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Source: University of Waikato – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Freshwater management in NZ: Whose problem is it anyway?
From acid rain in the US, to algae blooms in New Zealand lakes, freshwater scientist Professor Troy Baisden is using ‘big-picture’ thinking to help solve some of our biggest environmental problems. He’ll discuss this at his Inaugural Professorial Lecture on Tuesday 17 April.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Why do leaders resign in the face of trouble?
Sir Ralph Norris speaking at the Fletcher Building media conference where he announced his resignation.
By Dr Ralph Bathurst
The resignation of Sir Ralph Norris as board chair of Fletcher Building in February, after an unprecedented blowout of the budget in the Building and Interiors division, raises interesting questions about the role of leadership in times of crisis.
The announcement that Fletcher Building had lost a billion dollars over two years prompted a sharp decline of 13.3 per cent in its share price. The company responded by declaring it would retreat. It would complete the existing projects and no longer bid for large-scale developments, leaving it to off-shore companies to fill the vacuum in this sector of the construction industry.
Norris took the blame and resigned.
Being a nation of sports enthusiasts, we are familiar with the pattern. A team suffers a series of losses, fans become disgruntled, teams begin to fracture, and drastic action is taken. The coach and captain are the first to be targeted and, hard on the heels of accusations of incompetence, comes the charge that team culture has become dysfunctional and needs radical, and immediate, re-formation.
This sequencing is not surprising; it’s what stakeholders expect.
However, this practice of giving blame followed by resignations, is nonsensical. It relies on a ritual of scapegoating used by tribal communities of past millennia that is not relevant to us today. It also draws on old fashioned and outmoded views of leadership that the “buck stops” with the person at the top, and that they are fully and finally responsible for the organisation.
Both these views and beliefs avoid considering the dynamic nature of the business world, and attempt to resolve problems by seeking certainty in complex times.
Massey Business School leadership researcher Dr Ralph Bathurst.
We need to find forms of leadership that are open and that facilitate the accurate and timely flow of information. This form of leadership recognises that problems are not the problem. Rather, problems are the source of life and energy for organisations.
The facing of formerly unrecognised ‘wicked’ problems calls for leadership; and it was at this crossroads where Fletcher Building failed. It failed because it relied on outmoded leadership practices.
The old view is that the leader ought to have a grasp on all the issues and, with superior insights, be able to guide the enterprise through its troubled waters. The new view is that no one person, or even the senior team and governance board, has sufficient information at their fingertips to be able to make appropriate decisions.
Norris, with his background in financial management, diagnosed the situation as being overly complex, saying that “often a boom is worse than a bust in many respects because it does put a lot of stress on supply of services, sub-trades, product and the like. And as we know, cost increases come when demand exceeds supply”.
But Fletcher Building did not need leadership until it was faced with exactly this building boom.
Rather than seeing the boom time as a leadership challenge to be relished and embraced, they panicked. In the face of multiple subcontracting arrangements to meet building targets, the same management practices that had served them well in the past became a mill stone, stifling their ability to act freely. Starved of information, the company lost its way.
This situation, however, ought not to signal failure. This is the time for leadership, where a man of Norris’s undoubted abilities and experience could bring together teams throughout the company and set them free to explore the problems from all aspects.
Wicked problems call for leadership. But not the strong and decisive kind of the past. It is a leadership that persistently questions everything and everyone throughout the enterprise. It is a kind of leadership that rejects single and simple solutions to complex problems and calls for all members to seek for solutions not yet known, in a spirit of open and curious inquiry.
Problems at a company should not automatically lead to resignation and retreat. Instead, it should be a time for leaders, who know the company best, to lead creative problem-solving by all stakeholders to ensure the organisation survives and, eventually, begins to grow dynamically once more.
Dr Ralph Bathurst is a senior lecturer with Massey University’s School of Management. He is also the academic coordinator for Massey’s Master of Advanced Leadership programme.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: PAWS – hazard response for people and animals
Associate Professor Deborah Read and Professor Barry Borman from the Environmental Health Indicators team.
Dr Carolyn Gates from EpiCentre.
Two groups of Massey University researchers are teaming up to create PAWS (people • animals • wellbeing • surveillance), with the aim of helping protect both animals and humans from natural hazards, including those requiring immediate response like floods and earthquakes, to longer-term hazards like droughts and rising sea-levels.
The collaboration, between College of Health’s Environmental Health Indicators (EHI) team and College of Sciences EpiCentre, aims to give the multitude of people involved in safeguarding both animal and human health, the information they need to assess risks, prioritise where resources should be put and identify where communities are vulnerable.
PAWS co-director Professor Barry Borman from EHI, says an initial focus of the programme is to develop indicators of human and animal vulnerability to natural hazards.
“Protecting animal and human health from hazards is the job of national, regional and local government planners, district health boards, emergency managers and many more, but to make the best decisions about where to put their limited resources, they rely on solid evidence to inform their plans and priorities,” he says.
“The research will provide evidence-based, objective measures of population vulnerability to support public services and local communities that they can use in the event of a disaster,” Professor Borman says.
The EHI team has been funded by the Natural Hazards Research Platform to develop a set of social vulnerability indicators for flooding in the Porirua City Council area. This will involve looking at different factors that may influence how different people will be affected by the same event within a city – the demographics of households, their trust in public officials, their access to transport, their health before an event, and many more factors, Professor Borman says.
”We know from disasters overseas pets matter. One of the most powerful examples of this was Hurricane Katrina in the United States, when large numbers of people refused to evacuate because they could not take their pets with them. But it is not all bad news. Research has shown that after the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, dog ownership had a positive impact on health and wellbeing.
“Working together with emergency response planners, we can help make sure that the appropriate resources are in place to safely evacuate, house, and manage pets with their owners, especially since this can help improve resilience in the aftermath,” Professor Borman says.
The EpiCentre are conducting two PAWS related projects. One is to develop a statistical model to predict farm animal demographics from existing data sources, PAWS co-director Dr Carolyn Gates says.
“Collecting data on pet ownership is tricky because only dogs are registered and the registration and microchip databases are likely to be incomplete. In addition, not all pet owners take their dogs to a veterinarian. So the first project will be a survey of households to better understand the gaps in the existing databases. The second project involves develop of systems to automatically collate data from veterinary practises in a way that protects client privacy,” Dr Gates says.
The PAWS team will also further develop linkages between the various human and animal health databases and the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), using Massey’s new IDI lab in Wellington.
The two groups have previously successively collaborated in teaching a postgraduate online ‘One World, One Health’ epidemiology courses to students in South-East Asia, China and Mongolia. The project was funded by the World Bank and European Union.
College of Health Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Jane Mills welcomes the new initiative. “The collaboration between the EHI team and EpiCentre is one of Massey’s unique contributions to New Zealand. It combines the skills and expertise of our human and veterinary epidemiologists and shows how academic research can be applied to the benefit of all New Zealanders,” she says.
College of Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Ray Geor says the directors of PAWS are to be congratulated on forming their exciting new collaboration. “It demonstrates Massey’s commitment to the concept of ‘One World, One Welfare’ both in research and teaching. All humans and animals are vulnerable to adverse effects of natural hazards and the research from PAWS will be important in mitigating these risks,” he says.
The Directors of PAWS are Professor Barry Borman and Associate Professor Deborah Read from the EHI team and Dr Naomi Cogger and Dr Carolyn Gates from EpiCentre.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Skilled migrant women needed for research project
Massey Business School PhD candidate Nimeesha Odedra.
“I thought I would find a similar role when I got here….they wanted New Zealand experience which I didn’t expect, because the principles of marketing are the same everywhere in the world.” Liz, a marketing executive from South Africa.
