UQ Theses Collection (RHD) - UQ staff and students only - UQ eSpace

An analysis of the nature and quality of friendship relationships in a sample of Australian adolescents

Castan, Beulah. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An analysis of the sculpture of Candi Sukuh in Central Java : its meanings and religious functions 1437-1443 C.E.

Sbeghen, Jo-Anne Maree. — 2010-09-20T00:00:00Z

An analysis of the short and long term deficits following anterior cruciate ligament injury including the effect of surgery, physiotherapy and the development of osteoarthritis

Keays, Susan — 2013-02-19T11:01:20Z

An analysis of the underlying biochemical and genetic mechanisms that control gender and fertility in the Kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus (Bate)

Sellars, Melony J. — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Centuries of experience with terrestrial agriculture have demonstrated the value of domestication and selective breeding to improve production efficiency, profitability and sustainability. Compared to terrestrial agriculture there are remarkably few aquaculture industries that have progressed beyond the use of wild or unselected genotypes. This presents a major opportunity for the global aquaculture industry to capitalize on the benefits of domestication and selective breeding. However, there is a parallel need to ensure that a balance is achieved between optimizing genetic gains and conserving the biodiversity of the captive and wild stocks from which they are derived. In progressing towards domestication and genetic improvement, one of the key areas of interest includes the factors that control gender and fertility. Gender is of particular interest in species that are sexually dimorphic, with one gender being more attractive from a production point of view. Fertility is of broad interest as a key aspect of reproductive performance. Controlling fertility is also one method of protecting unwanted or unlicensed breeding of elite genotypes and preventing escapees from mating with wild stocks. For most aquacuculture species there is a fundamental lack of knowledge of the underlying biochemical and genetic mechanisms that control gender and fertility. The focus of this study was on developing methods for controlling gender and fertility in the Kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus (Bate). This high value species has been farmed for several decades using the progeny of wild broodstock and, more recently, progeny of domesticated, selectively bred captive broodstock. The biological, biochemical and genetic processes that control gender and fertility in M. japonicus are of direct commercial interest and of wider interest to science. Commercial interest is for two reasons: First, M. japonicus are sexually dimorphic with females growing 30% larger than males and second, recent success in the genetic improvement of M. japonicus has prompted farmers to seek ways to protect superior genetic stocks from unlicensed breeding and to prevent escapees from genetically contributing to natural fishery populations. Thus, the knowledge and technology that could permit farmers to cost-effectively produce all-female, sterile stocks could be of significant commercial value. More broadly, research directed towards this goal could provide new insights into the underlying biological, genetic and biochemical processes that control gender and reproduction in penaeid shrimp. Previous studies on inducing sterility have demonstrated that this can result in altered gende r ratios in the target species. Accordingly, the approach adopted in this study was to investigate these traits simultaneously. There were three principal research components in this project, each of which focused on a different approach to achieving gender and/or fertility control in M. japonicus. The three components were; (1) the potential of ploidy manipulation to control gender and fertility; (2) the effect of ionizing radiation on fertility; (3) the potential of genetic engineering to control gender determination and germ cell specification. PLOIDY MANIPULATION Previous research on M. japonicus has shown that triploids produced by preventing polar body (PB) II extrusion are always female and sterile, however, induction rates never result in 100% triploid progeny. Therefore, experiments in the present study focused on developing a technique to produce triploids with a 100% induction rate. As mating of tetraploids and diploids is the only documented technique that has achieved 100% triploids in other cultured species, the present study investigated methods to induce tetraploidy in M. japonicus. First I attempted to prevent the first division in mitosis using temperature and chemical shocks. Second I attempted to inhibit extrusion of PBI and both PBI and II using chemical shocks only. I was successful at stopping the first mitotic division, preventing the extrusion of PBI and preventing the extrusion of both PBI and II in M. japonicus by applying different shocks at different times post-spawning for different durations. Tetraploid M. japonicus embryos were produced by stopping the first division in mitosis, however, they were not viable and did not hatch. The most suitable treatment regime for inducing tetraploidy, giving frequency (number of spawnings induced that result in some polyploids) and induction rate (number of individuals within a spawning induction which are tetraploid or triploid) equal importance, was a 36°C shock administered 23 min post-spawning for a 5 or 10 min duration. Preventing the extrusion of PBI and both PBI and II using 150 µM 6-dimethylaminopurine at 1 to 3 min post-spawning for either a 4 to 5 min duration (timed to stop PBI extrusion) or a 16 min duration (timed to stop both PBI and II extrusion) consistently resulted in the production of viable triploid M. japonicus embryos, which hatched into nauplii. No tetraploids were produced by preventing the extrusion of PBI or both PBI and II. This is the first report of successful PBI, and PBI and II prevention in shrimp, and production of triploids using the reported treatment regimes. These findings indicate that manipulation of the ploidy level may not be suitable for producing 100% all-female, sterile M. japonicus, as all tetraploids produced to-date are not viable and all known triploidy induction techniques never result in 100% triploid progeny. There may, however, be commercial value in utilising the PBI triploidy induction methods of the present study in an attempt to improve productivity as: - PBI triploids are believed to have increased heterozygosisty over PBII triploids and diploids, and possibly better growth performance, and - Stocking of ponds with spawnings that have received shocks to prevent PBI extrusion would result in a greater proportion of females to males (as the frequency of induction is always 100%), therefore resulting in improved farm profit based on greater total harvestable product in terms of weight, and the fact that females attract higher prices per kilogram due to their larger size class. IONIZING RADIATION Ionizing radiation (IR) has been successfully used to prevent reproduction in a wide range of organisms and can be effective at sterilizing 100% of treated individuals. IR also plays a role in producing monosex populations through gynogenesis and androgensis in a range of aquatic species. Despite this, there is no information on the effects of IR on penaeid shrimp reproduction. Experiments in the present study assessed the capacity of IR to confer sexual sterilization in female and male M. japonicus. Initial experiments were focused on optimizing IR dose ranges. For these experiments, harvest age shrimp were treated with 0, 10 or 20 gray (Gy) of IR and their ability to produce viable offspring was assessed by performing rigorous reproductive evaluations. Later experiments assessed the reproductive performance of 10 month old M. japonicus treated with IR at postlarval stage 15 (PL15) (15 days since metamorphosis from mysis to postlarval stage 1). Initially, a lethal dose curve of IR for PL15 M. japonicus was established. Based on these results, PL15 shrimp were treated with IR at 0, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 Gy to examine the effect of IR dose on their reproductive capacity at 10 months of age. IR was found to impair the reproductive performance of M. japonicus when treated at harvest age and when treated as postlarvae and reared to reproductive maturity. IR was, however, not 100% effective at preventing the production of viable offspring at the reported doses. Harvest age male shrimp were more sensitive to IR, being reproductively impaired at 10 Gy as compared to 20 Gy for harvest age females. PL15 females treated with 0 Gy of IR matured and spawned more frequently than PL15 females treated with 10, 15 and 20 Gy of IR. There were, however, no other significant effects of IR observed on M. japonicus reproductive performance when treated at PL15. IR doses higher than 35 Gy resulted in 100% mortality (i.e. lethal dose rate) of PL15 M. japonicus within 30 days after treatment, whilst doses of 25 and 30 Gy significantly reduced postlarval survival compared to controls. From preliminary research, dose rates of 25 Gy or more resulted in 100% mortality of harvest age females, whilst 20 Gy significantly reduced harvest age male survival. These findings indicate that IR doses that do not result in 100% mortality of harvest age and postlarval M. japonicus can reduce their reproductive capacity, however, these doses of IR can not confer 100% sterility. GENETIC ENGINEERING The combined use of molecular biotechnology and genetics to investigate mechanisms of gender and fertility determination in numerous animal phyla has gained increased research attention over the last decade. However, to-date there is only one known penaeid shrimp gene for which the complete coding sequence has been isolated (but not functionally characterized) that is known to be involved in gender and fertility determination of other species. The present study assessed the potential of using genetic engineering methodologies to control gender and fertility of M. japonicus using a multi-step approach. Initially this study attempted to identify one or more candidate genes in M. japonicus that had been previously selected from a comprehensive literature search (sex-lethal, transformer, double-sex and vasa), and subsequently characterize their complete coding sequence. Expression profiles of the isolated genes were then determined throughout embryonic, larval and postlarval development, and in female and male gonad tissue to identify key periods during early development when their expression is naturally up-regulated. Using an RNAi approach, this study then attempted to silence the candidate genes from being expressed during these key developmental periods and assess the resulting loss-of-function genotypes. In addition to these experiments, this study also investigated the suitability of different real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) assay methodologies for the studied diverse morphological sample set (relative vs absolute quantitation) and investigated different methodologies to deliver nucleic acids into shrimp embryos (electroporation vs a polyethylenimine (PEI) transfection reagent). A partial coding sequence for a dsx-like gene homologue, DMRT2, and a complete coding sequence for a PL10 vasa-like gene was isolated from M. japonicus. The PL10 vasa-like gene was named Mjpl10. Both genes were differentially expressed during embryonic, larval and postlarval development, and in female and male gonad. Using absolute qRT-PCR, I demonstrated that dsx-like gene transcripts were present at low levels throughout the first 5 h of embryogenesis after which transcript abundance increased significantly by the time embryos were 6 h old, suggesting a functional role for dsx transcripts at this developmental stage. Expression of the dsx-like gene was consistently high but variable throughout the remainder of embryogenesis and during larval and postlarval development up until PL48 at which point dsx transcripts were no longer detectible. This expression pattern indicated a functional role for the isolated dsx-like gene from 6 h post-spawning until PL30. Transcripts of the dsx-like gene were also detected in testes at low levels and were close to undetectable in the ovary of mature adults. Using absolute qRT- PCR I also demonstrated that Mjpl10 transcripts were present in the first developmental stage sampled (2-cell embryos) onwards, suggesting it is maternally expressed, and continually at low levels throughout embryogenesis. Mjpl10 expression increased significantly in the first 25 h after hatching (nauplii IV) and then decreased in a linear fashion by 316-fold over the next 52 day period. Its continued expression throughout embryonic and larval development is compatible with a conserved role in early germ cell specification. Transcript levels of Mjpl10 were also detected in the ovary and testes of mature adults. To silence expression of the identified candidate genes in vivo, short hairpin RNA (shRNA) DNA expression vectors were constructed that were capable of in vivo transcription of a dsxlike and Mjpl10 shRNA molecule. These shRNA molecules would theoretically trigger the RNAi pathway and result in gene-specific silencing of the target dsx-like gene and Mjpl10 gene transcripts. The white spot syndrome virus immediate early 1 (WSSV IE1) promoter was chosen to drive expression of the shRNA molecules. The WSSV IE1 promoter was initially isolated and cloned into a vector to drive expression of a luciferase mRNA. WSSV IE1 promoter function was found to be >56% as efficient as the Orgyia pseudotsugata (Douglasfir Tussock moth) multicapsid nucleopolyhedrosis virus immediately-early 2 (OpIE2) promoter when compared in Fall Army worm, Spodopterea frugiperda (Sf) 9 insect cell culture. The vector containing the WSSV IE1 promoter was subsequently used to construct three recombinant DNA vectors capable of in vivo expression of a shRNA fragment of either the dsx-like gene, Mjpl10 or a placebo control luciferase gene. Three additional recombinant vectors were constructed with each containing a fragment of either the dsx-like gene, Mjpl10 or luciferase gene (identical to the sense strand of the shRNA fragments) that was inserted behind coding sequence for a green fluorescent protein and before the polyA tail. These three GFP fusion vectors were co-transfected with their corresponding shRNA expression vectors in Sf 9 cell culture. Theoretically mRNAs expressed by the GFP fusion vectors would be silenced and unable to express GFP if the corresponding shRNA expression vector was transcribing shRNA molecules that were capable of cleaving the GFP fusion mRNA polyA tail off the molecule through the RNAi pathway. Using this approach all three shRNA expression vectors constructed in this study were shown to be functional and capable of inducing a gene-specific silencing response in Sf 9 insect cell culture. Relative to a positive control, treatments transfected with the dsx-like shRNA expression vector had a reduced percentage of insect cells expressing GFP (i.e.18.07 ± 0.38% and 8.75 ± 0.15% compared to 100% in two independent experiments). Treatments transfected with the Mjpl10 shRNA expression vector also had a reduced percentage of cells expressing GFP relative to a positive control (i.e. 14.63 ± 0.59% and 9.19 ± 0.02% compared to 100% in two independent experiments). Similarly, treatments transfected with the luciferase shRNA expression vector had a reduced percentage of cells expressing GFP relative to a positive control (1.64 ± 0.02 and 0.47 ± 0.06% compared to 100% in two independent experiments). From these experiments it was evident that the WSSV IE1 promoter was functional, and that the shRNA fragments of the recombinant vectors were being expressed, folding and initiating a specific RNAi response. The three shRNA expressing recombinant DNA vectors and the positive transfection control luciferase mRNA expression vector were transfected into 1-cell M. japonicus embryos using the commercially available jetPEITM transfection reagent. Using qRT-PCR I demonstrated that jetPEITM DNA complexes were successfully transfected into 1-cell embryos as evidenced by the presence of in vivo transcribed exogenous luciferase mRNA in the positive transfection controls. Using qRT-PCR I then demonstrated that the Mjpl10 shRNA molecules were able to induce a small, but significant non-specific gene silencing response in vivo. The number of Mjpl10 mRNA copies detected per ng of total RNA was 14,108 ± 1,763 in the control compared to 6,701 ± 494 in the placebo shRNA treatment and 8,151 ± 1,151 in the genespecific Mjpl10 shRNA treatment. In comparison, the dsx-like shRNA molecules did not result in a non-specific silencing response. No specific gene silencing response was observed for either of the shRNA expression vectors. Given that the Mjpl10 and luciferase shRNA expression vectors were capable of reducing the total number of Mjpl10 mRNAs but no specific gene silencing was observed; the fact that the two endogenous targets, the dsx-like homologue and Mjpl10, are known to be expressed in specific cell types (i.e. the genital ridge and the germ cell lineage respectively) and a measurable gene silencing result would therefore require that large numbers of shRNA be in vivo transcribed in these specific cell types; and that the shRNA expression vectors had been demonstrated to be functional in Sf 9 cell culture, these results indicate that the WSSV IE1 promoter was not strong enough to drive in vivo expression of suitable quantities of shRNA molecules to induce a measurable gene silencing response. Future research should isolate alternative shrimp specific constitutive promoters such as β-actin which are highly active at all life-history stages in the majority of cell types. The use of such promoters instead of the WSSV IE1 promoter would ensure a high level of expression of recombinant DNA vectors that are transfected in vivo. Comparison of the relative and absolute qRT-PCR quantitation approaches revealed significant differences in transcript level profiles between the two procedures for both target genes, the dsx-like gene and Mjpl10. When 18S rRNA was used as a reference, target gene expression was more similar to that of the absolute method than when β-actin was used as a reference. Variability between the relative and absolute procedures occurred for a greater Percentage of the embryonic stages compared to later developmental stages. This study indicates that the use of 18S rRNA or β-actin as reference genes for studying gene expression patterns in M. japonicus embryonic, larval, postlarval and gonad samples will give significantly variable results, and illustrates the proposition that housekeeping genes are not necessarily appropriate references for qRT- PCR data normalization. Until suitable reference genes are characterized, gene expression experiments using the studied M. japonicus tissues of different morphological developmental stages should use absolute quantification procedures. Finally, comparison of electroporation and the polyethylenimine (PEI) transfection reagent procedures demonstrated the jetPEITM transfection reagent was the most suitable means by which to transform 1-cell M. japonicus embryos. Electroporation was not found to be suitable for delivering nucleic acids into 1-cell M. japonicus embryos at quantities greater than what is detectible from nucleic acids attached to the outer embryo surface after DNase or RNase treatment. However, the commercially available jetPEITM transfection reagent was able to deliver nucleic acids into 1-cell M. japonicus embryos when soaked in the transfection media for between 50 min to 4 h post-spawning. Transfection was most successful when complexation was performed for 15 min in a sodium chloride buffer, followed by a 3 to 4 h incubation in sterile seawater prior to the addition of embryos. Greatest transformation rates (as measured by the number of exogenous mRNA template copies per ng of total RNA) were achieved when 1 mL of seawater and embryos were added to complexation mixtures within the first 5 min of spawning.

