Dissertations / Theses: 'Women dramatists New Zealand'

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Najib, Roya. "Women on New Zealand corporate boards." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Accountancy, Finance and Information Systems, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/877.

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Replicating and extending Singh and Vinnicombe (2006), the primary problems addressed in this research are: What factors influence women's attainment of corporate directorships? And what are the proportions of female executive and non-executive directors and CEOs in New Zealand? Executive directors are company employees who attain board directorships via progressing through CEO and other top management roles; therefore, this study included an investigation of the proportion of women in executive and non-executive director and CEO roles in New Zealand companies. To understand women's non-progression to corporate boards, 11 male and female directors were interviewed. Contrary to international research findings, the majority of interviewees in this study emphasised the importance of networks in attaining corporate directorships in New Zealand. Explanations for women's under-representation on corporate boards included lack of networks, family commitments, pipeline theory, lack of aspiration for power, career choices, risk adversity, male organisational culture, discrimination and women's unsuitability for director roles. Archival analysis indicated that of a total of 1366 corporate directors, women constituted 88 (6.44%) directorships. Women held 64 non-executive (4.69% of total directorships), 23 executive (1.68% of total directorships) and one alternate directorship. The findings indicated that there were only five women CEOs and only five out of a total of 240 New Zealand corporate boards achieved gender equality. Social identity theory was used to provide insight into this change resistant phenomenon.

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Anderson, Vivienne, and n/a. "The experiences of international and New Zealand women in New Zealand higher education." University of Otago. Faculty of Education, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090812.101334.

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This thesis reports on an ethnographic research project that explored the experiences and perspectives of a group of women in New Zealand higher education, including international and New Zealand students and partners of international students. The study had two aims. The first was to disrupt the inattention to gender and to students' partners and families in New Zealand international education research and policy. The second was to problematise Eurocentric assumptions of (predominantly Asian) international students' 'cultural difference', and of New Zealanders' homogenised sameness. The theoretical framework for the study was informed by a range of conceptual tools, including feminist, critical theory, post-structural, and postcolonial perspectives. In drawing on feminist perspectives, the study was driven by a concern with acknowledging the importance and value of women's lives, looking for women where they are absent from policy and analysis, and attending to the mechanisms through which some women's lives are rendered invisible in internationalised higher education. In considering these mechanisms and women's lives in relation to them the study also drew on post-structural notions of discourse, power, and agency. It explored how dominant discourses in internationalised higher education reveal and reproduce historically-grounded relations of power that are intentionally or unintentionally performed, subverted and/or resisted by women and those they encounter. Using Young's (1990, 2000) approach to critical theory, the study also considered alternative ways of constructing internationalised higher education that were suggested in women's accounts. As a critical feminist ethnography the study was shaped by my theoretical framework (above), critical literature on heterogeneous social groups, and feminist concerns with relationship, reciprocity and power in the research process. Fieldwork took place during 2005 and 2006 and involved two aspects: the establishment and maintenance of an intercultural group for women associated with a higher education institution, and 28 interviews with 20 women over two years. Interviewees were recruited through the group and included eight international students, nine New Zealand students and three women partners of international students. Study findings challenged the assumption that international and local students are distinct and oppositional groups. They also highlighted the importance of recognising the legitimate presence of international students' partners and accompanying family members at all levels in higher education. International and New Zealand women alike found the intercultural group a useful source of social and practical support and information, and a point of access to other sources of support and information. Women reflected on moving between many different kinds of living and learning contexts, highlighting the importance of: clear processes and pathways for accessing information and practical support when experiencing transition; teaching that is engaging, effective, and responsive; and opportunities to develop connections with other people both on and off campus. Rather than revealing clear patterns of difference or sameness across women, the study highlighted the importance of policy, research, teaching and support practices that are open and responsive to women's actual viewpoints and needs, and that neither re-entrench difference nor assume sameness.

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Moore, L. C. "Revising the Invisible: Autobiographies by New Zealand Women." Thesis, University of Canterbury. English, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/7138.

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I define deconstructive feminist criticism as the reading of woman as sign in language and social systems. My hermeneutics acknowledge dominant constructions of woman, yet give credence to alternative female discursive technologies. This textual approach permits a coordination of feminist and deconstructive theories, by accepting that woman is always already constructed in language. The deconstructive fulcrum is the premise rather than the obstruction to female inscriptions of identity and subjectivity. Women enter the literary sphere through the schism between signifier and signified, as they attempt to reconstitute an autos which has been overwritten by exterior signifying systems. Concurrently, prioritising the graphie allows a revalidation of the study of autobiography in the cynical postmodern setting. Sylvia Ashton-Warner's I Passed this Way, Robin Hyde's A Home in this World and Janet Frame's An Autobiography are assessed within this interpretative paradigm. The three autobiographical texts are located at an intersection between dominant patriarchal discourses and a latent matrilineal tradition. I trace their nascent gestures towards the (m)Other as signifier of this alternative female continuum. In addition, each text offers a subsidiary solution to the problematics of the woman artist. I propose a strategic subtext of displaced desire for Ashton-Warner, a transgressive dialect(ic) of madness for Robin Hyde, and the elevation of language to transcendental signifier for Janet Frame. In the overarching framework of my thesis, these thematics will cross and recross as threads of subversive narrative strategies which are a women's poetics.

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Bahiss, Zainab. "Lifting the Veil: Muslim women's adjustment to a New Zealand university." The University of Waikato, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2493.

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Abstract Due to a decline in the number of domestic students in many New Zealand and other foreign Western countries' universities, there is more recruitment of international students. In New Zealand universities, beside the increase in the number of other foreign international students, the number of Muslim international students and especially Muslim women students has increased in the past few years. This is due to internationalisation of New Zealand education and the economic benefits which international students provide to New Zealand economy. The reason for undertaking this study is because as a Muslim women and a student myself, I wanted to investigate the adjustment problems of the increased number of Muslim women international students at the University of Waikato. This is because, it would provide information to researchers, theoreticians and policy developers regarding adjustment issues that might be specific to Muslim women. Unfortunately, this area is under researched; hence this study could assist in filling the vacuum in this area. The literature so far has discussed the adjustment issues of international students in general and from the literature there seems to be two main dominant areas where international students suffer adjustment problems. These two areas are the academic environment of the university and the socio-cultural environment of the university. The academic environment has many elements to which many international students are believed to face adjustment problems such as adjusting to the 'study shock'. On the other hand, in the socio-cultural environment, students are believed to face adjustment problem to the culture shock. However, there are many flaws in the existing literature which results in its weakness and hence the need for this study. In order to discuss the adjustment issues of Muslim women international students' one has to examine the educational background of these students. It is important to also examine the religious and cultural backgrounds of these students because religious beliefs and practices combined with their cultural background have an impact on their adjustment into the foreign academic and socio-cultural iii environment. Islam strongly encourages the acquisition of education for women. Looking at the history of Muslim women, one can find great scholars who achieved enormously from their right to education. However today there is great tension in the Islamic world regarding women's education which makes this issue very complex. This is due to the different interpretations of the Islamic scholars of the verses of the Quran, and Muslim people cultural and tribal codes. Therefore, many Islamic countries have taken different approaches to the education of their female population that is from very conservative to liberal ones. The qualitative approach used in this chapter helped in understanding the perspectives and world views of the respondents which would have not been possible otherwise. The confidentiality and anonymity of the respondents was catered for before conducting the interviews and pseudo names are used in this study to refer to the respondents of this study. This study is however limited in that the time constrain did not allow me to do a longitudinal study in order to discover the many un answered questions or ambiguous sentences. This study has revealed four major themes which were identified through this research as being specifically important to the adjustment of Muslim women international students. These women did not view their adjustment as a huge shift instead for them it required more of gentle shift in their adjustment. The similarities in the academic environment of the international students and that of New Zealand universities made the adjustment to the academic environment even smoother. There are also other positive adjustments these international students make while in New Zealand universities. They are more independent and are able to communicate in English language which for most international students seems to be main reason for coming to Western universities. There is need for the staff and students to understand the religious and cultural beliefs of these international students so that they can help them in the adjustment process. There is also increased need for the universities and policy developers to provide help and support for the international students. iv There are many issues that seemed to need further exploration which this study has not managed to find out. The research needs to be done to discuss the huge emotional or psychological impact on the international students' due to teachers' and local students' lack of knowledge of their religious and cultural beliefs. The researchers also need to investigate how this change in the personality and thinking of women impacts on them when they go back to their home countries. In theorisation, there is need to theorise the adjustments of students who belong to other religious and cultural groups and how it might impact their adjustment process. For the practitioners, there is need to investigate the role of the staff and institutes to clearly identify to the role of staff in how they could make international students transaction to the university smoother.

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Handel, Robyn. "New Zealand through the eyes of American women 1830 - 1915." Frankfurt, M. Berlin Bern Bruxelles New York, NY Oxford Wien Lang, 2009. http://d-nb.info/992958784/04.

