title: Pedagogical learnings of Borat for make benefit glorious community of drama teachers: What teachers can learn from Borat about frame, position and power when working in role.

authors: Aitken, Vivienne Jane

subjects: education

abstract: One of the most exciting strategies available to teachers of drama and indeed any learning area is that of ‘teacher-in-role’. When a teacher takes on a fictional role within the socially real classroom, she reframes reality and repositions herself in relation to the children in the class (Aitken, 2007). To ensure that children are as empowered as possible within the transformed relationship – and for significant aesthetic and ethical reasons too – many teachers stress the importance of ‘signalling’ their transition in and out of role and making the ‘frame’ of the drama explicit (O’Toole, 2002; Edmiston, 2003). However, some resort to unsignalled role in the belief that the lesson will be somehow ‘better’ if participants misframe what is happening as real life events rather than as ‘just’ a drama. This paper critiques this attitude by drawing parallels with Baron Cohen’s controversial ‘mockumentary’ Borat, which could be described as a sustained exercise in unsignalled ‘filmmaker-in-role’. While Cohen operates in the medium of film rather than classroom drama, and while his objectives are not pedagogical, the movie highlights crucial questions about ethics, aesthetics and power that resonate for anyone using unsignalled role, including teachers. This paper addresses some of these questions, including: ‘Is it acceptable to manipulate people into ‘misframing’ a fictional role for your own purposes?’ ‘What difference does it make if the objective is educational?’ and ‘What if the unwitting participants are children?’

text: Pedagogical learnings of Borat for make benefit glorious community of drama teachers: What teachers can learn from Borat about frame, position and power when working in role. One of the most exciting strategies available to teachers of drama and indeed any learning area is that of ‘teacher-in-role’. When a teacher takes on a fictional role within the socially real classroom, she reframes reality and repositions herself in relation to the children in the class (Aitken, 2007). To ensure that children are as empowered as possible within the transformed relationship – and for significant aesthetic and ethical reasons too – many teachers stress the importance of ‘signalling’ their transition in and out of role and making the ‘frame’ of the drama explicit (O’Toole, 2002; Edmiston, 2003). However, some resort to unsignalled role in the belief that the lesson will be somehow ‘better’ if participants misframe what is happening as real life events rather than as ‘just’ a drama. This paper critiques this attitude by drawing parallels with Baron Cohen’s controversial ‘mockumentary’ Borat, which could be described as a sustained exercise in unsignalled ‘filmmaker-in-role’. While Cohen operates in the medium of film rather than classroom drama, and while his objectives are not pedagogical, the movie highlights crucial questions about ethics, aesthetics and power that resonate for anyone using unsignalled role, including teachers. This paper addresses some of these questions, including: ‘Is it acceptable to manipulate people into ‘misframing’ a fictional role for your own purposes?’ ‘What difference does it make if the objective is educational?’ and ‘What if the unwitting participants are children?’

year: 2008

title: Hamilton City long-tailed bat survey: Annual monitoring report, 2022

authors: Caskey, Laura

abstract: Deforestation, urbanisation and the introduction of mammalian predators has resulted in a significant decline of New Zealand’s long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus or pekapeka-tou-roa), which is currently classified as threatened, nationally critical. Hamilton City is one of three urban areas with confirmed long-tailed bat populations. Since 2016, annual city-wide surveys have been conducted by Project Echo, a multi-agency advocacy group for Hamilton City bats. The purpose of the annual surveys is to monitor for changes in bat activity and habitat use throughout Hamilton City, this report presents findings from the 2022 survey.

A total of 72 automatic bat monitors (ABMs) were deployed across 20 historically monitored sites and 52 spatially distributed sites, as specified by a Master Sample design. Acoustic bat monitors (Model AR4) were deployed for approximately 3 weeks, however, only 14 ABMs remained operational for the full 3-weeks, with 30 units failing to operate for more than 4 days. ABM failure was ascribed to the use of older rechargeable batteries. Despite this, a total of 6,734 bat passes were detected from 19 sites, compared to detections at 18 sites from 64 deployments in the 2021 city survey. Similar to previous years, most bat activity was recorded in the south of the city, in close association with the Waikato River and the Mangakotukutuku gully system. There were also six passes recorded in the central city (Site 67, Tristram Street) along with multiple detections in the Hillcrest, Fairfield and Melville residential areas. This data supports the continued use of the Master Sample survey design for the selection of survey sites. While it is advantageous to retain a proportion of previously monitored sites (~25%) for continuity of data, the Master Sample design has improved the proportion of habitats surveyed with greater coverage of residential areas and the inclusion of commercial and industrial areas which have rarely been surveyed.