“I kind of depend, rely on my husband. [We are] based in Devonport and it is quite isolated, and not many Asians, especially Koreans, so I had kind of a very hard time when I was pregnant because I could not drive. So I was stuck in Devonport….” Min, a psychologist from Korea.
“I think they thought I was uneducated, they thought I was not very smart….even silly things like automated systems didn’t understand my accent….I practiced, listening to the way Kiwis speak and then mimicking them, even while I was in the car driving, saying the word over and over.…”Janet, head of development at an IT company, from South Africa.
Liz, Min and Janet (pseudonyms to protect participant identity) are part of the increasing feminisation of skilled international migration, a topic that Massey University PhD candidate Nimeesha Odedra is exploring for her thesis. She says skilled migrant women comprise almost half of the skilled migrants approved for permanent residency in New Zealand, but many struggle to find employment.
“In some cases, they go from being well-educated and well-paid professionals in their home countries to becoming stay-at-home spouses or part-time/low-skilled workers,” Ms Odedra says. “This is a vast pool of talent that is going to waste. We can see this in the stories of Liz, Min and Janet.”
Skilled migrant women are a critical and under-researched source of competitive advantage in today’s labour market. The under-utilisation of skilled migrant women is estimated to cost Canada over C$7 billion per year; the cost to the New Zealand economy is currently unknown but likely to be significant.
“The limited research in this area has identified some of the barriers that impact the careers of skilled migrant women – but there are still many aspects of their experiences to be explored,” Ms Odedra says. “The objective of my research is to provide more in-depth understanding and meaning to the career experiences of skilled migrant women.
“Having a better understanding of how their career experiences unfold will allow better interventions and policies to be put into place to ensure skills are not wasted or under-utilised.”
Ms Odedra’s research is an opportunity for skilled migrant women to tell their stories and have their voices heard. She is currently seeking skilled migrant women who have lived in New Zealand for more than two years and less than 10 years.
Participant interviews will be completely confidential and anonymised, and take no more than 30-45 minutes. Each participant will be offered a report of the findings from the study. If you are interested in sharing your experience by participating in an interview with Ms Odedra, please email her directly at: N.Odedra@massey.ac.nz.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Nukes to cyber war – NZ security in focus
North Korean long-range missile testing (image/Wikimedia Commons)
Professor Rouben Azizian
North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, potential terror threats, and the security implications of climate change are among emerging issues relevant to New Zealand and the Pacific as discussion topics at a conference at Massey University this week.
Local and international experts will present on bio-security, drug-trafficking, cyber security and trade, the impact of a new government on policy, the roles of China and the United States in regional security and other hot topics during the April 5-6 conference organised by Massey’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies.
Centre director and conference chair, Professor Rouben Azizian, says the timing of the conference is significant taking place a few months after a change of government. “Will this change lead to significant shifts in the country’s security policy and legislation or in its international security priorities? How will the new Government’s emphasis on climate change, ‘Pacific reset’ and socio-economic problems impact New Zealand’s national security and foreign policy?” are, he says, crucial questions for the conference.
“Will the new priorities side-line previous security and defence commitments? Has the Russia spy scandal damaged our relations with traditional security partners or confirmed our autonomous foreign policy reputation?” asks Professor Azizian. “The conference discussions should shed some light and hopefully provide some answers to these challenging issues.”
A speech by the Honourable Andrew Little, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and the Security Intelligence Service (SIS), will focus on the tension between the need for public confidence in our security agencies through effective public engagement, and “the fact that the agencies need to operate out of public view.”
“The conference offers a great opportunity to front up and contribute to discussion of current security issues alongside recognised specialists in the field,” Mr Little says.
Massey terrorism expert Dr John Battersby will discuss challenges to what he sees as a New Zealand assumption that our small and size and distance from the rest of the world has meant we have been safe – and continue to be safe – from the impact of terrorism.
