Research Overview

Grace O'Leary (Te Arawa, Nga Puhi), University of Waikato

Māori sex workers are over-represented in street level sex work - an area known to be prone to more human rights abuses, unreported violence, riskier health and safety workplaces, higher rates of illicit substance abuse, and lower age of entry. As with many sex workers in Aotearoa, Māori sex workers continue to be discriminated against both in their jobs, and out, in areas such as housing and healthcare.

This research aims at addressing issues of stigma, discrimination and victimisation by providing a space where Māori women sex workers can speak about their bodies not as primarily sex working bodies, but bodies that participate in another aspect of society (with much less discrimination associated), that of sport and physical activity. My findings thus far reveal the ways sport and physical activity provide a mechanism for Māori women sex workers to problematise, feel, and celebrate their bodies.

How do fat Indigenous wāhine reclaim body sovereignty as a form of resistance? This research centred on the lived experiences of fat Māori wāhine, challenging colonial and biomedical narratives through the lens of mātauranga Māori. It reclaims tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake of the body, and reimagines access, wellbeing, and worth beyond systems of oppression.

Griffin Manawaroa Leonard (Te Arawa), University of Otago

The Radical Nonviolence in Aotearoa hui was the first hui of its kind in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nonviolent movements and the academic study of them is not new. Nor are such movements organised by Māori seeking to uphold their rights. What is inovative about the proposed research, however, is that it is based upon bringing together a varied group of New Zealanders and internationals to discuss these matters.

Sophie Williams (Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa), University of Auckland

He tōnga kākano – The planting of the seed is a collaborative study of indigenous performative knowledge within a contemporary dance context.

The focus for this work is the ways in which whakapapa and Māori identity are integral to the expressions of indigenous (Māori) performative knowledge within haka theatre especially, and the wider context of contemporary dance.

Paul Tamataatoi Brown (Waikato, Ngaati Hikairo), University of Waikato

I am currently at the final stages of writing up the thesis. The submission deadline for the thesis is 31st May 2018, which we are currently on target for. We plan to disseminate our research through two separate journal papers. The first paper is titled “Improving grid-based Bayesian methods using Low Discrepancy Sequences”, which will be submitted to the international journal “Bayesian Analysis”.

The second paper will be titled “The incorporation of physical barriers in a spatio temporal model of crime”, with the current aim of submitting this to the journal “Australian and New Zealand Journal of Statistics”. b. the innovations and significance of the work Statistical analyses of data using a Bayesian approach allows a researcher to combine prior knowledge about the phenomena being measured with the current data. Bayesian inference holds many advantages of more classical approaches to inference, but it has computational drawbacks.

Keri Milne-Ihimaera (Ngāi Tahu), Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi