Young adult reliance on parents for financial advice could be risky

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Young adult reliance on parents for financial advice could be risky


Nearly half the participants in the Fin-Ed Centre’s longitudinal study said they had learned “everything” or “almost everything” from their parents. 


Young New Zealanders still rely on their parents for financial advice, despite many harbouring doubts about the quality of that advice, according to new research from the Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre.

The report presents findings from the second stage of the centre’s 20-year longitudinal study, which tracks the financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of a group of New Zealanders through different life stages. The longitudinal study is the only one of its kind in New Zealand. The first stage occurred in 2012 when the cohort was aged from 18 to 22 years. Now, five years on, the participants are aged from 23 to 27 years.

Fin-Ed Centre director Dr Pushpa Wood says the focus of the study is to determine how attitudes and behaviours have changed over the past five years as participants move into new life stages.

“It was heartening to see that objectively-measured financial literacy scores have improved since 2012,” Dr Wood says. “More than half the participants said they had taken steps to improve their money management skills in the past year, but questions remain about the sources of information they are using.”

Nearly half the participants said they had learned “everything” or “almost everything” from their parents. While this was down from 66 per cent in 2012, the reliance on parental advice was surprising, given only 35 per cent said they believed their parents knew what was best for them in terms of their finances. 

When participants were asked how they expected to learn about money management in the future, parental advice still featured, but the dominant source, at 39 per cent, was “life experiences”.

“It seems that young Kiwis still avoid formal financial education or consulting financial experts,” Dr Wood says. “Relying on parents and taking a learning-by-doing approach to money management has some obvious risks, especially if parents are not financially knowledgeable, or if bad decisions lead to costly mistakes that are hard to reverse.”

Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre director Dr Pushpa Wood.


Good financial advice is crucial

Westpac NZ’s general manager of consumer banking and wealth, Simon Power, says a good financial education is crucial to building a secure financial future.

“Getting a good financial start in life is really important. The research shows parents have a critical role to play in their child’s financial knowledge well into adulthood. We’d encourage parents to talk to their children about money from an early age and to also keep increasing their own knowledge,” Mr Power says.

“However, it’s encouraging that more than half of participants believe they will learn about managing money from financial planners, advisers and taking classes over the next five years.”

Gender differences in the study

The study found a gender gap in how participants performed in a financial literacy test and how they assessed their own financial literacy levels. The average score for the financial literacy test was 70 per cent for men, compared with 54 per cent for females, while 41 per cent of men assessed their financial literacy levels as “very good” or “excellent”, compared to only 21 per cent of females.

“It’s doubly important that parents talk to their daughters about money as we know women face more barriers than men in their careers and in saving for retirement. It’s equally important for women to take control of their own financial knowledge,” Mr Power says.

Overall, the report found the cohort had many positive financial behaviours, including a participation rate of 89 per cent in KiwiSaver. It also found that more than two-thirds of young people remain wary of credit card debt, with many saying they use their credit card primarily for rewards, and pay the balance in full every month to avoid paying interest. But there are still some areas of concern, including 60 per cent of participants wishing they were better at saving. 

“Ninety per cent of participants told us they knew what they were spending their money on and blamed impulse spending as the key problem for not saving. By setting up an automatic payment into a savings account that they can’t touch, individuals will soon not miss the money and can see their savings grow,” Mr Power says.

A summary report of the findings can be downloaded here: 

Key findings:

  • Parents continue to be the primary source of information and lessons on personal financial management matters, although many doubt the knowledge their parents are imparting;
  • Financial literacy improved, but participants’ self-assessment of their financial literacy declined;
  • Participants remain confident about their ability to manage their money, while remaining wary of credit cards, and acknowledging the importance of saving;
  • At 89%, participants have a very high participation rate in KiwiSaver;
  • More than 90% know where their money is spent;
  • 65% budget and track spending;
  • 60% wished they were better at saving;
  • 67% think it’s better to dip into savings than use credit for purchases;
  • Only 30% considered long-term planning beyond 5 years;
  • 72% still have a student loan to pay off;
  • Impulse spending is a key problem;
  • Females scored an average of 54% on the financial literacy test while males scored an average of 70%;
  • 21% of women assessed their financial understanding as being ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ compared to 41% of men;
  • 47% of women assessed their financial knowledge as being ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ compared with 32% of men.

