He Kupu Whakamahara

July 2013

Saving our wetlands and riversMeet UC's teaching stars From Russia with love

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Chronicle48 no.3 July 2013

UC academic says NZ's wetland ecosystems are under threat.

Editor: Renee Jones 364 2987 ext 6072

Staff Writers: Kip Brook Stacey Doornenbal Jann O'Keefe Sub–editor: Col Pearson

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Artwork: Brian Carney

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E–mail: communications@ canterbury.ac.nz

Address: Communications and Stakeholder Relations, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch.

Thanks to everyone else who’s played a part making this issue happen.

The French Ambassador to New Zealand, Francis Etienne, visited students and staff at UC’s School of Languages and Cultures recently.

While at UC he spoke about France’s relationship with West Africa, specifically the Republic of Mali, with the aim of broadening students’ view of the relationship.

The seminar was attended by more than 25 students and staff from across campus.

Dr Sylvie Gagnon (Languages and Cultures) said Mr Etienne’s visit was interesting for students.

“The ambassador’s visit was well received and will be shortly followed by a New Caledonian delegation, which will include discussions about exchanges and internships,” she said.

Mr Etienne highlighted the importance of speaking foreign languages.

French Ambassador visits UC

“I think they are essential. We have to learn other languages not just because it is exotic and fun but it is a necessity if you want to understand partners in the political world, in the business world and in the cultural world,” he said.

“It is always important to remind people that we have about 650,000 French speakers in the South Pacific, that one of the closest neighbours of New Zealand is actually New Caledonia. It is our duty to learn English as well as we recommend you to learn French.”

(From left) UC's Dr Sylvie Gagnon, French Ambassador to New Zealand Francis Etienne, attaché linguistique Monsieur Patrick Coustance and Head of the School of Languages and Cultures Susan Bouterey.

Caption11 Fullbright scholarships awarded.12 China's polar politics under scrutiny.14 UC academics receive funding for

medical research.

French Ambassador visits UC

Hunters and Gatherers scheme.

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Limiting the number of fast food outlets, particularly around schools, to combat obesity should be considered in the Christchurch rebuild, according to a UC student.

UC law and arts student Alice Robertson, who is a College of Arts intern, said her project with the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) looked at the benefits of restricting the number of food outlets in the Christchurch rebuild.

“New Zealand has the third highest rate of obesity in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), putting us just behind the United States and Mexico. These rates are higher for Māori and Pacific Islanders, and rates of childhood obesity are very high.

“Obesity has become a major health problem all over the world, killing at least 2.8 million people a year and taxing healthcare systems with expensive chronic disease treatments,” Alice said.

The rise in obesity rates have been paralleled by a rise in the concentration of fast food outlets, both within New Zealand

and internationally. Obesity is linked to a number of serious diseases, including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

The cost of dealing with obesity-related illnesses places a huge burden on the public healthcare system. The Government has identified obesity as a key area of concern.

“Research suggests that environmental interventions may be an effective way to address obesity. People responding to their green environment with fewer food outlets are less likely to become overweight or obese.

“Limiting the number of outlets, particularly around schools, may be an effective way to address the obesity epidemic. Such research is being taken seriously and the body of research in the area is growing.

Limiting fast food outlets could combat obesity

“Steps have been taken to limit the number and operation of outlets in parts of Los Angeles and London explicitly to address obesity.

“The CDHB included in their submission on the Christchurch rebuild that a diverse range of food outlets need to be encouraged, and that restrictions need to be placed on the number of fast food outlets located near schools.

“The Christchurch rebuild provides the city with a unique opportunity to consider this issue and shape an environment which encourages healthy living,” Alice said.

The GeoHealth Lab at UC has conducted a significant amount of research on obesity.

Janne Pasco is Alice’s supervisor at the CDHB, and senior lecturer Amy Fletcher and Dr Malcolm Campbell are her academic supervisors.

UC law and arts student Alice Robertson.

Potentially at-risk children from some of the lowest decile schools in the country have benefitted from University of Canterbury research that has had them watching popular movies with English subtitles.

UC education researchers Faye Parkhill and Dr Ronnie Davey have found that New Zealand is at the forefront of using subtitles in classrooms to improve literacy.

“It keeps children at school rather than being truant. Students love it. They have told us. We launched this research in decile one North Island schools because of continued concerns about literacy levels for students in high poverty schools, particularly for Māori and Pasifika students.

“Reading had declined as a preferred activity in leisure-time for all students according to national monitoring reports. From our research, schools have reported intense engagement by students and several teachers have noted increased attendance at school during the six weeks of our study,” Ms Parkhill said.

Students watched popular children’s movies using subtitles to increase reading mileage to foster comprehension and fluency in reading.

Students do not passively watch a film with subtitles. Instead, the moving image is interwoven with activities that target specific literacy skills. Students “read-watch” movies and complete a range of games and activities designed to keep them on track when reading the subtitles.

“This method, which students like, is designed to enhance instruction rather than replace normal classroom literacy practices that have already been proven to be effective. The idea of same language subtitling to enhance literacy skills in mainstream classrooms is new,” Ms Parkill said.

