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Art, Liminality and Healing: an ethnographic study of artistic identity in the Taranaki region of New Zealand.
Full text linkArt in its practice and in its appreciation is a way of expressing one’s background, social distinction, political point of view, sense of beauty and personal struggles. It is also considered a way to relax and become creative. The use of art in the mental health sector has a lengthy history and has been authorised as a way of relaxing the brain and focussing on something that is not part of the day-to-day struggles of life. Art has been frequently used as part of the patient/artist’s journey towards recovery by using their art as a form of self-help. This help has been for both mental problems, and the social challenges which people who live with an unwanted mental illness face such as alienation and discrimination. This ethnographic project considers the anthropological term ‘liminality’ in relation to the uptake of art as the development of an artistic identity. The project also suggests the value of liminality theory as a potential theoretical connection between the states of suffering, and healing of mental health issues by engaging with art as therapy. I worked with nine participants drawn from the Taranaki area of New Zealand who were part of (or closely connected to) the local art community and I engaged with them via zoom interviews, emails, attendance at local art shows and exhibitions, and as a fellow contributor to the emerging artists’ scene. My particular focus was on the identity shift that people undergo from being a ‘hobby’ artist to an ‘artist’ – often accomplished through the first sale of a painting or other artistic creation and sometimes mediated by the pressure of mental ill-health. The project also explains how people believe that using their ‘creative side’ benefits them while going through ‘tough times’ or simply for personal development
Determining potential cost savings associated with avoided medical utilisation due to National Poisons Centre self management of suspected poisonings, and identifying factors associated with awareness and utilisation of the service.
Full text linkThe New Zealand National Poisons Centre (NZNPC) provides a range of services contributing to the prevention and mitigation of harm to New Zealanders from poisoning. Each year the NZNPC’s Poisons Line handles around 23,000 calls from the public requiring advice on suspected poisonings. Of this around 70% of callers do not require medical treatment but are instead advised on how to manage the incident themselves. Poisoning exposures in children under the age of 5 years’ account for over half of the calls to the NZNPC.
Callers to the Poisons Line over a two-week period who were advised to self-manage were surveyed about their alternate actions in the absence of the Poisons Line. Costs associated with those alternate actions were then estimated and multiplied by the annual number of NZNPC patients advised to self-manage. The value of medical costs borne by healthcare purchasers avoided as a result of self-managed facilitated by the NZNPC was estimated to be in the range of NZ446.94 per patient advised to self-manage, resulting in an annual saving of at least NZ$1.1 million.
The number of calls to the NZNPC Poisons Line depends on both the need for advice (e.g. rates of poisoning incidents) and the decision to call the NPC (e.g. awareness of the NPC; attractiveness of other sources of advice).
A survey of demographic characteristics, approaches to poisoning management and awareness of the NZNPC was distributed to caregivers of children under the age of 5 years through Dunedin early learning centres. Respondents generally showed a good awareness of poisoning management, with 77% of respondents were aware of the NZNPC. Possible associations between awareness levels and ethnicity, income and education merit further investigation.
The findings, when considered with records of poisoning harm and NZNPC call rates by ethnicity, provide preliminary evidence that targeted efforts to increase awareness of the NZNPC's Poison Line could create further savings in medical utilisation as well as associated benefits of reduced poisoning harm and non-medical cost savings
Acceptability and efficacy of a menthol mouth swill amongst elite rugby players
No full textBackground: Many sporting events take place in hot and humid environments such as the Tokyo Olympics 2021, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022, and Super Rugby in New Zealand and Australia during late summer. Such conditions challenge the body’s ability to thermoregulate, often resulting in compromised performance. Therefore, it is common practice for athletes to implement cooling strategies as means of attenuating the rise in core temperature and prolonging the onset of fatigue. The cooling properties of menthol have shown to be effective in reducing thermal sensation and enhancing performance during exercise in hot climates, however, there is little work that explores the efficacy of menthol in elite athletes during high-intensity team-based sport.
Objective: To explore the effect of a 0.1% menthol mouth swill on thermal sensation and measures of fluid balance in elite rugby union players during training in the heat. To assess the acceptability of a 0.1% menthol mouth swill in elite rugby players.
