Civilised men -- members of the craft : Freemasonry in Auckland to the formation of the Grand Lodge of New Zealandin 1890 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University

The public's fascination with freemasonry seems endless. Freemasons are variously believed to be members of a mysterious brotherhood of enormous influence, a secret society believed to have its roots in the order of the Knights Templar or the Egyptian pyramids and a sect involved in sacrilegious rites. Most will know of the periodic attacks upon freemasonry - claims that it is a secret society of men who conspire to help each other against the rest of the world, that they recognise each other by secret signs and then extend favours, even though this may be in conflict with their public duties - and the response of freemasons that their overriding duty is to obey the law. Their meetings, at which the rich symbolism of freemasonry is displayed in the course of the ceremonies, which are inspiring rituals to their members, may seem to be silly nonsense and play-acting to laymen. Freemasonry was one of the earliest social institutions to appear in Auckland and its members were active and influential. Whenever freemasons are mentioned in Auckland today, almost everyone claims to have had a predecessor who was a freemason. Many people recall seeing a father, grandfather or uncle going to lodge meetings carrying a thin case and wearing a dark suit and wondering what happened when the door of the lodge building closed behind them. On 7th October 1769 Sir Joseph Banks, who paid for his passage on Captain Cook's first voyage, was the first freemason to sight New Zealand. It was inevitable that those who chose to seek a new life in the colony would include a number of masonic brethren who saw themselves as enlightened, peace-loving and the practitioners of social equity, whose purpose was to exert the influence of freemasonry in this new colony which had been claimed for civilisation. As one of the first organised social institutions in the new colony, freemasonry had the benefit of being an already established fraternity with a tried and tested constitution. While the instigators of the first masonic lodges in New Zealand were men of means and influence (early members included lawyers, engineers, architects, civil servants and merchants) they struggled in the first fifteen years to attract members to their fraternity as men used their energy to build homes and businesses. From about 1850, freemasonry enjoyed a period of rapid expansion, and they attracted a new type of membership. Occupations were then recorded as shopkeeper, school teacher, shipping clerk, butcher, carrier and gardener. In the 1870s occupational changes of political or economic origin saw less of the workforce involved in defence and a rising proportion concerned with commerce, transport, trades and services. Local activities began to provide private rather than public services in the processing and distribution of food and clothing and businesses were started by people with very little capital. 1 R.C. J. Stone, Makers of Fortune: A Colonial Business Community And its Fall, Auckland: Auckland University Press, Oxford University Press, 1973, p.3

Growing up: school, family and area influences on adolescents' later life chances

This paper explores the links between school, family and area background influences during adolescence and later adult economic outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on data covering the period 1979 to 1996, drawn from the 1979 US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. For a sample of individuals aged 14 to 19 in 1979, estimates are produced of the impact of family, school and local area when growing up, on earnings capacity and poverty risk once they reach adulthood

Growing Up: School, family and area influences on adolescents later life chances

This paper explores the links between school, family and area background influences during adolescence and later adult economic outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on data covering the period 1979 to 1996, drawn from the 1979 US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. For a sample of individuals aged 14 to 19 in 1979, estimates are produced of the impact of family, school and local area when growing up, on earnings capacity and poverty risk once they reach adulthood.family background, poverty, wages, impact of schooling, area effects

Why rising tides dont lift all boats? An explanation of the relationship between poverty and unemployment in Britain

Abstract: This paper is motivated by the lack of any obvious relationship between aggregate poverty and unemployment in Great Britain. We derive a framework based on individuals' risks of unemployment and poverty, and how these vary over the economic cycle. Analysing the British Household Panel Survey for 1991-96, we are able to square the micro evidence - that unemployment matters for poverty - with the macro picture - that there's no strong link. We then go on to identify which household and individual characteristics are associated with whether an individual's poverty risk is vulnerable to the economic cycle.Poverty, unemployment, economic cycle

Measuring Income Risk

We provide a critique of the methods that have been used to derive measures of income risk and draw attention to the importance of demographic factors as a source of income risk. We also propose new measures of the contribution to total income risk of demographic and labour market factors. Empirical evidence supporting our arguments is provided using data from the British Household Survey.

