title: Characterisation of the aroma profiles of New Zealand monofloral honeys

authors: Thomas, Edie Rose

subjects: Honey

abstract: New Zealand hosts a variety of monofloral honeys with distinct aromas and flavours. These sensory properties are determined by the volatile organic compounds present in the honey, of which over 600 have been identified. The volatile profile of honey is primarily influenced by botanical origin, geographic origin, storage and processing conditions. Not all compounds in the volatile fraction are represented in the aroma profile of the honey, due to the varying odour thresholds at which compounds can be detected by the consumer. Volatile compounds in New Zealand honeys have previously been studied for authentication purposes, but no New Zealand studies to date have linked the volatile composition with honey aroma. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop and optimise a method for the extraction and analysis of volatile compounds in New Zealand monofloral honeys, to determine the chemical differences responsible for the unique aromas of honeys of different botanical origins.
Various methods were trialled for the extraction of the volatiles, which are present in very low concentrations, from the complex honey matrix. Solvent extraction using dichloromethane was chosen, and samples were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode. This demonstrated excellent sensitivity at the low part-per-billion level and allowed for identification of compounds not seen in total ion chromatograms. The method showed excellent precision and linearity over wide concentration ranges. Eighteen compounds were semi-quantified using this method, with full quantification achieved for four of these: nonanal, cineole, benzyl alcohol and guaiacol. Additional volatiles were screened using total ion chromatogram.
The optimised method was used for the analysis of 44 New Zealand monofloral honey samples spanning 11 floral origins. All 18 compounds were detected in all honey types, but not in all samples. ᴅ limonene, β-ionone and cineole are reported for the first time in any New Zealand honey, and phenylacetaldehyde and nonanal are reported for the first time in kānuka (Kunzea ericoides) honey. Results were comparable with the literature for these honey types, with mānuka honey characterised by o-methoxyacetophenone and kāmahi honey by 4-oxoisophorone. New Zealand clover honey contained low levels of volatiles which has also been reported for international clover honeys. The volatile profiles were also compared with odour thresholds to suggest possible aroma contributors for each honey type. Nonanal was determined to be aroma-active in all honeys analysed, and cineole in all but ling, lotus/blackberry and rātā. Chemometric methods including principal component analysis, classification and regression trees and linear discriminant analysis were used to identify similarities in samples based on their volatile profiles. Samples were classified by honey type using linear discriminant analysis with 82.9% accuracy, with the most accurate classification achieved for kāmahi and kānuka honeys.

text: Characterisation of the aroma profiles of New Zealand monofloral honeys New Zealand hosts a variety of monofloral honeys with distinct aromas and flavours. These sensory properties are determined by the volatile organic compounds present in the honey, of which over 600 have been identified. The volatile profile of honey is primarily influenced by botanical origin, geographic origin, storage and processing conditions. Not all compounds in the volatile fraction are represented in the aroma profile of the honey, due to the varying odour thresholds at which compounds can be detected by the consumer. Volatile compounds in New Zealand honeys have previously been studied for authentication purposes, but no New Zealand studies to date have linked the volatile composition with honey aroma. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop and optimise a method for the extraction and analysis of volatile compounds in New Zealand monofloral honeys, to determine the chemical differences responsible for the unique aromas of honeys of different botanical origins.
Various methods were trialled for the extraction of the volatiles, which are present in very low concentrations, from the complex honey matrix. Solvent extraction using dichloromethane was chosen, and samples were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode. This demonstrated excellent sensitivity at the low part-per-billion level and allowed for identification of compounds not seen in total ion chromatograms. The method showed excellent precision and linearity over wide concentration ranges. Eighteen compounds were semi-quantified using this method, with full quantification achieved for four of these: nonanal, cineole, benzyl alcohol and guaiacol. Additional volatiles were screened using total ion chromatogram.
The optimised method was used for the analysis of 44 New Zealand monofloral honey samples spanning 11 floral origins. All 18 compounds were detected in all honey types, but not in all samples. ᴅ limonene, β-ionone and cineole are reported for the first time in any New Zealand honey, and phenylacetaldehyde and nonanal are reported for the first time in kānuka (Kunzea ericoides) honey. Results were comparable with the literature for these honey types, with mānuka honey characterised by o-methoxyacetophenone and kāmahi honey by 4-oxoisophorone. New Zealand clover honey contained low levels of volatiles which has also been reported for international clover honeys. The volatile profiles were also compared with odour thresholds to suggest possible aroma contributors for each honey type. Nonanal was determined to be aroma-active in all honeys analysed, and cineole in all but ling, lotus/blackberry and rātā. Chemometric methods including principal component analysis, classification and regression trees and linear discriminant analysis were used to identify similarities in samples based on their volatile profiles. Samples were classified by honey type using linear discriminant analysis with 82.9% accuracy, with the most accurate classification achieved for kāmahi and kānuka honeys.

