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This study analyzed the characteristics of the health system, surveillance system, and the measures adopted to face the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand between March 2020 and December 2021. 29 fully read articles from an integrative literature review were included, and the websites of the WHO, the World Bank, the “Stringency Index” of “ourworldindata” were consulted to collect data on the socio-demographic situation, economic indicators of the country, as well as tests, deaths, vaccines and new cases. The data were imported in CSV format and the graphs elaborated in RStudio software. The evidence points out that New Zealand can be considered a success story regarding the nationwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it being one of the countries with the lowest number of deaths from the disease in the world. This success was the result of a health system organization with fast internal action, high testing capacity, and contact tracing, without causing the collapse of the health system. In turn, it also pointed out that the population adhered to the confinement conditions, and faithfully followed the authorities’ instructions, even with low community participation in government decisions. Important lessons can be learnt leading to useful recommendations for a potential new epidemic with an unknown virus or similar [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of identifying and improving the distinctiveness of historical urban landscapes as a means of reinforcing place identity and supporting economic development has been widely acknowledged. However, research on the economic and social performance of heritage conservation areas is slow to develop, especially in New Zealand. In connection to the examination of Special Character Areas (SCAs) in Auckland, this paper seeks to quantify the value of the historical urban landscape and improve its management. A property value analysis is used to assess the impact of SCA designation on property values and an online questionnaire survey gathers information on homeowners' experiences of living in an SCA. The results indicate that designated SCA properties have higher average values than non-designated properties and homeowners are appreciative of a sense of community and having certainty about the look and feel of their neighbourhood in the future. However, the majority of people who had gone through the processes of building and planning applications found it to be a negative experience because of the high cost in terms of time and money. A historic urban landscape approach to the development of management plans and design guidelines is recommended to improve the implementation of the Special Character Areas in Auckland and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use, as well as the productive and economic effect of herbal compounds on rabbit production has been little studied, for this reason, the objective was to evaluate the effect of a polyherbal mixture rich in choline conjugates based on Trachyspermum ammi, Achyranthes aspera, Azadirachta indica and Citrullus colocynthis, on the economic and productive response of meat rabbits. For this, 40 New Zealand X California rabbits (30-d old) were used, which were randomized into five groups (0.0, 200, 400, 600 and 800 mg kg-1 of polyherbal DM, BioCholina®), the experiment lasted 34 days. The productive response, meat quality and economic indicators were evaluated. A completely randomized design with an arrangement of orthogonal polynomials was used to determine linear and quadratic effects, with a significance level of P<0.05. The results in terms of production parameters were similar between treatments, except for feed consumption (P=0.006) and feed conversion (P=0.005) with a linear effect at higher concentration of the polyherbal. The inclusion of the polyherbal increased pH in meat (linear, P=0.004) and coordinate b* (linear, P=0.009), it was observed that the treatment with 200 mg showed the best economic indicators, improving the income-expense ratio by 9 percentage units. It is concluded that the addition of polyherbal mixtures based on natural choline conjugate did not improve the productive variables, however, a favorable economic trend is marked with the addition of 200 mg kg-1 of DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated catchment management project was established at the Whatawhata Research Centre in the late 1990s to study the implications of land use and management change for a typical New Zealand hill country pastoral farm system. The main changes implemented on the 296 ha Mangaotama block in 2001–2002 included production forest plantation (147 ha), indigenous riparian planting (8 ha); intensification of livestock enterprises and spaced-tree planting. The purpose of this study was to estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance for the catchment farm, incorporating recent measurement and modelling over a 100-year period (excl. soil carbon). The changes reduced the GHG intensity of the livestock enterprises from 25 to 15 kg CO2-e kg−1 product and turned the system from a net emission source (c. 1 kt CO2-e y−1) into a long-term net sink (−353 kt CO2-e y−1). This was mainly due to planting of Pinus radiata with high carbon assimilation rates, compared to the smaller areas and slower assimilation rates of indigenous trees (currently 5–17 t CO2-e ha−1y−1). Based on 100-year mean tree carbon stocks, it was estimated that the area of pine forestry required to achieve net zero emissions would be in the order of 36% of the catchment farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is overwhelming evidence that human lifestyles have impacted the earth's planetary boundaries, with profound impacts for generations to come. Without