The history of suburbs has received so much scholarly attention in recent decades that it is time to take stock of what has been established, in order to discern aspects of suburbs that are still unknown. To date, the main lines of inquiry have been dedicated to the origins, growth, diverse typologies, culture and politics of suburbs, as well as to newer topics such as the gendered nature of suburban space. The vast majority of these studies have been about particular times and places. The authors propose a new perspective on the study of suburbs, one which will begin to investigate the transformations of suburbs after they have been established. Taking the entire era from the mid-nineteenth century through to the late twentieth century as a whole, it is argued that suburbs should be subjected to a longitudinal analysis, examining their development in the context of metropolises that usually enveloped them within a generation or two of their founding. It is proposed that investigation of these ‘transitions’ should be undertaken in parallel with the changes that occur in the life-cycles of their residents. It is suggested that an exploration of the interaction of these factors will open a broad new research agenda for suburban history as a subfield of urban history.

Individuals who register as body donors do so for various reasons, with aiding medical science a common motivation. Despite awareness of several key reasons for donation, there are few in-depth explorations of these motivations to contextualize persons' reasons for donating. This study undertakes a mixed-method exploration of motivations for body donation to facilitate deeper understanding of the reasons underpinning donor registration. A survey of all newly registered body donors at a New Zealand university was performed over a single year. The survey included basic demographic information, a categorical question on reason for donation, a free-text question on donation motivation, and a free-text question allowing "other" comments on body donation. Basic statistical analysis was performed on demographic and categorical data, and thematic analysis used on free-text responses. From 169 registrants, 126 people (average age 70.5 years; 72 female) returned completed surveys (response rate 75%). Categorical data indicate a primary motivation of aiding medical science (86%). Fifty-one respondents (40%) provided free-text data on motivation, with other comments related to motivation provided by forty-one (33%). Common themes included reference to usefulness, uniqueness (pathophysiology and anatomy), gift-giving, kinship, and impermanence of the physical body. Consistent with previous studies, the primary reason for body donation was aiding medical science, however underpinning this was a complex layer of themes and sub-themes shaping motivations for choices. Findings provide important information that can guide development of robust informed consent processes, aid appropriate thanksgiving service delivery, and further contextualize the importance of medical professionals in body donation culture.

Prevailing discourses condemn funerals as a costly distress purchase where funeral directors have greedily preyed upon funeral arrangers' grief laden vulnerability. They explain funerals as distress purchases and so debt as the outcome of irrational decisions made while emotionally overwhelmed. These discourses ignore how people might use funeral purchases in dealing with the experience of death as they obscure rather than explain the emotionally infused decision-making that incurs funeral debt. This paper aims to shed light on this aspect of funeral purchases through a New Zealand-based empirical investigation of how intense feelings connect with decision-making associated with funeral cost and debt. The examination highlights that arranging a funeral, rather than being a hurried, ill-informed, choicelimited, emotionally overwhelming distress purchase, is a complex socio-emotional process that crystallises multiple affects into the culturally sanctioned emotion of responsibility, itself mobilised on class lines embedded in existing societal attitudes to debt and socio-economic structures.

With levels of student debt unprecedented and rising in many democracies, growing attention has been given by academics and practitioners to its possible effects for student wellbeing. This article makes three contributions to this debate. First, it offers a critical review of literature that considers the relationship of student debt and wellbeing to open up discussion about the dimensions, limitations and possibilities of the field. Second, the paper points to potential avenues for future research about student debt and wellbeing by considering indicative comments made by New Zealand university students as part of a series of indepth interviews. Third, the article makes a practical contribution to current debates about the tuition 'fees free' policy in New Zealand. We argue that developing a more robust understanding of how student debt affects wellbeing may help to broaden and reinvigorate academic and public debate about student debt.