"Winning Hearts and Minds"? An Exploration of New Zealand Peacekeeping, Masculinities, and Identity in the Solomon Islands

Close attention to the practices of masculinity, and individual negotiations of identity are often rendered invisible when exploring the implications of having soldiers engaged as peacekeepers in communities emerging from conflict. Using a feminist post-structural framework and qualitative interviews, I investigate whether involvement in peacekeeping is producing new gender and identity experiences for some New Zealand soldiers. Specifically, I explore the perceptions of two New Zealand Army Reserve Force soldiers who participated in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands. Additionally, I engage with the reflections of seven Solomon Islanders to understand the impacts that these new understandings of gender and identity might have for conflict resolution and gender equality in local communities. My research finds that the practices that soldiers value and consider most useful to be a successful soldier are changing as a result of their involvement in peacekeeping. New ideas about masculinity in the armed forces are being engendered by the need for soldiers to express a sense of equality and respect towards local people. The changing nature of soldering is resulting in the emergence of practices that offer alternatives and/or challenge hegemonic and racialized militarized masculinities over those more traditionally valued in the armed forces. However, at the same time, some soldiers continue to place value on practices associated with hegemonic militarized masculinities, such as a belief in the continued need to carry weapons to create security. I further suggest that Solomon Islanders interpreted participating soldiers' behaviours through broader historical-cultural narratives about different countries forces and their perceived cultural sensitivity. Therefore, soldiers' everyday resistances to racial narratives and militarized masculinities were important for creating a sense of trust and respect with local residents. However, while some Solomon Islanders welcomed the sense of security that soldiers produced, the carrying of weapons by soldiers undermined local conflict resolution practices. By focussing on men and masculinities, my research contributes to discussions about hegemonic and militarized masculinities in peacekeeping, and challenges ideas that see men, masculinities and other aspects of identity as static or unconnected to historical and social practices

"Winning Hearts and Minds"? An Exploration of New Zealand Peacekeeping, Masculinities, and Identity in the Solomon Islands

Close attention to the practices of masculinity, and individual negotiations of identity are often rendered invisible when exploring the implications of having soldiers engaged as peacekeepers in communities emerging from conflict. Using a feminist post-structural framework and qualitative interviews, I investigate whether involvement in peacekeeping is producing new gender and identity experiences for some New Zealand soldiers. Specifically, I explore the perceptions of two New Zealand Army Reserve Force soldiers who participated in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands. Additionally, I engage with the reflections of seven Solomon Islanders to understand the impacts that these new understandings of gender and identity might have for conflict resolution and gender equality in local communities. My research finds that the practices that soldiers value and consider most useful to be a successful soldier are changing as a result of their involvement in peacekeeping. New ideas about masculinity in the armed forces are being engendered by the need for soldiers to express a sense of equality and respect towards local people. The changing nature of soldering is resulting in the emergence of practices that offer alternatives and/or challenge hegemonic and racialized militarized masculinities over those more traditionally valued in the armed forces. However, at the same time, some soldiers continue to place value on practices associated with hegemonic militarized masculinities, such as a belief in the continued need to carry weapons to create security. I further suggest that Solomon Islanders interpreted participating soldiers' behaviours through broader historical-cultural narratives about different countries forces and their perceived cultural sensitivity. Therefore, soldiers' everyday resistances to racial narratives and militarized masculinities were important for creating a sense of trust and respect with local residents. However, while some Solomon Islanders welcomed the sense of security that soldiers produced, the carrying of weapons by soldiers undermined local conflict resolution practices. By focussing on men and masculinities, my research contributes to discussions about hegemonic and militarized masculinities in peacekeeping, and challenges ideas that see men, masculinities and other aspects of identity as static or unconnected to historical and social practices

Claims against third-party recipients of trust property

This article argues that claims to recover trust property from third parties arise in response to a trustee's duty to preserve identifiable property, and that unjust enrichment is incompatible with such claims. First, unjust enrichment can only assist with the recovery of abstract wealth and so it does not assist in the recovery of specific property. Second, it is difficult to identify a convincing justification for introducing unjust enrichment. Third, it will work to the detriment of innocent recipients. The article goes on to show how Re Diplock supports this analysis, by demonstrating that no duty of preservation had been breached and that a proprietary claim should not have been available in that case. The simple conclusion is that claims to recover specific property and claims for unjust enrichment should be seen as mutually exclusive

Suppression of type 1 pilus assembly in uropathogenic Escherichia coli by chemical inhibition of subunit polymerization

