Download the 2010 Programme & Abstracts

FASSGRAD: Graduate Conference
S BLOCK, S.G.03
PROGRAMME
Wednesday 20th October
8.30pm–9.00am
Registration (pick up conference packs)
9.00am–10.00am
Keynote address
Why Watch Kiwis? Or, The Strange Science of Investigating New Zealand:
Considering the politics, ethics, and relevance of university research through a case
study of professional museum practice.
Dr Conal McCarthy
Director of the Museum & Heritage Studies programme, Victoria University of
Wellington.
Conal McCarthy has experience working in museums, art galleries and heritage
organisations as a lecturer, educator, interpreter and curator. His research interests
include museum history, theory and practice, visitor research, Māori exhibitions,
visual culture and contemporary heritage issues. His first book, a study of colonial
architecture in North Otago, was published in 2002, and his second book Exhibiting
Māori: A history of colonial cultures of display was published by Berg in 2007. His
next book Museums and Māori: Heritage professionals, indigenous collections,
current practice will be published by Te Papa Press/Left Coast Press in April 2011.
Conal is currently editing a volume on museum practice in a new series
International handbooks of museum studies with general editors Sharon Macdonald
and Helen Rees Leahy for Blackwell which will appear in 2012. He regularly
presents papers at international conferences on a range of topics. These include: in
2008 a paper on Māori art at a major art history conference in Melbourne (Crossing
Cultures CIHA); in 2009 an invited paper at the Monash University Centre in Prato
Italy for the symposium National museums in a transnational age; in 2010 he spoke
at the conference Museums and Restitution at the Manchester Museum and at the
University of Otago seminar on cultural history Beyond Representation; and in June
2011 he will give a keynote at the seminar Antipodean Fields: Bourdieu and
southern cultures in Sydney. Conal has also written articles on a range of topics for
a number of journals including: Art New Zealand, Sites, The Journal of Australian
Art Education, New Zealand Sociology, The Journal of New Zealand Literature, Te
Ara: The Journal of Museums Aotearoa, Museum History Journal, Museum and
Society and Museum Management and Curatorship.
10:00 - 10:15
Morning Tea
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10:15 - 11:45
Chair: Kirstine Moffat
IDENTITY & TEXT
1. Is there a History of Gay Travel?
Daniel Brandl-Beck
2. „Tartan Thunder‟: Scottish influences in modern Nova Scotian literature
Freya Hill
3. Towards spectacular nationality: media production of Korean nationality
through the 2002 World Cup
Sun-ha Hong
11:45 - 11:55
[break]
11:55 - 1:25
Chair: Cathy Coleborne
HEALTH
4.
Mental Health Law and Policy in Western Samoa: Comparing Policy
Transfer Across Time
Timothy P. Fadgen
5.
A study of the effects of hereditary hearing impairment in my Māori Family
Celia Hotene
6.
The Pregnant Father
Irene Lichtwark
1:25 - 2:05
Lunch
2:05 - 3:55
Chair: Mark Houlahan
PERFORMANCE AND MEDIA
7.
Aotearoa – The Movie
Troy N. Egan
8.
Digital Humanities
Sean Castle
9.
Celebrating Weirdness: Troupe Waihi in the light of the vision
Luke Devery
10. Conspiratoria: The Internet and the logic of conspiracy theory
Dean Ballinger
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3:55 - 4:15
Afternoon Tea
4:15 - 5:00
Chair: to be advised
METHODOLOGY
11. What they didn‟t tell me in methodology class: Unexpected issues in authoethnography
Dave Snell
12. Toi tu te whenua, toi tu te tangata: The role of tikanga in strengthening
Māori communities in a natural disaster
Elizabeth-Mary Proctor
13. The role of the World Trade Organization in education and Indonesians‟
perspectives on US hegemonic power
Anita Abbott
THURSDAY 21st October
8:45 - 10:30
Chair: to be advised
DISCOURSE
14. Contemporary Religions in Brazilian Life: Agents of Change in Late
Modernity
Emma Stone
15. Religion and Terrorism: “Religious Otherness” and the Acts of Terrorism
Mortaza Shams
16. Discourse analysis of gender-based violence in Kiswahili novels and young
Tanzanian‟s interpretations
Ernesta Mosha
17. Female Headship in Sri Lanka; an analysis through alternative definitions
Kumudika Boyagoda
10:30 - 10:45
Morning Tea
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10:45 - 11:30
Chair: Geoff Lealand
MEMORY
18. The role of Working Memory Capacity in Second Language Reading
Comprehension: A pilot study on L2 Learners across Three Proficiency
Levels
Mohammadtaghi Shahnazari Dorcheh
19. Fluency: Effects of Fast Practice on Learning and Memory
Joshua Levine
11:30 - 11:40
[Break]
