The Creation and Implementation of Māori Policies

<p><b>Policy that affects Māori is not new. It has existed since the first Europeans arrived in New Zealand. Some have been created where Māori are external to its development. Some have been developed based on engagement with Māori but have been influenced by a Eurocentric perspective. Yet others have been developed by Māori for Māori.</b></p> <p>This thesis presents some of the historical, social, and economic factors that have influenced the need for government and non-government organisations to develop policies that are more responsive to the needs and aspirations of Māori. It will also demonstrate that despite a myriad of policy, legislative, and strategic changes that have progressively shifted towards responsiveness to Māori, not much has been achieved statistically, highlighting a need for policies that are significantly different from that which has already been tried. In the current political climate, we find ourselves in an exciting time where the government is endorsing a more Māori worldview philosophy. One that acknowledges that previous policy, legislative and strategic change, has only been minimally effective. Moreover, one that understands that it is imperative to the wellbeing of Māori and, by extension, the social development of New Zealand to develop new policies that will make a significant and lasting positive change for Māori.</p> <p>This thesis aims to understand why organisations find it necessary to develop Māori responsive policies and how Māori policy is formulated and implemented in the current political climate. The associated aims are to identify commonalities and best practices in the development of Māori policy and understand what Māori policymaking involves.</p> <p>This thesis will analyse two examples of Māori policy development and implementation: one from a government agency, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and one from a non-governmental organisation, WellStop. MSD and WellStop have proposed to move beyond the perfunctory use of tīkanga and te reo Māori within their organisations and embark on a journey of engagement to embed a Māori worldview, values and processes across the whole of their organisations from leadership to frontline. For MSD, which is one of the largest government organisations in New Zealand, this is no small feat, and WellStop, while it is a smaller organisation, is an industry leader for their sector in combating harmful sexual behaviour.</p> <p>What underpins the process of developing their Māori responsive policies is vitally important. With this in mind, this thesis includes first-hand accounts from Hohepa Patea, the Principal Māori Advisor for MSD, and Mark King, the Chief Executive Officer for WellStop. Their contribution to this thesis has revealed many commonalities in the development of the Māori policies for both organisations.</p> <p>The findings show that while MSD has been influenced to develop policies that are responsive to Māori due to governmental aspirations to address Māori social and economic conditions reflected in negative statistics, WellStop is influenced by the parameters set by the expectations of government organisations, the standards set by Level 2 accreditation (Ministry of Social Development, 2020 (a)), and professional registration bodies (Social Workers Registration Board, n.d. (1); New Zealand Association of Counsellors - Te Roopu Kaiwhiriwhiri o Aotearoa, n.d. (3)). I will elaborate on the similarities in the stages of development in each organisations’ policies: the use of whakataukī and karakia, whose inspirational words anchor their policies in mātauranga Māori; the establishment of strong Māori leadership, knowledgeable in mātauranga Māori and tīkanga to ensure the policies’ cultural efficacy and to drive the mauri of the policies from the top down; researching each organisations’ previous and current policies that pertain to Māori to understand the past and develop more effective policies; and finally, the merit of utilising tīkanga processes when engaging with Māori staff, whānau, hapū and iwi.</p> <p>What cannot be denied is the influence of Hohepa and Mark’s background knowledge of mātauranga Māori and their heart and drive to see their organisations operate from a Te Ao Māori perspective. Regardless of other influences, they intend to make spaces and places better for Māori whānau who access their services. Hohepa and Mark are clear that embedding a Māori worldview and values across their organisations is the primary focus. One of the most crucial common denominators in both organisations’ policies is a clear understanding of the importance of keeping people front of mind to ensure that the policies are developed with a powerful sense of manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga.</p> <p>He aha te mea nui i tenei Āo? Māku e kī atu.</p> <p>He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!Nā Meri Ngāroto</p>