Design: A randomised cross-over design involving 27 participants (24.5 years ± 3.1) from a Super Rugby franchise in New Zealand. Participants were randomly assigned a 0.1% menthol mouth swill, or a placebo (water) mouth swill, which was swilled a total of four times during blocks of high-intensity, rugby-specific training drills in an outdoor environment during summer. Both thermal sensation and acceptability were assessed using spoken questionnaires. Thermal sensation was measured using a nine-point scale ranging from “very cold” to “very hot”. Acceptability was assessed using a questionnaire that prompted participants to rank taste, flavour, sensation, aftertaste, and overall pleasantness on a Likert scale from “dislike extremely” to “like extremely”. Performance was measured using Global Positioning System (GPS) metrics. Anthropometric measurements and fluid intakes were also assessed, which were used to calculate measures of fluid balance.
Results: Presented as mean ± standard deviation, there was no significant difference in fluid intake (1522.2 ± 609.8 mL and 1429.5 ± 581.5 mL for menthol and placebo respectively, p = 0.24), nor percentage of dehydration (1.2 ± 0.6% compared to 1.1 ± 0.6% for menthol and placebo respectively, p = 0.21). Thermal sensation scores were significantly lower at the end of the training session following the menthol intervention (1.6 ± 1.8 compared to 2.4 ± 1.4 for menthol and placebo respectively, p = 0.02). This did not translate to any improvements in performance. The sensation of the menthol mouth swill was rated more favourable compared to the placebo, both before and after the trials (p < 0.01, and p = 0.03 respectively). Other acceptability indices did not differ significantly.
Conclusion: A 0.1% menthol mouth swill is well accepted among elite rugby players and has no meaningful influence on fluid balance. Furthermore, it is effective in reducing thermal sensation at the completion of exercise yet produces no improvements in rugby performance. Individual variation among the results warrants an individualised approach when considering menthol application in rugby. Additional research in menthol application at the individual level is required to further understand the acceptability and efficacy of a menthol mouth swill
Women and the New Zealand office, 1945 - 1972: Keystrokes to a rewarding life?
Full text linkThe period from 1945 to 1972 in New Zealand was one of subtle social revolutions that shifted women’s understandings of what constituted a ‘rewarding life’. This thesis investigates the way in which the working lives of female clerical workers embodied these changes, arguing that work experience of this nature paved the way for ‘second wave feminism’ much more than has previously been realised.
Young women leaving school in 1945 after at least two full years of secondary education expected to spend time in the paid workforce before marriage and motherhood. One third of young women would head into offices, mostly into highly gender-segregated occupations such as typists or stenographers. Their wage packets were tangible evidence that their work was valued at slightly more than half of a man’s. By 1972 most young women still envisaged matrimony and childcare as a part of their futures but paid work was increasingly a lifetime reality. Wages had become more individualistic, and women had won the rights to be renumerated equally for their work. Women were now challenging the workplace structures that had restricted their career ambitions.
Young women’s aspirations for their futures, whether in 1945 or 1972, were shaped by both gendered and contradictory social expectations. This thesis argues that educational reforms in the 1930s and 1940s raised the prospects of equality along with the ideas of personal fulfilment through paid work. At the same time however, education also reinforced a gender segregated workforce by funnelling young women into accepted ‘women’s’ occupations such as clerical work.
