Signifier of Kiwi Identity

Contested myths of origin surround one of New Zealand’s best-loved cultural icons, or ‘kiwiana’: a pull-along children’s toy called the Buzzy Bee. This paper clarifies those domains by presenting new information gleaned from Betty Schlesinger, widow of the bee’s inventor. Clarification is important because the Buzzy Bee is, as kiwiana, a material item strongly associated with Kiwi identity. As a Māori word, ‘Kiwi’ is a common, often self-ascribed, term identifying people from Aotearoa New Zealand. In clarifying the Buzzy Bee’s history, this paper adds new information to the knowledge base of what it means to be Kiwi. That knowledge base is enhanced, because this paper notes that the Buzzy Bee was invented and first manufactured here in New Zealand by Betty Schlesinger’s husband Maurice Schlesinger. Betty Schlesinger’s account contrasts more popular and well-known origin myths that have served to cloud the Bee’s definitive history. In clarifying the Buzzy Bee’s genesis using Betty Schlesinger’s narrative, this paper also emphasises the important link between identity, materiality and national identity

The Contested White Lady: A Critique of New Zealand Cultural Heritage Politics

This article critiques New Zealand’s cultural heritage politics by positing that vernacular items, like an iconic eatery called the White Lady, does not meet the legislative criteria enabling cultural heritage status. If vernacular artefacts, including ‘kiwiana’, are to be integrated within cultural heritage, then changes within legislation, definitions and participant preconceptions are necessary. This study argues that cultural heritage is dominated by artefacts and historic places; that ‘kiwiana’ and other vernacular items of social history, practice and tradition are relegated. Items of ‘kiwiana’ act as touchstones of identity for New Zealanders. Therefore, their omission distorts the view of New Zealand’s cultural heritage. The application of cultural heritage status to the White Lady is important because of its transcendence of time and social change, its aesthetic, and also because of its present-day hospitality offering

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Balances of Cranberry Bogs in Southeastern Massachusetts Coastal Watersheds

Abstract. Cranberry bogs make up an important part of the landscape, economics, and cultural heritage of SE Massachusetts. Because cranberry bogs use ponds and rivers as water sources and as discharge points, the control of runoff of both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to surface waters from cranberry farming is a concern for the health and management of fresh and estuarine waters in watersheds where cranberry bogs occur. We quantified the movement of N and P into and out of three cranberry bogs in the Weweantic and Wareham River Watersheds during one water year and annual cropping cycle. We combined measurements of water flow with measurements of dissolved and particulate N and P concentrations in different components of the annual farming cycle to estimate N and P input-output balances. Water budgets varied widely among bogs. Two bogs showed net movement of groundwater into the bog, one of which had very high inflow, and the third bog had net water flow into groundwater. Two bogs exhibited small net N imports (0.1 and 2.0 kg N ha-1) in fluvial exchanges and one bog exhibited substantial N export (12.6 kg N ha-1). Between 73 and 77% of all fluvial N exports exited in surface water during non-flood baseflows. Bogs exported between 2.1 and 4.5 kg P ha-1 in fluvial exchanges and 55 and 81% of all P export occurred during non-flood baseflows. High variability of net N exchange likely arose from the hydro-geographical setting in which the bogs occurred. The variation in the magnitude and direction of P exchanges was much less and depended less on bog setting. Given the finding of that most annual export of N and P occurred in surface water flows during times that water was not actively pumped onto or released from bogs, water management specifically aimed at N and P removal from the small but steady outflow of surface water during non-flood periods could be beneficial. Management might include additional storage time in ponds or increased naturalization of stream channels

Water quality measurements in Buzzards Bay by the Buzzards Bay Coalition Baywatchers Program from 1992 to 2018

