http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/ The University of Queensland en Fez http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158520 This research program represents the first systematic exploration of the subjective experience of alogia, anhedonia, attention problems, avolition, and emotional blunting, and its relation to other objective and subjective factors in schizophrenia. Using a combined rational-empirical approach, a vulnerability-stress-coping model of adjustment to the 5 negative symptoms was developed and tested. Three aspects of appraisal were examined, the primary appraisals of symptom severity and distress, and the secondary appraisal of control. The dimensions of coping with individual symptoms were initially examined using a rational approach, and then empirically using exploratory factor analyses. The Appraisal and Coping with Negative Symptoms Interview Schedule (ACNSIS) was developed for use in Study 1. Both qualitative and quantitative appraisal and coping data were examined for 20 people with negative symptoms. Responses to the ACNSIS demonstrated that appraisals and coping responses varied across participants and individual negative symptoms. Previously employed categorisations of coping behaviour were used to examine and quantify coping. Negative symptom-specific differences were found in awareness of negative symptom presence, degree of agreement with objective ratings, appraisals, reliance on different types of coping, and relations with participant characteristics. Participant coping responses from Study 1 were used to construct the self-report measure used in subsequent studies. Study 2 involved the development, administration, and evaluation of the selfreport Appraisal and Coping with Negative Symptoms Questionnaire (ACNSQ). Both an electronic and paper version of the ACNSQ were developed. The ACNSQ was administered to 120 people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Participants were required to make severity, distress and control appraisals for each negative symptom they believed they were suffering from. Following symptom appraisals, a number of symptom-specific and general coping items were presented for each negative symptom. In Study 2A, the multidimensionality of coping responses and the nature of empirically derived subscales were explored individually for each negative symptom. Factor analyses of data from 119 participants resulted in 3 underlying coping dimensions for each symptom. These dimensions, which formed the basis of the ACNSQ coping subscales, were labelled as active, emotional, or avoidant forms of coping. Coping subscales were found to be moderately similar across symptoms. The subscales were shown to be internally consistent and largely independent within symptoms. It was found that the degree of reliance on particular coping subscales was negative symptom-specific, although participant coping was related across symptoms. In Study 2B, the nature of negative symptom appraisals and the psychometric properties of the ACNSQ were examined. There was evidence that the nature of appraisals varied according to negative symptom. Retest reliability analyses indicated that overall, ACNSQ appraisals had a low to moderate degree of reliability while coping subscales demonstrated a moderate to high degree of reliability. Differential associations between appraisal and coping and a range of theoretically related variables provided evidence of the construct validity of the ACNSQ. Study 3 used exploratory techniques to conduct cross-sectional tests of a vulnerability-stress-coping model of adjustment to individual negative symptoms based on the data of the 119 participants. Associations between the objective indicator of negative symptom stressor level, and the subjective experience variables of insight, appraisal and coping were examined in relation to adjustment using a multidimensional approach. Two models of the relations between negative symptom predictors and 3 separate domains of adjustment were investigated. Study 3A provided moderate support for a direct effects model for each of the 5 negative symptoms. Objective negative symptom level, insight, primary appraisals and coping subscales all had significant direct effects on one or more domains of adjustment. In general, higher objective negative symptom levels, higher severity and distress appraisals, and greater reliance on avoidant forms of coping were associated with poorer adjustment. The direct effects of active and emotional forms of coping were less consistent and varied across symptoms and adjustment domains. Study 3B extended these findings by providing a limited amount of support for a mediated effects model. Appraisal and coping were found to act as mediators in some of the relations between objective indicators and subjective experience variables for alogia, attention problems and avolition. There was evidence that the impact of insight on coping was partly mediated by control appraisals. Coping partly mediated the relation between stress and adjustment, and appraisal and adjustment. Overall, this series of exploratory studies make a unique contribution to understanding the subjective experience of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The proposed vulnerability-stress-coping model demonstrated utility in identifying variables important in the prediction of adjustment to individual negative symptoms, and in delineating the nature of associations between variables. Further research is required to improve the psychometric properties of the ACNSQ. However, it offers promise as an instrument with which to assess negative symptom appraisals and coping responses, in both clinical and research settings. The present findings have important theoretical and clinical implications concerning the role of subjective and objective factors involved in adjustment to the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. This research program provides a valuable foundation for future research to test the vulnerability-stress-coping model in its entirety. 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Watson-Luke, Annette Robyn http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189306 2009-12-07T00:00:00Z Nickerson, Stanley Walter http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189965 2009-12-14T00:00:00Z Watson, Joanne http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:177581 2009-05-13T00:00:00Z Brown, David http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:157978 This thesis uses a contextually grounded research methodology to examine effectiveness of agricultural extension programs in Ethiopia in addressing the food needs of rural households as seen in the eyes of the farmers. By employing both qualitative and quantitative research approaches and drawing data from multiple settings situated in a sub-region of north central Ethiopia, north Shewa, the study has emphasized key issues that need to be considered when planning agricultural extension programs. For extension programs to be useful, it is suggested that planners need to pay attention to the constraints farmers are facing in the areas of land, credit, education, markets, and of agro-physical conditions of plots. The thesis’ central themes revolve around treating five research questions. These are: perceptions of rural households toward extension programs; how farmers evaluate relevance of extension activities; socio-economic and agro-ecological factors associated with program effectiveness; perceptions of program planners toward farmers, and potential and limitations of indigenous farming methods. These questions are addressed throughout the thesis, comprising of 9 chapters. Having outlined in chapter 1 the background for the thesis, I proposed in chapter 2 a multi-context analytical framework focusing attention on the social and agro-physical parameters surrounding the implementation of agricultural extension programs. I have indicated that combining social and agro-physical context