title: Tackling Ableism in Sport and Active Recreation to Ensure Participation Parity for Disabled Young People in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Carroll, Penelope

abstract: Significant barriers limit disabled young people’s opportunities in sport and active recreation. This is both a health and human rights issue: physical activity is vital for well-being, and equitable access to sport and active recreation is mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). Using Q methodology, a participatory mixed-methods approach that uncovers shared viewpoints through statistical analysis of participant-ranked statements, we examined ableist attitudes in Aotearoa New Zealand that privilege nondisabled access while marginalizing disabled peers, despite decades of inclusionary rhetoric. Forty participants from sport, physical education, and recreation sectors ranked 40 attitudinal statements on disability inclusion. Factor analysis of these rankings revealed three distinct ableist “viewpoints.” We present these viewpoints, propose a “variants of ableism” framework, and discuss implications for parity in participation in sport and physical activity.

text: Tackling Ableism in Sport and Active Recreation to Ensure Participation Parity for Disabled Young People in Aotearoa New Zealand Significant barriers limit disabled young people’s opportunities in sport and active recreation. This is both a health and human rights issue: physical activity is vital for well-being, and equitable access to sport and active recreation is mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). Using Q methodology, a participatory mixed-methods approach that uncovers shared viewpoints through statistical analysis of participant-ranked statements, we examined ableist attitudes in Aotearoa New Zealand that privilege nondisabled access while marginalizing disabled peers, despite decades of inclusionary rhetoric. Forty participants from sport, physical education, and recreation sectors ranked 40 attitudinal statements on disability inclusion. Factor analysis of these rankings revealed three distinct ableist “viewpoints.” We present these viewpoints, propose a “variants of ableism” framework, and discuss implications for parity in participation in sport and physical activity.

year: 2026

title: Oil Spills in New Zealand's Territorial Waters:        Fence at the Top of the Cliff?

authors: Hoeberechts, Veronica Anne

subjects: Oil Spills

abstract: Over the last four decades, there have been many catastrophic oil spills in the marine environment and these larger oil spills have often caused environmental devastation especially if they occurred in the coastal marine area.   Serious ecological damage can also be caused from operational discharges, ballast and bilge water, from ships within territorial waters.  Until now New Zealand has only had relatively minor oil spillages in its coastal waters, primarily from ships' discharge or accidental leaks in port.   The possibility however of a major oil spill occurring within our coastal area is considerably higher today than 20 years ago as there has been a significant increase of all types of oil tankers/bulk carriers/container ships to New Zealand.  

New Zealand is an island nation that relies heavily on the marine environment for commercial operations such as fisheries and tourism and many New Zealanders enjoy recreational, aesthetic and spiritual ties to the coastal marine area.  The sustainability of our territorial sea is therefore of paramount importance.  A major oil spill could cause widespread ecological damage, cripple or destroy marine/tourism operations and ensure that the human values associated with the coast are lost, possibly for many years.  The research reported here addresses the issue of oil spill preparedness and response in New Zealand's waters.  A combination of a review of New Zealand's international commitments and domestic legislation and two case studies of high profile oil spills: the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve and the Jody F Millennium are used.   The research identifies whether the present environmental legislation, that promotes sustainable management, is proactive in the prevention of a major oil spill and concludes that the New Zealand approach reflects a relatively strong Sustainable Imperative position rather than one of Sustainable Development.  In implementation it relies heavily on co-management integrated at the regional council level.

text: Oil Spills in New Zealand's Territorial Waters:        Fence at the Top of the Cliff? Over the last four decades, there have been many catastrophic oil spills in the marine environment and these larger oil spills have often caused environmental devastation especially if they occurred in the coastal marine area.   Serious ecological damage can also be caused from operational discharges, ballast and bilge water, from ships within territorial waters.  Until now New Zealand has only had relatively minor oil spillages in its coastal waters, primarily from ships' discharge or accidental leaks in port.   The possibility however of a major oil spill occurring within our coastal area is considerably higher today than 20 years ago as there has been a significant increase of all types of oil tankers/bulk carriers/container ships to New Zealand.  

