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

A Knowledge-Based Optimization Method for Aerodynamic Design

A new aerodynamic design method, CODISC, has been developed that combines a legacy knowledge-based design method, CDISC, with a simple optimization module known as SOUP. The primary goal of this new design system is to improve the performance gains obtained using CDISC without adding significant computational time. An additional objective of this approach is to reduce the need for a priori knowledge of good initial input variable values, as well as for subsequent manual revisions of those values as the design progresses. Several test cases illustrate the development of the process to date and some of the options available at transonic and supersonic speeds for turbulent flow designs. The test cases generally start from good baseline configurations and, in all cases, were able to improve the performance. Several new guidelines for good initial values for the design variables, as well as new design rules within CDISC itself, were developed from these cases

Development of a Knowledge-Based Optimization Method for Aerodynamic Design

A new aerodynamic design method, CODISC, has been developed that combines an existing knowledgebased design method, CDISC, with a simple optimization module known as SOUP. The primary goal of this new design system is to improve the performance gains obtained using CDISC without adding significant computational time. An additional benefit of this approach is a reduction in the need for a priori knowledge of good initial input variable values as well as for subsequent manual revisions of those values as the design progresses. A series of 2D and 3D test cases are used to illustrate the development of the process and some of the options available at transonic and supersonic speeds for both laminar and turbulent flow. The test cases start from good baseline configurations and, in all cases, were able to improve the performance. Several new guidelines for good initial values for the design variables, as well new design rules within CDISC itself, were developed from these cases

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

Application of a Knowledge-Based Optimization Method for Aerodynamic Design

The current research is investigating the application of an optimization technique to an existing knowledge-based design tool. The optimization method, referred to as CODISC, helps improve the results from a knowledge-based design by eliminating the required advanced design knowledge, or help fine-tune a well-performing vehicle. Three CODISC designs are presented using a generic transonic transport, the Common Research Model (CRM). One design optimizes the baseline CRM to demonstrate the ability to improve a well-performing vehicle. Another design is performed from the CRM with camber and twist removed, which highlights the ability to use CODISC in the conceptual design phase. The final design implements laminar flow on the CRM, showing how CODISC can optimize the extent of laminar flow to find the best aerodynamic performance. All three CODISC designs reduced the vehicle drag compared to the baseline CRM, and highlight the new optimization techniques versatility in the aircraft design industry

Communication for Poverty Alleviation: How Aid and Development Agencies in New Zealand View the Relationships Between Communication and Development

A highly debated topic of the last few decades has centred on the idea of communication as a means for poverty reduction. With two-thirds of the world's population living in poverty, there is a dire need to understand why global poverty and inequality continue to increase, and what role communication can, and is playing in the fight against poverty. This study therefore seeks to understand how three aid and development agencies in New Zealand, New Zealand Aid (NZAID), Oxfam New Zealand (NZ), and Christian World Service (CWS), construct poverty in the context of international development. Additionally it seeks to establish how these three organisations view relationships between communication and poverty. Eleven semi-structured, in-depth interviews with key informants were conducted, transcribed, and analysed in order to extract information surrounding the issues of poverty and international development. From this analysis, it is evident that these three organisations recognise official and unofficial definitions of poverty. It is also apparent that these definitions of poverty affect the ways in which these organisations view the causes of poverty, as well as their outlook on international development. Furthermore, three topics emerged when examining relationships between communication and poverty: communication with local people and local organisations, communication about local people and local organisations, and dealing with communication issues through accountability, transparency, and legitimacy. Implications on communication and development theory as well as theory on the discursive constructions of poverty are addressed. Finally, this study addresses practical implications for aid and development agency practice, and offers recommendations for further study in the area development communication

Youth gang membership: Factors influencing and maintaining membership

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of young people who were actively engaged in youth gangs. This included developing an understanding of the factors that both influenced and maintained their desire for youth gang membership. This was achieved by carrying out seven semi-structured interviews with young people aged between sixteen and twenty-three who were residing in the city of Hamilton, New Zealand. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim to ensure the experiences of these young people were accurately recorded. A thematic analysis of the data was then carried out, highlighting both the themes and subthemes across the data set. Five primary themes were identified within this data set to highlight the factors that both influenced and maintained a desire for youth gang membership. This included the influence of friends, the availability of money, and a desire to participate in antisocial behaviours within the gang. Participants also explained the importance of their neighbourhood surroundings in facilitating youth gang membership. While these overarching themes have been previously reported within literature (Goldstein, 1991; Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, Smith & Tobin, 2003), the young people in this study offered their subtly unique experiences and journey into the gang lifestyle. The final theme highlighted the negative evaluation that these young people perceived to experience from others which influenced and maintained their desire to pursue the gang lifestyle. This finding is not as prevalent in the existing youth gang literature, but is discussed within the social psychology literature as the "self-fulfilling prophecy". One of the main findings of this study was that these young people were engaged in the youth gang lifestyle from as young as nine years of age. Once accepted into the gang, participants explained that they then began to withdraw from school and other mainstream activities to pursue their life in the gang. It then became difficult to present these young people with an alternative to their chosen lifestyle as they had access to the support, tangible goods and respect that was desired. They were also accepted into a group of like-minded friends who existed as a substitute family. Further research is needed to better understand the variety of experiences that young people in New Zealand have when joining a youth gang