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Jakuba, R. W., Williams, T., Neill, C., Costa, J. E., McHorney, R., Scott, L., Howes, B. L., Ducklow, H., Erickson, M., & Rasmussen, M. Water quality measurements in Buzzards Bay by the Buzzards Bay Coalition Baywatchers Program from 1992 to 2018. Scientific Data, 8(1), 2021: 76, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00856-4.The Buzzards Bay Coalition’s Baywatchers Monitoring Program (Baywatchers) collected summertime water quality information at more than 150 stations around Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts from 1992 to 2018. Baywatchers documents nutrient-related water quality and the effects of nitrogen pollution. The large majority of stations are located in sub-estuaries of the main Bay, although stations in central Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound were added beginning in 2007. Measurements include temperature, salinity, Secchi depth and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, ammonium, nitrate + nitrite, total dissolved nitrogen, particulate organic nitrogen, particulate organic carbon, ortho-phosphate, chlorophyll a, pheophytin a, and in lower salinity waters, total phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon. The Baywatchers dataset provides a long-term record of the water quality of Buzzards Bay and its sub-estuaries. The data have been used to identify impaired waters, evaluate discharge permits, support the development of nitrogen total maximum daily loads, develop strategies for reducing nitrogen inputs, and increase public awareness and generate support for management actions to control nutrient pollution and improve water quality.We thank the more than 1,500 volunteer Baywatchers citizen monitors who helped collect this information over 27 years. Since its inception, funding for this program has been provided through grants from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Buzzards Bay municipalities, private foundations, and members of the Buzzards Bay Coalition. Thank you to Paul Lefebvre for producing the station map. Amy Costa of the Center for Coastal Studies kindly provided data for comparison. Brian Howes of the School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth kindly provided the data for West Falmouth Harbor collected through the Falmouth Pond Watchers program. We thank the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Woodwell Climate Research Center for support to C. Neill, R. McHorney and L. Scott

ISBS 2018 AUCKLAND CONFERENCE KIWIANA & INDUSTRY PARTNER PLAYING FIELD OPENING RECEPTION - ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS

The aim of the Kiwiana and Industry Partner Playing Field Opening Reception is to enable conference delegates to meet colleagues, make new acquaintances, learn about New Zealand (NZ) culture, experience quality NZ cuisine, and interact with new digital technology. The informative speeches (e.g. wine and food matching, cloudy bay clam research, Kiwiana research), thematic food stations (i.e. beach bach, farm, modern Kiwiana), interactive “ice-breaking” activities and competitions (e.g. jig saw building, gum boot throwing, number 8 wire sculpture, fishing), and social media photo opportunities (e.g. Kiwiana photo booth with VUTA) have been designed to help delegates achieve these goals. Native bird songs play while delegates walk into the fern and flax adorned atrium after the official opening. Delegates will receive a bubbly, beer, juice or mineral water on entry. Mr Kelly Sheerin, as the coordinator of the ISBS 2018 Conference industry partnership engagement programme, will outline the evening’s fun activities in the “Industry Playing Field” interactive events, and opportunities to win prizes. Dr Sarah-Kate Millar will provide the Karakia—blessing of the food. AUT Group Chef Matthew Farley, AUT Hospitality Services will explain the food and the Sileni wine for the evening. There are three savoury and two sweet canapés from cookbooks written by lecturers at AUT’s School of Hospitality and Tourism. Food is available from the Beach Bach, Farm, and Kiwiana themed areas. Lindsay Neill, kiwiana and Kiwi identity researcher, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, will outline the importance of kiwiana to New Zealand. His showcase will include the famous Buzzy Bee and findings from his latest research on kiwiana. Lindsay will highlight the uses of beetroot, tomato sauce, chocolate fish, Tip Top ice cream, and hokey pokey – regular food items for many NZers! We are really excited to showcase a special modern kiwiana food station with finger food adapted from books by AUT School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events staff. Students from the School’s culinary programmes are assisting to prepare and serve the food for your enjoyment including: Cured salmon, rice cracker, pickled ginger, spring onion; Corn fritters; Suqaar Digaag Somali chicken; White chocolate tart with chocolate cremeux and Swiss merengue; Misiluki banana pudding with Siamu Popo. Professor Lindsay White, Cloudy Bay Clams researcher, School of Applied Sciences, will outline the research behind producing Cloudy Bay Clams. His showcase will provide tastings of fresh seafood. Surf clams is the collective term for seven commercially harvested molluscs that live on almost all of NZ sandy, high wave energy beaches. They live buried in the sand, just in or behind the breaking waves. Regional small-scale studies indicate that surf clams have the potential to be NZ’s most valuable fishery resource, but a lack of scientific knowledge about these species allows only a tiny fraction of the sustainable harvest to be currently harvested. Our research to date has had a huge impact on the national fishery, more than doubling the total catch of surf clams, which equates to increases in annual export earnings of over $27 million. Based on this work, in 2013 we jointly won the Kiwi Supreme Prize for Commercialisation of Research. Tim Davison’s team will introduce the interactive virtual AUTer (VUTA). VUTA is the virtual MC for the Opening Kiwiana event alongside Kelly Sheerin as the in-the-flesh MC! Tim will explain how delegates can interact with VUTA by scanning the code in messenger. VUTA can make announcements, answer questions, display messages, greet people, and move around. Tim has been able to customise her to do just about anything. Samsung flip screens (https://displaysolutions.samsung.com/digital-signage/e-board/flip) are used for directional information and Tim’s VUTA. Thanks to Industry partner Samsung for providing the hardware to enable VUTA to come to life. Professor Len Gillman, School of Applied Sciences - Conference Sustainability—ecological responsibility, will explain the food and waste compositing, no single use plastics, and vegan options for the conference. Len and Professor Thomas Neitzert (School of Engineering) have calculated the carbon footprint for international delegates flying to NZ for the conference is 186.5 tonnes of carbon! Therefore 1.86 hectares (4.6 acres) will need to be planted to offset the conference travel. Strategies undertaken by the ISBS 2018 conference organising committee to help offset the carbon cost include the planting of native trees, promotion of recycling of bottles and compositing of food during the conference, vegan meal options, use of low energy LED lights and solar lights, minimised use of plastic products with no single-use plastic, digital posters rather than printing posters, and puffer jackets as the ‘conference bag’ as a useful reusable item. Lindsey du Preez is the AUT Sustainability Officer. Lindsey has worked with the AUT Hospitality Services team to provide initiatives that have a strong focus on sustainability for the conference. Some of the key initiatives are: This is a paperless conference and all material is digital including conference proceedings and posters; AUT is working towards eliminating ‘single use plastic’, so this is avoided wherever possible. Water will be provided in jugs with glass containers, and unpacked teabags and chocolates have been sourced directly from suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging; Reusable cutlery and crockery will be provided to avoid unnecessary waste; Serviettes are compostable; 25% of the food provided is vegetarian and food is sourced locally wherever possible; three bin-system will be provided for rubbish, mixed recycling (plastic bottles types 1 & 2, essentially milk bottles and drink bottles, glass, cans) and organic waste; All leftover food will be composted, and every effort made to avoid over catering; Support of Fair Trade and all coffee is Fair Trade; The conference is next to a major bus terminus for easy access to public transport. The Kiwiana interactive showcase photo competition will be run by Kylie Robinson. Post the best photo of you and fellow delegates in the Kiwiana interactive showcase photo booth that includes jandals, flora (flax, punga ferns), fauna (Tui, Kiwi, geko, pukeko, kea), paua, a rugby ball, NZ sliver fern, flags, sheep, swandri, gumboots, #8 wire, L&P bottle, chocolate fish, tomato sauce bottle, buzzy bee, kiwi fruit. Thanks to AMTI for the chocolate fish. We have taken a different approach to our “sponsors” for the conference, preferring to have engaged industry partners. Industry Partners are treated like any other conference delegates in terms of registration, with an expectation that there is active engagement and preparation of a workshop, applied session or industry partner playing field event – just like a delegate would prepare an oral podium or a poster pitch and digital poster. Our industry partners have adapted to this new format with enthusiasm. We hope that delegates take up the opportunity to interact with the Industry Partner delegates, particularly in the playing field sessions where there are participatory games. Aerobe will be demonstrating their simple to use active marker technology Codamotion system to track the knee and ankle joints during a series of jump activities. Thanks to the industry partners who have participated in the industry partner programme. Platinum industry partner VICON are providing the ISBS 2018 conference puffer jackets to those who registered by the standard registration date. Vicon are also providing beverages for conference events. Diamond industry partner SILENI are providing amazing wines for all the conference events. We have a large selection from the Sileni range including Marlborough Sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, pinot noir, sparkling cuvee brut, merlot etc. Diamond industry partner SAMSUNG are providing new FLIP technology screens, 55” screens for the digital poster sessions, and the Note9 and DeX station for social media interaction and prizes. Gold industry partner ACC is supporting the Keynote panel speakers and a round table luncheon. Gold industry partner KISTLER are supporting two round table luncheons, and Olympic athletes at the AUT Millennium event. Gold industry partners QUALISYS and NORAXON are providing workshops and AUT Millennium applied sessions. Gold industry partner AMTI are supporting the chocolate box stations and the student evening at the marae. Silver industry partner FORCEDECKS are supporting the Commercialisation and Funding Monday workshop. Bronze industry partner CHANUI are providing tea and biscuits for breaks. Bronze industry partner AEROBE are supporting the Wise Wizards keynote panel. Bronze industry partner TEKSCAN are supporting the Sports Technology long table luncheon. Bronze industry partner STT Systems are supporting the fruit baskets. Bronze industry partner ASICS are providing shoes for social media prizes and a chill-out zone. Bronze industry partner SIMI are showcasing their technology at an industry booth

