scholarly journals A Critical Realist Study of Political Identity in Aotearoa New Zealand: Materiality, Discourse and Context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jay Woodhams
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Discursive Context

<p>Political identity is a complex phenomenon that is generated within a rich sociocultural context. This thesis examines political identity in informal talk which is situated within a relatively under-explored context, New Zealand’s capital city and political centre, Wellington. Grounding the study within the critical realist model of stratified reality provides the philosophical motivation to explore multi-layered discourses alongside the extra-discursive referents that underpin them. The analysis centres on a model of identity, contra postmodernism, which shows that identities, while socially recognised in discourse, are articulated in reference to physical and social structures. I adopt a comprehensive multi-layered approach to discourse by examining the macro sociocultural influences that appear to pattern interaction across the country, the meso-level subnational discourses that influence dialogue at a more situated level and the micro-level interactional stances taken up in everyday communication. Discourse at all levels is implicated in the identities I examine in this thesis and it is against this backdrop that I unpack political identity into its indexed discourses and constitutive stance acts.  Framed by my ethnographic immersion in the study context and drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty-six individuals, I explore the way in which discourse and stancetaking are implicated in the genesis of the participants’ political selves. I first consider the extra-discursive context, including the geographical, economic and cultural structures that underlie New Zealand discourses. This is followed by detailed analysis of sociocultural discourse as it appears in talk. I identify egalitarianism and tall poppy as two related discourses which are embedded within the historical context of the country. I also explore four subnational discourses relating to Wellington city, including the political town, left-wing and small town discourses, which occur alongside a discourse of contrast. These sociocultural and subnational discourses influence much of the talk that occurs in reference to politics in Wellington and are thus implicated in political identity as it is generated in moment-by-moment interaction. To explore this in further detail I examine the micro-level of interactional discourse, more specifically the processes of stancetaking, in two detailed case studies. The two focus participants demonstrate prominent stance processes which I argue are central to much identity work: intersubjectivity, in which the stances of all those involved in the discussion interact in complex ways; and multiplicity, when participants take numerous stance directions that appear to contribute to different aspects of their identities. The intensive focus on the case studies, alongside analysis of the full discursive and extra-discursive context, provides a multi-layered and philosophically anchored approach that seeks to contribute to current understandings of and approaches to the study of discourse and identity.</p>

scholarly journals A Critical Realist Study of Political Identity in Aotearoa New Zealand: Materiality, Discourse and Context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jay Woodhams
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Discursive Context

<p>Political identity is a complex phenomenon that is generated within a rich sociocultural context. This thesis examines political identity in informal talk which is situated within a relatively under-explored context, New Zealand’s capital city and political centre, Wellington. Grounding the study within the critical realist model of stratified reality provides the philosophical motivation to explore multi-layered discourses alongside the extra-discursive referents that underpin them. The analysis centres on a model of identity, contra postmodernism, which shows that identities, while socially recognised in discourse, are articulated in reference to physical and social structures. I adopt a comprehensive multi-layered approach to discourse by examining the macro sociocultural influences that appear to pattern interaction across the country, the meso-level subnational discourses that influence dialogue at a more situated level and the micro-level interactional stances taken up in everyday communication. Discourse at all levels is implicated in the identities I examine in this thesis and it is against this backdrop that I unpack political identity into its indexed discourses and constitutive stance acts.  Framed by my ethnographic immersion in the study context and drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty-six individuals, I explore the way in which discourse and stancetaking are implicated in the genesis of the participants’ political selves. I first consider the extra-discursive context, including the geographical, economic and cultural structures that underlie New Zealand discourses. This is followed by detailed analysis of sociocultural discourse as it appears in talk. I identify egalitarianism and tall poppy as two related discourses which are embedded within the historical context of the country. I also explore four subnational discourses relating to Wellington city, including the political town, left-wing and small town discourses, which occur alongside a discourse of contrast. These sociocultural and subnational discourses influence much of the talk that occurs in reference to politics in Wellington and are thus implicated in political identity as it is generated in moment-by-moment interaction. To explore this in further detail I examine the micro-level of interactional discourse, more specifically the processes of stancetaking, in two detailed case studies. The two focus participants demonstrate prominent stance processes which I argue are central to much identity work: intersubjectivity, in which the stances of all those involved in the discussion interact in complex ways; and multiplicity, when participants take numerous stance directions that appear to contribute to different aspects of their identities. The intensive focus on the case studies, alongside analysis of the full discursive and extra-discursive context, provides a multi-layered and philosophically anchored approach that seeks to contribute to current understandings of and approaches to the study of discourse and identity.</p>

scholarly journals Developing Gateways as Tourist Destinations: Ferry Services and Nodal Functions in Wellington and Picton

