The purpose of this research was to create the longest possible, homogeneous, historical daily temperature dataset for Southern New Zealand, analyse the changes in extreme temperatures and investigate atmospheric circulation patterns that contributed to these changes. Daily minimum and maximum temperature data for Southern New Zealand were captured from paper records and extended to include all available archival data from the region. This dataset was digitised and contains temperatures from 26 stations that began operation sometime in the period between 1852 and 1953. Stations include the Chatham and Campbell islands. Adjustments for inhomogeneities in the dataset were made using a frequency distribution matching method. Dunedin has a record dating from 1852, the longest in the Southern Hemisphere south of 40�S latitude. Reconstruction of a homogeneous record for Dunedin was made by taking into account site changes from contemporaneous modem data logger measurements and from an analysis of overlapping period data. Temperatures showed no clear pattern of change in Southern New Zealand from the mid 1800s through to the early 1900s with the exception of a brief cold period that occurred around 1900. However, from the 1940s through to the 1970s both minimum and maximum extreme temperatures showed strong warming. These trends were duplicated over the shorter length period of record for other regions, especially in Eastern Canterbury. The warming trend was maintained over the period 1979 - 2003, but only in the colder ends of minimum and maximum distributions. Temperatures have become less cold due to the recent compression of the temperature distribution. There was a marked decrease in cold days at stations in the south and offshore islands. Atmospheric circulation pattems, and in particular ENSO, were shown to affect extreme temperatures recorded in Southern New Zealand. Anomalous southwesterlies associated with El Nino events produce cooler temperatures and increase the numbers of cold extreme temperatures, while anomalous northeasterlies typical of La Nina increase the numbers of warm extreme temperatures. Monthly frequencies of extreme temperatures were primarily affected by anomalous south/north meridional airflows to increase cold/warm extreme temperature frequencies. Zonal airflows have a lesser, but topographically influenced effect. Record hot and cold temperatures in Southern New Zealand were a product of the interaction between advective northerly and southerly airflows respectively, and local climatic effects caused by topography.

A prevailing view exists in the literature which suggests that macroalgae growing in slow-flow environments (<4 cm s⁻�) are less productive because of "mass-transfer" limitation compared to fast-flow environments. Macroalgae in slow-flow environments are thought to have thicker diffusion boundary-layers which limit the flux of essential molecules to and from the algal thallus. However nutrient demand of a macroalga can also influence nutrient flux. The main objective of this research was to determine the relative importance of physical (mainstream velocity) and physiological (nutrient demand) factors influencing the growth rate of Adamsiella chauvinii, a small (<20 cm) red algal species, that grows within the benthic boundary-layer in a soft sediment habitat. To establish the influence of water velocity, the growth rate of A. chauvinii was measured in situ each month (March 2003 to March 2004) at three sites with varying degrees of water velocity (slow, intermediate and fast) at which all other environmental parameters (photon flux density, seawater temperature and nutrients) were similar. To determine the metabolic demand and nutrient uptake rate of A. chauvinii, the internal nutrient status (C:N, soluble tissue nitrate, ammonium and phosphate), uptake kinetics (V[max] and K[s]) and nutrient uptake rate at a range of mainstream velocities were also determined on a seasonal basis. The hydrodynamic environment around A. chauvinii canopies was characterised in situ and compared with controlled laboratory experiments. Growth rates of Adamsiella chauvinii thalli at the slow-flow site were significantly lower in winter (June) to summer (February) than the intermediate- and fast-flow sites, while in autumn growth rates were similar between sites. However, A. chauvinii at the slow-flow site had similar or higher tissue N content compared to thalli at the other two sites during winter, spring and summer suggesting that growth rates of A. chauvinii were not mass-transfer limited. Nitrogen uptake rates of A. chauvinii were similar between sites in summer and winter, however uptake rates were lower in summer compared to winter even though thalli were nitrogen limited in summer. Water velocity had no effect on nitrate uptake in either summer or winter and uptake of ammonium increased with increasing water velocity during summer only. Two hydrodynamically different environments were distinguished over a canopy of A. chauvinii, with both the laboratory and field velocity profiles in good agreement with each other. In the top half of the canopy, the Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) and Reynolds stresses were greatest while in the bottom half of the canopy flow rates were less than 90 % of mainstream velocity (< 1 cm s⁻�). When considered together, the influence of water velocity on the growth rates of A. chauvinii was not completely clear. Results suggest that mainstream velocity had little influence on nutrient availability to A. chauvinii because of the unique hydrodynamic environment created by the canopy. Nutrients, especially ammonium and phosphate, derived from the sediment and invertebrates, may provide enough nitrogen and phosphate to saturate the metabolic demand of Adamsiella chauvinii, consequently, A. chauvinii is well adapted to this soft-sediment environment.

World-wide, working life is undergoing major changes. Established market economies are increasingly characterised by demands for vastly greater market flexibility. New Zealand (NZ) has been no different with rapid changes occurring over the last 2 decades in the organisation of labour, of work and of the work environment. Recent international research suggests that work change significantly impacts upon worker health and safety. Many OECD nations undertake routine cross-sectional surveys to monitor changes in working conditions and environments, assessing the health and safety impact of these changes. Similar monitoring is not undertaken in NZ, with the impact of the work environment on health and injury outcomes poorly understood. This lack of knowledge (monitoring) is considered to be a significant impediment to the progression of health and safety initiatives in NZ. The aim of this thesis was to develop a tool (questionnaire) and methodology suitable for use in the surveillance of working conditions, work environments and health and injury outcomes using workers� surveys. The survey development was undertaken in 3 phases: i) development of tool through critical review; ii) empirical methodological testing and iii) an empirical validation study. Questionnaire development was a stepwise process of content selection. Firstly key dimensional themes were identified via critical review of literature and existing international surveys leading to the establishment of a dimensional framework. Secondly a critical review of questions to measure key dimensions based upon selection criteria occurred. Finally the selected questions and design were pre-tested before piloting. A similar development process was undertaken for the development of a calendar collecting occupational histories. A methodological study was undertaken piloting the questionnaire. Two methods of data collection were evaluated: face-to-face and telephone interviews, and two methods of occupational history collection: calendar and question set. Telephone interviewing was found to be the more efficient and effective data collection method while occupational history collection was found to be less time consuming by question set. Focus groups indicated questions were acceptable and suitable to NZ workers. A validation study was undertaken with a cross-sectional study in distinctly different occupational groups: cleaners and clerical workers. Comparisons were made between the groups with cleaners expected to be identified as employed under more hazardous working conditions and be exposed to more hazards of a physical nature, while clerical workers were expected to be exposed to more psychological hazards of a psychological nature. Results indicated the questionnaire provides data capable of making valid comparisons, identifying work patterns of high risk and provides good predictive validity. The final survey has the potential to generate population data on a wide range of work-related exposure and health variables relevant to contemporary working life. The survey results will contribute to understanding the range of working conditions and work environments NZ workers are currently exposed to and to assessing the health and safety impact of these exposures. Therefore it is recommended this tool initially be used in a national workforce survey to establish baseline surveillance data of working conditions, work environments and health and safety outcomes in NZ.

New Zealand�s lignicolous pyrenomycete flora has been little studied. The cosmopolitan Lasiosphaeriaceae, largest and least studied family in the Sordariales, has long been noted for its morphological diversity and the artificiality of its grouping. This first systematic study of lignicolous Lasiosphaeriaceae in New Zealand uses morphology and phylogenetics to elucidate relationships within the New Zealand mycota and facilitate comparisons with relatives worldwide. Collection areas spanned New Zealand�s 13 degrees of latitude and included a range of native forest types. The novel application of recently-available molecular biology techniques allowed sequencing from single pyrenomycete fruitbodies. Two new genera and 15 new species or species complexes are proposed in total. A new genus is proposed within the Lasiosphaeriaceae to accommodate an interesting new collection. Seven new species are described in the known genera Lasiosphacria and Lasiosphaeris and the polyphyly of certain Lasiosphacria taxa is discussed. Five new taxa are described within the Chaetosphaeriaceae, including a pair with surprisingly unique morphology. All are currently placed within Chaetosphaeria, but comprise part of a recently recognised long-spored clade that is sister to that which includes the type genus. Within the Helminthosphaeriaceae one new genus is proposed to accommodate an unusual new collection; and a new species described within Hilberina, but its transference to a new genus predicted as knowledge of this recent family grows. Phylogenetic results support the separation of the Chaetosphaeriaceae and Helminthosphaeriaceae from the Lasiosphaeriaceae where many of these taxa were previously. The traditional morphological character of ascospore shape is shown to have little use in the delimitation of genera. More recently emphasised characters such as peridial wall structure may have more value, however the fruitbody wall of some New Zealand taxa could not be more different from their phylogenetic relatives. New Zealand taxa are noted for their frequently unprecedented morphology and/or unique genetics in comparison with other known taxa, which are predominantly from the northern hemisphere. The high levels of morphological and genetic divergence among New Zealand taxa appear to reflect extensive microfungal endemism on these relatively isolated islands; but surveys of diversity in other parts of Gondwana are desperately needed. A Key to New Zealand taxa within the Lasiosphaeriaceae, Helminthosphaeriaceae and long-spored Chaetosphaeriaceae is provided.

