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Background: Disparities in cardiovascular outcomes between Māori and non-Māori persist despite technological advances in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and improved service provision. Little is known about how social determinants of health, such as income [in]security affect Māori men's access, treatment, and recovery from cardiovascular disease. This paper explores the contexts within which cardiovascular disease is experienced and healthcare becomes embedded. Methods: This study utilized a case-comparative narrative approach to document and make sense of the patient experiences of four male Māori patients who, in the previous 6 months, had come through cardiac investigation and treatment at Waikato Hospital, a large tertiary cardiac center in New Zealand. Participant accounts were elicited using a culturally patterned narrative approach to case development, informed by Kaupapa Māori Research practices. It involved three repeat 1–3-hour interviews recorded with participants (12 interviews); the first interviews took place 5–16 weeks after surgery/discharge. Results: Each of the four case studies firstly details a serious cardiac event(s) before describing the varying levels of financial worry they experienced. Major financial disruptions to their lives were at the forefront of the concerns of those facing financial insecurity—as opposed to their medical problems. Financial hardship within the context of an unresponsive welfare system impacted the access to care and access to funding contributed to psychological distress for several participants. Economic security and reciprocal relationships between employers and employees facilitated positive treatment experiences and recovery. Conclusion: Findings suggest that although multiple factors influence participant experiences and treatment outcomes, financial [in]security, and personal income is a key determinant. The heterogeneity in participant narratives suggests that although general inequities in health may exist for Māori as a population group, these inequities do not appear to be uniform. We postulate diverse mechanisms, by which financial insecurity may adversely affect outcomes from treatment and demonstrate financial security as a significant determinant in allowing patients to respond to and recover from cardiovascular disease more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health, illness, and the body are conceptualized within the cultural context of a society. The values and belief systems of a society, including media portrayals, shape how health and illness present. Traditionally, Western portrayals of eating disorders have been prioritized over and above Indigenous realities. This paper explores the lived experiences of Māori with eating disorders and their whānau (family/support system) to identify the enablers and barriers to accessing specialist services for eating disorders in New Zealand. Method: Kaupapa Māori research methodology was used to ensure the research supported Māori health advancement. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were completed with Māori participants including; those with an eating disorder diagnosis (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder), and/or their whānau. Structural, descriptive, and pattern coding was undertaken within the thematic analysis. Low's spatializing culture framework was used to interpret the findings. Results: Two overarching themes identified systemic and social barriers to accessing treatment for Māori with eating disorders. The first theme, was space, that described the material culture within eating disorder settings. This theme critiqued eating disorder services, including idiosyncratic use of assessment methods, inaccessible service locations, and the limited number of beds available in specialist mental health services. The second theme, place, referred to the meaning given to social interactions created within space. Participants critiqued the privileging of non-Māori experiences, and how this makes a place and space of exclusion for Māori and their whānau in eating disorder services in New Zealand. Other barriers included shame and stigma, while enablers included family support and self-advocacy. Conclusion: More education is needed for those working in the space of primary health settings about the diversity of those with eating disorders to enable them to look beyond the stereotype of what an eating disorder looks like, and to take seriously the concerns of whaiora and whānau who present with disordered eating concerns. There is also a need for thorough assessment and early referral for eating disorder treatment to ensure the benefits of early intervention are enabled for Māori. Attention given to these findings will ensure a place for Māori in specialist eating disorder services in New Zealand. Plain English summary: Eating disorders are at least as common in Māori (Indigenous people of New Zealand) when compared to their non-Māori counterparts, however, a recent study investigating specialist service use data identified lower-than-expected service use for Māori. This paper explores the lived experiences of Māori with eating disorders and their whānau (family/support network) to understand the barriers and enablers to accessing treatment. Participants in this study identified both systemic and social barriers to accessing treatment for eating disorders; Systemic barriers included the idiosyncratic use of assessment methods by health practitioners, and inaccessible service locations, including the number of available inpatient beds. While social barriers included the stereotype of what an eating disorder looks like, shame, stigma, and discrimination; support networks were described as both an enabler and barrier to accessing specialist treatment for eating disorders. The findings from this study suggest thorough assessment and early referrals are needed for Māori presenting with disordered eating concerns. Moreover, more education is needed for those working in primary healthcare settings about the diversity of eating disorders to ensure they move beyond the stereotype of what an eating disorder looks like. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Māori have been found to experience marked health inequities compared to non-Māori, including for injury. Accessing healthcare services post-injury can improve outcomes; however, longer-term experiences of healthcare access for injured Māori are unknown. This paper reports on data from the longitudinal Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study – 10 year follow up (POIS-10) Māori study in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ), to qualitatively understand Māori experiences of accessing injury-related healthcare services long-term. Methods: Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with 305 POIS-10 Māori participants, who were injured and recruited 12-years earlier, experiencing a range of injury types and severities. Free text responses about trouble accessing injury-related health services were thematically analysed. Results: Sixty-one participants (20%) reported trouble accessing injury-related health services and provided free text responses. Three related themes describing participants' experiences were connected by the overarching concept that participants were engaging with a system that was not operating in a way it was intended to work: 1) Competing responsibilities and commitments encapsulates practical barriers to accessing services, such as a lack of time and having to prioritise other responsibilities such as work or whānau (family); 2) Disrupted mana refers to the feelings of personal disempowerment through, for example, receiving limited support, care or information tailored to participants' circumstances and is a consequence of patients contending with the practical barriers to accessing services; and 3) Systemic abdication highlights systemic barriers including conflicting information regarding diagnoses and treatment plans, and healthcare provider distrust of participants. Conclusions: Twelve years post-injury, a considerable proportion of Māori reported experiencing barriers to accessing healthcare services. To restore a sense of manaakitanga and improve Māori access to healthcare, Māori-specific supports are required and systemic barriers must be addressed and removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Māori world, people move backwards into the future. The past is on the horizon, we can see it, we know it. The future remains uncertain, we must sharpen our senses and proceed with caution. This article contends that a change of perspective is the most powerful tool to identify multiple ethical implications when conducting research in settings characterized by unfolding processes that weave together human interventions and non-human agency. Walking backwards and based on ethnographic fieldwork in Māori lands, scientific laboratories, research nurseries, and healthy and declining forest in the upper North Island of New Zealand, this paper reflects on the ethical issues that arise from meeting in the field with scientists, Indigenous experts, lethal microorganisms, and giant ancient trees, while also considering the evidence of past multispecies encounters and the uncertainty of future ones. Aware that most of the terrestrial biomass remains outside the field of vision of institutional review boards, this article argues for the adoption of a broader conception of ethics, not as a human construct associated with the production of knowledge, but rather as an essential component of all interdependencies that make life possible on Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of New Zealand Journal of Crop & Horticultural Science includes papers describing some current research activities in mānuka. The research projects were planned and undertaken with various degree of Māori involvement. Here we give a perspective as three of the senior authors, and discuss science at the intersection of Māori and Pākehā cultures, focusing on mānuka. The underlying conclusion is that the processes for accessing plant material, engaging with Māori on the use of this material in science, and the ownership and dissemination of resulting data, have not often been appropriate and there should be a greater degree of inclusion of Māori in research involving taonga species. There is increasing recognition amongst non-Māori scientists within the Aotearoa New Zealand science community that research involving taonga species must follow the country's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, and be led by Māori cultural values, concepts and practices. On this basis future research involving taonga species should include co-design and co-management of research projects, analysis of the risks and benefits, and prior discussion and agreement on the use and implications of any new knowledge generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonisation has deeply harmed Maori communities, seriously and consistently undermining their vitality, aspirations and potentials, particularly since the 1860s, at inestimable cost to the entire nation. The British arrival in Aotearoa commenced a relationship between two very different peoples that has profoundly influenced their distinct and collective fortunes ever since. Despite manifest breaches of te Tiriti o Waitangi, this relationship has centred settler interests ensuring that Maori sovereignty has been displaced in favour of colonial hegemony, entrenching longstanding, preventable inequities in health and other important domains of social life. In this paper we trace some broad indicators of relational health and wellbeing in Aotearoa and consider how Maori thinking about whenua, health and wellbeing might lead healing opportunities for people and whenua. We outline ways in which a unified, dynamic, relational Maori concept based on whenua as the determinant of health could contribute. We believe this could expand, strengthen and revitalise prevention, protection and promotion approaches, to counter the injustices of colonisation, contribute toward health equity and move toward just, sustainable shared futures for the benefit of all New Zealanders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropsychological tests are routinely used to assess Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, yet very few investigations of the psychometric properties of these tests with this population have been conducted. This paper focuses on factors that may impact performance of Māori adults on neuropsychological testing. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) was administered to a sample of 284 Māori stratified for age (between 16 years and 90 years) and gender in order to establish a Māori normative data set. The sample who primarily spoke English as their first language were recruited from a range of urban, regional and rural areas in New Zealand to obtain representation of the main Māori Iwi (tribes). Analysis of test results suggests acculturation, education, income, and, "a culturally positive experience" may have accounted for some of the variance in test performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue reviews the state of biodiversity conservation in New Zealand, following the establishment of the Department of Conservation (DOC) in 1987. Here we summarise events that led to the formation of DOC, and the unprecedented series of changes in how biodiversity conservation has been viewed and conducted. Subsequent papers in this issue outline the successes, failures and key technological shifts in biodiversity conservation in New Zealand in the past 30 years; how visionary people and institutions have instigated conservation at landscape scales and in urban areas; the growing roles of Māori and non-Māori communities; and audacious new goals that reflect continuing attitudinal changes to the conservation of native biodiversity alongside the global and local implications of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonisation has deeply harmed Maori communities, seriously and consistently undermining their vitality, aspirations and potentials, particularly since the 1860s, at inestimable cost to the entire nation. The British arrival in Aotearoa commenced a relationship between two very different peoples that has profoundly influenced their distinct and collective fortunes ever since. Despite manifest breaches of te Tiriti o Waitangi, this relationship has centred settler interests ensuring that Maori sovereignty has been displaced in favour of colonial hegemony, entrenching longstanding, preventable inequities in health and other important domains of social life. In this paper we trace some broad indicators of relational health and wellbeing in Aotearoa and consider how Maori thinking about whenua, health and wellbeing might lead healing opportunities for people and whenua. We outline ways in which a unified, dynamic, relational Maori concept based on whenua as the determinant of health could contribute. We believe this could expand, strengthen and revitalise prevention, protection and promotion approaches, to counter the injustices of colonisation, contribute toward health equity and move toward just, sustainable shared futures for the benefit of all New Zealanders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper questions notions of individualism underpinning technocratic approaches to education that marginalise indigenous and migrant peoples' knowledges in tertiary education. Focusing on New Zealand ( Aotearoa) with its colonial and immigrant history, its Māori and Pacific Islander citizens, the authors ask whether education, as its process is being communicated there, leaves indigenous and migrant people vulnerable and marginalised in the dominant, English-speaking, New Zealand European ( Pākehā) mainstream society. The question is whether education refers to capacity-building and strengthening the potential of marginalised students' language and culture; or whether it is only geared towards sustaining English-language ascendancy and technical virtuosity. Taking on board the cultural heritage of Pacific Islanders ( Pasifika) resident in New Zealand, a new teacher training diploma was introduced by the Auckland University of Technology in 2004. Both authors are involved in the panel meetings ( Fono) where the papers presented during the diploma course are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All peoples develop their own academic traditions: philosophies grounded in their experiences over successive generations, and theories for growing knowledge and wisdom. Mātauranga Māori (mātauranga) is the Indigenous knowledge system of these lands. It is dynamic, innovative and generative. The mātauranga continuum is the knowledge accumulated through this system. Government policies and systems have marginalised mātauranga and prioritised Western science, and the past 100 years have seen a slowing in the expansion of the mātauranga continuum. Unless the survival of mātauranga is prioritised, it will cease to flourish. Māori have discussed and written extensively about the ongoing impact of colonisation on mātauranga and tikanga Māori. This paper builds on those discussions, arguing for tino rangatiratanga, including Māori ownership of mātauranga, fulfilment of the government's obligations to Māori, and the reinstitution of mātauranga as a primary knowledge system in Aotearoa. It explains why mātauranga revitalisation is important and outlines some of the steps towards this goal. We are calling for Western academics to support mātauranga revitalisation, with the vision of two functional knowledge systems operating that are unique to New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how library and information science education in New Zealand has evolved to include Māori cultural components into the content of the curriculum. It considers the influence that the wider library and information profession, including the professional associations, LIANZA and Te Rōpū Whakahau, have had on these developments. The inclusion of ‘indigenous knowledge paradigms’ within the profession registration programme is described as is its effect on library and information education and the continuing professional development of library and information professionals in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background A critical first step toward incorporating equity into cost-effectiveness analyses is to appropriately model interventions by population subgroups. In this paper we use a standardized treatment intervention to examine the impact of using ethnic-specific (Māori and non-Māori) data in cost-utility analyses for three cancers. Methods We estimate gains in health-adjusted life years (HALYs) for a simple intervention (20% reduction in excess cancer mortality) for lung, female breast, and colon cancers, using Markov modeling. Base models include ethnic-specific cancer incidence with other parameters either turned off or set to non-Māori levels for both groups. Subsequent models add ethnic-specific cancer survival, morbidity, and life expectancy. Costs include intervention and downstream health system costs. Results For the three cancers, including existing inequalities in background parameters (population