title: Carbon capture and storage law for New Zealand: A comparative study

authors: Barton, Barry

subjects: environmental law

abstract: Carbon capture and storage, or geosequestration, is an emerging technique to address climate change by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide. New Zealand law does not presently provide for carbon capture and storage. The Crown Minerals Act 1991 and the Resource Management Act 1991 do not make it possible. Canada and Australia offer useful comparisons, as, to a lesser extent, do the European Union and the United States. The comparisons assist in an analysis of the main issues involved in creating a legal regime for New Zealand: rights to real property, title or permits, relationship with oil and gas operations, regulation, liability, and relationships with other legislation.

text: Carbon capture and storage law for New Zealand: A comparative study Carbon capture and storage, or geosequestration, is an emerging technique to address climate change by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide. New Zealand law does not presently provide for carbon capture and storage. The Crown Minerals Act 1991 and the Resource Management Act 1991 do not make it possible. Canada and Australia offer useful comparisons, as, to a lesser extent, do the European Union and the United States. The comparisons assist in an analysis of the main issues involved in creating a legal regime for New Zealand: rights to real property, title or permits, relationship with oil and gas operations, regulation, liability, and relationships with other legislation.

year: 2009

title: The Association of Outer Ear Commensal Bacteria with Otitis Media in Children

authors: White, Rebecca Katharine

subjects: Otitis media

abstract: Background:
Middle ear infections (otitis media) are a significant burden on children’s health. They are one of the more common childhood ailments and are responsible for about a third of children’s general practitioner visits. Three bacteria of the nasopharynx have been well documented as true pathogens of otitis media. These are Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. A newer bacterium, Alloiococcus otitidis, which is more difficult to culture than the initial three pathogens, was discovered in 1989 by Faden & Dryja. 
The pathogenicity of A. otitidis in otitis media is controversial, as is the association of two other bacteria, Turicella otitidis and Corynebacterium auris. These three bacteria are regarded as commensals of the outer ear canal, and how they move into the middle ear is subject to much debate. My hypothesis is that during a primary middle ear infection, commensal bacteria of the external ear canal may be able to move through the inflamed tympanic membrane and into the middle ear where they act as opportunistic pathogens. This may create a more persistent bacterial infection, with greater resistance to antibiotic therapies. 
Methods:
DNA was extracted directly from swabs of the outer ear canal and nasopharynx of children with otitis media and otitis-free controls, and from the middle ear exudates of the otitis media study group. This DNA was then amplified using primers specific for each of the organisms of interest. The presence of a specific PCR product, confirmed by DNA sequencing, indicated a positive result.
Swabs from each of the sites of interest were also grown on 10% Columbia blood agar, 10% Columbia chocolate agar and in BHI broth supplemented with foetal calf serum. These results gave further information on bacterial presence in New Zealand children beyond the six studied. 
Sau-PCR microbial community profiling was used to demonstrate the diversity of species present in the polymicrobial samples. DNA was restriction digested and the resulting banding patterns were compared between study sites, and study groups.
Results and Conclusions:
Moraxella species colonised the outer ear canal of control participants more regularly than the outer ear canal of otitis media patients (58% vs. 33%). This difference was found to be statistically significant (p= 0.0023). Differences between the colonisation of the outer ear canal and nasopharyngeal body sites were found at a statistically significant level in control participants with A. otitidis (p=0.0433), C. auris (p=0.0000), T. otitidis (p=0.0050) and Moraxella spp. (p=0.0005). Of the same body sites in otitis media patients, only the colonisation of C. auris (p=0.0002) and T. otitidis (p=0.0004) were found to be statistically significant. This shows that four of the six studied bacteria colonise both anatomical sites in otitis media patients in a similar manner (without statistical significance), as opposed to only two in the control participants.
Of the six bacterial species analysed using non-culture techniques, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and C. auris failed to be cultured. This may show that storage prior to analysis made samples less suitable for culture based research. A number of other species were cultured, with subsequent sequencing identifying them. This included species thought to be associated with a decreased risk of developing otitis media, found in both of the control participant nasopharynxes that were studied, and in only one nasopharynx from the otitis media group. A. otitidis was cultured regularly in outer ear samples, and one middle ear effusion.
Sau-PCR microbial profiling was an effective but crude indication of microbial diversity. Otitis media patient nasopharyngeal profiles resembled each other, with resemblance extending to the middle ear effusion profile. Control participant banding patterns within sites were similar, but this resemblance did not extend to the otitis media group profiles. Comparisons between the banding patterns from known bacterial species to those of unknown polymicrobial species were useful if the identifying species had a unique banding pattern, as with A. otitidis. Sau-PCR therefore proved useful in analysing the complexities that are polymicrobial samples, however identifications of these species by cloning proved unsuccessful.
Further research using all the techniques above with increased numbers of participants is necessary to substantiate results of this study. Information on antibiotic resistance, viral presence, and biofilm status could prove useful information in helping treat infection.

