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Graduation ceremonies celebrated half a world away

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Michaela Gallear with her family, husband Simon and children Megan and Jack. Her parents in Turkey watched live as she graduated last week through Massey’s Graduation Live initiative.

From their home in Turkey, two proud parents watched live as their daughter crossed the stage at a Palmerston North graduation ceremony.

Michaela Gallear, of Tauranga, graduated last Wednesday with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in social anthropology.

Through Massey University’s Graduation Live initiative, all graduation ceremonies were streamed live on its YouTube channel, and Mrs Gallear’s parents in Turkey witnessed her milestone moment.

Her husband Simon and children, Megan, 13, and Jack, 16, were in the audience but she said her parents had also supported her as a mature student through five years of extramural study. Having them watch her graduate, from half a world away, made her feel connected and that they too were part of the celebrations.

Her parents Sandra and Robert Stables said they were thankful to be able to join in the happy day.

“Being quite literally a world away from family is hard enough every day but to know we miss such important events only make’s the separation even harder,” Mrs Stables wrote to Massey University.

“To two parents, living in Turkey, sitting in their PJs watching a very proud moment in their daughter’s life, it means the world.”

So far, the graduation videos from last week’s Palmerston North ceremonies have had more than 7000 views in more than 100 countries.

Asian signs show city?s cosmopolitan character

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

One of the 500 images in the study of Asian language signage now common in some Auckland suburbs.

The proliferation of Asian language signs in Auckland creates a sense of belonging for new migrants, and a space for others to experience and learn about migrant cultures that contribute to the city’s cosmopolitan character, according to a Massey University study.

With Auckland’s Asian population expected to make up a quarter of the city’s 1.3 million people in five years’ time, and with migrants currently around 40 per cent, the need to understand the role of the city’s ‘linguistic landscapes’ is critical, says study co-author Associate Professor Robin Peace, from the School of People, Planning and Environment.

She and Dr Ian Goodwin, from the School of English and Media Studies, studied 500 photographs of Asian language signs taken from areas in Auckland that have high concentrations of Chinese speaking settlers, including Northcote, Dominion Road, Meadowlands, Papatoetoe and Auckland’s CBD. Their work is part of on-going research by the Integration of Immigrants programme, run by Massey and Waikato Universities.

The researchers say language signs – described as manifestations of a “linguistic landscape” – have several functions, including reflecting the identity and shared interests of ethnic groups, particularly business networks.

“People who read Chinese recognise Chinese language signs as belonging to ‘their’ world; they reflect and enable shared interests. Local Chinese may participate in economic and social activity regardless of their English language capacity,” the authors say.

Signs written in ‘home languages’ help shape a sense of security, familiarity, community and a sense of possibility for new migrants in Auckland’s urban landscapes – all positive aspects, Dr Peace says. Despite concentrations of ethnic commercial and residential activity sometimes being a source of discomfort for the dominant English-speaking culture, they can be seen in a more positive light as an act of “homebuilding” in the host country.

They note that some English speaking Kiwis may react negatively to finding themselves surrounded by signs they can not translate or understand. But the real value of cosmopolitan linguistic landscapes is that they may encourage members of the host communities to cultivate ways of knowing and interacting with new migrants, they say.

One example is the way the restaurant trade – which relies heavily on signage – invites reciprocal cultural exchange around a shared love of food.

“On the one hand,” says Dr Peace, “a Chinese restaurant, for example, provides the host community with an experience of being ‘away’. It can widen the interactions by producing ‘ethnic’ catering redolent of foreign places: the exotic otherness of Cantonese cuisine or Beijing hotpots that the host nation’s citizens enjoy. Great food at a great price and wow - wasn’t the décor authentic!

“On the other hand, restaurants cater to the displacements and homesickness of the local Chinese for whom the prospect of toast and sandwiches wears thin. For the New Zealand resident Chinese, the restaurant offering ‘home cooked’ food or ‘just like mama’s cooking’ brings a sense of home to the alien surroundings of their new place”.

Her interest in the research was sparked after a visit to Auckland to see, first-hand, the areas of new migrant concentrations in Summerville, Papatoetoe, Northcote and the central city.

“What struck me, as a cultural geographer, was the profound changes that had occurred in what were once, from my childhood, familiar landscapes,” she says. “It seems to me that these are places where new settlers are working out how to be at home, how to belong, how to feel safe in much the same way that my parents did when they arrived in New Zealand: they surrounded themselves with things that were familiar, English gardens, English schooling, sandwich bars and strong tea, and over time worked out that this was a place where they could settle down.”

The study involved close analysis of photographed, translated signs against the framework of emerging international research on linguistic landscapes among migrant groups in Canada, Europe, Israel and Japan, to set the scene for future research in New Zealand.

Auckland’s Asian language signs, the study concludes, depict the process of integration as driven by migrants’ desire for belonging, to feel at home and to be part of the social fabric. They also offer one way to read the complexity of migrant experiences, which the researchers plan to investigate further.

Special ceremony honours Maori graduates

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Natasha Simpson, Laura Shingleton and Tracey Robinson, a teacher, former head girl and board of trustee
of Manawatu College attended the ceremony to honour Maori graduates

Maori graduates have celebrated with whanau and friends at a ceremony to honour their achievements.

Fifty-six Maori graduates attended the special ceremony in Palmerston North yesterday, which was also the last in the city for Professor Sir Mason Durie, in his role as Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Maori and Pasifika).

A teacher, trustee and former head girl of Manawatu College were among the Massey University graduates who attended.

