Tourism in New Zealand : some observations on the patterns and processes of a summer recreation pursuit, with particular reference to Napier : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at Massey University

This thesis presents an account of the domestic tourism process in New Zealand, compiled through the identification and measurement of some of the elements that characterise this particular form of outdoor recreation. While overseas tourism continues to attract increasing Government attention as an industry with some promise of diversifying New Zealand's economy, it is apparent that holiday-making by New Zealanders has received practically no attention from geographers or, for that matter, from economic and social planning organisations in this country. The first section of this thesis defines tourism end identifies, through the support of survey studies, its general characteristics of seasonality in occurrence, individuality and spontaneity in expression, and the great range and extent of mobility afforded by the private motor vehicle. Contrasts are drawn between overseas tourism and domestic tourism, and comments are made on the disparity evident in the degree of attention accorded the two forms, end in the growth of national tourist centres compared to regional holiday resorts. Section Two considers the nature and function of three recreation resources - climate, water and location - in providing the framework within which outdoor recreation activities are pursued. In this, as in later sections, these resources are related to their role in creating a favourable climate for tourism in Napier. The section on recreation amenities describes in detail the urban amenities and tourist attractions that Napier possesses for recreation. Exercises are conducted on the provision of vehicle parking space at amenities, on attendance frequencies at Marineland performances by Napier residents, and on the annual account of the Hawke's Bay Aquarium and Planetarium Board. The role of holiday information and tourist publicity services, accommodation, and essential services as they prevail in the tourism process, is discussed in Section Four. The importance of accommodation services is recognised and comments here have been directed towards supply and demand factors. The distinct seasonality of domestic tourism in New Zealand increases pressure on the utilisation of recreation services during the summer, and this situation is compounded by the national close-down of many retail, trade and professional services over the peak Christmas-New Year period. The case study of visitors staying in motels in Napier ever the 1970-71 summer is used as a basis for presenting material in support of observations made throughout the preceding parts of the thesis as to the nature of the domestic tourism process in New Zealand, and the extent to which its expression is typified in Napier. The concluding section is used to isolate briefly the problems that have become apparent in both the study of tourism as a recreation pursuit, and in the process of tourism itself in New Zealand

Urban Insurrections: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach Toward an Integrated Typology

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility and appropriateness of employing a multi-disciplinary approach in the study of urban insurrections in an effort to construct a typology which would include all of the elements common to each disorder. The multi-disciplinary method is necessitated by the biases which are inherent in any analysis that is restricted to either a psychological, sociological, or politico-historical treatment of episodes of collective behavior. All of the disciplines make major contributions to any analysis, but it is the contention of this writer that the disciplines must be integrated before the most accurate depiction is possible. Another potential contribution of this dissertation is the offering of an integrated multi-disciplinary theoretical body of information to bridge the hiatus which appears to exist between theories of episodic collective behavior and theories of social movements. Urban insurrections have characteristics of both of these phenomena, yet they also have a uniqueness about them which is not revealed adequately by an interpretation from the existing terminals of theoretical explanation. The dissertation proposes a hypothetical typology (as defined by Howard Becker and John C. McKinney) based upon a theoretical framework composed of the contributions of theorists in psychology, sociology, and political science. The typology was subjected to empirical testing by a comparison to the narratives of three major race riots which occurred during the last decade. The narrative data offered supporting evidence to each of the stages of the typology. The sequential stages of an urban insurrection that were supported include: 1. A Discrepancy Between the Real and Ideal Cultures 2. The Identification of Underlying, Causative Factors 3. The Precipitating Incident 4. The Rioting Stage 5. The Reaction of Control Agencies 6. The Return of Normalit

Adult Recipients of Matched Related Donor Blood Cell Transplants Given Myeloablative Regimens Including Pretransplant Antithymocyte Globulin Have Lower Mortality Related to Graft-versus-Host Disease: A Matched Pair Analysis

AbstractBecause pretransplantation anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) seems to reduce graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) and treatment-related mortality (TRM) after unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation (BMT), we investigated this agent in matched related donor (MRD) blood cell transplantation (BCT). Fifty-four adults receiving rabbit ATG, cyclosporine A, and methotrexate with myeloablative conditioning and undergoing first MRD BCT were matched for disease and stage with 54 patients not given ATG. Most ATG-treated patients had fludarabine with oral (7) or i.v. busulfan (46) with total body irradiation (TBI) in 10. Control patients largely received TBI with VP16 (28) or oral busulfan with cyclophosphamide (15) or fludarabine (7). The ATG was given at a total dose of 4.5 mg/kg over 3 d, finishing on day 0. Rates of acute GVHD (aGVHD) grade II-IV, aGVHD grade III-IV, and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) were 19 ± 5% versus 32 ± 6% (P = .1), 6 ± 3% versus 13 ± 5% (P = NS), and 55 ± 8% versus 96 ± 3% (P = .002) in the ATG and control groups, respectively. Patients given ATG had fewer sites involved by cGVHD compared with the control group (mean 2.1 ± 0.2 versus 2.8 ± 0.2, P = .04). Non-relapse mortality (NRM) with and without ATG, respectively, was 4 ± 3% versus 17 ± 5% at 100 d and 9 ± 4% versus 34 ± 7% at 4 yr (P = .002). Deaths were GVHD related in 3 ATG-treated patients versus 14 controls (P = .007). Despite a trend to more relapse with ATG (43 ± 7% versus 22 ± 7% at 4 yr, P = 0.05), survival was 66 ± 7% in the patients given ATG versus 50 ± 7% in the controls (P = 0.046). This study indicates that myeloablative regimens incorporating fludarabine and oral or i.v. busulfan with pretransplantation ATG given to recipients undergoing MRD BCT may result in less cGVHD, lower TRM, and probably improved quality of life in survivors compared with previous protocols

