Blog

The News and musings from the yards, barrel halls and tasting panels, and from on the road traveled between.

De-mythologizing and re-branding of kava as the new ‘world drug’ of choice

What seemed impossible 50 years ago is today becoming a reality as ‘soft drugs’ such as cannabis are being decriminalized and accepted for their calming effects as well as their…continue reading

Posted on 31 March 2021 |

De-mythologizing and re-branding the traditional drink kava

What do you call journalism, or more importantly research, that is supported by repetitive misinformation, resulting in an accepted but incorrect, narrative? This is the case with the kava plant,…continue reading

Posted on 31 March 2021 |

Improving road safety and health: Understanding kava’s impact on driver fitness

Kava (Piper methysticum) is a traditional and culturally significant Pacific Island beverage that produces a soporific relaxant effect. Kava’s psychopharmacological action is similar to the anti-anxiety drug Benzodiazepine. Traditional users…continue reading

Posted on 31 March 2021 |

Te Ako – Manaaki: A Model For Supporting At Risk Youth To Engage In Education – A West Auckland Experience

Since 2016 West Auckland has been using a collaborative model of supporting their most vulnerable young people into education. This paper looks at the five years from 2015 to 2020,…continue reading

Posted on 29 March 2021 |

Negotiating service within areas of responsibilities: Experiences of New Zealand born Pacific tertiary students

Service within Pacific cultures is a practical way to utilise personal skills and resources to contribute to the needs of others. There is an expectation that Pacific youth play an…continue reading

Posted on 19 February 2021 |

Ten Key Issues and Recommendations to the OHCHR for Addressing Police Brutality and Racism

This research has identified ten issues and recommendations to contribute to the OHCHR’s timely report on systemic racism and police brutality.

Posted on 11 February 2021 |

What is with all the hate? A thematic analysis of New Zealanders’ attitudes to the Human Rights Commission’s ‘Give nothing to racism’ social marketing campaign

This article explores the attitudes of New Zealanders to the social marketing campaign ‘Give nothing to racism’. Thematic analysis was applied to a series of comments posted on the New…continue reading

Posted on 18 June 2021 |

Ngā take o nga wheako o te kaikiri ki ngā manene o Aotearoa Drivers of migrant New Zealanders’ experiences of racism

The purpose of the current research was to use qualitative methods to unpack how migrants have been experiencing racism, what might be causing this, and how we can support migrants…continue reading

Posted on 8 June 2021 |

Stories from Adults living with SM throughout education

A introduction and summary of a year long research undertaken for masters thesis exploring the lived experiences of adults who lived with the effect of Selective Mutism and their experiences…continue reading

Posted on 1 June 2021 |

Generation Gap

This phenomenon of generation gap is not new but it became popular in 1960s; however its magnitude is greater today due to many factors. The fast trend of urbanization, literacy…continue reading

Posted on 10 May 2021 |

Rootz Vaka Transits – Traversing Seas of Urban Diasporic Indigeneity by Collapsing Time and Space with the Songs and Stories of the Kava Canoe.

Fai Kava represents the most common and diverse types of Kava drinking gatherings among Tongans in the Kingdom of Tonga and its diaspora, which is the focus of this multi-sited…continue reading

Posted on 31 March 2021 |

MIGRANT EXPERIENCES IN THE TIME OF COVID

Amplifying voices of our marginalised communities enables diverse perspectives and experiences to be heard and therefore help shape our understanding of issues and solutions that are truly transformative and regenerative.…continue reading

Posted on 15 July 2021 |