title: Experiences of people with refugee background who started their business in the food sector

authors: Bazrafshan, Shima

abstract: The emotional and relational aspects of hospitality for inclusion have been rarely explicitly acknowledged in the food business sector and academic scholarship. Embedded within these aspects is the concept of voice and how it can be used to empower and care for others. Voice is viewed as a fundamental human right and is crucial for communities, such as those with refugee background to express their experiences and gain agency for change. How stories are told using food and within hospitality businesses, illuminates care, as well as communicating the causes of displacement and refugee experiences during their journeys, arrival, collective perceptions and the reception and inclusion of refugees in the countries in which they resettle. A key approach for gaining inclusion and economic resources for refugee background communities has been to start a business. This provides opportunities for employment and, the hospitality and food sector, has been viewed as an accessible sector for refugee-background individuals to start their venture in and  offer a transformative avenue for inclusion in their new communities. Through their hospitality and food businesses, refugees can offer positive narratives, challenge perceptions that others in the host community may have of them and construct realistic caring representations of themselves. The hospitality sector emerges as a unique platform for refugees to connect with host communities, fostering mutual understanding and promoting inclusion.
Previous academic studies that have investigated hospitality businesses started by people with refugee background have mainly focused on examining the various economic and functional aspects that influence their businesses. In these studies, a humanitarian approach that examined the sociological and cultural role of food and food businesses for diverse communities such as refugee background individuals was rarely acknowledged. To deepen our understanding of the role of food and hospitality for people with refugee background who started hospitality businesses, this thesis highlights the critical sociocultural and symbolic aspects of food. To focus on participants’ perspectives of food, their meanings of their food business experiences and values, an interpretative approach was deemed appropriate for the thesis. Critical hospitality theory was included in the analysis to examine how food provides a conduit to create meaningful relationships with ‘Others’ that goes beyond economics or biological needs. 
Memory-work methodology was seen as an appropriate method and offered opportunities for participants to consider the narrative that they wanted to share in a meaningful manner in the research. Located within the interpretive paradigm, memory-work is grounded in understanding the world as being interpreted by individuals in their lived practices of everyday life. 12 participants volunteered to write a memory and reflect on their experience with me in individual discussion meetings. Institutional ethics for the research was approved by the Waikato Management School Research Ethics Committee.
Thematic analysis of the data indicated three significant themes that represented the participants’ experiences: ‘People with refugee background as caregivers’; ‘Strangers encounter, strangers become familiar’; and ‘Fostering emotional solidarity with people with refugee background’. People with refugee background are usually portrayed as perpetually vulnerable and reliant individuals who need or want support and care from national and international organisations to assist them in navigating their way into the new society. However, rather than conforming to this stereotypical portrayal of refugees as passive care receivers, people with refugee background who participated in this research were actively engaged in providing care for others. The findings of this research also illustrated that hospitality in this type of commercial setting was a catalyst for dialogue and exchange of ideas, experiences, and knowledge between different ‘others’ that allowed strangers to be welcomed as familiars. In the context of hospitality, refugee-background participants stated that their customers developed some emotional solidarity with the experiences of people from refugee-background communities. This thesis contributes to a richer understanding of how the commercial context of hospitality can create opportunities for crossing thresholds, activism for change, and inclusion. Notably, this thesis uncovers how food and hospitality businesses could sustain well-being, care for the ‘other’ and act as a channel to advocate for change around refugee-background issues.

