Browse: Home / Course Terms / Term 1, 2013

The University of the Third Age

U3A Okeover

Programme for Term 1, 2013

Term Completed

A The Criminal Lawyer

Dates: Thursdays 7, 14, 21, 28 March, 4 April

B Health Professionals talk

Dates: Thursdays 7, 14, 21, 28 March, 4 April

C Communications in the age of the internet

Dates: Thursdays 11, 18, 25 April, 2, 9, 16 May

D Frontiers of science

Dates: Thursdays 11, 18, 25 April, 2, 9, 16 May

Scroll down for full details of each course.

Times: 10:30 - 11:45

Please hand your enrolment form to the treasurer at the desk if he is available.


Course A

The Criminal Lawyer

Course organiser:Bevan Clarke

7 Mar:
Jeremy Finn on “The nature and history of Criminal LawThe presentation will look at the origins and development of the criminal law, both at common law and by statute, reception of English criminal law into New Zealand, reform and codification of the substantive criminal law in the 19th century and the development of distinctive features of NZ criminal law in the 20th century. It will also look at key differences between civil and criminal law. Jeremy is a Professor of Law at the University of Canterbury. He has taught Criminal Law since 1979, and has written a number of articles on aspects of criminal law. He is also a contributing author to the leading practitioner text, Adams on Criminal Law. He has a particular interest in criminal procedure and jury issues. He, Associate Professor Elisabeth McDonald and Dr Yvette Tinsley (both of Victoria University of Wellington) undertook in 2010-2012 a major research project, funded by the NZ Law Foundation, into possible alternatives to the current procedure for the trial of sexual offences, including the possible adoption of aspects of inquisitorial procedures. He also researches and teaches in the fields of criminal justice, legal history, contract law, intellectual property law and the NZ Bill of Rights Act.

14 Mar:
Margaret Sewell on Margaret Sewell, a prominent Christchurch barrister will address a set of questions which may puzzle any non-lawyer musing about the details and the dilemmas faced every day in the court-room by the counsel for the defence of for the prosecution. Margaret, has five daughters, three of whom have law degrees, and is married to Rupert Glover, also a well-known Christchurch barrister.

21 Mar:
Ashley Tabb, 'Prosecution from the police viewpoint—Diversion & the Prevention-first Strategy.' Senior Sergeant Ashley (Ash) Tabb is District Prosecution Manager for the Canterbury Police Prosecutions Service. The Diversion scheme aligns with the Prevention First strategy with its aim of preventing crime through a holistic approach to diversion to reduce further offending. Programmes involve courses focused on Violence, Drugs, Alcohol and Gambling, which are often the drivers of Crime. viewpoint—Diversion & the Prevention-first Strategy

28 Mar:
Greg Newbold, 'Why criminals re-offend'. Why have efforts to rehabilitate criminals in New Zealand failed? Greg Newbold is a professor in criminology at the University of Canterbury. He has published seven books and more than 80 book chapters and articles and is currently regarded as one of New Zealand’s leading criminologists. He is a regular media commentator on crime and criminal justice and is frequently consulted by government on matters pertaining to law enforcement and correctional policy.

4 Apr:
David Saunders, 'Crime and Punishment 2013'. Judge David Saunders was appointed to the bench in 1993 and for first ten years was a resident judge in Dunedin before transferring to Christchurch in 2004. For seven years he was the Chairman of the Invercargill Prison Board where early release, home detention and parole were considered. He has been a trustee on the Otago Youth Wellness trust and Chair of the Otago Life Education Trust.


Course B

Health Professionals talk

Course organiser:Neil Fleming and Mary Carnegie

7 Mar:
David Fergusson, 'The Christchurch Health and Development Study'. Professor Fergusson is the principal investigator and Executive Director of this study. Using findings from 30 years of research this lecture will set out the history of the CDHS and summarize the main findings.

14 Mar:
Kerry Howley, 'Community health, advocacy and support, elder abuse, and health education'. Kerry holds the position of Community Health Nurse at Age Concern Canterbury. She will talk about assessment of the capacity & competence of older people and their rights. How can we protect the rights and choices of older people? There will be interactive discussion.

21 Mar:
Olive Webb, 'Mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities'. Dr Webb is a clinical psychologist who has worked in the area of mental health and intellectual disability for some 40 years. Her speciality is with those people who have both mental illness and intellectual disability, including those with high and complex needs.

