More Than Me: The Voices Of African American Adolescent Mothers And Their Pursuit of Post-Secondary Education

Adolescent mothers are not a homogenous group. Like non-parenting adolescents they come from various educational and socio-economic backgrounds. Adolescent mothers are generally labelled to be at high risk of dropping out of school, making poor life choices, and ultimately living poor life outcomes. However, there is no substantial empirical data that supports this premise. Nor is there currently any national data which consistently tracks the triumphs, challenges, and general life experiences of adolescent mothers. Utilizing a sample of fifteen African American adolescent mothers, this qualitative study seeks to explore the life experiences of adolescent mothers leading up to their current pursuit of post-secondary education. Results from the study revealed that this sample of adolescent mothers represent a unique lower-risk segment of the adolescent mother population, who have already defied the general stereotypes; and have persevered to make better life choices. Since these adolescent mothers already possess the foundation to do well, it will likely prove advantageous to policymakers, and practitioners to advocate and provide additional supports through educational and employment programming; in efforts to support them on their chosen path to becoming adult contributing members of society

Wai Puna: An Indigenous Model of Māori Water Safety and Health in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Māori (the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand) are intimately connected to wai (i.e., water) yet are overrepresented in New Zealand’s drowning statistics each year. On average Māori account for 20-24% of all preventable and non-preventable drowning fatalities, despite comprising only 15 percent of New Zealand’s population. Drowning remains a significant issue posing a threat to whānau (i.e., families) through premature death being imminent and whakapapa (i.e., genealogy) being interrupted. There is limited research that has examined Māori and indigenous understandings of water safety within the literature and limited studies that have investigated the issue of Māori drowning from a distinctly Māori or indigenous approach. This paper proposes a theory of Māori water safety depicted as the Wai Puna model and draws on three core concepts pertinent to a Māori worldview: whakapapa, mātauranga (i.e., Māori knowledge and ways of knowing) and tikanga (i.e., customs, practices). Wai Puna provides the foundation for conceptualising Māori water safety in a New Zealand context and a way forward for other indigenous communities around the world to redefine water safety and drowning prevention from their distinct worldviews that reflect their unique beliefs and attitudes to water and thus to water safety

A Journey to Belonging: Explorations of Māori Perspectives of Water Safety

Māori are intimately connected to wai (water). There are many Māori sayings and phrases that include wai, such as: wairua (spirit), waimāori (freshwater), waiora (wellness), ko wai koe (what waters are you, who are you?) and nō wai koe (from which waters do you descend, where are you from?). However, statistically Māori have a high rate of drowning within Aotearoa, New Zealand (Haimona & Takurua, 2007; WSNZ, 2017). Although Māori comprise approximately 15% of New Zealand’s population, Māori account for 24% of all drowning over the last 5 years (WSNZ, 2017). There is limited research that examines Māori understandings of water safety within literature, which subsequently is dominated by Western views. Moreover, there is very little published information that investigates why Māori have high rates of drowning despite their strong cultural connection to water. Māori water safety is grounded in Māori worldview and is the connection to water. Māori water safety encapsulates the importance of connection to water through whakapapa (genealogy), mātauranga (traditional knowledge system and ways of knowing) and tikanga (custom, protocol) of wai. The Wai Puna model is a theory of Māori water safety that draws on these foundations and has the potential to impact and improve well-being for whānau (families), hapū (sub-tribe, clan) and iwi (tribe) in, on and around the water. Strengthening a connection to water promotes good health as it is through water that Māori derive their understandings of hauora (health, well-being) (Durie, 2001, 2003). The aim of this doctoral research was to discursively analyse Māori perspectives of Māori water safety. The following three research questions framed this study: (1) what are the emergent discourses of connection to water found within the oral narratives (karakia, mōteatea, pepeha, whakataukī and pūrākau) and participants of Maripi Tuatini, Hauteruruku ki Puketeraki waka club and Te Taitimu Trust; (2) how are the discourses of connection to water operationalised in Maripi Tuatini, Hauteruruku ki Puketeraki waka club and Te Taitimu Trust and; (3) what are the implications of the discourses of connection to water for Māori health? Methodologically, elements of kaupapa Māori theory and critical discourse analysis (CDA) were utilised. The research was operationalised through Fairclough’s (2010) concept of “objects of research” to examine the emergence and operationalisation of the discourses of connection to water in conjunction with whakapapa and kaupapa (collective vision, praxis) derived from kaupapa Māori theory. The primary method utilised a case study with three community groups. The three case studies of the research were: Maripi Tuatini of Ngāti Apa Ngā Wairiki iwi in Rangitīkei; Hauteruruku ki Puketeraki waka club of Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki hapū in Karitāne and; Te Taitimu Trust of Ngāti Kahungunu whānau in Hawkes Bay. The three case studies focus foremost on strengthening connection to water; they do this through focusing on whakapapa, mātauranga and tikanga pertaining to their respective waterways. Within each of the case studies, I employed multiple methods. The methods were: discourse analysis; textual analysis of Māori oral narratives; kōrero tuku iho (intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge); interviews from previous research; surveys; reflective journal and; word cloud images. In the study of Maripi Tuatini, connection to water manifested as whakapapa, the prominence of reconnecting rangatahi to their genealogy and cultural identity. The discourses of a whakapapa connection to water that emerged from two Ngāti Apa Ngā Wairiki oral texts (He Oriori mō Wharaurangi mōteatea and the Tūtaeporoporo pūrākau) and the Maripi Tuatini participants were: mātauranga, resilience, utu and tikanga. These emergent discourses were operationalised in Maripi Tuatini through the materialisation of the Whangaehu awa hīkoi, resilience programme and water safety accreditation; through the enactment of the Maripi Tuatini strategic plan and; through the inculcation of a river identity and a Ngāti Apa Ngā Wairiki identity. These discourses elucidate the Maripi Tuatini perspective of Māori water safety as a whakapapa connection to water and the importance of knowing who you are and where you come from. In the study of Hauteruruku ki Puketeraki waka club, connection to water is expressed as whanaungatanga, the importance of building relationships between people and environment. The discourses of a whanaungatanga connection to water that emerged from two Ngāi Tahu oral texts (Terea Te Waka mōteatea and the Ngāi Tahu creation story) and the Hauteruruku participants were: building connections to people; respect; mātauranga and māramatanga (understanding, wisdom) and; confidence. Hauteruruku operationalise the emergent discourses of a whanaungatanga connection to water through the materialisation of the physical waka (canoe), establishment and naming of the club and waka component of the PHSE 104 noho; through the enactment of the pōwhiri (ritual of encounter, welcoming ceremony) and karakia (incantation) and; through the inculcation of a waka, community and kaitiaki (guardian) identity. These discourses demonstrate the Hauteruruku perspective of Māori water safety as a whanaungatanga connection to water and the significance of building relationships and kinships to people and environment. In the third study of Te Taitimu Trust, connection to water is conveyed as wairua, the significance of healing the spirit through engagement with Tangaroa (Māori deity of the ocean). The discourses of a wairua connection to water that emerged from the Tangaroa karakia and Te Taitimu participants were: kaitiakitanga; healing; mahinga kai; atua; law and tikanga; tuakana-teina relationship; kaitiakitanga; māhaki and respect and; ancestors. Te Taitimu Trust operationalise the emergent discourses of a wairua connection to water through the materialisation of the establishment and naming of Te Taitimu trust, pool safety workshop and beach day; the enactment of wānanga and karakia and; the inculcation of a kaitiaki o Tangaroa (guardian of Tangaroa) identity and rangatira (chief, leader) identity. These discourses highlight the Te Taitimu Trust perspective of Māori water safety as a wairua connection to water emphasising healing the spirit and healing properties of Tangaroa. These findings from the three case studies frame Māori water safety discourse across diverse Māori social structures (whānau, hapū and iwi) and within multiple water environments (ocean, estuarine and freshwater). The results of this study have implications for drowning prevention and Māori water safety education at a whānau, hapū, iwi and national level. Nationally, this research contributes to the refresh of the Kia Maanu Kia Ora Māori Water Safety Strategy and maintains the 2020 vision of zero drownings in the country. Moreover, the discourses of connection to water have positive implications for hauora. Māori water safety is a connection to water and therefore a journey to the source of hauora and wellness; this is known as a journey to belonging

