Almost 140 years after armed government troops crushed peaceful protests at Parihaka, New Zealand is beginning to make amends with the signing of a reconciliation law and a compensation agreement.
The New Zealand government has announced a partnership with the farming sector to develop voluntary measures to reduce farm emissions.
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Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The New Zealand government’s decision to partner the farming sector to encourage voluntary reductions in farm emissions failed to acknowledge that agricultural emissions also affect water quality.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
arrive at the Commonwealth Heads of Government 2018 meeting in Windsor, England, in April 2018. New Zealand moved from the first-past-the-post electoral system in 1993 to a system that helped put Ardern in power.
(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Unlike Canada’s newly elected House of Commons, New Zealand’s parliament reflects the will of voters. So do other proportional representation systems. Canada has plenty of choice.
Matthew Hall, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Our prevailing relationship with nature is based on framing the living world as a set of natural resources. This utility-based worldview perpetuates the drivers of ongoing biodiversity loss.
The New Zealand robin is a small and ordinary-looking songbird, but it can take down enormous invertebrate prey and hide morsels for later consumption.
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Rachael Shaw, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The New Zealand robin has learnt to hide left-over food for later consumption, and it turns out that male birds with the best spatial memory have the greatest breeding success.
Rapid and voluminous volcanic eruptions around 252 million years ago can be linked with a mass extinction event.
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There is evidence for catastrophic climate change from protracted volcanic eruptions in the past, but since the 1950s the emissions we produce far exceed those from volcanic activity.
The best way to compare emissions from electric cars is to assess all phases of a life cycle analysis.
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In New Zealand, where more than 80% of electricity is renewable, the carbon footprint of electric cars is 62% lower than that of fossil cars. But their lithium battery has other environmental impacts.
New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern, police minister Stuart Nash (right) and the minister for Christchurch regeneration Megan Woods announcing stronger gun laws and the creation of a firearms registry.
AAP/David Alexander
The British Psychological Society is calling for a language change, from ‘obese people’ to ‘people living with obesity’. But using the word obesity can reinforce rather than prevent stigma.
The character of Judge Dredd was designed to be satirical, depicting the ultimate draconian cop.
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The fictitious world of Judge Dredd highlights authoritarianism, including laws against outsiders, walls around cities and rules that deny people basic rights. Are the Dredd comics a cautionary tale?
Even people who accept the science of climate change sometimes resist it because it clashes with their personal projects.
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People are more likely to deny climate change if they’re inclined toward hierarchy, have lower levels of education or are more religious. But the strongest predictor of denial is a person’s politics.
Academic freedom protects free speech, but also sets conditions.
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Academic freedom protects free speech, but also conditions it. Knowledge cannot be tested and doesn’t advance if there isn’t also a duty to be well informed and reasoned.
Women are more likely to feel watched, exposed or more accountable in open-plan offices.
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Some of the latest findings about open-plan offices suggest that staff satisfaction and privacy decrease, people become less friendly and women feel watched and appraised on appearance.
During the Pliocene, up to one third of Antarctica’s ice sheet melted, causing sea-level rise of 20 metres.
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New research shows that warming by more than 2°C could be a tipping point for Antarctica’s ice sheets, resulting in widespread meltdown and changes to the world’s shorelines for centuries to come.
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios was sentenced to six months of probation following several controversial events and an ‘aggravated pattern of behaviours’.
EPA/Jason Szenes
As Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios begins his probationary period this week for a pattern of bad behaviour and foul language, his value to sponsors and the sport of tennis remains high.
Eating less meat is one change many of us can make to reduce our contribution to climate change.
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Nick Golledge, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Individual actions to reduce emissions are important in two ways. First, they have an immediate impact, and secondly, adopting low-carbon life choices sends a clear message to political leaders.
Streets are some of our most important public spaces.
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Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, is going through a transformation of its centre and waterfront to support of walking, cycling and public transport, and less space for cars.
The fictional universe of superheroes can teach us about what motivates some of us to believe in gods.
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Superheroes may be able to regenerate and fly through walls, but their supernatural qualities differ from those of spiritual beings that attract religious devotion.
People with depression experience symptoms that affect their mood, cognitive function and physical health.
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Samuel Clack, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Tony Ward, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Understanding of depression has advanced significantly since the first diagnostic criteria were introduced in the 1980s, but we still lack clear consensus on how this mental disorder should be explained.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University