title: An Ethnographic Exploration of Gender Experiences of a New Zealand Surf Culture

authors: Corner, Sarah Britt

subjects: Ethnography

abstract: This thesis is an ethnographic exploration of gender experiences in a New Zealand surf culture. I employed the methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to accumulate in-depth and descriptive qualitative data from the men and women who surf in the community of Raglan. I was especially interested in the rules surrounding the act of lining up - a systematic etiquette used to queue for waves. I inquired about surfers' struggles when lining up to deepen my understanding of the cultural behaviour of surfing and to help reveal implicit rules underpinning surf etiquette. As a female surfer, I was especially interested to understand the gender-relations between men and women in the waters in which I participated in. I discovered that subtle rules pertain to different groups of surfers and group emerged based on 'other' surfer characteristics. Although gender surfaced as a characteristic way of sorting surfers into groups, gender did not stand out more critical than others revealed throughout the research process. What was evident throughout the research was that men and women experience more commonalities in their surfing experiences than differences. Therefore, this research shows how the waves become a contested spaces for surfers and how surf culture serves as a site for resistance to gendered identities in contemporary Western society.

text: An Ethnographic Exploration of Gender Experiences of a New Zealand Surf Culture This thesis is an ethnographic exploration of gender experiences in a New Zealand surf culture. I employed the methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to accumulate in-depth and descriptive qualitative data from the men and women who surf in the community of Raglan. I was especially interested in the rules surrounding the act of lining up - a systematic etiquette used to queue for waves. I inquired about surfers' struggles when lining up to deepen my understanding of the cultural behaviour of surfing and to help reveal implicit rules underpinning surf etiquette. As a female surfer, I was especially interested to understand the gender-relations between men and women in the waters in which I participated in. I discovered that subtle rules pertain to different groups of surfers and group emerged based on 'other' surfer characteristics. Although gender surfaced as a characteristic way of sorting surfers into groups, gender did not stand out more critical than others revealed throughout the research process. What was evident throughout the research was that men and women experience more commonalities in their surfing experiences than differences. Therefore, this research shows how the waves become a contested spaces for surfers and how surf culture serves as a site for resistance to gendered identities in contemporary Western society.

year: 2008

title: Changes in frequency of seizure-like events in stimulated cortical slices

authors: Mason, J.

subjects: electrical stimulation

abstract: Epilepsy affects nearly 3 million people in the United States alone. Given the fact that many people suffer from seizures that are intractable to pharmacological intervention, research groups are investigating the use of electrical stimulation to interact with and ameliorate symptoms of epileptic seizures. In mouse cortical slices made seizuregenic through chemical means, we applied precision controlled current pulses and measured local field potentials through a four point probe system to investigate the response of seizing tissue to electrical stimulation. We have determined that the frequency of the spontaneous seizure-like events may be modified by low amplitude, current controlled stimulation (0.5 μA). Differently from previously thought, this change in frequency is however not accompanied by any alteration of the tissue permittivity or conductivity during the inter-seizure interval.

text: Changes in frequency of seizure-like events in stimulated cortical slices Epilepsy affects nearly 3 million people in the United States alone. Given the fact that many people suffer from seizures that are intractable to pharmacological intervention, research groups are investigating the use of electrical stimulation to interact with and ameliorate symptoms of epileptic seizures. In mouse cortical slices made seizuregenic through chemical means, we applied precision controlled current pulses and measured local field potentials through a four point probe system to investigate the response of seizing tissue to electrical stimulation. We have determined that the frequency of the spontaneous seizure-like events may be modified by low amplitude, current controlled stimulation (0.5 μA). Differently from previously thought, this change in frequency is however not accompanied by any alteration of the tissue permittivity or conductivity during the inter-seizure interval.

year: 2010

title: Stigmatising gang narratives, housing, and the social policing of Māori women

authors: Lewis, Cassandra Louise Terauhina

subjects: Gang narratives

abstract: It is well established that negative stigmas are used to dehumanise and to limit, restrict, and deny assistance to poor and racially marginalised populations, especially single mothers. While scholars have examined racial social control with regard to gangs, how the stigma of gang affiliation influences access to quality housing has been scantly examined in New Zealand. Employing discourse analysis to examine parliamentary speeches regarding the Organised Crime Bill and Residential Tenancy Amendment Bill (2009–2018), this project explores how gangs are framed in housing-related political discourse. Findings reveal that language used by policymakers constructs gangs as being associated largely with Māori through three main tactics: referencing ‘ethnic’ gangs as the only entity/focus of organised crime; omitting Pākehā/White gangs and white-collar crime; and identifying areas/towns with high Māori populations as in need of targeted social control. Such framing strategies fashioned a criminalising narrative around Māori as gang members and as inherently violent that permeates housing-related political rhetoric used to frame ‘bad’ or ‘undesirable’ tenants enabling policymakers to stigmatise Māori as the ‘criminal other’. This motif carries severe implications with regard to life chances of Māori women, especially as it relates to housing screening practices and the ability to secure social housing.

text: Stigmatising gang narratives, housing, and the social policing of Māori women It is well established that negative stigmas are used to dehumanise and to limit, restrict, and deny assistance to poor and racially marginalised populations, especially single mothers. While scholars have examined racial social control with regard to gangs, how the stigma of gang affiliation influences access to quality housing has been scantly examined in New Zealand. Employing discourse analysis to examine parliamentary speeches regarding the Organised Crime Bill and Residential Tenancy Amendment Bill (2009–2018), this project explores how gangs are framed in housing-related political discourse. Findings reveal that language used by policymakers constructs gangs as being associated largely with Māori through three main tactics: referencing ‘ethnic’ gangs as the only entity/focus of organised crime; omitting Pākehā/White gangs and white-collar crime; and identifying areas/towns with high Māori populations as in need of targeted social control. Such framing strategies fashioned a criminalising narrative around Māori as gang members and as inherently violent that permeates housing-related political rhetoric used to frame ‘bad’ or ‘undesirable’ tenants enabling policymakers to stigmatise Māori as the ‘criminal other’. This motif carries severe implications with regard to life chances of Māori women, especially as it relates to housing screening practices and the ability to secure social housing.

year: 2020