COVID-19

Becky Casale After weeks of lockdown, people are starting to wonder about the long term exit plan for coronavirus. When can we get back to the workplace? When can we go out to restaurants? When can we party? In short, when will social distancing end? In New Zealand, we are one of the few nations able to toy with the … Read More

Associate Professor Simon Hales Living in 21st century New Zealand, it is easy to lose sight of the reality that human societies are embedded in a planetary ecosystem, upon which all life on Earth ultimately depends. Human cleverness beguiles us into believing that technology will always provide the answers to human needs. But the Covid-19 pandemic has brought … Read More

Associate Professor Leah Watkins and Associate Professor Rob Aitken   Living in lockdown is a rare phenomenon, and one that provides a unique opportunity to examine our spending habits. NZ lifestyles under the microscope Researchers at the University of Otago have been conducting an ongoing research programme designed to provide insights into the lifestyles, consumption patterns and behavioural … Read More

Dougal Sutherland, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Arindam Basu, University of Canterbury; Malcolm Campbell, University of Canterbury; Martin Berka, Massey University; Michael Baker, University of Otago, and Richard Shaw, Massey University New Zealand will begin easing its national lockdown from next Tuesday, but only after a five-day extension of some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 restrictions. Read More

Professor Alexei Drummond and Dr David Welch A mathematical model attempts to describe a system in terms of the elements that make up the system, their states and the interactions between these elements. The detail of the model is chosen to allow certain behaviours of the system to be well-understood without being bogged down by unnecessary details. Mathematical … Read More

Professor Christine Stephens I was somewhat alarmed to find myself, as a 70-year-old, suddenly categorised as a member of a particularly vulnerable group.  This is a group of people based only on the number of years that they have lived who have been singled out as needing to be extra careful and isolated earlier than others during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read More

Dr Kirsty Ross Children and young people can respond differently in times of distress. This also varies by age and developmental stage, with younger children having more magical and imaginative thinking, and older children having more awareness and knowledge of the issues our communities are facing (which brings up a lot of emotions for them). So, depending … Read More

Professor Philip Hill and Associate Professor James Ussher Most infectious diseases have an Achilles heel, the secret is to find it. The question is if we don’t have a drug or a vaccine for COVID-19, is there something else we can do to beat it? Some people estimate that, without any intervention, 50% of the Chinese population might have developed … Read More