26 May 1997 Social science questions fire enthusiasm for learning

How do Holocaust survivors cope with everyday life after their horrific experiences? Why are shopping malls ‘cool’ places for teenagers to hang out? What happens to people's moods when they're isolated for long periods in hostile places such as the Arctic and Antarctic? How have ‘radicals’ and ‘conservatives’ shaped Christchurch's reputation? Is it morally right to ignore ‘nasty knowledge’ when it can be used for beneficial purposes?

These questions belong to the world of social science and along with many others they are all research topics at Lincoln University where they liven up lectures for students doing papers from the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, geography and connected fields.

Many of those students are enrolled in Lincoln's Bachelor of Social Science degree – introduced in 1995 and with the first intake scheduled to complete their degrees at the end of this year. Others are building Social Science papers into separate qualifications from Agricultural Science, Horticultural Science, Resource Studies and Maori Studies to Commerce, Landscape Architecture and Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management.

Social Science is specified in Lincoln's charter goals as one of seven specialist areas in which the University seeks to excel (the others are commerce and management, primary production and natural resources, science and engineering) and it's a field which has struck a chord, with Bachelor of Social Science enrolments this year well ahead of projections.

Psychology Lecturer Dr Gary Steel finds his students respond well when he can introduce examples from ‘true life’ research to illustrate the theoretical points he makes in his lectures. Other staff report likewise with their teaching.

Gary's specialist research area is people's responses to remote and hostile environments – how they cope, how they interact, and how they readjust when they return to ‘normal’ life. It's work that's taken him many times into some of the world's most inhospitable territory – the Arctic and Antarctic.

It has also involved him with projects as diverse as investigating how Jewish survivors of the Holocaust cope with daily life to considerations of how astronauts would cope on long-term space travel such as a mission to Mars.

"From the 'inner space' considerations of Holocaust survivors to the 'outer space' concerns of inter-planetary travel, it's a work that captures people's imaginations," says Dr Steel, "and my students seem to take a great interest in it."

"Of course this is one of the spin-off values of research in a university as opposed to other tertiary institutions, teaching staff can bring personal and current research experience to support their teaching," says immediate past Convenor of Lincoln's Social Science Group Dr Stan Godlovitch.

The first ‘professional philosopher’ on the Lincoln staff, Dr Godlovitch's arrival in 1994 coincided with preparations for the introduction of the University's Bachelor of Social Science degree and he became convenor of the group which spearheaded its implementation.

Papers he teaches include Moral Philosophy, Logic and Critical Reasoning, and Environmental Ethics and on the research side his interests include environmental appreciation and ethics – how philosophies of nature relate to conservation issues.

"Why, for instance, do we appreciate the natural environment," he asks. "What does it mean to us?"

He is also doing research into other ethical issues such as amateurism versus professionalism in recreation and the ethics of using what he calls ‘nasty knowledge’, specifically the Nazi experiments on human subjects.

"Given that this knowledge exists, what justifications are people likely to come up with for its use and are these justifications morally defensible", he asks? "Furthermore, are we perhaps selective in our objections to 'nasty knowledge'? Is there, for example, 'nasty knowledge' from the past which we now use without qualms?"

From ‘nasty knowledge’ to shopping malls ... why do kids ‘hang out’ at these places? Well it's all part of the wider picture of how shopping malls now fit into our lives, a subject which is being investigated by Lincoln University sociologist Bob Gidlow.

The answer lies in the fact that shopping is no longer simply about the purchase of necessities. It has become a leisure activity and malls offer an environment which deliberately encourages people to take their time, socialise and enjoy themselves. There's the music, the plants, the seats, the entertainment, and it's warm and safe, away from traffic and changeable weather. Where better to ‘hang out’!

Pious English city or radical stronghold – which is the real Christchurch? Lincoln University historian Dr Jim McAloon is helping to clarify our city's true character.

On the radical side he points to Christchurch's long history of activism, from the women's suffrage movement of last century to the anti-apartheid movement of recent times. He points, too, to the city as a ‘cockpit’ of Labour radicalism sprinkling his comments with names such as Ted Howard, Fred Cooke, Jack McCullough, Dan Sullivan and Jim Thorn all of whom, along with James and Elizabeth McCombs, were influential in Labour politics for decades. He refers as well to Labour's long-serving MPs from Christchurch electorates – Bob Macfarlane (1939-69), Mabel Howard (1943-69) and Jock Mathison (1947-72).

He admits, however, that in contrast, clear-cut representatives of the ‘establishment’ are a little harder to come to grips with. He's working on this side at the moment and asking the questions: How did you get ‘in’ to the establishment ... did you have to be rich ... did you have to be an Anglican ... was it possible to be impecunious but a member so long as one had the right manners... and did periods of rapid social and economic change, for example the 1930s and 1960s, make for shakeups bringing new people in and dropping others out?

It's a fascinating field of social and historical research which is playing its role in the mounting appeal and stature of social science studies at Lincoln University.

That stature can be measured by success in winning external funding for research, such as Dr Tracy Berno's seeding grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand and its South Pacific Health Research Committee. Dr Berno's grant will help support an investigation into socio-cultural and psychological aspects of Cook Islands people returning home. Do they, for example, have a greater impact on change in the islands than tourism, and what are the combined impacts of the two on individuals and the community as a whole.

It is work with a strong ‘applied’ focus for the future welfare of the small island nation and illustrates well the value of Lincoln University social science research in the real world.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand