This research project adopted an approach which is grounded in Māori cultural values and beliefs to answer three questions: what are the dreams, aspirations and goals that whānau in the Porirua community have for their own development; what are the major areas of concern for these whānau which may in fact prevent them from achieving their dreams; and finally how do government agencies and institutions support whānau to achieve their aspirations?  The research also looked at whether government departments enable  whānau to realise their dreams in a way that is consistent with being Māori. 

This project explored how Māori migrants, while striving for greater economic development, have nonetheless been able to maintain a distinctive Māori identity. A particular focus of the research was how these overseas Māori groups see the relationship between their cultural identity as Māori and their pursuit and achievement of economic success. The project looked at how these overseas communities and individuals perceive their relationship to ‘home’ and the new forms of Māori governance structures that have emerged in the last twenty years in New Zealand, as well as investigating the novel forms of community governance structures that they themselves have created.

At Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga we now manage a database of well over 500 Māori scholars. Twenty five ago years ago Māori academics were so few we’d have had no need for the resource. As for Māori PhDs, with a national total of around 20, some academics would have been realistically able to name them all.

The purpose of this research is to investigate what influences business practices have on Māori organisations and their communities. Current business ideology does not acknowledge or recognise tikanga Māori, nor does it differentiate between Māori and Pākehā business practices.

People living in isolated communities often live in homes that lack essential amenities such as clean reliable water, energy or power sources, vehicle access, telecommunications and waste management systems. Under these circumstances the health and safety of whānau, in particular the most vulnerable (kaumātua and pēpi) can be compromised and placed at risk.
This research involved interviewing whānau who reside in isolated communities and determining the essential needs of whānau (from their perspective) and the factors taken into consideration by whānau to prioritise these needs.

This research project contributed to a growing body of critical analysis and examination of Māori dance and performance as a primary form of cultural expression in which the synthesis of diverse cultural and historical influences is contributing to a redefinition of Māori culture.

This research project aims to characterise the possible effects of agricultural and industrial activity on the well-being of the Mataura River, using an approach that includes a monitoring framework developed by Ngāi Tahu alongside ecotoxicological methodologies. Ngāi Tahu concerns over the increasing degradation of the catchment have underpinned this research project. The project team is confident this research will complement local hapū efforts to build greater research capability on the state of the Mataura River and its resources in order to fulfil their responsibilities as kaitiaki.

Outputs

This scoping exercise investigated how He Rauheke as a contextual framework can be developed and applied to the field of early intervention to inform assessment, early identification, programmes of intervention, and evaluation processes. 
 

This project involved gathering and mapping the whakapapa kōrero of four land, river, coastal pathways in the rohe of Ngāti Apa. The researchers worked with four whānau to research and identify old walkways or travel paths.

A concussion implies a temporary disturbance to brain function and can be serious. A medical consultation to judge the severity of the injury, and to specify a management plan are important. Failure to do so can lead to subsequent injury and may impact the individual’s schoolwork and social interactions.

This research was a community action research project dedicated to identifying ways in which to advance Te Reo
Māori within the homes of Ngāi Te Rangi whānau. The research team worked with whānau to develop strategies for ‘learning interventions’ that can operate within the community, and within the home. The results indicate that increasing language in the home depends on more inter-whānau relationships, inter-whānau dynamics and intra-personal dynamics then it does on language course history, language inputs or even the process of language acquisition itself.

This project builds on an earlier Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga study led by Dr Shane Wright that shows faster evolution occurs in more productive, high energy, tropical climates. This is the first research worldwide to demonstrate this.

This project had three goals:  to build community research capacity; to collect, gather and record kaumātua narratives; and to create a teaching resource for Tūhoe schools. Central to this project was the engagement by Ruatoki community and in particular it reinforced the important role kaumātua play as sources of knowledge. Another key theme was concerned with developing methods of storing traditional knowledge as well as exploring culturally safe practices and guidelines around access and dissemination of this knowledge. 

This research project asked the question “What new and interesting performance works can be created when two or more music traditions talk to each other, and can these culturally hybrid artistic forms communicate knowledge about a musical other?” Dr Te Oti Rakena explored new ways of approaching performance practice and studio practice, extending the parameters of the research question beyond music tradition to include dance traditions, and studied Estill Vocal models that include genres beyond the classical. The result was a series of 12 workshops held in 2008 in Auckland.
 

The Ahuriri or Napier Estuary is of significant value to both tangata whenua and the Hawke’s Bay community as a whole. Historical and current environmental pressures, together with some questionable management processes over the years, had caused an almost total cultural disconnection between the tangata whenua and the estuary.
 

A Kaupapa Māori epidemiology is sensitive to the demographic circumstances of the Māori population. Itreinforces the development of policy and practice that is responsive to Māori.  A Māori standard population (or indigenous standard) brings Māori from the margins to the centre of the epidemiological frame. 
 

This project has two artistic outcomes, Aniwaniwa and UFOB. Both of these artworks were exhibited and generated ongoing public exhibition opportunities and interest. The themes addressed were rising sea levels in the Pacific caused by global warming and flooding of landscapes to generate hydroelectric power.

This research grew from the concern about how to stimulate discussion and debate within Māori communities about the role of Māori women, in the past, present and future.  This research sought women’s stories, in order to let Māori women speak about how they perceive their relationships to the state, environment and others in their communities.  This research also included considering the extent (if at all) legal processes, such as human rights law, and bodies such as the Waitangi Tribunal, can assist or undermine Māori women, who are seeking to remedy discrimination. 

Outputs

In this research project, Hauraki traditional knowledge concerning the harvest of oi (oi, grey-faced petrel, Pterodroma macroptera gouldi) on the Ruamaahua (Aldermen) Islands was recorded and analysed.  The harvest of oi linked Hauraki individuals to culture, ancestors, individual well-being and tribal identity.  It also maintained mana, kaitiaki responsibilities and traditional knowledge systems. Daily catch rates of oi chicks (and number of birders) have declined in some circumstances by as much as 87% between 1950 and 2007.
 

This study on the nature of privilege sheds light on how those with the least advantage are positioned to seem as though they are receiving ‘special benefits’, while unearned advantages that accrue to the privileged remain invisible and unscrutinised, particularly by those that benefit the most from them. Participants’ constructions of privilege emphasise the multi-faceted complexity and discursive ambiguities of the ways in which the concept is utilised within our political economy to account for disparity and covertly reproduce the status quo of Pakeha advantage.