title: Ka hao te rangatahi: Exploring school and work pathways for rangatahi Māori / Youth  growing up within gang space in Aotearoa

authors: Maihi, Bonnie

subjects: Rangatahi

abstract: This thesis explores the experiences of rangatahi Māori growing up in gang environments in Aotearoa, focusing on their educational and employment journeys. The research aims to elevate the rangatahi narratives without reducing them to mere statistics or stereotypes, highlighting their resilience and insights in contexts often characterized by stigma and judgement. Employing principles of Kaupapa Māori, Critical Pedagogy, and a Waka navigation framework, this study challenges deficit-based perspectives that typically dominate discussions about gangs. 

On a practical level, it advocates for trust-based partnerships with gang whānau, emphasizing the importance of honesty and respect to foster collaboration. Existing Whānau -led initiatives illustrate the possibilities of merging cultural knowledge with everyday survival, showcasing resilience as a lived reality. Theoretically, the research offers an insider perspective, positioning myself as researcher to honor lived experiences and mitigate traditional negative framings of gang spaces, instead framing them as complex sites of identity and resilience. 

Ultimately, this thesis posits that rangatahi Māori in gang settings are not merely problems to be solved but are agents of hope and strength, rooted in their heritage. Their futures should be shaped by their identities rather than deficits, affirming their tino rangatiratanga and capacities for meaningful contributions within their communities.

text: Ka hao te rangatahi: Exploring school and work pathways for rangatahi Māori / Youth  growing up within gang space in Aotearoa This thesis explores the experiences of rangatahi Māori growing up in gang environments in Aotearoa, focusing on their educational and employment journeys. The research aims to elevate the rangatahi narratives without reducing them to mere statistics or stereotypes, highlighting their resilience and insights in contexts often characterized by stigma and judgement. Employing principles of Kaupapa Māori, Critical Pedagogy, and a Waka navigation framework, this study challenges deficit-based perspectives that typically dominate discussions about gangs. 

On a practical level, it advocates for trust-based partnerships with gang whānau, emphasizing the importance of honesty and respect to foster collaboration. Existing Whānau -led initiatives illustrate the possibilities of merging cultural knowledge with everyday survival, showcasing resilience as a lived reality. Theoretically, the research offers an insider perspective, positioning myself as researcher to honor lived experiences and mitigate traditional negative framings of gang spaces, instead framing them as complex sites of identity and resilience. 

Ultimately, this thesis posits that rangatahi Māori in gang settings are not merely problems to be solved but are agents of hope and strength, rooted in their heritage. Their futures should be shaped by their identities rather than deficits, affirming their tino rangatiratanga and capacities for meaningful contributions within their communities.

year: 2025

title: Boat electrofishing salvage of fish in the Lower Mangamahoe Dam reservoir

authors: Hicks, Brendan J.

abstract: The aim of the survey was to salvage fish from the Lower Mangamahoe Dam reservoir before dewatering and dam removal. We used the University of Waikato’s 4.5 m-long, aluminium-hulled electrofishing boat to catch a total of 140 fish weighing an estimated 37.0 kg along 8 fishing tracks sites on 24 February 2022. These tracks comprised 2,807 lineal m and 11,228 m2 in area. Shortfin eels (Anguilla australis) and common bullies (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) were the only fish species present. Mean density of eels caught was 2.9 fish 100 m–2 and mean biomass was 7.84 g m–2. The eels and bullies were transferred to sites downstream in the Waiwhakaiho River by iwi members of the two hapū - Ngāti Te Whiti and Ngāti Tawhirikura. Water clarity, expressed as black disc distance (BDD, 1.05 m), was good for a shallow lake, and water temperature and water conductivity were close to optimum for electrofishing. Poor water clarity can reduce the efficiency of electrofishing, so we left time after fishing each track for the sediment suspended by the propellor wash to sink before refishing a track.

