The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the food-related messages that are presented to children on New Zealand and Japanese television. A sample of 25 programmes, including advertisements broadcast on New Zealand's main free-to-air network stations and a sample of 22 programmes, including advertisements broadcast on Japan's network stations were the basis of this study. Food-related messages, content and portrayed eating behaviours were analysed. The main finding of this study suggest that the advertising content of children's programmes contain a large proportion of food advertising, largely for foods high in fat and sugar. The children's programming environments in both New Zealand and Japan also contain a large proportion of food imagery, which does include a variety of healthy foods such as meat, rice, bread, fruit and vegetables. Of more concern is that whilst Japanese children are mainly watching children's programmes, in New Zealand, children are exposed to numerous unhealthy food related imagery during programmes of which they are heavy viewers, although they are not the target audience, i.e. peak viewing periods, typically 6pm -10:30pm daily. Furthermore the unhealthy eating imagery during peak viewing periods may be contributing towards shaping children's nutrition practices. It is recommended that marketers and policy makers consider these issues in regard to the claims that advertising is a contributing factor to obesity. Due to the high incidence of eating behaviours occurring during programme content it is recommended that an advertising ban during children's programmes in New Zealand and Japan would be inconsistent, ineffective and unjustifiable.

Workplace humour is an important component of organisational culture and social behaviour, yet this topic is under-researched and neglected within the field of organisational studies. This thesis explores the influence of organisational culture on workplace humour enactment. Key research objectives are to contribute empirical data regarding the influence of organisational culture on humour and to create a model that explains and connects significant aspects of humour and organisational culture. A further aim is to explore the element of formality within organisational culture and its impacts on humour enactment. Research was undertaken in four New Zealand companies from different industries. A mixed-method approach is used and methods include: interviews; participant observation and document collection. An assessment tool was created to compare levels of formality and/or informality in the studied organisations. Findings show that the organisational culture and levels of formality and/or informality within the culture influence humour practices through the creation of boundaries that constrain or enable humour activities. A model was created to depict the influence of organisational culture upon humour enactment. The model shows that levels of formality or informality are key cultural elements and that formality/informality levels influence the boundaries that are created for humour enactment. Specific individuals (identified as either jokers or gatekeepers) assume dichotomous roles and within these roles either challenge or constrain the humour boundaries. Organisational members perceive that humour and organisational culture have both positive and negative impacts upon workplace outcomes such as: retention; satisfaction; performance and recruitment. Humour at work is widespread and a significant component of modern working life. Humour manifests itself within workplace culture and understanding the influence of organisational culture on humour enactment is an important facet of organisational studies.

The management consulting industry has been growing exponentially during the last two decades influencing the relationships between business schools, corporations and universities, achieving a significant role as a modern "knowledge creator". This thesis studies the process of knowledge creation undertaken by management consultants. The academic mode of creating knowledge as described by Kuhn (1996) was used to direct this exploration of consultants as a knowledge creating community. The purpose of using the scientific method of knowledge creation is not to compare or to judge consulting knowledge, but to use it as a way of entry to explore consultants' practices. In a complementary way to Kuhn's core concepts, a brief Foucauldian overview identified concepts like inclusion and exclusion, discourse and the notion of practices, which are used in the analysis. An empirical research was conducted focusing specifically on a group of practicing consultants in New Zealand. Thirteen consultants who specialize in corporate governance advice were interviewed. Corporate governance was chosen as a field of advice because it is a clearly separable area of management consulting. In this study, the categories of community and paradigm served as a point of entry to explore knowledge creation practices. The data was analyzed qualitatively in search for evidence of community belonging and patterns in consultants' knowledge creation practices. It has been found that consultants, in spite not having a formal regulating professional body, behave as a professional community that has entry requirements, exit procedures and credentials for belonging. Consultants define their identities in the intersection of overlapping communities, which sometimes include their former educational backgrounds, their professions and their current practice. Research findings show that consultants in governance share a paradigm, which trascend particular consulting firms and reach a larger group of consultants. This paradigm has quality control processes such as reputation and re-engagement, and common methods in dealing with governance problems. In addition, in terms of the body of knowledge shared, there are certain factors that determine the value of that knowledge for consultants such as novelty, commercial value, utility and accessibility.

