November 2022 newsletter

In this issue:

- RRANZ team update
- Meet the RRANZ team: Jon (Mitch) Mitchell
- 2023 course dates
- The importance of trust
- The interaction between trust and happiness
- How stress affects the brain
- More great EM reading

RRANZ team update

With Jennifer Lillo leaving her role at Massey University, we've had to say farewell to her from the RRANZ team - her amazing organisational skills were a huge asset and will be sadly missed.

We are fortunate that Harriett Guy from the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey has now stepped into the role and will be your main point of contact for any inquiries. She can be reached on information@rranz.org.nz. We look forward to introducing Harriett in our next newsletter.

MEET THE RRANZ TEAM: Jon (Mitch) Mitchell

Mitch has over 20 years of experience in emergency management in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South East Asia, and North America. Specialising in local, regional, state/provincial, and national-level multi-agency emergency management leadership, planning, intelligence recovery management, and capability development.
Mitch's wife is his partner in disasters, being a senior emergency nurse with similar international experience. The two of them and their twenty-something offspring are currently adding a fully off-grid home to their hideaway near Queenstown. Mitch now spends most of his time in the Queenstown Lakes area, connecting remotely to the RRANZ and Joint Centre for Disaster Research (JCDR) team in Wellington.

2023 COURSES

Find out more and register online

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST

The 2022 Edelman trust barometer has just been released. Their number one finding is distrust is now society’s default emotion.

Nearly 6 in 10 say their default tendency is to distrust something until they see evidence it is trustworthy.
64% of 36,000 respondents feel that people are incapable of having constructive and civil debates about issues they disagree on. When distrust is the default – we lack the ability to debate or collaborate.

How do you and your organisation work to build trust with your communities?

CHECK OUT THE FULL REPORT

More on the intersection between trust and happiness

from the World Happiness Report 2022,

“... a broad range of studies show that communities with high levels of trust are generally much more resilient in the face of a wide range of crises, including tsunamis, earthquakes, accidents, storms, and floods. Trust and cooperative social norms facilitate rapid and cooperative responses, which themselves improve the happiness of citizens and demonstrate to people the extent to which others are prepared to do benevolent acts for them and the community in general."

HOW STRESS AFFECTS THE BRAIN

Stress isn't always a bad thing; it can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you're playing a competitive sport or have to speak in public. But when it's continuous, it actually begins to change your brain. Madhumita Murgia shows how chronic stress can affect brain size, its structure, and how it functions, right down to the level of your genes.