title: The Trap of Incrementalism in the Political Inclusion of Children.

authors: Munn, Nicholas

abstract: Thirty years on from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the international norm for the age of political majority remains set at 18 years of age. With few exceptions, those under 18 are denied access to the single most important component of formal political participation – the right to vote in elections (whether local or national). Practical efforts have primarily been focused on the incremental inclusion of older children into the franchise, via attempts to lower the voting age to sixteen. Theoretical arguments, by contrast, have defended a much more expansive position on the inclusion of children, whether lowering the age to 14, 12, or even eliminating age limits entirely. In this paper, I explore the gap between practice and theory. I argue that proponents of children’s enfranchisement should commit to arguing, at the practical level, for drastic changes to our democratic systems, so as, if successful, to enfranchise all those children who have a strong claim to political inclusion, rather than merely those closest to 18 years of age. Such a commitment to the theoretically more defensible (although politically less likely) positions could work to the advantage of children, by making moves such as the lowering of the voting age into the reasonable compromise position, rather than an extreme to be opposed.

text: The Trap of Incrementalism in the Political Inclusion of Children. Thirty years on from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the international norm for the age of political majority remains set at 18 years of age. With few exceptions, those under 18 are denied access to the single most important component of formal political participation – the right to vote in elections (whether local or national). Practical efforts have primarily been focused on the incremental inclusion of older children into the franchise, via attempts to lower the voting age to sixteen. Theoretical arguments, by contrast, have defended a much more expansive position on the inclusion of children, whether lowering the age to 14, 12, or even eliminating age limits entirely. In this paper, I explore the gap between practice and theory. I argue that proponents of children’s enfranchisement should commit to arguing, at the practical level, for drastic changes to our democratic systems, so as, if successful, to enfranchise all those children who have a strong claim to political inclusion, rather than merely those closest to 18 years of age. Such a commitment to the theoretically more defensible (although politically less likely) positions could work to the advantage of children, by making moves such as the lowering of the voting age into the reasonable compromise position, rather than an extreme to be opposed.

year: 2019

title: Families of classical subgroup separable superintegrable systems

authors: Kalnins, Ernie G.

subjects: mathematics

abstract: We describe a method for determining a complete set of integrals for a classical Hamiltonian that separates in orthogonal subgroup coordinates. As examples, we use it to determine complete sets of integrals, polynomial in the momenta, for some families of generalized oscillator and Kepler–Coulomb systems, hence demonstrating their superintegrability. The latter generalizes recent results of Verrier and Evans, and Rodríguez, Tempesta and Winternitz. Another example is given of a superintegrable system on a non-conformally flat space.

text: Families of classical subgroup separable superintegrable systems We describe a method for determining a complete set of integrals for a classical Hamiltonian that separates in orthogonal subgroup coordinates. As examples, we use it to determine complete sets of integrals, polynomial in the momenta, for some families of generalized oscillator and Kepler–Coulomb systems, hence demonstrating their superintegrability. The latter generalizes recent results of Verrier and Evans, and Rodríguez, Tempesta and Winternitz. Another example is given of a superintegrable system on a non-conformally flat space.

year: 2010

title: The presence of the past: Maori history in contemporary reflection

authors: Mahuika, Nepia

abstract: This is the opening line of a famous saying in my tribe. For our people - Ngāti Porou - these words have become embedded in our tribal identity as important directives that we are encouraged to aspire to. In the “days destined to you”, Ngata reminds us that each generation has its own mana (or authority), our own responsibilities and challenges, our own dreams and destinies to fulfil, and our own histories to tell about Ngāti Porou: who we are, our past, present, and future. If we consider this expectant, and I think hopeful, affirmation as a gift and responsibility, then taking real ownership of the “days destined to us” requires us to know what our forebears have entrusted us with. What are those historical gifts that we might use to “centre” and assert ourselves as Māori, as Ngāti Porou? We might look at this directly, i mua: the past before us because it is our history that is so crucial to us as we walk consciously, and with determination, into the future. Our past before us helps us to know where we are going, it helps us correc our course when we stray, keeps us mindful of the “kaupapa”: whatever that might be in our generation and corner of the Maori universe. We’ve heard already today from both Enoka and Arini how Māori, in our own ways, are engaging with our past, drawing on our korero tuku iho (our oral histories passed down across the generations), on our whakairo (our carving), to illuminate the many ways Māori do, and think about, the past.

text: The presence of the past: Maori history in contemporary reflection This is the opening line of a famous saying in my tribe. For our people - Ngāti Porou - these words have become embedded in our tribal identity as important directives that we are encouraged to aspire to. In the “days destined to you”, Ngata reminds us that each generation has its own mana (or authority), our own responsibilities and challenges, our own dreams and destinies to fulfil, and our own histories to tell about Ngāti Porou: who we are, our past, present, and future. If we consider this expectant, and I think hopeful, affirmation as a gift and responsibility, then taking real ownership of the “days destined to us” requires us to know what our forebears have entrusted us with. What are those historical gifts that we might use to “centre” and assert ourselves as Māori, as Ngāti Porou? We might look at this directly, i mua: the past before us because it is our history that is so crucial to us as we walk consciously, and with determination, into the future. Our past before us helps us to know where we are going, it helps us correc our course when we stray, keeps us mindful of the “kaupapa”: whatever that might be in our generation and corner of the Maori universe. We’ve heard already today from both Enoka and Arini how Māori, in our own ways, are engaging with our past, drawing on our korero tuku iho (our oral histories passed down across the generations), on our whakairo (our carving), to illuminate the many ways Māori do, and think about, the past.

year: 2016