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Introduction. Low back pain (LBP) is common and a significant cause of morbidity. Many patients receive inappropriate imaging for LBP in primary care. Aim. To explore the incidence and type of spinal imaging conducted for LBP patients referred from general practice for specialist surgical opinion, and evaluate whether imaging conformed to clinical guidelines. Methods. Audit of a sequential cohort (n = 100) of new LBP patients referred from primary care for specialist opinion at a suburban Australian capital city independent Spinal Centre. Results. In the 6 months before referral, 90% (95% CI 83–95%) of patients underwent spinal imaging. Imaging was performed in 95% of those who did and 79% of those who did not meet guidelines for radiological investigation. 35% of patients were inappropriately imaged and 3% inappropriately not imaged. Spinal computed tomography (CT) imaging was used in 52% of patients, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 42% and image-guided lumbar spinal interventional procedures in 28%. Discussion. Most patients with LBP referred for surgical opinion have diagnostic radiological investigations whether or not it is indicated by clinical guidelines. The more frequent use of spinal CT compared to MRI may be due to idiosyncrasies of the Australian Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) rebate system. The findings of this pilot study provide support for the changes recommended by the 2016 MBS Review Taskforce on LBP that permit GP access to subsidised lumbar MRI, while constraining access to lumbar CT, and provide novel data about spinal imaging and practice in this cohort of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In New Zealand – like in the US and UK – independently produced podcasts fall outside of local media regulations. New Zealand's media laws and regulatory bodies remain broadcast and legacy media-focussed, so podcast content that has not been previously broadcast is not regulated or otherwise overseen. In the absence of regulation, this study explores the ways nine independent podcast producers from New Zealand self-govern their content, as well as their motivations for doing so. It is an investigation of the ways 'amateur' content producers approach media ethics, and more broadly podcast production in practice. Not guided or bound by formal publishing or editorial responsibilities, and mostly with no formal media training, study participants demonstrate adherence to journalistic principles. They consider ethical and editorial quandaries as they arise during the production process, factoring in the needs and disposition of their audience. This process is informed by their worldview, as well as their perspectives and experiences as media consumers. Though these podcasters champion the ethos of independent podcasting, the content of their shows is not free from third party influence. These podcasters are also parents, partners, employees, and colleagues; life roles that inform the content of their show. Though they push back against podcasting being legislated, these podcasters see value in creating an informal set of guidelines or a voluntary code of practice for podcasting in New Zealand. This project contributes to ongoing explorations of independent podcasting and podcasting practice, focussing on what defines, motivates, and informs self-driven practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of Karitane nursing in New Zealand and the insights it provides into women's domesticity and paid work. Topics include the evolution of the concept of womanhood over the twentieth century, the judging of woman's social value based on her activity as wife, as sexual partner, companion and servant and the social work done by the voluntary social service organization the Plunket Society of New Zealand in areas like infant welfare.

The article explores on the fashionable apparel of patriotic women, who work in Red Cross featuring donned white or light-coloured dresses and voluminous aprons with a red cross bib and veils in New Zealand. It highlights the role of women to supplement the medical organization of the British territorial forces during the First World War. It also cites the advocacy of trained nurses on their profession along with the transformation of New Zealand Red Cross structures.

The article discusses the history of fundraising events in New Zealand, focusing on four particular types: charity bazaars, floral fetes, queen carnivals, and telethons. The adoption of British cultural practices by New Zealand settlers, who kept abreast of shifts in popular culture and social and cultural developments abroad through the reading of foreign newspapers and magazines, is detailed. Reasons for the lack of social obligation to bestow bequests and prompt charitable giving in the nineteenth century are considered. Other topics include social responsibility, individualism, and social classes.

This article calls for a specific form of comparative inquiry within historical archaeology as drawn from diaspora studies. Such a project encourages archaeologists to compare research from emigrant areas alongside work at overseas sites. This diasporic approach provides new potentials for engaging with the modern world by intersecting with both traditional and new aspects of archaeological practice. In order to showcase these aspects of a diasporic approach, the author explores three case studies from Montana, Peru, and New Zealand - connecting each to its related home area. The case studies explore how data drawn from a group's homeland can support established heritage practices, engage with modern social problems, and illuminate complexities arising within sites based on ethnolinguistic differences within populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zealand leg of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project followed the parent study by including a substantial historical dimension. This paper reflects upon the role of history in a comparative, increasingly quantitative project which is itself a product of time and place. The historical synthesis that emerged drew upon numerous small, local studies to locate New Zealand within the wide-ranging models of state/non-profit sector relations generated by the Johns Hopkins study. At the same time, it attempted to tell a story to a local audience. The result was a productive tension between axes of analysis--the internationally comparative, across geographical boundaries, informed by detailed statistical analyses; and comparisons across time, where the focus was on that other "foreign country", the past, and the research, of necessity, more qualitative and impressionistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are still growing in relation to historical archaeology, and the related literature contains little on the actual methods for structuring such data. The author draws on fieldwork at four sites in the Otago Region of New Zealand to present a sample data model as well as various uses for GIS in historical archaeology—from initial data collection to public presentation. Methodology developed here was used to map surface remains with GPS at four gold mining sites. Because unforeseen problems can arise when transitioning field data into digital formats, the process developed as part of the author's work to translate, organize, and disseminate data is presented in clear steps. The benefits for public consumption of archaeological material is discussed as well as the potential for GIS to address simple phenemonelogical questions about past decisions in regards to site placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the interdependence between the state and the voluntary social services during the period of the classic welfare state from the 1940s to the 1970s in New Zealand. It says that historiography is most neglectful of charity and voluntary welfare, the state's hegemony seeming most securely entrenched from the 1940s to the 1970s. It focuses on the general niche claimed by established voluntary organizations as the welfare state expanded and at their mutually dependent relationship with government agencies and administrators.