“Our inability to legislate effectively against terrorism has meant that many instances of threatened or actual violence stemming from political motivations here have not been recognised as terrorism. We’ve tended to forget instances of might-be terrorism, and also have tended to forgive it. As a result, New Zealanders often think we have never experienced terrorism and look overseas for the wisdom on countering terrorism now that concerns about radicalisation are surfacing here,” he says.
“While we should definitely not ignore overseas developments, and our out-dated legislation needs to be aligned with global developments – our own past experience provides ample lessons for us to better assess our risk of terrorism.”
Asia security expert Dr Marc Lanteigne, also from the centre, will present on the recent changes to the structure of the People’s Liberation Army, as well as emerging security challenges the Chinese military will be facing in the coming years, such as maritime strategy (East and South China Seas), the Taiwan question, and the Belt and Road (a massive transportation, energy and infrastructure project linking China with 70 countries across multiple continents).
International guest speakers include:
Other speakers include Josie Pagani, from the Council for International Development, on humanitarian challenges; Roger Smith, from the Ministry for Primary Industries, on bio-security; Dr Vangelis Vitalis, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on trade and security; Aliya Danzeisen, from the Women’s Organisation of the Waikato Muslim Association, on suspect communities; the Hon Mark Mitchell, National Party spokesman for Defence, Disarmament and Justice, on New Zealand security and defence challenges and priorities; and Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Massey’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, on New Zealand’s demographic and immigration trends, and implications for national security.
On Friday, attendees from diverse government, business, academic and community groups will participate in workshops on New Zealand’s security capabilities, international networks and reputation.
Professor Azizian says the conference agenda is broad, “but its focus will be narrow, as we’ll attempt to understand and assess the implications of various international security challenges for New Zealand.”
“The increasingly complex international security environment requires “more sophisticated and integrated responses to evolving threats, which can’t be achieved without a strategic security thinking and inclusive national participation.”
This is the second conference on national security organised the centre, with support from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Model for vulnerable youth shines in real world
Professor Robyn Munford and Professor Jackie Sanders from Massey University’s School of Social Work. Image credit: Jane Ussher.
A framework for people working with vulnerable youth, based on research and expertise from Massey University’s School of Social Work, is being labelled “unique, “logical” and “easy to navigate” by a youth service who has adopted the PARTH model.
The PARTH framework is a set of practice orientations identified in the Youth Transitions project, carried out by Professor Robyn Munford and Professor Jackie Sanders. It is designed to guide interactions with young people on immediate issues, as well as their long-term goals. Some of the key elements of this model are perseverance and persistence, adaptability and agile interventions, relationships and responsive practice, time, transparency, honesty and holding hope with young people
One of the community organisations contributing to the research, Kapiti Youth Support (KYS), has taken a lot of the early learnings from the Youth Transitions project and implemented them as a framework for the social services they offer. KYS, a youth one-stop service, works with 10 to 25-year-olds providing continuity of care, which for some lasts more than 10 years. Currently around 5400 young people access services or programmes from KYS – about 76 per cent of the youth population in Kapiti.
“What is exciting about working with KYS is to see the PARTH model in action and used by a diverse group of practitioners who want to make a positive difference for young people,” Professor Munford says. “Central to PARTH practice is building trust-based relationships with young people and this is a key focus of the work at KYS.”
Professor Sanders agrees and adds, “the Transitions research put a priority on hearing what young people had to say about their service experiences and they really wanted the research to have a positive impact on service delivery for the youth who followed them. We have been so impressed with the response from professionals to the PARTH model because it means that the research has been able to directly communicate young people’s views about service delivery back to practitioners.”
One PARTH practitioner training workshop has already been held at KYS, with another taking place next week (April 9-11).
KYS manager Raechel Osborne says it is exciting to be involved in the research. “KYS fully adopted the PARTH model as a practice orientation within our organisation. It fits with how we are already operating. PARTH focuses on how the practitioners work with the young person, so they are part of the decision making and the intervention, and can build on their existing resources and capacity. There was a synergy with PARTH and the way that we are already working.”
