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Current research in Social Sciences and Public Policy

This page outlines some the current research being undertaken by academic staff in the AUT School of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

Policing in Indonesia - Exploring ways in which the legitimacy of the police may effect economic development and the prosperity of the Indonesian state.

Dr John Buttle and Associate Professor Sharyn Graham Davies are currently conducting research on policing in Indonesia, along with Professor Adrianus Meliala from the University of Indonesia. Sharyn is currently in Indonesia for her sabbatical and John will join her and Professor Meliala for a month of collaborative research at the end of 2011. You can read about Sharyn’s experience of getting an Indonesian research visa here

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Views of New Zealanders on 2011 Election Issues

In this project Professor Charles Crothers is attempting to contribute to the public’s ‘knowledge-base’ by pulling together recent polling data on issues which seem likely to be important in this election, together with what is shown by longer times series of the public’s attitudes from more academic surveys.  In particular, the New Zealand Election Survey (NZES) which has taken post-election surveys since 1987 is drawn on. Where possible some of the academic literature on attitudes in relation to these issues is also drawn upon.

Topics covered include:

  • Attitudes to Sales of State Assets (privatisation)
  • Attitudes to MMP
  • Trends in ‘Most Important Problem’ answers.
Publications

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The social characteristics of Auckland and its suburbs 

Professor Charles Crothers has worked with Deb Schwartz and MacroAuckland to put together a summary document of the social characteristics of Auckland and its suburbs and the issues arising in these areas.

"In a large set of reports we developed various data-sets from a range of sources to support the account we developed of Auckland," says Professor Crothers. The areas researched include:

  • Quality of life 
  • health and wellbeing 
  • crime and safety 
  • scommunity culture and social networks 
  • built and natural environment 
  • public transport 
  • lifestyle.

"It is intended that much of the data identified during this study will be more closely analysed in the future."

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Public trust in the police and recent reforms to the Policing Act 2008

Dr John Buttle is focusing his research on a number of distinct areas in criminology via collaborations with colleagues that will result in future publications.

"I’m investigating the effect that controversial incidents have on public trust in the police," Says Dr Buttle.

"I’m involved with a comparative project that examines how independent New Zealand’s police complaints process is after recent reforms, and future research will investigate recent reforms that resulted from the Policing Act 2008.

"With colleagues, I’m seeking funding for future research on policing in Indonesia. I’m writing groundbreaking articles about policing in rural New Zealand."
 

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State and Society in Greece, Ireland and Portugal

Dr Kate Nicholls is currently working on a book project titled "Between State and Society: Mediating Policy in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal". "This project looks at the extent to which these three countries adjusted their social and economic development strategies in order to meet the labour market policy challenges associated with the requirements of 'knowledge based' economic growth, during the 1990s and early 2000s. 

"I argue that the ability of each country to meet these challenges relied, in part, on the construction of mediating institutions capable of balancing functions of genuine consultation with the effective incorporation of interest groups.""It also looks at the implications of the existence of these institutions and processes for how Greece, Ireland, and Portugal have coped with the post-2008 global financial crisis, which led to an explosion of government debt and an associated political crisis in each of these three countries.

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Cooperative Education, health services to refugees and ESOL

Keryn McDermott has a number of research projects under way, including:

  • Improving the University's relationship with work-based supervisors of Cooperative Education students
  • the provision of effective health services to refugees
  • a national survey exploring the current status of the bilingual delivery of ESOL in New Zealand’s  tertiary institutions
  • the use of ePortfolios in Cooperative Education. 

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Illusory experiences

Dr Erik Landhuis: Each of us has a subjective experience of the objective world ‘out there’. The subjectivity of that experience leads to inter-individual variations of how that world is perceived. Those perceptions result in representations and interpretations, which in turn lead to decisions, intentions, and behaviours.

The more the subjective experience deviates from the objective reality, the more it can be said to be illusory. It is likely that the magnitude of those illusory experiences is somewhat adaptive and serves us well. However, too little or too much of the illusory experience is likely to result in poor decision-making and maladaptive behaviours.

I am currently designing a series of studies investigating the magnitude of illusory experiences (including auditory and visual illusions, apophenic phenomena, and illusory or perceived control) and how variability of illusory experiences between individuals predicts coping, self-regulation, and health behaviours. I think creativity may also be implicated.

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State criminal justice policies and Maori

Dr Robert Webb's main research project over the last years has the explored the connections between criminology and state criminal justice policies that have been applied to Maori. 

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New Zealand Social Research Methodologies

Charles Crothers says this program of research is being done to describe and evaluate the methodological practice of social science research in New Zealand. Particular reference is made to New Zealand specificities (since methodological practice is broadly comparable across the world).

Work on this programme has included:

New Zealand Sociology

Journal of the Sociological Association of Aotearoa/New Zealand

This refereed journal was designed to disseminate and promote research and thought that has, as its objective, the clarification and development of theoretically informed research in sociology and related disciplines.

The predominant, though not exclusive, concern is with New Zealand subject matter.

Recent issues are available for download through the National Library Website.

Text is also available through several Bibliographical Databases: Sociological Abstracts; Socindex; Australia NZ Reference Center; Index NZ and Proquest.  

It is hoped that the full run will be digitised, but in the meantime is available through libraries.

All journal enquiries to:

The Editors
New Zealand Sociology
School of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Auckland University of Technology
Private Bag 92006
Auckland 1142

Email: charles.crothers@aut.ac.nz

Last updated: 16 May 2012 4:15pm

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