Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch and the Royal Society Te Apārangi Joint Public Lecture
On Wednesday 5 July at 6.00 pm the Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch and the Royal Society Te Apārangi gave a free public lecture. Full details of the lecture are given below.
Wednesday 5 July 2023
6.00 - 7.00 pm at the Royal Society Te Apārangi premises,
11 Turnbull St. Thorndon, Wellington
Dr. Natalie Robinson, Physical Oceanographer at NIWA
Antarctica’s Role and Response in Global Climate
Dr. Robinson discussed Antarctica’s role in, and response to, our changing climate, highlighting its multi-scale connections with the global ocean. Her main focus was on sea ice – the frozen surface of the ocean – which effectively doubles the size of Antarctica each winter and forms a pivotal point of connection between ice, ocean, atmosphere and ecosystem. This annual signal in our climate system helps keep the planet cool; provides a habitat that underpins a thriving marine ecosystem; and drives global ocean overturning.
Natalie described her own research within this context, and provided some personal stories, accumulated over eight seasons on ice.
David Lillis
Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch
Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch Public Lectures
On Wednesday 7 June at 6.00 pm the Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch and the Royal Society Te Apārangi held a public lecture, delivered by Dr. Burton King, General Surgeon and Head of The Breast Centre at Bowen Hospital.
A History of the Breast in Art and Disease
Dr. King discussed evidence of breast disease, seen incidentally in visual art, especially in renaissance paintings and including several of the great masters.
David Lillis
8 June 2023
Public Lecture on 3 May
On Wednesday 3 May at 6.00 pm the Royal Society Te Apārangi Wellington Branch hosted a public lecture from Dr Tim Payn, Principal Scientist, Forest Ecology and Management, Scion Research.
Cyclones, land use and forestry – how do we adapt?
In the last few years New Zealand has been hit by a number of extreme weather events, the latest being ex cyclones Hale and Gabrielle. Massive damage has been caused, especially on the east coast of the North Island, and recovery will require a very long-term effort. The intensity and frequency of these storms are expected to increase under climate change. A Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use is underway for the Gisborne/Wairoa regions which will assess causes and effects and make recommendations to Government based on their findings.
Forestry is one of the land uses affected by the extreme events and one of the land uses affecting the wider environment. There has been widespread media coverage of damage to infrastructure from logs and accumulations of logs on beaches and calls for changes to the way we manage our forests.
Dr. Payn’s lecture focused on the history of production forestry in New Zealand, how forests are managed today, and what changes could be made to reduce impacts from these extreme events in the future.
Approximately 70 people attended.
Tim Payn is a Principal Scientist at Scion in Rotorua. His research focusses on sustainability, climate change and the environment. He is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry.
Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch and Te Kawa a Māui School of Maori Studies Public Lecture
The Foxton Moa Hunter Site
On Wednesday 25 August at 6.00 pm, the Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch and Te Kawa a Māui School of Maori Studies VUW, jointly hosted a public lecture on the Foxton Moa Hunter site, given by Dr. Bruce McFadgen. Full details of the lecture are given below:
Dr. Bruce McFadgen
The Foxton Moa Hunter Site, the ca-500-Year Old Earthquake, and Implications for Modern Settlement.
Earthquakes can be a benefit or a disaster. Much of our infrastructure and population occupy low-lying land near the sea; e.g. the Southwest Coast of the North Island, and people are concerned about the hazards of living near the water. The prehistoric environment is an essential part of archaeological information, and archaeological remains can provide an historical perspective for the landscape as it is today. Hazards include earthquakes, tsunamis, coastal erosion, and the burial of settlements, gardens, and resources by sand dunes. One way to better understand such hazards is to know what happened in the past, and learning from Maori experience is very relevant to modern society to prepare for future events. This evening's talk discussed an archaeological site in the southern Manawatu, which was badly affected by a significant earthquake several hundred years ago; the effects of the earthquake on the Southwest coast of the North Island, and implications for modern settlement.
