Completed PhD theses at Waikato Management School
Jessica Pasisi: Research aims to shed light on health and wellbeing of Niuean people
January 2020
Name: Jessica Pasisi (Niuean/NZ European)
Qualifications: PhD in Management Communication, MMS in Strategic Management, BMS(Hons) in Strategic Management and Public Relations
PhD topic: Kitiaga mo fakamahani e hikihikiaga matagi he tau fifine Niue: Tau puhala he tau hiapo – Niue women’s perspectives and experiences of climate change: A hiapo approach.
Supervisors: Prof Debashish Munshi (Waikato Management School); Prof Priya Kurian (School of Social Sciences); and Assoc. Prof. Alice Te Punga Somerville (Faculty of Maori and Indigenous Studies)
Description: Jess’s path-breaking work centres indigenous Pacific cultures and knowledges and builds connections among communication studies, political studies, anthropology, Pacific studies, and indigenous studies.
Jess is now all set to take up a prestigious $360,000 post-doctoral fellowship awarded to her by the Health Research Council (HRC) to work on a research project to better understand the mental health and wellbeing of Niuean people in Aotearoa-New Zealand.
For Ms Pasisi, the research will provide a path to deepen the connection with her culture and people.
“I grew up in Melville, Hamilton, feeling quite a long way from my cultural heritage, so getting the chance to partner with Niuean people in culturally relevant ways is a great privilege and paves the way for more Niueans to enter into these spaces.”
Tolotea Lanumata, manager of Pacific research investment at the Health Research Council, says: “This research should help us understand the benefits of identity-based interventions for holistic wellbeing in Niuean elders and youth – areas where knowledge is currently lacking in the New Zealand context,” she says.
Read more about Jess' research here.