title: Young Maori males experiences in a secondary school context as sporting, academic and cultural identities.

authors: Porteous, Erin

subjects: Male Maori

abstract: This research focused on the journey of male Māori through secondary school and the effect on their identities in terms of sport, culture and academia. The two key areas of focus were how the culture of the school, including cultural stereotypes, impacts on male Māori learner self-concept, and whether the effect of creating an all Māori boys form class has resulted in an increased sense of belonging and engagement. 
The research was conducted as a case study underpinned by an interpretive methodology, using a focus group interview. The group was made up of five boys, chosen from a newly formed all boys’ Year 11 Māori form class. The boys were selected in conjunction with their form teacher and the schools Kaitiaki, in order to reflect a range of sporting, academic and cultural levels. 
The research findings found that although the boys view of their experiences in school seemed positive overall, they described common incidences and reactions to racial discrimination. The exposure to embedded racial stereotypes and behaviours caused them to create their own solutions, often through threatening violence or aggressive reactions. It appears that when young male Māori are more closely connected to Māori culture, they are more likely they are to create these responses. 
Teachers remain integral to the engagement and belonging of a young male Māori in secondary school. In support of the findings from Kia Eke Panuku (2013), this study found that male Māori require positive relationships with their teachers to engage in the subject and school in a general sense. Relationships based on ako and manaakitanga are key to these students viewing their experiences in school as successful.
Another finding showed the importance of sport and physical activity to young male Māori, though success in this area has been a limiting factor in contributing to overall success in secondary school. The placing of male Māori as a ‘physical being’ (Hokowhitu, 2003a; Hokowhitu, 2003b; Hokowhitu, 2004) creates spaces where Māori can be successful, such as practical based subjects like physical education. This success is perceived as acceptable yet often isolates them away from success in other areas (Erueti & Palmer, 2014), feeding into the stereotype itself.
The success of the all boys’ Māori form class was scrutinised by this study, and found the intended outcomes had not necessarily been met. The overall impact was that the boys had been grouped with a Māori form teacher and the intentions of additional support had been overlooked due to time pressures and deficit thinking in terms of capabilities of the class members.  For the Māori boys in this study, the challenges of overcome historical cultural stereotypes added to the challenge of succeeding at secondary school. The expectation that they walk successfully between the realms of Māori and pākehā to achieve in the current education system coupled with the feeling they needed to act ‘pākehā’ in order to achieve is particularly disturbing. The inequity for them in denying part of their identity seems a hefty price to pay for educational success.
This study highlights the need for schools, communities and individual teachers to recognise these racial and systemic inequities and work tirelessly to develop strategies to eliminate them, in order to create to take a giant step towards equity for all New Zealanders within education.

text: Young Maori males experiences in a secondary school context as sporting, academic and cultural identities. This research focused on the journey of male Māori through secondary school and the effect on their identities in terms of sport, culture and academia. The two key areas of focus were how the culture of the school, including cultural stereotypes, impacts on male Māori learner self-concept, and whether the effect of creating an all Māori boys form class has resulted in an increased sense of belonging and engagement. 
The research was conducted as a case study underpinned by an interpretive methodology, using a focus group interview. The group was made up of five boys, chosen from a newly formed all boys’ Year 11 Māori form class. The boys were selected in conjunction with their form teacher and the schools Kaitiaki, in order to reflect a range of sporting, academic and cultural levels. 
The research findings found that although the boys view of their experiences in school seemed positive overall, they described common incidences and reactions to racial discrimination. The exposure to embedded racial stereotypes and behaviours caused them to create their own solutions, often through threatening violence or aggressive reactions. It appears that when young male Māori are more closely connected to Māori culture, they are more likely they are to create these responses. 
Teachers remain integral to the engagement and belonging of a young male Māori in secondary school. In support of the findings from Kia Eke Panuku (2013), this study found that male Māori require positive relationships with their teachers to engage in the subject and school in a general sense. Relationships based on ako and manaakitanga are key to these students viewing their experiences in school as successful.
Another finding showed the importance of sport and physical activity to young male Māori, though success in this area has been a limiting factor in contributing to overall success in secondary school. The placing of male Māori as a ‘physical being’ (Hokowhitu, 2003a; Hokowhitu, 2003b; Hokowhitu, 2004) creates spaces where Māori can be successful, such as practical based subjects like physical education. This success is perceived as acceptable yet often isolates them away from success in other areas (Erueti & Palmer, 2014), feeding into the stereotype itself.
The success of the all boys’ Māori form class was scrutinised by this study, and found the intended outcomes had not necessarily been met. The overall impact was that the boys had been grouped with a Māori form teacher and the intentions of additional support had been overlooked due to time pressures and deficit thinking in terms of capabilities of the class members.  For the Māori boys in this study, the challenges of overcome historical cultural stereotypes added to the challenge of succeeding at secondary school. The expectation that they walk successfully between the realms of Māori and pākehā to achieve in the current education system coupled with the feeling they needed to act ‘pākehā’ in order to achieve is particularly disturbing. The inequity for them in denying part of their identity seems a hefty price to pay for educational success.
This study highlights the need for schools, communities and individual teachers to recognise these racial and systemic inequities and work tirelessly to develop strategies to eliminate them, in order to create to take a giant step towards equity for all New Zealanders within education.

