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Phthalates, bisphenols, and childhood allergic Phenotypes: Findings from two birth cohort studies
No full textPhthalates and bisphenols may contribute to childhood allergic outcomes, but whether these are differentially associated with atopic or non-atopic phenotypes is uncertain. We investigated whether early-life exposure to these chemicals differentially impacts atopic and non-atopic allergic outcomes. We used two birth cohorts to investigate late pregnancy and early childhood exposure windows. The Barwon Infant Study (n = 797) in Australia measured urinary phthalate and bisphenol metabolites at 36 weeks’ gestation. The Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study (n = 993) measured phthalate metabolites at 3, 12, and 36 months. Atopy was assessed using skin prick tests at 4–5 years. Outcomes included asthma, wheeze, eczema, and rhinitis at 4–5 years. Models were stratified by atopy. We modelled exposure mixtures using quantile G-computation and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression. Prenatal mono-carboxy-propyl phthalate was suggestively associated with non-atopic asthma (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 1.12; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.99–1.27) with evidence of effect modification by atopy (p for interaction = 0.02). Prenatal bisphenol A was inversely associated with overall wheeze (aRR = 0.64; 95 % CI: 0.44–0.94). In the postnatal period, diethyl and dibutyl phthalates were associated with non-atopic asthma, but not with atopic asthma, though estimates did not differ substantially by atopic status. Prenatal phthalate mixtures were more strongly associated with non-atopic asthma (aRR = 1.83; 95 % CI: 1.10–3.04), with evidence of effect modification by atopy (p = 0.02 for interaction). Postnatal phthalate mixtures were associated with non-atopic asthma (aRR = 1.82, 95 % CI: 1.19–2.78), but not atopic asthma, though the association did not differ by phenotype (p for interaction = 0.45). Phthalate mixtures showed U-shaped (prenatal) and inverse U-shaped (postnatal) associations with atopic asthma, and linear positive associations with non-atopic asthma. There was little evidence of associations for other allergic outcomes. Early-life exposure to phthalates may differentially influence the risk of childhood atopic and non-atopic asthma.TBON was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship and a small grant award from the University of Queensland; Child Health Research Centre. PDS is a leadership Fellow (L3) of the National Health and Medical Research Council.The BIS investigator group includes: Peter Vuillermin, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Mimi L.K. Tang, Fiona Collier, Peter D. Sly, Leonard Harrison, Richard Saffery, Sarath Ranganathan, David Burgner, Toby Mansell and Martin O'Hely. The CHILD investigator group includes: Padmaja Subbarao, Elinor Simons, Theo J. Moraes, Stuart E. Turvey, Piushkumar J. Mandhane and Meghan B. Azad. We thank the CHILD Cohort Study (CHILD) participant families for their dedication and commitment to advancing health research. CHILD was initially funded by CIHR and AllerGen NCE. Visit CHILD at childstudy.ca. We thank the BIS participants for the generous contribution they have made to this project. We also thank current and past staff for their efforts in recruiting and maintaining the cohort and in obtaining and processing the data and biospecimens. The establishment work and infrastructure for the BIS was provided by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Deakin University and Barwon Health. Subsequent funding was secured from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, The Jack Brockhoff Foundation, the Scobie Trust, the Shane O'Brien Memorial Asthma Foundation, the OurWomen's Our Children's Fund Raising Committee Barwon Health, The Shepherd Foundation, the Rotary Club of Geelong, the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation, GMHBA Ltd, The Gandel Foundation, The Percy Baxter Charitable Trust, Perpetual Trustees and the Gwenyth Raymond Trust. Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd provided funding for analysis of plasticizers in biospecimens. In-kind support was provided by the Cotton On Foundation and CreativeForce. Research at Murdoch Children's Research Institute is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. The BIS investigator group includes: Peter Vuillermin, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Mimi L.K. Tang, Fiona Collier, Peter D. Sly, Leonard Harrison, Richard Saffery, Sarath Ranganathan, David Burgner, Toby Mansell and Martin O’Hely. The CHILD investigator group includes: Padmaja Subbarao, Elinor Simons, Theo J. Moraes, Stuart E. Turvey, Piushkumar J. Mandhane and Meghan B. Azad. We thank the CHILD Cohort Study (CHILD) participant families for their dedication and commitment to advancing health research. CHILD was initially funded by CIHR and AllerGen NCE . Visit CHILD at childstudy.ca. We thank the BIS participants for the generous contribution they have made to this project. We also thank current and past staff for their efforts in recruiting and maintaining the cohort and in obtaining and processing the data and biospecimens. The establishment work and infrastructure for the BIS was provided by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Deakin University and Barwon Health. Subsequent funding was secured from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, The Jack Brockhoff Foundation , the Scobie Trust, the Shane O'Brien Memorial Asthma Foundation , the OurWomen's Our Children's Fund Raising Committee Barwon Health , The Shepherd Foundation , the Rotary Club of Geelong, the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation , GMHBA Ltd , The Gandel Foundation , The Percy Baxter Charitable Trust , Perpetual Trustees and the Gwenyth Raymond Trust. Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd provided funding for analysis of plasticizers in biospecimens. In-kind support was provided by the Cotton On Foundation and CreativeForce. Research at Murdoch Children's Research Institute is supported by the Victorian Government 's Operational Infrastructure Support Program .Peer-reviewe
Listening Together: Do young people with disability and young carers feel heard?
