Te Pānui Taura - Issue 6, October 2024

Te Pānui Taura

This issue: Love and other drugs, Sea life for the win, Tāwhaki a feature of new murals in the Link and much more!!

Your source for postgraduate news.

Issue 6, October 2024

This month: Love and other drugs When she’s not working part-time as a hospital pharmacist, part-time as an equity pharmacist, or studying for her Masters, Tayla Cadigan (Ngāi Tahu Makaawhio) directs her attention to matters of the heart - offering her services as a marriage celebrant.

Sea life for the win If you live by the ocean or fancy a swim in the sea, chances are you’ve encountered the 2024 Bulletin Photo Competition winners…or the creatures they’ve captured.

Digital natives favour in-person support A young generation of digital natives show a clear preference for receiving in-person mental health support rather than getting help virtually, new research led by the University of Otago, Wellington, has found.

Plus Staff become ‘spies’ for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Trash gathering wins award Winning pitch takes Otago alum overseas Sad to leave ‘special part’ of Uni Tāwhaki a feature of new murals in the Link 266 podcasts Open access week Calendar

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Staff become ‘spies’ for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Kōrero by Claire Finlayson An Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka – University of Otago postgraduate tauira is hoping an innovative approach to a tricky subject will inspire the next generation of tertiary students.

Sequoia Short (Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Toa Rangatira), a PhD student within Te Kura Pakihi – Otago Business School, has developed an escape room centred on Indigenous data sovereignty.

The game sees players become spies on behalf of mana whenua and they are tasked with securing stolen data and intellectual property, such as mātauranga Māori, artefacts, and genetic sequences.

Whilst the game is filled with plenty of puzzles, hidden beneath the surface are important topics that lead to significant discussions once the game has finished.

Staff from throughout the University will be gave it a go as part of Te Wiki o te reo Māori,

helping Sequoia refine the game in the process. She has had huge support from the Te Maea Māori and Indigenous research theme.

Sequoia, who describes herself as a “bit of a puzzly, gamey person”, created the room in July and says it provides an opportunity to awaken people to the importance of data sovereignty.

“Trying to gameify the topic and get people learning about inaccessible aspects of research was really appealing to me,” she says.

“Science communication is a passion of mine – being able to simplify and communicate to any person the impact of your research, especially kaupapa Māori research – if you can’t take back what you’ve learned to your community, then there’s no point at all.”

A final refined version will be presented to tauira throughout schools in the Ōtākou Murihiku/ Otago Southland area towards the end of the year. The aim is to help year 9 and 10 students under3

stand more about the topic and develop positive engagements with the University. Sequoia says the camaraderie and competitiveness makes it a hit for older groups, too.

“I obviously set out to design this escape game with a purpose in mind – to speak to and engage with rangatahi. But others see a huge variation in uses for it, which is amazing, because realistically the more people who are engaged with it the better.

“Even non-puzzle people seem to like it which shows there’s mass appeal – not just for people like me.”

Whilst there has been a positive reception so far, the escape game is just one of the many hats Sequoia wears. With a PhD still to complete and ongoing teaching commitments, she understands the escape room has a limited time in more ways than one.

“I’m just trying to make as much impact in the little time I have.”

Love and other drugs Kōrero by Kelsey Swart When she’s not working parttime as a hospital pharmacist, part-time as an equity pharmacist, or studying for her masters, Tayla Cadigan (Ngāi Tahu Makaawhio) directs her attention to matters of the heart - offering her services as a marriage celebrant.

The union of these different worlds comes from her innate generosity and drive to help people whether through physical healing or a loving connection.

The Hokitika-born wahine says her upbringing and personality, mixed with her ADHD diagnosis, means she just can’t help but busy herself with helping others.

This led her to pursuing a Master of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Otago, focussing on indigenous experiences of healthcare in rural areas, as well as her part-time role as an equity pharmacist, as both these roles involve her identifying and removing healthcare barriers for those most in need.

And she still manages to fit in a part-time role at Te Nīkau Hospital in Greymouth, where she is a rotational on-call pharmacist seven days at a time.

Her journey to ordination

began in 2021 at Otago’s Dunedin campus, while she was completing her Bachelor of Pharmacy, when a close friend asked if she would be her wedding celebrant.

“Since that very special experience, I’ve continued to marry people - averaging about four weddings per season,” Tayla says.

“I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many beautiful ceremonies and I’m looking forward to being not only the celebrant, but also a bridesmaid at a special wedding in the near future.”

