Open Access Theses

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Access status: Open Access ,
Amazonian worlds and modernity: changes in values of Amerindians as they are displaced by hydroelectric dams in the Xingu basin, Brazil
(2018) Schlegel, Alexis
Amerindians of the Xingu basin, Brazil have been situated at the intersection of counterposed forces, efforts to commodify the Xingu River for hydroelectricity generation, on the one hand, and political action for the preservation of indigenous territory and self-determination on the other. The research synthesises the ethnographic record using the ontological turn, to investigate changes in values with transitions into the market due to displacement by hydroelectric dams. This is to contribute better understanding to the problems that cause negative social, cultural, and economic effects with integration. In traditional societies bodies and personhood were manufactured with substances and objects. Beauty was a preoccupation aspiring to the ideals of primordial spirits. Through a process of industrialisation, the valuing of beauty transformed into a valuing of money. Rather than being manufactured by Amazonian substances, bodies and persons were manufactured with money and consumer goods. Modernity was understood in the framework of an Amazonian cosmos in which spirits and animals have become modern just as humans have.
Access status: Open Access ,
The application of safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the non-nuclear-weapon states of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) : |b pursuant to the agreement among the EURATOM non-nuclear-weapon states, EURATOM and the International Atomic Energy Agency
(1983-05) Rames, John Murray
Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ("the NPT")^ are applied by the International Atomic Energy Agency ("the IAEA") in the non-nuclear-weapon States ("NNWS") of the European Atomic Energy Community ("Euratom"} pursuant to the Agreement between Belgium, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the European Atomic Energy Community and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Implementation of Article III, (1) and (4) of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 1 0. ("the Euratom/IAEA Safeguards Agreement").
Access status: Open Access ,
Investigation of compounds which inhibit the sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter B0AT1 (SLC6A19)
Xu, Junyang
The SLC6A19 gene encodes the Broad Neutral Amino Acid Transporter 1 (B0AT1), a crucial protein for the cellular uptake of neutral amino acids in the brush-border membranes of the kidneys and small intestine. Defective B0AT1 function leads to Hartnup disorder, an autosomal recessive metabolic disease characterized by diverse clinical manifestations, including dermal, neurological, and psychiatric symptoms. Conversely, pharmacological inhibition of B0AT1 holds significant therapeutic potential for a range of other metabolic diseases. For instance, selective B0AT1 inhibition could reduce the intestinal absorption of phenylalanine in patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), thereby mitigating the accumulation of this neurotoxic amino acid. This approach also presents a novel therapeutic strategy for managing type II diabetes by delaying post-meal glucose absorption. Building upon the identification of a previously reported (by collaborators in the Broer group) cinromide-like compound as a potent B0AT1 inhibitor, this study reports the systematic synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of novel analogues to elucidate their structure-activity relationship (SAR). Through meticulous chemical modifications of the lead compound, we aimed to define the molecular features critical for B0AT1 inhibition. The SAR was established through a combination of in vitro functional assays, which quantified the inhibitory activity of each analogue, and computational docking studies performed in collaboration with a research team specializing in molecular modeling (Yan group). The insights gained from this research provide a rational basis for the design of more potent and selective B0AT1 inhibitors with enhanced pharmacological properties.
Access status: Open Access ,
Feeling the Pulse of the Street: Socio-Cultural Demands and Regime Responsiveness in the Arab Monarchies of the Gulf
(2026) Allison, Tony
In August 2021, statues of Aphrodite were removed from a Burberry shop by the Kuwaiti government after it received multiple complaints from citizens about the statue offending cultural and religious sensitivities. In December 2016, the Qatari government cancelled National Day events after local developments left the national population undesirous of celebrating. And in June 2011, after residents of Al Ain, Oman complained to a newspaper that nothing was being done to stop a goat herder using a local cemetery, an act they felt violated its sanctity, the municipality forced him to relocate. These examples prompt an important question: why, in response to citizen complaints, did the Kuwaiti, Qatari and Omani governments take action? While this question may seem simple, current Gulf and Middle Eastern scholarship and, indeed, wider political science struggle to provide an adequate answer because of their inattention to the place of popular socio-cultural contestation in state-society relations. Where the literature does investigate the socio-cultural, it does so either from: A state-centric