Adequate vitamin D status plays an important role in bone health and may also protect against Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), multiple sclerosis and certain cancers. Vitamin D is obtained from two sources; diet and through skin synthesis through the action of ultraviolet (UV) light. Dietary intakes of vitamin D are low in New Zealand (NZ) and the majority of our vitamin D comes from UV exposure. The NZ population may be at risk of low vitamin D status because of low dietary intakes, the country�s latitude (35-46 �S), and high proportion of darker skinned Maori and Pacific People. While case reports have described the occurrence of rickets, predominantly in immigrant groups, there are currently no national data on the vitamin D status of the NZ population. Reports of low vitamin D status in countries of similar latitude to NZ justify an examination of New Zealanders� vitamin D status. The best method to assess of vitamin D status is to measure circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. This thesis comprises three main studies. The first two had the following aims: to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and their determinants in a national sample (n=1585) of NZ children aged 5-14 y and to measure serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and their determinants in a national sample (n=2948) of New Zealanders aged 15 y and over. The 2002 Children�s Nutrition Survey CNS02 was a year long (December, March-November) cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of NZ school children 5-14 y. Over-sampling of Maori and Pacific children allowed ethnic specific analyses. The 1997 National Nutrition Survey (NNS97) participants were recruited over one year according to an area-based sampling frame with a 3 stage stratified design consisting of primary sampling units, households within each unit, and one randomly selected respondent from each household. Mean (99% CI) serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were similar in children and adults (both 50 nmol/L). Among Maori, Pacific and NZEO children respectively, prevalence (%, 99% CI) of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency (< 17.5 nmol/L) was 5% (2, 12), 8% (5, 14), and 3% (1,7). Based on a cutoff of < 37.5 nmol/L, prevalence of insufficiency was 41% (29, 53), 59% (42, 75) and 25% (15, 35), respectively. Based on a cutoff of 50 nmol/L, 56% of children were insufficient. Three percent of adult New Zealanders had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations indicative of deficiency ([less than or equal to] 17.5 nmol/L); 48% and 84% were insufficient based on cutoffs of [less than or equal to] 50 and [less than or equal to] 80 nmol/L The main determinants of vitamin D status in NZ children were season, ethnicity and sex. After adjustment for other factors and covariates, boys had an adjusted mean (99% CI) 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration 5 (1, 9) nmol/L higher than girls, Maori children were 7 (2, 11) and Pacific children 15 (11, 20) nmol/L lower than NZ European and Other (NZEO) children. Obese children were 7 (2, 11) nmol/L lower than overweight or �normal� weight. Children�s mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (adjusted for other variables) peaked in March (69 nmol/L) and was at its lowest in August (36 nmol/L). In adults, there were effects of a similar magnitude of ethnicity and season on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. Obesity, latitude and age were determinants of vitamin D status in women but not men. Obese (BMI > 30) women had an adjusted mean vitamin concentration 6 (3, 10) nmol/L lower than women with BMI < 25. Women living in the South Island were 6 (3, 9) nmol/L lower than women living in the North Island. Additionally, adjusted mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was 13 (8, 18) higher in women 15 -18 y than women 65 y or older. The third and final study aimed to determine whether the higher rates of vitamin D inadequacy reported in the winter than summer months in NZ also result in higher PTH concentrations, which would provide evidence for functional effect of inadequate vitamin D status. We also aimed to objectively explore the effect of natural skin colour on vitamin D status, given the higher prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in dark-skinned groups living far from the equator. Skin colour measurements were taken with a hand-held light reflectometer (Datacolor Mercury[TM] 1000 colorimeter, Lawrenceville, NJ). In the 342 residents of Invercargill and Dunedin, mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were lower in the late summer versus early spring (79 vs 51 nmol/L; P< 0.001). The lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in early spring versus summer was associatedwith a 2 pg/mL (P< 0.001) higher parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration. Interestingly, no significant effect of natural skin colour, based on light reflectance at the inside of the upper arm, was discovered, though there was a positive effect of tanning, based on light reflectance at the upper forearm, on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. Ethnicity and season are major determinants of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in New Zealanders. There is a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in NZ children and adults, which may contribute to increased risk of osteoporosis and other chronic disease. While there is a pressing need for more convincing evidence with regards to the health risks associated with the low vitamin D status in children, evidence from the study of adults, where higher PTH concentrations were found during spring versus summer, suggests that the low 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations are having an adverse effect on bone health of adults. The high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in New Zealanders, warrants serious consideration of strategies such as fortification, to improve the vitamin D status of the population.

