Working list of NZGS08 Conference Specialist Sessions

Abstract and specialist session submissions are now closed. Nevertheless, if you would like to submit an abstract please write to nzgs2008@vuw.ac.nz and we may be able to consider your request.

Building Research Capability in the Social Sciences (BRCSS) as methodological intervention
Geographers are very active in using initiatives such as BRCSS to develop innovative methodologies. This session will explore and reflect on the broader proposition that over its life BRCSS has made possible important and internationally significant discussions on methodologies that might otherwise not have occurred in the New Zealand context.  The session will be introduced by Nick Lewis who will present a paper on ‘Promoting political projects of the Social Sciences – BRCSS in after-neoliberal New Zealand’.

Convenors: Nick Lewis and Richard LeHeron (r.leheron@auckland.ac.nz)

Centring social science in building diverse and resilient biological economies
This BRCSS initiative seeks to mobilise New Zealand social scientists into a constructive dialogue with a range of strategic primary sector actors around the wealth creating and sustainability enhancing proposition of building diverse and resilient biological economies. The project hopes to establish pathways for inserting novel social science thinking into the policy arena. The conference session will interrogate the genealogy of the term biological economies, focus on issues of framing social science approaches and provide initial details of re-mappings of the diversity of activities engaging with biophysical processes in New Zealand. Contributors to the session include: Hugh Campbell, Chris Rosin, Nick Lewis, Richard Le Heron, Mairi Jay, Eric Pawson, Harvey Perkins, Caroline Saunders, Matt Henry, Mike Roche.

Convenors: Richard LeHeron (r.leheron@auckland.ac.nz)

Critical geographies of health and well-being: expanding the agenda
Medical and health geographies have usefully moved beyond a simple mapping of disease incidence to include investigations of the more embodied experiences of health and illness. This shift has been fuelled by both theoretical and methodological developments which have led to a rapid expansion in the scope of research being carried out. This special session seeks to bring together papers that draw on these theoretical and methodological developments to further our placed understandings of diverse experiences of health and well-being. Papers could include discussions of different, embodied, emotional and/or place specific geographies. Key themes may include, but are not limited to, gender, sexuality, disability, ageing, HIV and care. It is hoped that these discussions may usefully give voice to the (re)production of inequalities and support the creation of sustainable policy. 

Convenors: Jason Myers, Robin Kearns. Tara Coleman, David Conradson and Janine Wiles.  Contact: Jason Myers  (j.myers@auckland.ac.nz)

Feminist Geographies
There has now been a sustained use of, and critical engagement with, feminist geography in Aotearoa for several decades. This has produced a diverse range of research on a variety of topics and places. This paper session aims to provide a forum for researchers to share new or on-going feminist geographical research related to gender and/or sexuality. We are also interested in papers that explore the particularities and intersections between gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, age, disability, culture and place. In other words, presenters are encouraged to explore the many axes of feminist and/or queer research, methodologies, and collaborations. We welcome papers that are theoretical, methodological, and/or empirical in nature.

Convenors: Lynda Johnston (lyndaj@waikato.ac.nz)and Robyn Longhurst (robynl@waikato.ac.nz), University of Waikato

Is Saying Sorry Enough?  Confronting the Enduring Legacies of Settler-state Colonialisms Atrocities against Indigenous Populations
On 13 February, 2008, the Prime Minister and Parliament of Australia apologized for “for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow [Aboriginal] Australians.” Prime Minister Rudd’s apology was televised to the nation and carried by news networks around the globe. Less than two weeks later, the Senate of the United States issued a similar apology, hidden within the language of a bill reauthorizing the Indian Health Service.  This time there was no publicity; even most Native Americans remain unaware that the apology was issued.  Are these apologies like those issued by the New Zealand Crown in Treaty of Waitangi claim settlements, creating a policy of reconciliation? As South Africa has demonstrated, ‘truth and reconciliation’ can be a useful process for a society attempting to grapple with the legacies of colonialism’s atrocities but is saying sorry enough?  Can these apologies effect real change to the enduring inequalities of settler-state societies?

This call for papers seeks presentations, which will explore various issues related to settler-state and church denomination apologies for their participation in atrocities against Indigenous peoples.  In keeping with the conference’s theme, papers, which address whether these apologies are connected to changes in government policy and remedies for long-standing inequalities would be welcomed.  

Convenor: Jay T. Johnson  (jjohnson18@unl.edu)

Moving homes, changing places, transforming geographies: the experiences of forced migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
We welcome offers of papers or other presentation formats for this session, from research on forced international migration, asylum and/or refugee issues. Participants will explore and illustrate the centrality of geography to the processes and practices, which frame experiences of transnational forced migrations and mobilities.

