RSNZ Waikato Branch - Talk Series

Submitted by sanjayw on Mon, 17/05/2010 - 12:18

Facing the Future

Upcoming events

Title: Human Capital and Economic Development in New Zealand: Squandering Our Demographic Dividend
 
Speaker: Ian Pool, Emeritus Professor, University Of Waikato
 
Abstract:
For the last three decades, New Zealand has looked at development through the wrong end of the telescope. It has failed to realise on a once-off window of opportunity coming from its demographic dividend (high labour force support ratios; low dependency ratios) which will come to an end circa 2016. Instead, we have chased strategies that depend on overseas borrowing, and on migration for human capital. The tail of the dog (migration) has been used to wag the dog (population and development). We have viewed migration in “cargo cult” ways — especially its impact on the “economy” operating through the housing market, and its supposed role in population replacement, and as a buffer against ageing — as the solution for our self-imposed woes.
 
Above all, we are grossly negligent about the potential human capital already in our midst, and in whom we have invested, often for 20+ years — young resident New Zealanders. This is not new: throughout the life-span of the demographic dividend (circa 1975–today). We have pursued policies that have profligately squandered it. To remain as a First world country we need to invest in educating and training our future human capital, and in pro-active employment strategies that create the work environment of an advanced industrialised state — the savings will flow on from that. In doing it we might even keep many of our young here; we could even start to challenge Australia. The role of these young will be in highly skilled industries, and in industries to service the Baby Boomers as they age.
 
Personal Profile :
Ian Pool is an elected member of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), between 2004–2006 he was a James Cook Fellow (RSNZ) and worked on the project, A Demographic History of NZ. He has held positions at The University of Waikato from 1978 until retiring in 2009: from 1978–1992 — Professor of Sociology, and then of Sociology and Anthropology; from 1992–2009 — Professor of Demography. Ian has had numerous short-term consulting missions for the UN Population Fund, USAID and other agencies, mainly in Africa, but also in the Asia-Pacific region. He has authored/co-authored, edited/co-edited 150+ books, monographs and papers. 
 
Tuesday 14 September, 2010
7.30 p.m.
Room SG.01,
Gate 8
University of Waikato.
Room S.G.01 is in S block, immediately below the School of Maori & Pacific Development.
A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf.
There is no charge for this event.

 

Past events

Title: The nitrogen cascade: past and future directions

Speaker: Associate Professor Louis Schipper

Abstract: Nitrogen is critical to life and has greatly increased food production supporting population growth and has helped develop the New Zealand economy. However, the excess of nitrogen has recently been suggested to be one of three planetary boundaries that have been exceeded along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity. A major concern about excess nitrogen is that it can be highly mobile and once it leaves the soil, enters other ecosystems where nitrogen acts as an unwanted fertiliser. The "Nitrogen Cascade" is a term developed to describe the multiple impacts that nitrogen has moving from upland systems (often agriculture) through ground water to surface waters (including streams, rivers, lakes) and onto the ocean. This talk will describe the effects of the nitrogen cascade and the size of the issue in New Zealand currently and examine future scenarios and briefly discuss potential solutions.

 

Louis Schipper teaches soil science at the University of Waikato and conducts research into long-term changes in soil carbon and nitrogen. He is focused on trying to develop strategies that improve environmental performance while maintaining productive uses of land. He works closely with a range of CRIs and in the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre on soil related research. In the last two years, he was elected a fellow of the New Zealand and US Soil Science Societies.

 

 

Tuesday 10 August, 2010
7.30 p.m.
Room SG.01,
Gate 8
Waikato University

University of Waikato.

Room S.G.01 is in S block, immediately below the School of Maori & Pacific Development.

A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf.

There is no charge for this event.

 

Title: Using stem cells in regenerative medicine - are we making progress?

Speaker: Professor Katherine Crosier
University of Auckland.

Abstract:

Stem cells are the foundation cells for every tissue and organ in the body. Under the right conditions, they become programmed to develop into specialized cells such as blood cells or insulin secreting pancreatic cells. There are two main types of stem cells.  Embryonic stem cells exist only at the earliest stages of development, but are capable of generating all of the cells in the body.   Human embryonic stem cells were isolated a decade ago, and while offering considerable potential for regenerative medicine they have also been a source of controversy. Tissue specific (sometimes called “adult”) stem cells are already somewhat specialized and produce a more limited range of cell types.
 