Measuring Income Risk

We provide a critique of the methods that have been used to derive measures of income risk and draw attention to the importance of demographic factors as a source of income risk. We also propose new measures of the contribution to total income risk of demographic and labour market factors. Empirical evidence supporting our arguments is provided using data from the British Household Survey.Income risk, demographics, panel data

Characterization of renal cell carcinoma-associated constitutional chromosome abnormalities by genome sequencing.

Constitutional translocations, typically involving chromosome 3, have been recognized as a rare cause of inherited predisposition to renal cell carcinoma (RCC) for four decades. However, knowledge of the molecular basis of this association is limited. We have characterized the breakpoints by genome sequencing (GS) of constitutional chromosome abnormalities in five individuals who presented with RCC. In one individual with constitutional t(10;17)(q11.21;p11.2), the translocation breakpoint disrupted two genes: the known renal tumor suppressor gene (TSG) FLCN (and clinical features of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome were detected) and RASGEF1A. In four cases, the rearrangement breakpoints did not disrupt known inherited RCC genes. In the second case without chromosome 3 involvement, the translocation breakpoint in an individual with a constitutional t(2;17)(q21.1;q11.2) mapped 12 Kb upstream of NLK. Interestingly, NLK has been reported to interact indirectly with FBXW7 and a previously reported RCC-associated translocation breakpoint disrupted FBXW7. In two cases of constitutional chromosome 3 translocations, no candidate TSGs were identified in the vicinity of the breakpoints. However, in an individual with a constitutional chromosome 3 inversion, the 3p breakpoint disrupted the FHIT TSG (which has been reported previously to be disrupted in two apparently unrelated families with an RCC-associated t(3;8)(p14.2;q24.1). These findings (a) expand the range of constitutional chromosome rearrangements that may be associated with predisposition to RCC, (b) confirm that chromosome rearrangements not involving chromosome 3 can predispose to RCC, (c) suggest that a variety of molecular mechanisms are involved the pathogenesis of translocation-associated RCC, and (d) demonstrate the utility of GS for investigating such cases

Feminist Reflections on the Scope of Labour Law: Domestic Work, Social Reproduction and Jurisdiction

Drawing on feminist labour law and political economy literature, I argue that it is crucial to interrogate the personal and territorial scope of labour. After discussing the “commodification” of care, global care chains, and body work, I claim that the territorial scope of labour law must be expanded beyond that nation state to include transnational processes. I use the idea of social reproduction both to illustrate and to examine some of the recurring regulatory dilemmas that plague labour markets. I argue that unpaid care and domestic work performed in the household, typically by women, troubles the personal scope of labour law. I use the example of this specific type of personal service relation to illustrate my claim that the jurisdiction of labour law is historical and contingent, rather than conceptual and universal. I conclude by identifying some of the implications of redrawing the territorial and personal scope of labour law in light of feminist understandings of social reproduction

Structural analysis of pathogenic mutations in the DYRK1A gene in patients with developmental disorders.

Haploinsufficiency in DYRK1A is associated with a recognizable developmental syndrome, though the mechanism of action of pathogenic missense mutations is currently unclear. Here we present 19 de novo mutations in this gene, including five missense mutations, identified by the Deciphering Developmental Disorder study. Protein structural analysis reveals that the missense mutations are either close to the ATP or peptide binding-sites within the kinase domain, or are important for protein stability, suggesting they lead to a loss of the protein's function mechanism. Furthermore, there is some correlation between the magnitude of the change and the severity of the resultant phenotype. A comparison of the distribution of the pathogenic mutations along the length of DYRK1A with that of natural variants, as found in the ExAC database, confirms that mutations in the N-terminal end of the kinase domain are more disruptive of protein function. In particular, pathogenic mutations occur in significantly closer proximity to the ATP and the substrate peptide than the natural variants. Overall, we suggest that de novo dominant mutations in DYRK1A account for nearly 0.5% of severe developmental disorders due to substantially reduced kinase function