. BFP was 96.7% accurate at classifying university students as Information Present (possessing concealed knowledge) or Information Absent (no concealed knowledge) after they underwent a BFP test relating to either a significant event in their life, which they knew the specific details of, or a significant event in the life of someone else about which they knew no specific details. The BFP method utilises a bootstrapped cross-correlation mode of analysis known as the Classification CIT (ClaCIT) which resulted in a mean bootstrap probabilty of 98.8% (for correct determinations). Another method of data analysis (bootstrapped amplitude difference, also known as the Comparison CIT or ComCIT), which is favoured by other ERP-based CIT experts and researchers, was also applied to the same data. This method yielded three false positives, but correctly classified the one participant who was misclassified using the BFP ClaCIT method. ComCIT analysis produced lower bootstrap probabilities overall, with only 14 of 28 tests resulting in a ComCIT determination that was both correct and valid (bootstrap probability over 50%). Implications for the applicability of Brain Fingerprinting, limitations, and generalisability of the findings are discussed. Further independent validation of the accuracy of BFP is recommended.
Open Access
An examination of leadership in Māori resistance : a case study of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki.
(2024) Sievers, Rochelle
This thesis applies leadership theories to an analysis of key events, including land alienation and resistance movements through the nineteenth century in Aotearoa. There is a focus on the different types of leadership, and how these can represent themselves in Māori leadership models. Māori leadership is deeply rooted in social structures, the status of the person, and the whakapapa (genealogy), or prominent ancestors that can be traced back to them. Māori leadership is collective-based and involves the community in the decision-making, identifying the task, deciding on a path to be taken, and serving the community by choosing the correct decision to make. Māori leadership is foundationally structured around Te Ao Māori (Māori worldview), and is based on whakapapa, mana (inherited and endowed authority), and kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the land). These mirror the principles and obligations that have been handed down through the generations for Māori leaders to adhere to. Leadership theories involve the study of different styles, behaviours, and situations that require strong, effective leadership. There are a wide range of leadership theories that emerge from across multiple disciplines. For this thesis a finite number of theories are examined for their connection to Māori leadership and the qualities that are required to be an efficient leader. The aim was to examine the political, cultural, and social landscape of Aotearoa (New Zealand) between 1840s and 1870s when the New Zealand Wars were taking place, and the colonial invasion was occurring that was changing the landscape of Aotearoa. This was an era when the colonial government was oppressing and marginalising Māori from their land and iwi (tribe) autonomy. This research uncovers and illuminates some of the key factors that helped shape Māori leadership resistance, especially around the time of the New Zealand Wars and the Māori resistance leaders who chose to confront the colonisation by the British head-on. After providing an understanding of the different theories of leadership and examining Māori leadership resistance in the mid to late nineteenth century, this thesis uses prophet leader Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki as a case study. This will further give an understanding of differing models of Māori leadership during this time in the history of Aotearoa. Te Kooti is notable as a military leader and a religious prophet leader with a strong following of faithful supporters. He is a symbol of Māori resistance and leadership, and he held a strong dedication to protect Māori autonomy and Tino rangatiratanga for his people and wider community. So, by understanding Te Kooti’s leadership style there can be an exploration of the wider background of Māori leadership and resistance that was occurring in the face of the British colonial takeover. Te Kooti’s formation of the Ringatū religious movement and his leadership of it is a focal point of this thesis as a figure who provided optimism and reassurance at a time when Māori needed a beacon of hope from the continual onslaught of the British colonial power. Ringatū not only provided a platform for faith of Māori leadership and resilience, but it also supplied a means for Māori to identify with the issues they were facing and accept the guidance and leadership that Te Kooti was providing. Te Kooti is positioned within this thesis as a resistance leader against the colonial invasion, and it aims to highlight leaders like him who fought at that time against the ongoing struggle for Māori Tino rangatiratanga. Te Kooti's leadership was a mix of religious dreams and military capability, and with the establishment of the Ringatū movement he was able to combine Māori leadership resistance with divine direction.
Open Access
The lives and times of the Wright family, Banks Peninsula
(1971) Sparrow, Jane
Open Access
The relationship between music and painting.
(1964) Campbell, Rosemary Ann
I have felt the desire to paint free from any naturalistic reference, drawing my subjects from stored subconscious images and impressions. As painting becomes abstract the farther it departs from nature it can, I feel, be closely allied to music. Music by it's very nature is abstract relying on formal elements to attain compositional order. Similarly, abstract art is based on formal elements of organisation because it is not depicting known objects which would partially suggest a composition. I have endeavoured to explore how closely the two arts are allied in other respects. Because both are elusive and untrammelled by objectivity they can be considered superior to other arts which seem to lose impact by transcription into words. Music is essentially an art of time while painting is an art of space.
