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The emerging storywriter: a study of linguistic and meta-linguistic phenomena in the writing of Cèmuhi, a Melanesian language of New Caledonia
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 230-243.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Documenting endangered languages -- Chapter 3. Writing as the expression of 'voice' -- Chapter 4. Methodology and research procedure -- Chapter 5. A historical overview of writing Cèmuhi : peoples, perspectives and practices -- Chapter 6. Meta-linguistic phenomena in the practice of writing Cèmuhi -- Chapter 7. Linguistic phenomena in CèmuhitTexts -- Chapter 8. Towards an analysis of voice -- Bibliography -- Appendix.This PhD thesis is an analysis of the representation of the Kanak voice in the practice and product of writing in Cèmuhi, an Austronesian language of New Caledonia. It investigates how Cèmuhi language and culture have been represented in a variety of works and texts that were produced in Cèmuhi as a result of practices that are ideologically motivated. In order to do so, I adopt both a diachronic and a synchronic approach. I first give a critical historical overview of the various interest groups that were involved in the codification of the Cèmuhi language, which can be traced along three subsequent stages or movements of writing: the first stage begins in the middle of the 19th century, when the Marist priests started to translate religious works into the Cèmuhi language. They were followed by visits of French ethnographers (e.g. Alban Bensa and André Haudricourt) and linguists (e.g. Jean-Claude Rivierre) who developed grammars, dictionaries, and ethnographies, based on the practice of transcribing oral stories. The third stage is that of Cèmuhi texts written by an emerging indigenous writer, Suzanne Poinine, who is one of the few Cèmuhi speakers and, in fact, Kanak in general, who has used the medium of writing in her mother tongue. An analysis of her writing practice and the different text genres and textual artefacts that she has produced over more than 40 years form the centre-piece of this thesis and are subjected to a social and historical analysis of both linguistic and meta-linguistic phenomena.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (ix, 254 pages) table
Financial fragility, systemic risk and financial systems
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 153-168.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Financial dependence, fragility and Interconnectedness among Eurozone financial sectors : evidence from copulas -- Chapter 3. Too-systemic-to-fail : empirical comparison of systemic risk measures in the Eurozone financial system -- Chapter 4. Measuring systemic risk and financial linkage in the Eurozone financial system : European CoVaR approach -- Chapter 5. Conclusion -- Full reference list -- Appendices.One of the significant catalysts for the 2007 Global Financial Crisis (̧ð̧£̧œ) events has been systemic risk within financial institutions. Subsequently, systemic risk measurement and management have turned into a more extensively researched area. Currently, researchers have yet to agree on the definition of systemic risk but instead a series of systemic risk definitions have developed.This PhD thesis seeks to offer a new framework for measurement and management of systemic risk. This is achieved by combining the approach and methodology of various dimensions of systemic risk and different econometric techniques. This thesis is a collection of three chapters, which are presented in chapters two, three and four. All three chapters can be read in conjunction with each other as they share the same scope.The main objective of this thesis is to quantify systemic risk within the Eurozone using various models and techniques. The sample is constant across all the three chapters which is the entire Eurozone financial system (4 sectors, 17 member states and 315 financial institutions) and the time framework covers the period 2000-2016, that starts by the inception of Euro and covers three major systemic events of 2001 dotcom bubble, 2007 global financial crisis and 2009 European sovereign debt crisis.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xv, 240 pages) diagrams, graphs, table
Packaging the past for children: Australian historical novels and picture books for children since 1945
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 313-358.Introduction -- Chapter 1: 'Fictional historiography': the research landscape -- Chapter 2: Placing Australian children's historical fiction within the ambit of 'fictional historiography' - the research methodology -- Chapter 3: 'Offered to children' - the emergence of Australian children's literature -- Chapter 4: Overview of the corpus, 1945-2015: historical fiction as a subject for history -- Chapter 5: Historical fiction as history-making: how fictional narrative elements inflect the historical project -- Chapter 6: Packaging the past for children: experimentation and promotion -- Chapter 7: Representations of war in children's historical fiction since 2000 -- Chapter 8: The 'whole camp screamed in anger and dismay': emotions in children's historical fiction -- Chapter 9: Children's voices in historiographical research -- Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Historians have considered deeply the nature of historical fiction, and the fictional nature of history, but children's historical fiction has received little of their attention to date. In approaching Australian children's historical novels and picture books