Tayla says connecting and supporting people, whether in their healthcare, cultural identity, or marriage journey, comes from the same place – having a passion for giving.

“My love language is giving,” Tayla says.

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As a Māori pharmacist, Tayla feels like she can truly give back to her community and the people who need it most.

Growing up she felt disconnected from her identity but this changed after she arrived at the University of Otago.

The Māori Centre – Te Huka Mātauraka reached out to her and, while she still felt out of place with her heritage being fair-skinned and blue eyed, she eventually felt more comfortable relating to her whakapapa.

She is grateful for the kindness the Centre showed her, especially during her first year in Health Sciences, and additionally thanks her current supervisors for the support they are showing her now - Dr Lisa Kremer, Associate Professor Alesha Smith and Dr Jo Hikaka.

Trash gathering wins award

Kelsey supplied Kate with reusable often in their spare time. “Together rubbish bags, rubbish grabbers and we can make a big difference.” hi-vis clothing. Winning the award Kate’s master’s research fo“felt great”, Kate says. cused on the use of native seeds for “I moved out of Dunedin and Kate finished her Master ecological restoration in Aotearoa am living up in Tauranga for work, New Zealand. of Science in Botany on August so unfortunately missed the cere10. Nine days later, she learned She looked at seed provenancmony. she had won the ‘Keep Dunedin ing, and did some experiments Beautiful Pod Award for Individual “Luckily my good friends who priming native seeds and applying Excellence, Commended’ recogI’ve picked up a lot of rubbish with, pre-treatments to overcome seed nising her years of work picking up Tom Stewart, Jessica Paull and dormancy. rubbish.

Sajini Dissanayake went to the “This is a really important area ceremony in my place.”

“I have been picking up rubof research because now, more than bish around Dunedin on and off for The trio shared “really ever, we rely on ecological restoabout four years through a group heart-warming” photos and videos ration to combat mounting environcalled ‘Let’s get Trashed’,” she says. of the evening with her. mental damage,” she says.

“Picking up rubbish is a nice use The annual ceremony, run by “There is a lot of emphasis on of a few hours in the weekend, the DCC, celebrates the cool work tree planting programmes in policool way to socialise with friends that a lot of different people and cy and in media, but not so much and show that we can all make a groups get done around the city, research into how to achieve these positive difference even if we pick Kate says. ambitious but important goals up just one piece of rubbish.”

“It’s usually a really feel-good that we all benefit from. It’s cool to Kate didn’t found the group event. It can be a bit glum reading answer some questions and identify ‘Let’s get Trashed’, but wound up the news sometimes, so it’s cool to other areas that need future releading it along with help from search.” highlight all of the positive things Ashim GC, and Kelsey Porter of people are doing around the city, the Dunedin City Council (DCC).

Kōrero by Koren Allpress Winning an award that recognises her conservation efforts was a nice way for Kate Moss-Mason to wrap up several years of study.

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Sea life for the win Kōrero by Sandra French If you live by the ocean or fancy a swim in the sea, chances are you’ve encountered the 2024 Bulletin Photo Competition winners…or the creatures they’ve captured.

and encountered this cod conveniently posing on a sun-drenched rock.

“A dome fisheye lens, patience, and slow, gentle movement allowed me to get close to this handsome fish and snap this photo.”

A sunbathing blue cod caught the judges’ attention and won Judy Ormandy top spot in this year’s competition.

Third-year Marine Science and Ecology student Owen Dabkowski won second and third place with his entries featuring a yellow-eyed penguin and a hermit crab.

A Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health at the Wellington campus, Judy describes herself as an “avid, possibly obsessed scuba diver” who shares her passion for scuba diving through photography.

Owen’s photography is inspired by his love for nature and conservation, he says.

“I try to capture animals as they go about their daily lives. The penguin was snapped during a return journey from the ocean.”

“I am lucky to live close to the Taputeranga Marine Reserve on Wellington’s South Coast. Marine life has flourished since the reserve was established in 2008.”

While the yellow-eyed penguin is a local from the Dunedin Peninsula, the hermit crab lives on the shores of Tonga, Owen says.

Blue cod rāwaru are abundant and often “cheekily interact” with divers, Judy says.

See full story here

“I was diving the shallow Yung Pen shipwreck 6

Winning pitch takes Otago alum overseas Kōrero by Claire Grant Joseph Balfe’s passion for non-invasive wearable technologies to treat health disorders has won him a major award and a trip to Germany.

Joseph, who graduated from Otago last month with a Master of Science, was the overall winner in the 2024 Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand pitch competition, for his project that’s developing a wearable smart-device to detect and relieve asthma attacks.

He is proud to represent New Zealand at the Global Finale during the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin in November.

“I am really looking forward to spending the week mixing with global leaders in science and innovation, and I hope to build as many connections as I possibly can. This is an important event to showcase globally relevant innovations, and ultimately, to foster international collaboration in solving some of humanity’s pressing challenges,” he says.

The award recognises that Joseph’s project – which he started during his masters study - could make a real difference for society.

Every day, the lives of more than 1,000 people are cut short because of an asthma attack, and most of these deaths are preventable due to a simple delay in obtaining inhaled medications during the final attack, he says.

Joseph’s three-minute pitch explained how the smart, wearable, bronchodilator device he’s devel-

oping uses advanced technology to detect and rapidly intervene during asthma attacks through opening the lung airways with nerve stimulation.

Joseph graduated with a Master of Science with distinction in Neuroscience last month, after completing a Bachelor of Science in 2022 and a Bachelor of Music in 2019.

His passion for neuroscience was initially sparked by a concern for mental health, which was magnified through noticing mental health issues during his work as a sub-warden in the residential colleges.

“I started studying neuroscience to deepen my curiosity.

Throughout my degree, I became particularly fascinated by the emerging field of non-invasive wearable technologies in treating disorders of the nervous system, as I recognised the limitations of many traditional pharmaceutical 7

treatments.”

This led him to pursue his master’s study with Associate Professor Yusuf Cakmak from the Department of Anatomy.

“In our very first meeting, we discussed this idea of using neuromodulation for asthma by simply harnessing the interconnectivity of the nervous system. While it seemed a bold idea, I decided to take on the challenge and figure out how we could achieve this.”

Joseph conducted three human studies in his masters, all showing promising results for this novel approach to open the airways. Clinical trials to validate the technology are now planned.

“I’m committed to leveraging the therapeutic potential of neuromodulation technology to solve biomedical problems.”

See full story here

At the Three Minute Thesis competition earlier this semester are, from left, Professor John Reynolds, Graduate Research School Senior Professional Practice Fellow Nick Baker, Professor Parry Guilford, Graduate Research School Administrator Susan Craig, DVC Research and Enterprise Professor Richard Blaikie and PVC of Commerce and Dean of the School of Business Professor Maree Thyne. Professor Reynolds was the MC for the evening, while Professors Thyne, Blaikie and Guilford judged the competition.

Sad to leave ‘special part’ of Uni Susan Craig has been part of the Graduate Research School (GRS) – in its various forms – for over 17 years.

She enjoyed organising and co-hosting the annual Graduate Research Ball during her first few years in the role.

One particularly special job she loves is gifting chocolate fish to doctoral candidates who have submitted their thesis for examination.

She says her official title has changed a few times, from Executive Assistant to Client Services Administrator to, lastly, Administrator, but “in reality, I’ve done the same job all along”.

“They were held at Larnach Castle and the Dunedin Town Hall and were fabulous events.”

“I must have given out thousands of fish over the years.”

Susan remembers feeling very proud when she walked through the big wooden doors of the Clocktower on her first day in June 2007.

Initially, doctoral candidates would receive a Cadbury chocoBeing present to see friends late fish upon submitting their soft and children of friends coming to bound theses, and then a Belgian submit their doctoral theses for examination has always been a real chocolate fish when they submittreat as well as going on to attend ted their hardbound thesis at the their subsequent graduations, she end of their journey, she says. says.

“Now, because there are no

“I had been a student at Otago in the 1980s and to have a role, with my own lovely little office, in the iconic Clocktower building, felt amazing.”

“I would encourage every staff member to volunteer to work at a graduation ceremony at least once – it is the perfect reminder of what we are all here for.”

paper theses anymore, we give all our doctoral candidates a Belgian chocolate fish and card from the Graduate Research School team when they submit their theses for examination.

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“They are also invited to ring the original University bell which is situated in the Quad – a tradition started by Professor Richard Blaikie, DVC R&E, a few years ago.”

Susan says she will “definitely miss” that aspect of her job.

“I get to know many of our candidates from when they first attend a Dean’s Morning Tea welcome event that I organise, through workshops they attend that we run, and then to see them come in for their chocolate fish is wonderful.”

A standout memory for Susan was giving the opening address at the 2023 Graduate Research Student Symposium and acting as MC for the Dunedin heats of this year’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition.

each year but is so worth it, and so important to recognise the efforts of our supervisors in getting our candidates across the line.”

dertaking research in every discipline imaginable, and seeing them complete their graduate research journey is wonderful.”

When Susan started working at the University, many tasks were paper-based but now everything has been digitised with software such as Taleo and Finance One. She used to post out completion questionnaires to completed doctoral candidates and type up their responses, but this is now all done using email and Google Forms.

When Susan leaves the University on 27 September, having spent nearly a third of her life here, she says it will be both “very exciting and extremely sad”.

“There is software for just about everything,” she says.

“After all this time I’m not really sure who I am if I am not ‘Susan from the Graduate Research School’.

“Handing over all the things I do, many of which I have developed and fine-tuned over the years, and most of which I really enjoy, will be

The 3MT® competition was held at Otago for the first time in 2009.

“It has always been a highlight of the graduate research calendar and working at the grand final is very exciting,” she says.

“There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes to pull this event together, from quite a small team, and to see it come to fruition is wonderful.

“I have seen so many extremely talented people present their research through this format over the years – it’s been a real privilege.”

Another important event for Susan is the OUSA Supervisor of the Year Awards which she organises.

“We have had so many worthy finalists and winners over the years, and some of the nominations we receive from our candidates are incredibly heart-warming.

“To see the look of surprise on our winner’s faces each year is just delightful. Again – it takes a lot of work to pull this event together

The GRS now holds a larger range of workshops for doctoral and masters candidates, with specific events for Māori and Pacific Island candidates, something it did not used to do.

The GRS is a “really special” part of the University, she says.

“It is a tight team, and it always has been, even when we were a team of 20 staff members.

Being such a tight knit team means we all look after each other – the level of support is amazing.”

Staff at the GRS also get to work with a fantastic sector of the University student population.

“Our candidates are un9

hard.

“But I have made some friends through this role who will be friends for life, and I know I will continue to see them after I leave – although I might stay off campus for a while.”

Susan is looking forward to some ‘Susan time’ before her husband, Owen, finishes work March next year.

“I am planning on doing lots of running, spring cleaning and decluttering our home, and even auditioning for a show or two.

“I won’t be bored – but I won’t be ‘Susan from the Graduate Research School’ anymore.”

Kōrero by Koren Allpress

Tāwhaki a feature of ne Kōrero by Gail Goodger The new mural in The Link features the Kāi Tahu narrative of Tāwhaki, an atua (god) who sought wisdom and knowledge in an epic journey through dimensions, worlds, and heavens.

Working with mana whenua-owned organisation Aukaha, the University wanted to create a relaxed and welcoming space with a strong visual and cultural identity for students and staff alike.

Head of Campus Development Gordon Roy says the University’s Pae Tata Strategic Plan to 2030 envisages us having vibrant spaces that meet our students’ needs and contribute to their outstanding experiences at Otago.

“The space was quite cold and austere and our goal was to create more appropriate furniture solutions and a more welcoming environment.”

Aukaha says Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with gaining knowledge, through his tenacity, adaptiveness and willingness to being guided by the advice of others.

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ew murals in the Link During this journey to the heavens to seek knowledge, “he faces much adversity associated with strong natural elements like lightning and thunder and undergoes many challenges that rise from his relationships and those he encounters”.

Kāi Tahu artist Xoë Hall incorporated the narrative of Tāwhaki and mana whenua values in bold brushstrokes, reinforcing this ancestral narrative of journey and return, knowledge and wisdom seeking, whānau and relationship and making one’s way in the world as a navigator.

The giant mural is the anchor point in The Link refresh and by working with Aukaha’s Mana Ahurea design team, a Tāwhaki-inspired colour palette has also informed furniture decisions and the approach to recarpeting the space, Aukaha says.

Gordon says while most of the furniture has been installed, shipping delays mean the remaining chairs will be installed later in semester 2.

Aukaha says the Kāi Tahu narrative has given inspiration to designs and spaces across the campus.

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Don’t miss all your postgrad news online:

Open access week

266 podcasts Dr Dave McMorran has just recorded his 266th podcast which features Geology PhD student Julien Eschenroeder talking about his research on the historical effects of climate on remote lakes in Fiordland.

Coming soon: International Open Access Week 2024 - Community over Commercialisation Did you know open access publications far outstrip paywalled articles for citation counts? Did you also know that the Otago Library can support you with open access publishing for your manuscripts, journals, and even textbooks and monographs?

