title: Getting Deep:  Experiences of New Zealand Bodyboarders

authors: Nemani, Mihi Joy

subjects: bodyboarding

abstract: Since the mid 1990s, a growing body of literature on lifestyle sports has produced fresh insights into the nuances, esoteric terminology and social dynamics in an array of lifestyle sport cultures. While surf culture has gained considerable attention from both sociologists and historians, the voices of bodyboarders have been minimal.  Reflecting perceptions held by many in mainstream society, the literature on surf culture tended to marginalize bodyboarding participants, deeming the activity fit for children or teenagers.  Therefore, this project addresses the gap in academic literature on surf culture by adopting a socio-cultural, qualitative approach to give voice to bodyboarders, by revealing some of the complexities within bodyboarding culture, and revealing power relations operating between surfers and bodyboarders in the surf. 

As a three-time world amateur champion female bodyboarder of both Maori and Samoan heritage, I was particularly interested to understand experiences of gender and ethnicity in relation to bodyboarding.  Therefore, I conducted semi-structured interviews with eight bodyboarders living in New Zealand.  To analyse data from the interviews, I employed Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts of habitus, field and capital to explore bodyboarding with the intent of presenting fresh perspectives relating to masculinity and femininity, and experiences of Maori, Pacific Island and New Zealand European bodyboarders.  The participants revealed embodied characteristics of the bodyboarder as well as a variety of strategies used to negotiate space in the surf field.  The experiences of female participants resonated with current literature where opportunities to gain respect were limited based on their marginal position in the male-dominated lifestyle sport culture.  While some female participants successfully negotiated space within the surf field, male bodyboarders revealed other difficulties due to the hyper-masculinity of stand-up surfing culture, and the marginal position of bodyboarders.

In specifically examining the experiences of Maori and Pacific Island participants, I argue that a unique form of cultural capital exists in which respect, courtesy and fairness were given more value than demonstrations of physical capital.  Adopting a socio-cultural approach to analyse the operations of power in the surf field, and particularly how gender and ethnicity affect the experiences of New Zealand bodyboarders, this research project brings “new value to identities and experiences that are marginalized and stigmatized by the larger culture” (Denzin, 2002, p. 486).

text: Getting Deep:  Experiences of New Zealand Bodyboarders Since the mid 1990s, a growing body of literature on lifestyle sports has produced fresh insights into the nuances, esoteric terminology and social dynamics in an array of lifestyle sport cultures. While surf culture has gained considerable attention from both sociologists and historians, the voices of bodyboarders have been minimal.  Reflecting perceptions held by many in mainstream society, the literature on surf culture tended to marginalize bodyboarding participants, deeming the activity fit for children or teenagers.  Therefore, this project addresses the gap in academic literature on surf culture by adopting a socio-cultural, qualitative approach to give voice to bodyboarders, by revealing some of the complexities within bodyboarding culture, and revealing power relations operating between surfers and bodyboarders in the surf. 

As a three-time world amateur champion female bodyboarder of both Maori and Samoan heritage, I was particularly interested to understand experiences of gender and ethnicity in relation to bodyboarding.  Therefore, I conducted semi-structured interviews with eight bodyboarders living in New Zealand.  To analyse data from the interviews, I employed Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts of habitus, field and capital to explore bodyboarding with the intent of presenting fresh perspectives relating to masculinity and femininity, and experiences of Maori, Pacific Island and New Zealand European bodyboarders.  The participants revealed embodied characteristics of the bodyboarder as well as a variety of strategies used to negotiate space in the surf field.  The experiences of female participants resonated with current literature where opportunities to gain respect were limited based on their marginal position in the male-dominated lifestyle sport culture.  While some female participants successfully negotiated space within the surf field, male bodyboarders revealed other difficulties due to the hyper-masculinity of stand-up surfing culture, and the marginal position of bodyboarders.

In specifically examining the experiences of Maori and Pacific Island participants, I argue that a unique form of cultural capital exists in which respect, courtesy and fairness were given more value than demonstrations of physical capital.  Adopting a socio-cultural approach to analyse the operations of power in the surf field, and particularly how gender and ethnicity affect the experiences of New Zealand bodyboarders, this research project brings “new value to identities and experiences that are marginalized and stigmatized by the larger culture” (Denzin, 2002, p. 486).

year: 2013

title: Culture and collaborative conservation? Inter-cultural difference and the Maungatautari Project

authors: Harms, Matthew

subjects: Inter-cultural navigation

abstract: This thesis situates and examines the role of sociocultural difference and biculturalism in the Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain project, a multi-stakeholder community-based biodiversity conservation project in the Waikato region of New Zealand’s North Island. In the project, Mana Whenua (local indigenous Māori groups) and Pākehā (New Zealanders of British and European descent) from the area endeavour to interact and partner in the non-profit Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) as its primary stakeholder groups. Utilizing sociocultural anthropology, three years of participant observation, participant interviews, fieldwork data and contextualizing history, the role of culture and issues of biculturalism and partnership are examined in relation to the respective sociocultural backgrounds and identity of project participants. Findings indicate that sociocultural difference in the form of varying beliefs, values, attitudes, practices and protocol, and identity/cultural politics have led to dissonance and strained stakeholder interrelations that negatively affected the project. In some instances, a post-colonial ‘neo-paternalism’ marginalised local Māori cultural input and needs in the project. At other times project participants successfully bridged inter-cultural differences. In these occurrences they created a collaborative, complementary, bicultural partnership which valued, sought to understand, and incorporated differing sociocultural aspects, advancing project goals. Further analysis identified an ongoing risk of future multi-stakeholder dissonance relative to culturally-derived disparate views on such issues as cultural harvesting, species reintroductions and care, ecotourism, development on the mountain, and biodiversity research. Normative solutions are identified which can aid Maungatautari stakeholders and other culturally-heterogeneous multi-stakeholder conservation groups work toward and produce inclusive, inter-cultural partnership.

text: Culture and collaborative conservation? Inter-cultural difference and the Maungatautari Project This thesis situates and examines the role of sociocultural difference and biculturalism in the Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain project, a multi-stakeholder community-based biodiversity conservation project in the Waikato region of New Zealand’s North Island. In the project, Mana Whenua (local indigenous Māori groups) and Pākehā (New Zealanders of British and European descent) from the area endeavour to interact and partner in the non-profit Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) as its primary stakeholder groups. Utilizing sociocultural anthropology, three years of participant observation, participant interviews, fieldwork data and contextualizing history, the role of culture and issues of biculturalism and partnership are examined in relation to the respective sociocultural backgrounds and identity of project participants. Findings indicate that sociocultural difference in the form of varying beliefs, values, attitudes, practices and protocol, and identity/cultural politics have led to dissonance and strained stakeholder interrelations that negatively affected the project. In some instances, a post-colonial ‘neo-paternalism’ marginalised local Māori cultural input and needs in the project. At other times project participants successfully bridged inter-cultural differences. In these occurrences they created a collaborative, complementary, bicultural partnership which valued, sought to understand, and incorporated differing sociocultural aspects, advancing project goals. Further analysis identified an ongoing risk of future multi-stakeholder dissonance relative to culturally-derived disparate views on such issues as cultural harvesting, species reintroductions and care, ecotourism, development on the mountain, and biodiversity research. Normative solutions are identified which can aid Maungatautari stakeholders and other culturally-heterogeneous multi-stakeholder conservation groups work toward and produce inclusive, inter-cultural partnership.

year: 2018

title: When salient science is not enough to advance climate change adaptation: Lessons from Brazil and Australia

authors: Serrao-Neumann, Silvia

subjects: Boundary organisation

abstract: Increased social and environmental vulnerability to extreme climatic events and inherent aggravation of environmental and social problems has placed climate change adaptation as an urgent challenge for decision-makers. Understanding and using climate change information to advance the implementation of climate-friendly policies further compounds this challenge. A rich scholarly literature focusing on climate change adaptation endorses that investing in mechanisms that narrow the gap between climate change information production and its use is crucial to increase adaptive capacity. Based on this assumption, this paper investigates the extent to which two collaborative projects that functioned as boundary organisations in Brazil (CiAdapta project) and Australia (Climate Change Adaptation for Natural Resource Management in East Coast Australia) increased access to information, and enabled the continual and continuous usefulness of produced knowledge for climate change adaptation. Considering the distinction between usable and useful information, we applied six criteria to guide the data analysis and extract key lessons from each project. Our findings confirm that face-to-face interactions are more likely to result in research having the societal impact that is being increasingly required by research and funding bodies. Our findings also indicate that two key systemic changes are critical for the long-term influence of boundary organisations for advancing climate change adaptation. These include changes to the science, knowledge production process; and shift in the political culture.

text: When salient science is not enough to advance climate change adaptation: Lessons from Brazil and Australia Increased social and environmental vulnerability to extreme climatic events and inherent aggravation of environmental and social problems has placed climate change adaptation as an urgent challenge for decision-makers. Understanding and using climate change information to advance the implementation of climate-friendly policies further compounds this challenge. A rich scholarly literature focusing on climate change adaptation endorses that investing in mechanisms that narrow the gap between climate change information production and its use is crucial to increase adaptive capacity. Based on this assumption, this paper investigates the extent to which two collaborative projects that functioned as boundary organisations in Brazil (CiAdapta project) and Australia (Climate Change Adaptation for Natural Resource Management in East Coast Australia) increased access to information, and enabled the continual and continuous usefulness of produced knowledge for climate change adaptation. Considering the distinction between usable and useful information, we applied six criteria to guide the data analysis and extract key lessons from each project. Our findings confirm that face-to-face interactions are more likely to result in research having the societal impact that is being increasingly required by research and funding bodies. Our findings also indicate that two key systemic changes are critical for the long-term influence of boundary organisations for advancing climate change adaptation. These include changes to the science, knowledge production process; and shift in the political culture.

year: 2020