The Creation and Implementation of Māori Policies

<p><b>Policy that affects Māori is not new. It has existed since the first Europeans arrived in New Zealand. Some have been created where Māori are external to its development. Some have been developed based on engagement with Māori but have been influenced by a Eurocentric perspective. Yet others have been developed by Māori for Māori.</b></p> <p>This thesis presents some of the historical, social, and economic factors that have influenced the need for government and non-government organisations to develop policies that are more responsive to the needs and aspirations of Māori. It will also demonstrate that despite a myriad of policy, legislative, and strategic changes that have progressively shifted towards responsiveness to Māori, not much has been achieved statistically, highlighting a need for policies that are significantly different from that which has already been tried. In the current political climate, we find ourselves in an exciting time where the government is endorsing a more Māori worldview philosophy. One that acknowledges that previous policy, legislative and strategic change, has only been minimally effective. Moreover, one that understands that it is imperative to the wellbeing of Māori and, by extension, the social development of New Zealand to develop new policies that will make a significant and lasting positive change for Māori.</p> <p>This thesis aims to understand why organisations find it necessary to develop Māori responsive policies and how Māori policy is formulated and implemented in the current political climate. The associated aims are to identify commonalities and best practices in the development of Māori policy and understand what Māori policymaking involves.</p> <p>This thesis will analyse two examples of Māori policy development and implementation: one from a government agency, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and one from a non-governmental organisation, WellStop. MSD and WellStop have proposed to move beyond the perfunctory use of tīkanga and te reo Māori within their organisations and embark on a journey of engagement to embed a Māori worldview, values and processes across the whole of their organisations from leadership to frontline. For MSD, which is one of the largest government organisations in New Zealand, this is no small feat, and WellStop, while it is a smaller organisation, is an industry leader for their sector in combating harmful sexual behaviour.</p> <p>What underpins the process of developing their Māori responsive policies is vitally important. With this in mind, this thesis includes first-hand accounts from Hohepa Patea, the Principal Māori Advisor for MSD, and Mark King, the Chief Executive Officer for WellStop. Their contribution to this thesis has revealed many commonalities in the development of the Māori policies for both organisations.</p> <p>The findings show that while MSD has been influenced to develop policies that are responsive to Māori due to governmental aspirations to address Māori social and economic conditions reflected in negative statistics, WellStop is influenced by the parameters set by the expectations of government organisations, the standards set by Level 2 accreditation (Ministry of Social Development, 2020 (a)), and professional registration bodies (Social Workers Registration Board, n.d. (1); New Zealand Association of Counsellors - Te Roopu Kaiwhiriwhiri o Aotearoa, n.d. (3)). I will elaborate on the similarities in the stages of development in each organisations’ policies: the use of whakataukī and karakia, whose inspirational words anchor their policies in mātauranga Māori; the establishment of strong Māori leadership, knowledgeable in mātauranga Māori and tīkanga to ensure the policies’ cultural efficacy and to drive the mauri of the policies from the top down; researching each organisations’ previous and current policies that pertain to Māori to understand the past and develop more effective policies; and finally, the merit of utilising tīkanga processes when engaging with Māori staff, whānau, hapū and iwi.</p> <p>What cannot be denied is the influence of Hohepa and Mark’s background knowledge of mātauranga Māori and their heart and drive to see their organisations operate from a Te Ao Māori perspective. Regardless of other influences, they intend to make spaces and places better for Māori whānau who access their services. Hohepa and Mark are clear that embedding a Māori worldview and values across their organisations is the primary focus. One of the most crucial common denominators in both organisations’ policies is a clear understanding of the importance of keeping people front of mind to ensure that the policies are developed with a powerful sense of manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga.</p> <p>He aha te mea nui i tenei Āo? Māku e kī atu.</p> <p>He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!Nā Meri Ngāroto</p>

Cultural efficacy predicts body satisfaction for Māori

This paper examines the relationship between body mass index (BMI), self-esteem and self-reported confidence and capability in expressing oneself culturally as Māori (cultural efficacy) for 5,470 Māori who participated in Te Rangahau o Te Tuakiri Māori me Ngā Waiaro ā-Pūtea | The Māori Identity and Financial Attitudes Study (MIFAS) in 2017. Adjusting for demographics, self-reported health, education and socio-economic status, we found that a higher BMI was associated with lower body satisfaction and self-esteem. However, higher scores on cultural efficacy were associated with higher levels of body satisfaction and self-esteem for respondents. Furthermore, the negative association between BMI and both body satisfaction and self-esteem was weaker for those with higher cultural efficacy. This held for BMI scores of 25, 30, and 35+. While our data suggest higher cultural efficacy may directly or interactively shield Māori from developing lowered self-esteem typically associated with higher BMI in Western populations, further research, using more comprehensive measures of body satisfaction should explore the extent to which Māori may find the Western “thin ideal” personally desirable for their own bodies.