text: Experiences of people with refugee background who started their business in the food sector The emotional and relational aspects of hospitality for inclusion have been rarely explicitly acknowledged in the food business sector and academic scholarship. Embedded within these aspects is the concept of voice and how it can be used to empower and care for others. Voice is viewed as a fundamental human right and is crucial for communities, such as those with refugee background to express their experiences and gain agency for change. How stories are told using food and within hospitality businesses, illuminates care, as well as communicating the causes of displacement and refugee experiences during their journeys, arrival, collective perceptions and the reception and inclusion of refugees in the countries in which they resettle. A key approach for gaining inclusion and economic resources for refugee background communities has been to start a business. This provides opportunities for employment and, the hospitality and food sector, has been viewed as an accessible sector for refugee-background individuals to start their venture in and  offer a transformative avenue for inclusion in their new communities. Through their hospitality and food businesses, refugees can offer positive narratives, challenge perceptions that others in the host community may have of them and construct realistic caring representations of themselves. The hospitality sector emerges as a unique platform for refugees to connect with host communities, fostering mutual understanding and promoting inclusion.
Previous academic studies that have investigated hospitality businesses started by people with refugee background have mainly focused on examining the various economic and functional aspects that influence their businesses. In these studies, a humanitarian approach that examined the sociological and cultural role of food and food businesses for diverse communities such as refugee background individuals was rarely acknowledged. To deepen our understanding of the role of food and hospitality for people with refugee background who started hospitality businesses, this thesis highlights the critical sociocultural and symbolic aspects of food. To focus on participants’ perspectives of food, their meanings of their food business experiences and values, an interpretative approach was deemed appropriate for the thesis. Critical hospitality theory was included in the analysis to examine how food provides a conduit to create meaningful relationships with ‘Others’ that goes beyond economics or biological needs. 
Memory-work methodology was seen as an appropriate method and offered opportunities for participants to consider the narrative that they wanted to share in a meaningful manner in the research. Located within the interpretive paradigm, memory-work is grounded in understanding the world as being interpreted by individuals in their lived practices of everyday life. 12 participants volunteered to write a memory and reflect on their experience with me in individual discussion meetings. Institutional ethics for the research was approved by the Waikato Management School Research Ethics Committee.
Thematic analysis of the data indicated three significant themes that represented the participants’ experiences: ‘People with refugee background as caregivers’; ‘Strangers encounter, strangers become familiar’; and ‘Fostering emotional solidarity with people with refugee background’. People with refugee background are usually portrayed as perpetually vulnerable and reliant individuals who need or want support and care from national and international organisations to assist them in navigating their way into the new society. However, rather than conforming to this stereotypical portrayal of refugees as passive care receivers, people with refugee background who participated in this research were actively engaged in providing care for others. The findings of this research also illustrated that hospitality in this type of commercial setting was a catalyst for dialogue and exchange of ideas, experiences, and knowledge between different ‘others’ that allowed strangers to be welcomed as familiars. In the context of hospitality, refugee-background participants stated that their customers developed some emotional solidarity with the experiences of people from refugee-background communities. This thesis contributes to a richer understanding of how the commercial context of hospitality can create opportunities for crossing thresholds, activism for change, and inclusion. Notably, this thesis uncovers how food and hospitality businesses could sustain well-being, care for the ‘other’ and act as a channel to advocate for change around refugee-background issues.

year: 2024

title: Solar energy use for energy savings in dairy processing plants

authors: Anderson, Timothy Nicholas

subjects: solar energy

abstract: New Zealand is one of the world’s largest producers of dairy products and has a climate with high levels of solar radiation; however, the use of solar energy in the dairy processing industry has received limited attention. An examination of historical records found that the annual peak in New Zealand milk production and processing occurs at a time when solar radiation levels are increasing markedly.
An F-Chart analysis was used to simulate the performance of large-area arrays of solar collectors and to determine their suitability for heating and cooling in a dairy processing environment. For the study four types of solar collectors were analysed: glazed flat plates, evacuated tubes, evacuated tubes with CPC reflectors and a building-integrated solar collector under development at the University of
Waikato (UoW).
It was found that of these technologies, both flat plate and evacuated tubes with CPC reflectors could make useful heating and cooling contributions. Furthermore, the solar fraction was determined mainly by the collector area to storage volume ratio. Finally, it was found that the UoW building-integrated solar collector could make a significant contribution to energy use in dairies and may be an attractive future technology for the industry.

text: Solar energy use for energy savings in dairy processing plants New Zealand is one of the world’s largest producers of dairy products and has a climate with high levels of solar radiation; however, the use of solar energy in the dairy processing industry has received limited attention. An examination of historical records found that the annual peak in New Zealand milk production and processing occurs at a time when solar radiation levels are increasing markedly.
An F-Chart analysis was used to simulate the performance of large-area arrays of solar collectors and to determine their suitability for heating and cooling in a dairy processing environment. For the study four types of solar collectors were analysed: glazed flat plates, evacuated tubes, evacuated tubes with CPC reflectors and a building-integrated solar collector under development at the University of
Waikato (UoW).
It was found that of these technologies, both flat plate and evacuated tubes with CPC reflectors could make useful heating and cooling contributions. Furthermore, the solar fraction was determined mainly by the collector area to storage volume ratio. Finally, it was found that the UoW building-integrated solar collector could make a significant contribution to energy use in dairies and may be an attractive future technology for the industry.

year: 2007

title: Mā Muri Ko Mua: An introduction to the issues associated with the translation of the Pene Haare manuscript

authors: Tipene, Jillian

subjects: translation

abstract: Keywords: translation; translation theory; translation practice; Ngakuru Pene Haare; Te Rarawa; manuscript; Māori-English translation; ethically grounded translation.