This thesis describes and demonstrates the use of discourse analysis as a means of facilitating critical awareness and stimulating research practice within a consumer research context. In a generic sense, discourse analysis applies to a range of semiotic methods for studying text (including talk, writing and visual images), where the objective is to gain insight into both the meanings of a text and what it signifies. Emphasis is placed on the constructive use of language, where texts of various kinds are said to construct our social world. Two approaches to discourse analysis are detailed. Firstly, Foucauldian discourse analysis is shown to operate more generally and globally as a social and cultural resource that underpins many human endeavours and activities. Under this approach, discourses are seen as resources that interact with one another. Foucauldian discourse analysis is therefore quite a different enterprise from the finer-grained investigation of talk and texts that is undertaken in discourse analysis and discursive psychology. Instead, discourses are treated as being dynamic in nature, having the ability to mutate over time, and gain dominance in certain settings and cultural locations. Discourse analysis under this approach facilitates critical awareness because it seeks to uncover the ways in which such discourses produce, maintain and constrain people within particular positions and relationships. Secondly, a discursive psychological approach to discourse analysis focuses on the strategic use of discourse within a particular piece of text, where interaction and the acknowledgement of such interaction by the researcher underscores the importance of language and the ways that people purposefully and strategically use language to achieve particular outcomes or goals. A discursive psychological approach focuses upon discursive practices and constructions, rather than cognitive-perceptual processes. A discourse analytic approach is therefore able to potentially redefine and stimulate current research practice. Psychological phenomena that might have traditionally been framed and studied as 'cognitive' and 'internal' processes can be recast as particular situated discursive accomplishments that people are able to draw upon. Because analysis is not subject to what may be termed 'cognitive reductionism' (where attempts to explain social events and processes are made entirely by reference to events and structures in the mental processes of individuals), a discursive analytic approach suggests new insights into current research practice. The specific context for analysis within this thesis is provided by an advertising campaign for Xenical, a pharmaceutical product promoted as a treatment for obesity. Xenical was one of the first prescription medications to be marketed directly to consumers in New Zealand via the use of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), a relatively recent form of marketing communication. The Xenical advertising campaign created both controversy and high awareness for the product. Contributing to this controversy was the overt use of DTCA itself, which critics suggest influences patient demand, encourages the use of expensive and sometimes unnecessary medications and in effect, 'creates' disease. As argued here, positioning obesity as a disease in effect justifies (warrants) the pharmaceutical industry�s efforts to offer medical solutions. In addition to the use of DTCA, the nature of the Xenical advertisements was also controversial. Critics suggested that the Xenical advertisements were based upon negative emotions, associating the state of being overweight with feelings of sadness, shame and embarrassment. These 'emotions' become a key subject in the current study. But in this thesis, rather than viewing such emotions as internal and mental phenomena, the use of discourse analysis focuses on the socio-cultural nature of emotions. Discourse analysis is concerned with uncovering the ways in which bodily sensations are rendered into language and what the subsequent implications for the speaker might be as a result. Using the advertising campaign for Xenical as context then, discourse analysis is used as a research approach to examine the television advertisements from multiple perspectives. Analysis includes the study of the casting tapes that were used by the advertising agency as source material to inform the creative strategy for the advertisements. In addition, one of the Xenical advertisements is deconstructed in greater detail, outlining the effects of visual and aural discourses that weave together to convey meaning within the advertisement. Analysis is informed by interviews conducted with the creative director of the advertisements as well as the marketing manger for Xenical. Discourse analysis allows us to examine the ways in which the producers of an advertisement purposefully (although perhaps unknowingly) create particular effects for strategic reasons, and how advertisements may be subsequently read as a consequence. The final analysis is based on a reader-response to the advertising campaign. Analysis focuses on the �emotional� talk contained within a particular interview, and how talk functions as performance. Rather than treating emotional talk as a description or reflection of inner psychological worlds, discourse analysis examines participant talk in terms of its content and meanings and how participants use such talk to construct their worlds. Although often overlooked within traditional forms of consumer research, the importance of representing social interaction through detailed interview transcripts is demonstrated, underscoring the analysis provided. Results suggest that the language of description and the methods of data capture that are typically utilised within consumer research are not able to provide an accurate account of the external world. This is because the only way we can know our world is always going to be mediated by and through language, and as a consequence, the meanings and interpretations available to us are never going to be transparent or neutral representations. The findings suggested in this thesis are intended as a starting point for subsequent research into the study of language in use and human meaning making within advertising and consumer research environments. Because consumer research has borrowed heavily from the social sciences and particularly from psychology, then it is important that researchers within the discipline re-examine many of the psychological topics that we commonly take for granted by considering the way such talk and text is used in action. Discourse analysis provides a research approach that enables such a re-examination.

This study contributes to an understanding of the causes, consequences and complexities of gender inequity in career success (high levels of status and salary) in the New Zealand accounting profession. Sixty-nine (twenty-seven male and forty-two female) experienced Chartered Accountants were interviewed about their career histories. A feminist, interpretative and qualitative approach was followed and NVIVO was used for analysis. The first significant contribution of the study was the identification of five work/family strategies based on levels of family and work involvement (Traditional Men, Traditional Women, Family Balancers, Stepping Stone Men and Work First Women). Secondly, the level of family responsibilities explained career success much better than gender alone, although these two factors were commonly (but not always) directly related. The third contribution was the revision of the three-pronged model previously offered by Whiting & Wright (2001) to explain gender inequities in salary and status in the New Zealand accounting profession. Because the original model was derived from quantitative data, using qualitative data to revise the model constituted a sequential mixed method (pragmatic) approach. In the revised model, gender centrality and the three explanatory categories (Attributes, Structure and Attitudes) were removed. Career success was enhanced by high career aspirations (related to perceptions of stress, managerial and responsibility requirements and remuneration), long working hours and availability to clients, hard work, high technical competence and skills (enhanced by overseas experience), networking (less attractive to women), self-confidence (enhanced by mentoring for the least self-confident), flexibility to relocate if required (decreased by family and lifestyle ties) and large size and growth of the employing organisation. Most influential were career aspirations and a long hours/available work ethic. This demonstrated the pervasiveness of the male linear career model (derived from the male breadwinner-female carer family structure), that rewarded (in terms of progression) unilateral allegiance to the firm. Career aspirations, desire for responsibility, perceived ability to handle pressure, long hours, availability to clients, networking and possibly technical skills (if there were periods of extended leave) were all influenced by the Chartered Accountant�s level of family responsibilities. Those with the least family responsibilities (childless, Traditional Men and Work First Women) demonstrated unswerving commitment to the firm and were equally the most successful career wise. The impact of family responsibilities on career progression could be ameliorated by organisational cultural change. There were some indications of cultural change, being most prevalent in public sector and educational organisations. Enhancing conditions included a culture of flexibility and a concurrent atmosphere of trust, a less competitive work culture, absence of constant overtime demands and on-call work, encouraging top management who worked positively to retain and foster top performers over a longer period, and high level part-time positions supported by well-trained subordinate teams. To achieve these conditions provides an imminent challenge to organisations which employ Chartered Accountants, because the profession is increasing its proportion of females, has a younger generation more interested in work-life balance, and is losing many of its members overseas.