11:40 - 12:40
Chair: to be advised
JUSTICE
20. Significant factors leading to employees‟ perceptions of unfairness and
reduced productivity in New Zealand service organizations
Prapimpa (Pim) Jarunratanakul
21. Justice Vs Democracy: Trading power for prosecution in transitioning states?
Debrin Foxcroft
12:40 - 1:25
Lunch
1:25 - 2:40
Chair: to be advised
CULTURE & IDENTITY
22. Sound Travels: Agency and Identity in Aspects of Hawaiian Popular Music
(1910-1935)
Andrea Low
23. Building a New Socialist Village
Xiaoyi (Sean) Bian
24. Uyghur Chinese in Australia: The study of Migrants‟ multiple identities
Mei Ding
25. Development of a risk measure for online child sexual abuse image offenders
Hannah Merdian
2:40 - 2:55
Afternoon Tea
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2:55 - 3:40
Chair: to be advised
MATERIALS
26. Future Materials for Hip-Resurfacing Arthroplasty
Padmanaban (Padhu) Sadasivam
27. A study of Hydrogen assisted cold cracking in pipeline fabrication
Gnanavinthan Thavanayagam
3:40 - 3:50
[Break]
3:50 - 5:20
Chair: to be advised
POWER & PARTNERSHIPS
28. Why supervisor-subordinate guanxi is important in Chinese work contexts
Tian Li
29. Sustainable citizenship as a key to sustainable development: Establishing a
common ground between the use of new technologies and alternative
methods in New Zealand‟s dairy sector
Hannah Mueller
6:00
Cocktails @ The Station
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ABSTRACTS
Anita Abbott
PhD candidate, Political Science and Public Policy Programme, University of
Waikato
The role of the World Trade Organization in education and Indonesians‟
perspectives on US hegemonic power
In the realm of globalization, there are two global trajectories for education. The
first is the internationalisation of education through the umbrella of the WTO‟s
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The second trajectory is the
promotion of the concept of education as a basic human right under the banner
of UNESCO‟s Education For All (EFA). Not only has the US been actively giving
aid through USAID for realising the goal of EFA, but it has also actively
participated in the internationalisation of education.
There are two contrasting views in terms of US participation in international
institutions, such as the WTO. The first parallels the realist‟s thoughts;
participation of the US in multilateralism is motivated primarily by threats to their
interests (sustaining hegemonic power) and security (counter US hegemony,
such as Islamic terrorist cells). Here, threats to national security and interests
motivate the US to extend its international commitments. The second view
parallels the thought of liberal internationalists; the US is able to hide its
hegemonic maintenance efforts by working with its alliances and multilaterally
through international institutions. Here, the opportunity to enhance its power,
national security and interests motivate the US to extend its international
commitments.
To what extent can education, that is promoted by the WTO, be used as a
counter-counter US hegemony (such as Islamic terrorist in Indonesia) initiative?
There are four questions that guide current study and provide the basis for the
answers to the above research question. First, “To what extent does the
opportunity to seek to create influence, exercise leadership, and gain credibility
and legitimacy, motivate the US to participate in the WTO?” Second, “To what
extent does the threat to US national interests (sustaining hegemonic power)
and the threat to security (counter US hegemony, such as the Islamic terrorist
cell) motivate US participation in the WTO?” Third, “Do Indonesians see
American education as attractive, and encompassing the open nature of society,
democratic values, and upward mobility?” Fourth, “Do Indonesians see
American education as being used for the westernisation of curriculum, and for a
polemic against Muslims?” To answers those questions, a single site case study
with discourse analysis is utilised in this research.
The sources of data are primary and secondary data from WTO sources, US
and Indonesian ministries of defense and foreign affairs, US and Indonesian
ministries of trade, local NGOs and civil society in Indonesia, such as Forum on
Indonesian Development (INFID), and testimonies from government officials and
corporate executives, prior research, official documents, and news reports.
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Dean Ballinger
PhD candidate, Screen and Media Studies Programme, University of Waikato
Conspiratoria – The Internet and the logic of conspiracy theory
This study is a theoretical investigation of the relationships between the logic of
conspiracy theory and the Internet. It argues that the Internet can be
conceptualised as a technocultural space conducive to the development of
conspiracy belief and practice. Critical discourses regarding the relationships
between mainstream media and the Internet are discussed as constituting the
main points of connection between conspiracy theory and the Internet.
The study considers three main discourses as being particularly important to the
configuration of the Internet as a „conspiracy-friendly medium‟. The first are
conspiracist conceptions of mainstream media as a site of conspiratorial control,
which configure the Internet – in relation to radical critiques of media power – as
a medium that operates as a countervailing influence to mainstream media
control. The second are cyber-cultural discourses that have been influential in
articulating the Internet as a site of democratic empowerment, thereby creating
affinities with the radical democratic ideas that, in distorted forms, constitute key
aspects of conspiracist belief. The third are radical/critical discourses, which
combine the radical distrust of mainstream media power and cyber-cultural
notions of online empowerment to configure the Net as an alternative public
sphere. This configuration is presented as a particularly integral point of
connection between the Internet and conspiracy theory in that it provides a
framework that conspiracy theorists can appropriate in order to legitimate their
conspiracy beliefs within the alternative public sphere. These theoretical
arguments are developed with reference to direct examples of online conspiracy
theory beliefs and practices.
