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

Temperature effects on the costs of inducible behavioural defences in prey

Vincent Van Uitregt — 2012-06-15T00:00:00Z

Predation is a ubiquitous selective pressure that drives the evolution of defences in prey. Such defences can be constitutive; a permanent part of the prey’s phenotype, or inducible; plastic traits that switch on when there is a perceived risk of predation. It follows that inducible defences should only evolve when the threat of predation varies either spatially or temporally and more importantly that defensive traits are beneficial in the presence of predators but costly in their absence. If defensive traits are not costly in a non-predator environment then selection could not act to maintain the non-defensive phenotype, and defences should become fixed (constitutive). Although many empirical studies find evidence of such costs of inducible defences, many other studies also fail to detect costs – indicating defensive traits are beneficial in both the presence and absence of predation. These results contradict theory and undermines either our understanding of how inducible defences persist in natural populations or our ability to detect such costs in experimental situations. My study aims to provide a deeper mechanistic understanding of the costs of defensive traits, which may reveal why these expected costs are so difficult to detect empirically. In this thesis I examine behavioural defences in the larvae of two species, the urban mosquito, Aedes notoscriptus, and the cane toad, Rhinella marina. Here, I focus on the costs of defences, their mechanisms and their sensitivity to environmental temperature. In a series of experiments, I first investigate the inducible behavioural defences in A. notoscriptus and the olfactory cues that induce them. Here I show that larval A. notoscriptus reduce activity in the presence of olfactory cues of predation. Their behavioural response is induced by both pheromones from crushed conspecifics as well as kairomones from predators. When exposed to either cue alone, larvae induce the same level of response as when exposed to both pheromones and kairomones from actual predation. Larvae induce behavioural defences throughout their ontogeny, but the behavioural response diminishes as development progresses. Larvae also induced behavioural defences appropriate to the level of predation in the environment. When exposed to cues from an increasing threat of predation (i.e. more fish preying on more larvae), the magnitude of the behavioural response (decrease in activity) also increased. Surprisingly, the olfactory assessment of predation risk does not transfer past metamorphosis. Ovipositing females actually show a preference for laying eggs in water that contained olfactory cues from crushed conspecifics. I also determined both the survival benefits of behavioural defences in A. notoscriptus, and the costs of their induction. I reared larvae in the absence (control) and presence (treatment) of olfactory predation cues and then competed these two behavioural phenotypes in the presence and absence of a real predation threat. Larvae raised in the presence of predation cues survived for longer in the presence of predatory fish, Hypseleotris galii, compared to larvae raised under control conditions. In the absence of predation, larvae inducing behavioural defences grew and developed slower, metamorphosed at a smaller size and were less resistant to starvation after metamorphosis. In the wild, these traits are likely to confer reduced survival and reproductive success in A. notoscriptus. I then determined how environmental temperature influences these costs of behavioural defences in A. notoscriptus. I present two alternate hypotheses for how temperature could influence the costs of defences. The first hypothesis predicts that the costs of reducing activity could be higher at warmer temperatures due to the higher energetic demands of routine metabolic function. Alternatively, the costs of reducing activity could be greater at cooler temperatures as the time exposed to predation cues due to the extended developmental period would be extended increasing the accrual of costs. In this experiment I reared larvae (as before) in the absence and presence of olfactory cues of predation at three experimental temperatures; 18, 23, and 28°C. Again, larvae exposed to predation cues grew and developed slower, were smaller at metamorphosis and less resistant to starvation as adults. These effects were greater for those at 18°C compared to the warmer temperatures suggesting that temperature primarily influences costs by altering the exposure time to the threat of predation and leads to the greater accrual of costs throughout development. To further examine how temperature influences the costs of behavioural defences in prey I then performed a similar experiment in cane toads, Rh. mairna. I reared tadpoles in the absence and presence of olfactory cues from macerated conspecifics, which induced behavioural defences (reduced activity) similar to that seen in A. notoscriptus. Tadpoles were reared in the absence and presence of olfactory cues at both 25 and 30°C. Tadpoles exposed to predation cues grew slower and were smaller at metamorphosis. Most importantly, these effects were again greater at the cooler temperature in a similar pattern to that observed for A. notoscriptus larvae. However, greater costs to growth in larvae at the cooler temperature were evident when larval mass was measured at the same timepoint in all treatments. This suggests that extended exposure to predation cues at cooler temperatures is not the only mechanisms driving a temperature effect on costs. Overall, this thesis provides good evidence that costs of inducible defensive traits are pervasive in prey, a key theoretical requirement for the maintenance of inducible defences. I also develop a good mechanistic understanding of how the costs of these defences manifest, which may help understand why so many other studies fail to detect these costs. My work also shows that the costs of inducible defences can be thermally sensitive. This thermal sensitivity could drive variation in plasticity between populations that experience different thermal environments, and may also suggest that large-scale changes in climate may alter predator prey dynamics via their ability to induce defences.

Temporal changes in runoff and erosion processes on disturbed landscapes under natural rainfall

Carroll, Christopher — 2007-08-24T18:50:12Z

Tender risk and opportunity assessment practice in major construction alliances: a knowledge conversion process

Vuong Tu — 2009-06-19T00:00:00Z

This research is an in-depth study concerning the practice of Risk and Opportunity (R&O) assessment during the early phases of major project alliances in Australia. The particular focus is on how R&Os are assessed and how the profile of R&Os are set up and transferred during tender phases (from pre-tender, tender development, through to tender negotiation and construction start-up). The motivation for this research was that project risk assessments are reported to be inadequately assessed and ineffectively managed throughout the project life cycle in spite of the existence of well developed theories and procedures. However, little is known factually about how effectively R&Os are actually assessed in practice during the early project phases, the factors that influence the risk assessment performance and the nature of the issues causing the deficiency of the tender risk assessment system. Although much has been written on the theoretical development of risk assessment systems, tools and techniques, very few studies have been conducted to discover empirically how both risks and opportunities are actually assessed during the tender phase in construction practice. These problems suggest that there is a need for in-depth studies of the practice of R&O management, in order to better understand the fundamental nature of the issues that might be causing the reported ineffectiveness of current risk management practice as a basis for improvements. The researcher was immersed in the actual projects at critical stages in order to gain fine-grained access to investigate the issues ‘in situ.’ Four major construction project alliances were selected for in-depth investigation, from amongst twenty large mining and construction projects considered in the course of this research. The research methodology used centred on participant observations and document analysis supported by interviews, discussions and mini-surveys to triangulate the findings. Data were gathered and analysed on how information and rapport associated knowledge of R&Os were captured, converted and transferred during tender phases, from pre-tender, tender development, commercial negotiation up to construction start-up. Risk assessment systems, tools and techniques used during the tender phase in the projects studied were first examined and analysed. This revealed the R&O assessment profile transfer process plus its variatious patterns, the associated practical problems and gaps in both theoretical models as well as practical implementation. The process and analysis were then interpreted and modelled using the four modes of the SECI (Socialisation-Externalisation-Combination-Internalisation) model developed in Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). This provided a better understanding about the fundamental nature of the issues that might be causing the reported inadequacies of current practice. Implications of this knowledge conversion perspective for the adoption of risk assessment tools and techniques were identified. The major findings of this research are: (1) The R&O assessment profile transfer across the tender phases described as an information transfer model, reveals that while considerable effort goes into formal R&O documentation during the tender phase, there are a number of “breakdowns” in the assessment process. The two most critical issues are the disconnections between the quantitative assessment process and qualitative process, and a discontinuous process during hand-over from the tender phase to construction start-up phase; (2) These breakdowns can be explained when the R&O assessment process is modelled as a knowledge conversion and transfer process rather than an information transfer process described in finding 1. The analysis reveals subsequent knowledge losses during the process and knowledge gaps between theory and practice. People, process and technology factors influencing tender risk assessment are also discussed; (3) Viewing R&O assessment as a knowledge conversion process points to the need for the adoption of tools that can enhance the effectiveness of risk assessment through a knowledge elicitation, capture, communication and consolidation process; (4) The study proposes the SECI model as a suitable framework to better understand the nature of reported problems and reveals possible explanations for the deficiencies in the R&O assessment systems observed in practice. These major thesis findings provide an alternative way of looking at risk assessment, shifting risk assessment from an information-based process to a knowledge conversion-based approach for a more sustainable and effective R&O assessment system. Using the SECI model to describe risk and opportunity assessment processes as a knowledge conversion process has major implications for education and training in the practice of R&O assessment. R&O assessment becomes a learning process rather than a mere information passing process. Knowledge is revealed and captured and becomes internalised as an integral part of R&O assessment. This helps to explain why attempts to capture “lessons learned” as a separate of conventional R&O procedures frequently fail. Alliances and similar modes of project delivery that involve the collaboration of many stakeholders are likely to be used increasingly in construction, and it is essential we understand the ways in which information and knowledge of risks and opportunities are managed, especially in the early phases of major projects. Thus the new insights provided by these findings have significant implications for the formation and operation of risk and opportunity procedures in alliances and major projects more generally. Project alliance is recommended as a good procurement strategy that can enhance the effective transfer and use of knowledge about project uncertainties, thus assisting project organizations in achieving an effective risk management performance. Future research is needed to further explore the relationship between the characteristics of project alliances and the effectiveness of risk management over the whole project life cycle, with the support of the analysis framework from knowledge conversion process proposed in this thesis. Building on these findings, future research work is needed to understand how to effectively enhance the conversion of tacit knowledge about uncertainty into explicit knowledge. This will aid the development of a practical risk management framework across the whole project life cycle together with supporting risk assessment tools that utilize a knowledge-centered approach. The findings also point to the need for more research on the risk attitudes and related people factors, in the conduct of risk and opportunity assessments across the project life cycle.

Tensor Network States and Algorithms in the presence of Abelian and non-Abelian Symmetries

Sukhbinder Singh — 2011-05-20T00:00:00Z

Understanding and classifying phases of matter is a vast and important area of research in modern physics. Of special interest are phases at low temperatures where quantum effects are dominant. Theoretical progress is thwarted by a general lack of analytical solutions for quantum many-body systems. Moreover, perturbation theory is often inadequate in the strongly interacting regime. As a result, numerical approaches have become an indispensable tool to address such problems. In recent times, numerical approaches based on tensor networks have caught widespread attention. Tensor network algorithms draw on insights from Quantum Information theory to take advantage of special entanglement properties of low energy quantum many-body states of lattice models. Examples of popular tensor networks include Matrix Product States, Tree tensor Network, Multi-scale Entanglement Renormalization Ansatz and Projected Entangled Pair States. The main impediment of these methods comes from the fact that they can only represent states with a limited amount of entanglement. On the other hand, exploitation of symmetries, a powerful asset for numerical methods, has remained largely unexplored for a broad class of tensor networks algorithms. In this thesis we extend the formalism of tensor network algorithms to incorporate global internal symmetries. We describe how to both numerically protect the symmetry and exploit it for computational gain in tensor network simulations. Our formalism is generic. It can readily be adapted to specic tensor network representations and to a wide spectrum of physical symmetries. The latter includes conservation of total particle number (U(1) symmetry) and of total angular momentum (SU(2) symmetry), and also more exotic symmetries (anyonic systems). The generality of the formalism is due to the fact that the symmetry constraints are imposed at the level of individual tensors, in a way that is independent of the details of the tensor network. As a result, we are led to a framework of symmetric tensors. Such tensors are then used as building blocks for tensor network representations of quantum-many states in the presence of symmetry. For a long time several physical problems of immense interest have remained elusive to numerical methods mostly owing to extremely high simulation costs. These include systems of frustrated magnets and interacting fermions that are relevant in the context of quantum magnetism and high temperature superconductivity. With symmetry now as a potent ally, tensor network algorithms may nally be used to draw positive insights about such systems.

Termite foraging interactions with a protective barrier system

Aaron Stewart — 2009-11-30T00:00:00Z

The current application of low persistence pesticides is unreliable for protecting wooden structures from termite attack. These applications may also pose an environmental and public health risk. Consequently, there is a need for the development of alternative systems to protect wooden structures from termites. Investigated here is the interaction between Australian termites, Coptotermes acinaciformis Froggatt, and to a lesser extent, Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt and Schedorhinotermes seclusus Hill, and a barrier system for protection of wooden structures. The aim was to develop an improved barrier for the protection of wooden structures that maximizes protection and minimizes environmental and health risks. Specifically, the performance of a barrier to protect wood against termite attack that incorporates a synthetic pyrethroid into polyurethane formulations is investigated. This research was conducted in parallel with other project contributors focusing on material science aspects of the research goals. A fundamental problem in assessing the value of termite barrier strategies lies in developing and interpreting laboratory assays that can deliver reasonable predictions of performance in the field. This is particularly the case with respect to the behaviour of termites over much longer periods in the field than can be undertaken in the laboratory. The approach to laboratory trials presented here is to define individual termite capabilities and, in combination with behavioural studies, to develop an understanding of factors which affect termite performance. The key experimental approach involved various laboratory based assays to evaluate termite foraging behaviour and performance against a range of barrier materials, progressing to field trials with the best performing material. Various species of termites; M. darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae), Cryptotermes primus (Hill) (Kalotermitidae), C. acinaciformis , Coptotermes frenchi Hill and S. seclusus (Rhinotermitidae), Microcerotermes serratus (Froggatt), Microcerotermes turneri (Froggatt) and Nasutitermes walkeri (Hill) (Termitidae) and Porotermes adamsoni (Froggatt) (Termopsidae); were investigated to determine the force that they can develop at their mandible tips. Larger termites can generate higher pressures on their mandible tips than smaller termites. By quantifying the mandible strength of a termite it was possible to contrast the capabilities of various economic termite species. Damage caused by an individual termite biting on synthetic materials was measured using electron microscope generated three dimensional models of indentations caused to the material. This was successful in quantifying the immediate capabilities of individual termites of different species. Most species were found to inflict a similar amount of damage to high density polyethylene. However M. darwiniensis caused much more damage than other species examined. Micro hardness testing was utilized to determine the relative hardness of pest termite mandibles. Termites were found to have mandibles much harder than any tested synthetic material. It was therefore found to be unrealistic to aim to develop barrier technology based on “harder than termite mandible material”. Trials using groups of termites in the laboratory demonstrated large differences in the performance of termites against various synthetic materials. There was a tendency for harder materials to suffer less damage. Mechanical properties of the barrier alone were found to be insufficient to stop termite damage. The resistance of polyurethane formulations incorporating insecticides to termite attack in the laboratory demonstrated a potential suitability for termite barrier technology. In behaviour trials, persistence of termite attack at the barrier face was found to be due not only to deterrent chemicals, but also to physical characteristics. Softer materials are not only easier for termites to remove but termites attack softer materials with greater tenacity, more termites spend more time attacking softer materials. Laboratory toxicity trials confirmed the bioavailability of Bifenthrin when incorporated within the barrier material and enabled the establishment of expected concentrations for effective protection. Termites were found to require direct contact with the barrier for mortality to occur. Trials designed to quantify repellence of the Bifenthrin in the barrier found that termites did not escape mortality by avoiding contact with the barrier material. As such pure Bifenthrin is shown to protect the barrier material directly by causing mortality rather than by repelling live termites away from the barrier. Field trials were conducted in northern Queensland where colonies of economic termites could be directly targeted. Wooden blocks were coated in polyurethane containing a range of Bifenthrin concentrations and trialed over an eight month period. Combination of the pyrethroid Bifenthrin in a polyurethane barrier at concentrations as low as 0.07% proved successful in preventing damage by the economically important termites M. darwiniensis and C. acinaciformis under high pressure field conditions. Only very small amounts of Bifenthrin migrated into adjacent soil, concentrations reached were in the order of 100 µg/kg of soil. For comparison the MLR for Bifenthrin in bananas for human consumption is 100 µg/kg. Bifenthrin in a polyurethane barrier could be used for the protection of houses and other wooden structures in the same manner as existing barrier film technology in order to minimise environmental and health risks associated with direct pesticide application techniques.

Terrestrial Biodiversity Offsets: The Development of Ecological Guidelines to Inform Planning.

Kelsey Dahl — 2009-12-08T00:00:00Z

Development actions such as urban, residential, commercial, industrial and mining contribute significantly to the loss of biodiversity worldwide. As development and subsequent loss and degradation of habitats continue, terrestrial biodiversity offsets, or mitigation schemes are conservation instruments that increasingly are being developed, implemented, and used throughout Australia and abroad. However, the failure of offset policies and practices to incorporate sound ecological principles into their design and implementation has led to ineffective conservation and management of biodiversity through offsetting. The aim of this research was to develop a ‘recommended best practice’ offset framework for environments experiencing development pressure, and to inform planners and decision makers on a sound ecological approach to improve biodiversity outcomes for terrestrial ecosystems through the use of offsetting/mitigation schemes. A content analysis technique was applied to evaluate 26 local, provincial, and national biodiversity offset policies, guidance/discussion papers, and planning documents from five countries. Five ecological and planning criteria were applied to evaluate the offset policies. The results from the policy evaluation found that most offset policies contained vague, ambiguous statements and difficult to apply concepts and these results were consistent with a plethora of existing literature, which had identified that the planning of offsets lacked effective consideration and implementation of landscape-ecological principles, and that the protection of biodiversity through offsetting was not occurring. It is therefore important that national, state, and regional policies provide sufficient detail, with definitive performance criteria, indicators and targets, rather than vague principles which are open to ambiguous interpretation and inconsistency in implementation. The results from this research suggested that offset policies failed to protect biodiversity in that the majority of policies evaluated did not effectively incorporate ecological principles that would result in no-net-loss of biodiversity outcomes. This included a failure to recognise and consider the impact of offsets at a landscape-ecosystem scale in relation to ecosystem functionality and the viability of biotic populations. This research also indicated that a variety of tools (e.g., remote sensing, field surveys, and expert opinion) can be used to ensure effective consideration of landscape, ecological, and planning aspects of offsetting. The results of a case study in the Coomera-Pimpama region of Gold Coast City, Australia found that Gold Coast City Council explicitly considered only two of the five recommended off-setting criteria outlined in this research and as a result the conservation of biodiversity and in particular the habitat of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in this area remained threatened. Key strategies were identified to help improve biodiversity outcomes from offsetting and these included: requirements to assess both impacted and offset sites, minimisation of threats to offset sites, and collaboration with professionals in other agencies, ensure that statements are accompanied by definitions, policies provide sufficient detail with definitive performance criteria, indicators and targets, active engagement with agencies dealing with offsetting procedures, professionals, or researchers, effective commitments to facilitative integration, structural integration and collaboration, and strategic integration.

Territorial competition by an aggressive species challenges the conservation of eastern Australian woodland avifauna

Alison Louise Howes — 2012-02-22T00:00:00Z

The clearing and modification of native vegetation is recognised as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. As the effects of large-scale habitat destruction continue to influence ecosystems, the role of large protected areas in the form of national parks and private conservation reserves becomes paramount. These protected areas have great potential to provide refugia for fragmentation-sensitive species, but to fulfil this potential, appropriate management is essential. Although large reserves apparently lack the negative characteristics associated with fragmented habitat, there are often a number of deleterious influences on biological diversity reflective of both previous and current management practices. Grazing by large numbers of feral herbivores, along with uncertainty surrounding the frequency and intensity of ecological burning regimes, are just two factors influencing biodiversity conservation of many protected areas. Additionally, the occurrence of highly competitive species may increase in abundance following habitat degradation, and negate certain conservation efforts. This thesis examines the effects of past and present management actions and their interaction with abundance of noisy miners, an aggressive native species, on avian assemblages within two large protected areas, the privately owned Carnarvon Station Reserve and Mt Moffatt National Park (the southern section of Carnarvon National Park) within central Queensland. The noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) is an important influence on avian assemblages in both fragmented and intact woodlands within eastern Australia. Although high abundances previously appeared to be caused by anthropogenic factors that increase edge habitat and reduce vegetation complexity, their domination of large areas of continuous woodlands has been noted. Despite this, literature documenting the impact of noisy miners on avian assemblages within continuous woodlands is sparse, with most research concentrating on their effects within fragmented woodlands. Carnarvon Station Reserve was purchased by Bush Heritage Australia for conservation purposes and together with the neighbouring Carnarvon National Park protects 3 500 km2 of relatively intact woodland. Although domestic livestock were removed from the region with the conversion to conservation tenure, large numbers of feral horses and cattle continue to exist on both the reserve and national park. There is also uncertainty regarding appropriate fire regimes for bird conservation. This thesis examined the role of habitat structure, as influenced by feral grazing and prescribed burning regimes, as potential driving factors for noisy miner abundance within this region of continuous woodland. Management interventions involving aerial culling to reduce feral grazers, along with prescribed burning, were performed during this study, and I aimed to determine -vii- the effects of these management interventions on habitat structure and on avian assemblages. Finally, combining several datasets, I examined how landscape modification and the occurrence of noisy miners influenced the foraging profiles of the woodland avifauna of eastern Australia and the potential implications for ecological services by investigating the influence of noisy miner density on beta-diversity, ecological niche occupancy, and the morphological characteristics of avian assemblages. I performed an initial examination of the effects of habitat structure, lerp abundance (the crystallised covering of nymphs produced by the psyllid insect) and noisy miner abundance on the avian assemblages within the study area. I identified habitat and management factors linked to noisy miner abundance. A Bayesian model averaging approach was used to model avian response to the habitat variables and noisy miner abundances. The noisy miner was advantaged by habitat disturbance, with abundance increasing in areas with a medium to high feral grazing impact and where recent wildfire had occurred. They also demonstrated a preference for reduced understorey density. The noisy miner dominated most of the study area and negatively influenced small passerines and avian species richness, while larger insectivores >27cm in body length were more abundant where noisy miners were common. I suggest that reducing noisy miner abundances within this study area is important for avian conservation and requires the control of feral herbivore populations and a modification of burning practices to produce a vegetation mosaic including patches of dense shrub cover. During the course of this study a management intervention occurred which involved the aerial culling of feral herbivores. I used a Bayesian network (BN) to predict noisy miner and small passerine abundances as a function of habitat structure, grazing pressure and prescribed burning, and evaluated whether these relationships changed following the management intervention. I also demonstrated the use of the BN model in an adaptive management framework by validating the model with surveys performed after the management interventions using a number of validation tests. Results from a sensitivity analysis indicated that grazing pressure, which reduced understorey density, was a strong driving determinant of noisy miner abundance, which in turn had a strong negative influence of small passerines. Surveys following the reduction of feral grazing indicated a decline in noisy miner abundance and a slight increase in small passerines. The validation tests showed the model predictions for small passerines under the new habitat and management conditions to be very accurate. The updated model with all surveys performed before and after the cull therefore provides an accurate and useful framework for ongoing adaptive management. The combined management effect of reducing feral grazing with continued prescribed burning on avian assemblages was investigated directly with a before-after-reference-intervention -viii- (BARI) study. This comparative study used data collected before the cull and after the cull in both reference (un-grazed) and intervention (grazing removed) sites. Sites were also either burnt or unburnt within three years of the data collection. A paired t-test was used to evaluate the change in the difference between the reference and intervention sites before and after the cull for vegetation structure and avian assemblages. I also investigated if vegetation and avian assemblages changed over three survey periods following the herbivore cull, using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA. Although grazing pressure did not significantly influence vegetation structure, both small passerines and understorey foragers were more abundant in un-grazed sites, while noisy miners preferred the grazed sites. Prescribed burning following the cull reduced ground cover. The substantial variation in rainfall during this study may have influenced the ability to detect clear effects of grazing on vegetation structure, as ground vegetation cover was very low in all sites at the time the study commenced due to very low rainfall. A management effect was detected for understorey foragers, which increased in abundance in the previously grazed sites following the removal of grazing. This immediate response in understorey foragers may provide an important indication for managers regarding species recovery following the removal of feral herbivores. Small passerines did not increase immediately following the cull, and noisy miners remained most abundant in the previously grazed sites. Because the links between grazing, noisy miners and small passerines had been strong prior to the removal of grazing, I suggest the lack of a management effect reflects a ‘restoration lag’ period before changes to the management regime are reflected in these elements of the avifauna. The substantial differences in avifaunas between sites occupied and unoccupied by noisy miners may have implications for the ecological profile and provision of ecosystem services in woodlands. Therefore, my final aim was to investigate how perturbations of avian assemblages due to noisy miner presence affected foraging strategies and niche positions of the avifauna, and to explore the consistency of these effects across a range of landscape types. Using data from nine regions across eastern Australia, I compared the ecological profiles of the avifaunas of sites situated in landscapes with 1) varying degrees of modification (from largely intact to highly cleared native vegetation) and 2) different noisy miner densities, using principal component analysis (PCA). I also examined the changes in mean bird morphological characteristics, including bill and body lengths, and in beta-diversity among sites with noisy miner density and with degree of landscape modification. In all landscapes, the insectivore assemblages became dominated by larger species with greater bill lengths as noisy miner density increased. The variation in body length and in bill length was also reduced with noisy miner density. Across all but one of the study regions, species assemblages of sites occupied by noisy miners were more taxonomically homogenous and had -ix- fewer predicted species than sites unoccupied by noisy miners. This reduced intra-site variation in morphology and reduced diversity in foraging strategies were linked to increased noisy miner densities, and this pattern may affect ecological services, with important consequences for plant dispersal, insect herbivory and overall woodland resilience. The findings from this thesis demonstrate that the negative effect of noisy miners on avian assemblages extends to those of continuous woodlands. For fragmentation-sensitive species that are declining elsewhere as a result of habitat destruction, the conservation potential of large protected areas is negated by the occurrence of this dominant species. In order to conserve woodland avifauna, conservation managers need to address and mitigate habitat disturbances such as feral grazing, and apply burning practices that support vegetation complexity and understorey density. Habitat restoration is the process of actively restoring and improving habitat vegetation, often with the goal of supporting wildlife restoration. Habitat restoration in the presence of a despotic and sedentary species, such as the noisy miner, may not be effective for avian species conservation, and management approaches may need to be more direct. In areas where noisy miner densities are high and where avian diversity is of concern, culling of noisy miners may benefit avian compositions while habitat structure is restored.

