title: Digital tools disrupting tertiary students’ notions of disciplinary knowledge: Cases in history and tourism

authors: Cowie, Bronwen

subjects: digital tools

abstract: This paper reports on the findings from a two year research project that explored the potential of digital tools in support of teaching–learning across different disciplinary areas at a New Zealand university. Two courses (in History and Tourism) are case studied using data collected through interviews with lecturers, tutors and their students, and an online student survey. Findings from the research revealed that both lecturers and students were challenged in learning about the affordances and use of the lecturer selected digital tools as a mediational means. The tools were not initially transparent to them, nor were they able to be easily deployed to undertake their primary task—teaching for the lecturers, and, learning and demonstrating learning for the students completing assigned tasks. The process of learning and using the tools disrupted participants’ prior thinking and led to new understandings of both disciplines and of effective pedagogies for the two disciplines. The findings increase our understanding of the ways digital tools can develop, challenge and expand tertiary students learning and have implications for practice.

text: Digital tools disrupting tertiary students’ notions of disciplinary knowledge: Cases in history and tourism This paper reports on the findings from a two year research project that explored the potential of digital tools in support of teaching–learning across different disciplinary areas at a New Zealand university. Two courses (in History and Tourism) are case studied using data collected through interviews with lecturers, tutors and their students, and an online student survey. Findings from the research revealed that both lecturers and students were challenged in learning about the affordances and use of the lecturer selected digital tools as a mediational means. The tools were not initially transparent to them, nor were they able to be easily deployed to undertake their primary task—teaching for the lecturers, and, learning and demonstrating learning for the students completing assigned tasks. The process of learning and using the tools disrupted participants’ prior thinking and led to new understandings of both disciplines and of effective pedagogies for the two disciplines. The findings increase our understanding of the ways digital tools can develop, challenge and expand tertiary students learning and have implications for practice.

year: 2014

title: Intentional over-qualification: An exploration of motives and outcomes

authors: Newland , Samantha

subjects: over-qualification

abstract: The effects of over-qualification (OQ) are becoming more established, yet little is known about the processes which drive these outcomes, or why outcomes are sometimes positive rather than negative. Less is known about different forms of over-qualification, whether they exist, and, whether they make a difference to such outcomes. Drawing on the theory of needs-supplies fit, the current research examined how two distinct forms of over-qualification (intentional and unintentional) relate to life satisfaction, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, turnover intentions, and job performance. Data were collected by means of an online self-report survey. Two hundred and twenty-seven respondents (61% female, 39% male) provided data at one time point. Two distinct forms of over-qualification emerged. Ninety participants were intentionally over-qualified and predominantly chose jobs below their qualifications due to work-life balance considerations (e.g., wanting more time for educational pursuits, family, hobbies, and leisure activities). Eighty-four participants were unintentionally over-qualified (i.e., not over-qualified by choice), and fifty-three participants were not over-qualified. Women reported choosing jobs below their qualifications significantly more often than men, as did individuals below the age of 30 years. Unintentional over-qualification proved to be a more harmful form of over-qualification and was linked to a range of undesirable outcomes. Over-qualified employees should not be mass categorised as they have been in many previous studies. Although unintentional over-qualification should be avoided, the same cannot be said for intentional over-qualification. Over-qualified individuals who choose their employment situation appear to represent a largely unrecognised, underutilised, and potentially valuable resource for organisations.

text: Intentional over-qualification: An exploration of motives and outcomes The effects of over-qualification (OQ) are becoming more established, yet little is known about the processes which drive these outcomes, or why outcomes are sometimes positive rather than negative. Less is known about different forms of over-qualification, whether they exist, and, whether they make a difference to such outcomes. Drawing on the theory of needs-supplies fit, the current research examined how two distinct forms of over-qualification (intentional and unintentional) relate to life satisfaction, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, turnover intentions, and job performance. Data were collected by means of an online self-report survey. Two hundred and twenty-seven respondents (61% female, 39% male) provided data at one time point. Two distinct forms of over-qualification emerged. Ninety participants were intentionally over-qualified and predominantly chose jobs below their qualifications due to work-life balance considerations (e.g., wanting more time for educational pursuits, family, hobbies, and leisure activities). Eighty-four participants were unintentionally over-qualified (i.e., not over-qualified by choice), and fifty-three participants were not over-qualified. Women reported choosing jobs below their qualifications significantly more often than men, as did individuals below the age of 30 years. Unintentional over-qualification proved to be a more harmful form of over-qualification and was linked to a range of undesirable outcomes. Over-qualified employees should not be mass categorised as they have been in many previous studies. Although unintentional over-qualification should be avoided, the same cannot be said for intentional over-qualification. Over-qualified individuals who choose their employment situation appear to represent a largely unrecognised, underutilised, and potentially valuable resource for organisations.

year: 2017

title: Decolonising legal research: Developing legal theory to articulate Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms equitably

authors: Hasan-Stein, Linda

abstract: Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms in Aotearoa New Zealand are separated by a considerable theoretical knowledge gap. Māori knowledge systems are generally not well known in a non-Māori context. In order to bridge this theoretical knowledge gap jurisprudential studies need to address this gap from Māori and non-Māori perspectives. Doing so enables the development of decolonised legal research paradigms which allow for the sharing of knowledge from positions of respect. In this work, a new theoretical interpretation of legal research paradigms in our jurisprudence is presented, relying on an interdisciplinary approach to support these interpretive strategies. 

