2012 Winter Lectures: Hazards, Disasters, Risks & Responses

Associate Professor Carol Mutch, Faculty of Education: Media responses - from information to interaction.

As the dramas of the past two years unfolded and played out on our television screens, Carol found herself right in the midst of two of them - the Canterbury earthquakes and the Pike River mine disaster. Her experience as a researcher meant that even while coping herself and supporting others, she couldn't help but collect material that would one day be collated and analysed to add to our understanding of these events. The theme of this lecture is how she observed the diverse ways in which the media - formal and informal - played a crucial part in disaster response, reporting and recovery.

The last two years brought the unpredictable nature of New Zealand’s natural and man-made hazards to the fore. Christchurch’s major earthquake and its devastating aftershocks, the Pike River mine disaster, the Rena oil spill, heavy rain and snow falls, tornadoes and other unexpected events overstretched the country’s infrastructure, caused loss of life and livelihood, and tested the strength and resilience of everyday New Zealanders. This lecture series, held from July 17 until August 21, explores New Zealand’s disasters - the risks we face and the responses we make to those risks. Experts and scholars from, or connected with, The University of Auckland will share their knowledge and skills on a selection of topics from geology and engineering to media and education.