Kinship terminology of the Bau-Jagoi Bidayuh in Sarawak, Malaysia

This paper explores the kinship terms of the Bidayuh of Sarawak, focusing on the Bau-Jagoi subgroup variation as well as their cultural concept of kinship. The data for this paper was obtained through participant observation and interviews with four informants from two villages in Bau District, Sarawak, Malaysia, which are Kupuo Sarasot, located in the Jagoi area and Kupuo Barieng in the Singai area. The data analysis showed that the Bidayuh held on firmly to the Madih concept¸ in which all members of the village are considered ‘one family’.  The Bidayuh kinship terms do refer to birth order but with emphasis on the older generations. Gender is not emphasized in the Bidayuh kinship terms but refers to a specific gender. Two main adjectives are added after the kinship terms, which are dari’ (male) and dayung (female). The address terms also focus on the older generations while most of the younger generations are addressed by their names. These two areas, even though considered under one subgroup, have their unique practices when it comes to kinship terms.  However, due to modernization and urbanisation, the influence of the Malay and English language could be clearly seen in the Bidayuh address terms, replacing the Bidayuh equivalent

Tennessee Row Crop Producer Survey on Willingness to Adopt Best Management Practices

This thesis presents two separate studies focusing on best management practice (BMP) adoption by row crop producers in Middle and West Tennessee. The objective of the first study is to summarize results the survey. Survey topics included producer perceptions regarding the benefits and costs from using no-tillage planting (no-till), cover crops, and irrigation water management (IWM); respondent responsiveness to BMP cost-share payments; and producer demographic information such as household income and age. The majority of survey respondents (87%) were already planting using no-till, but only 28% knew they could receive a cost-share payment for adopting no-till. Adoption of cover crops was about 29%, and no respondent indicated they have adopted IWM.Roughly half of producers were aware of United States Department of Agriculture cost-share programs for cover crop adoption, and no producers knew cost-share payments for adopting IWM are available. Producers were responsive to increases in cost-share payments encouraging cover crop adoption; however, producer adoption of no-till and IWM was not responsive to increases in cost-share payments. Data gathered from this survey indicates Tennessee producers’ adoption and barriers to adoption of these BMPs, which could assist in designing effective conservation policies.The objective of the second study is to determine the effect of producer risk preference and other factors such as cost-share payments on willingness to adopt cover crops and no-till using a risk preference elicitation method. The same survey data was used. The results show that producers are responsive to cost-share payments for cover crop adoption, but the likelihood a producer would adopt no-till did not increase with higher cost-share payments. More risk averse producers were less likely to adopt cover crops and no-till, as were those who did not believe the survey would influence future farm programs. Younger, college educated producers were more risk tolerant than older producers without a 4-year degree. The results provide a better understanding of producer risk preferences and will guide future studies in measuring and assessing risk preferences of agricultural producers

A Process Improvement Project to Increase Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Rates as Evidenced by Formal Documentation

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a referral process on diabetic retinopathy screening rates among patients with Type 2 diabetes and formal documentation completion rates of these screenings within a primary care setting. Methods: A referral process for patient referral to an ophthalmologist for annual diabetic retinopathy screening was instituted for a 4-week period within a Norton Community Medical Associates (NCMA) primary care location for Type 2 diabetes patients. Charts of 30 patients pre-intervention were compared with the charts of 30 patients seen during the intervention phase of the study to evaluate the effects of the referral intervention. Demographic data, including age, race, gender, and type of insurance, along with clinical data, including most recent Hgb A1C level, were collected for data analysis comparison. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the demographic and clinical data collected from the pre- and post-intervention groups. Additionally, the difference in referral rates and formal documentation rates for the two groups was not statistically significant (p \u3e 0.05). Conclusion: A process improvement project using a brief referral intervention in a primary care setting showed no effect. Further study into this type of intervention to increase diabetic retinopathy screening rates in Type 2 diabetes patients and formal documentation completion rates of these screenings may be more beneficial if performed over a longer study period with evaluation of barriers preventing success at set time points during the study