text: The Association of Outer Ear Commensal Bacteria with Otitis Media in Children Background:
Middle ear infections (otitis media) are a significant burden on children’s health. They are one of the more common childhood ailments and are responsible for about a third of children’s general practitioner visits. Three bacteria of the nasopharynx have been well documented as true pathogens of otitis media. These are Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. A newer bacterium, Alloiococcus otitidis, which is more difficult to culture than the initial three pathogens, was discovered in 1989 by Faden & Dryja. 
The pathogenicity of A. otitidis in otitis media is controversial, as is the association of two other bacteria, Turicella otitidis and Corynebacterium auris. These three bacteria are regarded as commensals of the outer ear canal, and how they move into the middle ear is subject to much debate. My hypothesis is that during a primary middle ear infection, commensal bacteria of the external ear canal may be able to move through the inflamed tympanic membrane and into the middle ear where they act as opportunistic pathogens. This may create a more persistent bacterial infection, with greater resistance to antibiotic therapies. 
Methods:
DNA was extracted directly from swabs of the outer ear canal and nasopharynx of children with otitis media and otitis-free controls, and from the middle ear exudates of the otitis media study group. This DNA was then amplified using primers specific for each of the organisms of interest. The presence of a specific PCR product, confirmed by DNA sequencing, indicated a positive result.
Swabs from each of the sites of interest were also grown on 10% Columbia blood agar, 10% Columbia chocolate agar and in BHI broth supplemented with foetal calf serum. These results gave further information on bacterial presence in New Zealand children beyond the six studied. 
Sau-PCR microbial community profiling was used to demonstrate the diversity of species present in the polymicrobial samples. DNA was restriction digested and the resulting banding patterns were compared between study sites, and study groups.
Results and Conclusions:
Moraxella species colonised the outer ear canal of control participants more regularly than the outer ear canal of otitis media patients (58% vs. 33%). This difference was found to be statistically significant (p= 0.0023). Differences between the colonisation of the outer ear canal and nasopharyngeal body sites were found at a statistically significant level in control participants with A. otitidis (p=0.0433), C. auris (p=0.0000), T. otitidis (p=0.0050) and Moraxella spp. (p=0.0005). Of the same body sites in otitis media patients, only the colonisation of C. auris (p=0.0002) and T. otitidis (p=0.0004) were found to be statistically significant. This shows that four of the six studied bacteria colonise both anatomical sites in otitis media patients in a similar manner (without statistical significance), as opposed to only two in the control participants.
Of the six bacterial species analysed using non-culture techniques, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and C. auris failed to be cultured. This may show that storage prior to analysis made samples less suitable for culture based research. A number of other species were cultured, with subsequent sequencing identifying them. This included species thought to be associated with a decreased risk of developing otitis media, found in both of the control participant nasopharynxes that were studied, and in only one nasopharynx from the otitis media group. A. otitidis was cultured regularly in outer ear samples, and one middle ear effusion.
Sau-PCR microbial profiling was an effective but crude indication of microbial diversity. Otitis media patient nasopharyngeal profiles resembled each other, with resemblance extending to the middle ear effusion profile. Control participant banding patterns within sites were similar, but this resemblance did not extend to the otitis media group profiles. Comparisons between the banding patterns from known bacterial species to those of unknown polymicrobial species were useful if the identifying species had a unique banding pattern, as with A. otitidis. Sau-PCR therefore proved useful in analysing the complexities that are polymicrobial samples, however identifications of these species by cloning proved unsuccessful.
Further research using all the techniques above with increased numbers of participants is necessary to substantiate results of this study. Information on antibiotic resistance, viral presence, and biofilm status could prove useful information in helping treat infection.

year: 2012

title: Volunteering at the edge of chaos: A case study on the self-organising of younger volunteers during the Rena oil spill crisis

