title: Anō, ko te Riu ō Tāne Mahuta Possibilities and Challenges in a Ngāti Rangiwewehi Curriculum

authors: Mahuika, Rangimarie

subjects: Curriculum

abstract: This thesis considers how a curriculum might form a useful tool in meeting the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi, a small, but dynamic tribe, who occupy specific territory from the north western shores of Lake Rotorua into the eastern Bay of Plenty of the North Island of New Zealand. In contemplating the potential benefits of a curriculum, this study begins by examining the epistemological frames of reference crucial to understanding how the tribe views the world around them, and their positioning within it. The thesis goes on to explore the pedagogical approaches specific to the iwi, and concludes by assessing the extent to which a curriculum is a viable means of maintaining and empowering Rangiwewehi mātauranga, and their underlying ambitions, and goals. Whether ‘curriculum’ is an appropriate framework to describe the way Ngāti Rangiwewehi view our educational processes, is an issue addressed in this study. To this extent, Rangiwewehi perspectives are intentionally privileged allowing appropriate representation of our understandings and aspirations. Eighteen people were interviewed as part of this study, yet many other voices included here were recorded during a tribal wānanga held in late 2010. Their accounts provide the core ideas and positions at work in this thesis, and are invaluable for the depth and texture they offer. An emphasis on the qualitative data collected here is important in allowing their words to take centre stage. In conveying their views and stories, three major themes emerged: these were people, place, and survival. Woven through the body of the thesis, these themes work to illustrate the key designs and patterns that were seen as fundamental to a Rangiwewehi way of viewing the world. Place and people, for instance, were affirmed as crucial to both the pedagogical and epistemological beliefs and practices maintained across generations. Similarly, the theme of survival was deemed a significant thread in comprehending the struggle and self-determination inherent in the tribe’s sense of identity and knowing. These themes reflect convictions shared across the iwi, highlighting the importance of understanding Ngāti Rangiwewehi by first listening to what they have to say about themselves and their curriculum.

text: Anō, ko te Riu ō Tāne Mahuta Possibilities and Challenges in a Ngāti Rangiwewehi Curriculum This thesis considers how a curriculum might form a useful tool in meeting the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi, a small, but dynamic tribe, who occupy specific territory from the north western shores of Lake Rotorua into the eastern Bay of Plenty of the North Island of New Zealand. In contemplating the potential benefits of a curriculum, this study begins by examining the epistemological frames of reference crucial to understanding how the tribe views the world around them, and their positioning within it. The thesis goes on to explore the pedagogical approaches specific to the iwi, and concludes by assessing the extent to which a curriculum is a viable means of maintaining and empowering Rangiwewehi mātauranga, and their underlying ambitions, and goals. Whether ‘curriculum’ is an appropriate framework to describe the way Ngāti Rangiwewehi view our educational processes, is an issue addressed in this study. To this extent, Rangiwewehi perspectives are intentionally privileged allowing appropriate representation of our understandings and aspirations. Eighteen people were interviewed as part of this study, yet many other voices included here were recorded during a tribal wānanga held in late 2010. Their accounts provide the core ideas and positions at work in this thesis, and are invaluable for the depth and texture they offer. An emphasis on the qualitative data collected here is important in allowing their words to take centre stage. In conveying their views and stories, three major themes emerged: these were people, place, and survival. Woven through the body of the thesis, these themes work to illustrate the key designs and patterns that were seen as fundamental to a Rangiwewehi way of viewing the world. Place and people, for instance, were affirmed as crucial to both the pedagogical and epistemological beliefs and practices maintained across generations. Similarly, the theme of survival was deemed a significant thread in comprehending the struggle and self-determination inherent in the tribe’s sense of identity and knowing. These themes reflect convictions shared across the iwi, highlighting the importance of understanding Ngāti Rangiwewehi by first listening to what they have to say about themselves and their curriculum.

