Some 100 staff, students and supporters attended a dawn blessing for the new student amenities centre and steel pou at the Albany campus on Wednesday.

The $15m building, dubbed Student Central and designed by architects at Warren and Mahoney, will provide a campus heart and hub for students.
 
The blessing was led by local kaumätua Pat Ruka (Ngäpuhi, Ngäti Porou, Ngäti Whätua), who took the crowd through the building’s two floors which house student facilities and services, including club rooms, retail, banking, food outlets, study support, health and counselling, and Mäori and Pasifika student services.

Albany Students’ Association president Stephan van Heerden says the centre will provide a highly visible and accessible permanent home for the association, and will help to foster a sense of community at the campus. He says this is “good timing” in light of the Voluntary Student Union Bill being passed last year, which has created uncertainty about the continuation of some student services, such as advocacy and class representatives.

“Student Central will be a great for students to meet and hang out. It means they have a place to stay on campus, rather than just leaving after their lectures.”

The steel pou forming a circle in the outdoor plaza area in front of the building add a distinctive Mäori presence to the campus in the form of contemporary art representing the learning philosophy and ideals of the University, says campus kaiwhakaruruhau (regional advisor Mäori) Donald Ripia.

“It’s been a vision of mine to have pou on the campus, so it’s a great thrill to see them in such a prominent place ready for when the students arrive for the new semester later this month,” says Mr Ripia says.

He says the pou provide a visible reminder that Albany is a place where Mäori students, staff and visitors feel welcome. The innovative design features and materials reflect the University’s focus on innovation in teaching and learning. Six pou are five metres high and 300mm in diameter, and the seventh is 6.5m and 400mm wide. Each has a meaning, with wording and designs digitally polished onto the surface, while the remaining area has been bead-blasted to give contrasting textured and matte surfaces.

The first pou has

the word Kakano to represent the seeding of a thought, and the seventh and tallest has the words Tiki Tiki o Rangi, or the highest place in the heavens to represent ultimate achievement, in this case academic excellence.

Pou designer, Whakatane artist and carver Katz Maihi of Toitu Design. says they reflect the University’s principles of inclusion and achievement embracing all ethnicities and cultures represented in the student population.

“Each of the seven pou is a stepping stone of progression, acknowledging the personal and academic achievement of the students.”

The new centre will be open on February 20 for Orientation Week, with food stalls, market day, free sausage sizzles and live music, and an official opening ceremony will be held on March 23.

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey met with United States Ambassador David Huebner on Thursday to discuss mutual areas of interest including scholarships, the Ambassador’s informal student ambassador programme - and Vox Robotic championships.

The Vice-Chancellor invited the Ambassador to visit and speak on the University’s campuses so students could meet and talk with him. “This is a valuable opportunity as Mr Huebner has an awful lot of offer,“ says Mr Maharey.

Mr Huebner says the lunch was an opportunity to inform the Vice-Chancellor about the Embassy’s extension programmes in the education sector. One programme, where students engage informally with the Ambassador over dinner or drinks whenever his is in town, is a free exchange of ideas with no agenda, which he says, benefits both sides.

They also discussed scholarship programmes offered through the US Embassy, including the Fulbright program, which he is trying to raise awareness off.

Iranian-born Negar Partow, an expert on Middle East politics, religion, human rights and global security has joined Massey University to develop its new Masters of International Security programme.

Ms Partow will also teach undergraduate papers in emerging security issues, globalisation and the effects of increased security on human rights.

Born in Iran’s capital city, Tehran, Ms Partow lived there through the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which saw the overthrow of the Iranian monarchy and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. She grew up there during the 1980 to 1988 Iran–Iraq War.

As a teenager, Ms Partow says she saw many under threat of execution and capture as political prisoners were deprived of their civil rights under the Islamic republic.

“I saw how a revolutionary state became a security-orientated state only few months after the revolution. The fact that every political issue was decided within a security context made me interested in the relationship between a state, its political and religious identity, and human rights.”

She studied a BA in English Literature and Persian Translation at the Azad University of Tehran where she also completed her first Masters in Ancient Languages and Culture of the Middle East. She moved to New Zealand in 2002 attracted by the country’s highly democratic system of government and its openness in having a female Prime Minister, Helen Clark.