New Zealand�s fourteen deep-water fiords have complex physical and hydrographic features as well as strong environmental gradients, all of which may influence the population structure of organisms that inhabit the fiords. I examined the population structure of the brachiopod Terebratella sanguinea over ecological and evolutionary time scales in relation to physical and hydrographic features of the fiords. To further explore the role of larval dispersal in this system, comparisons between population genetic structure of T. sanguinea and a brachiopod with a contrasting larval dispersal strategy (Liothyrella neozelanica) were made. Aspects of the life history of the articulate brachiopod Terebratella sanguinea were measured. I measured density and size throughout Doubtful Sound and growth at outer (5 km from outer coast) and inner fiord sites (13.5 km from outer coast). Additionally, reproductive periodicity was measured at a single site within Doubtful Sound. Terebratella sanguinea occurred at significantly lower densities and was significantly smaller at the outer fiord site (p < 0.05), however growth rates between an inner and outer fiord site did not differ significantly. Terebratella sanguinea was found to have separate sexes and synchronous maturation of oocytes with spawning occurring in the austral winter. These results indicated that, on an ecological time scale, the environmental gradient of the fiords influences aspects of T. sanguinea population structure. In order to determine the influence of the fiord environment on genetic population structure, patterns among T. sanguinea from across Fiordland were assessed using two genetic markers, and these data were compared to hydrodynamic variables. Ten sites (322 individuals) were included in a preliminary allozyme analysis, and 20 sites (358 individuals) were used for the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. Patchy genetic differentiation was revealed with both markers, and a break between Long Sound and the other Fiordland sites was detected with AFLP markers. My results suggest hydrodynamic features of this region may isolate organisms that can disperse only during a planktonic larval phase, however this isolation is visible in genetic patterns only at the most extreme values of the hydrodynamic variables. To better understand how the fiord environment influences population structure of organisms that disperse via planktonic larvae, I compared population genetic structure of two sympatric brachiopod species that differ in planktonic larval duration. Genetic analysis using the AFLP technique revealed population structuring corresponding to the contrasting modes of larval dispersal. AMOVA analysis indicated Liothyrella neozelanica, a brachiopod that broods its larvae, had more limited exchange among sites within a fiord than did T. sanguinea, a brachiopod that does not brood its larvae. In general, the fiord hydrographic conditions may be creating opportunities for local genetic differentiation (for example Long Sound) in organisms capable of longer distance dispersal, but organisms with lower potential for dispersal are more strongly influenced by ontogeny than by hydrography. Understanding the population structure of some of the marine fauna of Fiordland is an important cornerstone for the developing management plan for the area. Conservation of the underwater resources of this World Heritage Area can be successful if the structure of the system and the mechanisms driving this structure are taken into account.

Birds are potentially vulnerable to the toxicity of certain environmental pollutants due to limited detoxification capabilities of their liver microsomal cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. In wild birds, ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation (EROD) activity, a marker of CYP1A activity in mammals and domestic chickens, has been used as a biomarker of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The aim of the present study was to investigate hepatic CYP activity as an indication of detoxification capacity in New Zealand birds. In addition to the use of conventional in vitro CYP activity assays, the applicability of a noninvasive CYP activity assay was tested using caffeine as the in vivo substrate. The ontogeny of liver microsomal 3-hydroxylation of quinine, a marker of human CYP3A activity, was investigated in Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) from Ross Island, Antarctica. The results indicate that chicks (2-4 weeks old) possess a CYP3A-like isoform(s) as active as but not identical to the CYP3A-like isoform(s) in adults. Total CYP content was low at 2 weeks of age and increased rapidly and linearly approaching adult levels by 4 weeks of age implying a rapid development of CYPs other than the CYP3A-like isoform(s). The main study was conducted on adult (and some post-fledging immature) birds of two native species, the herbivorous paradise shelduck (Tadorna variegata) and the omnivorous southern black-backed gull (Larus dominicanus). Birds were shot for liver collection at three sites in