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Beyond Pākehā paralysis: Exploring the journeys & experiences of Pākehā allyship in psychology
No full textThe monocultural foundation of psychology is interwoven with the colonial history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Not all of the mahi of decolonising psychology is the responsibility of Māori. In Aotearoa, there is currently less literature around the development of racial justice allyship and how Pākehā (as the dominant majority) can work towards honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This paper draws on interviews with three Pākehā allies who have taken actions towards greater inclusion of Māori and raising awareness of systemic injustices and racial disparities. The objective of this paper is to document the understandings shared by these ‘reluctant allies’, focusing on the challenges, possibilities, and suggestions for a more culturally relevant psychological education and practice for Aotearoa New Zealand
Real world initiation of newly funded empagliflozin and dulaglutide under special authority for patients with type 2 diabetes in New Zealand
No full textBackground: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is sub-optimally managed for many in Aotearoa New Zealand, and disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific peoples. In February 2021, SGLT2i/GLP1RA agents were funded for use for the first time with prioritisation for Māori, Pacific and those with cardiovascular and/or renal disease or risk (CVRD). This study evaluates the impact of health system factors on initiation of SGLT2i/GLP1RA therapy.
Methods: Primary care data was collected for patients with T2D aged 18–75 years from four primary care organisations (302 general practices) in the Auckland / Waikato region of New Zealand (Feb 2021 – July 2022). Initiation of SGLT2i/GLP1RA therapy was reviewed by patient (age, gender, ethnicity, CVRD status) and health system variables (funding, provider type, staffing, patient numbers, rurality, after-hours access). Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio of a patient being dispensed SGLT2i/GLP1RA.
Results: Of 57,743 patients with T2D, 22,331 were eligible for funded SGLT2i/GLP1RA access and 10,272 of those (46.0%) were prescribed. Initiation of therapy was highest in Māori (50.8%) and Pacific (48.8%) patients (vs. 36·2–40·7% of other ethnic groups; P < 0.001), but was comparable in those with and without CVRD (47·1% vs. 48·9%; P = 0.2). Prescribing was highest in practices with higher doctor/patient numbers, low-cost fees, Māori health providers and clinics without after-hours access.
Conclusion: Prioritised access for SGLT2i/GLP1RA appears to be associated with a reduced health equity gap for Māori and Pacific patients with T2D in NZ, but work is required to improve prescribing for patients with CVRD
The effects of climate change on the benthic community in a temperate fjord
No full textClimate change exerts a profound impact on marine ecosystems, with coastal environments uniquely affected by both oceanic and terrestrial influences. In coastal areas, oceanic drivers, such as rising temperatures and altered circulation patterns, combine with terrestrial inputs like changes in freshwater inflow to create unique environmental conditions. Beyond the gradual warming of ocean temperatures, the increasing occurrence of extreme temperature anomalies poses considerable threats to ecosystem stability, necessitating detailed investigations into their underlying mechanisms and ecological consequences. This thesis focuses on how climate change manifests in Doubtful Sound, a temperate fjord characterized by rocky subtidal benthic communities.
First, using an 18-year high resolution dataset, I investigate the spatiotemporal trends in temperature and salinity throughout Doubtful Sound. I analyse the fjord’s temperature dynamics spatially, spanning from 0.5 m to 19 m and from the inner fjord to outer fjord. Linked with climate change, I identify increasing mean temperatures and increases in temperature anomalies. Furthermore, I report the occurrence of two marine heatwaves in Doubtful Sound. Lastly, I note a deepening of the low salinity layer, a key physical feature that drives the structure and stability of benthic communities in this fjord.
Coupled with these oceanographic analyses, I explore spatial and temporal drivers of the benthic communities in Doubtful Sound. I document higher diversity and variability in the outer sites as compared to the inner sites. Additionally outer fjord communities show significant shifts in benthic community composition through time, while the inner fjord communities remain largely constant. Though a range of factors influence the abundance of benthic organisms including biotic interactions, salinity levels and physical disturbance, thermal profiles provide insights into the potential sensitivity of taxa to warming oceans. By linking benthic abundance with temperature trends, I identify potential thermal thresholds for several key taxa. In the shallow waters for example, barnacles and mussels peak in abundance at 15.5-16 °C and sharply decline in higher temperatures. Conversely, encrusting sponges increase dramatically in response to warming temperatures. Lastly, I investigate the role of the 2018 Tasman Sea marine heatwave in structuring the benthic community in Doubtful Sound. Minimal impacts on the benthic community after the heatwave were recorded, although notable increases in green algae and encrusting sponge were observed at two sites.
