title: Ya got ta know when ta hold ‘em: Maori women and gambling

authors: Morrison, Laurie Elena

subjects: Maori

abstract: Gambling among Maori women is under-researched. In this study, I interviewed thirty Maori
women to investigate how they got involved in gambling, what maintained their gambling and
what they thought might help to moderate their gambling. I found that the whanau was central
to understanding these issues. As children, my participants were exposed to gambling within
their whanau. As adults, whanau and other social support relationships were an integral part of
their gambling, which most commonly occurred in the context of card schools and housie. A
sense of reciprocity was important in both forms of gambling. Card schools were reported to be
close-knit groups within which the money circulated, giving all a chance to win. By playing
housie, the women felt that they were contributing to the welfare of their marae. Through the
social bonds of gambling and the acquisition of skills, gambling contributed to these women’s
sense of identity. On the other hand, financial and relationship difficulties were identified as
negative consequences of gambling. The women felt there was a need for Maori-focused
services for problem gambling.

text: Ya got ta know when ta hold ‘em: Maori women and gambling Gambling among Maori women is under-researched. In this study, I interviewed thirty Maori
women to investigate how they got involved in gambling, what maintained their gambling and
what they thought might help to moderate their gambling. I found that the whanau was central
to understanding these issues. As children, my participants were exposed to gambling within
their whanau. As adults, whanau and other social support relationships were an integral part of
their gambling, which most commonly occurred in the context of card schools and housie. A
sense of reciprocity was important in both forms of gambling. Card schools were reported to be
close-knit groups within which the money circulated, giving all a chance to win. By playing
housie, the women felt that they were contributing to the welfare of their marae. Through the
social bonds of gambling and the acquisition of skills, gambling contributed to these women’s
sense of identity. On the other hand, financial and relationship difficulties were identified as
negative consequences of gambling. The women felt there was a need for Maori-focused
services for problem gambling.

year: 1999

title: Artefacts, biology and bias in museum collection research

authors: Wehi, Priscilla M.

subjects: experimenta design

abstract: Museum collections are increasingly subjected to scientific scrutiny, including molecular, isotopic and trace-element analyses. Recent advances have extended analyses from natural history specimens to historical artefacts. We highlight three areas of concern that can influence interpretation of data derived from museum collections: sampling issues associated with museum collection use, methods of analysis, and the value of cross-referencing data with historical documents and data sets. We use a case study that focuses on kiwi (Apteryx spp.) feather samples from valuable 19th century Māori cloaks in New Zealand to show how sampling and analysis challenges need to be minimized by careful design. We argue that aligning historical records with scientific data generated from museum collections significantly improves data interpretation.

text: Artefacts, biology and bias in museum collection research Museum collections are increasingly subjected to scientific scrutiny, including molecular, isotopic and trace-element analyses. Recent advances have extended analyses from natural history specimens to historical artefacts. We highlight three areas of concern that can influence interpretation of data derived from museum collections: sampling issues associated with museum collection use, methods of analysis, and the value of cross-referencing data with historical documents and data sets. We use a case study that focuses on kiwi (Apteryx spp.) feather samples from valuable 19th century Māori cloaks in New Zealand to show how sampling and analysis challenges need to be minimized by careful design. We argue that aligning historical records with scientific data generated from museum collections significantly improves data interpretation.

year: 2012-07

title: Ancient Borrelia genomes document the evolutionary history of louse-borne relapsing fever

authors: Swali, Pooja

abstract: Several bacterial pathogens have transitioned from tick-borne to louse-borne transmission, which often involves genome reduction and increasing virulence. However, the timing of such transitions remains unclear. We sequenced four ancient Borrelia recurrentis genomes, the agent of louse-borne relapsing fever, dating from 2300 to 600 years ago. We estimated the divergence from its closest tick-borne relative to 6000 to 4000 years ago, which suggests an emergence coinciding with human lifestyle changes such as the advent of wool-based textiles. Pan-genome analysis indicated that much of the evolution characteristic of B. recurrentis had occurred by ~2300 years ago, though further gene turnover, particularly in plasmid partitioning, persisted until ~1000 years ago. Our findings provide a direct genomic chronology of the evolution of this specialized vector-borne pathogen.

text: Ancient Borrelia genomes document the evolutionary history of louse-borne relapsing fever Several bacterial pathogens have transitioned from tick-borne to louse-borne transmission, which often involves genome reduction and increasing virulence. However, the timing of such transitions remains unclear. We sequenced four ancient Borrelia recurrentis genomes, the agent of louse-borne relapsing fever, dating from 2300 to 600 years ago. We estimated the divergence from its closest tick-borne relative to 6000 to 4000 years ago, which suggests an emergence coinciding with human lifestyle changes such as the advent of wool-based textiles. Pan-genome analysis indicated that much of the evolution characteristic of B. recurrentis had occurred by ~2300 years ago, though further gene turnover, particularly in plasmid partitioning, persisted until ~1000 years ago. Our findings provide a direct genomic chronology of the evolution of this specialized vector-borne pathogen.

year: 2025