Scootering on: An investigation of children’s use of scooters for transport and recreation

Non-motorised scooters have increased significantly in popularity over the last few years in New Zealand, following similar trends in the US, Australia, Canada and Europe. Non-motorised scooters are an important source of recreation, transport and exercise and children of all ages enjoy riding them to and from school and in skate parks. Along with the increase in popularity and use of the scooters, New Zealand is also experiencing a considerable increase in the numbers of injuries to children, with a notable spike in ACC claims in the 2011-12 year. Whilst most of the injuries are moderate – dislocations, fractures, lacerations and soft-tissue injuries – an increase in the number of severe injuries, and at times, even fatalities is also evident. Boys tend to be injured more frequently than girls and the median age for injury is nine years. Most injuries occur at home, with public roads the next most likely location. International literature shows similar trends world-wide. Numbers of scooter injuries are escalating and an intervention to minimise harm and reduce risk is considered imperative in all regions. The evidence shows that children are not wearing protective equipment (such as helmets) when travelling on a non-motorised scooter and there is no legal requirement for them to do so. Elbow and knee pads – and even footwear – were conspicuously absent amongst children observed in fieldwork undertaken for this project. Children routinely use basic scooters for activities unsuited to their design and on terrain that poses further risks. It was also evident that children scootering to school were not subject to the same regulations as those cycling to school and there appears to be a general lack of awareness of the risks associated with scootering. We therefore propose the following recommendations as means by which we might minimise the risks and reduce harm to children: o Amend the current cycle helmet legislation to include the riders of all wheeled recreational devices, irrespective of the age of the rider; o Introduce school policies requiring that helmets and footwear are worn when scootering to and from school; o Implement a minimum age for scootering to and from school; o Extend the coverage of existing school training programmes on road safety in general and safe scootering in particular; o Require compulsory distribution of point-of-sale information packs on the risks of scooters and the protective equipment options available; o Ensure continued funding of current community resources and training initiatives o Further research on scooter accidents and associated risk factor

The built environment, Hamilton City Council policies and child driveway safety: a balancing act

Driveway run-overs continue to bring tragedy to New Zealand families at a higher rate than any other Western nation. Meanwhile, little progress appears to have been made in regard to the recommendations of previous research. This project investigates whether recommendations in regard to one key factor in driveway run-overs, the built environment, are reflected in current local body policies and regulations. The research evaluates Hamilton City Council policies affecting the renovation and/or erection of domestic residences with a view to determining whether they are consistent with existing knowledge and best practice initiatives designed to minimise accidental injuries to children on driveways. The project compares the findings of a review of the existing literature on child safety best practice for the built environment and urban design of driveways, with a review of Hamilton City Council policies and guidelines relating to the built environment of residential properties and adjacent roads (the Operative District Plan, Ten Year Plan, Urban Growth Strategy, Vista, and more), along with relevant central government policy. These findings are triangulated with data from interviews with four expert informants – one child safety expert and three Hamilton City Council employees involved in planning, policy and transport – who provide insights into the translation of policies into practice

Pedalling for safety: Schoolchildren and safe active transport

This research will add to the international body of knowledge around safe active transport and its benefits for individuals and their communities. In order to achieve this, the report begins with a brief description of the risks associated with active transport, 3 and considers why active transport to school should be encouraged, despite the risks. Our dependence on cars is discussed in relation to the prevailing chauffeuring culture, before the objectives of the research are outlined. Chapter one concludes with an account of the methodology used to undertake this research, which combined a literature review and a search for educational resources with some participant observation field research. In chapter 2 we present a summary of the resources available to parents in Hamilton and provide a profile of the city, which is in many ways ideally suited to active transport, though participation rates are low. Chapter 3 discusses the benefits of active transport and the barriers to participation in it. Following a discussion that draws all the various strands together, we evaluate existing strategies with a view to endorsing those most likely to enhance safety, while also offering some further ideas on how to minimise the risks of active transport for children

The ABCs of ATVs: Factors implicated in child deaths and injuries involving all terrain vehicles on New Zealand farms

