title: Writing Lawa: Stimulating indigenous ownership of vernacular literacy through action research

authors: Holt, Mark Timothy Lloyd

subjects: orthography

abstract: The Eastern Lawa people of Northern Thailand have not had a practical or standardised method of writing their own language. This research began in response to an informal request that help be given to the teachers at Bo Luang school to write Lawa language using Thai script. 

The exploratory and informal nature of the project led me to use action research’s cyclical concept of action, followed by feedback, followed by planning for further action. This allowed for adjustments to both research goals and methods in response to the Eastern Lawa community. I was also able to document practical language development issues in the context of an ancient but rapidly changing indigenous Mon-Khmer community in Northern Thailand. 

I began with the traditional linguistic assumption that building a foundation for vernacular literacy would consist of three consecutive phases. A draft orthography would be prepared with the community. Community acceptance of this would allow a working orthography to be used by the teachers of Bo Luang school. The third phase would then be official regional or national recognition of a formal orthography. I also believed that community ownership was the key to all three phases.

In reality I encountered a constant tension between trying to force the pathway of language development that I had envisaged and coming to terms with the linguistic and social situation which I discovered within the Bo Luang Lawa community. My plans for action research came to be grounded in a critical, reflexive ethnography. Community ownership became the major goal and the raison d’etre for my research instead of just an outcome of good language development practice.

My initial emphasis on linguistic development has transformed into a desire to base both research goals and orthographic objectives on the history, identity and aspirations of the indigenous people. It is my intention that this thesis will be part of the growing body of work that recognises the limitations of Western empirical research models and the necessity for and practicality of alternative approaches.

If you don’t know the words, ask your mother; if you don’t know the path, ask your father. (Traditional Lawa saying)

text: Writing Lawa: Stimulating indigenous ownership of vernacular literacy through action research The Eastern Lawa people of Northern Thailand have not had a practical or standardised method of writing their own language. This research began in response to an informal request that help be given to the teachers at Bo Luang school to write Lawa language using Thai script. 

The exploratory and informal nature of the project led me to use action research’s cyclical concept of action, followed by feedback, followed by planning for further action. This allowed for adjustments to both research goals and methods in response to the Eastern Lawa community. I was also able to document practical language development issues in the context of an ancient but rapidly changing indigenous Mon-Khmer community in Northern Thailand. 

I began with the traditional linguistic assumption that building a foundation for vernacular literacy would consist of three consecutive phases. A draft orthography would be prepared with the community. Community acceptance of this would allow a working orthography to be used by the teachers of Bo Luang school. The third phase would then be official regional or national recognition of a formal orthography. I also believed that community ownership was the key to all three phases.

In reality I encountered a constant tension between trying to force the pathway of language development that I had envisaged and coming to terms with the linguistic and social situation which I discovered within the Bo Luang Lawa community. My plans for action research came to be grounded in a critical, reflexive ethnography. Community ownership became the major goal and the raison d’etre for my research instead of just an outcome of good language development practice.

My initial emphasis on linguistic development has transformed into a desire to base both research goals and orthographic objectives on the history, identity and aspirations of the indigenous people. It is my intention that this thesis will be part of the growing body of work that recognises the limitations of Western empirical research models and the necessity for and practicality of alternative approaches.

If you don’t know the words, ask your mother; if you don’t know the path, ask your father. (Traditional Lawa saying)

year: 2014

title: Under the law of charity, is the principle of 'public benefit' being hindered by the doctrinal rule of precedent?

authors: Chevalier-Watts, Juliet

abstract: There is no explicit definition of what constitutes a ‘charitable trust’. S 2 of the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 defines it as ‘every purpose which in accordance with the law of New Zealand is charitable’. 
For a trust to be charitable legally, it must be for the public benefit, meaning: 
a) The purpose must be beneficial in a way that is charitable; and 
b) The benefit has to be shown to be available to the public, or a significant portion of it, not just to a distinct group of particular individual (other than in the case of relief of poverty).  
The definition of ‘charitable’ owes its origins to the list of purposes contained in the Preamble to the Elizabethan Statute of Charitable Uses Act 1601. The preamble stated that the following uses were deemed to be charitable:...

text: Under the law of charity, is the principle of 'public benefit' being hindered by the doctrinal rule of precedent? There is no explicit definition of what constitutes a ‘charitable trust’. S 2 of the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 defines it as ‘every purpose which in accordance with the law of New Zealand is charitable’. 
For a trust to be charitable legally, it must be for the public benefit, meaning: 
a) The purpose must be beneficial in a way that is charitable; and 
b) The benefit has to be shown to be available to the public, or a significant portion of it, not just to a distinct group of particular individual (other than in the case of relief of poverty).  
The definition of ‘charitable’ owes its origins to the list of purposes contained in the Preamble to the Elizabethan Statute of Charitable Uses Act 1601. The preamble stated that the following uses were deemed to be charitable:...

year: 2008

title: Te Tiriti o Waitangi

authors: Maxwell, Te Kahautu

abstract: Whakawātea. Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group)

Waiata ā Tira: Aroha
Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura
Mōteatea: Tērā te haeata
Waiata ā Ringa: Tiaho Mai
Poi: E ia, e ia
Haka: Ranginui
Whakawātea: Te Tiriti o Waitangi

text: Te Tiriti o Waitangi Whakawātea. Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group)

Waiata ā Tira: Aroha
Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura
Mōteatea: Tērā te haeata
Waiata ā Ringa: Tiaho Mai
Poi: E ia, e ia
Haka: Ranginui
Whakawātea: Te Tiriti o Waitangi

year: 2024-02-23