year: 2023

title: Education for power: English language in the workplace

authors: Hunter, Judy

abstract: Developed countries around the world are increasingly competing for highly skilled, educated immigrants. A case in point is Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The NZ Immigration Service actively encourages skilled migrants, and around the country there are numerous English language programmes focussing on English for employment. The dominant focus of these programmes is on migrants' acquisition of correct, appropriate language form, with some attention to intercultural communication. In the view of the authors, this focus is reductionist and provides inadequate preparation for communication in the workplace. This article considers ambiguity and power relations in positioning and interpreting migrant employees in the workplace. Two sets of data are drawn upon. First, a workplace ethnography in a 'migrant friendly' NZ engineering office reveals a management culture that exercises the power of the dominant Anglo-Saxon population to control and exclude a Japanese migrant engineer. Second, a published analysis of immigrant employees' interactions is revisited in order to interrogate the interpretation of workplace texts and underlying discourses of 'appropriate' workplace language. The analysis traces implications for both formal and informal education, and the discussion raises larger questions of social justice concerning migrants.

text: Education for power: English language in the workplace Developed countries around the world are increasingly competing for highly skilled, educated immigrants. A case in point is Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The NZ Immigration Service actively encourages skilled migrants, and around the country there are numerous English language programmes focussing on English for employment. The dominant focus of these programmes is on migrants' acquisition of correct, appropriate language form, with some attention to intercultural communication. In the view of the authors, this focus is reductionist and provides inadequate preparation for communication in the workplace. This article considers ambiguity and power relations in positioning and interpreting migrant employees in the workplace. Two sets of data are drawn upon. First, a workplace ethnography in a 'migrant friendly' NZ engineering office reveals a management culture that exercises the power of the dominant Anglo-Saxon population to control and exclude a Japanese migrant engineer. Second, a published analysis of immigrant employees' interactions is revisited in order to interrogate the interpretation of workplace texts and underlying discourses of 'appropriate' workplace language. The analysis traces implications for both formal and informal education, and the discussion raises larger questions of social justice concerning migrants.

year: 2014

title: Possibilities of transformation: discourses of difference in organisational communication

authors: Jones, Deborah Helen

abstract: In this thesis I set out to create an interdisciplinary location from which to address the relationship between gender and communication in an organisational context. I draw on feminist and post-structuralist theory to ask the question: How is ‘difference’ constructed in organisational communication? I use the term ‘difference’ here to indicate that I am interested in how ‘gender’ works in relationship with other kinds of difference, especially in relation to ethnic difference.

My thesis is intended as a contribution to feminist communication theory, and specifically, to the emerging field of feminist organisational communication. Because of the approach I take to ‘communication’, this project addresses broad issues of identity, agency and discourse in organisations. In this sense, I also see the thesis as a contribution to organisational studies, and particularly to the study of organisational discourse, which opens up new relationships between ‘organisation’ and ‘communication’. Interdisciplinarity itself is a key issue in my thesis, as I set out to create connections between disciplinary fields in the service of contesting them, rather than seeking to create new boundaries. A second key focus is the development of theoretical sophistication in the field of gender and communication. I draw on feminist/post-structuralist theory, especially feminist readings of Michel Foucault’s work to generate this development. My third key focus is the issue of agency, which I see as central to theorising organisational transformation, and also as central to re-thinking communication theory.

