Suchergebnisse

General practice in New Zealand has evolved into a 'user pays' system and although operating within a national health service, it has many interesting differences from general practice in the United Kingdom. Emphasis is placed on biculturalism in health care. Income is derived through a fee for service, which includes a proportion from patients dependent on their means tested reimbursement from the government for provision of general medical services. Consultations are fewer in number and longer in duration. New Zealand society has considerable awareness in the area of medical ethics and there is a medical insurance scheme which covers ill health as a result of accidents. Great advances have been made in provision for out of hours work. New Zealand has its own royal college of general practitioners, membership examination and scheme for vocational training. This paper, based on the authors' personal experience of 12 months' study leave in New Zealand in 1991-92, examines these important areas of difference and reflects on the health reforms that are currently taking place in New Zealand.

It is increasingly acknowledged that suicidal behavior has a considerable impact on both individuals and society in terms of acute physical and mental health problems, long-term disability, and death, as well as quality of life and resource provision. In recent years there has been increasing concern about youth suicide rates. The escalation in suicide rates among individuals in the 15-24-year age group began around 1980 and has continued to rise. While this trend is evident in most OECD countries, the increase in New Zealand has been more substantial and sustained than in other countries. This article examines the occurrence of youth suicide in New Zealand. Next, an outline of New Zealand government and nongovernmental responses to youth suicide are presented. Finally, a variety of intervention options which take into account New Zealand societal conditions are outlined.

This essay describes the socio-historical background of New Zealand rugby from its British origins in the middle of the nineteenth century up to present and examines the great importance of the game within New Zealand society. The paper examines the events leading up to the disorder surrounding the 1981 rugby visit to New Zealand by the South African team and the controversial 1985 decision by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union to decline to send a national touring team to play in South Africa. The concluding section indicates that the complex issue of sporting relations with South Africa has still not been satisfactorily resolved.

While there is a great deal of popular social commentary on sport in New Zealand, there is relatively little serious sport sociology. As a subject it is taught to students in Physical Education at the University of Otago, although individuals from other universities also contribute to sociology of sport and leisure research. Sport has a strong influence on social life in New Zealand, especially events of international significance such as rugby exchanges with South Africa. This has been a predominant topic of sociological analysis. Another area of developmentrecently has been that concerning women in recreation and sport:

This article responds to McAloon's contribution to this journal criticising the argument advanced by P.J. Cain and myself in British Imperialism. McAloon's research on Canterbury and Otago merits serious attention, but it is argued here that he is mistaken in claiming that it disproves the case we made for applying our concept of gentlemanly capitalism to New Zealand. Both the structure of 'settler capitalism' and the social characteristics of the settlers themselves provide a good fit with our interpretation. Nevertheless, McAloon deserves credit for putting this subject on the agenda, and it is to be hoped that other historians of New Zealand (and also of Australia) will now reconsider the relationship between the 'rules of the game' established by the imperial centre and the degrees of dependence experienced by the constituent parts of the empire.

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund is being established as a means of smoothing out the impact on the rest of the Crown's finances of the transition that will take place over the next fifty years to a permanently higher proportion of the population being eligible for New Zealand Superannuation, the universal pension paid to New Zealanders over the age of 65. This paper discusses the financial issues surrounding the determination of the contributions that the Government would be required to make to the Fund over time in order to meet this objective. The calculation of the required contribution rate is derived as a function of future expected entitlement payments, future expected nominal GDP, future expected investment returns, and the Fund balance. Estimation issues are discussed and the implications of volatility in investment returns are examined. Some issues in assessing long-term expected returns are addressed in an appendix.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's recently announced new approach to its conduct of banking supervision places greater emphasis on market disciplines and public disclosure to promote a stable financial system. Some detailed prudential rules currently imposed on banks will be removed.