title: Mauri oho, mauri tu, mauri ora: Enhancing Maori health and wellbeing through a critical engagement with social marketing

authors: Ellis, Riri Te Whara

abstract: This PhD research originally explored the efficacy of social marketing as potentially beneficial for Maori health providers involved with Maori health promotion activities. However, as I became conscientised to the potentially assimilist and neocolortial impacts .of functional management disciplines, such as social marketing I turned my attention as a Kaupapa Maori researcher to the task of critique and transformative social action. I also became acutely aware that the future of Maori health advancement lies in the flourishing of Te Ao Maori - a flourishing deemed necessary for the wellbeing of the people and the natural environment .in which Maori live is presented in this thesis. Te Ao Maori is therefore repositioned as a way in which to conceptualise Maori health and wellbeing, based upon holistic and cultural principles of living. 
Based on the transformative aspirations of critical theorists and emerging theories of kaupapa Maori, I incorporate the holistic constructs of Te Ao Maori while minimising the impact of the externally imposed mechanistic and functional metaphors dominating the contemporary formulation of human wellbeing. Using a localised participative methodology called Kaupapa Maori, I have worked collaboratively with four Maori groups and various kaiarahi hauora in Tauranga Moana to examine and articulate a series of collective responses to research issues. As a result of this research, my findings indicate that Maori continue to articulate a desire to live by principles and practices espoused through holistic models of Maori health and wellbeing, nestled into Te Ao Maori. That vision however is affected by continual structural change, limited resources, lack of access to skilled people, the imposition of contractual regulations within the health system, the erosion of Maori cultural systems and the ongoing commodification of Maori health and wellbeing in concert with the principles of market driven economies driving much human activity globally. The experience of Maori in Aotearoa New Zealand is the localised manifestation of the experiences of indigenous people across the globe. We share with them a position of resistance to the values of others and the affirmation of our own values. 
The potential of social marketing to contribute to enhancing Maori health and wellbeing was critiqued within these lived experiences, not those defined by social marketers themselves. In the control of uncritical social marketers, social marketing models are one of many conceptual frameworks that are being used to intensify economic rationality associated with the contemporary form of capitalism and the exacerbation of resource scarcity sanctioned by the existing health services system. Many of the co-participants in this research sought to provide health services and programmes that resembled and encouraged strong Maori cultural practices based upon tikanga Maori that emphasises a commitment to Whanau, Hapu and Iwi. However, the current health system does not help these goals to flourish. Instead, proponents of the system endorsed a regime of health services that operated within the specific constraints of contractual agreements - agreements which require responsibility for outcomes and accountability protocols that consume many resources better spent elsewhere. The opportunity then to engage in the enrichment of Maori health and wellbeing, through a holistic means was reported by participants in this research to be often undermined, minimised and sometimes made impossible. 
This research demonstrates that Maori efforts to enhance Maori health development are negatively impacted upon by an ongoing commercialisation and commodification of health services. Ongoing efforts _must be made to reinvigorate with and within Maori, an enduring commitment to a foundation of holistic health and wellbeing in the future, stemming from our own worldview - Te Ao Maori. The critical and Kaupapa Maori theories that inform this thesis have been used to bring into the open the contradictions and paradoxes Maori health providers in the Tauranga region are facing. The transformational aspirations of these theories would invite attention to be paid to values underpinning Maori communities and the ways in which they are useful to them. As reported upon in this research, those Maori health advocates adopting social marketing will find it difficult to achieve these aspirations. Instead, the assimilist modem colonising practices inherent in social marketing would tum Maori adopters into self colonisers.

