Applied Practice Dissertations and Theses
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Item The Final Frontier: A Pasifika perspective of the transition gaps from adolescent to young adults in state care(2024) Tavita, Robson Alualu; Unitec, Te PūkengaRESEARCH AIM: • To explore the experiences of young Pasifika men (aged 16-25) who participate in a transition to adulthood programme (TTA) on exit from state care. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What were the background histories and prior experiences of the young Pasifika men, with their families and state care before entering the TTA programme? 2. What was the effect of the TTA programme in supporting the research participants to transition from state care to independent living? 3. What are participants' experiences with key elements of the TTA programme (the values, rites of passage, roles, and responsibilities)? ABSTRACT In New Zealand leaving statutory care (state care) to live independently occurs when a young person turns 18. Many ‘state leavers’ make up an unseen population who lack adequate preparation for this journey into independence and adulthood. This research examines state care leavers who have participated in a culturally responsive Transition to Adulthood (TTA) programme with a well-established Pasifika and Māori youth mentoring programme in West Auckland. The ten research participants were young Pasifika men aged 16-25 years. Data collected for the research was through Talanoa – the art of the spoken word via audio recordings that were transcribed and thematically analysed. The Talanoa conversations draw out and tell the participants’ stories and identify key aspects of their experience before participating in the programme. The research highlights the state leavers' backgrounds, the extent of their state care and their lack of social and emotional preparation for transition. Risk factors such as peer pressure, exclusions, incarceration, drugs, and alcohol were acknowledged by the participants to be additional barriers to their integration into society. While the participants experienced the mentoring programme as holistic, supportive, and nurturing the TTA programme is constantly challenged to meet the needs of the state leavers. This research recognises professionals such as youth workers, social workers, and agencies like schools and Pasifika organisations, must engage in a significant preparatory role with young Pasifika males, before and after their exit, to help prevent them from returning to the ‘system’ through other agencies e.g., prison or ongoing welfare dependency. The recommendations from this research emphasise the importance of culturally responsive mentoring to include family support and reciprocity, a (re)balanced life, and continuing personal development.Item Strategies that could help parents better identify and respond to suicide risk(2023) McCarthy, Birgette; Unitec, Te PūkengaRESEARCH QUESTIONS 1 What was the awareness of parents and guardians in relation to… prior to their gaining the knowledge of their children's suicidal thoughts or attempts at suicide? 2 What were the responses of parents and guardians and support services, immediately and over time, when they became aware that suicidal issues were present with their children? 3 To what extent were parents and guardians prepared for the possibility of a suicidal event and what was the value of support services post event? 4 How could parents and guardians be better resourced around suicide awareness and prevention, and around post-event recovery? 5 What are the demographics of the participant group? ABSTRACT This research explores youth suicide prevention strategy and the role that parents have in youth suicide prevention. Through participants’ interviews on their experience of their child’s suicide, we hope to discover strategies that could help parents better identify and respond to suicide risk, and for community agencies to use information from this research to develop better suicide prevention strategies for parents to use with their adolescences. This research was based on lived experiences from six parents and one whangai carer (three Māori, two Pasifika and two Pākehā) collected in 2021. Six who had lost a child to suicide and one who had survived but has had multiple serious suicide attempts. These all happened in the period of 2014 and 2018. The process was undertaken with a narrative interview approach guided by a small number of pre-set questions and a larger number of interview prompts used to deepen the conversation if needed. The verbatim was then analysed by thematic analysis which demonstrated and supported themes in the literature such as current, relatively recent and life-time indicators of suicide risk. The analysis showed consistent predicted and emerging themes in the narratives. The main areas of risk were mental health and drug use concerns; and prior self-harm or suicide attempt; cultural disconnection; the presence of abuse and trauma; and relationship issues particularly parental separation; and frequently very early in life. Key issues were the failure of many of the parents to recognise and /or respond to risk factors, particularly their own trauma issues and the failure of mainstream mental health services to respond to suicide attempts appropriately. Cultural practices and services were often absent or unhelpful and, in some circumstances, cultural services needed to work more closely with mainstream services to prevent further suicide attempts. Important post-suicide themes included powerful post-suicide depression in the male participants; the ineffectiveness of victim support; the value of whānau, marae and community support; as well as the power of love and commitment from whānau. Within these themes the issues of ideation, connection and capability and contagion play out. The research confirmed the clear gaps found in the literature review around education and support for parents on youth suicide prevention. Participants confirmed there was little to no resources currently available specifically for parents with adolescents around this topic. Parents stated they had to search for support and even then, it was not guaranteedItem Poipoia te mauri ki a puāwai te mauri o te whānau: The Poutama - is it working in Hauraki?