19 research outputs found
The Gap: women’s and men’s perspectives on parenting in the context of domestic violence
No full textDomestic violence is a significant issue within New Zealand society. The purpose of this research was to explore parenting within the context of domestic violence, through men’s perspectives, as perpetrators of domestic violence, and women’s perspectives, as victims of domestic violence. The participants were recruited through their association with the Hamilton Abuse Intervention Project (HAIP), a coordinated community response to violence. The study aimed to gain understanding of the impact of violence on children, women, mothering and the batterer as parent; provide reflection on the men’s stopping violence programme at HAIP in relation to abusive men’s parenting; and examine the role of children in abusive men’s motivation to change. Nine semi-structured interviews with men attending HAIP’s stopping violence programmes were conducted, and two focus groups were held with ten women associated with HAIP. The key findings suggest that domestic violence has significant detrimental outcomes for children and women and significantly constrains women’s ability to be an effective mother. The men were found to use negative parenting practices but to have limited understanding of the impact of their behaviour on either mother or child. The women reported various ways in which they were able to work around the abuser to protect their children and to be effective as a mother, at least some of the time. Although women generally supported the continuing involvement of the fathers in the lives of their children, such involvement often served to disrupt the process of healing from the violence for both children and women. This study provides recommendations for policy and practice with regard to fathering interventions for abusive men
Tino rangatiratanga in health policies and practises
No full textThe purpose of my doctoral research was to investigate tino rangatiratanga in health policies and practises in Aotearoa. My research involved defining tino rangatiratanga and exploring the expression of tino rangatiratanga in health policy and practises. A kaupapa Māori analysis of the 1996 National Cervical Screening Programme’s Policy document was at the core of the policy investigation. The analysis involved developing a kaupapa Māori analysing framework and then analysing the 1996 National Cervical Screening Policy document for empirical and normative judgements at four discursive levels, health gains, health objectives, health goals and fundamental underlying values. A Kaupapa Māori research design drew on interdisciplinary scholarship on colonisation, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, community psychology, public policy, disability theory, feminist theory and discourse theory.
I argue that the dominance of Western cultural norms and state-directed policies were made possible by the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The signing of Te Tiriti saw Crown sovereignty being implemented and tino rangatiratanga ignored. The consequences for Māori have been disastrous with loss of land and economic base which has resulted in poor health status. I also argue that tino rangatiratanga has the potential to transform the social and political context that frame Aotearoa society. Such an approach raises a critical dilemma for the state as meaningful recognition of tino rangatiratanga requires waiving full and absolute sovereignty which currently resides in the state. Hence some scholars argue that tino rangatiratanga is a site for constructive engagement where state and Māori relationships can be renegotiated. The extent to which this potential for constructive engagement is being realised in however is inadequately explored in the scholarly literature. Exploring the relationships between tino rangatiratanga and health policies and practises as undertaken in my thesis will therefore contribute to scholarly knowledge on the subject.
The findings from the research show that tino rangatiratanga is indeed a complex, fluid, multi-faceted and context related concept. Within the context of my research, tino rangatiratanga is defined as Māori sovereignty, self determination, and positive Māori development. As a Māori value it is about mana and tapu of rangatira or leadership personified. Within policies, tino rangatiratanga has emerged through resistance and demonstration and is actualised through Tiriti legislation and policies.
The legitimation of tino rangatiratanga in cervical screening services sees Māori leadership at national, regional and local levels and Māori involvement through wide ranging consultation but the Crown still controls the policy process and therefore the outcomes. Most cervical screening services are still owned and operated by the Crown or Crown agencies.
One of the consequences of Crown control is that Māori women are still twice as likely to get cervical cancer and four times more likely to die from it. To some degree this may be the result of resource allocation and the result of discriminatory service practices but also the result of resistance to the procedure itself.
Tino rangatiratanga within cervical screening services could be strengthened through iwi ownership of some cervical screening register sites. At the time of my field work (2000) there were 14 sites, all owned and operated by Crown agents. Tino rangatiratanga could also be strengthened through funding criteria that ensure practitioners are safe to practise, through the adoption of less invasive procedures and through the legitimation of Māori healing practises such as rongoā and karakia.