As Natasha Simpson (Ngati Tukorehe), Naomi Tracey Robinson (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Kauwhata), and Laura Shingleton (Ngai Tahu), crossed the stage, their whanau, friends and students and staff from the school performed waiata tauotoko (songs of support) and haka.

Mrs Simpson has taught at the school for ten years and on Wednesday graduated with a Master of Education and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. She says the ceremony was very different from graduation. “It was very emotional, that’s the best word to describe it.”

Board trustee Tracey Robinson graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work, and former head girl, Laura Shingleton with a Bachelor of Midwifery. Mrs Shingleton helped deliver 62 babies during her studies and now works as a midwife in her hometown, Foxton.

She says there was “more love in this one”, as whanau and friends celebrated with graduates.

In his final Manawatu graduation address in his role as Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Maori and Pasifika), Sir Mason said the graduates of today had a challenge to ensure that Maori society realised its potential over the next 25 years.

"The potential is huge and we need to find a way to realise it," Sir Mason said. "Not only to realise a strong economy – because that's important – but also to realise healthy whanau, healthy lives and healthy young people.

"We've spent a lot of time in the past two decades putting out fires. We need to be able to convert our knowledge and education to not only put out fires but to build a strong platform so that fires don't occur. We need strong fences at the top so that we don't have to sit at the bottom with an ambulance. That's what Massey is looking at. Next month we are going to introduce a whanau research programme. It's main aim is to find out what are the ingredients of success for whanau and how to make it happen.

"This year also we are working also to develop a new college in this University and the college will be concerned with looking at what are the determinants of health – not what the causes of sickness are but what are the things that make us well and healthy and wealthy; and that enable us to participate fully in the globe as well as to participate fully in te au Maori."

This year there is a total of 396 Maori graduates across all campuses, 34 more than last year. Of that, 149 graduated at Palmerston North ceremonies, including 30 with postgraduate, 111 with undergraduate and eight sub-degree qualifications.

A ceremony to honour Pasifika graduates was also held yesterday.

Homecoming for leading philosopher

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Watch Professor Harre's award and speech.

Professor Rom Harre has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Massey University at a graduation ceremony in Palmerston North.

Born in Apiti, in northern Manawatu, Professor Harre’s career has spanned more than half a century and he is one of the world’s leading philosophers.

His first degrees were from the then University of New Zealand, then the University of Oxford, where he became a teacher and lecturer for 35 years, retiring in 1995.

He is currently an Emeritus Fellow of Linacre College, Oxford and a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University, Washington D.C.

Professor Harre’s research contributions centre on the philosophy of science and, in particular, the philosophy of social sciences.

He is seen as a founder of modern social psychology and his books on social behaviour have been recognised as classics.

Professor Harre received a Doctor of Literature for his significant and on-going association with the University and in particular the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and his outstanding international contribution in the field of social sciences.

Professor Harre says the honour is special. “Though I have lived abroad for more than 60 years I am a New Zealander and recognition from one’s place of birth is a very special thing,” he says. “I am most grateful for this great honour – it is specially gratifying to be once again ‘at home’.”

Professor Harre visited Massey in 1994, giving lectures, and again in 2007. Since 2004 he has also contributed to a weekly on-line seminar in a graduate course without payment, showing his dedication to teaching and fondness for the University.

“I generally admire the get-up-and-go of the Massey spirit anyway, that has made the university known across the world,” Professor Harre says.

Massey University School of Psychology Professor Andy Lock says Professor Harre’s work has pushed the boundaries of our thinking about people and societies. His work influenced scholars and he has mentored future leaders in the field.

The award from Massey was fitting: “Professor Harre is one of the leading academic sons of the Manawatu, and has a close association with the work of Massey University.”

Professor Harre was awarded the 2009 Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Psychological Association. He has published over 50 books, taught around the world and already has honorary degrees from the Universities of Helsinki, Brussels, Lima and Aarhus.

Professor Harre will also deliver a public lecture to mark the publication of his new book with Professor Ali Moghaddam, Psychology for the Third Millennium: Integrating Cultural and Neuroscience Perspectives.
The lecture will be held at Massey’s Japanese Lecture Theatre, Thursday May 17, 10.30am.

New mums struggle with ?myths of motherhood?

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Dr Anita Darrah

First time mothers’ romanticised expectations of motherhood can leave them feeling unprepared for the reality, a Massey University researcher says.

One in five women experience postnatal depression and an even greater number face anxiety, as they struggle with the transition to motherhood.

Dr Anita Darrah examined postnatal distress – which includes depression, anxiety, and stress – in her doctoral thesis, titled The Distressing Case of Modern Mothering.

More than 180 women were involved in the study, which found misconceptions and myths about motherhood created unrealistic expectations. “What many women are saying is, ‘It wasn’t what I was expecting’,” Dr Darrah says.

While many loved being mothers, they resented being viewed as “just a mother”. They often took on idealised beliefs on what made a good mother, from having a clean house to having baking in the pantry, and had feelings of failure when they did not live up to expectations.

She also found that young women without children tended to hold overly positive views of motherhood.

Dr Darrah’s research found a discrepancy between women’s expectations and their subsequent experiences of motherhood, and she says this disparity can lead to postnatal distress.

Intervention largely focused on treatment of symptoms, so Dr Darrah designed and piloted a new model of preventative intervention.

It comprises of three group sessions with first-time mothers during pregnancy, and helps them to develop their own parenting values and beliefs.

