Past experiences of public speaking – the good, the bad, and the ugly:

Well I definitely had a crash course in public speaking in 2016 during running in local body elections.

The good: 

The good part was putting across ideas that maybe didn't sit comfortably with some audiences but things I saw as a reality and something to be addressed in my region.

Meeting and standing against a varied group of candidates, young, old, Maori, European with varied backgrounds and life experiences.

Gaining confidence in my public speaking in front of diverse audiences.

The bad:

Nerves, of course.

The ugly: 

Having a momentary lapse of thought in the middle of a candidate speech.

One older candidate apologizing for mixing up his speech notes for a banana cake recipe (true story).

Running for council gave me an extraordinary amount of practice in public speaking of which I hadn't done very much of before, it threw me in the deep end and made me look inwards at myself and what I value in my region, what strengths and weaknesses i see and where improvements can be made.
It was a great exercise in self-growth, forcing me out of my comfort zone and really learning a lot about my region and the challenges that will be faced in the future. From water security issues, economic development initiatives, rail, iwi collaboration, homelessness, beggars, wetlands trials, swimming pool developments. The list goes on and on. Constant email queries and questions of my opinion on many issues with a short time span to research and answer.

Building all of the knowledge gained into my public speaking and speaking the truth were key features of my speech making. Not a typical politician, i saw myself more as a community servant to help push for better systems and practices.

Will I do it again in the next round? probably not as I will be on a different track after finishing my studies. It will be remembered as a time of learning and a great experience as the youngest regional candidate.

Blog #7

I have decided to write about the approaching culmination of finishing my degree, i know we are meant to write about a related science/ technology related topic but i'm going to link this into the humanities/ social science arena.

The best things about the last three years of distance studies for me is 1. I didn't think I could do academic studies, after going to art school which was really hands on and will always be my first passion and painting for twelve years full time, I decided I needed to branch out and extend myself. I found it challenging navigating the online learning environment to begin with and getting my head around the work load was challenging but after taking the introductory Social Anthropology paper I fell in love with the subject.

I have always had an interest in cultures and peoples, especially indigenous and human rights aspects, along this course i have found some new loves- that of environmental factors, social relationships, power and have been able to make sense of the world a little more with theorists like Bourdieu and others.

My art has taken me to the outback of Australia and other places where i have seen and heard stories first hand and lived experiences. My studies I think will compliment my art and vice versa. My ultimate goal would to be working for an NGO, preferable in the Pacific in the development arena, Samoa would be terrific due to the time i have already spent there and my historical roots.

I would love to to post-grad study, just figuring out the mechanics of that is the hardest part, but development studies Masters would be a dream for me to be able to do. So i have the practical aspects which join nicely with research and theoretical dimensions of Anthropology.

I'm happy that i'm finally finding my direction, where i can incorporate both of my passions. I dont want to bore anyone so since our next assignment is more focused on visual presentation i'll leave you with some visual images.

Thanks for being a great team and look forward to our next assignment :-)

Blog 6

Leadership in teams – your preferences. What kind of leader do you prefer to work for and what kind of leader would you prefer to be?

As the team leader it is hard analyzing what kind of leader i want to work for. I guess i would want a leader that can keep me on track with what is expected of me. I know the importance of a good leader who can communicate well but also provide some flexibility and understanding of each persons role in the team and understand strengths and weaknesses.
I would want to work for a leader who is not over-dominating and lets me explore my creativity but provides enough guidance to keep me up to pace and clear on what is expected of me. It is kind of hard thinking about what kind of leader i want, as i am myself the leader but thinking about this helps me to be reflexive and think about improvements i can make.
I feel like a relaxed but organised leader, someone who likes to know everything that's going on but not too dominating and has some flexibility. I guess i may be a bit too relaxed in my leadership style, but in saying that i don't want to stifle anyone being able to express themselves, although i can always improve. Organisation is a huge part for me, making sure things are on track so becoming unwell this week definitely shook me a bit. A leader needs to be on the ball and thinking ahead to the final product and how all of the pieces fit together as well as balancing different characters and views.
I take any feedback constructively and it has been good having some feedback on my leadership role. I value the dynamics at play in our group and the mature, intelligent individuals who i am learning more and more about each day.

 

Blog 5

Past experiences of working in a group...

As i write this i'm busy researching my topic for assignment two on the importance of cultural aspects in decision making surrounding organ donation. I'm also busy writing a feminist biographical paper and a sociological essay on ethnicity and race as a biological construct, creating differences and divisions specifically at representation of minorities in New Zealand politics.

My brain has never been so full.

My previous work with groups was mainly concentrated in one paper- Visual anthropology, a paper which challenged me and which i also really enjoyed. We had to look at famine cross culturally, especially focusing in on the Bengali famine and we had to work as a group to create a prezi with individual components as well as our own personal prezi. Much like this assignment albeit a bit less challenging than this one.

I think naturally i step forward to lead projects, i'm unsure as to why i think i just enjoy organizing and hopefully can assist in helping things run smoothly. Due to the ethical dimensions of the assignment this is a really challenging task as every individual has different values and beliefs surrounding organ donation and surrounding issues. Which brings me to my main focus of cultural relativism. I think this has helped my being able to work in a group and lead a group as the process of being able to see from 'other's perspectives is very important. Viewing in a culturally relativistic way is ultimately putting your own values and biases aside in which you have been enculturated to believe and view not in an ethnocentric way but from the perspective of the other.

This is an important tool in the Anthropological toolkit which i am constantly practicing and trying to get better at and which i fell is a valuable tool for any person in this world to acquire.

Some other main elements of Anthopology are being reflexive, using comparitivism across cultures to compare meanings and find similarities and differences, holism among many others.

Which brings me to a Medical Anthropology paper i took. Foucault was one of the main thinkers looking at the biomedical domain in his well known book 'the birth of the clinic'- An archaeology of medical perception. He discusses the 'medical  gaze'- the disconnect between the physician and the patient as an individual and the revolution of medical science in the eighteenth century with medical knowledge taking on a new precision and rules of classification. And the basis of the biomedical domain to social and cultural attitudes in particular the french revolution.

The historical socio-cultural basis of the biomedical domain has reproduced over time and has remained very eurocentric in many ways. Looking at cultural dimensions in relation to biomedicine and traditional beliefs it is apparent that the two don't mix very well.  I recall from another Anthropology paper 'systems of healing' that the hospital setting doesn't combine well with cultural needs and one case of a shaman being allowed in to a hospital in the United States to perform a prayer request on behalf of a patient was a relatively rare occurrence.

So i guess what i am trying to say is i enjoy working in a group as it challenges my learning and helps me to practice the tools i have learnt in which i have been basically been studying for the last three years- humanity, beliefs, power and social institutions.

Foucault, M. (1973). The Birth of the Clinic; An archaeology of Medical Perception, United states of America, Tavistock Publications Limited.