title: Justice through service: An action inquiry

authors: Gatenby, Beverly Ina

abstract: Through 2000 and 2001, I undertook an action research project with a group of staff in a church-affiliated social service agency in Aotearoa New Zealand. The purpose of the action inquiry was to work with the staff in the Agency during the establishment of a residential service for women and their children. In particular, the action inquiry involved working with the staff as they enacted their mission for 'justice through service' and their vision for 'empowering women'. 
As a researcher I drew on an epistemology of feminist post-structuralism, using particularly the concept of discursivity, as developed by French social theorist Michel Foucault and others. Much of the research came to be about reflecting with the Director of the Agency and other staff, on the ways a cluster of powerful discourses of Western individualism and neoliberalism, and closely associated managerialism, human rights and psychology, were threaded through their social service work in this country at that time. 
Many of the conversations, workshops and processes that emerged came to be about the ways in which managerial and psychological discourses seemed to provide dominant discourses within which social service and social justice work could be imagined and conducted. A number of us came to see an associated liberal discourse of human rights as being the site of considerable injustice for some women and children. We particularly noted the limited subject positions available to women discursively positioned as 'bad, sad or mad'. 
One of the most significant steps in the inquiry was to open up the possibility with the staff of thinking and acting differently, of challenging truth and knowledge claims. The action of the research came to be the intentional development of a local discourse of resistance, based on principles of connection, communion, conversation, bicultural development, inquiry, solidarity, participation, action and reflection, and reflexivity. These principles drew on discourses of Christianity and feminist theology, communitarianism and the discourse of action research itself. Social justice became imagined and enacted as resistance to neoliberalism, sometimes within the discourse of neoliberalism itself, sometimes through the invocation of an alternative discourse. Action research could and sometimes did provide that alternative. Provoking resistance to neoliberalism included creating and maintaining alternative subject positions for both staff members and the women they worked with. 
A number of theoretical questions emerged particularly around the intersections and tensions between feminist theory, post-structural theory, and action research. These questions led me to explore the potential and risks for action research to make truth-claims embedded within a neoliberal framework, particularly through invocations of first person research and reflection which instantiate a coherent and knowable self, able to be acted on through and as human development, and as transformation. Poststructural challenges to the humanist self, in contrast, enabled me to explore the subjectivities enacted in the various ways I was positioned and positioned myself in the research, and in the various positioning of others in the Agency. Exploring the interplay of power and knowledge with those subjectivities provided points at which other ways of being and acting could be imagined.

text: Justice through service: An action inquiry Through 2000 and 2001, I undertook an action research project with a group of staff in a church-affiliated social service agency in Aotearoa New Zealand. The purpose of the action inquiry was to work with the staff in the Agency during the establishment of a residential service for women and their children. In particular, the action inquiry involved working with the staff as they enacted their mission for 'justice through service' and their vision for 'empowering women'. 
As a researcher I drew on an epistemology of feminist post-structuralism, using particularly the concept of discursivity, as developed by French social theorist Michel Foucault and others. Much of the research came to be about reflecting with the Director of the Agency and other staff, on the ways a cluster of powerful discourses of Western individualism and neoliberalism, and closely associated managerialism, human rights and psychology, were threaded through their social service work in this country at that time. 
Many of the conversations, workshops and processes that emerged came to be about the ways in which managerial and psychological discourses seemed to provide dominant discourses within which social service and social justice work could be imagined and conducted. A number of us came to see an associated liberal discourse of human rights as being the site of considerable injustice for some women and children. We particularly noted the limited subject positions available to women discursively positioned as 'bad, sad or mad'. 
One of the most significant steps in the inquiry was to open up the possibility with the staff of thinking and acting differently, of challenging truth and knowledge claims. The action of the research came to be the intentional development of a local discourse of resistance, based on principles of connection, communion, conversation, bicultural development, inquiry, solidarity, participation, action and reflection, and reflexivity. These principles drew on discourses of Christianity and feminist theology, communitarianism and the discourse of action research itself. Social justice became imagined and enacted as resistance to neoliberalism, sometimes within the discourse of neoliberalism itself, sometimes through the invocation of an alternative discourse. Action research could and sometimes did provide that alternative. Provoking resistance to neoliberalism included creating and maintaining alternative subject positions for both staff members and the women they worked with. 
A number of theoretical questions emerged particularly around the intersections and tensions between feminist theory, post-structural theory, and action research. These questions led me to explore the potential and risks for action research to make truth-claims embedded within a neoliberal framework, particularly through invocations of first person research and reflection which instantiate a coherent and knowable self, able to be acted on through and as human development, and as transformation. Poststructural challenges to the humanist self, in contrast, enabled me to explore the subjectivities enacted in the various ways I was positioned and positioned myself in the research, and in the various positioning of others in the Agency. Exploring the interplay of power and knowledge with those subjectivities provided points at which other ways of being and acting could be imagined.

