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The Sikh helping hand
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION
how can Sikh architecture in a New Zealand context strengthen the relationship within its community?
ABSTRACT
As New Zealand is considered a multi-cultural society, one of the newest communities in New Zealand is the Sikh community. Members of the Sikh community in New Zealand are mainly from Punjab, with the first influx of Sikhs arriving in early 1900. Sikh temples in New Zealand were created as a place for worship and belonging that resembled its culture. As the Sikh community grows, numerous gurdwaras (Sikh temples) have been built. New Zealand is home to 20 gurdwaras spanning across the whole country.
The introduction of gurdwaras in New Zealand has allowed many Sikhs a place for worship. In recent times the gurdwaras are starting to strengthen their relationship with the broader community. A fundamental principle in the Sikh religion is sewa (voluntary help). This proposes the idea of how Sikhs can strengthen their relationship with the broader community.
Gurdwaras have been around for centuries. This can be seen through numerous examples, such as Sri Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple) in Amritsar, Punjab and Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Golden temple is one of the most sacred and prominent gurdwaras in the world due to its history and the principles used to create the temple.
This research project investigates the design possibilities in New Zealand and how this will impact its local community through the analysis of precedents, case studies and the origins of Sikh architecture and how it has changed over the years. The Analysis of Sikh temples illustrates there is very little information about the fundamental design principles used in Sikh temples. Designing a gurdwara will benefit the users and help strengthen their spiritual, social, physical, and physiological well-being. Understanding Sikhism is essential to creating a gurdwara as learning about the basics of Sikhism philosophy and principles is key to designing a gurdwara. In vestigating spaces that encourage community engagement with the Sikh and broader community creates a sense of community and fulfill both community’s immediate needs
Growing kaupapa Māori research capabilities and confidence through whanaungatanga as research mentorship
No full textThe Ngā Wai a Te Tūī – Hiringa Hauora Summer Research Mentorship is a kaupapa Māori collaboration to increase hauora Māori (Māori wellbeing) research capacity. The idea of research internships is not new, nor is a focus on hauora Māori. What is distinctive about this summer mentorship is its kaupapa Māori approach to support a diverse range of Māori into research that is by Māori, for Māori, and holds Māori values, beliefs and aspirations at its centre. Holding fast to our ways of being throughout the programme has produced a set of learnings and experiences amongst six ‘interns’ that we suggest offers a useful example of how to grow kaupapa Māori research in the hauora space, and beyond.
Like many great Māori ideas, this mentorship programme was enabled through whanaungatanga (relationships) – in this case an email from one colleague to another that went something like, “Hey mete I have an idea I want to run past you.” A senior researcher at Te Hiringa Hauora, an evidence-based health-promotions organisation, approached her colleague, co-author Hinekura Smith, a senior lecturer and researcher at Unitec’s Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Māori and Indigenous Research Centre, with a funding opportunity to develop and facilitate a summer internship programme
Sustainable social media storytelling: Success stories from SMEs in Ōtepoti Dunedin. A #CallToAction to communicate small business values
No full textThis research investigated the use of social media storytelling of sustainability as a form of affordable and effective marketing approach for small businesses in Dunedin affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The main target of this research are small to medium enterprises or SMEs. To ensure the case studies provided useful material, initial criteria was utilised in their selection. The chosen businesses have sustainable practices already embedded into their ways of doing business but have practically no social media presence. Five small businesses in Dunedin, New Zealand, provided case studies to develop a framework for social media storytelling. By designing and implementing a 3-month social media campaign, the effectiveness of this framework was tested and evaluated. Varying measures of success for SMEs were identified and used to communicate the business owners’ values. A design enterprise solution was proposed to support SMEs to utilise the use of free tools on Facebook and Instagram platforms to effectively communicate their sustainable practices
Almost-always-falling-apart
No full textThis issue of Interstices coincides with a period of crisis: a global pandemic set against a backdrop of climate change and ecological disaster. Crises, times of intense difficulty or danger, signal turning or tipping points. They are unstable moments depending on emergent conditions, at which small changes might have big effects. Crises frequently demand urgent action, but also destabilise conventional patterns of thought, generating complexity and making simple solutions improbable. Previously successful strategies seem suddenly inadequate, and sometimes a surfeit of purported solutions does not change anything at all. Crises spill over economic, national, ecological, and biological bounds to form an overwhelming milieu or predicament, rather than a collection of discrete, well-bounded problems. Even where solutions are clear (stop burning fossil fuel, vaccinate), the path to those solutions can be unexpectedly complex. On edge, people rush to find certainty in ever-hardening positions; but fixed frameworks seem to generate antagonistic camps more likely to exacerbate crises than defuse them.
