I am Dr Kevin Shedlock (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Whakatōhea) and a lecturer at the School of Engineering and Computer Science, Victoria University of Wellington – Te Herenga Waka. My research is focused on the construction of technology-focused artifacts using open-source and proprietary based computer programming languages. I maintain a strong focus in working with indigenous communities to better understand technology from within an indigenous lens. As a result Māori and Pacific communities are beginning to access new methods when constructing real-world IT projects during the framing, engagement, planning, construction, and evaluation phases of the Indigenous-focused technology artifacts. 

 

I am particularly interested in fuzzy decision making and virtual reality as a technology that delivers perceived awareness connections and embodied sensory connections within an indigenous socio-technical system (iSTS). This involves organizing the construction of the IT artifact ex-ante/ex-post and working with indigenous data filters in an immersive, interactive and intelligent setting.

I am a member of the AI Forum for Developing Nations and also involved in virtual world projects for tourism; native plant species and indigenous heritage sites facilitating collaborative research approaches.