title: Strangers in their own land: friendship issues when children have cancer

authors: Fraser, Deborah

subjects: child cancer

abstract: More children than ever before are surviving childhood cancer. While treatment protocols have improved, there is little consideration given to their ongoing educational needs, including their social needs for positive peer relationships and friendships. This qualitative study of 12 families included children from four to 15 years of age. Most of the children were attending primary school and half were still undergoing treatment. Interviews in family homes were undertaken with parents, children with cancer and their siblings. The results show that most of these children with cancer have special social relationship needs beyond the impact of absence from school. This article focuses specifically upon friendships and peer relationships which often change dramatically when a child has cancer. Such changes can place children with cancer at risk both academically and emotionally. Some suggestions for addressing this issue are explored.

text: Strangers in their own land: friendship issues when children have cancer More children than ever before are surviving childhood cancer. While treatment protocols have improved, there is little consideration given to their ongoing educational needs, including their social needs for positive peer relationships and friendships. This qualitative study of 12 families included children from four to 15 years of age. Most of the children were attending primary school and half were still undergoing treatment. Interviews in family homes were undertaken with parents, children with cancer and their siblings. The results show that most of these children with cancer have special social relationship needs beyond the impact of absence from school. This article focuses specifically upon friendships and peer relationships which often change dramatically when a child has cancer. Such changes can place children with cancer at risk both academically and emotionally. Some suggestions for addressing this issue are explored.

year: 2003

title: Ultradian, circadian and seasonal rhythms in cortisol secretion and adrenal responsiveness to ACTH and yarding in unrestrained red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags

authors: Ingram, J.R.

abstract: Seasonal changes in the activity and responsiveness of the adrenal gland in red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags were quantified by measuring 24 h endogenous cortisol secretory profiles and plasma cortisol responses to either administration of exogenous ACTH or a standardised stressor during November (period of velvet growth), February (pre-rut), April (mid-rut) and July (post-rut) (southern hemisphere) using a remote blood sampling device (DracPac). Ultradian rhythms in the concentration of plasma cortisol were observed resulting from the episodic secretion of cortisol from the adrenal cortex at a mean rate of 0.8 pulses/h. Circadian rhythms in plasma cortisol concentrations were also found in 11 out of the 20 complete 24 h profiles (mean amplitude, 3.8+/-1.4 ng/ml). Seasonal rhythms in mean 24 h plasma cortisol concentrations and cortisol pulse parameters were also observed. Mean 24 h plasma cortisol concentrations were higher in November (12.5+/-1.0 ng/ml) than in February (6.3+/-1.0 ng/ml), April (4.0+/-1.0 ng/ml) or July (4.2+/-1. 0 ng/ml). Cortisol pulse height, nadir and amplitude were all significantly higher in November than at other times of the year (P<0.01). Peak cortisol concentrations following infusion of ACTH(1-24) (0.04 IU kg(-1)) were higher (P<0.05) in November (55.8+/-2.7 ng/ml) and lower (P<0.001) in April (33.7+/-1.8 ng/ml) than those in February and July (48.7+/-2.0 ng/ml and 45.4+/-2.0 ng/ml respectively). The area under the cortisol response curve was significantly smaller (P<0.05) in April (266.6+/-15.3 ng/ml/190 min) than at other times of the year (February, 366.1+/-15.3 ng/ml/190 min; July, 340.7+/-15.3 ng/ml/190 min and November, 387.8+/-21.2 ng/ml/190 min). These data demonstrate that the adrenal gland of the red deer stag exhibits ultradian, circadian and seasonal rhythms in activity, and that its responsiveness to ACTH varies with season. November, a period of reproductive quiescence in the southern hemisphere, with new antler growth and rapid weight gain, is associated with higher mean plasma cortisol concentrations and a greater responsiveness to exogenous ACTH. In contrast, the breeding season is associated with lower adrenal activity and responsiveness.

text: Ultradian, circadian and seasonal rhythms in cortisol secretion and adrenal responsiveness to ACTH and yarding in unrestrained red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags Seasonal changes in the activity and responsiveness of the adrenal gland in red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags were quantified by measuring 24 h endogenous cortisol secretory profiles and plasma cortisol responses to either administration of exogenous ACTH or a standardised stressor during November (period of velvet growth), February (pre-rut), April (mid-rut) and July (post-rut) (southern hemisphere) using a remote blood sampling device (DracPac). Ultradian rhythms in the concentration of plasma cortisol were observed resulting from the episodic secretion of cortisol from the adrenal cortex at a mean rate of 0.8 pulses/h. Circadian rhythms in plasma cortisol concentrations were also found in 11 out of the 20 complete 24 h profiles (mean amplitude, 3.8+/-1.4 ng/ml). Seasonal rhythms in mean 24 h plasma cortisol concentrations and cortisol pulse parameters were also observed. Mean 24 h plasma cortisol concentrations were higher in November (12.5+/-1.0 ng/ml) than in February (6.3+/-1.0 ng/ml), April (4.0+/-1.0 ng/ml) or July (4.2+/-1. 0 ng/ml). Cortisol pulse height, nadir and amplitude were all significantly higher in November than at other times of the year (P<0.01). Peak cortisol concentrations following infusion of ACTH(1-24) (0.04 IU kg(-1)) were higher (P<0.05) in November (55.8+/-2.7 ng/ml) and lower (P<0.001) in April (33.7+/-1.8 ng/ml) than those in February and July (48.7+/-2.0 ng/ml and 45.4+/-2.0 ng/ml respectively). The area under the cortisol response curve was significantly smaller (P<0.05) in April (266.6+/-15.3 ng/ml/190 min) than at other times of the year (February, 366.1+/-15.3 ng/ml/190 min; July, 340.7+/-15.3 ng/ml/190 min and November, 387.8+/-21.2 ng/ml/190 min). These data demonstrate that the adrenal gland of the red deer stag exhibits ultradian, circadian and seasonal rhythms in activity, and that its responsiveness to ACTH varies with season. November, a period of reproductive quiescence in the southern hemisphere, with new antler growth and rapid weight gain, is associated with higher mean plasma cortisol concentrations and a greater responsiveness to exogenous ACTH. In contrast, the breeding season is associated with lower adrenal activity and responsiveness.

