Open Access Theses

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Open Access
Structural Elucidation of the Interaction of Apicoplast Resident Ferredoxin and its Interacting Proteins
(2025) Akuh, Ojo-Ajogu
The apicoplast is an essential plastid-like organelle which was derived from red algae by secondary endosymbiosis and found in members of the Apicomplexa phylum (except Cryptosporidium and most gregarines). This organelle harbours several essential metabolic pathways absent from the parasite’s host making it and the pathways therein prime targets for the design of drugs against diseases such as malaria (caused by Plasmodium spp.) and toxoplasmosis (caused by Toxoplasma gondii). Inside the apicoplast, an electron transfer system is essential for various enzymatic processes. This system is facilitated by the ferredoxin redox system, which comprises the plant- type ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase (ptFNR) and its redox partner, plant-type ferredoxin (ptFd). Whereas protein-protein interaction is known to mediate the electron transfer from ptFd to partner enzymes, the exact amino acid residues at the interaction interface remains unknown. In this study, the exact amino acid residues at the interaction interface between ptFd and one of its partner enzymes in the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis called (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl diphosphate reductase (Particularly PfIspH) was determined using the combination of an E. coli model and an advance computational biology technique that helped navigate the challenge of performing protein-protein interaction with labile Fe-S containing proteins and structural determination of protein complexes respectively. The results reaffirmed the role of electrostatic interaction in the protein-protein interaction and provides vital information for the design of inhibitors against such protein complexes. The result of the E. coli model screen was recapitulated in the apicoplast of T. gondii making a case for the model as a very useful first screening platform for functional mutations or drug effects before more laborious and time-consuming assays in the parasite are performed. Further application of the model in flavodoxin complementation study provides evidence for the evolutionary relationship between Cyanobacteria (Nostoc), Chromera velia and Apicomplexa and how the parasitic lifestyle of apicomplexan parasites may likely influence the flexibility of their redox system. Furthermore, report on the inability of flavodoxins to complement TgFd provide indirect evidence for the involvement of ptFd in the SUF (sulfur utilization factor) pathway of Fe- S biogenesis in the apicoplast. Hence, the findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the interaction interface between PfFd and PfIspH, the evolutionary relationship between flavodoxins and ptFd as well as the metabolic role of ptFd as an essential, central electron distributing hub in T. gondii and P. falciparum, supporting its importance for the parasite’s metabolism and underlining its potential as a drug target in apicomplexan parasites.
Open Access
Dancing With Bach: A Tactile Deconstruction of the Sixth Unaccompanied Cello Suite
(2023) Bladon, Eleanor
The Bach Cello Suites are a foundational part the modern cellist’s repertoire, and are therefore a recurring subject within academic discourse. The Sixth Suite in D Major (Suite VI) presents unique issues in both performance and academia, as it was not written for the standard modern four-string cello, but for an instrument with an additional upper E string. This project is born from a similar intent to researchers who have come before me: seeking to better understand the enigmatic suites, and Bach’s authorial intent. This informs my first research ques- tion: how can I reimagine Bach’s Original Thoughts from a tactile perspective? During the course of this pursuit, I discovered that I could not gain a holistic understanding of Suite VI as a performer and composer until I understood the performance experience as an intricate choreography. This project is concerned with the physicality of Suite VI, but also with the consequent understand- ing of music as being tactile as well as aural. In likening the tactility of playing the cello to a ‘dance’ for the left hand, I describe my own experience of performing the Suite - a highly complex ‘dance' on the four-string cello - as a series of physical gestures strung together into a micro-chore- ography. A process of data collection and analysis to do with my own left hand’s performance was aided by the comparative use of a five-string cello. This is documented throughout this project in the form of both practice video diaries, and a new notation system that depicts physical gesture. The research presented in this exegesis manifests in a new composition that explores the notions of both touch and sound as equal partners within the music, using the physicality of Suite VI itself as a palette of physical gestures from which I draw. The process of writing this work addresses my sec- ond research question: how can I apply an understanding of music performance as physical gesture to a compositional methodology? The resulting composition, presented through live performance, aims to achieve a choreographed solo cello performance that has been designed with physical intentionality. It is aurally distinct from Suite VI, but is tactually reminiscent of it.
Open Access
Kincentric Economies: A Review of Post-Growth Pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Decolonisation
(2025) Hamilton, Sophia
In Australia, capitalism and colonialism are inextricably linked — working to justify and reinforce each other through their ever-increasing imposition on resources and attempted erasure of diverse value systems and peoples. In light of this, anti-capitalist movements like post-growth are increasingly aligning with anticolonial movements across the world. However, such synergies are yet to be substantively analysed in the Australian context — a nation reliant on extractivism, geographically vulnerable to environmental crises, and without a treaty with its Indigenous peoples. In the interest of forming broad coalitions to support the widespread transformations necessary for social justice and ecological sustainability, it thus becomes salient to question the convergences and divergences of post-growth and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander decolonisation ideals, as well as how policies can support decolonial, post-growth economies in this context. To address these questions, this research utilised a qualitative systematic review of real-world, post-growth-based initiatives from across the world. These initiatives were then thematically analysed in relation to decolonisation principles from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholarship. In the review, eight overlapping themes between post-growth and decolonisation were made visible: restructuring, resistance, recognition, recentring, redress, relationality, responsibility, and revitalisation. By identifying points of alignment and conflict within these domains, this research offers practical insights to guide more socio-ecologically ambitious policies in the Australian settler-colonial context. In particular, an analysis of how more decolonial and Indigenist themes are made subsidiary or sidelined in post-growth literature guides the conceptual proposal for ‘kincentric economies’. That is, the restoration of economies that prioritise the holistic wellbeing of and reciprocity between Country and kin over neoclassical pursuits of growth, and work to undo the systemic subjugation of Indigenous peoples, ontologies, and epistemologies. Through this, imaginations of a sustainable, just society can be unchained from the grips of both capitalism and colonialism.
Open Access
Cruelty, Coverture, and Colonial Women's Writings: A Cultural and Social History of Domestic Violence in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, 1880-1914
(2026) Smith, Zoe
When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared domestic violence to be a 'national crisis' in April 2024, he was likely unaware that he echoed Victorian Chief Justice Sir John Madden, who, 110 years earlier, similarly declared domestic violence, or 'wife-desertion and wife-persecution', to be a 'national crime' and a 'social menace'. Although the nature and prevalence of domestic violence in Australia have received significant scholarly, public, political, and legal attention in the last decade, historians have been at pains to demonstrate that it is not a new issue. This thesis builds on and revises existing scholarship, using a corpus of new evidence to explore the formative period of 1880-1914 when domestic violence was arguably at its most visible. As the writings of feminist authors, wives, judges, and journalists reveal, not only was 'wife-beating' a considerable source of cultural debate and social anxiety in this period, but from 1890 onwards, judicial delineations of 'cruelty' expanded. Influenced by the lived experiences that victim-survivors graphically detailed in their divorce petitions, judges redefined 'cruelty' to include what we would now term coercive control, reproductive coercion and abuse, marital rape, and economic abuse as unacceptable masculine marital behaviours. Examining this expanded conceptualisation of marital cruelty, this thesis reconciles contemporary understandings of domestic violence with historical social and cultural understandings to offer one of the first period-specific histories of domestic violence in Australia - with a focus on New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria - that also sheds light on the long and insidious history of our 'national crisis'. The thesis focuses on both the rhetoric and realities of domestic violence in this period, drawing 35 literary works by five key colonial female writers (Barbara Baynton, Ada Cambridge, Leontine Cooper, Louisa Lawson, and Rosa Praed), 320 petitions for the dissolution of marriage, and articles from over 60 local and regional newspapers into conversation with each other. It argues that a significant but hitherto unexplored group of feminist writers including victim-survivors, journalists, and colonial female authors used print, press, and the petition to protest the enduring grasp of coverture and challenge cultural stereotypes of 'wife-beating' as purely physical abuse inflicted by drunk, working-class men. These women articulated the multiple physical and non-physical forms a husband's abuse could take, which they demonstrated to be perpetrated by even the most 'respectable' or 'gentlemanly' of husbands in both urban and rural spaces. In doing so, they elevated domestic violence to the status of a national failing, even when their suffragist sisters were silent on the very same subject. Indeed, this thesis disrupts existing understandings about the historical relationship between domestic violence and feminism by challenging misconceptions about the level of concern Australian suffragists devoted to the issue and spotlighting the women who did make domestic violence a key topic of contemporary calls for social and cultural reform of gender relations. In doing so, this thesis not only elucidates the endemic and multifaceted nature of domestic violence at the time of Australia's national, political, and cultural foundation, but also shows it as the pivotal period when domestic violence first became simultaneously a 'feminist' and national issue.
Open Access
Ocean processes influencing free floating ice melting rates
(2026) Sweetman, Jim
The melting of marine-terminating ice shelves, glaciers, and icebergs into the polar oceans is an issue of significant importance for Earth's climate system. Accelerated mass loss from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, driven by anthropogenic climate change, has spurred the development of ice-ocean models to predict future impacts of their decline. However, accurately modelling ice melting in large-scale ice-ocean frameworks is challenging due to the scarcity of precise data-based parameterisations. A major obstacle is the intricate interaction between submarine ice and seawater caused by complex fluid dynamics. Particularly, there is a lack of research on how ocean stratification, submarine wave-induced oscillations, and internal waves, which are prevalent phenomena in polar areas, impact melting rates. This thesis explores these interactions through simplified laboratory experiments. In the second chapter, we investigate the melting response of a vertical wall of ice to salt stratified environments at relatively warm ambient temperatures and near-fresh salinities. Under these conditions, the melting of the ice is characterised by heterogeneity and is mainly influenced by double-diffusive convection along with buoyancy-driven flows in both the surrounding environment and the meltwater plumes. This heterogeneity leads to regular patterns called scallops, shaped by competing flows, and their vertical wavelengths determined by the theoretically suggested stratification lengthscale. Even in warm, fresh conditions, average ice melting rates are governed by temperature-dependent power laws, consistent with previous research, and are slower than those in an unstratified environment. Our findings have implications for the inclusion of stratification in iceberg and vertical glacier sidewall melting parameterisations. In the third chapter, we investigate the melting response of ice in harmonic vertical motion in unstratified environments under geophysically relevant conditions. It is demonstrated that when oscillatory motion surpasses a certain speed, it creates a dynamically rich environment around the ice, characterised by vortices and turbulence overtaking naturally convecting meltwater plumes. The melting rate is linked to this motion through a critical velocity, determined by the meltwater plume velocity under quiescent conditions; beyond this threshold, the melting follows a power law in relation to the oscillation velocity, consistent with steady-flow models. Additionally, above a certain oscillation frequency, surface scallops appear that differ from those in stratified environments. These insights are vital for improving iceberg models, especially in capturing the effects of underwater ocean swell and waves on sidewall melting. In the fourth chapter, we expand on both our previous investigations with melting ice in stratified environments along with the introduction of internal wavefield forcing. Integrating an internal wavefield creates a complex, spatially varying dynamic environment near the ice face, distinguished by oscillating double-diffusive layers that vary throughout the fluid column according to the internal wave dispersion relation. Under the conditions studied, melting rates are affected by the relative speed of the wave near the ice. Higher frequency waves with increased velocities result in greater average melting rates. Our findings offer significant insight into the melting dynamics that occurs when internal waves interact with ice shelves, glaciers, and large tabular icebergs. These laboratory experiments reveal key insights into the complicated dynamics of the ice-fluid interface and introduce refined parameterisations for future ice-ocean models. Although some important aspects of real ocean settings are not included, these experiments deliver new and significant data sets that are beneficial for testing numerical models and comparing with oceanographic data.
