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Lake Tekapo

JUST SOME INFORMATION ON ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PLACES

Mt Ngaruahoe (in middle of the picture), an “active” volcano in the North Island of New Zealand, is one of three volcanic peaks that were gifted to the nation by Te Heu Heu Tukino, paramount chief of the Tuwharetoa in the 1890s (in a clever move to keep these sacred tops out of the hands of the Whanganui tribe and ultimately out of the control of colonial farmers who wanted them for sheep). blaze In time, the three mountains (Tongariro, Ngaruahoe and  Ruapehu) and the surrounding area was gazetted as the first National Park in New Zealand and only the third in the world. Ironically, the area around the mountains (commonly considered a desert) – and no doubt the peaks themselves – proved useless for farming due to a lack of cobalt in the soil. Sheep put to forage in the bleak and cold surroundings died of a condition called bush sickness. Ruapehu, the largest and tallest of the three peaks is very popular for skiing – three fields have been developed on its slopes. The pass between Tongariro and Ngaruahoe is the highest point on what has been described as “the best one day walk in New Zealand” – the 21 km Tongariro Crossing – and part of the four day round the mountain trek. It is no stroll in the Park, conditions can change in an instant. For all of that it is wonderful, satisfying and unbelievably beautiful.

PERSONAL, INTERESTS AND BACKGROUND

This column includes some information about me, a few pics and clips and links to things that interest me out of work.

About Me

Philippa Wells's profile picture

This is the profile page for Philippa Wells (note the spelling!). A little bit of detail: I am a New Zealander, born in Nelson (a little smaller than Ballarat but not much) and went to Christchurch to university. I loved the city, hence the distress I felt after the recent earthquake. It was a city that managed to keep its heritage buildings during the 1980s when so many cities had developers emerging from the gutters intent on destroying anything that smacked of history - almost as though they were trying to demolish and deny the past.

 

Since completion of an LLB and Graduate Diploma at Canterbury, I went on to work at Waikato University and then to AUT in Auckland prior to coming to Australia. During that time I have seen many changes to universities, their philosophies and perhaps more significantly, the attitude of Governments and society towards them. Ironically, despite the increased proportion of school leavers that enter universities (as compared to the small percentage in the 1970s when I went), there is a noticeable perception that most university staff do very little and are drains on the public purse - yet in my years in the field, workloads have exploded, expectations and demands swollen and relative pay and conditions declined. The rhetoric of idleness and waste remains.

  • First name: Philippa
  • Last name: Wells
  • Email address: p.wells@federation.edu.au
  • City/region: Ballarat
  • Country: Australia
  • Business phone: 03 53279653
  • Mobile phone: 04 38563263

My Resume

Cover letter

My name is Philippa Wells, a New Zealander by birth, association and by inclination but presently living and working in Ballarat, Victoria.  I have been here since the beginning of 2008 and occupy the position of Associate Professor in Law in the Business School and am Chair for the Commerce Discipline (that embraces Economics and Law). As such I am very busy! I teach, am on the various committees and School Boards plus endeavour to conduct research into a variety of associated areas (see list of publications and research interests for some idea).

Interests

Photography and other artistic pursuits

Reading

The outdoors - skiing, tramping (hiking to you!), viewing from all angles, nature and its protection

My darling offspring

Personal information

Date of birth 4 April 1954
Place of birth New Zealand
Citizenship New Zealand
Visa status Eligible to work and live indefinitely in Australia (and to pay taxes just like anyone else) but not eligible for any social support...huh?
Gender identity Woman
Marital status Separated

Personal goals

To do better in all I do

To be happy

To support others

To mean something

Academic goals

To publish more in the areas that interest me

To (perhaps!) do another doctorate

Career goals

Become a full professor

Personal skills

Confidence

Critical thought

Research

Analysis

Excellent communication skills

Listening

Academic skills

Research

Writing

analysis

communication

Work skills

As above (tied into academic as this is my field)

Employment history

1978 - 2002

Variously Designer of, Convenor for, and/or involved in delivering, a range of papers from pre-degree through to Masters’ papers, plus Executive-focused short courses. Subject matter has ranged from general commercial and business law, Business Organisations and Trading Arrangements, Public Sector, Electronic Business, Employment, Marketing, Commercial Law, Environmental Law, Property Law and Tourism.

2002 - 2007

Here I was one of the senior members of the teaching team for law, during which time I completed my doctorate, designed and delivered a new course in commercial law for the MBA (a new program),designed ad delivered a new course on Environmental Law and Policy as well as teaching overa range of other courses for the undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Business). Research I undertook during this time included my doctorate (environmental history). In addition I carried out other research, both connected and not connected to my doctoral topic.

2008

Presently Commerce Discipline Coordinator (including law and economics) in the School of Business at the University of Ballarat. In addition I am continually involved in teaching and research.

Education history

1972 - 1975

This was my first degree, in laws

1976 - 1976

Completion of these permitted me to seek admission as a barrister and solicitor of the high court of New Zealand (in 1979). At the same time I sat and passed (well) two courses in accounting.

1977 - 1977

This was a diploma designed to provide pathways into commerce for those holding degrees in otehr disciplines. At the same time as doing this I also did a course in accounting.

1980 - 1983

The topic of this research was a comparative survey of legislated consumer protection in the United states, the UK, Australia and New Zealand

1988 - 1993

This is the academic qualification to become an accountant in New Zealand. I did this part time (one course per semester)when the children were small.

2000 - 2005

I did my doctorate part time while working at this institution (having transferred part way through from Waikato). The topic was “Uncovering Regimes of Truth in New Zealand: Locating and Defining Discourses associated with Hydro-electric Development in New Zealand”, and involved a Foucauldian analysis of discourse around three hydro debates over some 100 years.

2011

This is a qualification I am presently doing- a program that involves four courses that examine various aspects of current tertiary teaching practice and issues

Books and publications

2011

This is an article (also delivered as a conference paper) to appear in a refereed journal later this year (the Interdisciplinary Environmental Review)

2011

a chapter in an anthology (Working title: The Future of Wilderness in Aotearoa New Zealand, by Craig Potton Publishing), by invitation from editors Mike Abbot and Richard Reeve (forthcoming, due for publication in November, 2011)

2010

Personal Property Securities: Possibilities, Problems and Peculiarities, Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association, V1 (1) 335-344

2009

article in Environment and History, V15(3) 343-368

2007

International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, V2(4) (Volume 2, Issue 4) 335-340

2007

Yearbook of New Zealand Jurisprudence, Special Issue (ALTA), V9, 227-237

2006

Enterprise and Innovation (Faculty of Business Research Paper Series, AUT University)

2006

Environment and History, V12(3) 297-324

2002

chapter in Commercial Applications of Company Law in New Zealand, G. Walker et al, CCH (New Zealand), 97-122

2002

Chapter in Commercial Applications of Company Law in New Zealand, 335-354

2005

New Zealand Law Journal, December, 453-456

2005

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, VII(2) 43-60

2001

Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, V20 (1) 3-15

2001

Journal of Asian Business, Vol 17(1) 89-103

2001

New Zealand Universities Law Review, V19 (3) 177-196

2000

International Small Business Journal, V19(1) 68-82

1999

chapter in Corporatisation and Privatisation in Australia, B. Collier and S. Pitkins (eds), QUT Centre for Commercial and Property Law, CCH (Australia), 493-512

1998

Current Commercial Law, V6(2) 65-80

1994

Chpater in Business and New Zealand Society, Enderwick and Deeks (eds), Longman Paul (New Zealand), 177-192

1984-2010

See full CV for details

See here for where I lived, was educated and/or and worked in New Zealand

My full CV

For easy navigation, here are quick links to my other views - part of the collection "Aspects of professional development" (for those who have access, that is - if you are incredibly interested, drop me a line requesting that access)

Philippa Wells's groups

Philippa Wells's friends

7 friends

Philippa Wells's wall

Ian Wright
15 August 2011, 15:37

Really rich site Phillippa, it's a real balance of personal and professional. I always like some sense of the person when reading something like this. There used to be a term "appropriate self disclosure" from my old days in welfare work where you'd reveal personal information to help the relationship with the 'client'. I suspect establishing relationships with students is similar, and possibly more so online. I think knowing this and writing from a personal spot in blogs and other online vehicles makes for a much more interesting engagement with the recipient.

Debbie Hill
03 June 2011, 11:22

Wow Phillipa....I have nothing like this!! really interesting to see

Angela Hipwell
27 May 2011, 14:07

Hi Phillippa, Your Mahara sight is looking fantastic. In fact, I check it regularly to see the information you have put up to read. The videos are both topical and particularly entertaining. Ange
View whole wall

MY RESEARCH INTERESTS

Cool mainly focus on aspects of business law and on the environment

The environment is something we cannot ignore: see here for environmental Issues happening NOW

Sustainability feed

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms.

