Can communicative language teaching (CLT) help save indigenous languages? This project is a review of literature on CLT and its relevance to indigenous language revitalisation. It forms part of a broader research project to examine the teaching and learning of Māori, Tahitian and Hawai’ian within universities.

The purpose of this proposal is for interns to: - experience the ethos of the Māori & Psychology Research Unit and a culture of research excellence; - enhance their knowledge of indigenous psychology; the process of indigenising psychology; and the task of energising an indigenous Māori psychology. - engage with the research cycle and be active in generating research ideas and proposals for funding. Interns will be located on campus at the Māori & Psychology Research Unit, University of Waikato and will:

A survey study conducted in 2012 investigated whether employee perceptions of the extent to which their organisation espoused 5 core Māori values identified in the literature (manaakitanga, wairuatanga, auahatanga, whakawhanaungatanga, and kaitiakitanga), influenced their disposition to engage in helping behaviours at work and feel more committed to the organisation. These relationships were moderated by extent of identification with Māori culture (being Māori vs. identifying as Māori).

Ōkahu Bay lies adjacent to Te Whenua Rangatira, occupying a dominant headland near the mouth of the Waitemata Harbour, collectively the ancestral home of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. The spiritual significance of the land was recognised by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei ancestors who sought to safeguard Te Whenua Rangatira as a place which links water, land, forest and sky (Tangaroa, Papatūānuku, Tānemahuta and Ranginui) maintaining a strong link with surrounding cultural landmarks within the isthmus and beyond. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei consulted widely amongst their people and asked them to describe how they would know when their relationship with Ōkahu Bay had been restored.

The purpose of this project is to examine the Māori and Pacific archives in the Hocken Library pertaining to Tangaroa, the ocean and the sea. The intern will undertake archival research specifically within the Hocken Library and this will form part of the initial stages of the Māori programme of research within the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.

Whangapoua Harbour is within the Ngati Huarere rohe and they are kaitiaki for the harbour which is considered a taonga. Ngati Huarere are concerned about the effects of the Matarangi Wastewater Treatment Plant discharge on the mauri of the harbour, swimming, the gathering of seafood and the wider cultural relationship that Ngati Huarere enjoyed with the harbour. This research project has been initiated by Ngati Huarere to investigate the impact of the Matarangi Waste Water Treatment Plant on the mauri of Whangapoua Harbour and the ecosystem.

Despite the proliferation of equity and diversity plans and policies that have been established in universities across New Zealand over the past 25 years, Māori academic staff make up only a very small proportion of the nation’s academic workforce (6%) and the proportion of Pacific academic staff is even smaller (2%).

Some economists argue for diversity in the way collective resources are managed rather than an unquestioning faith in leaving things to the market. We support this thinking and looked at how ethics and Māori knowledge can be used equally alongside economics in managing collective Māori assets.

We argue that simple measures of collective well-being used alongside mainstream economics are robust enough to help us make collective decisions. Our team developed a Māori knowledge and ethics based decision-making framework for collective assets. This framework is being tested and refined using three case studies with our iwi/hapū partners.

Objectives

Author: Nick Allison

In 2014 Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) commissioned a report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) to assess the economic, social and other impacts of the Māori Centre of Research Excellence.

A summary of key findings from this research impact evaluation were:

Dr Marion Johnson is the Principal Investigator of Te Rongoā Pastures: Healthy Animals, Resilient Farms.

The Te Rongoā project identified a number of plant species that could be used on farms to promote animal health. The focus was on browse species that would contribute to biodiversity and pasture resilience. Grazing provides a large proportion of an animal’s intake and pasture is the major productive component on a farm and the research studied what rongoā species could be incorporated into pastures to make a useful contribution to animal health and productivity, while also describing how to manage and sustain the species on farms.