Category: Tertiary Sector

Source: University of Waikato

Source: University of Waikato

Source: University of Waikato

The University of Waikato has announced the appointment of Professor Gary Wilson to the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research from early next year.

Gary is currently Chief Scientist and General Manager Research Strategy & Partnerships at GNS Science Te Pū Ao. He holds a BSc with First Class Honours in Geology, BMus and PhD in Geology and Earth Science, all from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

Gary has an extensive track record in research and research leadership in universities and in government research agencies.

He holds an Honorary Professorship with the University of Otago following almost two decades working in roles including Associate Dean for Research, Head of Department and Professor of Geology and Marine Science.

Gary’s research interests include marine geology and the marine geological record of ocean and climate change, with specific focuses on Antarctica. His work in this area and his previous roles including Managing Director of the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute and Chief Scientific Advisor to Antarctica New Zealand, are well-known nationally and internationally.

Gary is passionate about research and what can be achieved by impact from research through collaboration and partnerships. He is also equally motivated by supporting and enabling graduate researchers to achieve their goals, and has supervised more than 35 masters and doctoral students over the course of his career.

“I’m excited to be joining the University of Waikato and looking forward to helping build the national and international research profile of the University,” says Professor Wilson.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley says the University is delighted to have secured someone of Gary’s calibre, with a deep understanding and passion for research both in a university context and more broadly.

Gary’s appointment replaces Professor Bryony James who recently took up the role of Provost at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

Source: University of Waikato

Source: University of Waikato

Sue was farewelled at a service at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Hamilton today, 9 November.

A passionate teacher and educator until the end, donations of children’s books, brought to her service, will be distributed to schools within the Waikato to honour Sue’s Hamilton Children’s Reading Centre for children who can’t read good.

A Givealittle has also been set up to honour Sue and continue to support financially disadvantaged children with reading difficulties.

“Sue will be greatly missed by her colleagues and the students for whom her work and research had such an impact,” says Dr Cheng.

Sue joined the University in February 1999 as a Lecturer in the then Department of Arts and Language Education, becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2003.

Her research and practice focused on understanding and supporting students with literacy difficulties, in particular, dyslexia. She had published ten books on supporting teachers to teach reading and to work with dyslexic students, with most of these books published by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

Sue saw that her strengths included being able to translate research to practice and making research accessible for students and educators, says colleague, Deputy Head of Education in Te Kura Toi Tangata, Dr Maurice Cheng.

Sue’s latest book, The New Zealand Dyslexia Handbook (2nd edition) is due to be published soon. She also produced a set of 24 video clips to accompany this publication, which she hoped would make the latest knowledge more accessible to researchers, teachers, literacy education practitioners and students.

Many of her research publications were with collaborator Emeritus Professor of Massey University, Tom Nicholson, who she saw as both a great mentor and a great friend, says Dr Cheng.

In the past 12 months Sue’s work included publication in the top peer-reviewed journal Reading Research Quarterly (USA).  Dyslexia Seen Through the Eyes of Teachers: An Exploratory Survey. Susan Dymock, Tom Nicholson. Sue was also invited to contribute a column in the International Literacy Association (USA) publication on dyslexia.

Sue was also the Director of the Hamilton Reading Centre (formerly Hamilton Children’s Reading Centre), established in 2003 and was behind raising more than $750,000 for the centre from a series of generous funders. The Centre offers specialist diagnosis and tuition for primary and secondary students with literacy difficulties, including dyslexia, at no cost. Over the years, the Centre has served several hundred children in Hamilton and the surrounding area.

In 2016, Sue was selected as a Fellow of the International Academy of Research in Learning Disabilities. Her book The New Zealand Dyslexia Handbook (1st edition) was the runner-up for Best Resource in Higher Education in the 2015 Copyright Licencing New Zealand Education Awards. Within the University, she received the Community Impact Research Excellence Award for her leadership and service associated with the Reading Centre.

Besides her teaching and research, Sue took great joy and satisfaction in serving as the Academic Co-ordinator for International Students. Many international students will remember Sue, who offered not only academic induction and guidance, but also pastoral care.

Coming from Portland, Oregon USA, Sue was very empathetic to the hurdles international students had to pass through and was very proud to have the plate – Academic Co-ordinator – International, on her door, says Dr Cheng.

Source: University of Waikato

Women coastal scientists face multiple barriers to getting into the field for research. These include negative perceptions of their physical capabilities, not being included in trips, caring responsibilities at home and a lack of field facilities for women. Even if women clear these barriers, the experience can be challenging.

This is a problem because fieldwork is crucial for gathering data, inspiring emerging scientists, developing skills, expanding networks and participating in collaborative research.

Our recent study revisited an international survey of 314 coastal scientists that revealed broad perceptions and experiences of gender inequality in coastal sciences. We offer five ways to improve the fieldwork experience for women.