Dr Darrah says women need to identify their stress and make a plan, before it becomes a problem. “The message is, it is going to be different and different is OK. It’s OK to struggle and it’s OK to ask for help.”

Her own struggle with postnatal depression inspired her research and after six years of study, Dr Darrah graduated with her doctorate today (Wednesday).

She is now a clinical psychologist for Whanganui District Health Board working with children and adolescents. “My passion is mums and kids,” she says.

Duncan Sarkies to kick off 2012 Writers Read in Wellington

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Duncan Sarkies

Laurence Fearnley

Rhian Gallagher

Massey University’s annual Writers Read series starts in Wellington next week with a reading by playwright, screenwriter and fiction author Duncan Sarkies.

Mr Sarkies is best known as the co-writer (with his brother Robert Sarkies) of the hugely successful 1999 film Scarfies. He has won several theatre and playwright awards and his collection of bleak and funny short stories stray thoughts and nose bleeds won the Hubert Church New Zealand Society of Authors Best First Book of Fiction Award. He has been a scriptwriter for Flight of the Conchords, and published his first novel, Two Little Boys, in 2008. The film of Two Little Boys (starring local hero Brett McKenzie) will be released this year.

Mr Sarkies will read excerpts from his new novel, The Demolition of the Century, and talk about how he wrote it. He will also share new writing from the forthcoming Two Little Boys movie, a soon-to-be republished set of short stories, and other works in progress. Mr Sarkies will be delivering his reading in conversation with Mark Amery on Thursday May 24 at 6pm, at the Massey campus off Wallace Street.

The other writers scheduled to read in Wellington are poet Rhian Gallagher and novelist Laurence Fearnley. For full details, see the programme below.

Writers Read is an annual series of readings by some of New Zealand’s foremost authors, with events in all three Massey cities: Wellington, Auckland and Palmerston North. The series started as a partnership with the Palmerston North City Library seven years ago, and spread to the capital two years later. Creative writing lecturer Dr Ingrid Horrocks, who coordinates the series, says this year the programme has broadened to include not only writing for screen and theatre but also non-fiction. Massey University Writer-in-Residence poet Johanna Aitchison was first up in the Palmerston North series on April 27, while best-selling American author Dr Jeffrey Masson read some of his work at Massey’s Albany campus on May 2.

Writers Read has featured many of New Zealand’s top literary figures over the years including Bill Manhire, Elizabeth Knox, Witi Ihimaera, Fiona Farrell and Vincent O’Sullivan. It now has a firm place in the literary calendar.

Wellington Writers Read programme:
Wellington events are on Thursdays at 6pm, in the Theatre Laboratory (5D14) Wallace Street, Entrance A:

May 24:       Duncan Sarkies
July 26:       Rhian Gallagher
September 13:   Laurence Fearnley

Readings take about one hour. Everyone is welcome to stay for refreshments afterwards.

Full programme

Pasifika scholars recognised

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Massey Pasifika Scholars, their sponsors and advisors. Back row: Paul Fitzmaurice (Careers Development Advisor), Rachael Leafe (Pasifika Learning Advisor), Kieran Stowers, Samantha Dennis, Deanna Riach (Campus Registrar), Tevita Ahoafi, Jessanah Betham, Colin Lewis (Nova Energy). Front row: Richard Wilson (National Bank), Parke Englebretsen, Sashi Meanger (Pacific Islands Education Foundation), Sereana Bebenisala, Kieran Williams (National Bank).

Six top Pasifika students were awarded scholarships at Massey University in Wellington last week.

Kieran Stowers and Samantha Dennis received Massey University E tu Pasifika scholarships, which go to students who are nearing completion of their degrees who have demonstrated a high level of commitment and success in their studies. Mr Stowers, who is Samoan from Palmerston North, is studying for a Bachelor of Design (Honours). Ms Dennis, who is Samoan/Maori from Wellington, is studying for a Bachelor of Nursing. Both are final year students.

E tu is a Cook Island term and is about rising up and standing tall. Massey University Pasifika Learning Advisor Rachel Leafe says the term “captures the progression of Pasifika students throughout their academic journey. It is an appropriate name, reflecting the pride we take into the achievement of our Pasifika students.”

Four students received Pacific Islands Polynesian Scholarships, which are awarded to Pasifika students based on academic merit and need. The scholarships are offered by Massey University in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, The Pacific Islands Education Foundation and corporate sponsors.

Bachelor of Design (Honours) students Sereana Bebenisala and Parke Englebretsen received National Bank Pacific Islands Polynesian Scholarships. Ms Bebenisala is Fijian from South Auckland, and in her final year of study. Mr Englebretsen is Cook Islands from Lower Hutt, and in his first year.

Meanwhile, Tevita Ahoafi and Jessanah Betham received Nova Energy Pacific Islands Polynesian Scholarships. Mr Ahoafi is in his second year of a Bachelor of Business Studies. He is Tongan from Auckland. Ms Betham is in her second year of a Bachelor of Communication. She is Samoan from Porirua.

Student city abuzz for graduation week

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

More than 1300 students will graduate at five ceremonies, followed by parades to The Square.

More than 1300 students will graduate at Palmerston North capping ceremonies this week.

The five ceremonies will be followed by parades along Broadway Ave to The Square.

Forty-two students will be conferred with a doctoral degree – the highest academic qualification. Another 112 will gain a master’s degree. Over the week a total of 1326 students will graduate.

