Restricted Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/9050

While this collection is searchable, the digital copies of the theses are restricted because the author has requested an embargo period or permission has not been given to make the work publicly available.

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 345

Embargo
A Bridge Over Turbulent Waters: The Australia-Indonesia Relationship Through the Lens of Irregular Migration
(2020) Gordyn, Carly
The story we are often told about the Australia-Indonesia relationship is that it is a turbulent one - marked by frequent successes and setbacks. And it is no wonder, considering the differences between these two neighbouring countries: they are different historically, culturally, linguistically, religiously, and politically. The issue of irregular migration is another area of difference, as the two countries face the issue from different positions: Australia is a destination country while Indonesia is a transit country, combating irregular migration is a top priority for Australia but it is not for Indonesia, and while Australia is a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention), Indonesia is not. Nevertheless, Australia and Indonesia work together in preventing the movement of irregular migrants, exemplified by their co-hosting of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (hereafter: the Bali Process), which was established in 2002. Considering their various differences, this cooperation raises questions about how and why Australia and Indonesia work together in this field and what principles underlie their management of irregular migration. While much of the scholarly literature focusses on Australia and Indonesia's most recent management of irregular migration - especially since the establishment of the Bali Process - the two countries have actually been working together on issues around irregular migration since the 1960s, a history thus far overlooked. The purpose of this thesis is to examine this missing history and to ask of it: how have Australia and Indonesia cooperated in managing irregular migration since the 1960s? In answering this question, I examine three instances of 'cooperation' between Australia and Indonesia in the management of irregular migration: border crossers in Papua New Guinea (1965-1973), the Indochinese refugee crisis (1975-1979), and the boat arrivals of the late 90s and early 2000s which resulted in the establishment of the Bali Process (1995-2002). For each case, I analyse historical archives and triangulate this data with semi-structured interviews of Australian and Indonesian policymakers. My examination of these cases draws upon the Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) subfield of International Relations (IR) to consider factors below the 'unitary state' level that drive, inhibit and foster cooperation on irregular migration and under what conditions. This research has uncovered a number of factors that have shaped cooperation, including leaders - especially at the lower levels - and their strategic outlook; domestic public opinion; interpersonal and inter-institutional relationships; the role of the media, and; the international political context in which cooperation occurs. But the ubiquitous and generally overlooked factor underpinning this cooperation was the role that trust played - its presence, absence and attempts at building it at various levels - not just at the leadership level, but also at the bureaucratic level. This thesis makes new contributions to knowledge in a number of ways. First, this thesis is the first longue duree study of Australia and Indonesia's management of irregular migration. Second, this thesis speaks to the role and motivations of transit countries in pursuing the border control policies of a destination state. Third, by examining one foreign policy problem between Australia and Indonesia throughout time, this thesis sheds light on how this often-turbulent bilateral relationship operates, despite significant and repeated pressures. Finally, by highlighting the central role of trust in Australia-Indonesia relations, this thesis underscores just how important long-term investments in institutional and personal relationships will be to ensure these neighbours are able to enjoy productive international relations into the future.
Embargo
A Change In The Field: Australia-India cricket and the possibilities for cultural openness in the shadow of colonialism
(2024) Piggott, Geoffrey
A common view in the discourse of Australia-India cultural relations is that for a more meaningful relationship to develop, Australia must move beyond approaching India through the prism of practices which have their roots in the two countries' shared - but contrasting - history of British colonialism. Cricket, it is often said, provides a shallow point of connection and acts as a reminder of the racial and cultural injustices of Empire. This thesis problematises such received wisdom. It begins from the premise that while there is little doubt that a colonial lens limits Australian understandings of India, cricket continues to be a major point of popular cultural contact between the two countries, and has, in the last three decades, moved beyond the colonial power dynamics of its past as India has become the pre-eminent force in the sport. In light of this, this thesis asks how and to what extent cricket might move Australia-India cultural relations beyond their mediation through the echoes of the British Empire and foster a disposition of greater cultural openness from Australia towards India. It presents a detailed study of media representations and in-depth interviews with commentators, journalists, administrators and players, examining how India's rise to power in cricket was negotiated in Australia. Through analysis of a series of ruptures in the sport during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the thesis charts how long-maintained Australian narratives of Indian racial and cultural inferiority were rendered unsustainable by India's exercise of its newfound power. This was due, I argue, partly to the specificities of sport as a cultural field, its lusory nature providing space for changes in Australian attitudes, and partly to the impact, in Bourdieuan terms, of the economic field on the cultural, with India's economic power changing fundamental aspects of the form of the sport. The shift in cultural power opened new possibilities and posed still unresolved challenges for Australian cricket and the broader Australia-India cultural relationship. On one hand, the period of conflict, ironically, established a site of nostalgic memory which now provides a meaningful point of connection between the two countries. On the other hand, the changes in the form of the game mean that cricketing traditions which have positioned it as part of the Australian national imaginary are threatened, and that the financial health of the sport is tied to a hyper-commercial and increasingly politicised Indian cricket establishment. Through my research, in addition to adding to the discourse of Australia-India relations, I add to contemporary debate in cultural studies and postcolonial studies. I propose that, for all the game's colonial history and contemporary neo-liberal capitalist logic, the changes in cricket are an example of how formerly colonial cultural practices can, in complex and imperfect ways, move beyond their racially hierarchical histories, act as a shared point of reference across national-cultural boundaries and provide a site for the development of attitudes of cultural openness.
