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AI-based discovery of habitats from museum collections
(Cell Press, 2024-04-02) Jones CB; Stock K; Perkins SE
Museum collection records are a source of historic data for species occurrence, but little attention is paid to the associated descriptions of habitat at the sample locations. We propose that artificial intelligence methods have potential to use these descriptions for reconstructing past habitat, to address ecological and evolutionary questions.
Keeping taonga warm : Aotearoa New Zealand's museums and Maori tapu material : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology, Palmerston North, Social Anthropology Programme, School of Global Studies, Massey University
(Massey University, 2003) Park, Marilyn
This thesis is an interpretative viewpoint from a Aotearoa New Zealand tauiwi, of the importance of the spiritual meaning of taonga and their related concepts of tapu, mana and wairua to Maori, both in the past and today. It is concerned primarily with how taonga and their tapu nature have been addressed by Aotearoa New Zealand's museums, historically and contemporarily, and by the anthropologists and archaeologists and ethnologists working within them. While related issues include all indigenous secret and sacred material, both tangible and intangible, I am primarily interested in how museum professionals, expecially anthropologists and archaeologists working within New Zealand Museums, have incorporated the concept of tapu into their engagement with Maori taonga, and how they resolve their own beliefs with those of Maori. I am specifically concerned with how Maori taonga are kept spiritually ' warm,' by non-Maori museum personnel concerned with their physical care. This involves an analysis of museum traditions and past historical influences now affecting Aotearoa New Zealand today. This discussion begins with an explanation of the author's ontological viewpoint and reasons for writing this, and sets the terms of reference for the following discussions. Chapter One examines of the meaning of tapu, taonga and their related concepts, the way in which early writers and ethnologists have dealt with this subject historically, and the impact that this had on the current museological climate as well as interpretations by current writers including Maori and anthropologists. Chapter Two shows how scientific interests took precedence over Maori tapu concerns in early museum practice, both in collecting habits, display and in the interpretation of Maori tikanga, by ethnologists and museum management. Chapter Three discusses the recent changes in the management of some Aotearoa New Zealand's museums, the effect of professional guidelines and specific pieces of legislation on both Maori and museums, nationally and internationally. Recent changes include bicultural management within some museum management structures, iwi liaison committees within others, and current Maori initiatives in respect to the management of koiwi tangata. Chapter Four examines the impact that the changing attitudes towards Maori issues by non-Maori staff have had in Aotearoa New Zealand's Museums, regarding Maori access to taonga, the handling of taonga by non-museum staff, conservation issues and what the situation is today and where it is going. In the Conclusion I argue that, rather than a growth in understanding of Maori concerns regarding the care of and access to taonga held in Aotearoa New Zealand's museums, and of their tapu regulations, and the implications of these to the current well-being of specific iwi, a process of 'managerialization' of tapu concerns has been instigated in all major museums in Aotearoa New Zealand, and with some variations, within some other smaller ones. This has resulted in the decision making passing into the hands of iwi or joint management committees, whereby individual curators, collection managers and ethnologists no longer need to understand these issues deeply. Finally, I emphasise that only museums who actively pursue a co-operative relationship with their local iwi or marae will be visited by the local Maori community and continue to be allowed to continue to care for these important links from the past with the Maori of today. This should involve a repatriation of stolen taonga, koiwi tangata and mokomokai and retraining of museum staff in tikanga and Maori issues. It is not enough to 'pass the buck' and ignore the issues involved.
The affective resonance of personal narratives : creating a deeper experience of identity, empathy and historical understanding : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Museum Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2017) Roland, Zoë Gabrielle
As the world plunges into the depths of a modern state of ‘anti-tradition’ (Trueman, 1998), there is a pervasive fear of a future void of empathy (Manney, 2008). The latter, believed to be partially propagated by a decline in exposure to diverse narratives, can be ameliorated through the identification and dissemination of genres which generate affect and humility (Berlant, 2008). The key question this thesis aims to address is; how do personal narratives create affective resonance which encourages the propagation of advantageous outcomes. I argue that personal narratives have the capacity to generate strong affective resonance within their recipients and tellers. Affective resonance, born from universality which create ‘intimate publics spheres’ (Berlant, 2008), has a potent ability for self-reflection and identity growth (Abrams, 2010, Sklar, 2009), empathic responses and action (Gallese & Wojciehowski, 2011; Fiske, 2008), and for developing rich multi-dimensional landscapes of historical understanding (Kosyaeva, Rowe and Wertsch, 2002). The research is based, firstly, on a broad transdisciplinary theoretical framework which comprises literature from diverse disciplines: oral history (Thompson, 2009), literary theory (Weinstein, 2007), philosophy (Benjamin, 1936; de Certeau, 1984) and neuroscience (Gallese & Wojciehowski, 2011). Secondly, Heritage New Zealand’s storytelling website High Street Stories provides the case study through which to investigate participant responses of affect, self-reflection and historical understanding. Through synthesis and analysis of the framework, in conjunction with the case study, a rich expository illustration of personal narratives and their cache of positive outcomes is presented. This dissertation is located in Museum Studies opening a space for the consideration of this multi-disciplinary literature and its connection to affect theory. Furthermore, as a crucial tool for museological practice, personal narratives, through their ‘germinative powers’ (Benjamin, 1936), have the propensity to impart a holistic, multi-dimensional understanding of history, rendering ordinary people as agents and subjects.
The production and consumption of history : a discourse on heritage and nostalgia in the 1990s : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at Massey University
(Massey University, 1998) Brown, Annette Margaret
The dialectic of history as an ideology and history as a commodity can underpin a discourse on the production and consumption of history as heritage and nostalgia in the 1990s. History as an ideology is erased from the dominant space of representation, by history as a commodiy; therefore, history as an ideology needs to be discussed separately from history as a commodity even though they are not independent categories; this is because they are mutually constitutive of each other. The processes and structures that underwrite this dialectic, Capitalism and Modernity, produce different outcomes in different places and at different times; outcomes such as the cabinets of curiosity during early modernity, modernist and postmodernist museums, heritage sites such as country houses, a shopping mall and a disneyfied theme park arranged around a historic locale and the gentrification of some parts of the inner City of London. These objects of history are produced, reproduced and consumed by social actors in different places and at different times. The production and consumption of history as an object does not explain why these particular outcomes exist in the places and the times that they do. These outcomes need to be explained, and can be explained, by using a dialectical methodology. Such an explanation would look at the underlying processes and structures of Capitalism and modernity.
Reading regionalism : objects, words and spaces: reflections of regional realism at the museum of Liverpool : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Museum Studies at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2015) Constantine, Vanessa Ann
This thesis examines how museums and galleries can reflect regionalism through their objects and words and in the spaces (exterior, interior and symbolic) that these words and objects occupy. It also observes the scope and application of regionalism as a genre through which museums can narrate the stories and realities of their regional communities. In Northern England, urban regeneration initiatives have resulted in stimulating a renaissance of cultural industries, in particular a rejuvenation of city museums as the arts and culture sentries of their region’s material heritage. There is much evidence in the North demonstrating that regional identity is progressively celebrated in its museums and galleries and it is the recent popularity in representations of northern experience that deems this area of research significant. However, an initial literature review highlighted a lack of accompanying or documenting museum literature. Furthermore, although regional objects are exhibited as community or cultural signifiers, regionalism is not defined as an applicable museological concept. This thesis perceives regionalism as a multifaceted notion with permeable boundaries. It is positioned within a conceptual framework that is extracted predominantly from ideas of place and space, human geography and critical regionalist theory, which are subsequently applied to museological contexts. A visual method, photo-documentation, is utilised to collect evidence from a contemporary purpose-built museum, the Museum of Liverpool, purely dedicated to regionalism: the region and its people. Photo-documentation captured not only the tangible context of place but the sensory relationship between human inhabitants and their regional space while object case studies demonstrate the viability of regionalism. This thesis aims to show that the application of regionalism in museums is critical, significant and socially inclusive because spaces of regionalism can accommodate performability: regional voice, consciousness and participation.
The role of a museum (Te Papa) in the rejuvenation of taonga puoro : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Museum Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2015) Tamarapa, Awhina
This thesis examines the role of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in the rejuvenation of taonga puoro (Maori musical instruments). The purpose of this study is to examine the Museum’s relationship with taonga puoro practitioners. This thesis documents the foundation of the Haumanu taonga puoro revitalisation group and their relationship with Te Papa. Therefore I have selected instrumental figures – Dr. Richard Nunns and Brian Flintoff, to elucidate their insight on this topic. The late Hirini Melbourne remains a constant and treasured presence throughout the process for Nunns and Flintoff. However, the focus of the thesis is to identify what has Te Papa done and can do better, to help facilitate the rejuvenation of taonga puoro, based on the years of developing a relationship with the Haumanu group. Furthermore, within this context, I examine my own practice as a Maori Curator at Te Papa. The central question to this study is the role of Te Papa, in terms of its relevance to one particular sector, the Maori cultural practitioners and revivalists. The challenge is: how much is Te Papa willing to risk, in relaxing control - to be relevant to the needs of this community? Four key research questions are explored: what has Te Papa done to help facilitate the rejuvenation and maintenance of puoro, what could Te Papa be doing more of to nurture the rejuvenation and maintenance of puoro; what are the key factors that support an achievement of these objectives: and, what are the challenges for the future. Te Papa documentation from 1995 to 2014 is also a primary source. As a Maori Curator at Te Papa, I reflect on my role and the tensions between personal, cultural and professional roles that the rejuvenation of taonga puoro creates. The thesis argues that cultural revitalisation, as a process of ‘liberation’ (Kreps 2003a) has a transformative power, to redefine the significance of taonga in museums as cultural and spiritual inspiration for present and future generations. The ‘creative potential’ (Royal 2006) paradigm opens up a future for knowledge development that museums should be a part of. This potentiality has cultural and social benefits, which is identified as a restorative healing process, a philosophy of health and wellbeing, a form of ‘hauora’ (healing). This inductive research shows that the role of a museum is important to practitioners’ but there are contradictions and paradoxical issues to museum practice that make situations complex. This research reveals that ‘taonga puoro, taonga hauora’ is a model that can transform museum practice by operating not just to preserve materiality, but the intangible aspects of a peoples’ living culture.
Theatre of wonders : the emergence of the Southland Museum, 1869-1945 : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Museum Studies at Massey University
(Massey University, 2000) Massey, Johannah Carmel
During the last two decades of the twentieth century, international scholarship in museology began to focus on the development of museums in the colonial context, with particular emphasis on the nineteenth century. While a tradition of institutional histories has developed in North America and Australia there have been few detailed histories written of New Zealand Museums. Institutional histories provide an insight into the motivations and practice of early museology and the role museums took in the colonisation process and the subsequent development of provincial centres. This thesis provides the first detailed historical account of the early development of Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Four periods of development have been identified. Andrew McKenzie operated a museum in his commercial premises from 1872 until 1875 when the Invercargill Athenaeum purchased his collection. The Athenaeum maintained a museum collection until the early twentieth century when it was transferred to the Southland Technical College where it was opened to the public in 1912. Intensive political lobbying and fund-raising from 1936 led to the opening of a purpose built public museum in Invercargill in 1942. At a time of adversity, the museum emerged as a public symbol of progress and freedom. Underpinning the primary chronological narrative of this thesis is the identification of the important individuals whose energy ensured that the museum collection continued to develop as an educational resource for the community. The thesis also documents and analyses the changing focus of the collections from a 'theatre of wonders' to a more systematic natural history collection. While located at the Southland Technical College the focus shifted progressively towards agricultural subjects, though the museum maintained a very broad range of exhibits including an increasing range of cultural material. The final chapters of the thesis broaden to a detailed account of the collecting activities of selected individuals in Southland during the period 1869 to 1945.
Well-being and local government : a New Zealand case study : Kaipara District Council; its responsibilities and responses to the regional museums of Kaipara, 2002 - 2011 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Museum Studies, Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2014) Stevens, Mary
This thesis examines the concept of ‘well-being’, as first introduced by the Local Government Act in 2002, with particular emphasis given to cultural well-being. With no definitions in the legislation, it does this by focusing firstly on understanding the meaning of the terms and then secondly, by a case study of one local authority and its response to cultural well-being through relationships with the three local museums. Kaipara District Council (KDC), a small, rural local authority, was chosen as the case study. Three key research questions were posed. What is the meaning of “well-being” in the context of the LGA 2002? How is well-being, and in particular cultural well-being addressed by KDC and its long term planning documents? How does KDC work with the regional museums of Kaipara to meet the legislative mandate for cultural well-being? Answers were sought by undertaking an historical study of well-being and its long development on the international scene, then concentrating on KDC’s long term planning documents. An interview with the district’s Mayor about the practical application of cultural well-being and relationships with the regional museums, was offset with interviews conducted with representatives of each heritage organization about the reality of District Council/Museum interaction from their perspective. The research demonstrates that even without a definition, there was abundance of information available to form a good understanding of the concept. On the other hand, there was so much information that finding an encompassing definition for the term would be impossible. The research also demonstrates the difficulties that small authorities, with inadequate staffing and governance representatives, face when presented with a complex piece of legislation. Both Council and Museum representatives struggled to comprehend the meaning of cultural well-being but while KDC believed its response was sufficient, the regional Museums were not satisfied. This thesis argues that KDC falls short in meeting its cultural well-being responsibilities but there is much that the region’s iii museums can do themselves to improve the situation. The solution for Kaipara’s museums is transferable to every other museum in New Zealand that finds itself facing similar circumstances.
City revealed : the process and politics of exhibition development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Museum Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University. School of Maori Studies, 2003) Smith, Daniel Charles Patrick
This thesis examines the ways in which the process of exhibition development and the politics this involves affects the practice of history in the museum. It does this by establishing the broad parameters of history practice in the museum and places this in relation to academic practice, focusing on the New Zealand context and specifically upon Auckland War Memorial Museum. From this basis the thesis examines the development of City exhibition at Auckland Museum as a large-scale museum history exposition. The development process for this exhibition was created with the aim of changing the traditional Museum approach so as to create a more engaging and scholarly history exhibition than is traditional. At the same time however, there was also an aim of retaining the appearance of the traditional Museum within this programme of change. These aims were to be met by the innovation of the collaboration between an academic historian and the Museum's practitioners in the development process.The research is based upon a detailed investigation of the roles played by the exhibition team members and the decisions, negotiations and compromises that they made through the development process. Beginning with their original intentions and concepts for the exhibition its metamorphosis into the exhibition as it was installed in the Museum gallery is traced. Emphasis is placed on the resonance that the various decisions and changes carried into the finished exhibition. The findings indicate that the Museum's traditions of developing and displaying knowledge exerted a strong conservative effect over the exhibition development in conflict with the programme of change. This conservatism vied with the authorial intentions of the exhibition development team. As a result of this influence the exhibition developed leant towards the conventional. The unexpectedly orthodox outcome resulted from the absence of critical museological practice. The thesis argues that although Auckland Museum had undergone extensive restructuring, including the introduction of new exhibition development processes and a new outlook as an organisation, the conception of history in the Museum had not changed. Ultimately this precluded that the practice of history in the institution would advance through the revised exhibition development process. However, the development of City did help achieve the updating of social history in the Museum and remains a platform upon which a more critical approach to the past can be built.
Maori and museums : the politics of indigenous recognition : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Museum Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North
(Massey University. School of Maori Studies, 2003) Butts, David James
As a result of colonialism indigenous peoples have been marginalised within their own customary territories. In an analysis of the politics of cultural recognition Tully (1995) proposes the reconceptualisation of the 'common ground': sites, including public museums, within which different cultures negotiate their relationships within the modern nation-state, where the rights of indigenous peoples can be recognised on the basis of the principles of mutual recognition, continuity and consent. This thesis examines the impact of the politics of indigenous recognition on the evolving relationships between Mäori and museums, focusing on Mäori participation in the governance of regional charitable trust museums in New Zealand.The international context is explored through an investigation of indigenous strategies of resistance to museum practices at the international, national and local levels. The national context within which Mäori resistance to museum practices has evolved, and subsequent changes in practice are then outlined.Two case studies of regional charitable trust museums, which began to renegotiate Mäori participation in their governance structures in the late 1990s, are examined. The different governance models adopted by Whanganui Regional Museum, Whanganui, and Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne, both effected major shifts from the historical pattern of limited Mäori participation in the museums to the representation of all tangata whenua iwi on the new trust boards. The governance negotiation processes and the responses of interested parties are analysed. The case studies demonstrate the importance of understanding the historical context within which public institutions are embedded and the forces that lead to contemporary adjustments in power relationships.Both new governance models have resulted in genuine power sharing partnerships between tangata whenua and the museums. Finally, the extent to which the two institutions have subsequently moved towards becoming 'common ground' where the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples can be realised is analysed.

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