title: English language learning in New Caledonia: A report on the proficiency achievements and motivation of students at or near the point of entry to tertiary study

authors: Poret, Anne

subjects: New Caledonia

abstract: In the context of an introduction to New Caledonia and its languages, this paper reports on a research project whose aims were to provide a snapshot of the English language proficiency achievements of New Caledonian students at the point of entry to tertiary study and to investigate possible relationships between proficiency achievements, learning context and motivation. In 2006, a sample of students (274) took a C-test (one that was initially used in a major European language proficiency survey) and completed a questionnaire relating to motivation and attitudes towards the English language. The overall mean C-test score was considerably lower than that of students who did the same C-test at a similar educational stage in the European study. Some schooling contexts appear to have had a positive impact on proficiency development, as did some factors relating to motivation. On the basis of this study, it is suggested that educational authorities in New Caledonia should consider looking carefully at the factors that affect to the teaching and learning of English in schools.

text: English language learning in New Caledonia: A report on the proficiency achievements and motivation of students at or near the point of entry to tertiary study In the context of an introduction to New Caledonia and its languages, this paper reports on a research project whose aims were to provide a snapshot of the English language proficiency achievements of New Caledonian students at the point of entry to tertiary study and to investigate possible relationships between proficiency achievements, learning context and motivation. In 2006, a sample of students (274) took a C-test (one that was initially used in a major European language proficiency survey) and completed a questionnaire relating to motivation and attitudes towards the English language. The overall mean C-test score was considerably lower than that of students who did the same C-test at a similar educational stage in the European study. Some schooling contexts appear to have had a positive impact on proficiency development, as did some factors relating to motivation. On the basis of this study, it is suggested that educational authorities in New Caledonia should consider looking carefully at the factors that affect to the teaching and learning of English in schools.

year: 2007-02

title: Reading the feral woman: Female werewolves and liminality in fantasy fiction

authors: Dewhurst, Hannah Leigh

subjects: fantasy

abstract: Previously representing the threat of infection, invasion and the possibility of an internal Other, the werewolf, traditionally male, has recently been joined by a subgroup of wolf-women in fantasy literature. I intend to examine the female werewolf as a ‘new’ archetype, tracking her presence in the overlapping genres of Gothic fiction and contemporary paranormal romance. I want to understand how the female werewolf engages with, and dramatizes, the portrayal of gender and binary issues such as nature/culture and male/female. This thesis follows the shift from the familiar ‘morality tale’ structure, and examines the possibility of wolf-women as marginalised or deviant figures empowered, their liminality drawing attention to the permeable and ultimately arbitrary nature of the boundaries they cross. Chapters begin with a discussion of the literary and cultural history of the werewolf, moving into short stories and novels by Alice Borchardt, Gail Carriger, Angela Carter, Clemence Housman, Aino Kallas, Tanith Lee and Stephenie Meyer. Texts are analysed with insights drawn from feminist theorists of gender and fantasy, including Judith Butler, Barbara Creed, Julia Kristeva and Marina Warner, to consider the wolf-women as deviants both desired and desiring. The female werewolf brings to the forefront contemporary anxieties around body image, the monstrous feminine and gender performance, and draws uncomfortable attention to the problematic binaries presented in both fantasy and reality.

text: Reading the feral woman: Female werewolves and liminality in fantasy fiction Previously representing the threat of infection, invasion and the possibility of an internal Other, the werewolf, traditionally male, has recently been joined by a subgroup of wolf-women in fantasy literature. I intend to examine the female werewolf as a ‘new’ archetype, tracking her presence in the overlapping genres of Gothic fiction and contemporary paranormal romance. I want to understand how the female werewolf engages with, and dramatizes, the portrayal of gender and binary issues such as nature/culture and male/female. This thesis follows the shift from the familiar ‘morality tale’ structure, and examines the possibility of wolf-women as marginalised or deviant figures empowered, their liminality drawing attention to the permeable and ultimately arbitrary nature of the boundaries they cross. Chapters begin with a discussion of the literary and cultural history of the werewolf, moving into short stories and novels by Alice Borchardt, Gail Carriger, Angela Carter, Clemence Housman, Aino Kallas, Tanith Lee and Stephenie Meyer. Texts are analysed with insights drawn from feminist theorists of gender and fantasy, including Judith Butler, Barbara Creed, Julia Kristeva and Marina Warner, to consider the wolf-women as deviants both desired and desiring. The female werewolf brings to the forefront contemporary anxieties around body image, the monstrous feminine and gender performance, and draws uncomfortable attention to the problematic binaries presented in both fantasy and reality.

year: 2018

title: I Muri i Te Ārai:  Ko Ngā Mōrehu Ka Toe: Healing processes in Tangihanga for Wāhine Māori

authors: Paterson, Keriata Jane

subjects: Tangihanga

abstract: This study involved a qualitative examination of the healing elements of tangihanga as described by eight female Māori respondents whose loss was not spousal but was dearly loved. Few substantive contemporary works on the subject of tangihanga experiences and processes existed (Nikora & Te Awekōtuku, 2013).