Embargo
A Convenient Massacre: Did Sharpeville Save Apartheid?
(2021) Edelstein, Ian
This dissertation is focussed on the re-examination and critique of the veracity of the accepted narrative of a seminal event in the history of the struggle against apartheid. It utilises a two-tiered approach using non-traditional methods to challenge traditional South African historiography. In the first section theatre is used as a vehicle to re-evaluate the ideas of the Pan-Africanists by bringing the words of their leader Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe to the stage. The correspondence between the imprisoned Sobukwe and his friend, journalist Benjamin Pogrund, is dramatized in the style of Verbatim Theatre, creating an historical document in dramatic form. The second section of the dissertation examines the rapid ascension of Sobukwe's Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and how his Pan Africanist vision, incorporating a United States of Africa, had begun to resonate in South Africa. After this background, rarely asked but important questions are posed: How would the history of South Africa (and Africa itself) been different had the Sharpeville Massacre not taken place? What if the demonstration had resolved itself peacefully? What would have transpired if ergo the PAC and the African National Congress (ANC) had not been banned? These and other questions are answered, and disparate outcomes from which to examine history are created, through the construction of a Virtual History for South Africa had events unfolded differently. Finally, international influences are re-assessed from within the paradigm of a South Africa in which this event, and its aftermath, had not transpired.
Embargo
A History of Everyday Politics of Resistance in Rural Tuscany, 1943-44
(2023) Pabian, Judith
From September 1943 following the fall of Mussolini's fascist regime and the signing of an armistice between Italy and the Allies, central and northern Italy came under Nazi German occupation. A Committee of National Liberation (CLN) was formed by the leaders of Italy's five anti-fascist underground political parties to organise armed resistance and to influence the formation of a post-Liberation Italian government. The literature valorises such resistance as superordinate to other forms - as do local commemorative events and Liberation Day celebrations. I use a case study of a rural Tuscan community to challenge this hierarchical concept of resistance and to develop a new analysis that recognises the importance of everyday resistance by local inhabitants to undermine the Nazi-fascist regime through covert, non-combative measures. Acts of everyday resistance could be independent of any form of organisation, or planned in collaboration with others. I liken armed resistance to frontline soldiers in a regular army. Everyday resistance provided intelligence lines, guides to navigate local terrain, food, footwear, civilian clothing, long and short-term shelter, transport and medical services. It also worked to deprive occupation forces of food and other essentials. Severe retribution could result for protagonists of everyday resistance, their families, households or entire communities. The first scholarly study to use everyday resistance as the primary optic of analysis for the period, this thesis adds new dimensions to rural Tuscan resistance history. It reveals such resistance to be integral to the broader resistance effort, foundational to the formation of local armed resistance bands and crucial to their success. Motives for everyday resistance reflected local values and priorities of family, community - and dignity, while its practices reflected survival mechanisms developed by tenant farmers under the notoriously oppressive Tuscan sharecropping system. Landowners' resistance reflected their customary patron-client obligations. This study found that for a short while relations between the two shifted away from extreme power differentials to closer alignment of shared purpose, interest and practice. Everyday resistance went largely unnoticed by Nazi-fascist authorities. Its cumulative effect was to strengthen and grow armed resistance - a fact recognised by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, Commander in Chief of German armed forces in Italy. Wehrmacht officers' failure to inflict reprisals in communities suspected of everyday resistance led Kesselring take the unusual step of demanding direct authority over SS troops in Italy and to escalate punitive raids on rural communities as a means to quash everyday rural resistance. I propose these decisions were directly affected by the combined success of both forms of resistance in this area. Everyday resistance goes almost unnoticed in the literature, where popular images show dishevelled young men and their comrades festooned with munitions ready to protect family, liberty and country. In this thesis I show that wartime demographics meant everyday resistance in rural Tuscany was largely the province of women who recorded the region's lowest literacy levels so left no written records. Even well-educated female members of political parties considered their non-combative resistance an extension of their role as women and didn't speak of it after the war. A key finding of this thesis is that women's customary practices of maintaining silence and not being noticed - practices born of weakness and oppression became during the German occupation strengths and successful agents of resistance. This thesis sheds light on a poorly understood area of resistance, its nature and significance, its relation to armed resistance, its broader consequences and complexity. It offers a more complete picture of resistance in rural Tuscany and is a basis for comparative resistance studies.
