title: Exploring how Constraints Affect the Creative Process and Output of Modern Video Media

authors: Garson, Toni Lorraine

subjects: Constraints

abstract: Web series are a fairly new media form, only really emerging within the past 10 years. Dan Williams (2012) describes web series as a form of media that allows independent content creators that are excluded from traditional media forms a voice within the realm of media. Web series developed rapidly from home movies to full scale productions, exhibiting how low budget productions can still be of a high quality. This thesis explores what distinguishes web series from other media forms. The theoretical background surrounding web series provide interesting ideas that can be used to understand the medium further. The accessible nature of web series provides a context from which to understand the medium further.

This research explores real life constraints and how they effect the creative process and output of modern video media, focusing on web series. This project employs a practice-based approach, involving creating an independent web series as a way to discover first hand what constraints were faced, and how they were dealt with. The intent of this study is not to find and define the best way of dealing with certain constraints but rather to explore potential ways to manage obstacles that inevitably arise within a production. Utilizing interview methodologies and autoethnography, with a practice-based approach, this research allowed for a deeper understanding to be gained of the process of creating web series.

text: Exploring how Constraints Affect the Creative Process and Output of Modern Video Media Web series are a fairly new media form, only really emerging within the past 10 years. Dan Williams (2012) describes web series as a form of media that allows independent content creators that are excluded from traditional media forms a voice within the realm of media. Web series developed rapidly from home movies to full scale productions, exhibiting how low budget productions can still be of a high quality. This thesis explores what distinguishes web series from other media forms. The theoretical background surrounding web series provide interesting ideas that can be used to understand the medium further. The accessible nature of web series provides a context from which to understand the medium further.

This research explores real life constraints and how they effect the creative process and output of modern video media, focusing on web series. This project employs a practice-based approach, involving creating an independent web series as a way to discover first hand what constraints were faced, and how they were dealt with. The intent of this study is not to find and define the best way of dealing with certain constraints but rather to explore potential ways to manage obstacles that inevitably arise within a production. Utilizing interview methodologies and autoethnography, with a practice-based approach, this research allowed for a deeper understanding to be gained of the process of creating web series.

year: 2017

title: Motivations, Experiences and Potential Impacts of Visitors to a Monastery in New Zealand: A Case Study

authors: Rodrigues, Sanaya Anna Maria

subjects: Visitor Impacts on Monasteries

abstract: This thesis presents a case study of the potential impacts of pilgrimage and religious tourism in a Catholic context, with a focus on the perspectives of visitors and the host monastic community. The selected research site is the Tyburn Monastery, the only monastery and retreat centre in the Hamilton Catholic Diocese in New Zealand. The monastery is situated in the North Island near Rotorua, a tourist destination in New Zealand that is well known for its geo- thermal activity, adventure sports and promotion of the indigenous Maori culture. Specifically, this thesis studies visitors’ motivations and experiences for visiting the monastery, and the potential impact these visitors have on the monastery and on the monastic community. To achieve this end, and adopting a mixed methods research approach, 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with visitors who had been to the monastery, from which key themes were elicited, and also a questionnaire based study was conducted with 42 visitors to the monastery. The analysis sheds light on the profile of visitors, the activities in which the visitors participated, and also the visitors’ motives and experiences for the visit. In-depth interviews were conducted with three of the monastic nuns to gain an insight into how visitors potentially impact their monastic life.

Most of the visitors were from Hamilton; they were mainly female visitors and over the age of 40 years; they were predominantly day visitors who used their own transport to get to the monastery as there is no public transport available. These visitors were mostly accompanied by family and friends. All the respondents in this study were Catholic. Findings of the qualitative interviews elicited three key motivational themes which were: religious, personal and social motives. Furthermore, the quantitative data revealed the main motives for visiting the monastery were to ‘spend time with God’, ‘to nurture your faith’, ‘and ‘to pray’. Three key experiential themes emerged from the qualitative analysis through the respondents’ narratives of their experiences at the monastery. These were, ‘religious element’ ‘personal experience’ and ‘social setting element’. The monastery significantly influenced the visitors as they expressed that ‘I felt a special spirituality at the monastery’ to be a significant experience. The most popular activities at the monastery, as established from the quantitative analysis, included ‘attending mass’, ‘reciting prayers’ and ‘meditating’. The visitors acknowledged that they were fortunate to be allowed into the monastery, were very satisfied with their visit, and would visit the monastery again.

