title: Life, the crocodile, the Pisikoa and the wind: representations of teaching in the writings of three pacific authors.

authors: Devine, Nesta

subjects: Pacific literature

abstract: In the course of research involving the experiences of teachers of Pacific ancestry in New Zealand public schools, I became interested in the ways in which teachers were represented in Pacific thinking. Published works give relatively easy access to at least some of the patterns of thought evoked by the term teacher. In this paper I shall look at the kinds of teacher and teaching shown by Ruparuke Petaia, Albert Wendt and Sia Figiel. These authors, all confidently Samoan, portray some of the complexities of learning and teaching from within Samoan sensibilities. ÂLife", "the Crocodile", "the Pisikoa" and "the Wind" are all the names of teachers in this literature. My discussion of Kidnapped by Petaia (1974), Ola by Wendt (1991) and Where we once belonged by Figiel (1996) is not chronologically ordered so much as thematically arranged. The three themes are: decolonisation of education, the European teacher of Pasifika students and the Samoan teacher of Samoan students. Petaia presents a decolonising stance: the teacher as instrument of colonisation or enslavement. This perception is followed through by a discussion of Figiel's character, Siniva, who likewise rejects European knowledge as a form of darkness, and a brief reference to this idea by Wendt. Both Wendt and Figiel portray European teachers as arrogant in their assumptions about the universal nature of their knowledge, and as comic figures of enlightenment colonisation, somehow cut off from embodied human experience. Wendt sees the Samoan teacher as ineffectual, an instrument of a kind of hopeless enlightenment, frustrated by regulations and village traditions, while Fig iel sees her as a real presence in village life but a tragic figure of local ignorance.

text: Life, the crocodile, the Pisikoa and the wind: representations of teaching in the writings of three pacific authors. In the course of research involving the experiences of teachers of Pacific ancestry in New Zealand public schools, I became interested in the ways in which teachers were represented in Pacific thinking. Published works give relatively easy access to at least some of the patterns of thought evoked by the term teacher. In this paper I shall look at the kinds of teacher and teaching shown by Ruparuke Petaia, Albert Wendt and Sia Figiel. These authors, all confidently Samoan, portray some of the complexities of learning and teaching from within Samoan sensibilities. ÂLife", "the Crocodile", "the Pisikoa" and "the Wind" are all the names of teachers in this literature. My discussion of Kidnapped by Petaia (1974), Ola by Wendt (1991) and Where we once belonged by Figiel (1996) is not chronologically ordered so much as thematically arranged. The three themes are: decolonisation of education, the European teacher of Pasifika students and the Samoan teacher of Samoan students. Petaia presents a decolonising stance: the teacher as instrument of colonisation or enslavement. This perception is followed through by a discussion of Figiel's character, Siniva, who likewise rejects European knowledge as a form of darkness, and a brief reference to this idea by Wendt. Both Wendt and Figiel portray European teachers as arrogant in their assumptions about the universal nature of their knowledge, and as comic figures of enlightenment colonisation, somehow cut off from embodied human experience. Wendt sees the Samoan teacher as ineffectual, an instrument of a kind of hopeless enlightenment, frustrated by regulations and village traditions, while Fig iel sees her as a real presence in village life but a tragic figure of local ignorance.

year: 2006

title: Anticipating subnational depopulation: Policy responses and strategic interventions to regional decline

authors: McMillan, Rachael Christina

subjects: Depopulation

abstract: Population growth has already ended in a number of countries around the world. Significant demographic trends are transforming the global population, with record low fertility across the globe, increasing longevity and increasingly mobile populations. Depopulation is multifaceted and has major flow on effects for the allocation of resources, the provision of services and the viability of communities isolated from the economic powerhouses. 
This thesis studied the drivers of depopulation, the policy responses to population decline and the spectrum of interventions available to address population decline from a number of OECD countries. It also looked at whether population decline could be slowed or reversed through studying the demographic and distance challenges of peripheral towns in the Waikato Region in New Zealand. 
There is a strong relationship between depth and length of depopulation and the response to depopulation.  Responses to population decline vary from country to country based on historical, cultural, political, institutional arrangements, issues to be addressed and resource availability. 
The literature proposes that there are only three possible policy responses to population decline, non-intervention, countering and accepting.  It was found that successful ‘countering’ strategies were dependent on the location, economic and demographic context of each community and primarily slowed decline rather than reversing it.  None of the ‘accepting’ strategies that were identified were able to stop population decline.  It is easier to achieve improved quality of life than to slow population decline.  The research showed that in the context of zero or low national population growth peripheral towns are unlikely to gain population. Outmigration is even more significant in peripheral communities in nationally declining countries.
What became apparent through this research was that towns are like businesses – they need to keep reinventing themselves in the global marketplace to remain competitive.  However, some communities do not have the functional elements to succeed.  
It will be many years before New Zealand is depopulating at a national level, so there may still be opportunity to slow down population decline in peripheral locations.  The Waikato case study showed that this would be a challenging proposition for some Territorial Authorities on the periphery.  At the very least New Zealand can adapt to ageing population structure and increase the quality of life for those that inhabit small declining towns.  As more regional areas shift towards natural decline with low fertility rates and ageing populations and many enter permanent zero growth or decline, it is important that there are policies which are fit for purpose.

