Family/whānau perspectives on the use of E-therapy tools in the treatment of youth mental health : SPARX and family/whānau participation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Mental health for young people under 24 in New Zealand is poor compared to other OECD countries, with data showing higher rates of youth depression, anxiety, and suicide than those seen globally. Self-help youth E-therapy has been gaining popularity as a treatment solution for young people experiencing mental distress like depression and anxiety that can help to remove treatment barriers. Social support has been identified as an important factor to improve youth treatment retention and mental health outcomes. Family/whānau have been identified as a central provider of social support for young people due to their reliance on the family/whānau system. One way of increasing family/whānau social support may be to include family/whānau in youth mental health treatment. To date, no studies in New Zealand have investigated the perspectives of family/whānau members on self-help youth E-therapy programs or the inclusion of family/whānau participation in such E-therapy programs. Such perspectives are underrepresented and may provide insights specific to family/whānau members that may be otherwise unobtainable by researchers. This qualitative study utilised interview data to investigate family/whānau perspectives on self-help youth E-therapy in New Zealand. Six family/whānau members were recruited to participate in the study and provided their perspectives on the youth self-help E-therapy tool SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-Factor thoughts) via a semi-structured online interview. Their opinions on the concept of family/whānau participation in youth E-therapy were also explored. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis and three major themes identified: (1) CBT skills and psychoeducation facilitate understanding and support, (2) “Game-ified” E-therapy facilitates youth engagement, and (3) Family/whānau participation – direct or indirect involvement. A novel finding was that some participants showed a preference towards indirect methods of family/whanau participation in self-help youth E-therapy, while others preferred direct methods of family/whanau participation. These findings fill a gap in the literature as no prior research has been conducted investigating family/whānau perspectives on the SPARX application specifically relating to family/whānau participation. The results indicate the need for further investigation of family/whānau perspectives on youth E-therapy and an exploration of the relevance of these by comparison with youth perspectives

Un modelo de control de gestión para fideicomisos públicos de la provincia del Chaco

El objetivo del trabajo es plantear un modelo de control de gestión basado en el método del BSC (Balanced Scorecard) que, aplicado a los fideicomisos públicos, permita alinear las políticas de estado con estrategias corporativas y sectoriales, mejorando el desempeño de los recursos administrados

Responses in New Zealand to the Vietnam War : a case study of the Palmerston North community : a thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

This research has studied Palmerston North as a case study to measure community responses to the Vietnam War and has established that the Palmerston North community responses are a fair representation of the wider community of New Zealand. This research conducted original interviews with soldiers, protesters and civilians of Palmerston North to compare and contrast their responses. Historiography has previously focused on soldier and protester narratives. This research in exploring the civilian narrative as well as the soldier and protester narrative has provided a balanced and evaluative history. This research suggests that collective memories have developed from the individual experiences from all three groups. As such the collective memory of soldiers’ is one of betrayal, the protesters’ collective memory has been validated by the withdrawal of New Zealand’s military contribution in Vietnam, whereas the civilians were not directly impacted by the Vietnam War and view the war retrospectively as a tragedy

The importance of employee satisfaction with performance appraisal systems : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Although performance appraisals have been in existence for nearly 100 years, little is known about how employees’ reactions to these systems might impact on factors important to organisations. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between employee satisfaction with performance appraisal systems, work performance, affective commitment, and intention to leave. A secondary aim of the research was to explore how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation might impact on these relationships, as both these variables were argued as having the potential to moderate these relationships. The sample consisted of N=118 New Zealand professionals working in either the retail or finance industry. After controlling for organisation (one or two), organisational tenure, organisational level (management or staff), and work status (full-time or part-time) it was found that performance appraisal satisfaction accounted for variance in both affective commitment and intention to leave, however, no significant correlation was found with work performance. As there was no significant association between performance appraisal satisfaction and work performance, no moderation was found. The performance appraisal system is often a source of employee dissatisfaction, however, the findings from the current research provide evidence that if employees are satisfied with their appraisal system then this satisfaction has positive benefits for both the organisation and the individual in terms of affective commitment and intention to leave. This study adds to the body of knowledge of why employee performance appraisal satisfaction matters

An Investigation Into the Electrical Activity of Tender, Resting Paraspinal Muscles Using Surface Electromyography: A Pilot Study

Abnormal resting paraspinal muscle activity has been claimed to be responsible for changes in spinal tissue texture which are detectible by manual palpation. This pilot study investigated whether there was significant electrical activity in paraspinal musculature that was tender and that appeared to have altered tissue texture on palpation. Sixteen healthy volunteers between 18 and 35 years of age had their thoracic erector spinae mass palpated bilaterally from spinal levels T3 to T10 to identify paraspinal regions exhibiting altered tissue texture relative to the contralateral muscle mass. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to measure electrical activity in the muscle mass at the selected levels. No significant differences in electrical activity were observed between the tender and non-tender muscle masses, although a large difference existed in the one symptomatic subject. All muscle sites displayed EMG activity at rest, although the source of activity is not clear. A number of methodological problems with the EMG recording were encountered and are discussed. Future research is recommended using symptomatic participants