“Similar research projects have been completed by UC researchers over the last five years in a range of schools, comprising different age groups and locations in New Zealand and Australia.

“In all cases the gains made by the students were statistically significant. In one study in Hawke’s Bay we investigated the effectiveness over eight weeks with Year 5 and 6 students. The area is a low-income neighbourhood often featured negatively in the statistics in terms of health issues, crime statistics and general deprivation.

“The majority of the students — 70 per cent — were Māori and the results were staggering, particularly the sustainability of progress. The students continued to progress and build on the reading mileage.

“We do not advocate that using popular film with subtitles become the sole focus in literacy programmes for students who struggle with school literacy,” she said.

However, based on the results to date, Ms Parkhill and Dr Davey suggested its potential as an enrichment or enhancement programme was worth further investigation.

“If we are to succeed as educators of low-literacy children, we must continue to find ways that create an environment that helps them. The continual development and emergence of new media is having an impact on how children learn in schools,” Ms Parkill said.

UC researchers find sub-titled movies help struggling readers

UC education researchers Faye Parkhill (left) and Dr Ronnie Davey.

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Most of New Zealand’s natural wetland ecosystems have been destroyed and indigenous freshwater fish species are under threat, a UC researcher says.

Associate Professor Jon Harding (Biological Sciences) said that 95 per cent of our freshwater wetland ecosystems had been obliterated, often by farm drainage.

“In certain areas of the country, such as the West Coast, this is increasingly happening, while in places such as Canterbury there has been an effort to preserve the last remnants,” he said.

“With only 5 per cent left there isn’t much to save. However, the last ones left, such as Travis Swamp in Christchurch, are very important and we can save them. Also in Canterbury, the Water Management Strategy calls for the creation of new wetlands — this is a very important and exciting move.”

Professor Harding said a significant number of indigenous freshwater fish species were under threat, including the Canterbury mudfish and longfin eels.

"Many of our lowland streams, rivers and lakes are not clean. One of our largest lowland rivers, the Manawatu River, was recently described as one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Lake Ellesmere, or Te Waihora, is the largest lowland lake in New Zealand and it has been described as dead,” he said.

Professor Harding said that for some river systems, water abstraction for irrigation purposes now exceeded the total amount of water in the river.

"These issues are of particular concern when we consider the unique flora and fauna habitat in our freshwaters,” he said.

"Human activities have left their mark on almost all environments on our planet. Human activities have been directly linked to a significant increase in species extinctions, the increasing spread of invasive species, widespread habitat

degradation and ecosystem modification and, arguably, human-induced climate change.

"One environment which has critical importance to life on this planet is our freshwaters. Humans need safe, drinkable water for their survival, while we use freshwater for a range of purposes, including domestic uses, for growing our food and, increasingly, for power generation.

"Despite our dependence on this vital resource we frequently take it for granted and heavily pollute and abuse it. Globally, human activities have had substantial impacts on the availability and quality of freshwaters,” he said.

Call for Kiwis to preserve wetlands and rivers

Associate Professor Jon Harding

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was “integral to the joint enterprise between teaching staff and students”.

“UC has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in teaching and the UC Teaching Awards seek to ensure that the University of Canterbury’s fine tradition of excellence in teaching continues and that it is recognised.

Professor Cheer said she was blown away by the award.

“I felt rather overwhelmed at receiving the award, since I feel I have only begun to scratch the surface of what makes better teaching,” she said.

“I am very grateful to my mentor, Emeritus Professor John Burrows, my HOD, Associate Professor Chris Gallavin, my colleagues in Law who are also researching the teaching of law and, of course, to the University for its increasing support and development of our teaching skills.”

Outstanding teaching at the University of Canterbury has been recognised with the awarding of six UC Teaching Awards.

The awards, which recognise excellence in teaching (including thesis supervision) in both undergraduate and graduate programmes, were recently presented to staff in acknowledgement of outstanding teaching achievements.

The recipients were: Professor Ursula Cheer (Law), Professor Matthew Turnbull (Biological Sciences), Professor Bob Hamilton (Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship), Associate Professor Rajesh Dhakal (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering), Associate Professor Ekant Veer (Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship) and Dr Ronnie Davey (Teacher Education).

UC’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Town, said the role of teaching at UC

Teachers’ excellence recognised with awards

Professor Turnbull said his philosophy for effective teaching was based on an “attitude to students”.

“It’s very pleasing to be recognised in this way. I am especially humbled by the fact that our internal committee of four senior colleagues, including former teaching award winners, decided to nominate me this year,” he said.

“In my nomination document I expressed the view that there are three foundations to effective teaching — and all three of them are ‘attitude to students’. I believe these awards essentially recognise people who care about students and who are prepared to give things a go to improve learning outcomes for their students.

“In the School of Biological Sciences I have tried to help develop a culture of improvement and excellence in learning and teaching — this role is actually quite

Professor Ursula Cheer Professor Matthew Turnbull Professor Bob Hamilton

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Associate Professor Rajesh Dhakal Associate Professor Ekant Veer Dr Ronnie Davey

easy when one is surrounded by colleagues and students who share a similar philosophy. I dedicate this award to them.”