Mai i te Ao Rangatahi ki te Ao Pakeke Ka Awatea: A Study of Māori Student Success Revisited

This article responds to the paucity of literature on Māori success and presents data from follow-up interviews with eight Māori young adults (pakeke), 6 years after they participated as secondary students (rangatahi) in an initial study titled Ka Awatea: An Iwi Case Study of Māori Students’ Success in 2014. Emerging outcomes reveal the central role of Māori culture and identity in their transition to adulthood. Secondary schooling nurtured their inner confidence and capacity to achieve, but did not play a significant role in development of positive Māori identity and cultural efficacy. However, as school-leavers approaching adulthood, they drew on their cultural efficacy and cultural assets, predominantly acquired from whānau, to navigate dominant culture environments. In doing so, they demonstrate that traditional Māori developmental paths have contemporary relevance, and that their roles—as cultural bearers, passing on the gifts of their ancestors—are fundamental to their aspirations and achievements.

SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINING FOR PSYCHOSOCIAL REHABILITATION oj

The Spiritual Intelligence training program has evidenced as a contemporary intervention in mental health to bring psychological well-being by increasing spiritual quotient and inner strength. Spiritual intelligence (SQ) is a novel concept in psychology and needs to be distinguished from IQ and EQ as it uses spiritual skills and abilities to solve rational problems, to create awareness, enrich meaning and purpose of life. Spiritual intelligence is the ability of a person to possess a socially relevant virtues in life by understanding ‘self’ and having a high degree of morality, compassion and commitment to human values. It is one-month training program consisting of eight separate group sessions. It aims to develop spiritual intelligence through seven steps journey. Spiritual intelligence training worked with the help of four essential components: existential thinking, personal meaning, transcendental awareness and consciousness. It was first introduced by Bowell in 2005. Although spiritual intelligence training is being used around the world, it is still unidentified by many professionals in Pakistan. Spiritual intelligence training can be implemented widely in universities, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and in business organizations to promote individual growth, life satisfaction and self-identity. Spiritual intelligence has been determined as a predictor of adaptive coping strategies hence, proved as an essential concept in rehabilitation of various psychological pathologies and to improve social participation. Spiritual intelligence is an innovative approach to clinical and educational research, providing an opportunity to study it as a clinical intervention in future. More research studies are required to establish its cultural efficacy and applicability. KEYWORDS Emotional intelligence, Rehabilitation, Mental Health, quality of life, life satisfaction, emotions.

Effects of a Program to Promote Multicultural Awareness and Multicultural Efficacy toward North Korean Defectors for Nursing Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a program to improve the cultural competence of nursing students related to North Korean defectors and to investigate the effectiveness of the program. Methods: There were 36 nursing students in the experimental group and 30 in the control group, who were recruited from a university in I-city, Korea. A Chi-square, t-test, and ANOVA with the SPSS/Win 21.0 program were used to analyze the data. Results: After the intervention, the experimental group showed a statistically significant increase in the total score for multicultural awareness toward North Korean defectors over the control group (t=0.85, p=.026). Scores for cognitive area (t=0.89; p=.037), ritual area (t=-0.10, p=.915), and action area (t=1.18, p=.031) increased, but the conscious area score was not statistically significant. The experimental group showed a statistically significant increase in the total score for multi-cultural efficacy for North Korean refugees (t=0.36, p=.030). Scores for cognitive area (t=0.63; p=.029), working area (t=0.05, p=.955), and emotional area (t=0.79 and p=030) increased, but the working area score was not statistically significant. Conclusion: It was found that the program to promote multicultural efficacy related to North Korean defectors applied in this study was effective in enhancing multicultural awareness and efficacy of nursing students.

Of Human Seismographs: The Multifaceted Roles of Pictures in the Meaning Making of Earthquakes

This article investigates the multifaceted roles that pictorial representations of the human body have played in earthquake visualizations. From the first conventional repertoires in early modern Europe to the photographic iconographies of the early-twentieth-century United States, human bodies have served as tangible proxies—human seismographs—visualizing not only the actual intensity of the seismic forces but also the severe disruption of contemporary cultural ideas, beliefs, and worldviews. As a general pictorial motif, the human body moreover allows viewers to emotionally identify and develop empathy, enhancing the pictures’ cultural efficacy. Drawing on samples from San Francisco’s earthquake of 1906, the study shows how the staging of bodies has stayed a central signifier of the cultural disruption even after seismology brought about the demystification of earthquakes. With the financialization of earthquakes and the shift of the public’s attention to the aftermath of earthquakes, human bodies became materialized ideology, strategically appropriated in order to promote political, economic, and ideological agendas. As such, the human body emerges as a juncture in the popular earthquake iconographies linking—but also complicating—competing categories such as, for instance, mind and matter, private and public, local and (trans)national, individual and collective.