title: Terrorism, protest and the law (in a maritime context)

authors: Smith, Ron C.

subjects: terrorism

abstract: Characterisations of terrorism in international conventions and domestic law sometimes seem to obscure the distinction between terrorism and certain kinds of protest activity, which may, in turn, be characterised as either licit or illicit.  In this paper the issues are illustrated in the context of nuclear terrorism and in a maritime environment.  Some observations on the concept of civil disobedience and some suggestions for a code of behaviour in the maritime context are also made.

text: Terrorism, protest and the law (in a maritime context) Characterisations of terrorism in international conventions and domestic law sometimes seem to obscure the distinction between terrorism and certain kinds of protest activity, which may, in turn, be characterised as either licit or illicit.  In this paper the issues are illustrated in the context of nuclear terrorism and in a maritime environment.  Some observations on the concept of civil disobedience and some suggestions for a code of behaviour in the maritime context are also made.

year: 2008

title: Regulation of Metabolism in Mycobacteria and Cyanobacteria

authors: Vickers, Chelsea

subjects: AmtR

abstract: Bacteria encounter changes in their environment and must adapt to these changes in order to survive. Their ability to adapt is determined by their capacity to efficiently regulate their cellular processes. The mechanisms of bacterial regulation at the transcriptional level have been investigated by structural and functional characterisation of the transcription factor AmtR from Mycobacterium smegmatis. M. smegmatis is a soil bacteria capable of utilising alternative nitrogen sources during nitrogen limitation. AmtR is an important transcription factor that regulates the cellular machinery involved in alternative nitrogen metabolism via a novel co-repressor induced mode of regulation. A second pathway that involves post-transcriptional regulation was investigated by preliminary characterisation of a previously unexplored VapBC family of Type II Toxin Antitoxin (TA) systems found in the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 (Synechocystis). Investigation of the biochemistry of M. aeruginosa VapBC systems was limited by poor expression, however a single TA system, VapBCMAE43230/20, was successfully purified by incorporating the SUMO fusion protein into the expression construct. VapBMAE43230 and VapCMAE43220 are coexpressed and form a tetrameric complex that appears to be copurified with DNA. Similar to M. aeruginosa, only one system, VapBCslr1209/1210, in Synechocystis was successfully purified and investigated in vitro. Preliminary EMSA assays indicate VapBCslr1209/1210 is autoregulatory and binds to the promoter region of its operon by recognising palindromic sequences. The RNA pentaprobe system demonstrates that VapCslr1210 has metal dependent endoribonuclease activity that can be inhibited by VapBslr1209. Markerless deletion strains of five Synechocystis vapBC operons were made and growth experiments of three of the deletion strains were conducted. Growth experiments identified a reduced growth rate in two of the deletion strains (when compared to the WT strains): ΔvapBCslr1209/1210 and ΔvapBCssl2138/sll1092. Transcriptomic analyses of both deletion strains were conducted. Preliminary data show that both VapBC systems appear to target genes involved in carbon assimilation and metabolism via both photosynthetic and heterotrophic processes. Interestingly, VapBCslr1209/1210 targets an operon involved in glucose transport, which is also the cellular process targeted by the only other well characterised VapBC system from M. smegmatis (VapBC1283/4). These preliminary results point toward a possible similarity in biological function for VapBC systems across the prokaryotic tree.

