title: Which households are most distant from health centers in rural China? Evidence from a GIS network analysis

authors: Gibson, John

subjects: health access

abstract: In this paper we have two objectives - one empirical; one methodological. Although China’s leaders are beginning to pay attention to health care in rural China, there are still concerns about access to health services. To examine this issue, we use measures of travel distances to health services to examine the nature of coverage in Shaanxi Province, our case study. The mean distance by road to the nearest health center is still more than 6 kilometers. When we use thresholds for access of 5 and 10 kilometers we find that more than 40 (15) percent of the rural population lives outside of these 5 (10) kilometer service areas for health centers. The nature of the access differs by geographical region and demographic composition of the household. The methodological contribution of our paper originates from a key feature of our analysis in which we use Geographic Information System (GIS) network analysis methods to measure traveling distance along the road network. We compare these measures to straight-line distance measures. Road distances (produced by network analysis) produce measures (using means) that are nearly twice as great as straight-line distances. Moreover, the errors in the measures (that is, the difference between road distances and straight-line distances) are not random. Therefore, traditional econometric methods of ameliorating the effects of measurement errors, such as instrument variables regression, will not produce consistent results when used with straight-line distances.

text: Which households are most distant from health centers in rural China? Evidence from a GIS network analysis In this paper we have two objectives - one empirical; one methodological. Although China’s leaders are beginning to pay attention to health care in rural China, there are still concerns about access to health services. To examine this issue, we use measures of travel distances to health services to examine the nature of coverage in Shaanxi Province, our case study. The mean distance by road to the nearest health center is still more than 6 kilometers. When we use thresholds for access of 5 and 10 kilometers we find that more than 40 (15) percent of the rural population lives outside of these 5 (10) kilometer service areas for health centers. The nature of the access differs by geographical region and demographic composition of the household. The methodological contribution of our paper originates from a key feature of our analysis in which we use Geographic Information System (GIS) network analysis methods to measure traveling distance along the road network. We compare these measures to straight-line distance measures. Road distances (produced by network analysis) produce measures (using means) that are nearly twice as great as straight-line distances. Moreover, the errors in the measures (that is, the difference between road distances and straight-line distances) are not random. Therefore, traditional econometric methods of ameliorating the effects of measurement errors, such as instrument variables regression, will not produce consistent results when used with straight-line distances.

year: 2008-12

title: RenderRing

authors: Soo, Chin-En Keith

subjects: intuitive

abstract: Renderring is a musical platform for intuitive composition. It enables users’ interaction to provide opportunity for anyone to draw a unique circle and translates the drawing into a piece of melody. Users are able to set the composition variables before they start (Tempo, time signature and number of notes). The process involves two parts: First is a collection of user input by getting user to draw any unique circle in a provided space. Second is an interpretation using the program to decipher the drawing and identify point of intersections on the musical staff. After which, the program will produce a unique piece of melody with the user’s drawing. The user can then proceed with options of redoing or saving the melody.

Renderring aims to bring new experience to create melody with a vision to simplify complexity. Transferring oneself energy from one form to another by converting visual to sound. The process enables creativity and empowers everyone to express his or her hidden inner potentials by making straightforward music.

text: RenderRing Renderring is a musical platform for intuitive composition. It enables users’ interaction to provide opportunity for anyone to draw a unique circle and translates the drawing into a piece of melody. Users are able to set the composition variables before they start (Tempo, time signature and number of notes). The process involves two parts: First is a collection of user input by getting user to draw any unique circle in a provided space. Second is an interpretation using the program to decipher the drawing and identify point of intersections on the musical staff. After which, the program will produce a unique piece of melody with the user’s drawing. The user can then proceed with options of redoing or saving the melody.

Renderring aims to bring new experience to create melody with a vision to simplify complexity. Transferring oneself energy from one form to another by converting visual to sound. The process enables creativity and empowers everyone to express his or her hidden inner potentials by making straightforward music.

year: 2015

title: Kia matatau ki te reo: Factors influencing the development of proficiency in te reo Māori with adult learners

authors: Rātima, Matiu Tai

subjects: te reo Māori

abstract: This thesis sought to answer the question: what factors help or hinder adult Māori second language learners to become proficient speakers of te reo Māori? I ask this question at a moment in history when te reo, like other indigenous languages, sits on the edge of a precipice in terms of its survival as a living language. Ambivalence and inaction will almost certainly constitute a push towards oblivion. Nothing less than concerted effort can pull te reo back from the brink. But what kind of concerted effort is needed and how can individual learners optimise their efforts to learn te reo?
Te reo must survive because, as Sir James Henare put it, ‘ko te reo te hā o te Māoritanga’, meaning ‘the language is the essence of Māori culture.’ Without te reo the very survival of Māori people as Māori is in doubt. My questions and the thesis occupy a multidisciplinary space, drawing on research from adult second language acquisition, teaching pedagogy and language revitalisation. The thesis makes an original contribution to all three bodies of literature by examining data from a previously untapped source; successful adult Māori language learners. 
I interviewed 17 participants. All highly proficient second language speakers of te reo. All learned te reo as adults.  Adult second language learning of endangered languages is broadly acknowledged in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) as essential to re-establishing Intergenerational Transmission of Language (ITL) in the home to ensure an endangered language is passed on to future generations.
The interview questionnaire was based loosely on 10 help/hinder factors I identified through a review of the literature from the three research fields (adult second language acquisition, teaching pedagogy and language revitalisation). The ten factors identified in the review were; language aptitude, age, learner attitudes and motivation, learning strategies, instruction, agency and anxiety, wairua (the spiritual dimension), demography, language status, and language planning.

text: Kia matatau ki te reo: Factors influencing the development of proficiency in te reo Māori with adult learners This thesis sought to answer the question: what factors help or hinder adult Māori second language learners to become proficient speakers of te reo Māori? I ask this question at a moment in history when te reo, like other indigenous languages, sits on the edge of a precipice in terms of its survival as a living language. Ambivalence and inaction will almost certainly constitute a push towards oblivion. Nothing less than concerted effort can pull te reo back from the brink. But what kind of concerted effort is needed and how can individual learners optimise their efforts to learn te reo?
Te reo must survive because, as Sir James Henare put it, ‘ko te reo te hā o te Māoritanga’, meaning ‘the language is the essence of Māori culture.’ Without te reo the very survival of Māori people as Māori is in doubt. My questions and the thesis occupy a multidisciplinary space, drawing on research from adult second language acquisition, teaching pedagogy and language revitalisation. The thesis makes an original contribution to all three bodies of literature by examining data from a previously untapped source; successful adult Māori language learners. 
I interviewed 17 participants. All highly proficient second language speakers of te reo. All learned te reo as adults.  Adult second language learning of endangered languages is broadly acknowledged in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) as essential to re-establishing Intergenerational Transmission of Language (ITL) in the home to ensure an endangered language is passed on to future generations.
The interview questionnaire was based loosely on 10 help/hinder factors I identified through a review of the literature from the three research fields (adult second language acquisition, teaching pedagogy and language revitalisation). The ten factors identified in the review were; language aptitude, age, learner attitudes and motivation, learning strategies, instruction, agency and anxiety, wairua (the spiritual dimension), demography, language status, and language planning.

year: 2013