An analysis of twisting dives

Hogarth, Kathryn Lee. — 2007-08-24T18:16:02Z

An application of the theory of bounded rationality to risk in the stock market

Powell, Roberta Jane — 2012-12-29T08:28:00Z

An Approach to Poverty in Developing Countries: A Case Study of the Philippines

Takishita, Yoshinobu — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

This dissertation offers a contribution to the improvement of poverty research and propoor strategies in developing countries. My argument is that the narrow focus of conventional poverty research has led to ineffective pro-poor strategies and resulted in the slow progress of poverty reduction. This narrow focus can be seen in the approaches of defining poverty, the selection of poverty measures and aggregation methods, and analysis of only quantitative data. Poverty reduction programmes based on the results of such research often miss the target group, or area, and lead to leakage of allocated resources. More importantly, conventional research lacks deeper analysis of systemic constraints which institutionalise poverty and undermine any effort toward poverty reduction. In the first part of the research, I address key issues related to poverty research and propoor strategies: the development of a conceptual framework; identification of factors related to poverty; basic approaches to planning anti-poverty strategies; and methodology of data collection and analysis. Most conventional poverty research takes either an absolute or relative approach to define and measure poverty, and relies on monetarybased poverty measures and single aggregation techniques such as head count measures. While assessing the weakness of the conventional approach, I seek to develop an appropriate approach to conduct poverty research. In analysing a number of causal factors, I have classified them into four levels - macro, domestic, trans-national and external. These factors are often interrelated and create a poverty cycle. In planning effective propoor strategies, it is essential to understand economic, political and socio-cultural contexts. The narrow focus of development strategies emphasising economic growth ignores the mechanism of institutionalising poverty and growth often does not lead to reduction of poverty but to an increase in income inequality. Thus, the process of poverty research and planning pro-poor strategies requires extensive collection of data both primary and secondary, quantitative and qualitative, with different levels of micro, domestic, trans-national and external data. The conceptual overview developed in the first section is used as a tool for a detailed analysis of poverty in the Philippines. My research in the case study includes: assessment of the development process in terms of economic, political and social development; analysis of public policies related to poverty; quantitative analysis of poverty profiles and causal factors; and qualitative data collection and analysis. Although the Philippine government has developed poverty research since the 1980s and the results have been incorporated into a number of government policies, many official programmes suffer from ineffectiveness. This is partly due to the weakness of poverty research which relies only on quantitative data. Through the combined analysis of quantitative and qualitative, macro and micro level data, I have also identified causal factors which form systemic constraints to institutionalise poverty in the Philippines. This case study provides a number of findings which could be applicable to poverty reduction in other developing countries.

