Gambling problems amongst the CALD population of Australia: hidden, visible or not a problem?

This study tests the feasibility of using nationally representative General Social Surveys for examining trends and patterns in gambling problems and other life stressors amongst the Australian Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) population.AbstractThere have been mixed research results when studying gambling problems in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in Australia and internationally. This study tests the feasibility of using nationally representative General Social Surveys for examining trends and patterns in gambling problems and other life stressors amongst the Australian CALD population. Two surveys were analysed to determine whether the CALD population experienced gambling problems and other life stressors at different levels to the non-CALD population, and to identify, using multivariable models, whether CALD related variables showed evidence of an association with reported gambling problems after adjustment for other covariates. There was no evidence that 2002 estimates of gambling problems were different in CALD and non-CALD populations. In 2006, there was evidence that gambling problems were lower in the CALD population compared with the non-CALD population (1.3% cf. 3.5%). In 2002 multivariable models there was no evidence of an association between CALD status or related variables with gambling problems, after adjustment for other variables. In 2006 multivariable models, there was evidence of an association between being the CALD population (protective), and being born in Oceania or New Zealand (risk) with gambling problems, after adjustment for other variables

Repackaging Tradition in Tahiti? Mono‘i and Labels of Origin in French Polynesia

In 1992, Monoï de Tahiti (coconut oil scented with tiare flowers) was granted an appellation d’origine by the French government. It was (and remains) the only cosmetic product to receive such certification, as well as the only appellation in French Polynesia. This article examines mono‘i as cultural heritage and as an industrial product in the territory, and the transformations wrought through gaining the appellation. The appellation d’origine formally recognized and protected the unique environmental and cultural heritage embodied by the oil, which has long been made with Polynesian communities and which has been commercialized since World War II. The production methods enshrined in the appellation laws, however, emphasize industrial manufacturing processes, in tension with both the imagined Pacific heritage marketed to tourists and foreign consumers and the place of mono‘i within Polynesian communities. In navigating between tradition and modernity, this contemporary commodity raises questions of authenticity and invented tradition, as well as questions of who benefits from the repackaging of cultural tradition in French Polynesia. Given that appellations d’origine and geographical indications have recently been touted as tools for indigenous intellectual property, this case study demonstrates both the potential and limits of such legislation for the Pacific more broadly

'Every Comfort of a Civilized Life': Interracial Marriage and Mixed Race Respectability in Southern New Zealand

During his 1843 trip along the southern coast of New Zealand, government official Edward Shortland found the whaling settlement recently established at Jacob's River/Aparima (now Riverton) in the Foveaux Strait 'built on the southern slope of some well wooded hills, and being white-washed, and having near them green enclosures of corn and potatos, presented, while shone on by the morning sun, the most smiling and refreshing aspect imaginable. Shortland's account presents a sharp contrast to descriptions of northern settlements in the Bay of Islands, where early cultural exchanges were often characterized by licentious and lewd behaviour

Conspicuous male coloration impairs survival against avian predators in Aegean wall lizards, Podarcis erhardii.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1650Animal coloration is strikingly diverse in nature. Within-species color variation can arise through local adaptation for camouflage, sexual dimorphism and conspicuous sexual signals, which often have conflicting effects on survival. Here, we tested whether color variation between two island populations of Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) is due to sexual dimorphism and differential survival of individuals varying in appearance. On both islands, we measured attack rates by wild avian predators on clay models matching the coloration of real male and female P. erhardii from each island population, modeled to avian predator vision. Avian predator attack rates differed among model treatments, although only on one island. Male-colored models, which were more conspicuous against their experimental backgrounds to avian predators, were accordingly detected and attacked more frequently by birds than less conspicuous female-colored models. This suggests that female coloration has evolved primarily under selection for camouflage, whereas sexually competing males exhibit costly conspicuous coloration. Unexpectedly, there was no difference in avian attack frequency between local and non-local model types. This may have arisen if the models did not resemble lizard coloration with sufficient precision, or if real lizards behaviorally choose backgrounds that improve camouflage. Overall, these results show that sexually dimorphic coloration can affect the risk of predator attacks, indicating that color variation within a species can be caused by interactions between natural and sexual selection. However, more work is needed to determine how these findings depend on the island environment that each population inhabits.This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council studentship, Magdalene College, Cambridge and the British Herpetological Society (K.L.A.M), and a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and David Philips Research Fellowship (grant number BB/G022887/1) to M.S