the South Island of New Zealand; West Coast, Lake Waipori and Dunedin landfill, in 2001-2002. The results indicate that shelducks posssess multiple CYP isoforms that independently catalyse EROD, p-nitrophenol hydroxylation (p-NP) and erythromycin demethylation (EMD), markers of mammalian CYP1A, CYP2E and CYP3A activity, respectively. In contrast, gulls appear to possess a single isoform catalysing both EROD and p-NP but possess no isoform capable of catalysing EMD. EROD activity was high in shelducks and gulls from the landfill site, although it was not significantly associated with liver concentrations of PCBs (0.079-6.2 and 8.2-310 ng/g in shelducks and gulls, respectively), PCDD/PCDFs, toxic equivalents (TEQs) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) (0.85-317 and 44-4800 ng/g in shelducks and gulls, respectively) in either species. In shelduck livers from the landfill site, EROD was positively associated with Pb concentration but negatively associated with Hg concentration. Assessment of PCB congener patterns based on concentration ratios of individual congeners to the reference congener, 2,2�,4,4�,5,5�-hexachlorobiphenyl (IUPAC #153), indicate that the metabolism of 2,4,4�-trichlorobiphenyl (PCB#28) and 2,4,4�,5-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB#74) is inducible in shelducks but not in gulls. Hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) content was higher in gulls than in shelducks suggesting greater resistance to oxidative stress in gulls. The in vivo caffeine metabolism test as a noninvasive method to determine CYP1A activity in shelducks and gulls gave a positive outcome. The test was performed by administration of a single intraperitoneal dose of caffeine (1 mg/kg body weight) followed by blood collection at 2 and 4 h after caffeine administration for determination of the serum concentration ratio of the metabolite, paraxanthine, to caffeine (PX/CA) by HPLC. In both species, the PX/CA ratio was markedly increased by pretreatment with the model CYP1A inducer, β-naphthoflavone (BNF). BNF treatment also increased EROD activity determined after death (80-fold and 20-fold compared to controls in shelducks and gulls, respectively). However, sensitivity of the PX/CA ratio approach was lower in gulls than in shelducks due presumably to the formation of unidentified caffeine metabolites in gulls. Immunoblot analysis failed to reveal increased CYP protein levels caused by BNF treatment in shelducks and gulls due to poor cross-reactivity of avian proteins with polyclonal antibodies raised against mammalian CYPs. EROD activity was also determined in livers of the piscivorous yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) (1 chick, 3 post-fledging immature, 1 adult) from Otago, South Island of New Zealand, and found to be below the limit of quantitation. The adult liver contained 18.5 ng/g of total PCBs suggesting that EROD in this species is insensitive to induction. Comparison of the PCB congener pattern based on [PCBx]/[PCB#153] between the penguin and its putative source of PCB exposure, New Zealand marine fish, indicates that CYPs in yellow-eyed penguins metabolise 2,2�,5,5�-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB#52) and 2,2�,4,5,5�-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB#101) as in many other avian species. The findings of this study highlight substantial species differences in CYP activity in wild birds. Whether CYP expression in New Zealand birds is genetically distinct from birds in other parts of the world may warrant further investigation.

This research engages critically with major public sector accountability theories in relation to the development of law centres in Aotearoa/New Zealand (and comparative international examples) focusing on the two centres in Otago, the Ngai Tahu Maori Law Centre and the Dunedin Community Law Centre. Definitions of accountability are argued to be embedded within theoretical discourses which produce definable models of accountability corresponding to these theoretical statements. Case studies of the discourses of both law centres and their funding bodies are described and contrasted in terms of their views of the role of law centres, interaction with various interest groups and their accountability relationships. The data identifies a desire of both community law centres to engage with a communitarian, �bottom-up�, model of accountability, in contrast to the former social democratic-bureaucratic and current liberal �stakeholder� and �contract� models of the official funding agencies. The current dominance of the liberal �stakeholder� discourse is seen as based on professional power, hierarchical legal structure and control of funding. It is argued that any shift in the dominance of power relationships surrounding community law centres in Aotearoa/New Zealand would entail a strengthening of ties and links with the community, through seeking alternative power supports, a participatory structure and locally controlled funding. Keywords: accountability; power relationships; community law centres; dominance; community.