Tertiary Education Choices in New Zealand: A Pluralistic Investigation

Mary Hedges — 2010-09-13T00:00:00Z

Most policy regarding tertiary training choice is based on the presumption that human capital theory is the most appropriate model and the cost-benefit analysis implicit in that model provides a reasonable approximation of the choice parameters included in any decision to study. This has certainly been the approach that underlies the significant changes in the New Zealand tertiary sector in the last twenty years. Unfortunately it has failed to explain the observed enrolment trends. This study starts from that point and discusses the various shortcomings in this approach and relates these to solutions provided in the behavioural literature found in other areas of economics or in other behavioural sciences. Through this a pluralistic methodological approach is chosen that can be used to supplement the more traditional human capital model by the inclusion of behavioural variables. It does so through the collection of primary data that specifically addresses human capital, behavioural and expectation variables. Firstly it finds variables commonly used in human capital models are do explain most of the variance between the various costs and benefit variables considered and this is consistent with the human capital literature. However, it is also found that this only holds when these variables are considered in isolation of behavioural variables. The addition of behavioural and expectation variables used in this study finds the variance explained by these HCT variables falls off dramatically and instead the behavioural variables explain far greater variance. These findings then give an indication as to the types of variables that need to be included in extended models if a better explanation and predictor of the tertiary choices made by individuals is to be derived. It is found that behavioural models such as the Fishbein model of behavioural intentions and Kelly’s personal construct theory both provide useful predictors of the different choice possibilities in terms of the decision to study, the institution type chosen and course level. It finds that the behavioural variables, in particular the expectation variables, give rise the far greater predictive discrimination than the HCT variables do. The models used in this work enable discrimination at the institutional level to produce very good results, significantly better than by chance or by human capital theory. This is even when the participants have very similar demographic characteristics that do not allow for any separation. Secondly the predictions of the Fishbein behavioural intentions model were supported in that the more defined and specific the intention or action the stronger the views toward it and the higher likelihood of action following. This again has policy implications that are reflected in the growing popularity and number of specialised degrees that deliver access to very specific parts of the labour market even though this could have conflicting labour market outcomes in different economic climes. This direct labour market link was found to be important even when the participants held little knowledge of the realities of the labour market. Lastly it was found the key constructs were those around self-esteem and expectations of tertiary training. This has important policy implications if the goal is to improve enrolment rates from currently under-represented groups. Potential students need to view themselves as above average in order to consider tertiary training. The corollary of this is that there will always be a percentage of the population that will be potentially disenfranchised through tertiary training. Clearly not everyone is able to view themselves above as average. While the study provides some very useful discriminant factor analysis, shortcomings in the sampling frame used in this study restrict the application of this to course level choice though the expectation is that this could be achieved with improved data collection strategies. The sampling difficulties also restrict the application of these results too widely among the tertiary population. However, the factors identified are very robust and do provide a way forward for further, more widely applicable study that has a greater focus on dependence methods rather than the interdependence methods used in this work.

Tertiary Education Reform in Thailand: A Case Study of the Reform at a Rajabhat Institute

Kovitsomboon, Kant — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

This thesis is concerned with tertiary education reform at a Rajabhat Institute. The reform has been fiamed by the National Education Act of 1999. The specific focus of this thesis is on six areas critical to the process of reform of tertiary education and to the successfid conversion of Rajabhat Institutes fiom teachers' colleges to university status. The principle of excellence has been an inherent and integral part of tertiary education. The rapid progress and changes in technology, politics and the economy have raised questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of tertiary education institutions worldwide, thus reform in tertiary education is a world wide phenomenon and Thailand is no exception, particularly in the case of Rajabhat Institutes. In the move to become a university and to remain competitive, crucial reform measures had to be initiated by the institution. This research has been undertaken to understand the developments as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the reform process in a Rajabhat Institute. Suggestions and recommendations are made to support the pursuit of further improvements at one Rajabhat Institute and possibly at other Rajabhat Institutes as well. The study is contextualized through focusing on three issues, namely: the history of educational reform in Thailand, the impact of globalization, and legislative and political reform in Thailand. Early chapters provide deep analysis of the political and educational reforms in Thailand since King Chulalongkorn's reform movement, which began in 1892, until the recent reform in 1992, which resulted in the proclamation of the Constitution in 1997 and the National Education Act in 1999. The methodology for this research is qualitative inquiry through a case study which focuses on six research questions pertaining to tertiary educational reform in one Rajabhat Institute. The fiamework is derived fiom the provisions pertaining to educational reform in the National Education Act of 1999. The case study is conducted through two specific data sets, interviews and documentary analysis, made richer by personal observation and local knowledge as an "insider" researcher. After collecting the data fiom the institute, the interview data are analyzed and managed into the form of transcripts, then composed into the narrative report while the documentary data are analyzed, managed and represented in the form of tables in many cases, before composing the final narrative report. Findings fiom the documentary analysis supported findings from the interview data in the areas of the six research questions with the feeling that in all cases a great deal more needs to be done: (1) Reform of teaching and learning, particularly the learner-centered approach, has started at RIKP; (2) Educational administration and management is beginning to change in the direction of academic freedom, institutional autonomy and accountability; (3) The institute will need to develop further their internal quality assessment methods and tools, and ensure that they are consistent with its own directions. All action should be taken in accordance with the recommendations from the Office of National Education Standard and Quality Assessment in order to improve the quality of education; (4) There is an urgent need to improve the levels of education of the faculty staff with more incentives needed to encourage faculty staff to conduct research in order that more staff may be promoted to the rank of assistant professor, associate professor and full professor; (5) The tertiary educational reform process requires that multiple sources for hding be found. This will need to include requiring students to bear greater costs for their own education while not forgoing the equity principle of ensuring access to all; (6) The leadership of RIKP promotes and supports the use of technology for education. The institute has committed major h d s to procuring computers but there are still shortfalls in this area, both where teaching and administration are concerned, and the Institute will need to work on creative ways of managing this problem. The conclusion indicates that reform in line with the 1999 National Education Act is still in the early stages. There is progress but to become an internationally competitive university RIKP still has a long way to go. It is hoped that this thesis will be useful in this journey.

Testing a cognitive behavioural theory and treatment of problem gambling

Raylu, N. N. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

Testing a Cognitive-Motivational Model of Drinking Behaviour in a University Student Sample

Butt, Julia Carol — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

The overall aim of the current thesis was to develop and test a cognitive-motivational model of drinking behaviour in a university student sample. Cognitive-motivational theory (e.g., Cox & Klinger 1988; Briener, Stritzke, & Lang, 1999) provides a framework in which decisions about drinking can be evaluated. By developing an understanding how university students make decisions about drinking contributes to understanding the processes underlying drinking behaviour and consequently the complexity of alcohol use. Cognitive-motivational theory recognises that alcohol use is a goal directed behaviour in which people use alcohol to achieve certain outcomes; further, it emphasises both the importance of separating approach and avoidance to alcohol, and the role of different cognitive-motivational variables in predicting drinking behaviour. The variables discussed in the current thesis include: alcohol outcome expectancies, motives and inclinations. The literature on cognitive-motivation and alcohol use was reviewed in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2 of the current thesis, the measurement of drinking behaviour in university student samples was reviewed. Attention was drawn to limitations in previous research which has focused only on binge drinking in student samples. It was argued that drinking behaviour is multidimensional, and consequently to best understand decisions about drinking, and drinking behaviour, theory should seek to explain: usual frequency of alcohol consumption, usual quantity consumed, frequency of feeling intoxicated, peak quantity of alcohol consumed, and alcohol related problems. These dimensions allow theory to explore the multidimensionality of alcohol use in university students. Subsequent studies in the thesis used these measures of drinking behaviour. The assessment of cognitive-motivational constructs; namely: alcohol outcome expectancies, motives, inclinations and refusal self efficacy expectancies was reviewed in Chapter 3.. Psychometric properties of assessment tools were reviewed, and for questionnaires which had not previously undergone confirmatory factor analysis, the analysis was performed in the chapter. In Chapter 4 the separation of approach and avoidance motivation, which is a key premise of cognitive-motivational theory was examined. Analyses using a sample of 490 university students supported the hypothesis that approach and avoidance are conceptually distinct. This enabled the exploration of competing motivation. An evaluative space proposed by Briener et al. (1999) was employed to investigate competing motivation; the evaluative space resulted in the identification of four different motivational dispositions: avoidance, ambivalence, approach and indifference. The different motivational dispositions were found to have different patterns of drinking behaviour, and endorsed different patterns of cognitive-motivational variables. In Chapters 5 and 6 a cognitive-motivational model of drinking behaviour was developed and tested using path analysis and structural equation modelling. Initially in Chapter 5 the goodness of fit of both a two-pathway approach-avoidance model adapted from Cox and Klingers (1988) motivational model and Briener et al.s (1999) ambivalence model; and a three-pathway strong approach-approach-avoidance model adapted from McEvoy, Stritzke, French, Lang and Ketterman (2003) was tested in a sample of 490 university students. The two-pathway model was a better fit to the data. In Chapter 6 the goodness of fit of a two-pathway model was tested in a longitudinal sample of 172 participants who had completed a seven month follow-up study. Results supported the goodness of fit of the two-pathway model over time. Expectancy theory (e.g., Bandura, 1978) highlights the difference between outcome expectancies and self efficacy expectancies, however to date only outcome expectancies have been included in cognitive-motivational research. The aim of Chapter 7 was to investigate the influence of drinking refusal self efficacy (DRSE) on the avoidance pathway of the two-pathway model. DRSE refers to the ability to resist drinking; therefore in the context of the two-pathway approach-avoidance model it was considered particularly important in understanding decisions not to drink. Thus, the influence of DRSE was investigated in relation to only the avoidance pathway. In the chapter both moderation and mediation hypotheses were tested. The results demonstrated that self efficacy both moderates, and partially mediates, the relationship between negative alcohol outcome expectancies and alcohol related problems. Further, DRSE mediated the relationship between avoidance motivation and drinking behaviour. The results were significant both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. In the final chapter of the thesis the findings presented in earlier chapters were consolidated. Theoretical implications of the findings were discussed in relation to Cox and Klingers motivational model and Briener et al.s ambivalence model. Further, in the discussion the current findings were applied to understanding behaviour change, and to practical applications that can inform the development of interventions for heavy drinking university students. Finally, limitations of the present research and directions for future research were discussed.

Testing a Group Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Depression in Malaysia

Mamat Mukhtar, Firdaus — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

The main aim of this thesis was to explore the assessment and treatment of depression among the Malay population of Malaysia, especially in relation to the cognitive behavioural perspective. A review of the depression literature in Malaysia (Chapter 2) suggests that the lack of depression-related instruments has prevented researchers from adequately testing the extent to which depressionrelated variables (such as automatic thoughts and dysfunctional attitude) exist among patients with depression, as well as lowering the efficacy of Group Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (GCBT) in reducing symptoms of depression and maladaptive cognitions, and also hindering investigation into the variables that predict treatment outcomes for depression. So this thesis aimed to validate one measuring instrument for assessing symptoms of depression, and two instruments for assessing cognitions; to then use these and other measures to test a range of depression variables in non-clinical and clinical samples; to present a study on the efficacy of a GCBT program for patients with mood disorders; and to finish with a study on the predictors of the outcomes of depression treatment. Chapter 3, on the Beck Depression Inventory-Malay (BDIMalay), Chapter 4, on the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Malay (ATQ-Malay), and Chapter 5 on the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale- Malay (DAS-Malay) aimed at validating these three instruments to assess symptom of depression and cognitions, respectively. All three instruments were validated, using a sample size of 1090 that included both clinical and non-clinical subjects. All three scales were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and were found to have good reliabilities and validities. Chapter 6 shows that Treatment As Usual (TAU) plus GCBT significantly reduce symptoms of depression and cognitions, and can maintain these changes for at least 6 months. The TAU plus GCBT group also showed larger effect sizes and clinically significant changes, compared with the TAU group. Chapter 7 describes the predictor variables of treatment outcome for depression, using total and subscale scores. The strengths, weaknesses, implications and recommendations for each of the studies contained in this thesis are discussed in the relevant chapters and a general discussion is presented in Chapter 8. The studies contained in this thesis were unique investigations in Malaysia in this area. They will not only add considerably to this growing area of the depression literature, but also assist in designing and conducting preventative and treatment programs, as well as contributing to future studies.

Testing concurrent Java components

Long, Bradley — 2013-05-02T12:48:34Z

Testing general rules in landscape ecology: Understanding the effects of landscape pattern on the avifauna of South East Queensland

Danielle Shanahan — 2010-05-30T00:00:00Z

Human land-use has a profound influence on wildlife populations; habitat loss can directly decrease population size and carrying capacity, and isolation of the remaining populations can increase their extinction probability. Landscape ecology as a discipline has worked towards creating general rules for the way species respond to landscape change. These rules include, for example, estimates of thresholds at which populations respond more severely to landscape level variables, or general theories as to which species will be more susceptible to landscape change. The demand for these generalisations is driven by the need for inexpensive, rapid and effective methods to manage problems caused by landscape change. The question as to whether general rules are accurate or useful solicits mixed responses from scientists and conservation managers. The most cited reason for this mixed response is the empirical inconsistencies in the way species respond to landscape change. In this thesis I suggest that general rules must be tested in an a priori fashion to directly assess their utility and assist in their translation from theory to practical tool. My primary aim is to test general rules in landscape ecology through creating a priori models; these models are based on ecological theories and existing species and landscape information. My secondary aim is to enhance the understanding of landscape level habitat fragmentation problems for birds in South East Queensland, Australia. I address these aims within four main data chapters as summarised below, where Chapter 1 is a broad introduction to the topic. Chapter 2 asks the question: can general rules and threshold theory be used to predict bird species patch occupancy in a fragmented landscape? I create a simple decision tree model based on threshold theories in landscape ecology, and use this to predict presence or absence of 17 forest bird species in a largely agricultural landscape. This decision tree is broadly based on theoretical patch area and connectivity threshold estimates, and incorporates basic species specific information (such as habitat suitability and mobility). I test this model using a presence/absence survey data set. The process of assessing for which species the model did not work is revealing: I show that the accuracy of ‘present’ predictions is somewhat compromised for habitat specialist species and ‘absent’ predictions are compromised for generalist species. Through creating the ‘optimal’ decision tree models for these species I show that these inaccuracies are likely to arise from vegetation mapping problems, including the lack of a ‘habitat quality’ measure. The study therefore highlights the need for high quality vegetation maps to carry out effective planning. For the majority of species I achieve reasonable predictive success. This study provides hope that general rules have some predictive ability in landscape ecology, and highlights the value of testing models to assess why, and for which species general rules may or may not work. In Chapter 3, I assess the utility of basic ecological principles for predicting the relative value of vegetation patches for specific bird species, focusing on a highly altered urban landscape. I create a model based on the mechanisms expected to be driving species abundance within urban landscapes where most sensitive bird species are likely to be already lost. The model states that a bird species will be more abundance in areas where the vegetation structure matches a species foraging height requirements; however, this effect will be moderated by the landscape context of the patch. From this model I create an index to quantify and rank the predicted value of patches for 30 species of interest in unmanaged and revegetated urban sites, in Brisbane city, Australia. I test the model using bird abundance data, and show that it achieved a reasonable level of predictive accuracy. The model presented within this study is significant as it has relatively low complexity and limited data requirements, yet provides a means to assess how altering the landscape context and vegetation structure within a patch may enhance the abundance of bird species of interest. With further development, the relative simplicity of the model should make it easy to use for land managers. In Chapter 4 I aim to examine how landscape features influence spatial genetic relatedness patterns at a fine, within-population scale on bird species with different life-history traits. I argue that individual level movement characteristics (particularly dispersal routes) in a variable landscape will drive these spatial genetic patterns; thus I create an a priori model based on this theory to make more specific quantifiable predictions of relatedness patterns. I use animal movement theory to deduce these movement characteristics (particularly the strength of avoidance of habitat boundaries) for species with different life-history traits, and apply the model for two closely related passerine bird species which co-occur within South East Queensland (the yellow-throated scrubwren, Sericornis citreogularis, a habitat specialist; and the white-browed scrubwren, Sericornis frontalis, a habitat generalist). I test these models using data on pairwise genetic distances between individuals of each species. The key outcome of this study is that the genetic data supports my predictions that individual level movement characteristics are a mechanistic driver of within-population spatial genetic patterns. For the habitat specialist bird species, the genetic data supported a model which incorporated a strong avoidance response to habitat boundaries and for the generalist species no response to habitat boundaries. This study takes a novel approach to an individual-based genetics study, making specific quantifiable predictions of how a species may be impacted by different landscape features. This research could have significant implications for conservation management, particularly for understanding and managing population responses to a changing landscape, and the early stages of fragmentation. In Chapter 5 I address the question of whether urban revegetation is more successful if it is used to extend the area of existing vegetation, or enhance connectivity in the landscape. This study is novel; for instead of assessing the factors influencing the extinction of a species in a patch, I assess the factors influencing colonisation. Using bird survey data, I use hierarchical partitioning and model selection approaches to determine the relative effect of connectivity and patch area on bird species richness and abundance in revegetated patches. The key finding was that connectivity provided better model fit for bird species richness, and total patch area and connectivity was better for mean bird abundance. My results suggest that the conservation goals of revegetation efforts, particularly in an urban landscape, must be considered when planning a revegetation program. Using revegetation to increase patch area may be the most effective approach for ensuring species persistence over time (i.e. abundance). However, to attract more species into an area enhancing the total area connected in the landscape may be a better approach. In this thesis I explicitly test general rules and theories in landscape ecology within a priori predictive models. Through their generality, the models I develop are potentially suitable for application in other ecosystems. The process of synthesising these models in a simple form, and testing them in a real landscape was revealing. I was able to examine where some general rules do not work, and also where they may not apply or need adjusting. I strived to create models that are easy to use and understand, particularly within Chapters 2 and 4, by trading off simplicity and accuracy. The models produce accurate results to the point that they are arguably valuable tools for landscape managers. This is achieved without compromising their accessibility, and so the research has the potential to transcend the gap between science and real world utility.

Testosterone secretion, aggressive behaviour and the use of a GnRH agonist in male Australian sea lions.

Atkin, Cathrine L. — 2008-05-27T00:00:00Z

Thai youth, globalisation and English language learning

Wachuree Ngenkaew — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

The accountant and capital investment analysis under risk and uncertainty.

Meredith, G. G. (Geoffrey Grant), 1931- — 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z

The acute effects of mild traumatic brain injury on working memory : validity and reliability of a cognitive screen

Monte, Veronica Eileen De — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

The adaptation of Buddhism to the West : Diamond Sangha Zen Buddhist groups in Australia

Spuler, Michelle, 1971- — 2010-09-27T00:00:00Z

The adjustment-adaptation of Asian immigrants during intercultural transition in Brisbane

Wong, Christopher Kway-Man — 2007-08-24T17:56:34Z

The aetiology of childhood depression

Hallam, Dorothy E. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

The aetiology of chronic nephritis in Queensland.

Henderson, David Arthur. og Inglis, J. A. (James Alexander) — 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z

The Allocation of Resources to Insolvent Company Employees: An Examination of the Consistency between Australian Law and Rawlsian Distributive Justice

Kai Luck — 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z

This thesis seeks to answer the research question: is the allocation of resources to insolvent company employees in Australia consistent with Rawlsian distributive justice? The analysis of the research question comprises two components: first, the allocation of resources to insolvent company employees that is required by Rawlsian distributive justice and second, whether Australian law is consistent with that allocation. This thesis focuses on four particular areas of Australian law: the priority regime that is applicable when an insolvent company’s assets are distributed to creditors, director and related company liability for employee entitlements, the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) and the procedure for corporate and business rescue contained in Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Employees are among the least advantaged persons in the event of corporate insolvency. According to Rawlsian distributive justice, resources must therefore be reallocated to ensure greater equality between employees and other persons ‘affected’ by corporate insolvency, including secured creditors, quasi-secured creditors, consumers, shareholders, insolvency practitioners, directors and taxpayers. However, Rawls’s ‘difference principle’ permits inequalities between employees and other persons affected by corporate insolvency if those inequalities contribute to achieving the greatest benefit of employees, for example as a result of job maintenance or the payment of employee entitlements. The priority regime is broadly consistent with the Rawlsian objective of ensuring the greatest benefit of the least advantaged employees. Although employee entitlements receive only partial priority over the claims of secured creditors and are subordinated to the claims of quasi-secured creditors and insolvency practitioners, the better prospects of secured creditors, quasi-secured creditors and insolvency practitioners satisfy Rawls’s difference principle because they are likely to preserve employment and the payment of employee entitlements in the ordinary course of business, thus contributing to the greatest benefit of employees. Director and related company liability for employee entitlements is likely to be beneficial for employees only in circumstances where directors and related companies engage in improper behaviour in relation to the payment of entitlements. Liability outside those circumstances is likely to jeopardise employment and the payment of employee entitlements. However, existing Australian law does not adequately provide for director and related company liability in circumstances of improper behaviour. Amendments to director and related company liability for employee entitlements in Part 5.8A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), including the replacement of the test of subjective intention with an objective test, are likely to contribute to the greatest benefit of employees, thus ensuring greater consistency with the Rawlsian framework. In certain respects, GEERS is consistent with Rawlsian distributive justice. For example, GEERS reduces inequalities between employees and taxpayers; operates in conjunction with the employee priority regime and director and related company for employee entitlements, thus facilitating the equal sharing of resources among claimants; and effectively differentiates between the relative levels of disadvantage faced by individual employees in the event of corporate insolvency. However, the limitation of GEERS to liquidation and the restriction on claimable wages pursuant to GEERS compromise the Rawlsian objective of ensuring the greatest benefit of employees. The corporate and business rescue procedure contained in Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) facilitates sustained employment and the preservation of employee entitlements, thus contributing to the greatest benefit of employees. Additionally, Part 5.3A does not encourage ‘hopeless’ rescue attempts and does not override the interests of secured and quasi-secured creditors, thus avoiding outcomes that may otherwise compromise the greatest benefit of employees. However, the ability of substantial charge holders to remain outside a Part 5.3A corporate or business rescue attempt is likely to adversely affect the interests of employees, thus implementing greater protection for secured creditors than is required to satisfy Rawls’s difference principle.

