AUT - Social Sciences news archive
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Social Sciences news archive
- Nov 2011 - The most important problems according to voters
- Nov 2011 - Social Sciences cap off a successful year
- Sep 2011 - AUT Social Sciences student to attend 2011 APEC
- Aug 2011 - Social Sciences duo recognised for Excellence in Teaching
- Nov 2010 - 10 years on - Languages and Social Sciences Alumni celebration
The most important problems according to voters
The economy in its various faces, followed by health, law and order and
education, top the most important problems New Zealanders think the nation is facing.
Professor of Sociology Charles Crothers analysed a range of data from surveys, the New Zealand Election Study (NZES) in 2008, UMR ‘Mood of the Nation’ data, Roy Morgan poll data and the Fairfax Research International Poll (July 2011) to investigate the MIP (most important problems) for New Zealanders.
Crothers says it is reasonable to say that the ‘political agenda’ is shaped by these views expressed by citizens and they should be taken seriously as a guide to the salience of issues that come up in elections.
He has broken down data from the NZES into social categories, which include household size, income, age and whether a person lives urban or rurally.
Professor Crothers says the data shows interesting trends in terms of these categories:
- The economy features prominently in most social categories
- When broken-down into age categories, tax is the main concern for 18 to 39-year-olds and from 40 onwards the most important problem is health
- Political preference showed that those who support NZ First and Act thought the most important problem was privatisation
- Those that support Labour, Green and National thought the most important problem was the economy
- Māori thought the most important problem was Māori
One of the biggest differences in data was between Labour and National supporters when it came to the problem of political discontent.
Those who supported National were more worried about political discontent than those who supported Labour.
- View the full report - The most important problem (MIP) in New Zealand surveys
(6 pages/168kb) - Read more election information and coverage from Professor Crothers
Social Sciences cap off a successful year
A celebration of a year’s work brought together students and
staff from the Department of Social Sciences along with external work based supervisors.
The ‘Celebrating Excellence and Success’ event held at the end of October was a chance for the department to get together after a busy year and acknowledge students and outside parties’ contributions.
Dean of the Applied Humanities faculty Nigel Hemmington was at the event awarding five students Dean’s Awards.
The recipients were:
- Melody Cooper - Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Conflict Resolution
- Zachary Best - BA in Criminology
- Nimbus Staniland - BA in Psychology
- Emma Felton - BA in Social Sciences
- Jordan Milroy - Certificate in Social Sciences.
Students whose work was completed during the year as part of their co-operative education practicums were also acknowledged.
Melody Cooper discussed her experience with World Vision and graduate Salunyar Coote discussed her placement with the National Council of Trade Unions, working specifically in human rights in Burma.
The work-based supervisors for co-op students this year were invited to the event to celebrate the programme and Rosemarie Powell from World Vision received the ‘Work-based Supervisor’ Award.
Approximately 50 guests were also able to hear the changing spatial patterns of Auckland from Head of the Social Sciences Department, Professor Charles Crothers.
AUT Social Sciences student to attend 2011 APEC
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Melody Cooper has been selected to represent AUT and New Zealand at the ‘Voices of the Future’ APEC Conference. The Conference, to be held in early November in Hawaii aims to provide a platform for the participation of youth in APEC related issues and policies. The forum will also afford youth the opportunity to interact and network with APEC leaders from 21 APEC Economies. Melody is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts with a double major in International Relations and Conflict Resolution. Her university studies have supported her voluntary work for social justice causes, especially her involvement with an international non-profit organisation raising the awareness of child soldiers in Uganda. Melody also volunteered at World Vision for her Co-operative Education Practicum and received high praise from her work based supervisor. |
Melody Cooper, AUT Social Science student |
Find out more about the ‘Voices of the Future’ conference >>.
Social Sciences duo recognised for Excellence inTeaching
August 2011
Although they say the only gifts they have ever received as lecturers are
a bookmark and some orange juice Sharyn Graham-Davies (left) and Jeanie Benson (right) do not think they are bad teachers and neither did the panel of judges in the Vice-Chancellor Excellence in Teaching Awards.
Benson and Graham-Davies, from the School of Social Sciences, were nominated as a teaching team by students on their undergraduate paper, applied media ethics, and were awarded a highly commended by the panel.
“We love learning and have a passion for the subject,” they said.
Graham-Davies says it was lovely to have formal recognition for the work they have done together and admits without Benson she may not have continued on with the application process as she had been preparing for a trip to Indonesia where she will be based for six months.
She says she works hard to make the theories covered throughout the course of the paper relevant and interesting for the students and both she and Benson use different multimedia channels to keep students engaged.“Both of us are quite interactive people.”
She says student feedback has shown her that students find Benson “really funny and humourous” and that she “encourages students to have different opinions and views”.
Graham-Davies says the application she and Benson put forward to the panel reflected the fun they have in their classes and the importance that they place on students engaging with the theories.
“My philosophy is about learning together with plenty of discussion.”
This was the first time Graham-Davies says she has been nominated for an award.
10 years on - Languages and Social Sciences Alumni celebration
November 2010
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of AUT University, the Languages and Social Sciences School held an event on 13 October to celebrate its Alumni. The event was also an opportunity for current students to listen to the experiences and advice from those who had been in their shoes only a few years before.