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Fa'anunu, Sinama Tupou. "Experiences of Tongan Women Migrants at Paid Work in New Zealand." The University of Waikato, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2299.

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The employment experiences of Tongan women migrants have received little attention in the literature. This study therefore, sought to shed light on the dynamics of their social and economic experiences at paid work in New Zealand. It was guided by the theories of population geographies, feminist geography and postcolonialism. The inter-relationships of these theories provided insights into the influence of migration on these women's identities, ethnicity and gender relations and also how these influence these women's experiences at paid work in New Zealand. The data were drawn from two major sources: i) the New Zealand 2006 population census and ii) in-depth interviews held in Tonga and New Zealand, with greater focus on the interviews. This study revealed that the Tongan women's decisions for migrating to New Zealand were influenced by social rather than economic incentives. Migration has challenged these women's traditional roles and reconstructed their gender relations. Many are breadwinners yet Tongan born men in New Zealand still predominantly engage in the labour force and have higher personal income. Their experiences at paid work also differ from the New Zealand born Tongan women in New Zealand. These differences reflect the availability of their social networks and their familiarity with the socio-economic systems in New Zealand. They experienced successes and failures at paid work on their way to improving their lives in New Zealand.

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Morrison, Carey-Ann. "Intimate Geographies: Bodies, Underwear and Space in Hamilton, New Zealand." The University of Waikato, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2503.

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This thesis examines the ways in which a small group of young Pākehā women use underwear to construct a range of complex gendered subjectivities. I explore how these subjectivities are influenced by both material and discursive spaces. Three underwear shops in Hamilton, New Zealand - Bendon Lingerie Outlet, Bras N Things and Farmers, and various visual representations depicting contemporary notions of normative femininity, are under investigation Feminist poststructuralist theories and methodologies provide the framework for this research. One focus group and three semi-structured interviews were conducted with young women who purchase and wear underwear. Participant observations of shoppers in Bendon Lingerie Outlet, Hamilton and autobiographical journal entries of my experiences as a retailer and consumer of underwear continued throughout the research. Advertising and promotional material in underwear shops and a DVD of a Victoria's Secret lingerie show are also examined. Three points frame the analysis. First, I argue that underwear consumption spaces are discursively constructed as feminine. The socio-political structures governing these spaces construct particular types of bodies. These bodies are positioned as either 'in' place or 'out' of place. Second, underwear shops can be understood as feminised, young and thin embodied spaces. Bodies that fit this description are hence positioned as 'in' place. However, female bodies that are 'fat' and/or old and male bodies are marginalised within the space and thus positioned as 'out' of place. Third, I consider particular forms of normative femininity by examining the ways in which underwear disciplines and contains the body. Women's underwear moulds and shapes flesh to fit contemporary feminine norms. Examining the specific relationship between the body, underwear and space provides a means to re-theorise geography and makes new ground for understanding how clothed bodies are constituted in and through space.

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Woods, Megan C. "Re/producing the nation : women making identity in New Zealand, 1906-1925." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Department of History, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4827.

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In the period 1906-1925, several women's organisations offered an interpretation of political life that emphasised the role of women as maternal citizens and saviours of the "race". Through an examination of the activities of eight women's organisations, it is argued that women were active participants in the construction of the New Zealand nation. By abandoning traditional androcentric definitions of the "political", it is demonstrated how women during this period worked to extend the "private" sphere of the home into the community, and ultimately the nation. As social purists, war time voluntary workers, instructors of young women, and as mothers, New Zealand women were crucial to constructed national identities. Through emphasising traditional maternal functions, such as care and nurture, women could, and did, negotiate a place for themselves in the New Zealand nation.

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Southern, Annie Roma. "Career, Interrupted?: Psychiatric illness and Women's Career Development in Aotearoa/New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Health Sciences Centre, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4118.

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This thesis explores the experiences of a group of women in Aotearoa/New Zealand who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, with the aim of gaining some understanding about how they negotiate issues around diagnosis, recovery and resilience-development and employment. A qualitative methodology was used to encourage the women to relate their vocational and life experiences. Fifteen women, whose ages ranged from 17 to their late 60s, with a range of psychiatric diagnoses, were interviewed across ten months. One woman identified as having Māori ancestry and several identified as lesbian. Each interview, which was semi-structured, was transcribed and then verified by the women, and all data were analysed using thematic content analysis and symbolic interactionist and discourse/narrative analyses. Salient issues provided a focus for later interviews and generated theory. The thesis is organised according to major themes that were generated from the data: ‘Getting unwell and getting help,’ ‘Getting well’ and ‘Getting back to work.’ Within these broad themes, key ideas emerged around the women’s views on the difference between ‘madness’ and ‘mental illness’, the biological basis for mental distress, the impact of labelling, the importance of having a ‘literacy’ around psychiatric illness that helps foster agency, the importance of workplace accommodations and mentors in vocational settings, and the process of renegotiating vocational identity when one has a psychiatric illness. Data analysis revealed how participants make ‘sense’ of their psychiatric ill health and recovery/resilience-development experiences, create a vocational self-concept and view themselves as social beings in the current socio-political and cultural context of being New Zealanders. The women’s narratives exhibited negligible explicit gender role identification and the present research uncovered very little explicit data relevant to lesbian and bisexual women’s lives, apart from data on sexual identity disclosure. Rather the women spoke as members of a group that accepted Western diagnoses and used various strategies to reclaim what had been lost and grow new social and vocational roles. The thesis, therefore, provides a platform for understanding the experiences of women living with psychiatric illness in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It provides new information on service-users’ views of medical models of psychiatric illness and the efficacy of their alliances with mental health professionals. It also provides evidence of the needs women have for gaining and maintaining employment after diagnosis with psychiatric illness.

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Simpson, Clare S. "A social history of women and cycling in late-nineteenth century New Zealand." Lincoln University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1693.

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In the final decade of the nineteenth-century, when New Zealand women began riding the bicycle, they excited intense public debate about contemporary middle-class ideals of femininity. The research question posed is: "why did women's cycling provoke such a strong outcry?" Three nineteenth-century cycling magazines, the New Zealand Wheelman, the New Zealand Cyclist, and the New Zealand Cyclists' Touring Club Gazette, were examined, along with numerous New Zealand and British contemporary sources on women's sport and recreation, etiquette, femininity, and gender roles. The context of the late-nineteenth century signifies a high point in the modernisation of Western capitalist societies, which is characterised in part by significant and widespread change in the roles of middle-class women. The bicycle was a product of modern ideas, designs, and technology, and eventually came to symbolise freedom in diverse ways. The dual-purpose nature of the bicycle (i.e., as a mode of transport and as a recreational tool) enabled women to become more physically and geographically mobile, as well as to pursue new directions in leisure. It afforded, moreover, increasing opportunities to meet and socialise with a wider range of male acquaintances, free from the restrictions of etiquette and the requirements of chaperonage. As a symbol of the 'New Woman', the bicycle graphically represented a threat to the proprieties governing the behaviour and movements of respectable middle-class women in public. The debates which arose in response to women's cycling focused on their conduct, their appearance, and the effects of cycling on their physical and moral well-being. Ultimately, these debates highlighted competing definitions of nineteenth-century middle-class femininity. Cycling presented two dilemmas for respectable women: how could they cycle and retain their respectability? and, should a respectable woman risk damaging herself, physically and morally, for such a capricious activity as cycling? Cyclists aspired to reconcile the ignominy of their conspicuousness on the bicycle with the social imperative to maintain an impression of middleclass respectability in public. The conceptual framework of Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective is used to interpret the nature of heterosocial interactions between cyclists and their audiences. Nineteenth-century feminine propriety involved a set of performances, with both performers (cyclists) and audiences (onlookers) possessing shared understandings of how signals (impressions) ought to be given and received. Women on bicycles endeavoured to manage the impressions they gave off by carefully attending to their appearances and their behaviour, so that the audience would be persuaded to view them as respectable, despite the perception that riding a bicycle in public was risqué. In this way, women on bicycles attempted to redefine middle-class femininity. Women on bicycles became a highly visible, everyday symbol of the realities of modem life that challenged traditional gender roles and nineteenth-century formality. Cycling for New Zealand women in the 1890s thus played a key part in the transformation of nineteenth-century gender roles.

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Goldingay, Sophie Jennifer Elizabeth. "Separation or mixing: issues for young women prisoners in Aotearoa New Zealand prisons." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Social Work and Human Services, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/3740.

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Young women who serve time in adult prisons in New Zealand mix with adult prisoners, unless it is not considered safe to do so. If they do not mix, they serve their sentence in relative isolation, unable to participate in programs, recreation or other aspects of prison life. This is in contrast to male youth in prison who are placed in have specialised youth units to mitigate against the perceived negative effects of mixing with adult prisoners. Using discursive strategies to analyse texts from semi-structured interviews with young women in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) prisons and focus group interviews with iwi representatives, this study offers a challenge to dominant framings of both young and adult women prisoners. The study has shown that young women prisoners’ resilience is likely to be strengthened, and opportunities for health and well-being improved, within stable relationships with adults with whom they relate. Whanau-type structures in prison are in keeping with indigenous values and have the potential to provide mentoring relationships which may broaden the current limited subjectivities experienced by young women prisoners.

