Events

Ship to shore broadcast with the JOIDES Resolution

Predicting what will happen to the Earth as the climate warms prepares us for what is to come. But what if we didn’t have to just rely on predictions?

Otago Museum Science Outreach Projects Coordinator, Dr. Claire Concannon, and the scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution are investigating what the climate and South Pacific Ocean was like millions of years ago, at a time when Earth was a lot hotter.

In February, they will be phoning in from the ship to talk about their work.

What can they find out from sediments taken from the bottom of the ocean? How will this help us with climate change modelling? And just what is it like to do scientific research in the middle of the South Pacific ocean?

Talk to the people who are out there right now and find out!

5.30pm, Monday 3 February
Barclay Theatre

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Maurice Wilkins, the man from Pongaroa ,was New Zealand’s second Nobel Prize winner and called his autobiography, The Third Man of the Double Helix.

Like many of his colleagues who had worked on the Manhattan Project, he helped found the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and co-led the marches from Aldermaston.

He was the first scientist to write about ethics in science and was the president of the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science.

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Efforts to improve the mental health of populations has focused on getting more people into treatment. However, large increases in the provision of both pharmacological and psychological treatments has not produced detectable improvement in the mental health of populations. This talk will discuss the possible reasons and suggest that more attention be paid to the 'quality gap' and the 'prevention gap'.

* Please note this event also includes the official opening of the 2020 Public Health Summer School.

Speaker – Professor Anthony Jorm

Anthony Jorm is a Professor Emeritus in the Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. His research focuses on building the community’s capacity for prevention and early intervention with mental disorders. He is Editor-in-Chief of Mental Health and Prevention, Associate Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Chair of the Board of Mental Health First Aid International and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Prevention United.

Dr. Taryn Morrissey will discuss the role of one-off income boosts for low-income families in mothers’ and fathers’ time with children

Come together for a seminar where visiting scholar Dr. Taryn Morrissey (American University, Washington, D.C.) will discuss the role of one-off income boosts for low-income families in mothers’ and fathers’ time with children. Dr. Morrissey’s new study examines whether the addition of household resources via the receipt of the U.S. Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) affects short-term parent-child time use patterns. The findings shed light on how additional resources affect family functioning, how these patterns differ for mothers versus fathers, and in single-parent families, and may exacerbate gendered patterns in time use. Research and policy implications will be discussed.

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Dr Sara Hennessy, University of Cambridge

All attendees invited to attend refreshments and networking with Sara Hennessy from 6pm in A201

Large-scale investment in educational technology (EdTech) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) aims to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).

The promise for reaching marginalized communities and increasing equity appeals. Yet, little significant, systemic or sustained impact on learning outcomes is evident and most initiatives are not underpinned by rigorous, large-scale research or impact evaluation. Instead, uncritical and unwarranted assumptions about “transformational” impacts abound.

This talk outlines some promises and pitfalls of EdTech initiatives for enhancing teaching and learning in low-resource contexts, including methodological issues, contextual influences and barriers to equity. Then I will introduce a new initiative designed to address these. The UK Department for International Development funded £20m+ EdTech Research and Innovation Hub investigates over 8 years (from mid-2019) whether and how system-level EdTech use in LMICs can help address the global learning crisis. Objectives include (1) systematically mapping the field from a critical perspective, seeking sustained, effective, culturally appropriate EdTech uses; (2) identifying enablers and barriers for scaling interventions; (3) conducting and commissioning rigorous research to address gaps, in partnership with stakeholders in-country.

Including a live cross to the South Pole Telescope

Studying science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) can offer a ticket to all kinds of epic adventures!

This year, for the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are proudly celebrating the achievements of women in STEM fields locally and around the globe.

What challenges did they face as women in science? How did their studies shape their careers?

Hear from Dr Carolina Loch Silva (Association for Women in the Sciences), Victoria Sugrue (Mothers in Science), and Professor Michelle Glass (Head of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Otago) about their STEM careers and experiences.

Then, join us for a live video call with Dr Alexandra (Sasha) Rahlin at the South Pole Telescope. Dr Rahlin is a recipient of the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for her contribution to the first-ever image of a black hole using the Event Horizon Telescope. She will be joined by other South Pole colleagues to talk about what it is like to do scientific research at the bottom of the world.

