Browsing by Author "de la Torre Parra L"

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    Mauri Hono: A Mauri sensory methodology
    (SAGE Publications Ltd, 2024-08-02) Apiti A; Kora A; Tassell-Matamua N; Moriarty TR; Matamua N; Lindsay N; Dell K; Pomare P; de la Torre Parra L; Baikalova N
    Within a Māori cultural context, the manifestation of mauri instilled in all living things, both animate and inanimate gives life. Previous research suggests Māori can experience somatic exchanges of energy such as mauri from both other people, as well as within the natural environment. Accordingly, Mauri Hono: A Mauri Sensory Methodology provides a foundation to understanding knowledge by tuning into our senses and using mauri states to help elicit meaning about ourselves and our relationships with natural environments when immersed in those environments. In this study, four key phases of the methodology are detailed; Rongo, Mōhio, Mārama and Mātau and applied to a case study which sought to understand how Māori draw meaning from their experience of being immersed in a natural environment. Ten participants undertook a hīkoi (walk) within a national forest park of regenerating, native, bush. Findings revealed the importance of tuning into one’s senses and having the time and space to interpret different experiences. Furthermore, Mauri Hono, as a Māori methodology is predicated on the belief that experiential knowledge aids in providing a more complete understanding of phenomena than theoretical knowledge alone. It further highlights that whilst knowledge can come into fruition within the timeframe of the project, there is opportunity for insights to arise afterwards, comprising various layers of knowing.
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    Pacific approaches to fundraising in the digital age: COVID-19, resilience and community relational economic practices
    (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2023-08-01) de la Torre Parra L; Movono A; Scheyvens R; Auckram S
    The aim of this paper is to discuss how community relational economic practices in virtual spaces are effective in building resilience because they are borne of and sustained by familiar traditional Fijian values of collective work and social interdependence. The researchers adopted a pandemic-induced methodology, conducting online-based talanoa (fluid conversations between two or more people) with a number of people leading, or involved in, these initiatives. We also engaged with online community groups behind a number of initiatives. Examples are provided of online crowdfunding, livestreaming of concerts to solicit donations, and bartering facilitated by social media sites. To conclude, we stress the enduring nature of communal bonds and traditional systems which Pacific people readily adapt and translate into different forums and forms in the face of challenges such as the restrictions and financial hardships caused by COVID-19. The findings highlight that solesolevaki – a tradition of working together for a common cause – can also occur in the digital era: this demonstrates the deep connection of Fijian peoples and their sense of obligation to one another and to their culture, regardless of where they are in the world.
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    Teaching development practices post-Covid-19: Findings from a literature review, a survey and interviews in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2024-03-01) Prinsen G; Kiddle GL; Nyman M; de la Torre Parra L
    This article details findings from research to re-design a postgraduate course on development practices in Development Studies in Aotearoa New Zealand, aiming to include the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reviewing literature, surveying recently graduated students and interviewing senior staff in international development organisations, five topics emerged as forces shaping development practices in a post-covid-19 world. Analysis suggests interviewed staff aligned with views in literature. However, comparing views of the current and next generation of development practitioners reveals quite diverging views as to what would be most important for a course on development practices.