concerted action to shape a better future, children will bear the burden on their health and well-being throughout their lifetimes. Yet government priorities are frequently dominated by short-term concerns, and an over-reliance on economic indicators as a measure of human progress. To give today's - and tomorrow's - children the best chance of leading flourishing lives, a new approach is needed, which overcomes the 'presentist' bias in political decision-making and values measures of well-being beyond gross domestic product (GDP). The potential building blocks of such an approach can be seen in the promising early steps being taken by several countries, including Wales and New Zealand. This paper provides an overview of these efforts in the context of the recommendations of the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission report 'A future for the world's children'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ a two-stage data envelopment analysis technique to assess the ecological-economic performance or 'eco-efficiency' of dairy farms in New Zealand. 108 dairy farms were surveyed over one year period across the country to analyse farming eco-efficiency. Survey data on milksolids production and production costs are used to estimate the economic performance (i.e. profits), while data on greenhouse gas emissions and estimated nutrient leaching are used to analyse environmental performance. Information on geophysical characteristics and management practices that could indirectly affect farm eco-efficiency, is also incorporated into the analysis. In the first stage, we estimate eco-efficiency scores for each sampled farm using data envelopment analysis which estimates the maximum possible reductions in environmental outputs while retaining the current level of profits. In the second stage, the effects of geophysical characteristics and management practices on the calculated eco-efficiency scores are estimated using an integrated truncated regression and bootstrapping procedure. The results show that, on average, a reduction of 27% in adverse environmental externalities is achievable while maintaining the same level of economic output. Adopting on-farm management practices can be an option to improve dairy efficiency. In addition, soil topography and higher temperatures are associated with reduced levels of eco-efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: moringa meal is a good nutritional alternative for rabbits‚ allowing to reduce the use of concentrates and‚ consequently‚ reduce production costs and increase the profitability of rabbit systems. Objective: to evaluate the effect of partial replacement of the concentrate by moringa flour (HM) on the productive and economic performance of rabbits in the finishing phase. Methods: 30 New Zealand rabbits (15 males and 15 females) with an initial body weight of 496 ± 32 g‚ were used‚ and distributed in a completely randomized design in three treatments and ten replicates (5 males and 5 females/treatment). The treatments evaluated were control (100 % concentrate); MM5 (5 % MM and 95 % concentrate) and MM10 (10 % MM and 90 % concentrate). The animals were subjected to 7 days of adaptation to the experimental diet and 56 experimental days. The ration was supplied at 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. in two equal portions. Final body weight (FBW)‚ average daily gain (ADG)‚ feed conversion (FC) ‚ feed efficiency (FE)‚ carcass weight (CW) and carcass yield (CY) of the animals were evaluated. Similarly‚ the net income and benefit-cost ratio of the experimental diets was estimated. Statistical significance was considered when p ≤ 0.05. Results: in this study‚ no difference (p > 0.05) was observed for the FBW (2.11‚ 2.08 and‚ 2.16 kg)‚ ADG (28.7‚ 28.8 and‚ 29.6 g/d)‚ FC (2.87‚ 2.85 and‚ 2.78)‚ FE (0.35‚ 0.35 and‚ 0.36)‚ CW (1.12‚ 1.11 and‚ 1.15 kg) and CY (53.16‚ 53.21 and 53.48 %) for animals’ control‚ MM5 and‚ MM10 treatments‚ respectively. No effect (p > 0.05) of substitution the concentrate with moringa meal on the variables related to productive performance was verified. On the other hand‚ a slight increase in net income was evidenced (control: 14922‚ MM5:14696 and‚ MM10:15836 COP $) and benefit:cost ratio (control: 2.30‚ MM5: 2.30 and‚ MM10: 2.42) with the substitution. Conclusion: the substitution of concentrate by moringa meal up to 10 % in the diet does not affect the productive performance of New Zealand rabbits in the finishing phase. In contrast‚ the substitution of concentrate by moringa meal up to 10 % improves profitability in rabbit production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a Business Recovery Assessment Framework (BRAF) to help researchers and practitioners design robust, repeatable, and comparable studies of business recovery in various post‐disruption contexts. Studies assessing business recovery without adequately considering the research aims, recovery definitions, and indicators can produce misleading findings. The BRAF is composed of a series of steps that guide the decisions that researchers need to make to ensure: (i) that recovery is indeed being measured; (ii) that the indicators of recovery that are selected align with the objectives of the study and the definition of recovery; and, where necessary, (iii) that appropriate comparative control variables are in place. The paper draws on a large dataset of business surveys collected following the earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand, on 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 to demonstrate the varied conclusions that different recovery indicators can produce and to justify the need for a systematic approach to business recovery assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The direction and mechanisms of the relationship between airport