title: Weaving the mat of Māori and Pacific learner success

authors: Tiakiwai, Sarah-Jane

subjects: Supporting learners, Pacific learner success, Māori learner success, higher education

abstract: The mat we are trying to weave at the University of Waikato to address educational outcomes, disparities and inequities in education for Māori and Pacific learners will weave rich data, stories and experience. Our goal is to use data to be better informed about what works for Māori and Pacific learners and what does not. Data is useful in building a more complete picture of what is happening to students, but student voice and previous research that has already captured the voices of Māori and Pacific experts, educators, students, families and communities can tell us more about why we are getting these outcomes. As we harness data to improve our knowledge, we must not forget the stories already in the mat and the stories being woven in the mat, for the stories are the gold.

This report details our work on this data-informed rather than data-driven project. It discusses how improved data and data analytic capability enhanced our understanding of the literature on Māori and Pacific learner success and the experience of Māori and Pacific learners at UoW. Our research and the report, however, also unapologetically privilege case studies through literature and Māori and Pacific student voices. We lay out the various materials – data, literature and voice – that will form our mat with this in mind, weaving them together in order to achieve better outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners at our university. These learners are the why of this mahi. Their success will create a beautiful pattern in the
weave.

text: Weaving the mat of Māori and Pacific learner success The mat we are trying to weave at the University of Waikato to address educational outcomes, disparities and inequities in education for Māori and Pacific learners will weave rich data, stories and experience. Our goal is to use data to be better informed about what works for Māori and Pacific learners and what does not. Data is useful in building a more complete picture of what is happening to students, but student voice and previous research that has already captured the voices of Māori and Pacific experts, educators, students, families and communities can tell us more about why we are getting these outcomes. As we harness data to improve our knowledge, we must not forget the stories already in the mat and the stories being woven in the mat, for the stories are the gold.

This report details our work on this data-informed rather than data-driven project. It discusses how improved data and data analytic capability enhanced our understanding of the literature on Māori and Pacific learner success and the experience of Māori and Pacific learners at UoW. Our research and the report, however, also unapologetically privilege case studies through literature and Māori and Pacific student voices. We lay out the various materials – data, literature and voice – that will form our mat with this in mind, weaving them together in order to achieve better outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners at our university. These learners are the why of this mahi. Their success will create a beautiful pattern in the
weave.

year: 2022-06

title: Maori thinking with a dead white male: Philosophizing in the realm of Novalis

authors: Mika, Carl Te Hira

subjects: Novalis

abstract: In this paper I shall discuss my experiences of referring to Novalis in the context of Maori postcolonialism and metaphysical philosophy. As with other methods of research, from a Maori perspective one always alights on and then carries the effects of the philosopher that stands behind the method, whether the philosopher is silent or explicit. This important onto-epistemological interaction, in a general sense, acknowledges for the indigenous person that one is always ‘within’ the world and not detached from it. The maligned dead white male hence unavoidably becomes the highly constructive, living impulse behind what is to become fresh and innovative indigenous thinking.

text: Maori thinking with a dead white male: Philosophizing in the realm of Novalis In this paper I shall discuss my experiences of referring to Novalis in the context of Maori postcolonialism and metaphysical philosophy. As with other methods of research, from a Maori perspective one always alights on and then carries the effects of the philosopher that stands behind the method, whether the philosopher is silent or explicit. This important onto-epistemological interaction, in a general sense, acknowledges for the indigenous person that one is always ‘within’ the world and not detached from it. The maligned dead white male hence unavoidably becomes the highly constructive, living impulse behind what is to become fresh and innovative indigenous thinking.

year: 2014

title: Localising a spreadsheet: an Iban example

authors: Yeo, Alvin

subjects: computer science

abstract: Presently, there is little localisation of software to smaller cultures if it is not economically viable. We believe software should also be localised to the languages of small cultures in order to sustain and preserve these small cultures. As an example, we localised a spreadsheet from English to Iban. The process in which we carried out the localisation can be used as a framework for the localisation of software to languages of small ethnic minorities. Some problems faced during the localisation process are also discussed.

text: Localising a spreadsheet: an Iban example Presently, there is little localisation of software to smaller cultures if it is not economically viable. We believe software should also be localised to the languages of small cultures in order to sustain and preserve these small cultures. As an example, we localised a spreadsheet from English to Iban. The process in which we carried out the localisation can be used as a framework for the localisation of software to languages of small ethnic minorities. Some problems faced during the localisation process are also discussed.

year: 1997-07