authors: Lockwood, Sarah Jane

subjects: volunteer

abstract: This thesis investigates the self-organising of younger volunteers during the 2011 Rena oil spill crisis in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It builds on emerging research that considers the relationships between volunteering and activism and focuses on the ways in which younger volunteers carved out a ‘volunteer-activist’ space for themselves on the edge of the formal crisis responses.  
The research adopts a case study approach and uses an interpretive lens to investigate three research questions: (1) How was volunteering conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?; (2) How did the generational dynamics of younger volunteers affect the various organising responses to the Rena event?; and, (3) How was self-organising conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?
The data comprised interviews with 53 participants, 38 of whom were classified as younger volunteers (16-29 years of age) and 15 who held positions of authority in the Rena crisis response and who had high levels of engagement with the younger volunteers. By examining the intersections and overlaps of self-organising, younger generations of volunteers, and crisis events through a social constructionist methodology combined with an interpretive lens and reflexive position, the thesis makes several theoretical and practical contributions.
At a theoretical level, the thesis challenges traditional crisis management approaches dominated by command and control, formal, or top down organisational structures and arrangements. The thesis demonstrates how, as active members of society, younger volunteers developed alternate forms of participation to strengthen crisis response. 
Power tensions between younger volunteers and crisis officials were grounded in a deep sense of frustration resulting from negative societal views toward younger generational cohorts and the structural workings of a risk society. By reconciling social and institutional grievances through self-organising, younger volunteers could take advantage of their marginalised position and enact self-reflexive responses in ways that were not readily available to them in everyday life. This sense of empowerment helped younger volunteers navigate the structural uncertainties they faced as they transitioned towards a competitive labour market and also to take greater control of their lives during a crisis.
From an Aotearoa/New Zealand, perspective, the thesis also provides insights into how younger Māori participants made sense of and enacted their ‘volunteer’ experience and how this experience was influenced by culturally embedded principles. Importantly, there appeared to be no generational differences between how younger and older Māori participants made sense of their ‘volunteer’ experience. Both groups were driven by collectivist orientations, which highlights the importance of contextualising culture in volunteer sector research. 
The social constructedness of the media technologies used by participants exposed broader power structures that existed within their generation-specific social worlds. To this end, media multiplexity showed how use of different communication technologies (1) supported the maintenance of relationships between participants and (2) was fundamental to the meaning participants attached to the different forms of technologies. These findings indicate the need to move away from the current literature’s focus on the tools of communication technologies used by younger people during crisis events, towards the meanings that exist behind the use of such technologies as well as the digital relationships fostered among volunteers. 
This thesis contributes to the scholarship on volunteering and activism by showing how self-organising emerged as an alternative form of activist—or activator—approach to volunteer participation within a crisis response. This approach enabled young volunteer-activators to move beyond their perceived sense of marginalisation and avoid those formal organisational forces that limit their sense of freedom and personal development. The result was an alternative crisis response of self-organised volunteering on the edge of chaos.

text: Volunteering at the edge of chaos: A case study on the self-organising of younger volunteers during the Rena oil spill crisis This thesis investigates the self-organising of younger volunteers during the 2011 Rena oil spill crisis in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It builds on emerging research that considers the relationships between volunteering and activism and focuses on the ways in which younger volunteers carved out a ‘volunteer-activist’ space for themselves on the edge of the formal crisis responses.  
The research adopts a case study approach and uses an interpretive lens to investigate three research questions: (1) How was volunteering conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?; (2) How did the generational dynamics of younger volunteers affect the various organising responses to the Rena event?; and, (3) How was self-organising conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?
The data comprised interviews with 53 participants, 38 of whom were classified as younger volunteers (16-29 years of age) and 15 who held positions of authority in the Rena crisis response and who had high levels of engagement with the younger volunteers. By examining the intersections and overlaps of self-organising, younger generations of volunteers, and crisis events through a social constructionist methodology combined with an interpretive lens and reflexive position, the thesis makes several theoretical and practical contributions.
At a theoretical level, the thesis challenges traditional crisis management approaches dominated by command and control, formal, or top down organisational structures and arrangements. The thesis demonstrates how, as active members of society, younger volunteers developed alternate forms of participation to strengthen crisis response. 
Power tensions between younger volunteers and crisis officials were grounded in a deep sense of frustration resulting from negative societal views toward younger generational cohorts and the structural workings of a risk society. By reconciling social and institutional grievances through self-organising, younger volunteers could take advantage of their marginalised position and enact self-reflexive responses in ways that were not readily available to them in everyday life. This sense of empowerment helped younger volunteers navigate the structural uncertainties they faced as they transitioned towards a competitive labour market and also to take greater control of their lives during a crisis.
From an Aotearoa/New Zealand, perspective, the thesis also provides insights into how younger Māori participants made sense of and enacted their ‘volunteer’ experience and how this experience was influenced by culturally embedded principles. Importantly, there appeared to be no generational differences between how younger and older Māori participants made sense of their ‘volunteer’ experience. Both groups were driven by collectivist orientations, which highlights the importance of contextualising culture in volunteer sector research. 
The social constructedness of the media technologies used by participants exposed broader power structures that existed within their generation-specific social worlds. To this end, media multiplexity showed how use of different communication technologies (1) supported the maintenance of relationships between participants and (2) was fundamental to the meaning participants attached to the different forms of technologies. These findings indicate the need to move away from the current literature’s focus on the tools of communication technologies used by younger people during crisis events, towards the meanings that exist behind the use of such technologies as well as the digital relationships fostered among volunteers. 
This thesis contributes to the scholarship on volunteering and activism by showing how self-organising emerged as an alternative form of activist—or activator—approach to volunteer participation within a crisis response. This approach enabled young volunteer-activators to move beyond their perceived sense of marginalisation and avoid those formal organisational forces that limit their sense of freedom and personal development. The result was an alternative crisis response of self-organised volunteering on the edge of chaos.

year: 2019