title: Decolonising Fiji: Reclaiming indigenous Fijian psychologies

authors: Tarabe, Akanisi

subjects: Maori

abstract: Creating meaningfulness in an unstable, confusing environment can redirect one to sift through the chaos for the very basic, forgotten things in order to make sense of the world one lives in. This paper represents a process of searching for these simple things to make sense of the indigenous Fijian world, with particular reference to the people of the yavusa o Cu’u (Cu’u tribe). For more than a century, indigenous Fijians have struggled to live in dual worlds torn between the pull of modernization and traditionalism. Modernisation represents the new foreign life that leads many Fijians to view their traditional ways skeptically and question whether traditions are worth hanging on to. With decades of these struggles, very little makes sense anymore. The more we are pumped with foreign aid to make us modern, the more we are lost in new types of psycho- social challenges that baffle everyone, young and old alike.

text: Decolonising Fiji: Reclaiming indigenous Fijian psychologies Creating meaningfulness in an unstable, confusing environment can redirect one to sift through the chaos for the very basic, forgotten things in order to make sense of the world one lives in. This paper represents a process of searching for these simple things to make sense of the indigenous Fijian world, with particular reference to the people of the yavusa o Cu’u (Cu’u tribe). For more than a century, indigenous Fijians have struggled to live in dual worlds torn between the pull of modernization and traditionalism. Modernisation represents the new foreign life that leads many Fijians to view their traditional ways skeptically and question whether traditions are worth hanging on to. With decades of these struggles, very little makes sense anymore. The more we are pumped with foreign aid to make us modern, the more we are lost in new types of psycho- social challenges that baffle everyone, young and old alike.

year: 2008

title: Biomass estimation of invasive fish

authors: Hicks, Brendan J.

subjects: Invasive Fish

abstract: Invasive fish have a variety of effects on indigenous fish communities and freshwater ecosystems generally, and the magnitude of these effects is partly dependent on invasive fish biomass. For example, a koi carp biomass of 120–130 kg/ha was sufficient to depress macroinvertebrate and plant biomass, and to elevate chlorophyll a concentrations (Haas et al. 2007; Bajer et al. 2009; Hicks et al. 2011). The purpose of this section is to provide (i) estimates of the relative biomasses of invasive fish that have been established by boat electrofishing in a range of lake and riverine habitats in the North Island; and (ii) some estimates of absolute biomass derived from mark-recapture studies in shallow lakes. Collectively, these data provide a basis for future comparisons of invasive fish monitoring information in a region where coarse fish have proliferated.

text: Biomass estimation of invasive fish Invasive fish have a variety of effects on indigenous fish communities and freshwater ecosystems generally, and the magnitude of these effects is partly dependent on invasive fish biomass. For example, a koi carp biomass of 120–130 kg/ha was sufficient to depress macroinvertebrate and plant biomass, and to elevate chlorophyll a concentrations (Haas et al. 2007; Bajer et al. 2009; Hicks et al. 2011). The purpose of this section is to provide (i) estimates of the relative biomasses of invasive fish that have been established by boat electrofishing in a range of lake and riverine habitats in the North Island; and (ii) some estimates of absolute biomass derived from mark-recapture studies in shallow lakes. Collectively, these data provide a basis for future comparisons of invasive fish monitoring information in a region where coarse fish have proliferated.

year: 2015

title: Volunteering at the edge of chaos: A case study on the self-organising of younger volunteers during the Rena oil spill crisis

