Social theory is often verbal and verbal formulations are largely set theoretic in nature. This paper outlines the use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) research as a useful tool in understanding, investigating and communicating Maori resilience contexts.
Today there is interest in building resilient communities. Identifying and managing the risks of natural hazards with communities who face compounding hazards is challenging. Alpine ski areas provide a unique context to study this challenging and complex process. The traditional approach taken to manage natural hazards is discipline-centric and focuses on common (e.g. high probability low consequence) natural hazards such as avalanches. While this thesis acknowledges that the common approach is rational, it argues that we can extend our communities of practice to include rare (e.g. low probability / high consequence) natural hazards such as earthquakes. The dynamically complex nature of these ‘rare’ hazards limits our understanding about them, but by seeking and using the lived experiences of people in mountain communities some knowledge can be gained to help improve our understanding of how to adapt. This study focuses on such an approach in the context of alpine ski areas prone to earthquakes as a first step toward identifying key policy opportunities for hazard mitigation in general. The contributions can be broken down into methodological, contextual, and theoretical pursuits, as well as opportunities for improving future research. A development mixed method triangulated approach was justified because the research problem (i.e. earthquakes in ski areas) has had little consideration. The context provided the opportunity to test the integration of methods while dealing with the challenges of research in a novel context. Advancement to fuzzy cognitive mapping was achieved through the use of unsupervised neural networks (Self-organizing Maps or Kohonen Maps). The framework applied in the multi-site case study required a synthesis of current approaches, advances to methods and a functional use of cultural theory. Different approaches to participatory policy development were reviewed to develop a research protocol that was accessible. Cultural theory was selected as a foundation for the thesis because of its’ preference for plural rationalities from five ways of organizing. Moreover, the study undertook a shift away from the dichotomy of ‘methodological individualism’ and ‘methodological collectivism’ and instead chose the dividual (i.e. social solidarities that consist of culural biases, behavioral strategies and social relations) as a consistent unit of analysis despite three different methodologies including: field studies, qualitative interviews, and fuzzy cognitive maps. In this sense, the thesis sought to move away from ‘elegant solutions’ from singular solidarities or methods toward a research philosophy that sustains requisite variety and clumsy solutions. Overall the approach was a trandisciplinary framework that is a step toward sustainable hazards mitigation. The results indicate that the selections of risks and adaptation strategies associated with the in-situ hazards are driven by roles that managers, workers, and riders play in the context. Additionally, fuzzy cognitive maps were used as an extension of qualitative interviews and demonstrated the potential for power struggles that may arise between participant groups when considering strategies for preparation, response and recovery. Moreover, the results stress that prolonged engagement with stakeholders is necessary to improve the policy development process. Some comments are made on the compatibility condition of congruence between cultural biases, behavioural strategies, and social relations. As well, inclusion of the hermit/autonomous solidarities is stressed as a necessary component of future applications of cultural theory. The transdisciplinary mixed-method framework is an approach that can be transferred to many other vital areas of research where integration is desirable.
Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) as a tool offers opportunities for modeling the inherent complexity and uncertainty associated with socio-environmental systems. This study draws on New Zealand ski fields (multiple locations) as socio- environmental systems while considering their perceived resilience to low probability but potential high consequences catastrophic natural events (specifically earthquakes). We gathered data at several ski fields using a mixed methodology including: geomorphic assessment, qualitative interviews, and an adaptation of Ozesmi and Ozesmi’s (2003) multi-step fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) approach. The data gathered from FCM are qualitatively condensed, and aggregated to three different participant social groups. The social groups include ski fields users, ski industry workers, and ski field managers. Both quantitative and qualitative indices are used to analyze social cognitive maps to identify critical nodes for ANN simulations. The simulations experiment with auto-associative neural networks for developing adaptive preparation, response and recovery strategies. Moreover, simulations attempt to identify key priorities for preparation, response, and recovery for improving resilience to earthquakes in these complex and dynamic environments. The novel mixed methodology is presented as a means of linking physical and social sciences in high complexity, high uncertainty socio-environmental systems. Simulation results indicate that participants perceived that increases in Social Preparation Action, Social Preparation Resources, Social Response Action and Social Response Resources have a positive benefit in improving the resilience to earthquakes of ski fields’ stakeholders.