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says graduation is a time to celebrate the hard work students put in to achieve their qualification and the support they receive from staff, student colleagues and their friends and family.

He says it is pleasing to see so many students achieving the academic pinnacle of a doctoral degree. “The research done by this group spans much of the broad range of expertise Massey offers – science, technology, psychology, business, education and arts – and I am sure they will all make outstanding contributions to their fields and communities.”

This year’s doctorates are in science, business, education, arts and two in clinical psychology. Thesis topics vary from disease control, reducing fertiliser input and greenhouse gases, to the commercial performance of New Zealand airport companies, among other subjects.

Two men with strong links to Manawatu will also be acknowledged with honorary doctorates for their lifetime achievements.

Professor Emeritus Ivan Snook, of Palmerston North, and Professor Rom Harre, who was born in Apiti but now lives in Washington D.C, will be recognised for their outstanding international contribution to education and social sciences respectively. Both will be keynote speakers at their Wednesday ceremonies.

While large audiences will watch as the graduates cross the stage at the Regent on Broadway Theatre, many of their family and friends will also be watching live around New Zealand and the world.

Massey’s Graduation Live initiative makes it the only university in the country to stream live all graduation ceremonies. Last month’s Albany ceremonies on Massey’s YouTube channel have so far been viewed more than 5400 times in 129 countries.

Graduation events will also be held next week to celebrate capping week. A Dean’s List Presentation and Function will be held at the Regent Theatre on Monday night, a Graduation Dinner Tuesday night at the graduation marquee in The Square, and a Business After 5 event in the marquee on Wednesday from 6pm, adding more buzz to a busy week in the student city.

Graduation and celebration ceremonies schedule:
Monday
College of Business at 1.30pm

Tuesday
College of Business and College of Sciences at 9.30am
College of Sciences at 2.30pm

Wednesday
College of Education, College of Creative Arts, New Zealand School of Music at 9.30am
College of Humanities and Social Sciences at 2.30pm

Thursday
Ceremony to Honour Maori graduates at 9.30am
Ceremony to Honour Paskifa graduates at 3pm

Hyde writings a new take on mental health care

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Dr Mary Paul; and cover of the book.

A new collection of autobiographical writings by celebrated New Zealand author Robin Hyde, edited by Massey University English scholar and senior lecturer Dr Mary Paul, reveals a kindlier chapter in the history of this country’s mental health treatment.

The book’s title Your Unselfish Kindness (Otago University Press) are Hyde’s own words to her doctor describing his treatment when she was a voluntary patient over a three-year period at The Lodge in the 1930s. The Lodge is a villa attached to the Auckland Mental Hospital in Avondale.

The book is attracting interest from mental health professionals wanting to know more about its history and therapeutic approaches, Dr Paul says.

Treatment, involving talking and journal writing, helped enable Hyde to overcome her emotional troubles, she says. While at the Lodge Hyde wrote five major novels including The Godwits Fly, now a classic.

Your Unselfish Kindness contains a 190-page manuscript written in 1934 and addressed to her doctor and psychiatrist Dr Gilbert Tothill. He had suggested she write her life story when she became his patient as a way of helping her understand events that precipitated the breakdown that brought her to the facility.

Hyde’s writing “deals with personal material – injury to her knee, drug treatment and abuse, betrayal, loss of a baby and love affairs – in a way that is designed to explain and sometimes perhaps even exonerate her from the judgement of her doctor and the severe judgements of the time,” says Dr Paul, whose published name is Mary Edmond-Paul. Her comprehensive introduction provides background and interesting insights into the role of voluntary villas as alternatives to mental asylums, or mental hospitals as they were re-named.

She says the use of life writing and “talking therapy” based on emerging ideas from psychoanalytic developments in the United States and Europe was relatively new and experimental in New Zealand mental health services at the time. Hyde’s experiences were relatively positive and helpful, in stark contrast to another renowned writer, the late Janet Frame, who was incarcerated in the main ward of an asylum and given electric shock treatment a decade later.

The book also has journal fragments, poetry and a short story, The Cage with the Open Door. The title refers to the Lodge, and the story is a fictional account following her thoughts and movements of her day on parole.

Hyde (1906-1936), real name Iris Wilkinson, lived an extraordinary life as a journalist and parliamentary reporter, poet, novelist and war correspondent reporting on the Sino/Japanese war, and was twice a single mother. But the author of famed novel The Godwits Fly, as well as other books of fiction, poetry and reportage, struggled with depression throughout her adult life, which ended in suicide when she took a benzedrine overdose while living in London.

The idea of publishing the autobiographical writings started with the support of a Marsden grant on Hyde’s life and writings with project managers Paul, Michele Leggott (University of Auckland) and Dr Patrick Sandbrook, Massey University, who did a PhD on Robin Hyde. This book is the third major publication to result from that grant.

Dr Paul has also received a Massey University Research Fund grant, and funding from the University’s School of English and Media Studies. She is also the editor of a book of essays on Hyde titled Lighted Windows: Critical Essays on Robin Hyde (2008).

Your Unselfish Kindness will be launched this Friday as part the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival.

New book shows how to create a warm emotional climate in schools

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Professor Ian Evans

A warm classroom climate enhances the learning and social behaviour of primary school children. But how can a busy teacher create such a positive emotional atmosphere?

Despite the focus in media debate on cognitive skills, teachers know the emotional climate in the classroom is often a necessary precondition for good grades. Parents instinctively know it too, as Massey University Psychology Professor Ian Evans points out: “When you ask parents how their children are doing at school, they say things like ‘great, she loves her teacher’, which reflect the huge difference emotions make.”

