title: Digital Taniwha: Growing Māori participation in the IT industry

authors: Williams, Warren

subjects: Māori research

abstract: This study explores the influencing factors on the participation levels of Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) in the national IT industry. It particularly focusses on Māori IT professionals and why their participation in IT sector events and activities are not as visible as non-Māori. The researcher, who is also a Māori IT professional, has engaged with Māori in IT during his career, and forms the initial question of “where are they?”. The researcher proposes that more IT entrants and current IT professionals, who hold a Māori worldview grounded in cultural values that promote innovation and creativity, would benefit not only Māori but the IT industry and the nation. 

This thesis employs qualitative aligned research approaches - Kaupapa Māori and Wayfinding, to enable culturally appropriate methods during the data collection and analysis stages. It uses these approaches to support the inclusion of key cultural tenets such as Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and Māori values and practice. This research introduces the term “digital kaitiaki” to appropriately refer to Māori IT professionals. It collects data using appreciative inquiry and action research approaches and specific methods from semi-structured interviews held with digital kaitiaki; through focus groups with over 70 people; and records from action committees and working groups; to field observations of over 30 people. 

It examines the fieldwork data using thematic analysis and cross-checks the themes against influencing factors from the participant’s (including his own) personal and professional careers. The analysis identifies the following key themes: Māori identity and culture, feelings of personal and cultural responsibility, motivational forces, and role models. To respond to these, the study proposes a “Waka Kaitiaki Matihiko” model that connects with widely known Māori metaphors and symbols. It deploys these to inform and capture existing and potential future processes involving digital kaitiaki and to suggest how a culturally supported vehicle for Māori worldview engagement could encourage more Māori to enter IT and lend support for leadership roles for existing Māori IT workers.

To realise that potential, the study looks at leadership styles of the past to recognise what leadership is needed to increase contemporary Māori participation in the IT sector. It compares and contrasts leadership styles over time and constructs a new “digital taniwha” leadership style as fit for purpose for the challenge of growing Māori participation and for steering more Māori into leadership roles. Finally, by building on categories in the Blue Ocean Leadership grid and interweaving them with elements from existing Māori leadership literature, metaphors and symbols, and the findings from participants, it recommends a series of action-oriented interventions. These are designed to address the challenges identified in the key themes and feature governance and leadership programmes, as well as talent and career pathways, Te Reo Māori digital projects, tuakana/teina support and mentoring models, research into diversity representation (e.g., women and youth), and models designed to provide space to support the interventions proposed.

text: Digital Taniwha: Growing Māori participation in the IT industry This study explores the influencing factors on the participation levels of Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) in the national IT industry. It particularly focusses on Māori IT professionals and why their participation in IT sector events and activities are not as visible as non-Māori. The researcher, who is also a Māori IT professional, has engaged with Māori in IT during his career, and forms the initial question of “where are they?”. The researcher proposes that more IT entrants and current IT professionals, who hold a Māori worldview grounded in cultural values that promote innovation and creativity, would benefit not only Māori but the IT industry and the nation. 

This thesis employs qualitative aligned research approaches - Kaupapa Māori and Wayfinding, to enable culturally appropriate methods during the data collection and analysis stages. It uses these approaches to support the inclusion of key cultural tenets such as Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and Māori values and practice. This research introduces the term “digital kaitiaki” to appropriately refer to Māori IT professionals. It collects data using appreciative inquiry and action research approaches and specific methods from semi-structured interviews held with digital kaitiaki; through focus groups with over 70 people; and records from action committees and working groups; to field observations of over 30 people. 

It examines the fieldwork data using thematic analysis and cross-checks the themes against influencing factors from the participant’s (including his own) personal and professional careers. The analysis identifies the following key themes: Māori identity and culture, feelings of personal and cultural responsibility, motivational forces, and role models. To respond to these, the study proposes a “Waka Kaitiaki Matihiko” model that connects with widely known Māori metaphors and symbols. It deploys these to inform and capture existing and potential future processes involving digital kaitiaki and to suggest how a culturally supported vehicle for Māori worldview engagement could encourage more Māori to enter IT and lend support for leadership roles for existing Māori IT workers.