text: Mauri oho, mauri tu, mauri ora: Enhancing Maori health and wellbeing through a critical engagement with social marketing This PhD research originally explored the efficacy of social marketing as potentially beneficial for Maori health providers involved with Maori health promotion activities. However, as I became conscientised to the potentially assimilist and neocolortial impacts .of functional management disciplines, such as social marketing I turned my attention as a Kaupapa Maori researcher to the task of critique and transformative social action. I also became acutely aware that the future of Maori health advancement lies in the flourishing of Te Ao Maori - a flourishing deemed necessary for the wellbeing of the people and the natural environment .in which Maori live is presented in this thesis. Te Ao Maori is therefore repositioned as a way in which to conceptualise Maori health and wellbeing, based upon holistic and cultural principles of living. 
Based on the transformative aspirations of critical theorists and emerging theories of kaupapa Maori, I incorporate the holistic constructs of Te Ao Maori while minimising the impact of the externally imposed mechanistic and functional metaphors dominating the contemporary formulation of human wellbeing. Using a localised participative methodology called Kaupapa Maori, I have worked collaboratively with four Maori groups and various kaiarahi hauora in Tauranga Moana to examine and articulate a series of collective responses to research issues. As a result of this research, my findings indicate that Maori continue to articulate a desire to live by principles and practices espoused through holistic models of Maori health and wellbeing, nestled into Te Ao Maori. That vision however is affected by continual structural change, limited resources, lack of access to skilled people, the imposition of contractual regulations within the health system, the erosion of Maori cultural systems and the ongoing commodification of Maori health and wellbeing in concert with the principles of market driven economies driving much human activity globally. The experience of Maori in Aotearoa New Zealand is the localised manifestation of the experiences of indigenous people across the globe. We share with them a position of resistance to the values of others and the affirmation of our own values. 
The potential of social marketing to contribute to enhancing Maori health and wellbeing was critiqued within these lived experiences, not those defined by social marketers themselves. In the control of uncritical social marketers, social marketing models are one of many conceptual frameworks that are being used to intensify economic rationality associated with the contemporary form of capitalism and the exacerbation of resource scarcity sanctioned by the existing health services system. Many of the co-participants in this research sought to provide health services and programmes that resembled and encouraged strong Maori cultural practices based upon tikanga Maori that emphasises a commitment to Whanau, Hapu and Iwi. However, the current health system does not help these goals to flourish. Instead, proponents of the system endorsed a regime of health services that operated within the specific constraints of contractual agreements - agreements which require responsibility for outcomes and accountability protocols that consume many resources better spent elsewhere. The opportunity then to engage in the enrichment of Maori health and wellbeing, through a holistic means was reported by participants in this research to be often undermined, minimised and sometimes made impossible. 
This research demonstrates that Maori efforts to enhance Maori health development are negatively impacted upon by an ongoing commercialisation and commodification of health services. Ongoing efforts _must be made to reinvigorate with and within Maori, an enduring commitment to a foundation of holistic health and wellbeing in the future, stemming from our own worldview - Te Ao Maori. The critical and Kaupapa Maori theories that inform this thesis have been used to bring into the open the contradictions and paradoxes Maori health providers in the Tauranga region are facing. The transformational aspirations of these theories would invite attention to be paid to values underpinning Maori communities and the ways in which they are useful to them. As reported upon in this research, those Maori health advocates adopting social marketing will find it difficult to achieve these aspirations. Instead, the assimilist modem colonising practices inherent in social marketing would tum Maori adopters into self colonisers.

year: 2006

title: A path to lotions and potions: Ngāti te Maunga ahi kā use of rongoā for hapū wellbeing

authors: Diamond, Kiri

subjects: rongoā

abstract: The research aimed to determine the challenges and improvements required during the implementation of the rongoā programme. The rongoā programme was based on a papakāinga near a marae, in a semi-rural location with difficult access. Participatory action research and autoethnography methods were used with the ahi kā (local residence) to develop a programme that would fulfil the hapū ora (extended family wellbeing) goals.  The goals of the programme were: for the ahi kā to use rongoā (modalities of health) confidently for their wellbeing; consistently use a Facebook page to learn and share information and to develop a database of the local rongoā rākau (medicinal plant). The ahi kā identified a further question to ask Facebook members to understand what motivated their participation and a survey was conducted. The ahi kā also wanted to understand the local doctor’s view on rongoā and its context on health provision in their area. An interview was conducted and the survey and interview added to the understanding of what the ahi kā could do to improve theirs and the hapū whānau (group extended family) wellbeing.
The findings of the research highlighted the complexities that arise from conducting research in a bicultural space where a common understanding of cultural knowledge is assumed to be homogenous. A shared history with colonisation and religious beliefs brought to the forefront the multiplicity Māori work through to determine a shared hapū identity. Based on an understanding of Māori principle values and tikanga (ways of enacting values), as understood by ahi kā, transformed a programme of learning how to make lotions and potions for the ahi kā, into influencing hapū members to change their attitudes and behaviours to their environment and their wellbeing.
This research highlighted the role that ahi kā hold as keepers of cultural knowledge that is rooted in the papakāinga through ancestral links that informs the identity of a hapū. Learning how to use rongoā provided ahi kā a platform to learn a new skill while helping the hapū heal through connecting with the identity and land of the hapū they belong to.

