Risk-taking in the outdoors provides opportunities for young tamariki to develop their physical skills and learn to self-manage risk. Within an early childhood setting many policies and regulations are in place to ensure that tamariki are kept safe from harm. Early childhood leaders are tasked with the challenge of managing the tension between…

This article examines the use of case-based approaches to fatal incidents in outdoor education (OE) with a view to fatality prevention. Fatalities are rare in OE and therefore it is nearly impossible for teachers to learn how to avoid fatalities from their own past experiences. It is, however, possible to learn from the mistakes of others through…

Objectives and Settings: A growing Asian population currently resides in New Zealand, yet under half of this population claim the support they are entitled to in the face of an accident and injury. This research is focused on identifying ways of effectively engaging the Chinese community in health-promotion programmes to prevent and/or reduce…

Background: Falls and fall-related injuries are a problem for many adults with intellectual disability. Most previous studies have collected falls data retrospectively, using organisational incident reports. We developed tools to specifically collect fall-related data and potential fall risk data. This paper reports on the development of these…

In 2007, a 4-year longitudinal study of all people admitted to the two New Zealand spinal units commenced. It aims to (a) explore interrelationship(s) of body, self, and society for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and (b) investigate how entitlement to rehabilitation and compensation through New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corporation…

Background: Researching falls in persons with ID is limited by difficulties in applying standardised balance outcome measures. The modified Gait Abnormality Rating Scale (GARS-M), developed to identify falls risk in older adults, requires only that the participant walks and thus may be a feasible falls research tool to use with people with ID. In…

Background: The aims of this small exploratory study were to determine (1) whether adults with intellectual disability who had a recent history of falling had slower motor responses to postural perturbations than a sample of adults without disability when measured with the Motor Control Test (MCT) and (2) to identify any learning effects…

The monograph argues that prevention should be considered the first step in the rehabilitation process, and examines preventive efforts in the areas of occupational safety, road safety, home safety, and sporting and recreational safety. Following an introductory chapter, other chapters discuss: (1) the close relationship between compensation,…

This New Zealand study investigated employment attitudes and their relationship to mental health of 137 long-term unemployed people with disabilities. Results suggested that level of income support was not related to employment attitudes. People receiving the invalid's benefit had high levels of work commitment in contrast to those receiving…

This paper provides analysis on the frequency and nature of accidents and near accidents that have occurred in larger outdoor education centres in New Zealand. This is the first time that information of this type has been collected and analysed in New Zealand. All 25 of the known outdoor education organisations employing three or more full-time…

Innovations in the New Zealand Accident Compensation Scheme include defining the family unit in terms of past economic support and adapting common law principles to social provision. Accidents are considered a community responsibility. Family implications of this program are discussed. (Author/BEF)

This paper offers a New Zealand perspective on disability and rehabilitation, as seen by an American resident. Three major themes are noted: the importance of the concept of accidents in New Zealand society, Maori ideas about interdependence, and the social systems and social change approach as compared with the clinical treatment approach to…

This volume includes the following conference papers: "The Status and Direction of Workers' Compensation" (James R. Chelius); "The Minnesota Experience with Workers' Compensation Reform" (Steve Keefe); "The 1982 Changes in California" (Alan Tebb); "Two Rounds of Workers' Compensation Reform in Michigan" (H.…