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Wanhalla, Angela C. "Gender, race and colonial identity : women and eugenics in New Zealand, 1918-1939." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Department of History, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4237.

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The very general nature of eugenics allowed many diverse groups and individuals, that on the surface had little in common, to form alliances along eugenic lines. Social and moral reformers, politicians, scientists, academics and medical authorities were among the many supporters of eugenics. This thesis traces the participation of the National Council of Women, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, and the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union, as well as female government officials and professional women who as teachers, doctors, nurses, writers, and feminists acted to produce a gendered and raced discourse of eugenics in interwar New Zealand. At the same time, it is argued that New Zealand was not merely a consumer of eugenics, as eugenics was expressed in Britain, but that it was adapted to the geographical and metaphorical spaces of New Zealand. Further, New Zealand eugenics was re-represented in its colonial form, with an emphasis on environmental reform, to Britain. Meanwhile, New Zealand's dawning nationalism saw it turn to countries beyond Britain for alternative models of eugenics, to construct and develop a New Zealand eugenics relative to the geographical, racial, economic and political terrain of the country. This thesis suggests that overseas models and influences contributed to a making of a colonial eugenics, where a distinctive New Zealand voice and anxieties were present It is also suggested that what has been written about eugenics has neglected the colonial setting and has often viewed eugenics as a monolithic discourse that was culturally and geographically invariant. In short, this thesis deals not only with gender but also with the themes of race and colonial identity, arguing that like feminism, eugenics is subject to historical specificity.

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Casertano, Renata. "Perceiving the vertigo : the fall of the heroine in four New Zealand writers." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/1695.

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In this study I analyse the role of the heroine in the work of four New Zealand writers, Katherine Mansfield, Robin Hyde, Janet Frame and Keri Hulme, starting from the assumption that such a role is influenced by the notion of the fall and by the perception of the vertigo entailed in it. In order to prove this I turn to the texts of four New Zealand writers dedicating one chapter to each. In the first chapter a few of Katherine Mansfield's short stories are analysed from the vantage point of the fall, investigated both in the construction of the character's subjectivity and in the construction of the narration. In the second chapter a link is established between Katherine Mansfield and Robin Hyde. A particular emphasis is put on the notion of subjectivity in relationship developed by the two writers, highlighting the link between this kind of subjectivity and the notion of the fall. In the third chapter the focus is subsequently shifted to Robin Hyde's work, in particular one of her novels, Wednesday's Children, which is read in the context of Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalistic. In the fourth chapter the notion of the fall is analysed in the fiction of Janet Frame, which is related to the treatment of the notion of the fall present in Keri Hulme's The Bone People. The fifth chapter is dedicated to the analysis of The Bone People as in the novel the notion of the fall and the vertigo perception find their fullest expression, whilst in the sixth chapter a significant parallel is drawn between Janet Frame's Scented Gardens for the Blind and Keri Hulme's The Bone People and links are established with their predecessors. Finally in the seventh chapter the critical perspective is broadened to comprise those common elements in the writing of Katherine Mansfield, Robin Hyde, Janet Frame and Keri Hulme that have been neglected by focusing uniquely on the notion of the fall, and thus to contribute to a more complete overall picture of the comparison presented in this study.

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Mackay, Morag. ""A Colonial Tale of Fact and Fiction": Nineteenth-Century New Zealand Novels by Women." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/1641.

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This thesis plots the emergence and development of the nineteenth-century New Zealand women's novel. Previously silenced in favour of a masculinist nationalist tradition, a renewed interest in our earliest literary foremothers has arisen as a result of feminism. Arguing for their acknowledgement as part of our literary history, this thesis examines the significance of these novels in the recording and formulation of a New Zealand culture and literature. The body of the thesis is constructed of three chapters, each representing a different literary from used by these novelists. The earliest is the adventure story, showcasing New Zealand's flora and fauna for the British reading public, and providing excitement in the from of the New Zealand wars, cannibalism, whaling and natural disasters. Second comes the romance, which portrays the developing colonial society and begins to define what it means to be a "New Zealander". Part B of this chapter discusses the treatment of Maori in these women's novels. It examines a group of romances with part-Maori protagonists, in which the novelists address the issue of the place of Maori in the new society. Last are the didactic novels, in which temperance, religion and women's rights are argued for. This thesis considers the characteristics of each of these forms of novel and examines the social and political contexts that gave rise to these choices. Through their novels these women communicate what it meant to be a colonial New Zealand woman - revealing their views on such issues as colonisation, relationship with Maori, the new "classless" society, marriage, and opportunities for women. They reveal a concern with the development of "the New Zealander", a New Zealand literature and culture, and evidence a developing sense of national identity.

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Palmer, Gillian R. "Birth mothers : adoption in New Zealand and the social control of women, 1881-1985." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Department of History, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4826.

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This thesis profiles the lives of women in New Zealand, comparing these generalised experiences to emerging adoption law from a feminist perspective. Although this thesis covers adoption's legislative history from its inception, it concentrates on the era of closed adoptions, from 1955-1985. This period encompasses a period in adoption history in which women were forced to surrender their children and then silenced and forgotten. This thesis draws on secondary sources and interviews with birth mothers in Christchurch from as long ago as 1940 and from as recently as 1979. Women who gave up their children for adoption were given a 'choice' to adoption or to keep their child. However, the issue in not necessarily one of the birth mother's 'choice', rather it is the conditions under which choices are made. Birth mothers were rendered powerless and invisible by the adoption process. The law' and practice of adoption in New Zealand is examined as a form of social control over birth mothers, the women who gave up their children for adoption. This form of social control is, it is argued, a result of the patriarchal power relations. It is argued that adoption has formed part of population ideology and control, supporting the nuclear family and maintaining the patriarchal status quo.

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Jenkins, Sherida L. "Body Image and Eating Attitudes: Comparing Chinese Females with Other Females living in New Zealand." The University of Waikato, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2325.

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Eating disorders affect individuals from most ethnic backgrounds. Research suggests that White females experience the greatest levels of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. Studies examining Chinese females found they experienced similar levels of disordered eating but less body dissatisfaction to White females. This study was conducted to examine the prevalence of eating disorder symptomatology in Chinese and Other ethnicities in New Zealand. A sample of female university students at the University of Waikato completed questionnaires (N=116) to assess disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. In contrast to previous findings Chinese females actually exhibited more disordered eating behaviours and body dissatisfaction attitudes than did other females living in New Zealand. Also, fear of weight gain was more likely to be exhibited by Chinese females than other females. Pressure to be thin came from similar sources for both Chinese and other female students. While, length of time living in New Zealand did not appear to alter Chinese females' levels of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. However in keeping with previous research, the present findings did suggest that the data from this study support the suggestion that the EAT-26 may not be an appropriate measure for Chinese females when assessing eating disorders. These findings have important implications for future research on ethnicities and eating disorders, and for clinicians working with Chinese female clients.

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Marsh, Kate. "People Out of Place: Representations and Experiences Of Female Homelessness In Christchurch, New Zealand (Aotearoa)." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology and Anthropology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/965.

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This anthropological thesis focuses on female homelessness in Christchurch, New Zealand. I am interested in how different groups in society understand female homelessness and how their perceptions compare to the experiences of homeless women. Consequently, my research centres on the narratives of women who have experienced homelessness providing a view from the "inside". It is also concerned with representations of homelessness in the media and by service providers. The different representations raise issues relating to "normalisation" and "abnormalisation", classification and dichotomisation, self-governance and control, and social participation. I take up these issues to explore the social exclusion of homeless women. My research reveals a dominant homelessness discourse as well as one that might be considered a counter-discourse. The first suggests a dehumanising and unsympathetic approach as it situates homeless people as "abnormal" and "deviant" while the second suggests an empathetic and charitable approach as it situates homeless people as "normal" and "human". The media seem to reflect and reinforce the dominant discourse while service providers seem to reflect the counter-discourse. The women's narratives indicate that they reinforce the dominant discourse by internalising social norms. However, they are unable to reproduce them. Disconnection from mainstream society results in their being caught in a cycle they find difficult to break. This research shows that homeless women are predominantly positioned as social failures. They seem to be unable, or do not know how, to reproduce social norms, to govern themselves and to create meaningful and enduring social networks. Essentially, I explore why homeless women often remain on the periphery of society as "outsiders" and why they find it so difficult to transcend their circumstances. As there has been no contemporary research undertaken specifically on homeless women in New Zealand, I hope the current research will provide a building block for further research on what I conclude is a marginalised and socially excluded group of people who are dominantly portrayed as dysfunctional and "out of place".

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Rosewall, Juliet Mary. "Prevalence, Correlates and Moderators of Eating Pathology in New Zealand Women, Adolescent and Preadolescent Girls." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2223.

