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Flaunting it on Facebook: Young adults, drinking stories and the cult of celebrity

Added 9 March 2010

PhD opportunities in 3 year Marsden-funded social science project, commencing February 2010.

Funded Māori PhD scholarship! Funded Pacific PhD scholarship!

We are keen to meet potential Massey University Māori and Pacific candidates with academic backgrounds in a relevant social science discipline, such as Kaupapa Māori research, health psychology, social psychology, sociology, Māori studies, or media studies, to discuss these opportunities.

The project is a collaboration between Dr Antonia Lyons and team at the School of Psychology, Massey University (Wellington) and a team from Whariki Research Group led by Associate Professor Helen Moewaka Barnes (Massey University, Auckland). The project summary follows below:

Young adults in Aotearoa/NZ regularly engage in heavy drinking episodes with groups of friends within a collective culture of intoxication to 'have fun' and 'be sociable'.

This population has also rapidly increased its use of new social networking technologies (e.g. mobile camera/video phones; social networking Internet sites such as Facebook and YouTube) and are said to be obsessed with identity, image and celebrity.

This project explores the ways in which new technologies are being used by young people (and others, including marketers) in drinking practices and drinking cultures in Aotearoa/NZ.

There are three PhD positions that will be assigned to one of each of the ethnicity strands of the proposal. We are now looking for one Māori and one Pacific student to conduct research within these populations; they do not necessarily need to live in Auckland, but will need to travel and stay in Auckland from time to time.

The successful applicants will receive an annual stipend of $25,000 plus doctoral fees, will be supervised by members of the team, and mentored by all named researchers throughout the project.

Contact Helen Moewaka Barnes (h.moewakabarnes@massey.ac.nz) to learn more.

Email your MP tool launched

Added 2 March 2010

Almost one year has passed since the Government deferred the debate about banning tobacco retail displays by calling for more evidence. A new Email your MP web tool has been launched to help your campaign to reach politicians. An easy to use online form can be used to select your MP, choose a key message about tobacco displays and send it direct to them.

You can find it here.

More and more countries have banned displays, including Finland, Norway and Scotland. The Scottish Parliament even used evidence form the ASH Year Ten Survey when making its decision to ban point of sale tobacco advertising.

Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia has been persistently pushing this issue, and we need to show that the public is behind her.

The Māori Affairs Select Committee has reported over 2000 submissions to its enquiry into the impact of tobacco on Māori. A quick analysis by ASH of the submissions available on the Committee's website, showed that 80 percent want a ban on tobacco displays. Sixty percent were in favour of getting rid of tobacco sales by 2020.

This proves banning retail displays is not a radical step, but a small one on the road to this goal of a smokefree Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Please take the cause to your MPs and urge them to take urgent action. We want our Kiwi kids not to see tobacco in their local shops anymore.

Paula Bennett: Feedback on proposed Auckland Social Policy Forum

Added 4 February 2010

Minister for Social Development and Employment Paula Bennett has announced her plans for the new Auckland Social Policy Forum and is encouraging people to have their say on it. The Minister released a discussion document and feedback closes on Friday 21 May 2010.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get the structures that support the social fabric of Auckland right," says Ms Bennett. “The Forum will bring together key political leaders from Auckland and central Government, providing a platform to ensure social issues remain high on the agenda as governance in Auckland changes.

"We want to see a range of organisations and communities involved with the Forum, so those making decisions about Auckland, understand the diverse needs of those groups. "We want to feedback on the form and function of the Forum, the types of issues it should be considering, and how it can best engage with Auckland's diverse communities and social organisations."

"The framework's there, but now we need to flesh it out. I want to make sure Auckland communities, organisations and local government are at the centre of our thinking", Ms Bennett says.

A code of public health ethics

At the PHA Conference 2009 there was discussion of a code of public health ethics. Here are the relevant background papers for discussion in branches and/or workplaces.

 
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