title: Travel Writing, Self and Other: Finding Reciprocal Space

authors: Ullal, Kathleen

subjects: reciprocity

abstract: My thesis engages with the complex relationships between self and other as these are constructed in the travel writing of five authors: the early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft’s Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; the Victorian polymath William Morris’ Icelandic Journals; travel writer and historian Robert Byron’s The Road to Oxiana; and Nobel Prize for Literature recipients V. S. Naipaul’s An Area of Darkness and Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories and the City. The texts under consideration appeared respectively in 1796, 1873, 1937, 1964 and 2006: they therefore encompass a range of conceptions of the self and other. 
My examination of these authors’ works prompts a reconsideration of the Saidian self/Other binary, in search of a less polemical stance towards this socially constructed relationship. In problematising this binary, I adopt feminist and postcolonial perspectives and apply critical textual analysis. I posit, and find, that the self and other are mutually constitutive. I suggest this shift visually and textually by using self-other, rather than the more usual self/Other.
I find that these travel writers point to several ways in which the self/Other binary, cemented textually in place by Said’s Orientalism, is not fixed but rather is as unstable and shifting as each individual’s subjectivity. While power and knowledge are clearly contributory factors to that subjectivity, I show that these, too, are not fixed, but are rather shifting concepts variously influencing the shape of the self-other relationship, as are the notions of home which inflect these works. Writing itself clearly serves as a vivifying home of sorts for these writers and, crucially, as a means of remaking or refashioning the self.
I employ an interpretative process that compares and contrasts the departing with the returning self, as against the intercultural experiences encountered and the changes attendant on those experiences. I find that the self-other relationship can be more richly apprehended by interpellating a redefined notion of reciprocity, one removed from its usual (Western) signification as part of a straightforward exchange of commodity or service. This redefined notion of reciprocity sees value in difference in the social encounter, where difference is acknowledged but not subsumed. 
My research contributes to the dynamic nature of travel writing studies by exploring beyond prevailing theoretical co-ordinates. Overall, my findings – and redefining of terms – indicate that seeking out such reciprocal engagements in these authors’ travel writings is a fruitful expansion in the field of travel writing studies.

text: Travel Writing, Self and Other: Finding Reciprocal Space My thesis engages with the complex relationships between self and other as these are constructed in the travel writing of five authors: the early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft’s Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; the Victorian polymath William Morris’ Icelandic Journals; travel writer and historian Robert Byron’s The Road to Oxiana; and Nobel Prize for Literature recipients V. S. Naipaul’s An Area of Darkness and Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories and the City. The texts under consideration appeared respectively in 1796, 1873, 1937, 1964 and 2006: they therefore encompass a range of conceptions of the self and other. 
My examination of these authors’ works prompts a reconsideration of the Saidian self/Other binary, in search of a less polemical stance towards this socially constructed relationship. In problematising this binary, I adopt feminist and postcolonial perspectives and apply critical textual analysis. I posit, and find, that the self and other are mutually constitutive. I suggest this shift visually and textually by using self-other, rather than the more usual self/Other.
I find that these travel writers point to several ways in which the self/Other binary, cemented textually in place by Said’s Orientalism, is not fixed but rather is as unstable and shifting as each individual’s subjectivity. While power and knowledge are clearly contributory factors to that subjectivity, I show that these, too, are not fixed, but are rather shifting concepts variously influencing the shape of the self-other relationship, as are the notions of home which inflect these works. Writing itself clearly serves as a vivifying home of sorts for these writers and, crucially, as a means of remaking or refashioning the self.
I employ an interpretative process that compares and contrasts the departing with the returning self, as against the intercultural experiences encountered and the changes attendant on those experiences. I find that the self-other relationship can be more richly apprehended by interpellating a redefined notion of reciprocity, one removed from its usual (Western) signification as part of a straightforward exchange of commodity or service. This redefined notion of reciprocity sees value in difference in the social encounter, where difference is acknowledged but not subsumed. 
My research contributes to the dynamic nature of travel writing studies by exploring beyond prevailing theoretical co-ordinates. Overall, my findings – and redefining of terms – indicate that seeking out such reciprocal engagements in these authors’ travel writings is a fruitful expansion in the field of travel writing studies.

year: 2017

title: Is there a match between the Education Review Office's identification of concerns and the Ministry of Education's Statutory Intervention in schools on Supplementary Review in specific case studies?

authors: Manion, Cynthia

subjects: Statutory Intervention

abstract: Abstract

In New Zealand's compulsory education sector quality assurance is undertaken by the Education Review Office (ERO). When a school is found to be less effective than is acceptable through the triennial review process, ERO may return to review that school within six or twelve months. This Supplementary Review is identified to the Ministry of Education (MOE) which has several levels of intervention at its disposal which can be employed singularly or in concert to improve the school.

