title: “If it don’t talk, it's not whakapapa data”: Conceptualising whakapapa data in a digital age

authors: Pēpi Tarapa‐Dewes, Ella

subjects: data protection

abstract: In Te Ao Māori, whakapapa is a sacred framework that connects all aspects of existence. Whakapapa is highly sensitive information and a taonga that requires active protection. But what can be considered whakapapa data in a digital age where data linkage is ubiquitous and the boundaries between personal and collective information are increasingly blurred? We explore this question through a case study with Ngāti Tiipa, a hapū that is actively engaged in its own data sovereignty research. Reflexive thematic analysis of whānau kōrero identified three types of whakapapa data, each denoting a specific kind of connection: 1) between relatives, both living and deceased; 2) between people and places of cultural significance; and 3) between people and the spiritual realm. Whānau concepts of whakapapa data tend to be context‐specific, suggesting that it is more useful to think of whakapapa data as dynamic and relational rather than a fixed, inherent attribute.

text: “If it don’t talk, it's not whakapapa data”: Conceptualising whakapapa data in a digital age In Te Ao Māori, whakapapa is a sacred framework that connects all aspects of existence. Whakapapa is highly sensitive information and a taonga that requires active protection. But what can be considered whakapapa data in a digital age where data linkage is ubiquitous and the boundaries between personal and collective information are increasingly blurred? We explore this question through a case study with Ngāti Tiipa, a hapū that is actively engaged in its own data sovereignty research. Reflexive thematic analysis of whānau kōrero identified three types of whakapapa data, each denoting a specific kind of connection: 1) between relatives, both living and deceased; 2) between people and places of cultural significance; and 3) between people and the spiritual realm. Whānau concepts of whakapapa data tend to be context‐specific, suggesting that it is more useful to think of whakapapa data as dynamic and relational rather than a fixed, inherent attribute.

year: 2026-02

title: He whiringa aroha: A mokopuna and a pare in the peabody essex museum

authors: Murray, Moana

abstract: Taonga, Māori ancestral treasures, embody the mana and knowledge of Māori ancestors. He Whiringa Aroha is one such treasure: a carved pare that affirms the mana of wāhine in the colonial archives, but whose whakapapa has been obscured. This thesis uses the name ‘He Whiringa Aroha’ and the te reo Māori pronoun ‘ia’ to refer to ‘E5501’, which is located in the 1806 Richardson collection in the Peabody Essex Museum. As He Whiringa Aroha travelled from Aotearoa New Zealand to Massachusetts, United States, ia became entangled in historical narratives that disembodied the taonga from hapū and iwi Māori. Taonga were not only physically removed from Aotearoa, but taonga and Māori creative practices were named, gendered, and displayed by colonisers. American sailors collected and displayed He Whiringa Aroha as an exotic ‘curiosity’ to showcase their triumph over Pacific waters. Yet, He Whiringa Aroha is a power portal—a potent braid to the past, the future, and to those Māori ways of being that defy the limiting archival language of colonialism. How do we relate to taonga Māori that have been fragmented by the colonial archive? What are alternatives to restory and reclaim taonga that remain in overseas museums? 

Using a creative methodology grounded in Mana Wahine and pūrākau, this thesis weaves a whiri (braid) of aroha (reverence) that attempts to restore he hononga mokopuna–the connection between taonga and their descendants. Through poetry, a decolonial map, interviews with ringatoi (Māori creatives), and archival research, I explore how the histories of taonga can be reclaimed in Māori worldviews. Interviews with pūkenga and tohunga toi reveal Māori understandings of taonga as expressions of toi, defying western taxonomies of ‘art’ and ‘curio’. Furthermore, archival research into the East India Marine Society and Peabody Essex Museum unmasks the American sailors and their provenance practices that
have marginalised Māori, and in particular, wāhine Māori. Finally, I use pūrākau of atua wāhine, Mana Wahine and takatāpui scholarship to restory and rename He Whiringa Aroha. This archival storytelling raises new ethical questions about ownership and kaitiakitanga (guardianship), which pose interventions for existing conversations about the place of taonga Māori in overseas museum collections. Reclaiming the histories of ancestors in museums is more than decolonizing colonial archives; on the contrary, restorying taonga is an act of Indigenous resurgence. This Masters research opens new possibilities to reclaiming takatāpui narratives and the mana of wahine in museum archives.

