title: Whānau aspirations, extracurricular activity  and positive youth development:  The leisure activity patterns and narratives of successful young Māori men and how they might inform  urban whānau raising tamatāne.

authors: Clarke, Gloria Hinemoa

subjects: Leisure

abstract: The purpose of this research is to offer parents and whānau (extended family groups) insight about the kinds of leisure activities that might make a positive contribution to their boys’ development. Focused on the positive developmental benefits of leisure participation in relation to Māori boys, and employing a kaupapa Māori framework and qualitative methods, this study represents a foray into new territory. 
	Conducted ‘by, with, and for’ Māori (the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand), and guided by the question ‘How might the leisure activity patterns and narratives of successful young Māori men inform urban whānau raising tamatāne (Māori boys/sons)?’ the three-phase research design was strengths-based, collaborative, and both retrospective and prospective. In phase one, a group of 11 parents participated in focus group hui (gatherings) in which they established the criteria for ‘successful young Māori men’ (SYMM) based on their aspirations for their primary-school aged boys. In phase two, this whānau of interest then selected six SYMM from a pool of eight volunteers, who, along with one or both of their parents participated in one-off semi-structured interviews. In these interviews, we co-constructed life and leisure maps, and discussed how their childhood leisure activities and experiences contributed to their development and who they are today. In phase three, a selection of raw data from these interviews was prepared for a group analysis, during which the whānau of interest made three key observations: (1) As children and youth, these SYMM had participated in a number and range of organised and informal leisure activities including sport, kapa haka (Māori cultural performance), music, art, and for three of them, faith-based activities; (2) they were “connected” to their parent(s) and whānau; and (3) their leisure activities had brought them into contact with positive male role models. Consequently, the whānau of interest talked about increasing the number and variety of their boys’ leisure activities; how they could further support their boys’ leisure participation; and bringing more male role models into their boys’ lives. 
	The findings of this study support the current literature regarding extracurricular activity participation in relation to positive youth development, but also highlight some methodological issues and cultural and contextual nuances. The research supports international and local studies in which high-performing students participated in a number and combination of extracurricular activities. In contrast, however, the experiences and reflections of the SYMM in this study highlight the limitations of combining all sports and all arts into broad activity categories. The research participants’ leisure activities also point to the relevance and applicability of the Te Whare Tapa Whā model of health and wellbeing. Their involvement in kapa haka contrasts with the (North American) literature in which males are a minority in the performing arts, and while some studies indicate that participation in music making declines in high school, these young men began playing musical instruments in high school. Moreover, the salience and significance of the research participants’ casual leisure activities challenges the tendency to cast informal leisure as the antithesis of extracurricular activity participation. These findings raise questions about the applicability of using international activity categories in Aotearoa New Zealand research, and consequently the need to conduct our own leisure and positive youth development studies. 
Other topics raised in this thesis include rugby and masculinity, spirituality, and the tensions involved in building and honouring our children’s rangatiratanga (independence). The short answer to the research question is that a variety and balance of leisure activities has the potential to make positive contributions to boys’ lives. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

