title: Contradictory discourses, state ideology and policy interpretation: A feminist evaluation of the Reproductive and Child Health Programme (RCH) in Kerala, India

authors: Simon-Kumar, Rachel

abstract: The Government of India in 1995 introduced the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) policy, as part of a paradigmatic shift in its ongoing population programme. The shift in policy came in the wake of the International Conference for Population and Development, 1994, which had espoused a rhetoric of reproductive health and empowerment for women in the planning and implementation of population programmes. This thesis explores the process of institutionalization of the ‘gender-sensitive’ discourse of reproductive health within the national population programme in India. This study offers a feminist political analysis of this phenomena; therefore, rather than study reproductive health as demographic or health outcomes, the emphasis is on the analysis of ideological frameworks of the state (and those policy makers who embody its values) that provide particular interpretations of reproductive health. The political analysis of ideology is significant to understanding the translation of global discourses into norms of local practice.

The focus on interpretive frameworks opens up a theoretical exploration of the state’s inherent ideologies. Arguing that India, like many other countries in both the developing and developed world, is moving to a broad political, economic and social ethos of neo-liberalism, I explore the implications of this ideological shift for the process of policy interpretation. There are two dimensions of the neo-liberal ideology that are pertinent to this research. First, the assumptions of the role and functions of the state under neo-liberalism is antagonistic to that which is, prima facie, demanded by reproductive health as a gender-empowering discourse. Second, the discourse of neo-liberalism has implications for women’s positioning as citizens within the developmental state, challenging their claims to access the state. The interactions of both these dimensions, that is, contestation of discourses regarding representation of women, and the definition of the state’s obligations under market development, are critical to the outcome of policy design and practice.

The empirical analysis in this research is fundamentally qualitative in approach. I primarily undertake an analysis of discourses in the RCH policy documents and interviews with key officials in charge of the programme in Kerala. The analysis seeks to explore the discursive manifestation of the neo-liberal/market ideology, particularly in the way that users of public health care are positioned in the programme, and the state’s broader ideology regarding gender and development.

In conclusion, this research seeks to renew a focus on the state as a negotiator of gender discourses in the formulation of development policy. Development policy design and practice cannot be viewed as independent of the ideologies around gender that dominate the state. I argue in this thesis that it is only by addressing issues of political identity that we can develop policies that are more accountable to women, and that are gender-sensitive.

text: Contradictory discourses, state ideology and policy interpretation: A feminist evaluation of the Reproductive and Child Health Programme (RCH) in Kerala, India The Government of India in 1995 introduced the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) policy, as part of a paradigmatic shift in its ongoing population programme. The shift in policy came in the wake of the International Conference for Population and Development, 1994, which had espoused a rhetoric of reproductive health and empowerment for women in the planning and implementation of population programmes. This thesis explores the process of institutionalization of the ‘gender-sensitive’ discourse of reproductive health within the national population programme in India. This study offers a feminist political analysis of this phenomena; therefore, rather than study reproductive health as demographic or health outcomes, the emphasis is on the analysis of ideological frameworks of the state (and those policy makers who embody its values) that provide particular interpretations of reproductive health. The political analysis of ideology is significant to understanding the translation of global discourses into norms of local practice.

The focus on interpretive frameworks opens up a theoretical exploration of the state’s inherent ideologies. Arguing that India, like many other countries in both the developing and developed world, is moving to a broad political, economic and social ethos of neo-liberalism, I explore the implications of this ideological shift for the process of policy interpretation. There are two dimensions of the neo-liberal ideology that are pertinent to this research. First, the assumptions of the role and functions of the state under neo-liberalism is antagonistic to that which is, prima facie, demanded by reproductive health as a gender-empowering discourse. Second, the discourse of neo-liberalism has implications for women’s positioning as citizens within the developmental state, challenging their claims to access the state. The interactions of both these dimensions, that is, contestation of discourses regarding representation of women, and the definition of the state’s obligations under market development, are critical to the outcome of policy design and practice.

