title: Northeast Asian migration: recent change in New Zealand’s international migration system

authors: Lidgard, Jacqueline

abstract: This thesis examines the development of international migration from countries in Northeast Asia to New Zealand between 1986 and 1996 in the context of the restructuring of global capitalism. A part of the Fourth Labour Government’s economic restructuring programme was a change in New Zealand’s immigration policy. In 1986 New Zealand followed the example of the other three traditional countries of settlement, Canada, the United States and Australia, in trying to use immigration policy to attract skilled and wealthy immigrants to the country. Using world-systems analysis to illustrate the linkage between movements of people and periodic cycles of crisis and development, this thesis sources data from arrivals and departures records; census data from 1991 and 1996; and survey data from interviews. Statistical analysis is confined to the nationals of four Northeast Asian countries: the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. Survey data draws on insights provided by 42 interviews with participants from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. The findings show that a new international migration sub-system had developed in New Zealand by the end of the 1980s aligning the country with Asia and the countries of the Pacific rim more than with its historical sources of migrants in Europe. Population flows from Northeast Asia grew rapidly after the introduction of a points system in 1991. By 1995 a non-traditional source of immigrants, Taiwan, contributed the largest number of new settlers to New Zealand. 

Nationality rather than country of last or next permanent residence was used to define the population flows. The research revealed significant inaccuracies using the latter classification for net migration. The nature of population flows to New Zealand differed between source countries. Labour force participation rates varied with self-employment higher for the Chinese and Korean immigrants than for New Zealand’s population as a whole. Census and survey data confirmed a considerable number of skilled immigrants were under- and unemployed. The analysis emphasised the need for caution when generalising about the impact of net migration gains and their impact on New Zealand’s population structure and labour force. These results suggest New Zealand needs flexible immigration policy more attuned to the needs of citizens who are part of a transnational circulatory migration process. Stronger government commitment to funding is necessary for informed policy development. As 1998 begins Northeast Asian migration to New Zealand is either at the end of a short-lived “age” or at the beginning of a new “era”. Regardless of short-term fluctuations New Zealand's migration system is firmly embedded in cycles of global capitalism.

text: Northeast Asian migration: recent change in New Zealand’s international migration system This thesis examines the development of international migration from countries in Northeast Asia to New Zealand between 1986 and 1996 in the context of the restructuring of global capitalism. A part of the Fourth Labour Government’s economic restructuring programme was a change in New Zealand’s immigration policy. In 1986 New Zealand followed the example of the other three traditional countries of settlement, Canada, the United States and Australia, in trying to use immigration policy to attract skilled and wealthy immigrants to the country. Using world-systems analysis to illustrate the linkage between movements of people and periodic cycles of crisis and development, this thesis sources data from arrivals and departures records; census data from 1991 and 1996; and survey data from interviews. Statistical analysis is confined to the nationals of four Northeast Asian countries: the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. Survey data draws on insights provided by 42 interviews with participants from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. The findings show that a new international migration sub-system had developed in New Zealand by the end of the 1980s aligning the country with Asia and the countries of the Pacific rim more than with its historical sources of migrants in Europe. Population flows from Northeast Asia grew rapidly after the introduction of a points system in 1991. By 1995 a non-traditional source of immigrants, Taiwan, contributed the largest number of new settlers to New Zealand. 

Nationality rather than country of last or next permanent residence was used to define the population flows. The research revealed significant inaccuracies using the latter classification for net migration. The nature of population flows to New Zealand differed between source countries. Labour force participation rates varied with self-employment higher for the Chinese and Korean immigrants than for New Zealand’s population as a whole. Census and survey data confirmed a considerable number of skilled immigrants were under- and unemployed. The analysis emphasised the need for caution when generalising about the impact of net migration gains and their impact on New Zealand’s population structure and labour force. These results suggest New Zealand needs flexible immigration policy more attuned to the needs of citizens who are part of a transnational circulatory migration process. Stronger government commitment to funding is necessary for informed policy development. As 1998 begins Northeast Asian migration to New Zealand is either at the end of a short-lived “age” or at the beginning of a new “era”. Regardless of short-term fluctuations New Zealand's migration system is firmly embedded in cycles of global capitalism.

year: 1998

title: Analysis of binning of normals for spherical harmonic cross-correlation

authors: Larkins, Robert L.

subjects: spherical harmonics

abstract: Spherical harmonic cross-correlation is a robust registration technique that uses the normals of two overlapping point clouds to bring them into coarse rotational alignment. This registration technique however has a high computational cost as spherical harmonics need to be calculated for every normal. By binning the normals, the computational efficiency is improved as the spherical harmonics can be pre-computed and cached at each bin location. In this paper we evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of the equiangle grid, icosahedron subdivision and the Fibonacci spiral, an approach we propose. It is found that the equiangle grid has the best efficiency as it can perform direct binning, followed by the Fibonacci spiral and then the icosahedron, all of which decrease the computational cost compared to no binning. The Fibonacci spiral produces the highest achieved accuracy of the three approaches while maintaining a low number of bins. The number of bins allowed by the equiangle grid and icosahedron are much more restrictive than the Fibonacci spiral. The performed analysis shows that the Fibonacci spiral can perform as well as the original cross-correlation algorithm without binning, while also providing a significant improvement in computational efficiency.

text: Analysis of binning of normals for spherical harmonic cross-correlation Spherical harmonic cross-correlation is a robust registration technique that uses the normals of two overlapping point clouds to bring them into coarse rotational alignment. This registration technique however has a high computational cost as spherical harmonics need to be calculated for every normal. By binning the normals, the computational efficiency is improved as the spherical harmonics can be pre-computed and cached at each bin location. In this paper we evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of the equiangle grid, icosahedron subdivision and the Fibonacci spiral, an approach we propose. It is found that the equiangle grid has the best efficiency as it can perform direct binning, followed by the Fibonacci spiral and then the icosahedron, all of which decrease the computational cost compared to no binning. The Fibonacci spiral produces the highest achieved accuracy of the three approaches while maintaining a low number of bins. The number of bins allowed by the equiangle grid and icosahedron are much more restrictive than the Fibonacci spiral. The performed analysis shows that the Fibonacci spiral can perform as well as the original cross-correlation algorithm without binning, while also providing a significant improvement in computational efficiency.

year: 2012

title: Personality and Representation in Environmental Law

authors: Daya-Winterbottom, Trevor

abstract: Jorge Vinuales from the University of Cambridge observed in his working paper on “Law and the Anthropocene” that law is founded on a series of core concepts, such as, “legal personality, representation, obligation, debt, causality or damage” (CEENRG Working Papers 2016- 4, page 49). This led him to note that a “significant problem” faced by environmental law is how to flesh out these core concepts in relation to the protection of the environment (page 53). For example, should we regard natural resources (e.g. rivers or mountains) as “subjects” of environmental law with their “own interests and capacity to act (through representation)”, or merely as the “objects” of environmental law – to be protected either “directly” as specific natural resources, or “indirectly” via the protection of the environment generally (page 53). This article interrogates these perspectives by reference to recent New Zealand developments.

text: Personality and Representation in Environmental Law Jorge Vinuales from the University of Cambridge observed in his working paper on “Law and the Anthropocene” that law is founded on a series of core concepts, such as, “legal personality, representation, obligation, debt, causality or damage” (CEENRG Working Papers 2016- 4, page 49). This led him to note that a “significant problem” faced by environmental law is how to flesh out these core concepts in relation to the protection of the environment (page 53). For example, should we regard natural resources (e.g. rivers or mountains) as “subjects” of environmental law with their “own interests and capacity to act (through representation)”, or merely as the “objects” of environmental law – to be protected either “directly” as specific natural resources, or “indirectly” via the protection of the environment generally (page 53). This article interrogates these perspectives by reference to recent New Zealand developments.

year: 2018-02-06