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Despite the fact that eating disorders (EDs) and their subclinical variants are important health concerns, very little research has examined eating pathology and body image, including the factors that may contribute to their development, in New Zealand. Based on the Sociocultural Model of Eating Pathology, this thesis comprises four studies that aimed to identify the factors that may interact with different parts of this model to predict eating pathology. As part of each study, the cross-cultural validity of the assessment measures used was also examined. Across all four studies, the prevalence rates of eating pathology and associated pathology were comparable to overseas estimates. Participants for Study One were 243 adolescent girls recruited from secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. Participants completed questionnaires assessing eating pathology, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, perfectionism, self-esteem, teasing and perceived sociocultural pressure. Regression analyses demonstrated that body dissatisfaction, socially prescribed (SP) perfectionism and negative affect uniquely predicted eating pathology in the adolescent sample. Moderator analyses indicated that high levels of SP and self-oriented (SO) perfectionism, negative affect, perceived pressure from others and the media, and low levels of self-esteem all increased the effect of body dissatisfaction on eating pathology among adolescents. Study Two examined the same risk factors among 170 preadolescent girls from primary schools in Christchurch, New Zealand, and found that body dissatisfaction, SP perfectionism and teasing independently predicted eating pathology. High levels of SO and SP perfectionism, perceived media pressure and low levels of self-esteem strengthened the body dissatisfaction-eating pathology relation. The goal of Study Three was to test the factors that serve to amplify the risk of internalising societal standards of thinness among 202 university women recruited from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. The participants completed questionnaires measuring perfectionism, sociocultural pressure to be thin, anorectic cognitions and anti-fat attitudes. Results indicated that social pressure and information about appearance standards independently predicted thin ideal internalization but no statistically significant moderators were found. Finally, taking another approach to studying women at high or low risk for eating problems, Study Four sought to examine and describe the characteristics of women with a high body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) who were not dissatisfied with their bodies and also women who were dissatisfied with their bodies but were not engaging in pathological eating behaviour. Participants were 166 university women recruited from the University of Canterbury who completed the Personality Assessment Inventory (1991) and questionnaires relating to body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. Both of the above-mentioned groups were characterised by lower overall distress, such as lower levels of anxiety, depression and borderline features. Overall, this research suggests that disordered eating and body image concerns occur among New Zealand women, adolescent and preadolescent girls at rates similar to Europe and North America. There was reasonable support for the validity of many of the assessment measures used. The research also highlights some factors that may influence the development of eating pathology among these populations and provides possible leads for future longitudinal research and, ultimately, prevention efforts.

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Devonport, Bernadette Frances. "Women in accounting: their careers and membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. History, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/986.

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This thesis studies the relationship between the careers of women in accounting in New Zealand in the twentieth century and their membership of, and contribution to, the major accounting association in this country, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand. The relationship is placed within historical context. In recent decades there has been much research on the experiences of female professionals in their workplaces but little of this research has been on the involvement of these women in their professional associations. Yet these associations have an important role in defining, controlling and representing professions. This thesis argues, using accounting as an example, that there is a parallel between the careers of professional women and their participation in their professional associations. In New Zealand, as the social climate changed during the twentieth century so too did women's membership in the Institute and their employment as public accountants. The level and type of women's contribution in the Institute has reflected their participation in the wider profession.

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Doherty, Maureen Anne, and maureen doherty@cce ac nz. "Sources of Influence on Professional Practice: A Study of Five Women Principals in Aotearoa/New Zealand." Griffith University. School of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, 2003. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20030806.121232.

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Prior to 1989, in New Zealand, very few women were represented in senior leadership positions in schools, especially co-educational secondary schools. Following the 1989 Education Act, commonly referred to as the 'Tomorrow's Schools' legislation, women began to be appointed in increasing numbers to school principalships. In New Zealand, as in other western democracies where New Right ideologies have impacted on educational policy, the role of the school principal has become more demanding and complex. If principals are to be supported in this role, it is considered important that the knowledge and experiences which influence their professional practice are better understood so that professional development programmes are targeted appropriately. This study builds on previous studies of women's experiences of leadership in education (Neville, 1988; Shakeshaft, 1989, 1995; Strachan, 1991, 1997; Court, 1992; Ozga & Walker, 1995; Hall, 1996; Coleman, 1996, 2000; Ah Nee-Benham & Cooper, 1998; Henderson-Kelly & Pamphilon, 2000; McCarthy, 2001; McLay & Brown, 2001) but has as its focus, the sources of influence on five women principals' practice. It has a complementary focus to McLay's and Brown's (2001) study of women headteachers in UK independent secondary schools. They investigated the women's formal training but also sought to find out what life experiences might have prepared them for the role of leading a school. Ah Nee-Benham's and Cooper's (1998) narratives of minority women in school leadership positions in the United States provided the inspiration for this study of five New Zealand principals. While the women in this study are not 'voices from the margins' as are the women in Ah Nee-Benham's and Cooper's study, through the use of narrative and other qualitative methods, their individual accounts capture the voice of experience which is too often missing from the educational leadership literature (Ah Nee-Benham & Cooper, 1998; Heck & Hallinger, 1999; Southworth, 2001). The women's stories add collectively to an emerging literature base which seeks to unravel how leaders actually think and work. This study specifically examines five women principals' personal theories and beliefs about leadership and investigates how their personal histories and career experiences have influenced their professional knowledge and practice. The research methods reflect a commitment to understanding the women's experiences from their perspectives and their stories are seen as providing a window into what they know. Methods such as concept mapping, open-ended unstructured interviews and annals (snake diagrams) help unpack their personal theories about leadership as well as assist understanding of the influence of their personal histories and professional experiences. The educational leadership literature provides a useful starting point to analyse the first part of the research question regarding the women's conceptions of leadership. The literature acknowledges various approaches to leadership, three of which may be called 'moral/critical', 'people-centred' and 'corporate managerial'. Respectively, they each have 'world-views' which emphasise 'ideals', 'people' and 'efficiency'. In this study, I aim to identify what 'world-views' underpin the women's conceptions of leadership but also how they have constructed these concepts. The different needs of each of their schools in association with the principals' own backgrounds and values systems have strongly influenced their varying conceptions of leadership. While on one level their beliefs are unique, on another, they reveal some common themes. The principals are people-focussed but this commitment is underpinned by deeply held ideals about the purpose of schools enriching lives. Efficient management systems are seen as important supporting concepts to assisting people and accomplishing ideals. In order to answer the second part of the research question regarding how the women's personal histories and professional experiences have influenced their professional knowledge and practice, this study drew on the findings of an Australian study which investigated the sources of influence on teacher knowledge in action (McMeniman, Cumming, Wilson, Stevenson & Sim, 2000). It provided the platform and focus for the current study of women principals. A key finding of this study is that the women's beliefs and practices have been influenced by both their personal histories and various career experiences which have assisted them to grow professionally. Central to their learning from these experiences, however, is the way in which the individual interprets or filters experience and actively constructs meaning. Principals' knowledge bases are socially constructed but mediated by their personal theories. Learning from experiences in the workplace has a critical influence especially if it is scaffolded by experts (Billett, 2001) or if there is a community of practice (Wenger, 1998, 2000) encouraging participation. When this learning is augmented by various research access points (McMeniman et al., 2000) such as critical dialogue with peers, in-service education and formal postgraduate studies, it potentially has a direct and daily influence on principals' practice. Although this study is limited to an analysis of five women principals, the commonalities in the sources of influence on their practice, lead one to suggest that the findings may have relevance for other principals, both male and female, and possibly other practitioners.

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Heath, Adrienne. "Women's Views about the Characteristics of the 'Ideal Woman Worker': A Preliminary Study." The University of Waikato, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2433.

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The initial reason I undertook this preliminary study was to inform myself and others about the views of women about the expectations of them as 'ideal workers' in paid employment. What resulted was a piece of research focused on women who recently graduated from the School of Education at the University of Waikato. This preliminary study challenged me in many ways. It challenged my existing knowledge, it challenged my beliefs and most of all it challenged me to think about the world of women through very many different sets of eyes. When I began this preliminary study there was very little previous research, which encouraged me greatly. I felt there was a large window of opportunity to present some initial findings about women and their role as 'ideal workers' in paid employment. The literature review investigated scholarly research and the TEC documents, resulting in the establishment of three macro-level elements that assist in creating the 'ideal worker'. Using feminist theory and three feminist critiques I constructed a reformulation of the 'ideal woman worker'. This preliminary study used a qualitative approach. A semi-structured interview technique was used to gather information from 5 participants. The women, aged 25 or over, had recently completed their Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary). The selected findings revealed the experiences and views of the women participants which were presented as four main themes. These were the skill to manage demands between family and work, the capacity to care, the expertise to communicate, and the ability to be flexible. Three themes within the discussion were the gap between the TEC documents and women's views, the dominance of 'woman-ness', and the evidence of political ignorance. One of two main points of interest raised within the discussion was the tension between the New Right ideologies of previous governments, and the 'Third Way' ideologies of our current government. The evidence suggests that the tension between these ideologies is creating a gap between policy documents, in this case the TEC, and the understandings of the female respondents. The other main point of interest was the way women continue to adopt and appear to accept the traditional gender stereotypes. The women respondents iv involved in this preliminary study valued the capacity of women to care and nurture in both the private and public sphere. They also appeared to accept that these 'gender specific' attributes were not necessarily valued within the public sphere. In other words, these women accepted the inequalities that are still part of the world of 'paid' work. Recommendations were formulated for future theory, research and practice for those who are interested in pursuing aspects of this preliminary study. The recommendations may assist in moulding, refining and shaping the future of tertiary education, the role that women perform within the public and private sphere, and possibly the 'ideal woman worker' in New Zealand.

