title: The international law gaze: America’s fist and the WTO Appellate Body

authors: Alvarez-Jimenez, Alberto

abstract: Saturn Devouring His Son is a famous and disturbing painting by Francisco Goya that you can see at the Prado Museum in Madrid. (http://www.franciscogoya.com/saturn-devouring-his-son.jsp). It depicts the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus (Saturn), who, fearing to be overthrown by his sons, devoured each of them at birth, save one.  Like Saturn, the United States seems to be attempting to devour the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the jewel of the dispute settlement system of an organization that the United States much helped to give birth to. What is the United States doing? It is blocking the consensus within the WTO for the appointment or reappointment of Appellate Body members to the point that the Appellate Body has been forced to operate with a reduced number of members. You should not dismiss this policy as just a new expression of the tragicomedy that is taking place in Washington since January: the attack on the Appellate Body is one and the very same that the Obama administration put in place in 2016 when it blocked the reappointment of Seung Wha Chang, a South Korean Appellate Body member whom the United States thought of as having views that expanded the authority of the Appellate Body. (Alex Lawson, “US Playing with Fire in WTO Appellate Body Spat” QLAW360. May 24, 2016. https://www.law360.com/articles/799678/us-playing-with-fire-in-wto-appellate-body-spat). The action forced WTO members to elect another candidate, Hyun Chong Kim, at the end of 2016. However, he resigned to become South Korea’s Trade Minister in 2017, thus creating a vacancy again. Two other Appellate Body members, Ricardo Ramirez and Peter Van den Bossche, ended their second terms in 2017. The three vacancies have not been filled, due to the United States’ behaviour.  For an institution of seven members, this situation is already severely affecting its operation

text: The international law gaze: America’s fist and the WTO Appellate Body Saturn Devouring His Son is a famous and disturbing painting by Francisco Goya that you can see at the Prado Museum in Madrid. (http://www.franciscogoya.com/saturn-devouring-his-son.jsp). It depicts the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus (Saturn), who, fearing to be overthrown by his sons, devoured each of them at birth, save one.  Like Saturn, the United States seems to be attempting to devour the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the jewel of the dispute settlement system of an organization that the United States much helped to give birth to. What is the United States doing? It is blocking the consensus within the WTO for the appointment or reappointment of Appellate Body members to the point that the Appellate Body has been forced to operate with a reduced number of members. You should not dismiss this policy as just a new expression of the tragicomedy that is taking place in Washington since January: the attack on the Appellate Body is one and the very same that the Obama administration put in place in 2016 when it blocked the reappointment of Seung Wha Chang, a South Korean Appellate Body member whom the United States thought of as having views that expanded the authority of the Appellate Body. (Alex Lawson, “US Playing with Fire in WTO Appellate Body Spat” QLAW360. May 24, 2016. https://www.law360.com/articles/799678/us-playing-with-fire-in-wto-appellate-body-spat). The action forced WTO members to elect another candidate, Hyun Chong Kim, at the end of 2016. However, he resigned to become South Korea’s Trade Minister in 2017, thus creating a vacancy again. Two other Appellate Body members, Ricardo Ramirez and Peter Van den Bossche, ended their second terms in 2017. The three vacancies have not been filled, due to the United States’ behaviour.  For an institution of seven members, this situation is already severely affecting its operation

year: 2017

title: Recent shocks and long-term change in the Samoan economy

authors: Gibson, John

subjects: economy

abstract: The strengths exhibited by the Samoan economy during the period of steady growth from 1998 to 2007 have since been tested by considerable volatility in economic activity, declining employment, rapidly rising prices, the global financial crisis, and the September 2009 tsunami. The economy has done reasonably well in the face of these challenges with key economic support in the form of aid, remittances and tourism. Questions are raised about the future viability of these forms of support.

text: Recent shocks and long-term change in the Samoan economy The strengths exhibited by the Samoan economy during the period of steady growth from 1998 to 2007 have since been tested by considerable volatility in economic activity, declining employment, rapidly rising prices, the global financial crisis, and the September 2009 tsunami. The economy has done reasonably well in the face of these challenges with key economic support in the form of aid, remittances and tourism. Questions are raised about the future viability of these forms of support.

year: 2010

title: Aotearoa's heart language: An investigation of compulsory te reo Māori language learning for non-Māori teaching students in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Moon, Watene Malcolm Ernest

subjects: Te reo Māori

abstract: Te Reo Māori is becoming more prominent on our airwaves, in government agencies and within schools. Within a wider education system that increasingly seeks to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, teachers in New Zealand are being asked to become more competent in their development and use of Te Reo Māori, despite over 70% of teachers identifying as New Zealand European. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand passed a requirement in 2021 specifying that new teachers should demonstrate Te Reo Māori competency at between level 3 and 4 of the Māori language curriculum by the time they graduate from their initial teacher education. Learning any second language as an adult can be challenging, and so the Teaching Council’s requirement is a big ask, particularly for non-Māori teaching students who may have had little to no exposure to the Māori language prior to enrolling into the teaching programme.

This thesis reports on a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of four non-Māori pre-service teaching students in relation to the requirement that they learn Te Reo Māori as a part of their teaching degree programme. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data, incorporating culturally responsive approaches during data collection and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify findings. The backdrop for this study was an interpretivist paradigm that recognises the socially constructed nature of each individual’s reality. This research paradigm was appropriate for this research study as I sought to interpret and understand the experiences of each participant with the Teaching Council’s Te Reo Māori requirement. An interpretivist research design also aligns with a qualitative approach to data collection which made this paradigm a good fit for the research project.