An Approach to Sustainability Management for Water Utilities

Uhlmann, Vikki — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

The aim of this research was to explore an approach aimed at developing water utility attitudes towards adopting sustainability management practices. In doing so a toolkit called SUST, intended to be affordable, practical and user-friendly, was developed for use by water utilities in defining, assessing and improving their sustainability. Multi-disciplinary in nature, SUST was developed from a range of best practice concepts in the literature, and designed to balance the social, environment and economic components of a triple bottom line conception of sustainability. The major contributions of this research are: 1. An improved method of sustainability assessment and reporting for water utilities, SUST, which achieved support from the majority of participating regulatory agencies. 2. A complete step by step process whereby utilities and their stakeholders can agree on a vision of sustainability, then measure and make improvements. 3. A definition of a sustainable water utility which has been refined by participating utilities and agencies. 4. An educational tool for improving understanding of sustainability. 5. Recognition that, to be practical, affordable and user-friendly, a sustainability indicator set must also meet regulatory reporting requirements and, at least in the interim, traditional indicators may need to be incorporated, in contrast to Lundins (1999) view that they should not be used. 6. Agreement by water utilities and regulatory agencies that the water utility practice of selecting a set of sustainability indicators without first developing an agreed vision of sustainability is not effective. 7. Some evidence that a standardized sustainability indicator set could be developed using SUST and could be used by water utilities, which presents exciting prospects. 8. Evidence that many water utilities have a long way to go before they can address some of the cornerstones of water utility sustainability total water cycle management, real value pricing and public involvement. 9. The beginnings of a tool for use in achieving culture change in a water utility organisation. Five SUST modules were developed as part of the research: 1. Sustainability management steps for systematic and rigorous decision-making; 2. Definition of a sustainable water utility as a starting point for a sustainability vision; 3. Selection criteria for choosing sustainability indicators; 4. A model sustainability indicator set which could be used to measure progress against the definition; 5. Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) software for systematically and rigorously assessing sustainability and options for improvement. Three research questions were developed and addressed: 1. What is the current status of sustainability reporting by water utilities in the Australian State of Queensland and what are the barriers to its improvement? 2. What is the usefulness of SUST as an approach to developing sustainability management in Queensland? 3. Does the use of SUST by water utilities achieve regulator and public agency support? A water industry survey was conducted with a number of water utilities to address Question 1 and provide initial data in relation to Question 2. Subsequent case study trials with two utilities utilising a refined SUST obtained more in-depth data on Question 2 and also addressed Question 3. Question 1 findings identified the major barrier to improved sustainability management as a lack of understanding of the concept, with current performance reporting bearing little relationship to cornerstone sustainability issues. Initial feedback on Question 2 indicated that SUST may be able to assist in addressing these issues. Survey respondents supported the foundations of SUST and most of its modules. Module 1 decision-making steps were largely supported as was the definition of a sustainable utility in Module 2. Support was also achieved for the use of indicators as sustainability measures in Module 4, consistent with the view that indicators are a practical vehicle for coming to grips with sustainability. However, agreement on a standardized indicator set for common use by utilities was not reached. More detailed feedback established that most utility and agency participants found SUST very useful in making sustainability both meaningful and operational for a water utility, with the definition ranked the most critical of the SUST modules. More than half the participating regulatory agencies thought SUST represented a better approach to managing sustainability than current methods, and would support its use by utilities, while the remainder was unsure. Further, consistent with the literature, participants believed that, to maintain validity, an indicator set needs to be developed following agreement on the definition of sustainability, and cannot be chosen from a set such as the Global Reporting Initiative set without such a framework. SUST may be able to produce a standardized indicator set which improves existing regulator indicators as well as incorporating new contributions, avoiding duplication of reporting effort. Such an outcome could improve affordability of sustainability reporting by water utilities and merits further research. Some evidence indicates that SUST may be useful as a cultural change tool as, via a team learning effort, it caused a redefinition of the core business of a water utility to incorporate sustainability.

An architecture for ubiquitous mobile service delivery

O'Brien, Paul Francis — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Highly mobile people (HMPs) require flexible, reactive service delivery due to their regularly changing location and activities and the lack of a wired network connection. A mobile service delivery system should be able to detect relevant events that occur such as change of location, availability of new last-minute specials, sales opportunities and safety issues and then reactively take action in response to these events. This work describes a situation management ontology based framework for delivering such a system. Issues addressed include HMP and service states and events, context, situations and situation-action rules, and syntactically and semantically compatible XML ontologies for their specification. A generic situation management ontology is developed in OWL using the ontology development tool, Protégé. This ontology is combined with domain specific classes in the travel domain to create a travel situation management ontology that can be used as the basis for a ubiquitous mobile travel service application. Using a typical independent traveller scenario, the travel situation management ontology is instantiated to demonstrate its effectiveness. The flexibility of the generic situation management ontology is demonstrated by creating an academic situation management ontology by simply replacing a small number of domain specific classes. A framework is also proposed that is based on the situation management ontology, distributed, co-operating software agents, and context based filtering, and is suitable for mobile service delivery. The example framework uses the situation management ontologies developed in this work and action rules to link situation specification to situation detection and action. The ontologies and action rules are semantically consistent and are specified in the XML based, industry standard language, OWL, thus drawing together previous independent work in a number of diverse disciplines.

An ASIC application for DNA sequencing by Smith-Waterman algorithm (DNASSWA)

Lin, Cheng-Hsien Kenny — 2013-03-27T15:37:46Z

An assessment of disease on the health of green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles in southern Queensland Australia

Mark-Shannon Flint — 2010-08-23T00:00:00Z

Marine turtle numbers are in a state of flux around the world. Six of the seven remaining species of these long-lived animals are threatened; with the seventh being listed data deficient. Reasons for these fluctuations are speculated to be due to human related impacts (direct) and increase in disease occurrence caused by changes in the natural environment (indirect). Most direct impacts have been identified and strategies implemented to mitigate their effects with varying degrees of success; however the indirect effects on marine animals remain an understudied area. This thesis outlined the development of ante- and post-mortem diagnostic techniques to identify prevalent diseases affecting two marine turtle species in southern Queensland over a four year (2006-2009) period. This data was used to determine the impact of disease on turtle survivorship. Two-hundred and ninety green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Moreton and Shoalwater Bays were captured, clinically assessed and blood sampled. Clinically healthy animals (n = 211) were used to derive biochemical and haematological reference intervals using two methods. Comparisons with clinically unhealthy animals (n = 25) indicated all unhealthy animals had at least some plasma biochemical and haematological values outside the derived intervals (albumin, 48% of unhealthy animals; alkaline phosphatase (ALP), 35%; aspartate transaminase (AST), 13%; creatinine, 30%; globulin, 3%; glucose, 34%; lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), 26%; phosphorus, 22%; sodium, 13%; thrombocytes, 57%; and monocytes, 5%). Amongst small immature animals, those with Chelonibia testudinaria plastron barnacle counts of at least 20 were approximately three times more likely to be unhealthy than turtles with no barnacles. In addition, small immature and mature turtles were more likely to be unhealthy than large immature turtles (Chapter 2). By the same method, 101 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in Moreton Bay were assessed and bled. Clinically healthy animals (n = 63) were used to derive intervals. Comparisons with clinically unhealthy animals (n = 23) indicated 82% and 45% had at least one biochemical and hematological result, respectively, outside of at least one of the calculated intervals. Neither sex nor maturity (mature versus large immature) influenced the risk of being clinically unhealthy (Chapter 3). A standardised approach to post-mortem examination of marine turtles for veterinary clinicians with a concurrent descriptive review of gross and microscopic pathological lesions commonly seen during examination in Australia (Chapter 4) was used to accurately determine diseases and causes of death in 100 green turtles submitted from various regions of southern Queensland for examination. Spirorchiid parasitism was found to be the most frequently occurring cause of mortality (41.8%), followed by gastrointestinal impaction (11.8%), microbiological infectious diseases (5.2%) and trauma (5.2%). Spirorchiid parasitism with associated inflammation (75%) was the most frequently occurring disease followed by gastrointestinal impaction (5.1%). Season and turtle age had limited influences on disease. Severity of spirorchiidiasis in the brain was independent of severity in other organs (Chapter 5). From these examinations, the most prevalent disease syndrome (spirorchiidiasis) and a previously unreported finding in Australian waters (corneal fibropapillomatosis) were selected to be examined in greater detail. Spirorchiid parasites from four organs in five green turtles were identified by established morphological and molecular techniques. Morphological study of adults identified Carettacola sp. in the serosal wall of the gastrointestinal tract, Hapalotrema mehrai in the heart and Learedius learedi in the spleen. Worms from the brain probably belonged to the genus Neospirorchis. DNA sequences from a portion of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene were obtained; but only matches for Hapalotrema mehrai and Learedius learedi were made. The prevalence and severity of this disease warrants further investigation into development of molecular techniques for use as a prognostic tool for turtles entering rehabilitation (Chapter 6). Chelonid corneal fibropapillomatosis, a previously unreported disease manifestation in Australia, was identified in 0.5% of 787 examined green turtles in 2008 (Chapter 7). This novel syndrome was shown to reduce visibility, potentially negatively affecting turtle survivorship and should be monitored for further spread. Findings from this thesis and the published literature were used to derive a mathematical model to determine the effects of identified diseases on Moreton Bay green turtle survivorship. This model demonstrated diseases at current prevalence will not negatively affect survivorship but an adverse environmental disruption or an increase in current disease frequency may threaten these animals (Chapter 8). Information presented in this thesis was used to test the general hypothesis ‘Differences in disease and health between stranded and functional populations of marine turtles will indicate major and currently unmeasured causes of population decline.’ This hypothesis was partially upheld. Differences in disease and health status between stranded and functional populations were demonstrated, but more work is required to comprehensively examine these statuses. Diagnostics and continued environmental assessment should become the focus of future investigations. These findings should be incorporated in future management strategies.

An assessment of Landscape Function Analysis as a tool for monitoring rehabilitation success in the mining industry

Vaiben Chad Seaborn — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An assessment of Leijonhufvud's interpretation of Keynes

Littleboy, Bruce, 1956- — 2011-08-18T00:00:00Z

A national front? : masculinity and national identity in the writing of Hanif Kureishi

Nelms, Emma. — 2007-08-24T18:09:56Z

Anatomical and biomechanical correlates of performance in cycling

McLean, Brian D. — 2011-07-25T00:00:00Z

Anatomy and physiology of floral organ abscission in geraldton waxflower (Chamelaucium uncinatum schauer)

