title: Predictive factors of treatment non-completion in the Special Treatment Unit Rehabilitation Programme

authors: Grover, William

subjects: Corrections

abstract: Treatment non-completion poses challenges for organisations delivering offending focused group therapy by reducing the efficiency of the interventions. Participants who leave treatment prematurely are also likely to be negatively impacted through loss of potential treatment gains that could have otherwise supported the reduction of reoffending and progression towards a better life. This research aimed to identify the individual and group characteristics which predict treatment non-completion of men participating in high intensity group treatment for violent offending in New Zealand. The data was drawn from an archival file of 261 men who engaged in the Special Treatment Unit Rehabilitation Programme between 2015 and 2018. Binary logistic regression models indicated that treatment non-completion was predicted by dynamic risk of violence, Meanness, and younger age. Coparticipant characteristics had no significant interaction with the completion status of individual group members. The results, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed, and potential directions of future research pertaining to treatment non-completion are identified.

text: Predictive factors of treatment non-completion in the Special Treatment Unit Rehabilitation Programme Treatment non-completion poses challenges for organisations delivering offending focused group therapy by reducing the efficiency of the interventions. Participants who leave treatment prematurely are also likely to be negatively impacted through loss of potential treatment gains that could have otherwise supported the reduction of reoffending and progression towards a better life. This research aimed to identify the individual and group characteristics which predict treatment non-completion of men participating in high intensity group treatment for violent offending in New Zealand. The data was drawn from an archival file of 261 men who engaged in the Special Treatment Unit Rehabilitation Programme between 2015 and 2018. Binary logistic regression models indicated that treatment non-completion was predicted by dynamic risk of violence, Meanness, and younger age. Coparticipant characteristics had no significant interaction with the completion status of individual group members. The results, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed, and potential directions of future research pertaining to treatment non-completion are identified.

year: 2023

title: Heterogeneity and Female-Headed Households in Sri Lanka: Vulnerability and Resilience in a Transitional Development Society

authors: Adikaram Boyagoda, Adikaram Mudiyanselage Kumudika Suramya

subjects: Female headed households

abstract: Since the 1970s, female-headed households (FHHs) in developing countries have often been used in development literature as a proxy for poverty and vulnerability. In reality the profile of women-headed households is diverse; they include, at the least, rich and poor women, aged widows as well as young single mothers and wives of migrant workers, educated professionals and semi-literate manual labourers. This diversity of characteristics, with its attendant diversity of experience and vulnerability unfolds a picture of heterogeneity, rather than homogeneity.  Yet, despite ample evidence that FHHs are, in fact, heterogeneous and not homogeneous, contemporary research and practice remains caught dominantly within the ‘poverty-vulnerability’ nexus. The heterogeneity of female headship is undermined by conventional notions of homogeneity. It is this gap that the present research addresses. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives especially from demography, gender studies; particularly gender and development, risk and vulnerability studies, as well as scholarship on social capital, this thesis employs a ‘heterogeneity’ lens to specifically examine the complexities of household formation, economic conditions and social relations of FHHs in Sri Lanka, in an attempt to explore their vulnerabilities and resilience.

The choice of Sri Lanka as the context for this study is grounded in the demographic reality of a relatively high, and consistently increasing, proportion of households headed by women since the 1970s. By 2009/10, FHHs accounted for nearly one-quarter of all households, throughout the country. In order to capture the geographical and social diversity of FHHs, empirical research was conducted in three contrasting types of district in Sri Lanka, encompassing urban, rural, and estate sectors.   Two main data collection strategies were employed in a mixed methods approach: a sample survey of a cross-section of 534 FHHs, and in-depth interviews with 32 female heads purposively selected from among the survey participants. The findings and discussions include quantitative statistical and qualitative thematic analyses based on primary data, combined with secondary data from censuses, national survey reports and micro-studies of FHHs in Sri Lanka. 

The key findings show the diversity in profile of FHHs in the sample: they range from single person to large extended households. While some households consist of only the woman head and her young children, others comprise aged parents and a woman head. Households were also constituted of ‘working-age’ household members, including the female heads who were totally reliant on others for income and other resources. The study also revealed novel findings that challenge the emphasis of most conventional perceptions of poverty and female headship. From an economic perspective, the results show women from rich households can be personally poor, lacking, among others, in skills to manage household economies, while women in low-income brackets may be resilient, enterprising and satisfied with their needs, despite their apparent poverty. Finally, the thesis highlights the significant role of social capital, a relatively under-researched area in relation to FHHs. The findings reveal that many female heads in Sri Lanka are rich in social capital, a resource in its own right for these women. However, social capital itself needs to be disaggregated into ‘support networks’ and ‘leverage networks’ to understand the role it plays in providing long-term security and resilience. The results show that the majority of FHHs in the sample had access to support networks that provide day-to-day subsistence, but which did not offer them prospects to leverage out of their current situation.

