title: What Do Secondary School Rugby Players Think About Concussion?

authors: Murphy, Karen Jane

subjects: rugby

abstract: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a dominant and growing public health concern globally. Sport is an arena in which people are at high risk of TBI. In New Zealand the popular sport of rugby is played by many, particularly during school years. These school aged players are at particular risk of TBI because of the contact nature of the sport and the maturational stage of the brain which is still developing during the teenage years.  Moves to increase safety depend on an awareness of what these players know about TBI and their attitude towards TBI.
A sample of 456 secondary school rugby players in New Zealand were surveyed to gather information about their knowledge of, and attitude towards concussion. Rugby union and rugby league playing participants were mainly recruited through direct contact with schools. Participants were invited to access the survey online or could complete a paper copy. The survey was made up of items which had already been used in previous studies and this allowed for a comparison of findings with previous research. Some items related to knowledge of concussion while others related to attitude towards concussion, in particular attitudes to returning to play following concussion.
	Participants had good knowledge of symptoms, and almost all participants knew there was a risk to long term health and a risk of death if a second concussion was sustained before a first concussion had healed. However, there were some gaps in knowledge about treatment and recovery time.
Participants self-reported attitudes to concussion were consistently and significantly safer than the attitudes they predicted ‘most players’ would hold.
More than half of the participants had a relatively safe attitude to all but one of the items relating to concussion attitude. The least safe attitudes were around who should make a decision to returning to play after concussion and the safety of attitudes declined as the importance of a rugby match increased. 
Ethnicity consistently influenced knowledge and attitude on all the measures used within the survey. Those identifying as Māori ethnicity scored lower on all knowledge and attitude scales than those identifying as Pakeha ethnicity. Self-rated knowledge of concussion and the number of concussions experienced also had a positive effect on knowledge of concussion. 
There are several educational tools and regulatory documents aimed at minimising the incidence, severity and outcome of concussion in rugby but there is little research guiding how these resources are tailored to their intended audience in the secondary school population. Also, little is known about the gaps in knowledge and understanding of concussion in this population. It is tentatively stated that the findings from this study could be used to inform strategies which are aimed at increasing knowledge and making attitudes safer in secondary school rugby players in New Zealand.

text: What Do Secondary School Rugby Players Think About Concussion? Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a dominant and growing public health concern globally. Sport is an arena in which people are at high risk of TBI. In New Zealand the popular sport of rugby is played by many, particularly during school years. These school aged players are at particular risk of TBI because of the contact nature of the sport and the maturational stage of the brain which is still developing during the teenage years.  Moves to increase safety depend on an awareness of what these players know about TBI and their attitude towards TBI.
A sample of 456 secondary school rugby players in New Zealand were surveyed to gather information about their knowledge of, and attitude towards concussion. Rugby union and rugby league playing participants were mainly recruited through direct contact with schools. Participants were invited to access the survey online or could complete a paper copy. The survey was made up of items which had already been used in previous studies and this allowed for a comparison of findings with previous research. Some items related to knowledge of concussion while others related to attitude towards concussion, in particular attitudes to returning to play following concussion.
	Participants had good knowledge of symptoms, and almost all participants knew there was a risk to long term health and a risk of death if a second concussion was sustained before a first concussion had healed. However, there were some gaps in knowledge about treatment and recovery time.
Participants self-reported attitudes to concussion were consistently and significantly safer than the attitudes they predicted ‘most players’ would hold.
More than half of the participants had a relatively safe attitude to all but one of the items relating to concussion attitude. The least safe attitudes were around who should make a decision to returning to play after concussion and the safety of attitudes declined as the importance of a rugby match increased. 
Ethnicity consistently influenced knowledge and attitude on all the measures used within the survey. Those identifying as Māori ethnicity scored lower on all knowledge and attitude scales than those identifying as Pakeha ethnicity. Self-rated knowledge of concussion and the number of concussions experienced also had a positive effect on knowledge of concussion. 
There are several educational tools and regulatory documents aimed at minimising the incidence, severity and outcome of concussion in rugby but there is little research guiding how these resources are tailored to their intended audience in the secondary school population. Also, little is known about the gaps in knowledge and understanding of concussion in this population. It is tentatively stated that the findings from this study could be used to inform strategies which are aimed at increasing knowledge and making attitudes safer in secondary school rugby players in New Zealand.

year: 2015

title: Kei hea te tangi a te Tūī? An exploration of Kaitiakitanga in urban spaces

authors: Walker, Erana

subjects: Kaitiakitanga

abstract: Indigenous people’s connection to the natural world differs from place to place. In Aotearoa, New Zealand, Māori connection to nature is often articulated through the concept of kaitiakitanga whilst intertwining concepts of whakapapa, wairua, mana, mauri and place. Kaitiakitanga captures the relationships, narratives and practices that Māori utilise to protect kin of the natural environment as well as Māori communities in general. Over recent decades increase use of kaitiakitanga with respect to resource management has been linked to ideas of guardianship and stewardship, departing from important aspects such as place, whakapapa, intergenerational knowledge, spirituality and resource use. Calls to recognise the diverse ways kaitiakitanga has and can be expressed by Māori have echoed through academic literature, encouraging wider perspectives and application of the concept to develop. This has reinvigorated not only the need for natures protection but also the recognition of cultural knowledges and concepts in practicing kaitiakitanga. 
 
As with most indigenous people, Māori have experienced urbanisation that has spanned across generations of whānau and hapū. Urbanisation has the ability to challenge health outcomes, cultural practices and cultural knowledge, and more importantly, relationships to nature. Growing urbanisation and environmental degradation continue to challenge people and our relationships to nature. There is now a need to understand how urban spaces may also challenge the concepts that encourage connections to nature like kaitiakitanga. Moreover, there is a need to understand if such cultural concepts can become challenged when transient Māori reside in another tribal group’s boundaries. This research provides a deeper analysis of kaitiakitanga by understanding its application within the urban space of Kirikiriroa/Hamilton. From data gathered through a survey, focus groups and interviews, this research project illustrates the experiences of Māori in the urban space who know and practice kaitiakitanga in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton. More importantly, this study posits the integral role of place connection and mana in supporting and shaping kaitiakitanga practices in urban spaces.

The data from participants shows a clear narrative of kaitiakitanga from both local and transient Māori exist and indicates that kaitiakitanga is practiced in accordance with their location and whakapapa to their area of residence. The study has found that kaitiakitanga practices have adapted to suit urban spaces allowing for both transient and local knowledges to exist within the urban space. The key findings of this research show many influences that impact kaitiakitanga practices like the recognition of childhood spaces and experiences, ideas of kinship, cultural knowledges, spirituality, mobility, nature as well as modernisation. Through exploring participants use and knowledge of kaitiakitanga, this research provides a new lens in which to view this concept and bring to the fore, the various experiences and ways that participants connect to place, people, culture and most importantly, nature.

text: Kei hea te tangi a te Tūī? An exploration of Kaitiakitanga in urban spaces Indigenous people’s connection to the natural world differs from place to place. In Aotearoa, New Zealand, Māori connection to nature is often articulated through the concept of kaitiakitanga whilst intertwining concepts of whakapapa, wairua, mana, mauri and place. Kaitiakitanga captures the relationships, narratives and practices that Māori utilise to protect kin of the natural environment as well as Māori communities in general. Over recent decades increase use of kaitiakitanga with respect to resource management has been linked to ideas of guardianship and stewardship, departing from important aspects such as place, whakapapa, intergenerational knowledge, spirituality and resource use. Calls to recognise the diverse ways kaitiakitanga has and can be expressed by Māori have echoed through academic literature, encouraging wider perspectives and application of the concept to develop. This has reinvigorated not only the need for natures protection but also the recognition of cultural knowledges and concepts in practicing kaitiakitanga. 
 
As with most indigenous people, Māori have experienced urbanisation that has spanned across generations of whānau and hapū. Urbanisation has the ability to challenge health outcomes, cultural practices and cultural knowledge, and more importantly, relationships to nature. Growing urbanisation and environmental degradation continue to challenge people and our relationships to nature. There is now a need to understand how urban spaces may also challenge the concepts that encourage connections to nature like kaitiakitanga. Moreover, there is a need to understand if such cultural concepts can become challenged when transient Māori reside in another tribal group’s boundaries. This research provides a deeper analysis of kaitiakitanga by understanding its application within the urban space of Kirikiriroa/Hamilton. From data gathered through a survey, focus groups and interviews, this research project illustrates the experiences of Māori in the urban space who know and practice kaitiakitanga in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton. More importantly, this study posits the integral role of place connection and mana in supporting and shaping kaitiakitanga practices in urban spaces.

The data from participants shows a clear narrative of kaitiakitanga from both local and transient Māori exist and indicates that kaitiakitanga is practiced in accordance with their location and whakapapa to their area of residence. The study has found that kaitiakitanga practices have adapted to suit urban spaces allowing for both transient and local knowledges to exist within the urban space. The key findings of this research show many influences that impact kaitiakitanga practices like the recognition of childhood spaces and experiences, ideas of kinship, cultural knowledges, spirituality, mobility, nature as well as modernisation. Through exploring participants use and knowledge of kaitiakitanga, this research provides a new lens in which to view this concept and bring to the fore, the various experiences and ways that participants connect to place, people, culture and most importantly, nature.

year: 2021

title: Natural history, conservation and health: Scottish-trained doctors in New Zealand, 1790–1920s

authors: Beattie, James John

subjects: natural history

abstract: This article considers the nexus between environment, health and colonial development through the migration, and visits, of Scottish-educated doctors to New Zealand. In arguing for the importance of local social, environmental and economic factors to explain their changing prominence within, in particular, the field of natural history, this article enriches and in some cases modifies the work of Richard Grove and John M. MacKenzie.

text: Natural history, conservation and health: Scottish-trained doctors in New Zealand, 1790–1920s This article considers the nexus between environment, health and colonial development through the migration, and visits, of Scottish-educated doctors to New Zealand. In arguing for the importance of local social, environmental and economic factors to explain their changing prominence within, in particular, the field of natural history, this article enriches and in some cases modifies the work of Richard Grove and John M. MacKenzie.

year: 2011