Embargo
A question of coherence? Property in discretionary trusts for the purposes of family law in Australia
(2024) Roff, Kate
Abstract Discretionary trusts are popular in Australia for tax and succession planning, and asset protection, yet they are a legal construct that is difficult to grasp. It is not therefore surprising to learn that family law judges have found them challenging to deal with in property settlement proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) ('FLA'). What is surprising is that judges have relied upon diverse and apparently incompatible lines of reasoning to justify decisions that interests under discretionary trusts are or are not 'property' over which courts have jurisdiction in property settlement proceedings. The question asked by this thesis is which of the various justifications best meets the standards of coherence required by the modern practice of statutory interpretation in Australia. This question relates to an internal aspect of family law and practice. To answer it, the thesis undertakes a doctrinal analysis of 74 property settlement cases involving spousal interests under discretionary trusts. This analysis delineates and categorises the different bases upon which decisions were justified. Once organised into discrete categories, the justifications are evaluated against the standards of coherence required by the modern Australian approach to statutory interpretation. As the thesis explains, the modern approach to statutory interpretation insists that the justification to be preferred is the justification which offers the best explanation of 'property' in the FLA, reconciled to the statutory text, the objective purposes of the statute and the weight of authorities construing the statute. In other words, the best justification is the justification which has the strongest coherence with a worked-out explanatory theory of the statute and of the role that 'property' serves in the statute. To that end, the thesis embarks on a deeply reflective analysis of the FLA - its history, the statutory scheme, the statutory text, and the interpretive practice. Having identified that the statutory scheme institutes a scheme of commutative justice which is best realised if 'property' means 'property as wealth', the thesis develops an analytic framework for deciding if particular interests qualify as 'property as wealth'. That framework is used to evaluate the judicial justifications in the discretionary trust cases. The thesis concludes that the only judicial justification which meets the required standards of coherence is the line of reasoning which says equitable choses in action held by potential beneficiaries of discretionary trusts are property because they are presently existing rights, with a legal foundation and economic value.
Embargo
A Research Program on Fear of Failure and Creativity
(2022) Lin, Sonya
Employee creativity is important for organizational innovation. However, creativity is risky and risks failure. Therefore, it is important to understand fear of failure (FOF hereafter) and how it influences creativity. This thesis includes a number of empirical studies examining FOF and creativity, arranged as follows: Chapter 1 introduces FOF and creativity. Chapter 2 provides an integrative review of FOF to date. Chapter 3 presents two field studies investigating how FOF shaped by perfectionistic parents could lead to risk-averse behavior and decrease creativity and how a comparable workplace experience of perfectionistic supervisor expectations reinforces this link. Chapter 4 investigates how hope of success (i.e., the opposite side of FOF), shaped by parents' work-family enrichment/conflict experience, could further influence children's financial success at work by using 17-year parent-child dyadic lifespan data matched from a 17-year national representative survey. Chapter 5 shifts the attention back to creativity. The recent creativity literature shows that when people think darkly, they tend to be more creative; however, it is not truly beneficial for the social good. To reconcile such conflicting phenomena, I build on person-in-situation theory, arguing that altruism can facilitate both creativity and social goods when team standardization is low and team participation is high. A multisource time-lagged study from a Taiwanese government organization generally supported my hypotheses. Finally, Chapter 6 integrates the key findings of the above empirical studies, offers conclusions, states the limitations of this thesis, and discusses future research directions. In summary, this research offers a theoretical foundation for and practical suggestions to help individuals and authority figures such as supervisors and parents understand the potential downside (e.g., increased FOF) of imposing perfectionistic expectations on others and to understand what authority figures such as supervisors and parents can do to facilitate individuals' performance (e.g., creativity and financial success) at work.
Embargo
Aboriginal women and the right to self-determination: a capabilities approach to constitutional reform
(2010) Davis, Megan Jane
Embargo
Actors in Diplomacy: Peace Settlements with Non-state Armed Actors, the Khmer Rouge and the Taliban
(2022) Akbari, Farkhondeh
This research examines what characteristics allow a non-state armed actor to be considered an effective actor for the purpose of meaningful diplomatic engagement? The aim of this study is to understand how the identified factors can potentially contribute to a more successful outcome in peace settlement initiatives with non-state armed actors and how their absence can become a peril for peace. This research will address a gap in the international diplomatic studies literature concerned with the notion of actors in order to define, characterise and categorise the effectiveness of a diplomatic actors. The identified factors are autonomy, organisational coherence and representativeness as necessary characteristics for non-state armed actors to possess in order to engage in meaningful negotiations which could lead to a peace agreement and its successful implementation. This study has two sets of contributions, for academia and for practice. First, it contributes original knowledge to four study-areas in diplomatic studies literature by identifying the characters of actors in diplomacy; in peace settlements literature by identifying meaningful diplomatic engagement with non-state armed actors; to the study of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from a diplomatic lens; and to the study of diplomatic engagement with the Afghan Taliban for a peace settlement. Second, the outcome of this research is a framework that can be used by diplomatic practitioners to identify effective diplomatic actors when they consider engagement with non-state armed actors. The research draws its empirical data from diplomatic engagement with the Khmer Rouge that led to 1991 Paris Peace Agreements in relation to the Cambodian conflict and the difficulties experienced in attempting to negotiate peace settlement with the Taliban in Afghanistan. In the detailed analysis of the two case studies, the value of the diplomatic actors' framework is demonstrated.