year: 2004

title: Resolving Drivers of Microbial Community Structure in The Dry Valleys of Antarctica

authors: Bottos, Eric

subjects: Antarctica

abstract: Understanding the processes that underlie patterns of microbial distribution is fundamental to the field of microbial ecology, but extremely challenging given the complexity of natural systems. Antarctica’s ice-free regions possess unique ecosystems of simple trophic structure, shaped by the harsh environmental conditions that typify the continent. The Dry Valleys comprise the largest of these regions and have one of the simplest food webs on the planet, making them a tractable system to comprehensively define relationships that influence microbial distributions at the landscape scale. The New Zealand Terrestrial Antarctic Biocomplexity Survey (nzTABS) was aimed at identifying factors that control, and can predict, biological distributions in the Dry Valleys. As part of nzTABS, the goal of the research presented in this thesis was to elucidate the factors that influence bacterial community structure in Dry Valley soils.  

This study explored how topographic, physicochemical, and spatial variation influence bacterial diversity and community structure across a Dry Valley landscape. Bacterial communities were characterized in 471 soil samples using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA). Diversity and community composition were most strongly related to variation in physicochemical soil properties, though significant relationships with topographic and spatial variables were also observed. This identified, for the first time, the influence of environmental variables on bacterial diversity and community composition across the landscape, and presents a structural equation model identifying those relationships.

The phylogenetic diversity of bacterial communities in Dry Valley soils was also examined. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to analyze bacterial communities in 177 soil samples. This work identified significant relationships between the relative abundances of bacterial taxa and both abiotic and biotic variables, though these relationships explained only a small amount of community variation collectively. The relative abundances of several bacterial taxa were, however, significantly coupled to one another, suggesting that interactions between bacterial taxa may influence community compositions.

Lastly, the bacterial composition of aerosols above the Dry Valleys was examined. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to analyze two aerosol samples collected in the Miers Valley, and their compositions were compared to those of previously characterized aerosols and soils from across the continent. Bacteria present in the aerosols were found to be distinct from those of local soils; instead, aerosol compositions were more similar to those of air samples reported from elsewhere on the planet. Importantly, these findings suggest that local redistribution of Dry Valley soil bacteria through atmospheric processes may be largely restricted to periods when high winds mobilize soil particles and associated biota.

This study provides novel insights into the microbial ecology of the Dry Valleys. Despite the relative simplicity of the ecosystem, the factors that influence bacterial distributions within the Dry Valleys appear to be highly complex, and include a combination of abiotic and biotic drivers. Continued research will help to disentangle relationships that influence microbial community compositions in Antarctica’s ice-free ecosystems, and will improve understanding of processes that influence microbial community assembly globally.

text: Resolving Drivers of Microbial Community Structure in The Dry Valleys of Antarctica Understanding the processes that underlie patterns of microbial distribution is fundamental to the field of microbial ecology, but extremely challenging given the complexity of natural systems. Antarctica’s ice-free regions possess unique ecosystems of simple trophic structure, shaped by the harsh environmental conditions that typify the continent. The Dry Valleys comprise the largest of these regions and have one of the simplest food webs on the planet, making them a tractable system to comprehensively define relationships that influence microbial distributions at the landscape scale. The New Zealand Terrestrial Antarctic Biocomplexity Survey (nzTABS) was aimed at identifying factors that control, and can predict, biological distributions in the Dry Valleys. As part of nzTABS, the goal of the research presented in this thesis was to elucidate the factors that influence bacterial community structure in Dry Valley soils.  