OBJECTIVES: To identify and to characterize small-molecule inhibitors that target the subunit polymerization of the type 1 pilus assembly in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). METHODS: Using an SDS-PAGE-based assay, in silico pre-filtered small-molecule compounds were screened for specific inhibitory activity against the critical subunit polymerization step of the chaperone-usher pathway during pilus biogenesis. The biological activity of one of the compounds was validated in assays monitoring UPEC type 1 pilus biogenesis, type 1 pilus-dependent biofilm formation and adherence to human bladder epithelial cells. The time dependence of the in vivo inhibitory activity and the overall effect of the compound on UPEC growth were determined. RESULTS: N-(4-chloro-phenyl)-2-{5-[4-(pyrrolidine-1-sulfonyl)-phenyl]-[1,3,4]oxadiazol-2-yl sulfanyl}-acetamide (AL1) inhibited in vitro pilus subunit polymerization. In bacterial cultures, AL1 disrupted UPEC type 1 pilus biogenesis and pilus-dependent biofilm formation, and resulted in the reduction of bacterial adherence to human bladder epithelial cells, without affecting bacterial cell growth. Bacterial exposure to the inhibitor led to an almost instantaneous loss of type 1 pili. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified and characterized a small molecule that interferes with the assembly of type 1 pili. The molecule targets the polymerization step during the subunit incorporation cycle of the chaperone-usher pathway. Our discovery provides new insight into the design and development of novel anti-virulence therapies targeting key virulence factors of bacterial pathogens

"Winning Hearts and Minds"? An Exploration of New Zealand Peacekeeping, Masculinities, and Identity in the Solomon Islands

Close attention to the practices of masculinity, and individual negotiations of identity are often rendered invisible when exploring the implications of having soldiers engaged as peacekeepers in communities emerging from conflict. Using a feminist post-structural framework and qualitative interviews, I investigate whether involvement in peacekeeping is producing new gender and identity experiences for some New Zealand soldiers. Specifically, I explore the perceptions of two New Zealand Army Reserve Force soldiers who participated in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands. Additionally, I engage with the reflections of seven Solomon Islanders to understand the impacts that these new understandings of gender and identity might have for conflict resolution and gender equality in local communities. My research finds that the practices that soldiers value and consider most useful to be a successful soldier are changing as a result of their involvement in peacekeeping. New ideas about masculinity in the armed forces are being engendered by the need for soldiers to express a sense of equality and respect towards local people. The changing nature of soldering is resulting in the emergence of practices that offer alternatives and/or challenge hegemonic and racialized militarized masculinities over those more traditionally valued in the armed forces. However, at the same time, some soldiers continue to place value on practices associated with hegemonic militarized masculinities, such as a belief in the continued need to carry weapons to create security. I further suggest that Solomon Islanders interpreted participating soldiers' behaviours through broader historical-cultural narratives about different countries forces and their perceived cultural sensitivity. Therefore, soldiers' everyday resistances to racial narratives and militarized masculinities were important for creating a sense of trust and respect with local residents. However, while some Solomon Islanders welcomed the sense of security that soldiers produced, the carrying of weapons by soldiers undermined local conflict resolution practices. By focussing on men and masculinities, my research contributes to discussions about hegemonic and militarized masculinities in peacekeeping, and challenges ideas that see men, masculinities and other aspects of identity as static or unconnected to historical and social practices

Methodology for the synthesis of NP25302 and other bioactive natural products

Total synthesis of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid NP25302: (+)-NP25302 is an unusual vinylogous urea containing pyrrolizidine alkaloid shown to exhibit cell adhesion inhibition. It was envisaged that this natural product could be accessed by a novel 5-endo-dig cyclisation to construct the pyrrolizidine core, and a Curtius rearrangement to install the vinylogous urea motif. This methodology was first tested on a model system, furnishing nor-NP25302 from L-proline in 12 steps and 9% overall yield. The total synthesis of (±)-NP25302 was completed in 9 steps and 26% overall yield from ethyl 2-nitropropionate using similar methodology. Studies into the stereospecificity of the Au(I)-catalysed cyclisation of monoallylic diols: During the synthesis of (+)-isoaltholactone in the Robertson group, the key Au(I)-catalysed cyclisation was observed to occur with some stereospecificity. Further investigations were therefore conducted into the stereochemical outcome of this reaction using stereodefined allylic alcohols, and from the combined results a mnemonic was proposed to predict the stereochemistry of the products of this reaction. Studies into the total synthesis of ascospiroketals A and B: Investigations were conducted into the total synthesis of the recently isolated natural products ascospiroketals A and B. A second generation synthesis was used to construct advanced intermediates 1 and 2.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo