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'Thinking (in) verse': poetic thought as dialectics in rap and contemporary American poetry
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 222-232.Introduction -- Chapter 1. When poetry and phenomenology collide -- Chapter 2. Flowprints : a revised method for visualising flow in rap -- Chapter 3. Why reading Sharon Olds makes you a better person -- Chapter 4. A rock, and a hard place : atten(s)ion in Charles Simic -- Chapter 5. The detached self -- Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.What does it mean to think poetically? Is thinking something we do separate from artistic creation, or through artistic creation? By drawing together disparate threads in continental philosophy, contemporary American poetry, hip-hop music, and the recent field of cognitive poetics, the thesis argues for an understanding of poetic thought that suggests a (re)introduction of dialectics into the field of poetics.Submitted as a thesis by publication and comprised of a series of integrated articles, three of which have been published during the candidature (with two currently under review), the work is broken into five discrete sections, each examining different forms of dialectics in a broad scope of contemporary poets and artists. Through its consciously interdisciplinary approach, the research presented entails, firstly, a reexamination of Heidegger's phenomenology in Being and Time (1927) in reference to the poetry of Frank O'Hara. The second article outlines the creation of a novel system for musical analysis (what the author calls 'flowprints') in rap. The third article moves to a defence of the ability of certain poetries (such as that of Sharon Olds) to have real world benefits to readers through the promotion of empathy. In the fourth section, the author examines the work of Charles Simic, arguing it should be understood as a poetics of atten(s)ion : an attention to objects in-the-world that enacts the tensions in a phenomenological apprehension of world. Finally, through a consideration of the autobiographical poetry of Charles Bukowski alongside contemporary debates on selfhood, it is argued that poetic thought is able not only to construct biography, but identity.The thesis ultimately argues that poetic thought is best understood as functioning through ontological, rhythmic, emotional, political, and intersubjective tension. Poetic thought is here conceived as the most human(e) way of thinking, not only because it underscores a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human, but because it promotes and encourages a creative embrace of that nature toward creative ends.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (250 pages
Interaction and task design in a collaborative learning environment: a case study of web conferencing in an introductory Chinese course
No full textTheroretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 285-296.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Theoretical foundations -- Chapter 3. Research methodology -- Chapter 4. Context of the study, task design framework, and evaluation criteria -- Chapter 5. Results of the first cycle of inquiry : learners' interaction in the web conferencing-based environment -- Chapter 6. Results of the second cycle of inquiry : the evaluation of the web conferencing tool and the tasks -- Chapter 7. Discussion, implication and conclusion -- References -- Appendices.This study aims to explore best practice in applying a task-based language teaching approach via a web conferencing tool, Blackboard Collaborate. From both interactionist and sociocultural perspectives on second language acquisition, learner-learner interactions provide opportunities for negotiation of meaning, which may facilitate their second language learning. Few studies have investigated the effect of task design in web conferencing-based environments on learners' interaction and collaborative language learning. The purpose of the current research was threefold: (1) to explore how the teacher and learners used multiple modes (video, audio, text chat, voting, raised-hand function, emoticons, and whiteboard) to make meaning in a webconferencing environment; (2) to examine whether learners engaged in negotiation of meaning in the completion of tasks in the web conferencing environment; and, (3) to evaluate the pedagogical values and limitations of the software in a beginner's online Chinese course and the tasks that were designed accordingly.There were two research stages in this study. In the first research cycle, eight elementary level students of Chinese conducted two online sessions-one jigsaw task and one information-gaptask-delivered by a web conferencing platform (Blackboard Collaborate). A mixed methods approach was adopted in that (a) the teacher's and learners' multimodal interactions were recorded and analysed quantitatively in order to illustrate