Encountering tūrangawaewae and whanaungatanga : Māori, interconnection and a place to stand in Kairākau and Aroha Bridge : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

The establishment of Māori Television, alongside the development of public funding agencies like NZ on Air, and the expansion of media consumption to include online spaces has meant that Māori media has become an increasingly significant presence in the lives of both Māori and non-Māori viewers. However, there remains relatively little research into the ways in which this media can facilitate understanding of te ao Māori. Combining elements of postcolonial theory and kaupapa Māori criticism, this thesis examines the ways in which the textual representations, production practices, and distribution methods of the webseries Aroha Bridge and the television series Kairākau shape an understanding of tūrangawaewae and whanaungatanga. The thesis shows how the textual representations within the two series construct tūrangawaewae and whanaungatanga in complementary but also contrasting ways, providing a place to stand and fostering connections that are, for example, dynamic and informed by tradition, and that value cultural hybridity and autonomy. Through analysis of the production and distribution contexts in which the series are situated, the thesis also highlights the economic, cultural, and technological factors that present opportunities or obstacles for the realisation of tūrangawaewae and whanaungatanga on and off screen. The thesis thus reveals the value of Māori media as a resource for learning about te ao Māori, the ways in which te ao Māori is evolving in the contemporary mediascape, and the structural factors upon which these developments are contingent

Equivalence of low frequency stability conditions for multidimensional detonations in three models of combustion

We use the classical normal mode approach of hydrodynamic stability theory to define stability determinants (Evans functions) for multidimensional strong detonations in three commonly studied models of combustion: the full reactive Navier-Stokes (RNS) model, and the simpler Zeldovich-von Neumann-Doring (ZND) and Chapman-Jouguet (CJ) models. The determinants are functions of frequencies (, ), where is a complex variable dual to the time variable, and 2 Rd 1 is dual to the transverse spatial variables. The zeros of these determinants in 0 correspond to perturbations that grow exponentially with time. The CJ determinant, CJ(, ), turns out to be explicitly computable. The RNS and ZND determinants are impossible to compute explicitly, but we are able to compute their first-order low frequency expansions with an error term that is uniformly small with re- spect to all possible (, ) directions. Somewhat surprisingly, this computation yields an Equivalence Theorem: the leading coecient in the expansions of both the RNS and ZND determinants is a constant multiple of CJ! In this sense the low frequency stability condi- tions for strong detonations in all three models are equivalent. By computing CJ we are able to give low frequency stability criteria valid for all three models in terms of the physical quantities: Mach number, Gruneisen coecient, compression ratio, and heat release. The Equivalence Theorem and its surrounding analysis is a step toward the rigorous theoretical justification of the CJ and ZND models as approximations to the full RNS model

Cost-effectiveness analysis of introducing RDTs for malaria diagnosis as compared to microscopy and presumptive diagnosis in central and peripheral public health facilities in Ghana.

Cost-effectiveness information on where malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) should be introduced is limited. We developed incremental cost-effectiveness analyses with data from rural health facilities in Ghana with and without microscopy. In the latter, where diagnosis had been presumptive, the introduction of RDTs increased the proportion of patients who were correctly treated in relation to treatment with antimalarials, from 42% to 65% at an incremental societal cost of Ghana cedis (GHS)12.2 (US$8.3) per additional correctly treated patients. In the "microscopy setting" there was no advantage to replacing microscopy by RDT as the cost and proportion of correctly treated patients were similar. Results were sensitive to a decrease in the cost of RDTs, which cost GHS1.72 (US$1.17) per test at the time of the study and to improvements in adherence to negative tests that was just above 50% for both RDTs and microscopy

Mapping our Universe in 3D with MITEoR

Mapping our universe in 3D by imaging the redshifted 21 cm line from neutral hydrogen has the potential to overtake the cosmic microwave background as our most powerful cosmological probe, because it can map a much larger volume of our Universe, shedding new light on the epoch of reionization, inflation, dark matter, dark energy, and neutrino masses. We report on MITEoR, a pathfinder low-frequency radio interferometer whose goal is to test technologies that greatly reduce the cost of such 3D mapping for a given sensitivity. MITEoR accomplishes this by using massive baseline redundancy both to enable automated precision calibration and to cut the correlator cost scaling from N^2 to NlogN, where N is the number of antennas. The success of MITEoR with its 64 dual-polarization elements bodes well for the more ambitious HERA project, which would incorporate many identical or similar technologies using an order of magnitude more antennas, each with dramatically larger collecting area.Comment: To be published in proceedings of 2013 IEEE International Symposium on Phased Array Systems & Technolog

The histone lysine demethylase JMJD3/KDM6B Is recruited to p53 bound promoters and enhancer elements in a p53 dependent manner

