title: Understanding Variation in Audience Engagement and Response: An Application of the Composite Model to Receptions of              Avatar              (2009)

authors: Michelle, Carolyn

subjects: screen media

abstract: Although much research documents variations in viewers' responses to screen media, the basis for divergent receptions remains relatively poorly understood and inadequately conceptualized. One possible theoretical schema is offered in the composite multidimensional model, which charts 4 distinct modes of reception that shape the specific form and content of audience responses in different contexts. In this study, the core distinctions charted in the composite model were tested in a Q methodology study of cross-cultural receptions of Avatar (2009). 120 respondents from 27 countries modeled their subjective responses to this polysemic text by rank-ordering 32 items and then commenting on their selections. Through factor analysis, 4 discrete responses toward Avatar were identified among participants, accounting for 74% of all respondents. Each factor clearly reflects key elements of the transparent, referential, mediated, and discursive modes identified in the composite model, indicating that the model is reasonably accurate in identifying broad distinctions in the underlying approaches to meaning-making that can be adopted by different viewers. Suggestive associations between viewers' subjective orientations and demographic characteristics, social group memberships, and discursive affiliations were also documented.

text: Understanding Variation in Audience Engagement and Response: An Application of the Composite Model to Receptions of              Avatar              (2009) Although much research documents variations in viewers' responses to screen media, the basis for divergent receptions remains relatively poorly understood and inadequately conceptualized. One possible theoretical schema is offered in the composite multidimensional model, which charts 4 distinct modes of reception that shape the specific form and content of audience responses in different contexts. In this study, the core distinctions charted in the composite model were tested in a Q methodology study of cross-cultural receptions of Avatar (2009). 120 respondents from 27 countries modeled their subjective responses to this polysemic text by rank-ordering 32 items and then commenting on their selections. Through factor analysis, 4 discrete responses toward Avatar were identified among participants, accounting for 74% of all respondents. Each factor clearly reflects key elements of the transparent, referential, mediated, and discursive modes identified in the composite model, indicating that the model is reasonably accurate in identifying broad distinctions in the underlying approaches to meaning-making that can be adopted by different viewers. Suggestive associations between viewers' subjective orientations and demographic characteristics, social group memberships, and discursive affiliations were also documented.

year: 2012

title: Men, male bias, patriarchy, masculinity, gender relations: What is the barrier to engendering development

authors: Simon-Kumar, Rachel

subjects: women-in-development

abstract: THE field of women-in-development (henceforth, w-i-d) is an evolving one. Its journey – which began in 1970 – has embraced a diversity of ideas that has come from practitioners, scholars and activists in both the countries of the South and the North. As a result, the analysis of women’s experiences has also evolved over this time. At the heart of the field is the premise that women have experienced development differently – if not discriminately – from men. The source and effect of the ‘difference’, however, is contested; the literature of the field is strewn with possibilities of how discrimination comes about. Are ‘men’ responsible, and if yes, which men? Or is the source of women’s oppression a more general ‘male bias’? How is that different from patriarchy? What is masculinity? And how does that contribute to women’s discrimination?

text: Men, male bias, patriarchy, masculinity, gender relations: What is the barrier to engendering development THE field of women-in-development (henceforth, w-i-d) is an evolving one. Its journey – which began in 1970 – has embraced a diversity of ideas that has come from practitioners, scholars and activists in both the countries of the South and the North. As a result, the analysis of women’s experiences has also evolved over this time. At the heart of the field is the premise that women have experienced development differently – if not discriminately – from men. The source and effect of the ‘difference’, however, is contested; the literature of the field is strewn with possibilities of how discrimination comes about. Are ‘men’ responsible, and if yes, which men? Or is the source of women’s oppression a more general ‘male bias’? How is that different from patriarchy? What is masculinity? And how does that contribute to women’s discrimination?

year: 2007

title: Mana Takatāpui: Self-determination for queer rangatahi Māori

authors: Doyle, Benjamin Kauri

subjects: Takatāpui

abstract: Here is a Master’s thesis crafted with, by, and for Rangatahi Takatāpui. It represents a labour of love for the community to which I belong, and seeks to generate understanding about the factors that enable LGBTQI+ Māori youth to embody and enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Principles of Kaupapa Māori Theory provide a paradigm through which this research is conducted, with particular attention paid to the Indigenous Research Agenda. Importantly, this rangahau seeks to offer an alternative to the conventions of hegemonic empirical academia by centering the voices and lived experiences of those who have historically been subjected to the dehumanising objectification of western research practices.

Through the methodological approach of wānanga, and within a Tikanga Māori framework of Āta, or cultural safety, twelve Rangatahi Takatāpui participated in a two day workshop at Te Kohinga Mārama Marae. Over the course of both days, co-researchers shared personal testimonies about their experiences navigating the world as Queer Indigenous peoples, as well as the dreams and aspirations they have for collective self-determination. These accounts ultimately inform the narrative storying employed to convey the key findings of this research, which are described as Mana Tuakiri (identity), Mana Hapori (belonging), Mana Moemoeā (vision), and Mana Wero (challenges).

To make sense of the findings presented in this rangahau, a model is developed which takes inspiration from Te Takarangi, the double spiral motif common in both Toi Māori and Te Tai Ao. Utilising the cyclical and intersecting patterns of Te Takarangi, the four main themes of this research are explored through a progressive layering of personal, interpersonal, and societal relationships in order to provide insight into how best Rangatahi Takatāpui can be supported to enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Ultimately, this research present nine key factors to be addressed and implemented in order to achieve this aspiration, including a call for conscientisation (both the self and the collective), resourcing and support, the removal of barriers to access, community intersectional reflexivity, space for collective Indigenous dreaming, and an ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti justice.

text: Mana Takatāpui: Self-determination for queer rangatahi Māori Here is a Master’s thesis crafted with, by, and for Rangatahi Takatāpui. It represents a labour of love for the community to which I belong, and seeks to generate understanding about the factors that enable LGBTQI+ Māori youth to embody and enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Principles of Kaupapa Māori Theory provide a paradigm through which this research is conducted, with particular attention paid to the Indigenous Research Agenda. Importantly, this rangahau seeks to offer an alternative to the conventions of hegemonic empirical academia by centering the voices and lived experiences of those who have historically been subjected to the dehumanising objectification of western research practices.

Through the methodological approach of wānanga, and within a Tikanga Māori framework of Āta, or cultural safety, twelve Rangatahi Takatāpui participated in a two day workshop at Te Kohinga Mārama Marae. Over the course of both days, co-researchers shared personal testimonies about their experiences navigating the world as Queer Indigenous peoples, as well as the dreams and aspirations they have for collective self-determination. These accounts ultimately inform the narrative storying employed to convey the key findings of this research, which are described as Mana Tuakiri (identity), Mana Hapori (belonging), Mana Moemoeā (vision), and Mana Wero (challenges).

To make sense of the findings presented in this rangahau, a model is developed which takes inspiration from Te Takarangi, the double spiral motif common in both Toi Māori and Te Tai Ao. Utilising the cyclical and intersecting patterns of Te Takarangi, the four main themes of this research are explored through a progressive layering of personal, interpersonal, and societal relationships in order to provide insight into how best Rangatahi Takatāpui can be supported to enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Ultimately, this research present nine key factors to be addressed and implemented in order to achieve this aspiration, including a call for conscientisation (both the self and the collective), resourcing and support, the removal of barriers to access, community intersectional reflexivity, space for collective Indigenous dreaming, and an ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti justice.

year: 2023