The final chapter of this thesis investigates how environmental changes associated with climate change, specifically increased temperature and decreased salinity, influence the fitness of Coscinasterias muricata, a keystone predator in Fiordland’s subtidal ecosystems. I designed a laboratory experiment to identify the effects of temperature, salinity, and the interaction between the two on the fitness of C. muricata. Righting trials, a well-established proxy for fitness, were carried out to investigate the effects of altered physical conditions. Interestingly, only salinity had a significant effect on C. muricata fitness, highlighting the potential of low salinity events to affect benthic communities in estuarine environments.
Overall, this thesis underscores the multifaceted impacts of climate change on fjord ecosystems, emphasizing the importance of physical anomalies beyond increases in mean temperature. These findings highlight how increasing anomalies and shifts in temperature and salinity regimes can profoundly influence the structure and dynamics of benthic communities. By integrating long term environmental data with experimental insights, this work advances our understanding of the complex interactions between climatic drivers and ecological responses, providing critical perspectives on the vulnerability and resilience of temperate fjord ecosystems under changing physical conditions
A study into reality television production in New Zealand: Gender representation on The Bachelor and FBoy Island
No full textThis thesis explores the ways producers and editors of New Zealand romantic heterosexual dating reality television programmes portray gender and their motivations for creating specific representations. Giving a broader outlook from an international perspective, it brings to light New Zealand’s reality television industry comparing it to studies done on its international counterparts. The study is informed by interviews with New Zealand industry experts, producers and editors of the genre, discussing specific excerpts from two locally produced shows The Bachelor New Zealand, Season 4 and FBoy Island New Zealand. It looks at the roles of editors and producers within reality television, their tasks and responsibilities, and presents an exploration into the techniques and industry expertise that shape the content of the shows, as well as discussing cisgender representation on these shows. By comparing portrayals of gender in the two programmes, it investigates the intentions and rationale for the storylines and character depictions created by the practitioners. Ultimately, it gives an insight into how reality television in New Zealand is manipulated and constructed to appease audience expectations and commercial investment in this popular reality television genre
Decolonizing Lamanite Studies – A Critical and Decolonial Indigenist Perspective
No full textThe emergence of Lamanite Studies exemplifies the need for decolonial and Indigenous-centered reevaluations of Mormon–Indigenous relations. This article advocates for the reclamation of Indigenous identity independent of the constraints imposed by Mormon doctrine. The incorporation of Indigenous genealogies into Mormon theology results in epistemic violence, disconnecting Indigenous peoples from their ancestral identities and substituting the latter with the settler/invader colonial construct of “Lamanite”. This paper advocates for the decolonization of Indigenous identities within Mormonism, emphasizing the need for a radical intervention that prioritizes Indigenous sovereignty and self-definition over the maintenance of colonial categories. I present approaches and scholarship in Lamanite Studies that align with Indigenous land and spiritual repatriation, promoting the restoration of Indigenous epistemologies to Indigenous communities. Theoretical colonialism must be supplemented by grassroots initiatives that empower Indigenous communities to reclaim their spiritual and cultural identities
Application of wavelet transform for extracting and analysing evapotranspiration-induced diel fluctuations in streamflow records
No full textDiurnal fluctuations in groundwater and streamflow are produced due to evapotranspiration, indicating a strong connection between streamflow and the groundwater reservoir. Studying the patterns of diel fluctuations can provide valuable information on the hydrological processes in a catchment. Analysing these fluctuations makes it possible to estimate the evapotranspiration rate as well. In this paper, the signal analysis technique of the wavelet transform is applied to the streamflow time series to extract and analyse diel fluctuations. The performance of two main types of wavelet transform, continuous and discrete, is assessed against widely applied methods of trend extraction, such as moving average. The results show that wavelet transform can be used successfully to identify periodic and non-periodic features of the time series, such as seasonal and trend components, and to distinguish between signal and noise. The continuous wavelet transform demonstrates that the diurnal component of streamflow exhibits significant variation over different temporal scales, with the dominant periods ranging from 12 to 36 h. In conclusion, the findings suggest that wavelet transform can effectively capture evapotranspiration-induced diurnal streamflow fluctuations and provide insights into the hydrological processes at different temporal scales