text: Anticipating subnational depopulation: Policy responses and strategic interventions to regional decline Population growth has already ended in a number of countries around the world. Significant demographic trends are transforming the global population, with record low fertility across the globe, increasing longevity and increasingly mobile populations. Depopulation is multifaceted and has major flow on effects for the allocation of resources, the provision of services and the viability of communities isolated from the economic powerhouses. 
This thesis studied the drivers of depopulation, the policy responses to population decline and the spectrum of interventions available to address population decline from a number of OECD countries. It also looked at whether population decline could be slowed or reversed through studying the demographic and distance challenges of peripheral towns in the Waikato Region in New Zealand. 
There is a strong relationship between depth and length of depopulation and the response to depopulation.  Responses to population decline vary from country to country based on historical, cultural, political, institutional arrangements, issues to be addressed and resource availability. 
The literature proposes that there are only three possible policy responses to population decline, non-intervention, countering and accepting.  It was found that successful ‘countering’ strategies were dependent on the location, economic and demographic context of each community and primarily slowed decline rather than reversing it.  None of the ‘accepting’ strategies that were identified were able to stop population decline.  It is easier to achieve improved quality of life than to slow population decline.  The research showed that in the context of zero or low national population growth peripheral towns are unlikely to gain population. Outmigration is even more significant in peripheral communities in nationally declining countries.
What became apparent through this research was that towns are like businesses – they need to keep reinventing themselves in the global marketplace to remain competitive.  However, some communities do not have the functional elements to succeed.  
It will be many years before New Zealand is depopulating at a national level, so there may still be opportunity to slow down population decline in peripheral locations.  The Waikato case study showed that this would be a challenging proposition for some Territorial Authorities on the periphery.  At the very least New Zealand can adapt to ageing population structure and increase the quality of life for those that inhabit small declining towns.  As more regional areas shift towards natural decline with low fertility rates and ageing populations and many enter permanent zero growth or decline, it is important that there are policies which are fit for purpose.

year: 2015

title: Using Twitter in an Indigenous language: An analysis of te reo Māori tweets

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

abstract: Language revitalization theory suggests that one way to improve the health of a language is to increase the number of domains where the language is used. Social network platforms provide a variety of domains where indigenous- language communities are able to communicate in their own languages. Although the capability exists, is social networking being used by indigenous- language communities? This paper reports on one particular social networking platform, Twitter, by using two separate methodologies. First, Twitter statistics collated from the Indigenous Tweets website are analysed. The data show that languages such as Basque, Haitian Creole, Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Frisian and Kapampangan do have a presence in the “Twittersphere”. Further analysis for te reo Māori (the Māori language) shows that tweets in te reo Māori are rising and peak when certain events occur. The second methodology involved gathering empirical data by tweeting in te reo Māori. This served two purposes: it allowed an ancillary check on the validity of the Indigenous Tweets data and it allowed the opportunity to determine if the number of indigenous- language tweets could be influenced by the actions of one tweeter.

text: Using Twitter in an Indigenous language: An analysis of te reo Māori tweets Language revitalization theory suggests that one way to improve the health of a language is to increase the number of domains where the language is used. Social network platforms provide a variety of domains where indigenous- language communities are able to communicate in their own languages. Although the capability exists, is social networking being used by indigenous- language communities? This paper reports on one particular social networking platform, Twitter, by using two separate methodologies. First, Twitter statistics collated from the Indigenous Tweets website are analysed. The data show that languages such as Basque, Haitian Creole, Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Frisian and Kapampangan do have a presence in the “Twittersphere”. Further analysis for te reo Māori (the Māori language) shows that tweets in te reo Māori are rising and peak when certain events occur. The second methodology involved gathering empirical data by tweeting in te reo Māori. This served two purposes: it allowed an ancillary check on the validity of the Indigenous Tweets data and it allowed the opportunity to determine if the number of indigenous- language tweets could be influenced by the actions of one tweeter.

year: 2015