title: Cry, baby, cry: A dialogic response to emotion

authors: White, Elizabeth Jayne

abstract: This article challenges traditional approaches to emotion as a discreet biological or dialectic process in the early years. In doing so the proposition is made that emotion is an answerable social act of meaning-making and self-hood. Inspired by Bakhtinian philosophy, which resists separating emotion from cognition or the individual from their social milieu, the dialogic interplay that takes place between an 18-month-old infant, adults, and peers in a New Zealand Education and Care setting is explored from an emotional volitional standpoint. Drawing on eleven hours of polyphonic split-screen video footage taken from the visual perspective of the infant and those around her, language acts and their interpretive aftermath are presented as intersubjective and alteric (i.e., altering) communicative acts. Taken together they recaste infant emotionality as a highly strategic socially oriented process of embodied performance through selective employment of genres that "speak" to the adult. The article argues that such a renewed appreciation of infant emotion has potential for understanding very young children as strategically acting upon as well as responding to the environment that surrounds them. As such there is potential to view emotional acts as answerable performance, with revealing implications for those who share in infant experience.

text: Cry, baby, cry: A dialogic response to emotion This article challenges traditional approaches to emotion as a discreet biological or dialectic process in the early years. In doing so the proposition is made that emotion is an answerable social act of meaning-making and self-hood. Inspired by Bakhtinian philosophy, which resists separating emotion from cognition or the individual from their social milieu, the dialogic interplay that takes place between an 18-month-old infant, adults, and peers in a New Zealand Education and Care setting is explored from an emotional volitional standpoint. Drawing on eleven hours of polyphonic split-screen video footage taken from the visual perspective of the infant and those around her, language acts and their interpretive aftermath are presented as intersubjective and alteric (i.e., altering) communicative acts. Taken together they recaste infant emotionality as a highly strategic socially oriented process of embodied performance through selective employment of genres that "speak" to the adult. The article argues that such a renewed appreciation of infant emotion has potential for understanding very young children as strategically acting upon as well as responding to the environment that surrounds them. As such there is potential to view emotional acts as answerable performance, with revealing implications for those who share in infant experience.

year: 2013

title: Breaking the web of silence: An exploration of Chinese women's experience of domestic violence in New Zealand

authors: Gee, Linda

subjects: Domestic Violence

abstract: Domestic violence is a serious social issue within New Zealand society. Asian immigrant women with domestic violence experiences often face specific socio-cultural challenges and barriers that hinder them from making sense of their experience, seeking help and accessing necessary intervention. In New Zealand, there is limited domestic violence research which focuses on the lived experience of women in Asian immigrant communities. 
This research attempts to fill this gap by exploring Chinese women’s experience of domestic violence in New Zealand. It explores the dynamics of domestic violence in the context of family, community and immigration and the impact of violence on Chinese women’s health and well-being. It examines the cultural and gendered factors which shape Chinese women’s experiences and their help-seeking strategies. This research identifies barriers facing the women when they seek help from their informal and formal support networks. It also examines, from the Chinese women’s perspective, the role of the Chinese community and statutory and community-based services in offering effective intervention to Chinese women. 
Five case studies based on semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of Chinese immigrant women’s experience of domestic violence. 
The findings suggest that Chinese immigrant women are particularly vulnerable in domestic violence situations and the abuse has long term psychological implications for women’s health and wellbeing. Traditional cultural beliefs and gender role expectations add extra potency to the husbands’ power and control tactics over the women and their social support. Abused Chinese women are typically socially isolated. The multidimensional analysis shows that a combination of individual, interpersonal, cultural, contextual, and structural and community factors impact on Chinese immigrant women’s ability to make sense of the violence and abuse and to employ help-seeking strategies. Majority of the women in this study utilised a mixture of formal and informal intervention. When the abusive situation reaches crisis point, they prioritised seeking help from informal support networks. Although the women’s faith served as a coping strategy when dealing with the abuse, at other times, the women were re-victimised by religious leaders and faith community members. A safe and trusted community space is needed for Chinese women to share their experiences without being seen in a negative manner by outsiders. Community initiatives need to focus on community education and intervention that offers adequate assistance and support to Chinese women in domestic violence situations. Overall, the women had positive experiences when accessing various formal interventions. However, specific challenges and barriers that the women faced were also identified and discussed. Throughout their experiences, Chinese women gained critical consciousness and discovered positive strategies that helped them to heal from the abuse. 
This research provides recommendations for an integrated, co-ordinated and collaborative approach and community response to address domestic violence in the Chinese community. It also calls for culturally safe and culturally competent family violence services which meet the specific needs of Chinese women and their families.

