The New Zealand Farm Workers Association : its rise and fall, 1974-1987 : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University

The New Zealand Farm Workers Association (FWA) grew from a groundswell reaction against the Kirk Government's proposed Agricultural Workers Bill, 1973. The Bill intended to end single sector industrial arrangements for over thirty thousand farm workers on stock, station and dairy farms by bringing them under the Industrial Relations Act 1973. Most farm workers believed this meant the introduction of a forty-hour week, penal over-time rates, compulsory membership and probable representation by the New Zealand Workers' Union ( NZWU). Many farm workers rejected this structure and the FWA resulted, a democratic, grass-roots organisation, run by farm workers for farm workers. It was committed to a framework of voluntary membership and an industrial policy of reconciliation and non-strike activity, concepts believed to suit the rural community of interests. The Association attracted a membership of over eight thousand in its first year. Its initial success was achieved through the efforts of farm workers, the assistance of prominent people and farmer support. A National Party election promise to recognise the FWA led to the Agricultural Workers Act, 1977, which removed the threat from the rival NZWU and perpetuated single sector arrangements in agriculture. FWA successes included the upgrading of Orders in Council relating to farm workers' wages after a delay of sixteen years, the first written agreement on conditions, and the development of policies designed to improve members' living conditions, to enhance their career prospects, and to make eventual land ownership more possible for them. Claims of a rural community of interests were tested by the relationship between the FWA and the employer unions, who were guided by their parent body, Federated Farmers. There was initial cooperation on the updating of Orders, the formulation of the Agricultural Workers Act, 1977, and on research into securing improvements in rural social life. But a fundamental conflict remained over land settlement and over securing better wages and conditions. This divergence became apparent when the FWA found voluntary membership did not ensure its viability. In 1979 the employer unions refused to allow the FWA to introduce a draft membership clause into its Awards, offering alternative assistance instead. Federated Farmers' first concern was to safeguard the continuation of separate industrial arrangements in the rural sector. Although a negotiated clause was accepted in 1982, it did not stop the decline of the FWA which was caused primarily by a lack of support from farm workers themselves. Without a strong following, the FWA was unable to operate as a serious political force. In the face of changing political and economic conditions, the FWA drive for increased status for farm workers was futile, especially after dramatic government policy changes in 1985. Its eventual merger with the NZWU and the passage of the Labour Relations Act, 1987, signalled the end of single sector arrangements and the complete capitulation of the FWA to the trade union system

Relationships between species traits and ecosystem processes in brackish aquatic plant communities