text: Whānau aspirations, extracurricular activity  and positive youth development:  The leisure activity patterns and narratives of successful young Māori men and how they might inform  urban whānau raising tamatāne. The purpose of this research is to offer parents and whānau (extended family groups) insight about the kinds of leisure activities that might make a positive contribution to their boys’ development. Focused on the positive developmental benefits of leisure participation in relation to Māori boys, and employing a kaupapa Māori framework and qualitative methods, this study represents a foray into new territory. 
	Conducted ‘by, with, and for’ Māori (the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand), and guided by the question ‘How might the leisure activity patterns and narratives of successful young Māori men inform urban whānau raising tamatāne (Māori boys/sons)?’ the three-phase research design was strengths-based, collaborative, and both retrospective and prospective. In phase one, a group of 11 parents participated in focus group hui (gatherings) in which they established the criteria for ‘successful young Māori men’ (SYMM) based on their aspirations for their primary-school aged boys. In phase two, this whānau of interest then selected six SYMM from a pool of eight volunteers, who, along with one or both of their parents participated in one-off semi-structured interviews. In these interviews, we co-constructed life and leisure maps, and discussed how their childhood leisure activities and experiences contributed to their development and who they are today. In phase three, a selection of raw data from these interviews was prepared for a group analysis, during which the whānau of interest made three key observations: (1) As children and youth, these SYMM had participated in a number and range of organised and informal leisure activities including sport, kapa haka (Māori cultural performance), music, art, and for three of them, faith-based activities; (2) they were “connected” to their parent(s) and whānau; and (3) their leisure activities had brought them into contact with positive male role models. Consequently, the whānau of interest talked about increasing the number and variety of their boys’ leisure activities; how they could further support their boys’ leisure participation; and bringing more male role models into their boys’ lives. 
	The findings of this study support the current literature regarding extracurricular activity participation in relation to positive youth development, but also highlight some methodological issues and cultural and contextual nuances. The research supports international and local studies in which high-performing students participated in a number and combination of extracurricular activities. In contrast, however, the experiences and reflections of the SYMM in this study highlight the limitations of combining all sports and all arts into broad activity categories. The research participants’ leisure activities also point to the relevance and applicability of the Te Whare Tapa Whā model of health and wellbeing. Their involvement in kapa haka contrasts with the (North American) literature in which males are a minority in the performing arts, and while some studies indicate that participation in music making declines in high school, these young men began playing musical instruments in high school. Moreover, the salience and significance of the research participants’ casual leisure activities challenges the tendency to cast informal leisure as the antithesis of extracurricular activity participation. These findings raise questions about the applicability of using international activity categories in Aotearoa New Zealand research, and consequently the need to conduct our own leisure and positive youth development studies. 
Other topics raised in this thesis include rugby and masculinity, spirituality, and the tensions involved in building and honouring our children’s rangatiratanga (independence). The short answer to the research question is that a variety and balance of leisure activities has the potential to make positive contributions to boys’ lives. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

year: 2020

title: Taku Kuru Pounamu

authors: Pihama, Leonie

abstract: ‘Taku kuru pounamu’ (My precious adornment) is a whakataukī that speaks of a child who is loved and cherished by their whānau. It represents for us the essence of this publication, an expression of the collective wisdom and values of our ancestors, and the adoration that we have for our tamariki. A selection of whakataukī, or ancestral sayings, form the basis of this publication. Each whakataukī reflects the centrality and importance of children in the Māori world. They also give insights into practices that uplift our tamariki, mokopuna and wider whānau.
‘Taku kuru pounamu’ was born out of the research project ‘Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke’ which explores the mana of te pā harakeke, the collective values that nourish all whanau members. ‘Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke’ provided an opportunity to investigate and understand more fully our knowledge, beliefs and practices relating to whānau, and more specifically childrearing, in the Māori world. What we found was confirmation that our own tikanga, our cultural practices, are about enhancing the well-being of tamariki as taonga within our whānau, hapū and iwi.
This is a small selection of whakataukī. Many of them remind us that we need to be mindful of our actions. We must always treat each other with care and respect, especially our children. Our actions should ensure the safety and well-being of our tamariki, mokopuna, and whānau, and should never be harmful. These are critical messages passed to us by our tūpuna. These ancestral messages provide us with examples of traditional childrearing philosophies and practices.
Many valuable lessons are encoded in the language of whakataukī and in this publication we touch on but a few. In deciding which whakataukī should feature, it was important for us to acknowledge the voices of those who contributed to ‘Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke’ and to include, where possible, whakataukī shared with us by kaumātua during our interviews. A number of other whakataukī pertinent to the whānau context, have also been included as examples of how we can draw upon ancestral knowledge to support the care and nurturing of our tamariki and mokopuna today. While there is a wealth of whakataukī worthy of inclusion in this publication, many were unable to be included, due to the timeframe of the publication.
We hope that we have done justice to those whakataukī that have been included in this publication. We set out with a goal to share positive, culturally enriched and effective approaches to childrearing as defined and practiced by our tūpuna. It is our sincere hope that we have done this and that applying the cultural knowledge embodied in these whakataukī will enrich and enhance the experiences of our tamariki, mokopuna and whānau.
These are gifts of mana left to us by our tūpuna to share with present and future generations.

