Letter from New York

Julia Crowe interviews Peter Argondizza in New York regarding his career as a guitarist

The role of financial hardship, mastery and social support in the association between employment status and depression: Results from an Australian longitudinal cohort study

Objective There is robust epidemiological and clinical evidence of the harmful effects of unemployment on psychological well-being, but the mechanisms through which this occurs is still strongly debated. In addition, there is even less evidence on the impact of underemployment on mental health. Using longitudinal data collected from a cohort of 20–24 years old, the present study examines a range of employed states and investigates the role of mastery, financial hardship and social support in the relationship between labour status and depression. Method Responses were from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project: A representative, community-based survey conducted in Canberra and Queanbeyan (NSW) in Australia, where respondents (n=2404) in their early twenties were followed for 8 years. Depression was measured using the self-report Goldberg Depression Scale, with the likely presence of depression being indicated by scores 7 or greater. Results The analyses identified unemployment and underemployment as significant predictors of depression, compared to their employed counterparts. Both unemployment and underemployment remained significantly correlated with depression even after accounting for sociodemographic, economic and psychological variables. Social support, financial hardship and a sense of personal control (mastery) all emerged as important mediators between unemployment and depression. Conclusions Both unemployment and underemployment were associated with increased risk of depression. The strength of this relationship was attenuated but remained significant after accounting for key variables (mastery, financial hardship and social support), and extensive sociodemographic and health covariates, indicating that no or inade­quate employment contributes to poorer mental health over and above these factors

Oxidative Stress Resulting From Helicobacter pylori Infection Contributes to Gastric Carcinogenesis.

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium that infects the stomach and can lead to, among other disorders, the development of gastric cancer. The inability of the host to clear the infection results in a chronic inflammatory state with continued oxidative stress within the tissue. Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species produced by the immune and epithelial cells damage the host cells and can result in DNA damage. H pylori has evolved to evoke this damaging response while blunting the host's efforts to kill the bacteria. This long-lasting state with inflammation and oxidative stress can result in gastric carcinogenesis. Continued efforts to better understand the bacterium and the host response will serve to prevent or provide improved early diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer

Public Discourse as Information System: the Use of SSM to Facilitate ‘Healthier’ Stakeholder Discourse

This paper explores dialogue between the diverse stakeholders affected by the introduction of the BioFuels Sales Obligation policy in New Zealand. The research will use ‘rich pictures’ within the framework of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to evaluate the extent to which such abstract visualization might facilitate the communication of different viewpoints. It will examine whether the act of representation might encourage individuals, organizations and interest groups to reflect upon their beliefs and assumptions thereby contributing to a healthy discourse around the subject of New Zealand biofuels

Mervyn MCLEAN, Weavers of song. Polynesian music and dance

Puisse ce livre magnifique paraître en poche, à un prix abordable, pour garnir chaque atoll polynésien comme une preuve évidente d’héritages vivants ! On le placerait sur la table après le repas, en ayant eu bien soin de débarrasser les restes de nourriture pour ne pas mélanger le tapu avec le noa, et on le chanterait joyeusement en famille : « Nous sommes trois maintenant, qu’allons-nous chanter ? Va pour un Non nobis Domine ! » Ainsi en est-il pour un manuscrit du début du dix-neuvième sièc..

Jacob Wainwright LOVE. Samoan Variations/Jürg WASSMANN. The Song to the Flying Fox

Avec la généralisation du travail sur le terrain, ethnomusicologues, linguistes et anthropologues culturels ont été confrontés au problème de la compréhension de la poésie, en particulier de la poésie chantée. Souvent, les structures poétiques diffèrent de celles du langage parlé, et il arrive qu’elles restent un mystère total ; les métaphores risquent d’être obscures, il y a abondance d’ellipses, le langage peut être ancien ou inconnu (même dans le cas de langages spécifiquement réservés au ..

