Archival Interventions and Disentangling Legacy Records

Appraisal and disposition of government records at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) focuses primarily on acquiring the “right” records to best document a given function of the Government of Canada. Once records pass into LAC’s care, access is provided through an inconsistent approach of online descriptive records and on-site finding aids, often with minimal or incorrect contextualizing information that hinders their overall discoverability and use. Through a study of both the legacy photographic records in the National Film Board of Canada Fonds and the recontextualization project currently underway at LAC, the author examines the history of the record, from recordkeeping practices to the transfer to LAC, and some of the interventions by the archives to describe and shape these records over several generations of custodial care. All of these various actions have had a hidden impact on the use and understanding of both the individual records and the larger collection. This article provides a case study in how rearrangement based on research into creators, organizational recordkeeping systems, and archival custodial practices can draw out complex, multiple provenances and provide researchers with a fuller contextual history of the record.

The Collection of Jane Ryan & William Saunders

This paper focuses on an ongoing project that began in 2012, entitled The Collection of Jane Ryan & William Saunders. This project is an attempt to reconstitute the Marcos Collection. Sourced from auction catalogues, museum archives, and scant government records, their lavish inventory of commissioned portraits, jewellery, Regency silverware, and old master paintings is reproduced as photographic installations, postcards, and three-dimensional prints. Reconstruction, in this instance, becomes a sustained democratic gesture, allowing an increasingly forgetful public to access a collection that has remained unavailable through a systemic failure by successive post-dictatorial governments to institutionalize collective acts of remembering.

The Use of Land Value Taxation In New Zealand (1891 - 1991)

<p>This thesis examines the historical use of land value taxation by the New Zealand government over the period 1891 – 1991. The study adopts qualitative research methods to explore how land taxation policy progressed over the century and what were the relevant influences on policy direction. The primary aim of the study is to examine how the land value tax policy used in New Zealand developed over time, what drove changes to it and, ultimately, why it was abolished. To this end the study adopts a historical institutionalist framework to analyse the influence of institutional factors on the development of land tax policy. Particular attention is paid to the influence of ideas, path dependency, critical junctures and power. The research itself is an interpretive narrative history, primarily drawing from historical document sources including government records and publications, legislation, parliamentary debate records, court records and media coverage. By addressing this topic, this research informs future debate as to the suitability of land taxation for use as a tool to influence the property market or as a method of wealth taxation. In addition it offers an explanation as to how methods of taxation can become obsolete and eventually be abolished, in a New Zealand context.</p>

The Use of Land Value Taxation In New Zealand (1891 - 1991)

<p>This thesis examines the historical use of land value taxation by the New Zealand government over the period 1891 – 1991. The study adopts qualitative research methods to explore how land taxation policy progressed over the century and what were the relevant influences on policy direction. The primary aim of the study is to examine how the land value tax policy used in New Zealand developed over time, what drove changes to it and, ultimately, why it was abolished. To this end the study adopts a historical institutionalist framework to analyse the influence of institutional factors on the development of land tax policy. Particular attention is paid to the influence of ideas, path dependency, critical junctures and power. The research itself is an interpretive narrative history, primarily drawing from historical document sources including government records and publications, legislation, parliamentary debate records, court records and media coverage. By addressing this topic, this research informs future debate as to the suitability of land taxation for use as a tool to influence the property market or as a method of wealth taxation. In addition it offers an explanation as to how methods of taxation can become obsolete and eventually be abolished, in a New Zealand context.</p>

Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship: The Experience of Chinese Migrants to Australia

This article reports on findings from interviews with a small group of Chinese female immigrants to Australia who have started up their own business since their arrival. Unlike most publications concerning immigration that focus upon financial factors, we have instead concentrated on their personal journeys, why they started their businesses and the benefits they sought. We interviewed thirteen participants in Adelaide who had recently arrived from China with the aim of immigrating permanently to Australia. Immigration records indicate that by 2020 this figure had risen to over 160,000 per annum. However, it dropped again quickly in 2020 following the beginning of COVID-19. Nonetheless, according to recent Australian government records, over 866,200 current Australian residents have Chinese ancestry and 74% are first-generation migrants. The primary motivators for respondents were independence and control as well as income and skill development. Respondents were also satisfied by the personal development they gained.