This study explored how topographic, physicochemical, and spatial variation influence bacterial diversity and community structure across a Dry Valley landscape. Bacterial communities were characterized in 471 soil samples using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA). Diversity and community composition were most strongly related to variation in physicochemical soil properties, though significant relationships with topographic and spatial variables were also observed. This identified, for the first time, the influence of environmental variables on bacterial diversity and community composition across the landscape, and presents a structural equation model identifying those relationships.

The phylogenetic diversity of bacterial communities in Dry Valley soils was also examined. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to analyze bacterial communities in 177 soil samples. This work identified significant relationships between the relative abundances of bacterial taxa and both abiotic and biotic variables, though these relationships explained only a small amount of community variation collectively. The relative abundances of several bacterial taxa were, however, significantly coupled to one another, suggesting that interactions between bacterial taxa may influence community compositions.

Lastly, the bacterial composition of aerosols above the Dry Valleys was examined. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to analyze two aerosol samples collected in the Miers Valley, and their compositions were compared to those of previously characterized aerosols and soils from across the continent. Bacteria present in the aerosols were found to be distinct from those of local soils; instead, aerosol compositions were more similar to those of air samples reported from elsewhere on the planet. Importantly, these findings suggest that local redistribution of Dry Valley soil bacteria through atmospheric processes may be largely restricted to periods when high winds mobilize soil particles and associated biota.

This study provides novel insights into the microbial ecology of the Dry Valleys. Despite the relative simplicity of the ecosystem, the factors that influence bacterial distributions within the Dry Valleys appear to be highly complex, and include a combination of abiotic and biotic drivers. Continued research will help to disentangle relationships that influence microbial community compositions in Antarctica’s ice-free ecosystems, and will improve understanding of processes that influence microbial community assembly globally.

year: 2014

title: Teaching Maori in English-medium schools in New Zealand: Teacher responses to aspects of the curriculum guidelines for 'te reo' Maori in English-medium school

authors: Takurua, Nātana

subjects: Maori

abstract: Opinions are divided about how the content of language courses should be specified and whether educational authorities should include specifications/ suggestions about language content in national curriculum documents. Issues associated with language content are, however, not ones that can be avoided, particularly as teachers are expected to prepare students for national examinations at the upper levels of schooling and these examinations are necessarily predicated on general expectations about proficiency achievements and more specific expectations about the types of language with which students will be familiar. In this article, we explore the complex nature of some of the issues involved and the ways in which the New Zealand Ministry of Education has sought/ is seeking to resolve them in the case of the curriculum for Maori in English-medium schools. We also report on the responses of a sample of teachers of Maori in secondary schools in New Zealand to the omission of language examples from the final version of the curriculum guidelines document.

text: Teaching Maori in English-medium schools in New Zealand: Teacher responses to aspects of the curriculum guidelines for 'te reo' Maori in English-medium school Opinions are divided about how the content of language courses should be specified and whether educational authorities should include specifications/ suggestions about language content in national curriculum documents. Issues associated with language content are, however, not ones that can be avoided, particularly as teachers are expected to prepare students for national examinations at the upper levels of schooling and these examinations are necessarily predicated on general expectations about proficiency achievements and more specific expectations about the types of language with which students will be familiar. In this article, we explore the complex nature of some of the issues involved and the ways in which the New Zealand Ministry of Education has sought/ is seeking to resolve them in the case of the curriculum for Maori in English-medium schools. We also report on the responses of a sample of teachers of Maori in secondary schools in New Zealand to the omission of language examples from the final version of the curriculum guidelines document.

year: 2009