scholarly journals Land-cover choices and governance structures: lessons from Māori

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sandra Cortes-Acosta

<p>Decisions on land utilisation and management have socio-economic and environmental implications. In this study, I use a mixed-methods approach to explore how Māori land governance structures influence decisions on land utilisation and hence greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with rural activities on Māori freehold land. General land and Māori freehold land are the main land statuses in Aotearoa New Zealand. General land, under private ownership, is not subject to the distinct statutory regime of Māori freehold land and can be owned by any New Zealander. Māori freehold, under collective ‘ownership’, is regulated by the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (TTWM) and its ‘ownership’ is based on a customary regime and ancestral connections. The TTWM provides a range of legal entities, including the two Māori land governance structures examined in this thesis – Māori incorporations and Ahu Whenua trusts – to facilitate decision-making and to administer land and assets on behalf of the ‘owners’. First, I explore how Māori land governance structures influence decisions on land utilisation and management. I discuss three case studies of Māori farms administered by different governance structures involved in agribusiness. Their decision-making process structure can be separated into two levels: the governance of the land and the operation of the enterprise. Maori land governance structures help to make ‘successful’ decisions, by balancing landowners’ interests with optimal operation and performance of the agribusiness. This success not only depends on the legal constitution of the governance structure, but also on processes that are highly variable due to cultural and social values, and the capability of the board members to reach decisions.  Second, I explore decision-making processes concerning carbon farming, an opportunity to receive carbon credits from reforestation or afforestation. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with a small group of Māori landowners revealed two central decisions: switching to forestry and joining the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). Forestry provides an economic opportunity to access long-term capital through timber harvests: but carbon farming is a relatively new experience, which provides additional short-term revenue prior to harvesting. Third, I extend the qualitative analysis by econometrically modelling the relationship between Māori land governance structures and land-cover choices. I use maximum likelihood methods to estimate the probability of allocation of land in 2012 and the probability of land-cover transitions between 1997 and 2012. For Māori freehold land, there is a positive relationship between having a Māori land governance structure in place and the allocation of land in 2012 in forestry and a negative association with pasture. From 1997 to 2012 Māori land governance structures were associated with more transitions to forestry and fewer transitions into scrub. Four, using hypothetical scenarios, I build on the econometric model of land-cover transitions to compare the effects of transitions between forestry, pasture and scrub across the period 1997–2012, and the role of the Māori land governance structures. I examine the implications of these transitions for private land and Māori freehold land in terms of both carbon dioxide equivalent and warming equivalent. Overall, Māori freehold land governance structures in the hypothesised scenarios would lead to an increase of the amount of carbon sequestered, relative to the actual levels of sequestration observed. The current way of counting GHGs leads to a much lower estimate of the contribution in reductions to the impact of warming. Understanding drivers for these decisions can help to identify areas for the development of effective public policies regarding climate change mitigation.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sandra Cortes-Acosta

<p>Decisions on land utilisation and management have socio-economic and environmental implications. In this study, I use a mixed-methods approach to explore how Māori land governance structures influence decisions on land utilisation and hence greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with rural activities on Māori freehold land. General land and Māori freehold land are the main land statuses in Aotearoa New Zealand. General land, under private ownership, is not subject to the distinct statutory regime of Māori freehold land and can be owned by any New Zealander. Māori freehold, under collective ‘ownership’, is regulated by the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (TTWM) and its ‘ownership’ is based on a customary regime and ancestral connections. The TTWM provides a range of legal entities, including the two Māori land governance structures examined in this thesis – Māori incorporations and Ahu Whenua trusts – to facilitate decision-making and to administer land and assets on behalf of the ‘owners’. First, I explore how Māori land governance structures influence decisions on land utilisation and management. I discuss three case studies of Māori farms administered by different governance structures involved in agribusiness. Their decision-making process structure can be separated into two levels: the governance of the land and the operation of the enterprise. Maori land governance structures help to make ‘successful’ decisions, by balancing landowners’ interests with optimal operation and performance of the agribusiness. This success not only depends on the legal constitution of the governance structure, but also on processes that are highly variable due to cultural and social values, and the capability of the board members to reach decisions.  Second, I explore decision-making processes concerning carbon farming, an opportunity to receive carbon credits from reforestation or afforestation. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with a small group of Māori landowners revealed two central decisions: switching to forestry and joining the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). Forestry provides an economic opportunity to access long-term capital through timber harvests: but carbon farming is a relatively new experience, which provides additional short-term revenue prior to harvesting. Third, I extend the qualitative analysis by econometrically modelling the relationship between Māori land governance structures and land-cover choices. I use maximum likelihood methods to estimate the probability of allocation of land in 2012 and the probability of land-cover transitions between 1997 and 2012. For Māori freehold land, there is a positive relationship between having a Māori land governance structure in place and the allocation of land in 2012 in forestry and a negative association with pasture. From 1997 to 2012 Māori land governance structures were associated with more transitions to forestry and fewer transitions into scrub. Four, using hypothetical scenarios, I build on the econometric model of land-cover transitions to compare the effects of transitions between forestry, pasture and scrub across the period 1997–2012, and the role of the Māori land governance structures. I examine the implications of these transitions for private land and Māori freehold land in terms of both carbon dioxide equivalent and warming equivalent. Overall, Māori freehold land governance structures in the hypothesised scenarios would lead to an increase of the amount of carbon sequestered, relative to the actual levels of sequestration observed. The current way of counting GHGs leads to a much lower estimate of the contribution in reductions to the impact of warming. Understanding drivers for these decisions can help to identify areas for the development of effective public policies regarding climate change mitigation.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nicola Joy Sutton

<p>Nonprofit partnership with government and with business is well documented in the literature. However partnership between nonprofit organisations has largely been ignored. This research focuses on such New Zealand partnerships. It investigates three aspects of partnership: the reasons why organisations partner, the resources they allocate to those partnerships, and the competencies used by the people managing the partnerships. How these three partnership aspects influence each other and the effect of that on the partnerships is also explored.  The study focuses on the ‘partnership’ rather than the ‘co-existence’ end of Craig and Courtney’s (2004) continuum where elements such as working from agreed values, sharing resources and decision making, and developing systems to support the partnership will be evident. Two partnerships were selected as case studies. Data came from semi-structured interviews with seven participants from five partner organisations.  The literature provided a framework for analysing the interview data in relation to the three aspects of partnership. This framework led to the identification of four new motivational factors, two new resource allocations and two new competencies. The literature also provided six theories that help explain partnership motivations.  In addition to the three aspects (motivation, resources, and competencies) of partnership, it became clear that these things made a difference: · the term used to describe what they were doing – collaboration or partnership, · the context, · the presence of trust and goodwill, · voluntary participation in partnership, and · the level of formality.  The findings demonstrated that the motivation to partner at all was the most important of the three aspects of partnership. It influenced resource allocations and the competencies used by partnership managers. Resource allocations did not influence the motivation to partner but influenced the competencies used by the partnership managers. And the competencies used by the partnership managers influenced the resources allocated by organisations but generally did not influence the motivation to partner.  The findings add to our knowledge about nonprofit-nonprofit partnership and will help people to plan partnerships. I also propose five areas for further research: · factors that influence formality, · factors that prevent nonprofit partnership, · role of competencies in motivating partnership, · quantity of resources and the impact on outcomes, and · ownership of intellectual property.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nicola Joy Sutton