Findings of the interview with three of the nuns at the monastery revealed that all visitors were welcome and are not treated as a burden; in contrast to findings that are perhaps argued in existing religious tourism literature. These findings thereby contribute to the existing scholarly knowledge of how Catholic cloistered monasteries are efficiently managed; this is because of the Benedictine rule that they follow, which lays out principles of governing or administrating and hospitality. The monastery is still new, and limited advertising is done through Catholic magazines and newsletters of the Hamilton dioceses. In spite of this, the monastery receives a number of day visitors, and their retreat rooms also have a high occupancy rate. Care has been taken to insure that visitor numbers do not cause any negative impacts on the monastery environment.

In addition, from this research, it can also be concluded that at this monastery there is gender equality, since all visitors are allowed to participate in all the activities of the monastery. This monastery is visited primarily for devotional reasons, as it has no cultural or historical significance unlike the ancient monasteries in Europe and China. The unique experience noted in this research was also because of the rural setting, which therefore could be used to attract international visitors. Essentially, the research findings will aid in the understanding of visitors’ behaviour in relation to religious site management.

text: Motivations, Experiences and Potential Impacts of Visitors to a Monastery in New Zealand: A Case Study This thesis presents a case study of the potential impacts of pilgrimage and religious tourism in a Catholic context, with a focus on the perspectives of visitors and the host monastic community. The selected research site is the Tyburn Monastery, the only monastery and retreat centre in the Hamilton Catholic Diocese in New Zealand. The monastery is situated in the North Island near Rotorua, a tourist destination in New Zealand that is well known for its geo- thermal activity, adventure sports and promotion of the indigenous Maori culture. Specifically, this thesis studies visitors’ motivations and experiences for visiting the monastery, and the potential impact these visitors have on the monastery and on the monastic community. To achieve this end, and adopting a mixed methods research approach, 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with visitors who had been to the monastery, from which key themes were elicited, and also a questionnaire based study was conducted with 42 visitors to the monastery. The analysis sheds light on the profile of visitors, the activities in which the visitors participated, and also the visitors’ motives and experiences for the visit. In-depth interviews were conducted with three of the monastic nuns to gain an insight into how visitors potentially impact their monastic life.

Most of the visitors were from Hamilton; they were mainly female visitors and over the age of 40 years; they were predominantly day visitors who used their own transport to get to the monastery as there is no public transport available. These visitors were mostly accompanied by family and friends. All the respondents in this study were Catholic. Findings of the qualitative interviews elicited three key motivational themes which were: religious, personal and social motives. Furthermore, the quantitative data revealed the main motives for visiting the monastery were to ‘spend time with God’, ‘to nurture your faith’, ‘and ‘to pray’. Three key experiential themes emerged from the qualitative analysis through the respondents’ narratives of their experiences at the monastery. These were, ‘religious element’ ‘personal experience’ and ‘social setting element’. The monastery significantly influenced the visitors as they expressed that ‘I felt a special spirituality at the monastery’ to be a significant experience. The most popular activities at the monastery, as established from the quantitative analysis, included ‘attending mass’, ‘reciting prayers’ and ‘meditating’. The visitors acknowledged that they were fortunate to be allowed into the monastery, were very satisfied with their visit, and would visit the monastery again.