This thesis explores the importance of the time young women spent in paid work during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. Command over a disposable income meant that young working women became a distinctive consumer group and the resulting image of the glamorous business girl came to present an alternative vision of ideal womanhood. Work, and the opportunities such as travel that their wage created, broadened women’s horizons. This overlooked aspect of women’s lives was central to changing women’s aspirations and shifting gender relations that underpinned the more overt systemic challenges in the workforce and beyond in the 1970s and 80s
The potential impacts of microplastic contamination of lettuce plants on human health
Full text linkPlastic is a persistent pollutant. When plastic “breaks down”, its structure fragments until the plastic particles are eventually no longer visible to the naked eye. Plastic particles < 5 mm are known as microplastics. When microplastics are in the environment, they are weathered by mechanical and chemical forces, allowing the plastics to sorb to pollutants easily. Limited research exists on the interactions between crop plants and microplastics. There is concern that the smallest microplastics (< 10 µm) may adhere to the surfaces of leafy vegetables such as lettuce (Lactuca satvia). If plastics adhere to leafy vegetables and are retained after washing, then they are likely consumed by humans. This consumption is concerning as both clean and contaminated microplastics have the potential to cause damage to human cells and bioaccumulate. Published papers have identified the presence of microplastics in lettuce and observed a cytotoxic effect when microplastics were exposed to human (Caco-2) intestinal models. However, no research has investigated the impact of microplastic contaminated plant-based food on human intestinal models.
This research initially aimed to determine whether microplastics adhere to the surface of lettuce leaves and if washing was effective at removing microplastics. We found that microplastics adhere to lettuce leaves and that washing, while effective in reducing the number of microplastics retained by the lettuce leaf, was unsuccessful in removing all microplastics from the leaf. Leaf macro surface morphology and whole leaf contour were identified as factors that influenced the adhesion and retention of microplastics.
The second aim of this research was to identify a level where microplastics had a cytotoxic effect on a human intestinal model (Caco-2). A level of 50,000 microplastics per mL of medium was identified. As 50,000 microplastics per mL of medium is 100-fold the level of microplastics found in the environment, these results are not concerning. This aim was then extended to identify if level at which microplastics had a cytotoxic effect was affected by the presence of a lettuce digest. The presence of lettuce was found to be a bioprotective factor. Red lettuces conferred particularly high levels of bioprotection, with no cytotoxic effects on the human intestinal model identified at any microplastic concentration. This finding has significant implications for regulations surrounding food safety
How does belonging to a sports team effect mental wellbeing? Utilizing the Social Identity Approach in the context of a male adolescent rugby team.
No full textIn Aotearoa New Zealand mental health is a complex issue in many groups within society, perhaps none more so than adolescent males. Given a large number of adolescent males in Aotearoa New Zealand play rugby, in the current thesis, I investigate how sports teams may enhance resilience and self-esteem, utilising the Social Identity Approach as a theoretical framework. Further, I utilised ethnographic methods to get a better understanding of how an adolescent sports team functions, and to gain a better understanding of how mental health interventions and health promotion could be utilised with this unique context. There were three hypotheses. First, that psychological resilience and self-esteem would increase from the start to end of the season. Second, that measures of social identity would increase from the start to the end of the season. Finally, that social identity would predict increases in self-esteem and psychological resilience. Questionnaires were deployed at three time points, the start of season, end of season, and several weeks post season. Support for our hypotheses was mixed. Specifically, while resilience and self-esteem did not change over the course of the season, we did observe an increase in one identity-related measure (identity fusion). Further, although resilience did not change from the start to the end of the season, social identity did make a contribution contribute to psychological resilience. I discuss these findings in relation to both the Social Identity Approach and my own qualitative findings
A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Food Loss in Glasshouse-Grown Tomatoes
Full text linkReducing food loss and waste (FLW) is one strategy to limit the environmental impact of the food supply chain. Australian data suggest that primary production accounts for 31% of national FLW, but there are no comparable data in New Zealand. This study aimed to measure food loss and explore food loss drivers for one of New Zealand’s largest tomato growers by weighing and visually assessing tomato losses at the glasshouse, packhouse and sales warehouse. Qualitative interviews were also held with the grower (n = 3), employees (n = 10), and key industry stakeholders (n = 8). Total food loss for this greenhouse tomato grower was 16.9% of marketed yield, consisting of 13.9% unharvested tomatoes, 2.8% rejected at the glasshouse and 0.3% rejected at the packhouse. The grower’s tomato loss predominantly resulted from commercial factors such as market price, competitor activity and supply and demand. Similar issues were recognized throughout the New Zealand horticulture sector. Commercial factors, in particular, are challenging to address, and collaboration throughout the supply chain will be required to help growers reduce food losses
Preference and thermal comfort of a menthol mouth swill of differing concentrations in both temperate and hot environments: a randomised cross-over trial.
