title: Kei ō tātou ringa te rongoa? Is the remedy already at hand?
The assertion and application of tikanga as a valid and credible response to contemporary issues.

authors: Taitoko, Mikaere

subjects: tikanga

abstract: This thesis examines the notion that tikanga is well positioned to address issues confronting Māori and other indigenous groups who strive to achieve self-determination and the freedom to be and to do.  This work is inspired by the late John Te Rangi-āniwaniwa Rangihau’s statement, “Ko te rongoā kei roto i ō tātau ringa” (1987, p. 24), which promotes the notion that through culture and identity Māori already have within their grasp the answers to contemporary matters of import in te ao Māori.  This thesis inverts that statement and presents it as a question querying whether indeed the remedy is at hand and, if so, could tikanga and cultural identity be that remedy.  To that end this study deliberately sets out to examine if the rongoa of self-determination, power and freedom can be achieved by the assertion and application of Māori ways of being and doing, that is to say by exercising tikanga.
Understanding notions of tikanga, sovereignty, and indigeneity is pivotal to this study as is articulating the notion of third space.  This thesis argues that these four notions are interconnected when considering ideas of self-determination for disempowered groups.  A case study forms a large part of this work and focuses on an indigenous group operating from a pre-contact tupuna worldview and based on He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni 1835/Declaration of Independence of New Zealand 1835.  This particular group was chosen because it presented as being a point of intersect for the four notions of tikanga, sovereignty, indigeneity and the third space.
This thesis argues that whilst tikanga is a powerful mechanism for determining and rationalising ways of being and doing it has less to offer at a pragmatic level when it comes to effecting change in the status quo.  However, when overlaid with the third space lens new perspectives can be enunciated and new opportunities detected which in turn can lead to determining new actions.  Through this study it becomes clear that the assertion and application of tikanga contributes to, but on its own is not, the whole answer.

text: Kei ō tātou ringa te rongoa? Is the remedy already at hand?
The assertion and application of tikanga as a valid and credible response to contemporary issues. This thesis examines the notion that tikanga is well positioned to address issues confronting Māori and other indigenous groups who strive to achieve self-determination and the freedom to be and to do.  This work is inspired by the late John Te Rangi-āniwaniwa Rangihau’s statement, “Ko te rongoā kei roto i ō tātau ringa” (1987, p. 24), which promotes the notion that through culture and identity Māori already have within their grasp the answers to contemporary matters of import in te ao Māori.  This thesis inverts that statement and presents it as a question querying whether indeed the remedy is at hand and, if so, could tikanga and cultural identity be that remedy.  To that end this study deliberately sets out to examine if the rongoa of self-determination, power and freedom can be achieved by the assertion and application of Māori ways of being and doing, that is to say by exercising tikanga.
Understanding notions of tikanga, sovereignty, and indigeneity is pivotal to this study as is articulating the notion of third space.  This thesis argues that these four notions are interconnected when considering ideas of self-determination for disempowered groups.  A case study forms a large part of this work and focuses on an indigenous group operating from a pre-contact tupuna worldview and based on He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni 1835/Declaration of Independence of New Zealand 1835.  This particular group was chosen because it presented as being a point of intersect for the four notions of tikanga, sovereignty, indigeneity and the third space.
This thesis argues that whilst tikanga is a powerful mechanism for determining and rationalising ways of being and doing it has less to offer at a pragmatic level when it comes to effecting change in the status quo.  However, when overlaid with the third space lens new perspectives can be enunciated and new opportunities detected which in turn can lead to determining new actions.  Through this study it becomes clear that the assertion and application of tikanga contributes to, but on its own is not, the whole answer.

year: 2013

title: Mana Takatāpui: Self-determination for queer rangatahi Māori

authors: Doyle, Benjamin Kauri

subjects: Takatāpui

abstract: Here is a Master’s thesis crafted with, by, and for Rangatahi Takatāpui. It represents a labour of love for the community to which I belong, and seeks to generate understanding about the factors that enable LGBTQI+ Māori youth to embody and enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Principles of Kaupapa Māori Theory provide a paradigm through which this research is conducted, with particular attention paid to the Indigenous Research Agenda. Importantly, this rangahau seeks to offer an alternative to the conventions of hegemonic empirical academia by centering the voices and lived experiences of those who have historically been subjected to the dehumanising objectification of western research practices.

Through the methodological approach of wānanga, and within a Tikanga Māori framework of Āta, or cultural safety, twelve Rangatahi Takatāpui participated in a two day workshop at Te Kohinga Mārama Marae. Over the course of both days, co-researchers shared personal testimonies about their experiences navigating the world as Queer Indigenous peoples, as well as the dreams and aspirations they have for collective self-determination. These accounts ultimately inform the narrative storying employed to convey the key findings of this research, which are described as Mana Tuakiri (identity), Mana Hapori (belonging), Mana Moemoeā (vision), and Mana Wero (challenges).

To make sense of the findings presented in this rangahau, a model is developed which takes inspiration from Te Takarangi, the double spiral motif common in both Toi Māori and Te Tai Ao. Utilising the cyclical and intersecting patterns of Te Takarangi, the four main themes of this research are explored through a progressive layering of personal, interpersonal, and societal relationships in order to provide insight into how best Rangatahi Takatāpui can be supported to enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Ultimately, this research present nine key factors to be addressed and implemented in order to achieve this aspiration, including a call for conscientisation (both the self and the collective), resourcing and support, the removal of barriers to access, community intersectional reflexivity, space for collective Indigenous dreaming, and an ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti justice.

text: Mana Takatāpui: Self-determination for queer rangatahi Māori Here is a Master’s thesis crafted with, by, and for Rangatahi Takatāpui. It represents a labour of love for the community to which I belong, and seeks to generate understanding about the factors that enable LGBTQI+ Māori youth to embody and enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Principles of Kaupapa Māori Theory provide a paradigm through which this research is conducted, with particular attention paid to the Indigenous Research Agenda. Importantly, this rangahau seeks to offer an alternative to the conventions of hegemonic empirical academia by centering the voices and lived experiences of those who have historically been subjected to the dehumanising objectification of western research practices.

