title: Te Ira Atua: The spiritual spark of the child

authors: Rameka, Lesley Kay

abstract: “E ai ki tā te Māori he atua tonu kei roto i te mokopuna ina whānau mai ana ia ki tēnei ao” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 35). This quote is from the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s early childhood curriculum policy statement, Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Matauranga mo ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa/Early Childhood Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996). It speaks of the godliness or spiritual essence each child inherits from their ancestors when they are born (Early Childhood Development, 1999; Reedy, 2003). From a traditional Māori perspective, not only is the child endowed with spiritual potential or a divine spirit, but the world the child is born into is also endowed with spiritual influences.

text: Te Ira Atua: The spiritual spark of the child “E ai ki tā te Māori he atua tonu kei roto i te mokopuna ina whānau mai ana ia ki tēnei ao” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 35). This quote is from the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s early childhood curriculum policy statement, Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Matauranga mo ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa/Early Childhood Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996). It speaks of the godliness or spiritual essence each child inherits from their ancestors when they are born (Early Childhood Development, 1999; Reedy, 2003). From a traditional Māori perspective, not only is the child endowed with spiritual potential or a divine spirit, but the world the child is born into is also endowed with spiritual influences.

year: 2015

title: Unpacking media narratives: Racism and problematic reasonings

authors: Tan, Kyle K. H.

abstract: In this research brief, we present summaries of four case studies of racism in mainstream and social media in Aotearoa. Through a series of carefully selected datasets sourced from TV episodes (Police TEN 7), print media such as news articles (including Northland checkpoints), and tweets (Three Waters reform), we outline how Māori are represented across these mediums. With an expert in language modelling on our team, we analysed large datasets that give us sufficient statistical power to infer specific Māori discourses on respective platforms. Further, we examined key themes that characterise how Māori are represented in the media and signal the scale of anti-Māori attacks. For instance, we found that the predominant discussion on Three Waters reform on Twitter focused on ‘conflict’ (distrust towards government; 33%) and ‘capability’ (questioning the credibility of the reform; 23%) rather than its core intention of promoting water ‘safety’ (7%). The modelling analysis was supplemented by in-depth qualitative analysis that integrates anti-Māori themes (Moewaka-Barnes et al., 2012) and problematic reasoning tactics (Sturgill, 2021) to elucidate how false, deficit-based rhetoric about Māori is deployed to fuel racism and disinformation. In summary, our findings reinforce Kupu Taea’s call for new media sectors to integrate Te Tiriti o Waitangi into their practices to safeguard Māori and other minoritised groups who are likely to be at the fore of racist attacks.

text: Unpacking media narratives: Racism and problematic reasonings In this research brief, we present summaries of four case studies of racism in mainstream and social media in Aotearoa. Through a series of carefully selected datasets sourced from TV episodes (Police TEN 7), print media such as news articles (including Northland checkpoints), and tweets (Three Waters reform), we outline how Māori are represented across these mediums. With an expert in language modelling on our team, we analysed large datasets that give us sufficient statistical power to infer specific Māori discourses on respective platforms. Further, we examined key themes that characterise how Māori are represented in the media and signal the scale of anti-Māori attacks. For instance, we found that the predominant discussion on Three Waters reform on Twitter focused on ‘conflict’ (distrust towards government; 33%) and ‘capability’ (questioning the credibility of the reform; 23%) rather than its core intention of promoting water ‘safety’ (7%). The modelling analysis was supplemented by in-depth qualitative analysis that integrates anti-Māori themes (Moewaka-Barnes et al., 2012) and problematic reasoning tactics (Sturgill, 2021) to elucidate how false, deficit-based rhetoric about Māori is deployed to fuel racism and disinformation. In summary, our findings reinforce Kupu Taea’s call for new media sectors to integrate Te Tiriti o Waitangi into their practices to safeguard Māori and other minoritised groups who are likely to be at the fore of racist attacks.

year: 2025

title: Modelling water, sediment and nutrient fluxes from a mixed land-use catchment in New Zealand: effects of hydrologic conditions on SWAT model performance

authors: Me, W.

abstract: The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was configured for the Puarenga Stream catchment (77 km2), Rotorua, New Zealand. The catchment land use is mostly plantation forest, some of which is spray-irrigated with treated wastewater. A Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI-2) procedure was used to auto-calibrate unknown parameter values in the SWAT model which was applied to the Puarenga catchment. Discharge, sediment, and nutrient variables were then partitioned into two components (base flow and quick flow) based on hydrograph separation. A manual procedure (one-at a-time sensitivity analysis) was then used to quantify parameter sensitivity for the two hydrologically-separated regimes. Comparison of simulated daily mean discharge, sediment and nutrient concentrations with high-frequency, event-based measurements allowed the error in model predictions to be quantified. This comparison highlighted the potential for model error associated with quick-flow fluxes in flashy lower-order streams to be underestimated compared with low-frequency (e.g. monthly) measurements derived predominantly from base flow measurements. To overcome this problem we advocate the use of high-frequency, event-based monitoring data during calibration and dynamic parameter values with some dependence on discharge regime. This study has important implications for quantifying uncertainty in hydrological models, particularly for studies where model simulations are used to simulate responses of stream discharge and composition to changes in irrigation and land management.

text: Modelling water, sediment and nutrient fluxes from a mixed land-use catchment in New Zealand: effects of hydrologic conditions on SWAT model performance The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was configured for the Puarenga Stream catchment (77 km2), Rotorua, New Zealand. The catchment land use is mostly plantation forest, some of which is spray-irrigated with treated wastewater. A Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI-2) procedure was used to auto-calibrate unknown parameter values in the SWAT model which was applied to the Puarenga catchment. Discharge, sediment, and nutrient variables were then partitioned into two components (base flow and quick flow) based on hydrograph separation. A manual procedure (one-at a-time sensitivity analysis) was then used to quantify parameter sensitivity for the two hydrologically-separated regimes. Comparison of simulated daily mean discharge, sediment and nutrient concentrations with high-frequency, event-based measurements allowed the error in model predictions to be quantified. This comparison highlighted the potential for model error associated with quick-flow fluxes in flashy lower-order streams to be underestimated compared with low-frequency (e.g. monthly) measurements derived predominantly from base flow measurements. To overcome this problem we advocate the use of high-frequency, event-based monitoring data during calibration and dynamic parameter values with some dependence on discharge regime. This study has important implications for quantifying uncertainty in hydrological models, particularly for studies where model simulations are used to simulate responses of stream discharge and composition to changes in irrigation and land management.

year: 2015-04-29