Macnish, Andrew James — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

Anatomy of Ijime (Bullying) within Japanese Schools

Tamaki Mino — 2009-09-27T20:20:32Z

An attachment perspective on adult sibling relationships

Doherty, Nicole Alicia — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

The present program of research investigated sibling relationships in adulthood from an attachment perspective. Although research indicates that attachment theory offers a useful perspective on the influence of early relationships with caregivers on subsequent relationship functioning, attachment principles have rarely been applied to adults family relationships. In the current studies, several broad research aims were addressed. First, the role of siblings as attachment figures in adulthood and the nature of sibling attachment were assessed. Second, associations between attachment variables and reports of relationship quality were investigated. The third aim involved assessing the mediating role of communication skill in the association between attachment and relationship quality. Fourth, the impact of attachment variables on broad aspects of sibling conversation was investigated. The final aim was to assess the mediating role of communication skill in the association between attachment and sibling conversation. The present research had several noteworthy features. These features included the recruitment of pairs of adult siblings, the use of a dual methodology to assess aspects of sibling communication, and the distinction between attachment security and attachment strength as separate predictors of sibling relationship functioning. These features represent an important contribution to the literature on sibling relationships. The first study assessed the structure of adults attachment networks, using a questionnaire measure of preferred attachment figures with a large sample of adults (N = 812) representing various ages and life situations. Overall, the results indicated that siblings were one of the six most commonly reported attachment figures in adulthood. Importantly, siblings qualified as full-blown attachments for a sizable proportion of participants and for some participants, constituted the primary attachment figure. The strength and nature of sibling attachment were affected by age and normative life events. For Studies 2 and 3, 174 pairs of siblings (N=348) were recruited. In Study 2, participants completed multiple-item self-report questionnaires concerning their sibling relationship. This study assessed the associations among attachment, communication skill and sibling relationship quality. Findings revealed the influence of both the individuals own and the siblings attachment variables (security and strength) on evaluations of relationship quality. Further, the link between attachment variables and sibling relationship quality was largely mediated by communication skill: Siblings who were secure in attachment communicated competently, which enhanced relationship quality. Study 3 used a dual methodology to obtain a more detailed understanding of sibling conversation. Participants completed self-report questionnaires and structured diary records of actual everyday conversations to assess the influence of attachment variables on specific aspects of sibling conversations. The findings from this study pointed to the utility of attachment theory for understanding sibling conversations. Attachment security and attachment strength were related to both the individuals own and the siblings reports of conversation. Once again, many of the links between attachment variables and specific aspects of sibling conversation were mediated by communication skill. Overall, the present research supports the utility of investigating adults sibling relationships using attachment theory as a conceptual framework. A more complete understanding of sibling relationships in adulthood was achieved by exploring the impact of attachment security and attachment strength on sibling relationship functioning. The findings extend empirical research into adult sibling relationships and adult attachment, and are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.

940 and 980 nanometer Diode Laser Applications in Endodontics

Raghad Hmud — 2010-11-24T00:00:00Z

Abstract Endodontic therapy aims to disinfect the root canal and its 3-dimensional dentine tubular network. This is commonly achieved by instrumentation, irrigation with antimicrobial rinses such as NaOCl and EDTA, and placement of temporary intra-canal dressings. Effective treatment requires the combination of physical and chemical agents to eradicate soft tissue debris, smear layer, and microorganisms both in planktonic forms and in multi-layered biofilms. During conventional root canal therapy, biofilms, infected dental pulp tissue and contaminated dentine are only removed to a limited extent. The cutting action of mechanical instrumentation on the dentine walls of the root canal results in the formation of a layer of debris (the smear layer) composed of dentine chips, remnants of soft tissues, and bacteria. This layer prevents irrigants and medicaments from penetrating into the dentinal tubules, and if not removed it may slowly disintegrate, increasing the risks of re-infection. In recent years, middle infrared Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers have been used to assist with disinfection and cleaning of the root canal system, however, neither of these can completely disinfect the root canal or remove the smear layer. Laser energy from near infrared Nd:YAG and diode lasers penetrates deeply into tooth structure. There is a range of diode laser wavelengths available, including 810, 830, 940, and 980 nm. The 940 and 980 nm wavelengths are of particular interest because their absorption in water is higher than the other available near infrared wavelengths. Shockwaves can be generated in water using water absorbing laser wavelengths. These shockwaves may be able to disrupt biofilms. Generating shockwaves using near infrared lasers would also exploit their deeply penetrating disinfecting capabilities. During laser activation, shockwaves can be generated in aqueous media through the formation of water vapour. In addition to this, direct release of oxygen free radicals from materials containing hydrogen peroxide or ozone is also known during laser irradiation. The use of ozone as a disinfectant is well established in industry, and in dentistry ozone has been used in the treatment of dental unit water lines and in the bio-oxidation and disinfection of incipient root surface carious lesions. It is known from industrial applications that the antimicrobial actions of ozonated water are increased by sonic and ultrasonic energy, and it is likely that laser-induced shockwaves (which are known to also create cavitations) will have a similar activating effect in terms of disinfection and physical flushing. This study examined the capabilities of pulsed near infrared lasers, 940 and 980 nm wavelengths, in forming cavitation and shockwave generation in root canals by using distilled water inside a capillary-glass tube and conventional fibers. It also determined shockwave dynamics of oxygen based liquid preparations, such as hydrogen peroxide and ozonated water, while activated by the 940 and 980 nm pulsed near infrared lasers. Moreover, the thermal safety using two types of temperature measuring devices, the thermocouple and a blackbody near infrared thermometer, was determined. The suitability of the thermocouple in measuring temperature changes during diode laser application was also assessed. The results demonstrated the ability of both the 940 and 980 nm near infrared wavelengths to induce cavitation and shockwave generation in less than 5 seconds. This timing was similar when using ozonated water but was greatly improved with the use of hydrogen peroxide at both 3 and 6 % concentrations. The 980 nm wavelength performed better than the 940 nm wavelength with distilled water. However, when hydrogen peroxide was used, the 940 nm wavelength was faster at cavitation induction than the 980 nm, marking different absorption curves between water and hydrogen peroxide. Both of these wavelengths produce minimal temperature increase on the external root surface during laser activation. In the period of temperature change examination, it was found that the transmitted laser energy through tooth structure is absorbed by the thermocouple giving a higher temperature reading than the real tooth surface temperature. Therefore, it is recommended that a non-contact, infrared temperature measuring device is used with near infrared laser wavelengths rather than the thermocouples. This study shows the potential benefit of the 940 and 980 nm near infrared wavelengths in the cleaning and disinfecting of the root canal system through the formation of cavitation and shockwave generation. Additional research examining smear layer removal and the disinfecting capabilities of these wavelengths, using both plain and modified fibers, is required to further evaluate their role in endodontics.