The international movement of refugees, forced migrants and asylum seekers often involves a complex series of mobilities and changes in everyday physical, material and emotional geographies connected with culture, society and everyday life. The long- and short-term causes and consequences of this movement and how it plays out are profoundly affected by geographical processes, differences and particularities relating to experiences in countries of origin; the length, form and nature of the migration process; and factors connected with resettlement, e.g. housing, employment issues and interactions with local communities.  This session will explore issues connected with these processes, and suggested themes include – but are not limited to – the following:

• The local context: everyday lives, livelihoods, inequalities and experiences
• Borders, policies, and the role of the state and state policies in shaping forced migrants’ experiences
• Emotional geographies of transnational forced migration
• Memory and building new senses of home and self
• Mobile identities: shifting and hyphenated identities
• Building and sustaining new communities within host countries
• Difference: nationality, gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion
• Rethinking scale: connecting refugee and forced migrant experiences of translocal places
• Innovative research approaches and methodological issues for researching forced migration, asylum and refugee issues.

The session will examine these issues in a variety of national, regional and local contexts in the global south and north. 

Convenors: Rachel Pain, Peter Hopkins and Sara Kindon (rachel.pain@durham.ac.uk; peter.hopkins@ncl.ac.uk; sara.kindon@vuw.ac.nz).   

Participatory Geographies
Recently, there has been a phenomenal growth in the use and critical reflection on the role of participation and participatory research within human geography.  This session invites papers from researchers engaging with participatory approaches and methods. It may include attention to the:
• the politics of participatory practice
• roles of space and place within participatory research
• the effects of participation’s embeddedness within different scales
• the geographies and spatialities of participatory enquiry
• the implications for publishing and thesis writing and representation

Convenor: Sara Kindon (sara.kindon@vuw.ac.nz)

Regional Development in a Globalising World: Understandings and Experiences from Australasia
This session will be a forum for sharing and debating academic and policy knowledges of empirical and theoretical nature. Key themes could include:

Governance, Institutions and Policy
• Institutional arrangements: power, innovation, evolution
• Regional policies within the wider policy world
• Relationship of regional/city-regional to other geographical scales in regards to interventions
• Policy-private investor links
Public-Private Sector Relationships 
• Engagement in policy and on the ground
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Lessons from sectors/industries/firms
Sustainability and Equity
• Reconciling economic growth and environmental and social objectives
• Sustainable transformations and dead ends              
Theory and Literatures: What can we add? 
• Neoliberalism, After-Neoliberalism, Neo-Keynesiansim
• Global City-Regions or distant hinterlands
• Creative Class or Social Capital
• Enabling decision-making or top-down structures
• Global Nodes or Local Centres

Convenor: Steffen Wetzstein (steffen.wetzstein@vuw.ac.nz)

Sustainable Cities
This session invites presentations, which highlight work going on around New Zealand. For example, papers could focus on, but not be limited to, the following topics:
• sustainable housing and health
• energy  and cities
•  decarbonising transport, and cities
•  inequalities and cities
• climate change  and city vulnerability

Convenor: Ralph Chapman (Ralph.chapman@vuw.ac.nz)

Sustainability and community change: the opportunities and limitations of participatory research

The science-community interface lies at the heart of the technology transfer process. As a result, this relationship is central to developing sustainable communities and ensuring sustainable land-use. The proposed special session “Sustainability and Community Change” will investigate how this relationship can be enhanced to further the goals of scientists, communities and policy-makers. The theme of sustainability is central to this investigation, as the development and maintenance of participatory research networks requires a high level of commitment from those involved, putting pressure on the interaction. Equally, the ability of communities (of both scientists, local groups and the collective) to adapt to change implies a serious challenge to their sustainability.
We envisage a double session, incorporating six speakers, followed by a round table discussion/workshop. These sessions will draw on the experiences of the FRST funded Science for Community Change project (due to conclude on June 30 2008 after five years) and enhance them with international perspectives. The speakers will include two invited, international experts in addition to New Zealand scientists, extension experts and representatives of industry-based research groups. The workshop will focus on assessing the future relevance of participatory research methods and the challenges which arise from incorporating participatory approaches into the decision-making framework of government at both the funding and operational levels.

Convenors: Steven Kelly (s.kelly@auckland.ac.nz); Willie Smith both at Auckland University and Huub Kerckhoffs (Crop and Food Research Ltd, Hastings)

Sustaining Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Pacific
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is a vital cultural resource, linking people with the ecosystems in which they live, and providing models for environmental management and the means to adapt to environmental change. TEK embodies the link between humans and the rest of the natural world, in essence weaving together biological and cultural diversity.  This special session will explore the current status of TEK in the Pacific and strategies for ensuring TEK’s future in the region.  Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• What factors are affecting the transmission of TEK to future generations
• What role can education systems play in sustaining TEK
• What role are intellectual property rights playing in protecting TEK’s future
• How can biodiversity conservation efforts in the region empower TEK?
• How can research efforts contribute to sustaining TEK?

Presenters will be invited to submit their papers for inclusion in a special issue on sustaining traditional ecological knowledge in the Pacific for the journal Asia Pacific Viewpoint (http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1360-7456&site=1). Usual refereeing processes will apply.

