Working with nature - and not against it - is a global trend in coastal management. This ethnography of coastal protection follows the increasingly popular approach of "soft" protection to the Aotearoa New Zealand coast. It analyses a political controversy over hard and soft protection measures, and introduces a growing community of practice involved in projects of working with nature. Dune restoration volunteers, coastal management experts, surfer-scientists, and Maori conservationists are engaged in projects ranging from do-it-yourself erosion control, to the reconstruction of native nature, and soft engineering "in concert with natural processes". With soft protection, the author argues, we can witness a new sociotechnical imaginary in the making. ; Bielefeld
Despite the relevance of early childhood services to children, families and nation states, the sector is largely undervalued and under resourced and, is not recognised as an established profession. Using collaborative auto ethnography, researchers from six different countries (Australia, Chile, England, Germany, Ireland and the United States) all members of the EECERA Professionalisation Special Interest Group (P-SIG) share their reflections on the professionalisation of early childhood. While professionalisation is associated with discretionary decision making that is premised upon an accepted body of knowledge, neoliberalism imposes constraints from on top, identifying through various forms of curricula, legislated standards, and policies what is appropriate and desirable practice. As a consequence, early childhood personnel are restricted in their professional agency and, their work is characterised by tension, as they strive to balance external expectations from a neoliberal stance and their own perspectives that prioritise a children's rights perspective. This paper questions how the sector manages the constraints imposed on it in a neoliberal political and social world. It calls upon those in the profession to resist neoliberalism and, to make a stand in terms of what is considered best practice. It further argues that ongoing debate is required as to the boundaries of what would be called the early childhood profession: considerations of ways in which the different sectors (education, health, and welfare) contribute to a holistic approach in working with children balanced against the requirement for a profession to have an identified and discrete body of knowledge. The implications of this for professionalisation of early childhood are widespread and, worthy of debate. While the inclusion of different sectors for example, addresses the holistic nature of early childhood work, it risks creating a broad and diffused knowledge base that might make it difficult to claim professionalisation. We hope that this paper contributes to reenergizing conversations on the professionalisation of the early childhood sector.
This interdisciplinary research investigated the construction of cultural identities in the Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy in Aotearoa New Zealand. On the example of New Zealand's indigenous population, the Māori, this study examined convergences and divergences of the self-image which describes the construction of cultural identity from Māori perspectives with the planned and projected Māori identities in selected Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy channels. Ethnographic methods like participant observation and informal interviews with members of the Ngāti Awa tribe were conducted based on Kaupapa Māori theory which is a theoretical framework developed by Māori. This data was contrasted with expert interviews with representatives from governmental institutions, diplomatic representations, cultural tourism operators and cultural or art institutions. Results of this research show that the construction of planned and projected Māori identities in selected Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy channels and the self-image of members of Ngāti Awa coincide to some extent. In Nation Branding, information about Māori is often simplified and Māori are presented as one single entity. On the contrary, the information about Māori offered by Public Diplomacy is more profound and approaches by Māori shaping their representation could frequently be observed. Increased efforts to shape the representation of Māori in Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy by Māori could be detected. This thesis demonstrates various examples, such as touristic and cultural experiences offered by the Māori community or the self-promotion of Māori tribes to foreign publics in diplomatic functions. This 'bottom-up' construction of cultural identities enables Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy to create a unique differentiation to other nations directly constructed from the community. It provides a stronger identification for the members of a nation with Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy and produces a more authentic and credible image of ...