text: Regulation of Metabolism in Mycobacteria and Cyanobacteria Bacteria encounter changes in their environment and must adapt to these changes in order to survive. Their ability to adapt is determined by their capacity to efficiently regulate their cellular processes. The mechanisms of bacterial regulation at the transcriptional level have been investigated by structural and functional characterisation of the transcription factor AmtR from Mycobacterium smegmatis. M. smegmatis is a soil bacteria capable of utilising alternative nitrogen sources during nitrogen limitation. AmtR is an important transcription factor that regulates the cellular machinery involved in alternative nitrogen metabolism via a novel co-repressor induced mode of regulation. A second pathway that involves post-transcriptional regulation was investigated by preliminary characterisation of a previously unexplored VapBC family of Type II Toxin Antitoxin (TA) systems found in the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 (Synechocystis). Investigation of the biochemistry of M. aeruginosa VapBC systems was limited by poor expression, however a single TA system, VapBCMAE43230/20, was successfully purified by incorporating the SUMO fusion protein into the expression construct. VapBMAE43230 and VapCMAE43220 are coexpressed and form a tetrameric complex that appears to be copurified with DNA. Similar to M. aeruginosa, only one system, VapBCslr1209/1210, in Synechocystis was successfully purified and investigated in vitro. Preliminary EMSA assays indicate VapBCslr1209/1210 is autoregulatory and binds to the promoter region of its operon by recognising palindromic sequences. The RNA pentaprobe system demonstrates that VapCslr1210 has metal dependent endoribonuclease activity that can be inhibited by VapBslr1209. Markerless deletion strains of five Synechocystis vapBC operons were made and growth experiments of three of the deletion strains were conducted. Growth experiments identified a reduced growth rate in two of the deletion strains (when compared to the WT strains): ΔvapBCslr1209/1210 and ΔvapBCssl2138/sll1092. Transcriptomic analyses of both deletion strains were conducted. Preliminary data show that both VapBC systems appear to target genes involved in carbon assimilation and metabolism via both photosynthetic and heterotrophic processes. Interestingly, VapBCslr1209/1210 targets an operon involved in glucose transport, which is also the cellular process targeted by the only other well characterised VapBC system from M. smegmatis (VapBC1283/4). These preliminary results point toward a possible similarity in biological function for VapBC systems across the prokaryotic tree.

year: 2015

title: Pōuri: Two original screenplays

authors: Kohere, Anthony

subjects: Screenplays

abstract: Pōuri, as defined on Te Aka Māori Dictionary, means “regret, mournful, gloomy, in the dark.” It is an apt description of the following stories: Unprivate Moments, and Haytham; or, The Māori Gothic. A common thematic tie between the characters is that they regret past actions, have become disheartened, and experience severe distress. As a thesis, the aim is to expand on what a “Māori story” is beyond the familiar, or dare I say, expected.

'Unprivate Moments' is about an estranged father and son reconciling their differences, disguised as a low-level spy film. I see this as an opportunity to take a well-defined genre and treat it in a realistic fashion in terms of location and character, although not necessarily in believability. Set in Whanganui it can play with many tropes and preconceptions, almost with self-awareness without falling into parody or metacommentary. The formatting does not follow industry standards but inverts the layout of the scene descriptions and dialogue. While I cannot say for certain, Stanley Kubrick is the only one I am aware of that has done this when he adapted 'A Clockwork Orange'. His rationale for this break in style was to draw the eye to the visual storytelling rather than the dialogue.

'Haytham' is centred on a young Byronic Māori man during the late 1880s. Like the archetype he is derived from, Haytham is a tall, dark, and mysterious man. As he reveals himself both to the audience and to the other characters, we come to find someone who has been  damaged and corrupted. This issue of childhood trauma is the central crux of the story and is explored through his relationships with the women in his life. And finally, despite the script’s setting and intentional use of familial names, this is not a biographical work.

text: Pōuri: Two original screenplays Pōuri, as defined on Te Aka Māori Dictionary, means “regret, mournful, gloomy, in the dark.” It is an apt description of the following stories: Unprivate Moments, and Haytham; or, The Māori Gothic. A common thematic tie between the characters is that they regret past actions, have become disheartened, and experience severe distress. As a thesis, the aim is to expand on what a “Māori story” is beyond the familiar, or dare I say, expected.

'Unprivate Moments' is about an estranged father and son reconciling their differences, disguised as a low-level spy film. I see this as an opportunity to take a well-defined genre and treat it in a realistic fashion in terms of location and character, although not necessarily in believability. Set in Whanganui it can play with many tropes and preconceptions, almost with self-awareness without falling into parody or metacommentary. The formatting does not follow industry standards but inverts the layout of the scene descriptions and dialogue. While I cannot say for certain, Stanley Kubrick is the only one I am aware of that has done this when he adapted 'A Clockwork Orange'. His rationale for this break in style was to draw the eye to the visual storytelling rather than the dialogue.

'Haytham' is centred on a young Byronic Māori man during the late 1880s. Like the archetype he is derived from, Haytham is a tall, dark, and mysterious man. As he reveals himself both to the audience and to the other characters, we come to find someone who has been  damaged and corrupted. This issue of childhood trauma is the central crux of the story and is explored through his relationships with the women in his life. And finally, despite the script’s setting and intentional use of familial names, this is not a biographical work.

year: 2022