In September 2007, a copy of a typewritten transcript of a manuscript dated 1923 and written by Ngakuru Pene Hare was given to a member of staff of the University of Waikato by Stephen Burke and Bella Wade, descendants of the author, who requested that the University provide a scholarly treatment and translation into English of the text. Also provided later were copies of letters written by the author and a copy of the original handwritten manuscript. The original manuscript, written in the Te Rarawa ki Hokianga dialect of te reo Māori of the author's time, consists of 239 leaves and contains accounts of at least 62 Ngāpuhi battles, most of which took place between 1820 and 1840. 

The research reported here seeks to identify issues and problems that must be addressed if a competent and ethically-grounded translation is to be produced.  Among the issues and problems identified are a number of critical ones. These include the paucity of information that is publicly available about the author, the context in which he lived and worked and the events about which he wrote. Also identified as being problematic are aspects of the text itself. Thus, for example, many of the conventions associated with contemporary writing in Māori (such as paragraphing and the signalling of word and sentence boundaries) are applied only sporadically. Some of the words and expressions used are archaic and/or esoteric, and symbolism that is deeply culturally-embedded characterises much of the text. Also of significance is the impact of writing on conventions associated with the oral transmission of information. The author's intention in producing the text is also identified as being of fundamental importance in relation to the process and product of translation, as are issues associated with the putative readership of that translation. Of paramount importance is the sacred and sensitive nature of the text itself and much of its content. 

In addressing these issues, a wide range of sources are drawn upon. These include the text itself and the transcription of the text, letters and other material written by, or directly influenced by the author, photographs that reveal important information about him, and a wide range of sources of information and opinion (written and oral) about the author and/ or the times and places in which he lived and the events about which he wrote. Also drawn upon is literature in the areas of linguistics and discourse analysis and the theory and practice of translation, including literature written by the growing number of Māori scholars who have focused on issues associated with translation involving Māori and English.

Among the recommendations made are that the translation, a gloss translation that includes explanatory notes, be undertaken, with tikanga Māori as guiding principles, under the mentorship of knowledgeable elders and in consultation with those to whom the manuscript belongs.

text: Mā Muri Ko Mua: An introduction to the issues associated with the translation of the Pene Haare manuscript Keywords: translation; translation theory; translation practice; Ngakuru Pene Haare; Te Rarawa; manuscript; Māori-English translation; ethically grounded translation.

In September 2007, a copy of a typewritten transcript of a manuscript dated 1923 and written by Ngakuru Pene Hare was given to a member of staff of the University of Waikato by Stephen Burke and Bella Wade, descendants of the author, who requested that the University provide a scholarly treatment and translation into English of the text. Also provided later were copies of letters written by the author and a copy of the original handwritten manuscript. The original manuscript, written in the Te Rarawa ki Hokianga dialect of te reo Māori of the author's time, consists of 239 leaves and contains accounts of at least 62 Ngāpuhi battles, most of which took place between 1820 and 1840. 

The research reported here seeks to identify issues and problems that must be addressed if a competent and ethically-grounded translation is to be produced.  Among the issues and problems identified are a number of critical ones. These include the paucity of information that is publicly available about the author, the context in which he lived and worked and the events about which he wrote. Also identified as being problematic are aspects of the text itself. Thus, for example, many of the conventions associated with contemporary writing in Māori (such as paragraphing and the signalling of word and sentence boundaries) are applied only sporadically. Some of the words and expressions used are archaic and/or esoteric, and symbolism that is deeply culturally-embedded characterises much of the text. Also of significance is the impact of writing on conventions associated with the oral transmission of information. The author's intention in producing the text is also identified as being of fundamental importance in relation to the process and product of translation, as are issues associated with the putative readership of that translation. Of paramount importance is the sacred and sensitive nature of the text itself and much of its content. 

In addressing these issues, a wide range of sources are drawn upon. These include the text itself and the transcription of the text, letters and other material written by, or directly influenced by the author, photographs that reveal important information about him, and a wide range of sources of information and opinion (written and oral) about the author and/ or the times and places in which he lived and the events about which he wrote. Also drawn upon is literature in the areas of linguistics and discourse analysis and the theory and practice of translation, including literature written by the growing number of Māori scholars who have focused on issues associated with translation involving Māori and English.

Among the recommendations made are that the translation, a gloss translation that includes explanatory notes, be undertaken, with tikanga Māori as guiding principles, under the mentorship of knowledgeable elders and in consultation with those to whom the manuscript belongs.

year: 2009