The agricultural sector features prominently in the rates of ATV injuries and fatalities amongst children in New Zealand. This research project assesses the nature and scope of ATV accidents to children on New Zealand farms and provides recommendations that attempt to meet the needs of all relevant stakeholders. In particular, we believe that the most effective means of reducing the rates of ATV injuries and fatalities amongst children involves a strategy which recognises the unique circumstances which give rise to practical impediments to safer farm workplace practices. We identified three distinct groups of children in the literature, each facing a different major risk category. Very young children were most at risk as passengers. As age increased the highest risks applied to bystanders, while older children and teenagers were more likely to be injured as drivers. The high risks to younger children as passengers and bystanders were indicative of underlying problems associated with childcare options – or, more particularly, the lack of childcare options. Accidents involving older children were associated more closely with practices around child supervision and involved aspects of farming culture, rather than practical barriers to safer practices

Connecting women in the age of difference: Re-thinking gender in twenty-first century Aotearoa New Zealand

Editorial: This special issue of the Women’s Studies Journal is an exploration of the theme of difference and diversity among women in Aotearoa New Zealand in the twenty-first century. As a construct within feminist literature, ‘difference’ has, for over three decades, irrevocably altered the landscape of feminist politics – in both its scholarship and its praxis. Fundamental to the theories of difference that have emerged since the 1980s is the idea that women’s lived realities differ vastly depending on, amongst other variables, their sexual orientation, racial and ethnic background, religious beliefs, age and income status

Accidental child driveway runovers: Exploring Waikato data and the efficacy of existing responses

While the numbers of accidents are not high, there is little doubt that driveway runovers are an ongoing, often fatal and inevitably avoidable tragedy for children and their families. In many cases the driver is an immediate family member, or a neighbour or friend, which serves to compound the tragedy. This type of accident is, like other unintentional child injuries, preventable. The over-riding objective of this study is to find ways to minimise the incidence and severity of driveway runovers. We also aim to add Waikato data to the existing knowledge base. This report begins with a description of the research process utilised in this project, which combines a literature review with the collection of Waikato data and a review of available resources. Chapter Two presents the literature review, dividing the material into its different sources, then summarising the literature in terms of the three main factors contributing to driveway runovers. The following chapter provides data on Waikato driveway accidents for the period since May 2006. The type and availability of educational resources is then presented. Chapter Four evaluates existing resources and their availability, suggesting how they might be made more accessible to families. It also assesses existing recommendations and provides further suggestions for enhancing driveway safety. These again reflect the three main categories outlined in the literature – human, vehicle and environmental

New Zealand culture of intoxication: Local and global influences

This article shows that attitudes towards and behaviours involving the consumption of alcohol in New Zealand have long been problematic. It provides an historical account of social, economic and legislative factors which have influenced the development of the New Zealand drinking culture. Accordingly, it tracks a combination of local and global alcohol-related influences and documents the interrelationships amongst these factors. In particular, it proposes that the liberalisation of alcohol licensing laws and advertising/sponsorship regulations, alongside the growth of the alcohol-based hospitality industry have promoted the normalisation of an alcohol-based leisure lifestyle. Against this backdrop, the growth of consumer culture , tertiary student culture and the New Zealand drug culture, along with the development of new alcohol products and the establishment of commercial and social-networking websites have conjointly enabled the growth of a culture of intoxication, which is characterised by drinkers intentionally drinking to intoxication and viewing this behaviour as socially acceptable

Pleasure, profit and pain: Alcohol in New Zealand and the contemporary culture of intoxication

This book details the rich, complex and often contested role of alcohol in New Zealand society. It explores the three fundamental alcohol rights that continue to fight for dominance of the national drinking culture: the rights of individual drinkers to enjoy the pleasures of alcohol, the rights of society to protect itself from the harms of alcohol, and the rights of the alcohol industry to profit from the sale of a legal commodity. Historically, most of our intoxicated drinkers were adult males and drinking was typically separated from family, food and entertainment. With the sweeping social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, women and later young people, increasingly engaged with alcohol. A growing proportion of these groups have since joined men in a culture of intoxication, or binge drinking culture as it is often termed. New Zealand is not alone however, in having a culture of intoxication, with similar alcohol consumption patterns evident in many other developed nations. This book identifies the local and the global influences that have affected New Zealand society (and much of the rest of the world) since the late 1900s and details how these influences have sustained the contemporary culture of intoxication. Finally, this book will propose that to implement effective change to our national drinking culture, the rights of the alcohol industry and of individual drinkers will need to be pulled back from the liberal excesses that the 1980s and 1990s provided. A re-balancing is required in order to strengthen and sustain society’s right to protect itself from alcohol-related harm

Disempowering parents: the erosion of parental mana with particular reference to the parents of at risk children and young persons