The empirical analysis in this research is fundamentally qualitative in approach. I primarily undertake an analysis of discourses in the RCH policy documents and interviews with key officials in charge of the programme in Kerala. The analysis seeks to explore the discursive manifestation of the neo-liberal/market ideology, particularly in the way that users of public health care are positioned in the programme, and the state’s broader ideology regarding gender and development.

In conclusion, this research seeks to renew a focus on the state as a negotiator of gender discourses in the formulation of development policy. Development policy design and practice cannot be viewed as independent of the ideologies around gender that dominate the state. I argue in this thesis that it is only by addressing issues of political identity that we can develop policies that are more accountable to women, and that are gender-sensitive.

year: 2000

title: Assessment practices in work-integrated learning

authors: Zegwaard, Karsten E.

abstract: The purpose of this webinar is to discuss the purpose of assessment in work-integrated learning (WIL), what authentic assessments means and explore examples of high quality assessment in different modalities of WIL.

text: Assessment practices in work-integrated learning The purpose of this webinar is to discuss the purpose of assessment in work-integrated learning (WIL), what authentic assessments means and explore examples of high quality assessment in different modalities of WIL.

year: 2024

title: Hoea te waka reo e 'Āti Rangi ē! He Kohinga Kōrero

authors: Fairhall, Tīahomarama Te Haana

subjects: Māori

abstract: He taonga tuku iho Te Reo Māori nō tāukiuki, nō tuawhakarere, nō onamata rānō, he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea. He taonga Te Reo Māori i raro i ngā tikanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, nō te tau 1987 ka whakamanahia hai reo tūturu o Aotearoa. Ahakoa he reo tuku iho ki tērā whakatupuranga, ki tērā whakatupuranga, kai te tāmate te reo. He huhua noa ngā rautaki e whakarauora ai i te reo i roto i ngā kura, i ngā whānau, i ngā hapū, i ngā iwi anō hoki. 

Ko te tino o te tuhinga roa nei he āta titiro ki ngā momo rautaki a ngā uri e whakarauora nei i tō tātou reo ki roto o Ngāti Rangiwewehi kia kore ai ā mātou tamariki, ā mātou mokopuna e haere reo kore. Nō roto mai i te tuhinga nei ka āta whakatewhatewha te iwi o Ngāti Rangiwewehi o mua, kia mārama ai ki ōna āhua, ki ōna whenua, ki āna kōrero, ki ōna tāngata, ki ōna pūkōrero, ki tōna ahurei. Ka mutu, ka āta titiro, ka āta tātari, ka āta wetewete i ngā raraunga kōrero i kapo mai i ngā uiuinga, i kapo mai i ngā pātaitai, i kapo mai i ngā pukapuka kōrero ngā momo rautaki e whakarauora ai te reo o ngā uri o Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Hai āpitihanga, ka āta whakatakoto hoki i ngā piki me ngā heke o te reo ā tatauranga nei, ka kitea te ahunga mai i te wā i a koroua mā, i a kuia mā, ā, moroki noa nei.

Kai roto i ngā upoko o te tuhingaroa nei te tino ia o ngā kōrero, ā, e ono ngā upoko e whakatinana ai tēnei rangahau. Kai te upoko tuatahi e tino kōrerohia ana te iwi o Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Kātahi rā ka uru atu ki ngā whakamahukitanga o ngā mātāpono rangahau kai te upoko tuarua. Ka whakaara mai te upoko tuarua i ngā kaponga ariā me ngā rautaki reo hai tuarā mō te tuhingaroa nei. Kai te upoko tuawhā me te tuarima ngā pitopito kōrero, ngā putanga o te pākiki me ngā uiuinga. Ka mutu mai ki te upoko tuaono, ki te kupu whakamutunga o te tuhingaroa.