year: 1999

title: Te ahi tawhito, te ahi tipua, te ahi nā Mahuika: Re-igniting native women’s ceremony

authors: Murphy, Ngahuia Aroha Grace

subjects: Native women's ceremony

abstract: This research examines the multiple ways in which Māori, and Hawai’ian and Native American women, are re-activating feminine ceremonial forms and recovering sacred relationships with customary feminine deities. Attention is focused on the creation of personal ritual practices that respond to contemporary decolonising and ecological contexts.
A mana wahine theoretical and methodological framework motivated by emancipatory agendas that seek to facilitate transformation is used. Key to mana wahine projects is the creation of space for Native women to define themselves and their own stories and knowledges. This is important because Native women’s voices, knowledge and ritual histories continue to be marginalised. Furthermore, debased colonial renditions of femininity, which have been reproduced, perpetuate patriarchal and colonial politics that engender discord in Native communities today.  
The study used a suite of complimentary methods to engage 45 Native women and men. Interviews and kōrero (discussion), ceremony, mana wahine wānanga (women’s sacred learning space), Native sacred site visits, solicited journals, collaboration in ritual theatre productions, and analysis of mana wahine artworks as discursive texts were employed to gather stories of spiritual continuation that are unique and largely unchartered in academia. 
The empirical material is organised around four themes in four different chapters. The first of these empirical chapters re-interprets colonial ethnographic material alongside karakia (incantations), mōteatea (songs), cosmological and tribal stories, to reveal bold examples of Māori female ritual leadership. The second empirical chapter comprises an analysis of key colonial processes that have attempted to erase Native women’s ritual ontologies and the strident expressions of Native women’s resistance to colonial imperatives. The third empirical chapter investigates the multiple channels through which Native women are restoring their ceremonial lives. The fourth chapter investigates rerenga atua (menstruation) rituals that celebrate the Native feminine body as a cosmological site of communion with feminine deities. 
The rich weave of Native women’s stories of ceremony, old and new, threads into decolonising Indigenous scholarship around the world that also seeks to recover the sacred feminine as a key site of Native sovereignty. These discussions reveal a self-renewing Native belief system based on vibrant and evolving rituals that respond directly to current socio-political, spiritual and ecological realities.

text: Te ahi tawhito, te ahi tipua, te ahi nā Mahuika: Re-igniting native women’s ceremony This research examines the multiple ways in which Māori, and Hawai’ian and Native American women, are re-activating feminine ceremonial forms and recovering sacred relationships with customary feminine deities. Attention is focused on the creation of personal ritual practices that respond to contemporary decolonising and ecological contexts.
A mana wahine theoretical and methodological framework motivated by emancipatory agendas that seek to facilitate transformation is used. Key to mana wahine projects is the creation of space for Native women to define themselves and their own stories and knowledges. This is important because Native women’s voices, knowledge and ritual histories continue to be marginalised. Furthermore, debased colonial renditions of femininity, which have been reproduced, perpetuate patriarchal and colonial politics that engender discord in Native communities today.  
The study used a suite of complimentary methods to engage 45 Native women and men. Interviews and kōrero (discussion), ceremony, mana wahine wānanga (women’s sacred learning space), Native sacred site visits, solicited journals, collaboration in ritual theatre productions, and analysis of mana wahine artworks as discursive texts were employed to gather stories of spiritual continuation that are unique and largely unchartered in academia. 
The empirical material is organised around four themes in four different chapters. The first of these empirical chapters re-interprets colonial ethnographic material alongside karakia (incantations), mōteatea (songs), cosmological and tribal stories, to reveal bold examples of Māori female ritual leadership. The second empirical chapter comprises an analysis of key colonial processes that have attempted to erase Native women’s ritual ontologies and the strident expressions of Native women’s resistance to colonial imperatives. The third empirical chapter investigates the multiple channels through which Native women are restoring their ceremonial lives. The fourth chapter investigates rerenga atua (menstruation) rituals that celebrate the Native feminine body as a cosmological site of communion with feminine deities. 
The rich weave of Native women’s stories of ceremony, old and new, threads into decolonising Indigenous scholarship around the world that also seeks to recover the sacred feminine as a key site of Native sovereignty. These discussions reveal a self-renewing Native belief system based on vibrant and evolving rituals that respond directly to current socio-political, spiritual and ecological realities.

year: 2019