title: Ignorance in a knowledge economy: Unknowing the foreigner in the neoliberal condition

authors: Arndt, Sonja Kathrina

subjects: Education

abstract: Globalisation has thrown imagination and creativity into turmoil. The creative space of tertiary teaching struggles with conflicting ideals, as real and imagined boundaries are crossed, and educational borderlines change. Immigrant early childhood teachers have flocked to Aotearoa New Zealand in recent years, supported and desired by immigration policy and neoliberal institutional needs. In this paper I draw on Kristeva's (1991) suggestion that there is a foreigner within each of us, and that it is only by "recognizing him within ourselves" that "we are spared detesting him in himself' (p. 1). I problematize the notion of knowledge in relation to immigrant student teachers' self-formation as academic subjects with the suggestion of unknowability and ignorance as a realistic orientation to subvert the need for certainty. I represent the uncertainty of the erratic, seductive neoliberal condition with Bauman's notion of liquid modernity, and argue that knowledge of the other, even if it were possible, would be superseded and obsolete as rapidly as it is acquired. Afresh conceptualization of ignorance stretches the imagination of what is, inherently, a boundaryless educational space.

text: Ignorance in a knowledge economy: Unknowing the foreigner in the neoliberal condition Globalisation has thrown imagination and creativity into turmoil. The creative space of tertiary teaching struggles with conflicting ideals, as real and imagined boundaries are crossed, and educational borderlines change. Immigrant early childhood teachers have flocked to Aotearoa New Zealand in recent years, supported and desired by immigration policy and neoliberal institutional needs. In this paper I draw on Kristeva's (1991) suggestion that there is a foreigner within each of us, and that it is only by "recognizing him within ourselves" that "we are spared detesting him in himself' (p. 1). I problematize the notion of knowledge in relation to immigrant student teachers' self-formation as academic subjects with the suggestion of unknowability and ignorance as a realistic orientation to subvert the need for certainty. I represent the uncertainty of the erratic, seductive neoliberal condition with Bauman's notion of liquid modernity, and argue that knowledge of the other, even if it were possible, would be superseded and obsolete as rapidly as it is acquired. Afresh conceptualization of ignorance stretches the imagination of what is, inherently, a boundaryless educational space.

year: 2013

title: Heavy Metal Contamination from Landfills in Coastal Marine Sediments:  Kiribati and New Zealand.

authors: Redfern, Farran Mack

subjects: Landfill leachate

abstract: Landfill leachates are a concern in the Pacific Region where they may contribute contaminants to the coastal marine environment.  Poor waste management and pollution of coastal waters are amongst the major environmental problems in Kiribati, particularly in South Tarawa.  An investigation of areas adjacent to coastal landfill sites; Betio, Kiribati and Auckland, New Zealand was undertaken.  The Kiribati case study investigated metal contamination in marine sediments at an operational landfill while the New Zealand study was adjacent to a coastal landfill decommissioned in the 1970s. Surficial sediments (top 15 cm) were collected along transects.  At both the New Zealand and Kiribati sites, 3 transects adjacent to the landfill and 1 control transect were sampled.  The sediments were analyzed for particle size distribution, organic matter content, and Cd, As, Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni and Zn concentrations.  The pH was also measured.

The Kiribati study site had a groundwater pH of 7.14 - 8.85, and sediment materials were dominated by sand with a low organic matter content (1.60 - 2.21 %). At the Kiribati sites Cd, As, and Ni were below the detection limits.  The Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations were lower at the Kiribati control transect than the landfill transects.  Cr level decreased away from the landfill indicating the landfill as a possible source.  However, Cu and Zn did not show any distribution pattern suggesting other potential sources (port and shipwrecks) may have contributed to the elevated levels.  At the Kiribati landfill and control transects the Cr, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn concentration were below the Effects Range-Low (ERL) and the threshold Effects levels (TEL) of the Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQCs) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, indicating no potential adverse ecological effects on the biota.  At the Kiribati control site the Cr, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn concentrations were within the background ranges published for clean reef sediment but the concentration at the landfill transects exceeded the background ranges. The concentration of mercury at both the control and landfill transects in Kiribati exceeded the Effects Range-Median (ERM) and the Probable Effects Level (PEL) of the SQGs indicating potential adverse ecological effects on the local benthic communities.

The New Zealand study site sediments had a pH of 6.22 - 7.24, and comprised up to 90 % clay/silt, with an organic matter content of 5 - 22 %.  At the New Zealand landfill transects Arsenic concentrations decreased away from the landfill indicating the landfill as a possible source.  Other metals such as Cr did not show a pattern of distribution along the transects, or with depth, suggesting that the landfill was not the only source of these metals.  There was a weak correlation between organic matter content, particle size distribution, and metal enrichment.