traffic volumes and property prices are somewhat unclear in the literature. This study adds to that body of knowledge by empirically investigating the role of airports as an essential driver of economic activity by creating employment and facilitating air travel between destinations. The two-stage least-squares (2SLS) approach is employed to investigate the link between house prices and the airport traffic volumes of New Zealand’s three key regions and airports (Auckland, Canterbury/Christchurch and Wellington) from July 2004 to December 2014. The empirical findings of the study suggest that airport traffic volumes positively and significantly influence the urban house prices of New Zealand’s three major regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting corporate financial distress has become an important topic, especially after the great financial crisis of 2008. Most of the previous studies on this topic have only focused on financial ratios to develop prediction models. The shift from physical resources to a knowledge-based economy has increased the importance of Intellectual Capital (IC) for the firms. This study uses IC indicators along with traditional financial ratios to develop a model which can be used to predict corporate financial distress. The study focused on 12 failed and 12 matching successful firms from the New Zealand stock exchange from 2001 to 2014. The results show that the overall accuracy has increased from 82% to 92% after including IC indicators as predictors. Four financial ratios namely sales to fixed assets, sales to current assets, current ratio and firm size have been found to be significant predictors. The results indicate that IC indicators can be included in corporate financial prediction models. The results are useful for the investors who can use this model, by including IC indicators, to assess the financial health of a firm before making investment related decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to validate a list of key indicators (KIs) of team integration identified from construction management literature, identify the most significant KIs and provide suggestions on how to influence team integration, based on the opinion of an established construction peer group in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach -- A literature review was conducted to identify and consolidate a set of KIs of team integration. Subsequently, a set of questions was designed to gain insight and opinion in terms of the significance and ranking of the identified indicators, as well as suggestions on how to influence the integration practice. Findings -- Analysis of the survey results showed that all relevant indicators have a strong influence towards determining the success of team integration in construction projects. The top-ranked indicators that contribute towards successful team integration are all relationship orientated as follows; single team focus on goals and objectives, trust and respect, commitment from top management, free flow communication and no blame culture. A framework for influencing these indicators of team integration is proposed which includes four elements: first, team formation; second, contractual model; third, teamwork principle; and fourth, operational monitoring. Research limitations/implications -- The findings are limited to practitioners' perceptions who are registered with an established construction peer group in New Zealand. Practical implications -- The results of the study are expected to provide insight for construction practitioners to help them embrace team integration practice and, hence, provide both the opportunity and a platform to enhance and measure their team performance. Originality/value -- The paper recognises that while the process of integration is a result of a combination of many indicators, it further extends the team integration literature by providing insights into what are the dominant relationship indicators of team integration, and how to influence these indicators based on a proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to present findings from a research project that investigated the suitability of Lean in a seasonal horticultural setting, specifically the New Zealand (NZ) apple and pear (pipfruit) industry. The paper focusses on improvements made while deploying Lean elements in several apple pack-houses. Design/methodology/approach -- The literature review discusses how common theoretical Lean themes are not industry or contextually bound and may be transferable to other industries. An industry-wide survey assesses the current state of knowledge and Lean deployment within the industry using a unique "single-question-per-day" approach. Two case studies and one action research study are used to obtain rich data from organisations that have implemented Lean in recent times. Reliability and validity is achieved by selecting representative samples, using a case study protocol, a single researcher for consistency, participant verification, multiple sources of evidence within cases and replication logic. Findings -- The industry survey shows a low level of knowledge and applied Lean within the industry. Data demonstrate that significant progress is made, using different implementation approaches that lead to a measurable increase of Lean, supported by some positive financial indicators. Research limitations/implications -- This research is restricted to NZ apple pack-houses, but indicates that Lean can contribute significantly to general horticultural pack house performance. Originality/value -- Literature research shows that little research has been done to study Lean in the horticultural field generally and in the NZ pipfruit industry specifically. This paper contributes to filling that knowledge gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]