Embargo
Additive Manufacturing Based on Electrochemistry
(2024) Viktorova, Jekaterina
A fabrication method combining 3D printing and multi-material electrodeposition is introduced in this thesis. The method combines electrochemical and three-dimensional control of electrode positions to culminate in a new process for 2D patterning and the 3D printing of metals, semiconductors, as well as polymers into complex shapes with feature sizes as small as 10 um. The method specifically allows access to patterned or printed, previously difficult-to-process electrically conductive pi-conjugated polymers. The technique uses electrodes in a solution of an electrodepositable material to perform electrochemical printing, a process that can be controlled by varying the inter-electrode gap, the applied potential or current, the electrode geometry and dimension, the electrodeposition solution (ink), movement direction, and movement speed. The first chapter introduces the concepts of electrodeposition and localized electrodeposition and applies them to electrochemical printing. It also explores the influence of the different parameters which affect the printing process and introduces the types of materials that can be printed using this method. In Chapter 2, electrochemical printing is shown to have a unique combination of speed and resolution, multi-material printing, and morphology control, culminating in multi-material device fabrication. In Chapter 3, the first steps are made in monitoring the electrochemical reactions and localized deposition processes in-situ by combining electrochemical analytical methods such as cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry with electrochemical quartz crystal microgravimetry. Using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as a model system, we study the effects that the composition of the supporting electrolyte and solvent used, de-oxygenation and monomer concentration had on the polymerization yield. In Chapter 4, a brand-new approach involving the ferrocene-mediated cationic electrochemical printing of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and tris[4-hydroxyphenyl] methane triglycidyl ether) based on electrochemically controlled ring-opening polymerization is demonstrated. The development of this novel fabrication method combining 3D printing and multi-material electrodeposition opens new pathways for advanced material design and manufacturing. By enabling precise, controlled deposition of metals, semiconductors, and conductive polymers in complex 2D and 3D architectures, this technique can significantly enhance applications in fields such as flexible electronics, biosensors, and energy storage devices. The ability to pattern previously hard-to-process conductive polymers also presents opportunities for innovations in organic electronics and optoelectronic devices. The versatility and scalability of this method position it as a promising platform for future research and development in multi-material printing and electrochemical manufacturing, potentially unlocking the production of functional materials and devices.
Embargo
Advanced Luminescence-Based Characterization Techniques For Perovskite Solar Cells
Bui, Anh
This thesis focuses on the comprehensive characterization of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite-based solar cells (PSCs). Despite impressive advancements in perovskite-based solar cell research, resulting in certified power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of up to 26% for single-junction cells and 33.7% for monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, further efforts are essential for commercializing this technology. A key challenge lies in the non-uniformity of the perovskite layer, which can serve as a degradation center during long-term operation and limit the device's original performance. To address this limitation, a series of novel characterization techniques based on photoluminescence (PL) imaging have been developed to spatially resolve crucial optoelectronic parameters, such as implied open-circuit voltage (iVoc), pseudo-fill factor (pFF), ideality factor (nid), and series resistance (Rs). The correlation between these parameters enables a profound understanding of device performance losses and their origins. In the first part of the thesis, we employ generalized Planck's law to convert the relative detected PL signal to quasi-Fermi level splitting (QFLS), representing the implied open-circuit voltage. We calibrate the halogen lamp with known absolute intensity to accurately calculate the scaling factor (SF) accounting for the detected light fraction. Our approach is validated through various independent techniques, including lifetime-calibrated PL, spectrally resolved PL, and comparison with terminal Voc. We apply this method to spatially resolve iVoc of different devices, encompassing bare perovskite films, perovskite top cells, and silicon bottom cells of tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells. The VOC loss due to non-radiative recombination and energy band alignment is subsequently calculated, providing a vital target for the fabrication process. In the second part of the thesis, illumination intensity and temperature-dependent PL imaging are employed to extract various optoelectronic properties of PSCs, including pFF, nid, and activation energy of recombination (Ea). The pFF parameter, which represents the fill factor of the device without series resistance, is used to evaluate the potential PCE of PSCs, offering the second target for the fabrication process. The PL-based method's contactless advantage enables the study of different layers and fabrication processes' effects on device performance, providing valuable insights. nid and EA help predict major non-radiative recombination mechanisms, offering further understanding of the performance loss origins. Additionally, correlations between these parameters are investigated for devices before and after degradation tests. In the third part of the thesis, we investigate the PL intensity at different terminal voltages, including open-circuit, maximum power point, and short-circuit conditions, to calculate the PCE image and the series resistance (Rs) image. A strong correlation between PL quenching and PCE is observed, highlighting the significance of PL intensities in assessing device performance. However, a weak correlation is found between the PL image intensity under open-circuit conditions and the final PCE, emphasizing the risk of misinterpreting device performance based solely on PL intensities. Furthermore, we demonstrate the impact of voltage-dependent series resistance on device simulation accuracy, underscoring another crucial contribution of luminescence imaging to the perovskite solar cell technology's research and development.
