title: Puna

authors: Apiata, Hāwea

abstract: Bilingual poem for issue 11 of Mayhem Literary Journal.

text: Puna Bilingual poem for issue 11 of Mayhem Literary Journal.

year: 2024-09-26

title: New stories of identity: Alternatives to suspension and exclusion from school

authors: McMenamin, Donald

subjects: School suspension

abstract: School suspension and exclusion practices are currently under the spotlight. Many schools go to great lengths before employing these disciplinary options. However even in the midst of practices of care for young people, very little attention is paid to the discursive conditions in which exclusion and suspension arise. In this thesis I theorise and research an alternative response to suspension and exclusion. I engage in post-structuralist discursive analysis to propose that young peoples’ actions, including unacceptable behaviours, are not so much evidence of a personality to be fixed, managed or disciplined, as they are the effect of prevailing discourses about how young people ought to act. Calling on narrative therapy practice I then propose that young people’s discursively shaped identity stories and reputations can be re-authored within communities of care. Such re-authoring produces a range of changes including in a young person’s actions at school.
In this study I use case examples from two New Zealand schools to demonstrate how prevailing discourses shape the language and responses of participants at times which may lead to suspension or exclusion from school being considered. I explore how the development of alternative identity stories and reputations for young people can lead to significant changes in young peoples’ actions and those of their teachers at school. To achieve this I analyse interview transcripts and school records concerning a situation which led to a suspension. I highlight the presence and effect of prevailing discourses (discursive analysis), and the way participants’ words intend a desired effect (performative language) and draw on familiar stories to enhance desired effect (intertextuality). In this thesis I offer a critique of rationalist interpretations of young peoples’ actions, and explore alternative discursive and narrative models of interpreting and responding to young peoples’ actions.
My research findings highlight: the effectiveness of discursive awareness and re-authoring as a response to young people at times of suspension and exclusion being considered; the need for on-going support for emerging alternative reputations; the need for cultural safety and awareness in providing a place for Pakeha researchers to work effectively with Māori young people and communities; and the need for discursive and narrative practices to be offered in dialogue with schools’ particular ethical purposes. I argue that the practices I research in this thesis offer a way for schools to further reduce the use of suspensions and exclusions at school.

text: New stories of identity: Alternatives to suspension and exclusion from school School suspension and exclusion practices are currently under the spotlight. Many schools go to great lengths before employing these disciplinary options. However even in the midst of practices of care for young people, very little attention is paid to the discursive conditions in which exclusion and suspension arise. In this thesis I theorise and research an alternative response to suspension and exclusion. I engage in post-structuralist discursive analysis to propose that young peoples’ actions, including unacceptable behaviours, are not so much evidence of a personality to be fixed, managed or disciplined, as they are the effect of prevailing discourses about how young people ought to act. Calling on narrative therapy practice I then propose that young people’s discursively shaped identity stories and reputations can be re-authored within communities of care. Such re-authoring produces a range of changes including in a young person’s actions at school.
In this study I use case examples from two New Zealand schools to demonstrate how prevailing discourses shape the language and responses of participants at times which may lead to suspension or exclusion from school being considered. I explore how the development of alternative identity stories and reputations for young people can lead to significant changes in young peoples’ actions and those of their teachers at school. To achieve this I analyse interview transcripts and school records concerning a situation which led to a suspension. I highlight the presence and effect of prevailing discourses (discursive analysis), and the way participants’ words intend a desired effect (performative language) and draw on familiar stories to enhance desired effect (intertextuality). In this thesis I offer a critique of rationalist interpretations of young peoples’ actions, and explore alternative discursive and narrative models of interpreting and responding to young peoples’ actions.
My research findings highlight: the effectiveness of discursive awareness and re-authoring as a response to young people at times of suspension and exclusion being considered; the need for on-going support for emerging alternative reputations; the need for cultural safety and awareness in providing a place for Pakeha researchers to work effectively with Māori young people and communities; and the need for discursive and narrative practices to be offered in dialogue with schools’ particular ethical purposes. I argue that the practices I research in this thesis offer a way for schools to further reduce the use of suspensions and exclusions at school.

year: 2014

title: A Kind of Magic: Identifying and Analysing Queen's Idiolect, 1973-1980

authors: Braae, Nicholas

subjects: Popular Music

abstract: ‘A Kind of Magic’ is a musicological study of the British band Queen’s output between 1973 and 1980. The research analyses 90 songs across eight studio albums, and covers the era during which Queen emerged as one of the most successful acts in popular music. The analysis identifies the ‘idiolect’ of Queen—the musical traits that characterised and distinguished the group’s songs. I also contextualise Queen’s idiolect within wider stylistic contexts of the 1970s, and examine the changes in Queen’s music through these years.

