title: Indigenous aspirations and ecological integrity: Restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of an ancestral river for future generations in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Te Aho, Linda

subjects: Maori

abstract: This paper seeks to provide a domestic example of the application of the environmental ethic of the indigenous Māori which ensures that humans are kaitiaki (guardians) of their surrounding environment by virtue of shared genealogy and how this ethic is being applied to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River, New Zealand’s longest. This particular river restoration project reflects many of the important aspects of ecological integrity.  It serves too. as a domestic example of the most sophisticated attempt at powersharing to date between Māori and the Crown in relation to natural resources, which may be of interest to other jurisdictions.

text: Indigenous aspirations and ecological integrity: Restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of an ancestral river for future generations in Aotearoa New Zealand This paper seeks to provide a domestic example of the application of the environmental ethic of the indigenous Māori which ensures that humans are kaitiaki (guardians) of their surrounding environment by virtue of shared genealogy and how this ethic is being applied to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River, New Zealand’s longest. This particular river restoration project reflects many of the important aspects of ecological integrity.  It serves too. as a domestic example of the most sophisticated attempt at powersharing to date between Māori and the Crown in relation to natural resources, which may be of interest to other jurisdictions.

year: 2011

title: Different Coloured Tears: Bicultural Bereavement Perspectives

authors: Edge, Kiri

subjects: Maori

abstract: The research explored the pathways that Māori and Pākehā  bicultural whānau follow in  mourning, grieving and moving on through life, in response to the death of a signficant loved one. Of specific interest were sites of conflict, processes of negotiation and pathways to resolution occuring across cultural worlds whilst deciding on, organising and enacting tangi/funeral rituals for the deceased. These explorations were founded on the Pou Toko Manawa of the framework offered by Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi and related principles. The research was conducted across two distinct yet inter-related studies. The first study explored the bereavement experiences of individuals belonging to Māori and Pākehā bicultural families, offering insights related to the emergence of conflict, negotiation and pathways to resolution. The insights gathered gave rise to further explorations concerned with the perspectives of experts who facilitate, mediate and enact bereavement processes. As the second study, the expert perspectives revealed supports, constraints and legalitites that emerge in bicultural bereavement processes. The culmination of the two studies engender a multi-faceted understanding of key concepts, issues and processes in bicultural bereavement, and the cultural and socio-political landscapes within which these events are located. In considering the research findings within the theorectical framework of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, the research offers a unique bicultural and New Zealand specific understanding of conflict and resolution.

text: Different Coloured Tears: Bicultural Bereavement Perspectives The research explored the pathways that Māori and Pākehā  bicultural whānau follow in  mourning, grieving and moving on through life, in response to the death of a signficant loved one. Of specific interest were sites of conflict, processes of negotiation and pathways to resolution occuring across cultural worlds whilst deciding on, organising and enacting tangi/funeral rituals for the deceased. These explorations were founded on the Pou Toko Manawa of the framework offered by Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi and related principles. The research was conducted across two distinct yet inter-related studies. The first study explored the bereavement experiences of individuals belonging to Māori and Pākehā bicultural families, offering insights related to the emergence of conflict, negotiation and pathways to resolution. The insights gathered gave rise to further explorations concerned with the perspectives of experts who facilitate, mediate and enact bereavement processes. As the second study, the expert perspectives revealed supports, constraints and legalitites that emerge in bicultural bereavement processes. The culmination of the two studies engender a multi-faceted understanding of key concepts, issues and processes in bicultural bereavement, and the cultural and socio-political landscapes within which these events are located. In considering the research findings within the theorectical framework of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, the research offers a unique bicultural and New Zealand specific understanding of conflict and resolution.