Stem cell research is providing fundamental understanding of normal development and disease processes, with this knowledge now being applied to develop new therapies.  For stem cells to be useful in treating a broad range of diseases in many patients, some big challenges lie ahead.  To date, the field of stem cell therapy has been characterized by considerable hope, but also a degree of hype. This talk will provide an overview of achievements in stem cell research and prospects for the future.

 

Tuesday 6 July, 2010 
7.30 p.m.
Room SG.01,
Gate 8
Waikato University

A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf.

There is no charge for this event.

 

 

Title: Recipe for Economic Survival

Speaker: Dr Andrew West

CEO AgResearch

Abstract:
New Zealand’s comparative economic performance is deteriorating.  This talk examines the rate of decline and the underlying reasons for it, with an especial focus on investment in science and technology.  It then recommends a series of measures that the New Zealand Government could take to reverse the decline.  These recommendations cover taxation, investment, regulation, R&D and education.  The paper concludes that if such changes are not made by the medium-term then no-one over the age of 25 should be allowed to manage New Zealand and its industries.

 

Personal profile:
Dr West has been a CEO or Executive Chairman for fourteen years.  For the past six years he has led AgResearch.  He previously led Geological and Nuclear Sciences, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the Tertiary Education Commission.  Dr West chaired the board of Innovation Waikato Ltd for five years and in that time was instrumental in orchestrating the Waikato’s bid to host a Food Innovation Network hub.

 
Tuesday 8 June
7.30 p.m.
Room AG.30,
Gate 8
Waikato University

Room AG.30 is within the School of Maori & Pacific Development. A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf.

There is no charge for this event.

Download Audio

 

Title: Coping with climate change interactions – the role of UV radiation

Speaker: Professor Janet F. Bornman

International Global Change Centre (IGCC), University of Waikato, Hamilton

Abstract:
Climate change has always been happening. However, today we are faced with a faster rate of change with increasingly stronger climate events coupled with greater frequency of extremes. Far from being straight-forward, climate change is complex with many feedback interactions which can lead to some unexpected outcomes. One example are the interactive effects of ozone depletion, resulting increase in UV-B (280-315 nm) radiation and climate change. Furthermore, increasing greenhouse gas concentrations could delay ozone recovery. Even apart from ozone depletion, exposure to UV radiation is increasing in some areas as a result of changes in cloud cover, decreased pollution levels, deforestation, and subsequent landuse change. These changes are having effects on a wide range of systems including climate patterns, human health, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and biogeochemical cycling (the movement of chemical elements between living systems and the atmosphere, water bodies and soils). Of concern is that an increasing UV-B radiation can change carbon and nutrient cycling in plant and aquatic ecosystems, and enhance the biological availability and toxicity of metals for living organisms including humans.

While exposure to UV radiation is well correlated with skin cancer incidence and eye damage, this needs to be balanced for the beneficial effects of UV radiation such as the resultant production of Vitamin D. Exposure to UV has been implicated in reducing risk of some internal cancers, autoimmune disease and bone fractures. There also appears to be a link  between protection against the internal cancers and Vitamin D production. Interactions between several climate change factors and exposure to UV-B radiation can occur with increased temperature and humidity, which have negative effects on skin cancer and infectious diseases.

The key climate change factors such as increasing greenhouse gas emissions, rising temperatures in mid-latitudes, frequent droughts and flooding result in a wide range of consequences for plants and animals, among them shifts in seasons, spreading of vector-borne diseases into new areas, altered herbivory and pathogen attack, changes in species composition and abundance. An intriguing suite of indirect effects from UV exposure on ecosystem processes below soil surfaces also adds to the complexity of response and adaptation. Thus the intricacies of climate change impacts and feedback processes coupled with the interactive effects of UV-B radiation are likely to modify adaptation response in many unforeseen ways which may have both positive and negative outcomes. 

