title: Spirituality and spiritual changes in people living with dying

authors: Du Toit, Deidre

subjects: Spirituality

abstract: This study investigated spirituality and the spiritual changes people living with dying may experience. The study was based on a phenomenological perspective where the centrality of the participant’s personal worldview and experiences was highlighted. Data was gathered through open and semi-structured interviews with three participant groups: health care professionals working in palliative care and hospices, people who had experienced a serious or life-limiting health condition, and the caregivers of terminally ill patients. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The findings showed a diversity of spiritual understandings and suggested that participants understood neither religion nor spirituality in exactly the same manner. The analysis revealed that some participants used religion to describe their understandings of spirituality. Some participants regarded the terms ‘spiritual’ and ‘religious’ as synonymous while for others the terms were conceptually independent. Participants used a variety of definitions to describe spirituality. These primarily involved regarding spirituality as a belief in a God or a higher being, or as a relationship with or connection to a God or higher being. Participants also viewed spirituality either in terms of the human spirit or soul and its continued existence into an afterlife, or in terms of mysterious events and the paranormal. Findings further revealed that many people living with dying described periods of gradual spiritual growth, or sudden and unexpected spiritual transformation: however, not all people reported spiritual changes. These findings imply that people may have a dominant spiritual perspective through which they understand experiences. Identification of these perspectives in clinical settings may make it possible to tailor spiritual support resources according to individual spiritual perspectives. However, further exploration of the different spiritual perspectives is suggested as different groups may have different spiritual needs.

text: Spirituality and spiritual changes in people living with dying This study investigated spirituality and the spiritual changes people living with dying may experience. The study was based on a phenomenological perspective where the centrality of the participant’s personal worldview and experiences was highlighted. Data was gathered through open and semi-structured interviews with three participant groups: health care professionals working in palliative care and hospices, people who had experienced a serious or life-limiting health condition, and the caregivers of terminally ill patients. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The findings showed a diversity of spiritual understandings and suggested that participants understood neither religion nor spirituality in exactly the same manner. The analysis revealed that some participants used religion to describe their understandings of spirituality. Some participants regarded the terms ‘spiritual’ and ‘religious’ as synonymous while for others the terms were conceptually independent. Participants used a variety of definitions to describe spirituality. These primarily involved regarding spirituality as a belief in a God or a higher being, or as a relationship with or connection to a God or higher being. Participants also viewed spirituality either in terms of the human spirit or soul and its continued existence into an afterlife, or in terms of mysterious events and the paranormal. Findings further revealed that many people living with dying described periods of gradual spiritual growth, or sudden and unexpected spiritual transformation: however, not all people reported spiritual changes. These findings imply that people may have a dominant spiritual perspective through which they understand experiences. Identification of these perspectives in clinical settings may make it possible to tailor spiritual support resources according to individual spiritual perspectives. However, further exploration of the different spiritual perspectives is suggested as different groups may have different spiritual needs.

year: 2014

title: Identifying and classifying broader scale of disaster impacts to better inform disaster management policies and practice

authors: Tennakoon, Kishani

abstract: Disasters are often assessed by factors such as their magnitude, severity and impact on affected communities. Typically, disaster management policies are largely informed by learnings from large-scale disasters. Many studies, however, have shown that cumulative smaller scale disaster impacts have similar outcomes comparable to larger scale disasters. This indirectly contributes to a lack of consistency in and paucity of data related to both smaller-scale disasters and their associated cumulative impacts. This paper argues that greater attention needs to be paid to collecting disaster impact data on a range of disaster-scale events along with their cumulative impacts to better inform disaster management policies and practice. The paper aims to test the hypothesis that a better understanding of a wide range of disaster scale types and their impacts on communities, including small-scale disasters, enables the development of more just, consistent and equitable disaster management policies and practice. Analysing economic costs, evacuation and rainfall data from past flood events that affected Aotearoa-New Zealand over the last three decades, the paper found discrepancies and lack of coherence in disaster data collection and reporting, along with a predominant reliance on rainfall intensity data for disaster risk reduction and planning. The findings also confirmed the importance of identifying economic damages for a range of disaster scales, including those from small-scale disasters. This highlights the need for developing a spectrum to better classify and identify disaster impacts based on various spatial and temporal contexts. The paper concludes by affirming that such database would provide much needed evidence for developing a methodology that enables the identification of the level of disaster impacts; thereby guiding the implementation of more just, consistent and equitable disaster management policies and practice.