analysis is to be open to the multiple ways in which farmers try to manage their farms. I then applied the analytical tools of contextual analysis to highlight in chapter 3 major social and physical settings of the study area. This gave way to an examination of the five research questions, starting with chapter 4 through to chapter 8, with the results of both qualitative and quantitative data complementing each other. The main theme that runs throughout this thesis as emerged from the qualitative data is that the issues agricultural extension deals with are simultaneously social, economic, and agro-physical, and thus it is essential that the planning of extension programs take this dynamism into account. This is demonstrated in farmers’ assessment of extension programs based on a more holistic approach encompassing social, economic, and agro-ecological indicators. The thesis has documented that despite a promising increase in production resulting from increased use of chemical fertilizers, most farmers interviewed noted that the recent package driven extension program has been insensitive to households’ resource needs, indigenous farming knowledge, seasonal nature of rural markets, and uneven distribution of ecological resources (eg soils). The above qualitative findings of the study has found support from analysis of selected results of the survey data in which mean amounts of fertilizer purchased in a given year by fertilizer-using respondents was affected by literacy level, size and slope of plots. In other words, respondents who had primary schooling and access to reasonable size of flat land purchased more fertilizers than those who did not have these attributes. Although the effects of other socio-economic (eg age) and agro-physical (eg moisture level) factors on farmers’ decision to use extension inputs were not confirmed by tests of statistical significance, their importance was highlighted in face-to-face discussions held with individual farmers. Combining results of both qualitative and quantitative findings, this thesis challenges the myth that standard extension packages (mainly fertilizer recommendations) are always beneficial to farmers. There was no evidence in support of the view that subsistence farmers would improve household food supply if they followed uniform rates of fertilizer use. Farmers who adopted a strategy of combining organic and inorganic inputs judiciously might just be as productive as those who relied exclusively on chemical fertilizers. The implication of this is that extension needs to facilitate ways of producing, managing and using local inputs by farmers, rather than devoting limited resources to the current one-sided, fertilizer-dependent package approach. In trying to make a contribution to the ways of improving the Ethiopian extension service I have suggested, weighing carefully the available evidence presented throughout the thesis, that extension programs in Ethiopia need to base their activities on the socio-economic and agro-ecological profiles of rural households and their communities. It was also indicated that there is a need to assess extension programs’ achievements or failures in terms of their contribution to helping farmers achieve their farming objectives and supporting locally viable strategies of securing food for the household. This requires taking extension closer to farmers and their context – a task that can be achieved by understanding the complementary roles of local farming knowledge and extension science. This thesis’ contribution to understanding the Ethiopian extension is that the social and agro-ecological contexts were combined systematically and coherently to provide a holistic understanding of the views and perspectives of rural households on the status of extension service in Ethiopia. The methodology used in conducting the fieldwork and the methods employed in gathering and analyzing the data are all congruent with the multidimensional approach adopted by this thesis’ theoretical framework and thus all serve to validate the usefulness of the findings contained in this thesis. 2010-03-22T00:00:00Z Kassgne, Abeje Berhanu http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:219812 The Family Planning Association of Queensland (now known as Family Planning Queensland) has played a significant role in providing sexual and reproductive health services since 1971, yet its history has been subject to very little investigation. This study examines the establishment of the organisation and its development over the next 30 years, focusing on the forces that shaped it and the local, national and international contexts in which it evolved. Drawing on extensive archival and other primary and secondary source materials, the study shows that while FPAQ developed in parallel with the other Australian Family Planning Associations it cultivated a distinctive character as it responded to Queensland’s physical, social and political environment. While initially the Association’s priorities were to provide contraceptive and professional training services in Brisbane, it soon began community education, information and publicity and promotional activities, established a network of regional branches and developed governance processes to support them. In articulating the history of FPAQ, the study fills a gap in the historiography of sexual and reproductive health services in Queensland and Australia and sheds new light on recent social, medical, nursing, political and women’s history. In terms of family planning, it confirms that the ‘personal is political’ and adds to a growing body of literature which shows the interaction between issues of sexuality, reproduction and fertility control and public policy and social debates. In setting the history of FPAQ in international context, the thesis contributes to an understanding of the birth control movement, links between the past and the present, and the processes by which the International Planned Parenthood Federation, a large social movement organisation, transmitted values, policies and practices to one of its affiliates working at the local level. The thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach to research, analysis and documentation of the establishment and development of FPAQ and the activities in which it became involved. While it is primarily a study in applied history, organisation and social movement theories have provided a useful framework for examining the Association’s history. Overall, the study argues that there were four main forces driving and shaping FPAQ. The birth control movement itself was influential. As a member of national and international family planning federations, the Association was assisted by them and was subject to the conditions of membership of both. A second and equally significant influence was the Commonwealth Government which became the major funding and policy-making body following the election of the Whitlam Government. FPAQ was also affected by the Queensland environment in which it emerged and existed. Geography and demography and social, medical, legal and political issues all contributed to shaping the Association and giving it a distinctive Queensland character. Finally, the thesis argues that no less important than any of these was the force exerted by key individuals on the development of FPAQ, its manner of operation and the stance it adopted in relation to the outside world. 