http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz:8080 The DSpace digital repository system captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and distributes digital research material. 2012-02-10T01:16:08Z http://hdl.handle.net/10063/2019 The Emergence of the Arms Trade Treaty as a Global Norm Cluster Gardner, Belinda Kay The Arms Trade Treaty brings together a number of small arms control norms into one instrument and is a new initiative, which was instigated by state and NGO norm entrepreneurs. This thesis attempts to understand what has led to the emergence of these norms in the Arms Trade Treaty, in what will be termed a ‘cluster’ of small arms norms. Examining the small arms norms associated with the Arms Trade Treaty will explain their development and their likelihood of successfully being incorporated into this instrument. Analysis of the development of the norms related to the Arms Trade Treaty will explore the relationship between norms, their promoters and their opponents. This thesis will do this by providing detailed analysis of the development of specific norms in a series of case studies: control over arms brokering, transfers to non-state actors and civilian possession. It will place this development within the broader context of the ATT instrument and the international society in which it is emerging into. This thesis finds that power and powerful states have a significant role to play in the emergence of norms, in some cases despite the efforts of norm promoters. Norms were not able to emerge in their original form due to the influence of powerful states, which resulted in norms evolving in different directions or not emerging at all. 2012-02-08T11:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10063/2018 The Last Glacial Maximum and Deglaciation in Southern New Zealand: New Pollen-Climate Reconstructions Callard, Sarah Louise The project builds upon existing knowledge of late Quaternary palaeoenvironmenta change and tests the recently developed New Zealand INTIMATE (Integration of Ice Marine and Terrestrial archive) climate event stratigraphy (NZ-I CES; 30-8 ka). Four pollen and sediment records from three climatically contrasting regions in the South Island provide a vegetation and climate history for this area between 38-4 ka. In this study, the Last Glacial Cold Period (LGCP; c. 31.4-18.9 ka) is characterised by a two step cooling, with the coldest conditions, reaching possibly >5.3°C cooling, occurring between 21-19 ka, marking the Last Glacial Maximum. A new precipitation proxy using macrophyte pollen concentrations at an eastern South Island site suggests dominantly dry conditions prevailed during the LGCP except for two periods of wetter climate around 26-24 ka and 21 ka. The dry periods correspond with evidence of glacial advance, colder environments and possibly increased intensity of the southern westerlies. Conversely, the wet periods coincide with reduced glacial activity, milder climates and decreased westerly wind intensity. Deglaciation began between 18.9-18.4 ka followed by rapid climate amelioration culminating with Dacrydium cuppressinum-dominant lowland forest at western sites as early as 11.9 ka, indicative of the start of the Holocene. A disturbance in forest development occurs between 13.4-11.9 ka in one record and may be indicative of a minor cooling within the timeframe of a late glacial climate reversal recognised in the NZI-CES. Overall the project results (timing and pattern of climate change) broadly align with the NZ-I CES. However, there are some disparities, in particular during the LGCP, which this study suggests began at least 3-4 ka earlier than concluded in the NZ-I CES. The NZ-I CES oversimplifies the complexity of the LGCP which contains evidence of significant climate variability that may be important for an understanding of the possible forcing factors on climate change. The chronology derived from the current study supports recent evidence that points towards a younger, refined age of 25.4 ka for the Kawakawa/Oruanui Tephra, a key chronostratigraphic marker for the LGCP. Pollen-climate models and Environmental Lapse Rates were used to quantify changes in mean annual temperatures with sometimes conflicting results. This research reveals some limitations of the current New Zealand pollen-climate transfer function when applied to reconstruction of cold climate periods in particular. These include a lack of limitations with modern analogues and a number of wide-ranging pollen taxa that encompass a broad climate envelope. The current research also highlights the potential of regional climate regimes and spatial differences in vegetation and inferred climate reconstructions. These differences pose a major limitation for a New Zealand-wide composite. While the NZ-I CES provides a valuable framework of climate change during a period of large climate variability, results of this study highlight aspects that need further consideration and revision. 2012-02-06T11:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10063/2017 Account(ing)/(ability): Democratising the Environmental Impact Assessment in Mongolian Mining Vandangombo, Danaasuren This study examines sustainable development in practice, particularly in the context of mining and environmental management in a less developed country (LDC). It argues for sustainable and participatory mining in LDCs, such as Mongolia, by encouraging democratisation of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. The EIA, a major tool of environmental management, addresses the negative environmental and social impacts of development projects, such as mining, and has the capacity to mitigate such impacts by incorporating EIA recommendations into business practice. To ensure the inclusion of affected communities in the EIA process, public participation in EIAs is legislated in many countries. This is particularly important for mineral-rich LDCs, as they have experienced growing conflict among mining companies, local communities, and government authorities, due to a lack of dialogue among mining constituents and a lack of effective public policy and public engagement in the promotion of socially and environmentally accountable mining. This study applies Brown's (2009) dialogic accounting framework in the exploration and evaluation of current EIA practices. By using Mongolian EIA practices for illustrative purposes, this study seeks to contribute to debate in EIA and SEA literature, and to support calls for more participatory EIAs that can embed sustainable development into business practice. Furthermore, the current and potential engagement of NGOs in the EIAs of Mongolia is examined in order to explore their potential to foster dialogic accounting. 2012-02-02T11:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10063/2016 The Application of Stakeholder Networking Theory for Strategic Planning in the New Zealand Public Sector Proctor, Louise Anne The New Zealand public sector is facing an increasingly pluralistic stakeholder landscape due to a range of political, economic, social, and technological factors, all of which require public sector organisations to develop new ways of understanding and responding to diverse and complex stakeholder needs. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether the theory of stakeholder networking can contribute to strategic planning in the public sector, to assist organisations in planning to meet strategic goals and ultimately move toward their strategic direction. A qualitative research approach, known as participatory action research, was adopted. This required strong involvement with the two sample organisations, contributing to the development and application of the stakeholder networking process and also to the findings. Information gathering occurred through a variety of methods including focus groups, team meetings, interviews, document analysis and workshops. A Stakeholder Networking Framework is proposed as an approach for public sector organisations to apply stakeholder networking theory in practice, which takes into account the key issues participants raised during application. Three primary uses of stakeholder networking theory for strategic planning were found, including a means for providing greater clarity to the stakeholder context surrounding strategic issues, identification of potential relationship strategies to meet strategic goals, and assisting with the prioritisation of stakeholders. The Stakeholder Networking Framework has purposefully been developed in a way that is non-prescriptive and flexible, enabling it to be adapted by managers to suit the context specific needs of their organisation during application. Managers can then use the stakeholder network maps as outputs of the process to inform relationship management activities and strategic decision making. This thesis fills a gap in the literature that provides practical research to public sector organisations and managers on how to integrate a stakeholder networking perspective into their strategic planning processes. It addresses common concerns that arise when trying to deliver such objectives in practice, drawing on the practical considerations of organisations' day-to-day realities. 2012-02-01T11:00:00Z