The alterity of the imagination : the effects of John Ruskin's imaginative usage of classical sources on his participation within the politico-economic discourse

Eddington, Ross Elliot. — 2010-10-26T00:00:00Z

The American connection and Australian policy in Southeast Asia, 1945-1965

Sah Hadiyatan Ismail — 2010-04-19T00:00:00Z

In 1942 Curtin officially turned Australia to the United States for support and regarded the United States as Australia’s ally in World War II. Curtin’s call to the US set a precedent for Australia’s foreign and defence policy to rely on American support. This thesis analyses the Australian effort to become an ally to the Americans in the early 1950s and to increase American interest in the defence of Southeast Asia. ANZUS and SEATO culminated the Australian effort in bringing the Americans to the defence of Southeast Asia and Australia. Australia believed that it had ‘a special relationship’ with the United States through the formation of these treaties and regarded these treaties, especially ANZUS, as the cornerstone of Australia’s defence. The United States, however, did not give any special significance to these treaties and continued to treat Australia as it treated other friendly countries. The main focus of this thesis is on how the American-Australian alliance forged through ANZUS and SEATO influenced Australian foreign policy regarding Southeast Asia, especially in relation to issues such as the West New Guinea sovereignty problem, the defence of Malaya, Konfrontasi and Vietnam. The central argument is to examine how the American connection affected Australian foreign policy in Southeast Asia. As both countries saw the importance of this area to their strategic and defence interest and were heavily involved in the defence of Southeast Asia after World War II, this thesis will analyse on how the Australians reacted to and interacted with the Americans. This thesis reveals that Australia’s suggestions, plans, views and opinions regarding events in Southeast Asia were constantly rejected by the Americans. This rejection however, did not deter the Australian government from continuously pursuing a policy that would impress the United States. Australia tried hard to be a ‘good buddy’ to the Americans and became ever more subservient and submissive to American wishes. Although there were cases where Australia tried to pursue a policy that differed from the Americans, as in West New Guinea prior to 1959 and in the defence of Malaya, these Australian efforts could not sustain pressure from other actors and were doomed to failure without the support of the Americans. The failure to pursue independent policies was influenced by the increasingly dependent attitude of the Australian government towards the Americans and the fear that Australia would be left alone to defend itself. As Britain, Australia’s traditional ally’s influence in Southeast Asia was in decline,Australia perceived that it did not have other choices but to cling ever more tightly and submissively to the Americans for its own survival.

The Anatomy of Defensiveness in the Face of Group Criticism: Understanding the Causes of the Intergroup Sensitivity Effect

Sarah Esposo — 2011-03-21T00:00:00Z

There are many situations that call for groups to listen to criticisms and recommendations for change from outsiders. However, the intergroup sensitivity effect (ISE)suggests that people are consistently more resistant to criticisms directed at their group when they come from someone outside the group rather than someone within the group. The ISE has traditionally been interpreted and explained through the lens of social identity theory. Group-directed criticism is more threatening to one’s sense of collective identity if it stems from outsiders (who are viewed with suspicion and mistrust) than insiders (who are perceived to have the best interests of the group at heart). However, recent research has found that bystanders, or those who do not belong to the criticised group, also respond more negatively to criticism from external rather than internal sources—a finding that questions the extent to which the ISE is driven by themes of identity, defensiveness and threat. In response to the current debate in the literature surrounding the causes of the ISE,the current programme of research aimed to examine the extent to which the ISE exhibited by insiders is driven by defensiveness and identity-related concerns. This research has significant theoretical implications for clarifying our understanding of the factors that shape responses to group criticism. Furthermore, it provides rich theoretical insight into the utility of traditional theories of group deviance and minority influence in predicting responses to ‘ambiguously threatening’ messages such as group criticism. On a practical level, the findings of this programme of research have valuable implications for the type of interventions that will be effective in promoting change within and between groups. By examining the causes of the ISE, the studies presented in this dissertation provide change agents with advice on the type of strategies that will be more or less effective when advocating change from inside and outside a group. I conducted six laboratory-based studies examining the ISE. In all studies, Australian participants received group-directed criticisms that came from either an ingroup member (i.e., an Australian) or an outgroup member (i.e., a foreigner). In Study 1 (N = 94), I investigate the extent to which the ISE is an outcome of reporting bias. Specifically, I used the bogus pipeline technique to examine the extent to which people’s self-reported attitudes toward group criticism correspond with their true attitudes about group criticism. Study 2 (N = 57) examines the role of social identity in moderating the ISE on intergroup outcome measures such as ingroup bias. Chapter 4 presents two studies investigating the ISE from the perspective of insiders (those who belong to the criticised group) and bystanders (those who do not belong to the criticised group). Study 3 (N = 96) compares how insiders and bystanders evaluate group criticism and Study 4 (N = 169) examines whether the underlying processes that drive the ISE are different for insiders and bystanders. Finally, Chapter 5 presents two studies that examine the extent to which the ISE is driven by defense-motivated cognitive processes. Study 5 (N = 188) examines the impact of message quality on the ISE and Study 6 (N = 109) examines the extent to which self-affirmation could reduce the ISE by enhancing open-minded cognitive elaboration of the message Across the six studies, the ISE emerged such that people were consistently more resistant to criticism that stemmed from outsiders than insiders. Throughout the studies, themes of identity, threat, and defensiveness played a central role in driving people’s responses to criticisms of their group. Collectively, the results revealed that the ISE is a genuine effect that results in heightened intergroup bias (but only among those who strongly identify with the group). Both insiders and bystanders exhibit the ISE, however insiders’ response to group criticism is driven more by perceptions of constructiveness than by perceptions of source expertise. Arming oneself with high levels of expertise or strong evidence for one’s arguments is not an effective strategy an outgroup critic can use to overcome defensiveness to their message. However, self-affirmation can be effective in reducing the ISE through encouraging more open-minded elaboration of the critical message. Drawing on the social identity account of the ISE, the current findings suggest that when advocating change from outside a group, it is more important for the critic to dissolve barriers of suspicion and mistrust than to build a strong case for the arguments. group criticism, intergroup sensitivity effect, social identity, persuasion, minority influence, group dissent, deviance, defensiveness

The antecedents of non-affective psychosis: a birth cohort study

Joyce Welham — 2010-04-16T00:00:00Z

Background. Despite extensive research the etiology of schizophrenia remains unclear. Whilst a substantial body of research points to a developmental component where early risk factors and maturational processes interact to culminate in psychosis during adulthood, key components and processes are yet to be confirmed. Prospective birth cohort studies, with their longitudinal data drawn from the general population, are vital to better understanding these pathways. To date, birth cohort (BC) studies have found that compared to healthy individuals, those who develop schizophrenia are more likely to display subtle deviations in certain developmental domains during infancy, childhood or adolescence. Yet there had been no recent review of these findings to identify areas of agreement, disagreement or where information was lacking. Aims. The overall aim of this dissertation is two-fold: firstly to identify and consolidate the current literature related to the antecedents of schizophrenia based on birth cohort studies; and secondly to undertake empirical studies based on an Australian birth cohort to address specific issues raised in the preceding review. Methods. The following three papers present empirical studies which use common methods based on an Australian birth cohort. Each study was based on a birth cohort of 3801 young adults born between 1981 and 1984, as part of the Mater University Study of Pregnancy and its outcomes. An extensive range of behavioural, cognitive, physical and social measures had been taken at various stages during their development namely, antenatally, at birth and six months, and at 5, 14 and 21 year follow-ups. Psychiatric diagnoses were obtained at age 21 follow-up from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), or, if this was not available, on a self-report health outcomes checklist; this produced the outcome variable ‘screen-positive non-affective psychosis’ (SP-NAP). The association between antecedents and later SP-NAP were examined using logistic regression adjusted for potentially confounding variables (such as actual age at assessment, cannabis use in adolescence, and gender). Each study also (a) examined differences in case vs. noncase maturation over time; and (b) conducted planned sensitivity and post hoc analyses, such as for source of diagnoses and predictive validity. Analyses were performed using SAS 9.2 (SAS). Results. The main findings of the review were that BC studies of schizophrenia provide important insights into both the maturational antecedents of schizophrenia and putative risk modifying factors. Yet while some antecedents, such as neurocognitive dysfunction, have been well documented, others are less certain (such as postnatal physical growth). There are no studies based on pre-morbid attentional measures. In addition, there were no studies of developmental pathways where continuity of maturation was based on within-individual scores rather than group means. These findings led to three empirical studies based on an Australian birth cohort previously untapped in psychosis research. The first study found that higher levels childhood and adolescent general psychopathology increased the risk of SP-NAP. This effect was less clear for females and when adolescent psychopathology had been rated by mothers at the 14-year follow-up. In contrast, self-reported hallucinations at the 14 year follow-up increased the risk of SP-NAP in both sexes. Males with high psychopathology scores in both childhood and adolescence were at greatest risk, followed by males and females whose ‘social, attention and thought’ scores were either consistently dysfunctional or worsened from childhood to adolescence (3- to 13-fold risk). The second study found that altered physical growth in infancy and adulthood (increased head circumference and height) raised the risk of SP-NAP for females but not males. For cases, there was no evidence of ‘catch-up growth’, i.e., growth retardation at birth being followed by a period of rapid growth. There was also no group difference in pubertal maturation for males or females. The final study found that dysfunction in childhood and adolescent intelligence, attention and speech increased the risk of SP-NAP for males but not females. Males with persistently high scores or who worsened on measures related to childhood and adolescent attentional problems were at greatest risk of SP-NAP. Discussion. While there are some caveats, disturbed developmental antecedents – particularly psychopathology and impaired cognition in males – were more frequently identified in cohort members who developed non-affective psychosis than their peers. More specifically, this disturbed development appeared be in domains which reflect those of the adult disorder and include the possible endophenotypes of psychosis-like experiences, inattention and visuospatial dysfunction. Of interest, self-rated items during adolescence were associated with increased risk of later psychosis. Finally, developmental pathways associated with non-affective psychosis were not uniform in timing but varied depending on such factors as domain and gender. These findings stress that understanding the heterogeneity in developmental pathways is crucial to understanding the heterogeneous nature of the subsequent disorder.

The antigenic structure of Haemophilus Pertussis in relation to active immunisation

Gray, David Francis. — 2010-08-25T00:00:00Z

The application of computers to the solution of mine ventilation networks.

