title: Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) in household surveys for better economics and better policy

authors: Gibson, John

subjects: distance

abstract: Distance and location are important determinants of many choices that economists study. While these variables can sometimes be obtained from secondary data, economists often rely on information that is self-reported by respondents in surveys. These self-reports are used especially for the distance from households or community centers to various features such as roads, markets, schools, clinics and other public services. There is growing evidence that self-reported distance is measured with error and that these errors are correlated with outcomes of interest. In contrast to self-reports, the Global Positioning System (GPS) can determine almost exact location (typically within 15 meters). The falling cost of GPS receivers (typically below US$100) makes it increasingly feasible for field surveys to use GPS as a better method of measuring location and distance. In this paper we review four ways that GPS can lead to better economics and better policy: (i) through constructing instrumental variables that can be used to understand the causal impact of policies, (ii) by helping to understand policy externalities and spillovers, (iii) through better understanding of the access to services, and (iv) by improving the collection of household survey data. We also discuss several pitfalls and unresolved problems with using GPS in household surveys.

text: Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) in household surveys for better economics and better policy Distance and location are important determinants of many choices that economists study. While these variables can sometimes be obtained from secondary data, economists often rely on information that is self-reported by respondents in surveys. These self-reports are used especially for the distance from households or community centers to various features such as roads, markets, schools, clinics and other public services. There is growing evidence that self-reported distance is measured with error and that these errors are correlated with outcomes of interest. In contrast to self-reports, the Global Positioning System (GPS) can determine almost exact location (typically within 15 meters). The falling cost of GPS receivers (typically below US$100) makes it increasingly feasible for field surveys to use GPS as a better method of measuring location and distance. In this paper we review four ways that GPS can lead to better economics and better policy: (i) through constructing instrumental variables that can be used to understand the causal impact of policies, (ii) by helping to understand policy externalities and spillovers, (iii) through better understanding of the access to services, and (iv) by improving the collection of household survey data. We also discuss several pitfalls and unresolved problems with using GPS in household surveys.

year: 2007-03

title: Petrologic evidence for earliest Miocene tectonic mobility on eastern Taranaki Basin margin

authors: Hood, Steven D.

subjects: Taranaki Basin

abstract: At Gibsons Beach on the west coast of central North Island, the earliest Miocene (Waitakian) Otorohanga Limestone, the top-most formation in the Te Kuiti Group, is unconformably overlain on an undulating, locally channelised erosion surface by the Early Miocene (Otaian) Papakura Limestone at the base of the Waitemata Group. The basal facies of the Papakura Limestone is a conglomerate composed exclusively of tightly packed pebble- to cobble-sized clasts of skeletal limestone sourced from the underlying Otorohanga Limestone. This petrographic and geochemical study demonstrates that the Otorohanga Limestone was partially lithified during marine and shallow-burial cementation at subsurface depths down to a few tens of metres prior to uplift, erosion and cannibalisation of the limestone clasts into the Papakura Limestone. Strontium isotope dating of fossils from both the Otorohanga and Papakura Limestones at Gibsons Beach yield comparable ages of about 22 Ma, close to the Waitakian/Otaian boundary, indicating very rapid tectonic inversion and erosion of the section occurred in the earliest Miocene. We envisage the clasts of Otorohanga Limestone were sourced from a proximal shoreline position and redeposited westwards by episodic debris flows onto a shallow-shelf accumulating  mixed siliciclastic-skeletal carbonate deposits of the Papakura Limestone. Subsequent burial of both limestones by rapidly accumulating Waitemata Group sandstone and flysch instigated precipitation of widespread burial cements from pressure dissolution of carbonate material at subsurface depths from about 100 m to 1.0 km. The vertical tectonic movements registered at Gibsons Beach can be related to the oblique compression associated with the development of the Australian-Pacific plate boundary through New Zealand at about this time and coincide with overthrusting of basement into Taranaki Basin between mid-Waitakian (earliest Miocene) and Altonian (late Early Miocene) times.

text: Petrologic evidence for earliest Miocene tectonic mobility on eastern Taranaki Basin margin At Gibsons Beach on the west coast of central North Island, the earliest Miocene (Waitakian) Otorohanga Limestone, the top-most formation in the Te Kuiti Group, is unconformably overlain on an undulating, locally channelised erosion surface by the Early Miocene (Otaian) Papakura Limestone at the base of the Waitemata Group. The basal facies of the Papakura Limestone is a conglomerate composed exclusively of tightly packed pebble- to cobble-sized clasts of skeletal limestone sourced from the underlying Otorohanga Limestone. This petrographic and geochemical study demonstrates that the Otorohanga Limestone was partially lithified during marine and shallow-burial cementation at subsurface depths down to a few tens of metres prior to uplift, erosion and cannibalisation of the limestone clasts into the Papakura Limestone. Strontium isotope dating of fossils from both the Otorohanga and Papakura Limestones at Gibsons Beach yield comparable ages of about 22 Ma, close to the Waitakian/Otaian boundary, indicating very rapid tectonic inversion and erosion of the section occurred in the earliest Miocene. We envisage the clasts of Otorohanga Limestone were sourced from a proximal shoreline position and redeposited westwards by episodic debris flows onto a shallow-shelf accumulating  mixed siliciclastic-skeletal carbonate deposits of the Papakura Limestone. Subsequent burial of both limestones by rapidly accumulating Waitemata Group sandstone and flysch instigated precipitation of widespread burial cements from pressure dissolution of carbonate material at subsurface depths from about 100 m to 1.0 km. The vertical tectonic movements registered at Gibsons Beach can be related to the oblique compression associated with the development of the Australian-Pacific plate boundary through New Zealand at about this time and coincide with overthrusting of basement into Taranaki Basin between mid-Waitakian (earliest Miocene) and Altonian (late Early Miocene) times.