This research investigated three main research questions. First, can the structure and nature of motivation for the consumption of luxury products be identified? Second, are there differences between consumers from different parts of the world in their motivation for consuming luxury products? Third, can cultural values be used to predict motivation for the consumption of luxury products? Data was obtained by way of an online survey at a New Zealand University, and via a mixed-mode survey at a public University in Thailand. A total of 307 (NZ n=130; Thai n=177) usable responses were obtained. In respect of the first research question, the model of motivation for consuming luxuries developed by Vigneron and Johnson (1999) was empirically tested. This model proposed that five forms of motivation would exist; status, uniqueness, conformity, quality, and hedonic. In the present study, a four factor model of consumer motivation was uncovered, consisting of status-seeking, pleasure-seeking, uniqueness-seeking, and value-seeking. Value-seeking emerged as the most important motivation for the consumption of luxury products. Status-seeking was the least important form of motivation. This finding suggests that the conventional emphasis in the luxury products literature, on status as a motivator of luxury consumption, may be misplaced. In respect of the second research question, differences were found to exist between New Zealanders and Thais in the importance that respondents attach to the different forms of motivation for consuming luxuries (Wilks Lambda = 0.540, F= 61.167, p = <0.001). A series of univariate ANOVAs identified that Thais possess higher levels of value-seeking motivation than New Zealanders (F = 15.152, p = 0.000), and that New Zealanders possessed significantly higher levels of pleasure-seeking than Thais (F = 87.589, p = 0.000). No significant difference was found to exist between New Zealanders and Thais in respect of status-seeking and uniqueness-seeking. In order to investigate the third and final research question, it was necessary to measure the orientation of participants in the research towards a set of cultural values. The four-quadrant individualism, collectivism and vertical, horizontal typology of cultural orientation was used as the basis of cultural values in this research (Triandis, 1995). This typology suggests that there are two forms of individualism: vertical (VI) and horizontal (HI), and two forms of collectivism: vertical (VC) and horizontal (HC). This was measured on the scale developed by Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk and Gelfand (1995). The cultural orientation of individuals was found to be more heterogenous within countries than was anticipated. Whilst, as expected, Thais primarily orientated towards VC, there were significant numbers of individuals who orientated towards HI and HC. New Zealanders were largely split between HI and HC. Correlation analysis and a series of multiple regressions were conducted in order to investigate the relationship between cultural orientation and motivation for consuming luxuries. VI and VC were found to be related to status-seeking. VI and HC were positively related to pleasure-seeking, and VC was found to be negatively related to pleasure-seeking. HI was related to uniqueness-seeking. VC and HI were found to be related to value-seeking.

Free-to-air television news is an accessible and popular means through which audiences can gain knowledge and understanding about the world. Therefore, the nature of the news provided has important implications for the opportunities audiences have to become informed about events and issues, and to use this knowledge to participate in social decision-making. The structure and content of news bulletins reflect the decisions made by broadcasters about the topics that are considered to be important, and which sources should have the opportunity to be represented. Thus, the goal of this research was to compare the structure and content of the news provided by New Zealand’s national free-to-air news programmes; ONE News (TVNZ), 3 News (TV3), Prime News (Prime Television), and Te K ea (M ori Television). A content analysis of one constructed week of the four news programmes was undertaken, focusing on four general areas of interest. First, the profile of the news bulletins was examined (i.e., the proportion of the bulletin allocated to different segments of the news, the duration of main news stories, the origin of production of main news stories, the proportion of New Zealand and international news, and the topics included in the news). Second, the research investigated the identity of the types of sources selected by the broadcasters for inclusion in locally produced main news stories. Third, the frequency and duration of élite and non-élite source speech was examined. Finally, the extent to which journalists speak on camera in news stories was also investigated. The study showed that the four programmes generally conformed to the ‘standard profile’ of modern television news bulletins; the programmes included considerable amounts of non-news content and the news topics often reflected entertainment values, rather than focusing on serious issues. A further significant characteristic of the bulletins was that élite sources were more likely to be included in news stories on all programmes and generally had greater opportunities to speak. However, in many respects it appears that Te K ea provides an alternative news bulletin compared to the other three channels, by focusing on a wider range of news topics, including more non-élite sources in stories, and giving all sources considerably more time to share their views. Te K ea seems to broadcast a news programme that makes a compromise between the entertainment values which are entrenched in contemporary television news, and the broader M ori Television mandate to inform and educate the public. This contrasts with the more homogenous (in terms of the characteristics examined in this research) news programmes offered by the ONE News, 3 News, and Prime News. This study concludes that the nationally available free-to-air news programmes currently broadcast on New Zealand television fulfil the traditional news functions of informing and educating the public in only a very narrow sense. The deregulated news environment is poised to undergo further transformation with an anticipated increase in convergence among news media and the emergence of more television news providers. The challenge within this commercial environment is for ONE News, 3 News, Prime News, and Te K ea to deliver on their stated commitments to provide information and promote debate on the important issues of the day.

