Elsie Ho

Gardens, Transitions and Identity Reconstruction among Older Chinese Immigrants to New Zealand

Psychologists have foregrounded the importance of links between places and daily practices in the construction of subjectivities and well-being. This article explores domestic gardening practices among older Chinese immigrants. Initial and follow-up interviews were conducted with 32 Chinese adults ranging in age from 62 to 77 years. Participants recount activities such as gardening as a means of forging a new sense of self and place in their adoptive country. Gardening provides a strategy for self-reconstruction through spatiotemporally establishing biographical continuity between participants’ old lives in China and their new lives in New Zealand.

Immigration Policy and New Zealand's Development into the 21st Century: Review and Speculation

This article reviews the impacts of changes in immigration policy since the 1980s on New Zealands population, with particular reference to the labor market, and discusses recent initiatives in strengthening policies for New Zealands development in the 21st century. The policy objectives of encouraging the immigration of highly skilled people and those with capital to invest in business development initially drew favorable response, especially from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. However, the actual experiences of migrants in the New Zealand labor market and business environment were much less positive. Immigrants from Asian countries were found to have high levels of unemployment. Another concern is the emigration of skilled people from New Zealand. The government has undertaken a review of immigration policies and is supporting a longitudinal study of immigrant experiences. The final section speculates on prospects for immigration and the labor force into the 21st century, bearing in mind the evolving immigration policy environment.

Engaging with New Zealand's Recognized Seasonal Employer Work Policy: The Case of Tuvalu:

New Zealands Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) work policy is a managed circular migration initiative that is designed to provide benefits to employers in New Zealands horticulture and viticulture industries, workers from Pacific states that have limited opportunities for wage-earning employment in their own countries, and the communities that the workers leave temporarily for work in New Zealand. Tuvalu is one of five Pacific countries where the New Zealand Department of Labour has been facilitating participation in the RSE scheme since the policy was formally introduced in April 2007. Tuvalu is by far the smallest of the participating countries, with a population aged 15–49 years of around 4,600 in 2008. It is the Pacific country where the RSE scheme could potentially make the greatest difference to provision of temporary wage employment for the countrys labor force. However, there is little evidence to date that Tuvalians, despite their extensive experience of overseas labor migration, have maximized the potential for temporary work that the scheme offers. This previous experience is examined briefly, followed by a discussion of the terms under which Tuvalu has agreed to participate in the RSE scheme, with reference to the Inter-Agency Understanding (IAU) signed by New Zealands Department of Labour and Tuvalus Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Labour. The first two years of Tuvalus involvement in the program are then examined, drawing on information obtained during field work in Tuvalu in January 2008, January 2009 and April 2010, with particular reference to the perspectives of the different stakeholders involved. We suggest some ways of improving Tuvaluan participation in the RSE work policy at a time when the countrys engagement in the scheme appears to be at risk.

The Neighborhood Effect: The Pacific in Aotaearoa and Australia

Australia and New Zealand tend to view development issues in the Pacific, including labor mobility, in different ways. This paper compares the different policies of Australia and New Zealand on the migration of Pacific peoples. Both countries used to have colonies in the Pacific in the 20th century, but while Australia ceased to continue its special relationship with the island countries on immigration matters, New Zealand did the opposite and has become a major destination for Polynesians. New Zealands recent move to incorporate a seasonal work program to bring in Pacific workers marks another difference with Australias approach. The impacts of the seasonal work program for the two countries, the broader canvas of demographic and economic differentials between the Pacific Island states and Australia and New Zealand, and prospects for multilateral cooperation are examined in the article.