The lecture was held from 6.00 - 7.00 pm at Victoria University Lecture Theatre HU119 (Hunter Building), Kelburn Campus, Victoria University. Approximately 40 people attended.
David Alexander Lillis
President Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch
Building an Embryo
On Wednesday 21 July 2021 Associate-Professor Peter Pfeffer (Victoria University of Wellington) gave a Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch public lecture at Victoria University, entitled Building an Embryo.
Peter’s present research in developmental biology at Victoria University involves study of lineage determination (differentiation of cells from the cells that gave rise to them), gastrulation - the process in which an embryo transforms from a one-dimensional layer of epithelial cells (blastula) - to a multidimensional structure (the gastrula) and the development of the placental lineage, using mice and cattle as model systems. He combines genetic approaches and classical physiological methodology to investigate fundamental embryological and evolutionary questions on a gene expression and mechanistic level.
Peter gave a brief overview of the key ideas of embryology and spoke about his own research in embryology on the development of embryos. He gave a brief account of historical thinking about embryos (for example, the homunculus – a sixteenth century representation of the embryo as a small human being). He referred to embryology as the self-guided developmental process that allows a single cell (the fertilised egg) to develop into over two hundred cell types that later become the tissues, organs and body systems that make up a complex animal. Using examples of his research, he outlined the main principles leading to the lineage decisions and patterning events that are important in the building of an embryo.
He explained the cell-division process leading from a single cell to a four-cell embryo to a Blastocyst embryo, as seen in the following photographs:
He summarised the critical stages in gastrulation and discussed diagrams of the developmental stages of embryos of different species, including fish, amphibians, birds and humans (Carnegie Stages). He noted that, in humans, all organs are formed by the end of the eighth week.
He spoke of the generation of lineage differences through inherent processes and chance, producing polarised cells through radial cleavage and tangential cleavage. He discussed the role of master regulators (such as Oct4) in producing non-polarised and polarised cells. He emphasised significant differences in the developmental processes between different species, noting, for example, a different process order between a mouse embryo (Blastocyst at day 3.5, leading to implantation at day 4.5 and then to Gastrulation at day 6.5) and a cattle embryo (Blastocyst at day 7, leading to Gastrulation at day 14 and then to implantation at day 20).
Peter discussed experiments involving grafting of Hensen’s node (a group of cells that constitutes the organizer of a bird embryo) from one species to another and explained how a new axis is induced in the host. He outlined the separation of the midbrain and hindbrain by an organiser and mentioned patterning in the brain.
Peter concluded his lecture by summarising embryo development as a series of successive autonomous steps in which:
1. inherent properties of cells lead to differences
2. communication between different cell types leads to new cell types and
3. cell migration that creates new possibilities.
The lecture was held from 6.00 pm - 7.30 pm at Victoria University, Kelburn Campus. Approximately thirty-five people attended.
Associate Professor Peter Pfeffer
Workplace bullying in New Zealand: What are all these scandals telling us and what should be done?
On Wednesday 21 April 2021 at 6.00 pm the Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch hosted a public lecture on current research on workplace bullying. The lecturer was Dr. Geoff Plimmer (VUW School of Management). Full details of the lecture are given below:
6.00 - 7.00 pm at Victoria University Lecture Theatre (Laby Lecture Theatre 118), Kelburn Campus, Victoria University.
Workplace bullying in New Zealand: What are all these scandals telling us and what should be done?
Dr. Plimmer noted that workplace bullying has attracted much attention in recent years, with media stories directed at sporting, public service, private sector and other types of organization. He stated that its effects are devastating to employees and organizations. How should an organization best deal with it? Dr. Plimmer discussed this question by considering the available evidence.
Introducing Dr. Plimmer’s lecture, Branch President, David Lillis, stated that the topic is not new and that reporting of workplace bullying in the New Zealand media seems to have escalated about 15 to 20 years ago. He noted that we have all read newspaper articles, magazine editorials on workplace bullying, have listened to television panel discussions and current affairs programmes where bullying was a discussion item and, in recent years, on-line news media have featured many exposures of bullying around New Zealand. He noted that bullying is a controversial topic because anyone criticised, fired or managed out of a job may see the process as unfair and may allege bullying, regardless of whether it has taken place or not.
