Dr Mary Simpson
Senior Lecturer in Management Communication
Qualifications: PhD
Personal Website: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mary_Simpson4
About Mary
My research focuses on stakeholder participation in organisations and the changing nature of organisational membership, with most of my research concentrating on elders (people over 65yrs). My PhD looked at communication issues associated with retirement village organisations and retirement village residents. Currently I am exploring digital communication and online citizenship in relation to intergenerational communication.
My research interests lead me to working with the Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust (RKCT) in 2009, and becoming a long-term supporter of the Trust. In 2011 and 2015 we collaborated on a presentation for the Kingitanga Day at the University. In 2014 I served on the Trust’s advisory group to develop a suicide prevention strategy for Kaumātua. Since 2012 my key support role has involved to organise a volunteer student communications team for Trust’s Kaumātua Olympics. This event has more than 300 competitors and 80 volunteers.
My teaching centres on digital enhanced, interpersonal and team communication. Currently I teach the following papers: Communication in an Online Society (LCOMM102); and Managing Virtual Team Communication (MCOM502). These papers enable me to explore contemporary communication issues with students, with a special focus on digital, professional, and intercultural communication.
I am a member of the International Communication Association (ICA) and the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA), and I am currently on the executive for ANZCA.
Before joining the University of Waikato I worked in relationship management, organisational development, business planning, teamwork, and health social work practice. I am passionate about teaching the practical implications of theory in real work practice.
Papers Taught
Recent Publications
Oetzel, J. G., Cameron, M. P., Simpson, M. L., Reddy, R., Nock, S., Greensill, H., . . . Hokowhitu, B. (2020). Kaumātua Mana Motuhake: peer education intervention to help Māori elders during later-stage life transitions. BMC Geriatrics, 20(1), 1-13. doi:10.1186/s12877-020-01590-z
Oetzel, J. G., Hokowhitu, B., Simpson, M., Nock, S., & Reddy, R. (2020). Addressing life transitions of aging: Integrating indigenous and communication theory to develop a tuakana‐teina/peer educator model. In H. D. O'Hair, M. J. O'Hair, E. B. Hester, & S. Geegan (Eds.), The Handbook of Applied Communication Research (pp. 29-45). Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9781119399926.ch2
McAllum, K., Fox, S., Simpson, M., & Unson, C. (2019). A comparative tale of two methods: how thematic and narrative analyses author the data story differently. Communication Research and Practice, 5(4), 358-378. doi:10.1080/22041451.2019.1677068
Oetzel, J. G., Hokowhitu, B., Simpson, M., Reddy, R., Nock, S., Greensill, H., . . . Smith, L. T. (2019). Kaumātua Mana Motuhake: A study protocol for a peer education intervention to help Māori elders work through later-stage life transitions. BMC Geriatrics, 19(1), 11 pages. doi:10.1186/s12877-019-1041-2 Open Access version: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/13140
Find more research publications by Mary Simpson
Keywords
Adult Education; Ageing; Assessment and Evaluation in Education; Communication; Curriculum; Doctoral Education; Education; E-Education; Health; Leadership; Learning; Management; Management and Education; Pedagogy; Professional Learning; Public Relations; Social Movements; Social Networks; Social Work; Sustainability; Teaching; Teaching Online; Tertiary Education; Treaty of Waitangi
Ethics; Organisational Communication; Organising
Contact Details
Email: mary@waikato.ac.nzRoom: MSB.4.35
Phone: +64 7 837 9278
Cellphone: 027 294 6586