Adoption of Māori digitised resources by polytechnic Māori students and staff

<p>Research problem: Little is known about Māori digitised resources. The objective of this research was to explore the factors that influence Māori students’ and staff decisions to use or not use Māori digitised resources within a polytechnic and to examine the ways in which they are used and identify the reasons for their use. Methodology: An indigenous paradigm called Kaupapa Māori research and the Māori Tertiary Education Framework were used to investigate the viewpoints of the participants. Additionally, Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory was used to understand aspects about how and why participants adopt and use digitised resources. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from a purposive sample of five Māori students and four Māori staff. Results: Several factors such as teaching Māori research, learning Te Reo Māori and personal reasons positively influenced the attitude of individuals to enjoy using Māori digitised resources. Most individuals felt comfortable using them and several suggestions were made around improving their use and these included training, technologies enhancements and further investigation. Implications: The digital shift from using traditional methods to using the internet to find and use Māori digitised resources is having an effect on library users. It has changed the way Māori have access to Māori digitised resources and will continue to influence how Māori students and staff learn. Further investigation should be undertaken to see how Māori students and staff at other New Zealand polytechnics and University use Māori digitised resources.</p>

Adoption of Māori digitised resources by polytechnic Māori students and staff

<p>Research problem: Little is known about Māori digitised resources. The objective of this research was to explore the factors that influence Māori students’ and staff decisions to use or not use Māori digitised resources within a polytechnic and to examine the ways in which they are used and identify the reasons for their use. Methodology: An indigenous paradigm called Kaupapa Māori research and the Māori Tertiary Education Framework were used to investigate the viewpoints of the participants. Additionally, Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory was used to understand aspects about how and why participants adopt and use digitised resources. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from a purposive sample of five Māori students and four Māori staff. Results: Several factors such as teaching Māori research, learning Te Reo Māori and personal reasons positively influenced the attitude of individuals to enjoy using Māori digitised resources. Most individuals felt comfortable using them and several suggestions were made around improving their use and these included training, technologies enhancements and further investigation. Implications: The digital shift from using traditional methods to using the internet to find and use Māori digitised resources is having an effect on library users. It has changed the way Māori have access to Māori digitised resources and will continue to influence how Māori students and staff learn. Further investigation should be undertaken to see how Māori students and staff at other New Zealand polytechnics and University use Māori digitised resources.</p>

Indigenous Perspectives in Program Evaluation: A scoping literature review exploring wise practices for program evaluation with Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba

This study explored how organizations that offer programming and services in northern Indigenous communities could inform, adapt, and improve their evaluation approaches to involve an Indigenous perspective. Without this research, program evaluation may continue to be conducted within a Western perspective, a view that does not consider an Indigenous paradigm or cultural considerations. To examine Indigenous perspectives in program evaluation, the researcher conducted a scoping literature review using 15 secondary sources from Australia, Canada, and the United States of America published from 2010-2020. Through a decolonized methodology, the researcher sorted the data into themes according to the core values of an Indigenous Evaluation Framework. The findings contributed to the literature by addressing the gaps of decolonizing program evaluation, integrating cultural approaches, and instilling an Indigenous paradigm. Relevant to organizations that work with Indigenous communities, the research generated wise practices to engage program evaluation in a culturally appropriate manner. Building from this study, ongoing research is needed to support Indigenous perspectives in program evaluation.

Indigenous Natural and First Law in Planetary Health

Indigenous Peoples associate their own laws with the laws of the natural world, which are formally known as or translated as Natural or First Law. These laws come from the Creator and the Land through our ancestral stories and therefore, they are sacred. All aspects of life and existence depend on living and following these natural First Laws. Since colonization, Indigenous Peoples’ Natural Laws have been forcibly replaced by modern-day laws that do not take into account the sacred relationship between the Earth and all of her inhabitants. The force of societies who live outside of Natural Law has ensured the modern-day consequences of not living in balance with nature. Pandemics and global environmental change, including climate change, are all consequences of not following the Natural Laws that are encapsulated by the interconnected nature of the universe. Here we discuss Natural Law from an Indigenous paradigm and worldview which carries implications for planetary health and wider environmental movements around the globe.

Developing an Indigenous goal-setting tool: Counting Coup

Chronic illness self-management best practices include goal-setting as an important tool for developing better self-management habits and are often included as elements of chronic disease self-management interventions. However, the goal theory that many of these tools employ relies on individualistic principles of self-efficacy that are not culturally consonant within many Indigenous communities. During the creation of the [blinded] program, a chronic illness management intervention, we developed a goal-setting tool specific to the [blinded] Nation. Emerging from an Indigenous paradigm and methodology, Counting Coup serves as a goal-setting tool that promotes the [blinded] culture, connects individuals with their ancestors, and focuses on achievement of goals within relationships. Future research and practice should be grounded in the historical and cultural contexts of their communities when designing and implementing goal-setting tools. Limitations to Counting Coup as a goal-setting tool include the need for program facilitators to have a relationship with participants due to Counting Coup’s foundation in relational accountability and that the environmental context may pose difficulties for participants in moving towards behavior change.

The Theses on Feuerbach and Decolonising Methodology: A Parallel Walking

This article aims to reflect upon the relevance of Decolonization methodologies with the Theses on Feuerbach. Somehow, all the Indigenous scholars started from new Marxist like Paulo Freire, Frantz Fanon, but not from classic Marx. To us, the German Ideology of young Marx only resembles the pioneering sources of Indigenous methodology. This discussion is thus a reflection of our studies and a philosophic endeavor to talk about the marginal people of the world, and the scholars who engaged in and with the oppressed. However, we are not prepared to turn our attention away from all the vastness of Marx to a collection of potentially equally relevant to Indigenous methodology. This article concludes that the Theses on Feuerbach is the core of Marxist archaeology of knowledge or philosophy as a whole and has been wading in the Indigenous paradigm.

Conversation Method in Indigenous Research

In reflecting upon two qualitative research projects incorporating an Indigenous methodology, this article focuses on the use of the conversational method as a means for gathering knowledge through story. The article first provides a theoretical discussion which illustrates that for the conversational method to be identified as an Indigenous research method it must flow from an Indigenous paradigm. The article then moves to an exploration of the conversational method in action and offers reflections on the significance of researcher-in-relation and the inter- relationship between this method, ethics and care.

Cross-cultural indigenous training: The South African experience

In this paper, the author explores the relevance of indigenous training from a cross-cultural perspective. We start by examining the broader context of traditional Western psychology and its relevance in a multicultural society. A brief description of the indigenous paradigm is followed by a discussion of differences between Western and indigenous psychology, and a proposal of cultural eclecticism as a potential frame for their integration. Next, we discuss the South African context in relation to comparative-cultural aspects of medical and psychological services. The author’s clinical experience informs her increased awareness of culturally inadequate service at the state hospital, developing curiosity about African indigenous healing, and subsequent encounters and collaboration with African traditional healers. Ultimately, the author develops culturally sensitive training that explores cultural biases and generates cross-cultural knowledge and competence. In conclusion, the author advocates that in the area of globalisation and multicultural societies, psychological training and clinical practice, should include dialogue and facilitate collaboration between Western and indigenous knowledge, hopefully leading to a more holistic and culturally inclusive service to a population of different backgrounds. Such collaboration and integration of Western and indigenous knowledge may be a source of professional stimulation as well as a benefit to health-care consumers.