Our collective experience of more than 70 years as active coastal scientists suggests women face ongoing problems when they go to the field. Against a global backdrop of the #MeToo movement, the Picture a Scientist documentary and media coverage about incidents of sexual harassment in the field, conversations between fieldworkers and research managers about behaviour and policy change are needed.

Our research: what we did and what we found

In 2016, we surveyed both male and female scientists about their experiences of gender equality in coastal sciences during an international symposium in Sydney and afterwards online.

From 314 responses, 113 respondents (36%) provided examples of gender inequality they had either directly experienced or observed while working in coastal sciences. About half of these were related to fieldwork.

Our recent paper in the journal Coastal Futures revisits the survey results to further unpack fieldwork issues that continue to surface among the younger generation of female coastal scientists whom we supervise in our jobs. Many of those younger women don’t know how to address these issues.

The paper includes direct quotes from 18 survey respondents describing their experiences. One woman, a mid-career university researcher, said:

As I fill in this survey, the corridor of the building I work in is lined with empty offices. My colleagues are out on boats doing fieldwork. I have a passion for coastal science. That’s why I’m working in a university. But I have a disproportionately large share of administrative, pastoral and governance duties that keep me from engaging in my passion. I’m about to go to a committee meeting of women, doing women’s work (reviewing teaching offerings). Inequality is alive and well in my workplace!

Collectively, the responses highlight barriers to fieldwork participation and challenges in the field, such as sexual harassment and abuse.

A pressing issue, on and off campus

Universities have recently been criticised for failing to respond to sexual violence on campus. But women employed by universities working off campus – at field sites – can be even more vulnerable.

The social boundaries that characterise day-to-day working life in the office and the laboratory are reconfigured on boats or in field camps. Personal space is reduced. Fieldworkers can be required to sleep in close proximity to one another, potentially putting women in vulnerable situations.

As this female early-career university researcher wrote:

Sometimes women are ‘advised’ to avoid fieldwork for security reasons. Or [we] are considered weak, or we are threatened by rape for being with a lot of men.

Women working on boats commonly face inadequate facilities at sea for toileting, menstruation and managing lactation. Some women said they were “not allowed to join research vessels” or “prevented from [joining] research in the field because of gender”.

Reminded of our personal experiences

Just reading the survey responses was difficult for us. Tales of exclusion and discrimination were particularly confronting because they resonated with our own personal experiences. As one of us, Sarah Hamylton, recalls:

I remember spending a hot day in my early 20s on a small boat taking measurements over a reef. I was the only female. When one of the four guys asked about needing the toilet, he was told to stand and relieve himself off the stern. I had to hold on, so I was desperate when we returned to the main ship in the afternoon.

But that wasn’t the only challenge Hamylton encountered on that trip:

We got back into port and the night before we departed to go home, I was woken by the drunken second officer banging on my cabin door asking for sex. The following year women were banned from attending this annual expedition because someone else had complained about sexual assault.

Gender stereotypes and discrimination

Coastal fieldwork demands diverse physical skills such as boating, four-wheel driving, towing trailers, working with hand and power tools, moving heavy equipment, SCUBA diving and being comfortable swimming in the surf, in currents or underwater.

But our survey revealed roles on field trips – and therefore opportunities to learn and gain crucial field skills – are typically handed to men rather than women. Several respondents observed female students and staff being left out of field work for “not being strong enough” and “too weak to pick stuff up”.

Body exposure can also be an issue for women in the field. Close-fitting wetsuits and swimsuits can increase the likelihood of womens’ bodies being objectified by colleagues. Undertaking coastal fieldwork while menstruating can also be a concern.

Another of us, Ana Vila-Concejo, notes:

Some scientific presentations show women in bikinis as a ‘beach modelling’ joke. Beyond self-consciousness, I have felt vulnerable wearing swimmers and exerting myself during fieldwork. Women students and volunteers have declined to participate in field experiments for this reason, particularly while menstruating.

The issue of body exposure also sheds light on the interconnections between race, religion, class and sexuality, which can create overlapping and intersectional disadvantages for women. Vila-Concejo adds:

I am old enough now that I don’t care anymore. I can afford a wetsuit, but many students and volunteers don’t have one. For some women, it isn’t socially or culturally acceptable to wear swimmers, or even to do fieldwork.

Five suggestions for improvement

To improve the fieldwork experience for women in coastal sciences, our research found the following behavioural and policy changes are needed:

1. publicise field role models and trailblazers to reshape public views of coastal scientists, increasing the visibility of female fieldworkers
2. improve opportunities and capacity for women to undertake fieldwork to diversify field teams by identifying and addressing the intersecting disadvantages experienced by women
3. establish field codes of conduct that outline acceptable standards of behaviour on field trips, what constitutes misconduct, sexual harassment and assault, how to make an anonymous complaint and disciplinary measures
4. acknowledge the challenges women face in the field and provide support where possible in fieldwork briefings and address practical challenges for women in remote locations, including toileting and menstruation
5. foster an enjoyable and supportive fieldwork culture that emphasises mutual respect, safety, inclusivity, and collegiality on every trip.