The reduced number of operational ABM nights is likely to have substantially reduced the sensitivity of the survey to identify locations of low bat activity, as well as the magnitude of detections in high activity areas. Therefore, it is recommended that the data be treated with caution if making comparisons to previous or similar surveys. On-going annual city-wide bat surveys will help identify key habitat areas for conservation and enhancement, in addition to helping understand the effects of urban development and intensification. This is of particular importance given the ongoing and proposed future development in the south of the city, which raises concerns for the preservation of current bat habitats and their connectivity to the city.

text: Hamilton City long-tailed bat survey: Annual monitoring report, 2022 Deforestation, urbanisation and the introduction of mammalian predators has resulted in a significant decline of New Zealand’s long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus or pekapeka-tou-roa), which is currently classified as threatened, nationally critical. Hamilton City is one of three urban areas with confirmed long-tailed bat populations. Since 2016, annual city-wide surveys have been conducted by Project Echo, a multi-agency advocacy group for Hamilton City bats. The purpose of the annual surveys is to monitor for changes in bat activity and habitat use throughout Hamilton City, this report presents findings from the 2022 survey.

A total of 72 automatic bat monitors (ABMs) were deployed across 20 historically monitored sites and 52 spatially distributed sites, as specified by a Master Sample design. Acoustic bat monitors (Model AR4) were deployed for approximately 3 weeks, however, only 14 ABMs remained operational for the full 3-weeks, with 30 units failing to operate for more than 4 days. ABM failure was ascribed to the use of older rechargeable batteries. Despite this, a total of 6,734 bat passes were detected from 19 sites, compared to detections at 18 sites from 64 deployments in the 2021 city survey. Similar to previous years, most bat activity was recorded in the south of the city, in close association with the Waikato River and the Mangakotukutuku gully system. There were also six passes recorded in the central city (Site 67, Tristram Street) along with multiple detections in the Hillcrest, Fairfield and Melville residential areas. This data supports the continued use of the Master Sample survey design for the selection of survey sites. While it is advantageous to retain a proportion of previously monitored sites (~25%) for continuity of data, the Master Sample design has improved the proportion of habitats surveyed with greater coverage of residential areas and the inclusion of commercial and industrial areas which have rarely been surveyed.

The reduced number of operational ABM nights is likely to have substantially reduced the sensitivity of the survey to identify locations of low bat activity, as well as the magnitude of detections in high activity areas. Therefore, it is recommended that the data be treated with caution if making comparisons to previous or similar surveys. On-going annual city-wide bat surveys will help identify key habitat areas for conservation and enhancement, in addition to helping understand the effects of urban development and intensification. This is of particular importance given the ongoing and proposed future development in the south of the city, which raises concerns for the preservation of current bat habitats and their connectivity to the city.

year: 2022

title: Beyond Pākehā paralysis: Exploring the journeys & experiences of Pākehā allyship in psychology

authors: Stolte, Ottilie Emma Elisabeth

abstract: The monocultural foundation of psychology is interwoven with the colonial history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Not all of the mahi of decolonising psychology is the responsibility of Māori. In Aotearoa, there is currently less literature around the development of racial justice allyship and how Pākehā (as the dominant majority) can work towards honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This paper draws on interviews with three Pākehā allies who have taken actions towards greater inclusion of Māori and raising awareness of systemic injustices and racial disparities. The objective of this paper is to document the understandings shared by these ‘reluctant allies’, focusing on the challenges, possibilities, and suggestions for a more culturally relevant psychological education and practice for Aotearoa New Zealand.

text: Beyond Pākehā paralysis: Exploring the journeys & experiences of Pākehā allyship in psychology The monocultural foundation of psychology is interwoven with the colonial history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Not all of the mahi of decolonising psychology is the responsibility of Māori. In Aotearoa, there is currently less literature around the development of racial justice allyship and how Pākehā (as the dominant majority) can work towards honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This paper draws on interviews with three Pākehā allies who have taken actions towards greater inclusion of Māori and raising awareness of systemic injustices and racial disparities. The objective of this paper is to document the understandings shared by these ‘reluctant allies’, focusing on the challenges, possibilities, and suggestions for a more culturally relevant psychological education and practice for Aotearoa New Zealand.

year: 2025