The JmjC domain-containing protein JMJD3/KDM6B catalyses the demethylation of H3K27me3 and H3K27me2. JMJD3 appears to be highly regulated at the transcriptional level and is upregulated in response to diverse stimuli such as differentiation inducers and stress signals. Accordingly, JMJD3 has been linked to the regulation of different biological processes such as differentiation of embryonic stem cells, inflammatory responses in macrophages, and induction of cellular senescence via regulation of the INK4A-ARF locus. Here we show here that JMJD3 interacts with the tumour suppressor protein p53. We find that the interaction is dependent on the p53 tetramerization domain. Following DNA damage, JMJD3 is transcriptionally upregulated and by performing genome-wide mapping of JMJD3, we demonstrate that it binds genes involved in basic cellular processes, as well as genes regulating cell cycle, response to stress and apoptosis. Moreover, we find that JMJD3 binding sites show significant overlap with p53 bound promoters and enhancer elements. The binding of JMJD3 to p53 target sites is increased in response to DNA damage, and we demonstrate that the recruitment of JMJD3 to these sites is dependent on p53 expression. Therefore, we propose a model in which JMJD3 is recruited to p53 responsive elements via its interaction with p53 and speculate that JMJD3 could act as a fail-safe mechanism to remove low levels of H3K27me3 and H3K27me2 to allow for efficient acetylation of H3K27

PG 1115+080: variations of the A2/A1 flux ratio and new values of the time delays

We report the results of our multicolor observations of PG 1115+080 with the 1.5-m telescope of the Maidanak Observatory (Uzbekistan, Central Asia) in 2001-2006. Monitoring data in filter R spanning the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons (76 data points) demonstrate distinct brightness variations of the source quasar with the total amplitude of almost 0.4 mag. Our R light curves have shown image C leading B by 16.4d and image (A1+A2) by 12d that is inconsistent with the previous estimates obtained by Schechter et al. in 1997 - 24.7d between B and C and 9.4d between (A1+A2) and C. The new values of time delays in PG 1115+080 must result in larger values for the Hubble constant, thus reducing difference between its estimates taken from the gravitational lenses and with other methods. Also, we analyzed variability of the A2/A1 flux ratio, as well as color changes in the archetypal "fold" lens PG 1115+080. We found the A1/A2 flux ratio to grow during 2001-2006 and to be larger at longer wavelengths. In particular, the A2/A1 flux ratio reached 0.85 in filter I in 2006. We also present evidence that both the A1 and A2 images might have undergone microlensing during 2001-2006, with the descending phase for A1 and initial phase for A2. We find that the A2/A1 flux ratio anomaly in PG 1115 can be well explained both by microlensing and by finite distance of the source quasar from the caustic fold.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 8 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Sustained release of decorin to the surface of the eye enables scarless corneal regeneration

Ophthalmology: novel eye drop brings sustained drug delivery to ocular surface An eye drop formulation that applies anti-scarring drugs to the surface of the eye helps reverse infection-induced corneal damage in mice. Hill et al. from the University of Birmingham, UK, formulated a fluid gel loaded with a wound-healing protein called decorin that conforms to the ocular surface and is cleared gradually through blinking. With colleagues in California, they applied the therapeutic eye drop to mice with bacterial eye infections that trigger sight-threatening corneal scarring. Within a matter of days, the team saw improvements in corneal transparency, with reductions in scar tissue and reconstitution of healthy cells. Such a drug delivery system, if successful in humans, could help save many people’s sight and reduce the need for corneal transplantation

The impact of mental health recovery narratives on recipients experiencing mental health problems: Qualitative analysis and change model.

BACKGROUND: Mental health recovery narratives are stories of recovery from mental health problems. Narratives may impact in helpful and harmful ways on those who receive them. The objective of this paper is to develop a change model identifying the range of possible impacts and how they occur. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults with experience of mental health problems and recovery (n = 77). Participants were asked to share a mental health recovery narrative and to describe the impact of other people's recovery narratives on their own recovery. A change model was generated through iterative thematic analysis of transcripts. RESULTS: Change is initiated when a recipient develops a connection to a narrator or to the events descripted in their narrative. Change is mediated by the recipient recognising experiences shared with the narrator, noticing the achievements or difficulties of the narrator, learning how recovery happens, or experiencing emotional release. Helpful outcomes of receiving recovery narratives are connectedness, validation, hope, empowerment, appreciation, reference shift and stigma reduction. Harmful outcomes are a sense of inadequacy, disconnection, pessimism and burden. Impact is positively moderated by the perceived authenticity of the narrative, and can be reduced if the recipient is experiencing a crisis. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that incorporate the use of recovery narratives, such as peer support, anti-stigma campaigns and bibliotherapy, can use the change model to maximise benefit and minimise harms from narratives. Interventions should incorporate a diverse range of narratives available through different mediums to enable a range of recipients to connect with and benefit from this material. Service providers using recovery narratives should preserve authenticity so as to maximise impact, for example by avoiding excessive editing