Professor Evans and colleague Dr Shane Harvey led a three-year research project, supported by the Marsden Fund, on the emotional climate in primary school classrooms, supported by the Marsden Fund. A team of nine researchers conducted in-depth interviews with about 40 teachers and pupils in Manawatu and Horowhenua.

Importantly, the research team observed teachers in their classrooms, videotaping their interactions with pupils. They analysed the videos to reveal the skills teachers used to help manage children’s feelings. The research findings form the basis of a new book, from Dunmore Publishing. Warming the Emotional Climate of the Primary School Classroom is being launched in Palmerston North today.

“There’s so much that goes on in primary school classrooms. If you can shape and enhance a child’s emotional competence, this is as valuable as academics,” Professor Evans says. The book clearly describes the issues for teachers, and the processes of research. “Basing teaching practices on research evidence is not easy,” Dr Harvey says, “and we have tried to illustrate all the different research methods that might be used to gain further insight into the qualities of gifted teachers.”

“Teachers in our study said they actively tried to like children even when they didn’t warm to them naturally,” Professor Evans says. “Our point is that you might have up to 30 kids in the class, all with very different personalities, and to make sure all 30 have positive experiences, you must create a positive classroom climate, not just positive individual relationships.”

Professor Evans says many of the principles in the book would seem similar to those in parenting literature:
•   Set clear boundaries
•   Act in a fair manner
•   Acknowledge and label your own feelings
•   Acknowledge and affirm the child’s feelings
•   Set high standards
•   Avoid punitive tactics, put-downs, sarcasm and criticism without specifying the positive alternatives

Despite the similarities, however, Professor Evans points out there are big differences between being a parent and being a teacher. “For one, teachers have to have much clearer boundaries. Teachers can’t curry favour. If they set out to be liked, the kids will see through them. For instance, one of the most effective teachers in our research hardly smiled at her pupils, yet they knew she really cared about them. Our recommendations are very much about allowing teachers to have their own personal style.”

Professor Evans and Dr Harvey propose a model of teachers’ emotional characteristics that can be individualised for different teaching styles. They describe a programme of research on how to create natural, positive teacher–pupil relationships and classroom environments that motivate children, allow them to feel accepted, ensure learning enjoyment and facilitate social-emotional development. In the book they comment on how impressively competent the teachers were in helping children understand their own and others’ emotions.

Much of the research involved an intensive training programme for teachers who volunteered. When observing their own videotapes many of the teachers gained insight into how they might enhance their interactions in the classroom. Letting the students know them as people was an important element of ensuring a close relationship between teacher and student.

Professor Sir Mason Durie to retire

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Professor Sir Mason Durie

Massey University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Māori and Pasifika) Professor Sir Mason Durie will retire from his current positions next month.

Sir Mason (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa) joined Massey in 1988, established the School of Maori studies, Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, and was head of school for 14 years before being appointed Massey's first Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Māori) in late 2002, a role that was later expanded to include Pasifika. He has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor since 2009.

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says Sir Mason provides superb leadership and has made numerous valuable contributions both internally and externally. He was successful in gaining funding to establish a Centre for Māori Health Research, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, and also negotiated the Māori mental health programme, Te Rau Puawai, which provides up to 100 scholarships a year for students studying health-related subjects. Most recently he has led the work on establishing the planned new College of Health and has agreed to take on a role in the college at a later date.

The process to appoint a replacement for Sir Mason will be conducted over the next two months.

Massey professor to work with blind in Mongolia

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Professor Steve La Grow

A Massey University professor will travel to Mongolia to teach blind people the skills they need to become more mobile.

Head of the School of Health and Social Services, Professor Steve La Grow, will spend three weeks in Mongolia training six people in orientation mobility.

World Blind Union is sponsoring the project, paid for by the Danish Association of the Blind, as there are no mobility specialists in Mongolia.

Professor La Grow will travel to Mongolia in August to work with the Mongolian National Federation of the Blind. He will train staff so they can work with blind people.

He says they will learn how to teach blind people to use white canes and adaptive skills to orient themselves and safely move within communities and cities, developing their independence.

“You often find in situations where these skills haven’t been taught before, people are very restricted. They simply can’t get out and around by themselves,” Professor La Grow says.

“In New Zealand we are used to seeing blind people out and about but in countries where these skills have not been taught, blind people can be stuck as they can’t explore or interact with the world,” he says. “You see them sitting, or being dragged around by someone else. We try to break that cycle with these skills.”

Professor La Grow, who has more than 30 years experience in rehabilitation with blind people and those with low vision, spent three weeks in Indonesia in 2010 on a similar project. He expects major challenges with language barriers and facing the unknown in Mongolia.

“The big challenge to me will be the environment. I have no idea what the environment will be like – in Indonesia there were no controls,” he says, explaining the traffic chaos, and lack of distinction between road and footpath was challenging.

But he is excited to be part of a project shifting the focus in Mongolia from caring for blind people to teaching new skills to develop their independence and confidence. “It’s fascinating to think you’re going to step in and do something like that,” Professor La Grow says.

Reel Earth film festival?s Massey connection

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

Victoria Jakobs, associate director, of Reel Earth environmental film festival.

As an art lover and a bit of a greenie, the Reel Earth environmental film festival is a perfect fit for Victoria Jakobs.

The Feilding mother-of-two studied anthropology at Massey University, worked in the corporate world and admits to an interest in environmental issues.