Aquatic plant meadows provide a variety of global ecosystem services. Their populations are declining globally. To conserve and restore aquatic plant meadows and the services which they provide, it is necessary to understand their ecology. A key approach which allows us to explore plant ecology is to investigate the relationships between plant functional traits and ecosystem processes. By investigating plant functional traits, it is possible to develop insights about functional diversity and plant growth strategies. In this thesis, plant functional traits, functional diversity and plant growth strategies are used to investigate aquatic plant biomass production responses to the environment. A series of manipulative experiments were conducted in situ in submerged aquatic plant meadows of the northern Baltic Sea using SCUBA. Firstly, the role of plant traits, species identity and sediment porewater NH₄⁺ availability for plant nitrogen uptake rates were investigated using a short-term (3.5 h) nitrogen enrichment experiment (Chapter I). Secondly, a 15-week transplant experiment was conducted to explore plant functional trait and functional diversity relationships to productivity (Chapter II). Finally, a similar experiment with additions of the bivalve Limecola balthica (12 weeks) was conducted to investigate infauna effects to plant functional trait–productivity relationships (Chapter III). Chapter I showed that short-term nitrogen uptake rates from the sediment were driven by plant-biomass related demands. Similarly, results suggested that plants likely drained ammonium availability from their adjacent sediment porewater. Overall, Chapter I parameterised the possible unfulfilled potential for larger temperate aquatic plants to cycle nutrients. Chapter II results showed strong relationships between productivity and traits which enhanced light capture (height and leaf area). Leaf tissue δ¹³C and functional richness were also related to community productivity. The relationship between height and productivity was likely exacerbated by a competitive height interaction between the tallest and second tallest species. Overall, functional richness was related to community biomass production, likely by selecting for traits which enhanced light capture (selection effect) with potential consequences to carbon supply. Findings support inferences from previous studies of aquatic plant communities which showed that height is strongly related to aquatic plant productivity and trait identity may be more descriptive for primary production compared to functional diversity indices. Chapter III results showed Specific Root Length (SRL) exhibited the strongest relationship to productivity. Leaf area was also related to community production and Median Maximum Root Length (MMRL) exhibited a marginally non-significant relationship to productivity. SRL exhibited collinearity to species identity, therefore it was not possible to interpret SRL effects separately to other traits which may coincide with species identity. Community SRL was related to community shoot frequency, not aboveground biomass production. SRL and shoot proliferation both represent strategies to enhance nutrient absorption from the sediment. Relationships between plant leaf tissue nutrient concentrations (N (% DW), δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) and L. balthica condition index suggested that L. balthica affected the sediment nutrient supply and enriched the plants with nutrients. Overall, Chapter III showed that infauna, common in aquatic plant meadows, can change aquatic plant trait-productivity relationships and thus arguably the drivers for submerged aquatic plant community growth. Findings of this thesis can be applied to a variety of other temperate submerged aquatic plant communities. Targeted research questions could contribute to further understanding of submerged aquatic plant ecosystem ecology, including the ecology of monocultures. This thesis summary suggests updating the current description of context-dependent seagrass biomass responses to sediment nutrient enrichment. It proposes a model which, once tested, would help to improve predictive modelling for submerged aquatic plant biomass responses to future change. Also, results of this thesis contribute towards increasing effectiveness of future management by providing insights to infauna effects on plant functioning. This is beneficial to current restoration development because infauna additions to submerged aquatic plant meadows are an option for increasing seagrass restoration success and seagrass resilience to future change. This thesis identifies that there is requirement for further research in seagrass meadows which form dense root-rhizome mattes, and it describes potential options for future research. It also recommends isotope-tracing experiments and compound-specific isotope tracing experiments to better understand mechanisms of nutrient exchange between infauna and temperate submerged aquatic plants. It has empirically shown current limitations of global plant trait syntheses and it identifies constructive steps forward to improve the global perspective of plant trait ecology. Finally, this thesis advocates the value of insights gained from data-rich functional diversity experiments and plant functional trait experiments. To conclude, this thesis has improved the collective understanding of temperate aquatic plant ecosystem functioning.The archipelago of the northern Baltic Sea contains shallow, submerged soft sediments that are colonised by diverse aquatic plant communities. Such diverse communities are valuable assets for investigating the relationships between species traits and ecosystem processes, to understand the ecology of submerged aquatic plants. This thesis constitutes three experiments conducted in situ using SCUBA in the northern Baltic Sea. The purpose of these experiments was to investigate how plant biomass production is related to plant functional traits, growth strategies, and functional diversity, as well as the role of infauna to plant functional trait-productivity relationships. Overall, results showed that plant functional diversity can be related to productivity likely by selecting for light capture traits, that the finite sediment nutrient source was likely affected by plant biomass-driven demands, and finally infauna can affect plant functional trait-productivity relationships. Overall, by using plant trait and functional diversity investigations, this thesis has improved the collective understanding of submerged aquatic plant functioning

Opportunities for mesoporous nanocrystalline SnO2 electrodes in kinetic and catalytic analyses of redox proteins