Nurses in advanced roles as a strategy for equitable access to healthcare in the WHO Western Pacific region: a mixed methods study

BackgroundThe Western Pacific region constitutes one-quarter of the world's population and has diverse health needs. While dialogue on and promotion of advanced practice nurses are ongoing, this study investigated the current responsibilities of nurses in advanced roles, future healthcare needs, and the implications of these components for nurses' professional development within the Western Pacific region.MethodsThis study employed three phases, a descriptive survey on the current status of nurses in advanced roles in the Western Pacific region, followed by a Delphi survey, and exploratory interviews. A total of 55 national experts with clinical, academic, and/or government-related backgrounds from 18 countries participated from December 2017 - December 2018. The descriptive survey via email to identify the status of nurses in advanced roles and a working definition was developed. This formed the basis for the Delphi survey, which identified key barriers and challenges for enhancing the development of nurses in advanced roles within the country (round 1) and for the region (rounds 2 and 3). Lastly, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted to identify strategies for establishing nurses in advanced roles to improve equitable access to healthcare.ResultsThirty-seven roles and characteristics were identified and categorized for nurses performing advanced roles. Emergency care, critical care, elderly health, child health, and rural/remote communities were identified as fields with particular need for nurses in advanced roles in the Western Pacific region. Providing effective services, influencing government leadership, and advocating for health system sustainability were deemed necessary to improve equitable healthcare access. We found that nurses in advanced roles are not limited to clinical tasks within the hospital but are poised for active participation in primary healthcare, education/teaching, professional leadership, quality management, and research.ConclusionsDemand for nurses in advanced roles is high in the Western Pacific region and 15 items were identified across five core strategic areas to enhance development of nurses in advanced roles. Governmental-level recommendations include establishing legislative protection, improving systems for remuneration, strengthening supportive channels, and conducting national needs assessments

Treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids using an intralesional 1470 nm bare-fibre diode laser: a novel efficient minimally-invasive technique

Hypertrophic and keloid scars result from abnormal wound healing and can have a variable response to a number of available treatment modalities. The evolution of laser treatments in recent years has shown a wide range of clinical applications including their use in the treatment of scars. We investigated the effectiveness of a 1470 nm diode laser using an intralesional optical fibre delivery device in the treatment of hypertrophic and keloid scars. We evaluated its safety and efficacy as a novel and minimally invasive treatment alternative for scar modulation and volume reduction. A prospective cohort study was performed involving 21 patients with hypertrophic scars (HS) (n = 9) and keloids (n = 12) resulting from various aetiology. Patients were treated with one to three treatment sessions. Comprehensive evaluations were performed using the Vancouver Scar Scale, Doppler ultrasound, Cutometer, Mexameter and PeriCam PSI. Scar thickness was reduced by an average of 0.308 ± 0.138 cm (p < 0.001). In particular the two subgroups showed a significant 27.7% and 28.2% reduction in scar thickness of HS and Keloids, respectively. Scar firmness showed a significant improvement of 1.2% (p < 0.05) for HS, though for keloids this was 0.4% (p = 0.26). Keloids had a significant reduction in pigmentation at 21.3%. Blood perfusion had a significant reduction of 29.6% in HS and 22.7% in Keloids. Overall VSS total score improvement of 42% in the HS and at 37.9% in the Keloid subgroup. No adverse events such as hypo/hyperpigmentation, skin infection, or recurrence were reported. This study shows that the intralesional 1470 nm bare-fibre diode laser significantly improved hypertrophic and keloid scars based on both subjective and objective analyses and supports this type of laser therapy as a safe and effective minimally-invasive treatment option

Continental-scale homogenization of residential lawn plant communities

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Landscape and Urban Planning 165 (2017): 54-63, doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.05.004.Residential lawns are highly managed ecosystems that occur in urbanized landscapes across the United States. Because they are ubiquitous, lawns are good systems in which to study the potential homogenizing effects of urban land use and management together with the continental-scale effects of climate on ecosystem structure and functioning. We hypothesized that similar homeowner preferences and management in residential areas across the United States would lead to low plant species diversity in lawns and relatively homogeneous vegetation across broad geographical regions. We also hypothesized that lawn plant species richness would increase with regional temperature and precipitation due to the presence of spontaneous, weedy vegetation, but would decrease with household income and fertilizer use. To test these predictions, we compared plant species composition and richness in residential lawns in seven U.S. metropolitan regions. We also compared species composition in lawns with understory vegetation in minimally-managed reference areas in each city. As expected, the composition of cultivated turfgrasses was more similar among lawns than among reference areas, but this pattern also held among spontaneous species. Plant species richness and diversity varied more among lawns than among reference areas, and more diverse lawns occurred in metropolitan areas with higher precipitation. Native forb diversity increased with precipitation and decreased with income, driving overall lawn diversity trends with these predictors as well. Our results showed that both management and regional climate shaped lawn species composition, but the overall homogeneity of species regardless of regional context strongly suggested that management was a more important driver.This research was supported by the Macrosystems Biology Program in the Emerging Frontiers Division of the Biological Sciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grants EF-1065548, 1065737, 1065740, 1065741, 1065772, 1065785, 1065831, and 121238320

Homogenization of Plant Diversity, Composition, and Structure in North American Urban Yards

Urban ecosystems are widely hypothesized to be more ecologically homogeneous than natural ecosystems. We argue that urban plant communities assemble from a complex mix of horticultural and regional species pools, and evaluate the homogenization hypothesis by comparing cultivated and spontaneously occurring urban vegetation to natural area vegetation across seven major U.S. cities. There was limited support for homogenization of urban diversity, as the cultivated and spontaneous yard flora had greater numbers of species than natural areas, and cultivated phylogenetic diversity was also greater. However, urban yards showed evidence of homogenization of composition and structure. Yards were compositionally more similar across regions than were natural areas, and tree density was less variable in yards than in comparable natural areas. This homogenization of biodiversity likely reflects similar horticultural source pools, homeowner preferences, and management practices across U.S. cities