Embargo
The Allure of Jade: T-sectioned Bangles and Yazhang in Ancient China and Mainland Southeast Asia (ca.2300-500 BC)
(Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 2017) Huang, Chao
This thesis aims to explore the inter-regional exchange networks that moved jade prestige goods within China, and between China and Mainland Southeast Asia, between 2300 and 500 BC, focusing predominantly on T-sectioned bangles and yazhang. Available data suggest that T-sectioned bangles in China and mainland Southeast Asia (especially in Vietnam) followed their own local trajectories of development within broad inter-regional exchange networks. However, the T-sectioned bangles were never dominant as prestige goods in circulation between China and mainland Southeast Asia. On the other hand, yazhang were apparently the most valuable prestige items to circulate within the elite exchange network that linked northern Vietnam and the Sichuan Basin between 1500 and 1300 BC. Regional contacts became more intensive in the Late Shang world within China (ca. 1300-1000 BC). Five possible exchange mechanisms involving T-sectioned bangles have been proposed for this period, including (a) elite control of distribution within Yinxu; (b) movement with migrants or refugees from Henan to Hunan; (c) circulation as gifts or commodities among elites in Henan and Jiangxi; (d) long-distance exchange between Hunan and the Sichuan Basin, and between the Sichuan Basin and Lingnan; and (e) movement of itinerant craftsmen. This research further attempts to appreciate the technical and artistic choices involved in producing T-sectioned bangles through experimental archaeology. It seeks to develop an in-depth understanding of how T-sectioned bangles, and yazhang, were perceived and symbolized by their makers and eventual users. Variations in their production and usage might reflect different regional interaction patterns, involving various social and cultural contexts.
Embargo
An ethnography of emotion and morality : toward a local indigenous theory of value and social exchange on the Yolngu Homelands in remote North-East Arnhem Land
(2015) Blakeman, Bree Melanie
Drawing on the key body of terms and concepts associated with affect and emotion in Yolnu-matha, this thesis explores the way Yolnu people of North-East Arnhem Land consider morality and value in everyday relations. This material suggests that Yolnu conceive of and consider persons to be fundamentally and necessarily interdependent rather than intrinsically autonomous. On a socio-centric level the relationship between groups in referred to as raki' (strings [of relatedness]). The normative ideal relationship between groups is when raki' are manapan-mirri (Joined, connected, linked [together to each other]), and the groups thus wangany-nura ([at] one). Proper practice and conduct is to malthum nhannu raki' (follow [up] the string), while upset, disequilibrium, or conflict is aid to threaten to gulk'thun nhannu raki' (cut or sever the string). This paralleled on an interpersonal level by nayanu (state or sense of feeling [among and between people]), the basic concept of affect/emotion and ground of moral evaluation. Balance and equilibrium is denoted by the normative ideal of nayanu wangany (one state or sense of feeling). Proper behaviour and moral conduct is said to be nayanu-yu (through nayanu), while moral transgressions register as nayanu wutthuna-mirri rom (law or manner of doing things that affronts or assaults the state of feeling). I analyse a series of case studies from different aspects of everyday life to show that this body of terms and concepts - and the shared understandings comprising them - motivate and shape forms and patterns of sociality and exchange in significant, culturally specific ways. This description and my findings depart from prevailing models of Aboriginal sociality and exchange in Australia, which are strongly influenced by approaches that foreground a tension between contrasting values of autonomy and relatedness. Rather than either autonomy or relatedness, it is in particular sate of the relationship between people that is significant for Yolnu; social equilibrium, balance, and value are relative to a particular, culturally recognised state of the relationship between people and groups, rather than contrasting values of autonomy and relatedness. This key point of difference allows for a unique analysis of Yolnu sociality and exchange. As with Kenneth Liberman's description of social consensus in the Western Desert, we see that the 'orderliness' that exists in Yolnu society is the collaborative product of a great deal of social and moral work. In what is effectively an example of non-State sociality - largely unmediated by the market and bureaucratic relations - the relative distribution of energy, intelligence and social concern is geared towards the realisation and maintenance of social order. The primary and paramount value is - nayanu wangany; nayanu wangany is the paramount value in both material and non-material exchange, and sociality is characterised by culturally specific strategies to maintain it. I conclude by arguing that the local interplay of forms, material conditions, and social relations of exchange can justly be considered a local theory of value and exchange in its own right. As such it sheds light upon prevailing anthropological models of exchange as well as current anthropological theories of value.