These crises are bedded in the narratives of the modern capitalist project: stories of progress, human exceptionalism, individualism, and timely technical solutions. The figure of the individual innovator able to identify and overcome problems is a frequent protagonist in these stories, and architects and designers have frequently been seen (and seen themselves) in this light. Media ethnographer Stephen Jackson points to the way stories of innovation obscure the work it takes to keep the world going, and to adapt what already exists for new purposes. Redirecting attention to the work of fixing he writes,
The question is this: can repair sites and repair actors claim special insight of knowledge, by virtue of their positioning vis-à-vis the worlds of technology they engage? Can breakdown, maintenance, and repair confer special epistemic advantage in our thinking about technology? Can the fixer know and see different things—indeed, different worlds—than the betterknown figures of ‘designer’ or ‘user’? (2014: 229
Rural entrepreneurship for sustainable rural development with conscious capitalism
No full textOBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY
To provide an overview of the benefits of moulded fiber packaging products and establishing and manufacturing company of paper based sustainable products for the Indian subcontinent markets.
The purpose of this study was to explore the current environment of establishing a paper-based packaging products manufacturing industry in rural Telangana, the southern state of India.
Create opportunities and involve the rural people as a human resource in the production process.
I want to demonstrate my HR and Banking experience skills support a broader strategic vision of the company. Breaking down the walls between the roles of HR and Banking would provide a variety of benefits for a successful rural enterprise with conscious capitalism for developing the sustainable products.
ABSTRACT
The study aims to explore rural entrepreneurship with conscious capitalism to help the rural communities for sustainable development by providing the community the employment within their native places. With a qualitative research approach, the research analysis will help to gain insights into the current situation of rural entrepreneurship in the southern state of Telangana, which allows the identification of viable growth strategies. Semi-structured interviews with 10 participants were performed with local rural entrepreneurs and village leaders. The analysis results showed the obstacles faced by the participants. The underlying cause of low entrepreneurship is the lack of connectivity, infrastructures, and a lack of trained workforce.
Later the viewpoints and perspectives from the work-based research were reviewed during the analysis. I am putting down my work and related experience gathered and the work practice, which resulted in a change of practice. I also presented an outline of my professional framework of practice and how I achieved my desired skills and competencies, and their effect on my professional practice framework
The hand of the engraver
No full textThe manner in which we dwell leaves scars upon the landscape that are often left behind long after occupancy ceases. Many derelict landscapes across New Zealand have scars too advanced for remediation. This designled research project proposes that by building upon these scars, rather than ignoring or hiding them, these scars can be reinterpreted as lessons that can help enable future generations to learn from past mistakes. Quartz Reef Point in Central Otago has been selected as the site for this designled research investigation; it is an abandoned strip mine that appears so violated that it has lost all apparent means of restoration or reuse. The damage at Quartz Reef Point strip mine has been caused by ‘scratching’ the surface of the site so severely that natural systems have suffered inexorable damage. In the art of engraving, the surface of a copper plate is also deeply scratched – and the resulting ‘damage’ to the plate allows a story to unfold. This investigation looks at how the art of engraving can be applied to architectural design processes in ways that help tell the story of severely damaged sites such as Quartz Reef Point. Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s book The Hand of the Engraver: Albert Flocon Meets Gaston Bachelard is used to establish a framework for this investigation. In this book, the architectural engraver Albert Flocon shares dialogues with the architectural philosopher Gaston Bachelard – two distinct points of view about storytelling. The investigation proposes that when these two points of view are integrated with the voice of the architectural designer, the investigation author, new approaches for meaningful architectural interventions can be discovered to help bring the story of Quartz Reef Point to life for future generations. Using Rheinberger’s book The Hand of the Engraver as a generative starting point, the investigation asks the research question: How can the engraver, the philosopher and the architectural designer be brought together to explore new ways of looking at scarred landscapes that not only reinvigorate them, but also offer their tales as important lessons for the future?
Site: Quartz Reef Point (Otago, N.Z.
Interactive reflective dialogue to support learning on role-emerging placements: It's all about sensemaking!
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION
How does interactive reflective dialogue facilitate learning on role-emerging placement?
SUB-QUESTIONS
• What is the role of interactive reflective dialogue specifically within the role-emerging context?
• What are the unique learning opportunities that role-emerging placements provide? How does interactive reflective dialoguing support this?
• What factors influence learning and reflection through interactive reflective dialogue on role-emerging placement?
ABSTRACT
Role-emerging fieldwork placements prepare occupational therapy students for a continually changing healthcare environment by providing unique learning opportunities and challenges. The demand for reflection and a deeper application of core occupational therapy theory to inform practice is heightened by the role-development and self-directed nature of these placements. Moreover, the off-site clinical supervision inherent in role-emerging placements presents the practice-problem of how to support students’ learning between weekly face-to-face supervision sessions. There is a paucity of research evidence to guide current methods of supporting learning on these placements, especially outside of clinical supervision sessions. This study considers and explores the practice of daily reflective dialogue between the student and off-site supervisor to support learning and reflection on role-emerging placements.
