Tag: New Zealand

More STEAM

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You need critical thinking

 

From Scoop

“STEAM Power: Putting the Arts into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)”.

The University of Auckland’s Dean of Arts, Professor Robert Greenberg, is taking the positive message of the benefits of studying Arts on a lecture tour overseas.

Professor Greenberg will present at two Alumni and Friends Receptions in San Francisco and London next month under the theme; “STEAM Power: Putting the Arts into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)”.

In San Francisco, he will be joined by the New Zealand Consul-General Leon Grice. The pair will talk about the value of the Arts and the role it can play in technology. They will explore this trend focusing on the shining role our Film, Television and Media Studies disciplinary areas play internationally as New Zealand’s leading research centre in this field. He will highlight the contribution alumni, students and staff, such as award-winning filmmaker and 2014 Young Alumna of the Year award winner Roseanne Liang, make to this industry.

“My talk is on the value of the BA/Liberal Arts degree, and how a degree in the Arts disciplines prepares students for jobs of the future.

“Technology leaders have repeatedly praised the skill sets developed when studying for an Arts degree and are increasingly choosing to hire Arts graduates. Notably, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said: ‘Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our hearts sing’.”

In London, Professor Greenberg will be joined by Tom Mockridge, Chief Executive Officer for Virgin Media.

Tom is a University of Auckland Arts graduate who has had a successful and fascinating media career in print and broadcasting. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Media in June 2013 following the company’s acquisition by Liberty Global. His appointment came on the back of a 22-year career at News Corporation where he held a series of senior roles. Tom started as a journalist in his native New Zealand before moving to Australia where he worked for the Sydney Morning Herald before becoming an adviser to Prime Minister Paul Keating.

And in a short clip that will be presented at the event, television journalist Carol Hirschfeld will discuss the skills and experience she gained while studying for a Bachelor of Arts in English, Art History and Indonesian at the University.

Professor Greenberg’s lectures coincide with the recent release of the 2014/15 QS World University Rankings that ranks the University’s Faculty of Arts the top place to study arts in New Zealand.

“I am delighted and very proud to announce the faculty’s rankings in the recently released 2014/15 QS World University Rankings by Faculty. We have been placed at number 35 in the world for arts and humanities, while our social sciences were ranked at number 30. These rankings further reinforce our standing as New Zealand’s leading arts faculty.”

The University‘s ranking is out of the 399 universities surveyed worldwide. It puts us ahead of the arts and humanities faculties of Victoria University at 60, the University of Otago at 85, the University of Canterbury at 220 and the University of Waikato at 244.

Professor Greenberg will emphasise the versatility the BA can give students in their careers.

“Thirty-four of the FTSE 100 CEOs have an Arts degree. In this talk I will explore this trend and suggest that the Arts graduates are the ones best equipped to take on the jobs of the future.”

The San Francisco Alumni and Friends Reception is on October 2 at The Fairmont, while the London event is at The Chemistry Centre on October 6.

Please register online by Thursday 25 September at www.alumni.auckland.ac.nz/rsvp

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Source: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1409/S00433/steam-power-putting-the-arts-into-stem.htm

 

Someone needs to tell Minister Steven Joyce to get away from his STEM fetish which the Northern Hemisphere is fast finding is not working and get funding into STEAM which again the Northern Hemisphere is finding pays greater dividends in such a global competitive economy.

Someone of our best world leaders are Arts graduates and it shows that a good old Bachelor, and Masters of Arts goes along way. How can we innovate if we do not know history, philosophy (critical thinking), anthropology, Geography, economics, politics, the role of the media as well as many other things that an Arts Faculty teaches.

So come on Minister how about a cool $500m towards the eight universities’ Art Faculties so that we can truly compete against the rest of the world.

 

Disclaimer: I am an Alumni of the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Political Studies. It is my intention in the medium term to return to do my Masters of Arts in Geography.

 

The Prime Minister on the Next Three Years

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Well Make That Six

 

Last night John Campbell on Campbell Live gave a full show length interview with re-elected Prime Minister John Key.

An extract of the interview below:

John Key’s outlook, goals for the next three years

Monday 22 Sep 2014 8:38 p.m.

Just 48 hours after New Zealand’s general election, John Key sat down with John Campbell in Wellington after he was elected for another three years as Prime Minister.

“I will lead a Government that will govern for all New Zealanders” was a quote from Mr Key’s acceptance speech that stood out for many.

“I wrote the speech that was delivered on Saturday night because I wanted them to be my words and it was how I felt,” says Mr Key.

Mr Key says he believes he has made a difference over the past six years, though he knows he has his critics.

“There will be some New Zealanders who say, ‘Well, he may have made a difference, but not positively to my life.”

To them Mr Key says “[We in National] have certainly tried our best to do that”.

But he knows he must now carve his legacy.

“Helen Clarke will be remembered for the Cullen Fund or the Working For Families,” he says. “If it all ends on Saturday night, I would like to be remembered for leadership around the Christchurch earthquakes and [getting through] the global financial crisis.”

Robert Muldoon’s ambition, “to leave the country in no worse shape than I found it”, Mr Key describes as having an incredibly low ambition.