No full textBackground: Menthol mouth swilling is a nutritional intervention that improves performance across different modes of exercise. A range of menthol concentrations are currently used because a preferred concentration has not yet been established; whether or not preference changes between differing thermal environments is also unknown.
Objective: To determine the preferred concentration of a menthol solution and which concentration offers the most thermal comfort at rest in temperate and hot environments. Additionally, the study aimed to determine the preference of menthol solutions for those who use mouthwash compared to those who do not.
Design: A randomised cross-over trial involving 50 consenting male and female participants was conducted in two different thermal environments, temperate (21 °C ) and hot (33 °C). In each trial, six menthol solutions (0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.08 and 0.10% concentration) were swilled and individually rated for nine preference characteristics on a 100mm scale. Thermal comfort was rated before and after the swilling of each solution. Anthropometrical measurements were taken and participants’ habitual menthol use and liking of the taste of mint were determined.
Results: A variation in preference was evident for menthol solutions between thermal environments. Significant dislike for all menthol concentrations was evident in the temperate environment in terms of overall pleasantness, however the most significant dislike was evident among 0.03, 0.08 and 0.10% menthol concentrations; the mean difference (95% CI) for 0.03% menthol concentrations was -13 (-20, -7), whilst both 0.08 and 0.10% menthol concentrations had the same mean difference (95% CI) of -13 (-19, -6). In the hot environment, only a significant dislike for the strongest concentration in terms of overall pleasantness was observed; the mean difference (95% CI) for 0.10% menthol concentration was -7 (-14, 0). Those who reported to use mouthwash demonstrated a significantly greater overall liking for the strongest menthol concentration (0.10%) compared to non-users, irrespective of temperature. However, menthol concentrations of 0.05% and 0.10% were most preferred in the temperate and hot environment, respectively; mean differences (95% CI) were 14.3 (4.7, 23.9) and 12.6 (2.4, 22.9). The menthol concentration of 0.08% provided a significant reduction in thermal comfort in both thermal environments; the mean difference (95% CI) in the temperate and hot environment was -0.4 (-0.7, -0.1) and -0.03 (-0.06, 0.0), respectively.
Conclusion: No clear preference for a menthol concentration could be determined. The results from this study indicate that the thermal environment and habitual menthol use influence preference for menthol concentrations. These are important considerations for future researchers who are aiming to determine the most preferable menthol concentration in a sports and exercise setting
Preliminary comparison of the energy and macronutrient intakes of young children aged 1 to 3.9 years living in areas of high compared to low household deprivation
No full textBackground: Families living with fewer resources are vulnerable to suboptimal nutrition status, which places young children, as a vulnerable population group, at considerable risk of adverse health outcomes. There have been no comprehensive New Zealand studies to investigate the nutrient intakes of children under 5 years old, or attempts to explore the differences in nutrient intakes between different levels of household deprivation, in the past two decades. This is particularly concerning considering how influential poverty is on childhood growth and development, and long-term health.
Objective: To compare energy and macronutrient intakes of young preschool children living in areas of high household deprivation compared to those living in areas of low household deprivation in New Zealand.
Design: The Young Foods New Zealand (YFNZ) study is an ongoing cross-sectional study of young children aged between 1 and 3.9 years from Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin, New Zealand. The current study includes participants who were enrolled in the YFNZ study between November 2020 and September 2021. On two non-consecutive days, researchers administered two 24-hour dietary recalls, and a questionnaire to assess demographic characteristics. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height/length) were made, and body mass index z-score was calculated. The New Zealand Index of Deprivation (NZDep18) ordinal scale was used to categorize participants into one of three decile groupings: 1 to 3 (low deprivation), 4 to 7, or 8 to 10 (high deprivation), to determine the level of household deprivation. Dietary data were analysed in FoodWorks nutrient analysis software using the New Zealand food composition database.