Embargo
An evolutionary & biochemical approach to gain insight into SAL1-PAP retrograde signalling
(2023) Khin, Nay Chi
Plant acclimation to environmental stress involves complex cellular processes including chloroplast-to-nucleus communication mediated by signals such as \\3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate (PAP) and its catabolic phosphatase, SAL1. Cellular levels of PAP are regulated by SAL1, and PAP interacts with nuclear 5'-3' exoribonucleases (XRNs) to influence RNA metabolism, thereby up-regulating stress-responsive genes. To date, studies on the SAL1-PAP-XRN pathway have been mostly limited to Arabidopsis thaliana, a dicot angiosperm, yet the SAL1 enzyme is conserved in all plant species including aquatic algae and early land plants which grow in vastly different habitats to angiosperms. The N-terminal region of SAL1 harbored a signal sequence responsible for targeting the protein to chloroplasts. Interestingly, when comparing SAL1 protein sequences, the alignment indicates a potential gradual evolution of transit peptides (TPs) in SAL1 for the purpose of targeting plastids within streptophyte algae. Therefore, the first aim was to investigate the evolutionary conservation of SAL1-PAP retrograde signalling in early land plant species. I generated CRISPR sal1 knockouts in Marchantia polymorpha, which showed similar phenotypes to Arabidopsis sal1 such as growth defects and higher stress tolerance. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that 16% of the differentially regulated genes in Marchantia sal1 are high-light responsive, with genes under the same biological processes being differentially regulated in the Marchantia and Arabidopsis sal1 mutants. These results suggest that chloroplast stress-signalling pathways such as SAL1-PAP arose early, predating the common land plant ancestor. The conserved growth defects of \textit{sal1} mutants in Arabidopsis and Marchantia illustrate the need for more refined approaches to manipulate SAL1 activity, such that the "true" cellular stress response to PAP signalling can be disentangled from downstream pleiotropic effects. The second aim was to develop novel chemical tools that modulate SAL1 activity to elicit PAP accumulation to high levels. I identified small molecule SAL1 inhibitors, which were optimised for highest inhibitory potency towards SAL1 through chemical analoguing. Mutagenesis of the SAL1 protein and molecular dynamic simulations revealed potential binding sites and mechanisms of action for these inhibitors. Preliminary assays show that some of these inhibitors can enhance stress tolerance when applied to leaves. Consequently, these inhibitors may be utilised to fine tune PAP signalling to better understand its role in cellular signalling, and potentially as agrochemicals to enhance crop stress tolerance in the long-term.
Embargo
An Indigenous Wisdom Framework to Sustainable Collaborative Indigenous Tourism Development: The Case of Nepal's Newars
(2023) Shrestha, Roshis
Although the structural and functional aspects of collaborative co-creation have been extensively studied, the socio-cognitive processes of multi-stakeholder collaboration within the Indigenous tourism development domain have barely been considered. Socio-cognitive processes that involve values, beliefs and attitudes contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the ontological, epistemological and methodological challenges that are associated with multi-stakeholder collaboration in Indigenous tourism development. Indigenous ontologies are characterised by interconnectedness, spirituality and connection between humans and nature. They differ from Western neoliberal principles, which prioritise rational and capitalist values and view nature as a resource to development rather than a living entity closely intertwined with our existence. This study seeks to circumscribe Indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge and sociocultural values to develop a framework that can assist in the development of sustainable and collaborative Indigenous tourism. As the researcher is an Indigenous Newar who conducted the study in an Indigenous Newari context, adopting a decolonial Indigenous methodology was natural. Charmaz's constructivist grounded theory further allows for an Indigenous standpoint, which encourages providing people with voice and agency. Using ethnographic methods of data collection, this thesis presents data and insights using traditional ontologies that underpin the collaborative practices that are inherent in Nepal's Indigenous Newars' cultural crucible called Guthi. The study first locates Indigenous Newars' ontology of relationality and its underlying value structures that shape Indigenous Newars' identity. Thereafter the study shows that Indigenous Newars' sociocultural values underpin the strong sense of community cohesion made possible within and through Guthi. This is a necessary precondition for the formation of collective consciousness and social capital for collaborative and sustainable Indigenous tourism development. This combined state amplifies the potential for co-creative engagement through collective sense-making that departs from logocentrism and anthropocentrism. Negotiation with internal and external stakeholders within society's superstructures follows the Indigenous community's collective sense-making process, including the negotiation of assumptions and biases, authenticity perception and role congruence within the superstructures of Nepal's tourism economy. Superstructure negotiation is fundamental for value co-creation that centres around Indigenous self-determination. The findings allow for the proposal of an Indigenous wisdom framework that articulates the mechanisms by which collaboration within and outside the communities takes place. This study makes a noteworthy contribution to existing theory by showcasing various factors that shape unilateral acts of reciprocity that are inherent in Indigenous Newars' community synergy. Methodologically, it articulates the decolonising Indigenous methodological approach to focus group discussion, which is identified in this study as the Newari Kha La Ba La, that is made possible through the incorporation of Newari sociocultural norms and ontology of relationality. Practical implications relate to the adoption of the Indigenous wisdom framework for grassroots Indigenous tourism development, honouring the norms of respect and reciprocity. The neoliberal extractive parachute approach is rejected in favour of reciprocity-centred, Indigenous-driven tourism development.