year: 2016

title: Ranapia Mokena: son of Mokena Hou

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Little is known of the early life of Ranapia Mokena. He owned land close to Thames and acquired interests in other blocks, which provided him with some income, but he was never wealthy, as indicated by his being sued for a series of small debts. He invested in a small way in mining at both Thames and Te Aroha, and even worked in one claim. His life was most notable for being a deacon in the Church of England.
Ranapia was another example of a rangatira who supported the Crown, as was illustrated by his becoming a member of the Thames Native Rifle Volunteers. Childless, in his old age he brought up a niece’s daughter.

text: Ranapia Mokena: son of Mokena Hou Little is known of the early life of Ranapia Mokena. He owned land close to Thames and acquired interests in other blocks, which provided him with some income, but he was never wealthy, as indicated by his being sued for a series of small debts. He invested in a small way in mining at both Thames and Te Aroha, and even worked in one claim. His life was most notable for being a deacon in the Church of England.
Ranapia was another example of a rangatira who supported the Crown, as was illustrated by his becoming a member of the Thames Native Rifle Volunteers. Childless, in his old age he brought up a niece’s daughter.

year: 2016

title: The impact of patchiness on plant-flow interactions and consequences for seagrass habitat suitability: a multiscale study

authors: da Silva, Tiago

subjects: seagrass

abstract: Seagrasses are among the most productive marine ecosystems, providing essential ecological services. As ecosystem engineers, these flowering plants modify their environment through physical, chemical, and biological processes. A key physical mechanism involves stabilizing sediments by reducing near-bed flows, which result from the resistance created by plant stems. Flow attenuation increases sedimentation and reduces erosion of seabed, making seagrasses valuable for coastal protection in the face of climate change. Additional ecological services provided by seagrasses include improving water quality by cycling nutrients, providing habitat and feeding grounds for marine species, and sequestering carbon. However, the ability of seagrasses in providing these ecological services is strong influenced by the extent and spatial distribution of vegetation coverage. Patchiness in seagrass beds alters interactions between seagrass and water flow, with areas of varied flow resistance creating heterogeneous flow and turbulence conditions. This thesis assesses the impacts of patchiness, and in particular, the effect of gaps (bare sediment) in otherwise, continuous vegetation coverage, on plant-flow interactions through field measurements, numerical hydrodynamic modelling, and machine-learning classification methods. A multiscale approach is employed: First, a small-scale, field-based study explores the impacts of a bare patch on flow and turbulence, and the links with the spatial distribution of the surrounding seagrass. Second, a suite of numerical modelling simulations was undertaken to investigate the hydraulic interactions of multiple bare patches in a meadow-scale domain. Finally, estuary-scale species distribution models were developed based on topographic and sediment property variables to evaluate seagrass habitat suitability in a large tidal estuary, while also correlating habitat suitability with seagrass patchiness at a larger spatial scale.
The first chapter examines the effects of seagrass patchiness on plant-flow interactions. Data on vegetation cover, bed elevation, and hydrodynamics were collected within and around a bare gap in the natural intertidal seagrass meadows of Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand. The small-scale, high-frequency measurements of flow and turbulence revealed faster flow speeds within bare gaps, and slower flow speeds above the surrounding seagrass, during the incoming flood phase of the tidal cycle. Although flow speeds were slower above the seagrass adjacent to the gap, turbulence, as characterised by the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy, remained elevated above the vegetation These turbulence levels were dominated by down-deceleration events, which directed water and nutrient fluxes downward into the canopy, potentially explaining the presence of denser seagrass along the sides of the gap. We observed a spatial alignment between tidal flows and spatial distribution of seagrass: NDVI-derived maps of seagrass coverage demonstrated that the axis of seagrass continuity coincided with the dominant flow direction during flood tide at both the gap scale (O(100)m) and meadow scale (O(102)m), thus suggesting that small-scale plant-flow interactions are also strongly modulated by large-scale processes, such as tidal asymmetry. These findings suggest a feedback mechanism in which seagrass patchiness and spatial structure are shaped by flow transience, which then also influence ecological conditions associated with the survival and growth of the plants.
The work examining the impact of a single bare patch on plant-flow interactions was extended to investigate the collective impacts of multiple bare gaps at the meadow scale. This section used numerical modelling, focusing on unidirectional flows within emergent vegetation. Simulations with single gaps showed that horizontal flows were accelerated within the modelling domain, with the flow acceleration increasing up to a critical gap size. Beyond this critical size, further gap enlargement did not increase flow speeds. Paired-gaps simulations revealed that flow interactions occurred when the gaps were separated by distances less than or equal to two gap diameters, especially when aligned in the streamwise direction, where wakes of accelerated flow interconnected, and flow changes were maximised. Minimal flow changes were observed for laterally aligned gaps. Hydrodynamic simulations involving multiple gaps assessed the effects of fragmentation, defined by the number and size of gaps, on flow at fixed levels of bare bed coverage. The results showed that the flow dynamics within aquatic canopies if also driven by spatial configuration of gaps, rather than bare bed coverage alone. Models with fewer, larger gaps caused greater flow acceleration within the idealised meadow than those with more numerous smaller gaps at the same coverage ratio. These effects were more pronounced at higher bare coverage levels, demonstrating that the arrangement of gaps is one of the driving factors in modifying flow and influencing ecosystem stressors linked to flow modification and habitat degradation. 
Lastly, as feedback mechanisms are species- and system-specific, understanding the relationship between seagrass distribution and environmental factors across different systems is essential. To address this need, a regional-scale study was conducted to explore how topography and sediment composition determine the distribution and the habitat suitability of the temperate, shortleaf species Zostera muelleri in Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand. Using Random Forest species distribution models, the influences of twenty topographic and substrate variables on seagrass habitat suitability were assessed across a large (~240 km²), predominantly intertidal (~60%) estuary. The models showed strong predictive performance as assessed by a mean area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84. Elevation emerged as the most significant factor (mean importance score = 0.29), followed by sediment composition (mean importance score = 0.17 to 0.22), while other topographic variables had a lesser impact (mean importance score < 0.17). Suitable habitats were predominantly located in sandy areas near mean sea level, within a narrow optimal elevation range. The study also revealed that broad-scale patchiness (minimum patch size = 0.1 ha) was significantly influenced by these environmental factors, with seagrass forming smaller, clustered patches in areas of lower habitat suitability, where patches also exhibited a higher presence of bare gaps. 
The combined findings of the three chapters highlight the controls of the spatial heterogeneity of aquatic vegetation, and in particular, the presence of gaps on the seagrass dynamics across scales. Understanding the links between spatial distributions and environmental drivers can be used to inform frameworks for targeted conservation and restoration of Zostera muelleri.