perspective, which examines how regimes undertake nation-building projects and promote local cultural heritage through, for example, new museums, national days, and cultural villages; or, A citizen-centric perspective, examining how people enact, protect and propagate identities and heritages in their own lives and through their own actions away from the state, for example, through art, literature and fashion. This thesis adopts an alternative approach, however, by examining the nexus at which state and society meet - regime responsiveness to popular socio-cultural demands. Using Kuwait, Qatar and Oman as case studies, this thesis demonstrates both that Gulf citizens frequently make socio-cultural demands on their governments with an expectation of a positive response, and that in certain circumstances the Gulf monarchies implement or change socio-cultural policies to satisfy the demands of citizens to build support or ensure acquiescence and preserve their rule. It does so by applying the concepts of, one, authoritarian responsiveness, which holds authoritarian regimes actively monitor and respond to their citizens' concerns, and two, performance legitimacy, where a state's right to rule stems from the perceived output of the political system in satisfying the needs and aspirations of citizens. In answering why Kuwait, Qatar and Oman took action as a result of citizen concerns, this thesis illuminates the dramatically understudied dynamics of socio-cultural contestation and responsiveness in the Gulf states. However, it also makes broader contributions, not only to Gulf studies but also to the study of authoritarian states generally. One, it situates responsiveness as an integral dynamic of Gulf governance, enabling a greater understanding of regional state-society relations not as a static pattern of top-down rent distribution, but as a dynamic contest between ruler and ruled. Two, it expands our understanding of authoritarian responsiveness, which has yet to be extended to socio-cultural demand and response, and performance legitimacy, which has yet to be extended to socio-cultural policies and responsiveness
Access status: Open Access ,
Construction of Advanced Polycycles via the Diene Transmissive Diels-Alder sequence
(2026) Afshin Sander, Amir
In modern organic chemistry, greater focus it placed on the principle of green chemistry to reduce the amount of chemical waste and thereby reducing the environmental impact. One powerful approach to reach this goal is the use of highly complexity generating reactions in total synthesis, which significantly reduces the number of steps and therefore the amount of produced waste. A good example is the Diels-Alder reaction which forms two carbon-carbon and a six membered ring in a single step. The application of substituted [3]dendralens in a two-fold Diels-Alder reaction sequence (DTDA) enables the rapid formation of advanced polycycles. This strategy can be efficiently applied in total synthesis of natural compounds.
Access status: Open Access ,
Harmonic Analysis of Differential Operators in L^1
(2026) Zhang, Wenqi
This thesis studies two features of the endpoint \(L^1\) failure for Calder\'{o}n-Zygmund inequalities. Part \ref{SW_part} concerns alternative, replacement inequalities in the form of Stein-Weiss inequalities. These inequalities generalise Sobolev inequalities for elliptic differential operators, which are implied by Calder\'{o}n-Zygmund inequalities in \(L^p\), \(p>1\). Part \ref{Ornstein_part} studies a mechanism describing the \(L^1\) failure of Calder\'{o}n-Zygmund known as Ornstein's non-inequality. In Part \ref{SW_part} of this thesis, we study Stein-Weiss inequalities with \(L^1\) data. In Chapter \ref{paper} we extend the \(L^1\) Stein-Weiss inequalities studied by De N\'{a}poli and Picon \cite{NapPic} in two ways: First we address the necessity of the cocanceling condition appearing in their Stein-Weiss inequalities. We replace the cocanceling condition with a weaker vanishing moment assumption, and under this assumption extend the \(L^1\) Stein-Weiss inequalities to \(L^1\big(|x|^{a } \ dx\big)\) data for all positive, non-integer exponents \(a\). Second, in relation to integer exponents, while \cite{NapPic} showed that Stein-Weiss fails for \(L^1\big(|x| \ dx\big)\) data, we prove a weaker Korn type Hardy-Sobolev inequality. These inequalities were previously inaccessible due to the growth of \(|x|\), and we demonstrate a specific example on \(\R^2\) of where the original duality estimate by Bousquet and Van Schaftingen \cite{can} for canceling operators can be improved. In Part \ref{Ornstein_part} we study integral bounds relating to Ornstein's non-inequality, which states that an \(L^1\) inequality between constant coefficient linear differential operators holds if and only if a linear dependence relation holds between the partial derivatives. This immediately reduces the \(L^1\) inequality to a consequence of linear algebra. We first review how positive 1-homogeneity and \textit{quasiconvexity} (in the sense of Morrey) can be used to derive Ornstein's non-inequality, following the work of \cite{KK}. Then, we explore suitable generalisations of this theorem, by weakening the 1-homogeneity assumption via a recession integrand. We also extend this result to the mixed smoothness setting originally found in \cite{stoly}. This part recounts from the author's point of view their joint work (in preparation) with Bernd Kirchheim and Jan Kristensen.