Restricted
Animal models of neurobehavioral disorders : from toxins to transplants and experimental therapeutics
(Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 1997) Sanberg, Paul R
Embargo
Appropriately Timing Seed Germination- New Players and Upstream Controllers
(2024) Wellawatta Mudiyanselage, Ayesha
Seed germination is a most critical developmental phase change, particularly under abiotic stress conditions such as drought or salinity. The timing of germination plays a major role in setting the timeline of the plant developmental cycle, and in conditioning seedling survival and adaption to unfavourable environments until completion of the plant developmental cycle and successful reproduction. Over recent decades, great progress has been made in understanding seed dormancy, its establishment during maturation on the mother plant, and the factors controlling its release after shedding. In contrast, little is known about the genetic determinants of germination in non-dormant seeds, especially under abiotic stresses. The Arabidopsis ERECTA family AtERf is demonstrated master regulator of various aspects of aerial plant growth and development, and is also involved in responses to environmental stresses, and some immune responses. A recent study (Nanda et al., 2019) uncovered another, unsuspected function, especially in the sensitivity of seed germination to salinity and osmotic stress. The germination of seeds with reduced ERECTA family signalling was found to slowed down, delayed or even halted by salinity and osmotic stress, through largely reversible mechanisms, so that when conditions became more favourable again, germination generally resumed, without significant loss of seed viability. That adaptive function was shown to be primarily under maternal control, and to involve the three family members, with specificity, among ERf members. The present study followed from that work, with a two-fold aim: a) Better understand the physiological and molecular bases of the maternal inheritance of the ERf-mediated germination phenotype; b) Test conservation across species of the newly discovered ERf regulatory function in Arabidopsis seed germination, with a focus on barley (Hordeum vulgare, Hv), a major staple food and pillar of the brewing industry. The first Chapter of this thesis describes the discovery of a novel molecular interactor of the Arabidopsis AtERf - the MYB family transcription factor AtGL1- previously unknown to be acting in seeds, nor to interact with the extensively documented ERf signalling pathways in aerial organs. GL1 is here shown to synergistically interact with the ERf members, in a gene combination-dependent manner, to regulate the initiation, progression, and timing of germination completion under saline conditions. A second Chapter reports on a genome-wide analysis of ERf- and GL1-mediated changes in transcriptional networks during early seed development and differentiation through RNAseq analysis of developing siliques. The results indicate that wide-spread ERf and GL1 separately act and also interact in the transcriptional control of hormone signalling, transcription factors, cell wall biogenesis, the formation of cuticular and wax compounds, stress response pathways. The last part of the thesis presents the analysis of a range of barley mutant lines obtained through CRISPR-Cas9 editing of the putative barley HvERf and HvGL1 orthologues. They show that these genes, separately and together, exert a major regulatory role in vegetative development, fertility and the anatomical and structural characteristics of the maternal seed enclosing tissues, and in the regulation of seed germination under salinity but also constitutively. In conclusion, the findings reported in this thesis overall highlight the potential of the barley ERECTA genes and putative orthologue to AtGL1 for genetic improvement, especially with respect of more uniform germination within seed cohorts, and regulation of its timing to mitigate risks of germination failure or seedling death, thus enhancing yield.
Embargo
Aquatic resources exploitation and adaptation of Anatomically Modern Human in Island Southeast Asia: palaeoenvironmental and cultural implications
(2021) Boulanger, Clara
Island Southeast Asia is one the worldwide marine biodiversity hotspots. Therefore, marine environments with their dense concentrations of fauna, rich in fatty acid nutrients, are thought to have been important to Anatomically Modern Human subsistence and leading to coastal highway hypotheses for human dispersals and settlements in the Wallacean (eastern Indonesia and Timor- Leste), and Philippines archipelagos, where our study sites, Bubog I, Bubog II, Bilat Cave, Here Sorot Entapa, Asitau Kuru, Matja Kuru 2, and Laili, are situated. This study provides new data and discussion on halieutic adaptation of AMH, allowing new large- scale comparisons on a north-south gradient between archaeological sites, and this combining archaeological and ethnographical data with advanced ichtyological taxonomic analyses (using an expanded set of skeletal elements), Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) and stable isotope analysis of modern specimens and fish remains recovered from archaeological sites in these regions. Thanks to a review of the ecological specificities of each identified taxon, we estimate that humans mostly exploited near-shore environments, and that inter-site differences are directly related to local environmental disparities, and environmental changes due to climate change and sea level variations. We determine that the exploitation of local specific environments required the development of adapted fishing techniques. We come up with the hypothesis of a coastal hyper-specialization of these human groups, confirming the theory of the Homo sapiens ‘generalist specialist niche’. Furthermore, we highlighted the social role of fishing among these early islanders, with the preparation and consumption of toxic fish in the Philippines by 32,000 years ago, clearly demonstrating the coexistence of highly complex and sophisticated modernity patterns related to marine and coastal adaptation, but also the development of multistage processes requiring higher-level thinking representing a significant step in the human evolution of both cognitive and subsistence skills.