Be part of this International Day of Women and Girls in Science and find out how careers in STEM are helping us understand and change our world.

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Public lecture: celebrating 25 years of the Marsden Fund Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden

Professor Stephen Robertson has been the Curekids Professor of Paediatric Genetics at the University of Otago since 2002. He has gained international acclaim for his expertise on genetic disorders in children, with a particular emphasis on those affecting the development of the skeleton and the brain.

Stephen specialised in Paediatrics and Clinical Genetics after training in Otago, Auckland and Melbourne. From 1999–2002 Stephen held the prestigious Nuffield Scholarship at Oxford University, studying the genetic determinants of congenital malformations in children. His work has led to the implication of a new family of genes, the filamins, in the generation of these conditions.

Single gene disorders are typically rare, yet significant, diseases that affect a number of New Zealand children. The era of large-scale DNA sequencing has brought an unprecedented opportunity to define their cause and study their pathogenesis. Stephen’s work has seen him and his team discover genes that are implicated in dozens of genetic disorders. These include familial disorders where a number of members of a particular family are affected with life-affecting, even fatal, conditions.

Stephen continues to be an active clinician, staffing clinics throughout the South and North Islands, in addition to teaching genetics to science and medical students in Dunedin. His work is supported primarily by Curekids, along with the Marsden Fund and the Health Research Council of NZ.

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Eighteen new Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows and one Ngā Ahurei Honore a Te Apārangi Honorary Fellows were elected to the Academy of the Royal Society Te Apārangi last November, recognising their distinction in research and advancement of humanities, science or technology.

These New Zealanders are world leaders in the following topics: improving human–machine interactions, moral philosophy, autobiographical memory, Pasifika poetry, cross-cultural psychology, Indigenous studies and the politics of polar regions. Also, paleobiology, seabed geology, tectonic and seismic hazards, pollen records, reintroduction biology, mathematical functional analysis, optical physics, stroke, maternal health, bone biology, end of life care and gout.

Following Academy tradition, our new Fellows present a short seminar on their work as a means of introducing themselves.

Join us for these presentations and discover more about the achievements of these remarkable and curious Kiwis.

Free admission.

You are welcome to turn up on the day; however, to guarantee your seat(s) please register by following the booking links.

Views that are expressed at this event may not reflect those of Royal Society Te Apārangi.

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Join us to hear Dr Colin Tukuitonga reflect on public health in the Pacific region drawing on his time as the Director General at The Secretariat of the Pacific Community. His wide-ranging lecture will explore public health challenges such as measles, obesity and cancer. He will explore solutions such as sugary drinks taxes and tobacco control, and ways to monitor progress.

Speaker – Dr Colin Tukuitonga

Dr Colin Tukuitonga is the former Director-General of The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, New Caledonia. In March he will take up the inaugural position of Associate Dean Pacific, at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. His previous roles include: Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs; Associate Professor of Public Health and Head of Pacific and International Health at the University of Auckland; Director of Public Health, New Zealand Ministry of Health; and Head of Surveillance and Prevention of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases at the World Health Organization, Switzerland.

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Discover the sexy side of Te Taiao | Nature at this free, adults-only late night.

Take a sex ed class with a Te Taiao twist, play a fishy speed dating game, sculpt a plant’s reproductive organs, or just enjoy a drink, listen to some sexy jazz, and explore Te Taiao | Nature after dark.

Bring a date, bring your mates, or come alone… there’s plenty of hagfish in the sea.

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In this presentation, Dr Osgood draws upon a recently published book: Feminists Researching Gendered Childhoods: generative entanglements (Osgood & Robinson, 2019) to chart the evolving nature of feminist theory and research methods in childhood studies and the generative potential this holds for researchers, academics and educators to push ideas and practices.

In the wake of the ‘new materialist turn’ in feminist research, and the social sciences more generally, the book seeks to address two pressing questions: what is especially new about feminist new materialism, and what is especially feminist about feminist new materialism. These questions are generative, troubling, unsettling and insist upon an adventure in re-turning and reconfiguring ideas and practices about gender and childhood.