Access status: Open Access ,
A continental narrative: human environment interactions across Australia using time-series analysis
(2015-08) Williams, Alan Nicholas
The relationship of prehistoric hunter-gatherers and climatic change has long been a focus of archaeologists and palaeoclimatologists alike. One of the key limitations to these studies has been the dissociation between the spatial, temporal and resolution characteristics of the indices, which makes any correlation difficult. Palaeoclimatic records are commonly continuous, high-resolution and undertaken at regional scales, while archaeological data are discontinuous, have variable resolution, and are often highly localised. This thesis applies time-series analysis to archaeological radiocarbon data as one approach to resolve this disparity. With large enough datasets, the technique can develop a regional and continuous proxy of human activity in the past, and enable direct comparison with palaeoclimatic records. The approach can also be readily applied to archaeological questions associated with demography and societal development through time. The use of radiocarbon data as a proxy is not new, being first applied in the 1980s, however it has proliferated globally in the archaeological literature in the last decade or so. In Australia, the use of radiocarbon data as a hunter-gatherer proxy was first used by Smith and Sharp (1993) and Holdaway and Porch (1995) to undertake a general review of the Sahul archaeological record and explore the nature of occupation in Pleistocene Tasmania, respectively. Since then, in contrast to global trends, the use of 'dates as data' has only been sporadically adopted by researchers to archaeological issues (e.g. Lourandos & David, 1998; Turney & Hobbs, 2006; Ulm & Hall, 1996). This thesis consists of 16 publications, which over the last seven years has systematically explored, applied and tested the technique in an Australian archaeological context. Part of this work included developing a continental dataset of 5,044 radiocarbon ages from 1,748 archaeological sites. Currently, this is the most comprehensive spatial and temporal dataset for any archaeological indices in Australia; and is publically available. Other publications include the interrogation of the dataset at a range of spatial and temporal scales, and compare past human activity with climatic change, most notably the Last Glacial Maximum and El Nino Southern Oscillation. Two key achievements include, the development of protocols and procedures for using time-series analysis (Williams, 2012) - a methods paper that remains widely cited, adopted and/or critiqued in the archaeological time-series literature; and a continental model of demography, including quantitative population estimates, for Australia over 50,000 years (Williams, 2013). Ultimately, the thesis provides a series of continental and regional models of demographic change for researchers to utilise as a framework, ground-truth, and refine into the future. It significantly progresses the use of radiocarbon dates as a mainstream and reliable proxy for exploring hunter-gatherer behaviour in Australia; and provides a number of future directions for both time-series analysis and Australian research more generally. Globally, the analyses undertaken here remain at the forefront of the technique, and are routinely used, applied and critiqued across the world.
Access status: Open Access ,
Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing: Clinical and Mechanistic Evaluation
(2026) Shroff, Jenish
Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) has emerged as a promising physiological alternative for pacing, capable of restoring synchrony by engaging the native conduction system. This thesis systematically evaluates LBBAP across diverse clinical contexts through five complementary studies, providing mechanistic insights and clinical validation to support its adoption in routine practice. The first study compares LBBAP with biventricular pacing (BVP) cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with heart failure (HF) and broad QRS, demonstrating that LBBAP is at least as effective, with superior improvements in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), reductions in left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), better QRS narrowing, and enhanced quality of life (QoL). LBBAP was associated with significantly fewer HF hospitalizations and healthcare encounters, and with better long-term lead performance. The second study evaluates electrocardiographic (ECG) markers in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy undergoing LBBAP. It shows that paced qR morphology and transition during threshold test predicted greater improvement in LVEF while R wave peak time (RWPT), measured from the pacing stimulus to the peak of the R wave in lead V6, lacked predictive value. Loss of terminal 'R' in lead V1 and prolongation of RWPT on follow up prognosticated non-response to LBBAP. The third study, PACE HF randomized trial, enrolled patients with preserved or mildly reduced LVEF and pacing indications requiring significant ventricular pacing. It demonstrated that LBBAP preserved or improved LVEF, significantly reduced HF hospitalizations and cardiovascular mortality, and lowered the incidence of new-onset atrial fibrillation compared to conventional right ventricular pacing (RVP). Structural reverse remodeling and improved NYHA class further reinforced its clinical superiority. The fourth study is the first randomized controlled trial comparing lumenless leads (LLL) and stylet-driven leads (SDL) for left bundle branch pacing (LBBP). Both lead systems demonstrated high success rates, comparable procedure times, and similar pacing thresholds with no significant differences in complications, suggesting that either system can be safely and effectively used for LBBAP based on operator preference and availability. Finally, the fifth study explores the mechanistic basis of response heterogeneity to LBBAP in HF population using electrocardiographic imaging (ECGi). Super-responders (20% or greater improvement in LVEF) had significantly greater reductions in left ventricular and biventricular activation times and improvement in ventricular electrical uncoupling compared to partial-responders (LVEF improvement of 10% or less). A reduction in LVtat 26.86% or greater was highly predictive of confirmed left bundle branch (LBB) capture (AUC 0.96), which in turn predicted 7.4-fold odds of super-response in Bayesian analysis. RWPT did not correlate with outcomes, emphasizing the need for physiologically grounded metrics to establish LBB capture during implantation. Together, these studies establish LBBAP as a physiologically superior pacing strategy capable of delivering meaningful clinical and electrophysiological benefits. The findings support its consideration as an alternative to BVP-CRT and a preferable option over RVP in pacing for bradyarrhythmia. This work provides robust evidence for refining implantation strategies, guiding future guideline updates, and fostering broader adoption of LBBAP in clinical practice.