To contextualise, western society’s cultural death practices were explored from an interdisciplinary perspective. Literature on death and bereavement, the western contemporary funeral industry, the medicalisation of death, western gender roles in death and bereavement, hygiene and contamination issues, ethnicity and cross cultural studies were discussed. These provided an international background against which this study made explicit the cultural differences of death practice and grief in tangihanga for Māori.
Cultural issues for Māori were then discussed in terms of grief, literature on tangihanga, research about Māori women, women and death, issues for Māori women researching Māori women, and where colonization placed Māori women in society. I then described the traditional procedural processes which were sequentially carried out upon the death of a person. I noted the existence of modern variations in death practice, particularly among urban-based Māori. The diverse situations in which we as modern Māori have found ourselves were discussed with some historical context, however it was noted that despite change and diversity, we continued to share many experiences. The perpetuation of tangihanga has been important to the resilience and survival of Māori culture.

The methodology was described, including interview development and recruitment of respondents. The interview experiences, analysis of information provided, and the development of theory and identifying themes were described. The rationale for exploring the backgrounds of the respondents in terms of whānau upbringing, cultural values, and cultural identification over time were discussed. Specific tangihanga were explored in depth as case studies, with analysis and discussion throughout each korero. Key themes in the respondents’ accounts were identified, of the grief and healing processes, examining culturally defined gender contributors to recovery. Social structures and support, ritual, spiritual beliefs and grief practices were described. Aspects of modern life or even tradition which hindered the healing process were identified, as was the impact of grief on the life respondents lead subsequently.

The findings of the research were next discussed. The narratives supported existing literature that the tangihanga was an effective forum for sharing and expression of grief, honouring and farewelling the deceased, and ensuring that members of whānau pani were supported, protected and nurtured by others. Attending tangihanga from childhood allowed respondents to enjoy a sense of belonging and comfort. Two respondents whose childhoods had featured acculturation, felt confusion about their roles and expectations but overcame these feelings when they later learned more about their culture. By adulthood each of the respondents was in a position to control and influence choices made for the tangihanga, thus enabling them to grieve fully.

In the final discussion my theoretical model was presented, limitations of the research discussed, and future research recommendations made.

text: I Muri i Te Ārai:  Ko Ngā Mōrehu Ka Toe: Healing processes in Tangihanga for Wāhine Māori This study involved a qualitative examination of the healing elements of tangihanga as described by eight female Māori respondents whose loss was not spousal but was dearly loved. Few substantive contemporary works on the subject of tangihanga experiences and processes existed (Nikora & Te Awekōtuku, 2013).

To contextualise, western society’s cultural death practices were explored from an interdisciplinary perspective. Literature on death and bereavement, the western contemporary funeral industry, the medicalisation of death, western gender roles in death and bereavement, hygiene and contamination issues, ethnicity and cross cultural studies were discussed. These provided an international background against which this study made explicit the cultural differences of death practice and grief in tangihanga for Māori.
Cultural issues for Māori were then discussed in terms of grief, literature on tangihanga, research about Māori women, women and death, issues for Māori women researching Māori women, and where colonization placed Māori women in society. I then described the traditional procedural processes which were sequentially carried out upon the death of a person. I noted the existence of modern variations in death practice, particularly among urban-based Māori. The diverse situations in which we as modern Māori have found ourselves were discussed with some historical context, however it was noted that despite change and diversity, we continued to share many experiences. The perpetuation of tangihanga has been important to the resilience and survival of Māori culture.

The methodology was described, including interview development and recruitment of respondents. The interview experiences, analysis of information provided, and the development of theory and identifying themes were described. The rationale for exploring the backgrounds of the respondents in terms of whānau upbringing, cultural values, and cultural identification over time were discussed. Specific tangihanga were explored in depth as case studies, with analysis and discussion throughout each korero. Key themes in the respondents’ accounts were identified, of the grief and healing processes, examining culturally defined gender contributors to recovery. Social structures and support, ritual, spiritual beliefs and grief practices were described. Aspects of modern life or even tradition which hindered the healing process were identified, as was the impact of grief on the life respondents lead subsequently.

The findings of the research were next discussed. The narratives supported existing literature that the tangihanga was an effective forum for sharing and expression of grief, honouring and farewelling the deceased, and ensuring that members of whānau pani were supported, protected and nurtured by others. Attending tangihanga from childhood allowed respondents to enjoy a sense of belonging and comfort. Two respondents whose childhoods had featured acculturation, felt confusion about their roles and expectations but overcame these feelings when they later learned more about their culture. By adulthood each of the respondents was in a position to control and influence choices made for the tangihanga, thus enabling them to grieve fully.

In the final discussion my theoretical model was presented, limitations of the research discussed, and future research recommendations made.

year: 2015