Qualitative content analysis of the New Zealand troopship publications 1914-1920

Abstract

This study is a qualitative content analysis of the magazines and newspapers produced on New Zealand troopships between 1914 and 1920. It begins with an account of the troopships, the printing of the magazines and the individuals involved. The bulk of the study is concerned with a thematic analysis of the troopship publications from a cultural historical perspective. These themes are; troopship life, army life, attitudes to war, national identity, race and gender. The content analysis and interpretation considers the magazines as media products of a particular social group and examines the ways in which this group represented itself. The roles of official discourse, propaganda and resistance in the troopship publications are analysed and the interactions between these and the functions of the publications are explicated. The conclusion assesses the publications' position in the context of discussions of cultural rupture and continuity and finds that they emphasise the latter.