About the Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre longitudinal study

The Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre, or Financial Education and Research Centre, is a joint initiative by Westpac and Massey University that aims to improve the financial wellbeing of New Zealanders. The Centre is part of the Massey University Business School.

The centre’s 20-year longitudinal study explores the financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of New Zealanders through different life stages. A cohort of 300 New Zealanders aged 18-22 years participated in the baseline survey in 2012 and will be re-contacted in five-yearly intervals. Of the original cohort, 215 participated in the second phase of the study.

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Learning support on borrowed time as Auckland Uni VC plans major library restructure

Source: Tertiary Education Union – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Learning support on borrowed time as Auckland Uni VC plans major library restructure

Union members at the University of Auckland are disappointed by management plans published today to cut 45 full-time equivalent jobs in Libraries and Learning Services Te Tumu Herenga. People working in these 45 FTE positions are among the more than 114 dedicated staff members who have been told by management that their current roles will […]

Jury’s out on whether sildenafil (Viagra) helps growth-restricted babies

Source: University Of Auckland – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Jury’s out on whether sildenafil (Viagra) helps growth-restricted babies

As results from a major New Zealand-Australian clinical trial are revealed, the jury’s out on whether sildenafil – also known as Viagra – taken by mothers during pregnancy could help babies suffering from stunted growth in the womb by increasing blood supply to the placenta.

Emeritus Professor honoured for impact to engineering

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Emeritus Professor honoured for impact to engineering


Massey Emeritus Professor Bob Hodgson.


Engineering New Zealand has named Emeritus Professor Bob Hodgson a distinguished fellows, the top tier of their membership.

Professor Hodgson was awarded the title, along with three new distinguished fellows and 17 new fellows, in Wellington earlier this month at the professional body’s annual fellowship dinner.

Professor Hodgson served as the Head of Institute Information Sciences and Technology at Massey University from 1998-2005, and as director of the Massey School of Engineering and Technology from 2005-07.

He is a recognised expert in image processing, information, human factors and systems engineering. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Council of Engineering Deans.

Professor Hodgson was involved in a start-up science and engineering company that has won worldwide recognition for using Artificial intelligence to extract information from microscopic images, called the Classifynder, which won the supreme award at the New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards in 2013.

His contribution to the professional body has been immense, having served on numerous boards and committees and six International Washington Accord Panels.

As the New Zealand representative, and then President, of the Association of Engineering Educators in South East Asia and the Pacific, Bob revitalised that organisation. He has also worked with the University of the South Pacific, in an unpaid Adjunct Professor role, to support its work towards engineering accreditation.

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North Island regions show higher rates of drug dependency

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: North Island regions show higher rates of drug dependency


Of the drug survey respondents, 47 per cent of cannabis users compared to 17 per cent of the methamphetamine users reported they were using daily or near daily.


Associate Professor Chris Wilkins.

Higher levels of methamphetamine and cannabis dependency, and need for help for substance abuse, were found in northern, central and eastern regions in the North Island.

The latest research bulletin from Massey University’s SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre outlines preliminary findings from the first online New Zealand Drug Trends Survey. The bulletin, the second in the series, focuses on different levels of drug dependency and need for help for substance use problems found around the country. More detailed analysis will be presented to the Ministry of Health and other government agencies later this week.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Chris Wilkins says the need for help for substance use problems was highest in the Bay of Plenty, Manawatu/Whanganui and Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay regions.

“Respondents from the upper and central North Island and east coast of the North Island reported higher levels of methamphetamine and cannabis dependency, and a higher need for help to reduce their alcohol and other drug use,” Dr Wilkins says.

Higher levels of methamphetamine dependency were found in the Waikato (43 per cent of those who used in the previous six months), Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay (42 per cent), Auckland (35 per cent), Manawatu/Wanganui (34 per cent) and Bay of Plenty (30 per cent) regions.

Higher levels of cannabis dependency were found in the Bay of Plenty (37 per cent of those who used in the previous six months), Northland (35 per cent), Waikato (34 per cent), Wellington (33 per cent) and Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay (33 per cent) regions.

“While cannabis is a less addictive substance than methamphetamine, drug dependency is also closely related to the frequency of use. In the sample, 47 per cent of the cannabis users compared to 17 per cent of the methamphetamine users reported they were using daily or near daily, and this may explain the similar levels of drug dependency between the cannabis and methamphetamine users,” Dr Wilkins says.

