Introduction

New Zealand legislation like the Health and Safety in Employment Act (1992) is aimed at ensuring that all workers, including researchers, remain physically safe. However, there has been less attention to other dimensions of the safety of researchers or the people we encounter in the course of research. An international exception is the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005) which addresses the domains of medicine, life sciences and related technologies and seeks ‘respect for human dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms ’. In this chapter, we reflect on the links between culture, safety and research. In particular, we consider how cultural diversity in contemporary New Zealand society requires us to consider cultural aspects of the conduct of research.

It is our contention that research involving other people should be founded on principles of partnership . Mason Durie ( 1988 ) has asserted that, following the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, a working partnership between Māori and non-Māori will be central to the success of any Māori health research. This view has been endorsed and elaborated on in subsequent documents such as the Health Research Council of New Zealand’s Te Ara Tika: Guidelines for Māori Research Ethics (undated). In this chapter we explore the notion of ‘partnership’ in research as a key element of culturally safe research and argue that Durie’s assertion can, and should, inform (and even transform) social and health research in Aotearoa New Zealand – whether it involves Māori or not.

Introduction

T. S. Eliot reminds us of the relationship between our beliefs and values, and our interactions, interpretations and responses. He also describes the inextricable interrelationship of past, present, and future events and meanings. Exploring past and present meanings of ‘culture’ in the context of New Zealand nursing is an essential part of future development. This chapter begins by tracing the evolving meaning of culture within the context of New Zealand nursing. It then describes the meaning of cultural difference from a nursing perspective and explores the notions of prejudice, paradox and possibility in relation to nursing practice.

Nurses in New Zealand have experienced considerable public criticism for their efforts towards a fairer and more equitable health service. The introduction of cultural safety in nursing and midwifery education has been, and continues to be, the subject of much debate. Nursing people from cultures other than one’s own is a complex and contradictory undertaking and ‘striving towards right’, in this context, lives in the tensions and prejudices of nursing practice. Success is achieved when possibilities are recognised and the nurse and the person from another culture understand each other.

Introduction

The common catch-phrase ‘Culture! We don’t have a culture!’ is often the reply to the question: ‘What is your culture?’ when it is posed to New Zealanders today. Since the implementation of cultural safety in the schools of nursing andmidwifery, students have been introduced to concepts that were not as evident in most programmes prior to the early 1990s. Topics such as culture and the dynamics of power are now commonplace within these programmes. Similarly, with the movement towards ‘doing with’ as opposed to ‘doing for’ the client, students are required to possess an awareness of their values, beliefs, biases and prejudices. The first step towards cultural safety, therefore, is for a person to have sufficient awareness of their own culture.

So, for many students who ascribe to the dominant culture and values in Aoteroa New Zealand, they may well ask the question: ‘Why do I need to learn about my culture?’ This is particularly difi cult for students to reflect on if they believe that they are just ‘normal’ and culture is something Maˉ ori or immigrants possess. The short answer is that once there is clarity about people’s own values and beliefs (which are key components of culture) and how they affect their living, then they are in a better position to appreciate that other people do things differently. Nurses and midwives work with people from a range of cultures and circumstances. To be effective, therefore, they must become aware of their own culture and the impact this has on their practice. Nurses and midwives can unknowingly place other people’s cultural perspectives at risk. This is exhibited when people avoid going to a health service because they perceive the health professional to be disrespectful of their cultural practices and traditions.

Introduction

Cultural safety is borne from a specii c challenge from indigenous nurses to Western healthcare systems. It is increasingly being developed by scholars and practitioners as a methodological imperative towards universal health care in a culturally diverse world. The extension of cultural safety, outside an indigenous context, reflects two issues: a theoretical concern with the culture of healthcare systems and the pragmatic challenges of competently caring for ethnically and religiously diverse communities.

As discussed throughout this book, the term ‘culture’ covers an enormous domain and a precise dei nition is not straightforward. For the Nursing Council of New Zealand (‘the Nursing Council’) ( 2009 , p. 7), for example, ‘culture includes, but is not restricted to, age or generation; gender; sexual orientation; occupation and socioeconomic status; ethnic origin or migrant experience; religious or spiritual belief; and disability’. In an attempt at a precise two-page definition, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak ( 2006 , p. 359), captures the reflexive orientation required to grasp how the term ‘culture’ works:

Introduction

Frail older residents living in one long-term care facility and the nurses, caregivers and healthcare assistants caring for them, took part in a field study (Kiata & Kerse, 2004). In the facility, which was located in a large New Zealand city, most of the health professionals were of Pacific Island descent and the majority of residents were European (Pākehā). The purpose of the study was to explore how Pacific Island caregivers and Pākehā care recipients in the facility negotiated their way through the giving and receiving of care. Intercultural issues that arose are examined and used in this chapter as illustrative examples.

Caregivers were sanctioned by management to participate in the research and encouraged by reassurances of coni dentiality. Caregivers were interviewed by two researchers - one young man of Pacific origin, the other a middle-aged Pākehā woman. The frailty of the residents meant that they tired quickly, so shorter interviews were conducted. Residents were quick to become teary during interviews. This may have been part of certain illnesses, such as stroke, or these emotional outbursts may also have been due to the interest shown when asked to share their stories. Certainly, the majority stated that the ‘nurses’ were ‘always so busy’ (Miss E, 90s), and how they were reluctant to bother them. Participant observation was added to interview data, and information and understanding through thematic analysis. Conducting this research gave insight into the everyday lives of those who live and work in residential care.

As I think of writing about the present work I am pleasantly reminded of a few names which occupy very special place in my academic and professional career. In 1966, while I was working at the Post Office Research Station in London (now most probably at Martlesham) I got introduced to computers. I cannot forget, with how much patience and perseverence, B.E. Surtees had not only helped but had almost taught me Algol programming. Later I used the computer extensively for solving scientific problems. Further, the Research Station generously granted me day-release to attend MSc (Comp.Sc.) course at the City University, London. Although I could not complete the course, I developed a strong liking for Numerical Analysis. It would be my privilege to mention the name of Professor V.E. Price who taught the subject with full devotion and dedication. I must admit that I learnt the basics of Numerical Analysis from there and much of it makes part of Chapters 1 to 7 and 10 of the book. I was greatly impressed by the book Modern Computing Methods by E.T. Goodwin, and still am. My intense desire for working in Numerical Analysis was fulfilled when I joined PhD in 1969 at Brunel University under the guidance of Professor J. Crank who was known internationally in the field. Luckily, a very challenging problem came my way to work upon from Hammersmith Hospital, London. The problem required knowledge for solving partial differential equations numerically. The first book on p.d.e., I read was G.D. Smith's who was coincidently teaching in the same department. Therefore no wonder, my treatment for solving p.d.e.'s in Chapter 11 may be biased towards his book. I worked with Professor Crank for five years – three years for my PhD and two years as a postdoctoral research fellow. It was only his constant inspiration that kept me going and galloping. Those five years, I may call the most precious years of my life. I came to know with deep sense of sorrow and grief that Professor Crank passed away in October 2006.

Introduction

In Chapter 11, we have dealt with parabolic equations defined over certain domain D with some kind of conditions prescribed on the boundary S. In these problems the boundary remains fixed for all times. However, there are very many problems of great practical importance where the boundary does not remain stationary; it moves. The boundary (whole or part) changes its position, shape and/or size with time. That is, S becomes a function of time in addition to the space variables. Considering Cartesian coordinates, the boundary can move along the x-axis only in case of one-dimensional problem, in the x-y plane in case of two-dimensional problem and in space in the case of three-dimensional problem. These problems are called moving boundary problems (mbp's). The most common example of a mbp is found in heat flow when a solid undergoes melting or a liquid changes its state under the process of solidification. In the melting or solidification problems, the solid/liquid interface (moving boundary) separating the solid and the liquid phases is a function of space and time. Another example from heat flow may be that of ablation, i.e., removal of the material from the surface of a solid body due to excessive heating – a practical example may be that of ablation from the space capsule at the time of its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. Other familiar examples may be like consolidation of earth dam or diffusion of a gas in an absorbing medium. Besides, many more examples of moving boundary problems may be found in reference [1].

The free boundary problems (fbp's) are elliptic equations representing special type of steady state problems. They are defined over a fixed domain but location of the boundary is not known, a priori. A practical example of a fbp may be given from the context of ‘fluid flow through porous media’ is, the seepage of water into an earth dam.