PFV (protein film voltammetry) allows kinetic analysis of redox and coupled-chemical events. However, the voltammograms report on the electron transfer through a flow of electrical current such that simultaneous spectroscopy is required for chemical insights into the species involved. Mesoporous nanocrystalline SnO2 electrodes provide opportunities for such ‘spectroelectrochemical’ analyses through their high surface area and optical transparency at visible wavelengths. Here, we illustrate kinetic and mechanistic insights that may be afforded by working with such electrodes through studies of Escherichia coli NrfA, a pentahaem cytochrome with nitrite and nitric oxide reductase activities. In addition, we demonstrate that the ability to characterize electrocatalytically active protein films by MCD (magnetic circular dichroism) spectroscopy is an advance that should ultimately assist our efforts to resolve catalytic intermediates in many redox enzymes

Informational Asymmetries in the Food Industry

The food industry is rife with opportunity to cheat on quality. This is because producers cannot easily provide or prove claims of their quality. We see evidence of this in the news, government studies and in supermarkets with products vying for shoppers’ patronage. Furthermore this problem has sparked a literature filled with policy prescriptions ranging from better labeling to increasing auditing firms liability. This thesis will go over the literature and models and seek to ask how a coordinated set of policies could do even better

Objective determination of the extratropical transition of tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere

Extratropical transition (ET) has eluded objective identification since the realisation of its existence in the 1970s. Recent advances in numerical, computational models have provided data of higher resolution than previously available. In conjunction with this, an objective characterisation of the structure of a storm has now become widely accepted in the literature. Here we present a method of combining these two advances to provide an objective method for defining ET. The approach involves applying K-means clustering to isolate different life-cycle stages of cyclones and then analysing the progression through these stages. This methodology is then tested by applying it to five recent years from the European Centre of Medium-Range Weather Forecasting operational analyses. It is found that this method is able to determine the general characteristics for ET in the Northern Hemisphere. Between 2008 and 2012, 54% (±7, 32 of 59) of Northern Hemisphere tropical storms are estimated to undergo ET. There is great variability across basins and time of year. To fully capture all the instances of ET is necessary to introduce and characterise multiple pathways through transition. Only one of the three transition types needed has been previously well-studied. A brief description of the alternate types of transitions is given, along with illustrative storms, to assist with further stud

A novel and miniaturized 433/868MHz multi-band wireless sensor platform for body sensor network applications

Body Sensor Network (BSN) technology is seeing a rapid emergence in application areas such as health, fitness and sports monitoring. Current BSN wireless sensors typically operate on a single frequency band (e.g. utilizing the IEEE 802.15.4 standard that operates at 2.45GHz) employing a single radio transceiver for wireless communications. This allows a simple wireless architecture to be realized with low cost and power consumption. However, network congestion/failure can create potential issues in terms of reliability of data transfer, quality-of-service (QOS) and data throughput for the sensor. These issues can be especially critical in healthcare monitoring applications where data availability and integrity is crucial. The addition of more than one radio has the potential to address some of the above issues. For example, multi-radio implementations can allow access to more than one network, providing increased coverage and data processing as well as improved interoperability between networks. A small number of multi-radio wireless sensor solutions exist at present but require the use of more than one radio transceiver devices to achieve multi-band operation. This paper presents the design of a novel prototype multi-radio hardware platform that uses a single radio transceiver. The proposed design allows multi-band operation in the 433/868MHz ISM bands and this, together with its low complexity and small form factor, make it suitable for a wide range of BSN applications

Stochastic terrorism: critical reflections on an emerging concept

This paper critically discusses the recent concept, stochastic terrorism – broadly, the idea that influential individuals may demonise target groups or individuals, inspiring unknown actors to take up terroristic violence against them. I collect together different strains of thought on the emerging concept, reflecting critically on what a suitable definition of the phenomenon would look like (or whether it would be needed), what the social urge to coin the concept may reveal about authoritarian power and violence, and what makes this form of political violence possible. I argue that present commentary fails to emphasise sufficiently the role of mistruth and deceit in such rhetoric, as well as its historical and mainstream precedents. Moreover, I understand the phenomenon to be specifically authoritarian in nature, which not only demonises but dehumanises its targets. In light of this, I suggest that given both the mainstreaming of racist conspiracy theory and the historical and continuing presence of centrally constructed “folk devils”, the authoritarian problem which can manifest into stochastic violence is very much endemic to modern liberal democracies. With this framing of stochastic violence in mind, we ignore it simply as a buzzword at our peril: even if the theoretical issues I have highlighted continue to persist, even if we struggle to pin down the concept with desired clarity – it bears a phenomenological significance and reflects an ongoing political structure of violence