Professor Hamilton said gaining a teaching award was an important highlight for him.

“This was a significant event for me and it was good to be recognised in this way by the University,” he said.

“The most moving and memorable aspect for me was the endorsements and support I received from so many students, both past and present, and from far and near. That this support came from every level from undergraduate through to PhD supervision was very pleasing. I am also grateful to my colleagues for nominating and supporting me.”

Professor Dhakal said he always tried to be a facilitator of knowledge to students.

"Obviously, it was very satisfying being rewarded for excellence in a trade which is a passion rather than a job. Knowing personally some of the previous recipients of this award, I feel honoured to join an elite group of excellent teachers,” he said.

“I believe that efficiently transferring knowledge is a far more important measure of a teacher’s effectiveness than the extent of knowledge itself. Throughout the last 10 years at Canterbury, I have always tried to be a facilitator of knowledge. I never boasted of knowing everything; but did not leave any stone unturned in trying to transfer whatever I knew on the subject/topic to my students. I will cherish this award as a reward for my consistent belief in my teaching philosophy.”

Professor Veer said it was an honour to be recognised by his peers.

“I’m hired to do a job and it’s good to know that others think I’m not doing too badly at that job. A lot of credit needs to go to my colleagues in the Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship,” he said.

“The department is extremely supportive of both teaching and research, which translates into a culture of excellence where we can support one another. If there is a secret to teaching, I’d say it’s about making the students passionate about the topic you’re teaching — if you can make students passionate about a topic, you’ve won half the battle because they will turn up, week after week, ready to learn more and looking forward to learning, rather than seeing it as a chore. Hopefully that comes across in the work I do.”

“UC has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in teaching and the UC Teaching Awards seek to ensure that the University of

Canterbury’s fine tradition of excellence in teaching continues and that it is recognised.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Town

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New approach taken to counter diabetes in Māori UC PhD student Alison Farmer has worked with the Māori community in a bid to fight Type 2 diabetes, which is a serious health problem for Māori.

Alison, a health sciences student, has produced a documentary, launched in July, which will be distributed among the Māori community to highlight the seriousness of the disease.

Type 2 diabetes is almost three times more common in Māori than in non-Māori: Māori are diagnosed younger, and are two to three times more likely to develop complications such as eye disease, kidney failure, stroke and heart disease.

Mortality rates for Māori with Type 2 diabetes are seven times higher than for non-Māori. The Ministry of Health estimates that diabetes increased by 78 per cent between 1996 and 2011.

Alison is an Emmy-award winning documentary producer/director and her DVD has the support of Māori health workers.

“The DVD has been produced as a result of extensive consultation and research with the Māori community and health organisations, reflected in part by the endorsement from Ngāi Tahu chairman Sir Mark Solomon who features in the DVD, which is titled I Want to Walk with my Moko: Preventing Type 2 Diabetes,” she said.

“If the low levels of knowledge of diabetes can be attributed in part to the failure to reflect Māori cultural practices, this study tests whether community based participatory research is an effective approach to address and overcome this problem.

“My research approach has not been implemented or tested before in any health education campaigns with Māori. Academics suggest that this type of research is a particularly fitting method but there is no existing research to demonstrate

whether it can be effective with Māori public health programmes.

“Evaluation and results of the DVD documentary in the Māori community will begin in six months and will seek to confirm if the target audience found the DVD approach helpful,” she said.

“Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly significant health issue with many health professionals predicting a diabetes epidemic in New Zealand. Several studies of Māori health identify the need for new approaches to diabetes education in order to reduce the current gap between Māori and non-Māori disease rates.”

Research suggests that the reported low level of diabetes knowledge in the Māori community is due to a lack of culturally appropriate media that reflects Māori beliefs and cultural practices.

Alison’s research, supervised by Associate Professor Ray Kirk and Health Sciences senior lecturer Jeff Gage, focuses on what Māori want to see in a media resource about diabetes prevention.

UC PhD student Alison Farmer.

Two University of Canterbury academics have received almost $1 million in funding for research into helping critically ill patients breathe more easily and an investigation into the possible causes of breast cancer.

Mechanical Engineering's Professor Geoff Chase received $650,000 from the Health Research Council to investigate how to better support intensive care patients who require breathing support via mechanical ventilation. School of Health Sciences' Professor Ann Richardson was awarded $333,221 for her breast cancer research.

Professor Chase said the application of mechanical ventilation could be very variable and difficult, resulting in significant added risks to patients, as well as significant added costs.

The main reason for this difficulty was the inability to directly measure patient-specific conditions and response to therapy without invasive, time consuming testing.

This research used novel, clinically validated models of human lung mechanics with clinical data to identify validated

metrics of patient condition and responsiveness to therapy.

These would be used to track patient condition and guide treatment. The results would clearly define, for the first time, the evolution and time course of respiratory disease in the intensive care unit (ICU) and demonstrate the ability of engineering model-based methods to optimise mechanical ventilation to improve patient care and outcomes, and reduce cost.

Mechanical ventilation is a costly intensive care therapy affecting up to 50 per cent of patients, or about 8000 patients in New Zealand a year at a cost of $15 million annually.

Patients requiring mechanical ventilation stayed in intensive care 70 per cent longer and the cost was 140 per cent more than other ICU patients.

“This research will improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders, including Māori who are over-represented in the cardiovascular disease and respiratory health statistics that are leading causes of ICU admission and mortality,” Professor Chase said.

Meanwhile, Professor Richardson, from the UC Wayne Francis Cancer Epidemiology Research Group, would investigate issues relating to breast cancer, which affects more than 2700 New Zealand

women annually and kills over 600 women every year.

Professor Richardson said that the causes of breast cancer were not fully understood. Although some important risk factors had been identified, it is likely that other risk factors had not.

“It is known that a virus can cause breast cancer in mice and previous research by our team suggested that a virus may be important in human breast cancer.

“We will test stored blood samples from a group of women who donated blood samples to find out whether patterns of exposure to the virus, cytomegalovirus, differ for women with breast cancer compared with women who do not have breast cancer.

“If this research supports a link between the cytomegalovirus virus and breast cancer it could lead to the worldwide prevention of a significant proportion of breast cancer, for instance by immunisation in early childhood,” Professor Richardson said.

Her project would be undertaken in collaboration with researchers in Dunedin, Norway and Finland.

Funding boost for medical research projects

Professor Ann Richardson and Professor Geoff Chase.

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Up to 12 such scholarships are offered by Fulbright NZ each year, each carrying a lump sum of $25,000 and return flights to the USA. Sarah Poole and Sam Corbett-Davies will head to Stanford University in the San Francisco Bay area, and Cameron Gunn to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). All three graduated from UC with BE(Hons) in 2012.

The trio are among eight students or alumni from UC to receive various Fulbright awards. The other recipients are environmental science PhD student Ani Kainamu and engineering alumnus Isaac Manuel (Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate Awards); engineering graduate William McVitty (Fulbright-EQC Graduate Award in Natural Disaster Research); and history master’s student Joshua Tait and linguistics graduate Simon Todd (Fulbright New Zealand General Graduate Awards).

Ani will study indigenous and Western natural resource management practices for waterway habitats of wild food species at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu; Isaac will look at distributed control systems and estimation for autonomous vehicles at a yet-to-be-determined US university; William will complete a master’s degree specialising in structural and earthquake engineering at the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York; Joshua will complete a PhD in history, specialising in the American conservative movement, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Simon will complete a PhD in linguistics at Stanford University, California.

“The scholarships don’t necessarily guarantee we will be accepted by a university in the US but they certainly look great on our CVs, and definitely mean the universities give us serious consideration,” said Sarah.

“It’s also a global award,” said Sam. “Fulbright scholars come from all around the world and one of the first things we do

in the States is a Gateway Programme where we’ll meet other scholars from Europe, Africa and other places — that will be awesome.”

Cameron said that the connections they would make and the people they would meet would be one of the highlights.

“When you start at your university there, they connect you with someone from your own country who has been a Fulbright

scholar at that university within the same area you’re studying.”

Even though all three came through the same UC undergraduate degree, they each now have a completely different focus and their PhDs reflect this.

Sarah has chosen a bioengineering route through the Biomedical Informatics PhD programme.

Fulbright lights

UC graduates (from left) Cameron Gunn, Sarah Poole and Sam Corbett-Davies have won Fulbright NZ scholarships.

Three UC graduates from the same mechatronics class have won Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate Awards to undertake PhDs at universities in the USA.

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Associate Professor Alfred Guender (Economics and Finance) has been awarded an Erasmus Mundus fellowship that will take him to the University of Antwerp later this year.

The fellowship, awarded to Professor Guender through the European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus programme, will allow him to spend two months in the Belgian university’s Department of Economics from late September.

The aim of the Erasmus Mundus programme is to enhance higher education in Europe and encourage the exchange of ideas between scholars.

Professor Guender said he was “very excited” to receive the fellowship, which was awarded competitively. “It is reassuring to learn that the scholarship coming out of UC is noticed and appreciated elsewhere.”

Professor Guender said that while at the University of Antwerp, he intended to work

on his ongoing research and deliver guest lectures to a postgraduate course in macroeconomic theory.

He will also give a seminar at the university in early October on the preliminary findings of his current research. He will deliver similar seminars at other European universities in November.

Professor Guender’s research focus is an examination of the predictive ability of a financial variable for economic activity in the context of the European debt crisis.

“With Bernard Tolan, a 2013 UC honours graduate in economics and finance, I have designed a way to extract a risk premium from interest rates in countries on the European periphery. This risk premium is shown to rise during recessions and help predict decreases in future economic activity.”

Professor Guender, an expert in monetary policy, has also been asked to lecture on monetary policy in open and closed economies. These lectures will be based on his book, Optimal Monetary Policy Under Uncertainty.