Access status: Open Access ,
Extrinsic Semiparametric Methods for Spherical Regression: Models, Robust Estimation and Applications
(2026) Hong, Houren
Spherical data are observations that lie on the unit sphere and are often represented as unit vectors. This geometric constraint poses challenges for the analysis of such data, making standard Euclidean regression models infeasible. This thesis studies regression models with spherical responses and Euclidean covariates. Existing methods for spherical regression, mainly parametric, often lack the flexibility to capture the complex relationship induced by spherical curvature, while methods based on techniques from Riemannian geometry often suffer from computational difficulties. The non-Euclidean structure further complicates robust estimation, with very limited work addressing this issue in the regression setting, despite the common presence of outliers in highly concentrated directional data. To address this gap, Chapter 2 introduces a flexible and computationally efficient regression framework, the extrinsic single-index model (ESIM). ESIM combines a nonparametric link function with interpretable covariate coefficients, which enables both model flexibility and interpretability. We propose simultaneous M-estimators for both components of ESIM, and achieve robust estimation using a suitable choice of loss function. The large-sample properties of the estimators are established, and a Wald-type statistic is developed for robust inference on the parametric component. Chapter 3 provides theoretical justification of the robustness properties of ESIM. Robustness is assessed via the influence function and standardized influence function. The principal focus is on the case where the spherical responses have error distributions which are highly concentrated and have elliptical symmetry around the mean direction. These features are commonly observed in real directional data but have not been adequately addressed in the regression setting Special attention is given to the exponential squared loss (ESL), which offers comparable efficiency and superior robustness, compared with the least squares loss, in this setting. We also examine how to choose the tuning parameter for the ESL, so as to balance efficiency and robustness. We provide theoretical guidance on the optimal choice of the ESL tuning parameter. Extensive numerical studies in Chapter 4 substantiate the computational efficiency and robustness of our methods.
Access status: Open Access ,
Combining field surveys, GIS and earth observation methods for localised environmental monitoring of hydrology and forestry ecosystem services
(2026) Metherall, Nick
Environmental monitoring of ecosystems within waterways and riparian corridors is challenging due to constraints on the spatio-temporal coverage that can be reached by extension workers and environmental regulators. Prioritising particular areas geographically may support the planning for allocation of finite resources for environmental monitoring, reporting, protection, rehabilitation and restoration. Yet the extent to which this form of prioritisation can be made fit for purpose in local contexts including Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) is still relatively unexplored. This thesis seeks to investigate the extent to which the elements of ecosystem services, land-ocean ecological connectivity, climate risks and island and ocean stewardship can be integrated into this prioritisation through combining localised field surveys, GIS and earth observation approaches. The Ba River Catchment in Fiji is one of the most severely degraded catchments in terms of its ecological status and change in Land Use Land Cover (LULC) status relative to other catchments in Fiji. As a result, it has been selected as the case study for this research. The research combines field observations, GIS and earth observation monitoring to investigate the potential for geographic prioritisation to integrate the contextual elements of ecosystem services, land-ocean ecological connectivity, climate risk and island and ocean stewardship. The thesis explores three main areas of environmental monitoring 1) water quality variability along the longitudinal gradient of the Ba River, 2) forest inventory measurements of riparian vegetation and wider analysis of tree cover losses across the Ba River Catchment and 3) assessment of the impacts of climate risks including tropical cyclones on tree cover loss. The research identifies several major and minor environmental and climatic stressors impacting ecosystem services in waterways and riparian corridors. The thesis provides three case studies displaying how the elements of ecosystem services, land-ocean connectivity, climate risk and island and ocean stewardship can be spatially integrated. In doing so, the thesis also highlights the barriers and enablers for this geographic prioritisation. These impacts have implications for land-ocean ecological connectivity across the Ba River Catchment case study and wider island catchments. The findings offer learnings and implications for wider environmental monitoring, reporting, protection, rehabilitation and restoration.