participation patterns, and (b) Varonis and Gass's (1985) model was used to identify instances of negotiation of meaning in learner learner interactions through an interpretive analysis of the data.In the second research stage, Chapelle's (2001) six evaluation criteria for computer-assisted language learning task appropriateness and Wang's (2007) criteria for evaluating meaning focused video conferencing tasks were adopted and adapted to evaluate five tasks designed for an online environment in terms of practicality, language learning potential, learner fit, authenticity, and positive effects. Sixteen on-campus undergraduates who had enrolled for an introductory Chinese language course participated in the second study cycle. Five 1-hour online sessions were conducted fortnightly, including two jigsaw tasks, two decision-making tasks, and one information-gap task. Participants' interactions in the online sessions were recorded and transcribed in order to thoroughly investigate learners' negotiation actions in peer-to-peer interactions. Their experiences of using Blackboard Collaborate and activities for completing the tasks were recorded using in-depth interviews and pre- and post-session questionnaires.The designed collaborative tasks showed great pedagogical value in facilitating learners' SLA in an online environment. The findings, which were context specific, confirmed that the technical capacity of the web-conferencing tool, Blackboard Collaborate, was reliable and sufficient for supporting teacher-learners' multimodal interactions and learner-learner collaborative learning in the online environment.The data from this thesis provides important new insights into the aetiopathogensis of this newly characterised neoplasm.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (345 pages) colour illustration
Gender and death: women on Greek funerary monuments during the Peloponnesian War
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 271-308.Introduction -- Chapter 1. The History of the scholarship on women on gravestones in antiquity -- Chapter 2. Mortuary practices in classical Athens -- Chapter 3. Women in funerary inscriptions -- Chapter 4. Women in funerary reliefs -- Chapter 5. Women in funerary inscriptions and on funerary reliefs -- Conclusion -- Catalogue of abbreviations -- Catalogue of women on Greek funerary monuments.Thucydides claims that normal burial practices were in disarray in c. 430 and c. 427 B.C. due to the plague. However, this does not appear to be the case regarding the erection of gravestones. Th is raises a question about the validity of aspects of Thucydides' account and the impact of the plague on Athenian society. Furthermore, rather than decreasing, the commemoration of women appears to have flourished in 430 - 427 B.C. This raises a question about the place women occupied in Athens during the Peloponnesian War and its immediate aftermath. This thesis documents the surviving funerary inscriptions and their accompanying monuments set up for deceased women and by living women for deceased relatives during this period, in order to comment on the place of women in Athenian society between c. 430 - 400 B.C. based on how they were depicted on gravestones. This approach also allows for an assessment of the impact left by the plague in c. 430 and c. 427 in regard to gravestones commemorating women. Chapter One reviews the more authoritative studies on women and gravestones in order to determine how the current study fits in with the previous scholarship. Chapter Two provides an overview of classical Athenian mortuary practices, in particular the impact left by Solonian funerary legislation and the plagues of c. 430 and c. 427 B.C., women's roles in funeral rites, and the financial considerations of erecting gravestones. Chapter Three focuses on analysing grave inscriptions so as to determine how women are named and described in the texts. Chapter Four concentrates on analysing funerary reliefs in order to determine how deceased and living women are portrayed in the image. Chapter Five looks at the cor relation between the inscriptions and the reliefs on gravestones to determine whether there is a relationship between text and image.1 online resource (312 pages
Remote warfare, and warfare via remote: shifting civil-military relations and cultural experiences of war in the U.S. from Vietnam to the Gulf