year: 2017

title: Factors affecting the replacement of wooden harvesting bins with plastic equivalents for the New Zealand kiwifruit industry

authors: Harmandeep, Jaura

subjects: harvesting

abstract: The New Zealand Kiwifruit Industry is one of the biggest in the world. New Zealand grown kiwifruit is exported to more than 60 countries with Europe, Japan, Asia and U.S being the major markets. Currently, wooden bins are used for picking, handling and storing kiwifruit. Horticulture industries in many countries including the U.S, Europe, and Australia started using plastic harvesting bins over 40 years ago due to additional benefits of using plastic. However, this technology is still not put into practice in New Zealand mainly due to wood availability, familiarity with wooden bins and lack of knowledge reflecting the benefits of plastic harvesting bins. In this study, physical damage to kiwifruit in contact to different types of wooden and plastic harvesting bins was quantified and compared. The objective of the research was to indentify various physical damage mechanisms to kiwifruit and their relative significance during harvesting and storage. Mechanical damage was simulated as compression, abrasion and impact tests, conducted under laboratory conditions. The main finding of this research was that contact with wooden surfaces caused a significant amount of visible damage to kiwifruit, more so than any plastic surface. In terms of venting, 10mm vents in plastic showed least amount of damage. Compression on 10 mm plastic vents resulted in only 10 % fruit rejection , which was the minimum among all tests under ambient and coolstorage conditions. Almost all tests with wood resulted in 100% fruit rejection; this means that the whole bottom layered fruit would be rejected from a wooden bin. No significant differences were observed in percentage mass loss of fruit compressed on different wooden surfaces for both 10 and 25N firmness fruit under ambient and coolstorage conditions. This suggested that for wood, having flat or vented surface does not make a difference in percentage mass loss. It was found that impacting fruit on wooden and flat plastic surfaces caused about 30% fruit bruising, however, no bruising was observed in fruit impacted on vented plastic surfaces. It can be concluded that plastic bins are superior to wooden bins due to less fruit wastage and bruising. The research established that the initial investment of replacing a wooden harvesting with a plastic bin can be recovered within first 5 years. In addition, plastic bin would recover more than its cost by savings on less fruit rejection.

text: Factors affecting the replacement of wooden harvesting bins with plastic equivalents for the New Zealand kiwifruit industry The New Zealand Kiwifruit Industry is one of the biggest in the world. New Zealand grown kiwifruit is exported to more than 60 countries with Europe, Japan, Asia and U.S being the major markets. Currently, wooden bins are used for picking, handling and storing kiwifruit. Horticulture industries in many countries including the U.S, Europe, and Australia started using plastic harvesting bins over 40 years ago due to additional benefits of using plastic. However, this technology is still not put into practice in New Zealand mainly due to wood availability, familiarity with wooden bins and lack of knowledge reflecting the benefits of plastic harvesting bins. In this study, physical damage to kiwifruit in contact to different types of wooden and plastic harvesting bins was quantified and compared. The objective of the research was to indentify various physical damage mechanisms to kiwifruit and their relative significance during harvesting and storage. Mechanical damage was simulated as compression, abrasion and impact tests, conducted under laboratory conditions. The main finding of this research was that contact with wooden surfaces caused a significant amount of visible damage to kiwifruit, more so than any plastic surface. In terms of venting, 10mm vents in plastic showed least amount of damage. Compression on 10 mm plastic vents resulted in only 10 % fruit rejection , which was the minimum among all tests under ambient and coolstorage conditions. Almost all tests with wood resulted in 100% fruit rejection; this means that the whole bottom layered fruit would be rejected from a wooden bin. No significant differences were observed in percentage mass loss of fruit compressed on different wooden surfaces for both 10 and 25N firmness fruit under ambient and coolstorage conditions. This suggested that for wood, having flat or vented surface does not make a difference in percentage mass loss. It was found that impacting fruit on wooden and flat plastic surfaces caused about 30% fruit bruising, however, no bruising was observed in fruit impacted on vented plastic surfaces. It can be concluded that plastic bins are superior to wooden bins due to less fruit wastage and bruising. The research established that the initial investment of replacing a wooden harvesting with a plastic bin can be recovered within first 5 years. In addition, plastic bin would recover more than its cost by savings on less fruit rejection.

year: 2010