Over the last one hundred and fifty years the treatment and status of children and young persons in New Zealand has moved from a position of near absolute parental (paternal) authority over children and a state largely uninvolved in the conditions of childhood, to a position which increasingly acknowledges children and young persons as individual possessors of rights. The parent-child relationship has become progressively more governed and monitored by the state, which now intervenes in many previously private areas of family life. This shift has been motivated by growing concern regarding the treatment and status of children. Legislative changes throughout the period under review reflect a gradual improvement in both treatment and status, with the earlier legislation concerned to promote the protection of children, and the more recent legislation reflecting current notions of children as citizens. The elevation of children and young persons necessarily entailed adjustments to the previous authority, rights and autonomy of parents. Accompanying this has been an associated, though largely unintended, denigration of the credibility, competence and beneficence of parents, emanating from the view of parents as causes of the problems of childhood. These constitute an erosion of parental mana that significantly affects parents’ capacity to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of parenthood. Poor perceptions of parents have entered the public domain and have been exacerbated by aspects of the constantly changing social and political context, leaving parents marginalised and disempowered. Current legislation, informed by New Right ideology emphasising individual responsibility, firmly places responsibility for children with parents and extended family. The family empowerment ethos of the legislation is undermined in the implementation process, however, as a result of the frequent failure to allocate adequate resources to families and communities. The consequences are particularly pertinent for families whose children are engaged in at risk behaviour. The practical effects of these changes in the daily lives of thirteen families are examined here through the analysis of the lived experiences of the families. The parents’ experiences demonstrate the ways in which legislation and its implementation combine with contextual factors to leave parents in an untenable position. It is contended that parental mana has been progressively eroded to the point where it is no longer commensurate with their parental responsibilities

Manaakitia te paharakeke: an insight into the daily operational challenges facing Te Whakaruruhau

This report is based on participant observations of the daily operations at Te Whakaruruhau, Hamilton. The observations represent the fieldwork element of an undergraduate paper contributing to the co-author, Anna Kurei’s Bachelor’s degree at the University of Waikato. Anna’s participation and observations over several weeks included attending meetings, shadowing Advocates, contributing (as appropriate) to operations and observing interactions between Advocates and the women in living in the service’s residential housing. Founded by Ruahine Albert and Ariana Simpson in 1986, Te Whakaruruhau Incorporated (Waikato women's refuge) was the first Māori women's refuge in Aotearoa. Since its inception, Te Whakaruruhau has been a Kaupapa driven service, with Māori cultural practices consciously employed throughout all its operations. Māori tikanga is fluid and adaptable by nature and can therefore meet the needs of people from multiple cultures and backgrounds. The current service has grown from humble beginnings in a four-bedroom state owned house providing emergency housing, to now include a twenty-four-hour crisis service, residential housing and a broadened community outreach programme. Staff numbers have increased from 7 to 36 paid staff and the twenty-fourhour crisis service has allowed the refuge to provide services for high risk cases that would otherwise be turned away. Funding is critical to the successful operation of the service. The refuge provides wrap-around services to meet clients’ needs and help them navigate through a maze of government and community services. The needs of women and families who have lived with domestic violence are deep-seated and complex. Achieving a stable, healthy, independent life is frequently a long-term process. Funding however, is not only limited, but is tied to expectations of achieving successful outcomes in the short-term. It was quickly evident during the fieldwork that Te Whakaruruhau is desperately under-resourced. In the year to June 2015 the Refuge provided services for 6575 cases, but had contracted funds for less than 1600. The consequences of such starkly inadequate resources are dire – for both clients and staff. Advocates (case workers) are frequently exhausted as they try to assist women and children with high and complex needs with very little resources on a highly restricted budget. Many times, workers were observed relegating their own interests (including their own health and safety) in order to meet the demands and needs of their clients. Similarly, the successful rehabilitation of clients is jeopardised by restricted options, insufficient capacity in the system and at times even the simplest of requirements such as transport to essential services. We know that when women and children become free of violence they have better health, employment and education outcomes. These outcomes benefit not only themselves but their communities and the wider social and economic landscape. Higher levels of funding - with a longer term focus- would therefore ultimately reduce the costs of domestic violence overall. Further to this, Kaupapa-based services at Te Whakaruruhau offer a culturally meaningful response to the high representation of Maori women seeking assistance. Its success in the face of such high levels of under-resourcing suggests that expectations around funding also need to be altered