text: Heterogeneity and Female-Headed Households in Sri Lanka: Vulnerability and Resilience in a Transitional Development Society Since the 1970s, female-headed households (FHHs) in developing countries have often been used in development literature as a proxy for poverty and vulnerability. In reality the profile of women-headed households is diverse; they include, at the least, rich and poor women, aged widows as well as young single mothers and wives of migrant workers, educated professionals and semi-literate manual labourers. This diversity of characteristics, with its attendant diversity of experience and vulnerability unfolds a picture of heterogeneity, rather than homogeneity.  Yet, despite ample evidence that FHHs are, in fact, heterogeneous and not homogeneous, contemporary research and practice remains caught dominantly within the ‘poverty-vulnerability’ nexus. The heterogeneity of female headship is undermined by conventional notions of homogeneity. It is this gap that the present research addresses. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives especially from demography, gender studies; particularly gender and development, risk and vulnerability studies, as well as scholarship on social capital, this thesis employs a ‘heterogeneity’ lens to specifically examine the complexities of household formation, economic conditions and social relations of FHHs in Sri Lanka, in an attempt to explore their vulnerabilities and resilience.

The choice of Sri Lanka as the context for this study is grounded in the demographic reality of a relatively high, and consistently increasing, proportion of households headed by women since the 1970s. By 2009/10, FHHs accounted for nearly one-quarter of all households, throughout the country. In order to capture the geographical and social diversity of FHHs, empirical research was conducted in three contrasting types of district in Sri Lanka, encompassing urban, rural, and estate sectors.   Two main data collection strategies were employed in a mixed methods approach: a sample survey of a cross-section of 534 FHHs, and in-depth interviews with 32 female heads purposively selected from among the survey participants. The findings and discussions include quantitative statistical and qualitative thematic analyses based on primary data, combined with secondary data from censuses, national survey reports and micro-studies of FHHs in Sri Lanka. 

The key findings show the diversity in profile of FHHs in the sample: they range from single person to large extended households. While some households consist of only the woman head and her young children, others comprise aged parents and a woman head. Households were also constituted of ‘working-age’ household members, including the female heads who were totally reliant on others for income and other resources. The study also revealed novel findings that challenge the emphasis of most conventional perceptions of poverty and female headship. From an economic perspective, the results show women from rich households can be personally poor, lacking, among others, in skills to manage household economies, while women in low-income brackets may be resilient, enterprising and satisfied with their needs, despite their apparent poverty. Finally, the thesis highlights the significant role of social capital, a relatively under-researched area in relation to FHHs. The findings reveal that many female heads in Sri Lanka are rich in social capital, a resource in its own right for these women. However, social capital itself needs to be disaggregated into ‘support networks’ and ‘leverage networks’ to understand the role it plays in providing long-term security and resilience. The results show that the majority of FHHs in the sample had access to support networks that provide day-to-day subsistence, but which did not offer them prospects to leverage out of their current situation.

year: 2014

title: The Determinants of Tribal Population Growth in the New Zealand Census

authors: Rarere, Moana

subjects: tribal population growth

abstract: By the early twentieth century the notion that ethnic populations would dissipate was a commonly held belief.  However, after World War II, the modern world has seen an incredible resurgence in ethnic identities.  Ethnic conflicts, mobilisations, and the political movements of the 1950s and 1960s served as a major catalyst in the diffusion of indigenous identities and rights.  Consequently, indigenous groups in settler states, especially in North America, experienced population growth beyond the levels of natural demographic factors, that is, fertility, mortality and migration.  Researchers attributed a significant proportion of this growth to changing patterns of ethnic identification, also referred to as ethnic mobility .  Although this phenomenon is well documented in North America, it is only just beginning to be understood in relation to the New Zealand context. 

During the 1970s and 1980s, the indigenous Māori population of New Zealand gained substantial progress in political, social and economic spheres, following the same patterns of ethnic identity growth as in North America.  Despite these gains, the average individual socio-economic outcomes for Māori remain poor, especially in comparison to New Zealand Europeans/Pākehā.  Through key legislation, iwi (tribal) organisations became the core mechanism in which to address Māori socio-economic issues, achieve Māori aspirations and to manage Treaty of Waitangi settlement monies.  Subsequently, the need for iwi statistics for policy and planning purposes saw the reinstatement of iwi data in the New Zealand census in 1991.  Surprisingly, however, very little attention has been given to contemporary patterns of iwi demography.