Microhabitat choice in island lizards enhances camouflage against avian predators.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep19815Camouflage can often be enhanced by genetic adaptation to different local environments. However, it is less clear how individual behaviour improves camouflage effectiveness. We investigated whether individual Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) inhabiting different islands rest on backgrounds that improve camouflage against avian predators. In free-ranging lizards, we found that dorsal regions were better matched against chosen backgrounds than against other backgrounds on the same island. This suggests that P. erhardii make background choices that heighten individual-specific concealment. In achromatic camouflage, this effect was more evident in females and was less distinct in an island population with lower predation risk. This suggests that behavioural enhancement of camouflage may be more important in females than in sexually competing males and related to predation risk. However, in an arena experiment, lizards did not choose the background that improved camouflage, most likely due to the artificial conditions. Overall, our results provide evidence that behavioural preferences for substrates can enhance individual camouflage of lizards in natural microhabitats, and that such adaptations may be sexually dimorphic and dependent on local environments. This research emphasizes the importance of considering links between ecology, behaviour, and appearance in studies of intraspecific colour variation and local adaptation.This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council studentship, by the British Herpetological Society and Magdalene College, Cambridge (K.L.A.M), and by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and David Philips Research Fellowship (grant number BB/G022887/1) to M.

Māori women in Southern New Zealand’s shore-whaling world

Kate Stevens and Angela Wanhalla explore the role of Māori women in Southern New Zealand’s nineteenth-century shore-whaling world. Rarely noted in accounts of the industry, Māori women were adept at sea travel and maintained knowledge and beliefs that informed practices of the whaling communities located on Kāi Tahu tribal territory. Highlighting their role as intermediaries between humans and the marine world, Wanhalla and Stevens bring forth several historical accounts of Māori women involved in the shore-whaling industry

A "Visible" Woman: Learning with a Student who is Deaf-blind at University

This article presents a case study of an undergraduate student with Deaf-blindness working with an interpreter and an academic skills adviser to develop her writing for the disciplines. It highlights the mutual learning this involves: about strategies for communication, issues of inclusion, and perspectives on disability

Intraspecific Colour Variation among Lizards in Distinct Island Environments Enhances Local Camouflage.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PLOS via http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0135241Within-species colour variation is widespread among animals. Understanding how this arises can elucidate evolutionary mechanisms, such as those underlying reproductive isolation and speciation. Here, we investigated whether five island populations of Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) have more effective camouflage against their own (local) island substrates than against other (non-local) island substrates to avian predators, and whether this was linked to island differences in substrate appearance. We also investigated whether degree of local substrate matching varied among island populations and between sexes. In most populations, both sexes were better matched against local backgrounds than against non-local backgrounds, particularly in terms of luminance (perceived lightness), which usually occurred when local and non-local backgrounds were different in appearance. This was found even between island populations that historically had a land connection and in populations that have been isolated relatively recently, suggesting that isolation in these distinct island environments has been sufficient to cause enhanced local background matching, sometimes on a rapid evolutionary time-scale. However, heightened local matching was poorer in populations inhabiting more variable and unstable environments with a prolonged history of volcanic activity. Overall, these results show that lizard coloration is tuned to provide camouflage in local environments, either due to genetic adaptation or changes during development. Yet, the occurrence and extent of selection for local matching may depend on specific conditions associated with local ecology and biogeographic history. These results emphasize how anti-predator adaptations to different environments can drive divergence within a species, which may contribute to reproductive isolation among populations and lead to ecological speciation.This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council studentship (www.BBSRC.com), the British Herpetological Society (www.thebhs.org), the Cambridge Philosophical Society (http://www.cambridgephilosophicalsociety.org) and Magdalene College, Cambridge (to KLAM), and a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and David Philips Research Fellowship (grant number BB/G022887/1) to MS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript