title: An economic analysis of hospital costs in New Zealand

authors: Tatchell, Philip Michael

abstract: The main purpose of this study is to apply economic principles and methods to the analysis of New Zealand’s hospital services in order to ascertain how the costs of providing those services varies among hospitals and over time. Achievement of this objective at the same time enables an assessment to be made of the relevance of the various theoretical models and empirical techniques that have been employed in recent studies of hospital costs in other countries.
Attention in the initial chapters is devoted to identifying and assessing the quantitative importance of the factors responsible for the rapid and accelerating cost increases associated with the provision of hospital services in recent years. Two main groups of factors are identified - demand and supply-related - and their relative cost impacts are tested first by means of a descriptive historical analysis, and then, following the development of a general behavioural model of hospital cost inflation, by means of econometric techniques.

The results of the estimation process indicate that rising hospital costs are largely due to changes on the supply side, particularly to the rising cost, quantity and quality of the labour and non-labour inputs used by hospitals. Demand variables, particularly changing length of stay and the changing diagnostic mix of patients treated in hospital, are also shown to have had an important, though less substantial impact on hospital cost levels. 
The second part of the study is devoted to identifying and examining the factors that give rise to variations in costs among hospitals at a given point in time. Three main groups of factors are identified - patient or output characteristics, institutional characteristics and utilisation levels, and their relative importance in explaining the interhospital cost variations is tested by means of econometric techniques.
The results indicate that variations in the average costs of hospital care are largely explained by the types of patient treated, both by age and diagnosis, by the length of time the patient stayed in hospital, and by the teaching status of the hospital. Considerable attention in this section is also devoted to establishing whether economies of scale exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry and to developing and testing a number of alternative measures of hospital output based on similar measures employed in earlier overseas studies.

A number of implications for policy and for further research arise from the findings. On the cost inflation side apart from suggesting possible ways in which to combat and control the rapid rise in hospital costs, considerable emphasis is placed on the need both for more rigorous evaluation of alternative hospital expenditure programmes and for more and better planning of all hospital and health services. Future research, it is argued, should be directed towards assessing the costs and benefits of particular hospital programmes with a view to ensuring the most efficient and effective utilisation of the scarce resources available for hospital care in New Zealand.
On the cost variation side a revised system of allocating finance to Hospital Boards is advocated which would take into account the various differences among hospitals found to be responsible for the wide variations in their average costs. Introduction of such a population-based allocation system would, it is maintained, ensure that the desired objective of an equitable distribution of resources throughout New Zealand is achieved. Further research is required firstly, to develop a simple yet reliable means of accounting for interboard case-mix differences; secondly, to assess more accurately the nature and extent of the impact of teaching on hospital costs; and finally, to ensure that the economies of scale that appear to exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry are fully exploited.

text: An economic analysis of hospital costs in New Zealand The main purpose of this study is to apply economic principles and methods to the analysis of New Zealand’s hospital services in order to ascertain how the costs of providing those services varies among hospitals and over time. Achievement of this objective at the same time enables an assessment to be made of the relevance of the various theoretical models and empirical techniques that have been employed in recent studies of hospital costs in other countries.
Attention in the initial chapters is devoted to identifying and assessing the quantitative importance of the factors responsible for the rapid and accelerating cost increases associated with the provision of hospital services in recent years. Two main groups of factors are identified - demand and supply-related - and their relative cost impacts are tested first by means of a descriptive historical analysis, and then, following the development of a general behavioural model of hospital cost inflation, by means of econometric techniques.

The results of the estimation process indicate that rising hospital costs are largely due to changes on the supply side, particularly to the rising cost, quantity and quality of the labour and non-labour inputs used by hospitals. Demand variables, particularly changing length of stay and the changing diagnostic mix of patients treated in hospital, are also shown to have had an important, though less substantial impact on hospital cost levels. 
The second part of the study is devoted to identifying and examining the factors that give rise to variations in costs among hospitals at a given point in time. Three main groups of factors are identified - patient or output characteristics, institutional characteristics and utilisation levels, and their relative importance in explaining the interhospital cost variations is tested by means of econometric techniques.
The results indicate that variations in the average costs of hospital care are largely explained by the types of patient treated, both by age and diagnosis, by the length of time the patient stayed in hospital, and by the teaching status of the hospital. Considerable attention in this section is also devoted to establishing whether economies of scale exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry and to developing and testing a number of alternative measures of hospital output based on similar measures employed in earlier overseas studies.

A number of implications for policy and for further research arise from the findings. On the cost inflation side apart from suggesting possible ways in which to combat and control the rapid rise in hospital costs, considerable emphasis is placed on the need both for more rigorous evaluation of alternative hospital expenditure programmes and for more and better planning of all hospital and health services. Future research, it is argued, should be directed towards assessing the costs and benefits of particular hospital programmes with a view to ensuring the most efficient and effective utilisation of the scarce resources available for hospital care in New Zealand.
On the cost variation side a revised system of allocating finance to Hospital Boards is advocated which would take into account the various differences among hospitals found to be responsible for the wide variations in their average costs. Introduction of such a population-based allocation system would, it is maintained, ensure that the desired objective of an equitable distribution of resources throughout New Zealand is achieved. Further research is required firstly, to develop a simple yet reliable means of accounting for interboard case-mix differences; secondly, to assess more accurately the nature and extent of the impact of teaching on hospital costs; and finally, to ensure that the economies of scale that appear to exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry are fully exploited.