No full textThis report presents findings from the Listening Together research project, which explored how young people with disabilities and young carers experience being listened to by the people and services in their lives. Drawing on survey responses from 72 young people, the research examined where and how young people feel heard, the opportunities they have to influence the services they receive, and the barriers they encounter when trying to give feedback or be involved in decision-making.
The findings show that listening matters deeply to young people and is closely linked to feeling respected, supported, and safe. However, many young people reported limited opportunities for co-design and advisory involvement, and significant gaps between their desire to give feedback and the chances they are given to do so. While some services were experienced as responsive and supportive, others were seen as inflexible, difficult to engage with, or untrustworthy. When organisations failed to listen, young people described feeling unheard, dismissed, and, in some cases, harmed.
Young people articulated clear ideas about what good listening looks like, emphasising openness, respect, care, and responsiveness, as well as the importance of accessible and safe feedback processes. They also highlighted the considerable effort they invest in trying to be heard across multiple settings. The report concludes by outlining recommendations, developed from young people’s perspectives, for how organisations and individuals can create stronger cultures of listening and improve everyday interactions with young people with disabilities and young carers
The People, Place And Partnership Program: Evaluation Research Report, 2024–2025
No full textThe program evaluation documented in this report was commissioned in 2024 by the Queensland South Native Title Services (QSNTS), in partnership with the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), now renamed the Centre for Indigenous Policy Research (CIPR). Over the two-year period 2024–25, the researcher worked closely with the QSNTS Capability Division team and the Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) participating in the People, Place and Partnership (PPP) Program. The evaluation was designed to be embedded and applied as the new PPP Program was being rolled out. Accordingly, emerging evaluation insights and findings have been provided to QSNTS for consideration and ongoing integration into the program throughout the evaluation cycle.
The research report is published as a CIPR Commissioned Report with the contractual consent of the QSNTS. A plain English version of the report has also been developed in collaboration with QSNTS, to provide to all PBCs participating in the PPP Program, and for wider public distribution. The names of all PBCs and individual Board Directors and native title holders-members have been de-identified as per ethics consent arrangements with each PBC. Any factual errors are the responsibility of the author
Repurposing mines for renewable energy: Socio-environmental implications for local communities in Australia and Germany
No full textThe demand for low-carbon energy to tackle the climate crisis requires large swathes of land to develop renewable energy infrastructure, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen, or pumped hydro. Claiming to avoid encroaching on already occupied landscapes where different forms of tenure exist, the energy industry is increasingly targeting closed and abandoned mine areas. This transformation not only promises to mitigate or address the ecological impact of mining but is also promoted as a means of local socio-economic development through employment creation, redressing energy poverty, and community benefit sharing within the renewable energy sector. However, these developments can have grave social and environmental impacts and thus may exacerbate transitional and intersectional inequalities and injustices. Hence, careful planning and stakeholder engagement are vital to ensuring that repurposing projects reflect the needs and values of impacted communities and the historical and political contexts of mining areas. Shedding light on the situation in Australia and Germany, two countries at the forefront of these new energy initiatives, this article presents perspectives from engineering and anthropology to discuss some of the social and environmental risks involved in the repurposing of mines. From these interdisciplinary conversations, we develop policy recommendations for a just energy transition and sketch some directions for future research.Author J M acknowledges the short-term visit funding received in 2024 from the University of Bayreuth Centre of International Excellence “Alexander von Humboldt” (Short: Bayreuth Humboldt Centre) in Germany. The Chair of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Bayreuth (Author K S) provided appropriate resources, organized a guest lectureship, facilitated participation in the Anthropology of Global Inequalities Group, and arranged meetings with interdisciplinary teams within and beyond Bayreuth. Authors H U and F H acknowledge funding from the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Arts within the framework of the ‘Geothermal Alliance Bavaria’ project. Author T Weber's research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. Authors J M, T Werner, and T Weber acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land upon which they work in Australia, and pay respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. We also appreciate constructive feedback received from the editor and three anonymous reviewers that helped improve this perspective.Peer-reviewe
Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution - Coherent State Protocols for a Free Space Optical Experiment
No full textWe test a continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol using
coherent states modulated on a 21.1 MHz sideband of a 1550nm fibre laser (Koheras
C15) and demonstrate positive secret keyrates over a lossy channel in a tabletop
experiment. Based on analysis for a GG02 protocol, we estimate a maximum keyrate
with introduced loss of 1.03 +/- 0.17 bits/pulse at 4.5 dB loss on the X quadrature with a
modulation variance of 5.2 SNU and a modulation bandwidth of 500-800 kHz.