Access status: Open Access ,
Discursive animals : prop or participant? : a discussion of three contemporary Australian artworks
(2013-01) Ormella, Raquel Joan
The series of works presented for my PhD explore human relationships with urban birds. I use this over-arching subject to reflect on representations of the urban environment as a human-constructed ecological system; and the systems of collecting and identifying that birdwatchers use to give form to intangible interactions. The works presented for examination use a variety of media and include: Varied, noisy, a group of interactive multiples; Feeders, a 6 channel video installation; List keeper, a single channel video; and Here we are, a 3 channel video installation. The multiples use the audiences' interaction and distribution outside the gallery to complete them as artworks. The video works use bird models constructed from paper, manipulated live and in post-production, to depict instances of human/bird encounters. These analogue and digital animation methods focus attention on the human hand, not only as a visual motif, but also as technical and creative agent. The 35,000-word dissertation explores 3 case studies from recent Australian art that use living animals to stage a confrontation with their audiences. My analysis questions whether the animal performers are participants in these works or props. The 3 case studies are Bianca Hester's Please leave these windows open overnight to enable the fans to draw in cool air during the early hours of the morning, Lucas Ihlein's Gruffling and Remnant Emergency Artlab's Bat/Human Research. These works use instruction, documentation and the participation of their audiences to create a discursive site. I examine the artists' construction of the autonomy of their animal performers, and how they use the discursive form to engage their audiences. Rather than suggest an ideal model for working with animals, my analysis concentrates on how the staged interactions, and the animals themselves, create an excess of meaning not containable by the roles that the artist have constructed for them. In contrast, my own artworks presented for examination do not use living animals. While only some of my works address the interaction of humans and birds from a conservation perspective, this ethical position has influenced my thinking. For this reason I chose not to interfere in animals' lives by asking them to perform in artworks. Instead I use a variety of artistic strategies to replace the animal performer and stage a confrontation with the art object. My exegesis addresses these choices and asks what artistic forms are best for engaging and sustaining audience attention and whether this can operate in similar ways to interaction in the discursive field of art.
Access status: Open Access ,
Molecular characterisation of niches for hematopoiesis in murine spleen
(2015-01) Tran, Vinson
Recent evidence for in vitro hematopoiesis driven by a splenic stromal cell line raises questions about possible niches in spleen. These studies have led to the identification of stromal lines which differ as supporters (5G3) and non-supporters (3B5) of in vitro hematopoiesis. When 5G3 stroma was overlaid with lineage negative (Lin) bone marrow progenitors, hematopoiesis ensued and a dendritic-like cell-type 'L-DC' was produced. Transcriptome analysis identified genes specifically expressed by 5G3, which regulated hematopoiesis from overlaid hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Initially, the role of these genes in hematopoiesis was investigated using antibodies and synthetic peptides as potential inhibitors in in vitro co-cultures of Lin bone marrow over 5G3 stroma. Additionally, soluble factors encoded by 5G3 but not 3B5 were added to 3B5 co-cultures in order to determine whether they could restore hematopoiesis. These studies support a role for several genes described previously in hematopoiesis. Aldh1 drives the development of conventional (c)-DC like cells through retinoic acid production. Csf1 and Igf2 encode growth factors that drive cDC-like cell development and the proliferation of progenitors. Cxcl12 encodes a chemokine and Spp1, a growth factor; both are important for cell production in co-cultures by maintaining progenitors in a quiescent state. Svep1 and Vcam1 encode adhesion molecules important for the development of L-DC and all subsets. In order to determine a functional role for candidate genes in hematopoiesis, shRNA was used to reduce target gene expression in 5G3 stroma. Knockdown of Svep1 and Csf1 had minimal effect on cell production. However, knockdown of Igf2 led to progenitor cell, DC and myeloid cell reduction. 5G3 was shown previously to support L-DC development directly from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). shRNA was therefore used to identify signalling molecules, which regulate early events in hematopoiesis. Longterm HSC (LT-HSC), multi-potent progenitors (MPP) and macrophage dendritic progenitors (MDP) were tested in co-cultures involving Svep1, Csf1 and Igf2 knockdown 5G3 stroma. L-DC are known to develop directly from LT-HSC and MPP. Csf1 was found to be an important factor for self-renewal of progenitors within the MPP subset. Igf2 acted as a growth factor for both dendritic and myeloid cells developing from LT-HSC and MDP. Since Svep1 is a cell surface protein expressed by 5G3 that contributes specifically to L-DC development; it was thought to be a marker of a 5G3 equivalent cell-type in vivo. Due to a lack of available antibodies specific to murine SVEP1, SmartFlare probes were used to identify Svep1-expressing stromal cells amongst dissociated tissues ex vivo. Svep1-expressing stromal cells could not be specifically identified using SmartFlare probes, because of limitations in the target specificity of SmartFlare probes, as well as variations in the ability of different cell types to take up probes. The results presented here identify several molecules that make up the splenic stromal cell niche, supporting in vitro hematopoiesis. Overall, these studies highlight the importance of the 5G3 stromal cell line in supporting differentiation amongst overlaid bone marrow progenitors, identifying it as a model system for analysing signalling events that drive early hematopoiesis
Access status: Open Access ,
Topics in Dynamic Programming
(2026) Peng, Nisha
Dynamic programming is one of the central tools of solving sequential decision problems in economics, finance, management, and other related disciplines. At the same time, dynamic programming underlies computational methods in operations research, artificial intelligence, and reinforcement learning, which increasingly overlap with economics in both methodology and application. Despite its many successes, the core theory of dynamic programming faces two challenges in economic models: the increasing complexity of recursive preferences and discounting structures, and the high dimensionality of realistic economic problems. From an order-theoretical perspective, this thesis addresses these challenges by embedding the theoretical results in an abstract dynamic programming framework (as introduced in Chapter 2). In particular, Chapter 3 develops new theoretical tools for a single dynamic program in the setting of ordered vector spaces. Chapter 4 provides an important application of Chapter 3 by turning to optimal stopping models and restricting to Banach lattice setting. Chapter 5 characterizes a transformation framework between a high-dimensional dynamic program and a low-dimensional dynamic program, under which their optimality results can be transformed exactly.