“I want to leave the country in better shape than I found it,” he says.

……

He also wants to harness some of the lessons learned from the campaign to improve the next three years, and look at what poor voter turnout says about New Zealanders.

“I think something people think that their individual vote won’t influence anything,” says Mr Key. “Nationally, if you look at the trend [of voting] it’s reducing, which is very sad.”

He sees the drop in turnout as especially bad for democracy, as it “means that people aren’t quite as engaged as they should be or they don’t believe that their political leaders can make a difference when they absolutely can”.

Mr Key was quick to brush off criticism surrounding New Zealand’s growing housing crisis, saying housing will always be a struggle in New Zealand.

“Everyone borrows too much, spends too much and has higher expectation than they can deliver for their first home.

“But you can get people in their [first home] and I actually do think that Homestart as a programme is good because it’s highly efficient,” say Mr Key. “You can literally go into Homestart, be with your partner in KiwiSaver for five years and pull out what’s going to be the better part of a $50,000 deposit.”

He believes the Government’s job is to get on top of the land release and the building sector.

Read more (and see the video): http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/campbelllive/keys-outlook-goals-for-the-next-three-years-2014092220#ixzz3E59F2e00

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What I found from the interview was a couple of things.

First was the Prime Minister’s composure in spelling out his vision while for three years it could easily go down for six years – that elusive fourth term which only National’s Holyoake did from 1960-1972 (NZ’s Golden Years). That vision looked of one that will portray the Common Good (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_good) which also encompasses Social Liberalism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_liberalism). Now given Key leads a Centre Right Government that would naturally dabble more in Neo Conservatism and Neo Liberalism it will be interesting to see if he does reach over the Centre and towards the Left where Social Liberalism and the Common Good naturally sit.

Given the first third of the interview and most likely the Prime Minister’s talks with Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English I do expect a Centre Right agenda to go through. HOWEVER; if Key and English are looking at that lasting legacy and want that fourth term then something tells me that the Government will sit around the Centre and reach both directions left and right and whether that will be tempered by conservatism

It will be interesting when Budget 2015 comes around to see which way the Government will swing. For the rest of the interview it descended into a confusing buggers muddle apart from the housing section which the Government is looking at more Special Housing Areas and reforms to the Resource Management Act. Both to be controversial and large changes.

 

As for the opposition? Well we don’t have one at the moment unless they can unite and get their collective acts together.

The next three if not six years got interesting indeed.

 

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

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My First Fathers Day Too

 

A Happy Fathers Day to all the dad’s out there in New Zealand (and across the World) today. A special mention to Fathers who might no longer be with us as well.

A special mention to two of my long-time friends Cliff and Ben who like me became dad’s for the first time this year 😀

A few sleepless nights at first but it sorts itself out quickly enough and before long we wonder where did the time go.

And with the weather forecast to be an absolute cracker today in Auckland it will make for a great day to be out and about the City.

 

So a Happy Father’s Day to All – and we shall see you all tomorrow

 

Resigned from The Party

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No longer a member of the National Party

 

Well the announcement on Twitter certainly lit the place up yesterday and this morning. Never thought it would garner the response it did but it did.

Yesterday I had decided that after 11 years of membership I will no longer be a National Party member. The email when to National HQ in Wellington this morning stating that I have left the organisation as a Party member.

The email simply said:

I wish to inform the National Party that after being a member since 2003 I will be resigning my membership to the Party effective immediately
While it has been an adventure and I have met many new people along the way over the last 11 years I feel that the Party no longer presents my Social Liberal values nor is represents a Party that champions the Common Good.
The Hager saga has also shown National to be lacking in the skills required to navigate through a stormy patch that do come up from time to time.
The Prime Minister, and the Hon Judith Collins acting in obfuscation, stretching the truth and belittling the intelligence of the populace through their handling of the situation has also been a catalyst for me leaving the Party.
Until such time National is more in line with my own values of Social Liberalism and the Common Good, as well as Collins no longer being an MP I will remain a political freelancer, my vote always that of a Swing voter.
Despite the mess National has gotten itself in I wish no ill upon members and MP’s who do the hard yards out in the electorates. Sadly a few bad apples ruin it for everyone else.
Thus I wish the Party all the best into the future and in acknowledgement that we might meet up again some day. I do point out I have no desire in joining any other Party either.
All the best to the campaign
And thank you for the last 11 years.
With Kind Regards

 

So I am a political freelancer, my vote a swing vote at Central Level.

And the end of the day there is no point being part of a Political Party that does not line up with your own values (nor morals). Sadly a few bad apples ruined it and the rest is now as they say – history.

However this does not end my political involvement in any way. Well it does at Central Level as I step back but at Local Level I will still be definitely around (I can hear Auckland Transport saying “nuts” from here 😉 ). My affiliations at Auckland Council level do not change – that is I am still a supporter of the Deputy Mayor. But for now I take a break from Central Politics and turn all attention towards Auckland’s politics.

The blog will still be here, the posts and commentary will still be here, the pressers will still be posted when they come, the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request still filed, the presentations and live tweetings out of Committees continue. 

 

As I said in the email though, I do wish the Party all the best in the future and in acknowledgement that we might meet up again one day.