title: The discourse of New Zealand and French television advertising: a comparative approach

authors: Desmarais, Fabrice

abstract: This thesis explored two television advertising discourses. In a response to a need for more qualitative inductive approaches to cultural/national advertising whereby each culture is seen as unique and is not compared to another through the use of standardised American tools and values, this study blended specific quantitatively oriented strategies with interpretive sensitivity in an effort to engage in a cross-cultural “de-naturalisation” of New Zealand and French television advertising specificities. In this endeavour, the contrastive framework was particularly helpful as it made possible the “de-naturalisation” of advertising representations that are usually taken for granted in a particular culture. 

The exploration revealed interesting specificities peculiar to each advertising environment. The identification of major discursive objects in the television advertising discourse of each country, the subsequent in-depth analysis of these discursive objects, together with insight into communicators’ thinking, showed that the French and the New Zealand television advertising discourses differ both in terms of communicative approach and in terms of selection of imagery. 

Two main findings emerged from this study. The French television advertising discourse can be characterised by a heavy reliance on seduction, to the point that advertising and seduction were almost fused. This reliance on seduction was illustrated in the frequent use of feminine soft signs such as female voice-overs and female seductive characters, and the strong reluctance of French communicators to use a direct communicative approach. Interviews with French communicators revealed that their reliance on seduction - embodied in a range of texts that appeal to aesthetics, set up metaphorical or emotionally charged situations, and use female bodies and voices - was due to their being caught in strong traditional discursive formations on politeness and money that create knowledge about the act of selling as a shameful activity. 
In the New Zealand television advertising discourse, the act of selling was not considered as a shameful activity but was well accepted as the foundation of the communication exchange between advertising communicators and their potential viewers. As a result, New Zealand television advertising discourse did not rely as much on soft signs, on concealment, aesthetics, or on creating the illusion of emotion as French television advertising did, but used a more immediate, direct, and authoritative communication approach. This approach was embodied in the overwhelming amount of male characters and male voice-overs used in commercials, as well as in a majority of explicit messages. 

Whereas French communicators argued categorically that explicit reference to national values was not helpful in advertising, New Zealand communicators assumed that nationalistic discourse would have a commercial value and would inspire New Zealand viewers to consume products or brands. Their usage of discourses followed a cultural logic prescribed by a strong discursive tradition on the importance of nation. Products or brands were recurrently placed within a national framework embodied in linguistic forms, and so viewers were invited to think of themselves as citizens, and to think about products or brands in terms of their socio-national universe. In order to promote consumption, New Zealand television advertising also drew on sport as a combination of masculinity rituals, social instruction, moral training, and declarations of identity. Mythical kiwi ingenuity imagery was also instrumental in the promotion of consumption and in giving models of consuming behaviour to subject viewers. 

The thesis revealed that the content and form of advertising messages springs from communicators’ cultural communicative habitus. The choice of advertising elements is made according to rules of cultural communication based on traditional discursive formations internalised by individuals evolving within a particular institutional and cultural structure.

text: The discourse of New Zealand and French television advertising: a comparative approach This thesis explored two television advertising discourses. In a response to a need for more qualitative inductive approaches to cultural/national advertising whereby each culture is seen as unique and is not compared to another through the use of standardised American tools and values, this study blended specific quantitatively oriented strategies with interpretive sensitivity in an effort to engage in a cross-cultural “de-naturalisation” of New Zealand and French television advertising specificities. In this endeavour, the contrastive framework was particularly helpful as it made possible the “de-naturalisation” of advertising representations that are usually taken for granted in a particular culture. 

The exploration revealed interesting specificities peculiar to each advertising environment. The identification of major discursive objects in the television advertising discourse of each country, the subsequent in-depth analysis of these discursive objects, together with insight into communicators’ thinking, showed that the French and the New Zealand television advertising discourses differ both in terms of communicative approach and in terms of selection of imagery. 

