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Jevons in Australia: how social liberalism realised an economist, 1854-1859
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 49-50.Introduction : a progressive's sojourn -- Chapter 1. The metaphors he worked by -- Chapter 2. Wide literary company -- Chapter 3. The politics of New South Wales political economy -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Appendices.William Stanley Jevons (1835-1882) was a nineteenth century economist. His early life in Australia (1854-59) altered his life trajectory and forged a social scientist. Many notable scholars have insinuated the importance of Jevons’ time in Australia, including John Maynard Keynes (1936), but how this formation of his focus in political economy was undertaken, and how his colonial activities actually constituted his ‘turn’, has not fully been analysed with respect to his historical, intellectual or social context.Trained in chemistry, and working at the Sydney Mint, Jevons’ interests expanded wider, and were expressed in the colonial publications of the time. He published meteorological recordings, participated in the newspaper railway debates, and conducted a social survey of late-1850s Sydney. Through this participation in, and exposure to, the colonial political economy of New South Wales, Jevons would come to acquire and express a profound interest in the social science of the colony.The colonial activities of writing, and his private reflections demonstrate the maturation of a man, and his development valuable skillsets. His sinecure position at the Sydney Mint granted him the ability to deeply reflect and acquire a visceral social liberalism, which altered his trajectory, and made him a more devoted social thinker. Without this time in Australia, Jevons’ transition to a focus in political economy, may not have happened. The major agent of change during this period was his social liberalism. This thesis, therefore, argues that the mid-nineteenth century context was significant to Jevons’ transition towards becoming an economist.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (68 pages
Changes in fear responses of urban birds
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 35-41.Chapter 1. Wildlife responses to urbanisation and management implications -- Chapter 2. Changes in fear responses of urban birds -- Discussion -- References -- Supplementary data.Wildlife will often modify their behaviour when disturbed by humans. The distance at which animals flee from humans (flight initiation distance (FID)) generally decreases along the rural-urban gradient and as a function of time since the species’ colonisation. However, no known studies have monitored the ongoing responses of birds to urbanisation. To see how urban birds have responded to increasing urbanisation and how this varied between sites, I undertook an FID study at sites where FID had been measured in 2000. I examined how FID, response intensity (proportion of birds that walked away), and delays in flight after detecting the walker differed between the two periods, focusing on four species with the most observations. I found that in 2018, silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) had significantly reduced FID both overall, and at the high disturbance sites, although there was no difference in response intensity. As expected, silver gulls and the Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) also generally delayed flight more after detecting the walker in 2018 than in 2000. While species’ responses in the intervening years are unknown, these results suggest that these two species are responding to increasing urbanisation presence, while the masked lapwing (Vanellus miles) and pied oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) are not. The exploiter species (silver gulls and the Australian white ibis) were frequently encountered in situations where human-sourced food was available, and hence delaying flight would often have been beneficial, while it was less advantageous for the other two species to delay flight as they were generally utilising natural resources.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (43 pages) 1 colour ma
Trust-based key management scheme for wireless sensor networks
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 48-52.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Background -- Chapter 3. Architecture and Design -- Chapter 4. Model -- Chapter 5. Simulation -- Chapter 6. Conclusion -- Chapter 7. Bibliography.Security for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a significant challenge. Several trust-based key management schemes have been proposed for securing WSNs without considering the limitations associated with sensor nodes in WSNs. Sensor nodes are small in size with limited capabilities such as, storage, energy and computation. Securing data communication channels requires the establishments of shared encryption keys. This thesis presents the design of a lightweight trust based key management scheme for WSNs. The proposed scheme provides data communication security through an efficient key distribution model, ensuring the generation and distribution of keys using an elliptic curve key encryption and a Diffie-Hellmankey exchange protocol. The proposed novel trust based key management model provides a degree of security by enabling a sensor node to estimate a trust value associated with a target.The proposed model is a lightweight model, with the aim to provide security for WSNs, reduce computation overhead and save energy consumption in the process. The model ensures that only a small amount of a node resources is required for an efficient implementation by not recording unnecessary information and also avoiding multiple computation where possible. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed model.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (v, 52 pages) colour illustration
Violent extremism intervention: the social versus the ideological approach