These five simple steps will improve the experience of fieldwork for all concerned and ultimately benefit the advancement of science.

Sarah Hamylton, Associate professor, University of Wollongong; Ana Vila Concejo, Associate professor, University of Sydney; Hannah Power, Associate Professor in Coastal and Marine Science, University of Newcastle, and Shari L Gallop, Service Leader – Coastal, University of Waikato

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Source: University of Waikato

The University of Waikato is celebrating its most successful Marsden funding round yet. The Royal Society Te Apārangi has granted funds to 12 Waikato research proposals, collectively valued at $9.056 million. This marks the highest total funding received by the University and the second-largest number of projects ever to be funded.

Regarded as the hallmark of excellence for research in New Zealand, The Marsden Fund supports researchers in science, engineering, maths, social sciences and the humanities to explore bold ideas that can have significant impact on the future of their discipline.

Professor Karin Bryan, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, says this record funding result will enable researchers to make advances in areas important to the future of society and our planet.

“This is a fantastic result for the University, showcasing research excellence and new collaborations across all levels from early career to professorial. I also acknowledge the outstanding support provided by our Research and Enterprise office.”

“From advancing understanding of marine ecology, protecting our environment from climate change and related challenges through to building more equitable societies where Indigenous identities and perspectives are valued, the successful research projects cover a range of highly pertinent issues at both a local and global level.”

Fourteen Waikato researchers have been awarded Marsden Fund Standard Grants for nine projects:

Three researchers from the University were awarded Marsden Fund Fast Start Grants, funds especially reserved for emerging researchers:

Understanding cross-boundary effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning
Biodiversity is in decline globally. Principal Investigator Dr Burdon and Associate Investigator Dr Barnes are exploring a new frontier in ecology: how biodiversity influences functioning across ecosystems. Their study will investigate the intimate connections between riparian zones and stream ecosystems mediated by food-web linkages. Their work will improve our ability to conserve, restore and manage key flora, fauna and ecosystems at local and larger spatial scales.

Turning up the heat on soil food webs: will global warming erode ecosystem resilience?

Dr Barnes will lead his own investigation into how global warming and other climate change impacts like drought could threaten the resilience of ecosystems. Few studies have considered the combined influence of interacting climate disturbances, which are expected to be more common in the future. With co-Principal Investigator Dr Alster (Lincoln University) and Professor Schipper, Dr Barnes will look at soil ecosystems and the complex network of interacting organisms within the soil from microbes to insects. Working alongside mana whenua they’ll use geothermally heated soil plots in the central North Island as a model of global warming. Shelters will be used to keep rain out to simulate a drought event.

Picturebooks in Aotearoa: the design and content of picturebooks reflecting indigenous language, culture and evolving national identities

Dr Daly, Associate Professor in Te Kura Toi Tangata School of Education Operations, leads a project opening a new field of research by exploring best practice for authentic, respectful representations of Indigenous languages and identities throughout the publishing process.  Associate Investigators include University of Waikato linguist Dr Barbour, and Dr Vanderschantz from the School of Design.

History in the making: memories for historical offences

Professor Garry, alongside Professor Rachel Zajac, University of Otago, is investigating how adults remember childhood abuse, how investigators might shape those memories, and how jurors evaluate these historical claims.

Could land aridification supercharge summertime warming rates in a maritime climate like Aotearoa?

Land warms faster than oceans, and existing projections suggest Aotearoa will warm more slowly due to our surrounding oceans. However, in recent years observational studies show rapid warming of the country across mid to late summer. Principal Investigator Dr Harrington with Associate Investigators Dr Campbell and Dr Peter Gibson (NIWA) are testing their hypothesis that atmosphere interactions from drying land will accelerate warming at spatial scales smaller than current models can predict.

Predicting the mutational trajectories behind viral zoonotic events

Zoonotic viruses like coronavirus can mutate and move from animals to humans. Using advances in protein engineering and machine learning, applied immunologist Dr Kelton is building an approach to predict how likely it is for emerging viruses in animals to jump across to humans – before they have the opportunity to do so. He’ll use coronaviruses as a model for the work.

Marine inequality and environmental demise: Identifying imperial borders in ocean governance

Situated at the intersection of marine anthropology and critical anti-colonial studies, Dr McCormack’s research in New Zealand, Hawai’i, Iceland and Ireland will build knowledge on the transnational attributes shaping contemporary ocean governance.  Drawing on the concept of ‘border imperialism’, her project investigates how marine regimes and economies travelled via the complex machinations of European worldviews, to re-imagine and re-direct localised relations to fish.