2010-11-06T08:08:04Z Bannah, Sylvia http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189950 2009-12-14T00:00:00Z Edwards, Kenneth David http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:193253 2010-01-20T00:00:00Z Ryan, Delyse Joy http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:246218 2011-08-23T00:00:00Z Wichelhaus, Katrin http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189603 2009-12-10T00:00:00Z Kidston, Robert Keith http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:196153 2010-02-22T00:00:00Z Williams, Claire http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189006 2009-12-03T00:00:00Z James Davidson http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:188740 This study has been uaidertaken essentially as a contribution to social history, to the exploration of facets of the Catholic sub-population in Queensland over the years 1910 to 1935. It is not an ecclesiastical history, nor a political or economic one, though considerations of prior concern for each such history impinge centrally on its subject matter. It will be argued that around both the years 1910 and 1935 new kinds of consciousness were emerging, both v/ithin the Church in Queensland and in its wider environment. This interval has been seen, therefore, as a unit permitting of a degree of discrete study. 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z MacGinley, M. R. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:198478 2010-03-09T00:00:00Z Ruddiman, Wendy. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:184700 2009-10-08T00:00:00Z Salecich, Judith Anne. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:136225 The Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their ephrin ligands are cell surface molecules with a wide range of biological functions. Specifically, the Eph/ephrin receptor-ligand family influences cell behaviour during both embryogenesis and adult life, principally through modification of cytoskeletal organisation and cell adhesion. EphA1 (previously referred to as eph) was isolated during a search for novel tyrosine kinases with oncogenic potential. The murine homologue of hEphA1, formerly Esk and now mEphA1, was cloned by reverse transcriptase PCR using degenerate oligonucleotide primers and RNA prepared from embryonic stem cells in culture. Northern blot analysis revealed expression in day 12 mouse embryo, and adult mouse thymus, liver, kidney, lung and placenta. The work in this thesis investigates the expression and function of EphA1 in mutant mouse and other animal models. This has been achieved by a number of different techniques including:- (1) the classical techniques of molecular biology; (2) a search for the zebrafish homologue of mEphA1; (3) generation and phenotypic analysis of the hPLAP EphA1 reporter knockout mouse and (4) generation of the EphA1 conditional knockout mouse. The chromosomal localisation and Southern blotting of genomic digests confirmed that Esk (mEphA1) is the murine homologue of eph (hEphA1). The binding of soluble mEphA1 to a panel of ephrin ligands analysed by surface plasmon resonance (BIACore), and the binding of various ephrin-Fc molecules to cell surface expressed EphA1, confirmed that EphA1 is the cognate receptor for the ephrin-A1 ligand. The mEphA1 genomic sequence was isolated, sequenced and the exon-intron boundaries mapped. Interestingly, Exon 3, which includes the ligand binding domain, is split into two smaller exons (Exon 3a and Exon 3b). This pattern was also found in hEphA1; however, it is a novel finding compared with the other Ephs, and the reason underlying this difference remains speculative. In situ hybridisation analysis confirmed epithelial expression of mEphA1 in the basal layer of the epidermis, developing hair follicles, thymic epithelial cells and adult kidney. At the commencement of the zebrafish (ZF) library screening project in 1997, it seemed likely that there was an ZF orthologue of EphA1. However, over 50 clones were isolated by degenerate PCR of zebrafish cDNA and genomic libraries, and although some of the sequences had homology to known Ephs, none matched EphA1. The ZF genome has now been sequenced completely [http://wwwmap.tuebingen.mpg.de/ ; http://zfin.org/] and has confirmed that there is indeed no zebrafish orthologue of EphA1. The hPLAP EphA1 reporter knockout mouse was generated with the technical assistance of Dr Graham Kay (Queensland Transgenic Laboratory). The homozygous null mice have a kinky tail in two separate embryonic stem cell lines with a high degree of penetrance. A proportion of female null mice display the imperforate vagina phenotype. The null mice are otherwise grossly normal, with equal sex ratios and normal growth, health and life expectancy. The microscopic examination of haematoxylin and eosin stained sections of all the major organs revealed no histological abnormalities. The expression of hPLAP, (hence mEphA1), analysed in frozen sections confirmed the previous work which defined the epithelial expression of mEphA1 to the basal epidermis and hair follicle. There was also previously undescribed hPLAP (mEphA1) expression in the uterus, vagina and small intestine. The EphA1 conditional knockout mouse was also generated with the assistance of the Queensland Transgenic Facility. The homozygous null mice were grossly normal with equal sex ratio and normal health and life expectancy. The kinky tail phenotype was observed infrequently and has not yet been fully characterised in these mice. Similarly the imperforate vagina phenotype has not been observed in this strain of mice. This strain of genetically modified EphA1 knockout mice can be mated with various strains of Cre-deleter mice to achieve tissue specific silencing of EphA1 and consequently allow more precise analysis of EphA1 function. In summary, the studies described in this thesis have confirmed the importance of the Eph/ephrin receptor-ligands in both embryonic development and the maintenance of adult tissues, and have generated several new findings which add to our knowledge of the biology of EphA1. The generation of the hPLAP EphA1 reporter mice and EphA1 conditional knockout mice has provided us with very useful tools. These knockout mice will allow further analysis of the role of EphA1 in mouse models of human diseases, including skin and colon cancer, severe sepsis and post-traumatic injury. 2008-04-24T00:00:00Z Coulthard, Mark G. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:198863 2010-03-11T00:00:00Z Upham, Bruce W. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189269 2009-12-07T00:00:00Z Limerick, Brigid http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:279304 2012-08-24T00:00:00Z Kyle, Gregory John http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:238201 Signalling mechanisms play a vital role in plant development and function, controlling processes such as germination, branching, flowering and nodulation. However, these dynamic processes are so complex that details of their operation are still largely unknown. Endogenous signals in particular, such as those based on plant hormones and peptides, are difficult to observe and remain a critical challenge for botanic research. As an addition to conventional experimental approaches, computational modelling has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding the complexity of signalling occurring at and between different levels of organisation in plant systems. This thesis develops new methods and strategies for using computational modelling to study a typical internal shoot-root signalling system – the autoregulation of nodulation in legumes. Nodulation is a developmental process resulting from the symbiosis of legume plants with a group of bacteria known as rhizobia. The rhizobia colonise legume roots to house themselves and provide fixed nitrogen for the host plants. Since excessive nodulation can cause overconsumption of resources and disturbs plant growth, the legumes have developed a regulatory system – autoregulation of nodulation – to maintain the balance of nodule formation. The general framework of this signalling system has been established based on experimental findings. It has been hypothesised that the nodule formation process in the roots induces a signal moving to the leaves, which triggers a shoot-derived inhibitor moving back to the root to inhibit further nodulation. However, due to the intricacy of internal signalling and absence of flux and biochemical data, detailed mechanisms during autoregulation of nodulation remain largely unclear. The shoot-root regulatory signals also remain