Oblique continental collision between the Pacific and Australian Plates in the central South Island of New Zealand (between c. 44 and 46°S) results in distributed reverse faulting. Only a few of these faults have been studied in detail, highlighting a major knowledge deficit in the earthquake behaviour, magnitude potential and contribution to seismic hazard for many faults in this part of the orogen. Three reverse faults are investigated in detail in this thesis: the Moonlight Fault Zone (MFZ), the Fox Peak Fault and the Forest Creek Fault. Geochronologic approaches, including Schmidt hammer exposure-age dating, radiocarbon dating, and optically stimulated luminescence dating, are combined with paleoseismic trenching, fault surface trace mapping, analysis of GPS and LiDAR survey data, and numerical modelling to characterise the rupture behaviour of these faults. A new Schmidt hammer chronofunction based on over 7000 clast analyses is developed that relates rebound value (R-value) to age for river terraces. The rapid, inexpensive, non-destructive, and statistically valid nature of this technique makes it widely applicable for age dating here and globally. I use Schmidt hammer exposure-age dating along with other geochronologic and surveying methods to show that stranded post-last glacial lake shorelines of Lake Wakatipu are undeformed and at a uniform elevation across the MFZ. This indicates an absence of uplift across the MFZ since c. 13 ka and suggests that this fault may be inactive or subject to long periods of interseismic quiescence despite its location in the active orogen. This result also challenges the long-held hypothesis that lake shorelines throughout central NZ are tilted due to isostatic rebound. Three segments of the Fox Peak Fault are identified through field mapping and surveying. Slip rates at over 50 locations along the 36.5 km total length of the fault (c. 1.5 mm yr⁻¹ maximum) co-vary with the bounding range topography and exhibit large gradients near intersecting NW-striking faults. Four paleoseismic trenches were excavated to determine if these segment boundaries represent barriers to earthquake rupture propagation. Evidence of 3-4 earthquakes since c. 16 ka on the two end segments with overlapping age uncertainties indicates that the recurrence interval of the fault is 2000-3000 years. The most recent event (MRE) occurred at c. 2.5 ka. Large single event displacement to length ratios on these segments and a single event scarp on the central segment indicate that while the segment boundaries control on-fault slip gradients, they are not likely to impede through-going ruptures in an earthquake. This is a relatively recent development from the long-term tectonic geomorphology, which is suggestive of range growth on separate faults.

This thesis investigates change in a number of phonological variables in New Zealand English (NZE) during a formative period of its development. The variables under analysis are the short front vowels /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, the front centring diphthongs /ɪə/ and /ɛə/, and the so-called 'broad A' vowel. The sample includes 30 NZE speakers born between the 1890s and the 1930s (the 'Intermediate period'). Acoustic analysis reveals that the short front vowel system develops into one with two front vowels and one central vowel over the intermediate period via a push chain shift. There is evidence for complex allophonisation in the speech of early intermediate speakers. I argue that duration plays an important role in resolving overlap between vowel distributions during this time. With regard to the front centring diphthongs there is approximation of the nuclei of the two vowels in F1/F2 space over the intermediate period as well as incipient merger in the speech of late intermediate speakers. Although the merger is mainly one of gradual approximation, it is argued that patterns of expansion of the vowel space available to both vowels are also found. The analysis carried out on the 'broad A' vowel reveals that whereas flat A was still present in the speech of the earlier speakers from the sample, broad A had become categorical toward the end of the intermediate period. It is shown that, by and large, the process involves discrete transfer of words across etymological categories. The final chapters discuss a number of theoretical implications. Processes such as the NZE front vowel shift suggest that a number of previously recognised concepts, such as 'tracks' and 'subsystems', may either have to be relaxed or abandoned altogether. It is argued that chain shifts of this type come about by rather simple mechanisms that have a strong resemblance to functional principles found in the evolution of organisms. A case for 'fitness' of variants of a given vowel will be made. Phonological optimisation, on the other hand, is not a driving force in this type of sound change.