<p>Nonprofit partnership with government and with business is well documented in the literature. However partnership between nonprofit organisations has largely been ignored. This research focuses on such New Zealand partnerships. It investigates three aspects of partnership: the reasons why organisations partner, the resources they allocate to those partnerships, and the competencies used by the people managing the partnerships. How these three partnership aspects influence each other and the effect of that on the partnerships is also explored.  The study focuses on the ‘partnership’ rather than the ‘co-existence’ end of Craig and Courtney’s (2004) continuum where elements such as working from agreed values, sharing resources and decision making, and developing systems to support the partnership will be evident. Two partnerships were selected as case studies. Data came from semi-structured interviews with seven participants from five partner organisations.  The literature provided a framework for analysing the interview data in relation to the three aspects of partnership. This framework led to the identification of four new motivational factors, two new resource allocations and two new competencies. The literature also provided six theories that help explain partnership motivations.  In addition to the three aspects (motivation, resources, and competencies) of partnership, it became clear that these things made a difference: · the term used to describe what they were doing – collaboration or partnership, · the context, · the presence of trust and goodwill, · voluntary participation in partnership, and · the level of formality.  The findings demonstrated that the motivation to partner at all was the most important of the three aspects of partnership. It influenced resource allocations and the competencies used by partnership managers. Resource allocations did not influence the motivation to partner but influenced the competencies used by the partnership managers. And the competencies used by the partnership managers influenced the resources allocated by organisations but generally did not influence the motivation to partner.  The findings add to our knowledge about nonprofit-nonprofit partnership and will help people to plan partnerships. I also propose five areas for further research: · factors that influence formality, · factors that prevent nonprofit partnership, · role of competencies in motivating partnership, · quantity of resources and the impact on outcomes, and · ownership of intellectual property.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6581
Author(s):  
Jooyoung Hwang ◽  
Anita Eves ◽  
Jason L. Stienmetz

Travellers have high standards and regard restaurants as important travel attributes. In the tourism and hospitality industry, the use of developed tools (e.g., smartphones and location-based tablets) has been popularised as a way for travellers to easily search for information and to book venues. Qualitative research using semi-structured interviews based on the face-to-face approach was adopted for this study to examine how consumers’ restaurant selection processes are performed with the utilisation of social media on smartphones. Then, thematic analysis was adopted. The findings of this research show that the adoption of social media on smartphones is positively related with consumers’ gratification. More specifically, when consumers regard that process, content and social gratification are satisfied, their intention to adopt social media is fulfilled. It is suggested by this study that consumers’ restaurant decision-making process needs to be understood, as each stage of the decision-making process is not independent; all the stages of the restaurant selection process are organically connected and influence one another.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Bryn Cal Hickson Rowden

<p>In recent years, there has been significant efforts to create frameworks in which Māori values are incorporated as part of environmental management processes in Aotearoa New Zealand(Forster, 2014; Harmsworth et al., 2016). This research explores the factors that influence the incorporation of Māori values at the local government level, and what barriers Māori values face to being incorporated in environmental management. This research focused on a case study of the Ruamāhanga Whaitua Committe Implementation Programme process in the Wellington region. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information on the opinions of members of the Ruamāhanga Whaitua Committee. The interviews were analysed using a critical theory approach. The research found that there was a clear discrepancy between the values and behaviours expressed by some non-Māori members of the Committee. The result of such a discrepancy was that Māori values were not sufficiently part of environmental decision making. Such a discrepancy was a result of the political structures of the Regional Council’s Whaitua Implementation Programme process. The majority of the decision-making power was found to be situated ‘higher’ up in the organisation, outside of the Committee. Overall this research found that there are important opportunities to make sure iwi values are not only included, but form the basis of decisions.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregor James Fountain

<p>This case study takes an historical perspective to explore the curriculum decision-making of History teachers in New Zealand. It is argued that between 1986 and 2005, Year 12 History teachers were caught in-between curriculum reform on one hand, which encouraged teacher autonomy, and on the other hand, assessment reform which reduced teacher autonomy. While teachers in this study utilised the autonomy provided by internal assessment to develop engaging class and assessment activities, they largely avoided topics in Māori, Pasifika and Women’s history which were promoted through the syllabus. Factors which contributed to teachers' decisions concerning curriculum topics included teachers' perceptions of the nature of disciplinary History, personal interest and resource availability. The primary focus on this thesis is an assessment of the impact of changes to national assessment for qualifications on Year 12 History programmes. It argues that mandated assessment for qualifications is the single-most determining factor on classroom practice. It is also argued that the assessment style which emerged for Year 12 History through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement disconnected History assessment from the intentions of its written curriculum which emphasised disciplinary History's underlying and interconnected process of gathering, analysing and presenting historical information. In some cases, the NCEA hindered rather than enhanced the development of a school-based curriculum at this level.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.V. Shivaani

