title: How can we help you? Communicating Social Welfare

authors: Schoenberger-Orgad, Sehai

subjects: social welfare communication

abstract: This thesis examines the ways in which public sector organisations communicate with people from lower socio-economic communities. 

The study is guided by the research question: Do the existing communication strategies of public sector organisations serve the needs of low decile communities in New Zealand?
The study looks at the communication strategies used by three public sector organisations - Ministry of Social Development, Inland Revenue and Hamilton City Council - to interact with residents of a low-decile neighbourhood in Hamilton. 

Positioned within the critical theoretical paradigm (e.g., Deetz, 2005; Mumby, 2000) which looks at issues of power, domination and asymmetry in terms of communication practices, the research shows how social policy is socially constructed in order to serve the political aims of the public sector but is not necessarily constructed in terms of the target publics of that organisation.

The study uses a three dimensional discourse analysis - text, context, and social
practices (Fairclough, 1992) - to analyse the formal communication and information dissemination structures, processes, and texts of these organisations and to examine the ways in which some of the intended target publics of these
organisations make sense of them and respond to them. 

The study includes an analysis of public documents put out by the organisations as well as interviews with youth workers, social workers, and representatives of the specific neighbourhood community.

Juxtaposing the textual analysis with the analysis of the interviews facilitates an evaluation of whether the communication strategies
of the organisations relate to the context of the socio-cultural practices of lowdecile
neighbourhoods.

text: How can we help you? Communicating Social Welfare This thesis examines the ways in which public sector organisations communicate with people from lower socio-economic communities. 

The study is guided by the research question: Do the existing communication strategies of public sector organisations serve the needs of low decile communities in New Zealand?
The study looks at the communication strategies used by three public sector organisations - Ministry of Social Development, Inland Revenue and Hamilton City Council - to interact with residents of a low-decile neighbourhood in Hamilton. 

Positioned within the critical theoretical paradigm (e.g., Deetz, 2005; Mumby, 2000) which looks at issues of power, domination and asymmetry in terms of communication practices, the research shows how social policy is socially constructed in order to serve the political aims of the public sector but is not necessarily constructed in terms of the target publics of that organisation.

The study uses a three dimensional discourse analysis - text, context, and social
practices (Fairclough, 1992) - to analyse the formal communication and information dissemination structures, processes, and texts of these organisations and to examine the ways in which some of the intended target publics of these
organisations make sense of them and respond to them. 

The study includes an analysis of public documents put out by the organisations as well as interviews with youth workers, social workers, and representatives of the specific neighbourhood community.

Juxtaposing the textual analysis with the analysis of the interviews facilitates an evaluation of whether the communication strategies
of the organisations relate to the context of the socio-cultural practices of lowdecile
neighbourhoods.

year: 2009

title: A survey of software requirements specification practices in the New Zealand software industry

authors: Groves, Lindsay

subjects: computer science

abstract: We report on the software development techniques used in the New Zealand software industry, paying particular attention to requirements gathering. We surveyed a selection of software companies with a general questionnaire and then conducted in-depth interviews with four companies. Our results show a wide variety in the kinds of companies undertaking software development, employing a wide range of software development techniques. Although our data are not sufficiently detailed to draw statistically significant conclusions, it appears that larger software development groups typically have more well-defined software development processes, spend proportionally more time on requirements gathering, and follow more rigorous testing regimes.

text: A survey of software requirements specification practices in the New Zealand software industry We report on the software development techniques used in the New Zealand software industry, paying particular attention to requirements gathering. We surveyed a selection of software companies with a general questionnaire and then conducted in-depth interviews with four companies. Our results show a wide variety in the kinds of companies undertaking software development, employing a wide range of software development techniques. Although our data are not sufficiently detailed to draw statistically significant conclusions, it appears that larger software development groups typically have more well-defined software development processes, spend proportionally more time on requirements gathering, and follow more rigorous testing regimes.

year: 1999-06

title: Ohaaki: A power station on Maori land

authors: Stokes, Evelyn

subjects: Ohaaki Geothermal Power Station

abstract: This paper is about a geothermal power station called Ohaaki, constructed over the period 1982-1989 on Maori land close by Te Ohaaki Marae and the ancestral papakainga of Ngati Tahu. This is a personal account of the impact of this project on Ngati Tahu rather than a history of the construction of the power station.

text: Ohaaki: A power station on Maori land This paper is about a geothermal power station called Ohaaki, constructed over the period 1982-1989 on Maori land close by Te Ohaaki Marae and the ancestral papakainga of Ngati Tahu. This is a personal account of the impact of this project on Ngati Tahu rather than a history of the construction of the power station.

year: 2003