She says the model has been invaluable for new staff coming from other organisations. “It gives them a framework. This is how we practice and why. It reminds them to think, ‘Am I adopting this? Am I practising this?’ It’s simple and logical; key guiding principles to how to work. It’s absolutely fantastic for new practitioners starting out.”
Ms Osborne believes the model should be compulsory for anyone who works with young people. “What is unique is how closely the researchers and their research are connected with practice while being inclusive of young peoples’ perspective and voice,” she says.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Identity politics – Pacific to Palestine
The Banksy incident in Palestine (photo/Wikimedia Commons)
Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley
Dr Rand Hazou
Dr Trudie Cain
Exploring forces and factors that shape individual and national identities in a globally connected world – from Aotearoa to Palestine – is the theme of a free public lecture at Massey University’s Auckland campus on April 5.
Well-known sociologist and commentator on immigration and population issues Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley will open the discussion with a focus on populist nationalism.
He will be joined by colleagues, Dr Trudie Cain and Dr Rand Hazou in ‘Close Encounters in Cosmopolitan New Zealand’ – the second of ten in this year’s in the Our Changing World lecture series. The free 10-part series titled “Our Changing World”, held monthly from February to November at Massey’s Auckland campus, follows on from last year’s successful series coordinated by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Speakers bring their expert knowledge and astute insights to topics that are front of mind for many, offering fresh perspectives and analysis of some of the more complex, gritty questions.
Professor Spoonley says the modern era of identity politics has been defined by the rise of minority nationalist, linguistic and indigenous communities, the civil rights moment and feminism.
“In the 21st century, there has been a considerable reversal as elements in white majority communities have reacted to minority and feminist politics – by actively rejecting them. Their reaction is often expressed along the lines of ‘Why should women, ethnic minorities or indigenous (non-white) groups ‘jump the queue’ for educational, housing or labour market resources and positions? Why should they be able to make claims on a government? Shouldn’t there be one law for all? Shouldn’t being an American, Australian, British, New Zealander take precedence over all other identities?’”
Theatre lecturer Dr Hazou will bring a global perspective to the border where identity politics and art intersect, with a discussion of a controversy surrounding UK street artist Banksy in Palestine.
In November 2017, Banksy marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration (in which Britain pledged to make Palestine a national home for the Jewish people) by hosting a party outside the recently established Walled-Off Hotel in Bethlehem. The party included an actor dressed as Queen Elizabeth II who unveiled the word ‘Er… Sorry’ carved into Israel’s Separation Wall, and children from the nearby Aida refugee camp were invited to enjoy a cake decorated with the Union Jack.
Dr Hazou says the mock celebration was gate-crashed by local Palestinian activists unhappy with the use of the British flags and the Palestinian children. An activist planted a Palestinian flag in the cake as the crowd cheered and shouted; ‘free Palestine’. Dr Hazou will examine the controversy, online and in the media, that Banksy’s intervention sparked, with numerous voices criticising the artist for profiting from Palestinian suffering and normalising the occupation.
“Others insist that Banksy is deploying his celebrity and brand to shine a satirical light on the Israeli occupation and apartheid politics in Palestine. To what extent can Bansky’s intervention be considered a performance of international solidarity with the Palestinian cause? And how might the counter-intervention by the Palestinian gate-crashers be read as an assertion of Palestinian self-determination?, he asks.
Sociologist and facilitator Dr Cain will link these topics to the central theme of the lecture – the impact of New Zealand’s increasingly diverse population and a recent surge in migrants from over 100 countries. She will explore such questions as; how well do we know and relate to one another in Aotearoa 2018? Are our core institutions adjusting to superdiversity? What about our local and national policies? What are the challenges ahead, and what is needed to ensure social cohesion – and not division – in our culturally rich, complex society?