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 180-206.Introduction. -- Chapter 1. Truth, justice, and the advertising way: the reconfiguration of the "citizen-soldier" tradition, coming to a theater near you -- Chapter 2. The Predator, an accidental warrior - "You will never see it coming" -- Chapter 3. Simulating boots on the ground: military games and the spectrum of war experience -- Chapter 4. Bodies of war cast complicated shadows: ventriloquism, memorialization and visibility of military bodies in an age of total war -- Conclusion. Total War: what is the war story for the 21 st century?American culture at large is saturated with images of war and war making. Dialogues about war, and cultural productions that are informed by war, continue to persist in the popular consciousness, creating a sense of "distant intimacy" between the American public and their relationship to warfare. This sense of militarism is ubiquitous, yet the paradox remains - Americans have become increasingly dislocated from the substantive processes of waging war. A new culture of war has emerged, evidenced through the transformations between military, civilian, and corporate spheres of interest. The question should be asked - what does "total war" mean for the twenty - first century? This thesis will argue that a concept of "remoteness" characterizes the complexion of "total war" in America's recent history. "Remoteness " informs how warfare is waged and conceived in a "post - heroic" era. Furthermore, this thesis will explore the complexity, significance, implications, and functions of these symptoms of "remoteness," as they resonate within the broader historical consciousness of America's contested cultural imagination - a survey of the cultural experiences of "total war." Finally, this project seeks to address and reconfigure our understandings of how a culture of war underpins some of the most fundamental questions that inform identity and citizenship in the United States.1 online resource (iv, 206 pages
Geochronology and provenance of the Late Devonian Canowindra fish bed, Lachlan Orogen
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 50-54.1. Introduction -- 2. Previous work -- 3. Methods -- 4. Results -- 5. Discussion -- 6. Conclusion -- References -- Supplementary material.Placoderms, armoured fish, are recognised as the most diverse group of fish in the Devonian period and were found throughout the world in marine and freshwater environments. Fossil records show placoderms occur from Early Silurian to the Late Devonian, and completely disappear from the fossil record at the Devonian to Carboniferous boundary. The Canowindra fish bed of the Mandagery Formation, is a remarkable Lagerstätte of placoderm fish, first discovered in 1956. The timing and cause of death, however, also remains uncertain. This study suggests the Canowindra fish bed was deposited in a shallow marine environment, as opposed to the previously suggested fluviatile environment. Field observations suggest that the fish assemblage lies within the lower rather than the upper part of the Mandagery Formation. Zircon U/Pb radiometric dating presents a maximum depositional age of 363 ± 3.1Ma for the Canowindra fish bed. Finally, using these new findings, a new timescale of the Hervey Group is introduced, as well as a new model for the cause of death of the Canowindra fish fauna. The new model suggests the timing and cause of death may be associated with the Frasnian-Famennian mass-extinction event -- abstract.1 online resource (v, 63 pages) illustration
The hero's journey in narrative media: the female model
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 182-220Introduction -- Chapter 1. The quest for the mythological female hero's journey narrative structure: Joseph Campbell and mythic narrative models -- Chapter 2. The need for a new mythological model - the female hero's journey -- Chapter 3. Finding the female hero's journey screenplay structure: research-enable screenwriting practice -- Chapter 4. Screenwriting authorship: screenplay text and the creative process -- Chapter 5. Falling short of the female hero's journey screenplay structure via conventional film industry models: Draft One - Creative Artefact -- Chapter 6. The female hero's journey: narrative transformation for women and girls screenplay structure via the female hero's journey model: Draft Two - Creative Artefact -- Chapter 7. The hero's journey in narrative media: the new female model -- References -- Creative Component: Feature-length screenplay, 'Little Bit Long Way' - Draft Two.This thesis has two parts: a treatise proposing a narrative model for the Female Hero's Journey; and an original film script written in accordance with this new narrative structure. The exegesis elucidates how this new narrative model, devised through my research, was overlaid upon my original feature-length screenplay, 'Little Bit Long Way', to tell the story of an authentic Female Hero's Journey. This methodological approach to research-enabled screenwriting practice produces two outcomes. First, it builds a new narrative structure that can be applied to feature-length narrative screenplays. Second, it creates a feature-length screenplay that demonstrates the new narrative model while showcasing a Female Hero as protagonist. There is ample evidence that numerous blockbuster films have made use of Joseph Campbell's mythological Hero's Journey narrative model. My research is significant in that