title: Australia’s discussion of kava imports reflects lack of cultural understanding

authors: Aporosa, S. 'Apo'

abstract: The Australian government is considering an increase in the amount of kava travellers can bring into the country. The consultation process includes a proposed pilot program to ease restrictions on kava importation for personal use from two to four kilograms per person. Many Australian residents, especially those with Pacific Island heritage, will welcome this, but the proposal is based on fundamentally flawed evidence.

text: Australia’s discussion of kava imports reflects lack of cultural understanding The Australian government is considering an increase in the amount of kava travellers can bring into the country. The consultation process includes a proposed pilot program to ease restrictions on kava importation for personal use from two to four kilograms per person. Many Australian residents, especially those with Pacific Island heritage, will welcome this, but the proposal is based on fundamentally flawed evidence.

year: 2019

title: The Zapatista rebellion and Mexican reluctance to repress a dissident group

authors: Whyte, Hamish

abstract: Mexican dirty wars, the disappearances of thousands, the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre, the 1971 Corpus Christi Massacre, genocidal plans, kidnappings, tortures and mass graves: Mexico has a long and well-documented history of how it deals with those who rebel, speak out or protest against the government. The Zapatistas are a group in the state of Chiapas who decided to speak out in defiance. However, the fate they received was less harsh than those who had gone before them, or since. Why?
On January 1st 1994, 3,000 Mayan Indian farmers including men, women and children became guerrillas and came down from the mountains in Chiapas and declared war on the Mexican government. They took several municipalities in Chiapas and barricaded themselves in there. The government responded by sending in the military, taking back the municipalities and trying to restore order. Twelve days later, the fighting stopped and a ceasefire was called. Why were the Zapatistas, poor indigenous farmers from the most southern state in Mexico, not brutally repressed like similar groups before them? 
This paper is a plausibility probe case study analysis of the Zapatistas, exploring potential hypotheses as to what caused the government’s treatment of them to differ from treatment afforded to other rebellions in Mexico. The Zapatista case appears to be a unique one in the Mexican context. This paper looks at the causes from different and interlinking angles. ‘Liberation technology’, political culture, historical timing and the political situation in Mexico, are all explored. The findings show that each aspect had its own crucial role to play, but that there was a definitive role for communication and technology in explaining the relatively benign treatment of the Zapatistas.
Communication and ‘liberation technology’ allowed the Zapatistas to highlight their struggle and create a discourse that they were able to control. Mexico also has had a complex political relationship and history with the United States of America, and this appears to have had a significant impact on the treatment of the Zapatista during this period. Mexican political culture is strong and complex and has also played a defining role in the history of the Zapatistas.

text: The Zapatista rebellion and Mexican reluctance to repress a dissident group Mexican dirty wars, the disappearances of thousands, the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre, the 1971 Corpus Christi Massacre, genocidal plans, kidnappings, tortures and mass graves: Mexico has a long and well-documented history of how it deals with those who rebel, speak out or protest against the government. The Zapatistas are a group in the state of Chiapas who decided to speak out in defiance. However, the fate they received was less harsh than those who had gone before them, or since. Why?
On January 1st 1994, 3,000 Mayan Indian farmers including men, women and children became guerrillas and came down from the mountains in Chiapas and declared war on the Mexican government. They took several municipalities in Chiapas and barricaded themselves in there. The government responded by sending in the military, taking back the municipalities and trying to restore order. Twelve days later, the fighting stopped and a ceasefire was called. Why were the Zapatistas, poor indigenous farmers from the most southern state in Mexico, not brutally repressed like similar groups before them? 
This paper is a plausibility probe case study analysis of the Zapatistas, exploring potential hypotheses as to what caused the government’s treatment of them to differ from treatment afforded to other rebellions in Mexico. The Zapatista case appears to be a unique one in the Mexican context. This paper looks at the causes from different and interlinking angles. ‘Liberation technology’, political culture, historical timing and the political situation in Mexico, are all explored. The findings show that each aspect had its own crucial role to play, but that there was a definitive role for communication and technology in explaining the relatively benign treatment of the Zapatistas.
Communication and ‘liberation technology’ allowed the Zapatistas to highlight their struggle and create a discourse that they were able to control. Mexico also has had a complex political relationship and history with the United States of America, and this appears to have had a significant impact on the treatment of the Zapatista during this period. Mexican political culture is strong and complex and has also played a defining role in the history of the Zapatistas.

year: 2018

title: The chronology of Waikato pā: A spatio-temporal investigation of pā in the middle Waikato basin

authors: McBride, Rowan

subjects: pā

abstract: This study considers the chronology of pā construction, proliferation, and development within the 
Middle Waikato Basin through a spatio-temporal investigation of palisade construction activity as 
identified at six pā (fortified places). The chronological approach applied in this thesis uses 14C 
wiggle-match dating to provide an accurate and precise calendar date for the felling of a tree 
(Felling Date) used to construct a palisade defence at a pā. These Felling Dates are interpreted using 
the theory of time perspectivism, focusing on three distinct scales of analysis: Event, Local, and 
Regional. The event scale of analysis successfully produced twenty high-precision felling dates on 
posts recovered from Lake Mangakaware 1 (MA1), Lake Mangakaware 2 (MA2), Lake Mangahia 
(MGA), Taraheke Pā (TAR), Te Uapata Pā (TEU) and Lake Rotokauri (ROT). The local scale 
analysis utilised these felling dates to track the development of the identified palisade defences 
over time, identifying multiple palisade construction phases, representing construction, repair and 
redevelopment episodes at MA1, MA2, MGA, TAR and TEU. Finally, the regional scale analysis 
integrated this evidence into a broader chronological framework, identifying shared episodes of 
palisade construction activity within the Middle Waikato Basin. This analysis highlights three 
critical periods of proposed socio-political stress and stability between the late fifteenth and early 
nineteenth centuries, related to hypothesised influential variables from the broader cultural and 
archaeological landscape that are proposed to be responsible for the emergence, proliferation and 
development of pā over time.

text: The chronology of Waikato pā: A spatio-temporal investigation of pā in the middle Waikato basin This study considers the chronology of pā construction, proliferation, and development within the 
Middle Waikato Basin through a spatio-temporal investigation of palisade construction activity as 
identified at six pā (fortified places). The chronological approach applied in this thesis uses 14C 
wiggle-match dating to provide an accurate and precise calendar date for the felling of a tree 
(Felling Date) used to construct a palisade defence at a pā. These Felling Dates are interpreted using 
the theory of time perspectivism, focusing on three distinct scales of analysis: Event, Local, and 
Regional. The event scale of analysis successfully produced twenty high-precision felling dates on 
posts recovered from Lake Mangakaware 1 (MA1), Lake Mangakaware 2 (MA2), Lake Mangahia 
(MGA), Taraheke Pā (TAR), Te Uapata Pā (TEU) and Lake Rotokauri (ROT). The local scale 
analysis utilised these felling dates to track the development of the identified palisade defences 
over time, identifying multiple palisade construction phases, representing construction, repair and 
redevelopment episodes at MA1, MA2, MGA, TAR and TEU. Finally, the regional scale analysis 
integrated this evidence into a broader chronological framework, identifying shared episodes of 
palisade construction activity within the Middle Waikato Basin. This analysis highlights three 
critical periods of proposed socio-political stress and stability between the late fifteenth and early 
nineteenth centuries, related to hypothesised influential variables from the broader cultural and 
archaeological landscape that are proposed to be responsible for the emergence, proliferation and 
development of pā over time.

year: 2024