title: Women's use of possessions to cope with abusive relationships

authors: Elphingston-Jolly, Bronwyn Louise

subjects: Possessions

abstract: Domestic violence is a widespread social issue in New Zealand and throughout the world and is detrimental to both society and the individual. Public services, such as law enforcement and health care are frequently and directly impacted due to the prevalence of domestic violence, specifically in terms of financial costs. The literature has shown that women who experience abusive relationships are often battered, isolated and left with a shattered sense of self. Consequently, understanding how women respond to and cope with abusive relationships is important. This study therefore examines women’s use of possessions to cope with an abusive relationship.
 
A hermeneutic phenomenological framework guided this study. Six New Zealand Caucasian women were interviewed through the use of the Me Box method.  The women’s lived experiences were analysed and illustrated through interpretive collages in order to understand how these women used possessions to cope with their abusive relationships.  
The findings indicate that women use possessions in a variety of ways to cope with their abusive relationships. Five themes were evident in this study: nothing given back, secret possessions, my space, finding me, and the salience of possessions. Although the first theme relates to how the women were victimised by their possessions and their respective partner, the latter four describe how the women used possessions to cope with the abuse. The women used attachment to significant possessions to gain control, escape abuse and reconstruct their identity. The attachments to these possessions were unique to the women and their abusive relationships. These significant possessions enabled the women to strip themselves of their victim identity and recreate their sense of self.
This investigation contributes to the literature in three ways. First, the findings of this study support the defining of the term possessions in relation to psychological appropriation rather than the tangibility of an object. Second, this thesis seeks to understand how women in abusive relationships are empowered rather than abused through their attachment to their significant possessions. Finally, the Me Box method used to investigate these women’s lived experiences supports the use of art-based research methods when examining sensitive and deeply personal topics.

text: Women's use of possessions to cope with abusive relationships Domestic violence is a widespread social issue in New Zealand and throughout the world and is detrimental to both society and the individual. Public services, such as law enforcement and health care are frequently and directly impacted due to the prevalence of domestic violence, specifically in terms of financial costs. The literature has shown that women who experience abusive relationships are often battered, isolated and left with a shattered sense of self. Consequently, understanding how women respond to and cope with abusive relationships is important. This study therefore examines women’s use of possessions to cope with an abusive relationship.
 
A hermeneutic phenomenological framework guided this study. Six New Zealand Caucasian women were interviewed through the use of the Me Box method.  The women’s lived experiences were analysed and illustrated through interpretive collages in order to understand how these women used possessions to cope with their abusive relationships.  
The findings indicate that women use possessions in a variety of ways to cope with their abusive relationships. Five themes were evident in this study: nothing given back, secret possessions, my space, finding me, and the salience of possessions. Although the first theme relates to how the women were victimised by their possessions and their respective partner, the latter four describe how the women used possessions to cope with the abuse. The women used attachment to significant possessions to gain control, escape abuse and reconstruct their identity. The attachments to these possessions were unique to the women and their abusive relationships. These significant possessions enabled the women to strip themselves of their victim identity and recreate their sense of self.
This investigation contributes to the literature in three ways. First, the findings of this study support the defining of the term possessions in relation to psychological appropriation rather than the tangibility of an object. Second, this thesis seeks to understand how women in abusive relationships are empowered rather than abused through their attachment to their significant possessions. Finally, the Me Box method used to investigate these women’s lived experiences supports the use of art-based research methods when examining sensitive and deeply personal topics.

year: 2012

title: A typographic case study: children's digital books in New Zealand primary schools

authors: Vanderschantz, Nicholas

subjects: CD-ROM books

abstract: Increasingly children’s educational reading material is presented in a screen-based environment. This includes a range of interactive learning tools, interactive whiteboards, on-line standardized testing material, digital books including CD-ROMs and E-Books, as well as digital reference books such as encyclopedia and dictionary. With this increase in on-screen educational reading material and use of on-screen reading material in the school, it seems clear that the quality of material intended for children’s on-screen reading requires careful consideration to ensure that it is of a high standard and that it will facilitate children’s learning. This investigation case study’s digital books intended for learning through reading as found to be available to students of New Zealand Primary Schools. The writer analyses a selection of the products of the two publishers that were found available to primary and intermediate school children at two differentschoolsin two differentsocio-economic schoolregions. The writer outlines specific consideration of typographic presentation with respect to eye movements that will aid in the development of material for children’s on-screen learning including CD-ROM, E-Book, and web-based reading material.

text: A typographic case study: children's digital books in New Zealand primary schools Increasingly children’s educational reading material is presented in a screen-based environment. This includes a range of interactive learning tools, interactive whiteboards, on-line standardized testing material, digital books including CD-ROMs and E-Books, as well as digital reference books such as encyclopedia and dictionary. With this increase in on-screen educational reading material and use of on-screen reading material in the school, it seems clear that the quality of material intended for children’s on-screen reading requires careful consideration to ensure that it is of a high standard and that it will facilitate children’s learning. This investigation case study’s digital books intended for learning through reading as found to be available to students of New Zealand Primary Schools. The writer analyses a selection of the products of the two publishers that were found available to primary and intermediate school children at two differentschoolsin two differentsocio-economic schoolregions. The writer outlines specific consideration of typographic presentation with respect to eye movements that will aid in the development of material for children’s on-screen learning including CD-ROM, E-Book, and web-based reading material.

year: 2011

title: Site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene

authors: Claus, Johanna

abstract: In this creative practice PhD, I investigated site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Driven by the urge to respond to the challenges of the current time, I examined how different seasonal rituals might be expressed in specific sites in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Furthermore, including participants from diverse cultural backgrounds, and carrying an awareness of the complexities of colonialism, I analysed insights from key ritual experts to enhance my understanding of ritual practices within the specific socio-cultural and environmental context of Aotearoa. Inspired by critical posthumanist philosophies, I viewed ritual practices through a lens that considered the interconnectedness of technology, culture, and nature, moving beyond essentialist and dualistic tendencies. Inspired by (Haraway, 2007) and Braidotti (2019), I embraced a perspective of ‘staying with the trouble’ and ‘radical hope’ as a strategy to inspire commitments to safeguarding life on Earth amid increasing societal divisions, and environmental disasters.
Working at the intersection of various disciplines, I crafted a qualitative research design that embraced multiple ways of knowing through creative practice research. I gathered insights from four ritual experts grounded in mātauranga Māori or neo-Paganism through in-depth interviews, to comprehend multifaceted and culturally sensitive approaches to ritual practices in Aotearoa. Moreover, the creative investigation of four seasonal performance rituals served as the primary mode of inquiry (Niedderer & Roworth-Stokes, 2007; Skains, 2018). The methods used for these rituals included contemporary performance practices, eco-somatic movement, improvisation, site-specific dance, audience participation, and others.
The rich knowledge gained throughout these investigations is conveyed through the documentation of four seasonal rituals, presented in video works alongside this thesis. The findings are articulated in two empirical chapters, one focusing on the findings and analysis of the expert interviews and the other on the findings and analysis of four performance rituals, revealing nuanced and complex insights into the creation of site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Navigating site-specific performance practices as an immigrant necessitated continuous critical self-reflection on biases and assumptions, leading to intricate explorations of embodiment, identity, culture, nature, and the more-than-human world within a posthuman context. Operating in the liminal space of this tension alongside performer participants, ritual experts, and audience members yielded the articulation of my findings: a ritual score capable of accommodating the complexities of the Anthropocene.

text: Site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene In this creative practice PhD, I investigated site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Driven by the urge to respond to the challenges of the current time, I examined how different seasonal rituals might be expressed in specific sites in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Furthermore, including participants from diverse cultural backgrounds, and carrying an awareness of the complexities of colonialism, I analysed insights from key ritual experts to enhance my understanding of ritual practices within the specific socio-cultural and environmental context of Aotearoa. Inspired by critical posthumanist philosophies, I viewed ritual practices through a lens that considered the interconnectedness of technology, culture, and nature, moving beyond essentialist and dualistic tendencies. Inspired by (Haraway, 2007) and Braidotti (2019), I embraced a perspective of ‘staying with the trouble’ and ‘radical hope’ as a strategy to inspire commitments to safeguarding life on Earth amid increasing societal divisions, and environmental disasters.
Working at the intersection of various disciplines, I crafted a qualitative research design that embraced multiple ways of knowing through creative practice research. I gathered insights from four ritual experts grounded in mātauranga Māori or neo-Paganism through in-depth interviews, to comprehend multifaceted and culturally sensitive approaches to ritual practices in Aotearoa. Moreover, the creative investigation of four seasonal performance rituals served as the primary mode of inquiry (Niedderer & Roworth-Stokes, 2007; Skains, 2018). The methods used for these rituals included contemporary performance practices, eco-somatic movement, improvisation, site-specific dance, audience participation, and others.
The rich knowledge gained throughout these investigations is conveyed through the documentation of four seasonal rituals, presented in video works alongside this thesis. The findings are articulated in two empirical chapters, one focusing on the findings and analysis of the expert interviews and the other on the findings and analysis of four performance rituals, revealing nuanced and complex insights into the creation of site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Navigating site-specific performance practices as an immigrant necessitated continuous critical self-reflection on biases and assumptions, leading to intricate explorations of embodiment, identity, culture, nature, and the more-than-human world within a posthuman context. Operating in the liminal space of this tension alongside performer participants, ritual experts, and audience members yielded the articulation of my findings: a ritual score capable of accommodating the complexities of the Anthropocene.

year: 2024-05-27