Community as an Institutional Learning Goal at the Unversity of Dayton

This working paper summarizes the work of the Habits of Inquiry and Reflection Community Fellows. It considers the meaning of community both in UD’s historic mission and in the ways it is practiced at UD now; identifies obstacles and failures; and offers recommendations for advancing community as a learning goal at UD

Concept and design of a genome-wide association genotyping array tailored for transplantation-specific studies

Background: In addition to HLA genetic incompatibility, non-HLA difference between donor and recipients of transplantation leading to allograft rejection are now becoming evident. We aimed to create a unique genome-wide platform to facilitate genomic research studies in transplant-related studies. We designed a genome-wide genotyping tool based on the most recent human genomic reference datasets, and included customization for known and potentially relevant metabolic and pharmacological loci relevant to transplantation. Methods: We describe here the design and implementation of a customized genome-wide genotyping array, the ‘TxArray’, comprising approximately 782,000 markers with tailored content for deeper capture of variants across HLA, KIR, pharmacogenomic, and metabolic loci important in transplantation. To test concordance and genotyping quality, we genotyped 85 HapMap samples on the array, including eight trios. Results: We show low Mendelian error rates and high concordance rates for HapMap samples (average parent-parent-child heritability of 0.997, and concordance of 0.996). We performed genotype imputation across autosomal regions, masking directly genotyped SNPs to assess imputation accuracy and report an accuracy of >0.962 for directly genotyped SNPs. We demonstrate much higher capture of the natural killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) region versus comparable platforms. Overall, we show that the genotyping quality and coverage of the TxArray is very high when compared to reference samples and to other genome-wide genotyping platforms. Conclusions: We have designed a comprehensive genome-wide genotyping tool which enables accurate association testing and imputation of ungenotyped SNPs, facilitating powerful and cost-effective large-scale genotyping of transplant-related studies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13073-015-0211-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Mahinga kai- He tāngata. Mahinga kaitiaki- He mauri.

Mahinga kai (food gathering sites and practices) emerged at the beginning of the creation narratives when the Māori world was first formed and atua (deity, Gods) roamed upon the face of the land. Mahinga kai sites are imbued with practices, embedded with whakapapa (genealogy), and clothed with knowledge that have implications for how we view and understand Māori Physical Education (PE) and health. Māori PE and health is rooted in a Māori worldview, guided by the relevance of the Treaty of Waitangi, inherent to an holistic approach to health, and connected to the natural environment. The aim of this research was to critically evaluate the emergent discourses of mahinga kai (and its subsequent discourses) against the recontextualised thinking about Māori PE and health based on the synergies of Kaupapa Māori theory, whakapapa and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). These theoretical and methodological frameworks are utilised to further the goals and aspirations of the Māori community of Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki hapū (sub-tribe) in Karitāne that I worked alongside of, privileging mātauranga (Māori knowledge) and legitimising a Māori worldview. The methods of the research were: semi-structured interviews (4), wānanga kōrero (3 group interviews), reflective pieces (9), and a case study with Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki hapū. There were multiple discourses of mahinga kai that emerged from key creation narratives, the Treaty of Waitangi translation texts and Waitangi Tribunal texts. The emergent discourses of mahinga kai were mahinga kai as: whakapapa; whanaungatanga (relationships); tikanga (custom) and the subsequent discourse of tapu (sacred, set apart); mātauranga; identity; taonga (treasure) and the ensuing discourses of forestry and fisheries; kaitiakitanga (protection, guardianship) and the succeeding discourses of mauri (life force) and kaitiaki (guardian) and; rangatiratanga (chieftainship) and the consequent discourse of mana (authority, power). The operationalisation of the discourses of mahinga kai were evident in the Ki Uta Ki Tai case study and illustrated the importance of connecting to one another, the communities we serve, and the environment we are a part of. This thesis argues that the emergent discourses of mahinga kai, embedded in a framework of cosmogonic whakapapa, are key to understanding and exploring notions of Māori PE and health and has benefits for Māori and non-Māori alike engaging with this notion as they learn the importance of connecting to people and place. Knowledge gained from this research will: assist communities who are wanting to implement similar strategies to their resource management plans; provide evidence that supports a mutually beneficial relationship (partnership) between University staff and students, and their local communities and; recontextualise how we think and view Māori PE and health