Two main findings emerged from this study. The French television advertising discourse can be characterised by a heavy reliance on seduction, to the point that advertising and seduction were almost fused. This reliance on seduction was illustrated in the frequent use of feminine soft signs such as female voice-overs and female seductive characters, and the strong reluctance of French communicators to use a direct communicative approach. Interviews with French communicators revealed that their reliance on seduction - embodied in a range of texts that appeal to aesthetics, set up metaphorical or emotionally charged situations, and use female bodies and voices - was due to their being caught in strong traditional discursive formations on politeness and money that create knowledge about the act of selling as a shameful activity. 
In the New Zealand television advertising discourse, the act of selling was not considered as a shameful activity but was well accepted as the foundation of the communication exchange between advertising communicators and their potential viewers. As a result, New Zealand television advertising discourse did not rely as much on soft signs, on concealment, aesthetics, or on creating the illusion of emotion as French television advertising did, but used a more immediate, direct, and authoritative communication approach. This approach was embodied in the overwhelming amount of male characters and male voice-overs used in commercials, as well as in a majority of explicit messages. 

Whereas French communicators argued categorically that explicit reference to national values was not helpful in advertising, New Zealand communicators assumed that nationalistic discourse would have a commercial value and would inspire New Zealand viewers to consume products or brands. Their usage of discourses followed a cultural logic prescribed by a strong discursive tradition on the importance of nation. Products or brands were recurrently placed within a national framework embodied in linguistic forms, and so viewers were invited to think of themselves as citizens, and to think about products or brands in terms of their socio-national universe. In order to promote consumption, New Zealand television advertising also drew on sport as a combination of masculinity rituals, social instruction, moral training, and declarations of identity. Mythical kiwi ingenuity imagery was also instrumental in the promotion of consumption and in giving models of consuming behaviour to subject viewers. 

The thesis revealed that the content and form of advertising messages springs from communicators’ cultural communicative habitus. The choice of advertising elements is made according to rules of cultural communication based on traditional discursive formations internalised by individuals evolving within a particular institutional and cultural structure.

year: 2003

title: A metabolic theory of ecology applied to temperature and mass dependence of N and P excretion by common carp

authors: Morgan, Dai K.J.

subjects: Body size

abstract: Our study used a metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) to explore scaling of metabolic rates by body size and temperature, and to predict nutrient excretion by common carp (Cyprinus carpio). At high biomasses, common carp have negative impacts on water quality, and one mechanism is excretion of the nutrients N and P. We measured whole-body and mass-specific excretion rates during summer and winter for fish of different sizes (wet mass range 28-1,196 g) to produce an allometric scaling model capable of predicting excretion at different temperatures. We found positive relationships between both dissolved and total nutrient concentrations and fish wet mass in summer and winter, with greater excretion rates in summer (mean water temperature 24.2°C) than in winter (mean water temperature 9.2°C). Mass-specific excretion rates decreased with increasing fish size, consistent with the MTE, and the temperature-adjusted model explained more variation for N excretion than for P. The proportion of dissolved nutrients (NH4 and PO4) to total nutrients increased with increasing fish size. The significance of these models is that they can be used to predict population-based nutrient excretion by common carp when thermal history, fish density and size distribution in a water body are known.

text: A metabolic theory of ecology applied to temperature and mass dependence of N and P excretion by common carp Our study used a metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) to explore scaling of metabolic rates by body size and temperature, and to predict nutrient excretion by common carp (Cyprinus carpio). At high biomasses, common carp have negative impacts on water quality, and one mechanism is excretion of the nutrients N and P. We measured whole-body and mass-specific excretion rates during summer and winter for fish of different sizes (wet mass range 28-1,196 g) to produce an allometric scaling model capable of predicting excretion at different temperatures. We found positive relationships between both dissolved and total nutrient concentrations and fish wet mass in summer and winter, with greater excretion rates in summer (mean water temperature 24.2°C) than in winter (mean water temperature 9.2°C). Mass-specific excretion rates decreased with increasing fish size, consistent with the MTE, and the temperature-adjusted model explained more variation for N excretion than for P. The proportion of dissolved nutrients (NH4 and PO4) to total nutrients increased with increasing fish size. The significance of these models is that they can be used to predict population-based nutrient excretion by common carp when thermal history, fish density and size distribution in a water body are known.