text: He whiringa aroha: A mokopuna and a pare in the peabody essex museum Taonga, Māori ancestral treasures, embody the mana and knowledge of Māori ancestors. He Whiringa Aroha is one such treasure: a carved pare that affirms the mana of wāhine in the colonial archives, but whose whakapapa has been obscured. This thesis uses the name ‘He Whiringa Aroha’ and the te reo Māori pronoun ‘ia’ to refer to ‘E5501’, which is located in the 1806 Richardson collection in the Peabody Essex Museum. As He Whiringa Aroha travelled from Aotearoa New Zealand to Massachusetts, United States, ia became entangled in historical narratives that disembodied the taonga from hapū and iwi Māori. Taonga were not only physically removed from Aotearoa, but taonga and Māori creative practices were named, gendered, and displayed by colonisers. American sailors collected and displayed He Whiringa Aroha as an exotic ‘curiosity’ to showcase their triumph over Pacific waters. Yet, He Whiringa Aroha is a power portal—a potent braid to the past, the future, and to those Māori ways of being that defy the limiting archival language of colonialism. How do we relate to taonga Māori that have been fragmented by the colonial archive? What are alternatives to restory and reclaim taonga that remain in overseas museums? 

Using a creative methodology grounded in Mana Wahine and pūrākau, this thesis weaves a whiri (braid) of aroha (reverence) that attempts to restore he hononga mokopuna–the connection between taonga and their descendants. Through poetry, a decolonial map, interviews with ringatoi (Māori creatives), and archival research, I explore how the histories of taonga can be reclaimed in Māori worldviews. Interviews with pūkenga and tohunga toi reveal Māori understandings of taonga as expressions of toi, defying western taxonomies of ‘art’ and ‘curio’. Furthermore, archival research into the East India Marine Society and Peabody Essex Museum unmasks the American sailors and their provenance practices that
have marginalised Māori, and in particular, wāhine Māori. Finally, I use pūrākau of atua wāhine, Mana Wahine and takatāpui scholarship to restory and rename He Whiringa Aroha. This archival storytelling raises new ethical questions about ownership and kaitiakitanga (guardianship), which pose interventions for existing conversations about the place of taonga Māori in overseas museum collections. Reclaiming the histories of ancestors in museums is more than decolonizing colonial archives; on the contrary, restorying taonga is an act of Indigenous resurgence. This Masters research opens new possibilities to reclaiming takatāpui narratives and the mana of wahine in museum archives.

year: 2024

title: Supplemental Material for Enhancing Precision of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status–Modified (TICS-M) Using the Rasch Model

authors: Truong, Quoc Cuong

abstract: Rasch analysis begins with examining the overall data fit to the Rasch model as well as individual item fit. It also includes the evaluation of residual correlations across items because it possibly influences fit to the Rasch model. Firstly, the overall model fit requires the estimate of item-trait interaction to be not significant, which is reflected by chi square index (p > .05). Secondly, the fit residuals for individual items should be in the range between −2.50 and +2.50. Thirdly, the residual correlations between individual items should be examined because values above 0.20  indicate local dependency that can affect both individual items and the overall model fit (1). Finally, there should be no DIF due to relevant individual characteristics (i.e. personal factors) meaning that all items should be invariant across different groups (e.g. age, sex). In addition, PSI is used to evaluate reliability in Rasch analysis, which is not the Rasch model fit criteria but reflects how well the scale discriminates between individuals with different levels of the latent trait (e.g. SCC). PSI is interpreted somewhat similar to Cronbach's alpha with values above 0.70 indicating acceptable reliability for group assessments and 0.80 and higher for individual assessments (2).

text: Supplemental Material for Enhancing Precision of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status–Modified (TICS-M) Using the Rasch Model Rasch analysis begins with examining the overall data fit to the Rasch model as well as individual item fit. It also includes the evaluation of residual correlations across items because it possibly influences fit to the Rasch model. Firstly, the overall model fit requires the estimate of item-trait interaction to be not significant, which is reflected by chi square index (p > .05). Secondly, the fit residuals for individual items should be in the range between −2.50 and +2.50. Thirdly, the residual correlations between individual items should be examined because values above 0.20  indicate local dependency that can affect both individual items and the overall model fit (1). Finally, there should be no DIF due to relevant individual characteristics (i.e. personal factors) meaning that all items should be invariant across different groups (e.g. age, sex). In addition, PSI is used to evaluate reliability in Rasch analysis, which is not the Rasch model fit criteria but reflects how well the scale discriminates between individuals with different levels of the latent trait (e.g. SCC). PSI is interpreted somewhat similar to Cronbach's alpha with values above 0.70 indicating acceptable reliability for group assessments and 0.80 and higher for individual assessments (2).

year: 2023-05-25