The Māori language is a taonga protected under the terms of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. An official language of New Zealand, since 1987. However, although a language passed down from generation to generation, the future of the language is not secure. Efforts are endless in providing many strategies of revitalization and ensuring that Te Reo Māori survives within kura, whare wānanga, whānau, hapū and iwi. The purpose of this research is to gather information pertaining to the tribe of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. This study will explore Ngāti Rangiwewehi in a traditional context, their traditional qualities and will also examine the contributions of the descendants in preserving Te Reo Māori. Furthermore, this study will also examine the ups and downs of the language and how Ngāti Rangiwewehi rates statisticaly in the national census under Te Reo Māori. This information will be gathered to examine strategy examples of Te reo that could benefit both present and future generations. As part of my research I will be interviewing key informants and conducting a survey. There are six chapters to this thesis. Chapter one is based on Ngāti Rangiwewehi as a iwi, past and present. Chapter two is based on the research methodology. Chapter three is the literature review, while Chapter four is the questionnaire. Chapter five are the interviews and lastly Chapter 6, the conclusion.

text: Hoea te waka reo e 'Āti Rangi ē! He Kohinga Kōrero He taonga tuku iho Te Reo Māori nō tāukiuki, nō tuawhakarere, nō onamata rānō, he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea. He taonga Te Reo Māori i raro i ngā tikanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, nō te tau 1987 ka whakamanahia hai reo tūturu o Aotearoa. Ahakoa he reo tuku iho ki tērā whakatupuranga, ki tērā whakatupuranga, kai te tāmate te reo. He huhua noa ngā rautaki e whakarauora ai i te reo i roto i ngā kura, i ngā whānau, i ngā hapū, i ngā iwi anō hoki. 

Ko te tino o te tuhinga roa nei he āta titiro ki ngā momo rautaki a ngā uri e whakarauora nei i tō tātou reo ki roto o Ngāti Rangiwewehi kia kore ai ā mātou tamariki, ā mātou mokopuna e haere reo kore. Nō roto mai i te tuhinga nei ka āta whakatewhatewha te iwi o Ngāti Rangiwewehi o mua, kia mārama ai ki ōna āhua, ki ōna whenua, ki āna kōrero, ki ōna tāngata, ki ōna pūkōrero, ki tōna ahurei. Ka mutu, ka āta titiro, ka āta tātari, ka āta wetewete i ngā raraunga kōrero i kapo mai i ngā uiuinga, i kapo mai i ngā pātaitai, i kapo mai i ngā pukapuka kōrero ngā momo rautaki e whakarauora ai te reo o ngā uri o Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Hai āpitihanga, ka āta whakatakoto hoki i ngā piki me ngā heke o te reo ā tatauranga nei, ka kitea te ahunga mai i te wā i a koroua mā, i a kuia mā, ā, moroki noa nei.

Kai roto i ngā upoko o te tuhingaroa nei te tino ia o ngā kōrero, ā, e ono ngā upoko e whakatinana ai tēnei rangahau. Kai te upoko tuatahi e tino kōrerohia ana te iwi o Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Kātahi rā ka uru atu ki ngā whakamahukitanga o ngā mātāpono rangahau kai te upoko tuarua. Ka whakaara mai te upoko tuarua i ngā kaponga ariā me ngā rautaki reo hai tuarā mō te tuhingaroa nei. Kai te upoko tuawhā me te tuarima ngā pitopito kōrero, ngā putanga o te pākiki me ngā uiuinga. Ka mutu mai ki te upoko tuaono, ki te kupu whakamutunga o te tuhingaroa.

The Māori language is a taonga protected under the terms of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. An official language of New Zealand, since 1987. However, although a language passed down from generation to generation, the future of the language is not secure. Efforts are endless in providing many strategies of revitalization and ensuring that Te Reo Māori survives within kura, whare wānanga, whānau, hapū and iwi. The purpose of this research is to gather information pertaining to the tribe of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. This study will explore Ngāti Rangiwewehi in a traditional context, their traditional qualities and will also examine the contributions of the descendants in preserving Te Reo Māori. Furthermore, this study will also examine the ups and downs of the language and how Ngāti Rangiwewehi rates statisticaly in the national census under Te Reo Māori. This information will be gathered to examine strategy examples of Te reo that could benefit both present and future generations. As part of my research I will be interviewing key informants and conducting a survey. There are six chapters to this thesis. Chapter one is based on Ngāti Rangiwewehi as a iwi, past and present. Chapter two is based on the research methodology. Chapter three is the literature review, while Chapter four is the questionnaire. Chapter five are the interviews and lastly Chapter 6, the conclusion.

year: 2015