ANDROGEN RECEPTOR, CAVEOLIN-1 AND ANDROGEN SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN PROSTATE CANCER

Nigel Bennett — 2010-09-13T00:00:00Z

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of male deaths in Western countries. Radical prostatectomy is suitable for treatment of early clinical stage PCa that is confined to the gland. More advanced clinical stage disease, particularly with metastases, is treated with androgen deprivation or blockade therapies. Tumours that recur following these forms of therapy are often referred to as castrate-resistant. Castrate-resistant PCa (CRPC) has a poor patient prognosis, with patient death occurring within five years. The castrate-resistant phenotype is thought to develop because of selection pressures by androgen deprivation therapies (ADT) that induce altered expression and activation of many proteins. The protein target for ADT is a steroid nuclear receptor called androgen receptor (AR). In normal prostatic epithelial cells, AR expression, activity and the associated tissue maintenance are regulated by the androgens dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and testosterone. AR interacts with many co-regulator proteins that function to either co-activate or co-repress its activation. In PCa, the membrane protein Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is considered to be an AR co-activator protein. Cav-1 is not found in normal prostatic glandular epithelium, the origin for the majority of prostatic adenocarcinomas. Cav-1 expression and prevalence increases with PCa progression, in many cases correlating positively with tumour stage and grade. Cav-1 is localised to caveolae, small plasma membrane invaginations that have roles in cell trafficking, endocytosis and signalling. Caveolae formation, structural maintenance and signalling rely heavily upon the sterol compound cholesterol which is abundant in the plasma membrane of cells. Cholesterol is also closely integrated with androgen signalling and is the precursor compound for steroidogenesis leading to androgen synthesis. Although via completely different mechanisms, the intimate relationship of cholesterol with AR and Cav-1 appears necessary for their transient plasma membrane interactions. This molecular “ménage à trios” provides scope for investigating multiple therapeutic targets, both internally and peripherally to this trio, which may prove beneficial to PCa sufferers. This thesis focused on AR, its co-regulation by Cav-1, and the involvement of cholesterol and steroidogenic potential to enhance AR activity, with the potential to use this information for development of novel CRPC therapies. Chapter 1 provides a review of the literature. Chapter 2 describes the general Materials and Methods used during this project. Specific methods are also described in each of the research Chapters (Chapters 3 to 6). Chapter 7 gives an overview of the results and presents future directions for the project. Chapter 1 (Literature Review) includes segments on the molecular cell biology of AR and the known interactions between AR, Cav-1 and cholesterol metabolism. The contents of this Chapter have been published in two first-author reviews by the PhD candidate. • Chapter 1 developed the overall thesis hypotheses: o that there are mechanisms that determine regulation of AR-mediated transcription involving Cav-1 that differ depending on the castrate-resistant state of PCa; o that modulation of Cav-1 or AR by various strategies will show a functional link between Cav-1 and AR; o that AR, Cav-1 and cholesterol metabolism are linked in PCa via steroidogenic pathways; o and that mechanisms determined in vitro will be also found using tissue from human benign prostatic hyperplasia and PCa of different Gleason scores and cancer grades. • The specific aims of the thesis project were: o to investigate the relative expression profiles of Cav-1 and AR in the range of selected PCa and non-PCa cell lines; o to use AR inhibition or activation strategies to investigate whether the interaction in these cell lines between Cav-1 and AR is androgen-dependent; o to determine whether the removal or modulated expression of Cav-1 or AR affects the activity of the other; to determine the role that cholesterol and steroidogenesis play in the interrelationship between Cav-1 and AR and the development of PCa; o and to use PCa, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and normal prostatic tissue from humans to investigate the localisation and levels of expression of AR, Cav-1 and a panel of steroidogenic enzymes compared with cancer grade. In Chapter 3, the PCa cell line-specific signatures of AR and Cav-1 were investigated using mRNA, protein, and reporter assay analyses. The experiments were designed to ask if there is a link between these patterns and the development of castrate resistance. AR and Cav-1 expression was compared in six PCa cell lines of known levels of androgen sensitivity: LNCaP cells express AR and are androgen-dependent; 22Rv1 cells express AR, but are not androgen-dependent. 22Rv1 cells can survive without androgens but will respond positively when treated with androgens thus they are considered androgen responsive; PC3 and DU145 cells do not express AR and are not androgen-dependent or responsive, representing castrate-resistant disease; ALVA41 cells express AR and are androgen-responsive but not dependent upon androgen for survival; and RWPE1 cells were derived from normal prostate tissue and have been immortalised for long-term culture. The cellular changes and AR or Cav-1 expression in these cell lines after AR or Cav-1 modulation were also analysed. AR expressing cell lines LNCaP (androgen sensitive) and 22Rv1 (androgen responsive) both had low levels of Cav-1. Cell lines that did not express AR protein in our investigations (DU145, PC3, ALVA41 and RWPE1) all had high levels of Cav-1. When caveolae were disrupted there was little change to cell viability, but Cav-1 knock down diminished AR expression. When AR expression was knocked down, Cav-1 expression was also diminished. These data suggest that Cav-1 expression in AR positive cell lines is regulated, at least partially, by AR and loss of AR has a deregulatory effect upon Cav-1 expression. The grade and stage of the cancer may be important: Cav-1 expression may be regulated in early grade/stage PCa but be deregulated by AR loss in late grade/stage tumours as evidenced by high Cav-1 expression in AR negative cell lines. In Chapter 4, the localisation and intensity of expression of AR and Cav-1 were investigated in sixty-eight prostate tissue samples: normal (2), BPH (6) and cancerous tissues (62 of varying Gleason scores) using immunohistochemistry. The primary cells of interest during this investigation were the glandular epithelium, which are the cells of origin for the majority of prostatic adenocarcinomas, and the supporting basal cell layer, and to a lesser extent, the stromal tissue. AR was found to be expressed in 100% of epithelium examined, with expression levels ranging from low to high intensity, but not relating to the development or progression of the cancer. Cav-1 expression was not seen in normal and BPH epithelium. In PCa, only 24 % were positive. There was a significant increase in the number of Cav-1 positive tissues (p<0.05) between Gleason scores 6 and 7, correlating positively with increasing Gleason score, but no other significant differences were detected. Small samples numbers hampered the statistical analyses in Gleason grades of 4/5 and 8-10. Most notably, Cav-1 expression was inconsistent within an individual prostate sample, with different cancer foci having vastly different Cav-1 expression levels, suggesting different primary cancer phenotypes are present within a single patient. This raises the question of whether one cancer focus is more likely to progress to a more aggressive cancer type than its neighbour. In Chapter 5, the progression of PCa to a castrate resistant phenotype non-responsive to treatment was investigated, with particular reference to cholesterol metabolism and steroidogenesis. Cholesterol manipulation during reporter assay experiments from Chapter 3 raised questions regarding the role of this molecule in PCa cells. The effect that cholesterol elicits upon AR may be via its role in canonical signalling transduction pathways, such as those that are caveolae-mediated, or it may have a more direct role of manipulating AR activity. Results demonstrating de novo androgen synthesis in PCa cells suggests these cells have steroidogenic properties enabling survival in androgen-depleted environments. A well-defined steroidogenic pathway, whereby cholesterol is converted to testosterone, is facilitated by the enzymes CYP11A1, CYP17A1, 17β3HSD and 3β2HSD. Protein and mRNA for these enzymes were analysed in the six prostate-derived cell lines introduced in Chapter 3. mRNA results confirmed all six cell lines express CYP11A1 and 17β3HSD while 3β2HSD and CYP17A1 were expressed in two cell lines and one cell line respectively. The steroidogenic potential of the PCa cell lines LNCaP (androgen-dependent) and 22Rv1 (androgen-independent but responsive) was also compared. Charcoal-stripped steroid-negative medium, charcoal-stripped medium plus 10 nM DHT and charcoal-stripped medium plus 125 mM cholesterol were studied in cell culture. Appropriate controls were used. Expression of the steroidogenic proteins were analysed by Western blot analysis. Confocal microscopy was used to confirm mitochondrial localisation of CYP11A1 in LNCaP cells. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses following ethyl acetate extractions of cell lysate and conditioned growth media demonstrated LNCaP and 22Rv1 cells synthesized testosterone in vitro. These results suggest that PCa cells have steroidogenic potential and may be able to drive their own growth even during ADT. In Chapter 6, expression and localisation of steroidogenesis enzymes, selected from Chapter 5 and known to convert cholesterol to testosterone, were examined by immunohistochemistry using the set of samples mentioned in Chapter 4. The enzymes selected were CYP11A1, CYP17A1, 17β3HSD and 3β2HSD. Detectable levels of protein for each enzyme in prostate tissue was as follows: CYP11A1 71 %, CYP17A1 28 %, 17β3HSD 82 % and 3β2HSD 19 %. All four enzymes were expressed simultaneously in approximately 10 % of the PCa cancer sections. CYP11A1 expression in glandular epithelium was found in 100 % of BPH samples (n=6). In PCa samples, 65 % of Gleason score 6 (n=23), 59 % of Gleason score 7 (n=27), and 100 % of Gleason score 8 (n=3) and 9 (n=4) expressed CYP11A1. CYP11A1 expression in BPH suggests prostate tissue has steroidogenic potential before PCa develops. Expression patterns varied amongst the samples, with some cells positive and some cells negative in most individual samples. Overall, only four samples, less than 6 %, were negative for all four steroidogenic enzymes. It is possible that ADT selects for CYP11A1-expressing cells amongst the heterogenic cell population of PCa and BPH, thereby contributing to cancer progression or recurrence. In summary (Chapter 7), prostate cancers retain the ability to respond to androgens in the initial stages of cancer development, but progressively become independent of exogenous androgens in advanced stages of the disease while maintaining expression of functional AR. The current study confirmed that AR has an inter-relationship with Cav-1 and their interaction within caveolae has a positive effect upon AR activity. It is generally accepted that the AR and Cav-1 relationship relies upon caveolae formation and the interaction of Cav-1 with cholesterol. Experiments involving cholesterol manipulation prompted us to the hypothesis of a more integral role between this molecule and AR. We investigated four classical steroidogenic enzymes, in prostate cell lines and tissue that are capable of converting cholesterol to testosterone, and the results suggest that prostate cancers may possess steroidogenic potential. Thus, when advanced PCa is treated with ADT, the therapy may be providing a micro-environmental selection pressure that favours PCa cells expressing steroidogenic enzymes. This ultimately drives them toward androgen self-sufficiency. The results may lead to a better understanding of phenotypic changes involving AR, Cav-1 and cholesterol that occur in PCa during its progression towards CRPC. Variable expression profiles of the proteins investigated within PCa tissues suggests that subtle differences in PCa phenotypes exist, not only between patients, but also within an individual. This fact highlights the complexity of this disease and presents a reason why current therapeutics fail. Future consideration must be given to the multi-focal nature of PCa, and the high probability that ADT nurtures therapy-resistant disease, to ensure development of more appropriate and individualised therapies.

An econometric study of the staple theory of economic growth in the contexts of the Victorian and New South Wales economies, 1861 to 1900

Tamaschke, H. U., 1942- — 2010-11-19T00:00:00Z

An economic analysis of deforestation mechanisms in Indonesia : empirics and theory based on stochastic differential and Fokker-Planck equations

Wibowo, D. H. (Dradjad Hari) — 2010-12-15T00:00:00Z

An economic analysis of fishing site selection in the commercial Tropical Coral Reef Line Fishery in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Robertson, John W. A. — 2010-12-16T00:00:00Z

An economic analysis of Indonesian mariculture development in relation to coastal rural income levels, poverty and income inequality : a case study of seaweed mariculture in Bali

Firdausy, Carunia. — 2010-12-02T00:00:00Z

An economic analysis of overseas aid motivations : theory and empirical results for Australia

Gounder, Rukmani. — 2010-11-24T00:00:00Z

An economic analysis of pond polyculture in Bangladesh : efficiency, comparative returns, and related environmental and poverty issues

Saha, Nirmal Chandra. — 2007-08-24T18:23:31Z

An economic analysis of the Australian east coast tuna longline fishery

McIlgorm, Alistair. — 2010-12-02T00:00:00Z

An economic analysis of the common cattle tick (Boophilus microplus) in Queensland

Davis, Rex. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An Economic Analysis of the Supply of General Practitioners in the Rural and Urban Areas of Australia.

Abhayaprada Kamalakanthan — 2011-02-02T00:00:00Z

An economic evaluation of environmental recovery of the skier-dominated area in the Mt Togyu National Park in South Korea

Suh, Jungho. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An Economic Examination of Australian Private Psychiatric Services under Medicare: Conceptual and Empirical Studies