Findings of the interview with three of the nuns at the monastery revealed that all visitors were welcome and are not treated as a burden; in contrast to findings that are perhaps argued in existing religious tourism literature. These findings thereby contribute to the existing scholarly knowledge of how Catholic cloistered monasteries are efficiently managed; this is because of the Benedictine rule that they follow, which lays out principles of governing or administrating and hospitality. The monastery is still new, and limited advertising is done through Catholic magazines and newsletters of the Hamilton dioceses. In spite of this, the monastery receives a number of day visitors, and their retreat rooms also have a high occupancy rate. Care has been taken to insure that visitor numbers do not cause any negative impacts on the monastery environment.

In addition, from this research, it can also be concluded that at this monastery there is gender equality, since all visitors are allowed to participate in all the activities of the monastery. This monastery is visited primarily for devotional reasons, as it has no cultural or historical significance unlike the ancient monasteries in Europe and China. The unique experience noted in this research was also because of the rural setting, which therefore could be used to attract international visitors. Essentially, the research findings will aid in the understanding of visitors’ behaviour in relation to religious site management.

year: 2012

title: Effective implementation science processes for Māori and Indigenous health interventions

authors: Harding, Truely Janine

subjects: Implementation science

abstract: Background
This thesis considers the implications implementation science has for Indigenous communities, specifically in reducing health inequities for the Māori community of New Zealand. Implementation science has been discussed among many Western health interventions and this thesis adds to that body of literature while highlighting the impact implementation has for Indigenous communities. 
Implementation science is a growing body of literature that can identify the most effective processes for health organisations and governments to best engage with Indigenous communities facing health inequities. An important aspect of that is ensuring the Indigenous voices and perspectives are represented just as much as the academics and scholars in those fields. The purpose of this thesis is to highlight the facilitators and barriers of implementing health interventions with Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. This thesis aims to contribute to the conversation about reducing health inequities Māori communities’ face in New Zealand by enhancing implementation effectiveness. Therefore, it is an effort to illuminate the importance of the inclusion of community voice and perspectives when implementing health interventions with Indigenous communities. The thesis is with publications and includes four distinct studies.
Methodology & Methods
The key methodologies used in this study were Kaupapa Māori methodology and the He Pikinga Waiora (HPW) Implementation framework. Kaupapa Māori has been used as both a form of resistance and a methodological strategy, where research is created, developed, and carried within a Māori worldview with the aim to have positive outcomes that are beneficial for Māori. The HPW framework provided a holistic approach to guide this research through its key elements of: culture-centered approach, community engagement, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation. It is a forward-thinking approach as it is flexible in its design, which allows the framework to be tailored to a variety of implementation situations. The framework is centred in Kaupapa Māori methodology. Each principle of Kaupapa Māori and each element of HPW provide a holistic approach to implementation science.
Given this thesis includes four publications, a range of methods were employed for data collection. The first study was a systematic review of studies that was completed using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. This involved a stringent search strategy and inclusion criteria where studies included went through data extraction and methodological appraisal followed by an analysis through a qualitative synthesis of findings. Studies two and three employed semi-structured interviews that were analysed through thematic analysis. Study two included 19 participants who were either health professionals or researchers, and study three included 17 participants who were health professionals. The fourth study included an online cross-sectional survey of 200 health professionals and used statistical modelling to identify factors important for implementation effectiveness.
Results 
