Warning: only students have the right to click on the A+ roadmap and other trespassers will be persecuted. The A+ roadmap is students talking to studets in a private link
High-profile psychology researcher and authority on the development of memory has been appointed to repleace Prof Geoff White, the Depty-chancellor for research and commercial activities. Geoff White refused to meet with Otago Campus Review (OCR) and the D Scene and was under some criticism for anti-competitive practices and illegal sale of public knowledge by Otago Innovation Limited (OIL).
Prof Harlene Hayne, head of the university's psychology department, will become research and enterprise deputy vice-chancellor from February, and maybe allow a more open and free OIL market to emerge.
Prof Hayne came to Dunedin from the United States in 1992, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, has served on the Royal Society's Academy Council, and is a member of both the Marsden Fund Council and the New Zealand National Science Panel.
It is now widely believed that the corporate and commercial activities of the university are increasing the costs of education above inflation, undermining individual freedoms and rights, and allowing for central planning. A member from Campus Greens reported that this could be consider part of the general trend making New Zealand look like the USA by adopting similar systems. Economists now agree that the US system is imperialistic and unsustainable. Many predict a near collapse for the USA. John Key remarks on Iraq are hold by some as clear evidence of some NZ elements moving the peaceful pacific nation in a US direction.
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Dunedin Scene Interview Otago Campus Review - Double Interview about the University and its commercial activities (Dunedin Scene reporter Gavin Bertram and Mohammed Alqumber):
More of the price boom
Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard's surprise decision to cut the Official Cash Rate at the 24th of July has been largely greeted with approval by economists at New Zealand’s biggest financial institutions. Why not when they are owned by the same people!
Goldman Sachs JBWere chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub, ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley, and BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander agreed that Dr Bollard made the right call.
The rate cut signals the end of a business cycle and the beginning of a series of rate cuts between now and the end of next year, which is predicted to take interest rates down to 6 per cent or below. This will increase the prices and make housing really expensive.
The war against the global elites
There is an acceleration of globalization forces, here at home the National Party, as many governments and parties, want to sell more public assets and tax the elite less while preying on the small guys (forget the top tax rate you hope you will have to pay and understand that companies and real estate taxes are less, also they get the GST returned and get tax credits in some areas!). All this is happening as we see individual wealth and freedoms being undermine (low house affordability, difficult employment prospectus, high taxes and cost of life).
All without any light at the end of the tunnel.
So, the circle is to be closed: even the social upbringing of children to be dictated by regulations, and your salary to be devalued by the monetary policy and our taxes to be higher % than what a wealthy billionaire pays.
Only few are talking.
Dr. Ron Paul, US Republican Presidential Candidate, questioning the Chairman of the Fed Reserve, Ben Bernanke is so clear example of the rigid system and if you want to laugh at this misery with George Carlin look at the clips below:
See how the value of the currency is hijacked by the central banks
And see where things are today and where things going
Laugh at this misery with George Carlin and rigid “capitalistic” system
There is some resistance against this inequitable status quo but this is in complete disarray and some serious consolidation is needed. I think that Winston Peters, Rodney Hide, the Greens and the Kiwi party guys should work together toward a landslide victory in the upcoming elections; they should form a coalition and go there in the ballot together. They can change lots of the bad policies and avoid the traditional slide in financial and social wellbeing of the average individual (National and Labour only care about the corporate and government books).
Otago Campus Review is now considering selling shares to bring you as new blood in the ranks of effective independent education and communication hub. Keep an eye!
University Transforming Economy
Michael Cullen, Ministry of Finance, in a speech entitled (transforming tertiary education and the NZ economy) late last year in the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics said:......read more
Saving the Planet 101
With petrol skyrocketing, lots of people are going for hybrids and crazy ideas like food-derived biofuels. That's maybe ok, but you don't have to spend cash to get better fuel economy. A few simple tricks can boost your fuel efficiency to 10% - 40% (5, 10, to 15 more km out of every liter).
Hypermiling
1. Go easy on the accelerator and follow the speed limit. It's a no brainer, but how many people actually drive 55 Km? Fuel economy drops like a stone above 60 Km, so slow down. You'll bump your fuel economy by 7 to 23 percent.
2. Take all the junk out of your trunk.? When was the last time you used those golf clubs? Every 50 Kg of stuff increase fuel consumption by 1 to 2 percent. Lose the roof rack and gain another 5 percent or so.
3. Get a tune-up and use ligh viscosity oil (service your car with WOF).
4. Keep your tires properly inflated.
5. If you're going to be stationary for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine.
6. Lay off the brakes. In traffic, maintain yourself slow and relaxed instead of accelerating and braking. Ignore the horns and finger salutations.
The Leaders Meat to Talk Food
Starvation threatening nearly 1 billion people can be solved by lowering trade barriers and removing export bans.
"Nothing is more degrading than hunger, especially when man-made," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders who are likely to disagree over the link between biofuel production and high food prices. The head of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is hosting the summit, said wealthy nations had been spending billions of dollars on farm subsidies, wasteful and excess consumption of food, and on arms.
" ... The excess consumption by the world's obese costs $20 billion annually, to which must be added indirect costs of $100 billion resulting from premature death and related diseases," said FAO Director General Jacques Diouf, who is from Senegal.