Xiaoyi (Sean) Bian
Masters thesis, School of Architecture, University of Auckland
Building a New Socialist Village
Under the ideology of communist urbanism, China has been in the grip of a
relentless process of building on a scale never seen before, where the
developments of many cities are under a constant process of construction and
deconstruction. Architecture and urban design are restricted by forces of
economics, political issues and rapid growth in population. The topic of
architectural choice was once brought about as the result of traditional culture is
now the outcome of industrial productions. For a while, Architecture in China had
become standardised for the equity of its people as well as for its desire to attain
cost-efficient and high speed production. In the past 20 years, China has strived
to achieve their goal. The speed of Chinese city constructions is being paralleled
to the speed of industrial productions backed by the extraordinary Chinese
labour markets and political forces.
My research is to explore how urban design and architecture can deal with the
loss of cultural identity in the contemporary Chinese city. It questions whether it
is possible to gather the elements which have survived through the die away of
traditional values, to form the basis of a new urban architecture strategy; and
what are the interactional impact between culture and urban.
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Kumudika Boyagoda
PhD candidate, Population Studies Centre, University of Waikato
Female Headship in Sri Lanka: an analysis through alternative definitions
National level statistics in Sri Lanka highlight an important demographic issue;
an increase in households headed by a woman to 24% of the total households.
Identification of headship in Sri Lanka depends solely on the respondent‟s
response and this self definition does not explain why a certain person is
identified as the head. Household headship portrays a person in authority over
household decisions as well as its bread winner. However field-work in Sri Lanka
highlighted that age and respect sometimes overshadow actual economic
contribution and decision making.
Studies are increasingly using alternative definitions (for example major earner
and absent male) in comparison with self defined headship to study female
headship. Analysing female headship in Sri Lanka showed that 22% of the
women heads were not the main earner, while 36% did not contribute to the
household income at all. Similarly, in 49% of the female headed households an
adult male aged 15 to 65 was present and 65% of these men were contributing
to the household income.
Adopting alternative definitions to analyse female headed households in Sri
Lanka will highlight some limitations of the conventional procedures of identifying
the head of household and bring into focus women who actually hold the primary
responsibility for the maintenance, support and care of the household.
Daniel Brandl-Beck
PhD candidate, History Programme, University of Waikato
Is there a History of Gay Travel?
Where did queer travellers flock before Amsterdam, San Francisco, or Sydney
became gay havens? How were unfamiliar queer spaces navigated before gay
guides existed? What can queer travellers reveal about travel destinations (and
vice-versa)?
Despite a growing interest in both the history of homosexuality and the history of
tourism, surprisingly no sustained study of the history of gay travel exists so far.
If there is such a history, why should it be studied?
I argue that there is, indeed, a history of gay travel to be discovered, analysed
and interpreted. Among a number of expected outcomes, I anticipate that this
venture will aid to explain how individual and collective queer identities were
gradually formed between the medicalisation of homosexuality in the late
nineteenth century and the embracing of openly gay lifestyles by many since the
late 1960s.
My thesis A Tale of Three Cities interrogates how queer men‟s travels to Berlin
in the 1930s, to Paris in the 1940s and to London in the 1950s have contributed
to the formation of queer identities. This study will form part of a larger future
project towards the history – or rather the histories – of gay travel.
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Sean Castle
Masters thesis, Screen and Media Studies Programme, University of Waikato
Digital Humanities
It has been common for academics within the Humanities to seek technical
expertise from external sources, such as through collaboration with academics in
Computer Science departments, or by contracting IT professionals. As
technology and expertise become more accessible to allegedly “Luddite”
disciplines, the nature of the relationship between the Humanities and Computer
Science is changing.
Multidisciplinary work is essential in the current academic environment, but how
certain disciplines have traditionally collaborated and the reasons why are not
necessarily as obvious as they once were. Without placing less importance on
Computer Science, or interdisciplinary work between the Humanities and
Computer Science, Digital Humanities promotes computing within the
humanities.
This researcher has collaborated with experts in disciplines ranging from Media
Studies to Psychology and Computer Science. Through the researcher‟s MA into
psychophysiological human-computer interaction and spatial topologies, several
case studies have been developed to acknowledge how technical expertise is
being utilised in the Humanities by students and academic staff in performance
and audio-visual design.
Luke Devery
Masters thesis, Theatre Studies Programme, University of Waikato
Celebrating Weirdness: Troupe Waihi in the light of the vision
This dissertation considers the work of Troupe Waihi – a troupe of performers
operating out of Waihi College. It describes and analyses the ways in which the
troupe‟s activities reflect and extend the vision of the 2007 New Zealand
curriculum, and discusses the implications for the students‟ academic and
personal development and for their engagement in their diverse communities.
This text begins with a discussion of the vision statement from the 2007 New
Zealand Curriculum (NVC) followed by a description of the troupe‟s activities (in
particular of the events the troupe attended throughout 2010) and an analysis of
the links between these activities and the vision of NZC with reference to the
surrounding literature and to interviews conducted with those educationalists
responsible for the framing of Drama within the NZC. The final passages are
devoted to case studies of past and present troupers.
Mei Ding
Anthropology Department, Otago University
Uyghur Chinese in Australia: The study of migrants‟ multiple identities
Under the situation of globalization, migration is not a new trend, however the
research on Chinese migration and diaspora mainly concentrate on ethnic
Chinese and their experience of being diaspora and lack of literature on Chinese
minority migrants. Thus, this study will switch the focus on Uyghur migrants, who
are originally from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) China, now
being settled in Australia. The study will examine who they are and how these
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Uyghur minorities deploy their multi-layer identities, which are Uyghur,
Australian, Chinese in original nationality and Muslim, in front of different
audiences and contexts. The research is conducted in Uyghur restaurants
located in Chinatown in both Sydney and Adelaide, Australia. The quality
research method is employed, including semi-structured interview and
participate observation to gain in-depth understanding of being Uyghur diaspora
in Australia.
Mohammadtaghi Shahnazari Dorcheh
Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics, University of Auckland
The role of Working Memory Capacity in Second Language Reading
Comprehension: A pilot study on L2 Learners across Three Proficiency
Levels
A good body of research argues that working memory plays an important role in
first language acquisition (e.g., Atkins & Baddeley, 1998; Daneman, 1991;
Daneman & Green, 1986; Juffs, 2004). More specifically, some studies
suggested that there is a good relationship between working memory capacity
and L1 reading comprehension (Carretti, Cornoldi, Beni & Romano, 2005;
Daneman & Carpenter, 1980; Divesta & Dicintio, 1997; Just & Carpenter, 1992;
Waters & Caplan, 1996b). L2 research on working memory is also emerging as
an area of concern. However, little is known about the role working memory
plays in the process of second language acquisition in general, and reading
comprehension in particular.
In this study, 57 L1 Persian EFL learners at beginning, intermediate and
advanced level in Iran were randomly selected for participation. They completed
working memory, phonological short-term memory, and reading comprehension
tests. Multiple regression analysis was applied to determine whether there are
any significant relationships between working memory and reading measures.
This presentation will focus on the results of this analysis, as well as directions
for further study on the role of working memory and reading comprehension.
Troy N. Egan
Honours dissertation, Screen & Media Studies Programme, University of
Waikato
Aotearoa – The Movie
Aotearoa – The Movie is a Directed Study topic supervised by Ann Hardy
through the Department of Screen and Media Studies. This study involves
research toward the preliminary development of a draft script about the
Polynesian migrations to New Zealand. The script is a fictional narrative that
incorporates historical and mythological accounts of the journey to and settling of
the island nation, taken from the perspective of three principle characters, three
youth in their preparations to become Ariki (Chief), Rangatira (Captain) and
Tohunga (Priest). The story follows their individual and intertwined journeys as
friends, kin and future leaders. Each story line incorporates a thread of historical
and mythical accounts, including Kupe‟s battle with Te Wheke (The Great
Octopus), Rata‟s battle with Mataku Tangotango (The Demon Bird) and the
arrivals of people to the country. The key academic questions to be asked
include: The Role of Indigenous Mythology and Global Religiosity in
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Contemporary Cinema, the Relationship between Differing Ideological
Perspectives
(ie,
East/West,
Logic/Intuition,
Science/Spirituality,
History/Mythology), the Place of Cultural Ownership in Global Story-telling and
the Aotearoa Aesthetic.
Timothy P. Fadgen
PhD candidate in Political Studies, University of Auckland
Mental Health Law and Policy in Western Samoa: Comparing Policy
Transfer Across Time
Much of the “developing world” has been undergoing an „epidemiologic
transition‟ (Omran 1971) which is a shift seen in a reduction in the prevalence of
infectious disease, related to poor nutrition, sanitation, and famine, to a high
prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases associated with the increase in
urban lifestyles. The policy efforts of the international community in areas of
mental health have evolved with this changing landscape. Recent World Health
Organization efforts have tended towards policy standardization through law
normalization and have adopted a human rights frame. Policy transfer is a
process by which “knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements,
institutions and ideas in one political setting (past or present) is used in
development of policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and idea in
another political setting” (Marsh and Sharman 2009). This paper will examine
two instances of policy transfer with Samoa, a colonial-era transfer of a mental
health law (Samoa Mental Health Ordinance 1961) and a post-colonial mental
health policy (Samoa Mental Health Act 2007) both with Western policy at their
base and compare the policies and laws and ask why were they adopted when
they were adopted? Why did over forty years go by in between each policy
initiative?
Debrin Foxcroft
PhD candidate, Political Science and Public Policy Programme, University of
Waikato
Justice Vs Democracy: Trading power for prosecution in transitioning
states?
It is a moment for the history books: the authoritarian regime and the democratic
movement sitting at a table, negotiating for the future of their country. It is a
moment to savor and for many, a moment to celebrate.
It is a celebration but for one thing. This is after all a negotiation. Something has
to be given to achieve the cherished goal. The question on everyone‟s lips is:
just how far is the democratic opposition willing to bargain with the future – and
with the past?
Justice Vs Democracy: Trading power for prosecution in transitioning states? is
an effort to explore the use of amnesty during transitions from authoritarian
regimes towards democracy, or at a minimum to civilianization. Within the
framework of Transition Theory, I will set the groundwork for my continuing
research. I will line up the debates in the context of my three case studies –
Brazil, Chile and South Africa – and I will explain just why this research is
important in the context of a potential fourth wave of democratization.