The proportion of respondents who reported needing either “a lot” or “some” help was highest in the Bay of Plenty (16 per cent), Manawatu-Wanganui (16 per cent) and Gisborne/ Hawke’s Bay (15 per cent) regions.

Dr Wilkins says the survey is not intended to be a representative sample of the drug using population. Rather, it engages with an otherwise hidden population who are difficult to access with traditional household surreys to provide a “snapshot” of recent trends.

“At the very least, there is likely to be some bias toward more functional drug users who have higher utilisation of the internet. It is likely our findings underestimate the level of drug dependency and need for help for substance use problems in general, and among people who have limited access to the internet in particular, for example rough sleepers. However, in this survey we successfully engaged with a large number of otherwise difficult to access people from a wide geographical area,” he says.

Survey demographics

The anonymous online survey, promoted via a targeted Facebook campaign, was conducted from November 2017 to February 2018. A total of 6,100 people completed the survey. Forty-five per cent of the sample was female. The average age was 29 years old (range 16–87 years). Twenty-one percent were Māori and 72 per cent Pakeha. Eighteen per cent were students, 11 per cent unemployed or on a sickness benefit and 65 per cent were employed.

Participants who reported using a drug type in the past six months were asked if they had ever felt dependent on the drug during that time. All participants who had used alcohol and other drugs in the past six months were asked about the extent to which they felt they needed help to reduce their use, using a four point scale – either “no help”, “a little help”, “some help” or “a lot of help”.

The research was carried out by Dr Wilkins, with Jitesh Prasad, Dr Marta Rychert, Dr Jose Romeo and Thomas Graydon-Guy.

The SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre would like to acknowledge the support of the Community Action on Youth and Drugs (CAYAD), with special thanks to Te Runanga O Ngai Te Rangi Iwi Trust.

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Māori arts students win sculpture awards

Source: NorthTec – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Māori arts students win sculpture awards

A pair of NorthTec Maunga Kura Toi – Bachelor of Māori Arts – students won two out of three  awards at last week’s Whangarei Sculpture Symposium.

Graham Nathan and Anthony Dunn, who are both in the final year of the degree programme, won the $4,000 Te Aue Marie Award, and the $1,000 People’s Choice Award for their work, after competing against established artists from throughout New Zealand.

Both students are studying the whakairo (carving) strand of the degree programme, and were taught by the noted carver and NorthTec tutor, Te Kuiti Stewart, who sadly passed away last month. Their work in Oamaru limestone was their first attempt at working with stone, rather than wood.

The sculptures were on show at the symposium, held at the Hihiaua Peninsular, for 10 days until last week’s judging and public auction.

Organised by Creative Northland, the theme of this year’s symposium was to create a form that represents “Journey” and interprets a local influence. The theme was inspired by the 250th anniversary of the voyage of the Endeavour, captained by Lieutenant James Cook, commemorating his exploration of the New Zealand coast.

Entitled He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata, the NorthTec students’ triptych represented three figures: Cook; Tupaea, a Tahitian navigator who travelled with him and later acted as a translator; and local Māori.

The work, consisting of three one-metre high limestone sculptures each sitting on a base of totara wood, will be installed at Kerikeri Airport in 2019 as part of the 250th anniversary events, with the artists set to attend the unveiling ceremony.

Graham and Anthony were among 20 artists who submitted work to the event. They now plan to gift part of their prize back to the NorthTec Maunga Kura Toi programme, so that another student can enter the next Whangarei Sculpture Symposium in two years’ time. The gift will be named in honour of Te Kuiti Stewart.

Graham said: “The work represents three people that came together at the point of the first engagement with Bay of Islands Māori. The “Journey” theme for us was about people, cultures and whakapapa. The idea is that we are all cut from the same stone. We all aspire to the same things for ourselves, our children, our children’s children and our planet.”

He said the other artists had been very happy to see the students do so well, and the exposure they had gained through the symposium was “phenomenal.” He added: “I’m so happy that we proved ourselves in that forum amongst those artists.”

The mechanics of a parkour landing

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: The mechanics of a parkour landing


Massey researchers are investigating the movements used in parkour – a French-developed discipline using movement developed from military obstacle courses training.