The first study included a systematic literature review to examine the implementation of a non-communicable disease health intervention for Indigenous communities using HPW as an evaluation tool. Twenty-one studies were included. Two thirds of these studies demonstrated high levels of community engagement and community voice/ agency, while 40% had individual-level outcomes with some systems thinking, and 33% included individual-level outcomes and limited systems thinking. Finally, almost 40% of studies included high levels of end-user engagement reflective of integrated knowledge translation, but nearly half had limited end-user engagement with the remaining neither high or low. This study found that the HPW Implementation Framework is a comprehensive model for understanding implementation effectiveness in Indigenous communities and highlighted the high levels of community engagement and community voice. It also brings to light that the long-term sustainability and translation of evidence to practice may be inhibited because of lower levels of systems thinking and integrated knowledge translation. 
The second study researched the perceptions health professionals have on co-designing health-promotion interventions with Indigenous communities in New Zealand. Co-designing health-promotion interventions with Indigenous communities presents many benefits and challenges. This study identified that the facilitators for co-designing health-promotion interventions with Māori communities were collaboration and community voice. Furthermore, the two key barriers identified were mismanaged expectations between the researcher and community and the research constraints placed by funding agencies. The findings support the development of more effective co-design health-promotion interventions within Māori communities which may address health inequities. 
The third study endeavoured to identify the facilitators and barriers in disseminating and adopting a health intervention developed by a community-academic partnership. This study explored general perceptions of the implementation process and also included a case study of an innovative intervention. The facilitators included community engagement, programme structure, programme adaptability and creators’ experience. The barriers consisted of funding access, funding constraints and organisational constraints. This study also highlights the importance of community engagement and adaptability suggesting a need for translation as well as diffusion. Additionally, this study identified nuanced aspects of funding and resources for organisations that constrain organisations in employing health interventions designed by others.
The final study identified factors that New Zealand health professionals rate as important for implementation effectiveness for health interventions with Māori communities. This study provided a unique perspective of health professionals on implementation effectiveness when working with Māori/Indigenous communities. Paired sample t-tests revealed four levels of importance for implementation effectiveness with organisational teamwork and community autonomy as most important. Only 24% of participants had prior experience with a previous health intervention with Māori communities. The two key overall factors that were associated with participants’ rating of implementation effectiveness in these previous interventions were process and community. This study identified the key areas of implementation effectiveness as community engagement and participatory process. Furthermore, the final study contributes to the body of literature that challenges traditional top-down approaches of implementation.
Conclusion
This research aimed to identify the facilitators and barriers to disseminating and implementing health interventions with Māori communities in New Zealand. A synthesis of the four studies provided four key themes for this thesis. This thesis reinforces the position that Indigenous and Māori implementation science should be focused on the process and community engagement. In doing so, community engagement ensures a cultural-centred approach that prioritises Indigenous knowledge and autonomy in the process of implementation. Furthermore, the barriers identified in this thesis recognise the challenges that remain in limited funding for translating research into implementation practice and managing expectations amongst the implementation team. This thesis has implications for New Zealand district health boards and health organisations who are wanting to increase the effectiveness of the health interventions they are implementing with Māori communities, particularly when trying to address health inequities. Overall, this study is an attempt to bridge the gap between translating research and the processes of putting it into practice.