year: 2011

title: 2016 Subtidal Ecological Survey of Tauranga Harbour and development of benthic health models

authors: Clark, Dana

abstract: This report summarises the results of biological and physical data collected from a broad-scale subtidal survey of Tauranga Harbour conducted between March and May 2016. The survey was designed to understand more fully the role of various anthropogenic stressors on ecosystem health and feed into management of the harbour. Community-based models of ecosystem health called Benthic Health Models (BHMs) were developed to assess ecosystem health in response to mud and metal loading. This is the first comprehensive quantitative survey of Tauranga Harbour’s subtidal environment since 1990/91. 
The research was conducted as part of the Oranga Taiao Oranga Tangata (OTOT) programme. The wider research project aims to provide knowledge and toolsets to support co-management of estuaries. The three phases of this programme include 1) gathering Mātauranga Māori (a body of knowledge of Māori experience in the area) from local iwi/hapū, 2) consolidating the ecological knowledge of the Tauranga Harbour and providing modelling and indicators of estuarine ecosystem health, resilience and functioning, and 3) creating an Integrative Spatial Planning Tool (ISPT) that can help inform decision making in the harbour. The subtidal survey fits into the latter two research objectives, as the information collected will be used to develop indicators of ecosystem health, which will be used as components of the ISPT. 
Water, sediment and benthic macrofauna samples were collected from 45 subtidal sites across the harbour. Subtidal sediments were predominantly sandy with low levels of nutrients and metal loading. Upper reaches of channels tended to have higher mud, organic content and nutrient concentrations than sites closer to the main channels. Maximum subtidal sediment metal concentrations were well below guideline values and all metals, except lead, were less than median national values for intertidal estuarine sites. Highest metal concentrations were in the urbanised southern harbour or in areas of high mud deposition. 
Many of the numerically dominant macrofaunal taxa were present in both the 1990/91 and 2016 subtidal surveys, with pipi the most abundant bivalve in both surveys. Although the 2016 survey was not designed to quantitatively measure large bivalves, compared with the 1990/91 survey, fewer scallops and horse mussels were observed. The apparent decline in these species is concerning as large bivalves stabilise the sediment and provide complex physical structure to soft sediment habitats, providing predation refuges and settlement substrate for epifauna. The invasive Asian date mussel, on the other hand, has also become common in the harbour. 
Mud and metals were identified as key variables affecting the ecology of the harbour. To determine how environmental gradients in these variables affected ecosystem health, two Benthic Health Models (BHMs) were developed based on variability in community structure, one for each environmental gradient. The BHM approach is a useful management tool that can be used to determine the relative health of benthic communities at a single point in time, or track sites over time to assess whether communities are moving towards a more healthy or unhealthy state. It has been found to be more sensitive to changing ecosystem health than simple univariate community measures because it preserves more information about the community. 
Most sites were ranked in the lower BHM groups, suggesting Tauranga Harbour had fairly healthy subtidal communities with regard to mud and metal impacts. This was supported by values from other biotic indices, which indicated that all subtidal sites in Tauranga would be classified as having ‘good’ ecological status. Sites identified as most impacted by elevated mud and metals were generally located in the upper reaches of estuaries or near the urbanised southern portion of the harbour. In terms of mud, this to some extent reflects the natural progression of an estuary from land to sea; however, the rates of accumulation of sediments have been accelerated because of anthropogenic land-based activities. Although currents and mud were highly coupled in Tauranga’s subtidal environment, the Mud BHM could draw out community responses that were only associated with mud.