year: 2006

title: Māori whānau experiences of a neonatal intensive care unit: Waikato hospital

authors: Thompson, Keri

subjects: Maori whanau narratives

abstract: This thesis topic emerged from my personal experience of having a premature baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Waikato hospital.  My whānau and I felt like aliens; culturally inept, and totally alone during our time in the NICU.  It was not until I spoke to other Māori mothers that I realised our stories were similar.   

I sought to understand how other Māori whānau members made sense of their own experiences, how they coped/adjusted to the experience of having a premature baby in an NICU and at home, and the sources of support they utilised. This study did not seek to delineate parents' experiences but attempted to allow whānau members to share their stories and explore their experiences of having a premature or special-care baby in an NICU.

The event of childbirth and the placing of a natural event into a pathological illness model through necessity has repercussions for the ways in which women experience and make sense of the event.  Knowing this, six whānau stories were collected comprising of four individual interviews with the mothers and two whānau hui (focus groups).  My use of a narrative methodology and kaupapa Māori approach enabled all the participants the opportunity to share their stories on how they make sense of their own experiences without the frame of pathological illness. 

The findings present each whānau story autonomously, to highlight the key events that   occur once the birth of a premature/special-care infant is admitted into an NICU. The participants' narratives followed their transitions through an NICU and return home. The narrative analysis and discussion confirmed that this research had been successful in creating a space for the mothers and their whānau members to share their stories.  The discussion combined their narratives to reveal that the effective coping strategies did not remove the sources of stress but rather lessened the impact of the stresses.  In situations where sources of stress were unable to be removed or reduced, participants perceptions of ineffective coping translated into narratives of negative perceptions of the NICU, and birthing experience. 

The importance of positive relationships within an NICU, and in particular, the role of the nurse as a key facilitator, highlighted that efficacious communication resulted in positive experiences for Māori whānau.  Whānau support was identified as one of the most important coping strategies for mothers in the NICU.  Those participants who were encouraged to maintain connections with whānau members reported more positive experiences overall.

Three levels of implications were identified in this research. Firstly, that the participants'narratives provided a range of coping strategies for future Māori parents and their whānau who enter an NICU.  Secondly, there are implications for NICU policy, and best practice particularly when supporting Māori in an NICU environment.  Lastly, the narratives provided meaningful insights that contribute to gaps in local, national, and international literature.  Overall, I realised that just like me, these mothers, and other whānau members, constructed narratives that are meaningful accounts to be shared with others.

text: Māori whānau experiences of a neonatal intensive care unit: Waikato hospital This thesis topic emerged from my personal experience of having a premature baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Waikato hospital.  My whānau and I felt like aliens; culturally inept, and totally alone during our time in the NICU.  It was not until I spoke to other Māori mothers that I realised our stories were similar.   

I sought to understand how other Māori whānau members made sense of their own experiences, how they coped/adjusted to the experience of having a premature baby in an NICU and at home, and the sources of support they utilised. This study did not seek to delineate parents' experiences but attempted to allow whānau members to share their stories and explore their experiences of having a premature or special-care baby in an NICU.

The event of childbirth and the placing of a natural event into a pathological illness model through necessity has repercussions for the ways in which women experience and make sense of the event.  Knowing this, six whānau stories were collected comprising of four individual interviews with the mothers and two whānau hui (focus groups).  My use of a narrative methodology and kaupapa Māori approach enabled all the participants the opportunity to share their stories on how they make sense of their own experiences without the frame of pathological illness. 

The findings present each whānau story autonomously, to highlight the key events that   occur once the birth of a premature/special-care infant is admitted into an NICU. The participants' narratives followed their transitions through an NICU and return home. The narrative analysis and discussion confirmed that this research had been successful in creating a space for the mothers and their whānau members to share their stories.  The discussion combined their narratives to reveal that the effective coping strategies did not remove the sources of stress but rather lessened the impact of the stresses.  In situations where sources of stress were unable to be removed or reduced, participants perceptions of ineffective coping translated into narratives of negative perceptions of the NICU, and birthing experience. 

The importance of positive relationships within an NICU, and in particular, the role of the nurse as a key facilitator, highlighted that efficacious communication resulted in positive experiences for Māori whānau.  Whānau support was identified as one of the most important coping strategies for mothers in the NICU.  Those participants who were encouraged to maintain connections with whānau members reported more positive experiences overall.

Three levels of implications were identified in this research. Firstly, that the participants'narratives provided a range of coping strategies for future Māori parents and their whānau who enter an NICU.  Secondly, there are implications for NICU policy, and best practice particularly when supporting Māori in an NICU environment.  Lastly, the narratives provided meaningful insights that contribute to gaps in local, national, and international literature.  Overall, I realised that just like me, these mothers, and other whānau members, constructed narratives that are meaningful accounts to be shared with others.

year: 2009