title: Depositional record of historic lahars in the upper Whangaehu Valley, Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand: implications for trigger mechanisms, flow dynamics and lahar hazards

authors: Graettinger, Alison H.

subjects: lahars

abstract: Mt. Ruapehu, in the central North Island of New Zealand, is one of the most lahar-prone volcanoes in the world. Since historic observations began in 1861 AD, more than 50 individual lahars have been recorded in the Whangaehu valley alone, the natural outlet to the summit Crater Lake. These lahars have been triggered by a variety of mechanisms, including explosive eruptions that displaced Crater Lake water over the outlet or ejected it onto the snow-clad summit area of the volcano; rain-remobilisation of tephra deposits on steep slopes; displacement over the outlet as a result of syn-eruptive changes in lake bathymetry; and lake break-outs from Crater Lake following impoundment of excess water behind temporary barriers of tephra and/or ice emplaced over the outlet. However, only 9 lahar deposits can be distinguished in the upper Whangaehu valley on sedimentological, stratigraphic, geomorphic and petrological grounds, and these are skewed towards either the largest or the most recent flows. In some cases magnitude can be reconstructed from deposit geometry, with the largest lahars producing the highest level terraces, the coarsest deposits, and crossing drainage divides into normally inactive channels. This under-representation of historic events reflects the low preservation potential of unconsolidated deposits in a steep alpine environment, and the overprinting and recycling effect of large magnitude lahars that rework material down to bedrock and effectively reset the stratigraphic record. Development of magnitude-frequency relationships for Ruapehu lahars therefore requires the identification of lahar deposits in proximal, medial and distal settings in order to ensure that the full range of events is represented.

text: Depositional record of historic lahars in the upper Whangaehu Valley, Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand: implications for trigger mechanisms, flow dynamics and lahar hazards Mt. Ruapehu, in the central North Island of New Zealand, is one of the most lahar-prone volcanoes in the world. Since historic observations began in 1861 AD, more than 50 individual lahars have been recorded in the Whangaehu valley alone, the natural outlet to the summit Crater Lake. These lahars have been triggered by a variety of mechanisms, including explosive eruptions that displaced Crater Lake water over the outlet or ejected it onto the snow-clad summit area of the volcano; rain-remobilisation of tephra deposits on steep slopes; displacement over the outlet as a result of syn-eruptive changes in lake bathymetry; and lake break-outs from Crater Lake following impoundment of excess water behind temporary barriers of tephra and/or ice emplaced over the outlet. However, only 9 lahar deposits can be distinguished in the upper Whangaehu valley on sedimentological, stratigraphic, geomorphic and petrological grounds, and these are skewed towards either the largest or the most recent flows. In some cases magnitude can be reconstructed from deposit geometry, with the largest lahars producing the highest level terraces, the coarsest deposits, and crossing drainage divides into normally inactive channels. This under-representation of historic events reflects the low preservation potential of unconsolidated deposits in a steep alpine environment, and the overprinting and recycling effect of large magnitude lahars that rework material down to bedrock and effectively reset the stratigraphic record. Development of magnitude-frequency relationships for Ruapehu lahars therefore requires the identification of lahar deposits in proximal, medial and distal settings in order to ensure that the full range of events is represented.

year: 2010

title: Medications, migration and the cultural texturing of familial healthcare

authors: Kamutingondo, Stanley

subjects: medications

abstract: Medications are a central part of health care systems, and are used to cure, halt or prevent diseases, and to easy symptoms. How medications are understood and used by people, including migrants in everyday life remains unclear. With globalisation on the increase, many people are no longer constrained to a single country. People often relocate to other countries where they may continue to maintain their cultural traditions and practices. Among the cultural traditions and practices maintained by migrants are their medication practices, customs and understandings. This thesis explores understandings, uses and social practices associated with medications in the everyday lives of three migrant groups. These groups are represented by three Zimbabwean, three Tongan and three Chinese households who have relocated to New Zealand. Householder experiences, medication practices and associated understandings were collated using a variety of methods. These included individual interviews with the households, household discussions, photographs, diaries, material objects, and media content to capture the complex and fluid nature of popular understandings and use of medications. This thesis provides insight into the cultural values and practices of these nine migrant households pertaining to how they acquire, use, share, and store their indigenous and biomedical medications. My focus on medications and the sourcing of these medicinal objects within New Zealand and from migrants’ countries of origin sheds new light on hybrid healthcare practices in the present epoch of global relocation. The study takes into account different forms of medications. These include biomedical drugs, alternative medicines, traditional medicines and dietary supplements.

text: Medications, migration and the cultural texturing of familial healthcare Medications are a central part of health care systems, and are used to cure, halt or prevent diseases, and to easy symptoms. How medications are understood and used by people, including migrants in everyday life remains unclear. With globalisation on the increase, many people are no longer constrained to a single country. People often relocate to other countries where they may continue to maintain their cultural traditions and practices. Among the cultural traditions and practices maintained by migrants are their medication practices, customs and understandings. This thesis explores understandings, uses and social practices associated with medications in the everyday lives of three migrant groups. These groups are represented by three Zimbabwean, three Tongan and three Chinese households who have relocated to New Zealand. Householder experiences, medication practices and associated understandings were collated using a variety of methods. These included individual interviews with the households, household discussions, photographs, diaries, material objects, and media content to capture the complex and fluid nature of popular understandings and use of medications. This thesis provides insight into the cultural values and practices of these nine migrant households pertaining to how they acquire, use, share, and store their indigenous and biomedical medications. My focus on medications and the sourcing of these medicinal objects within New Zealand and from migrants’ countries of origin sheds new light on hybrid healthcare practices in the present epoch of global relocation. The study takes into account different forms of medications. These include biomedical drugs, alternative medicines, traditional medicines and dietary supplements.

year: 2014

title: Holding a mirror to society? Sociodemographic diversity within clinical psychology training programmes across Aotearoa.

authors: Scarf, Damian

subjects: Education, Medical

abstract: It has recently been demonstrated by Crampton et al that there has been a marked increase in the sociodemographic diversity of the University of Otago’s health professional programmes between 2010 and 2016.1 This change is evidenced by the fact that a historic 76 health professional Māori graduates crossed the Dunedin Town Hall stage in December 2018. A key driver of this change was the University of Otago’s Division of Health Sciences Mirror on Society selection policy. Here, by documenting the sociodemographic diversity of an equally important professional programme, clinical psychology, we highlight the need for similar selection policies to be implemented Aotearoa/New Zealand wide.

text: Holding a mirror to society? Sociodemographic diversity within clinical psychology training programmes across Aotearoa. It has recently been demonstrated by Crampton et al that there has been a marked increase in the sociodemographic diversity of the University of Otago’s health professional programmes between 2010 and 2016.1 This change is evidenced by the fact that a historic 76 health professional Māori graduates crossed the Dunedin Town Hall stage in December 2018. A key driver of this change was the University of Otago’s Division of Health Sciences Mirror on Society selection policy. Here, by documenting the sociodemographic diversity of an equally important professional programme, clinical psychology, we highlight the need for similar selection policies to be implemented Aotearoa/New Zealand wide.

year: 2019