it illuminates previously-obscured mythological elements of the new Female Hero's Journey. It also demonstrates, through its original creative component, a fresh narrative structure that, following Campbell's model, has the potential to support the box office success of female-protagonist-led films. My doctoral research fills a gap in the existing literature relating to the Female Hero's Journey narrative model. It contributes to the field of creative practice screenwriting research, within the research field of narrative structure in fictional media narrative. It does so by creating a socially constructive, culturally resonant narrative model for the contemporary, mythologically-based Female Hero's Journey in screen narrative. As has been demonstrated through my original creative artefact/screenplay, this innovative narrative model for the Female Hero's Journey can be directly applied to narrative screen texts, not just in feature film, but in a variety of genres and screen formats, including long-form series storytelling, transmedia and television narrative, and game design -- summary.1 online resource (v, 221 pages
The influence of formal and informal institutional environments on intended and unintended consequences of IFRS convergence: multiple-levels, multiple-methodologies, an multidisciplinary perspectives
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 219-244.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. The influence of national institutional environment on IFRS convergence and earning quality : an event study using the Garch model -- Chapter 3. The influence of the national institutional environment on IFRS convergence and earning quality : a multilevel perspective -- Chapter 4. The joint effects of type of accounting, standards, strength of the regulation regime and auditors' characteristics on evidence demands : an acculturation perspective -- Chapter 5. Accounting-based regulations, Guanxi orientation, and fair value opinion shopping in China : an institutional anomie theory perspective -- Chapter 6. Conclusions -- References -- Appendices.Global convergence with international financial reporting standards (IFRS) is the most remarkable ‘revolution’ in financial reporting (KPMG 2006; Brown and Tarca 2012). However, existing studies provide mixed evidence on outcomes of IFRS adoption (De George, Li, and Shivakumar 2016). Particularly, “[r]esearch into the effects of IFRS adoption on … decision making, and auditing is still in its infancy” (De George, Li, and Shivakumar 2016, p. 994). This thesis contributes to a growing body of new institutional accounting research and bridges the gaps in the existing IFRS literature by investigating the influence of multiple-levels of the institutional environment on IFRS using multiple-methodologies from multidisciplinary perspectives. The aim is to provide in-depth and comprehensive insights into the influence of formal and informal institutional environments on intended and unintended consequences of IFRS convergence in the largest IFRS adopter, China. Specifically, this thesis extends existing international accounting literature (which mostly focuses on firm-level using the archival approach) by comprehensively examining the influence of four levels; namely, nation-level, regional-level, firm-level, and individual-level of the unique Chinese institutional environment on IFRS convergence. This thesis combines archival research with experiments, and simple ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with hierarchical linear modelling (HLM). In doing so, this research shows experiments as a complement to archival research, not as an alternative. This thesis further highlights the important role that rigorous research methodologies play in enhancing accounting research. First, by conducting comprehensive theory-based archival research, two chapters of this thesis examine the influence of nation-level (Chapter 2), regional-level, and firm-level (Chapter 3) institutional environments and their simultaneous effects on IFRS convergence and earnings quality. Second, experiments in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 are conducted using the Chinese professional auditors and managers, respectively, to examine the influence of individual-level characteristics on IFRS convergence and judgements and decision making.The findings show that after IFRS convergence, earnings quality has increased more for companies under a stronger institutional environment. Moreover, auditors tend to require more and higher quality of audit evidence under a stronger financial regulatory regime, and management is more likely to engage in opportunistic activities under a weak supervision environment. Overall, this thesis indicates that earnings quality and judgements and decision-making after IFRS convergence differ significantly within a single country, let alone globally, which may challenge the ultimate goal of