text: Breaking the web of silence: An exploration of Chinese women's experience of domestic violence in New Zealand Domestic violence is a serious social issue within New Zealand society. Asian immigrant women with domestic violence experiences often face specific socio-cultural challenges and barriers that hinder them from making sense of their experience, seeking help and accessing necessary intervention. In New Zealand, there is limited domestic violence research which focuses on the lived experience of women in Asian immigrant communities. 
This research attempts to fill this gap by exploring Chinese women’s experience of domestic violence in New Zealand. It explores the dynamics of domestic violence in the context of family, community and immigration and the impact of violence on Chinese women’s health and well-being. It examines the cultural and gendered factors which shape Chinese women’s experiences and their help-seeking strategies. This research identifies barriers facing the women when they seek help from their informal and formal support networks. It also examines, from the Chinese women’s perspective, the role of the Chinese community and statutory and community-based services in offering effective intervention to Chinese women. 
Five case studies based on semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of Chinese immigrant women’s experience of domestic violence. 
The findings suggest that Chinese immigrant women are particularly vulnerable in domestic violence situations and the abuse has long term psychological implications for women’s health and wellbeing. Traditional cultural beliefs and gender role expectations add extra potency to the husbands’ power and control tactics over the women and their social support. Abused Chinese women are typically socially isolated. The multidimensional analysis shows that a combination of individual, interpersonal, cultural, contextual, and structural and community factors impact on Chinese immigrant women’s ability to make sense of the violence and abuse and to employ help-seeking strategies. Majority of the women in this study utilised a mixture of formal and informal intervention. When the abusive situation reaches crisis point, they prioritised seeking help from informal support networks. Although the women’s faith served as a coping strategy when dealing with the abuse, at other times, the women were re-victimised by religious leaders and faith community members. A safe and trusted community space is needed for Chinese women to share their experiences without being seen in a negative manner by outsiders. Community initiatives need to focus on community education and intervention that offers adequate assistance and support to Chinese women in domestic violence situations. Overall, the women had positive experiences when accessing various formal interventions. However, specific challenges and barriers that the women faced were also identified and discussed. Throughout their experiences, Chinese women gained critical consciousness and discovered positive strategies that helped them to heal from the abuse. 
This research provides recommendations for an integrated, co-ordinated and collaborative approach and community response to address domestic violence in the Chinese community. It also calls for culturally safe and culturally competent family violence services which meet the specific needs of Chinese women and their families.

year: 2016

title: Looking Past the Mess: Māori Homelessness and Mental Health Care

authors: Johnson, Diana

subjects: Homelessness

abstract: Homelessness is a pressing social and health concern that affects Māori disproportionately. This research explores the provision of mental health services to Māori who are homeless. The thesis has two primary aims. First, to document the experiences of Māori homeless people who live with mental health concerns and their relationships with mental health professionals. Second, to document the experiences of mental health professionals and how they interact with, provide care for, and build relationships with Māori Homeless. The skills of, and the difficulties faced by these professionals in provisions of quality of care are also considered. Three male and three female homeless participants were recruited from the Waikato and Auckland regions. All participants had received care from Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and/or District Health Board services (DHB). Participating mental health professionals included one female and five males. Mental health professionals included counsellors, therapists, psychologists, social workers, crisis team coordinator, and a cultural advisor. All participants took part in individual semi-structured interviews conducted in an open and conversational manner.  Key themes for homeless participants included their general life histories of mental illness, mental health service use, relationship with professionals, cultural issues, and concerns that Māori homeless wanted to discuss. Key themes for mental health professionals included their approaches when working with homeless people, relationship building, barriers to working with this group and possible solutions, linking with other professionals or organisations, and issues mental health professionals wanted to discuss. Findings highlight the importance of strong therapeutic relationships between homeless clients and mental health professionals, the need for more joined up (multi-level agency) approach to service delivery, and the importance of Māori ideology in restoring wellbeing and dignity. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of mental health service delivery relies in part on information provided by stakeholders. Information provided by homeless people and mental health professionals informs both service delivery and the ways in which practitioners can best support the needs of homeless people.

text: Looking Past the Mess: Māori Homelessness and Mental Health Care Homelessness is a pressing social and health concern that affects Māori disproportionately. This research explores the provision of mental health services to Māori who are homeless. The thesis has two primary aims. First, to document the experiences of Māori homeless people who live with mental health concerns and their relationships with mental health professionals. Second, to document the experiences of mental health professionals and how they interact with, provide care for, and build relationships with Māori Homeless. The skills of, and the difficulties faced by these professionals in provisions of quality of care are also considered. Three male and three female homeless participants were recruited from the Waikato and Auckland regions. All participants had received care from Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and/or District Health Board services (DHB). Participating mental health professionals included one female and five males. Mental health professionals included counsellors, therapists, psychologists, social workers, crisis team coordinator, and a cultural advisor. All participants took part in individual semi-structured interviews conducted in an open and conversational manner.  Key themes for homeless participants included their general life histories of mental illness, mental health service use, relationship with professionals, cultural issues, and concerns that Māori homeless wanted to discuss. Key themes for mental health professionals included their approaches when working with homeless people, relationship building, barriers to working with this group and possible solutions, linking with other professionals or organisations, and issues mental health professionals wanted to discuss. Findings highlight the importance of strong therapeutic relationships between homeless clients and mental health professionals, the need for more joined up (multi-level agency) approach to service delivery, and the importance of Māori ideology in restoring wellbeing and dignity. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of mental health service delivery relies in part on information provided by stakeholders. Information provided by homeless people and mental health professionals informs both service delivery and the ways in which practitioners can best support the needs of homeless people.

year: 2009