OPEN AND FREE TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES
1 November 2007, 4- 5:30pm
Seminar Room, Centre for Innovation, 87 St. David St.
Dr Janet Stephenson,
Physics Department Senior Research Fellow
Geography Department Professional Practice Fellow
University of Otago
As a planner/geographer, Dr Setphenson is interested in linkages, systems and integrated thinking. She believes in drawing on the past as well as keeping a steady eye on the future. Janet?s talk will range across cultural values in landscapes, leap to contemporary energy issues and her work in energy research collaboration, and then link these in a discussion of future research directions
Dr Janet Stephenson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Physics Department and a Professional Practice Fellow in the Geography Department. She lectures in planning and environmental studies, and works on a collaborative energy research initiative. Her research interests fall into three main areas. Firstly, how and why landscapes are valued by people and communities, and the conceptual underpinnings used by different cultures and disciplines to assign significance to landscapes. Secondly, she is interested in the implications of energy use and energy constraints, particularly as they relate to planning for land use, transport systems, environmental sustainability and human wellbeing. Thirdly, she is interested in the implications of the Treaty of Waitangi for planning practice, particularly in relation to resources in which Maori have an interest.