Overall if tino rangatiratanga is to be given full effect within the policy domain Māori must have a well established asset base, they must be in control of the decision making making process including resource allocation, service delivery must address the diversities of Māori realities and Māori must be the recipients of policy decisions made
The Son and the other stars: Christology and cosmology in the imagination of C.S. Lewis
No full textThis dissertation treats the theory and practice of C. S. Lewis's theological imagination,
focussing upon the imaginative use he made of his professional expertise in medieval and
renaissance literature. Its approach is principally expository rather than an evaluative.
Chapter One outlines the centrality of the imagination to a proper understanding of Lewis's
works.
Chapter Two examines Lewis's own theory of imagination and surveys how he practised it
as a literary critic. We compare and contrast Lewis's theory and practice of imagination
with that of his friend, the theologian, Austin Faffer.
Chapter Three looks in more detail at Lewis's imaginative practice, in particular his
fascination with the images supplied by the seven planets of the Ptolemaic cosmos, which
he termed 'spiritual symbols of permanent value'. We analyse what he meant by 'sprit'
and 'symbol'.
Chapter Four introduces the main argument of the dissertation namely that these seven
spiritual symbols structure the works for which Lewis is best known, the seven 'Chronicles
of Narnia'. We claim to have uncovered the governing imaginative blueprint of the septet.
We address Lewis's capacity for and interest in secrecy and consider why this planetary
theme has remained hitherto undetected.
In Chapters Five to Eleven we take the seven planets in turn and trace the use Lewis made
of them through out his writings. We analyse the planetary symbolism undergirding each
Chronicle and conclude each chapter with an exegesis of the Christological message of each
book so understood.
Chapter Twelve examines factors which motivated Lewis to focus his imaginative energies
upon Ptolemaic cosmology and suggests one particular occasioning factor behind the
composition of the Chronicles. In addition, we consider theological and pedagogical reasons
why he kept silent about the planetary theme. We conclude by indicating certain
consequences that our argument has for future readings of these seven works
The virtual image : Brazilian literature in English translation
No full textThe
aim of this thesis is to
examine
how the virtual
image
of Brazil
and
its literature is
constructed
in the Anglo-American world. To this
end, a survey of
Brazilian literary
works
in English translation was
carried out.
Having
gathered this data, it became
possible to establish
correlations
between the historical
moments when such translations
were made, when their number
increased,
and the events occurring at
those times in the international
panorama, as well as to look into the
role of sponsors, publishers and translators in the
selection and
production of such translations.
The data
also allowed a profile of
Brazilian literary
works
in
English translation to be drawn. It became
possible to suggest that
such works
fall into four
main categories:
`authorial
works',
'topical
works',
`ambassadorial
works'
and `consumer-oriented
works'.
In
order
to look
more closely
into how the translation process
has helped to
shape
the
virtual
image
of Brazilian literary
works
in
the Anglo-American world, an analysis of a sample of
translations
of
such works was made. Included in this
sample were
the translations
of works
by Machado de Asis, by Indianist
and
Regionalist
wirters,
culminating
in
an examination of translations of
GuimarAes Rosa's
works.
Having looked
at these aspects of
the translation
process, what
remained
to be done
was to investigate
to what extent
Brazilian
literary
works
in English translation
are read
by the English-
speaking public.
To this
end, a survey of availability and
library
readership was undertaken. Finally,
a reading experiment was carried
out
in
which native speakers of
English
were asked to read the short
story
'A terceira
margem
do
rio',
by GuimarAes Rosa.