Holocaust denial and professional history-writing

The purpose of this thesis is to examine Holocaust denial and professional historiography. Although much has been written about both subjects, the issue of distinguishing between them seems to have been largely ignored. They are, however, linked because of the way deniers conduct their business: in the attempt to make credible the claim that the Holocaust never happened, deniers mimic the styles and conventions traditionally employed by professional historians. Using footnotes and writing in the third person, deniers hope to get the surface right and make their readers believe their work. But appearances are deceiving, for deniers do not do history and are not historians. Theirs is a claim that defies morality and any sense of historical reality. Professional historians, while undoubtedly recognizing the moral bankruptcy of deniers and certainly not accepting their work as historical writing, have failed to make evident enough that deniers are not historians. Moreover, those who have attempted to refute deniers – and not often have these been professional historians – have usually done so on the basis of evidence: they have gone back to the data and shown how deniers have falsified or misrepresented it. While there is nothing necessarily wrong with that method, my own tack is different. At the same time as I take for granted the fact that deniers are not historians, what I aim to do is show how that is the case. Thus, this is partly a way beyond factual analysis, and partly the framework for factual refutation should it ever become necessary. Until deniers do history, however, evidence-based refutation is not necessary, and this very recognition should be implicit and explicit in any examination of Holocaust denial. My hope is to make this clear in three distinct but nevertheless related chapters. The first is about the evolution of Holocaust denial and how deniers have, especially in recent years, attempted to convey the appearance of legitimate scholarship. In the second, I focus on competing narratives as part of my effort to show that the appearance of denial literature is just part of deniers’ mode of deception. There is a major difference between competing narratives that are compatible – historical narratives vs. historical narratives – and between competing narratives that are incompatible – historical narratives vs. denial literature. Drawing comparisons between the two should make more evident the genre-specific characteristics of history-writing and Holocaust denial. They are not, and can never be, the same, no matter how much deniers may try to convince us otherwise. But what to do about this dichotomy? That question is largely the basis for my third chapter. It is my contention that turning to the evidence cannot be the only method by which to distinguish between history and denial. More is required to convince others of the falsity of deniers’ claims, and for me this is a larger issue, one that must take into account not just how but also why we write about the past. Lost is the sense that there is an ethical component to history-writing, specifically as this relates to events like the Holocaust, the issues surrounding which seem to require no less than a general notion of right-wrong. Judging between accounts thereby takes on a more meaningful role in the sense that focusing solely on issues of true-false tends to minimize the importance of the Holocaust as lesson. So, too, I think, does this lend itself rather easily to the disconcerting placement of post-modernism/relativism and Holocaust denial under the same sign. That is, Holocaust denial is untrue, and because post-modernists are often condemned precisely because they question the very notions of truth and objectivity in historical writing, deniers and post-modernists are often linked. However, such a narrow focus risks missing the forest for the trees. Instead of looking solely at how post-modernism threatens “the truth,” history would be better served through the use of post-modern concepts in order to make more evident the ethical component of the discipline of history. In fact, this is what a number of scholars from other disciplines have suggested, for it is in the meaning of the Holocaust – the Holocaust as lesson – that we have the best prevention against denial. Our discipline, after all, is comprised of much more than facts. The more effectively we impart this to students and readers, the better the chance they will understand who historians really are, what they really do, and why it is important. This alone should make clearer the idea that deniers are not historians, and that what they say is wrong on much more than just a factual level