Interpretive description methodology guided the inductive thematic analysis of the on-line daily dialogue between three students and their respective off-site supervisors, which was supported by a process of member checking through the DAViT questionnaire. The dialogue-as-data provided an in-depth and continuous window into the nature and process of learning on these school-based role-emerging placements. Sensemaking appeared central to learning through this interactive reflective dialogue and was seen to develop through the collaboration between student and supervisor. Themes fell into three categories of sensemaking corresponding to ‘theory-driven sensemaking,’ ‘developing sensemaking skills,’ and ‘personal and professional growth.’
Theory is required to justify and inform practice on role-emerging placements, the supervisors’ input within the interactive dialogue guided theory-driven sensemaking, assisting students to bridge the theory-practice gap and to develop an occupational therapy perspective. Interactive dialogue appears particularly useful to build conceptual knowledge, with the dialogue comprising a strong theoretical focus. Furthermore, interactive dialogue addresses procedural knowledge, a dimension of learning which is not usually possible to attend to on role-emerging placements. This tool therefore adds to the long-arm supervisors’ bow by enabling close mentoring and coaching of reflective inquiry along the occupational therapy process, and thus facilitating students’ reflective skills. Student agency, participation and intent ranged within the dialoguing; students who engaged more within the dialogue process and approached reflective dialogue to make meaning rather than document, tended to make sense of the placement and their role sooner and more comprehensively. The dialogue involved open and honest reflection which appeared to trigger deeper learning, and growth on a personal and professional level. Ultimately role-emerging placements provide the opportunity for learning which requires deeper deliberation and reflection, providing the press for personal and professional growth; while interactive dialogue supports this deeper reflective process and outcome, thereby facilitating successful sensemaking, which can involve transformational learning.
The idea of sensemaking may assist students, supervisors, and educators in conceptualising and facilitating learning on these placements. Interactive dialogue appears to provide an effective learning tool during role-emerging placements, conducive to the constructivist and reflective learning requirements of role-emerging placements. Educators and supervisors are encouraged to use reflective dialogue to support learning and reflection on role-emerging placements: a useful means to overcome the constraints of off-site and infrequent clinical supervision
Woven: The empowerment of women through textile craft revival in Ahmedabad
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION
How can architecture empower female garment workers through the revival of textiles in the informal settlements of Ahmedabad, India?
ABSTRACT
Female oppression is prevalent in Indian society, exemplified in the undervalue of garment work. Women make up a vast majority of garment workers in India, many of whom live in informal settlements and tend to work from home with domestic duties limiting their financial independence. Today’s rapid urbanisation in India, with dominating power from the Global North, is resulting in the mass production of fast fashion and a decline of traditional textile crafts. India has cultivated its knowledge of textiles over centuries producing more than 120 distinct weaves; these skills are diminishing at present due to the current global industry, which sustains the ongoing ill-treatment of workers and depletes the Earth’s natural resources. There are few people who acquire traditional craft skills and a small portion who are willing to learn due to minimal job prospects.
This research project aims to empower women living in informal settlements in Ahmedabad, India, by reviving textile crafts through localising production. The empowerment of women is accomplished by a cooperative business model centering on workers’ rights resulting in financial independence, education and development of skills. Located within a housing settlement the project aims to break barriers that hinder female employment. Architecturally the design uses regenerative processes such as rainwater collection, local materials and gardens for self-sufficiency. The design is constructed by locals obtaining self-build skills furthering independence of these women and their communities. Through the empowerment of women, the design aims to uplift the wider community
Can long-term musculoskeletal, spinal pain improve with movement education using SEMG biofeedback?
No full textThe research explained the impact of using surface electromyography (SEMG) as a biofeedback tool to improve long-term musculoskeletal, spinal pain. The study aimed to understand the impact of using SEMG within the context of biofeedback rehabilitation of musculoskeletal pain.
Methods/Methodology:
the project utilised a Phenomenological paradigm and an Action Research methodology/framework of investigation, action and reflection. The data collection included mixed methods of SEMG recordings, pain questionnaire, well-being scale and participant self-assessment.
There were nine participants in the study, eight female and one male; the mean age of participants was 54 years. All participants had been undertaking rehabilitative training for a minimum of three years; however, all have some minimal to moderate musculoskeletal, spinal pain remaining. The findings confirmed that using SEMG as a biofeedback modality in treating long-term musculoskeletal, spinal pain is beneficial. SEMG biofeedback is extremely helpful to people suffering from musculoskeletal, spinal pain. SEMG biofeedback enables individuals to discover activities at home, work and in the gym which cause them muscular stress, which they did not know.
SEMG biofeedback encourages learning new movements, altering and training new neural pathways, and enabling greater muscular control. In addition, an improvement in muscular awareness from SEMG biofeedback correlates with improved back pain. Musculoskeletal pain is multifactorial. Pain can have multiple causes, including poor sleep, emotional stress, depression, anxiety, and low muscular and physical awareness. This study has improved the user experience for SEMG devices by providing real-time data analysis software