My writing strategies demonstrate my commitments to reflexivity in developing feminist/post-structuralist research epistemologies, and I experiment with ways of paying attention to issues of authority throughout the thesis. This thesis is divided into two main parts. In Chapters 2 to 6, I set up a theoretical framework for feminist/post-structuralist accounts of gender and ethnicity, and weave this theory through the literatures of ‘gender and communication’, ‘cross-cultural communication’, and ‘organisational communication’. I set out to produce an ‘autocritique’, an opportunity to draw on developments in post-structuralist theory to think differently about feminist ‘organisational communication’, putting it within a broader framework of ‘difference’.

In the second part of the thesis, Chapters 7 to 12, I put issues generated by this theoretical framework in a specific organisational context, asking: How are gender and ethnic differences constructed in the discourses of Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) and Biculturalism in New Zealand government organisations? Chapters 7 and 8 introduce my field studies methodology and research subjects, and provide background narratives which frame the historical and cultural context in which they were carried out. In Chapters 9 to 12 I carry out a discourse analysis of interviews with EEO and Biculturalism practitioners, and also analyse published and unpublished documents associated with ‘difference’ in employment policies. These accounts of field studies are intended as a series of experiments with theorising ‘organisational communication’ in different ways. I complete the thesis with a ‘Review’ (Chapter 13) in which I reflect on key theoretical threads, and on further questions that emerged during the project.

text: Possibilities of transformation: discourses of difference in organisational communication In this thesis I set out to create an interdisciplinary location from which to address the relationship between gender and communication in an organisational context. I draw on feminist and post-structuralist theory to ask the question: How is ‘difference’ constructed in organisational communication? I use the term ‘difference’ here to indicate that I am interested in how ‘gender’ works in relationship with other kinds of difference, especially in relation to ethnic difference.

My thesis is intended as a contribution to feminist communication theory, and specifically, to the emerging field of feminist organisational communication. Because of the approach I take to ‘communication’, this project addresses broad issues of identity, agency and discourse in organisations. In this sense, I also see the thesis as a contribution to organisational studies, and particularly to the study of organisational discourse, which opens up new relationships between ‘organisation’ and ‘communication’. Interdisciplinarity itself is a key issue in my thesis, as I set out to create connections between disciplinary fields in the service of contesting them, rather than seeking to create new boundaries. A second key focus is the development of theoretical sophistication in the field of gender and communication. I draw on feminist/post-structuralist theory, especially feminist readings of Michel Foucault’s work to generate this development. My third key focus is the issue of agency, which I see as central to theorising organisational transformation, and also as central to re-thinking communication theory.

My writing strategies demonstrate my commitments to reflexivity in developing feminist/post-structuralist research epistemologies, and I experiment with ways of paying attention to issues of authority throughout the thesis. This thesis is divided into two main parts. In Chapters 2 to 6, I set up a theoretical framework for feminist/post-structuralist accounts of gender and ethnicity, and weave this theory through the literatures of ‘gender and communication’, ‘cross-cultural communication’, and ‘organisational communication’. I set out to produce an ‘autocritique’, an opportunity to draw on developments in post-structuralist theory to think differently about feminist ‘organisational communication’, putting it within a broader framework of ‘difference’.

In the second part of the thesis, Chapters 7 to 12, I put issues generated by this theoretical framework in a specific organisational context, asking: How are gender and ethnic differences constructed in the discourses of Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) and Biculturalism in New Zealand government organisations? Chapters 7 and 8 introduce my field studies methodology and research subjects, and provide background narratives which frame the historical and cultural context in which they were carried out. In Chapters 9 to 12 I carry out a discourse analysis of interviews with EEO and Biculturalism practitioners, and also analyse published and unpublished documents associated with ‘difference’ in employment policies. These accounts of field studies are intended as a series of experiments with theorising ‘organisational communication’ in different ways. I complete the thesis with a ‘Review’ (Chapter 13) in which I reflect on key theoretical threads, and on further questions that emerged during the project.

year: 1998