European scholarship for UC academic

Associate Professor Alfred Guender

“I’ll be looking at computerised hospital records,” she said. “There are patterns in disease progression and therapy efficacy that are not obvious when only a few patients are considered, but become so when they repeat in a larger sample. By using ‘big data’ we can hopefully get earlier diagnoses and more effective treatment regimes.”

Sam’s PhD will be in computer science and driven by a passion for robotics.

“I’ll be working on computer vision systems that will allow robots to function in human environments, not just factory settings, and apply this to things like a self-driving car or a robot able to clean kitchens.”

Cameron’s honours project at UC has inspired a PhD centred on applying decision and control systems currently used in engineering to medical decisions.

“I’m really interested in applying mathematics to decisions that are currently made in hospitals based on experience, intuition and limited data,” he said.

Sam wants a career in research and sees a future where robotics advances at the same pace as the personal computer has done. Sarah loves the teaching side of academia and would like to lecture with a little research on the side, and Cameron sees a small business that corners a niche market somewhere in his future.

All three agree that the mechatronics course was an especially “cool” programme because it showed them both sides of a coin — mechanics and electronics.

“Even though it’s a rigid structure to begin, so that we all get the same core skills by the end, the flexibility was amazing. There are just so many directions to go in,” Cameron said.

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China’s bid to be more actively involved in Arctic and Antarctic polar governance is coming under the scrutiny of a University of Canterbury political scientist.

Associate Professor Anne-Marie Brady has been granted a prestigious residential fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC from September. Professor Brady will also be a senior research fellow at the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies during her visit.

During her nine-month fellowship in Washington, Professor Brady will write a new book on China’s polar policies.

China’s increased polar engagement may challenge the interests of other polar states, Professor Brady said.

“Will China continue to support international norms on the polar regions as it becomes more dominant? Is China a reluctant stakeholder in the international system?

“My fellowship project will use China's polar policies as a lens to better understand Beijing’s global behaviour and foreign policy, meanwhile examining the current challenges climate change, the global financial crisis and declining oil production are bringing to existing governance arrangements in the polar regions.

“Climate change, globalisation, oil interests and the contrast in the rising economies of the BRICS states [Brazil,

Russia, India, China, South Africa] versus the declining economies of the US and the European Union is starting to put pressure on existing regimes in the Arctic and Antarctic,” she said.

“New Zealand will gain greater knowledge of the key political and economic challenge it is currently facing: the changed balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region.

“China is fast becoming the dominant player in our part of the world. It is also New Zealand’s largest trading partner. In order to face the challenge of the new world order we need to get a better sense of what China’s foreign policy intentions are and its attitude to global governance.

“As a small state, New Zealand is very dependent on multi-lateral relations and the regional architecture of multi-lateral organisations to pursue our foreign policy goals.

“New Zealand policymakers need to know to what extent China is a stakeholder

China’s polar behaviour under scrutiny

in the current global order, whether China will respect existing international norms, and how China can be expected to behave in international regimes, especially those most important to our region,” Professor Brady said.

China’s polar behaviour is an extremely useful case study for exploring these concerns. The Antarctic is strategically important to New Zealand due to its close proximity and because New Zealand claims 21 per cent of the continent as the Ross Dependency. This claim is larger in size than the whole of New Zealand, including the sea boundaries.

“China is rapidly increasing its budget and level of engagement in Antarctica and it plans to set up a new base in the Ross Dependency. It is strategically important for New Zealand to better understand what this means for our interests,” Professor Brady said.

Associate Professor Anne-Marie Brady

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The co-editors of a new book on violence, published by Canterbury University Press, hope it will provide a valuable resource for those providing violence prevention programmes and studying its impact.

The book, Understanding Violence: Context and Practice in the Human Services, is co-edited by UC social work expert Dr Annabel Taylor and Professor Marie Connolly from the University of Melbourne.

Dr Taylor, who is Director of the Te Awatea Violence Research Centre at UC, said the book aimed to increase the understanding of violence, its origins and the practices that had developed in response to violence.

“This book reflects the work of UC’s Te Awatea Violence Research Centre

researchers and includes a broad coverage of many types of violence and recent response initiatives.

“It will be an essential resource for family violence practitioners, police, shelter organisations and violence prevention programme providers, as well as students and academics.

“Gangs, elder abuse, sexual offending and social networking risks are some of the areas described. I hope this contribution to research and writing will help to inform the public about violence prevention and contribute to on-going debate concerning effective responses to violence,” Dr Taylor said.

Violence continues to be a major challenge for New Zealand communities with nearly half of all homicides the result of family violence.

On average, 14 women, six men and 10 children are killed by a member of their family every year. Police recorded 86,545 family violence incidents and offences in

2008. Dr Taylor said violence in New Zealand was getting worse.

“The economic cost of family violence was estimated at $1.2 to $5.8 billion per year by economist Suzanne Snively in 1994. In today’s figures that would rise to $8 billion.

“We [New Zealand] have the fifth worst child abuse record out of 31 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with, on average, one child killed every five weeks.”