Among commentators and Parliamentarians in both Britain and New Zealand, petitioning has been viewed as an ineffective means of influencing Government. Yet this opinion has never been verified with data on the outcome of petition campaigns. Such data was available to this study for petitions considered in New Zealand between 1969 and 1983. It was analysed and revealed that less than one in twelve petitions were actioned in any way. In addition it was found that none of the petition characteristics tested were significantly associated with the success of petitions. Similarly it was found that a petition's chances of success were not significantly affected by the way it was considered. Few variables changed appreciably over time. These findings are laid out in detail in chapters four and five, and are summarized at the start of the conclusion. The conclusion also contains a discussion of this study's limitations and a tentative exploration of two questions suggested by this study. Specifically, factors which may contribute to petition ineffectiveness, and to the continued popularity of petition organization despite their ineffectiveness, are suggested.

This thesis considers the ways in which the prints of Barry Cleavin utilise parody, satire and irony in a myriad of complex and inter-related ways. Cleavin understands the possibility of alternative interpretations, and by presenting this in his art he encourages his viewers to actively participate in the forming of questions. This can for reflection relates to our understanding of pictorial conventions and art historical traditions, as well as to contemporary society, our use of language and the incongruities ofthe human condition. In considering parody, satire and irony in Cleavin's prints, this thesis shows that they are not simply separate devices employed only occasionally, but rather that an three are inter-related and inextricably linked to Cleavin's search to provoke questions, disturb complacencies, and present alternative realities.

Focusing on the Chinese-language media in New Zealand largely run by the new immigrants since the late 1980s, this study aims to fill the significant gap between the long-time presence of the media in question and the lack of academic study of them. The thesis starts with a review of relevant literature, and a retrospect of the Chinese-language media and the ethnic Chinese community in New Zealand. A content analysis compares the Chinese-language print media with their mainstream Englishlanguage counterparts, emphasising the ethnicity-related reportage on front pages and in editorials. This comparison is extended in the case studies of news stories and editorials. An enhanced and diversified representation of ethnic Asians and more importantly, the Asian (Chinese) perspective in shaping news, are found to be the most salient alternativeness of Chinese-language media in New Zealand. When media identity is examined, it is argued the Chinese-language media exert their alternative input to the formation of New Zealand identity through this Asian (Chinese) perspective. However, the commercial orientation of the Chinese-language media, including the business associations and alliance with elites, has undermined their role as alternative media in a structural sense. The Chinese-language media do not challenge, but rather follow, the existing power relations and ideological infrastructure in media production. It is concluded that the 'alternativeness' of the Chinese-language media is salient in news content and the media's input in the formation of the New Zealand identity. However, the corporate way of organisation, coupled with the free-of-charge model, undermines the Chinese-language media's role in democratic communication and their alternative status.

The West Coast of the South Island has a particular history distinct from other regions of New Zealand because of its physical isolation, its sparse and fragmented Maori occupation, its lack of suitability for farm settlement, and its social and economic links with Australia through nineteenth century shipping routes; many of the goldminers who first populated the region came via the Victoria goldfields and had little relationship with other South Island settlements. This thesis begins with a chronological annotated bibliography of imaginative writing with the West Coast as its setting, then analyses this writing in terms of the West Coast landscape, its settlement history and its four major physical resources – pounamu, gold, coal and timber – and the way in which each has influenced the literature. It further examines the work of five West Coast writers, Jean Devanny, Peter Hooper, Keri Hulme, Jeffrey Paparoa Holman and Peter Hawes, in the context of their imaginative portrayal of the characteristics of the region. It concludes that there is a discernible perception among New Zealanders, fostered particularly by novelists and film-makers who have set their work on the Coast, that the region has iconic status and represents values and attitudes which appeal to the wider audience as distinctive. In his 1940 attempt to encourage a national literature, Monte Holcroft wrote that, “…the spirit of a country, recognisable in history and literature, is a kind of collective definition undertaken by a line of creative writers.” New Zealand has long since developed a healthy diversity of creative literature, but it is argued in this thesis that Holcroft’s definition can now be restated in regional terms; the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand has its own spirit, is in a sense another country, and has been so defined by its creative fiction.