The disastrous earthquakes that struck Christchurch in 2010 and 2011 seriously impacted on the individual and collective lives of Māori residents. This paper continues earlier, predominantly qualitative research on the immediate effects on Māori by presenting an analysis of a survey carried out 18 months after the most destructive event, on 22 February 2011. Using a set-theoretic approach, pathways to Māori resilience are identified, emphasising the combination of whānau connectivity and high incomes in those who have maintained or increased their wellbeing post-disaster. However, the results show that if resilience is used to describe a “bounce back” in wellbeing, Māori are primarily enduring the post-disaster environment. This endurance phase is a precursor to any resilience and will be of much longer duration than first thought. With continued uncertainty in the city and wider New Zealand economy, this endurance may not necessarily lead to a more secure environment for Māori in the city.
The city of Ōtautahi/Christchurch experienced a series of earthquakes that began on September 4th, 2010. The most damaging event occurred on February 22nd, 2011 but significant earthquakes also occurred on June 13th and December 23rd with aftershocks still occurring well into 2012. The resulting disaster is the second deadliest natural disaster in New Zealand’s history with 185 deaths. During 2011 the Canterbury earthquakes were one of the costliest disasters worldwide with an expected cost of up to $NZ30 billion. Hundreds of commercial buildings and thousands of houses have been destroyed or are to be demolished and extensive repairs are needed for infrastructure to over 100,000 homes. As many as 8,900 people simply abandoned their homes and left the city in the first few months after the February event (Newell, 2012), and as many as 50,000 may leave during 2012. In particular, young whānau and single young women comprised a disproportionate number of these migrants, with evidence of a general movement to the North Island. Te Puni Kōkiri sought a mix of quantitative and qualitative research to examine the social and economic impacts of the Christchurch earthquakes on Māori and their whānau. The result of this work will be a collection of evidence to inform policy to support and assist Māori and their whānau during the recovery/rebuild phases. To that end, this report triangulates available statistical and geographical information with qualitative data gathered over 2010 and 2011 by a series of interviews conducted with Māori who experienced the dramatic events associated with the earthquakes. A Māori research team at Lincoln University was commissioned to undertake the research as they were already engaged in transdisciplinary research (began in the May 2010), that focused on quickly gathering data from a range of Māori who experienced the disaster, including relevant economic, environmental, social and cultural factors in the response and recovery of Māori to these events. Participants for the qualitative research were drawn from Māori whānau who both stayed and left the city. Further data was available from ongoing projects and networks that the Lincoln research team was already involved in, including interviews with Māori first responders and managers operating in the CBD on the day of the February event. Some limited data is also available from younger members of affected whānau. Māori in Ōtautahi/Christchurch City have exhibited their own culturally-attuned collective responses to the disaster. However, it is difficult to ascertain Māori demographic changes due to a lack of robust statistical frameworks but Māori outward migration from the city is estimated to range between 560 and 1,100 people. The mobility displayed by Māori demonstrates an important but unquantified response by whānau to this disaster, with emigration to Australia presenting an attractive option for young Māori, an entrenched phenomenon that correlates to cyclical downturns and the long-term decline of the New Zealand economy. It is estimated that at least 315 Māori have emigrated from the Canterbury region to Australia post-quake, although the disaster itself may be only one of a series of events that has prompted such a decision. Māori children made up more than one in four of the net loss of children aged 6 to 15 years enrolled in schools in Greater Christchurch over the year to June 2011. Research literature identifies depression affecting a small but significant number of children one to two years post-disaster and points to increasing clinical and organisational demands for Māori and other residents of the city. For those residents in the eastern or coastal suburbs – home to many of the city’s Māori population - severe damage to housing, schools, shops, infrastructure, and streets has meant disruption to their lives, children’s schooling, employment, and community functioning. Ongoing abandonment of homes by many has meant a growing sense of unease and loss of security, exacerbated by arson, burglaries, increased drinking, a stalled local and national economy, and