text: Effective implementation science processes for Māori and Indigenous health interventions Background
This thesis considers the implications implementation science has for Indigenous communities, specifically in reducing health inequities for the Māori community of New Zealand. Implementation science has been discussed among many Western health interventions and this thesis adds to that body of literature while highlighting the impact implementation has for Indigenous communities. 
Implementation science is a growing body of literature that can identify the most effective processes for health organisations and governments to best engage with Indigenous communities facing health inequities. An important aspect of that is ensuring the Indigenous voices and perspectives are represented just as much as the academics and scholars in those fields. The purpose of this thesis is to highlight the facilitators and barriers of implementing health interventions with Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. This thesis aims to contribute to the conversation about reducing health inequities Māori communities’ face in New Zealand by enhancing implementation effectiveness. Therefore, it is an effort to illuminate the importance of the inclusion of community voice and perspectives when implementing health interventions with Indigenous communities. The thesis is with publications and includes four distinct studies.
Methodology & Methods
The key methodologies used in this study were Kaupapa Māori methodology and the He Pikinga Waiora (HPW) Implementation framework. Kaupapa Māori has been used as both a form of resistance and a methodological strategy, where research is created, developed, and carried within a Māori worldview with the aim to have positive outcomes that are beneficial for Māori. The HPW framework provided a holistic approach to guide this research through its key elements of: culture-centered approach, community engagement, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation. It is a forward-thinking approach as it is flexible in its design, which allows the framework to be tailored to a variety of implementation situations. The framework is centred in Kaupapa Māori methodology. Each principle of Kaupapa Māori and each element of HPW provide a holistic approach to implementation science.
Given this thesis includes four publications, a range of methods were employed for data collection. The first study was a systematic review of studies that was completed using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. This involved a stringent search strategy and inclusion criteria where studies included went through data extraction and methodological appraisal followed by an analysis through a qualitative synthesis of findings. Studies two and three employed semi-structured interviews that were analysed through thematic analysis. Study two included 19 participants who were either health professionals or researchers, and study three included 17 participants who were health professionals. The fourth study included an online cross-sectional survey of 200 health professionals and used statistical modelling to identify factors important for implementation effectiveness.
Results 
The first study included a systematic literature review to examine the implementation of a non-communicable disease health intervention for Indigenous communities using HPW as an evaluation tool. Twenty-one studies were included. Two thirds of these studies demonstrated high levels of community engagement and community voice/ agency, while 40% had individual-level outcomes with some systems thinking, and 33% included individual-level outcomes and limited systems thinking. Finally, almost 40% of studies included high levels of end-user engagement reflective of integrated knowledge translation, but nearly half had limited end-user engagement with the remaining neither high or low. This study found that the HPW Implementation Framework is a comprehensive model for understanding implementation effectiveness in Indigenous communities and highlighted the high levels of community engagement and community voice. It also brings to light that the long-term sustainability and translation of evidence to practice may be inhibited because of lower levels of systems thinking and integrated knowledge translation. 
The second study researched the perceptions health professionals have on co-designing health-promotion interventions with Indigenous communities in New Zealand. Co-designing health-promotion interventions with Indigenous communities presents many benefits and challenges. This study identified that the facilitators for co-designing health-promotion interventions with Māori communities were collaboration and community voice. Furthermore, the two key barriers identified were mismanaged expectations between the researcher and community and the research constraints placed by funding agencies. The findings support the development of more effective co-design health-promotion interventions within Māori communities which may address health inequities. 
The third study endeavoured to identify the facilitators and barriers in disseminating and adopting a health intervention developed by a community-academic partnership. This study explored general perceptions of the implementation process and also included a case study of an innovative intervention. The facilitators included community engagement, programme structure, programme adaptability and creators’ experience. The barriers consisted of funding access, funding constraints and organisational constraints. This study also highlights the importance of community engagement and adaptability suggesting a need for translation as well as diffusion. Additionally, this study identified nuanced aspects of funding and resources for organisations that constrain organisations in employing health interventions designed by others.
The final study identified factors that New Zealand health professionals rate as important for implementation effectiveness for health interventions with Māori communities. This study provided a unique perspective of health professionals on implementation effectiveness when working with Māori/Indigenous communities. Paired sample t-tests revealed four levels of importance for implementation effectiveness with organisational teamwork and community autonomy as most important. Only 24% of participants had prior experience with a previous health intervention with Māori communities. The two key overall factors that were associated with participants’ rating of implementation effectiveness in these previous interventions were process and community. This study identified the key areas of implementation effectiveness as community engagement and participatory process. Furthermore, the final study contributes to the body of literature that challenges traditional top-down approaches of implementation.
Conclusion
This research aimed to identify the facilitators and barriers to disseminating and implementing health interventions with Māori communities in New Zealand. A synthesis of the four studies provided four key themes for this thesis. This thesis reinforces the position that Indigenous and Māori implementation science should be focused on the process and community engagement. In doing so, community engagement ensures a cultural-centred approach that prioritises Indigenous knowledge and autonomy in the process of implementation. Furthermore, the barriers identified in this thesis recognise the challenges that remain in limited funding for translating research into implementation practice and managing expectations amongst the implementation team. This thesis has implications for New Zealand district health boards and health organisations who are wanting to increase the effectiveness of the health interventions they are implementing with Māori communities, particularly when trying to address health inequities. Overall, this study is an attempt to bridge the gap between translating research and the processes of putting it into practice.

year: 2021