• Understanding Violence: Context and Practice in the Human Services, co-edited by Dr Annabel Taylor and Professor Marie Connolly, published by Canterbury University Press, June 2013, RRP$45, ISBN 978-1-927145-48-7.

CUP book aims to help reduce violence

Dr Annabel Taylor with her latest book.

A UC student has proposed a grocery shopping outlet that allows Canterbury farmers and growers to sell their goods directly to the consumer, seven days a week.

The Hunters and Gatherers scheme has been developed by fifth-year commerce and honours law student Kate Austin as part of the annual $75,000 entré business competition.

Entré is a UC student-founded ideas competition that sees young hopefuls put their business ideas to the test with the help of mentors and business connections. Guest judges include Icebreaker innovator Brian Brackenridge.

Kate’s scheme would allow Cantabrians to buy their groceries from the butcher, the baker and the fruit and vegetable shop all under one roof, knowing that it has come to the shelves directly and can be traced back to their origin.

“I’m looking at a trendy and architecturally designed site which provides an experience for grocery shoppers complete with an on-site café,” Kate said.

“The architecture and idea is inspired by the Torvehallerne Markets in Copenhagen and other European food outlets.

“I was also inspired after watching my father pull out his pear orchard as he could no longer sustain the business on the prices he was offered from large suppliers.

“Over the last three years in Wanganui probably more than 90 per cent of pear orchards have been pulled out — a big number considering Wanganui was in the top three regions for pear production.

“My father turned to sell the pears at local markets all over the North Island from which he had a great response. The produce market trend is booming in New Zealand at the moment. The weekend Riccarton Bush markets are a great example of the importance Cantabrians place on fresh food and local produce.”

Kate hoped the Christchurch rebuild would offer market opportunities.

“It would be an exciting feature of the Christchurch rebuild, perhaps providing a food hub in the city. Currently, there isn’t one but Auckland has a great market at Britomart. Benefits from the Hunters and Gatherers scheme include convenience, quality, fresh and local produce and a shopping experience.”

Kate said the Hunters and Gatherers company would supply a space for a number of outlets and farmers to provide fresh produce under one roof, with one checkout, in a trendy indoor space together with a café for shoppers. Butchers, bakers, fishermen and growers would provide product for the market along with fresh locally produced dairy products.

Hunters and Gatherers is one of 10 teams selected for the final round of the competition, the winners of which will be announced in September.

UC’s other top teams include Helms Deep, AgriSolar, Flatmate, WikiPrize, Milne Industries, Social Ruckus, tempME, Himalyan Tahr Development Project and Field Find.

‘Super’ market proposal a finalist in business competition

UC student Kate Austin.

UC student Kate Mitchell and recent graduate Matt Evans will spend two months in China from September after being awarded fellowships by the Gansu International Fellowship Programme.

Kate, who completed a BA/BCom in Semester 1, and Matt, who graduated in April with a BCom, will be part of an international delegation that will travel to Lanzhou, the capital of the Gansu Province of China, where they will be based at Lanzhou University with delegates from 26 other countries.

They will spend their time attending lectures and going on field trips. They will also have a number of opportunities to interact with the local community.

The programme is managed by the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office. The annual event has been held at Lanzhou University since 2006 and is fully funded by the Gansu Provincial People's Government. The Christchurch City Council International Relations team, together with the Christchurch-China Sister Cities Committee, select the delegates to represent Christchurch.

The aim of the programme is to develop international connections for the Gansu Province and promote a better understanding globally of the province and China as a whole. The funding fellowship recipients receive includes return airfares, accommodation, domestic travel in China and a living allowance.

Both Kate and Matt are alumni of the MGMT228 Summer School field trip to China.

Fellowships take pair back to China

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A Māori translation carried out by UC staff of an influential Russian poem will be among more than 72 translations to feature in a book due to be published in Russia in the next year.

The poem, called To…, was written by Russian romantic poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799–1837) in 1825 and is one of the best known love poems in the Russian language.

The translation of the poem was carried out by the College of Education’s Te Hurinui Clarke (Teacher Education) after members of the Russian Cultural Centre Trust in Christchurch, Anna Filippochkina and Andrei Frolov, approached UC’s Te Rū Rangahau: Māori Research Laboratory about getting the poem translated into te reo Māori.

Director of Te Rū Rangahau, Professor Angus Macfarlane, said staff were “delighted” to be part of the project.

“The University has experts of the Māori language based in Aotahi (School of Māori

and Indigenous Studies) in the College of Arts and in the College of Education. UC prides itself on the provisions we make for the stewardship of the language and on our international connections. So we honour and respect this project, and are pleased to be part of it.”

Mrs Filippochkina, co-ordinator of the Russian Cultural Centre Trust, said she approached UC because it had a reputation for having respected Māori language specialists on staff.

“Language is my life so I know how important it is to make sure translations are done carefully and correctly by experts.”

Mrs Filippochkina said the translation project was initiated by Boris Yegorov, the Director of the Arkhangelsk Literature Museum in northwest Russia. The book was due to be published by early next year.