Open Access
An experimental analysis of the te reo Māori passive suffix.
(2024) Harris, Penny
Te reo Māori is the indigenous language of New Zealand, and is unusual from a linguistic perspective in that it contains an unusually high proportion of both passive constructions and passive alternations (Bauer et al., 1993). Passive constructions occurr much more frequently in te reo Māori than in many other languages, including English (Harlow, 2007); indeed, passive forms of verbs commonly appear more often than their active forms, particularly historically (Sanders, 1990). The te reo Māori passive morpheme also contains an unusually high number of passive alternations (Bauer et al., 1993), so it is therefore not surprising that this aspect of the language has attracted significant interest from linguists (Bauer et al., 1993; De Lacy, 2004; Hale, 1968; Harlow, 2007; Parker Jones, 2008; Sanders, 1990). The extensive variation in the passive allomorphs can make the selection of an appropriate passive suffix more difficult for speakers, particularly when speakers are under-exposed to passive forms through low-frequency verbs, the declining use of passive constructions, or novel words (Sanders, 1990). This uncertainty in the face of suffix selection can in turn lead an increase in free variation across passive allomorphs, and can also lead to speakers being more likely to revert to a more rule-based approach to suffixation through the use of ‘default’ suffix (Sanders, 1990). These issues conspire to make it difficult to predict which passive allomorph will surface in a given environment. This thesis explores how proficient re reo Māori speakers approach passivisation, testing the predictions made by previous explorations of passive variation, through both corpus analysis and in an experimental setting. A review of the relevant literature is presented in chapter 2, which identifies the predictions made by previous work. The testing of these predictions on corpus data is presented in chapter 3, the results of which suggested that a number of outstanding research questions still remained. The exploration of these questions is the primary focus of this study, and the methods by which this was conducted are outlined in chapter 4. Chapter 5 presents the results of this exploration, which found that a number of different factors are implicated in the use of different passive alternations, operating differently at different degrees of novelty. The results are discussed in respect to the literature in chapter 6, finding that effects are complex and varied, and show a high degree of interdependence. The conclusion of this thesis is presented in Chapter 7.
Open Access
Re-imagining Schumann : the suitability of the Modern Boehm flute and technique for Robert Schumann’s instrumental works in transcription.
(2024) Cooper, Marlene
Since at least the nineteenth century, there has been an established tradition of transcribing for the flute solo works originally written for other instruments. In part, this is because of the paucity of flute solo repertoire of significant aesthetic weight from this period. Notwithstanding this, there have been very few transcriptions of Robert Schumann’s works for the flute, and his Cello Concerto Op.129 is a notable omission in flute transcription repertoire. One reason for this is a belief that the flute of Schumann’s day was unsuited to his musical ideals. However, current research has not adequately considered the application of the advances in flute technique that developed as a result of the invention of the Modern Boehm flute in 1847. Furthermore, the terminology related to transcription is often ambiguous, highlighting the need for a more precise definition. In this study, I consider the capabilities of the flutes of Schumann’s time and compare them with the capabilities of the Modern Boehm flute. Analysis and comparison of nineteenth-century flute methods including Drouët’s Method of Flute Playing, Tulou’s Méthode de flute, Hugot et Wunderlich’s Méthode de flûte and Fuerstenaus’s Kunst des Flötenspiels, and those of the modern French School of Taffanel, Gaubert and Marcel Moyse are used to understand the capabilities of the flutes of Schumann’s time and determine their suitability for Schumann’s expressive ideals. The term creative transcription is established while the problems and solutions that occur during the transcription process are explored and applied to an inaugural transcription of the Schumann Cello Concerto Op.129. I argue that a flautist using the Modern Boehm technique can express Schumann’s performance ideals in transcriptions of his works and that the Modern Boehm flute is, therefore, a suitable vehicle for the performance of transcriptions of Schumann’s music.