Despite the support and interventions funded and/or managed by MOE, some schools have consecutive Supplementary Reviews and some remain under Statutory Intervention for several years. Commonalities among these schools that repeatedly or consistently present as 'at risk'  may indicate a need for greater or different support or intervention. Self managing schools, while effective for many schools, may not be a workable and sustainable proposition for others. This may well be particularly true for those schools identified as 'at risk'.

This paper considers ERO's process to identify schools 'at risk' and subsequent interventions employed by MOE to support the Principal and Board of Trustees in addressing improvements required within the school. Statistics and document analysis were used to extract data from documents with findings presented as a series of tables. It seeks a match between what is identified by ERO and the Statutory Intervention engaged by MOE. It explores the commonalities of schools under Statutory Intervention and on Supplementary Review. Practice in other countries is also considered in an effort to understand and contextualise the ideas and beliefs that support these approaches. 
 
While there is evidence ERO identifies teacher and Principal performance as major areas of concern, lead issues for Statutory Interventions in the same schools focus on the performance of the Board of Trustees as those with the responsibility of governing the school. The focus on governance to improve school performance is not working for some schools, more or different support may be necessary to effect positive change. The balance between capacity building, incentives and accountability for all involved in schools with Statutory Interventions, appears necessary for those with the capacity to improve.

text: Is there a match between the Education Review Office's identification of concerns and the Ministry of Education's Statutory Intervention in schools on Supplementary Review in specific case studies? Abstract

In New Zealand's compulsory education sector quality assurance is undertaken by the Education Review Office (ERO). When a school is found to be less effective than is acceptable through the triennial review process, ERO may return to review that school within six or twelve months. This Supplementary Review is identified to the Ministry of Education (MOE) which has several levels of intervention at its disposal which can be employed singularly or in concert to improve the school.

Despite the support and interventions funded and/or managed by MOE, some schools have consecutive Supplementary Reviews and some remain under Statutory Intervention for several years. Commonalities among these schools that repeatedly or consistently present as 'at risk'  may indicate a need for greater or different support or intervention. Self managing schools, while effective for many schools, may not be a workable and sustainable proposition for others. This may well be particularly true for those schools identified as 'at risk'.

This paper considers ERO's process to identify schools 'at risk' and subsequent interventions employed by MOE to support the Principal and Board of Trustees in addressing improvements required within the school. Statistics and document analysis were used to extract data from documents with findings presented as a series of tables. It seeks a match between what is identified by ERO and the Statutory Intervention engaged by MOE. It explores the commonalities of schools under Statutory Intervention and on Supplementary Review. Practice in other countries is also considered in an effort to understand and contextualise the ideas and beliefs that support these approaches. 
 
While there is evidence ERO identifies teacher and Principal performance as major areas of concern, lead issues for Statutory Interventions in the same schools focus on the performance of the Board of Trustees as those with the responsibility of governing the school. The focus on governance to improve school performance is not working for some schools, more or different support may be necessary to effect positive change. The balance between capacity building, incentives and accountability for all involved in schools with Statutory Interventions, appears necessary for those with the capacity to improve.

year: 2008

title: Pani me te rawakore: Home-making and Maori homelessness without hope or a home

authors: Groot, Shiloh Ann Maree

subjects: Social Science

abstract: The authors draw from interviews with Maori homeless people and relevant local and international literature to show homemaking practices by Maori for those living on the streets. The proposition is that Maori cultural practices shape a person's efforts to retain a positive sense of self and place, and to engage in home-making while dwelling on the streets. We consider colonialism and societal, developments that have impacted whanau (extended family) economically, culturally and socially, contributing to high rates of homelessness among Maori today. We argue that homelessness is endemic to experiences of colonialism, not only at the personal, but also at the iwi (tribe) level where many Maori have experienced over 150 years of being rendered out of place in their hau kainga (tribal homelands). Finally, we present a case study entitled 'Maia' to show common aspects of various Maori people who are homeless and who access services in Auckland.

text: Pani me te rawakore: Home-making and Maori homelessness without hope or a home The authors draw from interviews with Maori homeless people and relevant local and international literature to show homemaking practices by Maori for those living on the streets. The proposition is that Maori cultural practices shape a person's efforts to retain a positive sense of self and place, and to engage in home-making while dwelling on the streets. We consider colonialism and societal, developments that have impacted whanau (extended family) economically, culturally and socially, contributing to high rates of homelessness among Maori today. We argue that homelessness is endemic to experiences of colonialism, not only at the personal, but also at the iwi (tribe) level where many Maori have experienced over 150 years of being rendered out of place in their hau kainga (tribal homelands). Finally, we present a case study entitled 'Maia' to show common aspects of various Maori people who are homeless and who access services in Auckland.

year: 2015