The
conclusion attempts to pull all these threads together and
to indicate directions for further
research
Making vision into power : Britain's acquisition of the world's first radar-based integrated air defence system 1935 - 1941
No full textThis thesis represents the first application of a current conceptual model of defence acquisition to analyse the historical process, the 1935 - 1941 British acquisition of an integrated air defence system pivoted upon the innovative technology of radar. For successful acquisition of a military capability, the model posits that balanced attention must be focused acoss eight 'lines of developmen' - not only equipment, but also doctrine and concepts, logistics, structures, personnel, organisation, training and information with an overarching requirement for interoperability. This thesis contrasts what turned out to be a successful acquisition, of radar to achive air interception capability by day in the Battle of Britain, with less successful acquisition, or radar to achieve the same capability at night, where an effective system arrived too late to ward off the Blitz. The results establish the validity of the model and its attendant lines of development concepts, and furnish new insights into acquisition processes and military history. Acquisition lessons are derived for the capability-based involvement of industry, for the experience and personality necessary for key managers at different 'life stages' of an acquisition and for the avoidance of over-rapid 'dysfunctional diffusion' of innovative technologies. Historical insights for the Battle of Britain include the sub-optimal performance, for trivial reasons, of key South Coast radars, and the critical importance of the human elements of the radar-based air defence system. For the Blitz, airborne radar hardware has previously been identified as a key problem, whereas research here exposes the greater need for accurate ground control radar, the sound selection and training of pilots and operators in new tactics, and provision of equipment maintainers and test gear. New evidence illustrates that pursuit of an alternative to radar significantly delayed the optimal solution, and throws fresh light both on personalities and on development process management
Exploited Edens: paradise discourse in colonial and postcolonial literature
No full textThis thesis examines the relation between figures of paradise and the ideologies and economies of colonialism, imperialism, and global capitalism, arguing that paradise myth is the product of a value-laden discourse related to profit, labour, and exploitation of resources, both human and environmental, which evolves in response to differing material conditions and discursive agendas. The literature of imperialism and conquest abounds with representations of colonies as potential gold-lands to be mined materially or discursively: from the EI Dorado of the New World and the 'infernal paradise' of Mexico, to the 'Golden Ophir' of Africa and the 'paradise of dharma' of Ceylon. Most postcolonial analyses of paradise discourse have focused exclusively on the Caribbean or the South Pacific, failing to acknowledge the appearance of fantasies of paradise in association with Africa and Asia. Therefore, my thesis not only performs a comparative reading of marginalized paradisal topoi and tropes related to Mexico, Zanzibar, and Ceylon, but also uncovers literature from these regions which has been overlooked in mainstream postcolonial .criticism, mapping the circulations, continuities, and reconfigurations of the paradise myth as it travels across colonie{and continents, empires and ideologies. My analysis of these three regions is divided into six chapters, the first of each section excavating colonial uses ofthe paradise myth and constructing its genealogy for that particular region, the second investigating revisionary uses of the motif by postcolonial writers including Malcolm Lowry, Wilson Harris, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and Romesh Gunesekera. I address imperialist discourse from outside the country in conjunction with discourse from within the independent nation in order to demonstrate how paradise begins as a literal topos motivating European exploration and colonization, develops into an ideological myth justifying imperial praxis and economic exploitation, and [mally becomes a literary motif used by contemporary postcolonial writers to challenge colonial representations and criticize neocolonial conditions
Reversed perspectives : a re-examination of the later novels of William Wilkie Collins
No full textAlthough a considerable amount of research has been done on Collins's sensation fiction, very little
critical attention has been paid to his later novels. Of those critics who have chosen to consider his
post-1870 fiction, the majority have dismissed it as so inferior to his early works as to be best
passed over as quickly as possible. Some feel that, without Dickens to guide his pen, Collins was
mcapable of writing anything worth reading; others suspect that the influence of Charles Reade was
as detrimental to Collins's talent as Dickens's had been beneficial; yet more deCided that laudanum
had fogged both his mind and his literary imagination. The purpose of this thesis is to refute these
claims, and to establish that Collins's later works remain of great interest from both a literary and a
social point of view.
The thesis is divided into seven sections-an Apology, an Introduction, four chapters, and a
conclusion.
The Apology sets out to examine the modern hostility towards the novels written in the last two
decades of his life, and to show how this frequently varies from contemporary opinion. As I do not
ascribe to the theory that Collins's novels reveal a steady decline over the years, I have chosen not
to adopt a chronological examination of his works, but rather a thematic one, which illustrates the
consistency of his philosophy.
The Introduction attempts to show that the difference between what is popularly called Collins's
'sensation' fiction and his 'thesis' novels is not so hard and fast as has often been maintained. It
also introduces the ideas which will be developed throughout the thesis, namely that, by the
sublation of many of the binary oppositions we have come to connect with Victorian literaturemasculine/
feminine, good/evil, hero/villain-Collins's works provide a reversed perspective on his
society.
Chapter 1, 'Good Girls', conSiders Heart and Science (1883), The Two Destinies (1876), and Man and
Wife (1870). The second half of the nineteenth century was, for women, a time of upheaval; the
Angel in the House had been superseded by her more dynamic and independent sister, whose
inadequacy as a role-model was a frequent theme in much of the literature of the time. Whilst
society was attempting to maintain the status quo by demanding that men be men and women
subservient, these three novels stand out as defying-or, at least, ridiculing-convention on almost
all gender-related levels.
