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

A Problematic Sublime: Social Suffering and Testimony in Pat Barker's Novels

Mary Trabucco — 2011-09-19T00:00:00Z

In this thesis, I explore Pat Barker’s use of the sublime as a source of both moral authority and ethical ambiguity. Through an analysis of six novels and a short story that appeared between the 1980s and the turn of the twenty-first century, I suggest that the sublime is an essential element in Barker’s writing, like a troubling speck on the retina that both plagues and enables her ethical vision. The sublime at once ruptures her realistic representation of social suffering and her depiction of the urban ruins of postindustrial England, and underpins her critical examination of testimony and witnessing. Neil Hertz has described the sublime as a “passage to the limit,” and while retaining this influential sense of the extraordinary and traumatic, I show Barker’s use of the sublime as a pragmatic mechanism that highlights the contradictions between the ethical and the political in her novels. In my first chapter, that contradiction is between trauma and mourning in Union Street (1982), Liza’s England (1986), and the Regeneration trilogy (1991–1995), while in the second chapter it is between limitlessness and regionalism in place writing, and includes the later texts Border Crossing (2001) and “Subsidence” (2003). In my last chapter, the contradiction revealed by the sublime is between amoral and moral versions of history in Border Crossing and Double Vision (2003). Through a reading of this selection of novels, I argue that the sublime reveals an irreconcilable tension between Barker’s ethics of indeterminacy and political values of communal consensus and moral repair.

A product-oriented patient classification for Australian public hospitals : the basis for a management information system

Nicholson, Colin Lionel. — 2010-11-26T00:00:00Z

A profile of oestrogrens and a survey of endocrine disrupters in marine turtles of Australia and Malaysia

Coufal, Kendra. — 2011-04-29T00:00:00Z

A proposal for a naturalised epistemology of logic

Watson, Stephen George — 2007-08-24T18:25:01Z

A quantitative study of the nitration of the 1- and 2- methyl and methoxynaphthalenes

Alcorn, P. G. E. — 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z

A Quota of Heartbeats: a novel & The Interminable Son: a radio documentary

Sewell, Hamish — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

This thesis is comprised of two creative works: a compact disk recording of a radio feature, The Interminable Son, and a seventy-two thousand word novel, A Quota of Heartbeats. There is also a short contextualizing introduction to both pieces and their genesis. The introduction looks at the drafting of the novel, A Quota of Heartbeats (AQOH). It focuses on the shortcomings of the earlier draft, the Untitled Novel, the forces at play, and how the final draft, AQOH, has moved away from the earlier autobiographical provenance to now work within the conventions of the novel. The radio feature and the novel are placed next to each other in this thesis in order to contrast them. They represent opposite ends of the story telling process. The radio feature began in 1999 and heralds the raw, autobiographic seeds of a story. It was commissioned by Radio Nationals Radio Eye in 2000. It covers fifteen years, from the mid 1970s to the late 1980s, and documents Hamish Sewells return to New Zealand where he reckons with the legacy of his mother, Elizabeth Sewell. Elizabeth was a notable New Zealand feminist and abortion campaigner during the seventies and eighties who died in 1989. The radio documentary adopts a creative style and is comprised of personal interviews with Elizabeths former colleagues, archival sound bytes and personal reflections and flashbacks from Hamish (see recording details of the radio script in Appendix B). Similar to the radio feature, A Quota of Heartbeats is also set in New Zealand during the 1970s and 1980s and concerns the issues of feminism, abortion politics and a central, motherson dynamic. At its heart, however, is the relationship and unfolding lives of senior New Zealand politician, Maddy Serron; her youngest son, Liam Serron, and Maddys feminist friend and Liams lover, Kimberley Thompson. It is primarily told through the eyes of Maddy and Liam within a duel past-present time frame. It follows Liam Serrons returns from Australia to New Zealand to see his dying mother in Wellington. Meanwhile, his mother, Maddy Serron, waits for him on the rocky vantage overlooking the sea while she contemplates her life as an activist, politician, mother, and her impending death. The closer Liam gets to his mother, the more the mother-son struggle from the past is revealed, and how the woman, Kimberley Thompson, changed their lives.

Arabic emphatics and gutturals: a phonetic and phonological study

Shar, Saeed Ahmed M. — 2012-08-09T00:00:00Z

A rainforest and its rodents

Freeland, William J — 2012-12-06T09:48:38Z

A Randomised Cluster Study of an Intervention Aimed at Improving the Health Outcomes of Adults with an Intellectual Disability

Lennox, Nicholas — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

A randomised trial of novel upper limb rehabilitation in children with congenital hemiplegia.

Sakzewski, Leanne — 2010-08-06T00:00:00Z

Abstract Background Congenital hemiplegia is the most common form of cerebral palsy accounting for 1 in 1300 live births. Children usually present with greater upper limb than lower limb involvement. Impaired unimanual capacity of the involved upper limb and deficits in bimanual performance contribute to difficulties with day to day activities and participation in home, school and community life. Interventions to address these deficits in upper limb unimanual capacity and bimanual performance have recently shifted focus to address limitations in activity performance rather than underlying impairments. One intensive intervention approach is constraint induced movement therapy, which entails placing a constraint on the unimpaired upper limb to focus intense and repetitive training of the impaired upper limb. To date, it is unclear whether constraint induced movement therapy is superior to a more traditional bimanual therapy to improve activity performance and participation outcomes for children with congenital hemiplegia, as there has been no direct comparison of the two approaches. Aim The primary aim of this research was to determine whether constraint induced movement therapy was more effective than bimanual training to improve activity performance and participation for children with congenital hemiplegia. The specific aims were to: i) determine the efficacy of therapeutic upper limb interventions on activity and participation outcomes for children with congenital hemiplegia, ii) systematically review the clinimetric properties (psychometric properties and clinical utility) of participation assessment tools for children with congenital hemiplegia, iii) examine the relationship between impairments, unimanual capacity and bimanual performance in children with congenital hemiplegia and, iv) determine whether constraint induced movement therapy is more effective than bimanual training to improve activity and participation outcomes for children with congenital hemiplegia. Research Design A matched pairs randomised design was chosen with children matched for age, gender, side of hemiplegia and upper limb function. Children were randomised within pairs to receive either constraint induced movement therapy or bimanual training in equal dosages. Both interventions used a day camp model, with groups receiving the same dosage and content of intervention delivered in the same environment. A novel circus theme was used in the camps to enhance children’s engagement and motivation. Children in the constraint induced movement therapy group wore a tailor made glove on their unimpaired hand during the intervention camp. Outcomes were measured across all domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health at baseline, 3 and 26 weeks post intervention. The primary outcome measure for unimanual capacity of the impaired upper limb was the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function, and bimanual performance was the Assisting Hand Assessment. A secondary outcome measure for unimanual capacity was the Jebsen Taylor Test of Hand Function. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was used as the primary outcome for participation and three measures, the Assessment of Life Habits, Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment and the School Function Assessment were included to explore their research utility and responsiveness to change. Results Two systematic reviews were performed prior to the commencement of the randomised trial. The first systematic review and meta-analysis of all upper limb interventions for children with congenital hemiplegia identified four treatment approaches with varying evidence to support their efficacy. Interventions included the use of intramuscular Botulinum toxin A injections to the upper limb augmenting upper limb training, neurodevelopmental treatment, constraint induced movement therapy and hand arm intensive bimanual training. Data were pooled for upper limb, self care and individualised outcomes. Results indicated a small to medium treatment effect favouring all four interventions on upper limb outcomes. Large treatment effects favoured intramuscular Botulinum toxin A injections combined with upper limb training for individualised outcomes. Overall, the systematic review and meta-analysis found no upper limb training approach to be superior although Botulinum toxin A injections appeared to provide a consistent supplementary benefit to a variety of upper limb training approaches. However it was unclear which type of upper limb training was optimal. Findings suggested that the two intensive intervention approaches that are the focus of this randomised controlled trial, constraint induced movement therapy and bimanual intensive training, required further research to support their efficacy. The second systematic review was performed to inform choice of participation measures for the randomised comparison trial. The review identified five specific measures of participation suitable for school aged children with congenital hemiplegia (Assessment of Life Habits, Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment, School Function Assessment (participation domain), Children Helping Out: Responsibilities and Expectations, School Outcome Measure) and two measures of individualised outcomes that could include specific participation goals (Goal Attainment Scaling and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure). Results suggested that no one measure adequately captured all aspects of participation as outlined in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and a combination of assessments would be required to broadly assess children’s participation in home, school and community life. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was selected as the primary outcome measure in the randomised trial as it had strong evidence for validity and reliability, had been used in paediatric clinical trials and was responsive to change. Three measures of participation, the Assessment of Life Habits which was completed by the parent/caregiver, the Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment which was completed by the child, and the School Function Assessment, which was completed by the child’s teacher, were selected to explore the research utility of the measures and their responsiveness to change. Analysis of cross-sectional data collected during screening and baseline assessments for the randomised trial found a strong relationship between bimanual performance and unimanual capacity. Scores on the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function and stereognosis accounted for a significant amount of variance in scores on the Assisting Hand Assessment. There were only moderate associations between impairments (eg. sensory deficits and reduced grip strength) and bimanual performance and unimanual capacity. Age, gender, grip strength and two-point discrimination did not significantly influence bimanual performance. Results of the randomised controlled trial found no differences between groups on any baseline measure. A significant difference between groups favouring the constraint induced movement therapy group was found at 26 weeks on the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function. There were no differences between groups on any other measure at either immediately post intervention at 3 weeks or in the medium term at 26 weeks. The constraint induced movement therapy group made significant gains in unimanual capacity (Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function and Jebsen Taylor Test of Hand Function) from baseline to 3 and 26 weeks. The bimanual group demonstrated significant improvement in movement efficiency (Jebsen Taylor Test of Hand Function) by 26 weeks. Significant gains in bimanual performance (Assisting Hand Assessment) were evidenced for both groups from baseline to 3 weeks. These gains were maintained at 26 weeks by the bimanual group only. There were no differences between groups on any participation measures. Both constraint induced movement therapy and bimanual training groups made statistically and clinically significant changes in perceived performance and satisfaction of identified functional goals from baseline to 3 and 26 weeks. Significant gains were made by both groups in personal care on the Assessment of Life Habits from baseline to 26 weeks. There were no changes for either group on the School Function Assessment and Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment. Conclusions This study found minimal differences between the two training approaches. Outcomes achieved by children reflected the mode of upper limb training, that is, improved and sustained gains in unimanual capacity were achieved with a unimanual approach (constraint induced movement therapy), and significant change in bimanual performance was achieved following bimanual training. The constraint induced movement therapy group made initial improvements in bimanual performance that were not sustained at 26 weeks, suggesting that intensive unimanual training may need to be followed by bimanual training in order to retain effects. Both interventions resulted in significant improvements in the achievement of individualised outcomes. Small gains in participation appeared to correspond with specific goal areas identified by children and their caregivers and highlighted the importance of goal directed training and measuring individualised outcomes. Regardless of the type of approach, intervention needs to be goal-directed, focusing on areas of central importance for children and their families.

40Ar/39Ar and (U-Th)/He dating of weathered landsurfaces on the rifted continental margin of Southern Brazil

Riffel, Silvana Bressan — 2012-12-04T00:00:00Z

Archaeological residue and starch analysis Interpretation and taphonomy

Haslam, Michael Alan — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Microscopic analyses of artefact residues and sediment microfossils follow a sequence of sample selection, observation, description, identification and interpretation. Each of these stages requires separate, but inter-related, methodologies contributing to the eventual published or disseminated results. Archaeologists are increasingly using residue and microfossil identifications and interpretations to discuss artefact function and site development, making inferences about past subsistence and other activities that in turn impact on broader debates about past economic and social practices. It is the contention of this thesis that the stages of archaeological microscopic analysis themselves require closer examination, as a means of assessing and progressing the viability of reconstructions drawn by residue and microfossil analysts. In particular, three components are examined: identification, taphonomy, and the underlying theoretical framework of residue and microfossil interpretation. These components are investigated using light microscopic analysis of ancient starch and stone-tool residues, with a focus on research conducted, and by researchers based, in the Australasian region. A selection of published peer-reviewed papers forms the central chapters of the thesis. These studies investigate archaeological starch identification and misidentification, ancient starch taphonomy (including decomposition, preservation and movement through sediments) and the value of social-archaeological theory in archaeological stone-tool residue analysis. The roles of analytical scale and narrative presentation are explored as one way of coming to terms with, and communicating the findings of, typically smallscale analyses that record the results of very specific past actions. Original introductory and concluding chapters contextualise the research within current and past trends in microscopic residue and microfossil interpretation. This discussion includes the influence of sample sizes over the validity of stone-tool residue analyses and the place of quantitative and qualitative approaches to archaeological sediment starch studies. Outcomes of the project include an emphasis on understanding taphonomic transformation of recovered residue and microfossil assemblages, recognition of the role played by identification in subsequent interpretation, and the contribution of an alternate theoretical and methodological framework for interpreting microscopic residues on stone artefacts.

A REAL-TIME EXAMINATION OF LEXICAL AMBIGUITY RESOLUTION FOLLOWING LESIONS OF THE DOMINANT NONTHALAMIC SUBCORTEX

Copland, David Andrew — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

The role of the basal ganglia in human language function remains unknown, despite a corpus of literature documenting the association between vascular lesions of the dominant nonthalamic subcortical (NS) region and disordered language. Theories of subcortical language function have been postulated (e.g., Crosson, 1985; Wallesch & Papagno, 1988), however, research in this field has remained largely data-driven, providing limited descriptions of individuals with vascular NS lesions in terms of performance on standard off-line language measures. This approach has failed to reveal the underlying nature of these language deficits ÂlocallyÂ in terms of various dynamic and temporally constrained linguistic and nonlinguistic component processes. The current series of studies are based largely on the premise that such empirical data has the potential to speak more directly to the cogency of current theories proposing a subcortical role in language or related cognitive functions. The present thesis investigated the performance of individuals with dominant chronic vascular NS lesions, compared to matched control subjects, individuals with ParkinsonÂs disease (PD) (also assumed to have NS dysfunction) and subjects with cortical lesions (CL), on a series of experiments which allowed for the real-time examination of language processing, manipulating the degree to which automatic and attentional/strategic processing is invoked. The theoretical underpinning of these experiments hinges primarily on the proposed role of frontal-subcortical systems in mediating aspects of language via attentional/strategic mechanisms. Accordingly, it was hypothesised that the locus of impairment for individuals with NS lesions would be centred selectively on those facets of language processing which require increased recourse to these proposed frontal-subcortical cognitive capacities. The language abilities of 15 subjects with chronic dominant NS lesions, 15 matched control subjects, 14 matched subjects with CL, and 12 matched individuals with PD were examined initially on the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and the Boston Naming Test (BNT). Most NS subjects were classified as non-aphasic according to the WAB, however, circumscribed deficits were evidenced, typically in generative and confrontation naming. In contrast, the CL group showed significant deficits on most aspects of the WAB compared to matched normal control subjects, and presented with a more severe impairment than NS subjects overall on the WAB and in confrontation naming and repetition. The PD group performance was not significantly different from the matched control group, while PD subjects performed better than the NS group overall on the WAB. The same cohort of NS, CL, PD, and control subjects undertook a battery of complex language measures designed to place a range of higher-order cognitive demands on the language processing system. This battery included subtests from the Test of Language Competence-Expanded Edition (TLC-E), the Test of Word Knowledge (TOWK), and The Word Test-Revised (TWT-R). The NS, CL, and PD subjects presented with marked disturbances in those tasks involving cognitive-linguistic flexibility, sentence formulation, indeterminacy of meaning, and metalinguistic manipulation of the lexical-semantic system. Collectively, the off-line results suggest that those aspects of language processing which are more heavily reliant on higher-order cognitive capacities are selectively compromised in subjects with NS lesions and PD. This assumption was further examined and substantiated in a series of on-line lexical ambiguity priming experiments performed by a subset of the original NS subjects (n = 10), matched control subjects (n = 10), matched CL subjects (n=10), and matched PD subjects (n = 10). When lexical ambiguities were presented in a single word context as word triplets, NS subjects showed rapid nonselective lexical activation, suggesting that intact lexical-semantic information could be accessed via automatic routines, similar to control subjects. Unlike control subjects, however, NS subjects were unable to sustain any form of significant activation, implying a selective impairment in the ability to manipulate lexical-semantic information through attentional/controlled processing. This breakdown was qualitatively different to the controlled processing disturbance evidenced by CL subjects, who maintained nonselective meaning facilitation over time, while PD subjects showed a pattern of selective priming consistent with a reduction in attentional processing. The emerging picture of a dissociation between intact automatic processing and compromised attentional/strategic lexical processing in the NS subjects was further elucidated in an experiment examining the processing of unequibiased lexical ambiguities in isolation. In this study, NS and PD subjects showed rapid nonselective meaning facilitation, again implying intact automatic lexical processing. While control and CL subjects evidenced multiple meaning activation followed by selective facilitation of the dominant meaning, NS and PD subjects were unable to achieve selective meaning facilitation, instead showing a protracted period of nonselective lexical activation. This finding suggested that when ambiguities were encountered in isolation, there was not an absolute breakdown in attentional processing per se, but rather a circumscribed deficit in the selective attentional engagement of the semantic network on the basis of meaning frequency, possibly implicating a disturbance of inhibitory mechanisms within the semantic network. A cross-modal priming experiment was used to investigate how lexical ambiguities were processed and resolved in a biased sentential context. Initially, lexical activation for the neurological patient groups appeared influenced by contextual information to a greater extent than in normal controls, which may indicate delayed lexical decision making or disturbed automatic lexical access. Only the PD and NS individuals failed to then maintain selective facilitation of the contextually appropriate meaning, suggesting a breakdown in the attention-based control and maintenance of semantic activation on the basis of integrated sentential constraints. This finding was extended in another cross-modal priming experiment, where NS and PD subjects appeared unable to use discourse-level information to select meanings and develop topical inferences via attentional/strategic mechanisms, while CL subjects showed a selective disturbance of inference development. The results of this thesis have served to delineate certain dynamic aspects of language processing in individuals with NS lesions in terms of automatic lexical processing components and processes involving the attentional/strategic selection of meaning on the basis of meaning frequency and various types of contextual information. In general, the NS group showed a demarcation between intact automatic processing and a breakdown in attentional/strategic processing which was manifest differently depending on the conditions under which processing was invoked. Furthermore, the performance of NS subjects on attentional operations was able to be dissociated under certain conditions from CL group performance and was similar to the PD groupÂs performance in certain instances. These preliminary findings are consistent with recent theories proposing a role for frontal-subcortical systems in the Âtop-downÂ modulation of semantic processing via executive attentional and strategic mechanisms. Although a disturbance in these systems provides a parsimonious explanation of the NS and PD group performance, such conclusions are drawn tentatively with the caveat that the precise neuropathological basis of cognitive-linguistic deficits in these individuals remains unclear at present.

A reappraisal of chloropast structure using novel techniques

Mehta, Monaz. — 2011-04-28T00:00:00Z

Are contingencies between edges and colour in perceptual aftereffects mediated by learned associations between orientation and colour?

Shaw, Craig — 2010-12-06T00:00:00Z

A reefscape approach for characterising the dynamics of macroalgal cover in Shark Bay Reef Flat, Heron Reef, Australia

Canto, Robert Franklin Chiongson — 2012-09-18T00:00:00Z

A regenerative road load simulator

Ian Alastair Stringer — 2012-11-28T00:00:00Z

A regional Investigation of the Thermal and Fluid Flow History of the Drummond Basin, Central Queensland, Australia.

Morrison, Christopher Stedman — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Abstract The Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous Drummond Basin of central Queensland, Australia is one of the oldest units of the New England Fold Belt. Samples of authigenic clay minerals have been collected from across the Drummond Basin and analysed using mineralogic, isotopic and geochronologic techniques. X-Ray diffraction analysis on 36 samples selected from six exploration wells was carried out on volcaniclastic and argillaceous sandstones and mudstones of the Drummond Basin sequence in order to ascertain authigenic illite content. Sixteen samples were found to be suitable for K-Ar dating purposes, containing abundant illite and illite/smectite mixed layers (I/S). K-Ar age dating was carried out on these selected samples yielding three age groups at 300, 250 and 200 Ma. Temperature of formation was estimated for the authigenic illite and illite/smectite minerals, based on illite crystallinity and illite content of illite/smectite mixed layers. Two groups of temperatures have been delineated, with a high temperature assemblage of between 275¨¬C-320¨¬C and a low temperature assemblage of approximately 100¨¬C. When compared with the age groups, it is seen that the older event was typically hotter. Stable isotope compositions for the authigenic clay minerals were analysed with ¥äD and ¥ä18O values of between -68¢¶ to -117¢¶ and +7.5¢¶ to +14.4¢¶ (SMOW) respectively. Isotopic compositions for the fluid in equilibrium with the clay minerals were calculated using palaeotemperatures estimated from the clay mineralogy and range between -90¢¶ and -41¢¶ and -0.6¢¶ and +8.7¢¶ (SMOW) for hydrogen and oxygen respectively. These compositions are more depleted in deuterium and more enriched in 18O than those previously reported for basins in the region. The data also produced three groups of fluid compositions, which correlate with the age distributions delineated by the K-Ar geochronology. The first fluid composition, which correlated with the Permo-Carboniferous age (~300 Ma) is interpreted to result from a mixing of Permo-Carboniferous meteoric water with highly evolved formation water trapped within the Drummond Basin since deposition of the basin. The regional extensional event at the Permo-Carboniferous boundary, which initiated the opening of the Bowen Basin to the east of the Drummond Basin allowed meteoric water to percolate deep into the basin, enabling the growth of illite rich clay minerals at this time. The second fluid group is considered to represent the evolution of Late Triassic meteoric water migrating through the Drummond Basin during another extensional period in the region at approximately 200 Ma. This event precipitated a new period of clay mineral growth in the basin (reflected in the K-Ar dates), raised the geothermal gradient in the region and extended the crust, forming new sedimentary basins within the New England Fold Belt. The third assemblage of fluid compositions were found to be very similar to the Late Triassic group, with ¥äD and ¥ä18O values plotting very close to the Late Triassic meteoric water evolution trend. This is interpreted as representing the same fluid as that which produced the Late Triassic compositions and therefore the 250 Ma ages may represent partial resetting of older ages by the Late Triassic thermal episode. However, if it is assumed that these K-Ar ages are not old ages partially reset by a thermal event, the stable isotope data could represent a mixing of Mid-Late Permian meteoric water with formation water trapped in the basin. This event may represent the regional compressive Hunter-Bowen event and may be responsible for dewatering the basin before the Late Triassic extensional episode.

Are nucleotides semi-essential micronutrients that benefit growth and resilience in penaeid prawns?

Hoang, Do Huu — 2013-02-01T11:18:05Z

A REVIEW OF DIETARY FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE AND A STUDY OF A POTENTIAL ROLE FOR OBESITY AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE TIMING OF ITS MEASUREMENT TO THE ONSET OF DISEASE

Christine Chapman-kiddell — 2012-05-24T00:00:00Z

INTRODUCTION The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), which include Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), are characterized by acute and chronic inflammatory changes in the small or large bowel, or in both. Increasing incidence and prevalence figures for IBD, both in the developed and developing world indicate that environmental factors are at least as significant in IBD as genetic susceptibility. Of these, diet and the host microbiota are likely to play important but as yet poorly defined roles. The major constituents of a standard ‘‘Western’’ diet may contribute to, or protect against, intestinal inflammation via several mechanisms. These include the effects of insulin resistance and short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, modification of intestinal permeability, the anti-inflammatory role of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the effect of sulfur compounds from protein on host microbiota. Recent evidence suggests an indirect role for diet via obesity which represents a low grade, chronic inflammatory state. This thesis critically assesses the evidence for the role of diet and in the development of IBD. 4 The incidence of CD appears to be increasing at a faster rate than UC which suggests environmental factors such as obesity may be playing an increasing role in the development of CD. No studies to date have investigated a direct role for obesity in the development of CD. However two studies have investigated the effect of increased BMI on disease distribution and severity of CD with obese CD patients being older at diagnosis and having an increased frequency of perianal complications. In both these studies weight was determined at time of diagnosis and during the course of the disease. This raises the possibility that weight loss prior to diagnosis may have resulted in misclassification of subjects previously obese as normal or underweight thereby biasing the results obtained. The aims of this research are to investigate this possibility by determining changes in body weight during the time between symptom onset and diagnosis and to assess differences in disease distribution, behaviour and severity between ‘overweight’ (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and ‘normal weight’ (BMI < 25 kg/m2) CD patients at both time points. METHODS Patients with a diagnosis of CD were identified from the Brisbane Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) database. Data regarding height and weight at onset of disease symptoms and at diagnosis were collected by patient postal questionnaire and chart audit. Outcomes included age at diagnosis, disease behaviour, disease distribution, bowel resections, immune-suppression, and family history. Incidence of overweight (BMI = 25 kg/m2) at onset of symptoms and at diagnosis was determined. Statistical analysis using chi-squared compared patients with BMI >25 against those with BMI ≤25. Information regarding length of time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis was obtained by chart audit. RESULTS A total of 341 subjects with CD who attended the RBWH between 1996 and 2006 were identified from the IBD database. Weight at onset of symptoms was determined for 163 (47.8%) and weight at diagnosis for 168 (49.3%) of the 341 CD patients identified from the IBD database. Data were available for 155 (45.5%) patients at both time points allowing calculation of weight change for this group. The majority lost weight (119 (76.8%)) with 59(38.10%) losing 10kg or more. Weight was stable in 30 (19.4%) subjects and 6 (4.1%) gained weight. Mean weight change was -8.6 ± 9.2 kg (range -46 to +7 kg). Compared to patients with a BMI < 25 kg/m2 patients with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 were significantly older at onset of symptoms and at diagnosis (p=0.003 at onset of symptoms, p= 0.01 at diagnosis). Compared to patients with a BMI < 25 kg/m2 more patients with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 had colonic disease at diagnosis (34.8% v 16.5% p = 0.08). There were no differences in gender, smoking 5 habits, Vienna classification, presence or absence of bowel resection, perianal disease, use of immunosuppressive drugs or family history between the BMI categories at either of onset of symptoms or diagnosis. Median length of time between symptom onset and diagnosis was 9 months (range 0-144 months) Mean length of time between symptom onset and diagnosis was 20.4 ± 23.4 months. CONCLUSIONS This study failed to reproduce the results of other studies but has shown that a considerable period of time may elapse between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis in adult patients with CD. During this time people may experience substantial weight loss resulting in misclassification of weight status. Therefore previous studies results, based on weight at diagnosis may be biased. When investigating associations between BMI and CD the BMI at disease symptom onset rather than diagnosis should be ascertained.

A review of sweet potato scab and studies on Fusarium wilt of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) and approaches to its management

Tony-George Gunua — 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

Stem or Fusarium wilt of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. is an important disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. batatas in cool temperate regions. Sweet potato farmers in Rockhampton have experienced tuber rots and stem wilts in the last two years. Laboratory procedures were followed to isolate causal pathogens from affected sweet potato tuber samples taken from Rockhampton, wilted stems from tissue cultured plants and wilted stem in glass house raised planst and test whether these rots and wilts were due to the infection by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. batatas or other pathogens. Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria alternata and Gibberella moniliformis (Fusarium verticillioides) were consistently isolated from affected tubers supplied by farmers, wilted tissue cultured plants and wilted plants grown in the glass house in Gatton. The Fusarium oxysporum and Alternaria alternata isolates were from sweet potato tubers and the Gibberella moniliformis (Fusarium verticillioides) isolates were from wilted stems from tissue cultered plants and plants raised in glass house. They were identified and given BRIP accession numbers. Fusarium oxysporium (BRIP 52431) denoted Foxy, Alternaria alternate (BRIP 52557) denoted Aa,. F. verticillioides isolates from tissue culture (BRIP 52428),denoted Fv1 and F. verticillioide from wilted stems in glass house (BRIP 52430) denoated as Fv2. The two F. verticillioides isolates Fv1 and Fv2 were more virulent in causing stem wilt than Fusarium oxysporium (Foxy) and Alternaria alternate (Aa) isolated from tubers. Inoculation with these isolates and pathogenicity studies on sweet potato cv. NG7570 in the glass house showed that inoculation of injured stems with agar culture blocks was the most effective method that incited wilt. A. alternata did not cause wilt so was excluded from further tests. Twelve (12) commercial cvs. of sweet potato showed varying degrees of tolerance when screened against the three Fusarium isolates under glasshouse conditions. The cultivars WSPF, Beauregard, L18 and NG7570 were the most susceptible while cv. L117 was highly tolerant, and the rest were moderately tolerant. Four fungicides (Chlorothalonil 720g/L a.i, carbendazim 500g/L a.i, mancozeb 750g/L a.i and zyban (Thiophanate-methyl and Mancozeb = 156g/kg-thiophanate –methyl a.i & 640g/kg mancozeb a.i) were compared for efficacy in total inhibition of fungal growth (EC100) in vitro against the three Fusarium isolates. These fungicide concentrations were then used as pre- and post-inoculation applications for control of wilt on sweet potato plants under glasshouse conditions. Carbendazim and zyban were effective both as curative and protectant fungicides whilst Chlorothalonil and mancozeb performed well as protectant fungicides. Sweet potato farmers can use all of these fungicides as protectants but only carbendazim and zyban as curative fungicides.

A review of technology transfer environments in the USA, Australia and Taiwan : the feasibility of technoloyg licensing in Taiwan's biotechnology industry

Shih, Yang-Chia Angela. — 2011-09-08T00:00:00Z

A revised theory of natural law : a response to the challenges of pluralism in multicultural, democratic societies under the rule of law

Sayers, Mark William. — 2010-12-07T00:00:00Z

Are Words with Effector Specific Motor Related Meaning Represented Somatotopically on the Motor Cortex?

Natasha Postle — 2010-07-15T00:00:00Z

Traditionally, language was proposed to be mediated by various left hemisphere perisylvian structures and the associated role of the motor cortices was limited to tasks such as articulation. Recent theoretical models have proposed that effector specific words with motor related meaning are represented somatotopically on the primary motor (Brodmann’s Area 4) and premotor (Brodmann’s Area 6) cortices. For example, it has been reported that when verbs associated with the hand (e.g., pick) are processed, the primary and premotor areas involved with moving the hand are engaged. However, fundamental methodological problems exist within the reported research. This thesis aimed to address and correct the inconsistencies and methodological limitations within the existing literature to provide more conclusive evidence regarding the involvement of the primary and premotor cortices in processing verbs with motor related meaning. This thesis also aimed to investigate whether the names of effectors (nouns) also involve processing by the motor cortices, either generally or somatotopically. Three behavioural dual task experiments and one fMRI experiment were conducted. Results indicated no evidence of somatotopically organised overlapping activation in the primary or premotor cortex between the various semantic categories of words and related effector movements. However, in the fMRI experiment, motor related verbs in general yielded significant overlapping activity between reading all effector related verbs and moving all effectors in the pre-supplementary motor area of the premotor cortex. These findings indicate that an embodied language involving somatotopic representations of effector specific verbs on the primary or premotor cortex is unlikely to be the case. Rather there appears to be a more general representation of effector related verbs in a more cognitive than motor area of the premotor cortex. The findings of this thesis are consistent a wealth of evidence supporting the motor cortices being generally associated with motor related language and with the idea that semantic representations are distributed throughout the brain according to the embodied cognitive framework, rather than being localised to amodal regions that process all words.

Aria

Holland-Batt, Sarah — 2008-11-19T00:00:00Z

Arid zone estuaries: nekton and trophic connectivity over heterogeneous landscapes.

Helen Penrose — 2011-10-25T00:00:00Z

Abstract Estuaries comprise key habitats that support primary and secondary production in the coastal zone. The degree of aridity plays a major role in shaping the physical conditions found within an estuary and, ultimately, the composition and distribution of intertidal habitats and associated fauna. Our current knowledge of estuarine carbon movement and fish trophic dynamics is derived from studies in temperate and wet tropical climates. Many regions of the world have arid tropical climates where extensive intertidal salt flats are encrusted with cyanobacterial mats. Whilst the role of cyanobacterial mats in delivering nutrients to coastal waters is well established, their use and trophic reliance by fish and prawns (nekton) is largely unknown and unquantified. Fundamental to understanding large-scale ecological processes and managing the integrity of coastal landscapes is knowledge of the connectivity between habitats. In this thesis I examined connectivity in relation to three major processes: i) physical habitat connectivity via tidal migrations of nekton (Chapter 2) ii) trophic connectivity via the assimilation and movement of carbon by nekton (Chapter 3), and iii) ontogenetic connectivity via the tidal movements of an elasmobranch (Chapter 4). The study location was the Exmouth Gulf of north-western Australia; one of the largest, unmodified arid tropical estuaries in the world, where high intertidal flats are the largest habitat in areal extent and are intermittently available to estuarine consumers on high spring tides. To define the assemblage of nekton relevant to the functioning of arid tropical estuaries, nekton was captured with fyke nets that were positioned within two contrasting landscapes (habitat mosaics): (1) cyanobacterial mats with spatially adjacent, extensive fringing mangroves (CM+M mosaic), and (2) cyanobacterial mats “without” extensive fringing mangroves (CM-M mosaic). A total of 32, 330 fish from 61 species within 32 families, and a total of 82, 996 crustaceans representing nine species within three families, were caught. Twenty five percent of the total fish catch were caught on the high intertidal cyanobacterial mat, representing 33 species. The abundance and composition of the nekton assemblage on the high intertidal cyanobacterial mat was thought to be influenced by the structural habitat complexity and/or geomorphology of the adjacent intertidal habitat(s). The landscape configuration is thought to influence habitat use by specific species and potentially the trophic pathways within and between the intertidal and subtidal habitats. Stable isotope (13C and 15N) and gut content analyses were used to test the hypothesis that fish use of cyanobacterial mat-associated resources was influenced by the landscape configuration. Cyanobacteria were the dominant carbon source for juvenile whiting (Sillago burrus: Sillaginidae), silver biddy (Gerres oyena: Gerreidae), north-west hardyhead (Craterocephalus capreoli: Atherinidae), and a new genus/species of family Gobiidae. The composition of prey items observed in the stomachs of fish was influenced by the landscape configuration for G. oyena, C. capreoli and estuarine glassfish (Ambassis vachelli: Ambassidae), as was the source of assimilated dietary carbon for G. oyena. Cyanobacteria were the dominant carbon source assimilated by these fish species in both mosaic types. The western school prawn, Metapenaeus dalli (Penaeidae), relied on cyanobacteria in the mosaic with adjacent mangroves, suggesting that the habitat value of the mangroves may facilitate habitat and trophic connectivity via the tidal movements of this species. Terrestrial sources were a major dietary component of the fish using the high intertidal habitat. My research establishes the important functional role of high intertidal cyanobacterial mats in supporting fisheries production. The role of arid tropical estuarine habitats in providing trophic support for the juvenile life stage of the giant shovelnose ray (Glaucostegus typus: Rhinobatidae) were examined with stomach content and dual-tissue (liver and white muscle) stable isotope analysis. Juvenile G. typus forage on benthic macroinvertebrate communities that rely on cyanobacteria and seagrass as a food source. This energy is transferred to the offshore pelagic food web during ontogenetic dietary shifts, where the rays are a food source for sharks. Although stomach content data indicated feeding in nearshore benthic habitats, the reliance on benthic carbon sources is not reflected in liver or muscle tissue until sufficient growth has occurred, diluting the maternal feeding signature that was derived from adults foraging in the pelagic food web. Isotopic equilibrium with the post-natal diet in G. typus is thought to occur when the animals reach between 60 and 90 cm total length. This thesis provides an assessment of the functional role of an important, but largely unstudied component of arid tropical estuaries; high intertidal cyanobacterial mats. I found that the functional role of arid tropical cyanobacterial mats lies in the trophic support of fisheries production and the landscape configuration influences the composition of the nekton assemblage and their diet. This research increases our understanding of tropical marine systems through the addition of knowledge of the ecosystem functioning of arid tropical coasts, where previously the focus has primarily been on the wet tropical systems.

Around 1988: History and/as Fiction and the Australian Bicentenary

Marks de Marques, Eduardo — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Throughout the 1980s, Australia was preparing for its biggest national celebration yet: that of the Bicentenary of the arrival of the first European settlers. The Australian Bicentenary can be seen as a media event, which is defined as a construct, rather than a representation of the social order (Couldry 56) and, as such, this generated an interesting conflict between the many different, sometimes contrasting, versions of Australian history to be presented as official. The controversy was mainly centred on the representation of Aborigines, ethnic minorities and, to a certain degree, the involvement of women throughout history which, in turn, exposed the fragility of historical narratives as truth and fact. Academic historians were well aware of the necessity to reorient the historiographic process since the so-called poststructural turn, but as these debates were strongly connected to the Bicentenary, this was arguably the first time that the Australian public was made aware of them. An interesting consequence of the shift of these debates from academia to society was the massive increase in the writing and publication of historical fiction. Novelists became key figures in the process of reassessing and reconstructing Australian history, demonstrating, thus, the fluidity of the boundaries between history and fiction. This thesis examines the many ways in which historical fiction was used to question and undermine the legend form of Australian national identity (as defined, primarily, by Russel Ward) as creator and holder of history, how this dynamic connects with the political project of the Labor government of the 1980s in its attempt to promote historic heteroglossia and social polyphony in the continent, and how the Bicentenary acted as an important catalyst for these debates. Chapter One provides a context of the political and institutional making of the Bicentenary from the creation of the Australian Bicentennial Authority in 1979, also looking at the historical and broader literary projects associated with it. Chapter Two examines in more detail the changes in the discipline of history (from constructionist to reconstructionist to deconstructionist modes of historiography) and the postmodern influence of metafictional historiography. The following chapters are analytical and examine the many ways in which the classical notion of Australian identity was questioned by novelists. Chapter Three focuses on the rise and influence of second-wave feminism in history and historical fiction. Chapter Four deals with the displacement of manliness from the defining centre of identity. Chapter Five looks at the notion of Aboriginality and how it was being defined and redefined in the 1980s. Chapter Six examines the rise of ethnic literatures in the early stages of Australian multiculturalism. The conclusion briefly looks at how these debates about the boundaries between history and fiction have changed in the 1990s and 2000s, paying particular attention to the contemporary resurgence of these debates seen since the publication of The Secret River in 2005.