Bond, Graham Francis. — 2010-08-31T00:00:00Z

The application of free energy calculations and molecular dynamics simulations to drug design

Nair, Pramod Chandrasekharan — 2013-01-11T11:38:37Z

Drug design fundamentally involves the development of small molecules which interact with a target protein thereby altering its function. Many approaches can be used to estimate how tightly a ligand binds to a target protein. However, understanding precisely how a given ligand interacts with the target protein is often much more challenging. In particular there can be many uncertainties in regard to the placement of ligands in X-ray crystal complexes due to the limitations of the diffraction data as well as in the protocols used for structure refinement. The placement of molecules used in fragment based drug design, which are small in size (50-200Da) and often bind with low affinity to the target protein, are particularly problematic. In some cases fragments can adopt multiple stable binding modes which can be easily missed if the data is averaged and the refinement protocols assume a unique binding mode. In this thesis a combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation techniques and free energy calculations have been used to understand the structural and thermodynamic basis of ligand recognition in atomic detail. Specifically, the extent to which these computational techniques could be used to validate crystallographic complexes containing small fragment molecules has been examined. It is shown that MD simulations and free energy calculations could be used to correct incorrectly modeled structures and to detect cooperative binding and the formation of stable tertiary complexes that would otherwise be missed using current fragment based drug design approaches. The work demonstrated that a range of complexes could account for the density observed in crystallographic experiments. This highlighted the need for reliable and validated experimental binding and structural data to be available against which, theoretical calculations can be compared. In addition to studies of known crystal complexes the ability of high throughput free energy methods to estimate the binding affinities of a wide variety of molecules from a series of simulations using different reference states was also examined. It was shown that despite good predictions being obtained in some cases the range of molecules that could be examined was limited. A way to overcome such limitations in the case of stereoisomers is presented. Overall, this thesis demonstrates how MD simulations and free energy calculations can be used to resolve uncertainties in experimental binding affinities, binding modes, and other aspects related to X-ray refinement and computational drug design. At the same time, the work suggests novel strategies to overcome the sampling issues with the use of rapid free energy techniques in high throughput screening of diverse small molecules.

The application of numerical modelling to the assessment of the potential for, and the detection of, spontaneous combustion in underground coal mines

Humphreys, D. R. (David R.) — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

The application of serial technique to tonal music: the emancipation of consonance

Jayasinghe, Rohan — 2012-09-21T00:00:00Z

The Application of Spices and Herbs to Control Food-borne Pathogens in Ready to Eat Shrimp

Nimsha Weerakkody — 2011-12-10T00:00:00Z

Abstract An interest in antimicrobials from new sources has expanded in recent years because of greater consumer demand for healthy foods with natural preservatives instead of chemical preservatives. Undetermined antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of novel or less-utilised spices and herbs may have the potential to fulfil consumer demands. Numerous studies have reported the antimicrobial activity of individual essential oils or plant extracts alone, however only a few have reported on the activity of combined spice and herb extracts. In addition, there is lack of knowledge on the mechanism of antimicrobial activity of spice and herb extracts. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of less well known spices and herbs against food-borne pathogens Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens and Staphylococcus aureus. In total, seven herbs and spices including the less-utilized goraka (Garcinia quaesita), galangal (Alpinia galanga), lemon iron bark (Eucalyptus staigerana) and mountain pepper (Tasmannia lanceolata) and the more commonly used pepper (Piper nigrum), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and oregano (Oreganum vulgare) were extracted using ethanol, water and hexane solvents. The antimicrobial activities of these extracts were tested using disc diffusion and broth dilution assays. The total phenolic content of spice and herb extracts was assayed to establish any relationship between antimicrobial activity and phenolic compound levels. Solvent type greatly influenced the antimicrobial activity of the spice and herb extracts except for those of pepper, which had little or no activity. In particular, the hexane and ethanol extracts of galangal and ethanol and water extracts of lemon iron bark had strong antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and/or L. monocytogenes. Antimicrobial activity and phenolic compound levels was found to poorly correlated (r2< 0.30), in contrast to that found by others. This indicated that the antimicrobial activity in some herb and spice extracts may be due to the presence of substances other than phenolic compounds. Three spice and herb extracts yielding the best results were selected for synergistic antimicrobial activity studies using broth dilution assay followed by viable counts. The chemical compositions of these extracts were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to provide further insight into antimicrobial constituents and their potential mechanism(s) of action. Combinations of galangal with either rosemary or lemon iron bark showed synergistic antimicrobial activity. Specifically, galangal and rosemary showed synergistic activity against S. aureus and L. monocytogenes only, while galangal and lemon iron bark showed synergistic activity against E. coli and S. Typhimurium. The major chemical components of the galangal and lemon iron bark extracts were 1'-acetoxy-chavicol acetate (1'ACA) (63.4%), and neral (15.6%), respectively, while 1,8 cineole (26.3%) and camphor (20.3%) were identified as major chemical components of the rosemary extract. Previously works by others have shown that crude galangal extract causes cell leakage and coagulation of cytoplasmic components. This part of the project focused on determining if 1'ACA was the galangal extract component which caused membrane damage and if so what effects it has on cell morphology, membrane fatty acid composition, stress response and virulence gene expression and mutation rate. The major chemical compound of the galangal extract (1'ACA) was purified to 100% and was shown to possess antimicrobial activity against S. aureus (including methicillin resistant strains) and L. monocytogenes, but little activity against E. coli and S. Typhimurium. The mechanism of action of purified 1'ACA against the most sensitive bacteria was investigated using different methods. Scanning electron microscopy showed that 1'ACA caused S. aureus cells to develop a rough surface and appear damaged or deformed. An increase in levels of cytoplasmic constituent release and a higher molar fatty acid unsaturation index (due to the changes of ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids) provided further evidence of the effect of 1'ACA on cell envelope integrity. Significant up regulation of genes responsive to cell wall (msrA, vraS) and membrane damage (vraD) were identified using reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, a significantly higher mutation rate was observed in S. aureus exposed to 1'ACA. The results of this study suggest that the S. aureus cell envelope is the principal target for the microbicidal action of 1'ACA, either directly or indirectly. Lastly the use of synergistic herb and spice extract combinations in controlling pathogens and food spoilage bacteria in vacuum packed ready-to-eat (RTE) shrimp was investigated. A combination of galangal, rosemary and lemon iron bark significantly (p<0.05) reduced levels of aerobic bacteria and lactic acid bacteria at 4oC on day 12 by 1.6 and 1.59 log cfu/g, respectively. By day 16, levels of these bacteria were equivalent to controls. This spice and herb extract combination treated shrimp had significantly (p<0.05) lower lipid oxidation from days 4 to 16. Similarly, a combination of galangal and rosemary extract significantly (p<0.05) reduced levels of aerobic bacteria and lactic acid bacteria at 8oC on day 8 by 2.82 and 2.61 log cfu/g, respectively. By days 12 and 16 these levels of these bacteria were equivalent to controls. This spice and herb combination treated shrimp had significantly (p<0.05) lower lipid oxidation on days 4 and 16. None of the spice and herb extracts combinations had an effect on levels of inoculated L. monocytogenes or S. aureus, despite having significant activity in vitro. The reason for this is not clear, but possibly due to the more complex environment found in a food matrix. No changes in the colour or pH of shrimp during storage with the spice and herb extract combinations were found. Spice and herb extract combinations used in this study possessed the ability to control the growth of spoilage microflora and extend the shelf-life of RTE shrimp during the storage. Overall, this research has identified and provided a greater understanding of potential novel herb and spice derived antimicrobials for use in food or medical applications.

The application of surface electromyography for the assessment of cervical flexor muscle dysfunction in patients with neck pain

Falla, Deborah — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

THE ARCHITECTURE OF RED CEDAR, Toona ciliata M. Roem AND ITS MODIFICATION BY THE CEDAR TIP MOTH, Hypsipyla robusta Moore (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) – A VIRTUAL MODEL -

David Spolc — 2012-06-11T00:00:00Z

ABSTRACT Red cedar, Toona ciliata (M. Roem) and its relatives, the mahoganies and tropical cedars of the Swietenioideae (Meliaceae) are highly sought after timber species inhabiting the old and new world tropics. While interest in establishing plantations is high, efforts to date have failed because larvae of the Hypsipyla spp. moth destroy the growing shoots, resulting in increased branching and poor form. Red cedar is the host of the cedar tip moth, Hypsipyla robusta Moore throughout most of its range, which includes Australasia and the western pacific. It reaches over 40m in height when mature, with a spreading crown, long pinnate leaves and a buttressed trunk. It is an early successional tree, with a very high growth rate, favouring wide forest gaps. While there are many studies assessing attack by Hypsipyla spp. on their respective hosts, far fewer studies exist on the response of the Swietenioideae to attack. Studies to date have focused on tree height, branch number or basic biomass partitioning. This thesis is the world’s first model of tree architecture in the Swietenioideae, including damage from Hypsipyla spp. attack. All experiments were conducted in South East Queensland, Australia over three summer/autumn seasons, lasting three, eight and eight months respectively. In the first season, unmoderated tip moth attack and red cedar regrowth were monitored for 70 days in full sun. Treatments included wild tip moth damage, mechanical stem decapitation and undamaged controls. Feeding behaviour, levels of borer attack, stem tissue killed and regrowth branch numbers were all recorded. An allied experiment used damage in 20 greenhouse trees to assess resistance induction against future larvae establishment. All treatments, including controls gained secondary branches at statistically the same rate, stabilising at 9.3 branches per plant. Tertiary branch numbers were quite variable, likely a factor of stem damage timing and oviposition. No regrowth differences between mechanical and insect damage were recorded, suggesting no growth stimulation from insect feeding. Environmental stress appeared to exert some suppression on branching. Sap exudate in the greenhouse and gallery resin outdoors suggested resistance to be the preferred mode of defence under stress. No induction effect was found from pre-feeding. In the second and third seasons, the development rules for red cedar were derived from repeated growth measurements of trees in a greenhouse and a dedicated plantation. In the greenhouse, secondary and tertiary growth responses to two levels of larval damage were recorded over two eight month periods, using a digitiser. In the plantation, growth responses to managed larvae and mechanical damage were recorded under full sun and 70% lateral shade for two eight month periods, using plant mapping. Up to six regrowth branches were produced adjacent to the damaged tip in all greenhouse and field damage treatments, with three being the most common. There was no significant difference in branching rates between the two larval infestation rates in the greenhouse or between larval and mechanical treatments in the field (within each light treatment). But, node and leaf morphology were distinctly different between field light treatments. In the greenhouse, control plants produced no branches. In the field, full sun controls produced up to 8.5 branches from low on the stem, while lateral shade controls produced less than one lower branch. Leaves were determinate and produced from 1 to 17 leaflet pairs, as a function of stem or branch node. Leaflet size was a function of light, number of leaflet pairs and position on the rachis. Formulae describing the growth trends of stems, branches and leaves in 3D were then derived from the growth data and incorporated into sets of stochastic L-systems. L-systems were conceived by Aristid Lindenmayer as a formal language for the mathematical description of the development of cellular structures, such as the branching architecture of plants. The L-systems are animated as ‘Virtual Models’ written in the cpfg language through the L-Studio 54 interface. A greenhouse model, a lateral shade field model and a full sun field model are presented. They are largely to serve as future research tools, but have been utilised here to assess the diurnal light interception efficiency of the natural stem phyllotactic angle versus near alternatives, in both branched and unbranched architectures. Results show that the natural angle is the most efficient and this is discussed in terms of biological, physical and pest influences. Finally the field shade model is used to demonstrate a possible mechanism for producing a straight trunk tree in a forest gap, under a regime of probabilistic tip moth attack and stochastic regrowth branching. The tree is grown for 10 years, ending in an approximate canopy. Finally, a hypothetical integrated scenario for the growth of red cedar is presented as an adaptive compromise to a changing physical environment, within a gradually closing forest gap and a trade-off between height gain and losses to the cedar tip moth.