Access status: Open Access ,
Confidence estimation via tail functions
(2015-01) Yang, Mo,
This thesis advances the theory of tail functions for confidence estimation, as originally formulated by Puza and O'Neill (2006a, 2006b). The theory is extended to the case where nuisance parameters are present and to where a joint confidence set is required for two or more parameters. The use of tail functions for the confidence estimation of partially defined parameters is also explored. In the thesis, confidence sets obtained via the tail functions approach are mainly evaluated by the conditional expected volume, or the prior expected volume, when prior information is available. The optimisation procedure of confidence sets in terms of minimising the expected volume under various constraints is illustrated with normally distributed samples under the framework of non-decreasing tail functions. Comparisons are made with the approach to confidence estimation in Brown, Casella and Hwang (1995). The thesis also further develops the tail functions approach to confidence estimation for parameters of discrete distributions, in particular, the geometric and negative binomial. A review of the theory of Pratt (1961) on confidence estimation via the likelihood function precedes an examination of various weight functions in relation to minimisation of expected volume. A new weight function is proposed and the associated confidence intervals studied. Early in the thesis, the class of piecewise-constant tail functions is introduced and subsequently used to help solve the difficult equations that arise in later chapters.
Access status: Open Access ,
The archaeology of Rossel Island, Massim, Papua New Guinea : towards a prehistory of the Louisiade Archipelago
(2014-12) Shaw, Benjamin Jon
The research presented in this thesis is focused on the archaeology of Rossel Island, the easternmost island in the Milne Bay Province, otherwise known culturally as the Massim. Rossel Island is one of the larger islands in the Louisiade Archipelago, and situated 400km from the mainland it is also one of the most isolated islands in the region. The people on the island today speak a Non-Austronesian language that is unrelated to the Austronesian languages spoken elsewhere in the Massim. The complexities of their cultural traditions are also regionally unparalleled and the people themselves are genetically distinct. Rossel Island is therefore seen as a unique outlier in the Massim region. The major aims of the archaeological project were twofold. First, to develop a chronology for human occupation on Rossel Island; and secondly, to identify spatial and temporal changes in the archaeological record that relate to the cultural development of this unique island population in prehistory. To place Rossel Island in a comparative regional framework, excavation was also undertaken on Nimowa Island in the Louisiade Archipelago, 80km to the west of Rossel. Nimowa and its people are physically and culturally different to Rossel. Eight of the sites excavated on Rossel, and one excavated on Nimowa are presented in this thesis. Excavation and radiocarbon dating indicates that people have been on Rossel Island since at least 2500-2350 BP. However, waisted stone blades found on the surface suggest that the island was colonised considerably earlier than this, probably during the Late Pleistocene when sea levels were lower and the island was much larger. Lapita people are likely to have re-settled the Massim Islands after 3000 BP, but they either did not reach Rossel or did not settle on the island. Pottery and people had been on Nimowa since at least 1350-1300 BP. However, pottery was not introduced to Rossel until 550 BP. Rossel Island had an aceramic culture prior to this time. A southern Massim or Louisiade Archipelago pottery tradition had developed by 1350 BP, which consisted of a suite of relatively standardised vessel forms and decorative motifs. Pottery in the Louisiade Archipelago has then remained relatively consistent throughout the last millennia until colonial contact. The subsequent introduction of pottery to Rossel Island is argued to have coincided with the development of the Kula regional exchange network, which connected many of the islands in the Massim region. Rossel was never directly involved in Kula exchange; however one of the main Kula trade items, the bagi shell necklace, is made on Rossel Island and is recognised as a high quality and highly valued product. Archaeological evidence confirms that bagi style necklaces were being made on Rossel Island when pottery was first introduced. It appears that when the southern Massim islands became integrated into the Kula network, trade links between Rossel and the neighbouring islands in the Louisiade Archipelago were strengthened. Pottery was probably exchanged for bagi necklaces, which subsequently entered the Kula exchange.