Around the Board: Corporate Governance from the Board Directors' Perspectives

Geale, Patricia Margaret — 2008-06-05T00:00:00Z

Arriving at a New Beginning: Redefining Socratic Pedagogy

Sarah Davey — 2009-06-10T00:00:00Z

The Socratic Method has been an educational tool ever since Socrates himself turned the marketplace of Athens into a classroom, enticing his interlocutors into dialogue whereby they could have their assumptions questioned and learn to journey towards new conceptions of knowledge and understanding. This concept has been reflected recently in a current proposal by UNESCO for educators and philosophers to find ways in which philosophy and philosophical inquiry may be approached in current education practices to enhance democratic ways of life. I draw on the UNESCO idea of philosophy as a ‘school of freedom’ and contend that not only is dialogical inquiry useful to teaching and learning, but that it is necessary. Inquiry is viewed in this way as necessarily dialogical and I draw on both Charles Peirce’s and John Dewey’s views on inquiry as being situated within the community if it is to satisfy some of the aims of the UNESCO report. This dissertation proposes a framework for Socratic pedagogy, a collaborative inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning suitable not only for formal educational settings such as the school classroom but for all educational settings. The term is intended to capture a variety of philosophical approaches to classroom practice that could broadly be described as Socratic in form. I explore three models that, I argue, make a significant contribution to Socratic pedagogy: Matthew Lipman’s Community of Inquiry, Leonard Nelson’s Socratic Dialogue, and David Bohm’s Dialogue. I also draw on the metaphors used by each of the proponents because they give an additional insight into the theoretical underpinnings of their models of dialogue for the development of Socratic thinking. Socratic pedagogy is multi-dimensional, which I argue is underpinned by generative, evaluative, and connective thinking. These terms are better placed to describe Socratic pedagogy than creative, critical, and caring thinking, because they are defined by the function they perform. It is hoped that this dissertation offers some way to show how philosophy as inquiry can contribute to educational theory and practice, while also demonstrating how it can be an effective way to approach teaching and learning. This, I contend is foundational to Socratic pedagogy.

Arsenic speciation of mine wastes for risk assessment

Matanitobua, Vitukawalu Peceli — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

To assist mining companies in their attempts to rehabilitate land and waters used for, and impacted by, their activities, there is a need to study the occurrence, distribution, and speciation of metals and metalloids associated with mining. Furthermore, there is a need to provide credible estimations of the likely bioavailability of the specific forms of the metals/metalloids found to be present, to form the basis of a risk assessment of the potential of the metal/metalloid to cause toxicological damage. The work described in this thesis deals with arsenic speciation on solid and aqueous samples collected in areas associated with mining sites, and upon the ability of these samples to adsorb further arsenic, and to be adsorbed by naturally occurring iron minerals. It also extends the concept of risk assessment by undertaking work aimed at assessing bioavailability of species of arsenic shown to occur within the samples. Arsenic speciation in the solid phase has traditionally been difficult, and as a result different selective extraction techniques have been used to attempt to define various arsenic species. In this work such extractions have been done, and the results obtained compared with speciation using X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) Spectroscopy applying the related XAFS techniques of X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) Spectroscopy and the Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) Spectroscopy. The two analysis techniques are related, but they provide slightly different information about an elements (in this case arsenics) local coordination and chemical state. The oxidation states and the ratio of arsenic species present in powdered samples and their respective sequentially extracted fractions were determined. It is shown that X-ray spectroscopy is a far superior tool for defining arsenic speciation than is sequential extraction; whereas the former approach unequivocally defines actual chemical forms of arsenic, the latter method yields very misleading results regarding the actual arsenic species extracted in each step. There is effectively no correlation between results obtained by the two approaches. The only major drawbacks to X-ray spectroscopy approach are its cost and availability. XANES analysis of mine wastes indicates that As(V), comprising the arsenates of iron (28 %), calcium (25 %), and aluminium (23 %), is the dominant oxidation state in various mine waste samples including those dispersed as creek/river sediments. But mixed oxidation states of As(V), As(III) (consisting of sodium arsenite and arsenic sulfide), and As(-I) (consisting of arsenopyrite) were also observed to be present in some of the mine waste samples and their respective selective extraction fractions. The adsorption model of arsenic on dispersed creek/river sediments was also studied and ferrihydrite and goethite were identified as key iron oxyhydroxides for the adsorption of arsenic in creek sediments receiving tailings waters. XANES analysis revealed the presence of both As(V) and As(III) in the resulting sediment samples, with arsenic in the As(V) form dominant. The importance of bioavailability (BA) of a particular element is basic to any risk assessment, where BA refers to the ratio of the element absorbed compared to the amount ingested in the material in question. Traditionally, in the absence of specific BA data, this is assumed to be 100%. Experiments utilising the rat as an in-vivo model were undertaken in order to quantify the absolute bioavailability (ABA) of arsenic in mine waste samples (tailings and sediments); they showed that the ABA of contaminants varies between sites and the matrix of the sample. The total As(V) and As(III) ABA values for mine tailing and sediments samples fell in the range 6 to 32 %, with As(III) being invariably much more bioaccessible than As(V). It is clearly demonstrated that assuming 100% bioavailability of arsenic from soils and mine waste materials overestimates the risk associated with human exposure. Recent work has developed the concept of BA by use of an in-vitro physiologicallybased extraction test (PBET) to yield measurements of bioaccessibility (BAc). The PBET aims to simulate human uptake of the target element, and expresses BAc as uptake in terms of a percentage of available element. Assessment of BAc of some mine waste materials (tailing and sediments) dosed to animals to obtain ABA values was undertaken, and comparison made between BAc and ABA results. The BAc for the mine tailings samples ranged from 2.2 ± 0.1 to 11.5 ± 0.1 %, while river sediment samples were roughly 10 % of these values. When comparisons were made between the results obtained for bioavailability of arsenic in samples examined by the in vivo absolute bioavailability (ABA) method and the in vitro bioaccessibility (BAc) method, no correlation could be found in results obtained for any one of the tailing or sediment samples. Furthermore, the in vivo results indicate much higher values of ABA for As(III) than As(V), while the in vitro approach found that nearly all bioavailable arsenic is present as As(V); As(III) BA was negligible.

Artemether and the immunobioology of schistosomiasis japonica

Paul Benedict Bartley — 2012-06-13T00:00:00Z

Arterial stiffness in women, during the menopausal transition and beyond, as a predictor of cardiac disease: an assessment of the contribution of hormonal factors

Sheila O'Neill — 2011-02-03T00:00:00Z

Abstract Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women remains the major cause of mortality, accounting for one third of all deaths. Although similar numbers of men and women die of CVD, onset in women occurs approximately 10 years later. It has been hypothesised that the endogenous sex steroids, primarily oestrogen, are cardioprotective and are responsible, in part, for this delay in CVD. Menopause is associated with a deterioration in many conditions recognised as CVD risk factors. However, the precise mechanisms by which menopause might increase cardiovascular risk remain largely unexplained It has been established through a number of studies that arterial stiffness is a better marker of cardiovascular risk than conventional risk factors. There has been no definitive answer as to whether menopause specifically accelerates the age-related increase in arterial stiffness. In addition, if menopause does accelerate the age-related increase in arterial stiffness, it needs to be established whether this response is a direct effect of oestrogen withdrawal or an indirect effect due to an increase of atherosclerotic risk factors as a result of oestrogen withdrawal through the menopause transition. The measurement of pulse wave velocity (PWV) using non-invasive techniques is well documented and widely accepted as the simplest, most robust and most easily reproducible method of determining arterial stiffness. In particular, carotid-femoral PWV is a direct measurement that corresponds to the propagative model of the arterial system. Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and Augmentation index (AIx) are independent predictors of adverse cardiovascular events, including mortality. Aims To establish whether oestrogen withdrawal through the menopause transition contributes to an increase in arterial stiffness; to show that a non-invasive measure of pulse wave analysis (PWA) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) employing applanation tonometry can be used in routine clinical practice as a more effective marker of arterial disease and prognosis in women than conventional measures of brachial systolic pressure and fasting lipids; to formulate intervention strategies supported and justified by these data. Methods The subjects were recruited as part of a longitudinal assessment of age-related changes in a random sample of urban women from Brisbane. The sample consisted of 468 women, distributed over 4 age groups, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70-79 years. Each subject had PWA and PWV performed non-invasively using applanation tonometry, measured at entry into the study and repeated 3-4 years later. Results In multiple linear regression models, age was the predominant correlate of increasing augmentation pressure (AP) (P<0.0001), augmentation index (AIx) (P<0.0001), augmentation index adjusted to a heart rate of 75 (AIx@75) (P<0.0001) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) (P<0.0001). Analysis of covariance showed no significant difference in adjusted-mean of AP, AIx or PWV between menopause groups (pre, peri, post). Adjusted-mean of AP and PWV was comparable between women on hormone therapy (n=130) and non-users (n = 338). Menopause per se does not appear to alter gradual age-dependent changes in arterial stiffness and central pressure augmentation. Conclusion The null results in the present study suggest that the fall in endogenous sex steroids at the time of menopause, although associated with complex biologic effects, has no effect on arterial stiffness as measured by PWV and AIx. Key risk factors that should be controlled in menopausal woman include hypertension (a particularly powerful risk factor), dyslipidaemia, obesity and other components of the metabolic syndrome, with the prevention and control of diabetes a high priority. Arterial stiffness is recognised as an independent marker of CV risk. The present study therefore suggests that rather than focusing primarily on the lowering on brachial blood pressure, consideration should also be given to identifying menopausal women at risk of CV morbidity and mortality using non-invasive techniques to assess central arterial stiffness.