mortality and comorbidities) for Māori attributes less value to a year of life saved compared to non-Māori and lowers the relative health gains for Māori. In contrast, ethnic inequalities in cancer parameters have less predictable effects. Despite Māori having higher excess mortality from all three cancers, modeled health gains for Māori were less from the lung cancer intervention than for non-Māori but higher for the breast and colon interventions. Conclusions Cost-effectiveness modeling is a useful tool in the prioritization of health services. But there are important (and sometimes counterintuitive) implications of including ethnic-specific background and disease parameters. In order to avoid perpetuating existing ethnic inequalities in health, such analyses should be undertaken with care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Māori, the indigenous population of New Zealand, experience numerous and consistent health disparities when compared to non-Māori. Injury is no exception, yet there is a paucity of published literature that examines outcomes following a wide variety of injury types and severities for this population. This paper aims to identify pre-injury and injury-related predictors of life satisfaction three months after injury for a group of injured Māori. Methods: The Māori sample (n = 566) were all participants in the Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS). POIS is a longitudinal study of 2856 injured New Zealanders aged 18-64 years who were on an injury entitlement claims' register with New Zealand's no-fault compensation insurer. The well-known Te Whare Tapa Whā model of overall health and well-being was used to help inform the selection of post-injury life satisfaction predictor variables. Multivariable analyses were used to examine the relationships between potential predictors and life satisfaction. Results: Of the 566 Māori participants, post-injury life satisfaction data was available for 563 (99%) participants. Of these, 71% reported satisfaction with life three months after injury (compared to 93% pre-injury). Those with a higher injury severity score, not satisfied with pre-injury social relationships or poor self-efficacy pre-injury were less likely to be satisfied with life three months after injury. Conclusions: The large majority of Māori participants reported being satisfied with life three months after injury; however, nearly a third did not. This suggests that further research investigating outcomes after injury for Māori, and predictors of these, is necessary. Results show that healthcare providers could perhaps put greater effort into working alongside injured Māori who have more severe injuries, report poor self-efficacy and were not satisfied with their pre-injury social relationships to ensure increased likelihood of satisfaction with life soon after injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of asthma for Indigenous New Zealand Māori is amongst the highest in the world. Recent evidence shows ethnic differences in asthma symptom prevalence in New Zealand have widened, with asthma symptoms and hospitalisation rates consistently higher for Māori across all age-groups, especially children and adolescents. This paper: outlines our qualitative, longitudinal research exploring the practical issues Māori children and their families face trying to achieve optimum asthma outcomes; details the research methods used within this study; and discusses the process evaluation findings of the features that made this approach successful in engaging and retaining participants in the study. Methods: Thirty-two Māori families were recruited using a Kaupapa Māori (Māori way) Research approach. Each participated in a series of four in-depth interviews that were carried out at seasonal intervals over the course of one year. Families also took part in an interviewer-administered questionnaire and participated in a Photovoice exercise. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and independently coded by two researchers. The research team then conducted the analysis and theme development. The questionnaires were analysed separately, with explanations for findings explored within the qualitative data. Results: The methodology produced a 100 percent retention rate of the participating families over the course of the follow-up. This was attributed to the research collaboration, the respectful research relationships established with families, and the families' judgement that the methods used enabled them to tell their stories. The acceptability of the methodology will add to the validity and trustworthiness of the findings. Conclusion: Given the extent and persistence of ethnic disparities in childhood asthma management, it is imperative that an indigenous approach be taken to understanding the core issues facing Māori families. By conducting community-partnership research underpinned by an indigenous methodology, and employing a range of appropriate methods, we have successfully recruited and retained a cohort of Māori families with experiences of childhood asthma. We aim to make their voices heard in order to develop a series of culturally relevant interventions aimed at remediating these disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite career satisfaction models being well established, little is understood about the career satisfaction of indigenous employees. Using a sample of 172 Maori employees, the indigenous people of New Zealand, we tested a career satisfaction model with a cultural wellbeing factor over and above established factors of human capital, sociodemographic, individual differences and organizational sponsorship. This new measure workplace cultural wellbeing was found to significantly relate to career satisfaction, accounting for twenty-three percent of the variance over and above the established factors which highlights its importance for indigenous workers. Furthermore, due to collectivistic orientations amongst Maori, collectivism was tested as a potential moderator and found to significantly interact with workplace cultural wellbeing, showing that Maori respondents reported the greatest career satisfaction when workplace cultural wellbeing was high, irrespective of collectivism orientation. This paper offers an extended model for exploring career satisfaction of indigenous workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosolids management has been largely overlooked as an issue