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gui Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Relative Length ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Catchment Areas

<p>This thesis discusses the relationship between transport and tourism with a particular focus on how to improve the destination function of gateways. The case study chosen for this research is the Cook Strait ferries and the ferry ports of Wellington and Picton, in New Zealand. With the absence of academic literature dealing with the impacts of tourism in gateways and the fact that the concept of gateway has not been operationalised yet, the thesis proposes, via empirical analysis, a classification of ferry passengers according to four different functions: gateway tourists; overnight gateway visitors; stopover visitors and destination tourists. These nodal classifications basically comprise two variables: the absolute and relative length of stay in the nodes and the main reason for going there. The analytical framework also takes into consideration the passengers' place of origin: those living within the gateways' catchment areas (the Centre Stage of New Zealand Region - CSNZ); those living in New Zealand but outside the catchment areas; and passengers living overseas. Apart from secondary sources, on-board surveys with ferry passengers and semi-structured interviews with operators in Wellington and Picton are used to collect primary data. What the results show is that some segments of passengers are interested in extending their stay in Wellington and Picton if they had been offered more information about these two nodes or a special deal including the ferry crossing and accommodation in one of the gateways. International passengers are the group of passengers most likely to take advantage of these opportunities as those living in New Zealand are more interested to reach their final destinations and perhaps more familiarised with both nodes, so the incentives would not be very appealing to them. However, local operators were not able to suggest offers/arrangements to engage passing travellers to stop and visit these gateways. This can be attributed to lack of funds and relationship issues between tourism operators, particularly in Picton, and one of the ferry operators. In comparison to Picton that has a smaller destination function, results from this research suggested that gateways with a more developed destination function, such as the case of Wellington, are better prepared to convince traffic passing by to stop and visit them as tourist destination. The existence of more tourist attractions and activities is certainly an incentive to persuade travellers to stay longer in gateways. From the operationalisation of the concepts proposed in this thesis and the results obtained from the questionnaires and interviews, this research concludes that not only nodal functions vary from place to place (e.g. Picton as a small resort town and Wellington as a capital city), but also that these functions evolve throughout time, with seasonal variations also occurring (high vs. low seasons). With regards to the direction passengers are travelling and the influence on travellers' functions, variations are identified only among overnight gateway visitors, with the common pattern being passengers staying overnight before catching up the ferry the following day.</p>

Religiosity and mental health among the immigrants in Brasília

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-219
Author(s):  
Marta Helena de Freitas ◽  
Benedito Rodrigues dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Course Work ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Way

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the relations between religiosity and mental health (MH) among the immigrants living in Brasília, as per the perceptions of MH service professionals. Design/methodology/approach It is grounded in empirical qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews with 12 professionals – six psychiatrists and six psychologists working in MH services throughout Brasília. The experiences and perceptions of these professionals were analysed in the light of phenomenological assumptions, and temporally situated in the historical context of the construction of Brazil’s capital city. Findings Results show that these professionals recognize the importance of immigrant support services paying attention to issues of religiosity connected to those of MH, in spite of never having received training on the theme in their qualification course work. They are critical of the oppressive aspects of some religions, but recognize the predominance of positive effects of religiosity. Research limitations/implications Albeit exploratory by nature, and with a limited number of study subjects, the study opens the way for more in-depth investigations of this rarely addressed MH issue and recommends its application to greater numbers of professionals and other contexts. Practical implications The results can contribute to the MH policy decision-making processes for the immigrant population in Brasília and also for training the professionals working in providing care for this population. Social implications To contribute to the development of a new MH model in which professionals can adopt a more open posture in regard to the traditional pathologizing models used to address the question of religious phenomena. Originality/value Albeit exploratory in nature, this study makes a contribution by opening the way for the issue of religiosity and its impacts on MH to become the object of more in-depth investigations conducted from a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective, targeting greater numbers of MH professionals and extended to other internal and external migratory contexts.

scholarly journals Internationally Qualified Nurses’ Perceptions of Patient Safety: New Zealand Case Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Annie Kane
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Competency Assessment ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Significant Finding ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social

