Browsing by Author "Nelson N"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    New Zealand's Counter Terrorism Strategy: A Critical Assessment
    (Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University, 23/06/2020) Ball R; Battersby J; Nelson N
    In mid-February 2020 New Zealand released its long overdue ‘Countering terrorism and violent extremism national strategy.’ This article draws on the experience of three academic commentators who cast a critical eye over the document and whose respective thoughts are brought together here. The approach taken is to discuss the purpose and fundamentals of what strategy is to provide a framework with which to review New Zealand’s first publicly released counter-terrorism strategy. Unfortunately, this important and long overdue strategy, in the view of the authors, comes up well short of what it should be. The authors offer a challenge to New Zealand’s policy makers concerned with national security to seek more depth in the consideration of their approach, to present a strategy with less graphic design, more substantial discussion of the fundamental questions relating to the management of modern terrorism and violent extremism, and an appreciation of the nuanced New Zealand experience with political violence from late twentieth century to the present day.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Public Inquiries on Counterterrorism: An Independent Appraisal of New Zealand's Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch Terrorist Attack
    Rogers D; Nelson N; Battersby J
    Even though elected leaders of liberal democracies respond to major terrorist attacks by commissioning public inquiries, scholars have not yet fully explored these inquiries as a practice of the War on Terror. By undertaking an independent appraisal of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Mosques on 15 March 2019 we seek to introduce empirical evidence of an important case of investigatory oversight to the more critical terrorism studies literature. Specifically, we examine how the Royal Commissioners interpreted their Terms of Reference, explore the ways in which they engaged with New Zealand’s security agencies as well as with various individuals, groups and communities beyond the public sector, and assess the quality of their recommendations. We argue that the Commissioners positioned themselves publicly as undertaking a remedial intervention in New Zealand’s counterterrorism effort, but their inquiry was, in fact, designed to reassure the public that the current security dispensation is largely fit for purpose and does not need major reform. The inquiry did little more than enable two carefully chosen Commissioners, imbued with a veneer of professional detachment but lacking in subject-matter expertise, to call for a strengthening of state security institutions, entrenching the hierarchies that already prevail within the national security system while shielding parliamentarians from accusations of disinterest, negligence or acts of omission. Consequently, New Zealand is no better off when it comes to its ability to understand the nature and scale of the threat posed by terrorism or to respond to an array of routine, as well as novel and surprise, security challenges.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The effects of annual cycle, source population, and body condition on leukocyte profile and immune challenge in a basal reptile, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus).
    (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2023-12-03) Lamar SK; Frank HK; La Flamme A; Gartrell B; Ormsby D; Nelson N
    Leukocyte profiles are broadly used to assess the health status of many species. Reference intervals, and an understanding of the factors that may influence these intervals, are necessary for adequate interpretation of leukograms. Using a data set that spans over three decades, we investigated variation in leukocyte profile in several populations of the evolutionarily unique reptile, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus). To do this, we first established reference intervals for each leukocyte type according to best practices. Next, we determined that source population and sampling date were the two most important predictors of leukocyte makeup. We found significant differences in the ratio of heterophils: lymphocytes (H:L) between populations, with tuatara on the more resource-stressed sampling island having a significantly higher ratio of H:L. Finally, we found that sampling location, sex, and life stage did not explain variation in the responses of tuatara to stimulation with Concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide in both 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-di-phenyltetrazolium bromide and Griess assay experiments. Our results offer important insight into the function of leukocytes in reptiles.