Through the methodological approach of wānanga, and within a Tikanga Māori framework of Āta, or cultural safety, twelve Rangatahi Takatāpui participated in a two day workshop at Te Kohinga Mārama Marae. Over the course of both days, co-researchers shared personal testimonies about their experiences navigating the world as Queer Indigenous peoples, as well as the dreams and aspirations they have for collective self-determination. These accounts ultimately inform the narrative storying employed to convey the key findings of this research, which are described as Mana Tuakiri (identity), Mana Hapori (belonging), Mana Moemoeā (vision), and Mana Wero (challenges).

To make sense of the findings presented in this rangahau, a model is developed which takes inspiration from Te Takarangi, the double spiral motif common in both Toi Māori and Te Tai Ao. Utilising the cyclical and intersecting patterns of Te Takarangi, the four main themes of this research are explored through a progressive layering of personal, interpersonal, and societal relationships in order to provide insight into how best Rangatahi Takatāpui can be supported to enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Ultimately, this research present nine key factors to be addressed and implemented in order to achieve this aspiration, including a call for conscientisation (both the self and the collective), resourcing and support, the removal of barriers to access, community intersectional reflexivity, space for collective Indigenous dreaming, and an ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti justice.

year: 2023

title: How do ageing stereotypes affect performance on a previously unexplored false memory task?

authors: Ubha, Sukhandeep

abstract: False memories are memories that are thought to have happened but did not happen. Age-related neurological changes can cause an increase in false memories; however, researchers have started focusing on stereotype threat, to explain this increase. Stereotype threat occurs when negative beliefs about a particular group are introduced, causing them to perform poorly on tasks. Studies focused on the effects of age-based stereotype threat on false memories have been conflicted due to the methodological differences (such as the use of retrieval task and the focus of the task). Thus, Experiment 1 aimed to account for those methodological differences and investigated whether stereotype threat influenced performance on the memory conjunction task. In Experiment 1, 60 participants were given a memory conjunction task online and were randomly assigned to either a control or a stereotype threat group. Participants were then given a free recall and a recognition task. They were also asked to indicate their levels of education, employment and importance given to memory (moderating factors), as these factors can affect performance. The results indicated no difference in performance between the control and the stereotyped participants. This could be due to participants finding the memory conjunction task difficult, thus choosing to disengage from the task. Therefore, Experiment 2 aimed to investigate whether there were any changes in performance when an online DRM task with a different focus (prevention or promotion) was used. In Experiment 2, 120 participants were given a DRM task online and were randomly assigned to the stereotype threat-promotion, stereotype threat-prevention,
control-promotion and control-prevention groups. This experiment did not find any significant differences between the groups. It is possible that previous studies mistakenly induced subtle and blatant stereotype threats while the present experiment only used blatant threat. Recruiting participants from an online platform could also explain why present study found discrepant findings compared to the previous research. Even though present study was unable to replicate previous findings, it still added to the limited literature and focused on different methodological factors all at once. It is essential to keep investigating and focusing on different methodological factors to better understand a very complex topic. The threat could cause older adults to be diagnosed with dementia and receive unnecessary treatment when, in fact, they are healthy.

text: How do ageing stereotypes affect performance on a previously unexplored false memory task? False memories are memories that are thought to have happened but did not happen. Age-related neurological changes can cause an increase in false memories; however, researchers have started focusing on stereotype threat, to explain this increase. Stereotype threat occurs when negative beliefs about a particular group are introduced, causing them to perform poorly on tasks. Studies focused on the effects of age-based stereotype threat on false memories have been conflicted due to the methodological differences (such as the use of retrieval task and the focus of the task). Thus, Experiment 1 aimed to account for those methodological differences and investigated whether stereotype threat influenced performance on the memory conjunction task. In Experiment 1, 60 participants were given a memory conjunction task online and were randomly assigned to either a control or a stereotype threat group. Participants were then given a free recall and a recognition task. They were also asked to indicate their levels of education, employment and importance given to memory (moderating factors), as these factors can affect performance. The results indicated no difference in performance between the control and the stereotyped participants. This could be due to participants finding the memory conjunction task difficult, thus choosing to disengage from the task. Therefore, Experiment 2 aimed to investigate whether there were any changes in performance when an online DRM task with a different focus (prevention or promotion) was used. In Experiment 2, 120 participants were given a DRM task online and were randomly assigned to the stereotype threat-promotion, stereotype threat-prevention,
control-promotion and control-prevention groups. This experiment did not find any significant differences between the groups. It is possible that previous studies mistakenly induced subtle and blatant stereotype threats while the present experiment only used blatant threat. Recruiting participants from an online platform could also explain why present study found discrepant findings compared to the previous research. Even though present study was unable to replicate previous findings, it still added to the limited literature and focused on different methodological factors all at once. It is essential to keep investigating and focusing on different methodological factors to better understand a very complex topic. The threat could cause older adults to be diagnosed with dementia and receive unnecessary treatment when, in fact, they are healthy.

year: 2022