The lecture will be held in the Sir Neil Waters Lecture Theatre Building (SNW300) at 6pm.
For more information and to register go to: www.massey.ac.nz/ourchangingworld
April 5: Close encounters with cosmopolitan NZ
(Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley, Dr Rand Hazou, Dr Trudie Cain)
April 26: Flying under the radar: New Zealand’s fearless airmen of WWI
(Dr Adam Claasen)
May 31: Can poetry save the Earth?
(Associate Professor Bryan Walpert, Dr Jack Ross, Dr Jo Emeney)
June 28: Watching over you: surveillance and security in New Zealand
(Dr Rhys Ball, Dr Damien Rogers)
July 5: Can China call the shots with North Korea?
(Dr Marc Lanteigne)
August 30: Whose community? What the Ancients can teach us about merging and mixing
(Dr Anastasia Bakogianni, Dr David Rafferty)
September 27: In the moment: Mindfulness for changing times
(Dr Heather Kempton)
October 25: Yearn to learn – how the digital revolution is sparking creativity
(Dr Lucila Carvalho)
November 29: In search of church – does religion have a future in godzone?
(Professor Peter Lineham)
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Youthful passion for world changing design is honoured
Caren Rangi, Creative New Zealand; Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern; award winner John Belford-Lelaulu; Minister of Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio; Dr Huhana Smith, College of Creative Arts
An architect with a passion for social change has won the Creative New Zealand and Massey University Arts and Creativity Award at the 2018 Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Awards.
John Belford-Lelaulu of Auckland was presented with his award at a special ceremony at the Fale o Samoa in Mangere that honoured a stellar group of young Pasifika leaders. Mr Belford-Lelaulu has been involved in local and international projects that use creativity, arts and design to target issues such as poverty, inequality, cultural deprivation and institutional racism.
This is the first year that Massey’s College of Creative Arts has been a sponsor of the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Awards and head of the School of Art Dr Huhana Smith, who co-presented the award with Creative New Zealand, says Mr Belford-Lelaulu was a perfect choice. “He absolutely fits with our vision for the College of Creative Arts to produce creative thinkers, makers and innovators who make the world a better place and make us feel better about living in it.”
Mr Belford-Lelaulu is running a series of social design projects with tertiary and secondary students that range from designing and building outdoor furniture for the Mangere East Village, to re-purposing ruins from the 2009 tsunami to build a new community hub in Samoa.
It will be up to Mr Belford-Lelaulu to choose how to use his award, which opens the possibility of continued post-graduate research at the College of Creative Arts or financial assistance to help grow his existing projects. He says he’s looking forward to exploring the opportunities the award brings.
Mr Belford-Lelaulu is also associated with Massey University through his social design practice the MAU Studio, which is part of the HATCH Programme run by the Pacific Business Trust in partnership with the Massey Business School.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Climate summit highlights ways to engage the public
The Climate Communication Summit’s ‘Interaction with Government’ panel discussion. Left to right: MP Dr Deborah Russell; MP Angie Warren-Clark; Catherine Wilson, Ministry for the Environment; and Professor Steven Croucher from the Massey Business School.
Climate change is a complex issue that many people find overwhelming to think about. That is why Massey marketing lecturer Dr Pam Feetham decided to hold the Climate Communication Summit to discuss better ways to engage the New Zealand public with climate change initiatives to achieve a zero carbon future.
An experienced science communicator herself, Dr Feetham wanted to provide an interactive forum for academic climate researchers and government to share ideas. She invited two keynote speakers to the summit: Labour MP for New Lynn Dr Deborah Russell; and Professor Victoria Wibeck from the Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research, at Linköping University in Sweden.
Dr Russell discussed the difficulty of cutting through the busy schedules of MPs to have academic research heard, while Professor Wibeck explained how to motivate citizens into action. People are more responsive to mitigation if they know that their actions are worthwhile, Professor Wibeck said, giving the example of a successful mitigation campaign in her home town.