text: Boat electrofishing salvage of fish in the Lower Mangamahoe Dam reservoir The aim of the survey was to salvage fish from the Lower Mangamahoe Dam reservoir before dewatering and dam removal. We used the University of Waikato’s 4.5 m-long, aluminium-hulled electrofishing boat to catch a total of 140 fish weighing an estimated 37.0 kg along 8 fishing tracks sites on 24 February 2022. These tracks comprised 2,807 lineal m and 11,228 m2 in area. Shortfin eels (Anguilla australis) and common bullies (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) were the only fish species present. Mean density of eels caught was 2.9 fish 100 m–2 and mean biomass was 7.84 g m–2. The eels and bullies were transferred to sites downstream in the Waiwhakaiho River by iwi members of the two hapū - Ngāti Te Whiti and Ngāti Tawhirikura. Water clarity, expressed as black disc distance (BDD, 1.05 m), was good for a shallow lake, and water temperature and water conductivity were close to optimum for electrofishing. Poor water clarity can reduce the efficiency of electrofishing, so we left time after fishing each track for the sediment suspended by the propellor wash to sink before refishing a track.

year: 2022

title: Olsemwanem kastom blong tring kava i save afektem tingting blong man mo wei we man i draev (Traditional kava-drinking, cognition and driver fitness)

authors: Aporosa, S. 'Apo'

abstract: Kava, we oli singautem tu se ‘plant blong ol god’, hemi gro plante long ol tropikol aelan blong Pacific.  Ol man oli yusum kava olsem lokol meresin. Mo tu, oli kranem rus blong hem, afta strenem long wota blong oli save tring blong mekem oli fil rilaks. Long saed blong kastom, kava i kat impotent mining, be naoia we man i stap tring tumas kava, i kat wari i kamaot from ifekt blong hem long saed blong seifti taem man i draev. Dokta ‘Apo’ Aporosa, we hemi stap karem aut risej long Waikato University long Aotearoa New Zealand, hemi bin stadi wei we kava i afektem tingting blong man taem man i draev. 

(Kava, or ‘the plant of the gods’, grows widely across tropical Moananuiākea (the Pacific). Used in traditional medicine, its roots are also pounded and strained through water to make a drink with relaxant effects. Kava has deep cultural significance, but because it is drunk in large quantities over several hours, concerns have been raised about its effects on driver safety. Dr ‘Apo’ Aporosa, a Research Fellow at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, has studied the impact of traditional kava use on cognition and its implications for driver fitness. The findings of that research are presented here in Bislama/Pidgeon language.)

text: Olsemwanem kastom blong tring kava i save afektem tingting blong man mo wei we man i draev (Traditional kava-drinking, cognition and driver fitness) Kava, we oli singautem tu se ‘plant blong ol god’, hemi gro plante long ol tropikol aelan blong Pacific.  Ol man oli yusum kava olsem lokol meresin. Mo tu, oli kranem rus blong hem, afta strenem long wota blong oli save tring blong mekem oli fil rilaks. Long saed blong kastom, kava i kat impotent mining, be naoia we man i stap tring tumas kava, i kat wari i kamaot from ifekt blong hem long saed blong seifti taem man i draev. Dokta ‘Apo’ Aporosa, we hemi stap karem aut risej long Waikato University long Aotearoa New Zealand, hemi bin stadi wei we kava i afektem tingting blong man taem man i draev. 

(Kava, or ‘the plant of the gods’, grows widely across tropical Moananuiākea (the Pacific). Used in traditional medicine, its roots are also pounded and strained through water to make a drink with relaxant effects. Kava has deep cultural significance, but because it is drunk in large quantities over several hours, concerns have been raised about its effects on driver safety. Dr ‘Apo’ Aporosa, a Research Fellow at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, has studied the impact of traditional kava use on cognition and its implications for driver fitness. The findings of that research are presented here in Bislama/Pidgeon language.)

year: 2023