So when she saw the Reel Earth associate director job advertised she knew it was meant to be. “When I read the job description I went ‘Oh my gosh’, a job that ticks all the boxes of my study, my work and my personal passions.”

The international environmental film festival runs from May 11-19 in Palmerston North. It features 54 films from 13 countries over the eight days, including documentaries, dramatisations, animations and mockumentaries. Massey University is a sponsor.

Ms Jakobs did a postgraduate diploma then honours in anthropology at Massey in 2001, further developing her interest in visual art and photography, then worked in advertising in London and Auckland. She says her studies shape the way she sees the world and she still calls herself an anthropologist.

She is a strong believer in social and environmental justice, she says, and has always been a “bit green”. When her children, Oli, 8, and Sjaan, 6, were babies she was drawn into the diaper debate, opting for cloth and German disposal nappies that were compostable.

“And that’s what I like about this festival, it’s about helping people to be inspired and to find alternatives, and there is a film in the festival about the diaper dilemma,” she explains.

Now in its eighth year Reel Earth is loved by film-lovers and filmmakers, but also had something for everyone.

“While someone may not be interested in environment film festival they might be interested as a mum in a movie about the nappy problem, or as a farmer about people who leave corporate lives to start farming, or a business person about a business who has done something incredible with carbon credits to save people’s lives, give them safe drinking water and make a profit,” Ms Jakobs says.

Screenings are at Downtown Cinemas but the Clean Bin Project will also be shown at Massey’s Japan Lecture Theatre, University House, on May 16 at 12pm, with a workshop afterwards. The award-winning documentary is about a Canadian couple that challenge each other to produce no garbage for one year.

The top festival films will be recognised at the Reel Big Night Out Gala Awards on 19 May.
For information on Reel Earth go to: http://www.reelearth.org.nz

A to Z of study options at Massey Open Day

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

From accounting to zoology, and everything in between – Massey University’s Albany campus Open Day on May 12 is a chance for prospective 2013 students to get their study and career dreams on track.

As well as a full programme of presentations by top academics from all five colleges – Business, Creative Arts, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Sciences – numerous activities, workshops and demonstrations will run throughout the day.

Aspiring engineers can find out more about mechatronics, construction and other courses at the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, and witness a fast-paced Vex robotics regional final game involving more than 20 teams and their rival robots. The game – launched in New Zealand by the University in 2008 – is popular among secondary school students keen on technology, sciences, maths and design. They can apply their knowledge to the challenges of the high-tech game while gaining insights into the skills needed to be an engineer. Several Massey-supported teams are world champions after competing in the United States.

If the idea of a career in food technology is appetising, demonstrations of food chemistry, new food products and taste testing techniques are on the menu. Science fiends can find out about new developments in biology at a talk by renowned nutritional ecologist Professor David Raubenheimer, who is programme director of Massey’s new Bachelor of Natural Sciences, launched this year. A shuttle service is operating to take visitors to the Exercise and Sport Science Lab, and the Speech and Language Therapy clinic at separate locations of the campus.

The New Zealand School of Music’s jazz school is holding workshops for guitar, piano, bass, drums and vocals, and jazz tutors will deliver a free concert at 1pm, and live cultural performances by kapa haka and Pasifika groups are all part of the day’s activities.

From nursing and nutrition to social work, social policy and social anthropology, chemistry to commerce, finance to flying, information technology to international business, Open Day will have staff on site to share information and answer questions about these programmes and many more.

Information for international student support, career and employment services, childcare on campus, as well as study support initiatives for Maori and Pasifika students will be available.

Campus tours hosted by student ambassadors will run throughout the day – a chance to check out the new Student Central building (pictured) which opened this year, as well as the state-of-the-art library which opened in 2010. A Red Bull truck will be on campus throughout the day.

An Apple iPad 3 prize will be drawn, with the winner chosen from registered entrants.
To pre-register for Open Day, go to masseyopendays.ac.nz

Massey University backs TV3?s new international news programme, Three60

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:05:00 +1200

A new style of television programme dedicated entirely to international news events launches this Sunday on TV3, in association with Massey University.

Called Three60, and fronted by TV3 news anchor Mike McRoberts, the half hour weekly programme will review the week’s key international news stories and feature a range of New Zealand based panellists, including a number of expert commentators from Massey University.

The programme will delve into the background of the major international stories and examine what that might mean for New Zealanders.

Assistant Vice-Chancellor (External Relations) Cas Carter says Massey’s new partnership with Three60 presents an excellent opportunity for the University to contribute strongly to these conversations.

“Massey’s focus is very much about the strength of our thought leadership and taking New Zealand’s ideas to the world. We have a lot of people with huge knowledge and skills worth sharing, and this is an ideal platform”.

TV3’s Director of News and Current Affairs, Mark Jennings, says the show will appeal to those who follow international events and appreciate the opportunity to have specialist commentators provide insights from a New Zealand perspective.

"It will be the place to go if you are interested in a deeper look at international news. We think there is a demand for a high-quality current affairs programme that looks at the big stories happening in the world."

Three60 screens every Sunday at 9am on TV3, from this Sunday.

International indigenous scholars give global perspective

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:04:00 +1200

International indigenous scholars, Dr Tina Ngaroimata Fraser and Chuck Fraser, meet with Maori Studies Masters and PhD students. L-R: Chrales Fraser, Hōhepa Tamehana, Niwa Short with mokopuna Ariaana Te Hau, Agnes McFarland, Tina Ngāroimata Fraser, Sharna Te Hau and Professor Taiarahia Black.

