Interesting Pieces of Research and Articles
Why allergies are on the increase around the world
From Afternoons, RNZ 8 August 2023
Allergies are on the rise worldwide because the human immune system is like a “Windows 95” that can’t be upgraded, a scientist says.
Theresa MacPhail is a medical anthropologist and associate professor of science and technology studies. When her father died from a bee sting, it set her on a path to investigate why allergies are proliferating and what medical science is doing to help. Read more here
After the devastating impact of land loss, there is an understandable reluctance among some Māori to give up the land they have left. But the changing climate will eventually inflict more pain on the most flood-prone places. Read more…
Older people experiencing vulnerability and multiple disadvantage in New Zealand
Older people experiencing vulnerability and multiple disadvantage in New Zealand uses the Integrated Data Infrastructure to understand the experiences and characteristics of people aged 65 and older in Aotearoa New Zealand. It measures the needs of older people exploring the domains of health, housing, finance, social connection, and access. Read more:
'Our tīpuna knew when to move' - The difficult conversations about managed retreat for Māori
After the devastating impact of land loss, there is an understandable reluctance among some Māori to give up the land they have left. But the changing climate will eventually inflict more pain on the most flood-prone places. Read more…
Moral injury: what happens when exhausted health workers can no longer provide the care they want for their patients?
Healthcare workers in New Zealand already face life-and-death decisions daily. But as multiple winter illnesses add pressure to a system already stretched by COVID, staff now also have to deal with daily abuse, acute staff shortages and unsafe working conditions. At times, they cannot provide the care they would like for their patients. Read more:
Shining the light on Child Poverty - 24 May, Post-Budget 2022
Presentations by Alan Johnson, Hana Seddon and Max Rashbrooke for commentary on the 2022 Budget from a child poverty lens are now loaded to our website.
Alcohol marketing has crossed borders and entered the metaverse – how do we regulate the new digital risk?
The World Health Organization’s newly released report on regulating cross-border alcohol marketing raises the alarm for countries like Australia and New Zealand, given their light touch towards alcohol advertising. Read on….
Talking Matters
Building language-rich environments for babies in the first 1000 days.
Talking Matters partners with whānau, communities, practitioners, iwi and government to build and support language-rich environments for children.
A language-rich environment is vibrant and contains all the languages of a family, community or setting in spoken, written, cultural, gestural and artefactual form.
It is the space where children in their first thousand days of life can develop the communication skills they need to thrive as thinkers, talkers and readers.
Videos, Tupuna Parenting services, handouts, talking tips on the website.
A story from Radio NZ about Talking Matters
And another story.
Racism - what's your take on the issue?
This article by Anne Salmond puts another lens on Te Tiriti
Time to unteach ‘race’
From beginning to end, Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a non-racial agreement, writes Dame Anne Salmond, but it has been recast as a partnership between races, and that has provoked racist reactions. Read the whole article here.
Last September the Commission launched a website that enabled everyday New Zealanders to share their personal stories of racism. It let people who hadn’t experienced racism or prejudice to hear from people who have.
The That’s Us campaign has so far reached more than 3 million people. See more: www.givenothing.co.nz
Why playing in nature is so good for kids
Celia Hogan runs a Bush Kindy and Bush School for families in Ōtautahi Christchurch, where there’s a long waiting list, and offers professional development training for teachers and parents on all things to do with nature.
With the growth of urbanisation and changes in our lifestyles, children are getting less outdoor play compared with previous generations. Read more about the work giving children easy and safe access to get to their local park.
Is the future of work here?
Hybrid work may overtake “working from home” or “flexible work” in our employment lexicon.
Hybrid work is the splitting of your work time between home and office. Offices may now require a reason to exist beyond providing a place to sit and work, something people have managed to do quite well from home over the last two years without losing precious time to a commute.
Read the whole article from The Bulletin.
'Making a difference': How recycled chip packets are helping Auckland's vulnerable
An Auckland-based organisation is helping the city’s most vulnerable people in the most unlikely of ways – with empty potato chip packets.
The Chip Packet Project (CPPNZ) was founded in September 2021 during lockdown, and was a spin-off of the UK-based organisation, Crisp Packet Project.
The organisation collects freshly-washed chip packets, or any foil-wrapped food item, before fusing them together with an iron to create a “survival sheet” for Aucklanders in need.
Read the whole article here.