Results: Of the 210 participants included in this study, 23 participants had two 24-hour recalls available for analysis. The mean (SD) age of participants in the overall sample was 2.6 (0.9) years. Most of the participants from low deprivation areas were of Māori or New Zealand European ethnicity and the majority of participants in the high deprivation group were of Pacific ethnicity (total response). The mean energy intake was 4424 kJ/d in the low deprivation group and 5194 kJ/d in the high deprivation group, however, the difference of 770 kJ/d was not statistically significant. When comparing gram amounts per day, the high deprivation group appeared to have higher intakes of all macronutrients when compared to the low deprivation group, with mean differences of: protein, 5.5 g/d; total fat, 9.0 g/d; saturated fat, 4.7 g/d; carbohydrate, 19.8 g/d; total sugars, 14.4 g/d; dietary fibre 0.8 g/d, although these differences were not statistically significant. When the intakes were adjusted for energy, the high deprivation group also appeared to have a higher intake of total fat (1.7 % energy), saturated fat (1.4 % energy), and total sugars (2.0 % energy), however this was not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The energy and total fat, saturated fat, and total sugars intakes of children in high deprivation areas appear to be higher than those of children living in low deprivation areas, although these differences were not statistically significant in this small sample. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in a larger sample of children, which the analysis of the full YFNZ study dataset will provide. The results from this preliminary study suggests that this topic warrants further investigation, and challenges policy makers to question whether enough is being done to improve the health of children living in poverty
Characterising the Role of STAT1 in Oestrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer
Full text linkOestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer accounts for over three quarters of all diagnosed breast cancer cases globally. While ER+ breast cancer has a better prognosis as compared with other subtypes, resistance to current treatments and recurrence of disease is common. ER+ breast cancer has lower immunogenicity than other breast cancer subtypes, meaning it is less likely to be recognised by the immune system and generate an effective immune response against cancer cells. This means it is a poor candidate for immunotherapy, a treatment that utilises the anti-tumour activity of the immune system and has found success in treating more immunogenic breast cancer subtypes. Therefore, better understanding of key players in the immune system and the development of ER+ breast cancer are needed to further the understanding and design of therapeutics to better treat this subtype.
Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1 (STAT1) has been associated with the development of ER+ breast cancer. STAT1 is involved in tumour suppression by the immune system, especially via the IFNγ-signalling pathway, by anti-proliferative effects, recognition and destruction of cancer cells, and induction of apoptosis. Several studies have shown that mice homozygous negative for STAT1 expression (STAT1-/-) spontaneously develop ER+ mammary tumours. Additionally, downregulation of STAT1 expression is associated with ER+ breast cancer in humans, suggesting a link between STAT1 deficiency and ER+ breast cancer development. However, it is unknown how reconstitution of STAT1 expression affects ER+ breast cancer and if this influences cancer cell immunogenicity.
This project aimed to characterise the role of STAT1 in ER+ breast cancer. This was achieved by overexpressing STAT1 in SSM3 cells, a STAT1-/- murine ER+ breast cancer cell line derived from mammary tumours developed by STAT1-/- mice. Generation of a stable STAT1 overexpressing cell line was unsuccessful, therefore transient transfections were used to express STAT1 in SSM3 cells. Immunofluorescence analysis showed both cytoplasmic and nuclear localisation of STAT1 in transfected cells, indicating activity of the protein. Calculation of transfection efficiency via immunofluorescence showed the Stat1-containing vector efficiency of 12.6%. Analysis of apoptosis via flow cytometry initially showed an increase in apoptosis in Stat1-transfected cells, with IFNγ treatment iii having no effect, however further replicates failed to reproduce this result. Analysis of STAT1 target gene expression showed that immunosuppressive PD-L1 expression, but not MHC-I, was significantly upregulated in cells transfected with Stat1. This suggests selective gene upregulation, however further replicates are needed to confirm this. Increasing transfection efficiency would aid further replicates of experiments carried out above. Optimisation of the method for stable transfection would aid further investigation into the role of STAT1. This would allow for analysis of immunogenicity and tumorigenic characteristics, such as proliferation, migration and invasion via growth assays, of STAT1- expressing SSM3 cells as compared with wildtype SSM3 cells