Indigenous scholars Dr Tina Ngaroimata Fraser and husband Charles may be based in Canada, but their experiences resonate with Massey University Māori Studies students.

The couple spent two days at the University last week, giving two lectures and engaging with Massey masters and PhD students and Te Rau Whakaara and UCOL staff.

Dr Fraser is a Maori scholar teaching at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and her lecture centred on her building capacity for First Nations (aboriginal peoples in Canada), Maori and Indigenous Knowledge forums in postgraduate studies at UNBC.

Charles Fraser, a social worker at Prince George Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services, gave insight in youth forensics, psychiatric services and intergenerational trauma suffered by First Nations people.

Te Putahi-ā-Toi (School of Māori Studies) Professor Taiarahia Black says it was a privilege to connect with world Māori/indigenous scholars supporting indigenous advancement. “Our international visitors are here to share experience, knowledge and scholarship,” he says. “But what was nice was they confirmed that research direction must reflect Māori world views.”

Professor Black says the visit supports the University’s Road to 2020 objectives and brings a forum of new ideas. “Certainly the two speakers have inspired our masters and PhD students, it keeps them going. The students find someone who’s 14,000km away, and all of a sudden there’s a link to build, and they can keep building the platform of knowledge, scholarship and experience.”

Dr Fraser, who is an Assistant Professor and the Aboriginal Education Coordinator with the School of Education at UNBC, says visits to New Zealand help her maintain her identity, support Māori and is a learning experience. “I’m not coming here as the expert, I’m coming here to gain new knowledge myself.”

The visit prompted discussions on strengthening dialogue, supporting postgraduate student exchanges, and brought a global indigenous perspective to the students. It also further strengthened links between the universities, which already have a memorandum of understanding agreement.

Sharna Te Hau, who is working towards a Diploma in Te Reo and looking to start her master’s, says meeting and being mentored by Dr Fraser gave her new ideas and new perspectives.
“I’m excited, for me it’s been eye-opening to see how connected we are to the indigenous people of Canada, and how similar our pasts are; that our cultural sources can provide a contribution to their and our knowledge.”

Mr Fraser also met with Highbury Whānau Centre Youth Services, and Social Services Alternative Education staff Kirsty Chapman and Anj Butler, to discuss sharing successful frameworks, models and opportunities to work with high-risk youth.

Professor Black says discussions have also been floated with Massey, the Canadian visitors and Highbury Whānau Centre Youth Services about a world Māori\Indigenous Youth conference to bring together young leaders to plan for the future.

Animal emotions expert to talk at Albany campus

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:04:00 +1200

Dr Jeffrey Masson, speaking at Massey’s
Albany campus, Wednesday, 2 May, 12-1pm.

Best-selling author on human and animal psychology Dr Jeffrey Masson give a talk at Massey University’s Albany campus on May 2.

American-born Dr Masson, who lives in Auckland, will read from his forthcoming book Apex Predator, about human beings and orcas, as part of the University’s Writers Read Series.

His first book on animal emotions, When Elephants Weep, published in 1995, became an international bestseller and was translated into 20 languages. It was followed by the equally popular Dogs Never Lie About Love, and a further seven books about animal emotions and what humans can learn from them, including The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats. Writing about farm animals in The Pig Who Sang to the Moon (2003) prompted him to become a vegan.

Dr Masson has a PhD in Sanskrit and was a Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto during the 1970s. While there, he trained as a Freudian psychologist, and in 1980 became the Project Director of the Sigmund Freud Archives.

He was given access to Freud’s papers, and his research led him to believe that Freud made a mistake when he abandoned his seduction theory and stopped believing that the source of much human misery resulted from sexual abuse. His views were so controversial that he was fired from the project and had his membership with the International Psycho-Analytical Association revoked. The saga is the topic of a book called In the Freud Archives by journalist Janet Malcolm – the subject of libel suit by Dr Masson.

Skeptical that humans could be understood (at least by psychologists), he turned to animals in his research and writing, and once explained the reason for his radical change in direction.

“I’d written a whole series of books about psychiatry, and nobody bought them. Nobody liked them. Nobody. Psychiatrists hated them, and they were much too abstruse for the general public. It was very hard to make a living, and I thought, ‘As long as I’m not making a living, I may as well write about something I really love: animals’”.

English lecturer Dr Jack Ross, who is coordinating the event, says Dr Masson has wide appeal because of his unique subject matter. “A lot of people read his books. He has a very interesting intellectual history spanning the disciplines of literature, psychology and the animal kingdom.”

Dr Masson’s reading is the first of three this year at the Albany campus, hosted by the School of English and Media Studies. Coming up are Family Court judge and poet John Adams (Thursday, August 9), and poet, critic and children’s fiction writer Paula Green (Thursday, September 13).

All talks are at the Study Centre Staff Lounge, 12-1pm.

Key security players for Massey advisory board

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:04:00 +1200

The Centre for Defence and Security Studies advisory board met for the first time today. L-R, John Allen, Nick Nelson, Peter Marshall, John Moremon, Warren Tucker, Rhys Jones and Ingrid Day.

A new high-level advisory board will provide strategic guidance to Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies, potentially shaping the future of New Zealand’s security sector.

The heads of a number of government departments are on the board, which held its first meeting in Wellington today (Thursday April 26).

Nick Nelson, acting director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, says the board was formed to provide strategic advice to the centre.

