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Purpose: Upper respiratory tract complaints are common in the general population. A safe, non-pharmacologic treatment would be an attractive option for many patients either as an alternative to existing therapies, or as a complementary therapy. This study assessed the acceptability, safety and possible efficacy of a nasal airflow oscillation device in a group of people suffering chronic nasal congestion. Methods: Subjects with a known history of nasal congestion, but without fixed anatomical obstruction, participated in a prospective clinical study. Efficacy was assessed using peak nasal inspiratory flow (NPIF) and a 10-point visual analogue scale (VAS) administered before and after the oscillation device had been worn for twenty minutes. Results: Twenty-one subjects (mean age 37 years; 43% female) were enrolled in the study. After treatment with the small nasal airflow oscillation device for twenty minutes, average NPIF increased significantly from 84.8 L/minute to 99.0 L/minute (p < 0.05). There was a corresponding significant reduction in the VAS score for nasal congestion (p < 0.05). Similar significant improvements were also seen for the immediate sensation of nasal drainage, sinonasal pressure and overall sinonasal symptoms (p < 0.05). There was no change in the sense of smell (p = 0.37). Subjects rated ease of use highly; average = 9.1 (Range 7–10). Conclusion: Treatment of nasal congestion with the nasal airflow oscillation device was found to result in significant improvement in NPIF after twenty minutes of use. Initial patient-reported outcomes improved significantly, and the treatment was safe and highly acceptable. Trial registration: Public clinical trial registration: Universal Trial Number (U1111-1259-0704). Australian New Zealand clinical trials registration: ACTRN12623001307695. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the relationship between parents' mathematics self-efficacy and emotional arousal to mathematics and their 12- and 13-year-old children's mathematics self-efficacy and emotional arousal to mathematics. Parental modelling of affective relationships during homework was a focus. Eighty-four parent and child pairings from seven schools in New Zealand were examined using embedded design methodology. No significant correlations were found when the parents' mathematics self-efficacy and emotional arousal to mathematics were compared with the children's mathematics self-efficacy and emotional arousal to mathematics. However, the parents' level of emotional arousal to mathematics was found to have affected their willingness to assist with mathematics homework. For those parents who assisted, a significant positive correlation was found between their mathematics self-efficacy and their children's emotional arousal to mathematics. Parents who did assist were generally reported as being calm, and used techniques associated with positive engagement. Fathers were calmer and more likely to express readiness to assist with mathematics homework than mothers. A further significant positive correlation was found between fathers' emotional arousal to mathematics and children's mathematics self-efficacy. Implications from the study suggest directions for future research.

It remains a dilemma for social work educators to teach research so that it can be embraced by students as an integral part of social work practice. This article reports on an initiative to design a research course focused on the integration of research with practice. Drawing on developments in data mining and techniques in secondary data analysis, participating social work students gained experience in conducting analyses of existing data. The article presents the rationale for the nature of this teaching model and discusses both the challenges and benefits experienced by students, faculty, and agency-based staff. Access to agency practice data and workforce development, to parallel and support undergraduate competence, is recommended.