Hugo ZEMP : Écoute le bambou qui pleure. Récits de quatre musiciens mélanésiens (’Aré’aré, Îles Salomon). Textes de ’Irisipau, Warousu, Namohani’ai, Tahuniwapu recueillis et présentés par Hugo Zemp).

Le nouveau livre de Hugo Zemp sur les ’Aré’aré de Malaita puise dans le matériel biographique recueilli auprès de quatre interlocuteurs privilégiés qu’il fréquenta sur le terrain, surtout pendant les huit ans qui suivirent sa première visite aux Îles Salomon en 1969. Zemp compte déjà à son actif plus de vingt publications significatives sur les ’Aré’aré : livres, articles, films et enregistrements – sans compter les publications où il traite d’autres peuples des Îles Salomon. Sa production es..

Le séminaire européen d’ethnomusicologie, sienne, août 1989

La sixième réunion annuelle du Séminaire européen d’ethnomusicologie (SEEM) fut organisée du 18 au 21 août 1989 à Sienne par les membres italiens du SEEM en collaboration avec les Séminaires internationaux d’ethnomusicologie de l’Accademia Musicale Chigiana. Le SEEM se compose d’ethnomusicologues professionnels et d’étudiants avancés vivant et travaillant en Europe (ou ayant effectué la plus grande partie de leurs études en Europe), qui se réunissent chaque année pour échanger opinions et rés..

Richard Moyle. Tongan Music | Traditional Samoan Music

Mai 1972 : un cargo des îles, rouillé, sa ligne de flottaison submergée, vient d’accoster dans le port de Suva pour débarquer quatre cents vaillants Tongans qui se dirigent vers l’autre bout du parc du Prince Albert, le plus grand stade de rugby en plein air de tout Fidji, et qui font halte au milieu des bourrasques tropicales en attendant qu’on leur signale d’avancer en chantant sur cent cinquante mètres de pelouse éclairée violemment vers une tribune solitaire qui se dresse dans toute sa sp..

The design of dialogue

With the first commitment of the Kyoto Protocol commencing in 2008, many signatory governments have identified bio fuels as a favoured response to the problem of fulfilling their countries' pledges to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. Despite the tendency for pressure over climate change to expedite the commercialisation process, detailed evaluation of the claimed benefits, likely efficacy or environmental impact of bio fuels in New Zealand in the form of the Bio fuels Sales Obligation policy (BSO): a mandate place on the Oil Companies to supply a percentage of bio fuel. Systems thinking propound the notion of complex interrelatedness: a pivotal concept in our current understanding of the cumulative effects of greenhouse gas emissions and their relationship to climate change. It also recognizes that the multiple ways in which different stakeholders perceive a contentious question are an integral feature of any problematical situation. By applying systems concepts to qualitative research, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is therefore particularly suitable for the analysis of multiple stakeholder discourse in this situation. The present study employs SSM to examine stakeholder opinion through the construction of conceptual models in the form of rich pictures and root definitions. The researcher invited diverse stakeholders to ‘see what they were thinking’ and reflect upon the beliefs and assumptions that informed their views with respect to New Zealand bio fuels development. With reference to official documentation arising from the policy development process and through a series of interviews and a focus group, the research examines perceptions of the consultation process on bio fuels development and its contribution to informed decision-making. The study data indicates that the scope of enquiry tended to be restricted by early presuppositions regarding the consultation process and its desired outcomes, which consequently shifted the focus of consultation the enquiry from an assessment of the desirability of bio fuels to an appraisal of the feasibility of government policy. However inadvertently, communication was distorted. The research examines the basic assumptions that shaped the discourse and enabled already established opinions to prevail. Furthermore, the thesis explores how using SSM to surface tacit assumptions and challenge proposed models of intervention can help improve the reflexivity of discourse and decision-making. By ensuring open communication remains at the centre of discourse, SSM could provide a means of establishing productive conditions for learning and co-creative dialogue. Consequently the study has important implications for how the ‘health’ of public discourse in New Zealand might be sustained when addressing other similarly complex issues