"Power to the people?" : the Palmerston North Municipal Electricity Department, 1910-1996 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University

The impetus for this study came from my interest and contacts in the energy sector, allied to a desire to advance local history writing from a mere reporting of events. Therefore, this thesis attempts to place a local Manawatu organisation into a national context to analyse the significance of its activities. The Palmerston North MED was chosen for this study because the records were preserved in the Palmerston North City Council Archives and were thus available for use, and because of my contacts with the organisation. It was stimulating to study an enterprise up to the present day, although this has provided some difficulties with obtaining confidential material at a time when the Council was considering merging it with a power board. In the course of this thesis many people have provided a great deal of assistance. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr James Watson and Professor Kerry Howe, for their support, guidance and comments. The Massey University History Department provided financial assistance, as did the Massey University Graduate Research Fund and Federation of University Women (Manawatu Branch), without which completion of my work would have been difficult. I also appreciated the general support and interest of individual members of the History Department. Ian Matheson and Barbara Olsen of the Palmerston North City Council Archives provided access to material relating to the Palmerston North Municipal Electricity Department, assisted with locating pictures, and unfailingly answered my questions. I am grateful that the City has such a resource available for students and historians. The records staff of the Palmerston North City Council also provided access to current records, for which I am appreciative. I would also like to thank the staff of Electro Power for allowing me to base my researches in their office temporarily, for answering technical questions and explaining photographs, and for displaying interest in my findings. Many of the photographs used come from the Electro Power collection. Lastly, I could not have completed this thesis without the assistance of Sheryl Morgan, discussions with Jim Lundy, and the moral support of my fellow Masters students. My biggest debt, however, is to the support, technical assistance and enthusiasm of Terry Jones, and for this I thank him

A fragment of a better order? : the Manawatu Co-operative Society Ltd, 1935-1939 : a research exercise presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History at Massey University

The world experienced the 1930s as a time of economic depression, with increasing political unease about the situation in Germany, and wars in Spain and China. The economic depression triggered by the collapse of Wall Street in October 1929 was felt in New Zealand from 1930. Unemployment rose, wages and farm prices fell, and New Zealand saw an increase in relief work and soup kitchens. In 1932 there were riots in the main cities. A coalition of the United and Reform parties won the 1931 election, but voters found the government was unable to improve conditions materially. The first Labour Government won power in November 1935, and although New Zealanders saw good times ahead, the economy did not fully recover from the slump until demand for the country's products improved with the Second World War. Although New Zealanders are generally proud to be individualists, experiences of the 1930s encouraged many to work together to mitigate the prevailing conditions. Women's unemployment relief committees were established up to help women without family or government assistance, by providing food and training in domestic skills. Churches became increasingly involved in economic and social problems, and previously evangelical city missions assumed a welfare role. Similarly, the State's place in the domestic economy changed from the late 1920s. The Government made housing loans available, eased mortgage payments and increasingly provided work schemes and benefits for unemployed men. Labour's election in 1935 led to previous government welfare initiatives being consolidated in the 'welfare state', and compulsory unionism was introduced. There was a general rise in collectivism in society at this time, and within this, the model of international cooperation, and especially British consumers' co-operation, attracted attention in New Zealand. [From Introduction

Transesophageal echocardiographic evaluation of an intraoperative retrograde acute aortic dissection: case report

BACKGROUND: We report an intraoperative retrograde dissection of the aorta and its subsequent evaluation by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). CASE PRESENTATION: A 78 year old woman with an ascending aortic aneurysm without dissection and coronary artery disease was brought to the operating room for aneurysm repair and coronary artery bypass grafting. After initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass through a femoral artery cannula, aortic dissection was noted and subsequently imaged by TEE. CONCLUSION: Retrograde aortic dissection through the femoral artery is life-threatening. Intraoperative TEE can be used to diagnose this uncommon event, and should be considered after initiation of bypass

Are you handling genital oedema confidently?

Men, women or children can suffer from oedema (swelling) of the genitalia. When differential diagnosis has excluded acute trauma or pathology and swelling remains, the condition may be diagnosed as genital lymphoedema, a chronic condition that increases the relative risk of cellulitis. Diagnosis of genital oedema is often delayed due to problems with patient and health professional behaviour, in terms of embarrassment, lack of confidence or lack of knowledge. Awareness of this condition and knowledge on how to manage it will go a long way in helping both patients and clinicians overcome the challenges of addressing genital oedema. This article describes the authors' experiences in managing genital oedema. It also briefly discusses a new international project that seeks to identify the knowledge and training that health professionals need to manage this condition more confidently

Examining Criminogenic Risk Levels Among People with Mental Illness Incarcerated in US Jails and Prisons