Ms Partow joined Victoria University where she did a second Masters in Political Philosophy and Martyrdom in Iran. She was awarded a scholarship in 2005 and did a PhD exploring Messianism and Political Authority in Israel and Iran, which she completed in November 2011.

She joined Massey University as a lecturer based on its Wellington campus in January.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to teach at Massey University where I can focus on the development of the new Masters programme and focus on my interests around security and individual freedoms,” she says.

She is working with Nick Nelson, John Mormon, Jim Veitch, and Rachel Butler in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies developing the Masters of International Security, which will be offered in late 2012.

“I am inspired by diversity of the expertise in the Centre of Defence and Security Studies in Massey, that enables the Centre to play a significant role in the academic study of security both internationally and domestically. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues and developing new contacts throughout the university.”

Ms Partow is a regular media commentator on Middle East issues including energy supply, social and political unrest, human rights, gender equality issues, civil rights, religious diversity, globalisation, and security.

A healthy crop of silver beet, lettuces and radishes is the result of work by green-fingered staff and students who have created the first community garden at the Albany campus.

The raised vegetable bed is the first of several planned by the group who worked last spring to build the garden behind the library. They hope it will inspire more students to learn how to grow their own food.

Campus chaplain Ricky Waters spearheaded the project after he was inspired by an established community garden he visited at Canterbury University when he was there for a conference in 2010. He was also motivated after he heard of students living nearby lamenting the fact that they could not grow or get access to affordable fresh vegetables. Others he has met through his role tell him they have no idea how to grow vegetables.

“The campus garden provides an opportunity for them to learn these skills,” he says. “The idea was to produce food for those students who felt they didn’t have access to fresh vegetables. I was aware of students who don’t eat well. They were complaining they couldn’t grow vegetables living in urban accommodation.”

He and fellow chaplain Britt Kusserow put out the word around the campus and attracted around 60 people. Three working bees later, the first vegetable bed was completed with the help of donated seedlings and materials, and advice from people at the long-established Devonport community garden. They used a sheet mulching method, comprised of layers of cardboard, clay, compost, seaweed and topsoil.

While weeds have not been a problem, keeping peckish pukeko off the vegetable patch has been a challenge, Mr Waters says. Chicken wire covers the coveted crops to deter pukeko living in nearby bush. With an abundance of green leaves ready for harvesting right now staff, students and their families are being invited to harvest produce in return for carrying out a small task, such as weeding or watering.

New students will have a chance to see the garden during Orientation Week, which starts on February 20, and to become involved. Mr Waters hopes the project will expand over time to include more vegetables and herbs, and fruit and olive trees.

Facebook group: Community Garden at Massey, Albany Campus

Massey University has been given five-star ratings for its research, teaching, innovation, infrastructure and internationalisation.

Educational benchmarking agency Quacquarelli Symonds, known as QS Stars, evaluated the university's performance in a variety of criteria and gave it an overall rating of four stars out of five.

It received maximum scores for academic reputation and for the number of internally recognised academics on staff in the research criteria.

In the teaching criteria Massey received maximum scores for student satisfaction with teaching and overall student satisfaction.

Sporting facilities, medical facilities, student societies, IT infrastructure and Library facilities were awarded maximum scores in the infrastructure criteria.

In the advanced criteria of internationalisation – the number of international academic staff members, the number of institutional research collaborations, support systems for international students and the diversity of the international offering at Massey – each was awarded maximum scores.

In the innovation category of the advanced criteria Massey scored maximum points for have at least 50 current patents registered, five spin-off companies established in the past five years that are still operating successfully and independently, and at least 10 joint research projects with distinct non-university corporations in the past five years.

Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) Professor Ingrid Day, who commissioned the evaluation, says it is a strong first-up result that demonstrates to students and research partners that Massey's core strengths – its teaching, research and the reputation and quality of its academic staff  – are not only world-class, but also supported by a multi-campus infrastructure of superb facilities and student support systems.

"Those qualities of our staff, those facilities and support systems and the people behind them are the reasons our student satisfaction ratings top 80 per cent and we are leading winner of teaching awards and research prizes," Professor Day says.