This qualitative study conducted three focus groups with transnational social workers (TSWs) in three cities of Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of the study was to examine the transitional experience of TSWs, particularly in relation to any strategies and mechanisms existing in the host country to facilitate their personal and professional transition. A significant finding is that a coherent profession-wide programme for facilitating the transition is absent as the existing practices are mostly within the employer–employee relationships. Transitional experiences of TSWs are explained using the metaphor of 'territory' and some strategies for effective transition are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate interventions for assisting transnational social workers (TSWs), nurses and teachers in their transition into the receiving country are significant for enabling competent and safe professional practice. These professionals form a significant part of the professional workforce of many countries as globalisation and liberal migration policies encourage many to cross borders for professional practice. Engaging in employment overseas, however, is a challenging process for them as it entails relocating to a new country and working in unfamiliar sociocultural and practice contexts. While some form of profession-wide assistance is found in nursing and teaching, social workers rarely receive any such interventions. This article discusses existing support offered to transnational nurses and teachers in English-speaking countries such as the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and suggests how a similar approach to social workers can assist their transitioning into the receiving country. It draws on the findings of a thematic review of the literature addressing support for transnational nurses, teachers and social workers. The imperative of interventions to assist transition of TSWs into host countries is explored and the article concludes with recommendations for some intervention strategies and mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Parents' migration status is associated with infant's timely vaccination. • Having a foreign-born mother is positively associated with infant's timely vaccination. • Having a foreign-born father is positively associated with infant's timely vaccination. • Among migrant population, odds of timely vaccination decreases as length of stay increases. • Future research may explore factors behind lower rates of timely vaccination among settled migrants. Migration has been recognized as an important determinant of child health outcomes including childhood vaccination status. This paper aims to examine the association between parental migration status and a less studied aspect of child immunization outcomes, namely timeliness, within the context of New Zealand (NZ), a country characterized by a substantial proportion of its resident population born overseas. Additionally, the study explored the impact of residential duration on children's immunization timeliness. The data was taken from a large, representative population-based cohort study in NZ (Growing Up in NZ study). A total of 6156 children and their parents, comprising 2241 foreign-born and 3915 NZ-born mothers and a sub-group of their partners were included in the analysis. The survey data was linked with the National Immunization Register dataset. Timely immunization was defined as receiving two vaccines at each scheduled vaccination point (at six-week, three-month, and five-month, totaling six doses of vaccines) within 30 days of their due date. We examined the associations between parental migration status, maternal residential duration, and child immunization timeliness while controlling for socio-economic variations. The results were presented as adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). The findings revealed that after adjustment for socioeconomic differences, children of foreign-born mothers exhibited higher odds of receiving all six studied vaccine doses on time compared to children of native-born mothers (AOR 1.51, 95 %CI:1.27–1.78). Similarly, having a foreign-born father was also significantly associated with timely completion of all six vaccine doses. Children of recent immigrants who had resided in the country for less than five years demonstrated higher odds of timely vaccination of all six vaccine doses compared to children of settled immigrants who had lived in the country for five or more years (AOR 1.65, 95 %CI: 1.25–2.19). This study revealed a significant pattern in NZ where immigrants exhibited higher rates of timely immunization for their children compared to native-born parents. However, the findings also underscore the importance of providing support to settled immigrants, as their children experienced declines in timely vaccination rates compared to children of recent immigrants and even those born to NZ-born parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Vitamin D supplementation and higher 25(OH)-vitamin D concentration are associated with reduced risk of acute respiratory infection. This study examined whether there is a similar association between higher serum 25(OH)D concentration and lower risk of chronic otitis media with effusion (COME).Methods: In a case-control study, serum 25(OH)D concentration in children referred for tympanostomy tube placement for COME (n = 178) was compared to that of healthy children randomly sampled from primary care practices (n = 179). Subjects aged three and four years were recruited in Auckland, New Zealand between May 2011 and November 2013. Blood samples were collected from the children, and their guardians were interviewed. Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression.Results: In a multivariable analysis, higher serum 25(OH)D concentration was associated with a lower risk of COME (OR: 0.86 per 10 nmol/L; 95% CI 0.77-0.97) after adjusting for age, sex, deprivation index, ethnicity, tobacco smoke exposure, duration of breastfeeding and season of blood sampling. Further adjustment for eight additional risk factors did not change the result.Conclusion: This finding supports further investigation into whether the risk of COME could be reduced by increasing serum 25(OH)D concentration through increased sun exposure, higher dietary intake or vitamin D supplementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic otitis media with effusion (COME) is a prevalent upper airway infection resulting in hearing loss. The aim of this research was to determine risk factors for COME in preschool children.Methods: A case-control design was conducted in Auckland, New Zealand from May 2011 until November 2013. The cases were children aged 3 and 4 years referred for tympanostomy tube placement due to a diagnosis of COME (n = 178). The controls were a random sample of healthy children aged 3 and 4 years from primary care practices (n = 209). The children's guardians completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire that covered topics including socio-demographic information, pregnancy and birth, infant feeding practices, home environment, and respiratory health. In addition, skin prick tests for atopy were performed. Odds ratios (OR) estimating the risk of COME independently associated with the exposures were calculated using a logistic regression model.Results: Children with COME frequently had nasal obstruction (OR: 4.38 [95% CI: 2.37-8.28]), always snored (OR: 3.64 [95% CI: 1.51-9.15]) or often snored (OR: 2.45 [95% CI: 1.04-5.96]), spent more hours per week in daycare (OR per hour/week: 1.03 [95% CI: 1.00-1.05]), had frequent colds (OR: 2.67 [95% CI: 1.59-4.53]), had siblings who had undergone tympanostomy tube placement (OR: 2.68 [95% CI: 1.22-6.02]), underwent long labour (OR: 2.59 [95% CI: 1.03-6.79]), and had early introduction of cow's milk (OR: 1.76 [95% CI: 1.05-2.97]). Asian ethnicity (OR: 0.20 [95% CI: 0.07-0.53]) and having older siblings (OR: 0.54 [95% CI: 0.31-0.93]) were inversely associated with COME.Conclusion: COME in preschool children was associated with pathogen exposure, respiratory infection, and nasal obstruction. Strategies to prevent pathogen transmission warrant investigation. The novel findings of long labour and early cow's milk introduction require replication in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing sociocultural competence in a new country is essential for migrants practising social work within new and distinct cultures. An argument for interventions needed to support the cultural transitioning of a migrant social work workforce is made, informed by findings from a mixed methods study of the experiences of overseas-qualified social workers in New Zealand. One of the main findings relates to migrant social workers' professional adaptation to the new environment. We focus the discussion here on how the perceptions and practices regarding the cultural dimensions of the transition informed their adaptation. Although this is a highly contextual example of social work practice in a foreign setting, the dynamics have equivalents in many international contexts as migration of labour is common globally. We argue that a greater focus on the migrant workforce is required in debates on globalisation. The discussion of the findings will highlight the need for culturally informed interventions to enable an increasingly global workforce to successfully make a professional cultural transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The process of resettlement as a refugee often involves adapting to, and reconciling with, a new social reality. The complexities associated with acculturation across age, gender and family dynamics are navigated within greater social contexts that may encourage or hinder the processes of adjustment and settlement. This paper addresses the recent New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy in light of contemporary theoretical developments with regard to the segmented assimilation thesis and the forms of social capital that, when available, may be mobilised to help refugee-background individuals, families and communities to forge new routes for participation and belonging. In particular, we examine the strategy and its five main goals of self-sufficiency, participation, health and well-being, education and housing as these relate to the possibilities and tensions at play in the wider acculturation experiences of New Zealand's diverse refugee populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large percentage of professionals, including social workers, practise in a country other than where they obtained their professional qualification. Reasons for migration have been well documented and vary by country and population. Common migrating factors for social workers include employment challenges and opportunities related to the aging population, increased government expenditure on health and social care services, and insufficient numbers of new graduates entering the profession. This article draws on research about the experiences of migrant social workers in New Zealand. It highlights this population's perceptions of the status of social work as a profession and their own professional identity. The study utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative strategies in a three-phased project. The findings provide insights into the nature of the transitional experience for migrant professionals and new vantage points on views of social work as practised in different contexts. We identified perceptions reflecting what we term ‘enduring professional dislocation’, and argue that maintaining a broad view of social work is the foundation for understanding the profession in a new country. We advocate for strategies to facilitate migrant social workers' adjustment to a new setting, especially where some degree of social and cultural contextualisation in social work practice is required. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social work has recently featured a mobile workforce, joining other professions in having members navigate the opportunities and challenges posed by working and living in countries other than their country of birth and the country where they obtained their professional qualifications. Local data on professionals employed in the social services workforce in New Zealand were needed to inform educational and institutional responses to this complex phenomenon. Study findings highlighted a range of themes with significant implications for research, practice and education. This paper reports on a sub-section of a larger project, namely the views and reported experiences of overseas-qualified social workers in New Zealand with respect to education, professional development and supervision. Core themes emerged related to the experience of the ‘politics’ of social work in New Zealand and conflicts over cultural and practice issues. The implications are discussed with reference to education and supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyses New Zealand's post-1987 immigration patterns, specifically the arrival of East Asian professionals and their families, and their impact on the demographic and cultural composition of New Zealand society. The discussion addresses a specific and under-theorised category of migrants: school-aged children who migrate with their parents, identified as the '1.5 generation'. Focusing on the unique position and attributes of the 1.5 generation, it is posited that New Zealand's new intergenerational transmigrant communities seriously challenge conventional attempts to explain - and manage - migrant settlement and incorporation into host societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with rising operational costs and increasingly constrained budgets, universities are struggling to reconcile competing imperatives. On one hand, they wish to rationalise limited student places in ways that enhance the institutions' status; and on the other hand, they must contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of society by ensuring that members of marginalised and under-represented groups are provided educational and professional pathways through access to university education. This paper canvasses these tensions using as a case study the University of Auckland, New Zealand's largest - and, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings 2008, highest-ranked - university. There is a plan to restrict growth in undergraduate student enrolments to the University of Auckland from 2010. The limited-entry plan arose as a result of new funding arrangements in which New Zealand tertiary education providers must negotiate multi-year funding cycles which would set the maximum numbers of student places funded for that cycle. However, this plan also reflects the University of Auckland's use of the tertiary reform process to enhance its status and differentiate itself from other universities in the New Zealand system. We argue that any move by the University to cap student numbers needs to be strongly underpinned by a genuine commitment to equity, and that aspirations to standards of 'quality', without such a commitment to equity, will lead to outcomes where neither imperative is realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores some of the issues associated with the nature of contemporary transnationalism and the particular experiences and strategies of a specific cohort of migrants, the 1.5 generation. Based on a study of East Asian migrant adolescents to New Zealand, we argue that the experiences and strategies of this generation differ from those of their parents, the original decision-makers in the migration process, as well as from the historical experiences of earlier migrants. There is an ambivalence (in-betweenness) about settlement and attachment that raises some key questions about the assumptions of the immigration literature and of policy/political communities. The paper suggests that the 1.5 generation represents a particular group that deserves more attention in the migration and transnationalism literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims: to provide practical insights into how organisations can become more customer-focussed; to share with researchers and organisations a framework that can be used to research "customer focus culture" and assess an organisation's level of customer focus; to describe how New Zealand's first consortium approach to benchmarking was managed so that others interested in planning a consortium study can learn from this experience. Design/methodology/approach - The benchmarking study was conducted by member organisations of the New Zealand Benchmarking Club and facilitated by a doctoral student from Massey University's Centre for Organisational Excellence Research. The methodology involved conducting an extensive literature review to identify national and international best practices in customer focus, developing a survey that was completed by 32 potential best practice organisations, and selecting seven of these organisations for a best practice visit. Findings - A framework for the examination of customer-focused culture was developed and the findings from the study reveal practical "new" insights into best practices in customer focus. Research limitations/implications - Benefits would have been gained from extending the study to include a larger international group seeking further examples of good-to-best practices. Practical implications - Insights into how organisations can become customer-focused; a framework that can be used by researchers to research "customer focus culture" and by organisations to assess their level of customer focus; insights into how to run a benchmarking study. Originality/value - This paper reports on the first consortium approach to benchmarking that has been used within New Zealand; it shares some of the latest best practices in customer focus; a customer focus culture framework has been developed - the first of which the authors are aware. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We performed a prospective observational study to estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients attending a general otolaryngology clinic in South Auckland. New Zealand. Methods: From July 21, 2008, to August 7, 2008, all new patients presenting to otolaryngology clinics at which one of the authors (D.R.) was present had their vitamin D status assessed by measurement of their plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level. Results: Of 48 patients, 2% had 25(OH)D levels of 17.5 nmol/L or less (a level associated with osteomalacia), 58% had 25(OH)D levels of 50 nmol/L or less (a level associated with vitamin D deficiency), and 100% had 25(OH)D levels of 80 nmol/L or less. Conclusions: Most of the patients attending a general otolaryngology clinic in South Auckland are vitamin D-deficient. It is unclear whether low vitamin D levels are associated more directly with otolaryngological disorders or skin type, because the small size of this study and the broad range of conditions seen precluded a meaningful statistical analysis. Further research into the relationship of vitamin D to specific otolaryngological presentations is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Features Actionmail, a mail company in New Zealand. Factors that contribute to the growth of Actionmail according to Betsy Duncan, managing director of Actionmail; Description of the mail industry in New Zealand; Usefulness of process mapping for Actionmail.