title: Invisible Rehabilitation: An Exploration of Rehabilitative Practices within a Community Work Agency.

authors: Namwinga, Nasalifya

subjects: Rehabilitation

abstract: Community Work is one of the most utilised community based sentences in New Zealand. It is a low cost and low intensity sentence that is extensively used to punish low level offences. Although Community Work is not an explicitly rehabilitative sentence, it does possess some implicitly rehabilitative traits. In her Ireland based study, McGagh (2007) argued that rehabilitative practices enhance Community Work and lead to better outcomes for offenders. The most recent New Zealand based study on the sentence was conducted over 2 decades ago by Asher and O'Neill (1990). This is the research gap this study sought to fill by exploring rehabilitative practices within a faith-based Community Work agency.

The study was an ethnographic case study of a faith-based agency within which offenders on Community Work sentences completed sentenced hours. A number of qualitative data collection methods including observations, interviews, a focus group and analysis of testimonial data were used to triangulate findings. The researcher gathered data from three participant groups at the agency. These groups were; individuals currently or previously on community work sentences at the agency, agency staff and agency volunteers.

When offenders on community work sentences arrive at this agency their status as offenders is kept private. They are consequently introduced as volunteers and have access to all the same benefits of volunteers. The ability to keep their offender status private and be regarded as any other volunteer was a central theme present in the data. This helped those sentenced to community work to develop a non-offender identity. The invisibility of offender status helped offenders distance themselves from the offender identity, while being offered the visible prosocial ‘volunteer’ identity helped them shift their self-narrative from that of an offender to a nonoffender.

Desistance research suggests that subjective changes in an offender’s self-narrative can be indicative of the offender engaging in the desistance process (Farrall & Maruna, 2004; Healy, 2010; Serin & Lloyd, 2009). This study found that anonymising the offender status of individuals in community work sentences at this agency may have initiated a shift in self-narratives as individuals shifted their identity from offenders to volunteers. This narrative shift potentially helped trigger and maintain offender desistance. The principle of treating offenders as desisters rather than persisters displays a confidence in the offenders’ ability to change. This faith in an individual’s ability to change has been found to be desistance supportive (Raynor & Robinson, 2005).

Anonymising offender status as a rehabilitative practice can lead to the onset or maintenance of desistance. It is a potentially effective intervention that could be broadly integrated into the community work sentence.

text: Invisible Rehabilitation: An Exploration of Rehabilitative Practices within a Community Work Agency. Community Work is one of the most utilised community based sentences in New Zealand. It is a low cost and low intensity sentence that is extensively used to punish low level offences. Although Community Work is not an explicitly rehabilitative sentence, it does possess some implicitly rehabilitative traits. In her Ireland based study, McGagh (2007) argued that rehabilitative practices enhance Community Work and lead to better outcomes for offenders. The most recent New Zealand based study on the sentence was conducted over 2 decades ago by Asher and O'Neill (1990). This is the research gap this study sought to fill by exploring rehabilitative practices within a faith-based Community Work agency.

The study was an ethnographic case study of a faith-based agency within which offenders on Community Work sentences completed sentenced hours. A number of qualitative data collection methods including observations, interviews, a focus group and analysis of testimonial data were used to triangulate findings. The researcher gathered data from three participant groups at the agency. These groups were; individuals currently or previously on community work sentences at the agency, agency staff and agency volunteers.

When offenders on community work sentences arrive at this agency their status as offenders is kept private. They are consequently introduced as volunteers and have access to all the same benefits of volunteers. The ability to keep their offender status private and be regarded as any other volunteer was a central theme present in the data. This helped those sentenced to community work to develop a non-offender identity. The invisibility of offender status helped offenders distance themselves from the offender identity, while being offered the visible prosocial ‘volunteer’ identity helped them shift their self-narrative from that of an offender to a nonoffender.

Desistance research suggests that subjective changes in an offender’s self-narrative can be indicative of the offender engaging in the desistance process (Farrall & Maruna, 2004; Healy, 2010; Serin & Lloyd, 2009). This study found that anonymising the offender status of individuals in community work sentences at this agency may have initiated a shift in self-narratives as individuals shifted their identity from offenders to volunteers. This narrative shift potentially helped trigger and maintain offender desistance. The principle of treating offenders as desisters rather than persisters displays a confidence in the offenders’ ability to change. This faith in an individual’s ability to change has been found to be desistance supportive (Raynor & Robinson, 2005).

Anonymising offender status as a rehabilitative practice can lead to the onset or maintenance of desistance. It is a potentially effective intervention that could be broadly integrated into the community work sentence.

year: 2016

title: Photography and placemaking

authors: Hill, Rodrigo

subjects: Photography

abstract: This essay delves into broad discussions around photography and place-making, with an emphasis on the photographs produced in the course of the A-Place project. As a starting point, the essay will introduce and discuss the intricate relationships between photography and place-making, establishing a historical timeline and contextual overview of pivotal moments. These contextual discussions serve as a foundation to subsequent discursive and visual analytical commentary on the photographs. In addition, the historical overview and contrasting views on place and ways of placemaking offer valuable points of reflection on how photography has become integrated into various projects, agendas, and modes of representing places. These reflections lead us to the present, a compelling period characterised by the interplay of various camera technologies and lens-based modes of representation which are in a constant state of visual flux and change, shaping our contemporary understandings and ways of perceiving the world.

