Projects

What are the threshold concepts for undergraduate study in the field of Māori studies?

How can the identification of Māori studies’ threshold concepts be used to support teaching and student achievement in Māori studies programmes?

Our main question is ‘do hapū and Iwi  views  and practices provide an alternative paradigm to New Zealand’s biosecurity system to better protect our taonga species?

The project aims to contribute to the intellectual infrastructure of the discipline of te reo Māori revitalisation by collating oral, visual digital and written sources, including a dictionary, thesaurus and repositories of waiata, haka, and narrative recordings. 

The project will answer the following research questions:

This project examined the economic costs of health inequities between Māori and non-Māori adults in Aotearoa. Using both quantitative data and Māori lived experiences, it highlighted the significant social, economic, and health impacts of these disparities. The research aims to inform targeted policies to reduce inequities, strengthen Māori health outcomes, and build capacity in Māori-led health economics research.

This summer internship investigated the evolution of te reo Māori by examining its linguistic structures, oral traditions, and the impact of historical and policy changes. The research aimed to enhance educational outcomes by analysing phonology, orthography, and teaching approaches, concluding with recommendations for compulsory curricula to better support te reo Māori learners.

This Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga research project aims to assess the status of selected taonga shellfish (including pipi, tuatua, kina and pāua) resources within the Rohe Moana o Tauranga Moana, and the impacts caused by the grounding of the cargo vessel Rena on these fisheries and iwi ability to manage them.

Traditional use of plants for medicinal purposes is a feature of indigenous human societies. The biological principles that underpin many such traditional remedies has been established using various scientific methodologies. 

This project addresses the crucial gap in previous research by studying the everyday lives and positive relationships of Māori men in the context of men’s health. Māori men face many challenges in maintaining health and in developing meaningful and culturally patterned relationships.

 

The human capital theory holds that education is a form of investment in that the individuals who are consumers of education acquire skills and knowledge that can be converted into work and income in the post-school years. but it is not a level playing field, many would argue. Some of the so-called 'toughest kids' come from very difficult home situations.

This research project aims to determine how whānau might flourish.

In 2012, a wave of youth suicides in Northland featured far too many of Ngātiwai descent. 19 people under 25 years took their own lives, a huge increase from 5 the year before (Penney & Dobbs, 2014). Suicide rates for Māori youth in Te Tai Tokerau, including the Ngātiwai rohe, is therefore a major public health issue.

This research project explores the relationship between cultural connectedness and wellbeing (as a social determinant of health). The research will provide evidence relating to wellbeing and cultural connection within and between whānau with the intent to develop an aspirational model for Waikato-Tainui.

This research project evaluated and monitored the environmental, social, economic and cultural impacts of the grounding of the ship Rena on Otaiti, with a particular focus on the impacted areas of Maketū, Mōtītī, and Pāpāmoa. The research team led by Dr Kepa Morgan incorporated an assessment of the mauri of the impacted people within these areas and their environs.

This internship applied the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework to assess the impacts of fracking on an Indigenous reservation in Alberta, Canada—highlighting environmental, cultural, and social consequences. The findings offer valuable insights for future oil and gas decisions in Aotearoa.

We know many of the key elements for social transformation, but what is not known is how to actively stimulate them at the right time, pace and scale, with the appropriate self-correcting mechanisms and forms of resource support provided at moments of need. This research project aims to create a new tool, namely an internationally comparative model of indigenous well-being.

Author: Elizabeth Jurisich Strickett. Supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Moewaka Barnes and Dr Tim McCreanor. This report was written while undertaking a Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga internship with Whāriki, SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre, Massey University.

This research looked at how the 2010/11 earthquakes in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) have affected Māori mental health communities. The research team led by Dr Simon Lambert focused on how the support networks for Tangata Whaiora (a term applied to Māori mental health clients that translates as people seeking health) and their whānau responded and recovered through the disaster.

 

Author: Joshua Tahana. Supervisor Dr Elaine Ballard This report outlines the background for a study to be undertaken tracking phonological development (speech skills) in Māori for Māori speaking pre-school children. Although there is a substantial body of literature on how children develop speech sounds in English we know nothing about the developmental trajectory in Māori.

Author: Tara Dalley. Supervisor: Dr Te Taka Keegan The aim of this research was to determine the level of awareness and willingness to use software with a te reo Māori interface by the Māori medium education sector.