Nine To Noon for Wednesday 14 June 2023

 

09:05 University redundancies undermine Government's own science strategy - academic

An academic is warning cuts to university staff is short-sighted and will undermine the government's own science goals. Hundreds of academic jobs at the University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington face being cut as tertiary institutions across the country tackle ballooning costs and declining roles. Dr Nicola Gaston is the co-director of the MacDiarmid Institute and a professor in the department of physics at The University of Auckland. She says the proposed cuts not only jeopardise the national research capability but also highlight the need for a collective approach to address the funding crisis. She is calling for a rethink of how we fund and operate our universities and research institutes.

09:30 Crunch point approaching for future of skiing on Ruapehu

The future of skiing on Mt Ruapehu is reaching a critical point with a watershed creditors meeting set for next week. Cabinet has agreed to support separate private bidders to run Whakapapa and Tūroa ski fields after the previous operator, Ruapehu Alpine lifts,  went into voluntary administration last year, owing millions of dollars. Whakapapa Holdings Ltd and Pure Tūroa are separately seeking to purchase the assets of the respective ski areas,  and want to open for skiing and boarding in the coming weeks. However a group of life pass holders are putting up a separate proposal to keep the ski areas in community ownership. Next Tuesday RAL creditors -  including that block of life pass holders,  will vote on the proposals. Meanwhile local iwi have criticised the process, saying they have not been adequately consulted. Kathryn speaks with head of Whakapapa Holdings, former Whakapapa and Tūroa ski areas' chief executive Dave Mazey; and Sam Clarkson Life Pass Holders' representative and local business operator.

09:45 Australia correspondent Chris Niesche

Chris  joins Kathryn to look at this weekend's Kings Birthday awards, and the historic parity they've created for women. For the first time in five-decades the honours had an equal number of female recipients, including the three highest levels of achievement. So who received them? And an inquiry is set to get underway into the domestic violence deaths of four Aboringinal women in the Northern Territory. It seeks to explain why, despite multiple red flags and calls for help, the women were unable to be saved.

10:05 Did Mozart fake his own death and compose on through someone else?

 He's considered one of the greatest composers of all time - yet his death remains shrouded in mystery. It's not clear which illness caused the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the 5th of December 1791. But a new book from writer and opera singer Lynn John raises a new theory about whether Mozart actually faked his own death and lived on for many years. Not only did live in secret, but that he went on to influence and work with another great composer: Gioachino Rossini. Lynn is originally from Wales and was a member and soloist with the Morriston Orpheus Choir - one of the best known in the UK  - and was also with New Zealand Opera for 21 years. That was when he met Italian conductor Eliano Mattiozzi - who set him on the path of research for his book A Secret Never to Be Told. You can find more detail about the book and where to buy it here - or you can pop into Paper Plus in Orewa for a copy.

10:35 Book review: The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer

Sonja  de Friez reviews The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer, published by Hachette   

10:45 Around the motu : Che Baker in Southland

The Gore District Council saga continues with a petition calling chief executive Stephen Parry to resign presented at a council meeting yesterday. The petition had gained nearly 4900 signatures. It alleged there was a toxic, bullying culture the Gore District Council's CEO has a known history of. Former Invercargill Mayor, Sir Tim Shadbolt is wanting a statue to be made and erected in the city in his honour. However, Che says it appears the current mayor Nobby Clark doesn't agree. Sir Tim has declined to have a prominent Invercargill reserve, or the swimming pool, named after him as a part of a civic tribute.

Che Baker is the editor of the Southland Times.

11:05 Music with Dave Wilson: Gender inclusivity in jazz 

Music commentator Dave Wilson joins Kathryn to talk about one of his favourite research areas - how to increase the equity and inclusiveness for all genders in the worlds of jazz and related music. He ways it's a field that has - like many others - had a systemic problem where women and non-binary folks are marginalised or pushed out of the spaces of the work, and those women who have contributed are often erased or minimised in narratives about it. He'll play three examples by musician researchers that are part of an initiative at the University of Sydney called the Equity in Jazz Program.

Dave Wilson is musician, composer, and ethnomusicologist, a senior lecturer at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington.

 

11:20 What might have been, and what to do about it

Psychologist Karen Nimmo says her clients often speak about their regrets, thinking about what might have been, or wishing some aspects of their lives had panned out differently. Karen talks to Kathryn about some of the most common regrets people have.

11:45 Science: Why turbulence is getting worse, sewer bots destroy mozzies

Science correspondent Laurie Winkless joins Kathryn to talk about why severe air turbulence is getting worse. A new study from the University of Reading took 40 years of observations from aircraft and satellite and found the likelihood of hitting clear-air turbulence has increased. So where are you most likely to encounter it? She'll also talk about a new study which has found squeezing molecules together could help reduce chemical waste and how robots in sewers are helping to combat dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Laurie Winkless is a physicist and science writer.