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Zhu, Dan. "Managerial sex role stereotyping among Chinese students in New Zealand." Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/822.

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The management literature in gender issues argues that in spite of the progress made in the last few decades, women still face difficulties in being accepted and recognised as managers because the manager’s role has been perceived as masculine. Gender stereotypes, hence, continue to become a barrier to women’s access to top management position. This study examines the perceptions of the relationship between sex role stereotypes and the perceived characteristics necessary for managerial success among Chinese students in New Zealand. The study sample consisted of 94 male Chinese students and 119 female Chinese students studying in New Zealand. In order to allow for cross-cultural comparisons, this study used a direct replication the Schein Descriptive Index (SDI) from previous study (Schein & Mueller, 1992). The male and female perceptions on the relationship between sex role stereotypes and characteristics were analysed separately. The results revealed that both male and female Chinese students in New Zealand perceive that successful middle managers possess characteristics, attitudes and temperaments more commonly ascribed to men than to women in general. In addition, the results were compared with previous studies conducted in China and Japan, New Zealand, America, Britain, Canada, and Germany. Our findings conclude that Asian people are worse than Western people in respect to managerial sex role stereotyping, particularly, Chinese males who show a very strong degree of managerial gender stereotyping. Multiple discriminant analysis was used to discriminate the relationship between men, women and middle managers on 92 items from the survey questionnaire. The analysis resulted in two separate canonical functions which distinguished between three groups women, men and managers).

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Cheung, Eric Sui Ting. "Media consumption patterns of Taiwanese women living in New Zealand and their implications for adjustment to New Zealand society this thesis is submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Communication Studies, 2003 /." Full thesis. Abstract, 2003. http://puka2.aut.ac.nz/ait/theses/CheungE.pdf.

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Talwar, Ruchika. "Correlates and Predictors of Dysfunctional Eating Attitudes and Behaviours in a Non-clinical New Zealand Female Sample." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2652.

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Eating disorders are among the most common psychological problems faced by women. Perfectionism, impulsivity and poor self-esteem have been identified as significant risk factors for the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Further, elevated body mass has been found to amplify the effect of these risk factors on the development of eating pathology. However, although the symptoms associated with eating disorders have been theorised to lie on a continuum with frank eating disorders at one end and normative eating concerns at the other, there is limited research and findings are mixed about the correlates and predictors of dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours in non-clinical populations. The present research contributes to a clearer understanding of risk factors associated with dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours in non-clinical populations. Correlational analyses in the present study indicated that dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours are associated with increased perfectionism, lowered self-esteem and elevated body mass. Regression analyses identified body dissatisfaction as a significant predictor of bulimic symptomatology. Further research is needed to extend these results. The current study found that dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours occur in non-clinical populations and are associated with similar risk factors to those associated with eating pathology in clinical populations. Further, it advocates the need for early detection and intervention of eating disturbances in at risk non-clinical samples, particularly in relation to body image dissatisfaction. Finally, it highlights the need for further research focussing on non-clinical samples in order to more clearly understand the correlates and predictors of dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours in these populations.

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Fogarty, Philippa Ruth. ""The Shrieking Sisterhood;: A Comparative Analysis of the Suffrage Movement in the United States and New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. American Studies, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1001.

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The intention of this thesis is to draw attention to a much neglected part of women's suffrage history - that is, a comparative analysis of the suffrage movements in New Zealand and the United States. Historians have dismissed any suggestion of similarities between the two groups because' of the obvious differences in size and the time taken to gain the vote. However, this study reveals parallels between the two movements in terms of membership, leadership, ideologies and opposition. This is particularly highlighted in the comparison with Wyoming. These similarities, together with New Zealand women's new found 'prestige' after having won the vote, led to close relations between women of the two countries, as revealed in personal correspondence. By the late l890s United States suffragists had changed direction in both their tactics and arguments for suffrage and this, together with distance and a lack of time and money, meant that New Zealand suffragists aid was confined to emotional support rather than practical assistance. This study was, to a certain degree, limited by the lack of availability of United States primary sources. However, the Kate Sheppard Collection contains a wealth of correspondence between the New Zealand and United States suffragists and provides ample information to support the thesis. Prior to the examination of the interaction of the suffrage movements in New Zealand and the United States, we will first of all begin by considering the broader context of women's role in society. This is will be followed with a study of -the historiography of women's suffrage in Wyoming and New Zealand. We will then proceed to a comparative analysis of the leaders and supporters of the two movements. In New Zealand the women's suffrage and women's temperance organizations were inseparably linked, hence the comparative natured analysis dictates that points for comparison should be made in relation to the temperance origins of suffrage in the United States and New Zealand and to leaders with temperance links.

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Gibson, Helen Margaret. "The Invisible Whiteness of Being: the place of Whiteness in Women's Discourses in Aotearoa/New Zealand and some implications for Antiracist Education." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Education, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1050.

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This thesis asks two central questions. First, what is the range of racialised discourses that constitute the subjectivities of some Pakeha ('white'/European) women? Second, can an examination of racialised discourses be useful for present social justice and antiracist pedagogy? The research examines and analyses a range of discourses of Whiteness that contribute to the constitution of contemporary Pakeha women as racialised subjects. Central to the thesis is an analysis of dominant discourses and the contemporary challenges that analyses of racism and aspects of identification present in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The study is qualitative and draws on insights from discourse analysis theory, critical Whiteness theory and feminist approaches to theories on racism and 'white' supremacy. The analysis is located in the historicised context of contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand where a Treaty, Te Tiriti O Waitangi, which was signed by some hapu, the tangata whenua of Aotearoa, and representatives of the British Crown in 1840, underpins current socio-cultural politics of biculturalism. The thesis argues/contends that racialised discourses, in particular various discourses of Whiteness are available to contemporary Pakeha women. The analysis is grounded in both a preliminary focus group and individual interviews of 28 Pakeha women ranging in age from 24 to 86 years, the majority of whom were aged between 40 and 55 years. With few exceptions, participants revealed that they were constituted within discourses of Whiteness through their communication choices and discursive strategies in the interviews in two distinct ways: firstly in their perceptions expressed in their narratives and recollections, and secondly in the discursive forms used in participants' interactions during the focus group and interviews. These 28 women, some of whom had participated in antiracist education such as Treaty of Waitangi workshops, utilised discourses that exposed the pervasiveness and significance of racialised discourses as they attempted express how they learned to be 'white'. Participants maintained and reproduced discourses of Whiteness that had gendered and some class influences contained in their perceptions, talk and significantly in their silences. The analysis shows how remnants of essentialist ideologies of 'race' based in the nineteenth century imperialism are constantly reworked and are seemingly invisible to those constituted within these racialised discourses, apparently giving these outdated representations no chance to fade away. Based on the analysis, critical pedagogies of Whiteness in education that incorporate an epistemic approach are suggested, which have the potential to facilitate Pakeha women's ability to conceptualise their racialised discursive location. As an outcome of this understanding, the thesis maintains that Pakeha will have the capability to strategically reconceptualise their discursive constitution in order to address the complex forms of identity, understanding of difference and representation. Furthermore, these reconceptualisations have the potential to reveal the central relationship between dominant discursive formulations and social norms and structures, a vital constituent in contemporary social justice education.

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Meares, Carina. "From the rainbow nation to the land of the long white cloud : migration, gender and biography : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology,Massey University, Albany, New Zealand /." Massey University Institutional Repository: From the Rainbow Nation to the Land of the Long White Cloud : migration, gender and biography, 2007. http://muir.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/625.

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Prebble, Catherine Mary. "Ordinary men and uncommon women : a history of psychiatric nursing in New Zealand public mental hospitals, 1939-1972 /." e-Thesis University of Auckland, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/1516.

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Halder, Nomita. "Effective representation of women legislators in parliaments: a case study of New Zealand in theoretical and global perspectives." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Political Science, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4780.

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Barriers to women's effective representation are examined along two main dimensions. Firstly, barriers are identified that hinder women's legislative participation and secondly, barriers are identified against women's effective representation. Effectiveness is the ability to exercise power to make an impact. But the sources of power that leads to effectiveness may sometimes remain inadequately accessible to women. Barriers to participation and barriers to effectiveness are interrelated. Broadly barriers can be classified as societal, institutional and structural. However, women legislators of some countries are quite successful in overcoming those barriers. A number of hypotheses regarding barriers, effective parliamentary representation, conducive systems and strategies are tested through this empirical research.