unidentified. To address this, this thesis focuses on the inter-organ signalling of autoregulation of nodulation and uses functional-structural plant modelling to investigate its mechanisms. At the technical level, there were two major challenges for using functional-structural modelling to study autoregulation of nodulation: one is reconstruction of the 3D architecture of legume roots; the other is coordination of the signalling and development processes. Using soybean as the target legume plant and the L-system-based software L-studio as the modelling and simulation platform, a series of methods and techniques have been developed in this thesis to collect root development data, reconstruct root architecture, and synchronise the multi-rate signalling and developmental processes. At the strategic level, a new modelling approach called “Computational Complementation” has been developed in this research. The key idea is to use functional-structural modelling to complement, with hypothetical signalling mechanisms, the deficiency of an empirical model of a mutant plant where the function of autoregulation of nodulation is totally lost. If the complementation leads to a regulation result the same as or similar to the wild-type phenotype, this supports the validity of the hypothesised mechanisms. The initial application of computational complementation was to investigate whether or not wild-type soybean cotyledons provide the shoot-derived inhibitor to regulate nodule progression. Two opposing hypotheses were tested with virtual experiments: (a) cotyledons function as part of the root, incapable of producing the shoot-derived inhibitor; or (b) cotyledons function as part of the shoot, involved in regulating root nodules. The virtual-experiment results suggested that hypothesis (b) was more likely to be correct, which was confirmed by a real-plant grafting experiment. This demonstrates the feasibility of computational complementation and shows its usefulness for future applications. Suggested future research includes exploration of better techniques for model construction, application of computational complementation to help in identifying the unknown shoot-root regulatory signals and integration of lower-scale signalling models. The modelling and simulation methods as well as the computational complementation strategy developed in this thesis can be applied beyond the study of autoregulation of nodulation. They also have the potential to be used in wider studies on plant signalling, such as those on branching regulation, flowering control and lateral initiation. 2011-03-23T00:00:00Z Liqi Han http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:188191 2009-11-27T00:00:00Z Minnery, J. R. (John Robert) http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:193260 2010-01-20T00:00:00Z Marinac, Anthony Schuyler. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158436 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Garden, Jenni http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:152688 2008-08-11T00:00:00Z Claire Rawnsley http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:185396 2009-11-03T00:00:00Z Maguire, Daniel http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189508 2009-12-09T00:00:00Z Hammill, Janet M. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:185187 2009-10-23T00:00:00Z Dinan-Thompson, Maree Therese http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:185186 2009-10-23T00:00:00Z Smith, James Reginald http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:185430 2009-11-04T00:00:00Z Young, Janet Louise http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:184849 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z Parker, Amanda Jane http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:190668 2009-12-21T00:00:00Z Dann, Susan J. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:184567 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z O'Brien, Patricia Mary http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:185420 2009-11-04T00:00:00Z Haller, Linda Ruth. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:185537 Most signal processing methods were developed for continuous signals. Digital devices, such as the computer, process only discrete signals. This dissertation proposes new techniques to accurately define and efficiently implement an important signal processing method---the time--frequency distribution (TFD)---using discrete signals. The TFD represents a signal in the joint time--frequency domain. Because these distributions are a function of both time and frequency they, unlike traditional signal processing methods, can display frequency content that changes over time. TFDs have been used successfully in many signal processing applications as almost all real-world signals have time-varying frequency content. Although TFDs are well defined for continuous signals, defining and computing a TFD for discrete signals is problematic. This work overcomes these problems by making contributions to the definition, computation, and application of discrete TFDs. The first contribution is a new discrete definition of TFDs. A discrete TFD (DTFD) should be free from the sampling-related distortion known as aliasing and satisfy all the important mathematical properties that the continuous TFD satisfies. Many different DTFD definitions exist but none come close to attaining this ideal. I propose three new components which make up the DTFD: 1) a new discrete Wigner--Ville distribution (DWVD) definition which satisfies all properties, 2) a new discrete analytic signal which minimises aliasing in the DWVD, and 3) a new method to define and convolve the discrete kernel with the DWVD to produce the DTFD. The result: a DTFD definition that, relative to the existing definitions, better approximates the ideal DTFD. The second contribution is two sets of computationally efficient algorithms to compute the proposed DTFD. The first set of algorithms computes the DTFD exactly; the second set requires less memory than the first set by computing time- and, or frequency-decimated versions of the DTFD. Both sets of algorithms reduce the computational load by exploiting symmetries in the DTFD and by constructing kernel-specific algorithms for four different kernel types. The third, and final, contribution is a biomedical application for the proposed DTFD and algorithms. This application is to accurately detect seizure events in newborn electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Existing detection methods do not perform well enough for use in a clinical setting. I propose a new method which is more robust than existing methods and show how using the proposed DTFD, comparative to an existing DTFD, improves detection performance for this method. In summary, this dissertation makes practical contributions to the area of time--frequency signal processing by proposing an improved DTFD definition, efficient DTFD algorithms, and an improved newborn EEG seizure detection method using DTFDs. 2009-11-10T00:00:00Z O' Toole, John http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:200477 2010-03-24T00:00:00Z Trigger, David S. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:186246 2009-11-16T00:00:00Z Thearle, M. John (Michael John) http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:159595 2008-12-03T00:00:00Z Ms Marci Webster-Mannison http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9629 Enquanto alguns paises tem o ecoturismo como a sua principal fonte de renda, o Brasil nao explora a atividade de forma planejada, o que resulta, muitas vezes, na degradacao do meio ambiente e na descaracterizacao da diversidade cultural local. Assim sendo, este estudo pretende contribuir para a compreensao do processo de adaptacao de uma comunidade tradicional ao fenomeno do ecoturismo e dar um alerta para a necessidade de considerar a identidade cultural das populacoes locais como bem patrimonial e como elemento de risco no planejamento da atividade. Com esse intuito, foi realizado um Estudo de Caso, durante os anos de 2000 e 2001, com uma familia residente na praia de Martim de Sa, caracterizada como caicara. Essa comunidade foi escolhida, pois reside em um local onde o ecoturismo esta apenas comecando, fato que permitiu refletir a respeito das consequencias da atividade. Martim de Sa, apesar de estar inserida nos limites de duas Unidades de Conservacao da Natureza, esta sobre forte ameaca de degradacao ambiental devido a especulacao imobiliaria incentivada pelo crescimento do fluxo turistico sem planejamento e facilitado pela falta de fiscalizacao dos orgaos ambientais responsaveis por essas areas. Para o desenvolvimento do Estudo de Caso foram utilizadas nesta pesquisa a Observacao Participante e as entrevistas estruturadas com a finalidade de caracterizar a comunidade local e os turistas e, a Historia de Vida, para a reconstituicao da historia do nucleo receptor. 2005-04-06T00:00:00Z Sinay, Laura http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:157934 In chronic illnesses, such as prostate cancer, multiple health outcomes need to be considered. This project focused on two types of health outcomes: health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and cognitive function. The first aim was to investigate cognitive effects of pharmacological androgen-suppressing treatment. Numerous studies have shown cognitive performance to be associated with sex hormones. One of the main groups of drugs used for hormonal ablation in men with prostate cancer, the luteinising hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, has been associated with adverse cognitive effects in controlled studies in women and in case reports of female and male patients. However, there have been no published studies on the effect of LHRH agonists and other androgen-suppressing treatments on cognitive functioning in male patients. The second aim was to investigate the effect of treatments on HRQoL in men with prostate cancer. There are few randomised treatment studies of HRQoL in these patients. The third aim was to study additional predictors of HRQoL, examining stress and coping theory as a theoretical basis for understanding individual differences in HRQoL. The fourth aim was to examine patients’ subjective experiences of prostate cancer. To investigate these questions, 82 men with non-localised prostate cancer were randomly assigned to receive leuprorelin (LHRH agonist), goserelin (LHRH agonist), cyproterone (steroidal antiandrogen), or close clinical monitoring. These patients and 20 community volunteers matched for age, marital status, and general health undertook medical, psychosocial, and cognitive assessments before treatment and after 6 and 12 months of treatment. The main question for statistical analysis was whether dependent variables would show Group x Time interactions in the predicted directions. Compared with baseline assessments, men administered androgen suppression monotherapy performed worse in 3/12 tests of attention, memory, and executive function. Twenty-six percent of men randomised to active treatment demonstrated clinically significant decline in one or more cognitive tests at 6 months compared with baseline performance. By contrast, no community volunteers or patients randomised to close monitoring showed decline in test performance. Men on hormonal treatments reported impaired sexual function on treatment compared with baseline assessments. Men assigned to close monitoring and cyproterone treatment reported increased emotional distress over time. Groups did not differ in change in existential satisfaction, subjective cognitive function, physical symptoms, or social and role functioning. For individuals, hormonal treatments were more frequently associated with decreased physical, sexual, social and role functioning, but were also associated with improved HRQoL for some individuals. In hierarchical regression analysis, HRQoL was lower for men who had more comorbid illnesses, a history of neurological dysfunction, higher threat appraisals, or higher use of emotion-focused coping strategies. Coping strategies also showed some longitudinal associations with HRQoL, even when earlier levels of HRQoL had been taken into account. Subjective reports demonstrated that many patients viewed prostate cancer as a relatively manageable problem. Several patients said that other health problems affected them more than prostate cancer, whereas no patient said that prostate cancer was worse than other problems. Comments about the seriousness of prostate cancer were equally divided between patients who reported it as very serious (14.3% of patients) and those who saw it as a relatively minor problem (14.3%). Other patient observations were grouped into categories of personal responses to prostate cancer, health, and health research; life circumstances that were not directly associated with health; attributions about medication; and function prior to the study. The results demonstrated that pharmacological androgen suppression therapy was associated with impaired memory, attention, and executive function in male patients. Hormonal treatments and close monitoring had differential effects on patients’ HRQoL, particularly in terms of sexual function and emotional distress. HRQoL was also associated with appraisal and coping, to a greater extent than it was associated with medical variables, supporting the applicability of stress and coping theory for these patients. Observations from participants placed these findings in the context of participants’ concerns, demonstrating that issues such as cognitive and sexual function were relevant for these patients. These findings suggest that cognitive function should be given increased attention as a health outcome, not only in “neurological” disorders but also in other “non-neurological” conditions such as prostate cancer. They also support continued efforts to understand both beneficial and adverse effects of treatments for chronic illness on HRQoL and individual factors that affect health outcomes. 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Green, Heather Joy http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:120634 In the last 50 years, Mexico, like many other countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, has experienced accelerated urban growth. Urban growth has been accompanied by an increase in urban poverty. While the spatial distribution of poverty in urban areas in Mexico is varied, new settlements that tend to grow in the peri-urban hinterland of cities are largely associated with poverty. This is because inexpensive, but mostly illegal, agricultural land (ejido or private) has been alienated to satisfy the demands of low income population for housing. The focus of this study lay in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (MAMC), which is the habitat of diverse low-income groups. Among those groups are the campesinos (people with rural background engaged totally or partially in agricultural livelihoods). Some studies have suggested that campesinos are very vulnerable to urban growth, since population expansion has put severe pressure on their agricultural land, which, despite its marginal value, is used to produce crops for either semi-commercialisation or subsistence. Although such research has showed how poor campesinos have engaged in non-agricultural activities to make a living and how land and their communities are threatened by urban growth due to speculative pressures on land and/or environmental deterioration, little is known about the impact of urban growth in the process of impoverishment of campesinos living in peri-urban areas. This study aims to understand how the growth of the MAMC affects poverty in campesinos’ households, in order to recommend directions for poverty reduction. Three villages in Chalco municipality, which is situated in the peri-urban fringe of Mexico City, were selected as the study area. Based on the development of a conceptual framework, this study considered