Background: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important cause of bloody diarrhoea (BD), non-bloody diarrhoea (NBD) and the haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). In Argentina and New Zealand, the most prevalent STEC serotype is O157:H7, which is responsible for the majority of HUS cases. In Australia, on the other hand, STEC O157:H7 is associated with a minority of HUS cases. The main aims of this study were to compare the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of STEC O157 strains isolated between 1993 and 1996 from humans in Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, and to establish their clonal relatedness. Results: Seventy-three O157 STEC strains, isolated from HUS (n = 36), BD (n = 20), NBD (n = 10), or unspecified conditions (n = 7) in Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, were analysed. The strains were confirmed to be E. coli O157 by biochemical tests and serotyping. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the stx1, stx2 and rfbO157 genes and a genotyping method based on PCR-RFLP was used to determine stx1 and stx2 variants. This analysis revealed that the most frequent stx genotypes were stx2/stx2c (vh-a) (91%) in Argentina, stx2 (89%) in New Zealand, and stx1/stx2 (30%) in Australia. No stx1-postive strains were identified in Argentina or New Zealand. All strains harboured the eae gene and 72 strains produced enterohaemolysin (EHEC-Hly). The clonal relatedness of strains was investigated by phage typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The most frequent phage types (PT) identified in Argentinian, Australian, and New Zealand strains were PT49 (n = 12), PT14 (n = 9), and PT2 (n = 15), respectively. Forty-six different patterns were obtained by XbaI-PFGE; 37 strains were grouped in 10 clusters and 36 strains showed unique patterns. Most clusters could be further subdivided by BlnI-PFGE. Conclusion: STEC O157 strains isolated in Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand differed from each other in terms of stx-genotype and phage type. Additionally, no common PFGE patterns were found in strains isolated in the three countries. International collaborative studies of the type reported here are needed to detect and monitor potentially hypervirulent STEC clones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which determined the spectroscopic and related evidence on the coloring and constitution of jade from New Zealand. Structure of nephrite; Experimental methods and analyses; Results and discussion.

Cattle diet, marbling and wet aging can affect eating quality and consumer preference of beef. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship of cooked volatile compounds and consumer sensory traits of New Zealand grass-fed strip loin steaks in comparison to US grain-fed strip loin steaks from five different USDA quality grades, wet-aged for 7, 21 and 42 days. Beef strip loins (n = 200; 20 per USDA quality grade/fed cattle type) representing five USDA quality grades (USDA Prime, Top Choice, Low Choice, Select and Standard) and two fed cattle types (New Zealand grass-finished and US grain-finished) were used. Steaks were cooked to a target internal temperature of 71°C and served to consumer panelists (n = 600; 120 per five different cities in the US). Volatile analysis (n = 600) was performed on cooked samples, and quantitation was conducted by an internal standard calibration with authentic standards. Statistical analyses were conducted using the FACTOR procedure of SAS. A principle component analysis (PCA) showed relationships of volatile compounds, treatments, and consumer ratings. PC1 explained 17.17% of the variation and PC2 explained 10.96% of the variation. Consumer flavor liking was most closely associated with ethanol and treatments grass and grain Prime aged 42d. The majority of the alcohols and n-aldehydes were associated with the 7d grain treatments including grain Top Choice, Low Choice and Select. The Maillard derived compounds were grouped together and most associated with grass Top Choice 42d and the consumer attributes. Methional was closest to many grass treatments including grass Top Choice 7d, Low Choice 7d, Standard 7d, Prime 7d and Standard 21d. Although associations were evident between volatile compounds and consumer sensory attributes, they were not strongly related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the first three decades of deaconess involvement in the New Zealand Methodist Maori Mission. Drawing upon church policy statements, deaconess narratives of experience which entered the public domain, as well as reminiscences which did not, it situates the deaconess missionaries in relation to the assimilationist discourses and gender assumptions of their day. It considers how Pakeha (European) deaconesses' potential as cultural intermediaries and models of white femininity was shaped by the particular histories of the areas in which they worked, by their own anomalous status within their denomination and by the spread of competing, secular channels of influence. As the sisters added a social work role to evangelism and education, many were drawn into close association with Maori communities, acting as advocates for Maori causes and challenging derogatory Pakeha constructs of Maori lifestyles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]