authors: Lockwood, Sarah Jane

subjects: volunteer

abstract: This thesis investigates the self-organising of younger volunteers during the 2011 Rena oil spill crisis in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It builds on emerging research that considers the relationships between volunteering and activism and focuses on the ways in which younger volunteers carved out a ‘volunteer-activist’ space for themselves on the edge of the formal crisis responses.  
The research adopts a case study approach and uses an interpretive lens to investigate three research questions: (1) How was volunteering conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?; (2) How did the generational dynamics of younger volunteers affect the various organising responses to the Rena event?; and, (3) How was self-organising conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?
The data comprised interviews with 53 participants, 38 of whom were classified as younger volunteers (16-29 years of age) and 15 who held positions of authority in the Rena crisis response and who had high levels of engagement with the younger volunteers. By examining the intersections and overlaps of self-organising, younger generations of volunteers, and crisis events through a social constructionist methodology combined with an interpretive lens and reflexive position, the thesis makes several theoretical and practical contributions.
At a theoretical level, the thesis challenges traditional crisis management approaches dominated by command and control, formal, or top down organisational structures and arrangements. The thesis demonstrates how, as active members of society, younger volunteers developed alternate forms of participation to strengthen crisis response. 
Power tensions between younger volunteers and crisis officials were grounded in a deep sense of frustration resulting from negative societal views toward younger generational cohorts and the structural workings of a risk society. By reconciling social and institutional grievances through self-organising, younger volunteers could take advantage of their marginalised position and enact self-reflexive responses in ways that were not readily available to them in everyday life. This sense of empowerment helped younger volunteers navigate the structural uncertainties they faced as they transitioned towards a competitive labour market and also to take greater control of their lives during a crisis.
From an Aotearoa/New Zealand, perspective, the thesis also provides insights into how younger Māori participants made sense of and enacted their ‘volunteer’ experience and how this experience was influenced by culturally embedded principles. Importantly, there appeared to be no generational differences between how younger and older Māori participants made sense of their ‘volunteer’ experience. Both groups were driven by collectivist orientations, which highlights the importance of contextualising culture in volunteer sector research. 
The social constructedness of the media technologies used by participants exposed broader power structures that existed within their generation-specific social worlds. To this end, media multiplexity showed how use of different communication technologies (1) supported the maintenance of relationships between participants and (2) was fundamental to the meaning participants attached to the different forms of technologies. These findings indicate the need to move away from the current literature’s focus on the tools of communication technologies used by younger people during crisis events, towards the meanings that exist behind the use of such technologies as well as the digital relationships fostered among volunteers. 
This thesis contributes to the scholarship on volunteering and activism by showing how self-organising emerged as an alternative form of activist—or activator—approach to volunteer participation within a crisis response. This approach enabled young volunteer-activators to move beyond their perceived sense of marginalisation and avoid those formal organisational forces that limit their sense of freedom and personal development. The result was an alternative crisis response of self-organised volunteering on the edge of chaos.

text: Volunteering at the edge of chaos: A case study on the self-organising of younger volunteers during the Rena oil spill crisis This thesis investigates the self-organising of younger volunteers during the 2011 Rena oil spill crisis in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It builds on emerging research that considers the relationships between volunteering and activism and focuses on the ways in which younger volunteers carved out a ‘volunteer-activist’ space for themselves on the edge of the formal crisis responses.  
The research adopts a case study approach and uses an interpretive lens to investigate three research questions: (1) How was volunteering conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?; (2) How did the generational dynamics of younger volunteers affect the various organising responses to the Rena event?; and, (3) How was self-organising conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?
The data comprised interviews with 53 participants, 38 of whom were classified as younger volunteers (16-29 years of age) and 15 who held positions of authority in the Rena crisis response and who had high levels of engagement with the younger volunteers. By examining the intersections and overlaps of self-organising, younger generations of volunteers, and crisis events through a social constructionist methodology combined with an interpretive lens and reflexive position, the thesis makes several theoretical and practical contributions.
At a theoretical level, the thesis challenges traditional crisis management approaches dominated by command and control, formal, or top down organisational structures and arrangements. The thesis demonstrates how, as active members of society, younger volunteers developed alternate forms of participation to strengthen crisis response. 
Power tensions between younger volunteers and crisis officials were grounded in a deep sense of frustration resulting from negative societal views toward younger generational cohorts and the structural workings of a risk society. By reconciling social and institutional grievances through self-organising, younger volunteers could take advantage of their marginalised position and enact self-reflexive responses in ways that were not readily available to them in everyday life. This sense of empowerment helped younger volunteers navigate the structural uncertainties they faced as they transitioned towards a competitive labour market and also to take greater control of their lives during a crisis.
From an Aotearoa/New Zealand, perspective, the thesis also provides insights into how younger Māori participants made sense of and enacted their ‘volunteer’ experience and how this experience was influenced by culturally embedded principles. Importantly, there appeared to be no generational differences between how younger and older Māori participants made sense of their ‘volunteer’ experience. Both groups were driven by collectivist orientations, which highlights the importance of contextualising culture in volunteer sector research. 
The social constructedness of the media technologies used by participants exposed broader power structures that existed within their generation-specific social worlds. To this end, media multiplexity showed how use of different communication technologies (1) supported the maintenance of relationships between participants and (2) was fundamental to the meaning participants attached to the different forms of technologies. These findings indicate the need to move away from the current literature’s focus on the tools of communication technologies used by younger people during crisis events, towards the meanings that exist behind the use of such technologies as well as the digital relationships fostered among volunteers. 
This thesis contributes to the scholarship on volunteering and activism by showing how self-organising emerged as an alternative form of activist—or activator—approach to volunteer participation within a crisis response. This approach enabled young volunteer-activators to move beyond their perceived sense of marginalisation and avoid those formal organisational forces that limit their sense of freedom and personal development. The result was an alternative crisis response of self-organised volunteering on the edge of chaos.

year: 2019