year: 2013

title: Te Mana Motuhake o Ngāi Tamarāwaho and the challenges of education. Whakapūmautia te tangata i tōna ake mana

authors: Woller, Paul Robert

subjects: Ngāi Tamarāwaho

abstract: Throughout history, colonisation has deliberately suppressed and subordinated the knowledge, languages and identities of indigenous peoples. Colonial education policies were designed, at best, to domesticate indigenous children to create subjugated and compliant labouring classes.  These historical policies have intentionally consigned successive generations of indigenous families and communities to the socio-economic margins of the societies created by colonisation (Shields, Bishop & Masawi, 2005).
This thesis explores the intergenerational educational experiences of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, an indigenous Māori community in New Zealand, their relationship with Pākehā (colonial settlers of European descent) and their place, as Māori, in the society created by colonialism.  At the heart of this story is the inter-generational societal abuse of a small indigenous community and the active resistance of that community to colonisation. To survive as a people, Ngāi Tamarāwaho created a space at the intercultural interface between Māori and Pākehā by maintaining and revitalising their cultural identity and language. The intergenerational struggles of the whānau (families) of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, to engage with an imposed system of western education, are related through the narratives of hapū whānau (sub-tribal families) and from archival records. These stories demonstrate that educational failure was not because of the limitations of hapū whānau, but rather a result of the limiting conditions imposed on them. 
Despite these limitations, over the past 180 years, hapū leadership has focussed on maintaining the independent identity of the hapū and their mana motuhake, i.e. their right to be self-determining; seen as critical for whānau and hapū development and successful participation in wider society. To enable the success of future generations, Ngāi Tamarāwaho have accommodated new ideas and learning into their existing cultural framework by weaving together elements of learning from both Māori and Pākehā funds of knowledge. This hapū story has implications for current education settings intended to engage indigenous and minority students in learning and improve academic achievement. Strong cultural identities, and the ability to be self-determining, promote indigenous students’ self-esteem and the confidence to accommodate new learning into their existing cultural frameworks, thereby providing a platform for education success.

text: Te Mana Motuhake o Ngāi Tamarāwaho and the challenges of education. Whakapūmautia te tangata i tōna ake mana Throughout history, colonisation has deliberately suppressed and subordinated the knowledge, languages and identities of indigenous peoples. Colonial education policies were designed, at best, to domesticate indigenous children to create subjugated and compliant labouring classes.  These historical policies have intentionally consigned successive generations of indigenous families and communities to the socio-economic margins of the societies created by colonisation (Shields, Bishop & Masawi, 2005).
This thesis explores the intergenerational educational experiences of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, an indigenous Māori community in New Zealand, their relationship with Pākehā (colonial settlers of European descent) and their place, as Māori, in the society created by colonialism.  At the heart of this story is the inter-generational societal abuse of a small indigenous community and the active resistance of that community to colonisation. To survive as a people, Ngāi Tamarāwaho created a space at the intercultural interface between Māori and Pākehā by maintaining and revitalising their cultural identity and language. The intergenerational struggles of the whānau (families) of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, to engage with an imposed system of western education, are related through the narratives of hapū whānau (sub-tribal families) and from archival records. These stories demonstrate that educational failure was not because of the limitations of hapū whānau, but rather a result of the limiting conditions imposed on them. 
Despite these limitations, over the past 180 years, hapū leadership has focussed on maintaining the independent identity of the hapū and their mana motuhake, i.e. their right to be self-determining; seen as critical for whānau and hapū development and successful participation in wider society. To enable the success of future generations, Ngāi Tamarāwaho have accommodated new ideas and learning into their existing cultural framework by weaving together elements of learning from both Māori and Pākehā funds of knowledge. This hapū story has implications for current education settings intended to engage indigenous and minority students in learning and improve academic achievement. Strong cultural identities, and the ability to be self-determining, promote indigenous students’ self-esteem and the confidence to accommodate new learning into their existing cultural frameworks, thereby providing a platform for education success.

year: 2016