Open Access
Toward a self-defence model for media in small democracies: responding to weaponised information in the ‘new cold war’ environment
(2024) Stoakes, Emanuel
The problem of information disorder in the modern digital age is a topic of widespread concern. Its threat to democracy is well understood. What has been less discussed in scholarly literature is the role that journalism can potentially play in protecting small democratic states against information assaults directed toward their societies by authoritarian powers. This Thesis will consider the ways in which public service-oriented journalism can maximise its capacity to expose hostile information warfare of this kind and empower citizens in smaller democratic societies to identify and resist this phenomenon. The core empirical component of this study - interviews with journalists and other professionals that have encountered information warfare directed against their societies- supports the claim that emerging socially-engaged models of journalism adapted to the new information environment could form the basis of effective democratic counter-strategies against information warfare. Drawing on existing practices of cross-sector and international collaborative methods, this thesis proposes a self-defence framework that places the cognitive and affective state of intersubjective trust at its core and the idea of an ‘epistemic commons’ as its organising principle. Trust can be achieved through a reframing of the role of journalism as a mediator of inter-professional engagement and, where possible, community collaboration that reduces the gatekeeping role of the journalist, while maintaining a strict empirical standard that is curated by reporters. In this model, journalism retains its power-checking, truth-tracking role that deters abuses of democratic discourse, while widening the scope for co-ownership of the process of knowledge production.
Open Access
EU partners or EU members: EU enlargement in Moldova, Ukraine and the Western Balkans
(2024) Blanchett, James
Following the 2004/2007 ‘Big Bang’ enlargement, the European Union turned away from further enlargement prospects. Projects such as the European Neighbourhood Policy were launched with the express goal of limiting enlargement prospects, and established enlargement commitments to regions such as the Western Balkans fell out of favour. The EU’s apathy towards enlargement seemed to change in February 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine applied for membership four days after Russia’s invasion, with Moldova and Georgia following less than a week later. The EU granted Moldova and Ukraine candidate status in June 2022, four months after Ukraine’s application. To date, no candidacy application has been processed with that speed. As the EU claims that the accession process is merit-based, with a candidate’s progression being directly related to their compliance with the Copenhagen criteria, that raises two questions: Why did the EU so radically change its view on enlargement, and were Moldova and Ukraine treated favourably in the accession process? Using a comparative framework, this thesis evaluates the candidacy progression of Moldova and Ukraine against four Western Balkan candidate states: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. It examines how the EU has engaged with those states, and the regions in which they exist, and seeks to determine what factors influenced the EU’s decision to revisit enlargement in 2022, and whether those factors positively influenced Moldova and Ukraine in the accession process. These factors will be identified through Schimmelfennig & Sedelmeier’s four dimensions of enlargement, which were developed to understand the factors influencing the 2004/2007 enlargement. International relations theory is also considered in determining whether these factors influenced the EU’s enlargement decisions. This thesis concludes that the decisions to grant candidacy to Moldova and Ukraine were influenced by factors unrelated to the Copenhagen criteria, specifically the exploitation of EU self-perceptions as a promoter of democratic norms.
Open Access
Mother Tongue: the desire of Pākehā parents to foster bilingualism and an alternative worldview through schooling their children in Māori immersion
(2024) Wright, Elsa
This thesis explores the motivations, experiences and perceived contributions of Pākehā (European New Zealanders) towards Māori language revitalisation through their choice of full immersion schooling for their Pākehā children. These whānau (families) are in a unique position. They are members of the majority ethnic group in Aotearoa New Zealand, but their involvement in education which utilises this country’s endangered Indigenous language places them as a minority within a minority; Māori immersion schooling is rare even amongst Māori whānau. The Māori language became endangered through the fallout of colonialism and it is only through remarkable Māori-led initiatives that the language achieved official status in1987 and has come back from the brink of extinction. Māori-medium education (immersion), from kōhanga reo (preschool language nests) through to whare kura (secondary schooling) were established by Māori for Māori and have been the cornerstone of raising up new generations of bilingual children for over forty years. Nevertheless, Pākehā support is important for the future vitality of the Māori language – in terms of growing the number of speakers and for (re)normalising the use of the language in multiple contexts. Recent research has begun to explore the increase in non-heritage learners of the Māori language (Berardi-Wiltshire & Bortolotto, 2022; Te Huia 2020). However, little is known about Pākehā parents who choose Māori-medium schooling for their tamariki (children). This thesis investigates the experiences of Pākehā adults and their Pākehā children through their choice of Māori immersion schooling. Three main questions are asked: 1) What has motivated adults of non-Māori ethnicity to choose te reo Māori as the language of schooling for their non-Māori children? 2) How have the attitudes of others assisted these whānau in their bilingual language endeavours? And 3) What contribution do these parents believe their language choices will make towards the revitalisation of the Māori language? By exploring these topics and situating them within revitalisation and (re)normalisation frameworks, this thesis illuminates the perceived role and contribution of a little-researched group of “new speakers” (O’Rourke, 2018). It also explores the intersection between ethnic, cultural and identity boundaries that exist for Māori and non- Māori within the language revitalisation movement. The data for this project comes from interviews with thirteen parents of children/teenagers in Level 1 or 2 (full immersion) kura kaupapa or rumaki classroom units from around the motu (country). All were women and all self-identified as Pākehā. A qualitative research approach utilised Reflexive Thematic Analysis to code for themes and meta patterns. The results showed that Pākehā whānau are motivated by the belief that all New Zealanders will benefit when the Māori language is supported in its homeland, and that the best way for children to become competent in the language and culture is through Māori-led education settings. Pākehā parents see their whānau’s involvement with the language as a way to support Māori in their revitalisation efforts and to influence Pākehā attitudes about the value and efficacy of the Māori language as our nation moves forward. Despite navigating the complexity of a shared colonial history, with uncomfortable emotions and misconceptions, a meta pattern emerged that bilingualism is ultimately a worthy pursuit. The vast majority of parents in this study are hopeful that their children will speak te reo Māori as a first language with their own children if/when they parent in the future. The results from this thesis provide support for the ZePA model of language (re)normalisation (Higgins & Rewi, 2014), but suggest limitations in Fishman’s (1991) framework for Reducing Language Shift within the context of present-day Aotearoa New Zealand.