IFRS convergence, i.e., de facto convergence. This reflects the nature of institutional environment embeddedness of IFRS and the requirement of extensive professional judgements. Thus, heterogeneity in the institutional environment of IFRS adopters and multiple-level institutional environments within a country should be taken into account to facilitate future IFRS development. Furthermore, significant differences in results based on different empirical methods reveal that rigorous research methodologies play an equally important role in understanding the outcomes of IFRS convergence. The results of this study can be used to facilitate future IFRS development and are of interest to global standard setters, international accounting firms, national regulators, national practitioners, international accounting researchers, and other transitional economies. Researchers may benefit from the application of the theoretical and methodological framework of this thesis to enhance understanding and research on economic consequences of IFRS convergence.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xvii, 255 pages) graphs, table
An antifouling, structurally small carbon electrode for detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine
No full textEmpirical thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. General methodology -- Chapter 3. Surface characteristics of structurally small triethylsilane and phenylsilane hydrogenated carbon electrodes -- Chapter 4. Analytical characteristics and antifouling Ppoperties of silane hydrogenated carbon electrodes -- Chapter 5. Evaluating the antifouling property of hydrogenated carbon electrodes in real-life biological samples-- Chapter 6. Conclusions and recommendations -- Appendices.A long-term goal of the present work is to apply structurally small, antifouling carbon electrodes to acquire meaningful results during in vivo detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain that plays a crucial role in the central nervous, cardiovascular, renal, and endocrine systems. Under physiological pH (pKa 8.87), dopamine exists as a cation that can be easily oxidised at an electrode. Therefore, electroanalytical techniques have been widely applied to the investigation of neurochemical systems, leading to a better understanding of neurotransmission. Very often, the concentration of dopamine in extracellular fluid is used as a marker for the diagnosis of several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and depression. However, a major challenge during in vivo measurement of dopamine is electrode fouling, which is caused by the non-specific adsorption of amphiphilic proteins, peptides and lipids present in the extracellular fluid on a hydrophilic carbon surface. This has often yielded compromising results in time dependent in vivo dopamine detection experiments. Notably, application of a carbon electrode with a hydrophobic surface is one of the ways of minimising non-specific adsorption of non-targeted species, which can be easily achieved by hydrogenating the electrode surface using a silane reduction. This hydrogenation mechanism involves the reduction of polycarboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes, and alcohols to alkanes without any effect on the double bonds and ether. A novelty of this work lies in the application of triethylsilane and phenylsilane hydrogenation to yield a low-oxide surface with sp3 hybridised carbon, leading to a hydrophobic carbon surface.More specifically, this work is aimed at: 1. fabricating and characterising structurally small carbon electrodes hydrogenated by triethylsilane and phenylsilane; 2. evaluating the antifouling characteristics of the hydrogenated carbon electrodes in a laboratory synthetic fouling solution; 3. examining the analytical performance of the hydrogenated carbon electrodes in two real-life biological samples namely the neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line and mouse brain slices.Chapter 1 begins with a general introduction of the topic including literature review on recent research conducted using electrochemical sensors in detecting dopamine in vivo and in real-life biological systems. This Chapter also describes the research conducted to minimise non-specific adsorption by modifying the sensing surfaces modified using a variety of substances including graphene, carbon nanotubes, conducting polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), Nafion, and polyethylene glycol.All the reagents and experimental procedures used in this study to acquire data are described in Chapter 2. Specifically, it includes the detailed description of the fabrication of structurally small carbon electrodes, the protocols and instrumentation used in their microscopic, spectroscopic and electrochemical characterisation experiments.Chapter 3 commences with the fabrication of structurally small carbon electrodes by pyrolysing acetylene in and on pulled quartz capillaries with tip diameters of ~2 μm. Initially, all fabricated carbon electrodes were electrochemically characterised using [Ru(NH3)6]3+ to identify functioning electrodes. These functioning electrodes were then subjected to hydrogenation using either triethylsilane or phenylsilane in the presence of anhydrous dichloromethane and a catalyst, tris(pentafluorophenyl) borane, under ambient conditions. Following hydrogenation, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the elemental composition and the sp3 carbon / sp2 carbon ratio of the electrodes. This Chapter further describes the electrochemical characterisation of hydrogenated electrodes using different redox markers including [Fe(CN)6]3-, dopamine, dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid, 4-methylcatechol and anthraquinone 2,4 disulfonate to determine their responses towards surface sensitive redox analytes. All the results were compared to those of non-hydrogenated carbon electrodes in evaluating the electrochemical behaviour of the hydrogenated carbon surface.In Chapter 4, we initially describe the surface characteristic of hydrogenated carbon electrodes using two-dimensional atomic force microscopy. Next, electroanalytical detection performance of dopamine at the hydrogenated carbon electrodes was assessed. The sensitivity and limit of detection of the triethylsilane and phenylsilane hydrogenated electrodes were then estimated from the analytical detection of dopamine in a pH 7.4 citrate/phosphate buffer to be 23.15 pA μM-1 and 42.89 pA μM-1 (compared to 3.24 pA μM-1 at non-hydrogenated carbon electrodes) and 0.84 μM (compared to 2.31 μM at their non-hydrogenated counterpart), respectively. The selectivity towards dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid and uric acid is also evaluated at hydrogenated carbon electrodes. Finally, the Chapter concludes with the performance comparison between non-hydrogenated and the hydrogenated carbon electrodes in a laboratory synthetic fouling solution containing 2.0% (w/v) bovine serum albumin (a protein), 0.01% (w/v) cytochrome c (a protein), 0.001% (w/v) human fibrinopeptide (a peptide) and 1.0% (v/v) caproic acid (a lipid). A 30-min incubation of non- hydrogenated carbon electrodes in the fouling solution resulted in a 53% decline in the dopamine oxidation limiting current, while a corresponding loss of 23% and 18% was obtained at triethylsilane and phenylsilane hydrogenated carbon electrodes. This shows the robustness and stability of the hydrogenated carbon electrodes in the presence of proteins, peptides and lipids.As previously discussed in Chapters 3 and 4, one significant challenge during dopamine detection both in vivo and in vitro is electrode fouling, often caused by adsorption of amphiphilic proteins, peptides and lipids present in the biological fluid on hydrophilic carbon electrode surfaces. Chapter 5 examines the performance of triethylsilane and phenylsilane hydrogenated carbon electrodes in the detection of dopamine in two real-life biological samples, the neuroblastoma cell line SHSY-5Y and brain slices. To evaluate fouling in SH-SY5Y cells, a hydrogenated carbon electrode was positioned close (~1 μm) to the cells with the help of an inverted microscope and a micromanipulator. Using amperometry, a constant potential of +0.5 V (estimated from the cyclic voltammogram of dopamine in a pH 7.4 citrate/phosphate buffer) was applied to the carbon working electrode to promote the oxidation of dopamine released from cells that were continuously depolarised using 0.1 M KCl for 1 h. The transient changes in peak height was compared to determine the degree of electrode fouling. To evaluate fouling in a brain slice, a hydrogenated carbon working electrode was positioned in the brain tissue, while fast scan cyclic voltammetry between -0.4 V and +1.2 V (versus a Ag|AgCl reference electrode) at a potential scan rate of 400 V s-1, and a repetition rate of 10 Hz, was applied to oxidatively detect dopamine for 1 h. The degree of electrode fouling was evaluated by comparing the dopamine oxidation peak before and after the electrodes were applied to brain tissues. The results show that the non-hydrogenated electrodes are easily fouled by proteins, peptides and lipids, while the hydrogenated carbon electrode electrodes showed resistance towards these biomolecules. We attribute the improved performance of the hydrogenated carbon electrodes to the presence of a hydrophobic surface with low oxygen-containing functional groups that led to weak interaction between the biomolecules and the hydrogenated electrode surface.Chapter 6 concludes with the outcomes of this study including a summary of the performance of the electrodes fabricated in this study. This study demonstrated the antifouling property of the silane hydrogenated carbon electrodes, which was potentially due to low oxygen-containing functional groups with a hydrophobic surface. In addition, one of the features of silane hydrogenation was the formation of siloxane dendrimers on the sensing surface. The use of a bulky siloxane dendrimers has aided in hindering the adsorption of large biomolecules on the electrode surface. Some suggestions for future work are also presented in this ChapterMode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xv, 235 pages) 1 colour illustratio
Assessment of environmental impacts of shipping on the marine coastal environment of New South Wales (NSW), Australia
No full textEmpirical thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Impact of shipping on distribution of trace elements in the coastal basins of Australia : a review -- Chapter 3. Water quality assessment of Australian ports using water quality evaluation indices -- Chapter 4. Comparison of pollution indices for the assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of seaports of NSW, Australia -- Chapter 5. Assessment of trace element pollution in the sea ports of New South Wales (NSW), Australia using oysters as bioindicators -- Chapter 6. Assessment of trace elements pollution in sea ports of New South Wales (NSW), Australia using macrophytobenthic plant Ecklonia radiata as a bio-indicator -- Chapter 7. Interrelationship of microplastic pollution in sediments and oysters in a seaport environment of the eastern coast of Australia -- Chapter 8. Conclusions and recommendations -- Appendices.Australia is surrounded by a number of sea ports, many of which are in or near environmentally sensitive areas and engaged with extensive commercial and recreational activities. All these ports and shipping activities often a release variety of pollutants (trace elements, nutrients and microplastics), demanding attention to understand their probable impacts on the surrounding ecosystems. In the present study a broad spectrum of contaminants, including trace elements and inorganic nutrients in water, sediment, oysters and seaweed, and microplastics in sediment and oysters of six sea ports, namely Port Jackson, Port Botany, Port Kembla, Port Newcastle, Port Yamba and Port Eden of New South Wales (NSW), were investigated and compared with their background areas which were selected from the non-port areas of the same hydrogeological area.Extensive review on trace elements and microplastics contamination in the sea port environment in Australia was carried out to identify the gaps which helped us to further design this study. Seawater samples at 30 stations from six ports in NSW, Australia were investigated to determine the Water Quality Index (WQI), Heavy metal Evaluation Index (HEI), Contamination Index (Cd) and newly developed Environmental Water Quality Index (EWQI). The study revealed medium water quality index, high and medium heavy metal evaluation index and high contamination index in almost all of the studied ports. Low level dissolved oxygen (DO) and higher dissolved solids, turbidity, faecal coliform, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn, Mn, Cd and Co are mainly responsible for the poor water qualities of the port areas. Good water quality at the background samples indicated that port activities are the likely cause for poor water quality inside the port area. Likewise, sediment samples from the study ports were collected and analysed for trace element distribution. The study results revealed significant concentrations of As, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Co and Zn in the surface sediments of the port areas which were much higher than the background values and the standards given by Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC/ARMCANZ, 2000) and other international guidelines including USA-ERM and CSQG-China. The maximum concentrations of Al, Bo, Co, Mo, Ba, Sn, Sr and Ti were also much higher than the background surface sediments, indicating enrichment of these metals at the study ports, although currently no guidelines exist for the concentration of these elements in sediments. However, geoaccumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), pollution load index (PLI), potential ecological risk (PER) and sediment pollution index (SPI) also demonstrate sedimentary metal pollution (Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe and Ni) in almost all the studied ports with significant pollution at Port Kembla and Port Eden.Sydney rock oysters (S. glomerata) and seaweeds (Ecklonia radiata) from six major sea ports of NSW, Australia were further used as bioindicators to assess the distribution and concentrations of trace element accumulation in the sea ports. Substantial enrichment of Cu, Pb and Zn in the oysters at the sea ports were detected when compared to their background samples and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) provisional tolerable intake standard. Enrichment of As, Al, Fe, Mn, Br, Sr were also found in the oysters at the port