Master of Sport and Exercise Science student Marcel
Austmann.

Have you ever watched a person leaping from buildings or vaulting over railings and wondered, “How did they do that?”

Massey University researchers are looking at the movements used in parkour, a French-developed discipline using movement developed from military obstacle course training, and how it affects the forces placed on the body, particularly when landing.

The research, which is being led by Master of Sport and Exercise Science student Marcel Austmann under the supervision of Dr Sarah Shultz from the School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, may help in the design of conditioning programmes and injury prevention strategies for the activity that is often considered an extreme sport with high risks.

Due to the relative infancy of parkour there is less information about how parkour athletes distribute forces during landings, which has potential links to injury, Mr Austmann says.

Ground reaction force measures the magnitude of stress placed on the body when it connects with the ground, while rate of force development looks at the time it takes for the body to absorb those forces. Both factors can greatly increase risk associated with injury, but it has been shown that experienced parkour athletes may be able to lessen these forces significantly through landing techniques,” he says.

“This study is unique in that it investigates the forces as well as muscular activity associated with parkour landings during a variety of obstacles found in a natural training environment. We anticipate that the valuable findings would add to the current knowledge base of landing biomechanics in parkour.”

Specifically, this study will look to support previous research that suggested parkour precision landing was a safe landing strategy. “By moving beyond the lab and into the more common gym setting, we can better understand how parkour athletes naturally land and how much influence experience level plays in injury risk,” Mr Austmann says.

The study is looking for 12-24 healthy and injury free adults between the age of 18-35 who participate in parkour. Experience levels can vary as comparisons will be made between beginner and experienced athletes. Participants need to be Auckland-based, as the study is being carried out at Flow Academy of Motion, in Albany.

Watch a YouTube video of the obstacle course set up for the research here.

If you would like to take part in the research, please contact Marcel Austmann: static_motion@hotmail.com

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How committed are food companies to health?

Source: University Of Auckland – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: How committed are food companies to health?

A new study ranking the nutrition commitments of 25 of New Zealand’s largest food companies has found large variations with some companies leading the way, but many are not doing nearly enough to reduce the biggest cause of ill health in New Zealand, unhealthy diets.

Kiwi lands job at International Whaling Commission

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Kiwi lands job at International Whaling Commission


Dr Karen Stockin takes up a new role at the International Whaling Commission


Massey University marine ecologist Dr Karen Stockin has landed a coveted appointment with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to coordinate a bold-new initiative focusing on global cetacean [whales, dolphins and porpoises] strandings.

Dr Stockin will take up the newly established role of strandings coordinator within the recently-created Strandings Initiative. The Initiative was formed to assist international stranding networks in their capability to respond and investigate stranding events.

The initiative has been in the works for a number of years and was requested by several of the IWC’s sub-committees, including the welfare sub-committee, to provide more support and strategic direction around strandings of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Dr Stockin, director of Massey University’s Coastal Marine Research Group and associate investigator at the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, has a clear record of excellence and experience in whale strandings both nationally and internationally.

New Zealand is internationally recognised for its high frequency of strandings, and especially for its record mass strandings of pilot whales. As part of the new position, Dr Stockin will be responsible for convening the Strandings Expert Panel, which comprises 22 of the world’s leading authorities on marine mammal strandings.

Dr Stockin was the recent recipient of the Bob Kerridge Animal Welfare Fellowship for investigating the human dynamic to stranding events, as part of a larger project designed to improve the conservation-welfare nexus during stranding events.

“The IWC role is a natural progression to the research myself and colleagues at Massey are undertaking nationally on strandings, and it’s a huge privilege to be a part of such a respected international commission such as the IWC,” Dr Stockin says.

Mass stranding of pilot whales [Credit: Massey University’s Emma Betty].


Scope of the work

Earlier in 2017, the Expert Panel and Intersessional Steering Group were convened, drawing from strandings experts from a number of different countries, to draft an initial work programme for the initiative, which called for an initial focus on emergency response and on trainings. Dr Stockin was part of the Steering Group, but as stranding coordinator, her primary role now will be to guide the strategic development and implementation of the portfolio outlined by the Expert Panel.

Some of her responsibilities will include developing strategies for handling requests for assistance, expanding coordination efforts with other intergovernmental organisations and developing international training workshops for emergency response.