The Arc quenching properties of fine bore tubes

Fraser, Stewart Garth. — 2010-09-20T00:00:00Z

THE ART OF MYSTICISM : An Inquiry into the Notion of Ineffability in (Cataphatic) Mystical Experience

Martin, Paul Christopher — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

One of the defining characteristics of mystical experience posited by the psychologist and pragmatist philosopher William James in 1902 is that of ineffability, or indescribability. In this thesis my aim is to inquire into this notion of ineffability, indeed to problematize its understanding, by relating it to concepts of art and aesthetics. It is a preliminary attempt to apply the terminology of these fields in a direct analogous way to the mystical state. In short, I want to demonstrate that the mystical experience is like an artistic and aesthetic experience, in its phenomenology and psychology. My focus is on western Christian mysticism. Initially, I shall clarify my approach as dealing mainly with cataphatic, or positive mystical experience, as against apophatic, or negative mystical experiencealthough the demarcation cannot be absolute since there is a dialectical relationship between these particular modes. I introduce the terms happenstance consciousness and desire-laden consciousness, which roughly correspond to nature mysticism and theistic mysticism. The spiritual perception of God can be understood in terms of a metaphorical transposition of the mundane perception that is ordinarily involved with cognition of the world, and in this respect I appeal to the idea of the spiritual senses. I posit a distinction between the awareness of divinity, as the perceptual event, and the consciousness of divinity, as the imaginary experience, although acknowledging that it can only be a relative one. In positive (cataphatic) mystical consciousness, the imagination is of profound importance, as a means for realizing the presence of God; and accordingly, I shall survey ancient and modern thinking on the role of imagination and phantasy up to the eighteenth century. The work of Immanuel Kant in his Critique of Pure Reason (1781/87) presages a shift to non-imagistic propositional thinking about consciousness, one in which the imagination is a productive mechanism that works in conjunction with the understanding to make a judgement based on (empirical) experience. I interpret Kant analogically and metaphorically in order to argue that the mystical encounter with the noumenal God involves a perception of divine light by the sensible intuition of the soul, by dint of the spiritual senses, which is then represented phenomenally in the imaginary, and realized as the presence of God. This constitutive judgement means that the consciousness of divinity is available to be enunciated, and in that regard it demonstrates a recognition of Gods presence. In the event of contemplating God mystics are intuitively drawing the outline of divinity (circumscribing the rounded light of divinity), and in this way the invisible God is pictorially represented in the mystical imagination, where it is coloured by the understanding. Divinity is painted on to the canvas of the soul. It is a work of art, and the result of a creative enterprise. As painted by means of the light of God, the divine presence is perspectivally realized, compositionally formed, and colourfully relieved by the mystical imaginary. The experience of Gods being can finally be rendered as a tangible artwork, which is to say, enunciated, through the act of speaking and/or writing. One of the hallmarks of mystical consciousness is the sense of the beautiful and sublime nature of divinity. Utilizing Kants Critique of the Power of Judgement (1790/93) I argue that the consciousness of divinity is tantamount to an aesthetic realization, and it is by virtue of the reflecting power of judgement that mystics are able to discern the presence of God. Further inquiry reveals that mystical experience as it is realized by an affective consciousness has some affinity with twentieth-century theories of aesthetic experience. Phenomenologically, the imaginary presence of God is an object that exhibits certain aesthetic properties or qualitieswith love and beauty being paramount onesand the medium by which the ineffable consciousness is made manifest is through the use of tropical language (figures of speech), in the enunciation. Ultimately, I argue that mystics are bound to articulate the experience of divinity, since it connotes a recognition of that presence of God which is realized in the imaginary; and thus, their protestations about ineffability are problematic.

The Assessment and Treatment of Disordered Speech and Voice in Parkinson’s Disease Using a PC-based Telerehabilitation System

Gabriella Amalia Constantinescu — 2010-11-09T00:00:00Z

Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) face numerous access barriers to speech-language pathology services including their own physical incapacity, difficulties with transport, travel, cost of travel and the large distances to healthcare facilities. Telerehabilitation is a possible solution for these problems, whereby rehabilitation services may be delivered remotely to patients via telecommunication and information technologies. A number of studies have demonstrated the feasibility of telerehabilitation via personal computer (PC) based systems for assessment and treatment of dysarthria, apraxia of speech, aphasia and voice disorders in adults with neurological impairments. To date, however, no large-scale studies have specifically focused on the online assessment and treatment of the speech and voice disorder associated with PD. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the validity of telerehabilitation for the assessment and treatment of PD and to provide a framework for telerehabilitation use in this area. For the studies in this thesis, a custom made PC-based telerehabilitation system was developed. The system incorporated a number of features to meet face-to-face requirements for the management of PD including: (1) real-time videoconferencing which operated on a 128 kbit/s Internet connection; (2) control of the participant web cameras remotely; (3) store-and-forward function; (4) the ability to display printed materials for the participant remotely; (5) ease of operation; and (6) the ability to objectively measure real-time calibrated average recordings of vocal sound pressure level (SPL), fundamental frequency (F0) and duration. The initial component of the research established the validity of the telerehabilitation system as an acoustic measurement tool via a series of calibration and verification phases, where comparisons were made to standard face-to-face reference measurement tools (Chapter 2). The studies confirmed the accuracy of the telerehabilitation system with non-significant differences in acoustic measures obtained between the telerehabilitation system and reference tools. All measures also fell within predetermined clinical criteria. Following this, a series of four studies were conducted to achieve the aim of this thesis. The first cohort study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of online assessment of the speech and voice disorder associated with PD (Chapter 3). A total of 61 participants with PD and mild to severe hypokinetic dysarthria took part in the laboratory-based equivalence study. The participants were assessed simultaneously in the online and face-to-face environments. The assessment protocol included perceptual measures of voice and oromotor function, articulatory precision, speech intelligibility, and acoustic measures of mean SPL, maximum F0 range and maximum duration of sustained vowel phonation. The level of agreement between the online and face-to-face ratings was determined using several different analyses, depending on the parameter. These included percent close agreement, quadratic weighted Kappa and the Bland and Altman limits of agreement. The results revealed that for all perceptual parameters, percent close agreement between the two environments was within the predetermined clinical criterion of 80%. However, a number of these parameters fell below the clinical criterion of good agreement based on the quadratic weighted Kappa. The discrepancy in findings was considered to relate to rater variability commonly seen in perceptual ratings and/or the nature of the statistic per se, rather than the online environment. For the remaining speech intelligibility and acoustic parameters, the Bland and Altman limits of agreement analysis revealed comparability between the two environments, with only the word intelligibility values falling below the clinical criterion. It was suggested that speaker severity may have influenced the results on this parameter. The intra- and inter-rater reliability scores were also comparable between the online and face-to-face environments, achieving moderate to very good agreement for all tasks. Subsequent to the validation of the online assessment of hypokinetic dysarthria, three treatment studies were conducted. The first was a laboratory-based randomised controlled non-inferiority trial investigating the validity of online treatment delivery for the speech and voice disorder associated with PD. In this study, 34 participants with idiopathic PD (IPD) and mild to moderate hypokinetic dysarthria received the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) for PD, in either the online or face-to-face environment (n = 17 in each). The study findings were very promising, with non-inferiority of the online LSVT® modality confirmed for the primary outcome measure of mean change in SPL on a monologue task. Non-significant main effects of treatment environment, dysarthria severity and interaction effects were also noted across all of the acoustic and perceptual parameters (p > .05). Further, it was encouraging to note that significant gains following the LSVT® were made on the majority of acoustic and perceptual parameters for participants in both treatment environments (p < .05 for SPL tasks; maximum F0 range; all voice parameters and speech intelligibility). In order to determine the feasibility of online LSVT® for complex cases of PD, the second laboratory-based treatment study was conducted. Four participants with marked communication, cognitive and physical difficulties took part in the study. The participants had been diagnosed with either IPD and had undergone neurosurgical intervention or with progressive supranuclear palsy. Online treatment delivery for these complex cases showed promise, with functional improvements in communication reported for all cases. Although the treatment gains on the perceptual and acoustic measures were generally variable, it was evident that the outcomes were influenced by the complex participant factors that were all external to the treatment environment. In the final study, a single participant with IPD and mild hypokinetic dysarthria received the LSVT® remotely from his home, in order to determine the feasibly of home telecare for PD. Substantial improvements were achieved on the majority of acoustic parameters (SPL tasks and maximum duration of sustained vowel phonation), and on the perceptual measure of vocal breathiness. The results of the study demonstrated the feasibility of home-based treatment for PD in the real-world setting, within an individual’s most natural and preferred environment. Overall, the findings presented in this thesis provide evidence for the validity of assessing and treating the disordered speech and voice of PD via telerehabilitation. Although some challenges unique to the online environment were encountered in the studies and were mainly due to the audio and video quality during videoconferencing, the participants and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) were able to appropriately manage these without substantial impact on the online delivery overall. The high participant satisfaction with the online modality across all studies further supported this, where the majority of participants (80% and above) were more than satisfied or very satisfied with the online modality overall. The thesis provides a framework for the delivery of telerehabilitation services for people with PD, with the potential to alleviate the current access issues that exist for this population. Further research is needed to build on the findings in this thesis and should include the validity of home-based assessment and treatment, in-depth investigations of participant and SLP satisfaction and cost-benefit analyses of telerehabilitation for PD. Such investigations are necessary in order to determine the complete benefits of telerehabilitation as an additional or alternate mode of service delivery for this population, and the circumstances in which this approach is most suitable.

The association between endophytic N2-fixing bacteria and Australian sugar cane

Robertson, Suzanne K. — 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z

The association between micronutrients status, stunting, body mass index and adiposity among Mexican American children

Gunanti, Inong Retno — 2012-12-13T19:49:04Z

The association between rumen microbial protein production with rumen microbial community structure.

Karen Harper — 2012-03-22T00:00:00Z

Abstract Beef production in tropical northern Australia is generally limited by poor feed quality during the critical dry season. The digestibility of this poor quality feed is directly related to rumen microbial activity and community composition, and despite this important relationship, a review of available literature highlighted our limited understanding of this. Supplementation with nitrogen (N) is a practical strategy to improve the liveweight (LW) gain of cattle grazing low quality pastures, however, the effect of various forms of N supplementation on the composition of the rumen microbes is unknown. N supplementation will increase microbial crude protein (MCP) production but the efficiency of MCP production (EMCP) is difficult to increase. Supplementation with spirulina algae increased EMCP and therefore provided a working model to compare the rumen function and community structure of steers with low and high EMCP values when fed tropical pastures. This study was initiated to develop a better understanding of rumen ecology the factors that govern microbial community structure and growth to increase the EMCP and associated animal performance in tropical production systems. The aims of this study were firstly to identify the changes in microbial species of the rumen when various forms of N were supplemented, and secondly to examine the relationship between the microbial community structure, EMCP and LW gain, as it relates to tropical pastures and supplement type. Experiment 1 investigated the use of the N supplements, urea and spirulina algae, to enhance the EMCP of steers fed a basal diet of Mitchell Grass (Astrebla spp.). Data from a parallel study on rumen function showed a significant improvement in the EMCP with spirulina algae supplementation. In this experiment denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was applied to compare the effects of treatments on rumen bacterial community structure. Phylogenetic sequence analysis was performed on cloned DGGE bands which represented bacterial species common across all treatments (core bacteria) and supplement specific bacteria. Experiment 2 investigated the effect of N supplements (urea, spirulina algae and cottonseed meal (CSM)) on LW gain of steers fed a basal diet of Speargrass (Heteropogon contortus). LW data from a parallel component of the experiment demonstrated significant LW gains under N supplementation. The 454 pyrosequencing technique was applied providing a comprehensive examination of microbial diversity, community structure, and identification of the core bacteria and bacteria specific to supplement treatments. The core bacteria, which were represented as common bands across all treatments, were identified in Experiment 1. The 454 pyrosequencing (Experiment 2) identified and validated a stable core group of bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) present in all steers. The core group of bacteria could not be characterized to a species level because there are no cultured representatives in the available databases. Supplement specific bacteria were identified in Experiment 1 and 2 using the different molecular techniques however bacterial species again could not be characterized. In both experiments there was animal to animal variation in microbial community structure that was not fully attributable to N supplement treatments. Each steer appeared to have its own unique bacterial profile. In Experiment 1, due to the incomplete Latin square design, it was shown that the profile for each animal was stable when changes in supplement were imposed across the three runs. In Experiment 2, there was considerable animal to animal variation in microbes at both the phyla and the genera level. Across both experiments, a greater bacterial diversity was found in rumen samples from animals fed diets supplemented with the medium (130-170 gRDP/kg DOM in Experiment 1 and 0.14-0.16 g N/kgLW/day in Experiment 2) levels of protein supplement. The bacterial diversity did not correlate with EMCP values in Experiment 1, however, it is likely that any effects were confounded since with high spirulina algae supplementation, rumen retention time was significantly reduced, which is likely to affect microbial populations. In Experiment 2 the higher bacterial diversity was strongly associated with greater LW gains. In an attempt to provide a better understanding of the diversity changes, rumen bacteria community profiles were compared in both experiments. Comparing DGGE profiles in Experiment 1, there were significant changes only at the high and low planes of N with high and low EMCP steers clustering separately, suggesting a relationship between bacterial community profile and EMCP at the extremities of the N supplementation range. The use of 454 pyrosequencing in Experiment 2 provided more clarity of the changes in the OTUs with supplementation by means of OTU networks. These networks showed two distinct clusters that related to urea and protein supplementation treatments, however many OTUs were common across all treatments. It may be concluded that supplementation of protein increases the diversity of rumen bacteria as well as improves the growth conditions for the entire bacterial community, therefore providing more nutrients to the host animal leading to improved EMCP and increased LW gains.