Access status: Open Access ,
White Frameworks, Black Lives: The Cultural Foundations of Policy Failure in Aboriginal Australia
(2026) Ritchie, Craig
This thesis examines why policies designed to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples consistently fail despite decades of reform, substantial investment, and repeated political commitments to change. The central research question asks: How can understanding the cultural foundations of policymaking explain the chronic failure of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy, and what transformations are necessary to transcend this malaise? Drawing on a unique tripartite positioning as an Aboriginal person, senior policy practitioner, and researcher, I argue that chronic failure stems not from technical deficiencies but from fundamental cultural and epistemological dynamics embedded within the policymaking system itself. Through critical analysis of the Closing the Gap framework 2008-2018 and its 2018-2020 refresh, the thesis identifies three interconnected syndromes that maintain colonial relationships despite partnership rhetoric: Epistemic Colonisation (the systematic exclusion of Indigenous knowledge), Bureaucratic Control (the administrative domestication of Aboriginal priorities), and Cultural Displacement (the marginalisation of Aboriginal worldviews). These syndromes operate through what I term the Aboriginal Policy Paradigm, which constructs a simplified Policy Aborigine through six dimensions - disadvantage, immaturity, incapacity, maladaptation, passivity, and irregularity - that underwrite policy failure by responding to constructions rather than complex realities. Applying political scientist James C. Scott's analysis of state simplifications - the administrative tendency to render complex local realities legible through standardised categories and metrics - and French philosopher Michel Foucault's concept of the dispositif - the heterogeneous ensemble of discourses, institutions, and practices through which power operates - I develop the Policy Enterprise Model to demonstrate how policymaking operates as fundamentally cultural practice. Drawing on Thomas Kuhn's theory of paradigmatic persistence and Florian Znaniecki's culturalist sociology, the analysis shows how the apparatus resists evidence of its own failure. The thesis concludes that meaningful transformation requires not technical reforms but paradigmatic shift - recognising Aboriginal knowledge systems as foundational rather than supplementary, dismantling bureaucratic control mechanisms, and centring Aboriginal cultural frameworks in policy development. This cultural transformation of the policymaking apparatus itself offers the only path beyond the current malaise toward genuine partnership between Aboriginal peoples and the Australian state.
Access status: Open Access ,
Iran's China Pivot: A Neoclassical Realist Vision from 2005-2024
(2026) Baghernia, Niloufar
For more than 20 years, Iran's eastward shift persisted despite significant political and ideological differences among Iranian leaders. Why did Iran's foreign policy pivot toward China from 2005 to 2024? What explains this continuity among administrations that are otherwise diverse? During this period, Iran operated within an international environment characterised by the gradual decline of U.S. unipolar dominance and the expanding influence of China across Asia and the Middle East. These structural changes altered Iran's strategic direction in foreign policy by increasing the viability of eastward engagement. Rather than responding passively to these structural changes, Iranian policymakers viewed the shifting distribution of power as an opportunity to integrate the country into alternative economic and diplomatic networks centred on Asia. Although intensifying U.S. sanctions and coercive measures increased the urgency and strategic cost of delaying this reorientation, they did not dictate its direction. This thesis contends that Iran's eastward pivot demonstrates how a sanctioned middle power can actively adapt to and reinforce broader processes of systemic transformation. Yet, while structure explains the rationale behind Iran's foreign policy shift towards China, it does not fully explain how the pivot unfolded. Despite similar structural forces, the timing, depth, and form of the shift varied across periods. Hence, this study, through a neoclassical realist lens, argues that structure was the principal catalyst of the shift, while domestic agency influenced its timing, presentation, and intensity. President Ahmadinejad shifted toward China for ideological resistance; President Rouhani preferred a formal strategic partnership; and President Raisi pursued a strategic alliance, which remained only partially realised. The thesis also employs Type III neoclassical realism and shows Iran's broader contributions to the Asianisation of Asia. Empirically, it demonstrates that Iran's sustained focus on foreign policy, trade, and diplomatic engagement with Asia, particularly China, reinforced patterns of exchange in Asia from 2005 to 2024, despite the restricted and asymmetrical nature of Iranian interactions. While Iran was not the principal driver of Asianisation or a catalyst for the transformation of regional order, its actions contributed to the persistence and normalisation of Asia-focused ties over time. Theoretically, the thesis illustrates how the cumulative actions of a sanctioned middle power can reinforce broader structural processes, such as Asianisation, over the medium to long term. This perspective challenges neoclassical realist scholars, including Ripsman, Taliaferro, and Lobell, who attribute systemic change primarily to great-power interactions. This study employs a qualitative research method and discourse analysis to interpret themes, patterns, and meanings within the materials.