  1. Celebrating 200 years of honeybees in Australia

    Published on 25 June 2022, 12:05

  2. Environmental laws fail future generations and the history of Antarctic exploration

    Published on 18 June 2022, 12:05

  3. Cameras used to count feral cats, and how much of pain is in the mind

    Published on 11 June 2022, 12:05

  4. Goodbye giant kelp– 95% lost in fifty years

    Published on 04 June 2022, 12:05

  5. Parrots and humans– extreme species with shared behaviours and first image of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy

    Published on 28 May 2022, 12:05

  6. Where did the Universe come from?

    Published on 21 May 2022, 12:05

  7. Musk promises brain implants for spinal injuries and AI and help for Australian sea lions

    Published on 14 May 2022, 12:05

  8. Young scientists forced abroad for work and the twelve experiments that helped make the modern world

    Published on 07 May 2022, 12:05

  9. Celebrating Gregor Mendel the father of genetics

    Published on 30 April 2022, 12:05

  10. Wollongong transformed, secrets of monotremes revealed, and help for Tonga

    Published on 23 April 2022, 12:05
Last updated on 16 February 2023, 22:01

Conservation and Environmental History

SOME OF MY RESEARCH - (for a full list, see my full CV (first column)

Transition Towns - have a look at the aspects we are researching

Some Current Projects

Some feeds from the original TT (Totnes, Devon)

Here is the link to the Transition Initiatives Website

Legal Issues and developments (I have more!)

Governance issues - I am editing a book of submitted case studies and am involved in writing on the area of governance, particularly in relation to non-large, publicly listed companies

TEACHING: A BROAD AND MORE IMPLICIT ISSUE OF LAW IN EDUCATION - WHERE IS THE RELEVANCE?

People often ask and/or resist the idea that law courses are an important part of tertirary business education - the law is different, they say, in other countries, it is boring, it is not as important as other courses and disciplines such as economics or accounting or.... However, I would like to take another approach and position, a position that reveals just how fundamental and significant it is. Law is not only a discipline area as is accounting, economics and the rest but a way of thinking and a social discourse - reflective of social attitudes and mores. It does not matter that much that the content of the law courses vary; it matters more that students can take information and opinions and determine how they accord with popular views and demands for change. A good example is shown below: law is often connected to economics - Richard Posner wrote a book on Law and Economics (Economic Analysis of Law) in 1973 that formed the basis for an area of critical legal theory based on economic concepts such as economic rationality. However, Freakonomics challenges the view that rationality drives individual behaviour- things are far more complex. Interestingly, there is some challenges in some jurisdictions to the traditional assumptions implicit in legislation (such as agency-based governance of corporations) and a call to see law (and those affected by it) in a more positive way.

But it is not all beer and skittles

Problem-solving (applying law to the facts) is a critical skill for students to acquire. Here is what we distrbute to students at Mt Helen and at other campuses to assist them in this task - it is generic rather than course specific, basic but applicable to all sorts of complex fact situations and is essentially the same as what law students use. But we also try to explian to students that problem-solving is vital to all sorts of activities and occupations and what thay might do in a law course is not that different to what they might do in engineering or maths or science or .... the rules are different as are the data but the process is the same!!!

Two explanations for solving legal case studies

Here is a useful and detailed article on some of the issues that arise when seeking to engage non-law students in their own learning

JUST SOME OTHER STUFF THAT BELONGS ON THIS PAGE

New Zealand entertainment and art

Last but not least: thoughts and General Reflections

General - June 14

Posted on 14 June 2011, 15:21

Oh dear, poor Chch. Another set of earthquakes - my thoughts are with them

This is a reflection on my portfolio

Posted on 23 May 2011, 18:00
Tags: assessment, Learning and teaching, Reflections

Up to today (or rather this afternoon) I had a somewhat unwieldy profile view - hence i have now moved quite a lot of stuff relating to teaching into that view and converted the view from three to two columns - I think it looks better. However, what i would like to ber able to do is to copy and paste from one view into another (particularly external videos - I am not talking files here) to streamline this process - but do not know whether this is possible.

2 entries
Updated on 23 June 2020, 12:59; 3162 page visits from 15 February 2011 to 6 October 2024