New Zealand is an island nation that relies heavily on the marine environment for commercial operations such as fisheries and tourism and many New Zealanders enjoy recreational, aesthetic and spiritual ties to the coastal marine area.  The sustainability of our territorial sea is therefore of paramount importance.  A major oil spill could cause widespread ecological damage, cripple or destroy marine/tourism operations and ensure that the human values associated with the coast are lost, possibly for many years.  The research reported here addresses the issue of oil spill preparedness and response in New Zealand's waters.  A combination of a review of New Zealand's international commitments and domestic legislation and two case studies of high profile oil spills: the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve and the Jody F Millennium are used.   The research identifies whether the present environmental legislation, that promotes sustainable management, is proactive in the prevention of a major oil spill and concludes that the New Zealand approach reflects a relatively strong Sustainable Imperative position rather than one of Sustainable Development.  In implementation it relies heavily on co-management integrated at the regional council level.

year: 2006

title: Local Cryo-history: Redefining the creation, transformation and circulation of Aotearoa’s nineteenth century glacier knowledge

authors: Annandale, Claudi - Ann

abstract: The creation, transformation and dissemination of knowledge constantly shapes the narrative of glacier history. However, the intersecting layers that human encounters with the frozen environment, Indigenous knowledge, and popular thought add to glacier histories is often overlooked. By analysing the trends and intellectual traditions that emerged in nineteenth century New Zealand, a period defined as glaciology's 'classical' era of study, this thesis aims to broaden the Southern Alps’ local science-focused glacier discourse.   

Māori, for example, possessed unique mātauranga (knowledge) that was documented through Europeans employing local guides to accompany them across the Southern Alps. This mātauranga shaped some encounters nineteenth-century scientists, surveyors, and travellers had with Kā Tiritiri o te Moana’s glacier environment. New Zealand scholars like Julius von Haast and James Hector, on the other hand, further refined their understanding of New Zealand glaciers through the transnational exchange of knowledge and intellectual debates. A combination of Enlightenment rationalism and Romantic aesthetic also influenced popular glacier narratives that emerged during the nineteenth century. For example, the imagination of journalists, mountaineers and travellers reflected the broader cultural trends that circulated from Europe to New Zealand before their knowledge was disseminated to the public.  

By interrogating mātauranga Māori, formal scientific study, and popular settler imagination about glaciers, this thesis redefines New Zealand’s nineteenth-century glacier history as inherently multilayered through the circulation, creation, transformation and dissemination of glacier knowledge. In doing so, it highlights glaciers not only as physical entities defined by scientific study but as ideas shaped by diverse knowledge systems, cultural perceptions, and historical contingencies.

text: Local Cryo-history: Redefining the creation, transformation and circulation of Aotearoa’s nineteenth century glacier knowledge The creation, transformation and dissemination of knowledge constantly shapes the narrative of glacier history. However, the intersecting layers that human encounters with the frozen environment, Indigenous knowledge, and popular thought add to glacier histories is often overlooked. By analysing the trends and intellectual traditions that emerged in nineteenth century New Zealand, a period defined as glaciology's 'classical' era of study, this thesis aims to broaden the Southern Alps’ local science-focused glacier discourse.   

Māori, for example, possessed unique mātauranga (knowledge) that was documented through Europeans employing local guides to accompany them across the Southern Alps. This mātauranga shaped some encounters nineteenth-century scientists, surveyors, and travellers had with Kā Tiritiri o te Moana’s glacier environment. New Zealand scholars like Julius von Haast and James Hector, on the other hand, further refined their understanding of New Zealand glaciers through the transnational exchange of knowledge and intellectual debates. A combination of Enlightenment rationalism and Romantic aesthetic also influenced popular glacier narratives that emerged during the nineteenth century. For example, the imagination of journalists, mountaineers and travellers reflected the broader cultural trends that circulated from Europe to New Zealand before their knowledge was disseminated to the public.  

By interrogating mātauranga Māori, formal scientific study, and popular settler imagination about glaciers, this thesis redefines New Zealand’s nineteenth-century glacier history as inherently multilayered through the circulation, creation, transformation and dissemination of glacier knowledge. In doing so, it highlights glaciers not only as physical entities defined by scientific study but as ideas shaped by diverse knowledge systems, cultural perceptions, and historical contingencies.

year: 2025