Dr Plimmer defined workplace bullying as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or a group of workers that can lead to physical or psychological harm. Repeated behaviour is persistent (occurs more than once) and can involve a range of actions over time. Unreasonable behaviour means actions that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would see as unreasonable. It includes victimising, humiliating, intimidating or threatening a person. He said that bullying may also include harassment, discrimination or violence. His definition was adapted from the New Zealand Work Safe definition, which was in turn adapted from the Australian definition.
Dr Plimmer summarised the effects of bullying on the target as including use of alcohol or drugs, lost sleep, reduced capacity for work, depression, reduced performance and lost self-confidence.
The effects on the organisation can include reduced productivity, absenteeism, reduced performance, errors etc. Other costs include recruiting, turnover, compensation claims. Impacts on organisational culture include ineffective relationships, collaboration, teamwork, commitment, toxic work environments and reputational damage.
Current initiatives are often focussed on investigating allegations, but more could be done around prevention and remediation of the damage that it causes.
Following Dr. Plimmer’s lecture, the audience engaged in a frank discussion with Dr. Plimmer and Dr. Lillis. Dr. Lillis noted that representation from public service ministries and other agencies that were invited was very sparse and thus limited the possibility of engaging in further activity on bullying on the part of the Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch.
Dr. Plimmer studied organisational psychology at Victoria University, and works in the School of Management. His research and teaching aims to be practical, and tends to focus on leadership, performance management, employee resilience and harmful behaviours such as workplace bullying.
The lecture was held 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm at Victoria University, Kelburn Campus. Approximately forty five people attended. An edited recording will be made available on the Branch web-site very soon.
Human Microbiomes - Notes for Hosts
Professor Julian Crane (University of Otago)
Wednesday 11 November 2020, 6.00 - 7.00 pm at the Royal Society of New Zealand premises, Thorndon, Wellington.
Professor Crane gave an overview of human microbiomes and presented evidence of beneficial effects of probiotics from New Zealand studies showing effects on eczema, allergy, diabetes and mental health. Professor Crane’s lecture included:
1. An overview of the astonishing world of microbes
2. An account of human microbiomes and why we have them
3. A brief discussion of the ULTIMATE probiotic (not what you might think)
4. Our current and ongoing studies of probiotics and their effects on allergic disease, diabetes and mental health (Yes - microbes might help the mind!!)
About 60 people attended.
Professor Crane trained in medicine in London and came to NZ overland in mid 1970s after a spell working in Jamaica. He is a general physician by training and a research professor and Director of the Wellington Asthma Research Group based in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington.
Current research interests include:
the use of probiotics in treating allergic disease, diabetes and mental health
the impact of poor housing on respiratory health
alternative nicotine delivery for smoking cessation.
Motivation beyond carrots and sticks
On Wednesday 20 November 2019 Associate Professor Flaviu Hodis (Victoria University of Wellington) gave a public lecture entitled Motivation beyond carrots and sticks.
Associate Professor Flaviu Hodis believes that we must change our understanding of motivation significantly. Motivation in different people varies, not only in magnitude, but also in type. He presented an overview of the key developments in motivation research. He stated that having different types of motivation is associated with both specific benefits and distinct drawbacks and that stronger motivation does not always support success. He suggested that there could be a proper mix of motivation types to maximise chances of success in some pursuit and he presented examples from recent research showing that knowledge of motivation mix (i.e. consideration of the patterns of interrelationships among key motivation tendencies) sheds fresh light on motivation and motivation effects.
The lecture was held 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm, Wednesday 20 November 2019, at Victoria University Kelburn Campus. Approximately forty people attended.
Associate Professor Flaviu Hodis was born in Rumania and took a degree in engineering there. He took Master’s and Ph.D degrees at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale before coming to Victoria University where today he is Associate Professor at the School of Education.