Article Omission and Overuse: Syntax and Semantics of the English Article System in Interlanguage Grammar

Jun Matoba — 2009-06-23T00:00:00Z

This thesis examines ungrammatical article omission, and overuse of the definite article 'the' in indefinite specific context by Japanese learners of English. This is an area of English grammar that has been considered a major problem for L2 learners (e.g. Ionin, Ko & Wexler, 2004; R. Hawkins et al., 2005, 2006; Trenkic, 2007). The thesis extends the analysis of Japanese learners' interlanguage to the overuse of 'a' in indefinite specific mass contexts by these learners. A detailed analysis of DP structures in Japanese and English leads to the conclusion that Japanese learners, through their L1, are equipped with the linguistic features which map onto articles in English, even though Japanese lacks articles. The thesis examines the syntactic role of articles in rendering predicative nouns argumental (e.g. Chierchia, 1998; Longobardi, 1994) and explores the definiteness contrast marked by 'the' as opposed to 'a/ø' with singular count nouns and mass nouns (e.g. J. Hawkins, 1978) at the semantic level. Count/mass distinctions are also examined in detail (e.g. Doetjes, 1997; Jackendoff, 1992) because the 'a' versus 'Ø' contrast clearly relates this distinction. This thesis argues that, despite its lack of articles, the Japanese grammar expresses definiteness and count/mass distinctions through its classifier system. For example, different orderings of the constituents in a classifier phrase induce different interpretations as to definiteness (e.g. Kakegawa, 2004). Further, the thesis shows that some classifiers are incompatible with mass nouns, thus argue that in Japanese, as in English, nouns are associated with the features which underlie the count/mass distinction. Thus, the difficulty that Japanese learners display in mastering the grammar of articles in English is attributed to difficulties in the mapping between their syntactic and semantic underlying knowledge and the surface forms (e.g. Lardiere, 1998) rather than to the need to acquire new features or categories of syntactic or semantic knowledge as the Representational Deficit Hypothesis (R. Hawkins, 2005) claims. This proposal differs from the previous studies that assume that the relevant syntactic category is not present in the learners’ L1 thus not acquirable in the L2 (R. Hawkins et al., 2005; Trenkic, 2007). It also differs from those that suggest that, even when the learners’ L1 does not overtly realize these features (Ionin et al., 2004), the semantic features are available through universal grammar (UG). In order to examine how Japanese learners map syntactic and semantic knowledge onto the surface forms of articles in their English, data were collected via an oral production task and two types of grammaticality judgment tasks. An online judgment task was used to gather evidence for an intuitive type of knowledge of the constraints on article use, while an offline judgment task examined conscious metalinguistic knowledge of articles. Because L2 learners tend to construct and apply various metalinguistic rules as to the use of articles (Goto-Butler, 2002), the examination of both intuitive and conscious knowledge is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the development of the article system in interlanguage grammar. For the mapping of the syntactic knowledge of articles, the omission of articles by Japanese participants is investigated. The investigation focused on singular count nouns because the omission of articles with these nouns is ungrammatical in any context. It was observed that several of the Japanese participants indeed disallowed article omission for these nouns, suggesting that they had acquired the English system of mapping relevant syntactic knowledge onto the surface forms of articles. The thesis also explores the mapping of the semantic knowledge of articles by focusing on the overuse of 'the' in indefinite specific contexts. Previous studies have claimed that the overuse of 'the' is governed by the Article Choice Parameter (Ionin et al., 2004). The findings reported here confirm the tendency to overuse 'the' in indefinite specific (i.e. noteworthy (Ionin et al., 2004)) contexts. However, it was also observed that 'a' was judged acceptable in the same context. The offline grammaticality judgment task revealed that the choice of 'the' in this context may have been affected by metalinguistic knowledge. Thus, the findings are not in agreement with the hypothesis that a parameter governs the overuse of 'the' in indefinite specific contexts. Additionally, the thesis examines the overuse of 'a' in mass contexts. Though small in number, the participants who make inconsistent judgments for the same noun showed a tendency to accept the use of 'a' in specific contexts (i.e. de re specific) and reject it in non-specific contexts. It is argued that the feature [+specific] may be mapped onto 'a' in mass contexts in these learners’ grammar. Based on these findings, the thesis explores how the syntactic module and the semantic module interact with each other in L2 grammar when mapping linguistic knowledge onto surface forms. The thesis also explores the effect of metalinguistic knowledge on L2 learners’ grammaticality judgments in order to demonstrate a more comprehensive picture of article systems in interlanguage grammar.

Articulating Illness in the Roman World

Jennifer Manley — 2011-05-31T00:00:00Z

Abstract This thesis examines representations of illness in Roman society of the late republic and early imperial period. It focuses on a genre largely ignored by modern scholars, that of the illness narrative. Illness was a context for social interaction, in which people could renegotiate and define their identities, roles and responsibilities. For example, although most health-care was provided either within the familia or the extended social network of friends, patrons and clients, illness provided members of the élite with the opportunity to articulate their experiences in accordance with the social value system. As the foundation of the Roman family, the paterfamilias was expected to become knowledgeable about the practice of medicine, placate disease-causing numina, and ensure that the members of his household were cared for, as was appropriate to their social status. The health-giving and caring aspect of the paterfamilias’ identity is known as the medicus-paterfamilias. The medicus-paterfamilias concept underpins the ways in which the Roman élite interacted with each other and their subordinates during illness. When the medicus-paterfamilias himself became ill, his power and status could be renegotiated or reinforced either within his familia or the broader social network. The medicus-paterfamilias was also an integral and defining aspect of the ideal father-figure. It was incorporated into the imperial ideology of Augustus and was subsequently maintained and redefined by later emperors, particularly the Flavians, who expressed their role as medici-patresfamiliarum through imperial benefaction and patronage. This study therefore explores what the representation of illness in various literary and epigraphical sources can tell us about Roman moral, social and political issues. Jennifer Manley PhD Candidate, School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics The University of Queensland

Articulatory function in adults following cerebrovascular accidents

Yea-Tzy Chen — 2008-09-23T00:00:00Z

Artificial Ontogenies: A Computational Model of the Control and Evolution of Development

Geard, Nicholas Lewis — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

Understanding the behaviour of biological systems is a challenging task. Gene regulation, development and evolution are each a product of nonlinear interactions between many individual agents: genes, cells or organisms. Moreover, these three processes are not isolated, but interact with one another in an important fashion. The development of an organism involves complex patterns of dynamic behaviour at the genetic level. The gene networks that produce this behaviour are subject to mutations that can alter the course of development, resulting in the production of novel morphologies. Evolution occurs when these novel morphologies are favoured by natural selection and survive to pass on their genes to future generations. Computational models can assist us to understand biological systems by providing a framework within which their behaviour can be explored. Many natural processes, including gene regulation and development, have a computational element to their control. Constructing formal models of these systems enables their behaviour to be simulated, observed and quantified on a scale not otherwise feasible. This thesis uses a computational simulation methodology to explore the relationship between development and evolution. An important question in evolutionary biology is how to explain the direction of evolution. Conventional explanations of evolutionary history have focused on the role of natural selection in orienting evolution. More recently, it has been argued that the nature of development, and the way it changes in response to mutation, may also be a significant factor. A network-lineage model of artificial ontogenies is described that incorporates a developmental mapping between the dynamics of a gene network and a cell lineage representation of a phenotype. Three series of simulation studies are reported, exploring: (a) the relationship between the structure of a gene network and its dynamic behaviour; (b) the characteristic distributions of ontogenies and phenotypes generated by the dynamics of gene networks; (c) the effect of these characteristic distributions on the evolution of ontogeny. The results of these studies indicate that the model networks are capable of generating a diverse range of stable behaviours, and possess a small yet significant sensitivity to perturbation. In the context of developmental control, the intrinsic dynamics of the model networks predispose the production of ontogenies with a modular, quasi-systematic structure. This predisposition is reflected in the structure of variation available for selection in an adaptive search process, resulting in the evolution of ontogenies biased towards simplicity. These results suggest a possible explanation for the levels of ontogenetic complexity observed in biological organisms: that they may be a product of the network architecture of developmental control. By quantifying complexity, variation and bias, the network-lineage model described in this thesis provides a computational method for investigating the effects of development on the direction of evolution. In doing so, it establishes a viable framework for simulating computational aspects of complex biological systems.