text: Identifying and classifying broader scale of disaster impacts to better inform disaster management policies and practice Disasters are often assessed by factors such as their magnitude, severity and impact on affected communities. Typically, disaster management policies are largely informed by learnings from large-scale disasters. Many studies, however, have shown that cumulative smaller scale disaster impacts have similar outcomes comparable to larger scale disasters. This indirectly contributes to a lack of consistency in and paucity of data related to both smaller-scale disasters and their associated cumulative impacts. This paper argues that greater attention needs to be paid to collecting disaster impact data on a range of disaster-scale events along with their cumulative impacts to better inform disaster management policies and practice. The paper aims to test the hypothesis that a better understanding of a wide range of disaster scale types and their impacts on communities, including small-scale disasters, enables the development of more just, consistent and equitable disaster management policies and practice. Analysing economic costs, evacuation and rainfall data from past flood events that affected Aotearoa-New Zealand over the last three decades, the paper found discrepancies and lack of coherence in disaster data collection and reporting, along with a predominant reliance on rainfall intensity data for disaster risk reduction and planning. The findings also confirmed the importance of identifying economic damages for a range of disaster scales, including those from small-scale disasters. This highlights the need for developing a spectrum to better classify and identify disaster impacts based on various spatial and temporal contexts. The paper concludes by affirming that such database would provide much needed evidence for developing a methodology that enables the identification of the level of disaster impacts; thereby guiding the implementation of more just, consistent and equitable disaster management policies and practice.

year: 2024

title: Rewi Mokena: youngest son of Mokena Hou

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: The youngest child of Mokena Hou, Rewi Mokena moved from place to place when young, finally settling permanently at Te Aroha. Having received some education, he was fluent in English. Like the typical rangatira of the time, he acquired interests in several blocks of land, obtained income from these in the short term, but because of financial difficulties was brought before the court several times. 
His involvement in gold mining started in a small way in 1875. Five years later, he would assist Hone Werahiko to prospect Te Aroha – and to fend off inquisitive Pakeha. He invested in claims in all of the three areas where gold was found.
By the twentieth century, Rewi was the most important rangatira at Te Aroha, and had wider influence, assisting the King Movement to seek redress for lost land. From a young age he participated in Pakeha society, notably as a rugby player, and became a prominent Mormon. His complicated private life, including bigamy and a wife’s attempted suicide because of his adultery, did not lower his high standing in Maori society nor damage his popularity with Pakeha.

text: Rewi Mokena: youngest son of Mokena Hou The youngest child of Mokena Hou, Rewi Mokena moved from place to place when young, finally settling permanently at Te Aroha. Having received some education, he was fluent in English. Like the typical rangatira of the time, he acquired interests in several blocks of land, obtained income from these in the short term, but because of financial difficulties was brought before the court several times. 
His involvement in gold mining started in a small way in 1875. Five years later, he would assist Hone Werahiko to prospect Te Aroha – and to fend off inquisitive Pakeha. He invested in claims in all of the three areas where gold was found.
By the twentieth century, Rewi was the most important rangatira at Te Aroha, and had wider influence, assisting the King Movement to seek redress for lost land. From a young age he participated in Pakeha society, notably as a rugby player, and became a prominent Mormon. His complicated private life, including bigamy and a wife’s attempted suicide because of his adultery, did not lower his high standing in Maori society nor damage his popularity with Pakeha.

year: 2016