title: “This is not a riot, it is a protest”: A discourse analysis of prison violence in New Zealand news media

authors: Membery, Liam

subjects: Prison Violence

abstract: This thesis examines the discourses of prison violence in the New Zealand news media. Prison violence is a pressing social issue that harms those involved and has permeating consequences for the institution. Prison riots, specifically, involve serious instances of disorder and violence that incur physical, psychological, social and economic harm. Despite prisons being private institutions, prison riots are public events that amass large social responses through news media coverage. The public often use news media to co-construct their perceptions of social phenomena, and policymakers use both public opinion and the news media to guide their decisions when shaping policy. Subsequently, the ways in which the news media discursively construct prison riots will have direct consequences for public attitudes and policy relating to prison violence, a phenomenon that exists outside of the public eye. However, there is currently no research that has examined discourses of prison violence and, further, what the consequences of these discourses may be. Therefore, using a Foucauldian approach to discourse analysis, this study examined the discourses in the news media representations of the large-scale prison violence at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility (2013) and Waikeria Prison (2020-2021). The results uncovered three discourses: the riot discourse, the gang discourse, and the protest discourse. The riot discourse was identified as dominant and constructed prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by inherently violent prisoners. The gang discourse worked in conjunction with the riot discourse, constructing prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by gang members. The protest discourse was identified as a counter-discourse and constructed the unrest at both facilities as protests against living conditions and inhumane treatment. Each discourse has consequences for public attitudes and in turn, penal policy and practice.

text: “This is not a riot, it is a protest”: A discourse analysis of prison violence in New Zealand news media This thesis examines the discourses of prison violence in the New Zealand news media. Prison violence is a pressing social issue that harms those involved and has permeating consequences for the institution. Prison riots, specifically, involve serious instances of disorder and violence that incur physical, psychological, social and economic harm. Despite prisons being private institutions, prison riots are public events that amass large social responses through news media coverage. The public often use news media to co-construct their perceptions of social phenomena, and policymakers use both public opinion and the news media to guide their decisions when shaping policy. Subsequently, the ways in which the news media discursively construct prison riots will have direct consequences for public attitudes and policy relating to prison violence, a phenomenon that exists outside of the public eye. However, there is currently no research that has examined discourses of prison violence and, further, what the consequences of these discourses may be. Therefore, using a Foucauldian approach to discourse analysis, this study examined the discourses in the news media representations of the large-scale prison violence at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility (2013) and Waikeria Prison (2020-2021). The results uncovered three discourses: the riot discourse, the gang discourse, and the protest discourse. The riot discourse was identified as dominant and constructed prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by inherently violent prisoners. The gang discourse worked in conjunction with the riot discourse, constructing prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by gang members. The protest discourse was identified as a counter-discourse and constructed the unrest at both facilities as protests against living conditions and inhumane treatment. Each discourse has consequences for public attitudes and in turn, penal policy and practice.

year: 2022

title: The Aroha block to 1879

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Te Aroha was valued by Maori because of its strategic position as well as its healing hot springs, while Pakeha anticipated acquiring a large area (which shrank in size once surveyed) of fertile farming land. Before the Crown could acquire the block, the ownership of a disputed area fought over by the Marutuahu tribes (especially Ngati Maru) and Ngati Haua had to be determined. After the battle of Taumatawiwi of 1830, claimed as a victory by both sides, subsequent smaller battles continued for some years. In place of deciding ownership on this basis, the new land court struggled to make a judgment on the basis of  contradictory claims about ancestry, battles large and small, and occupation.
One part of the larger Aroha block, Ruakaka, was considered separately in 1869, resulting in the court allocating it to Ngati Haua. Also in that year, the first hearing of the Aroha Block was held, at Matamata, with the same outcome. Because of Maratuahu anger and threats of violence, Ngati Haua failed to survey the land as required, and a second hearing was held in Auckland, in 1871, at which Ngati Maru triumphed. Subsequently the block was occupied, but conflicts continued, notably when Ngati Haua gave a Pakeha permission to run cattle at Waiharakeke, further upriver. 
Starting in 1873, James Mackay slowly purchased the interests of individuals claiming ownership of the block, and paid off the Ngati Haua claimants. Then in December 1876, Ngati Tumutumu/Ngati Rahiri claimed the land for themselves, and in the following year the ownership of the Waitoki block, downstream from Te Aroha, was contested. In July 1878, a third hearing of the Aroha case commenced, resulting in Ngati Rahiri being allocated £3,000 and 7,500 acres, the remainder of the block going to Ngati Maru. Subsequently, the process of subdividing the owners’ interests proceeded, very slowly, and a small number of Pakeha settled and commenced farming or storekeeping.

