EduSymp 2011 - Preface

The Educators’ Symposium focuses on the wide topic of software modeling education ranging from experience reports and case studies to novel pedagogical approaches. Traditionally collocated with the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MODELS), it offers the opportunity for teachers from both academia and industry to present and discuss new ideas and challenges concerning software modeling education. This preface shortly reports on the 7th edition of the Educators’ Symposium held in October 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand

Models of internationalisation: The New Zealand experience

This paper examines the models of internationalisation adopted by thirty firms from New Zealand. Analysis of the international model is based on five key dimensions: firm sector and size; international market scope; market entry and servicing strategies; and speed of internationalisation. Drivers and constraints to internationalisation are also considered in the analysis. Evaluation of these dimensions over time finds evidence of both traditional ‘stages’ and emergent ‘born (again) global’ models of internationalisation, and reveals that over one third of these firms experience dramatic change to their international activities and resources initiated by divestment or change of ownership. We refer to the alternative internationalisation trajectory adopted by these firms as the ‘transformational’ model of internationalisation. The paper makes a contribution to the extant literature by providing synthesis of the New Zealand internationalisation and by building on our understanding of how patterns of internationalisation from a small open economy are changing in response to global environmental pressures

Land use in rural New Zealand: spatial land use, land-use change, and model validation

Abstract Land is an important social and economic resource. Knowing the spatial distribution of land use and the expected location of future land-use change is important to inform decision makers. This paper documents and validates the baseline land-use maps and the algorithm for spatial land-use change incorporated in the Land Use in Rural New Zealand model (LURNZ). At the time of writing, LURNZ is the only national-level land-use model of New Zealand. While developed for New Zealand, the model provides an intuitive algorithm that would be straightforward to apply to different locations and at different spatial resolutions. LURNZ is based on a heuristic model of dynamic land-use optimisation with conversion costs. It allocates land-use changes to each pixel using a combination of pixel probabilities in a deterministic algorithm and calibration to national-level changes. We simulate out of sample and compare to observed data. As a result of the model construction, we underestimate the “churn” in land use. We demonstrate that the algorithm assigns changes in land use to pixels that are similar in quality to the pixels where land-use changes are observed to occur. We also show that there is a strong positive relationship between observed territorial-authority-level dairy changes and simulated changes in dairy area

Bibliography of research using the NZIER’s quarterly survey of business opinion

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) has conducted and published a quarterly survey of business opinion continuously, and with largely unchanged questions, since June 1961. The Institute’s Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) is a business tendency survey based substantially on the Business Test of the IFO Munich. It covers the manufacturing, building, merchant and service sectors and architects. This bibliography lists and classifies some 80 research papers which used QSBO data and published between 1964 and 2011

Reconnecting whānau: Pathways to recovery for Māori with bipolar disorder

While Māori are known to experience a higher burden of mental health and addiction problems compared to non-Māori (Baxter, 2008), little exploratory research has been conducted into Māori experiences of bipolar affective disorder. Bipolar disorder is at times regarded as a “life sentence”, with little hope of recovery. The recovery- focused mental health literature, however, argues wellness is achievable for even the most intractable conditions (Lapsley, Nikora, & Black, 2002; Mental Health Commission, 2001). The aim of this research was to gather information about the experiences of Māori who were diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. Interviews were conducted with 22 Māori wāhine (women) and tāne (men), and using thematic analyses, themes relevant to their life stories were uncovered. This research sought to contribute to the realisation of Māori potential by explicitly shifting from deficit- focused frameworks to a focus on systemic factors that influenced Māori wellbeing. Highlights were that whānau (participants) who were connected with friends, partners and family were motivated to achieve wellness and to stay well

Essay Review: New Public Management in New Zealand: The Past, Present and Future

Almost three decades ago, the world of Public Policy and Administration (PPA) was rocked by New Public Management (NPM), a liberal gospel advocating the application of business administration models to the management of public services in lieu of the old ‘monolithic” and hierarchical neo-weberian ideal type. But nowhere than in the “Land of the Long White Cloud”, did NPM find a more fertile ground (Pollitt and Bouckaert 2004, Ryan and Gill 2011: 306). To quote Evert Lindquist, while the UK only took new “steps” and the US set on “re-inventing” its machinery of government, New Zealand launched a “revolution” (2011: pp. 46-84). Praised and flaunted around the world by the Bretton Woods Institutions, the country became known as the “Land of New Public Management” and Wellington, its capital, a site of pilgrimage for government practitioners seeking advice (Schick 1998: 123).Since then, to paraphrase Castles et al., the “Great Experiment” has continued to fascinate. But while we know the fine grain of this “bureaucratic phenomenon”, its broader picture especially after the mid-1990s is still unclear. In the words of Berman, “Generalizable links among their findings remain sparse and thin” (2001: 231). This review article attempts to connect the dots by analyzing four books that offer an in-depth account of the reform program but were published at different time-distances.The first, Public Management: The New Zealand Model dates from 1996, shortly after the virtual end of the experiment and was written by a team of academics led by Jonathan Boston, a keen observer of public policy in New Zealand. The second, Remaking New Zealand and Australian Economic Policy by Shaun Goldfinch, another academic was published in 2000 and is cast in a comparative perspective. The third, Public Management in New Zealand: Lessons and Challenges was published in 2001 by an insider, Graham Scott, the Secretary General of the powerful New Zealand Treasury from 1986 to 1993. The fourth, Future State, Directions for Public Management in New Zealand was published in 2011 and co-edited by Bill Ryan and Derek Gill. It recoups ideas from academics and policy practitioners who were asked by the State Services Commission, a public service watchdog to conceptualize the future state in a context marked by financial cuts, demands for more democratic accountability and complex challenges.The books are reviewed along four dimensions: policy change, policy content, policy outcomes and future trends. Relevant questions are: Where did the reforms originate? What are their characteristics (defining and secondary)? How successful was the model? What is its current state and the path laying ahead? The books are cross-referred and where necessary supplemented by additional literature.

New Zealand Kindergartens 2005 to 2010: Funding and operational changes

Participation in good quality early childhood education has positive outcomes for children, families and society. Supportive policy frameworks and sufficient, secure and predictable funding are necessary to encourage participation and ensure that flexible services, designed to respond to the needs of children and families are available. This has not always been the case in New Zealand early childhood education. New Zealand kindergartens for example have always relied on significant voluntary donations and support to maintain their sessional services and provision. In 2005 and 2007, however, new early childhood funding initiatives opened up opportunities for kindergartens to review their operation and make changes to their provision. This article is based on the findings from a survey of New Zealand Kindergarten association management conducted in 2010. The survey sought to find out what changes had occurred in kindergarten provision as a result of the funding initiatives. Association responses show that significant change has been embraced and that this has resulted in improved quality, greater flexibility of hours and attendance options and less reliance on voluntary donations and support