Open Access
Shuffling bull, roaring tiger : an analysis of the EU and China in Pacific media.
(2024) Lee, Kathryn
In light of growing geopolitical contestation in the Indo-Pacific and increased tensions from multiple actors, the European Union (EU) released the 2021 Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The Strategy emphasised security and development in the Asia-Pacific region. While the Indo-Pacific has been subjected to rising interest in academic research (Kassab, 2023; Zhu, 2023; Wilkins & Kim, 2022) few studies have investigated Pacific perspectives of this tension. This thesis uses two different actors, China and the EU, both in values and approaches to development and security in the Pacific region. To achieve an insight into an accurate analysis of the regional tension a period following the 2021 release of the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the 2022 Solomon Islands and China security agreement. To achieve this, this research uses media content analysis for the period 1 October – 31 December 2022, then analyses and compares both actors, through the lens of security and development. By comparing these portrayals in Pacific media this thesis argues that the EU is portrayed in Pacific media primarily as an environmental and development actor in the Pacific and that China is portrayed as a significant but contested security actor in the Pacific.
Open Access
Youth-led political socialisation for relational climate justice : understanding young people’s experiences of the school strike for Climate NZ Movement in Aotearoa New Zealand.
(2024) Woods, Amelia
This thesis examines the climate protests in Aotearoa New Zealand between 2019 and 2021, known as School Strike 4 Climate NZ. That wave of youth-led climate activism was part of a significant global protest movement demanding climate justice. However, climate justice a contestable term. Furthermore, we know little about how young people come to learn about climate justice because political socialisation within movements is currently inadequately understood from a youth perspective. This thesis takes a constructionist perspective to draw on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 26 young climate justice activists aged 13 – 20 and publicly available documents, including public submissions, social media posts and news media reports, to examine how young climate activists in Aotearoa think about climate justice and make sense of their own political socialisation through the strikes. The sample was predominantly female (n=24), and Pākehā (n=22). The analysis supports the thesis argument that youth participation exemplifies a situated socio-cultural learning process where young people are both learning and generating knowledge through their participation in the climate movement. It also highlights the significance of emotions or ‘affective’ dimensions of this situated political socialisation. Young people’s initial experiences of participation can be understood as creating a youth-led community of practice, where young people are forging a collective politicised youth identity for climate justice claims-making, which centres on equity and fairness. In turn, these supportive relationships and affective learning experiences foster relational understandings of climate justice characterised by nuance, intersectionality and a language of care. The thesis argues that not only are affective dimensions are significant aspects of young people’s political socialisation, but they also contribute to strengthening relationships which in turn support climate justice learning. The thesis findings have implications for adults and teachers who support young people learning about climate justice. The research demonstrates the importance of recognising complex emotions experienced by young people in relation to climate and building supportive relationships. Adults can play a crucial role by respecting the autonomy and agency of young activists while providing mentorship and guidance through an ethic of care.
Open Access
Inequality in access to tertiary education: a capabilities approach to assessing the New Zealand “Fees-Free” tertiary policy, 2018-2023
(2024) Alabaster, Wendy Ann
This thesis considers the equity implications of the New Zealand fees-free policy introduced in 2018 through the lens of the capabilities approach. To date, the fees-free policy has had little or no impact on the enrolments of students from low-income backgrounds or first-in- family students. Students from low-income backgrounds are under-represented at tertiary level study and significantly under-represented at university level study. This inequality of access and participation is particularly problematic as students from disadvantaged backgrounds miss out on the benefits that tertiary education can provide. The experiences of ten students from low-income or first-in-family backgrounds were examined through semi-structured interviews conducted at three intervals: the academic year's beginning, middle, and end. These longitudinal interviews provided rich insights into numerous barriers to accessing and participating in university study, including financial stress, transitioning from secondary to tertiary education, health and wellbeing, the pressure of COVID-19 and lockdowns, navigating information and application forms, and workload. The research points to a paradox in that while the fees-free policy has had no observable impact on national enrolment for under-represented groups, five of the ten students interviewed in this study stated that they would not have enrolled without the first-year courses being fees-free. Three themes were developed from the analysis of interviews using reflexive thematic analysis. The themes were based on the student’s experiences of accessing and participating in tertiary study and shed light on what these tertiary students valued about their study and what conditions influenced their opportunities to achieve these valued outcomes. The students reported valuing having a “Sense of Direction” (including a sense of self, agency and purpose, often expressed as a desire to help others) and also reported valuing a “Sense of Connection” (a feeling of belonging). Students also identified Barriers (including experiences underpinned by systemic injustices) they felt impacted their opportunities to do things they valued and be the people they could be. These three themes were discussed through the lens of the capabilities approach, particularly as developed by Martha Nussbaum, to evaluate the impact of the fees-free policy. Discussion highlights the value of the capabilities approach in shedding light on the conditions that enable student opportunities (or capabilities) and the constraints on their experience of outcomes (functionings). In conclusion, the study offers a new framework for applying the capability approach to evaluate equitable access and participation in tertiary education afforded by the fees-free policies in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Open Access
Queering adaptation in global cinema.
(2024) Daniel, Mathew
The following thesis elucidates my conception of queer adaptation, a theoretical formulation that reads the process of adaptation itself as queer. Queerness and adaptation share several characteristics, chief among them a sense of inclusivity and the tendency to be perceived as secondary. While both fields are individually productive, together they offer a wider range of theoretical possibilities. My conception of queer adaptation is founded in the navigation of various dichotomies: between adaptations and “original” text, between high and low culture, between dominant culture and its subversion. Rather than defining queer adaptation oppositionally, my conception centres an interplay between repetition and transformation. The queerness of a given adaptation, then, is not derived exclusively from its subversion of the text it adapts. Rather, I position these texts alongside one another as intertexts rather than within a hierarchical relationship, allowing for greater insight into adaptations and the texts they adapt. Queer adaptation, then, destabilises textual and cultural dichotomies. In order to establish my conception of queer adaptation, I begin by tracing the discourses that have animated adaptation theory. The most prominent of these discourses are fidelity and anti-fidelity, which have structured understandings of adaptation. I complement that discussion with an account of cinematic queerness. That account foregrounds depictions of queerness, but it also draws attention to queer reading strategies. These strategies are positioned as their own kind of adaptation, allowing queer viewers to read queerness in any number of texts. The discourses and reading strategies outlined in these chapters inform the arguments that follow, wherein I analyse a number of adaptations – specifically a literary adaptation, a remake, and a multimedia adaptation - in terms of their repetition and transformation of the texts they adapt. Ultimately, queer adaptation is a democratic mode of textuality that perceives every text as potentially incomplete, as suggesting any number of creative avenues to any number of possible adapters.
Open Access
Lotu and Felupe : reimagining a new and unifying approach to climate resilience in Tonga.
(2024) Liava‘a, Laiseni Fanon Charisma
Pacific islands are on the frontline of the climate crisis, and Tonga is the second most vulnerable nation on the globe to be affected by natural disasters and effects of climate change. While churches play a fundamental role in Pacific cultures, very little is written on their role in relation to climate change. This research explores and analyses churches’ response to climate change, in the context of the notion of felupe, as a new and unifying approach towards climate resilience in Tonga. Research data were collected using qualitative methods. These included; interviews of 27 participants from 9 different church denominations in Nuku‘alofa, Tonga and 5 focus-group discussions with 29 Tongans from different suburbs in Auckland, New Zealand. Data were gathered and analysed using Mullet’s General Critical Discourse Analysis Framework (GCDAF) for Educational Research. The findings revealed the diversity of beliefs and values which have underpinned the churches’ approach to climate issues. They include stewardship and responsibility to God’s creation, power of prayers, end times, God’s providence and sovereignty and linking climate change to sin. The research also emphasises the sociotheological features of felupe and how felupe is an appropriate unifying approach for churches’ climate issues in Tonga. Some features of felupe include; grabbling, gathering and holding things together, fevahevahe‘aki, and a call for women to lead. The thesis argues that Felupe is relevant in the Tongan context, because it is communal, mutual and reciprocal.