This study examines criminogenic risk levels of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) involved in the justice system compared to justice-involved individuals without mental illness. The sample (N = 436) consisted of ninety-three individuals with SMI incarcerated in a county jail in a mid-size Midwest city, 217 individuals with SMI incarcerated in a state prison in the US Northeast, and 126 individuals without mental illness incarcerated in a state prison in the US Southwest. Results indicated that people with SMI incarcerated in jail and prison had higher overall criminal risk levels than prison inmates without mental illness. Results further demonstrated that, on average, higher percentages of persons with SMI had high/very high criminogenic risk scores. Finally, we noted that persons with SMI scored higher on most of the eight criminogenic risk domains measured by the Level of Service Inventory. These findings are possibly the most compelling to date in the growing body of literature demonstrating that justice-involved people with SMI have elevated criminogenic risk comparable to or greater than their non-mentally ill peers involved in the justice system. Consequently, treatment programs and interventions for justice-involved individuals with SMI need to explicitly target criminogenic needs into treatment efforts

Dietary flavonoid intake and cognitive performance in older adults with Alzheimer\u27s type dementia

Background: Dietary flavonoid intake and intake of flavonoid subclasses has been associated with improved cognitive performance. However, the association between flavonoid intake and cognitive performance in older adults with Alzheimer\u27s type dementia has not been investigated. Objectives: To estimate dietary total flavonoid intake and intake of flavonoid subclasses in older adults with Alzheimer\u27s type dementia and assess the relationship of flavonoid intake with measures of cognition. Design: Cross sectional analysis. Setting: Community dwelling older adults in NSW, Australia. Participants: Older adults (+65y) with mild to moderate dementia (n=49). Measurements: A 24h diet recall was collected with help from a carer and used to estimate flavonoid intake. A battery of cognitive tasks assessed cognitive performance of several cognitive domains. Results: Pearson and spearman correlation coefficients identified an association between flavonoid intake and executive function (r=0.319, p=0.025). After controlling for depression, the relationship was reduced. Conclusion: The identified association between cognitive functioning, depression and flavonoid intake in older adults with Alzheimer\u27s type dementia warrants further research in a larger sample

Annexin A8 identifies a subpopulation of transiently quiescent c-kit positive luminal progenitor cells of the ductal mammary epithelium

We have previously shown that Annexin A8 (ANXA8) is strongly associated with the basal-like subgroup of breast cancers, including BRCA1-associated breast cancers, and poor prognosis; while in the mouse mammary gland AnxA8 mRNA is expressed in low-proliferative isolated pubertal mouse mammary ductal epithelium and after enforced involution, but not in isolated highly proliferative terminal end buds (TEB) or during pregnancy. To better understand ANXA8’s association with this breast cancer subgroup we established ANXA8’s cellular distribution in the mammary gland and ANXA8’s effect on cell proliferation. We show that ANXA8 expression in the mouse mammary gland was strong during pre-puberty before the expansion of the rudimentary ductal network and was limited to a distinct subpopulation of ductal luminal epithelial cells but was not detected in TEB or in alveoli during pregnancy. Similarly, during late involution its expression was found in the surviving ductal epithelium, but not in the apoptotic alveoli. Double-immunofluorescence (IF) showed that ANXA8 positive (+ve) cells were ER-alpha negative (−ve) and mostly quiescent, as defined by lack of Ki67 expression during puberty and mid-pregnancy, but not terminally differentiated with ~15% of ANXA8 +ve cells re-entering the cell cycle at the start of pregnancy (day 4.5). RT-PCR on RNA from FACS-sorted cells and double-IF showed that ANXA8+ve cells were a subpopulation of c-kit +ve luminal progenitor cells, which have recently been identified as the cells of origin of basal-like breast cancers. Over expression of ANXA8 in the mammary epithelial cell line Kim-2 led to a G0/G1 arrest and suppressed Ki67 expression, indicating cell cycle exit. Our data therefore identify ANXA8 as a potential mediator of quiescence in the normal mouse mammary ductal epithelium, while its expression in basal-like breast cancers may be linked to ANXA8’s association with their specific cells of origin

Culture change in a museum: An action research analysis

The move of a museum in the western United States to larger quarters resulted in an increase in visitors and requests for tours. To respond to the greater number of tours, new volunteers (docents) were recruited and trained. But conflicts arose between the old and new docents. As Docent Chair, one of the authors worked with the Curator of Education to understand the culture change faced by the old docent group and integrate the old and new docent groups. This paper analyzes the culture change using Lewin’s Action Research model. The success of the culture integration was demonstrated when the old and new docents moved away from «this is how it should be done…» to «this is what I see…» in speaking about an event or problem. The language and perception changes were steps toward building a common meaning.A mudança, para instalações maiores, de um museu no Oeste dos Estados Unidos teve como resultado o aumento do número de visitantes e pedidos para visitas guiadas. A fim de responder a este aumento, foram recrutados e formados novos voluntários (docentes). No entanto, verificou- se o surgimento de conflitos entre os novos e os velhos docentes. Na posição de Docent Chair, um dos autores deste artigo colaborou com o Curator of Education no sentido de compreender a mudança de cultura sentida pelos velhos docentes e integrar os dois grupos. Este artigo analisa a mudança cultural utilizando o modelo de Investigação em Acção de Lewin. O sucesso da integração cultural fica ilustrado com a modificação de posturas dos grupos quando se referem a eventos ou problemas, de uma postura tipo «isto é como as coisas devem ser feitas…», para uma outra tipo «isto é o que eu acho…». As mudanças na linguagem e percepção foram passos na construção de significados partilhados