title: Differences that matter: From ‘gender’ to ‘ethnicity’ in  contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Simon-Kumar, Rachel

subjects: Aotearoa New Zealand

abstract: Gender and ethnicity are recognised as two of the leading axes of marginality in late twentieth century western liberal democratic societies – the former emerged in the wake of Second Wave feminism of the 1970s and the latter, with the rise of ‘identity politics’ in the 1980s and 1990s. Both have similarities. As categories of disadvantage, their basis is ‘natural’ in that the complex webs of social and political organisation, and consequent  disadvantages, based on gender or ethnicity can be traced to physiology, that is, differences in either skin colour or sex. These are also, as Nancy Fraser (1997) points out, ‘bivalent categories’ of disadvantage in that gender and ethnicity display simultaneous discriminations in areas of resource allocation (Redistribution) and as socially acceptable identities (Recognition). 
Here, however, the common trajectory followed by these social markers ends. Drawing on the changing nature of society and governance in New Zealand, the present paper argues that the differences between gender and ethnicity, rather than their similarities,expose fundamental attributes of contemporary marginality in increasingly  diverse western democracies. This paper advances the following proposition (and contradiction): in the past decade, ethnicity and diversity as an axis of social division has gained credibility and has markedly influenced political, economic and social (re)organisation in New Zealand, while in contrast, it has proven harder to justify gender  as structural disadvantage. Thus, while the boundaries of ‘gender’ are ruptured, porous and, at moments, open to erasure, ‘ethnicity’ has coalesced to become a new, valid, and increasingly relevant border of social inequity.

text: Differences that matter: From ‘gender’ to ‘ethnicity’ in  contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand Gender and ethnicity are recognised as two of the leading axes of marginality in late twentieth century western liberal democratic societies – the former emerged in the wake of Second Wave feminism of the 1970s and the latter, with the rise of ‘identity politics’ in the 1980s and 1990s. Both have similarities. As categories of disadvantage, their basis is ‘natural’ in that the complex webs of social and political organisation, and consequent  disadvantages, based on gender or ethnicity can be traced to physiology, that is, differences in either skin colour or sex. These are also, as Nancy Fraser (1997) points out, ‘bivalent categories’ of disadvantage in that gender and ethnicity display simultaneous discriminations in areas of resource allocation (Redistribution) and as socially acceptable identities (Recognition). 
Here, however, the common trajectory followed by these social markers ends. Drawing on the changing nature of society and governance in New Zealand, the present paper argues that the differences between gender and ethnicity, rather than their similarities,expose fundamental attributes of contemporary marginality in increasingly  diverse western democracies. This paper advances the following proposition (and contradiction): in the past decade, ethnicity and diversity as an axis of social division has gained credibility and has markedly influenced political, economic and social (re)organisation in New Zealand, while in contrast, it has proven harder to justify gender  as structural disadvantage. Thus, while the boundaries of ‘gender’ are ruptured, porous and, at moments, open to erasure, ‘ethnicity’ has coalesced to become a new, valid, and increasingly relevant border of social inequity.

year: 2011

title: Verifying clustered mutation regions inside the newly-completed genome of a clinically-significant New Zealand Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain

authors: Steele, Mackenzie

subjects: Tuberculosis

abstract: In 2019, active infections of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) affected 10 million people globally, with 1.4 million deaths, and an additional 1.7-1.9 billion people infected without symptomatic disease (latent Mtb). While Mtb is often associated with Asia and Africa, New Zealand had 360 Mtb infections and 21 deaths in 2019, and roughly 20% of cases were caused by three strains unique to New Zealand. One is CS1 (formerly Rangipo), which is known to be more transmissible than its relatives and has been causing outbreaks in the Waikato region for 30 years. As CS1 has genetic features linked to virulence in unrelated Mtb strains, having a complete and accurate record of genetic features is important, in particular those with the potential to change protein structure (Variable Regions Inside Proteins, VRIPs). Resolving VRIPs would simultaneously remove sequencing mistakes and increase knowledge about Mtb virulence. The aim of this project was to investigate the genetic cause of improved transmissibility in CS1 and produce a closed genome.
Sequencing data from Illumina and PacBio reads was processed, assembled, and checked for quality discrepancies which would require more sequencing to resolve. VRIPs were mapped alongside regions of low-quality data, low data-coverage, and repeat regions. Characteristics of the CS1 genome, such as repeat levels and size, were found by comparing with the reference strain H37Rv.
The read data and assembly were found to be good quality, and the genome is of high enough quality to be considered closed. As expected, some regions of low coverage and poor quality were discovered inside large repeat regions, and more work on these would be valuable. 13 of the 32 VRIPs were verified, all linked with virulence factors. 5 verified VRIPs caused genes to split into domains, accumulating mutations in the non-coding region. Further work resolving the remaining 19 VRIPs is recommended.

text: Verifying clustered mutation regions inside the newly-completed genome of a clinically-significant New Zealand Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain In 2019, active infections of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) affected 10 million people globally, with 1.4 million deaths, and an additional 1.7-1.9 billion people infected without symptomatic disease (latent Mtb). While Mtb is often associated with Asia and Africa, New Zealand had 360 Mtb infections and 21 deaths in 2019, and roughly 20% of cases were caused by three strains unique to New Zealand. One is CS1 (formerly Rangipo), which is known to be more transmissible than its relatives and has been causing outbreaks in the Waikato region for 30 years. As CS1 has genetic features linked to virulence in unrelated Mtb strains, having a complete and accurate record of genetic features is important, in particular those with the potential to change protein structure (Variable Regions Inside Proteins, VRIPs). Resolving VRIPs would simultaneously remove sequencing mistakes and increase knowledge about Mtb virulence. The aim of this project was to investigate the genetic cause of improved transmissibility in CS1 and produce a closed genome.
Sequencing data from Illumina and PacBio reads was processed, assembled, and checked for quality discrepancies which would require more sequencing to resolve. VRIPs were mapped alongside regions of low-quality data, low data-coverage, and repeat regions. Characteristics of the CS1 genome, such as repeat levels and size, were found by comparing with the reference strain H37Rv.
The read data and assembly were found to be good quality, and the genome is of high enough quality to be considered closed. As expected, some regions of low coverage and poor quality were discovered inside large repeat regions, and more work on these would be valuable. 13 of the 32 VRIPs were verified, all linked with virulence factors. 5 verified VRIPs caused genes to split into domains, accumulating mutations in the non-coding region. Further work resolving the remaining 19 VRIPs is recommended.

year: 2021

title: Studies on the conservation of waterlogged wood in New Zealand

authors: Wallace, Roderick Thomas

abstract: This thesis is a study of properties of certain New Zealand woods recovered from waterlogged environments. The woods are those which were commonly used by the pre-european Maori to make artefacts, and the properties are those which affect the way these artefacts can be conserved after they have been removed from wet archaeological sites.
The properties studied were (a) the species of wood used (b) the forms and shapes of the timbers (c) the densities (d) directional shrinkages, and (e) directional penetrabilities of each wood. The results of this research are intended to aid conservators to correctly treat the artefacts. 
The research began with studies of (a) New Zealand wet site archaeology, (b) the structure and properties of wood in general, and (c) the techniques used to conserve waterlogged wood worldwide.
This was followed by a survey of circa. 1000 wooden Maori artefacts from Museums involving the identification, by thin section microscopy, of wood species. 30 wood types from 22 tree species were found to have been widely used. A collection was made of samples of each type in different states of decay. 
Each sample was tested for density, directional shrinkage and directional penetrability.
The penetrability was measured by vacuum impregnation of water into wood blocks. Results were compared to those from sound oak (Quercus robur), a wood which has been studied intensively by conservators in Europe. 
Detailed summaries of the conservation properties of 26 wood types are given. This reveals that while some New Zealand woods are easy to conserve others provide considerable problems. The latter woods are all highly durable in wet sites, extremely dense, have high shrinkages and are highly impenetrable. These will require special types of treatment to avoid damage during conservation.

text: Studies on the conservation of waterlogged wood in New Zealand This thesis is a study of properties of certain New Zealand woods recovered from waterlogged environments. The woods are those which were commonly used by the pre-european Maori to make artefacts, and the properties are those which affect the way these artefacts can be conserved after they have been removed from wet archaeological sites.
The properties studied were (a) the species of wood used (b) the forms and shapes of the timbers (c) the densities (d) directional shrinkages, and (e) directional penetrabilities of each wood. The results of this research are intended to aid conservators to correctly treat the artefacts. 
The research began with studies of (a) New Zealand wet site archaeology, (b) the structure and properties of wood in general, and (c) the techniques used to conserve waterlogged wood worldwide.
This was followed by a survey of circa. 1000 wooden Maori artefacts from Museums involving the identification, by thin section microscopy, of wood species. 30 wood types from 22 tree species were found to have been widely used. A collection was made of samples of each type in different states of decay. 
Each sample was tested for density, directional shrinkage and directional penetrability.
The penetrability was measured by vacuum impregnation of water into wood blocks. Results were compared to those from sound oak (Quercus robur), a wood which has been studied intensively by conservators in Europe. 
Detailed summaries of the conservation properties of 26 wood types are given. This reveals that while some New Zealand woods are easy to conserve others provide considerable problems. The latter woods are all highly durable in wet sites, extremely dense, have high shrinkages and are highly impenetrable. These will require special types of treatment to avoid damage during conservation.

year: 1985