Open Access
The effects of thermal history and composition on the thermodynamic behaviour of helium in tungsten and tungsten-based alloys
(2026) Teo, Bryan
Nuclear fusion power is the promise of clean energy generation to meet the demands of the new century. However, containing a plasma with a core temperature ten times hotter than that of the sun is no easy task. The confinement vessel must be constructed from resilient materials that can withstand both the heat and the bombardment of the plasma species. ITER is the first proof-of-concept reactor in constructed. This thesis aims to assist in ITER's goals of understanding the complex fundamental plasma-material interactions and developing materials resilient to the harsh reactor conditions in the global push for nuclear fusion energy. The first goal of the thesis aims to investigate the thermodynamic properties of helium (He) bubbles to contribute to the existing understanding and models of He PMI expected in ITER. Bulk W samples were exposed to a low-energy (25 eV) He plasma at 573 K (LT) and 1050 K (HT). After plasma exposure, these samples were subject to TDS, ERDA, SEM, and in-situ TEM annealing. Structures comprised of a network of bubbles were stable up to 998 K during in-situ TEM annealing of the LT sample. He desorption from the LT sample was inferred to stem from interstitial He rather than these bubbles. Bubbles in the HT sample were found to be thermally active up to 998 K, resulting in an increase in the average bubble size and a loss of number density. GISAXS analysis on the effects of annealing on bubble radius distribution produces results consistent with the TEM. An "Ostwald ripening-like" model was proposed to explain the differences in annealing behaviours of the LT and HT samples. In-situ TEM annealing of a HT bulk W sample at 1073 K showed a reconfiguration of lattice atoms to reduce the surface area of large voids left behind after plasma exposure. It is suggested that lattice effects also contribute to the formation of fuzz and require more investigation. The results provided a deeper understanding of the bubble formation mechanism and subsequent thermodynamics based on the plasma exposure temperature. The differences in behaviour observed from these experiments can be used to help explain temperature-dependent effects such as recrystallisation suppression and form a wide set of consistent experiments for computational models to be compared to. The second goal of the thesis is to characterise the He-PMI of three alloys for possible use as a divertor material in future fusion reactors. Four sputter-deposited materials: sputtered pure W (WS), W-5%(wt)Ta, W-3%(wt)Cr, and W-5%(wt)Ta-3%(wt)Cr were exposed to 25 eV He plasma at LT and HT. After plasma exposure, these materials were subject to TDS, ERDA, SEM and TEM. The addition of Ta to Ws and WCr has been shown to inhibit the formation of He bubbles. This may be a case of increasing the fluence threshold for fuzz rather than the complete prevention of fuzz. Additionally, the addition of Ta slows grain growth of both Ws and WCr. This property is intrinsic to Ta rather than from an emergent W-Ta interaction and could potentially be used to delay the undesired but inevitable onset of recrystallisation. The electrical resistivities of the four sputtered films were measured as a surrogate for its thermal conductivity to characterise how this property changes with alloying and He exposure. The alloying of Ta significantly increases the resistivity of W, much more than that of Cr. As expected, He plasma exposure degrades the resistivity regardless of the material. WTaCr has the largest electrical resistivity and suffers the largest increase after He plasma exposure likely due to the presence of both alloying impurities deforming the lattice and serving as trapping sites. Both effects increase probability of electron scattering. The reduction in thermal conductivity from both alloying and He plasma irradiation, especially for alloys with more elements, will have to be considered alongside its other benefits when determining its viability for fusion reactors.
Open Access
Acceptability and Effectiveness of Behavioural and Non-Behavioural Parenting Interventions for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
(2026) Jugovac, Samantha
Mental health problems have widespread impacts on children and adolescents ("youth"), their families, and society. Parenting represents one of the most modifiable and proximal targets for supporting youth mental health. Accordingly, decades of research have examined various theoretical approaches to parenting interventions, which can be broadly categorised as behavioural and non-behavioural parenting interventions. Behavioural parenting interventions rely on social learning principles, whereby, child behaviour is strengthened or weakened through parental reinforcers of attention. These interventions are currently considered the treatment of choice for child externalising problems (e.g., aggression, noncompliance) and also show secondary effects for youth internalising problems (e.g., anxiety, depressive symptoms). Despite the strong empirical support for this model, a core procedure of behavioural parenting interventions, namely "time-out," has received increasing criticism in the community. This has occurred alongside speculation of an apparent paradigm shift towards non-behavioural parenting interventions, specifically attachment- and emotion-focused parenting interventions, which strengthen the parent-child relationship and improve child wellbeing outcomes by helping parents sensitively respond to children's underlying emotional needs behind their behaviour. These interventions have substantial empirical support for improving child secure attachment, caregiver sensitivity, and emotional competence; however, there has been less research attention on the effects of these interventions on youth mental health problems. In particular, the comparative advantages of behavioural and non-behavioural parenting interventions for addressing youth mental health outcomes remains understudied. This thesis included three studies that collectively aimed to examine the effectiveness and acceptability of behavioural and non-behavioural parenting interventions. First, a systematic review and meta-analysis (k=43) on the effectiveness of attachment- and emotion focused parenting interventions found significant small reductions in youth externalising outcomes and small-to-moderate reductions in internalising outcomes. However, the relative effectiveness of these interventions to behavioural parenting interventions remains largely unknown. Second, a survey with 110 practitioners working with children and families found that only 38% of the relevant sample reported using time-out, with some endorsing criticisms of the procedure. Notably, greater knowledge of appropriate time-out implementation was associated with increased time-out use and acceptability. Finally, interviews with 24 psychologists on their broader acceptability and implementation of behavioural and non-behavioural parenting interventions were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results indicated a perceived polarisation between behavioural and non-behavioural parenting interventions in practice; though, not all psychologists were in favour of this. Further, provider-level factors including training, affective experiences, and values played a role in their implementation of parenting interventions. In sum, the findings of this thesis shed light on future research and practice directions in implementing evidence-based parenting interventions for youth mental health problems. Findings suggest that behavioural and non-behavioural parenting interventions are effective and generally acceptable treatment options for youth mental health problems, though, more research is needed to understand the relative effectiveness of these approaches. Furthermore, the misconceptions about behavioural parenting interventions, particularly time-out, warrant attention. Notwithstanding this, it remains essential to consider alternative parenting intervention approaches in research and practice, as inevitably, families' preferences, values, and needs will align with different theoretical approaches.