<p>Twenty five percent of the current New Zealand nursing workforce comprises internationally qualified nurses (IQNs). For a significant proportion of IQNs, English is an additional language and the social, cultural and historical context of the health systems from their country of origin differs significantly to that of New Zealand. International studies have found that despite many of these IQNs having extensive nursing experience prior to entering a new country, the challenges involved with transition can have implications for patient safety. This study aimed to investigate IQNs’ perceptions of the competencies that pertain to patient safety. The study was informed by an interpretive-constructivist approach that acknowledges these perceptions are constructed within a social, cultural, and historical context. A qualitative multiple case study design was used with the Communities of Practice (CoP) theory as the conceptual framework. The primary data source was semi-structured interviews with four IQNs while they attended a Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) to obtain New Zealand nursing registration. The IQNs’ email reflections and programme documents were used as additional data. Thematic analysis of the individual cases followed by cross-case analysis revealed similar perceptions concerning patient safety across the four cases. Exposure to Nursing Council of New Zealand’s (NCNZ) competencies for safe nursing practice during the CAP course did not notably change the participants’ initial perceptions. The most significant finding of this study was that the social, cultural, and historical context of the health system and nursing role mediates how maintaining patient safety will be perceived and enacted in practice. The findings also highlighted the importance of engaging with participant perspectives in order to identify specific areas required for learning and transfer of information. These findings had important implications for further development of educational and healthcare agency support for IQN transition.</p>

scholarly journals Developing Gateways as Tourist Destinations: Ferry Services and Nodal Functions in Wellington and Picton

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gui Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Relative Length ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Catchment Areas

<p>This thesis discusses the relationship between transport and tourism with a particular focus on how to improve the destination function of gateways. The case study chosen for this research is the Cook Strait ferries and the ferry ports of Wellington and Picton, in New Zealand. With the absence of academic literature dealing with the impacts of tourism in gateways and the fact that the concept of gateway has not been operationalised yet, the thesis proposes, via empirical analysis, a classification of ferry passengers according to four different functions: gateway tourists; overnight gateway visitors; stopover visitors and destination tourists. These nodal classifications basically comprise two variables: the absolute and relative length of stay in the nodes and the main reason for going there. The analytical framework also takes into consideration the passengers' place of origin: those living within the gateways' catchment areas (the Centre Stage of New Zealand Region - CSNZ); those living in New Zealand but outside the catchment areas; and passengers living overseas. Apart from secondary sources, on-board surveys with ferry passengers and semi-structured interviews with operators in Wellington and Picton are used to collect primary data. What the results show is that some segments of passengers are interested in extending their stay in Wellington and Picton if they had been offered more information about these two nodes or a special deal including the ferry crossing and accommodation in one of the gateways. International passengers are the group of passengers most likely to take advantage of these opportunities as those living in New Zealand are more interested to reach their final destinations and perhaps more familiarised with both nodes, so the incentives would not be very appealing to them. However, local operators were not able to suggest offers/arrangements to engage passing travellers to stop and visit these gateways. This can be attributed to lack of funds and relationship issues between tourism operators, particularly in Picton, and one of the ferry operators. In comparison to Picton that has a smaller destination function, results from this research suggested that gateways with a more developed destination function, such as the case of Wellington, are better prepared to convince traffic passing by to stop and visit them as tourist destination. The existence of more tourist attractions and activities is certainly an incentive to persuade travellers to stay longer in gateways. From the operationalisation of the concepts proposed in this thesis and the results obtained from the questionnaires and interviews, this research concludes that not only nodal functions vary from place to place (e.g. Picton as a small resort town and Wellington as a capital city), but also that these functions evolve throughout time, with seasonal variations also occurring (high vs. low seasons). With regards to the direction passengers are travelling and the influence on travellers' functions, variations are identified only among overnight gateway visitors, with the common pattern being passengers staying overnight before catching up the ferry the following day.</p>

scholarly journals Sweet Suburbia and the Bustling City

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Bonelli
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Film History ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Film Production ◽  
Tourism Marketing ◽  
Cinematic City

This paper focuses on the representation of Wellington in New Zealand tourism films in the decades preceding the establishment of the National Film Unit (NFU) in 1941. While critically engaging with current discourses about early New Zealand film production, New Zealand film history, New Zealand human geography and the cinematic city, it performs the textual analysis of eight case studies also examining archival materials related to their production, circulation and reception. This article aims to demonstrate how the cinematic depiction of New Zealand’s capital city in the analysed time frame was a complex and multi-layered process driven and characterised by the coexistence and intertwining of tourism marketing, national publicity and colonial agenda.

scholarly journals Internationally Qualified Nurses’ Perceptions of Patient Safety: New Zealand Case Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Annie Kane
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Competency Assessment ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Significant Finding ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social