general confusion about the city’s future. Māori cultural resilience has enabled a considerable network of people, institutions, and resources being available to Māori , most noticeably through marae and their integral roles of housing, as a coordinating hub, and their arguing for the wider affected communities of Christchurch. Relevant disaster responses need to be discussed within whānau, kōhanga, kura, businesses, communities, and wider neighbourhoods. Comprehensive disaster management plans need to be drafted for all iwi in collaboration with central government, regional, and city or town councils. Overall, Māori are remarkably philosophical about the effects of the disaster, with many proudly relishing their roles in what is clearly a historic event of great significance to the city and country. Most believe that ‘being Māori’ has helped cope with the disaster, although for some this draws on a collective history of poverty and marginalisation, features that contribute to the vulnerability of Māori to such events. While the recovery and rebuild phases offer considerable options for Māori and iwi, with Ngāi Tahu set to play an important stakeholder in infrastructural, residential, and commercial developments, some risk and considerable unknowns are evident. Considerable numbers of Māori may migrate into the Canterbury region for employment in the rebuild, and trades training strategies have already been established. With many iwi now increasingly investing in property, the risks from significant earthquakes are now more transparent, not least to insurers and the reinsurance sector. Iwi authorities need to be appraised of insurance issues and ensure sufficient coverage exists and investments and developments are undertaken with a clear understanding of the risks from natural hazards and exposure to future disasters.
There is a critical strand of literature suggesting that there are no ‘natural’ disasters (Abramovitz, 2001; Anderson and Woodrow, 1998; Clarke, 2008; Hinchliffe, 2004). There are only those that leave us – the people - more or less shaken and disturbed. There may be some substance to this; for example, how many readers recall the 7.8 magnitude earthquake centred in Fiordland in July 2009? Because it was so far away from a major centre and very few people suffered any consequences, the number is likely to be far fewer than those who remember (all too vividly) the relatively smaller 7.1 magnitude Canterbury quake of September 4th 2010 and the more recent 6.3 magnitude February 22nd 2011 event. One implication of this construction of disasters is that seismic events, like those in Canterbury, are as much socio-political as they are geological. Yet, as this paper shows, the temptation in recovery is to tick boxes and rebuild rather than recover, and to focus on hard infrastructure rather than civic expertise and community involvement. In this paper I draw upon different models of community engagement and use Putnam’s (1995) notion of ‘social capital’ to frame the argument that ‘building bridges’ after a disaster is a complex blend of engineering, communication and collaboration. I then present the results of a qualitative research project undertaken after the September 4th earthquake. This research helps to illustrate the important connections between technical rebuilding, social capital, recovery processes and overall urban resilience.
When a tragedy occurs of local or national scale throughout the world a memorial is often built to remember the victims, and to keep the tragedy fresh in the minds of generations with the conviction that this must not be repeated. Memorials to commemorate natural disasters very to the objective of a human induced tragedy in that future catastrophic events that affect the lives and livelihood of many citizens are sure to reoccur in countries that are geographically pre-disposed to the ravages of nature. This thesis examines memorial sites as case studies in New Zealand and Japan to explore the differences in how these two countries memorialise earthquakes, and tsunamis in the case of Japan, and whether there are lessons that each could learn from each other. In so doing, it draws largely on scholarly literature written about memorials commemorating war as little is written on memorials that respond to natural disasters. Visited case sites in both countries are analysed through multiple qualitative research methods with a broad view of what constitutes a memorial when the landscape is changed by the devastation of a natural disaster. How communities prepare for future events through changes in planning legislation, large scale infrastructure, tourism and preparedness for personal safety are issues addressed from the perspective of landscape architecture through spatial commemorative places. The intentions and meanings of memorials may differ but in the case of a memorial of natural disaster there is a clear message that is common to all. To reduce the severity of the number of deaths and level of destruction, education and preparedness for future events is a key aim of memorials and museums.