The overall aim of this thesis is to uncover the key determinants of innovation in New Zealand firms and consider some of their likely effects. In order to provide a broad perspective on New Zealand’s local innovation processes, a mixed method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative analysis was adopted to allow analysis of both empirical data and case study data. The quantitative part of analysis utilises the unique dataset developed by Statistics New Zealand, namely the prototype Longitudinal Business Database (LBD), and the qualitative analysis includes four in-depth company case studies which complement the regression analyses by uncovering the key patterns of innovation behaviour at the firm level. In summary, a number of conclusions have been drawn from the research. Firstly, firms experience considerably smaller positive size effect because of New Zealand’s unique firm demographics, and the small size has limited individual firm’s innovation opportunities. Secondly, firms’ ability to develop new technologies directly influences their innovative ability, which is highly dependent on the availability of funds and skills. Lastly, innovation in New Zealand has a very strong market focus, while technology suppliers such as universities and Crown Research Institutes only have a limited role in selected industries.

The aim of this thesis is to assess the reason why Katherine Mansfield’s reputation in France has always been greater than in England. The thesis examines the ways in which the French reception of Mansfield has idealised her persona to the extent of crafting a hagiography. I ask: what were the motives behind the French critics’ desire to put Mansfield on a pedestal? How did the three years she spent on French soil influence her writing? How do the translations of her work collude in the myth surrounding her personality? Although several other scholars have discussed the Katherine Mansfield myth in France, this thesis is the first sustained attempt to establish interconnections between her own French influences (literary and otherwise), and the mythmaking of the French critics and translators. I have divided my thesis into six chapters. The first places Mansfield in the general literary context of her era, exploring French literary tendencies at the time and juxtaposing them with the main literary trends in England. The second chapter focuses on the writer’s trips to France, demonstrating the influence of the French experience on her life and works. The third chapter highlights specific French literary influences and how these manifest themselves in her narrative art. In the fourth, I explain the workings of the writer’s narrative art, so that when in the next chapter I study the translations via close textual analysis, it will become clear whether the beliefs and principles expressed in the original texts have been diluted during the translation process. The last chapter prior to the conclusion will follow the critical appraisal of her life and work in France from her death up to the present day, by closely analysing the differing French critical responses. The division of the thesis in this way will enable me to show how these various strands combine to create a legend which has little basis in fact, thereby demonstrating how reception and translation determine the importance of an author’s reputation in the literary world.

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This thesis is about factors which aid and hinder successful completions for New Zealand-born Samoans. The thesis explores the proposition that educational marginalisation of minority students will be perpetuated until AUT adopts policies and procedures which enable culturally responsive educational pedagogies and practices which honour indigenous minorities. The thesis asked New Zealand-born Samoan students, what is the nature of their aiga (family) and cultural support frameworks (structures), and, further, to what extent and how and why do these students engage with such networks (processes)? This study used a qualitative approach within which six New Zealand-born Samoan students were interviewed using a semi-structured approach to gathering data. The interview data were transcribed and a thematic analysis was manually completed both within and across the six cases. The turnaround time in gaining ethics approval impacted upon the capacity of the investigator to conduct this research in what she considered to be a culturally appropriate manner and the cautious vigilance of the final ethics committee approval was perceived as a barrier to making culturally appropriate contact. It was discovered that Samoan structures, especially family, are paramount in supporting educational success because of the Fa’a Samoa processes which they engender. A further discovery was that New Zealand-born Samoans retain cultural affiliations so their lifestyle shows deep regard for Fa’a Samoa identity. Through these affiliations, meaningful life metaphors become applied. It was concluded that transforming staff so that they understand Pasifika peoples is crucial to growing Pasifika educational success. Staff development must, therefore, be planned so that meaningful understandings of Pasifika concepts and frameworks become nurtured and that is a challenge which AUT must embrace and action.