areas. The bioconcentration ratios (BCRs) of the trace elements illustrated significant Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Mn, Al, Pb and Cr accumulation in S. glomerate. The biota sediment accumulation factor (BSAFs) also suggested Cu, Mn and Zn accumulation at Port Yamba and Port Botany, indicating availability of these metals in the oysters as strong metal accumulators which is further supported by integrated metal contamination. However, significant levels of Zn, Fe, As, Al, Pb, B, Br, Si and Sn were also found in the seaweed of the studied ports most of which were higher compared to their background ecosystem. The BCRs results illustrated enrichment of Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, As and Ba in E. radiata whereas the BSAFs portrayed B enrichment in all sea ports along with bioaccumulation of As in Port Jackson and Pb in Port Botany.Furthermore, the interrelationship of microplastics contamination in the sediments and oysters at the studied sea ports of NSW, Australia were investigated. The study results revealed a significant abundance of microplastic particles both in sediments and oysters of the sea ports with the higher abundance in oysters. The abundance of microplastics was 83–350 particles/kg dry weight in the sediments and 0.15–0.83 particles/g wet weight in the oyster at the studied seaports which were higher than their background areas in most ports, with exceptions to the background sediments of Port Botany, Port Kembla and Port Yamba and the background oyster of Port Kembla. Spherules, fibres and fragments were the three dominant categories of microplastics which were mostly white and transparent in colour and small in sizes (<1 mm) both in sediments and oysters. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis results of the identified microplastics, in both sediments and oysters, demonstrated that polyethylene terephthalate (23% and 35% respectively) and nylon (20% and 29% respectively) were the two dominant polymer types of the study ports. The distribution, shapes and polymer types of the examined microplastics suggest that anthropogenic activities, industrial effluents, port activities and fishing inside and around the port areas were the likely major reasons for the microplastic pollution in the studied sea ports of Australia.Overall, the obtained findings exposed uneven distribution of contaminants throughout the sea ports. Therefore, for effective management efforts, it is essential to adequately monitor the source, degree and impact of contaminants.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xiv, 212 pages) colour illustration
Law in Roman Arabia 106-132 CE
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 245-259.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. The legal effect of the annexations of the Province -- Chapter 3. Litigation on the Province -- Chapter 4. Nabataean law in the Province -- Chapter 5. Jewish law in the Province -- Chapter 6. The law of Contract in the Province -- Chapter 7. Tutela in the Province -- Chapter 8. Taxation in the Province -- Conclusion.In 106 CE the former kingdom of Nabataea was incorporated into the Roman Empire as the Province of Arabia. In 132 CE Babatha and Salome Komaïse, Jewish women who had been inhabitants of the Province, fled to a cave near the Dead Sea where their archives of legal documents were later discovered. Those archives include documents from the periods both before and after the establishment of the Province and concern Nabataean and Jewish or Mishnaic, as well as Roman law. In this study I offer an analysis of those documents together with other evidence from the Roman Empire to establish, as far as possible, the law of the Province and the terms of the Lex Provinciae by which the kingdom was incorporated as a province. I show that the governor of the Province published an annual provincial edict by which Roman law was established in the Province and so far as possible its extent, including the incorporation of the provisions of the edict of the curule aediles as part of its law. I show that the law of the province as established by the Lex Provinciae and the provincial edict allowed the peregrine inhabitants of the Province to be governed by their own laws and I describe Nabataean law so far as it can be established and both it and Jewish law as they continued to apply in the Province to its Nabataean and Jewish inhabitants . I also describe and examine the course of litigation in the Province showing its conformity with litigation as then conducted elsewhere in the Empire. I show that the Jewish inhabitants of the Province adopted Roman law forms of contract but continued to govern their family relations, including marriages and inheritances, in accordance with Jewish law, and that they were able to litigate before the governor of the Province issues arising under both Roman and Jewish law.1 online resource (260 pages