The study attempts to explore the relationship between riskgovernance structureand firm performance. In perhaps the first of its kind attempt, a normative framework for risk governance structures is being put forward. Based on the framework, an index indicating strength/quality of risk governance structures is proposed. Then, the impact of risk governance structure on firm performance is gauged. To this end, the study makes use of constituents of S&P CNX500 index and covers a ten year period from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2015.To control for potential endogeneity among variables of interest, the study makes use of a robust and reliable methodology,‘difference-GMM’. In addition, to ensure completeness of results, the study employs control variables such as recession dummy, firm’s age, size, and growth rate and leverage ratio. The results suggest that robust risk governance structures do not necessarily lead to better firm performance. In fact, risk governance index is negatively related to both ROA and ROE. The relationship is not statistically significant but has wide economic implications. A prominent implication being, mere constitution of risk management committee and appointment of CRO will not improve firm performance; regulators and companies need to ensure that governance structures are not too rigid, excessively risk averse and ineffective and inefficient in decision making. Given the simplicity and reliability of the proposed risk governance index, and the recommendations put forth in the paper, the study is expected to be of immense utility in an important yet neglected area of risk governance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bazeet Olayemi Badru ◽  
Nurwati A. Ahmad-Zaluki ◽  
Wan Nordin Wan-Hussin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the differences in men and women, such as risk aversion in decision making, can influence the amount of capital that the board of directors can allocate for investment opportunities. Design/methodology/approach This study sampled 212 IPOs over the period of 2005–2015 and employed the OLS and the quantile regression techniques to examine the impact of female directors on capital allocation. Findings The results show that women on corporate boards have a positive influence on the amount of capital an IPO company can allocate for investment opportunities. These findings suggest that the investment strategies of women in an emerging financial market, like Malaysia, may differ from women in other financial markets. Practical implications The presence of women on corporate boards plays an important role in board involvement in a company’s strategic decision at the time of the IPO. Therefore, regulators and IPO issuers should pay close attention to the corporate governance structure of a company at the time of an IPO. In addition, investors and other stakeholders of a company may consider women on corporate boards as an important factor in financing and investment decisions. Originality/value Despite several studies that have examined the influence of women on corporate boards on corporate outcomes, globally, the presence of women on corporate boards and their influence on corporate decision-making related to allocation of capital to investment opportunities, have not been fully explored in the IPO literature.


2022 ◽  
pp. 275275302110687
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Pyke-Grimm ◽  
Linda S. Franck ◽  
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher ◽  
Robert E. Goldsby ◽  
Roberta S. Rehm

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer must negotiate the transition between childhood and adulthood while dealing with a life-threatening illness. AYA involvement in decision making varies depending on the type of decision and when decisions occur during treatment, and evidence suggests that AYAs want to be involved in decision making. Objective: To explore involvement of AYAs with cancer in day-to-day decisions affected by their cancer and treatment. Methods: This qualitative study used interpretive focused ethnography within the sociologic tradition, informed by symbolic interactionism. Semi-structured interviews and informal participant observation took place at two quaternary pediatric oncology programs. Results: Thirty-one interviews were conducted with 16 AYAs ages 15 to 20 years. Major day to day decision-making categories identified included: (1) mental mindset, (2) self-care practices, (3) self-advocacy, and (4) negotiating relationships. Participants described how they came to grips with their illness early on and decided to fight their cancer. They described decisions they made to protect their health, how they advocated for themselves and decisions they made about relationships with family and friends. Conclusions: Through day-to-day decisions, participants managed the impact of cancer and its treatment on their daily lives. Research should focus on developing and implementing interventions to empower AYAs to participate in day-to-day decisions that will affect how they manage their cancer, its treatment and ultimately their outcomes. Implications for Practice: Healthcare providers can facilitate AYA's participation in day-to-day decision making through encouraging autonomy and self-efficacy by providing support and through effective communication.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umar Altahtooh ◽  
Thamir Alaskar

Despite the importance of milestone as a key knowledge in project management, there has been lack of research to understand the relationship between milestones and decision-making. This paper presents a pragmatic research context that aims understanding the nature of milestones and their relationship with different decision-making structures and responsibilities across projects. Data were collected through 14 semi-structured interviews with project managers and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings explore the concepts of project milestones among project managers in Saudi Arabia. The paper finds that there is a relationship between milestones and the impact on decision-making.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document