The World Bank and aid agencies estimate soaring food prices could push as many as 100 million more people into hunger. About 850 million are already hungry.
Ban estimated the "global price tag" to overcome the food crisis would be $15-20 billion a year and that food supply had to rise 50 percent by the year 2030 to meet climbing demand.
"Some countries have taken action by limiting exports or by imposing draft controls," he said. This "distorts markets and forces prices even higher. I call on nations to resist such measures and to immediately release exports designated for humanitarian purposes".
Aid agencies say Japan and China have contributed to high rice prices, which have triggered riots as far away as Haiti, by controlling their stocks. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda promised at the summit to release at least 300,000 tonnes of imported rice from storage to ease the crisis
University $1.2m better than budget
he University of Otago achieved an operating surplus of $14 million for the first four months this year. This is about $1,247,000 better than budget.
The university benefited in several ways, including research surpluses ($963,000), salary savings ($811,000) and through timing of buyings and expenditures ($2,150,000).
The University of Otago experienced massive operating surpluses throughout recent years.
30.5 million was reported in the 2006 Financial Review. 9.6 million greater than in 2005. Student fees are still increasing.
There are calls for students to freeze fee rises. Maybe strikes and industrial actions are the only possible approaches to ease this situation. We should all hope NZUSA can do something for us. Check out the student debt on the NZUSA website (www.students.org.nz) and try justifying the university's increasing surplus
Campus Watch and the police arrest some of us
only do the kings of campus have their own police and campus watch, they are also avoiding their students and using their campus watch to follow students that “look suspicious to them” and try to collect evidence to lay charges. Otago Daily Times reported OUSA president Simon Wilson saying, “Students now needed to approach the university in a formal matter in order for anything to change”.
Otago Campus Review was not able to interview many officers, including Dr. Stephen Batstone (NERI), Dr. Pip Lynch(NERI), Dr. Colin Cheyne (Philosophy dept), Dr. Geoffrey White (Vice-Chancelor, Research), Dr. Tracey Epps (Law), Dr. Kevin Dawkins (Law), and Dr. Kerry Shephard (Higher Education Development Centre).
A noisy student protest against the actions of University of Otago Campus Watch staff passed without incident at the Dunedin campus Thur the 29th of May 2008.
More than 100 students marched through the centre of the campus to the offices of the proctor, Simon Thompson, and urged him to come down from his first-floor office.
However, Mr Thompson enjoys a back door.
The University Leaders are apparently “Busy People” or Businesspeople. Otago Campus Review requested a meeting with many people that end up refusing claiming they were busy. We decided to dive deep and see what are these people busy doing.
Lindsay John Brown is our king, long live King Brown, he is a Chartered Accountant and the Pro-Chancellor of Otago University and….
1. Director for at least 10 companies
2. Consultant with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
3. Councillor of Otago Medical Research Foundation
4. Turstee of Ashburn Hall Charitable Trust
5. Chairperson of Otago and Southland Division,
6. Member of the National Board of Cancer Society New Zealand.
He is currently heading Lindsay Brown Contractors Ltd, University of Otago Holdings Ltd, Mercy Hospital Dunedin Ltd, Otago Innovation Ltd and was reported to resign from leading Iso-trace New Zealand Ltd, and Dunedin International Airport Ltd. Iso-trace is a collapsing company at the Centre for Innovation and was previously launched under Otago Innovation Ltd.
But not to worry, we have an interview lined up with Ryan Priemus (Kickstart) and he will tell us all about how it is “who you know not what you know” and how to get to know the people on top to get your business kickstarted!
See our interview with Ryan Priemus, the Kickstart and Audacious leader
Kickstart helps University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic students start, and run, their own business. Ryan Priemus, Kickstart Business Coach tell us whats up in Dunedin
A noisy student protest against the actions of University of Otago Campus Watch staff passed without incident at the Dunedin campus Thur the 29th of May 2008.
More than 100 students marched through the centre of the campus to the offices of the proctor, Simon Thompson, and urged him to come down from his first-floor office.
However, Mr Thompson enjoys a back door.
The University Leaders are apparently “Busy People” or Businesspeople. Otago Campus Review requested a meeting with many people that end up refusing claiming they were busy. We decided to dive deep and see what are these people busy doing.
Lindsay John Brown is our king,
long live King Brown, he is a Chartered Accountant and the Pro-Chancellor of Otago University and….
1. Director for at least 10 companies
2. Consultant with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
3. Councillor of Otago Medical Research Foundation
4. Turstee of Ashburn Hall Charitable Trust
5. Chairperson of Otago and Southland Division,
6. Member of the National Board of Cancer Society New Zealand.
He is currently heading Lindsay Brown Contractors Ltd, University of Otago Holdings Ltd, Mercy Hospital Dunedin Ltd, Otago Innovation Ltd and was reported to resign from leading Iso-trace New Zealand Ltd, and Dunedin International Airport Ltd. Iso-trace is a collapsing company at the Centre for Innovation and was previously launched under Otago Innovation Ltd.
But not to worry, we have an interview lined up with Ryan Priemus (Kickstart) and he will tell us all about how it is “who you know not what you know” and how to get to know the people on top to get your business kickstarted!
