Think beyond trash culture, graduates advised

Television's "tide of trash" creates a victim mentality, an impression society is more violent than it really is, and hinders clear, evidence-based thinking, says the University's School of Public Health head Associate Professor Cindy Kiro.

Dr Kiro, the former Children's Commission and now head of the University's School of Public Health, was guest speaker at the sixth and final ceremony for the Albany campus graduation week in Takapuna last week.

Referring to the "NCIS effect" – after an American crime programme, she told the audience of graduates, their families and friends, that New Zealand has created "a mass culture" of victims. "TV shows feature crime and death on every channel – a whole slew of them every night of the week. You would think murder happens all the time. It doesn't. Shows that promote the feeling of community, of our shared humanity, of kindness and consideration, of nurturing and emotional maturity, these are much harder to come by."

She said it was no surprise many young people wanted to become forensic scientists, and fewer want to be social workers. Quoting from novelist George Orwell's iconic book Nineteen Eighty-Four with its concepts of "doublethink" and "newspeak", she said "turning back the tide of trash requires people who can still think, who know what evidence means, who do not blindly trust everything they read or hear, who are capable of interpreting, assigning meaning and remembering that history has much to teach us. I thank you for being those kind of people because New Zealand needs you."

Five PhDs from a total of 22 throughout the week were awarded, including one posthumously to social anthropology student Michael McCool who died suddenly less than a month before he was due to graduate. His partner Lakeisha Cheng and sister Kathleen McCool crossed the stage to accept his degree.

Dr McCool's thesis is based on insider research to produce a thoughtful commentary on the experience of university life for disabled students. His academic supporters and friends at the Albany campus, where he enrolled as an undergraduate student in 1994, credit him with instigating significant changes and improvements on the campus for students with disabilities. Colleague, friend and Massey graduate Dr Margot Symes described him as an incredible person. "He was an advocate for people who had no voice." Campus registrar Andrea Davies said Dr McCool, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, helped make the campus more accepting and welcoming of students with disabilities.

Other PhDs included staff members Dr Lillian George, who conducted research as an indigenous anthropologist with the community of Awataha Marae, Northcote, and Dr Barbara Staniforth, a social work lecturer at the School of Health and Social Services, whose thesis examined the tension between the individual counselling component of social work and the profession's commitment to social change. Dr Beverley Haarhoff, a senior lecturer at the School of Psychology, evaluated aspects of cognitive behaviour therapy and proposed strategies to improve training for therapists in her thesis.