We observed positive keyrates at 0dB loss for all modulation bandwidths, with distinct
peaks at lower modulation variances of approximately 0-5 SNU and 30 SNU for most
modulation bandwidths. With introduced loss, the experiment produced positive
keyrates on both quadratures for 500kHz modulation bandwidth at 1.4 dB loss, and on
the X quadrature for 800kHz modulation bandwidth at 4.5 dB loss. Negative but near
zero keyrates were also observed for 600kHz and 1 MHz modulation bandwidths, which
may warrant further investigation using different filtering regimes.
Digital filtering yielded significant improvements, producing both higher overall keyrates
and a much greater number of positive keyrates for filtered versus unfiltered key data.
Additional noise or filtering is needed to consistently produce positive keyrates. We
identified significant noise on the P quadrature, which limits the viability of using this
experiment for a switching protocol. We determined the P quadrature of the laser was
not shot noise limited below 15 MHz, with intermittent noise above this from an
unknown source. Without further reducing the noise on the P quadrature, it will remain a
significant barrier to testing improvements from adaptive optics on this experiment
Applied epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases and nationally notifiable invasive bacterial infections in Australia
No full textIn this thesis I present collected works under the theme of applied epidemiology and surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases and nationally notifiable invasive bacterial infections in Australia, which I conducted while placed at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) from February 2021 to October 2024. The thesis presents the four core competencies required in the Master of Philosophy (Applied Epidemiology) (MAE).
In my data analysis project I compared the short-term safety of pneumococcal vaccines in adults following a change to the National Immunisation Program schedule using data from AusVaxSafety collected between November 2016 to March 2022. AusVaxSafety is Australia's active surveillance system for self-reported adverse events following immunisation. I analysed counts, proportions and odds of reporting any event, solicited events and any medical attention (proxy for serious event). Using mixed-effect logistic regression, I demonstrate that half as many people reported adverse events after receiving the newer 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine compared to the vaccine that was on the schedule prior. Furthermore, I found Indigeneity did not predict the likelihood of reporting an event.
Population susceptibility is a key indicator of risk for measles outbreaks of, the avoidance of which is a crucial part of maintaining elimination status. In my epidemiological study I triangulated existing Australian data sources to identify age-specific measles susceptibility to inform immunisation policy and program measures to support maintenance of elimination. I estimated measles susceptibility by single year birth cohort for Australians born 1920-2019 using previously collected national vaccine coverage data from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) and national seroprevalence surveys. I found that nearly 1.7 million Australians (6.6%) were susceptible to measles in 2019. Australia's population level susceptibility was on the lower edge of the WHO recommended herd immunity threshold of 93-95% protection.
Case definition and review are essential components of maintaining surveillance for a nationally notifiable communicable disease. My surveillance project comprised developing a surveillance case definition for a newly nationally notifiable disease invasive Group A Streptococcus. Following thorough review of existing jurisdictional, national and international surveillance mechanisms for the surveillance of invasive bacterial infections I was able to directly apply the knowledge to contribute a crucial element of the national surveillance process.
I investigated an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Delta sub-lineage in a childcare centre in the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD), NSW between 22 July and 24 August 2021. The study described patterns of transmission and tracked staff and student transmission based on room location. The evidence from this outbreak investigation confirmed the high rate of transmission (attack rate: 16%) within the childcare centre was strongly influenced by multiple adult cases continuing to work while infectious and symptomatic
"too notorious to be denied": The Murdering Gully Massacre(s)
No full textOn 1 November 1839, Charles Sievwright reported that an Aboriginal named "Tainneague" had told him up to thirty Aboriginal people had been killed in a "massacre" that involved "Hamilton, Taylor and Broomfield". Seven other Aboriginal people would provide similar accounts. Eight weeks later, Sievwright arrived at the massacre site to find Taylor had fled, and local colonists provided depositions that were "more of an exculpatory than inculpatory character". Despite Taylor being involved in numerous other violent incidents against Aboriginal people, he was seemingly lauded by colonial society rather than shunned for his crimes. He was twice appointed a Magistrate and nominated into the Melbourne Club by the former Chief Commissioner of Police and President of the Legislative Council. Arriving in Australia from what appears to have been a relatively poor family, he died a "gentleman" ensconced in the wealth he amassed from pastoral pursuits.