text: Taku Kuru Pounamu ‘Taku kuru pounamu’ (My precious adornment) is a whakataukī that speaks of a child who is loved and cherished by their whānau. It represents for us the essence of this publication, an expression of the collective wisdom and values of our ancestors, and the adoration that we have for our tamariki. A selection of whakataukī, or ancestral sayings, form the basis of this publication. Each whakataukī reflects the centrality and importance of children in the Māori world. They also give insights into practices that uplift our tamariki, mokopuna and wider whānau.
‘Taku kuru pounamu’ was born out of the research project ‘Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke’ which explores the mana of te pā harakeke, the collective values that nourish all whanau members. ‘Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke’ provided an opportunity to investigate and understand more fully our knowledge, beliefs and practices relating to whānau, and more specifically childrearing, in the Māori world. What we found was confirmation that our own tikanga, our cultural practices, are about enhancing the well-being of tamariki as taonga within our whānau, hapū and iwi.
This is a small selection of whakataukī. Many of them remind us that we need to be mindful of our actions. We must always treat each other with care and respect, especially our children. Our actions should ensure the safety and well-being of our tamariki, mokopuna, and whānau, and should never be harmful. These are critical messages passed to us by our tūpuna. These ancestral messages provide us with examples of traditional childrearing philosophies and practices.
Many valuable lessons are encoded in the language of whakataukī and in this publication we touch on but a few. In deciding which whakataukī should feature, it was important for us to acknowledge the voices of those who contributed to ‘Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke’ and to include, where possible, whakataukī shared with us by kaumātua during our interviews. A number of other whakataukī pertinent to the whānau context, have also been included as examples of how we can draw upon ancestral knowledge to support the care and nurturing of our tamariki and mokopuna today. While there is a wealth of whakataukī worthy of inclusion in this publication, many were unable to be included, due to the timeframe of the publication.
We hope that we have done justice to those whakataukī that have been included in this publication. We set out with a goal to share positive, culturally enriched and effective approaches to childrearing as defined and practiced by our tūpuna. It is our sincere hope that we have done this and that applying the cultural knowledge embodied in these whakataukī will enrich and enhance the experiences of our tamariki, mokopuna and whānau.
These are gifts of mana left to us by our tūpuna to share with present and future generations.

year: 2015

title: Open-source tool for heat exchanger network synthesis

authors: Hall, Keegan

abstract: The synthesis of heat exchanger networks (HEN) is not a trivial task due to the mixed integer and non-linear nature of the optimisation problem, yet it can provide significant cost and energy use savings to an industrial processing site. Many HEN synthesis models are developed using propriety solvers, which make it difficult for industrial companies to realise the potential of optimisation. This paper introduces a new open-source tool for HEN synthesis built in Python using the GEKKO library, which interfaces with the solver APOPT. The tool features three different synthesis methods, two of which utilise a two-step method where step one aims to initialise or narrow the search space prior to global optimisation in the second synthesis step. A unique feature of this work compared to previous HEN synthesis studies is the application of a true driving force constraint, dQ/dA, (instead of the conventional, but at times crude, minimum approach temperature, ∆Tmin) to provide feasible initial variable values to the second step. To demonstrate the current progress in developing the open-source tool, network solutions obtained by the tool were purposefully compared with the best reported solutions for three common case studies in HEN synthesis literature. For a small problem, the tool achieved a solution within 0.02 % of the best literature solution and attained a solution for the two larger problems within 4 % and 21% of the best literature solution. Before the tool can be made publicly available, further work is needed to implement a non-isothermal mixing model across stream splits, which is expected to yield a more optimal HEN.

text: Open-source tool for heat exchanger network synthesis The synthesis of heat exchanger networks (HEN) is not a trivial task due to the mixed integer and non-linear nature of the optimisation problem, yet it can provide significant cost and energy use savings to an industrial processing site. Many HEN synthesis models are developed using propriety solvers, which make it difficult for industrial companies to realise the potential of optimisation. This paper introduces a new open-source tool for HEN synthesis built in Python using the GEKKO library, which interfaces with the solver APOPT. The tool features three different synthesis methods, two of which utilise a two-step method where step one aims to initialise or narrow the search space prior to global optimisation in the second synthesis step. A unique feature of this work compared to previous HEN synthesis studies is the application of a true driving force constraint, dQ/dA, (instead of the conventional, but at times crude, minimum approach temperature, ∆Tmin) to provide feasible initial variable values to the second step. To demonstrate the current progress in developing the open-source tool, network solutions obtained by the tool were purposefully compared with the best reported solutions for three common case studies in HEN synthesis literature. For a small problem, the tool achieved a solution within 0.02 % of the best literature solution and attained a solution for the two larger problems within 4 % and 21% of the best literature solution. Before the tool can be made publicly available, further work is needed to implement a non-isothermal mixing model across stream splits, which is expected to yield a more optimal HEN.

year: 2022-09-05