The association between shift work, body mass index and low back pain in a cohort of nurses and midwives.

Isabella Zhao — 2012-03-20T00:00:00Z

Background Shift work is a defining occupational feature of nursing and midwifery professions. It has various adverse effects that could ultimately affect building and maintaining a healthy nursing and midwifery workforce. Firstly, shift work interrupts people‟s daily routines; therefore, it may lead to poorer lifestyle factors that increase one‟s risk of being overweight or obese. Secondly, shift work is reported to be one of the occupational risk factors for low back pain, which is a common problem among nurses. Aim This research aims to examine the association between shift work, body mass index(BMI) and low back pain (LBP) among nurses and midwives recruited from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Methods To understand the impact of shift work on BMI, both cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort studies were undertaken using data from the Nurses and Midwives‟ e-cohort Study (NMes). The NMeS is a longitudinal population-based study recruiting nurses and midwives from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom; and it is conducted completely electronically from recruitment to follow-up. There were 10, 120 total registrants, of whom, 7604 registrants completed survey 1 and 5280 registrants completed survey 2. The average follow-up period was two years. Two cross-sectional studies were carried out to explore the effects of shift work in general and specific shift types (rotating shift work and night-only shift work) on BMI. A longitudinal cohort study was undertaken to better understand the causal relationship between shift work and BMI. Similarly, a second longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the association between shift work and LBP, which also included an interaction analysis of the combining effects of shift work and overweight/obesity on LBP. Detailed statistical methods used for each study were discussed in each paper. Results The results from the two cross-sectional studies showed that almost 60% of the recruited nurses and midwives were overweight or obese. Shift workers were at higher risk of being overweight and obese compared to day workers (aRR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.28, p = 0.013; aRR: 1.14, 95% CI 1.02 - 1.30, p = 0.02, respectively). Regarding the specific shift types, rotating shift work was found to be associated with both overweight and obesity (aRR: 1.02, 95% CI 1.004 – 1.03 p = 0.007; aRR: 1.02,95% CI 1.004 – 1.04, p = 0.02, respectively); and night-only shift work was only found to be associated with obesity (aRR: 1.02, 95% CI 1.002 – 1.04, p = 0.031), but not associated with being overweight. The adjusted relative risk (1.02) was small, which may not reflect clinical significance although the results were statistically significance. Furthermore, shift work is consisted of many different kinds of schedules including rotating shift and night-only shift. Therefore, it was decided to further test the association between shift work in general (including any kind of shift schedules) and BMI using a longitudinal study design, which found a decrease in BMI among those participants who maintained day work and especially among those who changed from shift work at Survey One (S1) to day work at Survey Two (S2)(decrease in BMI of 3.02) during the two years‟ follow up; an increase in BMI among those participants who maintained shift work and those who changed from day work at S1 to shift work at S2 (p < 0.001). These studies demonstrate that shift work is significantly associated with overweight/obesity/increase in BMI; and overweight or obesity is reported to have an impact on LBP. Therefore, in the longitudinal study of examining the association between shift work and LBP, the impact of the interaction between shift work and overweight/obesity on LBP was also examined. The results showed that shift workers were at higher risks of developing LBP compared to day workers (aOR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.05 – 1.40, p = 0.03). The [shift schedule * BMI classification] interaction showed that shift workers who were overweight and obese were more likely to develop LBP than day workers (overweight: aOR: 1.23, p < 0.01; obesity: aOR: 1.34, p < 0.01). Conclusion Shift workers were at higher risk of being overweight or obese and developing LBP compared to day workers. Whilst shift work cannot be avoided in nurses and midwives, interventions targeting weight reduction and LBP prevention should be tailored to the specific work settings. If the adverse effects of shift work can be mitigated with strategic intervention, the potential workforce implications of these morbidities may be prevented.

Theatre Audience Contribution through the Post-performance Discussion

Caroline Heim — 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z

This dissertation addresses a significant gap in audience-orientated criticism by introducing a new approach to theatre audience research: audience contribution through the vehicle of a postperformance discussion. Audience contribution considers the physical and vocal behaviour of audience members as contributions to the theatrical event. Much scholarship has concentrated on the written and performance texts. What I posit as the audience text, comprised of audience contributions, has been predominantly ignored. The audience text is an integral part of the theatrical event that changes, adds to and informs the theatrical experience for audience and arts professionals alike. Over the past century the audience role has changed from interactive contributor to passive receiver. For the contemporary theatre audience member, opportunities to contribute to the theatrical event have been limited to laughter, applause and consumerist practices such as the purchasing of theatrical merchandise. Similarly in much theatre audience theory, audiences are perceived as passive receivers of the drama whose only active contribution is through autonomous cognitive meaning-making processes. The study takes into account the extant audience theory of audience reception and builds on this. Post-performance discussions, which have risen significantly in popularity in the last decade, are an under-explored and under-utilised avenue for audience contribution. A new method for the facilitation of post-performance discussions that encourages audience contribution and privileges the audience voice is introduced. Case studies of post-performance discussions held after performances of Anne of the Thousand Days and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? trial this new discussion model. An audience text is created that informs the theatrical event and a new role for the contemporary audience is discovered: audience critic. Through the post-performance discussions, audience members become active contributors to, and co-creators of, the theatrical event. Audience contribution has significant implications for audience theory and theatre practice alike.

The attainment of marketing specification for open pit mined direct-shipping low value commodities through planning and blending

Mol, Omer — 2012-12-05T14:58:31Z

The attenuation of chronic complications in experimental diabetes by l-arginine

Ong, Leslie Gin Teck — 2011-12-20T00:00:00Z

The Australian rugose corals : their morphological characters, their systematic classification, and their use in a reinterpretation of the Australian stratigraphic record

Hill, Dorothy — 2012-10-30T00:00:00Z

The Australian South-east Fishery: An analysis of quota species supply and demand

Bose, Shekar. — 2007-08-24T17:46:41Z

The bacterial community in the foregut of the dromedary camel

Anjas Samsudin — 2011-10-18T00:00:00Z

Samsudin, A. A. 2011. The bacterial community in the foregut of the dromedary camel. PhD. thesis, The University of Queensland, Australia. The digestive systems of the Arabian camels are anatomically different from that of the true ruminants such as cattle and sheep. The forestomach of camelids consists of three chambers, whilst in the true ruminant, they have four. Despite having differences in anatomical structures, functionally they are the same. The molecular diversity of the foregut bacterial community in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Central Australia was investigated through comparative analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences prepared from the foregut contents of 12 adult feral camels fed on native vegetation. A total of 267 near complete 16S rRNA clones were examined, with 151 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) identified at a 99% species-level identity cut-off criterion. The prediction of actual diversity in the foregut of the dromedary camel, using the Chaol’s approach, was 238 OTUs, while the richness and evenness of the diversity estimated, using the Shannon’s index, was 4.84. The majority of clone bacteria in the current study was affiliated with the bacterial phylum Firmicutes (67% of total clones) and was related to the classes Clostridia, Bacilli, and Mollicutes, and these were followed in number by the Bacteroidetes (25%) that were mostly represented by the family Prevotellaceae. The remaining phyla consisted of Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Cynophyta, Lentisphaerae, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, and Sphirochaetes. Moreover, 11 clones of cultivated bacteria were identified as Brevundimonas sp., Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Prevotella sp., and Ruminococcus flavefaciens. The novelty in this foregut environment is remarkable where 97% of the OTUs were distantly related to any known sequence in the public database. In the second study, numerous genera of cellulolytic bacteria, involved in fibre degradation in the rumen, and their functional role in the foregut of the dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) were investigated using 16S rRNA gene libraries. The foregut content from five adult feral camels, fed on native vegetation, was inoculated in three different fibre enrichment media, namely; cotton thread (CT), filter paper (FP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF). A total of 283 near complete 16S rRNA clones were examined, with 33 OTUs identified at a 99% species-level identity cut-off criterion. The actual diversity was estimated using Chaol’s approach, with 42 OTUs predicted, while the richness of the diversity estimated using Shannon’s index was 2.82. LIBSHUFF analysis of the three 16S rRNA clone libraries revealed significant differences across all of them. Clostridium bifermentans were found in all three libraries, while Eubacterium sp, Pseudobutyrivibrio ruminis, Pyramidobacter piscolens and Schwartzia succinivorans were found in both CT and FP enrichment media only. The current results in the present study showed significant findings of fibre-degrading bacteria that inhabit the foregut of wild dromedary camels. In the third study, the total bacterial community, F. succinogenes and R. flavefaciens, in the foregut of the dromedary camel was measured by quantifying the cell number of each respective species using real-time PCR. The samples from this study were obtained from the same samples used in the second study. The standard curve gave a linear relationship (R2=0.969) with the equation y= -2.975x+42.33. Using an absolute quantification method, the numbers of cells in one millilitre of each sample ranged from 4.07x106 to 2.73x109 for total bacteria, 1.34x103 to 2.17x105 for F. succinogenes and 5.78x101 to 3.53x104 for R. flavefaciens. The mean cell number for three set of primers used in the current study demonstrated that the number of general bacteria prevalent in the CT enrichment media was 242-fold higher than in rumen content. The mean cell number of F. succinogenes was highest in the FP enrichment media at approximately 107-fold, whereas for the R. flavefaciens targeted primer, the NDF enrichment media had the highest mean cell number with approximately 4-fold when compared to the rumen content. Despite having a low population density in the rumen samples compared to samples from domesticated ruminants, the data presented here would help farmers to develop feeding regimes for dromedary camels since they do not share an interest in the forage consumed by domesticated livestock, especially during a drought season. The final study of this thesis was to identify the unrealized fibre-degrading bacteria in this environment niche using a combination of culturation and molecular methods. Samples in this study were obtained from the same enrichment media (CT, FP and NDF) used in the second and third studies. In this study, only 66 partial-length (700bp) sequenced isolates were successfully recovered. The majority of the isolates in this study were represented by the phylum Firmicutes followed by Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The phylum Firmicutes was dominant in the CT and FP enrichment media, while a reasonable number of Proteobacteria was present in the NDF enrichment culture. The genus Clostridium was found in all enrichment media and was the most dominant genus with the highest frequency, 56.1% of isolates, followed by Escherichia coli (19.3%), Actinomyces ruminicola (15.8%) and Streptococcus lutetiensis (8.8%). The results of the culture dependent methods revealed the difficulties in culturing fibre degrading bacteria and more work is needed to address this. None of the isolates obtained from the fibre-enriched media was able to degrade cellulose independently, confirming the complexity of the microbial ecosystem and the importance of the interaction between bacterial groups to degrade fibre. Overall, results of this study provided an insight into a microbial system of a herbivore that has not been thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, the study of the fibre-degrading bacterial community in the foregut of the dromedary camel has provided data that, hopefully, will contribute to the sustainable farming of camels well into the future. These animals do not compete with domesticated ruminants such as cattle and sheep either in feeding behaviour or in the type of feed these animals consume, so the data could support plans for the commercial management of a potential new livestock industry in Australia.

The bassoon at the time of Carl Maria von Weber

Gould, Alannah. — 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z

The behavioural biology and management of southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) in captivity

Descovich, Kristin — 2012-11-19T00:00:00Z