title: Of Drums and Gods: 'Tradition' and Christianity in Oksapmin Church Soundscapes

authors: Macdonald, Fraser

abstract: Based on ethnography undertaken since 2008, this paper seeks to interrogate and probelmatise the relationship between aesthetic form and conceptual meaning within the mainly Baptist church services of the Oksapmin, a group of principally subsistence gardeners living in the mountainous headwaters of the Fly and Sepik Rivers near the Indonesian border, a region home to the Min people known through the work of Barth (1975, 1987), Robbins (2004), Crook (2007) and others. The most striking aspect of these services is their regular employment of walon (wooden hand drums), tiambel (luminescent shells for personal adornment), as well as the plumage of various bird species, again for aesthetic appeal. The paper resists the analytical temptation to treat the use of these instruments and adornments as merely the continuation of indigenous form imbued with a new Christian meaning, thereby becoming mired in the binary of traditional vs Christian culture, and instead seeks to develop a new vocabulary for describing synthetic religious forms such as these that are more in line with the perspectives of the Oksapmin people themselves. Exploratory and experimental in nature, then, the paper moves toward an ontologically nuanced approach with recursive dimensions.

text: Of Drums and Gods: 'Tradition' and Christianity in Oksapmin Church Soundscapes Based on ethnography undertaken since 2008, this paper seeks to interrogate and probelmatise the relationship between aesthetic form and conceptual meaning within the mainly Baptist church services of the Oksapmin, a group of principally subsistence gardeners living in the mountainous headwaters of the Fly and Sepik Rivers near the Indonesian border, a region home to the Min people known through the work of Barth (1975, 1987), Robbins (2004), Crook (2007) and others. The most striking aspect of these services is their regular employment of walon (wooden hand drums), tiambel (luminescent shells for personal adornment), as well as the plumage of various bird species, again for aesthetic appeal. The paper resists the analytical temptation to treat the use of these instruments and adornments as merely the continuation of indigenous form imbued with a new Christian meaning, thereby becoming mired in the binary of traditional vs Christian culture, and instead seeks to develop a new vocabulary for describing synthetic religious forms such as these that are more in line with the perspectives of the Oksapmin people themselves. Exploratory and experimental in nature, then, the paper moves toward an ontologically nuanced approach with recursive dimensions.

year: 2017

title: Sleep and stress hormone responses to training and competition in elite female athletes

authors: O'Donnell, Shannon Lea

abstract: Stress hormone and sleep differences in a competition versus training setting are yet to be evaluated in elite female team-sport athletes. The aim of the current study was to evaluate salivary cortisol and perceptual stress markers during competition and training and to determine the subsequent effects on sleep indices in elite female athletes. Ten elite female netball athletes (mean ± SD; age: 23 ± 6 years) had their sleep monitored on three occasions; following one netball competition match (MATCH), one netball match simulation session (TRAIN), and one rest day (CONTROL). Perceived stress values and salivary cortisol were collected immediately pre- (17:15 pm) and post-session (19:30 pm), and at 22:00 pm. Sleep monitoring was performed using wrist actigraphy assessing total time in bed, total sleep time (TST), efficiency (SE%), latency, sleep onset time and wake time. Cortisol levels were significantly higher (p < .01) immediately post MATCH compared with TRAIN and CONTROL (mean ± SD; 0.700 ± 0.165, 0.178 ± 0.127 and 0.157 ± 0.178 μg/dL, respectively) and at 22:00 pm (0.155 ± 0.062, 0.077 ± 0.063, and 0.089 ± 0.083 μg/dL, respectively). There was a significant reduction in TST (−118 ± 112 min, p < .01) and SE (−7.7 ± 8.5%, p < .05) following MATCH vs. TRAIN. Salivary cortisol levels were significantly higher, and sleep quantity and quality were significantly reduced, following competition when compared to training and rest days.

text: Sleep and stress hormone responses to training and competition in elite female athletes Stress hormone and sleep differences in a competition versus training setting are yet to be evaluated in elite female team-sport athletes. The aim of the current study was to evaluate salivary cortisol and perceptual stress markers during competition and training and to determine the subsequent effects on sleep indices in elite female athletes. Ten elite female netball athletes (mean ± SD; age: 23 ± 6 years) had their sleep monitored on three occasions; following one netball competition match (MATCH), one netball match simulation session (TRAIN), and one rest day (CONTROL). Perceived stress values and salivary cortisol were collected immediately pre- (17:15 pm) and post-session (19:30 pm), and at 22:00 pm. Sleep monitoring was performed using wrist actigraphy assessing total time in bed, total sleep time (TST), efficiency (SE%), latency, sleep onset time and wake time. Cortisol levels were significantly higher (p < .01) immediately post MATCH compared with TRAIN and CONTROL (mean ± SD; 0.700 ± 0.165, 0.178 ± 0.127 and 0.157 ± 0.178 μg/dL, respectively) and at 22:00 pm (0.155 ± 0.062, 0.077 ± 0.063, and 0.089 ± 0.083 μg/dL, respectively). There was a significant reduction in TST (−118 ± 112 min, p < .01) and SE (−7.7 ± 8.5%, p < .05) following MATCH vs. TRAIN. Salivary cortisol levels were significantly higher, and sleep quantity and quality were significantly reduced, following competition when compared to training and rest days.

year: 2018

title: Understanding cultural relationships: Whānau, whanaungatanga and Māori student attainment of university entrance in a mainstream secondary school in Aotearoa, New Zealand

authors: McGill, Kristin

subjects: Cultural relationships

abstract: This study seeks to understand the importance of cultural relationships in supporting Māori student achievement of University Entrance.  This research is based on the stories of five female ākonga Māori, all of whom completed five years of secondary education, and their whānau.  It looks deeply into their relational experiences of whanaungatanga and whānautanga with their school, and the impact this had on their academic achievement of NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance. 

The results highlight the importance of culturally grounded transformative praxis and the risk of attempting to incorporate culturally located principles such as whānau and whanaungatanga into a schooling context, while still operating within historical hegemonic frameworks.

text: Understanding cultural relationships: Whānau, whanaungatanga and Māori student attainment of university entrance in a mainstream secondary school in Aotearoa, New Zealand This study seeks to understand the importance of cultural relationships in supporting Māori student achievement of University Entrance.  This research is based on the stories of five female ākonga Māori, all of whom completed five years of secondary education, and their whānau.  It looks deeply into their relational experiences of whanaungatanga and whānautanga with their school, and the impact this had on their academic achievement of NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance. 

The results highlight the importance of culturally grounded transformative praxis and the risk of attempting to incorporate culturally located principles such as whānau and whanaungatanga into a schooling context, while still operating within historical hegemonic frameworks.

year: 2023