(2023) Messiter, Denise; Unitec, Te PūkengaRESEARCH QUESTIONS The following overarching inquiries will guide this research: • What is the relationship between colonisation, intergenerational historical trauma and whānau violence in Hauraki that emerges from the narratives of the participants in the study? • What processes, ideas, activities in the Poutama Mauri Ora, Mauri Tū wānanga contribute to healing whānau violence in Hauraki? • To what extent have graduates of the wānanga utilised their knowledge and experience of the Poutama Mauri Ora, Mauri Tū wānanga to assist their whakapapa whānau in taking responsibility for and being accountable to their whānau for the extent of violence in their whānau? ABSTRACT This study explores the effectiveness of the Poutama Mauri Ora, Mauri Tū wānanga, a mātauranga Māori approach for healing whānau violence in Hauraki. The study is essential as it highlights that a tangata whenua approach to healing whānau violence has been potent, memorable, and life-changing for nine wānanga participants. Moreover, this research contends there is a connection between whānau violence, intergenerational historical trauma, and colonisation for Hauraki whānau Māori. Therefore, Hauraki mātauranga approaches to healing emotional and spiritual wounds inflicted by colonisation and whānau violence are required. This research delves deep into the lived experience of nine kai pūrākau (participants) who attended a Poutama Mauri Ora, Mauri Tu wānanga to explore the effectiveness of transferring mātauranga Māori in practice and how that transfer has contributed to healing whānau violence. Moreover, this study's research design and thinking are grounded in kaupapa Māori research principles. It covers how I engaged with the nine kai pūrākau and the research methods I used to analyse their pūrākau (narratives). There are four ancestral archetypes central to the Poutama: the Tohunga (healer), Toa (leader), Matakite (seer), and Kai Ako (educator). My kaumatua, who supported me in developing the wānanga, chose these because they are gender-neutral. This study indicates that the fluidity of gender-neutral archetypes enables wāhine and tāne participating in a Poutama wānanga to traverse Te Ao Māori healing practices free from imposed Western male-dominated gender hierarchies. One of the biggest surprises in this study is that kai pūrākau did not mention hapū and iwi as having a role in healing whānau violence. The conclusions drawn from this study are: a) the Poutama Mauri Ora, Mauri Tu wānanga is an effective tangata whenua healing modality for supporting whānau Māori to heal their lived experiences of whānau violence. b) the four Poutama archetypes are sites for transformation. c) that research regarding Hauraki gender-neutral exemplars and the role of hapū and iwi; in healing whānau violence need further examination by Hauraki researchers.Item Catholic views on assisted dying(2023) Mario, Mary Petera; Unitec, Te Pūkenga; Te PūkengaRESEARCH QUESTIONS • How do the religious views of elderly Catholic members of a church community in Auckland influence their thinking about assisted dying? • How do Catholic elders in a church community in Auckland imagine potential influences on their faith and their identities as Catholics, if assisted dying were to become legalized in New Zealand? ABSTRACT This study explores the views of assisted dying of elderly Catholic members of a church community in Auckland, New Zealand, examining how their religious faith and identity shape these views. The dissertation also explores the impact of the legalisation of assisted dying on participants' faith and identities as Catholics. The study employs Talanoa methodology as well as phenomenological research methodology, and it involves nine participants. Thematic analysis of interview data was utilized to uncover trends in participants' views on assisted dying. The following three key themes were identified: religious beliefs, involvement with the health care of loved ones who were dying, and lack of Catholic Church directives. According to the current study, all nine participants generally oppose assisted dying based on the sanctity of human life; its intentional (human) termination is considered murder according to biblical and Catholic teachings. Participants also identified their core values and faith beliefs that impact their views of assisted dying. Moreover, the results of this study show that assisted dying concerns Catholic participants who are part of communities involved in alternative experiences and practices around death and dying. Palliative care is seen as an alternative to assisted dying in the Catholic Church. This study also uncovered views of assisted dying that vary according to ethnicity. Surprisingly, five Pacific participants were concerned about palliative care or hospices quietly promoting assisted dying and preferred to die in their homes. Pacific participants also raised concerns about assisted death taking away their cultural practices of death and dying, including expressions of grief, singing, praying, crying and mourning. Pacific participants expressed concern about how such cultural practices are restricted in hospitals or care facilities. On the other hand, three out of the four European participants were more open to palliative care or hospice care because of their experience of loved ones who had died in palliative care. One European participant, already in a retirement home, did not support hospice care. Assisted dying is a complex problem involving multiple legal, moral, medical and social concerns. As a result, arguments against and in favour of assisted dying are likely to continue to clash for the foreseeable future. To capture and address all of these arguments is beyond the scope of this study,Item Māori & Pasifika women in trades: Exploring the challenges and successes of Māori and Pasifika women studying automotive and trade-related courses at a large polytechnic in the North Island Aotearoa, New Zealand(2023) Solomon, Derrick; Unitec, Te Pūkenga; Te PūkengaIn Aotearoa, New Zealand, gender-based occupational segregation is alive and well. The under-representation of women in trade studies and trade-based occupations is reflected in the statistics discussed. The Christchurch earthquake of 2011 highlighted the shortage of skilled trades people in New Zealand where women were identified as an untapped resource that could fill the skills gap to assist with the rebuild in Christchurch. This thesis explores the challenges and successes of Māori and Pasifika women studying automotive and trade-related courses. The research was conducted at a prominent Institute of Technology in the North Island, focusing mainly on the low enrolments and uptake of pre-trade study courses by Māori and Pasifika women. However, a broader overview of women in trade-related occupations is discussed focusing on trade culture, factors impacting women's career choices, gender role socialization and stereotypes, collegial challenges, the status of women's participation in trades, and educational guidance processes. In the New Zealand context, an overview of Māori and Pasifika women in trade study and occupations will be outlined. Correlations are drawn between women's and men's trade statistics to indicate national trends. The research participants for this study consisted of six Māori and six Pasifika women. Individual responses and findings indicated commonalities between women's challenges in the broader trade industry. The following challenges, successes, and ways to improve the learning experience were deduced from the participant's interviews. The challenges are racial discrimination, sexism, unconscious male bias, gender roles (male and cultural), the need to prove oneself, stigmas, work prospects, and vocational guidance at school.The successes are the value of achievement, completion of study and achieving higher qualifications. Things that could improve the learning experience were signalled as providing Māori (Ako) learning spaces that reflect Mātauranga Māori/Kaupapa Māori and Pasifika settings. Also, there was the suggestion to employ female tutors in trade-training.