Restricted
Arsenicin A : synthesis, derivatisation and biological activity
(Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 2012) Lu, Di
The improved synthesis and resolution of the first naturally occurring polyarsenical, Arsenicin A [As₄0₃(CH₂)₃] has been achieved. The putative structure of Arsenicin A resembled that of arsenic(III) oxide (As40 6) , but where three of the oxygen atoms in the inorganic oxide had been replaced by methylene groups in a chiral C2 arrangement. The five-step synthesis involves reduction of methylenebis(phenylarsinic acid) to the bis( secondary arsine) (RAs * ,RAs *)-( ± )/(RAs * ,S As *)-CH2[ AsHPh h followed by deprotonation and reaction of the resulting diarsenide with ( chloromethyl)diphenylarsine to give the tetra( tertiary arsine) (RAs * ,RAs *)-( ± )l(RAs * ,S As *)-CH2[ AsPh(CH2AsPh2) )i. Replacement of the six phenyl groups in the tetra(tertiary arsine) with iodine was accomplished by reaction with anhydrous hydrogen iodide to give the hexaiodoarsine ( RAs *, RAs *)-( ± )/ ( RAs * ,S As *)-CH2 [ Asl(CH2Ash) ]i, crystals of the (RAs * ,S As*) diastereomer being characterised by X-ray crystallography. Hydrolysis of the hexaiodoarsine with aqueous ammonia gives (±)-Arsenicin A as colourless air- and moisture-stable crystals in an overall yield of 36% after column chromatography and recrystallisation from benzene. (±)-Arsenicin A exhibits strong absorptions in the UV region, even though the molecule contains no obvious chromophore. A theoretical investigation revealed that the absorption was facilitated by through-space and through-bond interactions between lone pairs on the arsenic and oxygen atoms and the organometallic framework of the molecule. (±)Arsenicin A was resolved with >99% efficiency by preparative chiral HPLC on a Chiralpak IA column with use of dichloromethane as eluent and the structure and absolute configuration of(S)-(- )-Arsenicin A were established by X-ray crystallography. The individual enantiomers of (±)-Arsenicin A racernise in solution in the presence of traces of acid and high-level ab initio calculations have been carried out to examine the mechanism of the process. (±)-Arsenicin A exhibits a 21-fold greater inhibition of the induction of proliferation arrest and induces cell death at a 27-fold lower concentration in the acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line than the current "arsenical gold standard", arsenic(III) oxide (Trisenox®). Treatment of a benzene solution of (±)-Arsenicin A with aqueous sodium sulfide produces first the trisulfur analogue (±)-Arsenicin A-S3 (AsA-83) (not isolated), which undergoes reductive desulfurisation with excess sulfide to give the disulfide (±)Arsenicin A-S2 and then the monosulfide (±)-Arsenicin A-S1 (AsA-81). The derivative (±)-Arsenicin A-S2 exists as a pair of separable diastereomers, (±)-Arsenicin A-a-S2 (AsA-a-82) and (±)-Arsenicin A-{3-S2 (AsA-iS-82). The crystal structures of AsA-a-82, AsA-Jj-82 and AsA-81 have been determined. The disulfides have the cage-like structure of the mineral uzonite (As4Ss) in which there is a single As-As bond; the disulfide diastereomers each contain four chiral arsenic stereocentres. The monosulfide cage AsA- 81 contains two As- As bonds and has a structure related to the mineral realgar (a-As4S4) in which three of the sulfur atoms have been replaced by methylene groups in a Ci-chiral arrangement. As found for (±)-Arsenicin A, the sulfur derivatives exhibit strong UV absorptions and can be resolved on a Chiralpak IA column. The selenium derivatives(±)Arsenicin A-Se1 (AsA-8e1), (±)-Arsenicin A-a-Se2 (AsA-a-8e2) and (±)-Arsenicin A-{3- Se2 (AsA-Jj-8e2) have been synthesised by the reaction of a benzene solution of(±)Arsenicin A with sodium hydrogen selenide. The crystal structure of the monoselenide AsA-8e1 was determined and shown to have the realgar-type, cage structure. Preliminary results indicate that AsA-81 and AsA-8e1 are considerably more potent against the acute promelocytic leukemia cell line than arsenic(III) oxide and all histotypes of ovarian cancer cell lines tested than the standard chemotherapeutic drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin.
Embargo
ASEAN regionalism in the post-cold war Asia-Pacific
(Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 1997) Bahar, Emran
In conclusion, it can be observed that ASEAN institutions have undergone several stages of evolution reflecting the member countries' general attitudes towards regionalism in Southeast Asia. The mechanisms of ASEAN cooperation started modestly in 1967 until1976 when it was greatly overhauled by the ASEAN Heads of Government. Since then, the ASEAN institutions have continued to receive the attention of member governments although the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta that symbolises ASEAN cooperation, continues to remain modest. This is still so because member countries are pragmatic and careful not to create a huge centralised bureaucracy that can lead to inefficiency. Nevertheless, through the ASEAN structure, political leaders and officials from member countries interact with one another forming a network of personal and working relations crucial for ASEAN regionalism in the 1990s. Moreover, the Secretariat facilitates information flows and reduces costs of regional transaction. This further underpins regional activities. This conclusion reinforces the argument that in ASEAN, the process is in itself important. As Michael Leifer has argued, 'for ASEAN governments, a personalised process of consultation and cooperation has become more important than formal procedures for problem-solving'.43 Following this argument, the numerous number of meetings, besides producing papers and an unaccountable number of recommendations, Joint Communiques or Press Releases are important as well. These factors help to foster confidence in ASEAN as it enters the post-Cold War Asia Pacific.
Embargo
Atomic collisions with surfaces
(Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 1997) O'Connor, Daryl John

Browse

Browsing Restricted Theses by Title