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 83-90.1. Introduction -- 2. Methodology -- 3. Literature review and theoretical framework -- 4. Program evaluation -- 5. Program evaluations -- 6. Conclusion -- Reference list.The approach of this thesis is to compare the ideological and sociological approaches to countering violent extremism (CVE) intervention. The radicalisation of people to violent extremism has been a significant problem for Western governments for several decades. Successful deradicalisation of extremists has not been an easy task, as it requires the person to change their ideology that is often deeply ingrained in their psyche. The traditional approach to deradicalisation has been the use of counter-narratives, which has drawn criticism due to the poor preparation and lack of consultation with religious leaders and academics.Recently there has been a shift towards disengagement from violent extremism, which allows the person to maintain their extremist beliefs, but refrain from engaging in violence. My research begins with an analysis of existing CVE programs, nationally and internationally, to determine what interventions are commonly used. This includes government and non-government operated programs. Grounded theory is used to identify key attributes of successful programs.The research indicates the use of ‘push, pull and personal factors’ in developing interventions has a higher likelihood of success. However there is still a need for the ideological approach, especially when providing advice and guidance, however it should be supplemented with social support for stability.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (90 pages) diagram
Speculative bubble detection in Australian housing markets
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 74-82.1. Introduction -- 2. Literature review -- 3. Descriptions of the data -- 4. Methodology -- 5. Empirical results and discussion -- 6. Conclusion -- 7. Appendix.Housing prices have risen significantly in all Australian capital cities over the past 30 years. Strong house price growth has led to the widespread belief that speculative bubbles exist in Australian housing markets. Whilst the issue of bubbles has been discussed in Australian housing market studies for some time, a robust investigation into the existence of speculative bubbles has not been given the same level of consideration. This paper investigates whether there is any evidence of speculative bubbles in the Australian national and the eight capital city housing markets during the period 1999 to 2017. We apply the bubble detection method proposed by Shi (2017), which controls for the impact of a large set of macroeconomic factors. The results are compared with those from the bubble detection method of Phillips et al. (2015a,b, PSY). The PSY real-time detection method controls for the impact of rent. Both approaches identify a significant speculative bubble during period 2003:Q2-2005:Q4 in most of the Australia's capital cities. While the method of PSY reveals significant evidences of speculation over the 2014-2017 period, the new method finds no evidence of speculation in all capital cities except Canberra since mid-2005. By taking into consideration the impact of macroeconomic factors (such as mortgage interest rate, disposable income, employment, population, and housing supply growth) on house prices, this study provides a better control for housing market fundamentals, which leads to a more precise detection of speculative bubbles. The outcomes of the study have important policy implications by aiding the control of speculative bubbles in house prices through smoother adjustments using housing market fundamentals.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (vii, 82 pages) map
Rethinking the binary: how Dungeons and dragons complicates the player/game relationship
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 46-50.Chapter One. The rules -- Chapter Two. The dungeon master -- Chapter Three. The players -- Conclusion -- Bibliography.This thesis will explore how tabletop role-playing games use a three-part game system in order to construct player experience, and how such a system complicates the traditionally very clear divide between player and game that much of the current game studies' literature suggests. To do so, it will look at how the three main units of the Dungeons and Dragons game system: the rules, the dungeon master, and the players, each function independently to shape the game experience, but also how each unit of the system limits the control that the other two units possess over the game. The thesis will primarily be drawing upon literature from the field of game studies, both concerning video games and tabletop role-playing games, but will also employ theorists from broader disciplines. It will utilize the anthropological works of Victor Turner in order to understand tabletop role-playing games as a social ritual, possible worlds theory,as described by Marie-Laurie Ryan, to discuss the multiple fictional worlds that exist simultaneously within games such as Dungeons and Dragons, and Michel de Certeau's views on power, in order to analyse the power relations between the three units of the game system.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (50 pages
Refining the risk of chemical and biological terrorism: what is the nature of the gap between academic and policy perspectives on chemical and biological terrorism and how might this begin to be bridged?
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 105-114.Part I. Chapter One. Introduction -- Part II. Chapter Two. Literature review -- Part III. Chapter Three. Introduction ; Chapter Four. Chemical scenario ; Chapter Five. Biological scenario -- Part IV. Chapter Six. Conclusions -- Sources consulted.To better understand and ultimately respond to chemical and biological terrorism, academic and law enforcement communities need to establish a closer interaction between their respective realms. This paper attempts to bridge strategist scholarly and policy considerations on chemical and biological terrorism into one unique risk-assessment. The paper has devised a novel approach and reconstructs the phases of commission – firstly, the acquisition of knowledge on chemical and biological (CB) agents, secondly, the acquisition of CB materials, thirdly, the development of the CB weapon and finally, the execution of the attack – that constitute the key units for the analysis. At each perpetration phase the discussion analyses the challenges that the offenders need to tackle. By way of a case study the thesis then evaluates the effectiveness of the respective Australian and EU-level counter CB terrorism provisions to pinpoint their vulnerabilities. The analysis has attempted to identify unregulated or insufficiently regulated areas of the aforementioned counter strategies and has suggested where policy gaps can be addresses by academic considerations.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (114 pages
A comparison of cross- and single-layer retransmission optimisations for 802.11