Access status: Open Access ,
The emergence of alternative meat in Australia: exploring how food system professionals understand change and the role of ideas about 'healthy, sustainable and ethical'
(2026) Ramsden, Jessica
The development and commercialisation of alternative (plant-based and cell-based) meat in Australia since 2017 leveraged and fuelled pre-existing critical discourses about the health, sustainability and ethics of (animal) meat production and consumption. Questions were also raised about the possible subsequent disruption of traditional meat and livestock industries. In Australia, where animal agriculture and meat consumption occupy an esteemed place in national political, economic and cultural life, these questions held even greater significance. Despite various discourses about what is or isn't sustainable, ethical or healthy about meat production and consumption, the sociological role of these ideas in shaping Australian food culture and food systems is often left unexamined. Deeper understanding of how these ideas operate as mechanisms of change will help to better assess their impacts. The emergence of alternative meat in Australia during 2019-2024 provided a window on this problem. The aims of the research were to explore food system professionals' views and understandings in response to three questions about change in Australia's food system during this period: (1) how are ideas about health, sustainability and ethics related to food evolving and shaping the role of meat in Australian food culture; (2) how has food culture shifted power relations between food system actors in Australia, and vice versa; and (3) are Australia's traditional meat industries likely to be disrupted by the emergence of alternative meat? Using a modified Delphi research method, 30 food system professionals were interviewed, offering a unique social actor perspective on the emergence of alternative meat and how ideas about health, sustainability, ethics and disruption shaped Australia's food system during the research period. Using this account as a foundation, a cultural economy framework for understanding the emergence of alternative meat was developed. The framework shows how cultural and economic factors intersected and how those processes were shaped by ideas about health, ethics and sustainability. This framework enables closer examination of connections between shifting power relations, the role of meat in Australian food culture and disruption of traditional meat industries.
Access status: Open Access ,
Structural Analysis and Exhalite Studies in the Peelwood - Cordillera Area, NSW
Slater, Raymond M.
Field mapping in the Peelwood-Cordillera area reveals the complex spatial relationships exhibited by widely variable lithofacies, which reflect cyclical periods of deposition associated with an unstable, submarine volcanic environment. Rapid lateral and vertical facies changes, and the lack of useful marker horizons preclude the definition of major structural features, although it is probable that the area responded to deformation in a similar fashion to adjoining areas. Widely developed kink folding is interpreted as the result of a later phase of deformation, and is developed on all scal.es. The waning stages of active volcanic cycles are marked locally by the formation of sub-economic deposits of stratabound, pyritic base metal mineralization. Massive sulphides are general.ly enclosed by, and partial.ly laterally equivalent to, high silica cherty rocks believed also to be the result of volcanic exhalations. Geochemical analyses of the cherts show low and irregular abundances of all elements except silica, and the correlations they displayed indicate that most elements were probably supplied to these rocks from a detrital fraction. Petrographic evidence suggests at least partial derivation by silicification of pre-existing volcanic or volcaniclastic rocks, and the occurrence of radiolarian remains further supports a composite origin for these rocks, involving volcanic and elastic components in addition to chemical preci pitation.
Access status: Open Access ,
Shape-constrained scalar-on-function regression models
(2026) Andrianatou, Anna
Scalar-on-function regression (SoFR) involves modelling a scalar response variable using one or more functional covariates. This thesis focuses on two SoFR models: the functional generalised linear model (FGLM) and functional generalised additive model (FGAM). As their names suggest, FGLMs extend generalised linear models to incorporate functional covariates, while FGAMs further extend the FGLM framework by allowing non-linear effects of the functional covariates. The aim in both models is to flexibly estimate a parameter (usually the mean) function to capture the effect of functional covariates on a scalar response. While there exist a number of ways by which SoFR models can be fitted, in this thesis we consider employing appropriate basis expansions for the functional parameters (and potentially the functional covariates as well). When coupled with a suitable penalty to prevent overfitting, this problem can then be effectively reduced to fitting and performing inference on a type of generalised additive model, for which we use maximum penalised likelihood estimation. When fitting a SoFR model, there may be available prior knowledge about the relationship between the scalar response and functional covariates. In particular, it may be viable to assume that the functional parameter should take a certain shape, such as monotonically decreasing/increasing, concave/convex or a combination of both monotonicity and convexity restrictions. To reflect such assumption of the shape of the relationship in a SoFR model, this thesis proposes applying shape-constrained P-splines (SCOP-splines), developed by Pya and Wood (2015), to FGLMs and FGAMs, resulting in a set of novel, shape-constrained SoFR models. The finite sample performance of this approach is evaluated through a simulation study comparing shape-constrained and unconstrained models. The simulation generates data from a true model with a specific parameter function shape, allowing for a performance comparison between constrained and unconstrained SoFR models, where in the former the appropriate shape constraint has been assumed. Our research demonstrates that incorporating shape-constraints into SoFR models enhances their performance, particularly in recovering the effect function and stabilising the fit for lower sample sizes. However, further investigation is needed to address the consistent slight under-coverage of confidence intervals observed in both constrained and unconstrained models. The final part of this thesis is an application of shape-constrained SoFR to explore how lagged functions of meteorological and air pollution variables impact all-cause mortality in Australia. SoFR models naturally provide a convenient framework to estimate the aggregate effects of exposures of temperature, humidity and air pollution on mortality. We impose shape-constraints based on prior research and domain knowledge and explore the impact of imposing such constraints.

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