From the outset, I explore key ideas related to the invention of photography and how it quickly became integrated into the agenda of place representation and making. Subsequently, I engage in discussions concerning the notions of place and placemaking. The term “placemaking” is critically examined in the context of photographic imagery and practice, emphasising the intrinsic connection to the subjective processes of perception and understanding. This exploration highlights how photographic practices and imagery are utilised to probe the various dimensions of place which are rooted in memory, affect, and cultural perception. I posit that photographic practices are inherent to our daily lives and also part of an agenda of understanding places as means to placemaking. In this context, placemaking encompasses various facets related to the process of developing, consolidating, and asserting understandings of a place through and with photography. In other words, placemaking intersects with photography through pathways of knowing, experiencing, disseminating, and making places. These contextual discussions serve as a foundation for subsequent analysis and commentary on the A-Place archive of photographs.

My focus is on a specific subset of images aiming to provide broader insights into particular aspects connected to the photographs, including their patterns, explorations, subject matter, approaches, and genres. Thus, the intention is not to critique every photograph but rather to present overarching critical reflections and discussions on a selected collection. I will begin by examining the relationship between photography, place representation, and placemaking processes.

text: Photography and placemaking This essay delves into broad discussions around photography and place-making, with an emphasis on the photographs produced in the course of the A-Place project. As a starting point, the essay will introduce and discuss the intricate relationships between photography and place-making, establishing a historical timeline and contextual overview of pivotal moments. These contextual discussions serve as a foundation to subsequent discursive and visual analytical commentary on the photographs. In addition, the historical overview and contrasting views on place and ways of placemaking offer valuable points of reflection on how photography has become integrated into various projects, agendas, and modes of representing places. These reflections lead us to the present, a compelling period characterised by the interplay of various camera technologies and lens-based modes of representation which are in a constant state of visual flux and change, shaping our contemporary understandings and ways of perceiving the world.

From the outset, I explore key ideas related to the invention of photography and how it quickly became integrated into the agenda of place representation and making. Subsequently, I engage in discussions concerning the notions of place and placemaking. The term “placemaking” is critically examined in the context of photographic imagery and practice, emphasising the intrinsic connection to the subjective processes of perception and understanding. This exploration highlights how photographic practices and imagery are utilised to probe the various dimensions of place which are rooted in memory, affect, and cultural perception. I posit that photographic practices are inherent to our daily lives and also part of an agenda of understanding places as means to placemaking. In this context, placemaking encompasses various facets related to the process of developing, consolidating, and asserting understandings of a place through and with photography. In other words, placemaking intersects with photography through pathways of knowing, experiencing, disseminating, and making places. These contextual discussions serve as a foundation for subsequent analysis and commentary on the A-Place archive of photographs.

My focus is on a specific subset of images aiming to provide broader insights into particular aspects connected to the photographs, including their patterns, explorations, subject matter, approaches, and genres. Thus, the intention is not to critique every photograph but rather to present overarching critical reflections and discussions on a selected collection. I will begin by examining the relationship between photography, place representation, and placemaking processes.

year: 2025

title: Key informant views on biobanking and genomic research with Māori

authors: Hudson, Maui

abstract: The aim of the Te Mata Ira project was to explore Māori views on biobanking and genomic research, and to identify ways to address Māori concerns over the collection and use of human tissue. Key informant interviews and workshops were conducted with Māori to identify Māori views in relation to biobanking and genomic research; and, informed by these views, interviews and workshops were conducted with Māori and non-Māori key informants (Indigenous Advisory Panel (IAP) members and science communities) to explore key issues in relation to Māori participation in biobanking and genomic research. Māori key informants identified the following as key deliberations: (1) the tension for Māori between previous well-publicised negative experiences with genomic research and the potential value for whanau and communities as technologies develop, (2) protection of Māori rights and interest, (3) focus on Māori health priorities, (4) control of samples and data, (5) expectations of consultation and consent and (6) a desire for greater feedback and communication. Māori and non-Māori key informants highlighted the need to enhance levels of Māori participation in the governance of genomic research and biobanking initiatives, and acknowledged that only by increasing the level of transparency and accountability in relation to these activities will Māori communities feel that their whakapapa, rights and interests are being appropriately protected.

text: Key informant views on biobanking and genomic research with Māori The aim of the Te Mata Ira project was to explore Māori views on biobanking and genomic research, and to identify ways to address Māori concerns over the collection and use of human tissue. Key informant interviews and workshops were conducted with Māori to identify Māori views in relation to biobanking and genomic research; and, informed by these views, interviews and workshops were conducted with Māori and non-Māori key informants (Indigenous Advisory Panel (IAP) members and science communities) to explore key issues in relation to Māori participation in biobanking and genomic research. Māori key informants identified the following as key deliberations: (1) the tension for Māori between previous well-publicised negative experiences with genomic research and the potential value for whanau and communities as technologies develop, (2) protection of Māori rights and interest, (3) focus on Māori health priorities, (4) control of samples and data, (5) expectations of consultation and consent and (6) a desire for greater feedback and communication. Māori and non-Māori key informants highlighted the need to enhance levels of Māori participation in the governance of genomic research and biobanking initiatives, and acknowledged that only by increasing the level of transparency and accountability in relation to these activities will Māori communities feel that their whakapapa, rights and interests are being appropriately protected.

year: 2016