Open Access
Synergies and Trade-offs in Urban Green Infrastructure
(2026) Zhang, Veblen
Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) is increasingly integrated into urban planning to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and public health challenges. Its multifunctionality and ability to deliver multiple Ecosystem Services (ESs) make UGI a "win-win" nature-based solution. Yet, focusing only on benefits risks overlooking Ecosystem Disservices (EDs) and the trade-offs from competing goals. This thesis advances a multidimensional, causally informed understanding of how synergies and trade-offs in UGI are conceptualised in research and practice. It addresses four questions: how these synergies and trade-offs are conceptualised; how they are represented and assessed in studies; how plant functional traits influence them; and what synergies and trade-offs exist between UGI policy objectives and stakeholder perceptions in Canberra, Australia. A tripartite analytical framework is developed to explain synergies and trade-offs as outcomes shaped by three interconnected dimensions: biophysical processes, sociocultural values, and policy priorities. Moving beyond simple correlations between ESs and EDs, the framework serves as a diagnostic tool to identify causal mechanisms and context-specific dynamics. A mixed-methods design operationalises and tests the framework. First, a systematic review of 96 global studies shows a dominant focus on biophysical outcomes and a reliance on statistical bundling of ESs and EDs, offering limited explanatory power. It highlights the potential of functional trait analysis as an underused method to identify ecological drivers of ESs and EDs and improve causal inferences. Building on this, the first case study uses functional trait analysis to examine synergies and trade-offs in microclimatic benefits, Urban Heat Island (UHI) mitigation and thermal stress reduction, provided by four morphologically distinct urban tree species in Canberra. Results show trait-service relationships are highly context-dependent. Factors such as solar irradiance, seasonality, and surface material affect cooling benefits. Traits like crown density consistently deliver synergistic benefits, while others create trade-offs under varying solar conditions. These findings demonstrate the diagnostic value of trait analysis but caution against universal trait prescriptions, calling for locally adapted planning. The second case study explores sociocultural and policy dimensions through thematic analysis of legislation, policy documents, and stakeholder submissions to a Canberra urban forest inquiry. While legislation is cohesive, policies and stakeholder views diverge. Policies emphasise city-wide canopy expansion for biodiversity and UHI mitigation, whereas stakeholders highlight concerns such as property damage and personal safety. These differences reveal potential mismatches and trade-offs between policy goals and community expectations, and even among policymakers themselves. The study underscores the need for proactive, inclusive engagement to achieve socially sustainable UGI outcomes. Overall, the research confirms that synergies and trade-offs are shaped not only by ecological factors but also by sociocultural values and policy priorities. The tripartite framework offers both theoretical and practical advances for diagnosing and navigating complexity in UGI planning. It contributes to global debates by promoting an integrative, reflexive approach to planning UGI that is ecologically effective, socially inclusive, and institutionally viable.
Open Access
Democratic Backsliding in South Asia: A study of structural conditions, democratic values and democratic deterioration
(2025) Majumdar, Medha
The rise of democratic backsliding threatens to reverse progress made towards liberal democracy in stable, as well as developing, democracies. Alongside other regions, South Asia is experiencing an incremental deterioration of political institutions and qualities associated with democratic governance. Previous research on understanding the causes of democratic backsliding has focussed on the elite or party level. These studies consider that democratic backsliding is caused by political leaders who undermine democratic norms or subvert constraints on their power. While agent-based theories help to explain the actions of illiberal political leaders once they assume office, it does little to uncover why such actors are elected and enjoy popular support in the first place. This thesis puts citizens' values and their attitudes towards democracy at the centre of the puzzle of democratic backsliding. Challenging theories of economic modernisation and political culture, the rapid economic transformation countries in South Asia have experienced since the 1990s has coincided with increasing popular support for illiberal political leaders and populist parties. This study investigates how structural conditions of economic performance, governance and corruption weaken citizens' democratic values in South Asia. Weak democratic values create the conditions for democratic backsliding by threatening the development of a civic culture and increasing citizens' support for authoritarian-populist political leaders and parties. This study employs a comparative research methodology focusing on the cases of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Using cross-national survey data from the World Values Survey (1989-2021) and the South Asia Barometer Survey (2005-2013) enables comparison both over time and across countries. Descriptive, logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression analyses find that perceptions of economic performance, including income inequality, weaken citizens' democratic values in South Asia. Similarly, poor government effectiveness and corruption further deteriorate democratic values in the region. Weak democratic values are found to threaten the development of a democratic political culture, by reducing levels of political engagement, participation and trust. Citizens with weak democratic values are also more likely to support authoritarian leaders and be sympathetic to authoritarian forms of government in South Asia. The study contributes to our understanding of how socioeconomic structural conditions shape political attitudes, and more broadly, speaks to the role of weakened democratic values in facilitating democratic backsliding.