A major part of the work will be developing frameworks to guide IWC when it needs to assist governments in unusual stranding situations when called upon. Additionally, Dr Stockin will assist the IWC with its work on other initiatives relevant to strandings as and when required (e.g. ship strike, entanglement).

In New Zealand, the Department of Conservation (DOC) is legally responsible for marine mammals. Project Jonah is a marine mammal welfare charity who are a partner to DOC, providing logistical expertise and trained volunteers to assist at stranding events.

As a member of the IWC’s Stranding Panel, general manager of Project Jonah Daren Grover said, “the appointment of Dr Stockin as the IWC’s Strandings Coordinator will bring considerable benefits to New Zealand, as well as helping share knowledge to save lives at future strandings, both here and overseas”.

Dr Stockin’s history with the IWC dates back to her undergraduate years when she studied minke whale diving behaviour as part of her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology at Plymouth University, England. Her findings which published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom in 2001, were originally presented to the scientific committee of the IWC on the grounds her findings had impact to the way in which abundance estimates were calculated in minke whale populations subject to scientific whaling quotas.

Since then she has periodically attended IWC scientific meetings as an invited participant, and will be invited participant at the Modelling and Assessment of Whale Watching Impacts workshop, being held in La Spezia, Italy prior to the commencement of the European Cetacean Society conference early next month. Additional international duties for Dr Stockin in her new role include attendance at the upcoming Scientific Committee meeting in Bled, Slovenia at the end of April and the Commissions’ biennial meeting held in Mexico in September.

Dr Stockin will begin her new role next month, continuing in her existing roles at Massey University, with the IWC position being part-time.

About the IWC

The IWC is the global intergovernmental body charged with the conservation of whales and the management of whaling with 87 member countries, bringing together a number of sub-committees to deal with major issues like animal welfare and conservation.

Massey and the IWC

Dr Stockin is not the first Massey staff member to be involved with the IWC, with one of the most notable pioneers being the late Professor Emeritus David Blackmore. In 1991 Professor Blackmore was asked by the New Zealand government to prepare a paper for the IWC on the humaneness of the methods used for the slaughter and euthanasia of whales. He worked tirelessly in the field during many strandings and demonstrated via his research, a need for investigation to ensure that stranded whales, unable to be returned to the sea, were euthanised using pain-free methods. More recently, Professor Craig Johnson facilitated an IWC workshop investigating welfare threats to whales in situations other than strandings with the aim of encouraging further research into the effects of interactions between whales and humans.

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Vet students bare it all for charity and halfway day

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Vet students bare it all for charity and halfway day


Vet students aiming to raise money for charity and their halfway day.


Massey University’s Veterinary School third-years are getting ready to release their annual calendar to fundraise for their halfway day and for a charity helping retired working dogs.

The Barely There Calendar has been a tradition for Bachelor of Veterinary Science students for the past 13 years, to raise money for their halfway day, which represents the midpoint of their five-year degree.

Each year, the students also choose a charity to donate 10 per cent of the proceeds to, with this year’s class choosing, Retired Working Dogs NZ, which aims to find homes for ex-working dogs, and was established in 2012 by Natalie Smith.

Students split into groups to take photos for each month.


Overcoming the awkwardness

This year’s calendar co-ordinators, Aimee Alexander and Stephania Hpa said that halfway day is important, but the tradition is to give back as well.

“We put out a poll to all of our students to see what charity they wanted. It was pretty clear that this was an amazing charity as these dogs still had a lot to give, but they were also a young charity so needed a helping hand,” says Miss Alexander.

On the awkwardness of the photo shoots, Miss Alexander said, “It’s something we all knew was coming, so we just embraced the tradition and the daunting nature of a nude calendar. We spilt into groups for each month with the photographs being taken all over New Zealand, mainly on farms but also at a car museum. I will say they featured many animal co-stars, strategically placed hay bales and a lot of laughter.”

Third-year student Hannah Burrows said, “Getting ready for a naked photo, with 50 other people from your class, was certainly an experience. But we have all come to be good friends over the past two and a half years, so managed to laugh it off and enjoy the photoshoot.”

The students are hoping to sell more calendars than last year. Calendars can be purchased for $15 from their website shipping both domestically and internationally. Pre-orders have opened, with the official release of the calendar early next month.

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