text: The Aroha block to 1879 Te Aroha was valued by Maori because of its strategic position as well as its healing hot springs, while Pakeha anticipated acquiring a large area (which shrank in size once surveyed) of fertile farming land. Before the Crown could acquire the block, the ownership of a disputed area fought over by the Marutuahu tribes (especially Ngati Maru) and Ngati Haua had to be determined. After the battle of Taumatawiwi of 1830, claimed as a victory by both sides, subsequent smaller battles continued for some years. In place of deciding ownership on this basis, the new land court struggled to make a judgment on the basis of  contradictory claims about ancestry, battles large and small, and occupation.
One part of the larger Aroha block, Ruakaka, was considered separately in 1869, resulting in the court allocating it to Ngati Haua. Also in that year, the first hearing of the Aroha Block was held, at Matamata, with the same outcome. Because of Maratuahu anger and threats of violence, Ngati Haua failed to survey the land as required, and a second hearing was held in Auckland, in 1871, at which Ngati Maru triumphed. Subsequently the block was occupied, but conflicts continued, notably when Ngati Haua gave a Pakeha permission to run cattle at Waiharakeke, further upriver. 
Starting in 1873, James Mackay slowly purchased the interests of individuals claiming ownership of the block, and paid off the Ngati Haua claimants. Then in December 1876, Ngati Tumutumu/Ngati Rahiri claimed the land for themselves, and in the following year the ownership of the Waitoki block, downstream from Te Aroha, was contested. In July 1878, a third hearing of the Aroha case commenced, resulting in Ngati Rahiri being allocated £3,000 and 7,500 acres, the remainder of the block going to Ngati Maru. Subsequently, the process of subdividing the owners’ interests proceeded, very slowly, and a small number of Pakeha settled and commenced farming or storekeeping.

year: 2016

title: Cyborg Art: An Explorative and Critical Inquiry  into Corporeal Human-Technology Convergence

authors: Borst, Elizabeth Margaretha

subjects: cyborg

abstract: This thesis introduces and examines the undervalued concept of corporeal human-technology interface art, or 'cyborg art', which describes literal, figural and metaphorical representations of increasing body and technology integration. The transforming (post)human being is therefore the focus; who we are today, and who or what we may become as humanity increasingly interfaces with technology. Theoretical analysis of cyborg imagery centres on the science fiction domain, in particular film and television, as opposed to art. Yet a profusion of cyborg art and art practices abound within contemporary society; each differing art form (for example, performance, interactive, digital, sculpture or painting), offering possible 'symbolic function' and 'critical potential' concerning increasing cyborgisation. I therefore argue in this thesis that cyborg art has social value, and reveal throughout the way this artistic focus depicts key ontological and sociological themes of body-technology merger. Seventy-two artworks are examined in total, each demonstrating relevant concerns and aspirations regarding present and envisioned impacts of technoscience.