Free-to-air television news is an accessible and popular means through which audiences can gain knowledge and understanding about the world. Therefore, the nature of the news provided has important implications for the opportunities audiences have to become informed about events and issues, and to use this knowledge to participate in social decision-making. The structure and content of news bulletins reflect the decisions made by broadcasters about the topics that are considered to be important, and which sources should have the opportunity to be represented. Thus, the goal of this research was to compare the structure and content of the news provided by New Zealand’s national free-to-air news programmes; ONE News (TVNZ), 3 News (TV3), Prime News (Prime Television), and Te K ea (M ori Television). A content analysis of one constructed week of the four news programmes was undertaken, focusing on four general areas of interest. First, the profile of the news bulletins was examined (i.e., the proportion of the bulletin allocated to different segments of the news, the duration of main news stories, the origin of production of main news stories, the proportion of New Zealand and international news, and the topics included in the news). Second, the research investigated the identity of the types of sources selected by the broadcasters for inclusion in locally produced main news stories. Third, the frequency and duration of élite and non-élite source speech was examined. Finally, the extent to which journalists speak on camera in news stories was also investigated. The study showed that the four programmes generally conformed to the ‘standard profile’ of modern television news bulletins; the programmes included considerable amounts of non-news content and the news topics often reflected entertainment values, rather than focusing on serious issues. A further significant characteristic of the bulletins was that élite sources were more likely to be included in news stories on all programmes and generally had greater opportunities to speak. However, in many respects it appears that Te K ea provides an alternative news bulletin compared to the other three channels, by focusing on a wider range of news topics, including more non-élite sources in stories, and giving all sources considerably more time to share their views. Te K ea seems to broadcast a news programme that makes a compromise between the entertainment values which are entrenched in contemporary television news, and the broader M ori Television mandate to inform and educate the public. This contrasts with the more homogenous (in terms of the characteristics examined in this research) news programmes offered by the ONE News, 3 News, and Prime News. This study concludes that the nationally available free-to-air news programmes currently broadcast on New Zealand television fulfil the traditional news functions of informing and educating the public in only a very narrow sense. The deregulated news environment is poised to undergo further transformation with an anticipated increase in convergence among news media and the emergence of more television news providers. The challenge within this commercial environment is for ONE News, 3 News, Prime News, and Te K ea to deliver on their stated commitments to provide information and promote debate on the important issues of the day.