While the Australian historical narrative now explicitly acknowledges frontier conflict, as this study only located detailed and contextualised accounts for two per cent of the massacres reputed to have occurred, it remains an under-researched component of our nation's history. Accounts of massacres are also mostly presented as contextless vignettes in which victims (and perpetrators) lack any humanising details and which, consequently, provide minimal insight into the colonial process and the lived experiences of those directly involved in them. While such an approach has been successful in demonstrating the extent of frontier conflict, it has facilitated a narrative where massacres appear as isolated events, anomalies in an otherwise peaceful colonisation. Further, as with most histories of colonising nations, colonist-authors of massacres have mostly spoken over Aboriginal people rather than carefully listening to their words. Indeed, in the instance of the Murdering Gully massacre, disregarding what the victims told about the incident has resulted in the truth of what happened essentially remaining hidden in plain sight for almost two hundred years.
As Australia heads into an age of "truth-telling" about our complicated past, what accounts will be used to tell this "truth"? Will it be those that are essentially "a story twice written on the same manuscript"?
Rather than "talking over" the victims of the massacre, which has often characterised colonist-created histories of colonising nations, this study sought to privilege the Aboriginal voice. While this was complicated by being unable to locate anyone who identified as belonging to the Jarcoort nation who were recorded as those involved in the massacre, postcolonial methods were employed, such as privileging the Aboriginal accounts of the incident and stripping the colonial ideologies embedded in colonist accounts of the victims.
Using such postcolonial methodologies provided access to the Jarcoort voice, which revealed previously unrecognised details about the massacre which enabled the creation of an in-depth and contextualised microhistory of the incident. Further, the resultant narrative expands what is known of the everyday realities of Aboriginal people and the colonists, as well as the colonisation of south-east Australia. For instance, contrasting the belief that massacres were anomalies in an otherwise peaceful colonisation, the Murdering Gully massacre was one of a series of escalating incidents between the Jarcoort and the colonists. Consequently, this thesis argues that taking a postcolonial microhistorical approach enables the development of an in-depth contextualised account of the Murdering Gully massacre, which provides significant insight into the everyday lived experiences of Aboriginal people and colonists during the colonisation of Australia
Intergenerational Migration in Pacific Labour Schemes
No full textThis In Brief reports on a longitudinal case study documenting the stories of ni-Vanuatu who follow their parents into cross-border migration, either participating in Australia’s Pacific Australian Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme or New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. As children of the initial cohort of the RSE longitudinal study have reached adulthood, many have opted, like their parents, to participate in seasonal work abroad.Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trad
Australian Mountain Pollinators in a Changing World
No full textPollinators 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
Melodic Drumming: Beyond the Rhythmic Analogue
No full textThis thesis investigates the art of melodic drumming in pre-composed and improvisatory musical settings. It considers ways melodic concepts can expand the musical role of the drumset. It considers the artistic and practical implications of including melody in drumset playing, allowing a reciprocal relationship between melody, rhythm and, by implication, harmony. This research is an extension of my own creative practice. The findings described here have enabled me to redefine my role as a drumset practitioner. It explores the historical roots of melodic drumming that pertain specifically to my project. I describe the development of the time-feel concept that led toward more implicit time playing, enabling an autonomous melodic expression for drumset players, focussing on the bebop period of the 1940's onwards, and drummers who looked to expand their musical vocabulary by exploring melodic and harmonic compositional techniques.
This thesis outlines an original tuning and performance practice that redefines the musical role of the drumset. Two tuned drumset's were designed for this study. Both were tuned to an original modal system from low to high in a B flat major scale. The drums in both sets were tuned to maximise their timbral application in performance, and to sound at a definite pitch. The custom drumset's support a variety of manipulated drum sounds, strike placement, dynamic variation, note length, of both determinate and indeterminate pitched sounds. Outcomes from this research include scored compositions, studio recordings, collective improvisations and live performance that embody the interpretation of melodic drumming described in this thesis, culminating in the album Aim