What are the key predictors of invasion success?

Dr McGaughran is testing the hypothesis that more invasive species and populations have, or rapidly evolve to possess, a greater range of genetic and outward physical innovations that enable their success in new environments. She’ll work with endemic and introduced invasive blowflies to determine what it takes to be a successful invader.

He rau ringa: Engaging ethnic communities in a Tiriti o Waitangi-centred framework of

sustainable citizenship

A team of ethnic and Māori researchers with collaborative expertise in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and sustainable citizenship, Professor Munshi, Professor Kurian and Professor Morrison,are working to theorise a distinct vision for Aotearoa of cultural plurality and citizenship based on Treaty notions of equity, justice and inclusion.

Chamorus diasporic routes: sharing our elders’ stories from Sanlagu

Following World War II, the United States’ colonial control over the Mariana Islands influenced and normalised the military as the most feasible economic option and career choice for the Indigenous population, the Chamorus. This in turn influenced outward migration of Chamorus to militarised US cities.

Lecturer of Pacific and Indigenous Studies, Dr Bennett, will conduct the first archival research and in-depth interviews of Chamorus that migrated in the post-war period. The online exhibition and digital archive aim to disrupt and add to decolonisation narratives that build towards Indigenous self-determination.

How do genomic architecture and adaptive capacity influence species range limits?

The geographic spread of species varies greatly, but ecological and abiotic factors are known to constrain species distribution. Understanding factors that govern species range is an unanswered question in ecology. Recent research shows that genetics play a role in spread. Dr Parvizi is looking at different genetic aspects in native and invasive sea squirts across New Zealand, trans-Tasman and Antarctica to understand if different species are pre-adapted for range expansion because of their genetics.

The project will add to our understanding of native taonga species and shed light on the capacity of species to adapt and shift their range in the face of rapid climate change. Dr Parvizi will work with Associate Investigator Dr McGaughran and be mentored by Professor Craig Cary.

The shapes of our stories: examining the occurrence and function of emotional trajectories in autobiographical memories

Most stories in Western fiction follow one of six rising and falling narratives. Psychological science suggests these narratives shape the emotional trajectories of our autobiographical stories, in part to aid our communication with each other. Dr Sanson will investigate how and when we draw on these emotional trajectories in the retelling of our memories.

This groundbreaking work will help the scientific community better understand the function of our memories and the relationships among emotional trajectories, mental health and wellbeing.

Source: University of Waikato

Anna says that the inspiration for the story came from a short break in a small town in the North Island.

Source: University of Waikato

Source: University of Waikato

The University of Waikato has introduced New Zealand’s first Bachelor of Banking, Finance & Technology (BBFinTech) in response to an industry need for graduates with skills in the fast-growing fintech sector.

Matt Bolger, Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Waikato Management School, says employers are saying they will increasingly need people who can thrive in both finance and technology:

“The world of finance runs on digital technology. From investment platforms and digital currencies to the way we make payments, nothing happens without digital. Yet no undergraduate degree in New Zealand currently recognises the need for these dual competencies.”

“The BBFinTech will fill this critical skills gap. Graduates will help businesses continue to innovate and evolve – whether they are a local Kiwi champion or a Silicon Valley start-up.”

A 2022 Fintech Insights report found that the fintech firms in their sample of 200 New Zealand tech companies generated a combined export revenue of $1.8 billion in 2022. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s investigation into digital currencies also signals an even more cashless future, according to Mr Bolger.

Shane Marsh, founder of leading fintech innovator Dosh and University of Waikato alumni, agrees that fintech is set to grow:

“We’re expecting this area to snowball. Our industry will require more people with these skills in the future, and we are thrilled to see the University of Waikato meeting this need with their new BBFinTech degree.”

He says this sector has a range of opportunities and that regulation will be especially critical.

“There is a real need for people with fintech skills who can help shape the future of financial services. We need people who understand how open banking, digital currencies and emerging technology will define the future solutions we want in New Zealand and overseas,” says Mr Marsh.

The BBFinTech degree will arm students with expertise in financial markets, investment platforms, digital finance, banking operations, automated trading, blockchains, cryptocurrencies, cyber security, and more.

“There is huge growth potential in this sector, so for students interested in tech who are interested in a career in an exciting sector, this is definitely a path to consider.”

“We can’t wait to welcome our first cohort of students next year,” says Mr Bolger.

Waikato is New Zealand’s leading business school, ranked number one for business and economics and in the top 1% of business schools globally with Triple Crown Accreditation.

“Waikato Management School is a smart choice for both New Zealand and overseas students,” says Mr Bolger.