Free-to-air television news is an accessible and popular means through which audiences can gain knowledge and understanding about the world. Therefore, the nature of the news provided has important implications for the opportunities audiences have to become informed about events and issues, and to use this knowledge to participate in social decision-making. The structure and content of news bulletins reflect the decisions made by broadcasters about the topics that are considered to be important, and which sources should have the opportunity to be represented. Thus, the goal of this research was to compare the structure and content of the news provided by New Zealand’s national free-to-air news programmes; ONE News (TVNZ), 3 News (TV3), Prime News (Prime Television), and Te K ea (M ori Television). A content analysis of one constructed week of the four news programmes was undertaken, focusing on four general areas of interest. First, the profile of the news bulletins was examined (i.e., the proportion of the bulletin allocated to different segments of the news, the duration of main news stories, the origin of production of main news stories, the proportion of New Zealand and international news, and the topics included in the news). Second, the research investigated the identity of the types of sources selected by the broadcasters for inclusion in locally produced main news stories. Third, the frequency and duration of élite and non-élite source speech was examined. Finally, the extent to which journalists speak on camera in news stories was also investigated. The study showed that the four programmes generally conformed to the ‘standard profile’ of modern television news bulletins; the programmes included considerable amounts of non-news content and the news topics often reflected entertainment values, rather than focusing on serious issues. A further significant characteristic of the bulletins was that élite sources were more likely to be included in news stories on all programmes and generally had greater opportunities to speak. However, in many respects it appears that Te K ea provides an alternative news bulletin compared to the other three channels, by focusing on a wider range of news topics, including more non-élite sources in stories, and giving all sources considerably more time to share their views. Te K ea seems to broadcast a news programme that makes a compromise between the entertainment values which are entrenched in contemporary television news, and the broader M ori Television mandate to inform and educate the public. This contrasts with the more homogenous (in terms of the characteristics examined in this research) news programmes offered by the ONE News, 3 News, and Prime News. This study concludes that the nationally available free-to-air news programmes currently broadcast on New Zealand television fulfil the traditional news functions of informing and educating the public in only a very narrow sense. The deregulated news environment is poised to undergo further transformation with an anticipated increase in convergence among news media and the emergence of more television news providers. The challenge within this commercial environment is for ONE News, 3 News, Prime News, and Te K ea to deliver on their stated commitments to provide information and promote debate on the important issues of the day.

While there is significant interest in the area of learning organisations, research in this field has been fragmented. There is a need for an holistic model of learning organisations and a measurement system that can be used by both researchers and practitioners. This thesis applies Dilemma Theory as a means of meeting this need. An holistic model was developed based on a definition of learning organisations as ones that consciously seek to balance capacities with demands. In seeking this balance, an organisation will undertake a learning journey in which it encounters a variety of learning dilemmas: points where it must choose between alternative approaches to learning, each of which is attractive. In making these choices, learning-related values are established in the organisation. These values are the basis for a "learning culture" which shapes the way learning is understood and approached by the organisational community. Presenting people within an organisation with learning-related dilemmas allows learning cultures to be charted, thus providing the basis for a measurement system. Fifteen learning-related dilemmas were identified using three processes. Firstly, literature on learning organisations was reviewed to identify conflicts between metaphors used to explain the learning organisation. Secondly, a group of New Zealand consultants took part in a Delphi Technique process, in which they established criteria for identifying learning organisations and surfaced dilemmas embedded in the criteria. Finally, 'Culture Exploration Workshops' were conducted in three organisations to surface dilemmas experienced by business practitioners engaged in learning journeys. The 15 dilemmas identified were used to chart differences between 5 organisations. The measurement system was successful in identifying differences between organisations. Results were also consistent with values that might be expected from sub-cultures represented in the sample. The study concluded by outlining a programme of research aimed at refining the measurement system and applying it to the study of learning organisations.