as a subject for historical analysis, I interrogate the specific cultural, social, political and intellectual contexts of these texts since 1945. I explore how the texts may be considered historical, rather than literary projects, projects that can work to either contest or reaffirm contemporaneous national historical narratives. Fictional representations of the past are an identifiable sub-genre within Australian children's literature, with an estimated 160 historical novels and picture books, on Australian subjects by Australian authors, published since 2000. Building upon a foundation that emerged slowly in the decades following World War Two, contemporary Australian authors are creating fictional narratives for children that encompass an increasingly diverse range of historical subjects and that push at the boundaries of the historical fiction genre. There have also been profound changes in the presentation and marketing of historical novels and picture books, changes that offer an opportunity to understand more about uses of the past in the context of conceptions of childhood in Australian society. My thesis traces the volume and nature of historical novels and picture books published since 1945, explores representations of war, Indigenous history, and emotion through close readings of selected texts, and considers ideas of spectatorship and audience through analyzing the results of a pilot study involving interviews with fourteen children. In doing so, I contribute to conversations about uses of the past beyond the academy and methodologies for researching popular/fictional historiography. I also demonstrate that fictional representations of Australia's past created for children are worthy of historians' attention.1 online resource ( xvi, 414 pages ) illustration
Local adaptation to climate in Sydney sandstone plant species
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 48-57.Introduction -- Study aims -- Materials and methods -- Results -- Discussion -- Concluding remarks -- References -- Supplementary material.Determining the extent and effect of local adaptation on survival is central to understanding plant responses to the abiotic environment. Understanding species capacity to respond to rapid, human-driven changes to climate is essential for conservation planning and ecological restoration. For instance, the presence of local adaptation also influences decisions about the sourcing of seed for revegetation programs. Here, I examine whether germination and establishment of two plant species (Acacia suaveolens and Banksia serrata) show evidence of local adaptation to temperature using germination trials and common garden experiments. Experimental populations were sourced from cold and warm margins of a temperature gradient between the Blue Mountains and Central Coast, New South Wales. We hypothesise higher fitness for individuals grown in ‘home’ conditions relative to ‘foreign’ (e.g higher seedling growth and survival). We found contrasting evidence of local adaptation to local temperature across the range of traits measured in each species. Growth-chamber trials showed B. serrata radicle growth and time till germination were higher at temperatures closer to those experienced by populations in the field, whereas common garden trials at both ends of the temperature gradient showed little to no evidence of local adaptation in the early establishment phase of either species. We discuss the implications of these results for climate change adaptation and ecological restoration projects.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (60 pages) illustrations, map
Imperialist critique in Anglo-American science fiction
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 302-324.Introduction -- Chapter One. Mercantile imperialist critique in Frankenstein -- Chapter Two. Social Darwinian imperialist critique in H. G. Wells -- Chapter Three. Biopolitical imperialism in J. G. Ballard’s early science fiction. -- Chapter Four. American techno-spectacle imperialism across mid-period Ballard and post-world war two American science fiction -- Epilogue : the constitution of empire -- Bibliography.In recent years, Anglo-American science fiction has been read as a form of literature that is complicit in the imperialist project—as “empire’s propaganda arm, its R&D lab”, as Gerry Canavan (2012) has noted. Although a number of influential ‘imperial turn’ SF scholars (John Rieder, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Andy Sawyer, Jessica Langer, David Seed) have acutely diagnosed the subgenre in this way, they have largely failed to identify and examine the longstanding tradition of incisive imperialist critique that also exists in this field. From another angle, critics who do not regard Anglo-American SF as ultimately complicit in colonialism (Adriana Craciun, Patrick Parrinder, W. Warren Wagar, Rob Latham, David Ian Paddy) tend to see only vaguely defined and historically transient imperialist contexts in this literature; or they read imperialism as a secondary context, a “hidden skeleton,” as one critic puts it, not worthy of further consideration.This thesis seeks to address the line of enquiry opened up in this critical gap, by re-examining certain key works of Anglo-American SF in relation to specific imperialist contexts. In chapter one, I look at Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) in 18th- and early-19th-century mercantile imperial contexts, from the exploits of the British Royal Navy to contemporary discourses of ‘classic’ colonial racism. In chapter two, H. G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) and