Williams, Ruth F.G. — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

The objective of this thesis is to present the results of several conceptual and empirical analyses of the services of private psychiatrists that are provided in Australia on a fee-for-service (FFS) basis. The contributions to knowledge provided by this study are outlined here. Part I of the thesis contains three chapters that contribute separate overviews of some dimensions of private psychiatry, which previously have not been available in the literature. The economic characteristics of FFS psychiatry as an industry are discussed in Chapter One, which also broadly discusses the importance of Medicare in the operation of private psychiatry. Although it has been established medically in the literature that mental illnesses are an important disease category, economists have neglected psychiatry, along with other industries in the mental health sector. The only comprehensive review of the economic literature on Australian mental health issues is provided in Chapter Two, which demonstrates also that numerous lacunae exist. In Chapter Three, the context of this study is given. An innovative conceptual and empirical overview of the mental health sector in Australia is given and various measures of the size and composition of FFS psychiatric services are provided. Part II is entitled Further Conceptual Analyses, the content of which encompasses four new studies. A positive economic analysis of Australias system of health care fi nancing of FFS psychiatric services is provided in Chapter Four. Such an analysis has not been undertaken previously for this industry. The Chapter demonstrates the important economic relationships between the gross prices received by FFS psychiatrists, the net (out-of-pocket) prices that consumers pay and the Medicare rebate, or subsidy. In Chapter Five, there is a conceptual examination of need, which is an asserted basis for the establishment of the Medicare system of funding. This study demonstrates that conventional economic measures of a necessity, such as the income elasticity of demand, are insuffi cient for determining medical need and provides new bases for conceptualising and measuring medical needs. Attention turns in Chapters Six and Seven to another rationale underlying the Medicare funding of private psychiatric services, viz. equality. The importance placed in the economic literature on income inequality measurement is demonstrated in Chapter Six, and this is contrasted with the lack of attention by economists to inequality measurement in the health sector. Some illustrative data are then used in Chapter Seven to demonstrate, in a innovative way, the relevant economic concepts and tools required for measuring inequalities related to the mental health sector. The Further Empirical Analyses of Part III involve a further four new empirical studies. In Chapters Eight and Nine statistical results are provided about the quantity and price outcomes, respectively, of private FFS psychiatry under Medicare. These results are based on quarterly time-series data for six Australian regions. Broadly speaking, these Chapters provide some initial information about a popular word used in respect of Medicare funding, viz. access. The empirical focus turns once again in Chapters Ten and Eleven to distribution. Two major distributional outcomes of this industry are measured in these Chapters, with the inequality measurements of quantities of services and mental health status that are provided, respectively. In Chapter Ten, conventional measures of statistical dispersion and inequality (such as coeffi cients of variation, Gini coeffi cients, Atkinson measures and Lorenz curves) are applied to the quarterly time-series data on quantities of services. The trends on equality of spatial access to psychiatric services since the introduction of Medicare in 1984 are demonstrated. The focus of Chapter Eleven is on mental health per se and its distribution. This focus is appropriate as the ultimate objective of psychiatric services is mental health. In this Chapter is the fi rst economic measure of mental health status, and this is undertaken for the State of Queensland. This measure is based of the period of time lived prior to the onset of serious mental illness. The study demonstrates whether mental health status has increased, decreased or remained constant through time and, by constructing time trends on various inequality measures, including Gini coeffi cients, determines statistically whether inequality in mental health status has increased, decreased or remained constant since 1964. In Chapter Twelve the dissertation is summarised and the main conclusions are presented. The above outline indicates the types of information about the Australian market for psychiatric services that are contributed by this thesis. The contributions are particularly relevant at a time when economic understanding of the industry is like a black hole. Tools and concepts from both Industrial Economics and Public Finance are applied in this study, because the market outcomes of private psychiatric services in Australia, in terms of such variables as prices and quantities, involve the interaction of market and government forces. The role of government is heavily woven into the operations of private FFS psychiatry in Australia, and occurs not only via the control of entry into psychiatry, but also through Commonwealth Government fi nancing of the industry via Medicare. This thesis demonstrates that the institutional forces of Commonwealth Government funding are of fundamental economic relevance to the operation of private psychiatry. However, this is an atypical industry study. Absent are conventional issues in Industrial Economics, such as market structure, collusion, strategic behaviour, mergers and joint ventures, innovation and so forth. Present are contributions to knowledge about the size of the industry, the public-private split in funding private psychiatry, need and access, the quantities of private psychiatric services, and their gross prices, various inequality measures of private psychiatric service provision and, fi nally, an economic measure of mental health and of mental health inequality.

A Necropsy-based Study of Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in South-East Queensland

Gordon, Anita Nancy — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Causes of morbidity and mortality were investigated for 108 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) stranded in south-east Queensland between 1990 and 1996. This study was undertaken as part of a broader carcass salvage program for south Queensland, and within the context of a population study of C. mydas in the Moreton Bay feeding ground. Accurate pathological characterisation of disease in C. mydas was achieved by detailed necropsy and histological examination. Varied inflammatory responses and degenerative changes were observed in stranded C. mydas. Supportive disciplines of microbiology, parasitology, and clinical chemistry were used to elucidate aetiology and pathogenesis of selected conditions. Heavy metal and pesticide levels were assessed in a sub-sample of turtles. Direct anthropogenic causes (including trauma, foreign body ingestion and drowning) accounted for 34% of mortalities of C. mydas in this study. The majority of the trauma cases were turtles with skull fractures resulting from blunt impacts. The remainder had boat propeller injuries, or miscellaneous trauma. Almost half of the turtles with lethal boat propeller damage had evidence of pre-existing disease which may well have predisposed them to boat strike, emphasising the importance of full necropsy examination, even when the cause of death appears obvious. Fishing line was the only ingested foreign body consistently implicated in the production of fatal intestinal obstruction. Marine turtle fibropapillomatosis, a panzootic viral disease which is considered to involve some indirect anthropogenic factors, accounted for 7% of mortalities. The findings in this study were consistent with much of the previously described pathology of this condition. Naturally-occurring diseases (for which human influences are unknown) accounted for the remaining 59% of strandings. Coccidiosis, caused by Caryospora cheloniae, was recorded for the first time in wild C. mydas. It occurred both as an epizootic (in 1991) and as sporadic cases. A variety of manifestations, including disseminated and enteric forms, were recognised. Infection with a Cryptosporidium-like protozoan appeared to occur concurrently with coccidiosis in one turtle in this study. Attempts to establish experimental coccidial infections in hatchling C. mydas were unsuccessful. Infections with cardiovascular (spirorchid) flukes were almost universal in stranded C. mydas in this study. They ranged from mild, incidental findings (such as occasional fluke egg granulomas evident microscopically in otherwise normal tissues) to a variety of severe changes, including thrombosis, which were likely to have produced morbidity. The present study clarified the range of cardiovascular lesions associated with spirorchidiasis, including the sequence of thrombus resolution and exteriorisation from vessels. In some cases spirorchid vasculitis was associated with fatal disseminated bacterial infections. Other sporadic, naturally-occurring diseases included mycotic pneumonia, bacterial meningoencephalitis and a miscellany of gastrointestinal conditions, including chronic intestinal tympany and obstipation, for which the underlying cause could not always be determined. Evidence indicated that gastrointestinal motility in C. mydas was prone to both direct and indirect disturbance and that tympany and obstipation could be final common outcomes of a range of insults. Eighteen abnormally buoyant turtles were examined during this study. The cause could usually be ascribed to an underlying disease, including (in decreasing order of frequency) trapped internal gas, usually intestinal; neurological disease such as traumatic brain injuries; and pulmonary disease. In two cases, no underlying cause was detected. Trace metal (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, selenium and zinc) concentrations were determined in the livers and kidneys of 50 turtles of mixed species (mostly C. mydas). These results were considered to provide baseline data for sea turtles in SE Qld. This study offered the largest dataset available for some metals in C. mydas, and provided evidence of high background levels of cadmium as a normal feature for the species. Some unusual agerelated trends in metal accumulation were detected. Concentrations of cadmium, zinc and selenium in the kidney decreased with increasing age, whereas zinc concentrations in the liver tended to increase. Determining the impact of disease on wildlife populations is an increasingly necessary task, which will require multidisciplinary teams. Necropsy surveys like the present study are an essential component of the growing field of conservation medicine. In addition to providing data relevant to management, such as the relative proportions of anthropogenic and naturally-occurring mortalities, necropsy surveys can identify a range of endemic pathogens, and help to collect prevalence data for determining disease impacts at the population level.

An Electrophysiological Examination of Semantic and Syntactic Anomaly Processing in Sentences: Effects of Aging and Focal Brain Lesions

Faustmann, Anja — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have the capacity to tap into language comprehension as it unfolds in real time. ERPs may, therefore, not only provide essential information on the temporal dynamics of language comprehension, but may also contribute to an adequate characterization of the temporal and functional locus of comprehension deficits. A prerequisite for pathological ERP studies is a comprehensive understanding of the electrophysiological correlates of the processing of different types of linguistic information (e.g., semantic and syntactic). These ERP correlates have been extensively researched in young healthy adults. Application of the functional interpretations of ERP components to a poststroke aphasic population, however, requires the consideration of the effects of normal aging, as the CVA etiology is predominantly associated with advanced age. Few studies have investigated age-related changes in language-related ERP components. Thus, one of the major objectives of this thesis was to determine whether potential nonpathological agerelated differences in auditory language comprehension were reflected in the electrophysiological response observed to semantic and syntactic anomalies, thus providing an essential foundation from which to interpret ERP findings in aphasia. The electrophysiological response to auditory sentence-embedded semantic and syntactic (phrase structure) anomalies was first established in a group of healthy young adults, who showed a small, centroparietally distributed negativity starting at around 200 ms post stimulus onset for syntactic anomalies. Semantic anomalies elicited a robust N400. A bilateral, widely distributed P600 was observed for both semantic and syntactic anomalies. The results are discussed in terms of their functional significance with a special focus on the P600, which, in the domain of language processing, may reflect processes of reanalysis and repair that are not exclusively based on syntactic information but may also include semantic aspects of the sentence. To provide a comprehensive description of age-related effects on the established ERP correlates, differences between young and elderly subjects were investigated and the effects of advancing age were examined in a larger number of senior subjects of a wider, welldefined age range. These experiments clearly demonstrated that changes in the processing of semantic and syntactic anomalies occur with normal aging. Older adults, like young adults, processed the meaning of sentences online and sentence context had a facilitating effect as indicated by larger N400s to semantically incongruous than to congruous constructions. However, the N400 (effect) was significantly smaller in elderly compared to young adults, and it was further demonstrated that the auditory N400 effect was systematically reduced with advancing age. Possible mechanisms explaining age-related N400 reductions, including less selective activation and/or less efficient predictive use of context, are discussed. Peak latencies of the N400 (effect), on the other hand, were not affected by normal aging, thus indicating that with the processing of natural connected speech, integration of a word into the higher-order meaning representation of the preceding sentence context is not delayed. Furthermore, processes of reanalysis and repair in the presence of a semantic or syntactic anomaly, as reflected in the P600, were comparable in magnitude and timing for young and elderly subjects. However, P600 effects were found to be slightly larger over more anterior recording sites in older elderly compared to middleaged adults, although this increase in effect size was not systematic with age. As temporal alterations in language processing have been identified as a possible cause of comprehension deficits observed in poststroke aphasic individuals, the potential temporal aspects of such deficits and recovery thereof were investigated in the last two studies presented in this thesis. A dissociation between syntactic and semantic ERP results was observed in a patient exhibiting a mild comprehension deficit, especially with regard to late positivities. The P600 to syntactic anomalies was reduced and clearly delayed in the patient, possibly indicating delayed or incomplete access or use of word category information necessary for the construction of phrase structure. The temporal dynamics of recovery from aphasic comprehension deficits were investigated in a longitudinal case study. The patient had recovered considerably from her initial mild-moderate comprehension deficit, as indicated by her performance on offline language tests. At the last of three consecutive assessments spanning the first eight months post stroke, she showed an electrophysiological response to semantic anomalies which was comparable to that observed in healthy elderly control subjects. In contrast, the patients response to syntactically anomalous constructions was different at all assessments. Possible accounts for the observed discrepancy as well as methodological implications of the obtained results are discussed. The series of studies presented in this thesis served to provide a comprehensive investigation into the electrophysiological correlates of auditory language comprehension in healthy young, healthy elderly and poststroke aphasic subjects, highlighting the capacity of the ERP methodology to reveal valuable information on temporal as well as functional aspects of language processing, its impairment and recovery.