28 Mar:
Ben Harris, 'Bacteria have their own language’ and 'How we breed resistance’. A microbiologist, Dr Harris is General Manager of Southern Community Laboratories.

4 Apr:
Liz Dilger and Tracy McLeod, Living in a Retirement Village.Liz and Tracy come to us from Ryman Lifecare. They will discuss the benefits of living in a Retirement Village then give examples of Ryman Villages in Christchurch.


Course C

Communications in the age of the internet

Course organiser:David Chapple and Bevan Clarke

11 Apr:
Bevan Clarke, 'The dawn of the internet and the web'. Bevan is an emeritus professor of Accounting and Information Systems of the University of Canterbury. When UC acquired its first computer in 1963 he picked up computing and has never put it down during a somewhat dizzying ride.

18 Apr:
Donald Matheson, 'Changing human communications in the internet age'. Donald is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social and Political Sciences. Starting with the human attributes of language and how language is at the heart of self-awareness and of the social and cultural, he will consider what is changing and is at stake with the growth of digital and networked communications.

25 Apr:
ANZAC dayNo meeting.

2 May:
John Ascroft, 'Social, mobile, and connected'. John is the Chief Innovation Officer at Jade Software, a global software company based in Christchurch. He will discuss the outlook for e-commerce and how the uptake of consumer technologies, such as mobile phones and social networking, is driving new business models and opportunities for both customers and suppliers.

9 May:
Andy Prow, 'The dark side of computing and some spells to protect you'. Andy is the CEO of Aura Information Security ['Clear & simple cybersecurity'], a Wellington-based centre of expertise which advises and rescues firms from threats from malware coming out of the electronic frontier jungle. The firm’s flying squad offers assistance to organisations which discover that an external attack has abruptly brought their business systems to a grinding halt—or worse.

16 May:
Staffan Andersson, 'Computing for the young and the not-so-young'Staffan is a recently retired upper secondary teacher from Sweden where he has taught computing and programming to teenagers since the 1970s, through all that has happened with digital technology inside and outside schools. He is co-author to several books about using the Internet in schools. Staffan will speak about (a) the way schools are using computers and the Internet to address the needs and possibilities of the Digital Age, and (b) the many ways in which the senior generation can use digital tools to communicate and to enlarge and pursue their interests.


Course D

Frontiers of science

Course organiser:Gus Gale

11 Apr:
Christoph Bartneck, 'Robots'. Dr. Christoph is a Researcher at the Canterbury HIT Lab (the Human Interface Technology Lab). This centre is developing and commercialising technology that improves human/computer interaction and thus unlocks the power of human intelligence. Christoph is involved in research on robotic behaviour and its influence on how humans perceive robots. To what degree do humans believe a robot to be human-like? Do we perceive robots to be "somewhat alive"? Can a robot dream? Can we accept robots as our equals?

18 Apr:
Shusheng Pang, 'Turning Trash into Treasure'. Professor Pang has developed a process that utilises waste wood (saw dust) and recycled plastics into a new building material which is durable and stable and suitable for building applications such as decking and outdoor structures.

25 Apr:
ANZACNo meeting

2 May:
Susan Krumdieck, 'ChCh Smart City Re-development Project'. What do you get if you use the state of the art sustainable energy, water, transport and urban form design to deal with the problem of replacing homes for 15,000 people without decanting out into sprawling green-field developments? Professor Krumdieck’s group at University of Canterbury—the Advanced Energy and Material Systems Lab Smart City Group—has carried out a mind-bender of a project that has amazing and achievable results.

9 May:
Geoffrey Rodgers, 'Earthquake Energy Dissipation'. Geoff's PhD has centred on researching how to absorb energy within a structure during an earthquake without damaging the structure itself—an issue close to our hearts. Geoff will explain a modern development that uses lead extrusion dampers that can repeatedly absorb large amounts of structural response energy without any degradation or need for service/repair following an earthquake.

16 May:
Mathieu Sellier, 'Fascinating Drops: from raindrops to test tubes'. Drops are so prevalent in our daily lives that we often fail to appreciate their fascination in nature. Dr Sellier will cover some basic science about liquid drops and some applications in the field of digital micro-fluids. This will enable the creation of a down-scaled analytical laboratory on a single chip!