The benchmarking measures the university not against other universities but against a set of standards QS Stars have devised for the sector. Professor Day says it has identified areas for improvement and several of these are being addressed in the overall Road to 2020 strategy and in the Internationalisation Strategy launched in November. Some of these are simply a matter of introducing ways to measure things that are already occurring, such as regional and community engagement and participation by staff and students in community activities. The evaluation is updated every three years. Professor Day says the University was close to achieving five stars in its first evaluation and she is confident it will attain that goal in 2014.

More information about the QS Stars ratings system is here.

A high-level Massey delegation travelled to Hawke’s Bay last month cementing links built over several years.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council met with Massey’s senior leadership team and key staff to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and formalise a longstanding relationship with a focus on agri-food research and teaching.

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says Hawke’s Bay is strategically important for Massey. “We want to be the university of choice in the Bay and we are seeking to strengthen our presence by formally partnering on projects with industry and local government to develop the region, as well as on initiatives involving schools.”

Mr Maharey says local boards and industry can benefit by partnering with Massey. “We live in a knowledge-based world, and the region is faced with a whole series of issues, including young people leaving, land use and managing water – regions have the opportunity to call on our experts in these areas. “Hawke’s Bay has significant links with Massey, particularly through our research and teaching in areas such as food science, agriculture, veterinary science, horticulture, environmental management and business. These areas are integral to Hawke’s Bay’s economy”.

Mr Maharey says the senior leadership team enjoyed meeting with local leaders in Hawke’s Bay, and also held a successful two-day strategic planning workshop in Napier.

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A new report on Chinese auto-parts subsidies, written by Massey University’s Professor of International Business, Usha Haley, has been at the centre of a political storm in the United States.

Professor Haley’s report, titled ‘Putting the pedal to the metal: Subsidies to China’s auto-parts industry 2001 to 2011’, was published last week by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

Since its release, the report has been used by a coalition of industry groups, trade lawyers, American labour unions and Democratic politicians to push President Obama to file trade-case actions against China with the US Department of Commerce and US International Trade Commission, and to take up the matter at the World Trade Organisation.

According to Professor Haley’s report, the Chinese auto-parts industry has received US$27.5bn in subsidies since 2001, as well as benefiting from government support in acquiring cutting-edge technology, including green technologies. The Chinese government has also committed to a further US$10.9bn in subsidies.

‘Putting the metal to the pedal’ has been referenced in hundreds of news articles since its publication by media outlets from all over the world, including the BBC, Financial Times, New York Times, AFP, Reuters, and Bloomberg/BusinessWeek.

“Research and writing is generally a lonely process, so it’s exciting to see one’s work having broader policy impact,” says Professor Haley about the wide media coverage of her research.

Professor Haley’s report comes at a time of intense interest in China’s business practices as United States President Obama signaled he would take a tougher stance on Chinese subsidies in his recent State of the Union address.

“We are in a once-in-a-generation moment in global business,” Professor Haley says. “Trade flows have swung dramatically in favour of China and some other emerging markets, and theories of comparative advantage and labour costs no longer explain these shifts.  

“Policy is needed to correct these imbalances now as they are having sweeping effects on what products we use, where we make them, and how much we pay for them. These are civilizational shifts that may not work out to our advantage because of inaction.”

The auto-parts industry is the most recent sector of the Chinese economy to be investigated by Professor Haley. She has previously presented reports on subsidies in the Chinese paper, steel, and glass industries to the United States Congress, and has recently published an article on the solar-panel industry in California Management Review. She will also be presenting a lecture on the solar-panel industry at Massey’s Albany campus on March 7 as a part of the university’s public lecture series.

“Solar is an important industry for New Zealand, not just because it provides abundant and potentially cheap energy sources, but also because of the quality of jobs it creates,” says professor Haley. “Yet, Chinese subsidies will affect where the solar panels are manufactured, which technologies become the standard, and where these jobs will be created.”   

Professor Haley is in the United States this week to make presentations and develop her research on Chinese subsidies to manufacturing. Her previous research on Chinese subsidies has already been incorporated into trade regulation in the United States, EU and Germany.

‘Putting the pedal to the metal’ can be downloaded from: http://www.epi.org/publication/bp316-china-auto-parts-industry/

A new four-year Māori immersion teaching degree will help to fill a critical shortage of expert Te Reo teachers and help halt the decline of the language, says Massey University Associate Professor Huia Tomlins Jahnke, who led the development of the course.

On Tuesday at Te Kupenga o te Mātauranga marae at the Manawatu campus Hokowhitu site, the University will welcome 27 new first-year students and their whanau to its intense Māori immersion teaching course, Te Aho Tātairangi, the only course of its kind in New Zealand.

Dr Jahnke, who heads the University's School of Māori Education, says the redesigned and extended course aimed to supply 200 Maori immersion graduates into the teaching profession by 2020. “There is a shortage of teachers nationally, and in the Māori sector that shortage is critical and our graduates will help to build a bigger talent pool. It will also help the long-term rejuvenation of Te Reo Māori, which is currently classified as an endangered language."

Lecturers include experts and current practitioners from leading kura kaupapa Māori known for their strength in Te Aho Matua, including Dr Kathy Dewes, who was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in last year's Queen's Birthday Honours and who is the principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata in Rotorua, Rawiri Wright, principal of Hone Waititi in Auckland and chairman of Te Runanga Nui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori, and Toni Waho, principal of Mana Tamariki in Palmerston North.

One important aspect of the course is that all students are supported by – or assigned to – a kura hāpai (mentoring school), a unique requirement that ensures distance learning undertaken through the programme is married with daily practice.

The programme is being delivered through a new partnership between Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori and Massey and is firmly based on the principles of Te Aho Matua, the foundation document which sets out the ethos behind the formation and running of Māori-language immersion schools. “This approach will ensure the ethos of the kura kaupapa Māori movement is upheld in the preparation of teachers who will teach in the total immersion sector,” Dr Jahnke says.

Ms Waho, who is also a member of Te Rūnanga Nui, says: “We are happy to be working closely with Massey to ensure our teachers are properly prepared. The inclusion of Te Aho Matua in the design, content and delivery of the programme is the key.

Graduates will qualify with a Bachelor of Teaching Māori Medium/Diploma Maori Education.

Research shows that class size does matter; and that it matters most for socio-economically disadvantaged learners, the very groups that the Government says it is most concerned about, says Massey University Professor of Education John O'Neill.
 
Professor O'Neill, a specialist in teacher education and the University's director of research ethics, describes the new proposal by Treasury to increase class sizes as "penny pinching" and at odds with what the Ministry of Education says it wants to achieve in New Zealand schools.

"Professor John Hattie’s media comments about class size being ‘less important’ have clearly been mis-interpreted by Treasury and Finance Minister Bill English as being ‘not at all important’," Professor O'Neill says. "It would be a grave mistake in my view for the New Zealand Ministry of Education to increase class sizes on the assumption that it will have no effect on other important aspects of teaching and learning.

"A review of class size research by England’s Professor Peter Blatchford makes the point that class size effects are 'multiple'. "It is not simply a case of looking at the correlation between class size and student outcomes, as Mr English’s briefing appears to have done. For example, both experimental and non-experimental studies have shown that for children at the beginning of schooling, there are significant potential gains in reading and maths in smaller classes.

"Children from ethnic minorities and children with the most ground to make up benefit most. New Zealand early literacy research in South Auckland schools has also shown that learners with poorly developed literacy need smaller classes in the early years in order to have the support they need to become confident readers. Increasing class size would therefore appear to be in direct conflict with the government’s ‘crusade’ around National Standards.

"Class size also affects what teachers and learners actually do in the classroom. Mr English’s comments suggest to me that he may have been very poorly briefed on what the class size research actually says.
Professor Blatchford’s own research showed that larger classes produced more and larger groups of learners within the class. This had negative effects on teaching, learning and learners’ concentration. In smaller classes, teachers were more likely to spend time with individual learners. This is exactly the kind of personalised learning approach that our Ministry of Education says it wants and which larger classes would seriously threaten.