The cyborg-inspired artworks included in this study are primarily situated within four fundamental dimensions of humanity: birth, death, gender and ethnicity; and within three main spheres of corporeal-technological developments: prosthetics, telematics and genetics. Key concepts and themes explored within these realms include ectogenesis, post-genderism, necrotic and ethno-cyborgs, augmentation and reconstruction, tele-erotics and tele-puppets, and transgenics. In addition, three new cyborgian concepts are introduced: the udopian cyborg, which is an aesthetic representing technology's paradoxical dimension - technology as evoking fear and yearning, and having the potential to benefit and harm humanity; the permeative gaze of technoscience, which is a new technologised gaze focusing on how human skin no longer serves as a boundary and barrier to the inner corporeal realm; and lastly, triadic convergence, which denotes the way artists are increasingly creating entities which are a melding of animal, technological and human components.
Multimethod research serves as the methodological base for this thesis, as both qualitative and quantitative methods are incorporated into the research design. Hermeneutics is adopted as the analytical/interpretive perspective and approach. The empirical research includes semi-structured in-depth interviews, qualitative (artists') email questionnaires, and structured quantitative questionnaires. Triangulation is employed in order to obtain varied responses to, and perspectives on, technology and the technological epoch, art and cyborg art, and the cyborg. A theory of cyborg art is constructed by interweaving the collated findings with interview participants' responses to a selection of cyborg artworks, and theorists' perspectives on the aforementioned concepts, derived from visual culture, cyborg theory, and critical postmodern theory. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to present the underlying theoretical breadth and creative depth of cyborg art, and to demonstrate that cyborg art can act as a catalyst for increasing societal awareness of, and interest in, corporeal human-technology merger. I analyse the critical relevance of this under-examined artistic focus, and address why cyborg art should be recognised as a new postmodern art genre, and complementary to theoretical discussions of cyborgisation. I argue overall that cyborg art is a valid and critical sphere of inquiry into the increasing integration which exists between humanity and technology.

text: Cyborg Art: An Explorative and Critical Inquiry  into Corporeal Human-Technology Convergence This thesis introduces and examines the undervalued concept of corporeal human-technology interface art, or 'cyborg art', which describes literal, figural and metaphorical representations of increasing body and technology integration. The transforming (post)human being is therefore the focus; who we are today, and who or what we may become as humanity increasingly interfaces with technology. Theoretical analysis of cyborg imagery centres on the science fiction domain, in particular film and television, as opposed to art. Yet a profusion of cyborg art and art practices abound within contemporary society; each differing art form (for example, performance, interactive, digital, sculpture or painting), offering possible 'symbolic function' and 'critical potential' concerning increasing cyborgisation. I therefore argue in this thesis that cyborg art has social value, and reveal throughout the way this artistic focus depicts key ontological and sociological themes of body-technology merger. Seventy-two artworks are examined in total, each demonstrating relevant concerns and aspirations regarding present and envisioned impacts of technoscience.

The cyborg-inspired artworks included in this study are primarily situated within four fundamental dimensions of humanity: birth, death, gender and ethnicity; and within three main spheres of corporeal-technological developments: prosthetics, telematics and genetics. Key concepts and themes explored within these realms include ectogenesis, post-genderism, necrotic and ethno-cyborgs, augmentation and reconstruction, tele-erotics and tele-puppets, and transgenics. In addition, three new cyborgian concepts are introduced: the udopian cyborg, which is an aesthetic representing technology's paradoxical dimension - technology as evoking fear and yearning, and having the potential to benefit and harm humanity; the permeative gaze of technoscience, which is a new technologised gaze focusing on how human skin no longer serves as a boundary and barrier to the inner corporeal realm; and lastly, triadic convergence, which denotes the way artists are increasingly creating entities which are a melding of animal, technological and human components.
Multimethod research serves as the methodological base for this thesis, as both qualitative and quantitative methods are incorporated into the research design. Hermeneutics is adopted as the analytical/interpretive perspective and approach. The empirical research includes semi-structured in-depth interviews, qualitative (artists') email questionnaires, and structured quantitative questionnaires. Triangulation is employed in order to obtain varied responses to, and perspectives on, technology and the technological epoch, art and cyborg art, and the cyborg. A theory of cyborg art is constructed by interweaving the collated findings with interview participants' responses to a selection of cyborg artworks, and theorists' perspectives on the aforementioned concepts, derived from visual culture, cyborg theory, and critical postmodern theory. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to present the underlying theoretical breadth and creative depth of cyborg art, and to demonstrate that cyborg art can act as a catalyst for increasing societal awareness of, and interest in, corporeal human-technology merger. I analyse the critical relevance of this under-examined artistic focus, and address why cyborg art should be recognised as a new postmodern art genre, and complementary to theoretical discussions of cyborgisation. I argue overall that cyborg art is a valid and critical sphere of inquiry into the increasing integration which exists between humanity and technology.

year: 2009