To realise that potential, the study looks at leadership styles of the past to recognise what leadership is needed to increase contemporary Māori participation in the IT sector. It compares and contrasts leadership styles over time and constructs a new “digital taniwha” leadership style as fit for purpose for the challenge of growing Māori participation and for steering more Māori into leadership roles. Finally, by building on categories in the Blue Ocean Leadership grid and interweaving them with elements from existing Māori leadership literature, metaphors and symbols, and the findings from participants, it recommends a series of action-oriented interventions. These are designed to address the challenges identified in the key themes and feature governance and leadership programmes, as well as talent and career pathways, Te Reo Māori digital projects, tuakana/teina support and mentoring models, research into diversity representation (e.g., women and youth), and models designed to provide space to support the interventions proposed.

year: 2020

title: Empowering Pacific and Māori students via Zoom

authors: Brown, Georgia

abstract: When discussing online teaching, a common refrain is that online teaching doesn’t suit Pacific and Māori students: they learn kanohi ki te kanohi. We present some experiences from students who attended a Zoom tutorial for Pacific students in 2023. These experiences show that a quality online learning experience is possible, and that Pacific and Māori students value and appreciate online options.

text: Empowering Pacific and Māori students via Zoom When discussing online teaching, a common refrain is that online teaching doesn’t suit Pacific and Māori students: they learn kanohi ki te kanohi. We present some experiences from students who attended a Zoom tutorial for Pacific students in 2023. These experiences show that a quality online learning experience is possible, and that Pacific and Māori students value and appreciate online options.

year: 2023

title: Carrying Capacity of Red-crowned Cranes in the National Yancheng Nature Reserve, Jiangsu, China

authors: Ke, Dong

subjects: Red-crowned Cranes

abstract: The coastal-zone wetland in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province is the largest winter habitat of the Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) in the world. The essential research question addressed in this paper is: What is the carrying capacity for Red-crowned Cranes in this habitat? Since water is ample in the salt marsh, the two vital limiting factors for the crane habitat are food and shelter. In this study, based upon crane numbers and their distribution during the winter of 2004-2005, the authors adopt the “Neu technique” to analyze habitat selection of Red-crowned Cranes to 8 types of tidal flat environments in the Yancheng Nature Reserve. Applying the “heat quantity method”, we find corn feed distributed by the nature reserve staff cannot support survival of wild cranes. Subsequently, using the “gravimetric method”, with the crane utilization of each habitat as a weighting, we estimate that total food supply in the nature reserve is far greater than required by the crane population in one winter season. This indicates that food supply is not a determining factor for this particular habitat selection. Moreover, from analysis of food selectivity it is evident that the preferred food comprises vegetal paddy chaff and supplemental corn feed, with natural vegetation occupying only a small proportion of their total food consumption. The spatial distribution of cranes was between 0.8-2.5 individuals per km2, so that an optimum habitat of 1000 km2 may contain 800-2500 cranes. Observations from the present study show that preferred spatial location has shrunk in the past 10 years toward a core area surrounded by a buffer area (641 km2 in all), so that potentially the entire nature reserve could support ~570-2000 cranes. In addition, some 500 cranes are contained within an artificial waterfowl lake. In total it appears that the carrying capacity of the Yancheng Nature Reserve is of order 2500-3000 cranes, and they prefer to roost in a coastal habitat of lower salinity where food supply is plentiful, and which is distant from human disturbance.

text: Carrying Capacity of Red-crowned Cranes in the National Yancheng Nature Reserve, Jiangsu, China The coastal-zone wetland in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province is the largest winter habitat of the Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) in the world. The essential research question addressed in this paper is: What is the carrying capacity for Red-crowned Cranes in this habitat? Since water is ample in the salt marsh, the two vital limiting factors for the crane habitat are food and shelter. In this study, based upon crane numbers and their distribution during the winter of 2004-2005, the authors adopt the “Neu technique” to analyze habitat selection of Red-crowned Cranes to 8 types of tidal flat environments in the Yancheng Nature Reserve. Applying the “heat quantity method”, we find corn feed distributed by the nature reserve staff cannot support survival of wild cranes. Subsequently, using the “gravimetric method”, with the crane utilization of each habitat as a weighting, we estimate that total food supply in the nature reserve is far greater than required by the crane population in one winter season. This indicates that food supply is not a determining factor for this particular habitat selection. Moreover, from analysis of food selectivity it is evident that the preferred food comprises vegetal paddy chaff and supplemental corn feed, with natural vegetation occupying only a small proportion of their total food consumption. The spatial distribution of cranes was between 0.8-2.5 individuals per km2, so that an optimum habitat of 1000 km2 may contain 800-2500 cranes. Observations from the present study show that preferred spatial location has shrunk in the past 10 years toward a core area surrounded by a buffer area (641 km2 in all), so that potentially the entire nature reserve could support ~570-2000 cranes. In addition, some 500 cranes are contained within an artificial waterfowl lake. In total it appears that the carrying capacity of the Yancheng Nature Reserve is of order 2500-3000 cranes, and they prefer to roost in a coastal habitat of lower salinity where food supply is plentiful, and which is distant from human disturbance.

year: 2009