"The ministry also wants its new ‘world-class’ curriculum implemented. The curriculum is all about social learning and children taking charge of their learning. Professor Blatchford’s research in England showed that in smaller classes children are more likely to be engaged in learning and less disruptive; in larger classes children are more likely to just passively listen to the teacher; in smaller classes children actively interact with the teacher about their learning. He concluded that smaller classes provide opportunities for teachers to teach better, while larger classes force teachers to make compromises with learners.

"This penny-pinching proposal worries me. The Government cannot claim on one hand to be committed to meeting the needs of disadvantaged learners, improving the achievement of Maori and Pasifika students, raising national standards and to providing 21st century learning and, on the other hand, take steps that materially undermine each and every one of those commitments. If we follow Treasury’s logic we might just as well go back to the early 1800s and drill children in classes of five hundred using sand trays and monitors. That would be cheaper still."

The first Massey students for semester one will be welcomed at the Manawatu campus Hokowhitu site on Tuesday.

About 415 new College of Education students will be starting their initial teacher education classes at Manawatu and Albany, three weeks ahead of semester one commencing for the rest of the University, on February 27.

The college has an earlier start to the semester to more closely match the school year and enable students to get practical experience in classrooms as part of their study from next month. In addition to the Manawatu students the college welcomes it’s 400 distance learning students.

College Pro Vice-Chancellor of Education Professor James Chapman says the students underwent a comprehensive process to be accepted into Massey's various initial teaching programmes. “We do not simply select on grades, we look for that significant factor of passion and enthusiasm for changing lives," Professor Chapman says.

Catherine Irving (Nga Puhi) began her Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary) two weeks ago using the University's online learning system, Stream. She and students in her cohort will meet up with those enrolled in the other initial teacher education programmes for graduates, which are for those planning to teach early years, primary and secondary, as well those starting the four-year Bachelor of Education degree.

Ms Irving is excited to be on campus with her cohort. “Teaching has been a long term goal of mine,” she says. As a New Zealand salsa champion, she has taught dancing to children. “I love the age, I discovered it’s not so much about teaching them the content, it’s about teaching them to learn." She has completed a Bachelor of Communication at Massey over the past three years and during that time represented New Zealand in the Miss Earth World environmental beauty pageant in the Philippines, where she visited schools and orphanages.

“Through the visits and talking with the pageant entrants from other countries I realised how lucky we are with our education system in New Zealand. It cemented my belief that I can make a difference." She is also employed by the University as a student accommodation events coordinator and will be involved in running the Let's Get Going programme for new students at the start of Orientation.

Massey University’s School of Economics and Finance will host the 2012 New Zealand Finance Colloquium at the Albany campus on February 9-10.

The conference is an annual event that promotes the discussion, dissemination and development of finance-related research in New Zealand.

The 2012 programme includes sessions on capital markets, banking issues, culture and regulation, corporate finance, personal finance, and investments, with papers being presented by academics and researchers from both New Zealand and overseas. Prizes are awarded for the best papers in each category.

Dr Bill Wilson, lecturer in finance at Massey University and one of the conference organisers, says the event will be an important opportunity for researchers to present their work and receive feedback from colleagues.

“One of the highlights will be Professor Ron Masulis’s presentation on his latest financial research,” says Dr Wilson. “Professor Masulis is currently the Scientia Professor of Science at the Australian School of Business and has an extensive publication record with many papers in top journals like the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies.”

“The colloquium also allows relationships to be built with colleagues, which can be valuable for future research collaboration and development of the finance discipline in New Zealand universities,” he says.

The programme includes presentations by 32 academics, including authors from the University of Melbourne, National Taiwan University, and the University of Queensland.

In the run-up to this year’s event Professor Masulis will also lead a PhD Symposium, giving PhD candidates the opportunity to obtain his insights on finance research. The following day, 12 PhD candidates, including eight from Massey University, have been invited to present their work and gain invaluable feedback from senior finance academics.

For more information on the Finance Colloquium and PhD Symposium programmes visit: www.nzfc.ac.nz

Massey University School of Aviation is marking a milestone this year when it celebrates 25 years of producing “aviators with a difference”.

The school will hold its silver jubilee in April with a two-day celebration culminating in a gala dinner.