Silicate weathering and carbon cycle controls on the Oligocene-Miocene transition glaciation

Changes in both silicate weathering rates and organic carbon burial have been proposed as drivers of the transient “Mi-1” glaciation event at the Oligocene-Miocene transition (OMT; ~23 Ma). However detailed geochemical proxy data are required to test these hypotheses. Here we present records of Li/Ca, Mg/Ca, Cd/Ca, U/Ca, δ18O, δ13C, and shell weight in planktonic foraminifera from marine sediments spanning the OMT in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Li/Ca values increase by 1 μmol/mol across this interval. We interpret this to indicate a ~20% increase in silicate weathering rates, which would have lowered atmospheric CO2, potentially forcing the Antarctic glaciation circa 23 Ma. δ13C of thermocline dwelling planktonic foraminifera track the global increase in seawater δ13C across the OMT and during the Mi-1 event, hence supporting a hypothesized global increase in organic carbon burial rates. High δ13C previously measured in epipelagic planktonic foraminifera and high Cd/Ca ratios during Mi-1 are interpreted to represent locally enhanced primary productivity, stimulated by increased nutrients supply to surface waters. The fingerprint of high export production and associated organic carbon burial at this site is found in reduced bottom water oxygenation (inferred from high foraminiferal U/Ca), and enhanced respiratory dissolution of carbonates, characterised by reduced foraminiferal shell weight. Replication of our results elsewhere would strengthen the case that weathering-induced CO2 sequestration preconditioned climate for Antarctic ice sheet growth across the OMT and increased burial of organic carbon acted as a feedback that intensified cooling at this time

Neurodegenerative disease risk among former international rugby union players

Background: Autopsy studies of former contact sports athletes, including soccer and rugby players, frequently report chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative pathology associated with traumatic brain injury. Nevertheless, little is known about the risk of neurodegenerative disease in these populations. We hypothesised that neurodegenerative disease risk would be higher among former elite rugby union players than the general population. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study accessing national electronic records on death certification, hospital admissions and dispensed prescriptions for a cohort of 412 male Scottish former international rugby union players and 1236 members of the general population, matched to former players by age, sex and area socioeconomic status. Mortality and incident neurodegenerative disease diagnoses among former rugby players were then compared with the matched comparison group. Results: Over a median 32 years follow-up from study entry at age 30 years, 121 (29.4%) former rugby players and 381 (30.8%) of the matched comparison group died. All-cause mortality was lower among former rugby players until 70 years of age with no difference thereafter. During follow-up, 47 (11.4%) former rugby players and 67 (5.4%) of the comparison group were diagnosed with incident neurodegenerative disease (HR 2.67, 95% CI 1.67 to 4.27, p<0.001). Conclusions: This study adds to our understanding of the association between contact sports participation and the risk of neurodegenerative disease. While further research exploring this interaction is required, in the meantime strategies to reduce exposure to head impacts and head injuries in sport should be promoted

The conceptual and practical ethical dilemmas of using health discussion board posts as research data.

Increasing numbers of people living with a long-term health condition are putting personal health information online, including on discussion boards. Many discussion boards contain material of potential use to researchers; however, it is unclear how this information can and should be used by researchers. To date there has been no evaluation of the views of those individuals sharing health information online regarding the use of their shared information for research purposes

Intestinal Schistosomiasis and Giardiasis Co-Infection in Sub-Saharan Africa: Can a One Health Approach Improve Control of Each Waterborne Parasite Simultaneously?

Both intestinal schistosomiasis and giardiasis are co-endemic throughout many areas of sub-Saharan Africa, significantly impacting the health of millions of children within endemic areas. While giardiasis is not considered a neglected tropical disease, intestinal schistosomiasis is formally grouped within the NTD umbrella and, as such, receives significant advocacy and financial support for large-scale control, annually. Given the many epidemiological similarities between intestinal schistosomiasis and giardiasis, in this review, we critically discuss why disease surveillance and control activities for giardiasis are largely absent within low- and middle-income countries. With advances in new methods of parasite diagnostics and provision of existing anti-parasitic medications, better management of intestinal schistosomiasis and giardiasis co-infection could, not only be better understood but also, more effectively controlled. In this light, we appraise the suitability of a One Health approach for intestinal schistosomiasis, for if adopted more broadly, could also pave a way forward for more inclusive public health actions against giardiasis.</jats:p