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Freya Hill
Masters thesis, English Programme, University of Waikato
„Tartan Thunder‟: Scottish influences in modern Nova Scotian literature
Since the 1930s, the Canadian province Nova Scotia has marketed itself as the
„Scotland of North America.‟ Tourists to this region can attend the annual
Highland games, buy kilts, hear bagpipes and have a go at some traditional
Scottish dancing. The Scottish heritage of Nova Scotia being marketed is based
on a romanticised view of the exiled Highlanders as good, but simple farming
folk who were forced out of Scotland to carve out a new life in Canada. This
stylised myth of the ancestors which Nova Scotians are descended from clashes
with the industrialised reality of life in 20th century Nova Scotia, where the lives
of many were based around the mines. My thesis will look into how authors have
responded to this „tartanisation‟ of Nova Scotia by analysing literature written in
the mid to late 20th century. Authors of particular consideration will be acclaimed
short-story writers Alistair MacLeod and Alice Munro; as well as authors in the
late 20th century. I will also look at the adaption of some of these works to the
theatre and film.
Sun-ha Hong
Masters thesis, Victoria University of Wellington
Towards Spectacular Nationality: Media Production of Korean Nationality
through the 2002 World Cup
This paper explores the role of the media in the production of Korean nationality
during the 2002 World Cup. It suggests that the media coverage helped organise
a spectacle of consumption, which became the primary means by which Korean
nationality was articulated and understood. Bringing together research in media
and Korean studies, this study aims to contribute to a timely and in-depth
understanding of nationality that recognises both its intimate connection with
media and consumer culture and its normative and taxonomic function.
The study elaborates a hybrid theoretical framework of a „system of signs‟, which
draws from Michel Foucault‟s analysis of power and normalisation and the ideas
of spectacle and simulacrum by Guy Debord and Jean Baudrillard. The study
examines two key cases of nationality production. Firstly, the „Red Devils‟ and
millions of street supporters that celebrated Korean victories were appropriated
by the media to produce internally oriented affirmations of Korean identity and
values that doubled as an entertainment spectacle. Secondly, the cult of
admiration around the foreign manager Guus Hiddink demonstrated how
discourses of globalisation contribute to a „sense of panoptic visibility‟. The
media contributed to a social imaginary of global nationalities that compelled
Koreans to judge their own nationality against the standards of the sŏnjin‟guk
(„advanced nations‟).
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Celia Hotene
School of Psychology, University of Waikato
A study of the effects of hereditary hearing impairment in my Māori Family
Blindness cuts you off from things deafness cuts you off from people.
Helen Keller (1968)
Hereditary hearing impairment is a growing world-wide problem which, if not
addressed, could cost billions of dollars in health, education, justice, economic,
social services and human costs, particularly for Māori. The idea for this study
came about through a lifetime of living with hereditary hearing impairment as a
child and the realization that quite a few of my Māori family had the problem.
The questions that arise for me is why did it take so long for us (my family) to
learn about the diseases of hearing impairment and why was information or
education about hearing impairment not emphasized to Māori through the
education and health systems? If there was information available, how and to
whom was it distributed? What role if any did the National Foundation for the
Deaf take in supporting Māori with hearing or hereditary hearing impairment?
A Kaupapa Māori Methodology using the Māori metaphor of making a korowai,
in-depth interviews with a semi structured questionnaire, qualitative research
appears to be the most appropriate choice. The research participants in the
study will be Māori. Ten will be family members, including the researcher. The
other ten participants will be selected by the researcher to give another
perspective.
Prapimpa Jarunratanakul (Pim)
PhD candidate, School of Psychology, University of Waikato
Significant factors leading to employees‟ perceptions of unfairness and
reduced productivity in New Zealand service organizations
Counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) has enormous impacts on an
organisation and its members (e.g. revenue loss, permanently damaging the
workplace environment, or reduced productivity), therefore, it has become the
focus of a number of studies. As workplace justice perceptions are regarded as
important cognitions leading to many social and organizational behaviours, this
study uses a justice perspective approach to the study of CWB. For this reason,
this study aims to explore the significant situational and individual factors which
affect employee‟s perceptions of fairness and how they behave in the workplace
when confronting fair or unfair situations. The relationships among antecedents
of justice perceptions (outcome satisfaction, opportunity to voice, leader-member
exchange and the quality of communication with employees), four forms of
justice perceptions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational
justice), individual differences (agreeableness and conscientiousness) and two
forms of CWB (CWB directed toward organization and individuals) were
investigated in a self-report questionnaire study among employees of service
organizations in New Zealand. The findings will inform employers what
significant factors lead to injustice perceptions of employees, and how to
develop a positive work environment and improve productivity.
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Joshua Levine
PhD candidate, School of Psychology, University of Waikato
Fluency: Effects of Fast Practice on Learning and Memory
Precision Teaching (PT) is an instructional design valued in education, business,
sports, and with individuals having neurological and psychiatric diagnoses. The
goal of PT is to create fluent behaviour, described as effortless, smooth, and
without hesitation. To achieve this end, learned skills are repeated quickly and
accurately, usually to a defined criterion; leading towards superior outcomes in
learning and memory when compared to other teaching approaches. One of the
critical features of building fluent behaviour is working quickly, however, attempts
to understand its significance has been hampered by experimental confounds
when using human participants. Our goal is to determine the critical features of
fluent behaviour that lead towards enhanced learning and memory. To achieve
this, animal subjects will be used as an analogue of human responding to
provide a „fact in our pocket‟ on the relationship between practice speeds and
learning outcomes.
Tian Li
PhD candidate, School of Psychology, University of Waikato
Why supervisor-subordinate guanxi is important in Chinese work
contexts?
Guanxi is a time-honoured Chinese form of networking based on personal
relationships and shares certain characteristics with modern Western
networking. It is an interwoven network of interpersonal relationships based
upon Confucianism, which includes social rules, values and structures.
Supervisor-subordinate guanxi refers to a personal relationship developed and
maintained both inside and outside working hours. Studies have found that both
supervisors and subordinates depend on guanxi in the Chinese work context,
and supervisors offer more bonus and promotion opportunities to subordinates
with whom they have well rather than poor personal relationship. Reciprocally,
these subordinates have greater trust in their supervisors and report better
performance. There is a shortage of academic investigations on how leadership
styles influence supervisor-subordinate guanxi directly within Chinese
organizations. This research is designed to address this research gap. The
research is a longitudinal study, investigating the relationships between
supervisor-subordinate guanxi, perceived control and psychological ownership of
job/organization. In order to discover the impact of guanxi on feelings of
psychological ownership and perceived work control among Chinese employees.
Two data-collection points separated by a 6-month interval in Chinese work
contexts will be conducted. This research will show how managers/supervisors
to develop personal relationship with their subordinates through work, how such
a personal relationship increases the subordinates‟ feelings of ownership toward
the organisations, and how supervisor-subordinate guanxi relates to individuals‟
work outcomes. This research will provide a detailed analysis of supervisorsubordinate guanxi process, which will significantly contribute to theoretical
knowledge in this field.
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Irene Lichtwark
Honours dissertation, School of Psychology, University of Waikato
The Pregnant Father
About fifty percent of all parents worldwide are fathers. During a woman's
pregnancy most if not all the attention of family and health professionals is
directed towards her and the baby, which is expressed in the fact that the mother
engages a midwife while there is no one specialized in a pregnant father.
This qualitative study explores the father's experience of pregnancy in New
Zealand with a semi structured interview and questionnaires. The focus of this
study is to learn about the men's perception of their experience of pregnancy
and early fatherhood, their challenges, hopes and joys.
Ten fathers who volunteered for the research after reading in the paper about
the study were interviewed for about one hour each. Their children's ages
ranged from six weeks to three years old.
Emerging themes included a searching for the contemporary father role, a lack
of suitable role models and where the men went to fill these gaps, the changing
relationships with their partners, parents and friends and the need to improve
themselves for the sake of their children.
These findings can be helpful for other fathers, health professionals and
partners.
Andrea Low
DocFA candidate, Elam School of Fine Arts, NICAI, University of Auckland
Sound Travels: Agency and Identity in Aspects of Hawaiian Popular Music
(1910-1935)
Stereotypical understandings of Pacific people's identity, in the context of
colonialism, underpin the construction of a colonialist version of Pacific popular
culture. This image involved now well understood orientalist ideologies of Pacific
peoples as "natural", "sensual," "indolent", and so on. Pacific peoples' direct role
in the production of this culture is widely understood to have been passive and
limited to their appearance in tourist productions, used as exoticized and
sexualised images.
Sound Travels seeks to deconstruct/challenge these understandings based on
an examination of the life and work of Ernest Kaai and the Hawaiian
Troubadours. Kaai was instrumental in the formation and construction of a range
of outcomes that benefitted from popular understandings of Pacific culture but
with which Kaai engaged with knowingly having clear economic and social goals
in mind. Sound Travels hybridizes information across a number of modes and
explores the addition of creative dimensions to orthodox methods of historical
investigation. Found photography is one of the main platforms for developing the
research which will be examined within the realm of postmemory.
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Conal McCarthy
Director of the Museum & Heritage Studies Programme, Victoria University of
Wellington.
Despite the fact that initiatives in New Zealand museums over the last 30 years
continue to provide new models for museums around the world in terms of
dealing with indigenous people and their culture, these innovative practices have
not been recorded, analysed or debated in a detailed scholarly study. There has
been intense international interest in issues such as representation, cultural
property and the politics of display, but very little work on museums and source
communities is grounded in current museum practice and includes the voices of
indigenous people themselves. This paper describes a recent research project
based on interviews with the museum professionals and community
representatives who were and are involved with the transformation of museum
practice in the last three decades now entering a new postcolonial phase of
development involving repatriation, cultural centres and other independent
initiatives as well as debates over identity, development and heritage
management.
Why conduct research? What purpose does it serve, and who does it benefit?
How can research make an impact on the world outside academia, and in the
process land you a job? Is it worthwhile conducting research on local and New
Zealand topics? When we do research, is it possible to consider the way that we
do it, and how it makes a contribution to our society? Should Pakeha do
research on Māori topics? These questions are considered with reference to the
project described above that has culminated in a new book: Museums and
Maori: Heritage Professionals, Indigenous Collections, Current Practice. Like
much research by our postgraduate students in Museum & Heritage Studies, this
project involved interdisciplinary approaches that mixed humanities and social
sciences methods and necessitated working in partnership with professional
organisations and communities. Illustrated by images of museum collections and
exhibitions and enlivened by stories from the field, this paper will map a path
through the complex issues facing every researcher investigating local topics in
New Zealand—the tensions between politics and ethics, theory and practice,
university and industry, national and international.
