Selected Glossary

The purpose of this glossary is to clarify the meanings of some key social studies words and concepts. The glossary also provides explanations, in English, of some Maori terms and concepts used in this book. Many of the words listed below have different meanings in different conexts. The definitions and explanations given here relate to the use of the terms in social studies and the social sciences.

ahi ka

the right to occupy land; in particular, rights to places where people have had their hearths and homes for a long time (literally, "lighting the fires")

beliefs
principles, propositions, and ideas held to be true

bicultural
describing the interactions, relationships, and sharing of understandings, practices, and beliefts between two cultures; in New Zealand, these two cultures are Maori and Pakeha

colonisation
the establishment of the ideas, beliefs, and values of one group within another group, or the imposition of the ideas, beliefs, and values of one group on another group; in a narrower political sense, colonisation means the establishment by one country of a colony or colonies in another country.

continuity
an unbroken succession; the state of being connected through time or space

culture
understandings, patterns of behavious, practices, and values shared by a group of people.

cultural feature
any feature of a place or environment designed or made by people

customs
particular ways of behaving, within a group, that have been established by social habits (traditional or contemporary)

distribution
the spread or arrangement of natural or cultural phenomena (in terms of geographic areas, economic groupings, or social classes); in a narrower sense, the extent to which different groups or individuals share in the total production or wealth of a community

enterprise
human activity involving such qualities as initiation, innovation, risk taking, coordinating, and acting decisively and imaginatively; in a narrower economics sense, an activity undertaken for entrepreneurial or commercial reasons

environment
physical surroundings; circumstances and influences affecting people's lives and development

ethnicity
the state of belonging to a human group that shares some racial characteristics, a sense of identity and belonging, and a particular heritage and set of traditions

ethnocentrism
a tendency to see one's own group as at the centre of things, so that one evaluates other groups only in relation to one's own; having assumptions or preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own race or group

heritage
ideas, material goods, or other resources that are the right of a person or groups of people by birth and are often passed down through the generations humanities learning or literature concerned with human society and culture, including philosophies, history, arts, and languages

identity
the way a person or a group perceives themselves in relation to the world, including other people and groups.

interdependence
reciprocal relationships where people and/or groups and/or physical phenomena have a strong influence on one another or depend on one another for support

kawa
protocol; ceremonial procedure

mahi
work; employment

manaakitanga
hospitality

market
a demand for a commodity or service

mores
the customs or conventions of a particular community

multicultural
encompassing understandings, practices, and beliefs from many cultures; describing the interactions, relationships, and sharing of many cultures

natural features
features of a place or environment that occur naturally (as opposed to features designed and made by people)

nga tikanga Maori
Maori customs

opportunity cost
the cost of an undertaking in terms of the preferred opportunity foregone, that is, the alternative way that the user might have chosen to use the resources (an option that is no longer available when the decision is made)

o te mahi ngatahi
working together cooperatively (literally, "work as one")

Pakeha
A New Zealand-born person of European descent who chooses to be called Pakeha to describe their ethnicity

pepeha
Maori proverb or saying, usually relating to a particular place or iwi and indicating a particular aspect of that iwi

process
a series of actions taking place in an ordered sequence to produce a particular result

rahui
restriction or prohibition, especially in relation to resources and the environment

rangatiratanga
chieftainship; sovereignty

rawa
resource; property

resource
anything used directly by people; in an economics sense, resources may mean stock that can be drawn on (Natural resources are the "stock" of the land; human resources are people and their knowledge, skills, inventiveness, and ingenuity; and resources produced by people include available goods and financial capital.)

rohe
boundary; area of land owned in common, tribal lands

scarcity
the concept that resources are always limited in relation to possible uses for them

socialisation
the modification from infancy of an individual's behaviour to conform with the demands of society

social sciences
the study of society and of the relationship of individual members within society; the social sciences include economics, history, political science, psychology, anthropology, and sociology

tagata Pasifika
people of the island nations of the Pacific tangata whenua people of the land, by right of birth; local people (may refer to all Maori or to hapu and iwi within their tribal boundaries)

te ao tawhito
ancient world; the distant past

te ao marama
modern world; the present; the future (literally, the world of light)

tradition
belief or custom handed down through generations, often orally or through accepted practices and ways of working

turangawaewae
tribally derived rights and recognition; literally, a "place to stand" and often interpreted as "belonging" to a particular place or marae

values
a person's principles or standards; judgments of what is valuable or important in life

whanaungatanga
family relationships; the process of coming together and behaving as a family, in a cohesive manner

whakatauki
proverb or saying