Welcome to the New Zealand Mindset List

The 2007 New Zealand Mindset List

Most students starting university in 2007 were born in 1988. For these students:

--Fast Post has always been available.

--The ozone hole has always been a worry for sun-loving New Zealanders.

--New Zealanders have never been able to smoke on planes.

--Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have always been on surgical waiting lists.

--Soviet troops have never been in Afghanistan.

--The Iran-Iraq war has always been over.

--Bola has always been the name of a devastating cyclone.

--Tomorrow's Schools has always been a government policy for radical school reform.

--New Zealanders have always tried their luck on pokie machines.

--Politicians have always been ignoring election spending legislation, and getting away with it.

--New Zealand lighthouse keepers have always been unemployed.

--Japanese import cars have always been cheap and plentiful.

--Inflation has always been less than 10 percent.

--Employment at freezing works has always been a dead-end job.

--Air New Zealand has always been a private corporation.

--Roger Douglas has always been a sacked Finance Minister.

--Bastion Point has always belonged to Ngati Whatua.

--There have always been median barriers on Auckland's motorways.

--There has always been a toll bridge across the Tauranga Harbour.

--The average Auckland house has always cost more than $161,000.

--Tracy Chapman has always been a hit songwriter.

--Ben Johnson has always been a disgraced Olympic athlete.

--In New Zealand, Brian Brake (renown photographer), Louis Johnson (Wellington poet), John Ross Marshall (former Prime Minister) and Cardigan Bay (legendary champion pacer) have always been dead.

--Internationally, Enzo Ferrari (car designer), Andy Gibb (youngest Bee Gee), Louis L'Amour (American western novelist), Roy Orbison (rock-and-roll pioneer) and Philippe de Rothschile (French winemaker) have always been dead.

Press release announcing the 2007 New Zealand Mindset List:

As a new class of students enters university this month, a team of New Zealand academics is helping their colleagues understand the historical, social, economic and cultural mindset of their students. The 2007 New Zealand Mindset List provides academic staff with insight into the events incoming first-year students have experienced, or not. The list captures a picture of New Zealand and the world in 1988, the year most first-year students were born.

"The principal purpose of the New Zealand Mindset List is to raise the awareness of our fellow academics that our students have grown up in a world that is different from our own. Their mindset is different, and we need to be aware of this in our teaching and our interaction with them" says team leader Dennis Viehland, an Associate Professor of Information Systems at Massey University's Auckland campus. "However, once we got into the process we also had a great time discovering the world of New Zealand in 1988 and how much, or how little, has changed since then.".

Most items reflect New Zealand events, such as the passage of the introduction of Fast Post or the vast economic changes brought on by "Rogernomics". Other items are derived from global events such as the end of the Iran-Iraq war and the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, both events that are still very pertinent given today's headlines.

Although written for university academics, the team believes the Mindset List will be of interest to all members of the New Zealand public. This is especially so for events that reflect current political or economic issues, such as last year's election spending row and the alleged involvement of Iran in today's war in Iraq. "The world has changed in the lifetime of these students" comments team member Judith Hoek, "and we think all New Zealanders will enjoy reflecting on the world into which the first-year class of 2007 was born."

The 2007 New Zealand Mindset List is published on the Web at mindset.massey.ac.nz. Academics and others who want to contribute to the 2008 list are invited to contact Professor Viehland at d.viehland@massey.ac.nz.

The term "Mindset List" is a registered trademark of Beloit College and is used with permission. All rights reserved.

Legal Stuff

The term "Mindset List" is a registered trademark of Beloit College and is used with permission. All rights reserved.

The 2007 New Zealand Mindset List is copyright 2007 by Dennis Viehland. All rights reserved.