The findings suggest that the new Teaching Council requirement is leading to language progress, although there have been challenges for the participants. All four participants have increased their knowledge, understanding and confidence to engage with Te Reo Māori. There was also a noticeable shift in cultural competence amongst all four participants. A very positive outcome when considering that all of the participants came into the teaching programme with little to no experience with Māori language and culture. However, learning Te Reo Māori has at times been confronting for these participants, primarily when historical issues associated with colonisation and the repression of the Māori language have surfaced. Technical aspects of second language acquisition have also caused challenges such as in relation to correct pronunciation and participants’ opportunities to use Te Reo Māori.
 
An over-riding theme from this research has been that although the Teaching Council’s language learning mandate presents an ambitious challenge for pre-service teachers, the four participants in this study have all experienced what can be characterised as a transformative learning process in relation to their Te Reo Māori journey thus far. That is, each participant had learning moments where they were able to critically reflect on their worldview and prior knowledge of Māori language and culture. Through this transformative process not only did the participants gain a deeper understanding of a Māori worldview, but they were able to transition this understanding into their developing teacher practice to the benefit of themselves and their students. While the participants for this study were purposively selected, the positive outcomes evident in their language learning journey suggest that there is potential for this new Teaching Council mandate to be achievable. The findings suggest that this new mandate might be a powerful lever towards a cultural shift for our English-medium teachers and within their classrooms as Te Reo Māori becomes more prominent. This study is also significant because of the scarcity of research on this new policy, and on non-Māori who are required to learn Te Reo Māori as part of their teaching degree. There could be wider significance for this research in the public sphere with attitudes potentially shifting more favourably towards Te Reo Māori and a bicultural country, centred on a Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership. The findings of this study will be of use to future and current non-Māori teaching students to help navigate this new mandate. Teacher educators could benefit from the implications for culturally responsive teaching and learning. This study may inform researchers in the field of linguistics and education who might wish to build on the results of this research project to inform further studies. Finally, policy makers may be interested to learn about the benefits and challenges that have emerged from this new Teaching Council mandate. Lastly, this research presents an exciting opportunity to showcase this new Teaching Council mandate, and what one participant in the present study described as the ‘heart language’ of New Zealand, with the potential for Te Reo Māori to flourish beyond language classrooms and Māori-medium education and into our mainstream education system, where it belongs.

text: Aotearoa's heart language: An investigation of compulsory te reo Māori language learning for non-Māori teaching students in Aotearoa New Zealand Te Reo Māori is becoming more prominent on our airwaves, in government agencies and within schools. Within a wider education system that increasingly seeks to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, teachers in New Zealand are being asked to become more competent in their development and use of Te Reo Māori, despite over 70% of teachers identifying as New Zealand European. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand passed a requirement in 2021 specifying that new teachers should demonstrate Te Reo Māori competency at between level 3 and 4 of the Māori language curriculum by the time they graduate from their initial teacher education. Learning any second language as an adult can be challenging, and so the Teaching Council’s requirement is a big ask, particularly for non-Māori teaching students who may have had little to no exposure to the Māori language prior to enrolling into the teaching programme.

This thesis reports on a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of four non-Māori pre-service teaching students in relation to the requirement that they learn Te Reo Māori as a part of their teaching degree programme. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data, incorporating culturally responsive approaches during data collection and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify findings. The backdrop for this study was an interpretivist paradigm that recognises the socially constructed nature of each individual’s reality. This research paradigm was appropriate for this research study as I sought to interpret and understand the experiences of each participant with the Teaching Council’s Te Reo Māori requirement. An interpretivist research design also aligns with a qualitative approach to data collection which made this paradigm a good fit for the research project.

The findings suggest that the new Teaching Council requirement is leading to language progress, although there have been challenges for the participants. All four participants have increased their knowledge, understanding and confidence to engage with Te Reo Māori. There was also a noticeable shift in cultural competence amongst all four participants. A very positive outcome when considering that all of the participants came into the teaching programme with little to no experience with Māori language and culture. However, learning Te Reo Māori has at times been confronting for these participants, primarily when historical issues associated with colonisation and the repression of the Māori language have surfaced. Technical aspects of second language acquisition have also caused challenges such as in relation to correct pronunciation and participants’ opportunities to use Te Reo Māori.
 
An over-riding theme from this research has been that although the Teaching Council’s language learning mandate presents an ambitious challenge for pre-service teachers, the four participants in this study have all experienced what can be characterised as a transformative learning process in relation to their Te Reo Māori journey thus far. That is, each participant had learning moments where they were able to critically reflect on their worldview and prior knowledge of Māori language and culture. Through this transformative process not only did the participants gain a deeper understanding of a Māori worldview, but they were able to transition this understanding into their developing teacher practice to the benefit of themselves and their students. While the participants for this study were purposively selected, the positive outcomes evident in their language learning journey suggest that there is potential for this new Teaching Council mandate to be achievable. The findings suggest that this new mandate might be a powerful lever towards a cultural shift for our English-medium teachers and within their classrooms as Te Reo Māori becomes more prominent. This study is also significant because of the scarcity of research on this new policy, and on non-Māori who are required to learn Te Reo Māori as part of their teaching degree. There could be wider significance for this research in the public sphere with attitudes potentially shifting more favourably towards Te Reo Māori and a bicultural country, centred on a Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership. The findings of this study will be of use to future and current non-Māori teaching students to help navigate this new mandate. Teacher educators could benefit from the implications for culturally responsive teaching and learning. This study may inform researchers in the field of linguistics and education who might wish to build on the results of this research project to inform further studies. Finally, policy makers may be interested to learn about the benefits and challenges that have emerged from this new Teaching Council mandate. Lastly, this research presents an exciting opportunity to showcase this new Teaching Council mandate, and what one participant in the present study described as the ‘heart language’ of New Zealand, with the potential for Te Reo Māori to flourish beyond language classrooms and Māori-medium education and into our mainstream education system, where it belongs.

year: 2023