Beginning with the understanding that knowledge is empowering for both Māori and non-Māori, I foreground the epistemological character of decolonising legal research that supports Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call for research to be conceived differently and highlight the need for an integrated recognition of kaupapa Māori in the development of legal theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reimagining our laws as something more than ‘sovereignty’ is the first step in narrowing the current theoretical knowledge gap. I translate the broader language of colonialism into the more specific vocabulary of the criminal justice system, in order to make more visible the manner in which Eurocentrism permeates decolonising legal research and stifles the potential future social development of Māori. 

Since Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call to decolonise research, significant progress has been made with regard to the inclusion of principles of tikanga Māori to guide legal research that includes Māori. However, transforming principles of tikanga Māori into our jurisprudential landscape is a complex task. It is increasingly recognised that understanding the key principles of tikanga Māori is not always sufficient and that a greater theoretical understanding of decolonising legal principles is needed. I will analyse theoretical features of research epistemologies with the goal of grasping the complex array of historically-specific practices through which particular dimensions of our socio-legal experience are produced. 

Finally, I will explore how an interdisciplinary approach enables us to link forms of subjectivity to forms of objectivity in a distinctively “cultural” way, by working through difference rather than against it, and by acknowledging as meaningful each law’s characteristic discursive formation. 

This work is written as an intervention in Eurocentrism, aimed at providing a fresh interpretation of decolonising legal research. On this level, the most important argumentative thread is the one that demonstrates how Eurocentrism can be read as a colonising tool, which deploys positions that marginalise Indigenous knowledge. By unpacking Eurocentrism’s complex meaning it is possible to refashion Eurocentrism to include the notions of “partnerships”, that value subjective experience over objective, and that, in reality, include “Indigenous cultural” qualities. 

This style of decolonising jurisprudence pushes strenuously for a legal paradigm shift towards a culturally safe space for all legal scholars, not just Māori; a shift that could encourage our legal theory to converge in a more holistic way. The most important argumentative threads are those centred on the inclusion of Indigenous arguments, and the emergent character of decolonising legal research categories such as whanaungatanga or relational accountability. This type of innovative legal interpretation offers the possibility for a new theoretical era for decolonising legal research.

text: Decolonising legal research: Developing legal theory to articulate Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms equitably Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms in Aotearoa New Zealand are separated by a considerable theoretical knowledge gap. Māori knowledge systems are generally not well known in a non-Māori context. In order to bridge this theoretical knowledge gap jurisprudential studies need to address this gap from Māori and non-Māori perspectives. Doing so enables the development of decolonised legal research paradigms which allow for the sharing of knowledge from positions of respect. In this work, a new theoretical interpretation of legal research paradigms in our jurisprudence is presented, relying on an interdisciplinary approach to support these interpretive strategies. 

Beginning with the understanding that knowledge is empowering for both Māori and non-Māori, I foreground the epistemological character of decolonising legal research that supports Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call for research to be conceived differently and highlight the need for an integrated recognition of kaupapa Māori in the development of legal theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reimagining our laws as something more than ‘sovereignty’ is the first step in narrowing the current theoretical knowledge gap. I translate the broader language of colonialism into the more specific vocabulary of the criminal justice system, in order to make more visible the manner in which Eurocentrism permeates decolonising legal research and stifles the potential future social development of Māori. 

Since Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call to decolonise research, significant progress has been made with regard to the inclusion of principles of tikanga Māori to guide legal research that includes Māori. However, transforming principles of tikanga Māori into our jurisprudential landscape is a complex task. It is increasingly recognised that understanding the key principles of tikanga Māori is not always sufficient and that a greater theoretical understanding of decolonising legal principles is needed. I will analyse theoretical features of research epistemologies with the goal of grasping the complex array of historically-specific practices through which particular dimensions of our socio-legal experience are produced. 

Finally, I will explore how an interdisciplinary approach enables us to link forms of subjectivity to forms of objectivity in a distinctively “cultural” way, by working through difference rather than against it, and by acknowledging as meaningful each law’s characteristic discursive formation. 

This work is written as an intervention in Eurocentrism, aimed at providing a fresh interpretation of decolonising legal research. On this level, the most important argumentative thread is the one that demonstrates how Eurocentrism can be read as a colonising tool, which deploys positions that marginalise Indigenous knowledge. By unpacking Eurocentrism’s complex meaning it is possible to refashion Eurocentrism to include the notions of “partnerships”, that value subjective experience over objective, and that, in reality, include “Indigenous cultural” qualities. 

This style of decolonising jurisprudence pushes strenuously for a legal paradigm shift towards a culturally safe space for all legal scholars, not just Māori; a shift that could encourage our legal theory to converge in a more holistic way. The most important argumentative threads are those centred on the inclusion of Indigenous arguments, and the emergent character of decolonising legal research categories such as whanaungatanga or relational accountability. This type of innovative legal interpretation offers the possibility for a new theoretical era for decolonising legal research.

year: 2026