The War of The Worlds (1897) are read as critiques of Victorian-era Social Darwinist imperialism, insofar as the latter is manifested in the morphological social ordering and biological racism put forward by both scientists and political imperialists. Chapter three focuses on J. G. Ballard’s early trio of eco-disaster novels, The Drowned World (1962), The Drought (1965), and The Crystal World (1966), in the context of biopolitical imperialism, and the strict measurements, boundary markers and time-codes of eugenics that are so central to this model. And the final chapter begins by revisiting two more Ballard novels, Crash (1973) and Hello America (1980), by way of postwar American techno-spectacle imperialism, as defined by Edward Said and Jean Baudrillard. It concludes with a (focused and concise) survey of post-war American SF, considering this, too, in terms of American techno-spectacle imperialism, and in turn, reinforcing the overarching argument that there is a rich tradition of imperialist critique to be found in the sub-genre of Anglo-American SF.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (324 pages
Are management sites for threatened species in NSW resilient to climate change?
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 51-56.1. Introduction -- 2. Methods -- 3. Results -- 4. Discussion -- 5. Conclusion -- References -- Supplementary material.Anthropogenic climate change is already having substantial impacts on species, with numerous species undergoing shifts to their range margins. However, many threatened species are restricted to fragmented bushland remnants, and are highly unlikely to be able to shift their range to track the movement of climate zones. In New South Wales, around 440 threatened species have been designated as ‘site-managed species’: their populations are located at discrete sites that require management to ensure the species’ security beyond 2100. Unfortunately, the selection of managed sites did not consider whether climate will remain suitable for species over this time frame. This project interrogated maps of climate suitability under 12 plausible climate scenarios for 238 of these threatened species to (a) assess whether managed sites are likely to retain suitable habitat from now to 2070, and (b) identify whether populations outside of managed sites may be better candidates for site-management, based on the longevity of suitable habitat. Given cumulative threats from climate change and land use change, identifying areas where investment of finite resources will have greatest impact is vital to ensuring the survival of these species.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (vi, 68 pages) diagrams, table
English-only policy in an Australian ELICOS setting: perspectives of English students, teachers and academic management
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 64-75.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature review -- Chapter 3. Methodology -- Chapter 4. Findings -- Chapter 5. Discussion -- Chapter 6. Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Beliefs in the advantages of target language-only instruction in English language teaching are widespread and often result in an English-only policy (EOP) in educational settings. Such policies rarely take into account the perspectives of all stakeholders. Situated within the critical and transformative paradigm, the study explored the perceptions of the EOP and its impact on students and teachers in an Australian English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) college. The mixed-methods study collected data using a student survey, group interviews with teachers, and a written response from academic managers in order to compare different perspectives. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis revealed an overall positive perception of the policy and its impact on English learning, mainly based on the beliefs about increased communication opportunities in the language. The realities of day-to-day EOP implementation, however, included negative psychological impact on some students and increased demands on teachers, sometimes leading to confusion as to their professional role. Research also revealed the limitations of framing a linguistic strategy as a policy, including the potential for conflict between the academic staff and the students. The study provides a foundation for future language policy decisions in the given setting and can be of interest to the wider ELICOS sector, particularly with regards to issues of language regulation. It contributes to the growing research on multilingual pedagogy and first language use in English teaching and learning, while drawing attention to the rights and needs of international students in Australia.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xii, 108 pages) table
High altitude star formation and the superbubble connection