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Julian, Elizabeth. "Reading the landscapes of their lives an exploration of and resource for the spirituality of women teachers in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand /." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2000. http://www.tren.com.

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Vanderpyl, Jane. "Aspiring for unity and equality : dynamics of conflict and change in the 'by women for women' feminist service groups, Aotearoa/New Zealand (1970-1999)." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/87.

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This thesis examines the emergence and subsequent development of feminist activist service groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand feminist movements from the 1970s to the 1990s. It specifically considers, the Women's Centres, Women's Health Collectives, Women's Refuges and Rape Crisis groups. Feminism in the groups was closely linked to the internal processes of organising as a collective based on 'women's ways of working'. The groups merged a radical feminist political orientation with a service orientation as they developed services 'for women by women'. The study was based on a qualitative analysis of published and unpublished documents of activist service groups, and open-ended interviews with 65 women discussing their experiences of working in activist service groups. Two distinct phases of change to the internal organisation of the groups between 1970 and 1999 have been identified and examined. In the first phase, (1970s - 1980s), radical feminist collective ways of working acquired the status of a taken for granted institutional norm among the groups. These groups organised as women-only collectives, utilised consensus decision-making, embodied ideals of non-hierarchy, and had aspirations of sisterhood between women. The second phase (from the late 1980s) was marked by modification of the radical feminist collective, as groups experienced internal and external pressures to adopt bureaucratic practices. Major pressures included the shift by the state to contract funding of the groups, the changing participation of paid and unpaid workers in the daily work of the groups, and the increasing formal differentiation between employers and employees. These changes were a major source of conflict and tension, as the groups modified their organisations to include differentiation of roles, specialisation of positions and formal hierarchy. At the same time groups sustained aspects of radical feminist collective organising. Dealing with differences was a major site of tension and conflict in the activist service groups. Groups implemented various strategies to address differences between women in relation to race/ethnicity, sexuality and class. A major focus of the groups was the development of bicultural relations between Māori and non-Māori. Models of biculturalrelations in the predominantly Pākehā groups ranged from increasing Māori representation in the groups, to the formation of alliances between independent groups or alliances between ethnic-specific groups in the same organisation. These strategies were mostly framed in terms of a binary opposition between oppressed and oppressor, and along a single axis of oppression. Nevertheless, the groups' attempts to 'deal with differences' between women were important in challenging assumptions of genderbased commonality between all women. In spite of these conflicts and associated changes, participants in the activist service groups attempted to maintain inclusive, non-hierarchical, empowering organisations 'for women by women'. In the 1990s, many of the feminist activist service groups continued to pursue democratic collective ways of working and to engage in a politics of difference in their organisations.

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Shephard, Sonia Lee. "The Sociocultural Model of Eating Disorders in New Zealand Women: Family Food-Related Experiences and Self-Compassion as Moderators." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/7261.

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Eating disorders are debilitating psychiatric conditions which often result in severe impairment in many life domains. The sociocultural model specifies mechanisms through which sociocultural pressure leads to eating pathology among young women (Stice, 1994) and posits that exposure to the Western cultural thin ideal, internalization of the ideal and experience of a difference between self and ideal leads to body dissatisfaction, which is a well validated precursor to eating pathology. The current research examined whether the relationships between awareness of Western appearance ideals, internalization of such ideals, and body dissatisfaction were moderated by family food-related experiences and self-compassion. The current paper also investigated whether the strength of relationships between awareness of Western appearance ideals, internalization of such ideals, and body dissatisfaction are affected by certain types of family food-related experiences. Female university students (N = 106) completed self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that mindfulness, a constituent of self-compassion, moderated the relationship between internalization of cultural thinness standards and body dissatisfaction. In addition, self-compassion, each component of self-compassion and women’s perception of negative maternal family food-related experiences predicted internalization of Western societal norms of thinness, as well as body dissatisfaction. Moreover, women’s perception of negative paternal family food-related experiences predicted body dissatisfaction. Women’s perception of negative maternal commentary predicted internalization of Western beauty standards and body dissatisfaction. Finally, women’s perception of negative paternal commentary and paternal modelling of eating difficulties and body image concerns predicted internalization of those values. Future research should attempt to clarify causal relationships among self-compassion and family food-related experiences within the sociocultural model of eating disorders.

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McKee, Margaret. "Taking the dharma into their lives : a study of New Zealand women who have chosen to undertake Buddhist practice." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Religious Studies, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/8126.

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This study presents a view of New Zealand women in Buddhism, based on information supplied by 62 women who have personally decided to undertake Buddhist practise. It excludes those from Buddhist family backgrounds. The aim of the study is to portray these women from sociological, religious, and psychological points of view. Survey techniques involved the use of interviews and questionnaires. Questions were predominantly open-ended in order to obtain both factual data and personal opinions. Chapters 2 and 3 record background data to provide an overview of the women, including their reasons for turning to Buddhism, and some of the ways in which it has influenced their attitudes and actions. Chapter 4 explains why 'conversion' is a proper term to use when describing these women's Buddhist practice even though it differs from the familiar Christian form. Chapters 5 and 6 describe what women and Buddhism each give to the other. They also include a criticism of Buddhism's patriarchal structure. Chapter 7 discusses the women's views on possible future changes to Western Buddhist communities in New Zealand.

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Caldwell, Frances Elizabeth. "‘Educating ‘Shelias’: What are the social class issues for mature working-class women studying at contemporary New Zealand universities?’." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Educational Studies and Human Development, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2361.

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“…And you think you’re so clever and classless and free… …But we’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see. A working-class hero is something to be…” (Song sung by Marianne Faithfull, 1990). The quote above illustrates the conflict highlighted by this study between workingclass struggle (and possible middle-class exploitation) and working-class hopes and aspirations for a middle-class future. It also reflects the uncomfortable sense of being “between two worlds” and “belonging nowhere” that is described by the mature, working-class women university students in my study. This feeling of being not quite one thing or another is expressed in Lucey, Melody and Walkerdine’s (2002) phrase “uneasy hybrids”. It encapsulates the struggles, conflicts and successes faced by the four women in my study as they attempted to juggle family, study and work commitments, dealt with relationship break-ups, unexpected academic successes, and learned how to adapt to a middle-class environment. The project involved five case studies (although in the end only four were fully used) using a semi-structured interview and additional focus group discussion approach. My participants were four mature working-class women who were currently studying at a New Zealand University. Little research has been done on this demographic, particularly in New Zealand, despite interest generated by the 1980s British film Educating Rita. I compared my findings, in which the key themes were alienation, overwhelming struggle, strategising, and unexpected advantages and successes, with the issues raised in the film. There were some similarities in terms of relationship-break-down and not belonging being part of upward social mobility. However, it appeared the reality of changing class is less tidy, speedy and comfortable than Rita’s filmic ending, where she successfully incorporated her original working-class and new middle-class identities. The literature appeared to support the experiences of my participants who, despite their academic successes, talked about an on-going, disturbing sense of feeling “like a fraud”.

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Goodwin, K. M. "Class, gender and ethnicity performance amongst Polish women in the United Kingdom and New Zealand/Aotearoa : an intersectional perspective." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2017. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1559798/.

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In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the migration of Polish citizens within Europe, especially post EU accession. There is, however, little research on the movement of such migrants further afield, especially in the context of individualised lifestyle migration. This thesis is based on in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation/participation with Polish women living in United Kingdom and New Zealand/Aotearoa. Using Butler’s theory of performativity and Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to self-presentation I consider how class, gender and ethnicity intersect, and how they are expressed in Polish women’s behaviour in two very different geographical, socio-economic, cultural and political environments. My data show how Polish women’s femininity and gender practices change in a response to their different social location in both New Zealand and the UK, and how these are affected by varying levels of social inclusion of women, Poles and migrants in both these countries. My findings demonstrate that although in both NZ and UK Polish women feel more included as women, in the UK their ethnicity and migration status locate them in a lower societal strata. Further, in NZ Polish women felt more included as women, Poles and migrants, and the way they performed gender and ethnicity did not require ‘resistance practices’ to counteract ethnic and class stigma. I also show how discourses of migration to both these places are rooted in the history of the Polish-English and Polish-New Zealand relations, and inform the way Polish women narrate their experience. As I use an intersectional approach in both methodology and theoretical framework, the focus is on the intersecting nature of my respondents’ social identities, and the way their migrant experience is classed and gendered. Although my work is anthropological/sociological in its approach (ethnography) and subject (e.g. focus on class), I also draw on my background from crosscultural and social psychology (e.g. the work of Hofstede) to broaden the theoretical perspectives traditionally adopted in migration studies.

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McDaniels, Ivy. ""Beautiful external life to watch and ponder" : Katherine Mansfield confronting the material : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1295.

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Kuiper, Alison C. "Education for occupational change: a study of institutional retraining in New Zealand." Lincoln University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1068.