Aviators, alumni, enthusiasts and experts will reunite to mark the school’s anniversary, with a chance to check out the $8 million fleet of Diamond training aircraft at the Milson Flight Systems Centre in Palmerston North.

Chief executive of the school Ashok Poduval says April is an ‘aviation’ month on the New Zealand calendar with the school’s silver jubilee celebration, the 75th anniversary celebration of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Wings over Wanaka air show.

“We are extremely proud to have reached this milestone and even more proud of the achievements of our graduates who are employed in the industry all over the world,” he says. “The school is focused on contributing to the future of aviation through excellence in aviation education, training and research.”

Massey aviation students move on to careers as pilots, air safety investigators, airport managers, flight dispatchers and airline managers. The School of Aviation has recently been chosen by the national carrier Air New Zealand as a preferred training provider.

“Massey is making a global contribution from our base in New Zealand,” says Mr Poduval who has led the school since 2005. “We have networks with individuals and organisations around the world and we are hopeful that a number of them will join us for the celebrations.”

The keynote speaker at the dinner will be the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand Nigel Gould.

Massey School of Aviation commenced in 1987 with 28 students on the first course. This year, 326 students are studying towards a Bachelor of Aviation Management, 130 are studying towards a Bachelor of Aviation – Air Transport Pilot, 37 are pursuing postgraduate degrees and six are working towards doctorates.

Mr Poduval says the school has since grown to occupy a unique place in New Zealand and globally. “Our school is one of the few tertiary education institutions in the world that provides professional training for pilots embedded in University accredited academic qualifications,” he says.

“We believe it takes more than stick and rudder skills and flying hours in the log book to produce a high-calibre aviator.”

The purchase of two twin-engine Diamond DA42 and 12 Diamond DA40 single-engine aircraft in 2009 established Massey at the forefront of professional pilot training in New Zealand. The first graduates to complete their training on these aircraft received their Wings in November.

The aircraft, which replaced the Piper Warrior single engine and Piper Seneca twin-engine aircraft, have state-of-the-art Garmin 1000 cockpit display systems to enhance safety and improve training quality.

“The Diamonds are technologically-advanced aircraft with digital instrumentation, moving map displays, terrain awareness warning and traffic avoidance systems,” says Mr Poduval.

They are also fitted with Spidertracks, a device developed with the aid of Massey University mechatronics graduate James McCarthy that enables real-time tracking of the aircraft position from the flight operations centre.

The jubilee dinner will be held on Saturday April 21 at the Palmerston North Convention Centre. For more information, or to book your boarding card, email aviation@massey.ac.nz and follow the school on Facebook.

Seven contemporary stainless steel pou (sculptured poles) were installed at the Albany campus this week. The pou, which will provide a distinctive Maori presence and cultural symbol for students' educational journey, will be blessed along with the new student amenities centre at a dawn ceremony on February 8.

Six pou are five metres high and 300mm in diameter, and the seventh is 6.5m and 400mm wide. Each has a meaning, with wording and designs digitally polished onto the surface, while the remaining area has been bead-blasted to give contrasting textured and matte surfaces. The first has the word Kakano to represent the seeding of a thought, and the student, and the seventh and tallest pou has the words Tiki Tiki o Rangi, or the highest place in the heavens to represent ultimate achievement, in this case academic excellence.

Made by Hamilton firm Stainless Design, they were welcomed to the campus by local kaumatua as well as the man who designed them, Whakatane artist and carver Katz Maihi of Toitu Design. Mr Maihi says his design reflects Massey’s principles of inclusion and achievement embracing all ethnicities and cultures represented in the student population. “Each of the seven pou is a stepping stone of progression, acknowledging the personal and academic achievement of the students.”

Campus kaiwhakaruruhau (regional advisor Māori) Donald Ripia says the pou provide a visible reminder that Albany is a place where Maori students, staff and visitors feel welcome. The innovative design features and materials reflect the University’s focus on innovation in teaching and learning.

They were unloaded by crane and positioned in a circle to embody the core principle of the University’s Maori learning philosophy, Te Kunenga ki Purehuroa – from inception to infinity.

The new $15m centre, dubbed Student Central and due to open in Orientation week starting February 20, will be a hub for the 7000 Albany students, with an outdoor area encircled by the pou, a food hall with an indoor/outdoor social and dining space, cafes, shops, students' association offices, Maori and Pasifika student centres, clubs, and health and counselling services.