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 48-54.1. Introduction -- 2. Data -- 3. Identification of young stellar objects -- 4. Analysis of CS data -- 5. Discussion and interpretation -- 6. Conclusions and future work -- References.The thesis is a case study of “Carina Flare” (GSH 287+04–17) – a supershell with significant quantities of associated molecular gas. Since prior studies of the supershell provide substantial evidence of the Galactic Plane blowout, with the highest associated molecular cloud detected ~ 400 pc above the Galactic midplane, it serves as a perfect candidate to investigate the extent of star formation in a small sample of high-altitude clouds. We probe the selected molecular clouds lining the walls of this superstructure using the carbon monosulfide (J = 1 > 0) rotational transition as a tracer of dense gas clumps. Virial analysis of the detected dense clumps tentatively suggests that most of them maybe gravitationally bound and possess a significant potential to collapse to stellar cores. We use the classification scheme for young stellar objects (YSOs) devised by Koenig et al. (2014) combining WISE and 2MASS near and mid-infrared colors and magnitudes to locate YSOs associated with the molecular clouds and investigate their distribution with respect to CS clumps. The close association between the dense gas and YSOs provides substantial evidence in support of on-going star formation activity in the Carina Flare molecular clouds.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (ix, 54 pages) colour illustration
A qualitative examination of the relationship between organizational resilience and post-merger integration in the airline industry
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 89-95.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature review -- Chapter 3. Research methods -- Chapter 4. Findings -- Chapter 5. Discussion -- Chapter 6. Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Whilst the popularity of merger and acquisitions (M&A), as a method for achieving several corporate strategic goals persists, so too does the high failure rate of this activity. The extant literature frequently attributes M&A failure to post-merger integration (PMI) issues.Therefore, understanding the organizational capabilities and characteristics that enable or inhibit PMI is a key challenge for M&A scholarship. Within PMI scholarship, a specific under-examined issue concerns the link between post-merger integration (which creates uncertainties within the participating organizations) and organizational resilience (the study of how such uncertainties can be better managed). Organizational resilience can be broadly understood as the ability to bounce-back from failure or adversity. To date, there has been limited work that connects resilience and PMI, and existing research tends to focus upon how M&A affects employee resilience, rather than the role of resilience at the organization level for PMI processes and outcomes. This research provides an improved understanding of relationships between organizational resilience and PMI processes and outcomes by drawing on empirical research conducted in the airline industry. The airline industry is selected because it is a large, complex and global industry within which M&A activity is frequently undertaken. Key contributions are three-fold. First, this research bridges the gap between two fields which are currently theoretically disconnected and where an integrated theorization has significant potential to inform both future research and advance practice. Second, by identifying how organizational resilience relates to PMI, the empirical analysis informs the creation of a novel inductive model and a set of associated propositions which can be used to frame future research.Third, for practice audiences, the project’s findings suggest a range of organizational interventions that could support organizations in navigating the uncertainty inherent inPMI.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (107 pages) diagrams, table
Investigating autonomy in international students' approaches to university writing assignments
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 68-73.Chapter One. Introduction -- Chapter Two. Literature review -- Chapter Three. Methodology -- Chapter Four. Findings -- Chapter Five. Discussion and conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Learner autonomy is believed to be an important construct for both language and content learning. In universities, students are expected to demonstrate a certain level of autonomy to successfully complete their assignments, especially in a new international context of education. This study aimed to: (1) investigate how international EAL students approach a university writing assignment for a specific course; (2) explore the difficulties these students faced when preparing their first major writing assignment; and (3) examine how students exercise learner autonomy while preparing and completing the assignment. Based on these three aims, a qualitative multiple case study was designed. Seven participants selected for this project were international EAL undergraduate students who were studying in their first year at Macquarie University in different majors. Data were collected through a three-stage procedure comprising one questionnaire, one post-submission interview and one post-feedback interview. The findings of this study show that international EAL students followed five main steps: considering the requirement of the essay; searching relevant materials and reading for stimulating main ideas; brainstorming the outline; writing; and revising for the final draft. Good students may have also applied peer correction and teacher correction during the process. The study also indicates that lack of academic language use, the language barrier, cultural differences, and limitation in technology use, were common factors causing challenges for these students. Finally, learner autonomy behaviours exercised by successful students were explored, which leads to a conclusion that there is a correspondence between autonomy behaviours and students’ success in writing assignments.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (x, 90 pages) diagrams, table