Open Access
Negligent Combatants? Liability for negligent homicide during armed conflict: An Australian perspective
(2026) Liddy, Joshua
This thesis seeks to establish whether ADF members can be liable for criminally negligent homicide during armed conflict. It argues that combatants can owe a duty of care during combat, enforceable under Australian discipline law. Wherever the ADF operates, it takes with it its own disciplinary code: the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 (Cth) (DFDA). The DFDA is a statutory code to provide the means to maintain good order and discipline in the ADF. While the DFDA incorporates many aspects of the criminal law, it operates concurrently with, but separate to, the criminal law. The primary legal regime that applies to the ADF during an armed conflict is discipline law, not international law or domestic war crimes legislation. Only discipline law covers the field of potential offending on the battlefield, such as friendly fire incidents. Ordinarily, the criminal law prohibits the use of lethal force. Given war is such an important Executive function, there must be Australian law that permits the use of, and limits on, lethal force by combatants. If criminal negligence is to apply to ADF members during armed conflict, then it must occur within this paradigm. There must be a domestic law of armed conflict (DLOAC) in Australia. DLOAC is comprised of three parts: the war prerogative; criminal law; and international law that has been incorporated into Australian law. DLOAC provides the authority for, and limits on, the use of force by ADF members in armed conflict. There are two negligent homicide offences in the DFDA: dangerous conduct with negligence as to consequences; and manslaughter by criminal negligence. Both offences use the same test for criminal negligence. A person is negligent if their conduct involves: (a) such a great falling short of the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the circumstances; and (b) such a high risk that the physical element exists or will exist; that the conduct merits criminal punishment. For manslaughter by criminal negligence, there must also be a duty of care. For dangerous conduct with negligence as to consequences, there must be a breach of the standard of care. Manslaughter by criminal negligence requires that a duty of care at law exist between the accused and deceased. For civil negligence, combatants involved in actual combat do not owe a duty of care to anyone. However, the policy considerations that lead to this conclusion are not the same as those for criminal or disciplinary law. Tortious negligence is concerned with compensation, and criminal law the protection of society and imposition of punishment. The purpose of discipline law is to maintain good order and discipline in the ADF in order to enhance capability. As these public policy considerations are aimed at achieving different outcomes, no duty of care arising in one area of law does not necessarily mean there will similarly be no duty of care in another area of law . If DLOAC can authorise the use of force by ADF members, it can also, in appropriate circumstances, create a duty of care to civilians, protected persons and friendly forces.
Open Access
Enduring burden of intensive care
(2026) Rai, Sumeet
Background: Existing literature on PICS and PICS-F focuses predominantly on intubated ICU survivors, limiting understanding of non-intubated survivors' outcomes. Gaps remain in local epidemiology of long-term psychological/QOL outcomes, dyadic interactions, and ward rehabilitation barriers for survivors and families. Objectives: 1. To determine long-term psychological and QOL outcomes of ICU survivors 2. To determine long-term psychological and QOL outcomes of family members of ICU survivors 3. To investigate dyadic influences between survivor-family pairs 4. To assess ward-based rehabilitation practices and to identify barriers to delivering effective post-ICU rehabilitation care Methods: A prospective, multicentre observational cohort study was conducted across four Australian ICUs. Adult survivors and their paired family members were recruited and longitudinally followed up post-ICU discharge. Participants were screened for persistent psychological (post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, anxiety) symptoms and QOL impairments. Clinically significant psychological symptoms were defined according to established cut-off scores for validated screening instruments. Dyadic analyses were performed to examine associations between psychological symptoms and QOL impairments within the survivor-family pairs. Additionally, a locally developed, single-centre survey of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals caring for ICU survivors was used to address the final study objective. Results: Patients: Of the 133 ICU survivors, 47 % had at least one clinically significant psychological symptom at follow-up. There was no difference in the clinically significant scores for psychological symptoms at 3-months (p=0.38) or 12-months (p=0.57) between the intubated and non-intubated survivors. Usual activities and mobility were the most commonly affected QOL domains, with > 30 % at 3 months and > 20 % at 12-months of overall survivors reporting >/= moderate problems in these domains. Families: In family members of intubated vs non-intubated survivors, clinically significant psychological symptoms (PTSD/depression/anxiety) were reported by 48% vs 33% at 3-months (p = 0.15); and 39% vs 25% at 12-months (p = 0.23). With regards to QOL, > 30% of the family members, reported problems in pain/discomfort or anxiety/depression domains at 12-months. Dyads: Family members were more likely to have persistent psychological symptoms of PTSD (p = 0.01) or depression (p = 0.001); or QoL domain problems with pain/discomfort (p = 0.03) or anxiety/depression (p = 0.04), when the paired survivor also reported the same symptoms. Barriers to rehabilitation: Most respondents (66%, 126/190) were unfamiliar with the term post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). There were multifaceted barriers to patient mobilisation, with inadequate multidisciplinary staffing, lack of medical order for mobilisation, and inadequate physical space near the bed as common institutional barriers and patient frailty and cardiovascular instability as the commonly perceived patient-related barriers. Conclusions: Nearly one-in-two (47 %) of the intubated and non-intubated ICU survivors reported clinically significant psychological symptoms at 3 and 12-month follow-ups. The presence of psychological symptoms and HRQOL impairments was similar between the survivor groups. Almost one-third of the family members of ICU survivors also reported persistent psychological symptoms and QoL problems at 12-months. There was a noticeable dyad effect with family members more likely to have persistent symptoms of PTSD, depression, and problems in QoL domains when the paired ICU survivors experienced similar symptoms. Future long-term follow-up should include non-intubated ICU survivors and recovery intervention trials should be aimed at ICU family-survivor dyads. Additionally, there are multiple potentially modifiable barriers to the ongoing rehabilitation of ICU survivors.
Open Access
Including Indigenous Perspectives in Natural Capital Accounting
(2025) Normyle, Anna
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasise the need to include Indigenous values in the management of cultural, environmental and economic resources. Ensuring this recognition requires the assessment of existing frameworks for monitoring and reporting to determine whether they are sufficiently broad to encompass Indigenous people, their perspectives, and knowledge. Indigenous people are absent from the ongoing development of the UN international standard for Natural Capital Accounting (NCA), the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). As a framework that promises to better integrate environmental and economic information for sustainable development, this omission must be addressed if NCA is to be of relevance to, and used by, Indigenous people. Using conceptual and practical examples, this thesis investigates: (1) how the SEEA differs from, and can be adapted to, Indigenous values and knowledge; (2) how NCA and the SEEA can be used by Indigenous people and their organisations for the management of land and sea; (3) the opportunities, challenges and key considerations for incorporating Indigenous perspectives into the SEEA; and (4) the actions required to ensure Indigenous values are reflected in the ongoing development of NCA and the SEEA. It finds that Indigenous people's perspectives on nature differ from those currently recognised in the SEEA, as Indigenous people often view themselves as part of ecosystems rather than distinct from them, and this relationship is two-way, not one-way as presented in the SEEA conceptual model. Practical examples of account development from a collaborative case study with Yawuru managers of land and sea in northern Australia show how accounts informed by Indigenous knowledge can record changes to ecosystem extent, condition and values over time in a manner that better reflects the interconnected relationships between People, culture and Country. The thesis identifies the benefits of incorporating Indigenous values into NCA, including making a broader range of interests and values visible and therefore considered in decision-making, and improving the 'seat at the table' for Indigenous managers in negotiations that impact their land. Ultimately, such information benefits all stakeholders by providing the data needed to identify win-win opportunities while managing conflicts across various spatial scales. Actionable recommendations are proposed for local, national, and international stakeholders to raise Indigenous voices in NCA development through collaborative, Indigenous-led partnerships, developing national protocols for Indigenous-inclusive accounting, and establishing an international working group to guide the recognition of Indigenous values in the SEEA framework. As a first example of the development of SEEA-based accounts in collaboration with Indigenous managers of land and sea, this thesis offers globally relevant insights into the approaches, challenges, and actions needed to ensure that future NCA frameworks are inclusive and equitable for all.