three interconnected elements underpinning poverty: multi-dimensionality, complexity and dynamism. For this reason, the Sustainable Livelihoods approach was selected as an analytical tool, as it provided a flexible analytical framework that encompasses all those elements. The study is divided in three stages. In the first stage (namely documental investigation), a series of published and unpublished written materials were reviewed to determine how the growth of the MAMC transformed the nature and availability of resources in Chalco municipality from 1970 to 2000. This stage was followed by the empirical investigation that aimed to examine how those transformations affected campesinos’ assets (human, natural, physical, productive and social), the strategies they used to adapt to such changes, and how they perceived changes in poverty status. Accordingly, for this stage, quantitative and qualitative longitudinal and cross-sectional data were collected from 110 campesinos’ households living in the study area in 1997 and 2003 by using structured questionnaires. Qualitative data were also collected by using semi-structured interviews from 34 campesinos’ households in 2000. The final stage, called recommendations, involved the synthesis of the results of the documental and empirical investigations and suggests a series of directions for poverty reduction in campesinsos’ households in the study area. The documental and empirical investigations revealed that changes in asset ownership, between 1997 to 2003, depended on both transformation in the nature and availability of resources in Chalco and intra-household organization. Fundamental transformations in socio-demographic, economic, natural, physical and political/organisational resources of Chalco municipality were mainly, but not exclusively, associated with the growth of the MAMC. Climatic and physical characteristics of Chalco were also evident. To respond to such changes, campesinos implemented a series of strategies to get access to resources. Such strategies were based on campesinos’ needs, priorities and the portfolio of assets available, and their functionality. It was clear that campesinos depleted some existing assets to acquire urban assets and preserve their rural assets. In some instances, such strategies led campesinos’ families to satisfy their basic needs and, therefore, perceive themselves as non-poor. However, in other instances, such strategies prevented families from meeting their needs, leading them to the perception of being poor. The recommendation was made that in order to reduce poverty among campesinos in the study area, it was necessary to identify different alternatives to support their urban and rural assets and certain of their strategies that improve the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities and mitigate constraints to meeting their goals. 2007-12-13T00:00:00Z Yadira Mireya Méndez de Martínez http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:186785 2009-11-17T00:00:00Z Marks, Gary N. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:106210 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Butler, Sally. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:184275 This thesis is a sociolinguistic examination of the use of English by Aboriginal people in Southeast Queensland (SEQAB people). It is written within a framework of the ethnography of speaking, and specifically relates what people say (language form), to its effect on people (language function), examining aspects of context. This ethnographically based language study goes beyond formal details of grammatical structure, presents new data on the Aboriginal use of English, and explores some areas where the conventional grammatical analysis of Standard English does not adequately account for differences between Aboriginal and White Australian uses of English. It also provides evidence which shows that Aboriginal ways of speaking persist in a region where traditional Aboriginal languages are rarely used. The first chapter introduces the study, giving background to the research and motivating the central questions addressed in the thesis. The second chapter provides the theoretical orientation of the thesis, asks its central questions and, after reviewing the ethnography of speaking literature, provides a framework to answer them. The third chapter reviews literature on Australian Aboriginal languages from a sociolinguistic perspective. The fourth chapter provides background information about SEQAB society. The following three chapters treat the SEQAB use of English, each chapter focusing on a specific function of language: the fifth chapter focuses on seeking information, the sixth chapter on giving and seeking reasons for actions, and the seventh chapter on talking about future action. The final chapter concludes that while linguistic forms used by SEQAB speakers of English are mostly shared with White Australian speakers of English, there are crucial differences in meaning which can be understood only in terms of the SEQAB socio-cultural context, including customary intentions of speakers and interpretations of hearers. Considering the data and analysis presented in this thesis, I assert that SEQAB people today use English as an Aboriginal language. 2009-09-28T00:00:00Z Eades, Diana http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:186226 2009-11-16T00:00:00Z Jabrun, Mary de http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:187861 Synthetic pyrethroids are popular insecticides which have commercial applications in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, public health and residential pest control, and represent some of the most frequently used insecticides on the global market today. The success of synthetic pyrethroids is due to their high toxic potency to target species at low concentrations, their moderate persistence and low mobility in the environment. However, relatively little information has been published on the environmental fate of synthetic pyrethroids, in particular regarding their loss from pesticide products and the influence of environmental and application specific parameters on loss pathways and processes. Such information is important for evaluating both the longevity of pesticide products, as well as their potential impact on the environment. In recent years, the detection of synthetic pyrethroids has increasingly been reported from both environmental and biological samples, indicating that synthetic pyrethroids are transported from the site of application to the environment. This may be a concern as synthetic pyrethroids are highly toxic to insects and aquatic life and have been shown to have sub lethal effects on mammals (e.g. carcinogenic, reproductive and developmental effects). The objective of this study was to identify major knowledge gaps in the current understanding on the environmental fate of synthetic pyrethroids. The research investigates the fate of termiticides from pesticide products under long-term application scenarios. Specifically, this study aimed to identify the key loss pathways and determine the loss rates of bifenthrin from a commercial pesticide product, and to evaluate the influence of environmental and application specific parameters on the fate of synthetic pyrethroids in the environment. This was achieved using controlled field and laboratory studies, with particular focus on tropical climatic conditions. Information on chemical fate, including loss processes and transport pathways, is required for pesticide risk assessments to determine the potential for adverse effects on humans and/or the environment. A review of the literature revealed that there are few published data available on the environmental fate of synthetic pyrethroids. In particular, information on the effects of application methods, formulations and environmental conditions (i.e. effect of rainfall, humidity and temperature) on the fate of synthetic pyrethroids is limited. Due to a general lack of field studies, the