for environmental co-management, collaborative learning and public participation. This paper summarises four research projects on facilitating community involvement in biosolids management in New Zealand. The authors situate these studies both in relation to the New Zealand institutional and policy context for the management of biosolids and in relation to the themes of public participation and social learning in the literature on community involvement in environmental management. From the studies it can be concluded that: the incorporation of the knowledge and views of Māori is important from both public-participation and social-learning perspectives; both public-participation and social-learning approaches must consider the role of issue-definition in relation to willingness to participate; democratic accountability remains a challenge for both approaches; and locating biosolids management within an integrated water-and-wastewater or sustainable waste-management strategy may facilitate wider community participation as well as better-coordinated decision-making. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Did the first East Polynesian settlers of New Zealand, as opposed to discoverers, maintain even a short period of contact with their tropical homeland after arrival? While there is currently no evidence to suggest that contact was maintained the possibility has remained open. Recent revivals of Polynesian ocean voyaging and waka ama paddling in New Zealand have given rise to a general belief that that Māori, like their kin in tropical Polynesia, never lost the arts of long-distance ocean voyaging. This paper, however, argues a contrary position and suggests that our isolation, size, abundance of resources, along with recent revisions to the date of initial settlement in New Zealand, further diminishes the possibility of contact with the tropical Polynesian homelands in the prehistoric past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous cultures and knowledge systems have been virtually ignored by Ecological Economics theory and practice, in spite of the increasing willingness of indigenous peoples to engage in the holistic and integrative research that ecological economists aspire to. This paper draws on the involvement of ecological economists in cross-cultural research in New Zealand, to distill insights on how ecological economists can usefully and legitimately engage with indigenous peoples in environmental research. The main bodies of western ecological knowledge are reviewed and compared with indigenous knowledge, illuminating the main similarities, differences and challenges. This leads into a broader analysis of how these different ‘knowledge systems’ can be mobilised to provide cross-cultural environmental research of practical use to indigenous peoples. Accordingly, principles, characteristics, and structures of applied cross-cultural environmental research are discussed, not as a prescriptive template but as suggestions for future researchers. We conclude that Ecological Economics is well placed to embrace the perspectives and frameworks of indigenous and western knowledge systems. We strongly assert, however, that methodological pluralism needs to be practiced, not just preached. Ecological economists need to resist ‘knowledge imperialism’ and even ‘knowledge integration’ (except where appropriate), which has sometimes been the case in the recent Ecological Economics literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the use of drama as an interdisciplinary methodology to understand the construction of a positive racial-ethnic identity in response to the criticisms and concerns of Multiculturalism as a practice. It draws on a recent study where the focus was on the stories of children who represented a hegemonic white population in one primary classroom in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whanganui National Park is one of New Zealand's leading tourist attractions. Tieke Kāinga (Tieke settlement) is a Department of Conservation camp site in the middle reaches of the river that was occupied in the mid-1990s by members of Tamahaki an indigenous group who claim that the land was taken from them illegally. Although a modus vivendi currently exists whereby the Department and Maori group co manage the site, Tamahaki's struggle for exclusive ownership of it continues. Part of the strategy they adopted to solidify their claim involves welcoming tourists and government officials to Tieke Kāinga in a manner that accords with Maori tradition. Such welcomes establish dramatically that Tamahaki own Tieke and that the guests formally acknowledge by their participation in the performance that they are visitors. This paper questions the authenticity of the welcomes performed there and concludes that they are real for good reason. Authentic Maori welcomes solidify Tamahaki's occupation of Tieke and broadcast the morality of their claim to the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the use of drama as an interdisciplinary methodology to understand the construction of a positive racial-ethnic identity in response to the criticisms and concerns of Multiculturalism as a practice. It draws on a recent study where the focus was on the stories of children who represented a hegemonic white population in one primary classroom in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last twenty years Māori have endeavoured to re-establish control over their material culture and spiritual relationship to the landscape working through new associations with local bodies, museums and researchers. One of their concerns is with cultural wetlands. Wetlands contain Māori, archaeological and ecological values. Despite this, current legislation offers little or no protection for these fragile ecosystems or for the spiritual concerns of Māori. The previously extensive wetlands of Taranaki have been partly drained to produce farmland, and many waterlogged wooden artefacts have been recovered. On-going drainage continues to place these sites at risk. This paper outlines our efforts to strengthen the relationship between Ngāti Mutunga of north Taranaki and their wetlands through a research programme in which Ngāti Mutunga play an active role. Our joint venture has required effort and understanding from both parties, and the research programme's aims and procedures have been altered to accommodate Māori concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]