text: The impact of patchiness on plant-flow interactions and consequences for seagrass habitat suitability: a multiscale study Seagrasses are among the most productive marine ecosystems, providing essential ecological services. As ecosystem engineers, these flowering plants modify their environment through physical, chemical, and biological processes. A key physical mechanism involves stabilizing sediments by reducing near-bed flows, which result from the resistance created by plant stems. Flow attenuation increases sedimentation and reduces erosion of seabed, making seagrasses valuable for coastal protection in the face of climate change. Additional ecological services provided by seagrasses include improving water quality by cycling nutrients, providing habitat and feeding grounds for marine species, and sequestering carbon. However, the ability of seagrasses in providing these ecological services is strong influenced by the extent and spatial distribution of vegetation coverage. Patchiness in seagrass beds alters interactions between seagrass and water flow, with areas of varied flow resistance creating heterogeneous flow and turbulence conditions. This thesis assesses the impacts of patchiness, and in particular, the effect of gaps (bare sediment) in otherwise, continuous vegetation coverage, on plant-flow interactions through field measurements, numerical hydrodynamic modelling, and machine-learning classification methods. A multiscale approach is employed: First, a small-scale, field-based study explores the impacts of a bare patch on flow and turbulence, and the links with the spatial distribution of the surrounding seagrass. Second, a suite of numerical modelling simulations was undertaken to investigate the hydraulic interactions of multiple bare patches in a meadow-scale domain. Finally, estuary-scale species distribution models were developed based on topographic and sediment property variables to evaluate seagrass habitat suitability in a large tidal estuary, while also correlating habitat suitability with seagrass patchiness at a larger spatial scale.
The first chapter examines the effects of seagrass patchiness on plant-flow interactions. Data on vegetation cover, bed elevation, and hydrodynamics were collected within and around a bare gap in the natural intertidal seagrass meadows of Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand. The small-scale, high-frequency measurements of flow and turbulence revealed faster flow speeds within bare gaps, and slower flow speeds above the surrounding seagrass, during the incoming flood phase of the tidal cycle. Although flow speeds were slower above the seagrass adjacent to the gap, turbulence, as characterised by the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy, remained elevated above the vegetation These turbulence levels were dominated by down-deceleration events, which directed water and nutrient fluxes downward into the canopy, potentially explaining the presence of denser seagrass along the sides of the gap. We observed a spatial alignment between tidal flows and spatial distribution of seagrass: NDVI-derived maps of seagrass coverage demonstrated that the axis of seagrass continuity coincided with the dominant flow direction during flood tide at both the gap scale (O(100)m) and meadow scale (O(102)m), thus suggesting that small-scale plant-flow interactions are also strongly modulated by large-scale processes, such as tidal asymmetry. These findings suggest a feedback mechanism in which seagrass patchiness and spatial structure are shaped by flow transience, which then also influence ecological conditions associated with the survival and growth of the plants.
The work examining the impact of a single bare patch on plant-flow interactions was extended to investigate the collective impacts of multiple bare gaps at the meadow scale. This section used numerical modelling, focusing on unidirectional flows within emergent vegetation. Simulations with single gaps showed that horizontal flows were accelerated within the modelling domain, with the flow acceleration increasing up to a critical gap size. Beyond this critical size, further gap enlargement did not increase flow speeds. Paired-gaps simulations revealed that flow interactions occurred when the gaps were separated by distances less than or equal to two gap diameters, especially when aligned in the streamwise direction, where wakes of accelerated flow interconnected, and flow changes were maximised. Minimal flow changes were observed for laterally aligned gaps. Hydrodynamic simulations involving multiple gaps assessed the effects of fragmentation, defined by the number and size of gaps, on flow at fixed levels of bare bed coverage. The results showed that the flow dynamics within aquatic canopies if also driven by spatial configuration of gaps, rather than bare bed coverage alone. Models with fewer, larger gaps caused greater flow acceleration within the idealised meadow than those with more numerous smaller gaps at the same coverage ratio. These effects were more pronounced at higher bare coverage levels, demonstrating that the arrangement of gaps is one of the driving factors in modifying flow and influencing ecosystem stressors linked to flow modification and habitat degradation. 
Lastly, as feedback mechanisms are species- and system-specific, understanding the relationship between seagrass distribution and environmental factors across different systems is essential. To address this need, a regional-scale study was conducted to explore how topography and sediment composition determine the distribution and the habitat suitability of the temperate, shortleaf species Zostera muelleri in Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand. Using Random Forest species distribution models, the influences of twenty topographic and substrate variables on seagrass habitat suitability were assessed across a large (~240 km²), predominantly intertidal (~60%) estuary. The models showed strong predictive performance as assessed by a mean area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84. Elevation emerged as the most significant factor (mean importance score = 0.29), followed by sediment composition (mean importance score = 0.17 to 0.22), while other topographic variables had a lesser impact (mean importance score < 0.17). Suitable habitats were predominantly located in sandy areas near mean sea level, within a narrow optimal elevation range. The study also revealed that broad-scale patchiness (minimum patch size = 0.1 ha) was significantly influenced by these environmental factors, with seagrass forming smaller, clustered patches in areas of lower habitat suitability, where patches also exhibited a higher presence of bare gaps. 
The combined findings of the three chapters highlight the controls of the spatial heterogeneity of aquatic vegetation, and in particular, the presence of gaps on the seagrass dynamics across scales. Understanding the links between spatial distributions and environmental drivers can be used to inform frameworks for targeted conservation and restoration of Zostera muelleri.

year: 2024