text: 2016 Subtidal Ecological Survey of Tauranga Harbour and development of benthic health models This report summarises the results of biological and physical data collected from a broad-scale subtidal survey of Tauranga Harbour conducted between March and May 2016. The survey was designed to understand more fully the role of various anthropogenic stressors on ecosystem health and feed into management of the harbour. Community-based models of ecosystem health called Benthic Health Models (BHMs) were developed to assess ecosystem health in response to mud and metal loading. This is the first comprehensive quantitative survey of Tauranga Harbour’s subtidal environment since 1990/91. 
The research was conducted as part of the Oranga Taiao Oranga Tangata (OTOT) programme. The wider research project aims to provide knowledge and toolsets to support co-management of estuaries. The three phases of this programme include 1) gathering Mātauranga Māori (a body of knowledge of Māori experience in the area) from local iwi/hapū, 2) consolidating the ecological knowledge of the Tauranga Harbour and providing modelling and indicators of estuarine ecosystem health, resilience and functioning, and 3) creating an Integrative Spatial Planning Tool (ISPT) that can help inform decision making in the harbour. The subtidal survey fits into the latter two research objectives, as the information collected will be used to develop indicators of ecosystem health, which will be used as components of the ISPT. 
Water, sediment and benthic macrofauna samples were collected from 45 subtidal sites across the harbour. Subtidal sediments were predominantly sandy with low levels of nutrients and metal loading. Upper reaches of channels tended to have higher mud, organic content and nutrient concentrations than sites closer to the main channels. Maximum subtidal sediment metal concentrations were well below guideline values and all metals, except lead, were less than median national values for intertidal estuarine sites. Highest metal concentrations were in the urbanised southern harbour or in areas of high mud deposition. 
Many of the numerically dominant macrofaunal taxa were present in both the 1990/91 and 2016 subtidal surveys, with pipi the most abundant bivalve in both surveys. Although the 2016 survey was not designed to quantitatively measure large bivalves, compared with the 1990/91 survey, fewer scallops and horse mussels were observed. The apparent decline in these species is concerning as large bivalves stabilise the sediment and provide complex physical structure to soft sediment habitats, providing predation refuges and settlement substrate for epifauna. The invasive Asian date mussel, on the other hand, has also become common in the harbour. 
Mud and metals were identified as key variables affecting the ecology of the harbour. To determine how environmental gradients in these variables affected ecosystem health, two Benthic Health Models (BHMs) were developed based on variability in community structure, one for each environmental gradient. The BHM approach is a useful management tool that can be used to determine the relative health of benthic communities at a single point in time, or track sites over time to assess whether communities are moving towards a more healthy or unhealthy state. It has been found to be more sensitive to changing ecosystem health than simple univariate community measures because it preserves more information about the community. 
Most sites were ranked in the lower BHM groups, suggesting Tauranga Harbour had fairly healthy subtidal communities with regard to mud and metal impacts. This was supported by values from other biotic indices, which indicated that all subtidal sites in Tauranga would be classified as having ‘good’ ecological status. Sites identified as most impacted by elevated mud and metals were generally located in the upper reaches of estuaries or near the urbanised southern portion of the harbour. In terms of mud, this to some extent reflects the natural progression of an estuary from land to sea; however, the rates of accumulation of sediments have been accelerated because of anthropogenic land-based activities. Although currents and mud were highly coupled in Tauranga’s subtidal environment, the Mud BHM could draw out community responses that were only associated with mud.

year: 2018

title: The manufacture and mechanical properties of aligned long harakeke fibre reinforced epoxy composites

authors: Le, Tan Minh

subjects: compression moulding

abstract: Aligned long harakeke fibre reinforced epoxy composites were prepared using hand lay-up followed by compression moulding. Densities of harakeke fibre and epoxy resin were determined for the purpose of composite design. The evenness of composites fabricated by two different size moulds was compared. It was found that more even composites were produced when using a small mould than a big mould. In this work, the dependence of tensile and flexural properties of harakeke/epoxy composites on fibre content was also investigated. The results showed that the addition of fibre enhanced tensile properties of epoxy. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus increased with the volume fraction of harakeke fibre. The flexural strength and flexural modulus increased as the fibre volume fraction increased up to 0.4. Further addition of fibre did not result in an improvement of composite flexural properties.

text: The manufacture and mechanical properties of aligned long harakeke fibre reinforced epoxy composites Aligned long harakeke fibre reinforced epoxy composites were prepared using hand lay-up followed by compression moulding. Densities of harakeke fibre and epoxy resin were determined for the purpose of composite design. The evenness of composites fabricated by two different size moulds was compared. It was found that more even composites were produced when using a small mould than a big mould. In this work, the dependence of tensile and flexural properties of harakeke/epoxy composites on fibre content was also investigated. The results showed that the addition of fibre enhanced tensile properties of epoxy. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus increased with the volume fraction of harakeke fibre. The flexural strength and flexural modulus increased as the fibre volume fraction increased up to 0.4. Further addition of fibre did not result in an improvement of composite flexural properties.

year: 2012-07-09