title: In a World of its Own:  How Operative Closure Limits the Law's Ability to Protect Children from Maltreatment.

authors: Peploe, Matthew

subjects: Law

abstract: New Zealand's figures for child maltreatment are consistently amongst the highest in the OECD. The purpose of this thesis is to understand what the legal system can do to protect children in New Zealand from maltreatment and why legal responses to child maltreatment often appear to be ineffectual or of limited effect.  

This thesis uses the theories of Luhman and Teubner to argue that the law's ability to protect children from maltreatment is limited because the legal system creates and responds to its own abstract world.  This process arises from the functional requirements of the law and its operation as an autopoietic system of power that produces its own abstract knowledge about the world.  The legal system's function within New Zealand society is to stabilise behavioural expectations and maintain society's coherence and it does so by reducing the complexity of subjective human existence into binary alternatives.  However, this process of reducing complexity limits the way in which the law produces its knowledge about the world and controls how power is distributed within the law's abstract world to such an extent that the legal system is closed from the world of subjective experience.  This closure from the world outside the legal system limits the law's ability to regulate and reform that outside world and protect the children who live within it.  By identifying these limits, this thesis will contribute to an understanding of the limits of the law's ability to protect children from maltreatment and thereby improve the effectiveness of New Zealand society's attempts to protect its children.

text: In a World of its Own:  How Operative Closure Limits the Law's Ability to Protect Children from Maltreatment. New Zealand's figures for child maltreatment are consistently amongst the highest in the OECD. The purpose of this thesis is to understand what the legal system can do to protect children in New Zealand from maltreatment and why legal responses to child maltreatment often appear to be ineffectual or of limited effect.  

This thesis uses the theories of Luhman and Teubner to argue that the law's ability to protect children from maltreatment is limited because the legal system creates and responds to its own abstract world.  This process arises from the functional requirements of the law and its operation as an autopoietic system of power that produces its own abstract knowledge about the world.  The legal system's function within New Zealand society is to stabilise behavioural expectations and maintain society's coherence and it does so by reducing the complexity of subjective human existence into binary alternatives.  However, this process of reducing complexity limits the way in which the law produces its knowledge about the world and controls how power is distributed within the law's abstract world to such an extent that the legal system is closed from the world of subjective experience.  This closure from the world outside the legal system limits the law's ability to regulate and reform that outside world and protect the children who live within it.  By identifying these limits, this thesis will contribute to an understanding of the limits of the law's ability to protect children from maltreatment and thereby improve the effectiveness of New Zealand society's attempts to protect its children.

year: 2008

title: Retention and intentions of professional accountants

authors: Twiname, Linda J.

subjects: job design

abstract: This paper enhances understanding of factors underlying professional accountants’ high turnover rates. Various researchers, institutions and government bodies have identified accountants’ retention is of concern. However, traditional explanations, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, do not sufficiently account for the turnover rates observed in the accounting profession. A New Zealand (NZ) sample of professional accountants enabled us to identify a range of factor. Intentions to stay were very low, 50% of accountants expected to leave their current employer within 3 years of the survey date. Satisfaction with two core job characteristics, feedback and skill variety, in addition to work life balance (WLB) accounted for 65% of the variance of overall job satisfaction. WLB, or at least a lack of access to flexible work arrangements was strongly indicated as the primary consideration when choosing to remain with the present employer.

text: Retention and intentions of professional accountants This paper enhances understanding of factors underlying professional accountants’ high turnover rates. Various researchers, institutions and government bodies have identified accountants’ retention is of concern. However, traditional explanations, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, do not sufficiently account for the turnover rates observed in the accounting profession. A New Zealand (NZ) sample of professional accountants enabled us to identify a range of factor. Intentions to stay were very low, 50% of accountants expected to leave their current employer within 3 years of the survey date. Satisfaction with two core job characteristics, feedback and skill variety, in addition to work life balance (WLB) accounted for 65% of the variance of overall job satisfaction. WLB, or at least a lack of access to flexible work arrangements was strongly indicated as the primary consideration when choosing to remain with the present employer.

year: 2012-06-30

title: Inspiring national indigenous legal education for Aotearoa New Zealand's Bachelor of Laws Degree: Phase One

authors: Ruru, Jacinta

subjects: tikanga Maori, LLB law degree, legal education in New Zealand, bilculturalism, bilinguaiism, bijuralism

abstract: This Issues Paper is the result of the first stage of a multi-year, three-phase national project. In it we review the literature and consider some of the preliminary opportunities relevant for the teaching
of Māori law as a foundation source of the Aotearoa New Zealand Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree for the benefit of the legal profession and Aotearoa New Zealand society. We present ten key messages
as integral to this Issues Paper.

text: Inspiring national indigenous legal education for Aotearoa New Zealand's Bachelor of Laws Degree: Phase One This Issues Paper is the result of the first stage of a multi-year, three-phase national project. In it we review the literature and consider some of the preliminary opportunities relevant for the teaching
of Māori law as a foundation source of the Aotearoa New Zealand Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree for the benefit of the legal profession and Aotearoa New Zealand society. We present ten key messages
as integral to this Issues Paper.

year: 2020-09-01