“Citizens in Linköping were more motivated to recycle their food and meat production waste and leftover restaurant waste when they were made aware of how far their city buses travelled on the biogas produced from the recycled waste,” she said.
Head of Massey’s School of Art Dr Huhana Smith and the University’s sustainability project manager Dr Jane Richardson argued for participatory research methods tailored to the ethnic groups that make up New Zealand’s diverse population. Dr Smith shared her experiences working with her Horowhenua hapu, who hold ancestral coastal farmland between the Ohau and Waikawa rivers. Through art and hui, the hapu were motivated to become involved in climate change initiatives, such as returning some of the coastal land to wetlands.
“Focus groups can provide deep insights into how community groups are thinking,” Dr Feetham said. “My research revealed focus group participants of Māori decent believed, as individuals, their mitigation efforts could make a difference. Māori expressed an inherent duty to take care of the land, in contrast to non-Māori groups, where the majority of participants felt their individual recycling efforts would not make a difference.”
Intercultural researcher Dr Franco Vaccarino then explained how Pasifika people use Talanoa, a natural way of expressing ideas through story-telling interlinked by relationships, to find solutions that address climate change impacts.
EQC chair in natural hazards planning, Massey’s Professor Bruce Glavovic, reflected on his case studies in the Whangaehu Valley and the Coromandel Peninsula, where community concerns about the impacts of climate change are vastly different. Collectively, these studies suggest several different methods of public engagement will be required to activate citizen buy-in to zero carbon initiatives across the culturally diverse population of New Zealand, he said.
Summit facilitator Professor Stephen Croucher, head of the School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing, chaired the concluding government panel that discussed what the next steps would be. Participants agreed the value of exchanging knowledge in the summit format, which involved face-to-face interaction and discussion time, was more beneficial than reading academic papers.
Ministry of Environment engagement manager Catherine Wilson said she will introduce her team to the engagement methods discussed at the summit, while MP Angie-Warren Clark encouraged academics to present their research in lay-person’s language to increase access and understanding.
Massey University intends to continue the government interaction by hosting the summit biannually.
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Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:
Headline: Massey partnering with New Zealand National Fieldays Society
Massey University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas, signing an agreement with New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive officer Peter Nation.
Massey University is the new partner of the New Zealand National Fieldays Society, owner of the iconic Fieldays event in June.
The university and society signed the three-year initial term agreement earlier this month, with Massey also partnering with the health and wellbeing programme that was successfully implemented at Fieldays last year.
In its 50th year, this year’s theme ‘the future of farming’ will examine agricultural trends and ideas for the future, while celebrating its inception in 1968.
The society’s general manager commercial Nick Dromgool believes Massey’s strong focus on the agricultural and health sectors makes it a strong partner for the society and the Fieldays event.
“Fieldays has been bringing rural and urban audiences together for 50 years, and we are very pleased about this connection with Massey University. Fieldays is a truly New Zealand event and we feel Massey’s ethos of being an accessible university through its many campuses and its distance learning is an excellent fit.”
College of Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Ray Geor says Massey is excited about connecting with the society at a partnership level. “We are a strong supporter of Fieldays and have always had a large presence at the event. This year we are very pleased to be able to really cement that relationship,” he says.
“Fieldays is a premier event, recognised in world agribusiness. It’s an excellent fit for Massey and our plans for the future. We often exhibit new technologies with our partners at Fieldays, and always enjoy talking to visitors about the benefits Massey students brings to the primary industries sector. We look forward to growing this important partnership between education and agriculture.”
Massey’s College of Health is a member of the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand and wants to help ensure research-led education makes a difference to outcomes in New Zealand rural health.
College of Health Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Jane Mills says, “We look forward to working with Fieldays to be part of the community improving health and well-being in rural New Zealand.
“Optimal health is the result of many factors, including the individual person, the environment and society they live in. There are many opportunities to make a difference.”
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