People Out of Place: Representations and Experiences Of Female Homelessness In Christchurch, New Zealand (Aotearoa)

This anthropological thesis focuses on female homelessness in Christchurch, New Zealand. I am interested in how different groups in society understand female homelessness and how their perceptions compare to the experiences of homeless women. Consequently, my research centres on the narratives of women who have experienced homelessness providing a view from the "inside". It is also concerned with representations of homelessness in the media and by service providers. The different representations raise issues relating to "normalisation" and "abnormalisation", classification and dichotomisation, self-governance and control, and social participation. I take up these issues to explore the social exclusion of homeless women. My research reveals a dominant homelessness discourse as well as one that might be considered a counter-discourse. The first suggests a dehumanising and unsympathetic approach as it situates homeless people as "abnormal" and "deviant" while the second suggests an empathetic and charitable approach as it situates homeless people as "normal" and "human". The media seem to reflect and reinforce the dominant discourse while service providers seem to reflect the counter-discourse. The women's narratives indicate that they reinforce the dominant discourse by internalising social norms. However, they are unable to reproduce them. Disconnection from mainstream society results in their being caught in a cycle they find difficult to break. This research shows that homeless women are predominantly positioned as social failures. They seem to be unable, or do not know how, to reproduce social norms, to govern themselves and to create meaningful and enduring social networks. Essentially, I explore why homeless women often remain on the periphery of society as "outsiders" and why they find it so difficult to transcend their circumstances. As there has been no contemporary research undertaken specifically on homeless women in New Zealand, I hope the current research will provide a building block for further research on what I conclude is a marginalised and socially excluded group of people who are dominantly portrayed as dysfunctional and "out of place"

1,2-Diazoles: Versatile Tectons for Metallosupramolecular Assemblies

This study investigates the metallosupramolecular chemistry of functionalised 1,2-diazole ligands, by the preparation and characterisation of a range of first-row transition metal coordination polymers and discrete assemblies. To this end, twenty-six ligands containing 1,2-diazole functionality have been synthesised, twenty-one of which have not previously appeared in the coordination chemistry literature. Utilising these compounds, forty new coordination compounds have been prepared and characterised by single-crystal X-ray crystallography and other analytical techniques, and their solid-state structural features discussed in the search for reproducible new diazole-based synthons for the designed synthesis of new functional materials. Particular attention is paid to the contribution of the second nitrogen atom on the diazole ring, which participates in structure-directing hydrogen bonding interactions, or acts as a synthetic handle to easily append further functionality to the ligand system. The design of the ligands is separated into two primary categories, representing the different approaches adopted for the synthesis of the metallosupramolecular architectures. The combination of 1H-pyrazole and carboxylic acid functionality in mixed-ligand assemblies was investigated with the combination of bis-pyrazole and bis-carboxylic acid ligands, and with the preparation of ligands containing both functional groups. This approach was extended to the related heterocyclic species indazole, with all five possible isomers of indazole-carboxylic acid synthesised and used in coordination chemistry for the first time. The 1H-diazole-carboxylate synthon was employed in the synthesis of fourteen coordination polymers and three discrete assemblies. Heteroaryl substitution at the 1-position of pyrazole or indazole compounds was employed to generate chelating ligands containing pyridine or benzimidazole functionality, which were used to form nineteen discrete complexes, including dinuclear helicates and metallocycles, and five coordination polymers. The effect of flexibility and distance between coordination sites in bis-bidentate ligand systems was examined, in conjunction with studies into the effect of steric bulk and variation of the electronic nature of the coordinating groups. While this study is primarily concerned with the solid-state structural chemistry of 1,2-diazole coordination compounds, attention is paid where appropriate to solution-based measurements such as NMR and UV/Visible studies, and the pertinent behaviour of functional materials, such as thermogravimetric analysis for solvated species and gas uptake studies for stable void-containing materials

The behavioural implications of postnatal exposure to benzylpiperazhie and methamphetamine - a longitudinal doserelated study in male and female rats.

Despite worldwide concern about the consumption of psychoactive substances during earlier development, the long-term behavioural effects of many have remained largely unexplored. By the mid 2000’s there was a public epidemic declared on the escalating rate of individuals consuming New Zealand’s form of methamphetamine (MA), called ‘P’ (short for 'pure' methamphetamine). Within this environment the emergence of new unregulated psychoactive compounds appeared. These were known and marketed as “legal or herbal highs’. N-benzylpiperazine (BZP) became the main ingredient in the legal highs and was marketed as a safe alternative to “P”, however there was no research to support this claim. The present study investigated the long-lasting effects on anxiety-like behaviour in rats, after BZP or MA administration during early to late adolescent development, examining variables: drug; age; sex; dose; and whether differences remained over time. Rats were either administered saline, BZP (5.0, 10.0, or 20.0 mg/kg) or MA (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg/kg) at three different ages of adolescence (Post Natal Day [PND]: PND31-40, PND41-50, PND51-60) for a period of ten days. After a thirty day wash-out period rats were tested in four different rodent tests of anxiety: Y-maze, Elevated Plus Maze, Light/dark Emergence Box and a Social Interaction Test. Behavioural testing occurred again at PND 120 and PND 200 to assess behavioural change over time. Daily BZP or MA treatment across the three different ages of adolescence increased anxiety-like behaviours in all behavioural measures and this was maintained over time. In summary, rats treated with BZP or MA during PND31-40 and PND41-50 displayed more anxiety-related behaviour comparative to control rats and this effect increased with drug dose, primarily for male-treated rats. The general pattern of results was more complex for PND51-60 treated rats, with MA-treated female rats displaying increased anxiety-like behaviours as the dose of MA increased and rats treated with the highest dose of BZP displaying decreased emotionality. There were more similarities between BZP and MA than differences, yet adolescent BZP treatment appeared to have greater impact on adult behaviour than adolescent MA treatment. Additionally, male rats exposed to both BZP and MA displayed increased anxiety-like behaviours compared to female-treated rats. The implications are far reaching, as there is currently a cohort of the population that consumed BZP legally as adolescents who may have a greater risk for the development of increased anxiety with developing age. In sum, the effect of adolescent exposure to psychostimulant drugs affected anxiety-like behaviours that were observable into middle adulthood, suggesting that the vulnerability to anxiety may be shaped by drug use in adolescence

A Mitochondrial Polymorphism Alters Immune Cell Metabolism and Protects Mice from Skin Inflammation

Several genetic variants in the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA), including ancient polymorphisms, are associated with chronic inflammatory conditions, but investigating the functional consequences of such mtDNA polymorphisms in humans is challenging due to the influence of many other polymorphisms in both mtDNA and the nuclear genome (nDNA). Here, using the conplastic mouse strain B6-mtFVB, we show that in mice, a maternally inherited natural mutation (m.7778G > T) in the mitochondrially encoded gene ATP synthase 8 (mt-Atp8) of complex V impacts on the cellular metabolic profile and effector functions of CD4+ T cells and induces mild changes in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complex activities. These changes culminated in significantly lower disease susceptibility in two models of inflammatory skin disease. Our findings provide experimental evidence that a natural variation in mtDNA influences chronic inflammatory conditions through alterations in cellular metabolism and the systemic metabolic profile without causing major dysfunction in the OXPHOS system