Personal profile:
Professor Janet Bornman is director of the International Global Change Centre (IGCC) within the University of Waikato.  Professor Bornman has served as Secretary, chapter author and as of 2004, co-chair of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), one of three panels of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. As Co-chair Prof. Bornman represents the Panel at the Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol. In 2007, Prof Bornman received the the European Society for Photobiology (ESP) medal: “For outstanding internationally acknowledged contribution in the field of Photobiology” and in 2009, Janet received the Ozone Layer Protection Award for “Scientific expertise and leadership in protecting the ozone layer”, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Professor Bornman is a member of the Royal Society of New Zealand Climate Committee. For a more extensive bio, see http://www.waikato.ac.nz/igci/people/bornman.htm

See also http://www.waikato.ac.nz/news/archive.shtml?article=955 


Tuesday 11 May
7.30 p.m.
Room AG.30,
Gate 8
Waikato University

Room AG.30 is within the School of Maori & Pacific Development. A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf.

There is no charge for this event.

Download Audio

 

 

Title: The Role of Science in International Environmental Law and Policy

Speaker: Alexander Gillespie

Abstract:
Environmental problems of an international magnitude can only be dealt with collectively. The key to success in all of these processes is science. Whilst a robust scientific consensus is not a guarantee of success in international law, the failure of a robust scientific consensus is a guarantee of failure. To illustrate the options in this area, Professor Gillespie will show the different ways science have been approached within the three different regimes of whaling, air pollution and climate change to show what works, what does not, and what needs to be done.

Personal profile: Al Gillespie is professor on the staff at the Waikato University Law School. For a more extensive bio see http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/faculty/staff/academic/alexander_gillespie
 

Wednesday 17 March
7.30 p.m.
Room AG.30,
Gate 8
Waikato University

Room AG.30 is within the School of Maori & Pacific Development. A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf.

There is no charge for this event.

 Download Audio

 

 

 

Title: The nitrogen cascade: past and future directions

Speaker: Associate Professor Louis SchipperUniversity of Waikato.

 

Abstract:

 

 

Personal profile:

Louis Schipper teaches soil science at the University of Waikato and conducts research into long-term changes in soil carbon and nitrogen. He is focused on trying to develop strategies that improve environmental performance while maintaining productive uses of land. He works closely with a range of CRIs and in the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre on soil related research. In the last two years, he was elected a fellow of the New Zealand and US Soil Science Societies.

 

 

Tuesday 10 August, 2010 
7.30 p.m.
Room SG.01,
Gate 8
Waikato University

A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf.

There is no charge for this event.

 

Room S.G.01 is in S block, immediately below the School of Maori & Pacific Development.

 

 

 

Nitrogen is critical to life and has greatly increased food production supporting population growth and has helped develop the New Zealand economy. However, the excess of nitrogen has recently been suggested to be one of three planetary boundaries that have been exceeded along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity. A major concern about excess nitrogen is that it can be highly mobile and once it leaves the soil, enters other ecosystems where nitrogen acts as an unwanted fertiliser. The "Nitrogen Cascade" is a term developed to describe the multiple impacts that nitrogen has moving from upland systems (often agriculture) through ground water to surface waters (including streams, rivers, lakes) and onto the ocean. This talk will describe the effects of the nitrogen cascade and the size of the issue in New Zealand currently and examine future scenarios and briefly discuss potential solutions.

 

Nitrogen is critical to life and has greatly increased food production supporting population growth and has helped develop the New Zealand economy. However, the excess of nitrogen has recently been suggested to be one of three planetary boundaries that have been exceeded along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity. A major concern about excess nitrogen is that it can be highly mobile and once it leaves the soil, enters other ecosystems where nitrogen acts as an unwanted fertiliser. The "Nitrogen Cascade" is a term developed to describe the multiple impacts that nitrogen has moving from upland systems (often agriculture) through ground water to surface waters (including streams, rivers, lakes) and onto the ocean. This talk will describe the effects of the nitrogen cascade and the size of the issue in New Zealand currently and examine future scenarios and briefly discuss potential solutions.

Personal profile:

Louis Schipper teaches soil science at the University of Waikato and conducts research into long-term changes in soil carbon and nitrogen. He is focused on trying to develop strategies that improve environmental performance while maintaining productive uses of land. He works closely with a range of CRIs and in the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre on soil related research. In the last two years, he was elected a fellow of the New Zealand and US Soil Science Societies.