year: 1977

title: The inherent liminality of lesbian detectives: Shifting spaces and lesbian crime fiction 1984-2022

authors: Antoniolli, Claudia

subjects: Crime fiction

abstract: This thesis studies lesbian detective fiction and specifically considers this genre in its early decades (1980s-1990s) from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. This thesis postulates that out of a sample pool of a hundred novels, there are recurring patterns of behaviours and attitudes among the protagonists of this genre within certain physical and metaphorical spaces. These patterns demonstrate a destabilised identity, as the lesbian sleuth never ceases to explore and test the boundaries of her authority as an enforcer of law and order and of her suppressed spatiality as a member of a sexual minority. This causes her to live in a perpetual state of Insider/Outsider liminality and it causes queer trauma to be a fundamental aspect of her character. This thesis considers this concept as the result of long-standing, systemic homophobia and heterosexist normativity, and utilises the notion of queer trauma to interpret the way the lesbian sleuth is inescapably stuck between a sense of duty and justice and a yearning for belonging and self-affirmation. The interpretive process is supported by an extensive and in-depth theoretical research into the fields of history, culture, geography, feminist criticism, gender, and sexuality studies for the selected subject matter. The spaces selected and analysed in this thesis are the queer closet, the medical establishment, domestic settings, and the gay bar. These spaces have been chosen for the significant, emblematic ways in which the lesbian detectives interact with them and have been analysed in order of their importance for the protagonists’ characterisation. The introduction includes introductory statements and the theoretical framework, the first chapter overviews major detectives in the history of crime literature from a spatial perspective; the second chapter discusses the queer closet; the third chapter considers the space of the clinic and the topics of queer trauma and of the pathologisation of homosexuality; the fourth chapter analyses the domestic settings of the protagonists; the fifth chapter examines the context of the gay bar and its history; finally, the conclusion offers closing statements about the focus and originality of this thesis. The originality of this thesis lies in its focus on spaces and on the relationship between the protagonist and society, law and order, and Self and Other. This thesis contributes to the knowledge of queer literature by specifically considering the unescapable liminality of the lesbian/Outsider detective/Insider.

text: The inherent liminality of lesbian detectives: Shifting spaces and lesbian crime fiction 1984-2022 This thesis studies lesbian detective fiction and specifically considers this genre in its early decades (1980s-1990s) from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. This thesis postulates that out of a sample pool of a hundred novels, there are recurring patterns of behaviours and attitudes among the protagonists of this genre within certain physical and metaphorical spaces. These patterns demonstrate a destabilised identity, as the lesbian sleuth never ceases to explore and test the boundaries of her authority as an enforcer of law and order and of her suppressed spatiality as a member of a sexual minority. This causes her to live in a perpetual state of Insider/Outsider liminality and it causes queer trauma to be a fundamental aspect of her character. This thesis considers this concept as the result of long-standing, systemic homophobia and heterosexist normativity, and utilises the notion of queer trauma to interpret the way the lesbian sleuth is inescapably stuck between a sense of duty and justice and a yearning for belonging and self-affirmation. The interpretive process is supported by an extensive and in-depth theoretical research into the fields of history, culture, geography, feminist criticism, gender, and sexuality studies for the selected subject matter. The spaces selected and analysed in this thesis are the queer closet, the medical establishment, domestic settings, and the gay bar. These spaces have been chosen for the significant, emblematic ways in which the lesbian detectives interact with them and have been analysed in order of their importance for the protagonists’ characterisation. The introduction includes introductory statements and the theoretical framework, the first chapter overviews major detectives in the history of crime literature from a spatial perspective; the second chapter discusses the queer closet; the third chapter considers the space of the clinic and the topics of queer trauma and of the pathologisation of homosexuality; the fourth chapter analyses the domestic settings of the protagonists; the fifth chapter examines the context of the gay bar and its history; finally, the conclusion offers closing statements about the focus and originality of this thesis. The originality of this thesis lies in its focus on spaces and on the relationship between the protagonist and society, law and order, and Self and Other. This thesis contributes to the knowledge of queer literature by specifically considering the unescapable liminality of the lesbian/Outsider detective/Insider.

year: 2023

title: Māori language procreation on social media

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

abstract: The Māori language has taken seed and grown on social media. This presentation will examine this presence, exploring the forms it has taken and the influence it is having. It will look at Facebook groups devoted to the Māori language and the birth of the 'Māhuru Māori' (Māori September) movement. It will consider the increasing use of the Māori language on Twitter especially Tweets around a 'kaupapa' (shared purpose). It will also report some anecdotal evidence regarding the use of the Māori language on SnapChat, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

text: Māori language procreation on social media The Māori language has taken seed and grown on social media. This presentation will examine this presence, exploring the forms it has taken and the influence it is having. It will look at Facebook groups devoted to the Māori language and the birth of the 'Māhuru Māori' (Māori September) movement. It will consider the increasing use of the Māori language on Twitter especially Tweets around a 'kaupapa' (shared purpose). It will also report some anecdotal evidence regarding the use of the Māori language on SnapChat, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

year: 2019