Open Access
The applications of two-dimensional materials in electronics and energy harvesting
(2026) Wang, Bowen
With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), people's daily lives are increasingly dependent on diverse personal electronic devices. To meet the demands of portability, seamless integration, and comfort in wearable and implantable systems, these devices must be smaller, more efficient, and mechanically flexible. However, conventional materials such as silicon, metals, and oxides face limitations including large size, heavy weight, poor biocompatibility, and limited adaptability to deformation. Traditional batteries also show low compatibility with flexible systems and raise environmental and safety concerns. These drawbacks restrict next-generation portable and wearable devices, driving research into novel materials. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and MXenes, have gained attention due to their unique optical, electrical, and mechanical properties, making them promising for miniaturized and flexible devices. Optical studies of heterostructures composed of monolayer WS2 on MXene quantum dots (QDs) show strong photoluminescence (PL) enhancement at room temperature and rich excitonic dynamics at cryogenic temperatures. These arise from localized plasmonic effects of QDs and the suspended WS2 structure, which enhance many-body interactions and emission efficiency. This demonstrates the potential of 2D materials for high-performance optoelectronic devices. Monolayer WS2, with a direct bandgap of about 2.0 eV and excellent flexibility, is well-suited for wearable optoelectronic applications such as LEDs. Using a hybrid continuous-pulsed injection scheme, WS2 LEDs achieve over 20-fold enhancement in emission efficiency and a large active area (around 25 micronmeter) at room temperature. Moreover, tuning the applied alternating voltage allows emission wavelength modulation over 40 nm, highlighting the potential of 2D materials in high-performance, wavelength-tunable optoelectronics. Beyond optoelectronics, MXene-based systems offer great promise in energy harvesting due to their biocompatibility and conductivity. A MXene (Ti3C2Tx) 5G antenna efficiently harvests radio-frequency energy under very low input power, requiring about 16 times lower power density than copper antennas, while maintaining over 99% efficiency under 90 degrees of bending. This flexibility underscores its potential as a wireless, battery-free energy harvester for wearables. Despite these advantages, MXene antennas face challenges such as relatively high minimum input power and restricted operational ranges. To address this, MXene-based hybrid moisture electric generators (hMEGs) have been developed. hMEGs continuously generate electricity by absorbing ambient moisture, providing a sustainable green power supply. When integrated into textiles via screen printing, planar MXene hMEGs can directly power devices such as hearing aids and Bluetooth-enabled power management systems. In summary, this thesis explores the unique properties of 2D materials, demonstrating their application in flexible optoelectronic devices and energy harvesters. It proposes two types of 2D materials-based generators as sustainable power sources for wearable systems. These results offer valuable insights and guidance for future integration of 2D materials into wearable technologies, both as functional devices and as power supplies.
Open Access
Australian Mountain Pollinators in a Changing World
(2026) Coates, Josh
Pollinators play a central role in plant reproduction and, by extension, in shaping plant communities and supporting ecosystem function. In cold environments, pollinators encounter challenges that influence both survival and reproductive success. Because insects are ectothermic, their body temperature depends on external climatic conditions. Sustaining the heat needed for activity is energetically costly in climates where temperatures are low and unpredictable. These constraints often result in pollinator assemblages that differ from those in warmer habitats. Species that persist in cold regions must exhibit specialised life history traits that enable them to tolerate low temperatures. This thesis explores how mountain pollinators respond to abiotic and biotic factors across multiple ecological scales. I examine patterns at broad spatial scales, such as community turnover with elevation, and at finer scales, including the microclimates insects experience within individual flowers. I begin by characterising whole-community responses before focusing on a few focal insect species, allowing me to consider how life history traits interact with environmental limits. By linking community- to species-level processes and climate- to microclimate-level patterns, this work aims to provide an integrated understanding of how environmental conditions shape mountain pollinators, particularly under climate change. In Chapter 1, I assess how pollinator assemblages vary with climate. Surveys along an elevational gradient showed that flies dominated higher elevations, while bees and beetles were more common at lower sites. These shifts reflected both direct temperature effects and the distribution of floral resources, demonstrating how climate and vegetation jointly structure pollinator communities. Chapter 2 investigates a previously unstudied bee that persists in subalpine woodlands. Nest surveys, behavioural observations, and biophysical modelling revealed that it withstands cold conditions through a distinctive nesting strategy in dead snow gum branches. While activity windows were strongly limited by temperature, modelling suggests these windows may expand under projected warming scenarios. In Chapter 3, I examine how floral microclimates influence insect thermoregulation. Thermal imaging of flowers and visiting insects showed that flowers were consistently warmer than ambient conditions, with flower morphology affecting both floral warming and insect body heat. This indicates that alpine flowers can act as thermal refuges, allowing pollinators to decouple from an otherwise cold climate with variable conditions. Finally, Chapter 4 focuses on the Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa), an Endangered alpine migrant. By trapping moths during aestivation and analysing pollen loads, I found that individuals regularly forage on alpine flowers, including several endemic plant species. This provides new evidence that Bogong moths contribute to alpine pollination networks, highlighting previously unrecognised ecological role during the migratory phase of their lifecycle.
Open Access
Seismic Tomography with a Self-adaptive Parameterisation
(1997) Faletič, Rado
The purpose of this paper is to present a new, self-adaptive, form of parameterisation which will refine cell structure only where it is warranted. We will also examine the relationship, or trade-oﬀ, between the model fit and the nature of the refined parameterisations
Open Access
Control Theory Oriented Analysis and Design of Optimisation Algorithms
(2026) Wu, Alex
The thesis focuses on the application of control theory to the design and analysis of optimization algorithms, with a focus on first-order gradient-based methods using constant step sizes. Classical techniques from control theory, including the circle criterion, gain margin optimization, and the internal model principle, are employed to establish global convergence guarantees, identify fundamental performance limits, and develop algorithms that attain these limits. We begin by developing a gradient-based algorithm for a class of nonconvex functions. The algorithm has a structure similar to the heavy ball, triple momentum, and accelerated gradient methods. The global convergence of the proposed algorithm is established using the circle criterion for a class of cost functions with sector-bounded gradients. The proposed algorithm is designed to have the best possible R-convergence rate among all algorithms whose global convergence can be established using the circle criterion. The analysis is then extended to online optimization problems. We design an algorithm for solving a class of nonconvex optimization problems with a linearly varying optimal point. The algorithm is represented as a Lur'e-type nonlinear system containing a discrete time double integrator, which ensures tracking with an linearly varying optimal point with zero steady-state error. By using the circle criterion, the global convergence of the algorithm is secured. The algorithm is applied to a time-of-arrival-based localization problem with constant velocity, where it achieves zero steady-state error. We then design an online optimization algorithm with integral action for quadratic cost functions and linearly varying optimal points. Using results from the optimal gain margin problem, we construct an algorithm that attains the best possible convergence rate among discrete time double integrator methods applied to finite dimensional quadratic problems. Finally, we address the general case where the optimal point varies according to an $(n-1)$th order polynomial in time. By applying internal model principle, we show that an $n$th order integrator is necessary for exact tracking. Using optimal gain margin results, we construct algorithms that achieve the fundamental convergence rate limit of $\left(\frac{\sqrt{\kappa} - 1 }{\sqrt{\kappa} + 1}\right)^{\frac{1}{n}}$, where $\kappa$ is the condition number of the cost function. This result establishes a fundamental convergence rate bound for all linear first order algorithms exact tracking polynomially varying optimal point. Overall, the thesis provides control-theoretic interpretations for designing, analyzing, and optimizing first-order algorithms with constant step size.
Open Access
The Global Gender Equality Goal and Tanna Women: Exploring the relevance and usefulness of the gender Sustainable Development Goal (SDG5) within the everyday lives of women from Tanna (Vanuatu)
(2025) Stuart, Rachel
Countering gender inequality and achieving women's full participation in environmental management and development is a significant policy challenge for governments in the Pacific Islands region, as it is in most countries across the world. Many Pacific women have pointed out that they are substantially under-represented in formal leadership roles, subjected to high rates of gender-based violence, and often excluded from employment, education and financial resources. Pacific Island leaders have sought to converge the United Nations (UN) 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goal for gender equality - SDG5 and its associated Targets - into their national policies to drive affirmative societal change. But progress to achieve SDG5 in its first nine years has been slow and uneven, and scholars have critiqued the framing of SDG5 for being primarily aligned with liberal feminist and Eurocentric ideas. Most research examining the challenges of implementing SDG5 via policy and practice is desk-based and focussed on top-down governance approaches or the interconnections between SDG5 and the other development goals for specific industries or sectors. There are minimal empirical studies specifically examining the relevance or usefulness of SDG5 from the ground-up - with and within the everyday lives of women who the UN seeks to 'empower' to achieve SDG5. This is a critical knowledge gap and one that this research seeks to address. In this study I utilise post-structural feminist and interpretive research methodologies to (i) explore the ways that gender equality materialises in the lived experiences of women from Tanna (Vanuatu), and (ii) examine where and how the women's ways are illuminated or cast into shadow by the framing of SDG5. Across three themes relating to the women sustaining their places, doing leadership and practicing reproduction rituals, this study demonstrates that many of the Tanna women's ways of knowing and doing gender equality are illuminated by SDG5. But there are also many of the women's ways cast into shadow by the narrow framing of SDG5, either as a misaligning intersection - for example, the women's roles in reef use and conservation, which SDG14 does not make explicit, and as silences - for example, the women's customary empowerment rituals and knowledge. These 'shadowed' ways represent substantial missed opportunities for realising gender equality via SDG5. Overall, the study's findings suggest that SDG5 would be more relevant and useful in the Tanna women's context if it had a pluralistic framing, one that is conceptually broader and culture enabled. This study is based on a context-specific data set (with Tanna women in 2017 - 2018), and hence, a diverse program of future research on Tanna, in different locations across the world, and with other gender groups, would be useful to fully examine the extent to which SDG5 is relevant or useful within COVID-19 post-pandemic local contexts. Doing so may also give us important information on how to unlock the full potential of global goals like SDG5 to achieve gender equality, not only in the final six years of the SDGs but also as we begin to design the next post-2030 global goal for gender equality.