Hannah Merdian
PhD candidate, School of Psychology, University of Waikato
Development of a risk measure for online child sexual abuse image
offenders
In the past decade, a new category of sex offenders has emerged, referring to
those who use the Internet in some manner to offend, particularly child
pornography offenders (CPOs). The limited research available has shown that
there are some differences to conventional contact sex offenders against
children. Hence, the applicability of traditional personality and risk measures
used within correctional and sex offender treatment services might be of
restricted value for CPOs.
In my PhD thesis, I propose that (1) CPOs have an offender profile distinct to
contact child molesters, (2) CPOs are a heterogeneous group in themselves;
that is, different subtypes of child sexual abuse image offenders can be identified
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and require a distinctive approach in their correctional management, and (3) the
diverse subgroups of CPOs have unique risk characteristics related to
reoffending. The validity of a conceptual typology is explored, which is assumed
to provide information on an offender‟s particular recidivism risk probability, the
harmfulness of his potential recidivistic behaviour, and the imminence of his
reoffending when at risk. In this presentation, I will report preliminary findings of
my empirical research, comparing CPOs and conventional child sex offenders in
nationally representative study.
Ernesta Mosha
PhD candidate, Women‟s and Gender Studies Programme, University of
Waikato
Discourse analysis of gender-based violence in Kiswahili novels and
young Tanzanians‟ interpretations
In the last decade, gender-based violence in Tanzania has received increased
attention from media, feminist groups and NGOs. Despite these efforts, genderbased violence remains a significant problem in Tanzania. A study by WHO
(2006) in two regions – Dar es Salaam and Mbeya – revealed that 41% of
women in Dar es Salaam and 56% of women in Mbeya have experienced
violence at the hands of their partner. A more recent study by Wubs et al. (2009)
in Dar es Salaam showed that 51.7% of school girls experienced violence at the
hands of their boyfriends.
While research has shown that indirect exposure to various forms of genderbased violence has an effect on an individual‟s behaviour, little attention has
been paid to the possible influence of violence in literary works. Drawing on
feminist poststructuralist theory, this paper discusses dominant discourses of
gender-based violence as articulated in Kiswahili novels. In order to end genderbased violence, it is important to address its root causes, which are found in
culture and maintained by societal laws, economic inequalities and the common
experiences of everyday life. Therefore, understanding discursive constructions
of gender-based violence and how those constructions are made sense of,
especially by young people could certainly inform practical interventions to end
gender-based violence in society. Thus, the second goal of this paper is to
examine young Tanzanians‟ responses to gender-based violence as it is
discursively constructed in Kiswahili novels.
Hannah Mueller
Masters thesis, Political Science and Public Policy Programme, University of
Waikato
Sustainable citizenship as a key to sustainable development: Establishing
a common ground between the use of new technologies and alternative
methods in New Zealand‟s dairy sector
Sustainability is a key issue in New Zealand‟s dairy industry. Arguments are
often made from either a purely economic or an environmental perspective. The
debate is dominated by polarised viewpoints characterised by hasty rejection or
assertive support of production-focused biotechnological approaches; these
include genetic engineering, chemical fertilisers, and pharmaceuticals. On one
hand is the biotechnology industry and on the other environmentalists and
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worried public. Within this divided discussion, little progress is made in terms of
achieving truly sustainable development. By using the concept of sustainable
citizenship as a theoretical framework, it is possible to incorporate economic,
environmental, political and social approaches to sustainability. The paper uses
this broad conception of sustainable citizenship in order to discover a common
ground between the various opinions within the dairy sector. Shared values
around farming methods and biotechnology are then used to find a way to
facilitate sustainable development of the industry, combining current interests of
various stakeholders with a long-term interest of future generations.
Elizabeth-Mary Proctor,
Masters thesis, Geography Programme, University of Waikato
Toi tu te whenua, toi tu te tangata: The role of tikanga in strengthening
Māori communities in a natural disaster
Natural disasters exact a high cost for affected communities, physically,
emotionally, spiritually and financially. My aim was to study the usefulness of
tikanga principles and values in responding to natural disasters in one
community in rural Northland, Pawarenga, and, to develop a framework for living
with or dealing with the challenges of such phenomena. Two floods in recent
years devastated our hapū when heavy rainfall caused flash floods that swept
logs and boulders from the hills on to the land below causing extensive damage
to one of our marae, homes and farms. Kaupapa Māori methods ensured the
community was treated with respect. Participants told stories of how they
organised themselves to ensure people‟s safety until outside help
arrived. These stories demonstrate how tikanga principles and values used in
their everyday lives were the basis for their resilience and provide a very useful
framework for developing marae-based flood management strategies and plans
for Māori communities. I present a framework linking these values with practical
examples that may be useful for practitioners dealing with people affected by
natural disasters.