Since 2010, the Senior Teaching Fellow in Chemistry has been talking with postgraduate students across the Sciences for his Science Notes show broadcast on Otago Access Radio (OAR).

Join the Library for OA Opportunities @Otago to learn more about how open access to information has the power to transform learning, teaching and research. Featuring a trio of short talks for researchers showcasing the Open Access Toolkit, green open access with OUR Archive, and the Open Journal Systems (OJS) service.

Dave has a gift for teaching and supporting students through their learning journeys at Otago. In addition to two OUSA teaching awards, he won the 2016 Division of Sciences Senior Teacher of the Year award. In 2019, Dave was also recognised with an Ako Aotearoa National Teaching Excellence Awards for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching.

When: 11am, 22 October 2024 Where: Online via Zoom

See full story here

Check out this website for a wide range of International Open Access Week events from around the world.

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Digital natives favour in-person mental health support over virtual bots A young generation of digital natives show a clear preference for receiving in-person mental health support rather than getting help virtually, new research led by the University of Otago, Wellington, has found.

The researchers asked almost 1,500 people between 15 and 30 years of age for their views on digital mental health support via an online survey in 2022. The study was done in partnership with a group of youth co-researchers.

looked for mental health support online. Websites were the most commonly used digital medium, with 58 per cent of users finding them helpful.

A small group reported using other digital forms of support engaging in performing arts online, such as skits or songs, or having video consultations with counsellors or therapists. Both were rated

listening to podcasts was the most popular, followed by phone consultations with a counsellor or therapist.

Talking to a ChatBOT and watching or listening to performing arts online were the least preferred.

Sue Garrett says young people listed privacy concerns, technical issues, lack of quality and the need to be self-motivated as the drawbacks of using online support, while the benefits included ease of access, anonymity and a non-threatening starting point.

“Our findings show digital thought mental health supports for digital“Respondents resources did have a in mental health supyouth are never ‘one-size- place port, but more as an adjunct, or to complement in-person fits-all’..”

One of the academic researchers, Sue Garrett, from the Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, says technologies to provide virtual mental health support, such as computerised therapies, apps, websites and telehealth services, are increasingly suggested as a way of reducing the burden of mental distress in a cost-effective and accessible way, particularly for young people.

support. For example, they thought going online could be a good highly, with 91 per cent saying option for people beginning their watching performing arts online search for mental health support, or was helpful and 84 per cent saying to help them figure out what kind a video consultation was helpful. of support would suit them. They emphasised though that the actual “In contrast, although more people had talked to a ChatBOT, or support should be provided by a ‘real person’.” Sue Garrett says making a used text counselling or self-help connection with real people was of apps, they were perceived as less greater importance than games or helpful. ChatBOTs were regarded “However, the young people other online activities to the young as least helpful. we surveyed had a strong preferpeople surveyed. ence for in-person mental health “One participant specified the “Our findings show digital mental support. They also emphasised lack of connection as one reason health supports for youth are never the importance of trustworthy, for his dislike of ChatBOTs, noting ‘one-size-fits-all’ and it should not be high-quality, tailored support and ‘Being online, speaking to AI just assumed that digital support or digital messaging, whether it was delivdoesn’t feel real, it’s hard to gain modes of publicising support will be ered in person, or online.” connection’.” universally effective for a generation The rates of mental distress Online games designed to pro- of digital natives. among young people have invide mental health support, such “Digital mental health support creased rapidly in recent years, as the New Zealand-developed works best for young people when it both globally and in Aotearoa. The SPARX game, rated in the middle is tailored to them. Our respondents New Zealand Health Survey for of the pack in terms of populariwanted to see something relatable 2021/2022 showed that almost ty. One young woman observed, one in four (23.6 per cent) young ‘Games such as SPARX can be re- that would make them think, ‘oh, people aged 15-24 experienced ally helpful to redirect your atten- that’s me’.” high or very high levels of psycho- tion when you’re struggling’.

She says ensuring young people logical distress, compared to 5.1 are involved in the design of digital Participants were also asked per cent 10 years earlier. support services would help make onif there were other forms of digital line platforms more relevant to them.

Almost half of the young support they had not yet tried, people surveyed (44 per cent) had but would like to. Of the options, Publication details 13

What’s on in October?

Sunday

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Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

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Fiji Language Week

13 Niue

Lectures end

Language Week

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Exams start

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Tokelau

Labour Day

Halloween

Language Week

Thanks for reading! See you next month.