Art, music and the harpsichord in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France

Otomo, Ayako — 2012-12-19T14:58:41Z

As Best They Can: Canadian Women Athletes Speaking Sport Into Their Lives

Yvonne Becker — 2009-12-02T00:00:00Z

Increased participation rates and significant performances of girls and women in sport over the last three decades would have many believing that the barriers and discrimination experienced in the past have been overcome and that continued participation and success into the future is unproblematic. Feminist research has problematized what now seems like acceptance of women’s participation in sport in this postmodern era by considering the location of the female athlete at the intersecting of discourses of femininity, masculinist sport, heterosexuality and homophobia. Situated among these powerful regulating forces, female athletes become subjects attached to often contradictory identities. For instance, the paradox of femininity and athleticism can result in a troubling experience that requires complex negotiation and time-consuming management of gender boundaries and behaviour expectations. Although sport has been considered a liberatory space for women, that view fails to consider that sport continues to maintain the status quo through workings of power politics that sustain oppressive social structures and relations. In this study, the review of literature in Chapter Two illuminates that sport, as it currently exists, perpetuates gender inequality and builds and maintains socio-cultural boundaries of normative femininity and heterosexuality. Unpacking women’s sport experience, therefore, involves exploring the discursive force fields that structure their everyday lives. Immersed in the dynamics of power and resistance, women performing so-called “masculine” activities such as skilled sport performance create a contradictory and precarious location for themselves. This location could be perceived as transgressive and liberating or as one that must negotiate, and possibly resolve, the tension between discursive expectancies and non-normative performances. My study examined the sport experiences of eight female athletes. Each was interviewed three times using a semi-structured interview process. During the initial interview, the participants were asked to provide the history and priority of sport in their lives and speak about the repetitive act of “becoming” an athlete as they make the transitions from other subjectivities. Chapter Four summarizes this conversation with each of the participants. Through a photo-elicitation process, one of the interviews was dedicated to revealing each of the participants’ movements through the social spaces of their daily lives. Another of the interviews was supported by video footage of the athlete as she trained and/or competed in her sport(s). This data collection process allowed for the participants’ multiple subject positions or locations to be spoken by them throughout the conversations. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using discourse analysis. In order to critique the various discourses that dis/advantage female athletes, the theoretical framework provided by feminist poststructuralism was chosen for this project. Through this perspective, detailed in Chapter Three, an understanding of how social power is exercised over and experienced by women is helpful in knowledge production that supports women’s on-going efforts of contestation and change. For example, continued improvement and achievement in sport performance vi could be the result of new versions of femininity fostered by my critique of the privileged female identity that allows for less docile and more athletic female bodies. Discourse analysis, as described in Chapter Three, allowed for surveying the discursive terrain of the lives of the participants. This method also illuminated the ways of speaking, descriptions and specific images that the athletes used to speak about their sport experiences. The women spoke sport into their lives and created a positive space that featured personal achievement, escape or freedom from the “rest of life”; an activity that supported a healthy body and a positive body image; a place of family support; and a social, fun and accepting environment. In contrast to this, the participants’ sport space was troubled by the management and negotiation that was required by them to continue participation. Even though, as described in Chapter Five, they could speak sport into their lives in a positive way, they also spoke sport out of their lives (or at least further down the priority list) because of the effort that was required to juggle it or balance it within their multiple subjectivities. The sometimes simultaneous and always sequential contradictory gendered discursive force fields of motherhood, the ideal feminine body image, intimate relationships, compulsory heterosexuality, and physical activity required constant strategies of negotiation and management that are described in Chapter Six. A brief concluding chapter summarizes how the participants in this study found themselves frustrated by their “in-between-ness”. They are not athletes in the dominant heteronormative discursive space of male sport (they are “othered”), and they do not fit in the dominant discursive space of privileged femininity. The results of this study reveal that while sport presents itself as a site of empowerment for women, it also perpetuates and maintains traditional patriarchal values. The participants, however, creatively negotiated and renovated that patriarchal space to create a location in which they could evade the strength of dominant discourses and experience the benefits of sport engagement.

Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm in Patients with Marfan Syndrome and Bicuspid Aortic Valve

Ms Hong Lien Do — 2008-10-15T00:00:00Z

ASCOVIRUS INFECTION: Role of microRNAs and viral encoded genes in gene silencing and pathogenesis

Malik Hussain — 2010-06-24T00:00:00Z

Abstract Ascoviruses (AVs) are members of the family Ascoviridae that are transmitted by female endoparasitic wasps and cause lethal infection in lepidopteran insects. AVs possess large double stranded DNA genomes ranging from 116-186 kbp. Recently, genomes of four AV species have been completely sequenced and have revealed important genes potentially needed for virus DNA replication and infection. Phylogenetic analyses of several of these genes indicate that AVs are closely related to iridoviruses and likely evolved from them. Two unique features, mode of transmission and cytopathology which involves cleavage of cells into virus-containing vesicles, make AVs different from other insect pathogenic viruses. During this decade, tremendous advancements in the study of RNA silencing mechanisms have openned a new dimension in virology. It is now evident that viruses reshape the cellular environment by reprogramming host RNA silencing machinery. The process of RNA silencing involves small non-coding RNAs, which with the help of nuclease-containing regulatory proteins bind to complementary messenger RNA (mRNA) targets, resulting in inhibition of gene expression. This sophisticated style of gene regulation has attained a fundamental status in living organisms, since RNA silencing has been revealed to be ubiquitous from viruses to prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Two main categories of small RNAs, short interfering RNA (siRNA) and microRNA (miRNA), have been defined as major players in RNA silencing. Interestingly, viral genomes like that of their hosts, encode miRNAs that can be used during virus invasion to manipulate host genes as well as miRNA biogenesis. Here, we report on the identification of the first insect virus miRNA (HvAVmiR- 1) derived from the major capsid protein (MCP) gene of Heliothis virescens ascovirus 7 (HvAV3e). HvAV-miR-1 expression was found to be strictly regulated and specifically detected from 96 h post-infection. HvAV-miR-1 expression coincides with a marked reduction of the expression of HvAV3e DNA polymerase I, which is a predicted target. Ectopic expression of the full-length and truncated versions of MCP retaining the miRNA sequence significantly reduced DNA polymerase I transcript levels and inhibited viral replication. Our results indicate that HvAV-miR-1 directs degradation of DNA polymerase I transcripts and regulates replication of HvAV3e. Further, we investigated changes in the expression levels of host miRNAs upon HvAV3e infection in an insect cell line derived from Helicoverpa zea fat body and investigated the role of a host miRNA, Hz-miR24, in the hostvirus system. It was found that Hz-miR24 is differentially expressed following virus infection, with an increase in its expression levels late in infection. Functional analyses demonstrated that Hz-miR24 targets viral DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and its β subunit mRNAs. This was confirmed using ectopic expression of Hz-miR24 and a green fluorescent protein-based reporter system. Expression of the target gene was substantially enhanced in cells transfected with a synthesized inhibitor of Hz-miR24. These findings suggest that ascoviruses encode their own miRNA(s) and concurrently manipulate host miRNAs that in turn regulate the expression of their genes at specific time points after infection. In connection to RNA silencing, we characterized a ribonuclease III (RNase III) protein encoded by HvAV3e. We found that RNase III protein was functional in vivo as well as in vitro and catalyzed long and short double stranded RNAs. Expression analyses during virus infection revealed autoregulation of this protein by degradation of its RNA transcripts. Moreover, RNase III protein was found to be involved in suppression of RNA silencing and essential for virus DNA replication and infection. Finally, we studied another ascoviral 8 protein, a putative inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP), which was found to be essential for virus DNA replication and pathology. Further, despite inhibition of apoptosis by HvAV3e, the IAP-like protein was found dispensable for the inhibition of replication. In conclusion, for successful invasion and attenuation of host antiviral responses, ascoviruses seem to utilize viral encoded proteins as well as miRNAs. Since the genomes of these viruses have only recently been sequenced, the role of many of the encoded genes essential for pathogenesis and manipulation of antiviral defence mechanisms remains to be eluciated.

A search for novel cancer susceptibility genes

Armour, Nicola Jane — 2012-12-07T09:50:08Z

The overriding aim of this research was to identify novel cancer susceptibility genes by investigating rare families with potentially new cancer susceptibility syndromes. In selecting families suitable for the research, a number of families with an unusual clustering of different cancer types were identified that did not have a coding mutation in any plausible candidate cancer genes. In additon to these families, a large Australian family with a new Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Proximal Polyposis Syndrome (GAPPS) was identified and investigated. To investigate families with multiple different cancer types, the genetic analysis of tumour and germline DNA samples was conducted in order to determine whether a common inherited mutation exisited for each individual family. Methods for this analysis involved the analysis of multiple tumours within each family using a SNP-based arrayCGH (SNP-CGH) approach to assess the tumours for common regions of chromosome copy number loss and gain, and linkage analysis in sufficiently informative families. The SNP-CGH approach was largely uninformative due to the technical difficulties associated with analysing formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tumours. However, linkage analysis in two families identified regions with LOD scores of 2 or greater that, after additional haplotype analysis in these families, were prioritised for further investigation. The most signifanct result of the research is the description of the novel cancer syndrome, GAPPS, and mapping the causal GAPPS locus to chromosome 5q13-21 by linkage analysis of the large Australian kindred. A number of approaches were used to pinpoint the GAPPS locus and included expression analysis of gastric polyps and blood samples from the Australian family, SNP-CGH to assess fresh-frozen polyp samples for chromosome copy number changes, and targeted next generation sequencing of GAPPS cases (one case from the Australian family, one case from an additional GAPPS family identified in North American family). These approaches did not result in a clear candidate gene responsible for GAPPS that was shared by both cases but a number of candidate genes from the Australian case have been prioritised for further investigation. Furthermore, the SNP-CGH approach identified a copy number loss covering the 5q13-21 linkage region in three of eight polyps investigated, suggesting that a loss of function of a tumour suppressor gene may be the mechanism of cancer pathogenesis that underpins GAPPS progression. Overall, this research used a range of contemporary and traditional methods coupled with novel research aims to identify new cancer susceptibility genes. This work demonstrates the value of family-based studies for identifying cancer genes and in furthering our understanding of cancer development.