Soldiers & Colonists: Imperial Soldiers as Settlers in Nineteenth-Century New Zealand

<p>The approximately 18,000 imperial troops who arrived in New Zealand with the British regiments between 1840 and 1870 as garrison and combat troops, did not do so by choice. However, for the more than 3,600 non-commissioned officers and rank and file soldiers who subsequently discharged from the army in New Zealand, and the unknown but significant number of officers who retired in the colony, it was their decision to stay and build civilian lives as soldier settlers in the colony. This thesis investigates three key themes in the histories of soldiers who became settlers: land, familial relationships, and livelihood. In doing so, the study develops an important area of settler colonialism in New Zealand history. Discussion covers the period from the first arrival of soldiers in the 1840s through to the early twentieth century – incorporating the span of the soldier settlers’ lifetimes. The study focuses on selected aspects of the history of nineteenth-century war and settlement. Land is examined through analysis of government statutes and reports, reminiscences, letters, and newspapers, the thesis showing how and why soldier settlers were assisted on to confiscated and alienated Māori land under the Waste Lands and New Zealand Settlement Acts. Attention is also paid to documenting the soldier settlers’ experiences of this process and its problems. Further, it discusses some of the New Zealand settlements in which military land grants were concentrated. It also situates such military settlement practices in the context of the wider British Empire. The place of women, children, and the regimental family in the soldier settlers’ New Zealand lives is also considered. This history is explored through journals, reminiscences, biography and newspapers, and contextualised via imperial and military histories. How and where men from the emphatically male sphere of the British Army met and married women during service in New Zealand is examined, as are the contexts in which they lived their married lives. Also discussed are the contrasting military and colonial policies towards women and marriage, and how these were experienced by soldier settlers and their families. Lastly, the livelihood of soldier settlers is explored – the thesis investigating what sort of civilian lives soldier settlers experienced and how they made a living for themselves and their families. Utilising newspapers, reminiscences, biography, and government records the diversity of work army veterans undertook in the colony is uncovered. Notable trends include continued military-style roles and community leadership. The failed farming enterprise is also emphasised. Going further, it offers analysis of the later years of life and the different experiences of soldier settlers in their twilight years, particularly for those with and without family networks in the colony. The thesis challenges the separation between ‘war’ and ‘settlement’ by focusing on a group whose history spanned both sides of the nineteenth-century world of colony and empire.</p>

Soldiers & Colonists: Imperial Soldiers as Settlers in Nineteenth-Century New Zealand

<p>The approximately 18,000 imperial troops who arrived in New Zealand with the British regiments between 1840 and 1870 as garrison and combat troops, did not do so by choice. However, for the more than 3,600 non-commissioned officers and rank and file soldiers who subsequently discharged from the army in New Zealand, and the unknown but significant number of officers who retired in the colony, it was their decision to stay and build civilian lives as soldier settlers in the colony. This thesis investigates three key themes in the histories of soldiers who became settlers: land, familial relationships, and livelihood. In doing so, the study develops an important area of settler colonialism in New Zealand history. Discussion covers the period from the first arrival of soldiers in the 1840s through to the early twentieth century – incorporating the span of the soldier settlers’ lifetimes. The study focuses on selected aspects of the history of nineteenth-century war and settlement. Land is examined through analysis of government statutes and reports, reminiscences, letters, and newspapers, the thesis showing how and why soldier settlers were assisted on to confiscated and alienated Māori land under the Waste Lands and New Zealand Settlement Acts. Attention is also paid to documenting the soldier settlers’ experiences of this process and its problems. Further, it discusses some of the New Zealand settlements in which military land grants were concentrated. It also situates such military settlement practices in the context of the wider British Empire. The place of women, children, and the regimental family in the soldier settlers’ New Zealand lives is also considered. This history is explored through journals, reminiscences, biography and newspapers, and contextualised via imperial and military histories. How and where men from the emphatically male sphere of the British Army met and married women during service in New Zealand is examined, as are the contexts in which they lived their married lives. Also discussed are the contrasting military and colonial policies towards women and marriage, and how these were experienced by soldier settlers and their families. Lastly, the livelihood of soldier settlers is explored – the thesis investigating what sort of civilian lives soldier settlers experienced and how they made a living for themselves and their families. Utilising newspapers, reminiscences, biography, and government records the diversity of work army veterans undertook in the colony is uncovered. Notable trends include continued military-style roles and community leadership. The failed farming enterprise is also emphasised. Going further, it offers analysis of the later years of life and the different experiences of soldier settlers in their twilight years, particularly for those with and without family networks in the colony. The thesis challenges the separation between ‘war’ and ‘settlement’ by focusing on a group whose history spanned both sides of the nineteenth-century world of colony and empire.</p>

Trust in Recordkeeping

<p>Research Problem: Compliance in recordkeeping is essential, especially in public service organisations that are required to comply with the Public Records Act (PRA) of New Zealand, which lays down strict guidelines for recordkeeping to aid in transparency in government. Records must be comprehensive and complete, as well as authentic and reliable. People are less likely to use a system if they do not trust it. There are various factors influencing compliance; this research examines trust in the recordkeeping system itself, and the factors that enhance or diminish trust. Methodology: This quantitative research was conducted using an online questionnaire in March of 2014. It was disseminated via New Zealand’s listserv for the recordkeeping community and it was sent to records managers because they understand the PRA, and have a holistic view of recordkeeping; and also would have an overview of staff compliance and attitudes. Text questions were included at the end, giving people an opportunity to explain or expand on their answers. Findings: Results were varied, reflecting the diversity of organisations affected by the PRA as well as diversity in standards of recordkeeping and compliance. Some results were clear, with all respondents seeing the benefit of support from management. Different problems were experienced in different organisations, and strategies to enhance trust and consequences of mistrust were listed. Implications: With increased knowledge about the factors affecting trust in recordkeeping systems, as well potential solutions, records managers can have a better chance of running or implementing a successful system. People factors play a large role in the success of a system, and record managers need to find ways to achieve user buy-in. Different solutions work in different organisations. Further research into the other factors affecting compliance in recordkeeping systems is indicated.</p>

Trust in Recordkeeping

<p>Research Problem: Compliance in recordkeeping is essential, especially in public service organisations that are required to comply with the Public Records Act (PRA) of New Zealand, which lays down strict guidelines for recordkeeping to aid in transparency in government. Records must be comprehensive and complete, as well as authentic and reliable. People are less likely to use a system if they do not trust it. There are various factors influencing compliance; this research examines trust in the recordkeeping system itself, and the factors that enhance or diminish trust. Methodology: This quantitative research was conducted using an online questionnaire in March of 2014. It was disseminated via New Zealand’s listserv for the recordkeeping community and it was sent to records managers because they understand the PRA, and have a holistic view of recordkeeping; and also would have an overview of staff compliance and attitudes. Text questions were included at the end, giving people an opportunity to explain or expand on their answers. Findings: Results were varied, reflecting the diversity of organisations affected by the PRA as well as diversity in standards of recordkeeping and compliance. Some results were clear, with all respondents seeing the benefit of support from management. Different problems were experienced in different organisations, and strategies to enhance trust and consequences of mistrust were listed. Implications: With increased knowledge about the factors affecting trust in recordkeeping systems, as well potential solutions, records managers can have a better chance of running or implementing a successful system. People factors play a large role in the success of a system, and record managers need to find ways to achieve user buy-in. Different solutions work in different organisations. Further research into the other factors affecting compliance in recordkeeping systems is indicated.</p>

An annotated bibliography of multidisciplinary information security resources, for the purpose of maintaining privacy and confidentiality in New Zealand government records management

<p>Research Problem Maintaining privacy and confidentiality of data in an age of e-government and electronic recordkeeping is one of the key challenges for records management staff today. In New Zealand this issue has attracted negative attention through several recent public sector privacy and security breaches, raising questions about systemic issues, accountability, and a disconnect between strategy and implementation. How government responds will depend in large measure on the advice received regarding solutions to information security. A bibliographic gap on the relationship between records management and information security has been identified in the academic literature. Methodology Using targeted search strategies this annotated bibliography draws together articles from a range of journals with the aim of developing a consolidated resource for practitioners to become acquainted with the multifaceted and multidisciplinary nature of information security. The outcome is a resource directly relevant to the New Zealand context, which identifies key perspectives, relationships, technical issues, and shortcomings in research. Results Key findings relate to publishing trends, divided disciplines, and shortcomings in research pertaining to records management relationships with IT groups and engagement in e-government. Implications Includes the development of more comprehensive e-government information and security strategies, the re-examination and utilisation of existing relationships, and the strengthening of records management's position as a contributor to research and leadership in the array of possible responses to information security.</p>