Since the 1991 census, observations of total iwi population growth patterns indicate these patterns cannot solely be explained by natural demographic factors.  Furthermore, the growth trajectories of individual iwi were markedly different, and in some cases erratic.  These initial observations have raised the following key research questions: What do patterns of iwi growth look like?  What is the role of ethnic mobility?  What factors drive ethnic mobility?  Who changes iwi identification?  Why should we care?  

This thesis examines patterns of iwi identification in the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings from 1991 to 2006.  It uses statistical methods to not only document iwi population changes but to also identify the key determinants driving these trajectories.  In addition, this thesis considers ethnic mobility as an important driver of population growth but, situates this within the broader macro-political environment.  Along with the analysis of aggregate iwi population changes, this thesis also provides an in-depth analysis of four iwi groups – Ngāi Tahu, Waikato, Ngāti Awa and Tūhoe, in order to observe individual iwi dynamics that are not clearly visible at the aggregate level.

The findings of this thesis raise important implications for theories of ethnicity and the demographic study of ethnic populations.  For example, this thesis argues that the category of ethnic mobility is mainly contextual, that is, decisions to change ethnic responses are influenced by the broader political, social and economic contexts.  Furthermore this thesis contends that individual ethnic identification decisions are for the most part defined by ethnic categories imposed by the State.  While traditional views suggest ethnicity is fixed, intrinsic and kinship based, this thesis finds significant support for contemporary views that argue ethnicity is fluid, extrinsic and socially constructed.  Rather than reject traditional views of Maori identity, this study recognises that ethnic identities are complex, and that shifts in iwi identification is about connecting and reconnecting with whakapapa.  Thus this thesis argues that in order to understand individual iwi dynamics both points of view need to be considered.

text: The Determinants of Tribal Population Growth in the New Zealand Census By the early twentieth century the notion that ethnic populations would dissipate was a commonly held belief.  However, after World War II, the modern world has seen an incredible resurgence in ethnic identities.  Ethnic conflicts, mobilisations, and the political movements of the 1950s and 1960s served as a major catalyst in the diffusion of indigenous identities and rights.  Consequently, indigenous groups in settler states, especially in North America, experienced population growth beyond the levels of natural demographic factors, that is, fertility, mortality and migration.  Researchers attributed a significant proportion of this growth to changing patterns of ethnic identification, also referred to as ethnic mobility .  Although this phenomenon is well documented in North America, it is only just beginning to be understood in relation to the New Zealand context. 

During the 1970s and 1980s, the indigenous Māori population of New Zealand gained substantial progress in political, social and economic spheres, following the same patterns of ethnic identity growth as in North America.  Despite these gains, the average individual socio-economic outcomes for Māori remain poor, especially in comparison to New Zealand Europeans/Pākehā.  Through key legislation, iwi (tribal) organisations became the core mechanism in which to address Māori socio-economic issues, achieve Māori aspirations and to manage Treaty of Waitangi settlement monies.  Subsequently, the need for iwi statistics for policy and planning purposes saw the reinstatement of iwi data in the New Zealand census in 1991.  Surprisingly, however, very little attention has been given to contemporary patterns of iwi demography.

Since the 1991 census, observations of total iwi population growth patterns indicate these patterns cannot solely be explained by natural demographic factors.  Furthermore, the growth trajectories of individual iwi were markedly different, and in some cases erratic.  These initial observations have raised the following key research questions: What do patterns of iwi growth look like?  What is the role of ethnic mobility?  What factors drive ethnic mobility?  Who changes iwi identification?  Why should we care?  

This thesis examines patterns of iwi identification in the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings from 1991 to 2006.  It uses statistical methods to not only document iwi population changes but to also identify the key determinants driving these trajectories.  In addition, this thesis considers ethnic mobility as an important driver of population growth but, situates this within the broader macro-political environment.  Along with the analysis of aggregate iwi population changes, this thesis also provides an in-depth analysis of four iwi groups – Ngāi Tahu, Waikato, Ngāti Awa and Tūhoe, in order to observe individual iwi dynamics that are not clearly visible at the aggregate level.

The findings of this thesis raise important implications for theories of ethnicity and the demographic study of ethnic populations.  For example, this thesis argues that the category of ethnic mobility is mainly contextual, that is, decisions to change ethnic responses are influenced by the broader political, social and economic contexts.  Furthermore this thesis contends that individual ethnic identification decisions are for the most part defined by ethnic categories imposed by the State.  While traditional views suggest ethnicity is fixed, intrinsic and kinship based, this thesis finds significant support for contemporary views that argue ethnicity is fluid, extrinsic and socially constructed.  Rather than reject traditional views of Maori identity, this study recognises that ethnic identities are complex, and that shifts in iwi identification is about connecting and reconnecting with whakapapa.  Thus this thesis argues that in order to understand individual iwi dynamics both points of view need to be considered.

year: 2012