Mr Clarke said he initially found working on the translation “quite challenging”.

“The main difficulty was that much of the meaning in the poem was implicit in the language rather than explicit. Therefore I had to use some poetic licence in order to retain the artistry of the language yet still convey the meaning. I used a Māori

Shakespearean style of language which helped make the process achievable, using metaphor and personification.”

Mr Clarke said one of the “great things” about te reo Māori was that metaphor and personification were a normal part of its usage.

“So once I was able to get my head around what the poem was alluding to, the translation process became a lot easier. Another interesting thing for me is that you could give that poem to five different people to translate and they would come up with five different ways of translating it.”

Professor Macfarlane said Mr Clarke undertook the translation after a link between Mr Frolov and Mr Clarke was discovered. Mr Frolov is one of the actors from Maori TV’s Deane Waretini: Now is the Hour programme.

“Both Deane and Te Hurinui affiliate to Tūhourangi/Ngāti Wāhiao in Rotorua. Having made the connection I asked Te Hurinui to lead the translation and it was then passed to Tūhourangi/Ngāti Wāhiao authority, Mauriora Kingi, to check for accuracy and conceptualisation.”

Russian love poem meets Māori metaphor

(From left) Te Hurinui Clarke, Professor Angus Macfarlane, and Anna and Victor Filippochkina.

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Betty O’Dowd was a long-time member of UC’s history department and well-known around the University as a wise and understanding head of halls of residence.

She came to Christchurch from Auckland in 1958 when, for two years, she both lectured history and was warden of Helen Connon Hall, the university hall for women. She returned permanently in 1964 and was warden again from 1965 to 1968 and retired from the history department in 1987.

Betty was one of the team in the history department who taught European history with great success. She excelled in what we called the pastoral care of students. The small group tutorial and the one-on-one meeting were her forte, and it was in these situations that her benignity was seen to best advantage. Only a few University staff experienced as much affectionate remembrance from ex-students as Betty did.

It was during her role as warden of Helen Connon Hall that she made her distinctive contribution at Canterbury. The hall had a respected tradition of self-government under the warden by an elected student committee. With no experience of hostels, Betty came without preconceptions, simply applying her conviction that rules, to be obeyed, had to be respected and enforced in close co-operation with the committee. Her own student experience suggested the importance of socialising without undue restraint. So rules for late leave were liberalised and males allowed to visit until 11pm.

These were controversial moves. They worked because Betty’s pastoral warmth won trust and they prepared Connon well for the upheavals of the 1960s. Equally

important, Betty’s affinity with young women reinforced the sense of supportive community, while her encouragement extended the hall’s intellectual and cultural life. University staff and notables such as James K Baxter were frequent visitors while, for colleagues and friends, her drawing room became something of a salon and her parties a social highlight. Betty was an outstanding warden.

In 1979–80, Betty shared the management of Rochester Hall at Ilam. When Rochester and Rutherford halls combined, she served on the executive for several years.

Betty was a devout Catholic all her life and an influential figure in the Christchurch diocese. Her leadership was recognised in 1994 when Pope John Paul II made her a Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great. Evacuated from Christchurch after the February 2011 earthquake, Betty died in Auckland on 2 June in the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor at their St Joseph’s Home.

John Cookson and Marie Peters

Betty O’Dowd (1923–2013)

Ms Betty O’Dowd taught history at UC.

UC civil engineer Professor Andy Buchanan has received a President’s Award from the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA).

Professor Buchanan is at the international forefront of research into new methods of constructing multi-storey timber buildings.

NZIA President David Sheppard presented the award to Professor Buchanan at the NZIA awards ceremony in Auckland. The President’s Award recognises a significant contribution to architecture or the built environment in New Zealand.

A citation for Professor Buchanan’s award said that in the course of his distinguished career he had undertaken work in the fields of structural, earthquake and environmental engineering, as well as fire safety. In his current research he was drawing upon his experience in all of these disciplines to develop new timber technologies.

“His timber design leadership is also of national importance at a time when the country is increasingly aware of the need for resilient buildings and environmentally conscious construction.”

UC Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engineering) Professor Jan Evans-Freeman said his work was particularly relevant to the future of Christchurch.

“I am delighted to see Professor Buchanan’s innovative building design work recognised in this way. It is particularly timely also in the context of the Christchurch rebuild and the fact that some of the new structures in the city will embrace the technology developed by Andy and his team,” she said.

Award for UC engineer

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What's on at UC? What if… Rugby were our religion? Wednesday 17 July Undercroft 101, 6.30pm – 8pm What if Wednesdays are UC’s free public lecture series and are held on campus every Wednesday night. Come along and listen to Associate Professor Mike Grimshaw discuss the oft-quoted phrase “rugby is New Zealand’s religion”. This lecture is what happens when a scholar tampers with the sport and the religion of rugby. Questions that will be addressed include: When, where and how did the phrase arise? What did — and does — it mean? What could a religion of rugby tell us about ourselves as we have a situation where a widespread claim of national identity has received little attention by scholars because it involves sport, religion and national mythologies. www.canterbury.ac.nz/wiw/

What if… Marketing could actually make society better? Wednesday 24 July Undercroft 101, 6.30pm – 8pm In this What if Wednesdays lecture Associate Professor Ekant Veer will question why marketing has such a bad reputation. How can marketing actually be used to improve society and consumer welfare? What can be done to improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns to improve consumers’ lives? How can social media be used as a means of understanding consumers better? www.canterbury.ac.nz/wiw/

What if… Farmers and business could help save New Zealand’s unique biodiversity? Wednesday 31 July Undercroft 101, 6.30pm – 8pm Professor David Norton will present this week’s What if Wednesdays lecture. Professor Norton will address how, despite more than 100 years of conservation management, New Zealand’s native biodiversity continues to decline. This decline occurs

irrespective of whether the land is part of the public conservation estate or not. Professor Norton will examine the reasons for this decline and outline what might be realistic goals for New Zealand biodiversity conservation, and suggest some new approaches that could be used to help achieve these goals. www.canterbury.ac.nz/wiw/

Facilitating children’s language development Wednesday 7, 14, 21 August E6, 7pm – 8.30pm This three-part lecture series explores the fascinating process of young children learning to talk. Three experts in the field of child language development will share their views on this topic and offer strategies on how to facilitate children’s language learning. The lectures include “Language Development in Children” presented by Professor Thomas Klee; “Children with Language Difficulties” delivered by Professor Stephanie F Stokes and “Facilitating Children’s Language Development” presented by Associate Professor Catherine Moran. www.canterbury.ac.nz/events

Your career as a professional engineer Wednesday 24 July E8 Lecture Theatre, 5pm – 6pm Come along and learn about professional recognition from IPENZ, ethical responsibilities, salary expectations and more. www.canterbury.ac.nz/events

Postgraduate Students' Orientation Monday 12 August James Hight, seminar room 210, 1pm – 3pm This session welcomes domestic and international students to UC and Christchurch. Orientations include information about learning resources at UC, support resources at UC, rules, regulations and policies for PhD students at UC, opportunities to network with other PhD and postgraduate students across campus, opportunities for leisure and recreation activities at UC and in the Christchurch community, tips and hints from current students on how to survive and enjoy the PhD journey, and a campus tour led by current PhD students. www.canterbury.ac.nz/events

Associate Professor Mike Grimshaw

CHRONICLE 48, No.3, July 2013

A fading photograph capturing the moment a kamikaze pilot and his navigator gave their lives for Japan during World War 2 led UC’s Dr Jeffrey Paparoa Holman on a journey of discovery and reconciliation.

The photograph was taken on 6 April 1945 at sea off the Japanese island of Ishigaki. It shows the final moments of a fatal dive by the two-man crew of a Suisei dive-bomber as it crashed into the sea, its 1000-pound bomb exploding beside its missed target, the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious.

Dr Holman’s father, Chief Petty Officer WT Holman, was on the signals deck of the Illustrious as the plane plunged towards its mark and, in the nearest of near-misses, he managed to dive for cover as fire from the ship blew the plane off its course.

Dr Holman said that near-miss must have had a huge impact on his father who, he later discovered, would sometimes carry the photo with him.

“I remember seeing the photo when I was a teenager but it was only after my father died that I found out he had shown it to others in the community so it had some

significance for him. When I saw it again it got me thinking about who that pilot was and why he died and my father didn’t, and I started wondering if it would be possible to trace the pilot and find out if he had any surviving family.”

During a residency at Waikato University in 2011, and with the help of UC’s New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour postdoctoral fellow Dr Kota Hattori, Dr Holman set out on a journey to find out more, not only about the kamikaze pilot and navigator, but also about his father’s experiences in the war.

His discoveries are revealed in his latest book, The Lost Pilot: A Memoir, which was published by Penguin in June.

“The book is part memoir, part history and part travelogue but, for me, it’s also a kind of pilgrimage. It’s about my father and his wartime experiences and how those experiences shaped him and the relationship he had with his family. But it also looks at the “other” side of the war and how the children of war veterans on both sides of the conflict were affected by the post-traumatic stress suffered by these veterans.”

Dr Holman’s book also documents the time he spent in Japan meeting with the families of two of the three Japanese kamikaze aircrew who were recorded as dying in that attack on 6 April 1945.

“It’s my attempt to understand what it meant to be a young person during the war, caught in forces beyond your control, and the aftermath of such an experience. For the families in Japan, they are still grieving for these young men. For people like my father who survived, they came home after five or six years away having experienced extreme violence yet were expected to pick up where they left off. Many, like my father, found the intimacies of civilian and domestic life inaccessible,” he said.

“After writing this book, I have a lot more compassion for my father and his generation. They never had an adolescence and came home to a ruined world as damaged people.”

• The Lost Pilot: A Memoir by Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, published by Penguin, June 2013, RRP NZ$40.

Photo prompts journey of discoveryDr Jeffrey Paparoa Holman and his latest book The Lost Pilot: A Memoir.