Free-to-air television news is an accessible and popular means through which audiences can gain knowledge and understanding about the world. Therefore, the nature of the news provided has important implications for the opportunities audiences have to become informed about events and issues, and to use this knowledge to participate in social decision-making. The structure and content of news bulletins reflect the decisions made by broadcasters about the topics that are considered to be important, and which sources should have the opportunity to be represented. Thus, the goal of this research was to compare the structure and content of the news provided by New Zealand’s national free-to-air news programmes; ONE News (TVNZ), 3 News (TV3), Prime News (Prime Television), and Te K ea (M ori Television). A content analysis of one constructed week of the four news programmes was undertaken, focusing on four general areas of interest. First, the profile of the news bulletins was examined (i.e., the proportion of the bulletin allocated to different segments of the news, the duration of main news stories, the origin of production of main news stories, the proportion of New Zealand and international news, and the topics included in the news). Second, the research investigated the identity of the types of sources selected by the broadcasters for inclusion in locally produced main news stories. Third, the frequency and duration of élite and non-élite source speech was examined. Finally, the extent to which journalists speak on camera in news stories was also investigated. The study showed that the four programmes generally conformed to the ‘standard profile’ of modern television news bulletins; the programmes included considerable amounts of non-news content and the news topics often reflected entertainment values, rather than focusing on serious issues. A further significant characteristic of the bulletins was that élite sources were more likely to be included in news stories on all programmes and generally had greater opportunities to speak. However, in many respects it appears that Te K ea provides an alternative news bulletin compared to the other three channels, by focusing on a wider range of news topics, including more non-élite sources in stories, and giving all sources considerably more time to share their views. Te K ea seems to broadcast a news programme that makes a compromise between the entertainment values which are entrenched in contemporary television news, and the broader M ori Television mandate to inform and educate the public. This contrasts with the more homogenous (in terms of the characteristics examined in this research) news programmes offered by the ONE News, 3 News, and Prime News. This study concludes that the nationally available free-to-air news programmes currently broadcast on New Zealand television fulfil the traditional news functions of informing and educating the public in only a very narrow sense. The deregulated news environment is poised to undergo further transformation with an anticipated increase in convergence among news media and the emergence of more television news providers. The challenge within this commercial environment is for ONE News, 3 News, Prime News, and Te K ea to deliver on their stated commitments to provide information and promote debate on the important issues of the day.

Free-to-air television news is an accessible and popular means through which audiences can gain knowledge and understanding about the world. Therefore, the nature of the news provided has important implications for the opportunities audiences have to become informed about events and issues, and to use this knowledge to participate in social decision-making. The structure and content of news bulletins reflect the decisions made by broadcasters about the topics that are considered to be important, and which sources should have the opportunity to be represented. Thus, the goal of this research was to compare the structure and content of the news provided by New Zealand’s national free-to-air news programmes; ONE News (TVNZ), 3 News (TV3), Prime News (Prime Television), and Te K ea (M ori Television). A content analysis of one constructed week of the four news programmes was undertaken, focusing on four general areas of interest. First, the profile of the news bulletins was examined (i.e., the proportion of the bulletin allocated to different segments of the news, the duration of main news stories, the origin of production of main news stories, the proportion of New Zealand and international news, and the topics included in the news). Second, the research investigated the identity of the types of sources selected by the broadcasters for inclusion in locally produced main news stories. Third, the frequency and duration of élite and non-élite source speech was examined. Finally, the extent to which journalists speak on camera in news stories was also investigated. The study showed that the four programmes generally conformed to the ‘standard profile’ of modern television news bulletins; the programmes included considerable amounts of non-news content and the news topics often reflected entertainment values, rather than focusing on serious issues. A further significant characteristic of the bulletins was that élite sources were more likely to be included in news stories on all programmes and generally had greater opportunities to speak. However, in many respects it appears that Te K ea provides an alternative news bulletin compared to the other three channels, by focusing on a wider range of news topics, including more non-élite sources in stories, and giving all sources considerably more time to share their views. Te K ea seems to broadcast a news programme that makes a compromise between the entertainment values which are entrenched in contemporary television news, and the broader M ori Television mandate to inform and educate the public. This contrasts with the more homogenous (in terms of the characteristics examined in this research) news programmes offered by the ONE News, 3 News, and Prime News. This study concludes that the nationally available free-to-air news programmes currently broadcast on New Zealand television fulfil the traditional news functions of informing and educating the public in only a very narrow sense. The deregulated news environment is poised to undergo further transformation with an anticipated increase in convergence among news media and the emergence of more television news providers. The challenge within this commercial environment is for ONE News, 3 News, Prime News, and Te K ea to deliver on their stated commitments to provide information and promote debate on the important issues of the day.