title: Kumukumu 1, a hilltop site in the Aird Hills: Implications for occupational trends and dynamics in the Kikori River delta, south coast of Papua New Guinea

authors: David, Bruno O.

abstract: We report on archaeological excavations undertaken at Kumukumu 1 atop the dense rainforest-clad Aird Hills of the Kikori river delta islands, south coast of Papua New Guinea. Results indicate exploitation of the nearby environment, including the gathering of some 200 million shellfish from riverine habitats at the base of the hill some 600 years ago, and deposition of shell remains onto hilltop middens. We ask what the implications of such a site in a defensive location on the upper, steep hillslope of Kumukumu hill are for regional occupation and dynamics. We conclude that the hinterland-marine fringe islands of the river deltas that include the site of Kumukumu 1 were especially sensitive to heightened cross-cultural influences and inter-group raids and competition, leading to accelerated processes of centralisation and aggrandisement among some groups, and the subjugation, fragmentation and dispersal of less powerful neighbouring groups.

text: Kumukumu 1, a hilltop site in the Aird Hills: Implications for occupational trends and dynamics in the Kikori River delta, south coast of Papua New Guinea We report on archaeological excavations undertaken at Kumukumu 1 atop the dense rainforest-clad Aird Hills of the Kikori river delta islands, south coast of Papua New Guinea. Results indicate exploitation of the nearby environment, including the gathering of some 200 million shellfish from riverine habitats at the base of the hill some 600 years ago, and deposition of shell remains onto hilltop middens. We ask what the implications of such a site in a defensive location on the upper, steep hillslope of Kumukumu hill are for regional occupation and dynamics. We conclude that the hinterland-marine fringe islands of the river deltas that include the site of Kumukumu 1 were especially sensitive to heightened cross-cultural influences and inter-group raids and competition, leading to accelerated processes of centralisation and aggrandisement among some groups, and the subjugation, fragmentation and dispersal of less powerful neighbouring groups.

year: 2015-01-01

title: Transition to professional social work practice: the initial year

authors: Hunt, Sonya

subjects: newly qualified social workers

abstract: This paper presents the findings of the first year of a three-year longitudinal study of new graduate social workers from a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program in Aotearoa New Zealand. We compare work outcomes and graduates’ perceptions of their readiness for practice against the New Zealand Social Workers Registration Board’s (SWRB’s) 10 core competencies. This study’s impetus came from an increase in the professionally accepted minimum qualification benchmark, recent political commentary on the preparedness of social work graduates, and associated roles of the SWRB and Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Work (ANZASW). The aim of this longitudinal research is to track paid and unpaid work outcomes and identify the support needs of social work graduates as they transition from students into professional practitioners. An on-line questionnaire offered graduates the opportunity to comment annually on their professional progress. The respondents all found paid employment as social workers in that first year and identified transitional challenges. Supports to ease this transition included supervision, mentoring, collegiality, coaching, case-load protection (both volume and complexity), continuing professional development, and professional networking. Concluding that the first year of practice is a highly demanding one, we highlight the need for new graduates to have reduced case-loads and additional levels of support. This article is highly relevant for the profession in Aotearoa New Zealand and elsewhere, particularly for countries such as Australia where there is no legislated registration process for social workers.

text: Transition to professional social work practice: the initial year This paper presents the findings of the first year of a three-year longitudinal study of new graduate social workers from a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program in Aotearoa New Zealand. We compare work outcomes and graduates’ perceptions of their readiness for practice against the New Zealand Social Workers Registration Board’s (SWRB’s) 10 core competencies. This study’s impetus came from an increase in the professionally accepted minimum qualification benchmark, recent political commentary on the preparedness of social work graduates, and associated roles of the SWRB and Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Work (ANZASW). The aim of this longitudinal research is to track paid and unpaid work outcomes and identify the support needs of social work graduates as they transition from students into professional practitioners. An on-line questionnaire offered graduates the opportunity to comment annually on their professional progress. The respondents all found paid employment as social workers in that first year and identified transitional challenges. Supports to ease this transition included supervision, mentoring, collegiality, coaching, case-load protection (both volume and complexity), continuing professional development, and professional networking. Concluding that the first year of practice is a highly demanding one, we highlight the need for new graduates to have reduced case-loads and additional levels of support. This article is highly relevant for the profession in Aotearoa New Zealand and elsewhere, particularly for countries such as Australia where there is no legislated registration process for social workers.

year: 2016

title: Mentoring and teaching in academic settings:  Professional and cultural identities from one Pākehā’s perspective

authors: Middleton, Sue

subjects: biculturalism

abstract: When invited to respond to the paper on “Mentoring Māori in a Pākehā framework” by Hook, Waaka and Raumati (2007), I hesitated. Mentoring was not a term I had previously used in my professional thinking or academic writing: unlike Barbara Grant (Ratima & Grant, 2007), I had not been involved in formal mentoring programmes or immersed myself in the mentoring literature. As a Pākehā, I was not qualified to evaluate the authors’ definition of a Māori framework. At first glance, the target paper’s focus seemed to be on mentoring in commercial, rather than academic workplaces. My experience had been as a teacher, the last 30 years having been in a university School of Education. I was persuaded to undertake this commentary on the grounds that academic work involves nurturing, advising and supporting younger or less experienced colleagues, as well as students – tasks identified as mentoring in the Hook et al. paper. The following comments are informed by my everyday practices as teacher, thesis supervisor and researcher, and by my former management roles as an assistant dean of graduate studies and head of department. My angle of vision and conceptual resources are those of a (Pākehā and feminist) sociologist of education.

text: Mentoring and teaching in academic settings:  Professional and cultural identities from one Pākehā’s perspective When invited to respond to the paper on “Mentoring Māori in a Pākehā framework” by Hook, Waaka and Raumati (2007), I hesitated. Mentoring was not a term I had previously used in my professional thinking or academic writing: unlike Barbara Grant (Ratima & Grant, 2007), I had not been involved in formal mentoring programmes or immersed myself in the mentoring literature. As a Pākehā, I was not qualified to evaluate the authors’ definition of a Māori framework. At first glance, the target paper’s focus seemed to be on mentoring in commercial, rather than academic workplaces. My experience had been as a teacher, the last 30 years having been in a university School of Education. I was persuaded to undertake this commentary on the grounds that academic work involves nurturing, advising and supporting younger or less experienced colleagues, as well as students – tasks identified as mentoring in the Hook et al. paper. The following comments are informed by my everyday practices as teacher, thesis supervisor and researcher, and by my former management roles as an assistant dean of graduate studies and head of department. My angle of vision and conceptual resources are those of a (Pākehā and feminist) sociologist of education.

year: 2007-12