Sustaining Tenancies or Swift Evictions: Rent Arrears in the Tenancy Tribunal

There is a contradiction at the centre of tenancy practice and policy. On the one hand is the goal of sustaining tenancies to prevent homelessness and, on the other, a tribunal system for resolving tenancy disputes which is founded on achieving a "swift eviction". We analyse observations of tribunal hearings and mediations along with a sample of written orders. We ask whether the goal of sustaining tenancies can be achieved in a legislative framework originally intended to achieve swift eviction. We find that mediation creates space for determining a plan to pay off arrears but with little assurance the payments are accurate and realistic. Tribunal hearings for rent arrears allow limited discretion for continuing the tenancy, but even this discretion is restricted in practice. We conclude that there is a need to shift from "swift eviction" to recognising rent arrears as a consequence of poverty – one that requires support and intervention. While legislative change would support this shift, there is scope for significant improvement via process changes that borrow from the problem-solving approach of Te Ao Mārama

Support experiences of children and youth with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and epilepsy in New Zealand schools : a parental perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science with an endorsement in Health Psychology at Massey University, Manawatu Campus, New Zealand

Medical advancements have changed the prognosis of many paediatric conditions, leading to a rise in the number of children with chronic health conditions (CHCs) who require support to gain equitable education opportunities and outcomes. Two CHCs that impact on schooling are myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and epilepsy. Previous research has detailed different supports offered by schools, but there is a gap in the literature regarding the support of children with ME/CFS and epilepsy in New Zealand schools. The current research aimed to gather parents’ perceptions on the different supports available in New Zealand for their children/youth with ME/CFS or epilepsy to help with the impact their CHC has on schooling. Participants included 20 parents of children with ME/CFS (11-20 years) and 23 parents of children with epilepsy (6-18 years). A mixed methods online survey asked for parents’ perceptions of the impact that ME/CFS and epilepsy had on schooling and the support available in ‘Mainstream’ and ‘Other’ schools. Through mixed method analysis, including descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, six main themes and subthemes were identified; 1) Let-down by their own bodies, 1.1) Damaging self-concept; 2) Struggle for validation; 3) Luck of the draw: Both supportive and unsupportive experiences, 3.1) Teachers operating in a rigid system, and 3.2) Gratitude from parents; 4) Ill-suited support, 4.1) Other schools as transitional institutions; 5) Lack of understanding and discrimination; and 6) Impact of COVID-19. These themes revealed perceptions of positive support experiences with understanding teachers who formed trusting/positive relationships with parents, as well as negative experiences centred around a lack of understanding from a restrictive system not well designed to support their children with ME/CFS or epilepsy. Condition specific subthemes revealed differences between ME/CFS and epilepsy – related to condition legitimacy, symptom visibility, and funding opportunities. Findings were also interpreted using a socio-ecological framework, which highlighted the interrelated environments surrounding the child/youth, including teachers/classrooms, schools, health/education policies, and western health conceptualisations, which likely influenced support. These findings shed light on parents’ perceptions of the support of their child/youth with ME/CFS or epilepsy in New Zealand, with the hopes of informing future research or support initiatives

A case study into the accessibility of text-parser based interaction.

The academic issues surrounding the accessibility of video games are reasonably well understood although compensations and inclusive design have not yet been comprehensively adopted by professional game developers. Several sets of guidelines have been produced to support developers wishing to ensure a greater degree of accessibility in their titles, and while the recommendations are broadly harmonious they only address the issues in isolation without being mindful of context or the subtle relationships between interaction choices and verisimilitude within game interfaces. That is not to denigrate the value of these resources, which is considerable -- instead it is to highlight a deficiency in the literature which can be addressed with reflective case studies. This paper represents one such case study, aimed at addressing accessibility concerns within interactive text interfaces. While the specifics of this paper are aimed at multiplayer text game accessibility improvements, it is anticipated that many of the lessons learned would be appropriate for any environment, such as command line interfaces, where the accessibility of written and read text is currently suboptimal

Taming the 'masculine pioneers'? Changing attitudes towards energy efficiency amongst private landlords and tenants in New Zealand: A case study of Dunedin

New Zealand's housing is some of the poorest quality and hardest to heat in the developed world. The private rented sector in particular offers the worst quality accommodation to the country's poorest and most vulnerable tenants. Previous research has established a range of economic and socio-cultural explanations for the prevalence of poor conditions in private rented accommodation with the 'principal-agent problem' dominating the debate. This paper reports the findings from research in Dunedin, a city with some of the coldest conditions and least energy efficient properties in the country. The study was undertaken in 2015 and involved 30 in-depth interviews with landlords exploring their attitudes towards improving the thermal performance and energy efficiency of their properties. The results revealed a shift in attitudes amongst landlords over a period of about 5 years, with many becoming more amenable to investing in insulation and low energy heat sources. This shift has ostensibly been driven by pressure from tenants who appear to be departing from established cultural norms and becoming intolerant of cold homes and high bills. The study highlights how socio-cultural factors, such as growing expectations regarding warmth and comfort in the home, can disrupt established cultural norms and economic rationales to bring about change

Climate change adaptation in the rental sector

© 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved. This chapter examines both assets and barriers for climate adaptation in the rental housing sector through a case study of renters and housing managers in regional Australia. The study included in-depth semi-structured interviews with 22 tenants and 17 housing managers in the public and private housing sectors. A wide range of secondary sources including media articles, sustainable renting guides and legislative and policy documents. Private sector tenants believed that negative social and political attitudes to renters in Australia were an obstacle to changing tenancy conditions and improving housing. There was a wide range of views among property managers about the importance or reality of climate change, from belief to some scepticism. Amending tenancy conditions to enhance the active contribution of tenants to climate change adaptation may require innovative legislative frameworks that reflect climate change and equity imperatives as well as protection for landlords and tenants

Cirrhose du foie (relation entre la masse hépatique et la gravité de la maladie)

RENNES1-BU Santé (352382103) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

The houses children live in: policies to improve housing quality

New Zealand ranks near the bottom of the OECD in its health and safety rating for its children (Public Health Advisory Committee, 2010). One of the key drivers of this is the relatively poor state of our housing. Young children spend virtually all of their time in the home environment, much of which is poor quality rental housing (Baker, Keall et al., 2007). The Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty (EAG) recently highlighted the broad costs of not maintaining this essential infrastructure for the health of children, their educational opportunities and household income. New Zealand research has clearly demonstrated that improving the quality of housing enhances children’s health and attendance at school, while more energy efficient houses reduce our carbon emissions. This article gives an overview of current research and discusses the feasibility of various policies to address this pressing problem.&nbsp