Open Access
Search for long-transient gravitational waves from ultralight vector boson clouds
(2025) Jones, Dana
Ultralight bosons are predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model and may make up a significant fraction of dark matter. Through the superradiance process, they can extract energy from rotating black holes, forming macroscopic clouds that emit quasi-continuous gravitational waves. Probing these signatures with gravitational wave detectors provides us with a unique opportunity to explore beyond-Standard Model physics that is out of reach for terrestrial experiments. This thesis presents the design and implementation of a search pipeline to detect gravitational waves from ultralight vector boson clouds around binary merger remnant black holes observed by the Advanced LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA (LVK) observatories. The search method incorporates a hidden Markov model that is able to efficiently track the frequency evolution of these long-transient signals. We simulate the signal waveforms with high accuracy using the numerical relativity modeling tool Superrad. Sensitivity studies demonstrate that the search method can detect signals from sources out to ~1 Gpc in parts of the parameter space. To address the various challenges associated with signal candidate follow-up and noise rejection, this thesis also investigates two Doppler-based veto procedures and proposes an effective point spread function be used to differentiate signals from noise. This is later used to quantify the tolerance of the search to sky position mismatch for different targets. In the absence of a detection, a statistically rigorous framework is introduced to constrain the existence of the vector boson mass while marginalizing over uncertainties in the black hole parameters. It is also shown how these constraints can be extended to accommodate additional bosonic interactions. Finally, combining the search pipeline and follow-up studies, we carry out the first directed search for gravitational waves from ultralight vector boson clouds around two remnant black holes detected during the LVK's fourth observing run. No evidence of a signal is found, so constraints are derived on the corresponding vector mass ranges. The results demonstrate that current-generation detectors are fast approaching the required sensitivity to derive physically meaningful exclusions on the vector boson mass. Moreover, this thesis lays the foundation for more sensitive searches in future observing runs and with next-generation gravitational wave detectors.
Open Access
Voice in Transition: A Diachronic-Typological Study of Mori Atas
(2025) Sirima, Aarin
This thesis presents a diachronic-typological study of the voice system of Mori Atas, an Austronesian language spoken in southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia. I treat voice as an interface mechanism that manages a recurring tension between syntactic prominence (subjecthood, shaped by predicate-argument structure) and discourse prominence (topichood, shaped by information-structural needs). On this view, a transitional voice system is not defined primarily by the loss of voice contrasts, but by a redivision of labour across the grammatical devices that regulate these two kinds of prominence. The first part of the thesis (Chapters 1-8) provides a synchronic analysis of Mori Atas verbal morphology, pronominal paradigms, TAM, clause types, grammatical relations, and information structure. The description reveals a mixed system in which inherited voice morphology continues to track topicality in key environments, including a one-topic economy in complex clauses, while subject-related dependencies are increasingly mediated by other resources. The second part (Chapters 9-11) situates Mori Atas typologically and reconstructs the pathway by which this profile emerges through both retention and innovation relative to Philippine-type, topic-prominent systems. I argue that two linked innovations drive the transitional outcome. First, the Actor Voice domain narrows. Reflexes of PMP paN- and paR- are reanalysed as valency-changing prefixes (poN-, pe(N)-), and transitive free roots allow optional AV um. Where um is absent, pronominal clitics regulate syntactic prominence (Actor > Undergoer), while discourse effects are expressed through word order, outer operators, prosody, and/or coreferential NPs. This shift yields a predicate-local economy in topic management, consistent with a system in which syntactic and discourse prominence are no longer bundled by the same morphological choice. Second, the Undergoer Voice marker in-/-in- develops passive properties in unmarked declaratives, promoting the Undergoer to subject status while suppressing the Actor. This thesis refines the notion of an Austronesian transitional voice system by arguing that the crucial change is not simply morphological erosion, but a reweighting of the division of labour between syntactic and discourse prominence across the clause.
Open Access
Market-Efficient and Robust Integration of DER in Unbalanced Distribution Systems
(2026) Russell, James
Uptake of distributed energy resources (DER) is accelerating across the globe. There is growing need for coordination frameworks to ensure high volumes of DER can participate effectively in existing market structures at the transmission-scale, while also satisfying technical constraints at the distribution-scale. Dynamic operating envelopes (DOE) have emerged as the leading approach in Australia for enabling effective integration of DER into power systems. Calculating dynamic operating envelopes in a manner that enables effective DER participation while providing robust guarantees of network-feasible outcomes is a complex computational task. Sources of complexity include non-linear and non-convex formulations of power flow and network operational constraints, the uncertainty of DER dispatch within envelopes due to their flexibility, and the balancing of various objectives (including efficient system operation, maximising assigned flexible capacity and ensuring fair outcomes) arising from the multitude of actors whose interests may not align. As the technical readiness level of dynamic operating envelope frameworks approach wide-spread deployment in industry, there are several aspects to their design which warrant further consideration by the research community. In this thesis we delve into three aspects. We first develop an operating envelope optimisation framework that maximises the market efficiency of expected wholesale market outcomes, as opposed to existing methods that maximise total import and export capacity or metrics of fairness. Our proposed formulation incorporates projections of wholesale market prices in energy and reserve markets, constituting a novel form of TSO-DSO coordination in envelope calculation. Our objective function maximises expectations of producer and consumer surplus as defined in microeconomics, effectively prioritising the expected value-generating potential of DER, across a range of potential market price outcomes. As a result, our framework navigates a trade-off between allocating capacity to efficient bidders and maximising total allocated capacity as a function of evolving TSO needs. We employ a stochastic programming formulation to handle price uncertainty, demonstrating robust performance even during periods of significant price volatility. Our second contribution addresses feasibility considerations in unbalanced three-phase networks by proposing a completion of voltage constraints. We develop a linearised proxy for voltage unbalance factor by applying first-order Taylor series expansion to the Line Voltage Unbalance Rate (LVUR) with linearised phase angle recovery. This approach enables efficient large-scale calculations despite introducing conservatism due to the LVUR approximation and the need to ensure constraint satisfaction under improbable dispatch scenarios. Our final contribution mitigates the conservatism of robust DOE approaches through aggregator coordination. Rather than calculating independent operating envelopes, we develop an approach to partition high-dimensional representations of unused network capacity amongst aggregators using robust polytopic projection. This framework provides aggregators with scalar functions to calculate DER-level envelopes as a function of feeder-scale dispatch outcomes. Results show this approach can significantly increase the aggregate flexible allocations of import and export capacity compared to an alternative robust DOE approach in literature. This is achieved by steering aggregators away from dispatch outcomes that would cause significant levels of voltage unbalance in the network, thereby mitigating the risk of constraint violations caused or exacerbated by phase couplings through mutual impedance. The methods developed in this thesis provide new avenues for distribution system operators to enhance the effectiveness of DER integration, including into wholesale markets, while ensuring safe operation of distribution networks.

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