fate of synthetic pyrethroids is often assessed based solely on their physico-chemical properties, however, the review also highlighted that the available physico-chemical data for synthetic pyrethroids are highly variable and may be unreliable. To determine key loss processes and loss rates of bifenthrin under a commercial application scenario, a prototype of a commercially available plastic termite barrier (BF-plastic) was deployed for a 2-year field study. The BF-plastic was deployed in the wall spaces of houses and under concrete slabs on soil, simulating two common application methods. Although the loss rate of bifenthrin from plastic was relatively slow, there was a significant loss of bifenthrin from the plastic over the 2 years (average 20 %) and no significant difference was observed between the two application types. The incorporation of bifenthrin into the plastic greatly increased its half-life (estimated 12 to 21 years) compared to its half-life in soils (78 to 249 days). The loss pathways of bifenthrin from the BF-plastic were investigated by evaluating the potential for loss via partitioning to air, soil and water using a combination of calculated partition coefficients and laboratory studies. The calculated partition coefficients suggest that under equilibrium conditions bifenthrin partitioning to organic carbon represents the most important loss pathway for bifenthrin from BF-plastic, followed by partitioning to water and air. However, the laboratory volatilisation studies suggest that volatilisation may represent a significant loss pathway and that temperature played a significant role in the loss of bifenthrin from BF-plastic. To observe the effect of formulation and several environmental parameters on the fate of synthetic pyrethroids, the leaching of seven synthetic pyrethroids through soil columns was tested on different soil types under simulated tropical climatic regimes, and in the absence/presence of formulation. Several environmental parameters were observed to influence the leaching potential of the pesticides through soil. Among these, temperature showed the most influential role on the leaching of the pesticides. Soil parameters were found to also influence the leaching potential of the pesticides through the soil, and increased leaching of the pesticides was observed with increased simulated rainfall. It was found that the specific commercial formulation tested (Biflex lo-odour) retarded the leaching of the pesticides. The laboratory and field experiments conducted indicated that environmental and application specific parameters may have significant influence on the fate of synthetic pyrethroids in the environment. Environmental parameters such as increased temperature and rainfall were found to increase the mobility of synthetic pyrethroids (i.e. increased volatilization and leaching), suggesting that the fate synthetic pyrethroids may differ in non-temperate climates i.e. tropical and arid climates. Due to the high toxicity of synthetic pyrethroids non-target species, their enhanced mobility under some climatic regimes may have adverse implications for wildlife and/or humans in these areas. Therefore better quality data is required for risk assessments on the use of synthetic pyrethroid pesticides in climates other than temperate. 2009-11-25T00:00:00Z Amanda Strachan http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:12921 Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, degenerative, neurological disease. The progressive disability associated with PD results in substantial burdens for those with the condition, their families and society in terms of increased health resource use, earnings loss of affected individuals and family caregivers, poorer quality of life, caregiver burden, disrupted family relationships, decreased social and leisure activities, and deteriorating emotional well-being. Currently, no cure is available and the efficacy of available treatments, such as medication and surgical interventions, decreases with longer duration of the disease. Whilst the cause of PD is unknown, genetic and environmental factors are believed to contribute to its aetiology. Descriptive and analytical epidemiological studies have been conducted in a number of countries in an effort to elucidate the cause, or causes, of PD. Rural residency, farming, well water consumption, pesticide exposure, metals and solvents have been implicated as potential risk factors for PD in some previous epidemiological studies. However, there is substantial disagreement between the results of existing studies. Therefore, the role of environmental exposures in the aetiology of PD remains unclear. The main component of this thesis consists of a case-control study that assessed the contribution of environmental exposures to the risk of developing PD. An existing, previously unanalysed, dataset from a local case-control study was analysed to inform the design of the new case-control study. The analysis results suggested that regular exposure to pesticides and head injury were important risk factors for PD. However, due to the substantial limitations of this existing study, further confirmation of these results was desirable with a more robustly designed epidemiological study. A new exposure measurement instrument (a structured interviewer-delivered questionnaire) was developed for the new case-control study to obtain data on demographic, lifestyle, environmental and medical factors. Prior to its use in the case-control study, the questionnaire was assessed for test-retest repeatability in a series of 32 PD cases and 29 healthy sex-, age- and residential suburb-matched electoral roll controls. High repeatability was demonstrated for lifestyle exposures, such as smoking and coffee/tea consumption (kappas 0.70-1.00). The majority of environmental exposures, including use of pesticides, solvents and exposure to metal dusts and fumes, also showed high repeatability (kappas >0.78). A consecutive series of 163 PD case participants was recruited from a neurology clinic in Brisbane. One hundred and fifty-one (151) control participants were randomly selected from the Australian Commonwealth Electoral Roll and individually matched to the PD cases on age (± 2 years), sex and current residential suburb. Participants ranged in age from 40-89 years (mean age 67 years). Exposure data were collected in face-to-face interviews. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using conditional logistic regression for matched sets in SAS version 9.1. Consistent with previous studies, ever having been a regular smoker or coffee drinker was inversely associated with PD with dose-response relationships evident for packyears smoked and number of cups of coffee drunk per day. Passive smoking from ever having lived with a smoker or worked in a smoky workplace was also inversely related to PD. Ever having been a regular tea drinker was associated with decreased odds of PD. Hobby gardening was inversely associated with PD. However, use of fungicides in the home garden or occupationally was associated with increased odds of PD. Exposure to welding fumes, cleaning solvents, or thinners occupationally was associated with increased odds of PD. Ever having resided in a rural or remote area was inversely associated with PD. Ever having resided on a farm was only associated with moderately increased odds of PD. Whilst the current study’s results suggest that environmental exposures on their own are only modest contributors to overall PD risk, the possibility that interaction with genetic factors may additively or synergistically increase risk should be considered. The results of this research support the theory that PD has a multifactorial aetiology and that environmental exposures are some of a number of factors to contribute to PD risk. There was also evidence of interaction between some factors (eg smoking and welding) to moderate PD risk. 2007-03-14T00:00:00Z Gartner, Coral E. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158667 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Dickson, Elizabeth Anne http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:188371 2009-11-30T00:00:00Z Wilson, Emily Jane. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:178617 Loss of biodiversity is a major environmental issue in Australia. In response the Commonwealth Government has developed a national list of threatened species and prepared recovery plans under the provisions of the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBCA). However, knowledge on the appropriateness and effectiveness of those conservation and management schemes is limited. The aim of the thesis was to conduct an evaluation of recovery planning to assess its appropriateness as a conservation and management instrument, and investigate how legislative, institutional and organisational factors influence its implementation. Four research questions were addressed: 1) How does recovery planning operate in regard to legislative, jurisdictional and institutional aspects? 2) Do recovery plans comply with legislative requirements and coherent conservation planning? 3) What management factors have most influence on implementation of recovery plans at state level? and 4) What modifications could be made to the management system to improve implementation of recovery plans? The major approaches considered in this study were policy evaluation and systems analysis. Both approaches were incorporated in a framework of the thesis to construct a conceptualisation of the threatened species management system as a model. This allowed examining its structure, key elements and dynamics, and evaluation of its performance and effectiveness. Methods comprised interviews, content analysis of program documentation, qualitative and quantitative analysis of recovery plans, experts’ workshops, and systems analysis and modelling. The major set of quantitative data came from a database which incorporated content attributes of 236 recovery plans. Taking into account the Australian legislative requirements for preparing recovery plans, key content attributes were selected for assessing the degree of compliance. Internal consistency of plans was also assessed as a complementary measure of coherent management planning. Measures of internal consistency were: consistency between gaps of scientific information versus prescribed actions calling for research; consistency between major threatening processes versus prescription of threat abatement actions; and consistency between recovery objectives versus performance criteria for measuring achievement of objectives. Another component of the thesis was the construction of a model of the management system of threatened species. This theoretical model was conceptualised from opinions of experts and stakeholders occupying key roles in threatened species management. The model incorporated social aspects of management such as institutional and organisational factors influencing planning and the implementation of recovery plans. The model was built using a Bayesian belief network to assess the most influential components (issues, recovery strategies, and management requirements) on the likely outcomes. Expert opinions also assisted to identify gaps in the management system and formulate new management strategies. Finally, modelling allowed assessing different management scenarios and identified the key components that would improve recovery planning. Major findings of the investigation revealed that: 1) Although the three levels of government in Australia (Commonwealth, state/territory and local) are involved in recovery planning, it is the states/territories that have the most active role in preparing and operating recovery plans. State and territory-based legislation, policy and conservation strategies shape the form in which recovery planning is performed nationwide, as they are responsible for implementing 89% of national plans; 2) Overall compliance of plans with legislative requirements was adequate; although improvement is required in establishing a monitoring and evaluation framework. Overall, internal consistency of plans was also adequate in addressing threats and formulating research for knowledge gaps; but consistency was poor regarding the response to some threatening processes and the establishment of recovery criteria; 3) According to experts/stakeholders, the most influential issues relevant to the implementation of recovery plans are: coordination across Commonwealth, state and territory agencies, inconsistency of strategies and programs across jurisdictions, addressing management of threatened species on private land, incorporation of science into recovery planning, prioritising schemes for conservation action, and funding for the implementation of plans; 4) The recovery planning strategy may be improved by establishing mandatory monitoring and review reports; creating a national forum on threatened species; designing an appropriate insurance regime for volunteers; and establishing a national management information system. 2009-06-18T00:00:00Z Alejandro Ortega Argueta http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:159304 The purpose of the study was to determine whether a prototype aural training programme could successfully develop tertiary level aural training skills if face-to-face teaching components were replaced entirely by interactive CD-ROM delivery. Audiation is the ability by which one hears with the eyes (and, by extension, sees with the ears), and the reciprocal nature of listening and reading has long been recognised (Karpinski,2000). According to Allvin (1970), sound-to-sight and sight-to-sound skills can be developed through CAI with an effectiveness equal to face-to-face instruction. It appears that some aural skills assist naturally in the development of other aural skills; Carlsen (1969), for example,suggested that the effect of aural training by instruction generalised to sightsinging ability, while Baggaley (1974) writes in contrast that the ability to discriminate does not necessarily guarantee the ability to recognise and identify. Porter (1977) asserts what is now a generally known fact that one must teach for transfer, rather than to expect transfer to be automatic. A six-semester distance-mode prototype aural training programme was developed at the University of Southern Queensland and delivered to tertiary music students in all states of Australia as well as other countries including New Zealand, Singapore, south-east Asia and the United Kingdom. A pre-test/post-test model assessing three groups (internal, external and control) was applied at the beginning and end of the first semester of the six semester programme. The internal group received face-to-face teaching during the first semester; the external group received tuition via CD-ROM; the control group received no tuition in ear training. The study sought to compare results within and between the three groups in the areas of rhythmic perception, melodic perception, scale/mode recognition and interval recognition during this first semester of the study, and to find correlations between demographic data and test performance. External students achieved higher levels of improvement for all aural acuities than internal students and control group students. The findings indicate that students learning multiple instruments and students learning piano perform aural tasks better than students learning only a vii melody line instrument (including voice) or no instrument. In addition, internal students’ results showed a greater ceiling effect than the externals’, suggesting that the aural perception curriculum itself may need to take into account different individual levels of achievement. Tertiary music schools experiencing funding constraints may be able to re-organise aural tuition practice either to replace or to augment face-to-face classes with external aural training materials,without sacrificing the quality of their instruction. 2008-11-19T00:00:00Z Phillip John Gearing