This research investigates creativity in a post-disaster setting. The data explore creativity at the intersection of the affected community of Christchurch, New Zealand and the social processes that followed the earthquakes of 2010 - 2012. Personal and contextual influences on creative ideas implemented for community or commercial benefit are also examined. Viewed as creative, unique approaches to post-disaster problem solving were celebrated locally, nationally and internationally (Bergman, 2014; Wesener, 2015; Cloke & Conradson, 2018). Much has been written about creativity, particularly creativity in organisations and in business. However, little is known with regards to who creates after a disaster, why individuals choose to do so and what impact the post-disaster context has on their creative activity. This exploratory study draws on the literature from the fields of creativity, disasters, psychology, sociology and entrepreneurship to interpret first-hand accounts of people who acted on creative ideas in a physically and socially altered environment. A mixed method - albeit predominantly qualitative - approach to data gathering was adopted that included interviews (n=45) with participants who had been the primary drivers of creative ideas implemented in Christchurch after September 2010 – the first major (7.1 magnitude) earthquake in a prolonged sequence of thousands of aftershocks. Key findings include that a specific type of creativity results from the ‘collision’ between individuals and social processes activated by a disaster situation. This type of creativity could be best categorised as ‘little c’ or socially adaptive and emerges through a prosocial filter. There is wide consensus amongst creativity researchers - principally social psychologists - that for output to be considered creative it must be both novel and useful (Runco & Jaegar, 2012). There is greater tolerance for the novelty component after a disaster as novelty itself has greater utility, either as a distraction or because alternatives are few. Existing creativity models show context as input – an additional component of the creative process – but after a disaster the event itself becomes the catalyst for social processes that result in the creativity seen. Most participants demonstrated characteristics commonly associated with creativity and could be categorised as either a ‘free thinker’ and/or an ‘opportunist’. Some appear preadapted to create and thrive in unstable circumstances. Findings from participants’ completion of a Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) showed an apparent reduced need for extraversion in relation to implementing creative ventures in society. This factor, along with higher levels of agreeableness may indicate a potentially detrimental effect on the success of creative ideas established after a disaster, despite earnest intentions. Three new models are presented to illustrate the key findings of this study. The models imply that disasters enhance both the perceived value of creativity and the desire to act creatively for prosocial ends. The models also indicate that these disaster influenced changes are likely to be temporary.
Mixed conifer, beech and hardwood forests are relatively common in Aotearoa/New Zealand, but are not well studied. This thesis investigates the coexistence, regeneration dynamics and disturbance history of a mixed species forest across an environmental gradient of drainage and soil development in north Westland. The aim was to investigate whether conifers, beech and non-beech hardwood species were able to coexist on surfaces that differed in their underlying edaphic conditions, and if so to understand the mechanisms that influenced their regeneration on both poorly drained and well drained soils. The site selected was an area of high tree species diversity on a lowland 0.8 km² post-glacial terrace at the base of Mount Harata in the Grey River Valley. My approach was to use forest stand history reconstruction at two spatial scales: an intensive within-plot study of stand dynamics (chapter 1) and a whole-landform approach (chapter 2) that examined whether the dynamics identified at the smaller within-plot scale reflected larger patterns across the terrace. In chapter 1, three large permanent plots (0.3-0.7 ha) were placed at different points along the drainage gradient, one plot situated in each of the mainly well-drained, poorly drained and very poorly drained areas along the terrace. Information was gathered on species age and size structures, spatial distributions of tree ages, species interactions, microsite establishment preferences, patterns of stand mortality, and disturbance history in each plot. There were differences in stand structure, composition and relative abundance of species found between the well drained plot and the two poorer drained plots. On the well drained site conifers were scarce, the beeches Nothofagus fusca and N. menziesii dominated the canopy, and in the subcanopy the hardwood species Weinmannia racemosa and Quintinia acutifolia