Utopic representations of empire: Examples of Seventeenth-Century colonial images
No full textEarly French colonies used enslavement to provide most of their labor, but they also needed to recruit landowners and artisans to build a settler society. This paper investigates how two colonial companies used maps and illustrations to represent new colonies as safe and prosperous sites that would appeal to potential recruits. The companies produced books and pamphlets promoting their colonies, but it was often possible to read between the lines and conclude that the colony was not as utopic as the company claimed. The images they produced, however, were utopic and had the advantage of allowing the viewer the freedom to interpret them regardless of literacy skills. The American Mainland Company, which in 1652 sent France’s biggest colonial expedition to date, showed it understood the importance of imagery when the following year it commissioned an illustration from France’s most prominent engraver, Israël Silvestre. A decade later, the French West India Company adapted a hydrographic map to present a more favorable view of a colony. This paper shows how the companies’ images deceived the viewer and created false impressions of easy life in the tropics
Te mōhiotangaora: Within the knowing healing begins
No full textThis thesis investigates the intersection of the colonized self and the Māori self, examining how these dual identities coexist within the same physical, mental, and spiritual space. Grounded in Māori ontology and wellness (Durie, 1998), the study uses an interdisciplinary approach that combines academic analysis, creative writing, pūrākau (Lee, 2009), journal reflections, and artistic practice to explore two distinct ways of knowing that operate within this duality.
In this academic study, the colonized self is defined as a Māori woman shaped and constrained by the effects of colonization (Gemmell, 2013: Mikaere, 2003). Conversely, the Māori self represents the awakened Wahine Māori who has embraced mātauranga Māori. She actively learns, embodies, practices, and lives Māori values and traditions as part of her everyday life. However, the Wahine Māori is not entirely free from the ongoing impacts of colonization, given the long history of conflict between Māori and European peoples in Aotearoa. The colonization of New Zealand, marked by the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, resulted in the systematic loss of cultural markers central to Māori identity (Jackson, 1998, 1995; Walker, 1990). Furthermore, government policies have contributed to the marginalization of Māori culture in areas such as family, education, religion, and loss of language (Pihama, 2001; Smith, 1999).
Through this creative practice research, the practice of raranga whatu is explored using both traditional and contemporary techniques, contributing to the development of mātauranga Māori art forms (Campbell, 2019; Smith, 2019). This study examines how the process of weaving supports one woman’s journey of reclaiming and empowering her Indigenous identity. Whatu raranga serves as a transformative practice, embodying the duality of the self within a uniquely Māori space of being. Within a Kaupapa Māori framework, the process of restoring cultural connections has supported the reawakening of Mana Wahine identity and the reclamation of Māori spaces, as recognized and embodied by kairaranga (Campbell, 2019; Pere, 1991; H. Smith, 2019; Yates-Smith, 1980)
Experiences of New Zealand Māori mothers’ Engagement with health and social services post-COVID-19 2020 lockdown
No full textBackground:
Despite universal provision of maternity care, Māori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand) experience significant maternal and infant health disparities compared to their dominant Pākehā (non-Māori) counterparts. This paper examined the lived realities of postnatal Māori māmā (mothers) engaging with health and social services. Enablers and barriers were identified to better understand what is required to strengthen health services’ responsiveness to Māori māmā health needs and aspirations.
Methods:
Underpinned by Kaupapa Māori research principles, which are grounded in Māori cultural values, emphasising self-determination, and Māori aspirations, a small cohort of 17 expectant Māori māmā were recruited from a Māori childbirth education programme to participate in a three-phase study. Phase three, the focus of this paper, involved seven semi-structured, open-ended telephone interviews with Māori māmā. A thematic analysis, underpinned by a mana wahine (authority inherent in Māori women) theoretical perspective amplified these experiences.
Results:
Five themes were identified that encapsulated participants’ engagement and interactions with health and social services. These themes were as follows: (1) right to enact tino rangatiratanga (autonomy) and self-achievement; (2) responsiveness of services; (3) service and system issues; (4) need for greater choice and opportunity; and (5) impact of COVID-19.