An empirical analysis of volatility in Australian capital market and investment management

Ghose, Ananda Shankar. — 2011-03-01T10:06:48Z

An Empirical examination of corporate capital structure in Australia and the USA

Hamson, Donald Frank. — 2010-11-10T00:00:00Z

An empirical investigation of cash management and financial firm governance : a study of Thai companies.

Netiniyom, Pattaragit. — 2010-12-16T11:11:50Z

An empirical investigation of factors influencing organisations to improve data quality in their information systems

Tee, Singwhat — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An Empirical Study of Design Management Practices in Collaborative Design and Construction Projects The Roles, Activities and Conceptions of Design Management across Project Stages and within the Building, Civil and Process Sectors of a Construction Compa

Janthea Andersen — 2010-06-11T00:00:00Z

Abstract The construction industry is at a critical point in time where the construction and design of the majority of projects is now done simultaneously. If historical trends persist, then there will be an increase in the number of construction projects done concurrently with design. This empirical study describes the management of design in collaborative design and construction projects in a construction company that is dealing with an increasing number of collaboration type projects. The different roles of managers of design, the activities they undertook and conceptions that could describe the practice were researched. A major outcome of the research was the identification of seven major activities that were undertaken by the design managers. These were: 1. Coordinating Stakeholder Input 2. Coordinating Design Work with Other Work 3. Managing Design 4. Project Development Management 5. Managing Design Work 6. Selecting and Managing the Design Team 7. Managing Design Management It was found that design management went through three distinct stages in the collaborative projects: 1. An early stage comprising of mostly design development and planning activities 2. A mid stage consisting of collaborative design and construction activities 3. A latter stage, which comprised of completing the construction work Design managers also undertook activities outside of the project stages, which were considered as company based activities. In the early stages activities were orientated towards developing the project, dealing with different design solutions and setting up the project. In the mid stages activities were orientated towards obtaining design for construction, producing one design solution and keeping up with the schedule. In the latter stages activities were orientated towards dealing with design issues and maintaining design intent. Activities outside of any project were orientated towards developing personnel and company systems. The goals of each stage and the activities required to reach those goals changed the nature of design management in each stage and ultimately resulted in a change in the person required to manage the design. Design managers with the ability to establish client relationships and develop the design were required in the early stages and design managers with the ability to manage the production of design documents and deal with construction issues were required in the mid stages. Different design managers were utilised for the early and mid project stages. During the latter stages of a project, when design was practically completed, design managers had a part time or consultant type role in the projects. In order to examine design management, seven conceptions that could describe the practice of design management were explored. The conceptions consisted of, ‘brand management’, ‘design and construction integration’, ‘a division of project management’, ‘meta-design’, ‘master builder’, ‘task, flow and value management’ and ‘management of the design process’. No one single conception was observed to adequately describe everything that the design managers did. Rather each conception provided a useful perspective that adequately described design management in particular situations. For example ‘a division of project management’ more readily described situations where design managers undertook planning, cost and design production related activities. Similarly ‘meta-design’ more readily described situations where design managers were involved in design discussions. The trends of the conceptions across project stages revealed where the conceptions more readily applied. For example, ‘brand management’, ‘task, flow and value management’ and ‘master builder’ applied more in the early stages of the projects, when the design managers had to promote the company and design, determine the flow of information and had more control over the direction of the project. In the mid stages the conceptions ‘design and construction integration’ and ‘management of the design process’ more readily applied, as design process activity was increased and as construction activities required coordination with design. ‘Design and construction integration’, ‘brand management’ and ‘master builder’ conceptions applied in the later stages where construction activities were checked against the design, the construction required promotion and where the design manager dealt with quality and economic issues with the design. This research explores design management in the Civil and Process sectors of the construction company, in addition to the Building sector. Differences were found between the Building, Civil and Process sectors. In the Building sector, design managers took more ownership of a project; in the Civil sector, design managers carefully took into account stakeholder issues; and in the Process sector, design managers were more technically orientated. These insights into the management of design in integrated design and construction projects can be incorporated into management structures, personnel selection and training programs. For example, the results of this research can be used for the training and selection of design managers for the early, mid and latter stages of design and construction projects. The research can also be used as a basis for making improvements to design management. For example, current practices can be compared to the results of this research to determine which activities might need greater prioritisation. This research provides practitioners and academics with renewed ways of thinking about the management of design, based on the actual practices of design managers.

An engineered ecosystem for environmentally sustainable wastewater treatment for remote tourist resorts in tropical/sub-tropical regions

Kavanagh, Lydia Jane. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An essay in the theory of action concerning the topic of reasons for action

O'Regan, Terence Paul. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An ethnogaphic [sic] interpretive approach to describing the clinical practice of registered nurses in the field of medical and surgical nursing practice

Oliver, Mary Swarna Philomena. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF A CONTEMPORARY REMOTE URBAN INDIGENOUS ETHNOMEDICAL SYSTEM AND THE SOCIO-CLINICAL REALITY SHAPED BY THE RESERVE DWELLERS AND THE HOSPITAL RESIDENTS IN THE 1980s

Robyn Mobbs — 2009-11-24T00:00:00Z

This ethnographic study in medical anthropology is a critically interpretative analysis of fieldwork documentation I recorded during field research conducted in the mining city of Mount Isa in the far northwest of Queensland during the 1980s. Eighteen months of participant observation research was undertaken over four fieldtrips (1981-82, 1983, 1985 and 1988) at inter-connected locations: two urban reserves for Aborigines and the people I refer to as the Reserve Dwellers, as well as the local hospital and a group of hospital resident medical officers who I refer to as the Residents. During the field research I found that both Reserve Dwellers and the Residents experienced a difficult relationship during their interactions in medical consultations in the hospital clinics. Now in this dissertation I ask an overarching question of my time-lag field data. It is How can we understand the problematic relationship between indigenous reserve-dwelling help-seekers and biomedical practitioners at their local hospital clinics in the 1980s. To describe this problematic relationship I analyse time-lag data from my diaried participant observation at both the reserves and the hospital; semi-structured interviews with the hospital Residents; case studies and case histories of consenting help-seekers from the Reserves; and illustrative transcriptions of consultations between Residents and Reserve Dwellers that were tape recorded by the Residents during hospital clinics. The contemporary ethnomedical system of the Reserve Dwellers was inclusive of biomedicalized clinics and the Residents as clinicians at this remote hospital in the 1980s. I provide an ethnographic account of a changing contemporary indigenous ethnomedical system and describe the lifeways of the Reserve Dwellers in the 1980s; their pattern of help-seeking at their local hospital including grievous happenings; and their experiences in outpatients clinics and the emergency section of the local non-indigenous hospital. Their lifeways and help-seeking were in many ways defined by the collective sociality of Kalkadunga and other regional indigenous cultures as impoverished, very sick survivors of a genocidal contact history less than 100 years before. This local history is also reconstructed. The Residents view of local indigenous illness, help-seeking, and experiences of biomedicalised hospital clinics further describe the socio-cultural reality of the time. I found that the Residents had an insightful, even predictive assessment of local illness burden. At the same time, they held strong views about a pattern of help-seeking in the outpatients and emergency clinics that was considered disruptive of hospital routines. I also describe how they expressed their difficulties interacting with Aboriginal help-seekers including the taking of biomedical histories. My thesis is that a localized socio-clinical reality was shaped by a synchronic, coeval relationship between Reserve Dwellers enculturated within a changing, contemporary ethnomedical belief system that incorporated biomedicalized hospital clinics, and the Residents as clinicians enculturated within a culture of biomedical science at a remote hospital. I argue that the lifeways and pattern of help-seeking of the Reserve Dwellers, as well as the Residents’ views about sick indigenous help-seekers, formed this particular socio-clinical reality. It was then consistently replicated by problematic socio-clinical interaction and biomedicalized praxis that inhibited investigation and curative outcomes for the Reserve Dwellers and other indigenous help-seekers.

An ethnographic study of the day-to-day lives and identities of people who are homeless in Brisbane

Cameron Parsell — 2010-04-22T00:00:00Z

Abstract People who are homeless are portrayed to be a distinct type of ‘homeless person’. Within scholarly research literature, their state of homelessness has been presented as informative of who they are. On both an individual and collective level, people without homes are ascribed with identities on the basis of their homelessness. Their voices and perspectives rarely contribute to broader knowledge about who they are as people. As such, the imposed ‘homeless identity’ has the consequence of positioning them as ‘other’ than the ‘normal’ people with homes. Using an ethnographic approach, this study aims to understand the day-to-day lives and identities of people who are homeless. Approximately one hundred people who slept and interacted within inner suburban Brisbane’s public places participated in this research. To learn about how they lived and who they saw themselves as individuals, I observed them, socialised with them, engaged them in informal conversations and formal interviews. This approach to fieldwork, conducted over a six month period, provided me with the opportunity to witness diverse aspects of daily lives. Further, the ethnographic engagement enabled a consideration of the ways people enacted and displayed different aspects of their identities across different social and physical places. For the individuals who participated in this study, there was a stark distinction between how they lived, on the one hand, and the type of people they identified themselves as, on the other. They were comfortable describing their lives in ways that deviated from what they saw as the ‘mainstream’, but at the same time, they aligned themselves with this ‘mainstream’. Research participants expressed a strong view that their experiences of homelessness did not offer any purchase in explaining who they were, and how they thought about the world. The public places in which they lived were perceived as problematic. Public places were dangerous and the site of unwanted interactions. Although living in public places meant that interactions and friendships with other people who were homeless was a reality, these interactions did not constitute a ‘homeless collective’. More fundamentally, however, living in public places meant having no legitimate places, and having limited capacity to control day-to-day lives. The participants in this research articulated stereotypical notions of what home meant to them – home was a physical structure, a house. Similarly, home was a solution to their lives as homeless. Their constructions of home can also be seen as symbolic of their aspirations to find their ‘place’, and engage in the ‘mainstream’ society they feel disconnected from. While public places were associated with limited control over daily lives, the people in this research also exercised agency in enacting different aspects of their identities. Mediated by the social and physical constraints within their environment, they displayed an awareness of social expectations and emphasised elements of the self to achieve specific ends. Identities matter. An understanding of the identities of people experiencing homelessness, from their perspectives, can contribute toward the development of homelessness practice and policy responses. A distinction is made between solving problems people may have and solving homelessness. In terms of the latter, the thesis concludes that the provision of ‘normal’ housing and the availability of support, as distinct from mandatory engagement with case management, is the most appropriate response to the needs of the people who participated in this research.