The dissertation divides into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the scope of the analysis, and my contribution to the analytical literature. Chapter 2 outlines trends in popular music analysis over the past two decades, accounts for Queen’s minimal presence in this discipline, and discusses prior studies of the group. The final sections of Chapter 2 address the key analytical concepts of style, idiolect, sonic patterns, and compositional strategies. Chapter 3 outlines the analytical methods employed on each of the 90 songs. The methodology covers nine elements of Queen’s songs. The individual methods are drawn from traditional musicology and contemporary popular music analysis.

Chapter 4 presents the analytical findings concerning the structural components of Queen’s songs. Chapter 5 presents the analytical findings concerning the performance, arrangement, and production components of the group’s output. These chapters thus document all the individual musical ingredients of Queen’s idiolect. Chapter 6 synthesises these findings into three analytical contexts: the nature of Queen’s idiolect, the relationship between Queen’s idiolect and wider stylistic trends, and the changes in Queen’s idiolect and style between 1973-80. Chapter 7 closes the thesis with a practical application of the findings, a summary of the findings, and suggestions for future research on Queen.

The research makes three important contributions to the literature on popular music analysis and Queen. Firstly, the thesis expands upon the notion of an idiolect, by drawing a distinction between ‘compositional strategies’ and ‘sonic patterns’, both of which contribute to an artist’s idiolect but in different ways. The former refers to common musical traits articulated differently across songs; the latter refers to common musical traits articulated in the same way across songs. In the context of Queen, the structural elements of the group’s songs are best understood in terms of compositional strategies, whereas the instrumental, arrangement, and production techniques are best understood in terms of sonic patterns.

Secondly, the analysis highlights in rich detail the stylistic influences on Queen’s output. It is demonstrated that the group’s songs were infused with features from various contemporary styles, including hard rock, progressive rock, and glam rock, as well as pre-1970s popular styles such as cabaret, 1960s pop, and 1930s American popular music. Thirdly, this thesis develops a new model for understanding changes in Queen’s music over time. Through the 1970s, Queen traversed many musical styles. At each point, however, the group retained its idiolect. Queen’s career can thus be understood in terms of an ‘expedition’ narrative, whereby each step into new stylistic territory was marked by the group’s idiolect.

text: A Kind of Magic: Identifying and Analysing Queen's Idiolect, 1973-1980 ‘A Kind of Magic’ is a musicological study of the British band Queen’s output between 1973 and 1980. The research analyses 90 songs across eight studio albums, and covers the era during which Queen emerged as one of the most successful acts in popular music. The analysis identifies the ‘idiolect’ of Queen—the musical traits that characterised and distinguished the group’s songs. I also contextualise Queen’s idiolect within wider stylistic contexts of the 1970s, and examine the changes in Queen’s music through these years.

The dissertation divides into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the scope of the analysis, and my contribution to the analytical literature. Chapter 2 outlines trends in popular music analysis over the past two decades, accounts for Queen’s minimal presence in this discipline, and discusses prior studies of the group. The final sections of Chapter 2 address the key analytical concepts of style, idiolect, sonic patterns, and compositional strategies. Chapter 3 outlines the analytical methods employed on each of the 90 songs. The methodology covers nine elements of Queen’s songs. The individual methods are drawn from traditional musicology and contemporary popular music analysis.

Chapter 4 presents the analytical findings concerning the structural components of Queen’s songs. Chapter 5 presents the analytical findings concerning the performance, arrangement, and production components of the group’s output. These chapters thus document all the individual musical ingredients of Queen’s idiolect. Chapter 6 synthesises these findings into three analytical contexts: the nature of Queen’s idiolect, the relationship between Queen’s idiolect and wider stylistic trends, and the changes in Queen’s idiolect and style between 1973-80. Chapter 7 closes the thesis with a practical application of the findings, a summary of the findings, and suggestions for future research on Queen.

The research makes three important contributions to the literature on popular music analysis and Queen. Firstly, the thesis expands upon the notion of an idiolect, by drawing a distinction between ‘compositional strategies’ and ‘sonic patterns’, both of which contribute to an artist’s idiolect but in different ways. The former refers to common musical traits articulated differently across songs; the latter refers to common musical traits articulated in the same way across songs. In the context of Queen, the structural elements of the group’s songs are best understood in terms of compositional strategies, whereas the instrumental, arrangement, and production techniques are best understood in terms of sonic patterns.

Secondly, the analysis highlights in rich detail the stylistic influences on Queen’s output. It is demonstrated that the group’s songs were infused with features from various contemporary styles, including hard rock, progressive rock, and glam rock, as well as pre-1970s popular styles such as cabaret, 1960s pop, and 1930s American popular music. Thirdly, this thesis develops a new model for understanding changes in Queen’s music over time. Through the 1970s, Queen traversed many musical styles. At each point, however, the group retained its idiolect. Queen’s career can thus be understood in terms of an ‘expedition’ narrative, whereby each step into new stylistic territory was marked by the group’s idiolect.

year: 2016