A Self-Mixing Imaging System Based on an Array of Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs)

Tucker, John — 2008-11-21T15:28:31Z

In recent years, the field of sensing and imaging has become increasingly important due to the demand for accurate and reliable instrumentation for many important industrial and biomedical applications. Despite the plethora of measuring techniques available, optical techniques, such as the self-mixing effect, are often preferred in many applications due to their non-contact form of measurement. Unlike conventional optical techniques, the self-mixing effect uses the laser as both the source and detector of light, leading to a more compact and robust measuring system. With the advent of Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs), it is now possible to cost effectively manufacture a two-dimensional array of lasers, raising the possibility of a highly-parallel self-mixing imaging system which can be used for many exciting applications. The main contribution of this dissertation is the first demonstration of a parallel selfmixing imaging system using the self-mixing effect in an array of VCSELs. The concept of the system is demonstrated using a small-scale prototype to measure the velocity at different radial points on a rotating disk and the velocity profile of diluted milk in a custom built diverging-converging planar flow channel. It is envisaged that a massively scaled up version of the small-scale prototype will be extremely useful in many industrial and biomedical applications, where remote real-time surface profiling, vibrometry and velocimetry are required. Another important contribution of the dissertation is the demonstration of the effect of co-existing transverse modes on the operation of self-mixing sensors based on VCSELs. Simulations and experiments were performed for both single-mode and multimode VCSEL-based self-mixing displacement and distance sensors. For displacement measurements, the presence of multiple transverse modes results in the accuracy and sensitivity of the system becoming periodic with target distance. Importantly, the small differences in the frequency-modulation coefficients of individual transverse modes allow the distance to the target to still be accurately determined with a high degree of sensitivity. Other secondary contributions consist of, firstly, an alteration of the rate equation model of the laser with optical feedback and current modulation, which correctly predicted the resulting signal for self-mixing distance sensors upon numerical integration. Secondly, a more comprehensive analysis to determine the signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) of a self-mixing sensor, which shows that the shot noise in the photodetector (PD) dominates at high injection currents while the thermal and amplifier noise in the receiver electronics and the relative intensity noise (RIN) of the laser have a similar value to the shot noise for injection currents near threshold. Thirdly, an alternative approach is developed to correctly model the velocity of rotating targets using the resonator model of the laser, which was performed by modifying the effective reflection coefficient of the laser instead of varying the actual distance to the target. Finally, an illustration of the influence of the optical setup on the spectral width of the signal in self-mixing velocity sensors, which shows that the spectral width of the self-mixing velocity signals are not just a result of speckle effects alone.

A self within a postcolonial narrative: A self between

Jeffrey Bernard Francis Seth — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

A servant of art : Robert Helpmann in Australia

Bemrose, Anna — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

Ashes in My Mouth: Women, Violence and Testimony during the Indonesian Massacres of 1965-1966

Anne Pohlman — 2011-11-24T00:00:00Z

It's bitter to remember, very bitter. My memories taste bitter in my mouth. But people must know what happened to us. They must know what happened. -Ibu Lia, former Communist Party leader and long-term political prisoner. Ibu Lia was one amongst millions adversely affected by the eradication of the Left in Indonesia. In the aftermath of a coup on 1 October 1965, an estimated 500,000 men, women and children were murdered and a further one million politically detained. These purges were perpetrated by the Indonesian military together with co-opted civilian militia groups against the military's mass-supported political rival, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). This thesis documents and analyses the testimonies of predominantly women survivors of the massacres and political detentions in order to examine the forms of violence perpetrated against women during these events. Overall, the thesis explicates the gendered dynamics of the violence of 1965-1966 and women's testimonies about these experiences. The thesis brings together the testimonies of individual women, such as Ibu Lia, amongst the millions affected by the killings and mass political detentions. These testimonies are explored thematically in order to chart some of the trends, similarities and differences amongst the experiences of these women. Specifically, I investigate three core themes: women's experiences; giving testimony about these experiences; and the material forms of violence perpetrated during the killings and detentions, paying particular attention to sexual violence against women. This research provides the first in-depth examination of women's experiences during the killings and political detentions following the 1965 coup. This study into women's experiences and testimonies about the violence emphasises the gendered nature of genocidal episodes. In particular, I examine sexual violence against women and girls as material forms of violence during the massacres and subsequent period of political detention. Specifically, women's experiences of sexual violence during the killings and as part of subsequent torture during detention are discussed through an analysis of women's testimonies and secondary accounts. The thesis also shows the great range of women's experiences of becoming victims of genocidal crimes. The stories of individual women's experiences of being captured and/or killed highlight both how systematic and arbitrary becoming a victim during the massacres and mass arrests could be. These acts of persecution were targeted in that women and girls who became victims (as with men and boys) were most often in some way associated with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) or one of its associated organisations (such as the Communist-aligned women's organisation, Gerwani), either through their own membership or through their familial relationships. Conversely, others were murdered or detained arbitrarily because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, others because of opportunistic disputes over land and possessions, others again because of mistaken identity. Methodologically, I frame this project within what is traditionally a Latin American genre, testimonio, in which performing testimony is a fundamentally political act. In the decade since the fall of Suharto, efforts by human rights advocates to establish a truth and reconciliation commission into abuses committed during Suharto's “New Order" regime have continually failed. In this context, these women's testimonies are performed as part of a larger socio-political goal of demanding investigation and redress for the massacres of 1965-1966. Women who participated in this project often did so with an explicit, political purpose. Many clearly articulated that they gave their testimonies in order that: (1) the violence of 1965-1966 and other mass crimes during the New Order never be repeated; (2) that there must be an official acknowledgement of harm done to them and millions of others; and (3) reparation be given to survivors and victims'families as restorative justice for the loss of so many. The fundamental rationale of this study is that, given the continuing reluctance by successive Indonesian administrations since the end of the New Order regime to address the atrocities of 1965-1966, the work of collecting, documenting and analysing survivors' testimonies is now urgent. The testimonies of women survivors, which have long been occluded, are essential both to an analysis of the violence perpetrated in the aftermath of the coup and to current truth and reconciliation efforts. More than forty-five years after the coup, this project aims to support those who survived and who have begun telling their own stories, bearing witness to a violent, silenced, and mostly forgotten history of Indonesia. Moreover, this focus upon women's experiences, women's lives and women's testimonies attests that genocidal processes and persecution are gendered, as is their narration.

A singular perturbation method

Fowkes, N. D. (Neville D.) — 2010-09-03T00:00:00Z

A situated cortical model exhibiting attention, learning ane memory : implications for cognition

Stratton, Peter Gregory — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

Asking after selves : knowledge and settler-indigenous conflict resolution

Brigg, Morgan James — 2007-08-24T18:39:51Z

A Social Ecological Investigation of the Walking Behaviour of Residents Living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Wan Rabiah Wan Omar — 2011-12-13T00:00:00Z

Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia, serves as the commercial core, and is the most urbanised, densely populated and fastest growing city in the country. Despite these achievements, residents of Kuala Lumpur are now faced with problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle resulting in dangerous levels of obesity, and chronic illnesses including coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, as well as colon and breast cancer. One of the suggestions to help alleviate these problems is to encourage increased walking behaviour around the city centre and within local neighbourhood areas. The promotion of walking behaviour has received growing attention among experts as it is seen as a way to reach large number of individuals in the most cost effective manner. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the main influencing determinants of walking behaviour by using a Social Ecological Model as the framework for investigating the major determinants. These includes intrapersonal factors, social support, and walking trail provision in relation to the walking behaviour of a sample population from the Malay, Indian and Chinese ethnic groups that live in Kuala Lumpur. A mixed method research design was used in this study, with quantitative data collection and analysis in the first phase, followed by qualitative interviews in the second phase, which helped to explain the initial quantitative findings. The first phase involved the mail out of a survey questionnaire to a sample of the three different ethnic groups in Kuala Lumpur (Malay, Chinese and Indian). A total number of 478 completed questionnaires were received which consisted of 169 Malays (74 males and 95 females), 164 Chinese (90 males and 74 females) and 145 Indians (72 males and 73 females). SPSS version 17.0 was used to analyse the quantitative data using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, chi-square analysis, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression in order to test the relationships between the main variables associated with the walking behaviour of these three ethnic groups. In the second qualitative data collection phase, a total of 30 respondents were selected from Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnic populations and were interviewed with the data being analysed using a thematic analysis method. The findings from this study revealed that only 18.9% of Chinese, 37.9% of Malays and 49.7% of Indian respondents reaching the recommended level for walking activity to gain any health benefits. It was also found that the low level of walking behaviour was due to supportive and non-supportive influences derived from intrapersonal and social factors, as well as the lack of provision of appropriate walking trails to suit different ethnic groups. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge through the application of the Social Ecological Model (SEM) to increase walking behaviour. Although the SEM has been widely used in previous research, such as human and health behaviour, health promotion and physical activity that relates to behavioural change, this study has for the first time been able to integrate intrapersonal, social and walking trail characteristics in regard to the preferences of different ethnic groups particularly in Malaysia. The findings have shown that there are different sets of factors that influence walking behaviour of different ethnic groups and that in addition, there are a common set of influential factors shared across all groups. Overall, this study provides a new perspective to a discussion on the walking behaviour in a multi-ethnic community, especially in relation to Asian communities. In terms of its practical contribution, the findings from this study have provided an estimation of walking behaviour of the Kuala Lumpur residents and have justified the need for an intervention to promote walking. Finally, yet importantly, this study will provide guidance to the policymakers and urban development agencies in helping to develop strategies and to guide the design of future walking trails so as to promote increased walking behaviour in Kuala Lumpur’s multi-ethnic community.

A sociocultural study of the emergence of a classroom community of practice

Brown, Raymond A. J. — 2007-08-24T17:45:20Z