title: Weaving the mat of Māori and Pacific learner success

authors: Tiakiwai, Sarah-Jane

subjects: Supporting learners, Pacific learner success, Māori learner success, higher education

abstract: The mat we are trying to weave at the University of Waikato to address educational outcomes, disparities and inequities in education for Māori and Pacific learners will weave rich data, stories and experience. Our goal is to use data to be better informed about what works for Māori and Pacific learners and what does not. Data is useful in building a more complete picture of what is happening to students, but student voice and previous research that has already captured the voices of Māori and Pacific experts, educators, students, families and communities can tell us more about why we are getting these outcomes. As we harness data to improve our knowledge, we must not forget the stories already in the mat and the stories being woven in the mat, for the stories are the gold.

This report details our work on this data-informed rather than data-driven project. It discusses how improved data and data analytic capability enhanced our understanding of the literature on Māori and Pacific learner success and the experience of Māori and Pacific learners at UoW. Our research and the report, however, also unapologetically privilege case studies through literature and Māori and Pacific student voices. We lay out the various materials – data, literature and voice – that will form our mat with this in mind, weaving them together in order to achieve better outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners at our university. These learners are the why of this mahi. Their success will create a beautiful pattern in the
weave.

text: Weaving the mat of Māori and Pacific learner success The mat we are trying to weave at the University of Waikato to address educational outcomes, disparities and inequities in education for Māori and Pacific learners will weave rich data, stories and experience. Our goal is to use data to be better informed about what works for Māori and Pacific learners and what does not. Data is useful in building a more complete picture of what is happening to students, but student voice and previous research that has already captured the voices of Māori and Pacific experts, educators, students, families and communities can tell us more about why we are getting these outcomes. As we harness data to improve our knowledge, we must not forget the stories already in the mat and the stories being woven in the mat, for the stories are the gold.

This report details our work on this data-informed rather than data-driven project. It discusses how improved data and data analytic capability enhanced our understanding of the literature on Māori and Pacific learner success and the experience of Māori and Pacific learners at UoW. Our research and the report, however, also unapologetically privilege case studies through literature and Māori and Pacific student voices. We lay out the various materials – data, literature and voice – that will form our mat with this in mind, weaving them together in order to achieve better outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners at our university. These learners are the why of this mahi. Their success will create a beautiful pattern in the
weave.

year: 2022-06

title: E hoki ki to maunga: The quintessential elements of home

authors: Emery, Debra Joy Tepora

subjects: hau kainga

abstract: He kopu puta tahi, he taura whiri tātou;
whiringa a nuku, whiringa a rangi, te whatia e
Issue of one womb, we are a rope woven of many strands; woven on earth, woven in heaven, it will not break (Rev Māori Marsden, 1992)
Ngati Te Takinga is a hapū (sub-tribe) belonging to the Iwi (tribe) Ngati Pikiao. An affiliated member of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes, Ngati Pikiao occupies the Okere and Rotoiti Lakes district of Rotorua in the central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.
This thesis seeks to acknowledge and address the concerns that Ngati Te Takinga has regarding impending cultural discontinuity. The concerns arise due to the hapū's limited human capability and capacity being the result of three things. Firstly, the ongoing demise of tribal elders (and leaders) and the subsequent loss to the hapū of cultural knowledge, skills, leadership and expertise. Secondly, the low numbers of adept,
culturally proficient successors 'coming through' (to replace the elders) and finally, the detribalised and diasporic (dispersed) nature of our people. The hapū and the marae Te Takinga (a last outwardly discernible bastion of Ngati Te Takinga cultural identity and distinction) are jeopardised as a result of these phenomenon.
This thesis is part of a hapū strategy that attempts to address these problems. Positing the
reconnection of our dispersed Ngati Te Takinga 'away-dwellers' as a beginning
solution, the central questions raised by this thesis are  how [does] Ngati Te Takinga
'home-dweller' discourse impact on the 'coming home' experiences and 'reconnection'
of Ngati Te Takinga away-dwellers?  and  what are the [are there] implications for Ngati
Te Takinga cultural continuity? 
The maintenance of Ngati Te Takinga cultural continuity forms the aho mātua or main thread of this work. Using narrative enquiry as a broad methodological framework,stories were gathered from four different groups of Ngati Te Takinga peoples. The groups were home-dwellers (mana whenua or ahi kaa), te ahi tere (away-dwellers who
have returned home to live); te ahi tere (away-dwellers who intend returning in the future) and te ahi tere (away-dwellers who have no intention of returning home to live). The stories (narratives) investigated notions of home, belongingness and Māori identity in relation to the trichotomy of the connection, disconnection and the reconnection of Ngati Te Takinga peoples; the stories were analysed and co-constructed with participants for meaning.
The stories showed that while the hapū aspires to gather up the strengths of a dispersed people to reinvigorate our culture and the marae, existing and competing discourses around authenticity, authority and Ngati Te Takinga identity create a tension between the home (mana whenua/ahi kaa) and away-dwelling Ngati Te Takinga people; including those away-dwellers who have returned. As a basic requirement, this tension must be
diminished in order to build the relationships necessary to improve hapū allegiance
(whānaungatanga), to build hapū strength and to maintain hapū culture and identity. As a priority, decolonising strategies that facilitate an understanding of diversity, promote
participation, maintain tikanga and include our away-dwellers, our 'returnees' and/or our
disconnected people in our hapū-marae interactions, must be considered, developed,
promoted and practiced.