<p>Twenty five percent of the current New Zealand nursing workforce comprises internationally qualified nurses (IQNs). For a significant proportion of IQNs, English is an additional language and the social, cultural and historical context of the health systems from their country of origin differs significantly to that of New Zealand. International studies have found that despite many of these IQNs having extensive nursing experience prior to entering a new country, the challenges involved with transition can have implications for patient safety. This study aimed to investigate IQNs’ perceptions of the competencies that pertain to patient safety. The study was informed by an interpretive-constructivist approach that acknowledges these perceptions are constructed within a social, cultural, and historical context. A qualitative multiple case study design was used with the Communities of Practice (CoP) theory as the conceptual framework. The primary data source was semi-structured interviews with four IQNs while they attended a Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) to obtain New Zealand nursing registration. The IQNs’ email reflections and programme documents were used as additional data. Thematic analysis of the individual cases followed by cross-case analysis revealed similar perceptions concerning patient safety across the four cases. Exposure to Nursing Council of New Zealand’s (NCNZ) competencies for safe nursing practice during the CAP course did not notably change the participants’ initial perceptions. The most significant finding of this study was that the social, cultural, and historical context of the health system and nursing role mediates how maintaining patient safety will be perceived and enacted in practice. The findings also highlighted the importance of engaging with participant perspectives in order to identify specific areas required for learning and transfer of information. These findings had important implications for further development of educational and healthcare agency support for IQN transition.</p>

Varieties of non-obvious meaning in CL and CADS: from ‘hindsight post-dictability’ to sweet serendipity

Corpora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Partington
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Special Relevance

In this paper, I want to examine the special relevance of (non)obviousness in corpus linguistics through drawing on case studies. The research discussion is divided into two parts. The first is an examination of (non)obviousness at the micro-level, that is, in lexico-grammatical analyses, whilst the second looks at the more macro-level of (non)obviousness on the plane of discourse. In the final sections, I will examine various types of non-obvious meaning one can come across in Corpus-assisted Discourse Studies (CADS), which range from: ‘I knew that all along (now)’ to ‘that's interesting’ to ‘I sensed that but didn't know why’ (intuitive impressions and corpus-assisted explanations) to ‘I never even knew I never knew that’ (serendipity or ‘non-obvious non-obviousness’, analogous to ‘unknown unknowns’).

Cytisine as an alternative smoking cessation product for Pacific smokers in New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-95
Author(s):  
Vili Nosa ◽  
Kotalo Leau ◽  
Natalie Walker
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Partial Agonist ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Liquid Form ◽  
Pacific People ◽  
The Pacific

ABSTRACT Introduction: Pacific people in New Zealand have one of the highest rates of smoking.  Cytisine is a plant-based alkaloid that has proven efficacy, effectiveness and safety compared to a placebo and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation.  Cytisine, like varenicline, is a partial agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and blocks the rewarding effects of nicotine. Cytisine is naturally found in some plants in the Pacific region, and so may appeal to Pacific smokers wanting to quit. This paper investigates the acceptability of cytisine as a smoking cessation product for Pacific smokers in New Zealand, using a qualitative study design. Methods: In December 2015, advertisements and snowball sampling was used to recruit four Pacific smokers and three Pacific smoking cessation specialists in Auckland, New Zealand. Semi-structured interviews where undertaken, whereby participants were asked about motivations to quit and their views on smoking cessation products, including cytisine (which is currently unavailable in New Zealand). Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, with thematic analysis conducted manually. Findings: Pacific smokers reported wanting to quit for loved ones and family, but did not find currently available smoking cessation products effective. Almost all participants had not previously heard of cytisine, but many of the Pacific smokers were keen to try it. Participants identified with cytisine on a cultural basis (given its natural status), but noted that their use would be determined by the efficacy of the medicine, its cost, side-effects, and accessibility. They were particularly interested in cytisine being made available in liquid form, which could be added to a “smoothie” or drunk as a “traditional tea”.  Participants thought cytisine should be promoted in a culturally-appropriate way, with packaging and advertising designed to appeal to Pacific smokers. Conclusions: Cytisine is more acceptable to Pacific smokers than other smoking cessation products, because of their cultural practices of traditional medicine and the natural product status of cytisine.

Meeting the Needs of Gifted Learners Who Just Don’t ‘Fit’: Parent Perspectives

2019 ◽  
pp. 6-16
Author(s):  
Nadine Ballam ◽  
Anne Sturgess
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Gifted Education ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Parent Perspectives ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Gifted Learners ◽  
Initial Cohort ◽  
Data Informed

In February 2018, a full-time provider of gifted education opened in New Zealand with its initial cohort of children. This provider catered for learners from ages 1-15 years who did not ‘fit’ in mainstream education settings. This paper reports on a research project that focused on the effectiveness of the learning approach at this school in its inaugural year. Two sources of data informed this research, including semi-structured interviews with parents and learning and support staff, and an analysis of documents related to the philosophy, curriculum, and learning approach. This paper reports on benefits and limitations of the learning approach identified by the parent participants in the study.

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