title: Site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene

authors: Claus, Johanna

abstract: In this creative practice PhD, I investigated site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Driven by the urge to respond to the challenges of the current time, I examined how different seasonal rituals might be expressed in specific sites in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Furthermore, including participants from diverse cultural backgrounds, and carrying an awareness of the complexities of colonialism, I analysed insights from key ritual experts to enhance my understanding of ritual practices within the specific socio-cultural and environmental context of Aotearoa. Inspired by critical posthumanist philosophies, I viewed ritual practices through a lens that considered the interconnectedness of technology, culture, and nature, moving beyond essentialist and dualistic tendencies. Inspired by (Haraway, 2007) and Braidotti (2019), I embraced a perspective of ‘staying with the trouble’ and ‘radical hope’ as a strategy to inspire commitments to safeguarding life on Earth amid increasing societal divisions, and environmental disasters.
Working at the intersection of various disciplines, I crafted a qualitative research design that embraced multiple ways of knowing through creative practice research. I gathered insights from four ritual experts grounded in mātauranga Māori or neo-Paganism through in-depth interviews, to comprehend multifaceted and culturally sensitive approaches to ritual practices in Aotearoa. Moreover, the creative investigation of four seasonal performance rituals served as the primary mode of inquiry (Niedderer & Roworth-Stokes, 2007; Skains, 2018). The methods used for these rituals included contemporary performance practices, eco-somatic movement, improvisation, site-specific dance, audience participation, and others.
The rich knowledge gained throughout these investigations is conveyed through the documentation of four seasonal rituals, presented in video works alongside this thesis. The findings are articulated in two empirical chapters, one focusing on the findings and analysis of the expert interviews and the other on the findings and analysis of four performance rituals, revealing nuanced and complex insights into the creation of site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Navigating site-specific performance practices as an immigrant necessitated continuous critical self-reflection on biases and assumptions, leading to intricate explorations of embodiment, identity, culture, nature, and the more-than-human world within a posthuman context. Operating in the liminal space of this tension alongside performer participants, ritual experts, and audience members yielded the articulation of my findings: a ritual score capable of accommodating the complexities of the Anthropocene.

text: Site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene In this creative practice PhD, I investigated site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Driven by the urge to respond to the challenges of the current time, I examined how different seasonal rituals might be expressed in specific sites in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Furthermore, including participants from diverse cultural backgrounds, and carrying an awareness of the complexities of colonialism, I analysed insights from key ritual experts to enhance my understanding of ritual practices within the specific socio-cultural and environmental context of Aotearoa. Inspired by critical posthumanist philosophies, I viewed ritual practices through a lens that considered the interconnectedness of technology, culture, and nature, moving beyond essentialist and dualistic tendencies. Inspired by (Haraway, 2007) and Braidotti (2019), I embraced a perspective of ‘staying with the trouble’ and ‘radical hope’ as a strategy to inspire commitments to safeguarding life on Earth amid increasing societal divisions, and environmental disasters.
Working at the intersection of various disciplines, I crafted a qualitative research design that embraced multiple ways of knowing through creative practice research. I gathered insights from four ritual experts grounded in mātauranga Māori or neo-Paganism through in-depth interviews, to comprehend multifaceted and culturally sensitive approaches to ritual practices in Aotearoa. Moreover, the creative investigation of four seasonal performance rituals served as the primary mode of inquiry (Niedderer & Roworth-Stokes, 2007; Skains, 2018). The methods used for these rituals included contemporary performance practices, eco-somatic movement, improvisation, site-specific dance, audience participation, and others.
The rich knowledge gained throughout these investigations is conveyed through the documentation of four seasonal rituals, presented in video works alongside this thesis. The findings are articulated in two empirical chapters, one focusing on the findings and analysis of the expert interviews and the other on the findings and analysis of four performance rituals, revealing nuanced and complex insights into the creation of site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Navigating site-specific performance practices as an immigrant necessitated continuous critical self-reflection on biases and assumptions, leading to intricate explorations of embodiment, identity, culture, nature, and the more-than-human world within a posthuman context. Operating in the liminal space of this tension alongside performer participants, ritual experts, and audience members yielded the articulation of my findings: a ritual score capable of accommodating the complexities of the Anthropocene.