An evaluation of current industrialisation in East Java and its potential for future development

Singgih, Moses L. — 2011-05-20T00:00:00Z

An Evaluation of Group Stepping Stones Triple P for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Gemma Roux — 2010-07-23T00:00:00Z

Abstract The primary focus of this research project was an evaluation of the Group Stepping Stones Triple P parenting program for parents of a child with a disability. In addition there was an investigation into the similarities and differences in child behaviour and parenting experience, and program outcomes, for families of children with different developmental disabilities. While the Triple P Positive Parenting Program has an impressive evidence base (Sanders, 1999; Sanders, Markie-Dadds, Tully & Bor, 2000) and research indicates that the standard Stepping Stones Triple P Program is efficacious for different disability groups (Roberts, Mazzucchelli, Studman & Sanders, 2006) and for parents of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (Whittingham, Sofronoff, Sheffield & Sanders, 2009), to date the group version of Stepping Stones Triple P has not been comprehensively evaluated, nor the efficacy of the program evaluated when administered concurrently to parents of children with different developmental disabilities. Currently, there is a lack of participant-friendly, evidence-based group parenting programs that can be utilised in a cost-effective manner with all parents of children with disabilities. Many interventions have been designed specifically to cater to the requirements of a particular disability group. While there is some divergence in disability characteristics and in the experience of families of children with different disabilities, there is compelling evidence that many of the most challenging experiences faced by parents of disabled children (such as emotional and behavioural disturbance and delays in skill development) are shared by many disability populations (Raina et al., 2005; Bourke et al., 2008). Consequently there is empirical support for the implementation of a broad, skill-based parenting program for all parents of children with disabilities. The first study in this research project was a randomised controlled trial the Group Stepping Stones Triple P program for parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Down syndrome, other intellectual disabilities and Cerebral Palsy. Fifty-two families were included in this trial and were randomly allocated to treatment and wait-list control groups. The results demonstrate significant improvements in child behaviour and parenting difficulties that were maintained at follow-up six months later. For over a third of participants the change in child behaviour and parenting styles was clinically reliable (Jacobsen & Truax, 1991; Evans, Margison & Barkham, 1998). In addition, the majority of parents reported the attainment of their program goals following the intervention. The second study was a comparison of program outcomes for parents from different disability groups. The sample was divided into two groups; parents of children with ASD and parents of children with intellectual and physical disabilities. The results demonstrated significant improvements in child behaviour and parenting difficulties from pre- to post-intervention for both the ASD group and the Intellectual and Physical disability group. For a third of parents in the ASD group and over a third of parents in the Intellectual and Physical disability group, the changes were clinically reliable (Jacobsen & Truax, 1991; Evans et al., 1998). In addition, the means for both groups on the child behaviour, parenting style and parental psychological functioning variables were compared. The results indicated that there were some differences in child behaviour, parenting styles and parent distress between the two groups, and in the program goals set by parents. However, overall the results revealed no systematic differences in treatment outcomes across disability groups, demonstrating that the program was effective for families of children with ASD and families of children with Intellectual and Physical disabilities. Finally, a series of three case evaluations were conducted to examine program outcomes and differences in child behaviour and parenting experiences for the families of a child with ASD, Down syndrome and Cerebral palsy. The results of the case studies revealed significant improvements in child behaviour and parenting styles for all three families, along with high levels of program satisfaction and successful attainment of parenting goals. For all three families these changes in child behaviour and parenting style were clinically reliable (Jacobsen & Truax, 1991; Evans et al., 1998) and maintained at six-month follow up. The results also provided information about the similarities and differences in parenting experiences, child behaviour and program goals across the three disabilities. Overall, this research project has demonstrated that the Group Stepping Stones Triple P program is an effective parenting intervention for challenging behaviour and dysfunctional parenting in families of children with a range of developmental disabilities. The results of this research provide evidence to suggest that mixed disability group format used in the administration of the Group Stepping Stones Triple P program did not preclude positive program outcomes. Finally, the results of this research project indicate that there are many shared parenting experiencing across families of children with different disabilities and that regardless of observed differences in disability characteristics and family experiences, the Group Stepping Stones Triple P program is sufficiently flexible and comprehensive in its scope to meet the needs of families from different disability populations.

An evaluation of learning styles, learning issues and learning problems of Confucian heritage culture students studying hospitality and tourism management in Australia

Barron, Paul Edward. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

An evaluation of the effectiveness of differing levels of extension assistance in improving the adoption and management of small-scale forestry in Leyte Island, the Philippines

John Baynes — 2010-02-27T00:00:00Z

This thesis presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of an agroforestry extension program to smallholder farmers on Leyte Island, the Philippines. The imperative for reforestation is well recognised in the Philippines and was the impetus for this program which provided farmers with assistance to establish and silviculturally manage timber trees on their land. Because the cost-effectiveness of agroforestry extension is increased if farmers develop self-efficacy without extensive training, the extension program was offered in two regimes to test the necessity for extended assistance. In the extended assistance regime, farmers were offered on-site assistance to collect seed, grow seedlings, prepare sites and establish trees, whereas in the limited assistance regime, farmers were only offered assistance to collect seed and grow seedlings. Descriptive statistics were collected of farmers’ acceptance of technology and the manner in which technology was adapted to suit their personal circumstances. Translated conversations between farmers and extension staff also provided a rich source of data which provided insights into farmers’ motivation. Extension activities were reviewed at a mid-program workshop, a final on-site inspection and an end-of-program workshop. Farmers responded positively to the extended assistance program which helped them to grow and out-plant seedlings. The limited assistance program was relatively unsuccessful. Overall, the extension program was successful in shifting the initiative for further planting from extension staff to participating farmers. However, farmers showed little interest in applying silvicultural thinning or pruning to existing plantations of trees because extension advice was not congruent with their existing mental models of these procedures. Systems modelling of socio-economic variables which had been found to affect program outcomes was used to predict critical success factors. A key constraint to program recruitment was found to be farmers’ perception of harvest security, even when their needs for technology and planting materials are met. Modelling also cast doubt on the usefulness of written extension materials and emphasised the necessity for extended face-to-face technical assistance. Although conducted in Leyte, the findings of this research provide guidance for issues which affect the adoption of agroforestry both in the Philippines and in other countries. The research found that it was possible to recruit and motivate farmers without providing material incentives. If farmers experienced unexpected problems, providing extended face-to-face contact and assistance was critical if catastrophic losses of participating farmers were to be avoided. The failure of attempts to introduce advanced-age silviculture also indicated a need to elicit farmers’ mental models as a precursor or parallel enquiry to extension activities. In a situation where little was initially known about farmers’ understanding of agroforestry technology or the variables which affect their acceptance or rejection of extension assistance, the results of this research have shown that it is possible to build the capacity of farmers to establish timber trees. This result is in contrast to the acknowledged failure of the logging concession system in the Philippines and the difficulties faced by some industrial plantations and community-based programs. This investigation has shown that an opportunity exists to lift the level of tree planting in Leyte, provided that system variables which are either critical success factors or impediments are addressed.

An evaluation of the impact of an education kit on paediatric nursing triage

Malyon, Lorelle Joy — 2012-09-12T00:00:00Z

An evaluation of the implementation of online services content regulation in Australia

Young, Sherman. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

A New Architecture for Virtual Private Networking with Reconfigurable System-on-Chip Technology

Wee, Chin — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

As Internet connectivity becomes ubiquitous, so does the need for network safety and security. The major concerns are to keep private data secure from unwanted access and this can be done using a virtual private network (VPN). Current VPN technologies based on embedded systems with software-only algorithm implementations are difficult to scale to the network speeds and algorithmic complexity required. A solution to this problem will be proposed in this research project using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based reconfigurable Systemon- Chip (rSoC) technology A 3DES-CBC core with key generator that achieves more than 100Mbit/s of encryption or decryption while occupying about 608 slices in a Xilinx FPGA is presented. This will allow the 3DES core to be implemented in much smaller FPGAs or put together with other cores to form the rSoC on the same chip. Coupling the flexibility of the rSoC and hardware cipher cores can be an effective solution to the current real world requirement for a flexible and affordable VPN platform. The accessible performance of hardware cryptographic accelerator cores after integration to a reconfigurable System-on-Chip is a relatively unexplored area. There is also little work done on a stream aware cipher core for reconfigurable systems. This thesis presents a novel architecture, the Multi Stream Cipher Architecture (MSCA), which allows a cipher core to operate on multiple cipher streams without software context switching. This architecture will also allow a single point of interface for multiple different cipher cores to be integrated with the reconfigurable System-on-Chip. The architecture is integrated to the MicroBlaze soft-processor running the uClinux operating system. Different access methods in uClinux are also examined in this thesis. A user space device driver has been written in uClinux to access the cryptographic architecture. It can achieve a throughput of 45Mbps. The kernel space device driver has also been written in uClinux to run on the Open Crypto Framework (OCF). This driver can achieve a maximum throughput of 12Mbps but offers various other benefits compared to the user space driver. A popular VPN application for PC-based Linux systems has also been ported to uClinux and the performance tested. Based on the results of these evaluations, this thesis also examines the implications of using different access methods specifically their performance and accessibility.