Chapter 2, 'Fallen Women', concentrates upon The Evil Genius (1886), The New Magdalen (1873), and
The Fallen Leaves (1879). Collins was not the only author to deal with the subject of women who
transgressed the moral code, but he was one of the few who had the courage to stand by his fallen
women until the end. Rather than sentencing them to a penitential death, he allows them, reformed
and unsullied by their previous degradation, to marry and reclaim their place in society. Moreover,
he also shows that it is frequently those representatives of respectable society whose actions and
attitudes are much more at fault than those of the women they choose to censure.
Chapter 3, 'Wicked Creatures', is a long chapter which analyses '[ Say No' (1884), Blind Love (1890),
The Legacy of Cain (1888), and Jezebel's Daughter (1880). Collins's deep-seated belief in the duality
of human nature, which has already been suggested in the previous chapters, is here more fully
explored. Just as his 'heroines' have been seen to defy their conventional roles, rising gracefully
above the tribulations of pregnancy, prostitution, and persecution, so too do his villainesses flout
the rules by which such wicked creatures should more properly be governed. His household devils
are no more wholly demonic than his domestic angels are wholly sublime.
Chapter 4, 'Other Men', discusses Poor Miss Finch (1872), The Black Robe (1881), and The Law and The
Lady (1875). Not only were women expected by contemporary society to comply with an ideal, but
men also found themselves being exhorted to conform to an active and dominant masculine
archetype. The novels examined in this chapter shows the consequences of the failure to live up to
these frequently impossible standards. Rather than adhere to the binary oppositions of
selfless/selfish, wise/foolish, strong/weak, Collins presents his reader with composite figures who
are, perhaps, truer to human nature than literature usually allows.
The ConclUSion draws together the threads of the previous chapters. It also looks at Collins as a
nineteenth-century writer with surprisingly modern ideas, and examines Collins's literary legacy,
which is more usually to be found in the field of popular fiction
Iowa History and Culture : A Bibliography of Materials Published Between 1952 and 1986, 1989
No full textThis bibliography was compiled by two reference librarians, Patricia Dawson and David Hudson with the goal of making it easier of tracking down material on Iowa history and culture. This supplements the Iowa History Reference Guide published in 1952 by William Petersen
The common good in a plural society: Muslims, Christians and the Public Arena in Britain
No full textThis thesis develops an idea of how the common good might be pursued in a plural society, beginning from Jonathan Sacks' vision of such a society as a'community of communities'. It does so principally by developing Alasdair Maclnytre's concept of 'tradition'. Chapter 1 begins by assembling conceptual tools for the task, drawing on the work of scholars from a variety of disciplines. These include understandings of morality, plurality, community
relations, the common good, the public arena, and modernity.
Chapter 2 begins to refine these tools through a case study of The Satanic Verses controversy. The analysis is achieved principally by viewing the controversy in terms of a
conflict between two communities of interpretation, a'literary community' and 'the British Muslim community'. While it is recognised that these constructs are over-simplistic, it is argued that the conflict can most fairly be viewed by seeing participants in the controversy as
members of communities of interpretation, each with their own history, practices and identities at stake. In the course of the chapter, the 'literary community' is identified as broadly 'liberal' in outlook. Liberalism is then the topic of Chapter 3, in particular recent
theoretical formulations of liberalism in the work of Rawls, Kymlicka and Galston, and their application of liberal theory to minority cultures in plural secularised societies.
Chapter 4 provides an account of the failure of such liberal approaches according to Maclntyre, developing his concept of tradition as an alternative way to safeguard the integrity of individuals and communities, and to pursue the common good in a plural society. Chapters 5 and 6 seek to understand aspects of British Muslim and Christian communities respectively in the light of this analysis, in particular their inter-relationship with British society, and their contribution to the common good. Chapter 7 then problematises and refines the concept of tradition through an examination of the work of John Milbank, suggesting an understanding of tradition which combines teleological orientation, emphasis on concrete cultural practices
and recognition of difference. Finally, Chapter 8 applies this refined concept of tradition to two contested fields; the international debate on Islam and human rights, and multicultural, citizenship and religious education in schools in England and Wales