At the New Zealand site, there were no marked differences in metal concentrations between the landfill and control transects suggesting the landfill was not the only source of metals and that the wider urban or industrial run-off may have contributed.  All the metal concentrations, except Hg and Zn, exceeded the ERL and the TEL values indicating the potential for adverse ecological effects of metals on the benthic communities.  At the New Zealand site the Hg and Zn concentrations exceeded both the ERM and PEL of the SQGs and are considered highly contaminated.

text: Heavy Metal Contamination from Landfills in Coastal Marine Sediments:  Kiribati and New Zealand. Landfill leachates are a concern in the Pacific Region where they may contribute contaminants to the coastal marine environment.  Poor waste management and pollution of coastal waters are amongst the major environmental problems in Kiribati, particularly in South Tarawa.  An investigation of areas adjacent to coastal landfill sites; Betio, Kiribati and Auckland, New Zealand was undertaken.  The Kiribati case study investigated metal contamination in marine sediments at an operational landfill while the New Zealand study was adjacent to a coastal landfill decommissioned in the 1970s. Surficial sediments (top 15 cm) were collected along transects.  At both the New Zealand and Kiribati sites, 3 transects adjacent to the landfill and 1 control transect were sampled.  The sediments were analyzed for particle size distribution, organic matter content, and Cd, As, Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni and Zn concentrations.  The pH was also measured.

The Kiribati study site had a groundwater pH of 7.14 - 8.85, and sediment materials were dominated by sand with a low organic matter content (1.60 - 2.21 %). At the Kiribati sites Cd, As, and Ni were below the detection limits.  The Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations were lower at the Kiribati control transect than the landfill transects.  Cr level decreased away from the landfill indicating the landfill as a possible source.  However, Cu and Zn did not show any distribution pattern suggesting other potential sources (port and shipwrecks) may have contributed to the elevated levels.  At the Kiribati landfill and control transects the Cr, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn concentration were below the Effects Range-Low (ERL) and the threshold Effects levels (TEL) of the Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQCs) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, indicating no potential adverse ecological effects on the biota.  At the Kiribati control site the Cr, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn concentrations were within the background ranges published for clean reef sediment but the concentration at the landfill transects exceeded the background ranges. The concentration of mercury at both the control and landfill transects in Kiribati exceeded the Effects Range-Median (ERM) and the Probable Effects Level (PEL) of the SQGs indicating potential adverse ecological effects on the local benthic communities.

The New Zealand study site sediments had a pH of 6.22 - 7.24, and comprised up to 90 % clay/silt, with an organic matter content of 5 - 22 %.  At the New Zealand landfill transects Arsenic concentrations decreased away from the landfill indicating the landfill as a possible source.  Other metals such as Cr did not show a pattern of distribution along the transects, or with depth, suggesting that the landfill was not the only source of these metals.  There was a weak correlation between organic matter content, particle size distribution, and metal enrichment.

At the New Zealand site, there were no marked differences in metal concentrations between the landfill and control transects suggesting the landfill was not the only source of metals and that the wider urban or industrial run-off may have contributed.  All the metal concentrations, except Hg and Zn, exceeded the ERL and the TEL values indicating the potential for adverse ecological effects of metals on the benthic communities.  At the New Zealand site the Hg and Zn concentrations exceeded both the ERM and PEL of the SQGs and are considered highly contaminated.

year: 2006

title: Bicultural perspectives on Māori legal research

authors: Mackinnon, Jacquelin

subjects: Māori

abstract: Increasingly, legal research projects undertaken at law school or in practice will involve Māori custom law and/or tikanga Māori.' The role of both Māori custom law and tikanga Māori is most evident in the work of the Māori Land Court in the interpretation and application of legislation relating to Māori land. Increasingly, general statutes incorporate Māori principles and values, such as those to be found in the Resource Management Act 1991, or make explicit reference to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The statutory interpretation function of the Courts in relation to these, and less obvious examples, requires knowledge of tikanga Māori and/or Māori custom law. For any analysis of the work of the Courts or of the legislature, knowledge of tikanga Māori and/or custom law is required. Both Māori custom law and tikanga Māori are preserved by and accessed through the oral tradition. In addition to its role in the Courts and in relation to legislation, the most significant role played by the oral tradition is in the work of the Waitangi Tribunal. The oral tradition also plays an increasingly important part in other areas requiring research. What follows is an introduction to the oral tradition and its role in the legal system of Aotearoa/New Zealand. An understanding of the oral tradition is essential to the construction of a research path that is both ethical and effective.

text: Bicultural perspectives on Māori legal research Increasingly, legal research projects undertaken at law school or in practice will involve Māori custom law and/or tikanga Māori.' The role of both Māori custom law and tikanga Māori is most evident in the work of the Māori Land Court in the interpretation and application of legislation relating to Māori land. Increasingly, general statutes incorporate Māori principles and values, such as those to be found in the Resource Management Act 1991, or make explicit reference to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The statutory interpretation function of the Courts in relation to these, and less obvious examples, requires knowledge of tikanga Māori and/or Māori custom law. For any analysis of the work of the Courts or of the legislature, knowledge of tikanga Māori and/or custom law is required. Both Māori custom law and tikanga Māori are preserved by and accessed through the oral tradition. In addition to its role in the Courts and in relation to legislation, the most significant role played by the oral tradition is in the work of the Waitangi Tribunal. The oral tradition also plays an increasingly important part in other areas requiring research. What follows is an introduction to the oral tradition and its role in the legal system of Aotearoa/New Zealand. An understanding of the oral tradition is essential to the construction of a research path that is both ethical and effective.

year: 2007