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In the Western world, and specifically in New Zealand, a major impetus for retraining has arisen quite recently and gone largely unnoticed. The new social phenomenon, retraining in the sense of education for occupational change, is examined in this study. Alongside the three traditionally recognised groups of adult learners: those learning for leisure; second chance learners who have been previously educationally disadvantaged; and upskillers who seek to enhance their existing credentials through further tertiary education; is a fourth; the reskillers, those who are seeking education for occupational change. Women are shown to be pioneers in leading social change in this area of retraining. The key questions investigated in this thesis concern the existence of this new phenomenon in New Zealand; whether it is national or worldwide; and whether its origins are local or international. Whether there are distinctive characteristics to the manifestation of this phenomenon in New Zealand is investigated by examining current policy and practice. Additional questions concern whether there are feature of New Zealand employment or education which make upskilling and reskilling more or less likely in this country; the significance of women being the first to take up education for occupational change and what can be learnt from comparison with other countries specifically the Netherlands and England. Education takes place within a set of intersecting socio-political contexts. In the modern world these are simultaneously international, national, local and institutional. They impact on participants in a course of study yet are not often manifest to the individual. 'Learning for life’ is a significant area of both international and national socio-political concern, manifesting itself in a significant set of public discourses and in social phenomena which, as in this case of education for occupational change, are little researched or understood. The historical evolution of public policy relating to adult learners, internationally, and in New Zealand, is documented, with a particular focus on the period from the 1960s onwards. The major theoretical and ideological constructs are outlined and critiqued particularly with reference to public policy in New Zealand. Analysis shows an inexorable shift over time away from knowledge and skills attained through praxis, to knowledge and skills attained through formal institutionalised learning. At the same time as this change was taking place, participation rates in first secondary, and then tertiary, education rose. Concurrently more and more women entered tertiary education in order to make their way into an increasingly credentialised workforce. It is suggested that, credentials are used for screening purposes in addition to providing individuals with knowledge and skills needed for the occupations they enter. Case studies are used to illustrate and document these changes. Policies relating to learning for life are examined with reference to three different countries: New Zealand, England and the Netherlands. Provision of tertiary education for adults is investigated, and then illustrated through the coverage provided by institutions in three cities, Christchurch, Leicester and Utrecht. These studies show that different countries are subject to international geo-political and ideological forces but respond to them in locally and historically determined ways. The case study/qualitative analysis of the Christchurch Polytechnic’s Next Step Centre for Women and the New Outlook for Women courses illustrates the ways in which the twists and turns of public policy in New Zealand over thirty years have affected women wishing to seek education for occupational change. A quantitative study of mature students and their motivations for returning to study at the Christchurch Polytechnic allows for the impact of public policy and institutional provision on a group of mature individuals to be assessed. The study concludes that education for occupational change appears to be more advanced in New Zealand than in the European countries chosen for comparison. This may result more from individual initiative and the conditions which promote this, than from state policy direction or institutional provision. Policy consequences are proposed on the basis of these findings.

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Thomas, Elizabeth Ann. "Appropriation, subversion and separatism : the strategies of three New Zealand women novelists : Jane Mander, Robin Hyde and Sylvia Ashton-Warner." Thesis, University of Canterbury. School of Humanities, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2022.

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In this thesis I propose to examine the relationship between three New Zealand woman novelists, Jane Mander, Robin Hyde and Sylvia Ashton-Warner, and the literary and social structures which prevailed in New Zealand at the time when each writer produced her works. My analysis is based on the contemporary feminist literary theory and criticism which highlights the importance of studying women writers' interaction with the cultural system and the literary differences which arise from the difference in gender. I begin with an outline of the feminist literary theories which have shaped my approach. Then I deal with each of my subjects in succession. In respect of each, I outline the social circumstances, in particular the prevailing ideologies pertaining to women's roles. This is followed by discussion of the literary circumstances, once again with special attention to the position of women writers. The analysis of the texts which follows focusses on three main areas, namely the response of each to the patriarchal dominance of society, to the constructs of female identity imposed by society and to the norms of the dominant literary tradition. The conclusions I reach are that these writers adopt three main strategies in their texts in reaction to the social and literary contexts, namely appropriation, subversion and separatism.

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Lambert, Kelly Ann. "Calling the taniwha : Mana Wahine Maori and the poetry of Roma Potiki : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in New Zealand Literature /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/995.

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Fankhauser, Rochelle A. "Dear Father." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 1998. http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/u?/MTAF,34215.

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Mara, Diane Lysette. "Theories and narratives : Pacific women in tertiary education and the social construction of ethnic identities in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/154.

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Caudwell, Catherine Barbara. "Failure for dummies : intersections in emotive objects, busy women and meaningful pursuits : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand." Massey University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1268.

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This extended essay explores a historical investigation into the connections between women and machines, particularly focusing on the traditionally gendered processes of sewing, weaving and other processes deemed ‘handicrafts’ and how they parallel techniques in the evolution of the technologies we recognise today. Within this relationship, the nature of these acts to provide comfort is investigated and related to the practice of art making. This historical lineage is examined in the present day where digital and electronic technologies impact everyday life and cause new a brand of anxieties that require a fresh approach to healing and soothing. Through the analysis of this research my practical input and output are informed and result in the development of an installation of objects that examine the electronic object and how it can be imbued with or reflect these realities.

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Bathula, Hanoku. "Board characteristics and firm performance evidence from New Zealand : a thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), 2008 / Hanoku Bathula." Full thesis Abstract, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/376.

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Due to various corporate scandals and failures, there has been a renewed interest on the role of boards in the performance of firms. This thesis examines the relationship between the key board characteristics and firm performance. Unlike most studies on boards which predominantly use only financial variables affecting governance, I take a different approach by combining them with non-financial variables. This combined set of variables is used for theoretical and empirical modelling. Based on the extant literature, I develop a conceptual framework and a set of hypotheses to examine the relationship between board characteristics and firm performance. Board characteristics considered in this research include board size, director ownership, CEO duality, gender diversity, educational qualification of board members and number of board meetings. Additionally, I use board size as a moderating variable to examine how the effect of other board characteristics is contingent on board size. Firm performance is measured by return on assets. I test my hypotheses on a longitudinal sample of 156 firms over a four year period from 2004 to 2007. My sample includes all firms listed on New Zealand stock exchange as on November 2007. Empirical analysis is undertaken using Generalised Least Squares analyses. The findings of the study show that board characteristics such as board size, CEO duality and gender diversity were positively related with firm performance, where as director ownership, board meetings and the number of board members with PhD level education was found to be negatively related. Board size was found to be moderating some of these relationships, indicating the critical role being played by board size in the design and role of corporate boards. The findings also provide partial evidence to different governance theories, further indicating the need for theoretical pluralism to gain insights into boards’ functioning. The study contributes to the understanding of board-performance link by examining both the traditional variables such as board size, CEO duality, and number of board meetings as well as other organisational attributes such as gender diversity and competence variables represented by women and PhD holders, respectively. The theoretical framework and the findings of my thesis are expected to stimulate scholars for further research to identify the contingency conditions upon which the board characteristics and firm performance may be dependent.

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Ma, Yan. "Raising half the sky work-life balance of Chinese female administrative workers : a thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (MBus), 2008 /." Click here to access this resource online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/501.

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In recent years, a growing body of research has examined the issue of work–life balance (WLB). WLB initiatives have been developed by organisations, not only to aid employees in leading healthier and more satisfying lives, but to attract and retain talent. One area where WLB issues have not been examined in detail is from the perspective of Chinese immigrant women. As one of the largest and growing Asian ethnic groups, the WLB issues faced by Chinese women are especially worthy of being examined and addressed. The primary purpose of this research was to explore the WLB experience of Chinese women in administrative roles at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). It also aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on WLB issues for minority ethnic groups and investigated Chinese women’s coping strategies for integrating work with their non-work roles. An exploratory qualitative case study approach was adopted for this study in order to compare and contrast organisational initiatives and policies for WLB with women’s experiences. A triangulated research design was also employed to glean qualitative data by virtue of multiple methods including archival evidence such as publicly available documentation, secondary research on WLB and AUT’s WLB policies, and semi-structured interviews. This study involved 12 Chinese female administrative staff and three staff members from the Human Resource Department (HRD), the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the AUT Branch of Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association (TIASA). Participants were recruited by utilising sources such as the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the researcher’s network of contacts within AUT. The findings of the study indicated that Chinese women’s WLB experience and ways of handling work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) were affected by their experiences of immigration and cultural backgrounds. In particular, their family situation had a critical influence on the way they organised their households and arranged for childcare or eldercare. Child/elder care responsibilities, personal/family emergencies, and personal/individual sacrifice engendered tensions around their ability to integrate WLB. In addition, work factors such as heavy workloads, meeting deadlines, and working longer hours, and cultural barriers caused emotional stress and physical consequences. While informal support from managers and colleagues and the WLB policies offered by the university helped women address their WLB issues, some policies were underutilised. A variety of coping strategies such as family members, win-lose strategies, time management, building clear boundaries, changing mindsets, and demonstrating commitment were actively adopted by Chinese women as mechanisms to cope with tensions between their work and family lives. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the theory and practice of WLB.