Massey University’s Manawatu campus is currently home to 25 little blue penguins and two grey-faced petrels affected by the grounding of the container ship Rena.

The University-led National Oiled Wildlife Response Team has decommissioned its facility at Te Maunga in Tauranga, although some specialist equipment will remain there in the event the centre needs to be rebuilt.

Wildlife vet Janelle Ward says no new live oiled birds have been found in the past week.

Of the penguins, up to nine will be released back to the Bay of Plenty towards the end of the week, provided they pass waterproofing and health tests.

“We also have a number of newly washed birds that will need to work on their waterproofing over the coming days,” she says. “Eight birds are still moulting so they will stay with us until that process is complete.

“During the moult they are grumpy and antisocial, and like to hide in their burrows,” Ms Ward says. “They’re not waterproof and they don’t really eat or drink – an uncomfortable time for them. But the birds that are coming out of moult are really good with new feathers and they are swimming well.”

Massey University’s ecentre is encouraging entrepreneurs to tap into its expertise about potential markets for their ideas and save start-up time, money and effort.

The business innovation centre, on the Albany campus, will run free advice workshops next month.

Steve Corbett, chief executive of ecentre, says tough economic times are a paradise for entrepreneurs who have the courage and capability to exploit opportunities and seek out support.

“There are support systems in place,” he says. “Incubators such as the ecentre are a great first point of contact. Incubators help entrepreneurs to develop their capabilities, fast track their business and overall de-risk the process, especially if you are not quite sure whether your idea is worth pursuing.

“To make this decision easier, you need to figure out whether someone is willing to pay for your offer. We call this process market validation.”

Mr Corbett, who chairs the industry association Incubators New Zealand, says entrepreneurs can spend months or even years developing a “good” idea for which there is no market. “The concept of solving a real market problem is simple, but is often overlooked,” he says.

The ecentre will run free Business Idea Workshops around Auckland, with the first on February 8 at the ecentre.

In addition, ecentre is now enrolling for the next 12-week ecentreSprint programme, which will start at the end of February.

Entrepreneurs receive market feedback, gain access to mentors and investors with different points of view, pitch to investors and receive encouragement with others going through similar challenges.

Alexei Dunayev, chief executive of TranscribeMe, a smartphone-to-text transcription service, which went through the programme, says the support from the ecentre had been “leading edge” and helped the company to focus on the customer.

“We see a lot of entrepreneurs who have an idea but simply can’t afford to quit their day job to figure out whether their businesses will take off,” adds Sabrina Nagel, programme manager for ecentreSprint.

“And it is a good way of testing whether one can be an entrepreneur.”

For more details, go to the ecentre’s website www.ecentre.org.nz.

Massey University lecturer and soldier Major Josh Wineera has been invited by the United States State Department to participate in a high-profile study programme examining US national security policy and current threats facing the United States.
 
Major Wineera was chosen by the United States Embassy in Wellington as the sole New Zealand nomination from a very competitive national pool. He went on to be selected by the State Department in Washington from a range of worldwide candidates whose areas of expertise included foreign affairs and international relations.

The intensive postgraduate level programme begins later this month in Amherst, Massachusetts, and brings together about 20 international participants. It includes study sessions at Harvard University as well as study tours to the University of California in San Diego and Washington D.C.

The six-week programme will examine such issues as energy policy, economic stability, cyber-security, chemical and biological weapons, nuclear weapons and infectious diseases. The United States Government will meet all costs of the programme.

Major Wineera says he feels humbled to be representing New Zealand, the Defence Force, and Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies.

“This will be an excellent opportunity to deepen our understanding of the way the US formulates its national security policy,” he says. “I think this is especially relevant for us in New Zealand given the recent announcement by President Barack Obama that America will renew its focus in the Asia Pacific region.”

In addition to lecturing at Massey University, Major Wineera speaks to many Defence Force contingents preparing for overseas deployments, particularly to Afghanistan. His extensive operational experience includes missions to Bosnia, Bougainville, East Timor and more recently Iraq. He is also a member of the New Zealand forum of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific.
 