Conclusions:
This study privileged the voices of Māori wāhine, highlighting their experiences with a complex and often unresponsive health system. Participants valued services that enabled them to exercise tino rangatiratanga. Echoing the experiences of other Indigenous Peoples, incorporating culturally relevant practices into perinatal health services is crucial for achieving health equity and addressing disparities
Toward a sustainable wellbeing metacurriculum for secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textWe live in a time of burgeoning global population, social extremes and cultural complexity for which, as a species, we are poorly prepared. The mining of fossil fuels and the extractive industries which have powered this reproductive and material success have accompanied our ever-increasing separation from nature, one another, and ourselves. This study is based on the premise that educational transformation, centred on Sustainable Wellbeing, particularly in senior secondary schooling, is crucial to the regeneration humanity needs in the Anthropocene to surmount the complex environmental, social, and cultural crisis that our collective ignorance has brought. It explores what a Sustainable Wellbeing Metacurriculum (SWM) framework for this age group—inspired by a Complex Systems Theory, Critical Realist, and New Materialist synthesis—might look like and what practices, strategies, and changes within schools, communities, and Aotearoa New Zealand as a nation would encourage the metacurriculum’s widespread adoption.
The study examined theoretical positions regarding sustainability, wellbeing and curriculum, and drew on the principles of fractal self-similarity and scale-free social networks from Complexity Theory to construct an initial minimal framework. This framework was then elaborated, modified and tested, in an iterative co-construction process. The research design was a modified Delphi Survey. Twenty-three experienced secondary school teachers with a wide range of subject specialities contributed to the study, participating in one to three survey rounds, and/or semi-structured interviews. These data were supplemented with document analysis and school demographic and academic attainment data.
Participants were asked for suggestions of Knowledge, Issues, and Big Ideas most important to include within each of the three framework domains; Ecosphere, Social Justice, and Cultural Vision, at the Human-Societal level of an SWM. Within the corresponding domains of Action, Feeling, and Thinking at the Individual-Interpersonal level, the teachers were asked for suggestions of skills, competencies, and dispositions important for students' wellbeing. At the Human-Societal level, nine subdomains, each with sets of Sustainable Wellbeing goals following a complex fractal pattern, self-similar to the domains, emerged from the analysis of suggestions. At the Individual-Interpersonal level, similar fractal patterns for Action, Feeling, and Thinking were observed. However, teachers also emphasised deep qualities, such as Self-Awareness, and Adaptability, which are unique idiosyncratic integrations of Action, Feeling, and Thinking in individuals. The participants were asked to consider the ideal balance between Cross-curricular Holistic (CCH) and Subject-Based Specialist (SBS) modes of pedagogy for an SWM timetable. The mean suggested timetable share for the CCH mode was 39% but the distribution of preferred proportions was distinctly bimodal.
Participants were also asked to provide teaching Unit outlines based on the emerging SWM framework that linked the Unit’s anchoring and connected Human-Societal level subdomains to specific learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and New Zealand’s National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). Epistemic links were apparent between the framework’s Ecosphere subdomains and the NZC learning areas of Technology, Social Science, Science and Health & Physical Education. Further research with a larger sample of Units would be required to explore the possible links between the framework domains of Social Justice and Cultural Vision and the NZC learning areas of the Arts, Languages, English and Mathematics.
The thesis adopts an analogy, based on the complexity theory concept of strange attractors, to describe educational transformation as a system phase shift from the attractor’s current ‘Business as Unsustainable’ state to an emergent Sustainable Wellbeing Metacurriculum state. Based on the findings, the schools of the participating teachers in this study were categorised as following one of four types of trajectory within the attractor, relative to the SWM state i.e. Explorative, Innovative, Prospective, or Realpolitikal. Key strategies used by Explorative and Innovative schools which are making the most progress towards Sustainable Wellbeing include: working with the willing; disaggregation into streams for large schools; aggregation for small schools sharing resources, like gardens; school and teacher leadership for student agency, including making Sustainable Wellbeing a core subject; Trades Academy partnerships; enabling ‘student voice’ particularly in curriculum development; structural support for CCH team teaching; involving a wide range of subjects and year levels in CCH programmes; using mentoring, portfolios and self-reflection to foster student self-integration; and commitment to on-campus sustainability practices.
The most mentioned changes needed to enable a transition for schools to enact an SWM were a convincing argument and plan, followed by, sufficient time to plan and make the changes required, and the provision of relevant teacher training. At the local community level, teachers in ‘Prospective’ schools described community anxieties around the implications of a broader CCH curriculum for students' Qualification and Employment prospects. Teachers in ‘Explorative’ schools emphasised the importance of community education and school outreach. There was a strong consensus that engaging all citizens in a conversation about the purpose of education in our time would be the most effective change strategy to support at the national political level