While the University has academic expertise, it wants to draw on the significant professional knowledge and experience of the board to develop programmes “that meet New Zealand’s needs in the contemporary international security environment”.

Mr Nelson says the advisory board will provide direction on teaching, research and developing programmes as well as providing leadership and management guidance to the centre.

“This is a significant initiative that will be of considerable benefit in shaping New Zealand’s education and research in security studies, a rapidly emerging and hugely important field of academic study.”

Massey University’s Professor Ingrid Day, the Vice-Chancellor’s representative on the board, says the board, established by the centre, would bring together an outstanding group of professionals who all make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s security.

“The advice they will provide to the University will be of immense benefit and will ensure that the newly established security studies programme remains both relevant and highly credible.”

Security Intelligence Service director Dr Warren Tucker is the advisory board chair and agreed it was an important step for the security sector.

“The establishment of this board is an important initiative designed to provide the professional guidance necessary to ensure the new programmes Massey offers not only meet the academic needs of its students, but also the needs of the various agencies involved in security within New Zealand,” Dr Tucker says.

“Given the potential this board has to shape the future defence and security sector for New Zealand, I am delighted to have been invited to chair it.”

The board will meet twice a year.

The advisory board comprises:

Dr Warren Tucker (chair) Director, Security Intelligence Service
Peter Marshall, Commissioner of Police
Lieutenant General Rhys Jones, Chief of Defence Force
John Allen, Chief Executive of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Carolyn Tremain, Chief Executive and Comptroller of Customs
Professor Ingrid Day, Assistant Vice-Chancellor Academic and International, Massey University
Nick Nelson, Acting Director, Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University
Dr John Moremon, Postgraduate and Research Coordinator, Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University

War story on best-sellers list for children

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:04:00 +1200

Professor Glyn Harper at the launch of his new children’s book, Les Quesnoy: The story of the town New Zealand saved, at Palmerston North City Library on Friday. Photo courtesy of Palmerston North City Library.

Professor of war studies Glyn Harper’s latest book, his seventh for children, is already on the best-sellers list, just weeks after release.

Les Quesnoy: The story of the town New Zealand saved, tells of New Zealand soldiers who liberated the small French town in the final days of World War 1.

More than 200 people were at the book’s launch at the Palmerston North City Library on Friday.

The book, officially released on March 28, is now number three on the Neilson best-sellers list for New Zealand children’s book.

Professor Harper says children are “hungry for these stories”, and he plans to write two more, including a children’s book on Gallipoli, in the near future. “It’s about giving children a taste of dramatic events and important moments in history in a way they understand,” he says.

The story is told through the eyes of a young French girl living in the town. It describes the hardships of the four-year German occupation and the dramatic liberation by New Zealand soldiers, who scaled walls, captured the occupiers and freed the town.

Professor Harper says the town has never forgotten and now through this book, the next generation of New Zealanders will learn the story.

He is also leading the Centenary History of New Zealand and First World War project, with 10 volumes in the series, exploring different aspects of the war. The first will be ready for Anzac Day 2015.

Professor Harper gave a lecture at Massey’s Manawatu library today (Monday April 23) on the collaborative project with Returned Servicemen Association and the New Zealand Defence Force and says the series is an opportunity to tell the story of New Zealand in WW1 in a new way.

Over the last 10-20 years new resources have emerged, archives opened, more personal recollections found, and a lot of stories have yet to be told, he says. “We want to produce something never done before and that tells stories in a complete way.”

New science medal named after Sir Mason Durie

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:04:00 +1200

Professor Sir Mason Durie

The Royal Society of New Zealand has named a new award for social sciences after Massey University's Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Mason Durie.

The medal is in recognition of Sir Mason’s outstanding contribution to social sciences in New Zealand and the international acclamation of his work, the society says. It will be awarded for the first time later this year to a social scientist whose work has had an international impact but originated in a New Zealand environment.

Massey University Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says Sir Mason is someone who does outstanding work that is firmly rooted in New Zealand but relevant and important to the global community. "The solutions to the problems the world faces almost inevitably have a social dimension – whether we are talking about transport, energy use, climate change or public health," Mr Maharey says.

Sir Mason (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa) is from Feilding. He attended Te Aute College in Hawke's Bay and the University of Otago, graduating in 1963 with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery. He has a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychiatry from McGill University in Canada and was appointed Director of Psychiatry at the Palmerston North Hospital in 1976.

From 1986-88 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Social Policy and, in 1988, was appointed to the chair in Māori Studies at Massey. He is currently Professor of Māori Research as well as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Māori and Pasifika). He is a member of Te Mana Whakahaere (the governing body of Te Wānanga o Raukawa) and chairs Te Kāhui Amokura, Universities New Zealand's Māori committee. He has been a commissioner on the New Zealand Families Commission and led the Guardians Group of Secondary Futures.

Apart from research into health outcomes and practice methodologies he has been closely involved with the ongoing development of health policy in New Zealand and has worked extensively with Māori community health providers. Sir Mason has a special interest in Māori health workforce development and remains actively involved as chair of the Henry Rongomau Bennett Māori Health Leadership Foundation, Te Rau Puāwai, and Te Rau Matatini. He is a member of the Whānau Ora Governance Group, an adviser to Health Workforce New Zealand, and chair of the District Health Board Research Fund Mental Health Committee. He was knighted in 2010 for his services to public health and to Māori health.

The award will be offered annually and applications close on June 30. For more information: http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/programmes/awards/mason-durie-medal/