text: E hoki ki to maunga: The quintessential elements of home He kopu puta tahi, he taura whiri tātou;
whiringa a nuku, whiringa a rangi, te whatia e
Issue of one womb, we are a rope woven of many strands; woven on earth, woven in heaven, it will not break (Rev Māori Marsden, 1992)
Ngati Te Takinga is a hapū (sub-tribe) belonging to the Iwi (tribe) Ngati Pikiao. An affiliated member of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes, Ngati Pikiao occupies the Okere and Rotoiti Lakes district of Rotorua in the central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.
This thesis seeks to acknowledge and address the concerns that Ngati Te Takinga has regarding impending cultural discontinuity. The concerns arise due to the hapū's limited human capability and capacity being the result of three things. Firstly, the ongoing demise of tribal elders (and leaders) and the subsequent loss to the hapū of cultural knowledge, skills, leadership and expertise. Secondly, the low numbers of adept,
culturally proficient successors 'coming through' (to replace the elders) and finally, the detribalised and diasporic (dispersed) nature of our people. The hapū and the marae Te Takinga (a last outwardly discernible bastion of Ngati Te Takinga cultural identity and distinction) are jeopardised as a result of these phenomenon.
This thesis is part of a hapū strategy that attempts to address these problems. Positing the
reconnection of our dispersed Ngati Te Takinga 'away-dwellers' as a beginning
solution, the central questions raised by this thesis are  how [does] Ngati Te Takinga
'home-dweller' discourse impact on the 'coming home' experiences and 'reconnection'
of Ngati Te Takinga away-dwellers?  and  what are the [are there] implications for Ngati
Te Takinga cultural continuity? 
The maintenance of Ngati Te Takinga cultural continuity forms the aho mātua or main thread of this work. Using narrative enquiry as a broad methodological framework,stories were gathered from four different groups of Ngati Te Takinga peoples. The groups were home-dwellers (mana whenua or ahi kaa), te ahi tere (away-dwellers who
have returned home to live); te ahi tere (away-dwellers who intend returning in the future) and te ahi tere (away-dwellers who have no intention of returning home to live). The stories (narratives) investigated notions of home, belongingness and Māori identity in relation to the trichotomy of the connection, disconnection and the reconnection of Ngati Te Takinga peoples; the stories were analysed and co-constructed with participants for meaning.
The stories showed that while the hapū aspires to gather up the strengths of a dispersed people to reinvigorate our culture and the marae, existing and competing discourses around authenticity, authority and Ngati Te Takinga identity create a tension between the home (mana whenua/ahi kaa) and away-dwelling Ngati Te Takinga people; including those away-dwellers who have returned. As a basic requirement, this tension must be
diminished in order to build the relationships necessary to improve hapū allegiance
(whānaungatanga), to build hapū strength and to maintain hapū culture and identity. As a priority, decolonising strategies that facilitate an understanding of diversity, promote
participation, maintain tikanga and include our away-dwellers, our 'returnees' and/or our
disconnected people in our hapū-marae interactions, must be considered, developed,
promoted and practiced.

year: 2008

title: Calcium-mediated thermostability in the subtilisin superfamily: the crystal structure of Bacillus Ak.1 protease at 1.8 å resolution

authors: Smith, Clyde A.

subjects: calcium binding

abstract: Proteins of the subtilisin superfamily (subtilases) are widely distributed through many living species, where they perform a variety of processing functions. They are also used extensively in industry. In many of these enzymes, bound calcium ions play a key role in protecting against autolysis and thermal denaturation. We have determined the crystal structure of a highly thermostable protease from Bacillus sp. Ak.1 that is strongly stabilized by calcium. The crystal structure, determined at 1.8 Å resolution (R=0.182, Rfree=0.247), reveals the presence of four bound cations, three Ca2+ and one Na+. Two of the Ca2+ binding sites, Ca-1 and Ca-2, correspond to sites also found in thermitase and the mesophilic subtilisins. The third calcium ion, however, is at a novel site that is created by two key amino acid substitutions near Ca-1, and has not been observed in any other subtilase. This site, acting cooperatively with Ca-1, appears to give substantially enhanced thermostability, compared with thermitase. Comparisons with the mesophilic subtilisins also point to the importance of aromatic clusters, reduced hydrophobic surface and constrained N and C termini in enhancing the thermostability of thermitase and Ak.1 protease. The Ak.1 protease also contains an unusual Cys-X-Cys disulfide bridge that modifies the active site cleft geometry.

text: Calcium-mediated thermostability in the subtilisin superfamily: the crystal structure of Bacillus Ak.1 protease at 1.8 å resolution Proteins of the subtilisin superfamily (subtilases) are widely distributed through many living species, where they perform a variety of processing functions. They are also used extensively in industry. In many of these enzymes, bound calcium ions play a key role in protecting against autolysis and thermal denaturation. We have determined the crystal structure of a highly thermostable protease from Bacillus sp. Ak.1 that is strongly stabilized by calcium. The crystal structure, determined at 1.8 Å resolution (R=0.182, Rfree=0.247), reveals the presence of four bound cations, three Ca2+ and one Na+. Two of the Ca2+ binding sites, Ca-1 and Ca-2, correspond to sites also found in thermitase and the mesophilic subtilisins. The third calcium ion, however, is at a novel site that is created by two key amino acid substitutions near Ca-1, and has not been observed in any other subtilase. This site, acting cooperatively with Ca-1, appears to give substantially enhanced thermostability, compared with thermitase. Comparisons with the mesophilic subtilisins also point to the importance of aromatic clusters, reduced hydrophobic surface and constrained N and C termini in enhancing the thermostability of thermitase and Ak.1 protease. The Ak.1 protease also contains an unusual Cys-X-Cys disulfide bridge that modifies the active site cleft geometry.

year: 1999