title: Drivers of landholder participation in tender programs for Australian biodiversity conservation

authors: Blackmore, Tania Louise

subjects: market-based instrument

abstract: Conservation tender program have been widely applied to biodiversity conservation in Australia and internationally in recent decades. Increasing participation rates is critical to these schemes, as competition is required for the cost-effectiveness benefits of the tender system to be fully realized. However, knowledge relating to the drivers of landholder participation in tender programs is limited. This study aims to identify the relative importance of different drivers of participation in Victorian conservation tenders. The novel method of maximum entropy ordinal regression is used given the small sample size, and supplemented with qualitative data obtained through face-to-face interviews. The regression analysis reveals that strong relationships between agencies and landholders and a low administrative burden drive increased participation. The provision of education, support, and easily-integrated management practices, however, may drive lower participation, with landholders confident to undertake conservation activities independently of assistance. Some evidence emerges that ten-year contracts may be well-received. A key concern is low additionality in biodiversity benefits, with typical tender participants displaying a strong conservation ethic and high levels of management activity pre-participation. This work has shown that in conservation policies involving self-selection by participants, economic incentives for adoption may be less important than non-monetary drivers.

text: Drivers of landholder participation in tender programs for Australian biodiversity conservation Conservation tender program have been widely applied to biodiversity conservation in Australia and internationally in recent decades. Increasing participation rates is critical to these schemes, as competition is required for the cost-effectiveness benefits of the tender system to be fully realized. However, knowledge relating to the drivers of landholder participation in tender programs is limited. This study aims to identify the relative importance of different drivers of participation in Victorian conservation tenders. The novel method of maximum entropy ordinal regression is used given the small sample size, and supplemented with qualitative data obtained through face-to-face interviews. The regression analysis reveals that strong relationships between agencies and landholders and a low administrative burden drive increased participation. The provision of education, support, and easily-integrated management practices, however, may drive lower participation, with landholders confident to undertake conservation activities independently of assistance. Some evidence emerges that ten-year contracts may be well-received. A key concern is low additionality in biodiversity benefits, with typical tender participants displaying a strong conservation ethic and high levels of management activity pre-participation. This work has shown that in conservation policies involving self-selection by participants, economic incentives for adoption may be less important than non-monetary drivers.

year: 2013

title: Rural women’s perspectives of maternity services in the midland region of New Zealand

authors: Gibbons, Veronique

subjects: Rural

abstract: INTRODUCTION: Rural women face many challenges with regards to maternity services. Many rural primary birthing facilities in New Zealand have closed. The Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) model of maternity care, introduced in 1990, has moved provision of rural maternity care from doctors to independent midwifery services. Shortages of rural midwives in the Midland region led to rural maternity care being seen as a vulnerable service. 
AIM: To understand the views and experiences of rural women concerning maternity care, to inform the future design and provision of rural maternity services. 
METHODS: Participants were drawn from areas purposively selected to represent the five District Health Boards comprising the Midland health region. A demographic questionnaire, focus groups and individual interviews explored rural women’s perspectives of antenatal care provision. These were analysed thematically. 
RESULTS: Sixty-two women were recruited. Key themes emerging from focus groups and interviews included: access to services, the importance of safety and quality of care, the need for appropriate information at different stages, and the role of partners, family and friends in the birthing journey. While most women were happy with access to services, quality of care, provision of information, and the role of family in their care, for some women, this experience could be enhanced. 
CONCLUSION: Midwives are the frontline service for women seeking antenatal services. Support for rural midwives and for local birthing units is needed to ensure rural women receive services equal to that of their urban counterparts.

text: Rural women’s perspectives of maternity services in the midland region of New Zealand INTRODUCTION: Rural women face many challenges with regards to maternity services. Many rural primary birthing facilities in New Zealand have closed. The Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) model of maternity care, introduced in 1990, has moved provision of rural maternity care from doctors to independent midwifery services. Shortages of rural midwives in the Midland region led to rural maternity care being seen as a vulnerable service. 
AIM: To understand the views and experiences of rural women concerning maternity care, to inform the future design and provision of rural maternity services. 
METHODS: Participants were drawn from areas purposively selected to represent the five District Health Boards comprising the Midland health region. A demographic questionnaire, focus groups and individual interviews explored rural women’s perspectives of antenatal care provision. These were analysed thematically. 
RESULTS: Sixty-two women were recruited. Key themes emerging from focus groups and interviews included: access to services, the importance of safety and quality of care, the need for appropriate information at different stages, and the role of partners, family and friends in the birthing journey. While most women were happy with access to services, quality of care, provision of information, and the role of family in their care, for some women, this experience could be enhanced. 
CONCLUSION: Midwives are the frontline service for women seeking antenatal services. Support for rural midwives and for local birthing units is needed to ensure rural women receive services equal to that of their urban counterparts.

year: 2016

title: Housing quality, health and whānau wellbeing

authors: Kukutai, Tahu

abstract: Shelter is a basic human need (Maslow 1943) and access to housing is a fundamental human right. A house is more than a physical dwelling that offers shelter; for many, it is a space that provides structure and meaning, and relates to feelings, emotions, memories and experiences, whether raising a whānau or discovering newfound independence. 
For Māori, the multi-layered concept of kāinga is broader still. Literally meaning ‘village’, kāinga is a home space where identity, whakapapa and whenua come together (Henare 2014). Kāinga is where individuals and whānau can sustain and care for themselves and others through practices of whanaungatanga (connecting with kin) and manaakitanga (acts of reciprocal caring). 
Kāinga is also closely related to the concept of tūrangawaewae, denoting a sense of physical and spiritual belonging or attachment to a place. Kāinga and tūrangawaewae thus share similarities with the meaning of home but mean much more than simply ‘being housed’ (Brown 2017). 
While housing and housing quality form only part of what it means to be ‘at home’, access to a warm, dry, safe, secure and watertight house is a basic right for all whānau and tamariki. 
In this section, we focus on the relationships between housing quality, health and wellbeing to better understand the extent of housing quality issues that whānau Māori face, and how housing quality, in turn, affects health and wellbeing. To our knowledge, this is the first nationally representative study that focuses specifically on Māori assessments of housing quality. It does so using data from the Māori Social Survey Te Kupenga.

text: Housing quality, health and whānau wellbeing Shelter is a basic human need (Maslow 1943) and access to housing is a fundamental human right. A house is more than a physical dwelling that offers shelter; for many, it is a space that provides structure and meaning, and relates to feelings, emotions, memories and experiences, whether raising a whānau or discovering newfound independence. 
For Māori, the multi-layered concept of kāinga is broader still. Literally meaning ‘village’, kāinga is a home space where identity, whakapapa and whenua come together (Henare 2014). Kāinga is where individuals and whānau can sustain and care for themselves and others through practices of whanaungatanga (connecting with kin) and manaakitanga (acts of reciprocal caring). 
Kāinga is also closely related to the concept of tūrangawaewae, denoting a sense of physical and spiritual belonging or attachment to a place. Kāinga and tūrangawaewae thus share similarities with the meaning of home but mean much more than simply ‘being housed’ (Brown 2017). 
While housing and housing quality form only part of what it means to be ‘at home’, access to a warm, dry, safe, secure and watertight house is a basic right for all whānau and tamariki. 
In this section, we focus on the relationships between housing quality, health and wellbeing to better understand the extent of housing quality issues that whānau Māori face, and how housing quality, in turn, affects health and wellbeing. To our knowledge, this is the first nationally representative study that focuses specifically on Māori assessments of housing quality. It does so using data from the Māori Social Survey Te Kupenga.

year: 2018