Convenor: Michael Gavin (michael.gavin@vuw.ac.nz)

Understanding New Zealand’s largest export industry: dairying in a globalising context
Internationally in food & agriculture dairying is a cinderella subject. Dairy is promoted as both a high value and a high revenue product. The value generated in dairy production also attracts considerable attention as an internationally traded commodity. On the other hand, the intensity of dairy production systems raises concerns about the environmental impacts and consequences of increasing levels of production. This session will provide an opportunity for New Zealand researchers to discuss key developments in the New Zealand, Australasian and international dairy scene. Papers on environmental issues and challenges, the emergence of dairy businesses as globalising entities, and moral and ethical challenges of dairy production and consumption are especially welcome.

It is envisaged that contributions will come from the dairy industry, NGOs, government as well as academic researchers. Potential contributors are Neels Botha, Paula Blackett, Stuart Gray, Mairi Jay, John Hutchings, Richard Le Heron, Chris Rosin, Christina Stringer, Christine Tamasy, Warwick Murray, Toni White.

Convenors: Richard Le Heron, Chris Rosin, Christine Tamasy. 
Email: Richard LeHeron (r.leheron@auckland.ac.nz)

Applied River Research
This session will concentrate on river related research and how it is being applied to increase the sustainability of river systems and management practices.

We plan to structure the session with papers in the first half followed by a group discussion about creating a 'sustainable future for river systems' and what scientific basis we need for this.

Convenors: Helen Reid (h.reid@auckland.ac.nz)and Gary Brierley

Geographies of Health and Inequality

Recent New Zealand research has firmly established that there is a strong social gradient in health outcomes, health-related behaviours and health experiences. Social, ethnic and spatial inequalities in health in New Zealand have all rapidly increased over the past three decades, with a particularly rapid rise in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period of profound social and economic change. Whilst there are a plethora of studies documenting the widening health divide in New Zealand, there remains a lack of understanding of the mechanisms and processes that establish and perpetuate inequalities in health. This session draws together a collection of papers that contribute to the understanding of the link between places and health inequalities. Collectively, the research will grapple with issues key public health issues such as obesity, problem gambling, subjective well-being and smoking. The theoretical contribution of geographical work on health inequalities, as well as the important policy contribution of these studies will be considered.
Convenors:  Jamie Pearce (jamie.pearce@canterbury.ac.nz) and Phil Morrison (Philip.Morrison@vuw.ac.nz)

Geographical Information Systems
GIS (Geographic Information Systems) naturally lends itself to application outside of traditional geographic fields and can bring awareness of spatial issues into other disciplines, including but not limited to Biology, Disaster Management and Archaeology.  This session will discuss current research in GIS across the range of applications and developments in techniques, thinking and approaches.  Papers in this session are invited to acknowledge how GIS has enriched and been enriched by other disciplines through the cross pollination of ideas, techniques and data.
Convenor: Mairead De Roiste (mairead.deroiste@vuw.ac.nz)

Geographies of the Wine Industry
Convenor: John Overton (john.overton@vuw.ac.nz)

Global Inequality
Convenor: Warwick Murray (warwick.murray@vuw.ac.nz)

Regional Journals
Convenors: Warwick Murray and James Sidaway
Email: Warwick Murray (warwick.murray@vuw.ac.nz)

Useful Geomorphology
Convenors: Nick Preson (nick.preston@vuw.ac.nz) and Mike Crozier (Michael.crozier@vuw.ac.nzMichael.crozier@vuw.ac.nz)

Geographies of Development in Latin America

This session will focus on a range of development issues facing Latin America in the era of contemporary globalisation. Papers/presentations are sought from a broad spectrum of disciplines and perspectives on geographies of development in Latin American economy, polity, society, environment, culture and history.
Convenor: Ed Challies (ed.challies@vuw.ac.nz)

Science, Policy and Networks: Making the Links

Gone are the days when policy need only consider the characteristics of its descriptor.  Environmental policy, once only necessitated the inclusion of ‘hard’ science for its creation and subsequent implementation.  During the preceding two or three decades, researchers and geographers in particular have infused environmental policy studies with multi-, inter-, and most recently trans-disciplinary research methodologies. The recent advancements in research design increasingly envelope the so-called ‘natural’, ‘social’ and ‘technical’ realms into one space that must be holistically considered for adequate and effective policy development.  

This proposed special session seeks researchers from across the sciences to present and discuss work that connects the actors and spaces of environmental science, policy and management into one ecosystem of activity.  This session will focus upon questions of research design, methodology and generally the process of developing a project.  It is envisaged that this session will be of most benefit to early career lecturers, doctoral candidates, post-graduates and others open toward contributing novel perspectives in innovative research design, namely in the area of environmental policy.
Conveners: Eric W. LaFary, PhD Candidate (Geography) (e.lafary@auckland.ac.nz), The University of Auckland SGGES; Petra van Limburg – Meijer, PhD Candidate (Environmental Management) (p.vanlimburg@auckland.ac.nz), The University of Auckland SGGES