were abundant. As drainage became progressively poorer, the conifers Dacrydium cupressinum and Dacrycarpus dacrydioides became more abundant and occupied the emergent tier over a beech canopy. The hardwoods W. racemosa and Q. acutifolia became gradually less abundant in the subcanopy, whereas the hardwood Elaeocarpus hookerianus became more so. In the well drained plot, gap partitioning for light between beeches and hardwoods enabled coexistence in response to a range of different sized openings resulting from disturbances of different extent. In the two more poorly drained plots, species also coexisted by partitioning microsite establishment sites according to drainage. There were several distinct periods where synchronous establishment of different species occurred in different plots, suggesting there were large disturbances: c. 100yrs, 190-200 yrs, 275-300 yrs and 375-425 yrs ago. Generally after the same disturbance, different species regenerated in different plots reflecting the underlying drainage gradient. However, at the same site after different disturbances, different sets of species regenerated, suggesting the type and extent of disturbances and the conditions left behind influenced species regeneration at some times but not others. The regeneration of some species (e.g., N. fusca in the well-drained plot, and Dacrydium in the poorer drained plots) was periodic and appeared to be closely linked to these events. In the intervals between these disturbances, less extensive disturbances resulted in the more frequent N. menziesii and especially hardwood regeneration. The type of tree death caused by different disturbances favoured different species, with dead standing tree death favouring the more shade-tolerant N. menziesii and hardwoods, whereas uprooting created a mosaic of microsite conditions and larger gap sizes that enabled Dacrycarpus, N. fusca and E. hookerianus to maintain themselves in the poorly drained areas. In chapter 2, 10 circular plots (c. 0.12 ha) were placed in well drained areas and 10 circular plots (c. 0.2 ha) in poorly drained plots to collect information on species population structures and microsite preferences. The aims were to reconstruct species' regeneration responses to a range of disturbances of different type and extent across the whole terrace, and to examine whether there were important differences in the effects of these disturbances. At this landform scale, the composition and relative abundances of species across the drainage gradient reflected those found in chapter 1. There were few scattered conifers in well drained areas, despite many potential regeneration opportunities created from a range of different stand destroying and smaller scale disturbances. Three of the four periods identified in chapter 1 reflected distinct terrace-wide periods of regeneration 75-100 yrs, 200-275 yrs and 350-450 yrs ago, providing strong evidence of periodic large, infrequent disturbances that occurred at intervals of 100-200 yrs. These large, infrequent disturbances have had a substantial influence in determining forest history, and have had long term effects on forest structure and successional processes. Different large, infrequent disturbances had different effects across the terrace, with the variability in conditions that resulted enabling different species to regenerate at different times. For example, the regeneration of distinct even-aged Dacrydium cohorts in poorly drained areas was linked to historical Alpine Fault earthquakes, but not to more recent storms. The variation in the intensity of different large, infrequent disturbances at different points along the environmental drainage gradient, was a key factor influencing the scale of impacts. In effect, the underlying edaphic conditions influenced species composition along the drainage gradient and disturbance history regulated the relative abundances of species. The results presented here further emphasise the importance of large scale disturbances as a mechanism that allows coexistence of different tree species in mixed forest, in particular for the conifers Dacrydium, Dacrycarpus and the beech N. fusca, by creating much of the environmental variation to which these species responded. This study adds to our understanding of the effects of historical earthquakes in the relatively complex forests of north Westland, and further illustrates their importance in the Westland forest landscape as the major influential disturbance on forest pattern and history. These results also further develop the 'two-component' model used to describe conifer/angiosperm dynamics, by identifying qualitative differences in the impacts of different large, infrequent disturbances across an environmental gradient that allowed for coexistence of different species. In poorer drained areas, these forests may even be thought of as 'three-component' systems with conifers, beeches and hardwoods exhibiting key differences in their regeneration patterns after disturbances of different type and extent, and in their microsite preferences.