text: A path to lotions and potions: Ngāti te Maunga ahi kā use of rongoā for hapū wellbeing The research aimed to determine the challenges and improvements required during the implementation of the rongoā programme. The rongoā programme was based on a papakāinga near a marae, in a semi-rural location with difficult access. Participatory action research and autoethnography methods were used with the ahi kā (local residence) to develop a programme that would fulfil the hapū ora (extended family wellbeing) goals.  The goals of the programme were: for the ahi kā to use rongoā (modalities of health) confidently for their wellbeing; consistently use a Facebook page to learn and share information and to develop a database of the local rongoā rākau (medicinal plant). The ahi kā identified a further question to ask Facebook members to understand what motivated their participation and a survey was conducted. The ahi kā also wanted to understand the local doctor’s view on rongoā and its context on health provision in their area. An interview was conducted and the survey and interview added to the understanding of what the ahi kā could do to improve theirs and the hapū whānau (group extended family) wellbeing.
The findings of the research highlighted the complexities that arise from conducting research in a bicultural space where a common understanding of cultural knowledge is assumed to be homogenous. A shared history with colonisation and religious beliefs brought to the forefront the multiplicity Māori work through to determine a shared hapū identity. Based on an understanding of Māori principle values and tikanga (ways of enacting values), as understood by ahi kā, transformed a programme of learning how to make lotions and potions for the ahi kā, into influencing hapū members to change their attitudes and behaviours to their environment and their wellbeing.
This research highlighted the role that ahi kā hold as keepers of cultural knowledge that is rooted in the papakāinga through ancestral links that informs the identity of a hapū. Learning how to use rongoā provided ahi kā a platform to learn a new skill while helping the hapū heal through connecting with the identity and land of the hapū they belong to.

year: 2019

title: Local action with a global vision: The transformative potential of food social enterprises in Australia

authors: Vieira, Leticia Canal

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: There is an urgent need to make food systems more sustainable and resilient. Such a transformation goes beyond technological innovation and requires economic and social change. Research interest in the transformative potential of community level action has increased. Food social enterprises often operate at the community level and consist of not-for-profit organisations that aim to make a positive contribution to social justice and environmental sustainability. The question addressed in this paper is whether these social enterprises are limited to isolated improvements or have the capacity to transform food systems more widely. This paper uses a multi-dimensional framework (involving the social setting, operational models, governance, and institutional context) to analyse the transformative potential of eight food social enterprises in the Australian cities of Brisbane and Melbourne. The analysis indicates that these enterprises create social networks, pursue agendas aligned with a global vision of transformation, and include a diversity of stakeholders. Their operational models are consistent with the goals of environmental sustainability and social justice. Their governance involves equality, transparency, and flexibility. In the institutional context, support from public policy is limited and there is a need to improve their engagement with governmental actors. While food social enterprises are well placed in the quest to make food systems more consistent with ecological dynamics and social justice, they need to engage in greater advocacy for institutional change in order to maximise their transformative potential.

text: Local action with a global vision: The transformative potential of food social enterprises in Australia There is an urgent need to make food systems more sustainable and resilient. Such a transformation goes beyond technological innovation and requires economic and social change. Research interest in the transformative potential of community level action has increased. Food social enterprises often operate at the community level and consist of not-for-profit organisations that aim to make a positive contribution to social justice and environmental sustainability. The question addressed in this paper is whether these social enterprises are limited to isolated improvements or have the capacity to transform food systems more widely. This paper uses a multi-dimensional framework (involving the social setting, operational models, governance, and institutional context) to analyse the transformative potential of eight food social enterprises in the Australian cities of Brisbane and Melbourne. The analysis indicates that these enterprises create social networks, pursue agendas aligned with a global vision of transformation, and include a diversity of stakeholders. Their operational models are consistent with the goals of environmental sustainability and social justice. Their governance involves equality, transparency, and flexibility. In the institutional context, support from public policy is limited and there is a need to improve their engagement with governmental actors. While food social enterprises are well placed in the quest to make food systems more consistent with ecological dynamics and social justice, they need to engage in greater advocacy for institutional change in order to maximise their transformative potential.

year: 2019