“2012 will be a big year for me,” Major Wineera says. “I start with this incredible invitation to deepen my understanding of US national security policy and it will continue as I embark on a PhD. By total coincidence my doctorate will examine New Zealand’s approach to international security and will compare it to other nations, including the US.”

A new study into the causes and experience of conflict in the franchise sector shows that New Zealand franchisees can be disappointed with their franchising experience.

Towards Understanding and Resolving Conflict: Franchising in New Zealand 2011 was produced by Massey University and is the first major report undertaken in New Zealand to focus on conflict in the franchise relationship.

A significant number of those surveyed said their experience of franchising did not live up to their initial expectations, and the report highlighted communication and conflict resolution as the key areas that franchisors need to improve. The results of the current study however revealed a more complex situation.

“What is interesting is that franchisees have a very different view to franchisors over how satisfying the relationship is,” says Dr Susan Flint-Hartle, a senior lecturer at Massey’s School of Economics and Finance, and author of the report. “In our 2010 report on the sector, franchisors reported a low incidence of conflict and that their franchisees were, on the whole, very happy.”

It was found that less than half of franchisees believed they had conducted sufficient due diligence before committing themselves, and most felt their interests were not addressed equally when conflict arose.

“Resolving conflict was revealed as a problem area,” the report says. “In general it can be said that conflict is not well handled by franchisors and often the outcomes are seen as unsatisfactory by franchisees.”

More than a quarter of the franchisees surveyed said they had experienced conflict with their franchisor at one time or another. The major causes of disputes included too much franchisor control, a lack of profitability, and what franchisees considered to be unfair franchise agreements.

Of those involved in a dispute, nearly 40 per cent said their conflict was never resolved, and a further 28 per cent viewed their resolution as unsatisfactory. The report notes that very few franchises offer formal conflict training, and 42 per cent did not have a formal dispute resolution process.

Dr Flint-Hartle believes there is much for franchisees and franchisors to learn from the report if they wish to have more productive business relationships. Prospective franchisees, she says, need to get a better understanding of what owning a franchise is going to be like.

“There are currently no pre-education programmes for would-be franchisees in New Zealand, which is something that Massey has been working towards,” she says. “This report provides impetus for getting that programme in place.”

Franchisors, on the other hand, could benefit by actively delivering on the promises they make when they sell their franchises, and be more aware of how their franchisees are faring, especially during the tough business conditions that exist at present, Dr Flint-Hartle says.

“If two businesses are working happily together, they will be more productive and profitable,” she explains. “That is important because the franchise sector not only provides employment for thousands of New Zealanders but contributes significantly to the New Zealand economy.”

The study will be followed up later this year by Massey University’s second Franchising New Zealand report. Carried out jointly with Brisbane’s Griffith University and the Asia Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence, the biennial report looks at the growth, turnover, challenges and contribution of the franchise sector to the New Zealand and Australian economies. Surveys will be conducted mid-year, with the report being published at the end of 2012.

Summary for editors:
Towards Understanding and Resolving Conflict presents the results of a national survey of New Zealand franchisees, conducted by Massey University researchers in mid 2011. The study explores the perceived levels of conflict in the franchise relationship, the types of conflict, and the causes.

Key statistics from the study include:

• Some 50 per cent of franchisees had their expectations of franchising met, 25 per cent did not and 25 per cent expressed no opinion.
• Only 48 per cent of franchisees felt they had conducted sufficient due diligence before purchasing their franchise.
• 44 per cent of franchisees spent less than one month researching their franchise opportunity.
• Only 44 per cent of franchisees were satisfied with the completeness of the communication they received.
• Only 40 per cent of franchisees felt they could rely on their franchisor to help them if they faced difficulties.
• 23 per cent felt the relationship with their franchisor was not ‘fair’.
• 20 per cent of franchisees experienced frequent disagreements with their franchisor, although only 12 per cent reported intense disagreement.
• When conflict arose, only 29 per cent of franchisees felt there was a satisfactory resolution.

(Figures are rounded up)

Copies of Towards Understanding and Resolving Conflict: Franchising in New Zealand 2011 can be obtained via the Massey University School of Economics and Finance website.