This lecture discusses the processes involved in the creation of the book and how this involved the generation of PhEMaterialist artwork, poetry and photographs as a means to grapple with the ways in which gender, childhood, family, curriculum and policy might be researched, differently. The book captures a lively, collaborative, intergenerational, feminist experiment that sought to make space for fresh conceptualisations of gender in childhood as lived in the post-Anthropocene.

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Fine chemicals are important starting materials used by a range of industries for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Traditionally produced from petrochemicals, biotechnical processes using renewable biomass are increasingly able to provide cheaper and more sustainable alternatives.

Hear how new biocatalysts, which can mimic the complex biosynthetic pathways found in nature, are being discovered using genomic databases and protein engineering, including directed evolution—a technique developed by 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner, Prof. Frances Arnold.

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There is a youth mental health crisis; rates of depression, anxiety and self-harm are rising among young people, and in the U.K. almost one in four young women in their late teens has a mental health disorder.

This crisis coincides with a new ‘digital environment’ arising over the last decade, where being online and using social media has become integral to young people’s lives. This has fuelled societal and media concerns that digital technology has contributed to the youth mental health crisis.

Social media use has been associated with depression, suicide and self-harm, particularly in girls and marginalised groups. Potential mechanisms include social isolation, disturbed sleep, cyberbullying and pressures to conform to idealised lifestyles and body images. However, policy recommendations have been hampered by research showing small effects of uncertain causal direction.

In contrast, for many young people who are isolated and have mental health problems, the digital world can be an important source of health information, knowledge, social and therapeutic support.

Professor Hollis will reflect on the need to balance the benefits and risks of digital media use for youth mental health, and will present research and public policy recommendations in a recent report from the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists which aims to make the on-line world a safer and more supportive place for young people.

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Join us to hear Dr Colin Tukuitonga reflect on public health in the Pacific region drawing on his time as the Director General at The Secretariat of the Pacific Community. His wide-ranging lecture will explore public health challenges such as measles, obesity and cancer. He will explore solutions such as sugary drinks taxes and tobacco control, and ways to monitor progress.

Dr. Heidi Julien from the University of Buffalo discusses the professional responsibility of information professionals to address fake news.

The time is now, the urgency is severe. We must take a stand in the face of fake news and the denigration of truth and expertise by those with power and influence. Information professionals are uniquely positioned to contribute our expertise to addressing one of the most profoundly damaging issues of our time: disregard for expertise and for credible, fact-based information. We have the intellectual and practical tools to address these issues and we have a professional responsibility to employ them. This talk will address the ways in which we can exercise these responsibilities.

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A free public lecture by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, one of the world’s leading authorities on the impact of economic and population growth on the environment

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta will share his research and insights on The Economics of Biodiversity in a special public lecture during his February visit to Wellington as the 2020 Professorial Fellow in Monetary and Financial Economics at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Te Pūtea Matua—Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

RSVP by Tuesday 11 February to ange.scott@vuw.ac.nz with 'RBNZ Lecture' in the subject line or call 04 463 5713

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This six-year study involved over 1,000 participants across Victoria. Encompassing a wide team of investigators, in partnership with community members, the Beyond Bushfires: Community Resilience and Recovery study examined the impacts of the Black Saturday and related bushfires of February 2009 on the mental health and wellbeing of people.

About the speaker:

Lisa is currently the Head of Child and Community Wellbeing Unit in the Centre for Health Equity at the University of Melbourne. Her research and policy development is widely acknowledged in disaster recovery and community resilience and child public health, especially in her research on child resilience. As a public health specialist, Lisa has expertise in the fields of: disaster recovery and community resilience, and child health and wellbeing. Lisa has a strong community lens and engages key stakeholders as partners throughout the research process to ensure it is relevant to decision making and service delivery. Currently, Lisa is also leading, in collaboration with a team at the Joint Centre for Disaster Research, a project exploring Recovery Capitals (ReCap) to understand the influences of social, built, financial, political, human, cultural and natural capitals on mental health and wellbeing outcomes following disasters.

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