Experiences of Chinese international students' gambling in New Zealand

This paper will discuss the Supervision Training and Accreditation Program (STAP), initiated by the Psychologists Board of Queensland, which registers psychologists in Queensland. The development of the relational model of supervision training, based on the literature and interviews with APS College chairs, will be discussed in light of the complexities involved in developing a generic model suitable to a range of specialties in psychology. An overview of content and process of training will include how the program addresses a range of essential aspects in supervision practice using both didactic and interactive practice skills training. Also described and discussed will be the format of an evaluation of the supervisor’s knowledge and skills as a requirement for accreditation. Information regarding the effectiveness of the program, to date, will be provided based on feedback from participants and evaluation of participant change as a result of training. Professional issues which have been raised in relation to training of supervisors will also be considered.Maximising the efficacy of treatments for psychiatric disorders in older adults is of increasing importance, given their increasing prominence as a percentage of those seeking mental health services. Older adults are prescribed more medication than any other age group; while adherence levels among older patients are similar to younger adults, adverse consequences of non-adherence may be more severe and less easily detected or resolved in this group. Similarly, compliance with homework assignments in CBT is a major predictor of efficacy in psychotherapy treatment, but adapting homework structure and process for older adults has only begun to be discussed in the literature, and little empirical work in this area exists. This presentation will review empirical compliance findings in both pharmacological and psychological treatment approaches with older populations. The difficulties involved in actually running medication compliance studies will be discussed and illustrated with issues and data emerging from a small pilot study in New Zealand on medication compliance in older adults. Finally, suggestions for maximising efficacy of homework assignment use with older populations in a range of settings, including those with mild cognitive impairment, will be offered.Asian communities in New Zealand is growing rapidly, with Asian people now forming a significant part of the New Zealand population. Research suggests that Asian people have high levels of gambling participation. However, little is known about gambling practices and the potential for problem gambling among Chinese people living in New Zealand. People seeking counselling services for their gambling problems often say they use gambling as a form of release from stress. This paper assesses gambling participation and experiences among Chinese people working in food industry who comprise a particular group that is exposed to stress and the potential for problem gambling. The research draws on findings from a quantitative survey and follow up interviews with participants to document reasons for gambling among this group, the prevalence of problem/pathological gambling, and help seeking patterns.Instead of sowing the seeds for ongoing disability, distress and disconnection, an adversity such as a disaster is more often just a “bump in the road” to be navigated. This was clearly demonstrated in the community responses to the Newcastle Earthquake. What can we, as psychologists, do to facilitate resilient responses? I draw on work that I am currently undertaking with children following traumatic injury, and work of Kevin Ronan, to provide some possible guidelines for the promotion of recovery. I will address initial intervention and outreach, screening and stepped care.Whilst job satisfaction and organisational commitment are consistently linked to turnover cognitions, the difficulties employees have balancing work and family lives is increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to turnover intention (Haar, 2004) and may be particularly problematic for employees in high demand occupations such as policing. This study examines whether work family conflict (WFC) makes an independent contribution to turnover cognitions above job satisfaction and job commitment, and whether gender moderates relations between WFC and turnover cognitions, in police officers. The sample consisted of 1,044 officers (690 males, 351 females) from an Australian police organisation. WFC was conceptualized bi-directionally as Work -family conflict (WIF) and Family-work conflict (FIW). Turnover intent was measured by thoughts of quitting, perceived probability of alternative employment, search for alternative employment, and intention to quit. Women perceived more WIF, and men, more FIW. The hypotheses were tested via moderated regression, and found WFC added to the prediction of turnover cognitions, with FIW being more problematic. Gender moderated the relation between WIF and search for alternatives; the relationship was stronger for females. Difficulties balancing needs of family with work are significant in predicting officers turnover cognitions.Behavioural patterns are determined in part by sociocultural factors such as values, expected behaviours and sociopolitical organisation. This paper presents the patterns of physical activity reported by Tongan and Fijian females aged 12-18 years and possible explanations for these patterns. The paper draws on interviews conducted in a wider study of adolescents patterns of eating, physical activity and body size in Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. The study examined sociocultural factors that could promote or protect against obesity from the perspective of adolescents in order to develop culturally-appropriate strategies for healthy lifestyles. Twenty four indigenous Fijian and 24 Tongan females aged 12-18 years were interviewed by females who were fluent in participants first languages. Researchers from Australia, Tonga and Fiji analysed the data separately and then together in order to capture cultural nuances and enhance cultural validity. This analysis revealed similarities and differences in both cultural groups. Limitations to physical activity identified by Tongan and Fijian girls included the time spent in household chores and parental restrictions.Fijian girls also identified concern about personal safety as a constraint. These findings are examined in relation to sociocultural factors that appear to limit opportunities for young females to be physically active.This presentation details research evaluating the efficacy and cultural acceptability of a group behavioural family intervention program (Group Triple P – Positive Parenting Program) tailored for Australian indigenous families. This preventively oriented, early intervention program incorporates parent education groups, print and video materials, which aim to promote positive parent-child relationships, and to help parents develop effective management strategies for common behaviour problems and developmental issues. Cultural tailoring involved broad community consultation in relation to program resources and format. A pilot randomised controlled trial showed that, compared waitlist controls, group participants reported significantly lower rates of problem child behaviour and lower reliance on dysfunctional parenting practices of authoritarian discipline, anger and irritability, with a further significant reduction found for lax or permissive discipline by 6-month follow-up. There were high rates of consumer satisfaction and positive comments about the cultural acceptability of the program. Also presented is an update on an effectiveness evaluation of program implementation in regional and remote community health services across Australia. The need for culturally appropriate parenting programs, issues experienced by indigenous Health Workers, and implications for the dissemination of family interventions in indigenous communities are discussed.Measures to assess anxiety and depression separately often incur difficulties due to overlap of these constructs, especially in older individuals. Using the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale (GADS) we aimed to confirm the factor structure of the instrument in a large cohort of older Australian women, to validate the instrument against other selfreport information. Participants were 7264 women (aged 75-82 years) enrolled in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Measures of anxiety and depression included the GADS, the mental health components of the SF-36, and self reported information on mental health diagnoses, symptoms and medications.In a variety of disciplines, particularly the social sciences and health sciences, but in areas spanning the arts and sciences, interest among students in ageing issues, and interest among professionals in ageing as a focus of research and practice, is increasing. Yet many undergraduate students (and even some postgraduate students) receive little exposure to research and theories regarding ageing. This talk aims to convey a sense of how ageing can be integrated into existing course structures across a variety of areas in psychology (for example, in clinical, health and research methodology areas). The presenter will offer suggestions as to how such material can be incorporated, even if the lecturer has little direct training or experience in ageing.