Padmanaban S Sadasivam
PhD candidate, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato
Future Materials For Hip-Resurfacing Arthroplasty
Various studies from last few decades have shown hip-resurfacing material
selections have more complicating issues than any other implants. From
Viscaloid (as glass and a form of celluloid-1925) to metal-on-metal (Co-Cr-Mo),
research is still continuing to find further improved prosthesis. Present clinical
evidence show that in metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty, metal ions
released to the bloodstream is a major concern. The medical profession fears
that this may produce carcinogenicity in a patient. Release of wear debris is an
issue due to the wear of metal surfaces by rubbing of femoral head and
acetabular cup in articulation. Further research to find a material that reduces
bacterial colonization caused by bio-fluids in our body is required. This
discussion is a brief review of the current status of material usage and
summarizes the potential areas for future research.
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Mortaza Shams
PhD candidate, Religious Studies Programme, University of Waikato
Religion and Terrorism: “Religious Otherness” and the Acts of Terrorism
The idea of God or gods motivates people to act, and those actions do have real
consequences for individuals and societies. Some believe that although
nowadays science is playing a very important role in human beings‟ lives, still
compared to science, religion motivates people more effectively.
Despite the fact that religion plays a positive role in influencing individuals and
societies towards peaceful life, it can be invoked to justify violence. When it
comes to terrorism, religion and terrorism are a powerful mix: as James Veitch
has marked, “When religion empowers political terrorism then the terrorism
apparently has no limits and acknowledges no boundaries” (Pratt 2010).
The question that I am going to elaborate upon is “How does religion reach the
stage of justifying terrorism?”. I believe the answer lies in the concept of
“Religious Otherness” and I am going to discuss the topic from this point of view.
Dave Snell
PhD candidate, School of Psychology, University of Waikato
What they didn‟t tell me in methodology class: Unexpected issues in
autho-ethnography
Social psychologists have pointed to the immersion into community life and
greater consultation with communities as being a means of being more
respectful to the lives of participants as well as a way of obtaining a wealth of
personal data. Immersion into a community can create a number of tensions
around levels of participation, legitimising research to others and issues relating
to personal safety. These issues become even more complex when the
ethnographer is a member of that community and is conducting an autoethnographic project. In this paper I discuss some of the theoretical, ethical and
personal issues that they did not tell me in methodology classes – the
unexpected issues that arise as a Metaller studying Heavy Metal.
Emma Stone
PhD candidate, Sociology Department, University of Auckland
Contemporary Religions in Brazilian Life: Agents of Change in Late
Modernity
My project intends to examine and analyse the role of religion in modern
Brazilian life. Religion is an important social institution in Brazil in both a public
and a private sense, and has had an enduring historical legacy from the colonial
period to the present moment. In the late modern era, religion continues to be of
central importance for many Brazilian people. This project will analyse, through
existing literature, media, and individual case studies carried out across three
distinct religions the way in which contemporary religions in Brazil help
adherents to navigate and enact changes in their personal lives, in their families
and communities, and in wider society. The religions I have selected to study
intentionally represent diverse groups of followers, of varying classes, ages,
genders and ethnicities. They are Umbanda (an Afro-Brazilian religion), Neo14
Pentecostalism (part of the Christian renewal movement), and the Religion of
God (a new age millenarian movement).
The thesis will also situate the issue of religion in a more historically and socially
specific context. It will qualitatively investigate the extent to which contemporary
religions have helped modify/ soften the effects of late modern phenomena in
Brazil (such as the implication of neoliberal adjustment policies put in place
following the end of the dictatorship in 1985). In turn it will also examine whether
late modern phenomena have subsequently shaped these religions.
Gnanavinthan Thavanayagam
Faculty of Science & Engineering, University of Waikato
A study of Hydrogen assisted cold cracking in pipeline fabrication
High strength steels are used in several welded steel structure applications,
which face failures of hydrogen assisted cold cracking (HACC) during fabrication
and service. HACC occurs as a result of the critical combination of hydrogen
being present in a susceptible microstructure under the influence of a stress
field. In welding, hydrogen ions, which simply absorbed by the molten weld pool
diffuses through weld metal (WM) and heat affected zone, subsequently
interacting by various microstructures. The objective of this study is to
investigate the main reasons of HACC, methods used to evaluate the hydrogen
content and susceptibility of welds to HACC, and discussing possible controlling
methods with the support of literature survey.
Several methods used to determine the diffusible hydrogen content in the WM,
such as mercury method, vacuum method, glycerine replacement method,
silicone oil replacement method and gas chromatography method. Among these,
the mercury method considered more reliable and the amount of hydrogen
released measured by the volumetric method with the aid of diffusible hydrogen
measuring meter. Further, there are various tests, for instance implant test, LTP
test, TRC test, Bead bend test, Tekken test, U-groove weld cracking test, Lehigh
test, CTS test, Cruciform test, WIC test and RGW test are available in order to
determine susceptibility of steels and filler materials to HACC during welding.
Susceptibility to HACC in arc welding can be controlled by the welding
parameters such as, preheating, interpass temperatures, controlled interpass
times and increased arc energy heat input, with the additional two parameters of
Contact tip to work piece distance (CTWD) and shielding gas. In addition, postheating at weld joints minimizes the hydrogen concentration for avoiding HACC.
Further, the diffusible hydrogen content can be decreased with the increase of
CTWD in flux-cored arc welding, where seamless flux-cored wires are regarded
successful in minimizing the hydrogen contents in weld deposit.
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