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Claas, Bianca Muriel. "Self-reported oral health and access to dental care among pregnant women in Wellington : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1205.

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Pregnancy can have important effects on oral health and pregnant women are a population group requiring special attention with regard to their oral health and their babies? health. International research shows that oral health care for pregnant women has been inadequate, especially in relation to education and health promotion and there is some evidence of disparities by SES and ethnicity. Improving oral health is one of the health priorities in the New Zealand Health Strategy (Ministry of Health, 2000) and the Ministry of Health (Ministry of Health, 2006a) has recently identified a need for more information on the oral health and behaviour of pre-natal women. The aims of this study were to gain an understanding of pregnant women?s oral health care practices, access to oral health care information and use of dental care services and to identify any difference by ethnicity and socio-economic position. A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 405 pregnant women (55% response rate) who attended antenatal classes in the Wellington region. The questionnaire was broadly divided into four parts: (1) care of the teeth when the woman was not pregnant; (2) care of the teeth and diet during the pregnancy; (3) sources of oral health information during pregnancy and; (4) demographic information . Data were analysed by age, ethnicity, education and income and odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated using logistic regression. The majority of women in this survey were pakeha (80.2%), compared to 19.7% „Others? (8.8% Maori, 1.9% Pacific, 8.6% other). Most of the subjects were aged 31-35 years (34.5%), of high SES (household income and education level). Half of the women reported having regular visits to the dentist previous pregnancy while a significant percentage of women saw a dentist basically when they had problems. The usual dental hygiene habits were maintained during pregnancy. However, during pregnancy more than 60% of women reported bleeding gums. Just 32% of women went to see the dentist during pregnancy and less than half had access to oral health information related to pregnancy. „Others? (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.15-0.91) and low income (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10-0.76) groups were significantly less likely to report access to oral health information compared to pakeha and high income groups (respectively). Women who went to see the dentist during pregnancy were more likely to receive information on dental health. However, low income women were more likely to report the need to see a dentist (OR 2.55, CI 1.08-5.99). Information on dental health and access to oral care should be prioritised to low income women, Maori, Pacific and other ethnic groups. Little attention has previously been given to oral health for pregnant women in New Zealand and there is a need to increase awareness of the importance of this area amongst health practitioners particularly Lead Maternity Carers and Plunket and tamariki ora nurses.

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Houghton, Rosalind Margaret Elise. ""We had to cope with what we had" : agency perspectives on domestic violence and disasters in New Zealand : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1159.

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Wilson, Denise. "Ngā kairaranga oranga = The weavers of health and wellbeing : a grounded theory study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing at Massey University, New Zealand." Massey University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/992.

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Ngā Kairaranga Oranga – The Weavers of Health and Wellbeing is a theory about the health and wellbeing of Māori women. Health data about Māori women indicate that their health status is less than that of the non-Māori population despite the right to experience equality in health outcomes. Māori women’s health and wellbeing influences the nature of their health outcomes, varies across their lifetime. ‘What is happening for Māori women, their health and interactions with ‘mainstream’ health services?’ is the question that guided the research with Māori women. A grounded theory informed by a Māori centred approach was developed that utilised Mason Durie’s Māori-centred concepts of mana Māori (control), whakapiki tangata (enablement) and whakatuia (integration), and integrated Glaserian grounded theory to guide the collection and analysis of the data. Twenty-three women who identified as Māori within the Te Arawa rohe, and who were between the ages of 18 and 80 years were formally interviewed as either a group, pairs or individuals, with a further 15 informally interviewed during the process of theoretical sampling. Semi-structured interviews and field notes were used to collect the data, and the processes of constant comparative analysis, theoretical sampling and saturation were used to generate a middle-range substantive Māori centred grounded theory. Three core categories were identified relating to the health and wellbeing of Māori women: (a) Mana Māori, which describes what is important for their health and wellbeing; (b) The Way It Is, which outlines the resigned acceptance they have of their reality and life circumstances, and the barriers and challenges that are encountered; and (c) Engaging with Health Services, which describes what they require from ‘mainstream’ health services to improve the access and use of these services. The basic social psychological process of ‘weaving health and wellbeing’ integrates these core categories. The interpretations Māori women have of health and wellbeing, and health-related actions are explained by the theory generated. This substantive grounded theory provides a model to guide the education and practice of health care providers working within ‘mainstream’ health services.

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Hart, M. J. Alexandra. "Action in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: an Enactive Psycho-phenomenological and Semiotic Analysis of Thirty New Zealand Women's Experiences of Suffering and Recovery." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Social and Political Sciences, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5294.

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This research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) presents the results of 60 first-person psycho-phenomenological interviews with 30 New Zealand women. The participants were recruited from the Canterbury and Wellington regions, 10 had recovered. Taking a non-dual, non-reductive embodied approach, the phenomenological data was analysed semiotically, using a graph-theoretical cluster analysis to elucidate the large number of resulting categories, and interpreted through the enactive approach to cognitive science. The initial result of the analysis is a comprehensive exploration of the experience of CFS which develops subject-specific categories of experience and explores the relation of the illness to universal categories of experience, including self, ‘energy’, action, and being-able-to-do. Transformations of the self surrounding being-able-to-do and not-being-able-to-do were shown to elucidate the illness process. It is proposed that the concept ‘energy’ in the participants’ discourse is equivalent to the Mahayana Buddhist concept of ‘contact’. This characterises CFS as a breakdown of contact. Narrative content from the recovered interviewees reflects a reestablishment of contact. The hypothesis that CFS is a disorder of action is investigated in detail. A general model for the phenomenology and functional architecture of action is proposed. This model is a recursive loop involving felt meaning, contact, action, and perception and appears to be phenomenologically supported. It is proposed that the CFS illness process is a dynamical decompensation of the subject’s action loop caused by a breakdown in the process of contact. On this basis, a new interpretation of neurological findings in relation to CFS becomes possible. A neurological phenomenon that correlates with the illness and involves a brain region that has a similar structure to the action model’s recursive loop is identified in previous research results and compared with the action model and the results of this research. This correspondence may identify the brain regions involved in the illness process, which may provide an objective diagnostic test for the condition and approaches to treatment. The implications of this model for cognitive science and CFS should be investigated through neurophenomenological research since the model stands to shed considerable light on the nature of consciousness, contact and agency. Phenomenologically based treatments are proposed, along with suggestions for future research on CFS. The research may clarify the diagnostic criteria for CFS and guide management and treatment programmes, particularly multidimensional and interdisciplinary approaches. Category theory is proposed as a foundation for a mathematisation of phenomenology.

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Hudson, Sarah Peti Sian. "Other identities : portrayals from the past and what remains in the present : an extended essay presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the post-graduate degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand." Massey University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1310.

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How can the reintroduction of colonial depictions of Maori women in early twentieth century postcards engage a modern audience in a dialogue concerning the aestheticisation of Maori women, both past and present? Drawing on questions incited by the visual representation of my own family, the constructs of photographic depictions of Maori women in early 1900’s postcards will be examined. The correlation between the past and present will be the focus of this essay as the research considers whether the romantic, ancient ideals imposed onto Maori women by male colonialist photographers are still apparent in the present.

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Tsai, Midi. "The relationship between osteoporosis knowledge, beliefs and dietary calcium intake among South Asian women in Auckland : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Human Nutrition at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/855.

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Osteoporosis is a serious public health issue, which is growing in significance because of our aging population. It is estimated that one in three New Zealand women over the age of 50 years will suffer from an osteoporotic-related fracture. The risk of osteoporosis among South Asian women living in New Zealand is unknown. However, this is an important and growing population group. The purpose of this study was to determine osteoporosis knowledge, health beliefs and dietary calcium intake in a sample of South Asian women living in Auckland, New Zealand. Relationships between these variables and the predictors of dietary calcium intake were examined. A sample of 102 South Asian women (mean age of 41.6 years) completed an online questionnaire to assess osteoporosis knowledge and health beliefs using the validated Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT) and Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS), respectively. A four day food diary was used to assess dietary calcium and energy intake. In general, these South Asian women were lacking in osteoporosis knowledge, they did not perceive themselves to be susceptible to osteoporosis and did not consider osteoporosis to be a serious disease. They perceived many benefits of consuming a high calcium diet for the prevention of osteoporosis and did not identify many barriers to dietary calcium intake. In addition, these South Asian women were highly health motivated. Perceived barriers to dietary calcium intake (R=-0.32; P<0.01) and health motivation (R=0.30; P<0.01) were significantly correlated to dietary calcium intake. Health motivation, perceived barriers to dietary calcium intake and the use of a dietary supplement were significant predictors of dietary calcium intake and together explained 27% of the variance. These findings suggest that osteoporosis prevention interventions may need to increase awareness, overcome perceived barriers to dietary calcium intake as well as maintain health motivation among these South Asian women to achieve sufficient dietary calcium intake.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Women dramatists New Zealand'

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