A study of various environmental factors on the growth, encystment and survival of free living amoebae : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Microbiology at Massey University

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are soil organisms which have a worldwide distribution. Interest was raised when they were implicated in two fatal and several non-fatal infections in humans. This investigation involved examination of the role and/or effect of several environmental factors on growth, encystment and cyst survival of FLA. The effect of K+, Na+ , Mg+2, Ca+2 and Fe+2/+3 on the growth of four species of amoebae (Naegleria gruberi, Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba culbertsoni and Acanthamoeba castellanii) was investigated. Inhibition of growth rate increased as the cation concentration was increased. The roles of Mg+2 and Ca+2 in encystment were investigated and it was found that rather than being necessary, they were inhibitory. The survival of cysts under low temperatures and high cation concentrations was studied. Acanthamoeba proved to be resistant to adverse conditions once encysted. Naegleria were not affected by high cation levels but were adversely affected by low temperatures. A preliminary identification of two isolates from Ngawha Springs hot pools was undertaken showing both amoebae to be temperature tolerant Naegleria species

Blogging Our Criminal Past: Social Media, Public Engagement and Creative History

Rather than asking should historians use social media - a question frequently posed online and increasingly discussed in seminars and conferences - this article explores how historians currently use blogging and micro-blogging, and how these media are transforming the ways we think and write about history. Blogging, the article argues, has the potential to ‘turn history upside down’ by breaking down traditional hierarchies separating amateur and professional, young and old, theorist and practitioner, reader and writer. Where early blogger-historians tended to be associated with large-scale digital projects and concerned with digital humanities methodologies, the article detects the emergence of a new generation, led by postgraduates and early careers researchers, committed to writing accessible ‘history from below’. Social media is not simply a tool to reach a larger audience for, as a medium, its visual, interactive and open-ended features allow us - encourage us even - to be more creative and reflective. Consequently, the article proposes, blogging is becoming an integral and dynamic part of the research process, not simply a supplement to scholarly publication or a work-in-progress version of it

An analysis of the lifeloads of first year engineering students

Professional degree programs, such as Engineering, are notorious for placing considerable demands upon their students. Balancing study and work is a challenge faced by an increasing number of undergraduate students. In order to assist students to manage this balance it is important to know how this compromise varies from student to student. This paper presents data gathered from first year engineering students regarding the hours they spend each week in study, paid employment and volunteer work. A substantial variation across the cohort is shown for all three factors. The data also shows variation in these factors with respect to the week of semester, with time commitments growing independently early in semester, and study somewhat taking the place of paid employment later in the semester

Transfer pricing: changing views in changing times

This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordTransfer pricing for tax purposes has long been contentious, but recent political and public concerns about tax avoidance have energised critiques of current rules and debates about proposals for change. Transfer pricing tax rules are underpinned by the arm’s length principle and we consider how the common understanding of this principle has developed and changed, as criticism of it has grown and there have been increasing calls for change. In this qualitative study we draw on Bourdieusian concepts: we focus on the views of senior transfer pricing professionals relating to the UK and the US and consider how their views and transfer pricing practices have changed over a period of field disruption. This is important because calls for transformation of the field need to be cognizant of the extent to which existing practices are firmly embedded and thereby resilient to change. We find that over the period of our longitudinal study the senior transfer pricing professionals show a degree of adaptability to the use of the arm’s length principle, which continues to dominate.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

An integrated reconfigurable Bragg grating utilising a photoresponsive co-polymer

Reconfigurable Bragg grating devices are of significant interest for telecomm applications. Such devices can be fabricated by combining a UV-written silica Bragg grating with an azobenzene-based polymer - a photoresponsive material that undergoes reversible refractive index change on exposure to ultraviolet light. The preliminary 17 GHz tuning response suggests future applicability