year: 2024-05-27

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: Hydrodynamic impacts of tectonics in prehistoric Ohiwa Harbour, North Island, New Zealand

authors: Robinson, Benjamin Joseph

subjects: Hydrodynamic

abstract: Ohiwa Harbour is an estuarine lagoon located in the eastern Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand. Ohiwa Harbour is bounded by two sand spits, Ohope and Ohiwa Spits.  
This study assessed the likelihood of a resistant barrier underlying Ohiwa Spit, which would control the inlet and spit locations. The observed depths of layers unable to be penetrated by a vibrocorer on Ohiwa Spit supported this idea, along with the discovery of a rock outcrop on the eastern harbour entrance using sidescan SONAR. 
Vibrocoring on Ohiwa Spit added to the knowledge of the prehistoric evolution of Ohiwa Harbour, and an attempt to infer various subsidence events on Ohiwa Spit were made. Fining upwards coarse sand sequences with dominant shell material were found in the cores. These sequences could be related to a change in harbour hydrodynamics, or recent subsidence events in Ohiwa Harbour, such as the 0.6m subsidence of the Waimana Fault 636 to 575cal yrs BP. A sharp change in the core profile was observed at 1.4m in core C and 1.7m in core C2, marked by increased grain size and an abundance of shell material, mostly Austrovenus stutchburyi. This could be related to a change in wave energy in the harbour or an erosional contact associated with subsidence of Ohiwa Spit. Comparison of radiocarbon dated shells in this study with Murdoch (2005) on Ohope Spit suggests that more subsidence has occurred at Ohiwa Spit than Ohope Spit; this may be associated with a fault through the harbour entrance.       
Subsidence associated with earthquakes, and erosion associated with at least four tsunami events in the last 6000 years has increased the depth and extent of Ohiwa Harbour, increasing its volume. This study used numerical modeling to determine the hydrodynamic impacts of past catastrophic events (earthquake related subsidence and volcanic eruptions) on Ohiwa Harbour. Ten scenarios along with present conditions were modelled. 
•	In scenarios where sea level was modified only (scenarios 1-5 and 8), tidal range and surface elevation increased within the harbour, but not at the harbour entrance. The entrance hydrodynamics were also influenced by its width; as Ohope Spit accreted, the surface elevation and flow velocities increased within the tidal inlet
•	Flow speeds increased at the harbour entrance by up to 50% following subsidence in scenarios 9 and 10
•	A drop in sea level during subsidence (scenario 6) resulted in a smaller tidal prism and hence reduced flow velocities at the inlet, despite the subsidence 
•	Scenario 7 involved subsidence and the breaching of Ohope Spit, which would divert flow away from the entrance and result in reduced flow velocities at the entrance

text: Hydrodynamic impacts of tectonics in prehistoric Ohiwa Harbour, North Island, New Zealand Ohiwa Harbour is an estuarine lagoon located in the eastern Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand. Ohiwa Harbour is bounded by two sand spits, Ohope and Ohiwa Spits.  
This study assessed the likelihood of a resistant barrier underlying Ohiwa Spit, which would control the inlet and spit locations. The observed depths of layers unable to be penetrated by a vibrocorer on Ohiwa Spit supported this idea, along with the discovery of a rock outcrop on the eastern harbour entrance using sidescan SONAR. 
Vibrocoring on Ohiwa Spit added to the knowledge of the prehistoric evolution of Ohiwa Harbour, and an attempt to infer various subsidence events on Ohiwa Spit were made. Fining upwards coarse sand sequences with dominant shell material were found in the cores. These sequences could be related to a change in harbour hydrodynamics, or recent subsidence events in Ohiwa Harbour, such as the 0.6m subsidence of the Waimana Fault 636 to 575cal yrs BP. A sharp change in the core profile was observed at 1.4m in core C and 1.7m in core C2, marked by increased grain size and an abundance of shell material, mostly Austrovenus stutchburyi. This could be related to a change in wave energy in the harbour or an erosional contact associated with subsidence of Ohiwa Spit. Comparison of radiocarbon dated shells in this study with Murdoch (2005) on Ohope Spit suggests that more subsidence has occurred at Ohiwa Spit than Ohope Spit; this may be associated with a fault through the harbour entrance.       
Subsidence associated with earthquakes, and erosion associated with at least four tsunami events in the last 6000 years has increased the depth and extent of Ohiwa Harbour, increasing its volume. This study used numerical modeling to determine the hydrodynamic impacts of past catastrophic events (earthquake related subsidence and volcanic eruptions) on Ohiwa Harbour. Ten scenarios along with present conditions were modelled. 
•	In scenarios where sea level was modified only (scenarios 1-5 and 8), tidal range and surface elevation increased within the harbour, but not at the harbour entrance. The entrance hydrodynamics were also influenced by its width; as Ohope Spit accreted, the surface elevation and flow velocities increased within the tidal inlet
•	Flow speeds increased at the harbour entrance by up to 50% following subsidence in scenarios 9 and 10
•	A drop in sea level during subsidence (scenario 6) resulted in a smaller tidal prism and hence reduced flow velocities at the inlet, despite the subsidence 
•	Scenario 7 involved subsidence and the breaching of Ohope Spit, which would divert flow away from the entrance and result in reduced flow velocities at the entrance

year: 2012