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 47-50.1. Introduction -- 2. Background -- 3. Model -- 4. Simulation -- 5. Conclusion -- 6. Bibliography.Retransmissions in the 802.11 wireless LAN protocol often contain data that was successfully conveyed in the initial message, but is ignored due to corruption during transmission, thereby reducing network efficiency. By compartmentalising data, and consequently the corrupted portions of the frame, into distinct sub-fragments 802.11 protocol, performance can be further improved. Cross-layer designs provide opportunities to assist in accomplishing this improvement that may not otherwise present themselves in normal architectures using isolated layers.This thesis presents two new and novel schemes, one that is based on cross layer design and the other using the traditional single layer approach. Both schemes are based upon the same principle of compartmentalising corruption. Additionally, a comparison between the two schemes is provided in order to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of cross-layer design, while simultaneously presenting an 802.11 protocol with enhanced spectral effciency.Both schemes divide layer 2 frames into small fragments separated by frame check sequences in order to facilitate retransmission of data that was corrupted during transmission, while avoiding resending correctly received data. They differ in the metadata mechanisms relied upon to manage this process, and the layer in which retransmission decisions are made, but are fundamentally similar; permitting a unique opportunity for the informative comparison between cross- and single- layer designs.Moderate bandwidth increases were observed over standard 802.11n with both schemes at medium to high channel error rates, alongside situational decreases in latency. The cross-layer scheme performed slightly worse than the single-layer scheme, however it provided a significant opportunity for further optimisations that were not readily apparent in the single-layer scheme.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (iii, 50 pages) diagrams, graph
The railways of Burma: their past, present and future
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 417-497.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. The economic benefit and impact of railways -- Chapter 3. Statistical overview of the railways in Burma -- Chapter 4. By rail to Kyaukphyu? -- Chapter 5. The Kyangin-Pakokku railway -- Chapter 6. By rail to Loikaw -- Chapter 7. Railways in Shan state -- Chapter 8. International links and other issues -- Chapter 9. Conclusion -- Epilogue -- References -- Appendices.The key theme of this thesis is how the railways of Burma have performed in the past and what their prospects are for the future. Case studies of two rural lines (the Aungban-Loikaw line and the Kyangin-Pakokku line) and a study of the railways in southern Shan State suggest that there were poor construction methods in the past, and that today there is a lack of maintenance and a lack of commitment from Myanma Railways to fund these lines. The thesis begins with an examination of the economic benefits and impact of railways, including a discussion of railway finance with a focus on the Operating Ratio. Chapter 3 is the core of this thesis with a statistical overview of the railways in Burma, with an emphasis on the period since World War II. Information is drawn from multiple sources to construct time series graphs of key aspects relating to the railways in Burma. Chapter 4 considers the likelihood of the construction of a China-Burma Railway from Yunnan Province in China, to Kyaukphyu on the coast of Rakhine State, Burma. The recently opened railway from Nairobi to Mombasa in Kenya could be a model for a future China-Burma Railway, but major economic and political concessions would need to be made by the government of Burma for such a line to be built. Chapter 5 is the case study of the line to Loikaw, and Chapter 6 of the line on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River from Kyangin to Pakokku. Th estudy of the Kyangin-Pakokku line highlights the poor quality of construction undertaken by Myanma Railways in recent years; the poor quality of current maintenance on the line; and the poor facilities for passengers on the line. Chapter 7 discusses the railways in southern Shan State, concluding that construction of the Shan State Railway is important from an economic viewpoint, but is a long way off. Chapter 8 covers a number of smaller topics, including international links, for example the possibility of a railway from Burma to India. By looking at past statistics relating to the railways, insight is provided into the issues faced by Myanma Railways today. The thesis draws on empirical evidence from field trips to Burma to highlight areas of concern with the current operations of Myanma Railways. This thesis recommends that the government achieve a balance between the funding of key lines such as the Yangon-Mandalay line and the Circular Railway in Yangon compared to the funding of work (e.g. repair, maintenance and construction) on smaller regional lines.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xxiv, 505 pages) colour illustrations, maps (some colour
Instrument characterisation for optical activity measurements in the non-paraxial regime
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 49-51.1. Introduction -- 2.Background of optical activity -- 3. The paraxial regime -- 4. The non-paraxial regime-- 5. Conclusion -- Bibliography.Optical activity provides essential information about the chirality of molecular structures in organic chemistry and has many applications in spectroscopy, crystallography and molecular biology. Collimated light has traditionally been used and its effect upon passing through these media is well understood. The plane of a linearly polarised beam rotates a constant amount independently of the incident polarisation. The angle of rotation depends entirely on the beam path, concentration and structure of chiral molecules. The behaviour of linearly polarised light in the non-paraxial regime could be different due to the possibility of it containing other components of polarisations. However, the helicity of the field remains preserved in a highly focused beam and recent studies link the helicity to the amount of optical rotation, suggesting that focused beams give rise to the same optical rotation as collimated ones.The aim of this thesis is to develop an experimental setup that accurately measures the optical activity of a focused beam through a chiral sample. It is already known that light has to be collected in the forward direction. Thus, our experimental setup has been characterised in such a configuration and the beam has been completely characterised over varying wavelengths and optical vortices.The optical activity of a collimated beam with a fixed wavelength was measured through increasing concentrations of maltose and sucrose through varying beam path lengths. The same measurements were done for the non-paraxial case where the beam is focused. Cuvettes with various thicknesses containing the samples were translated through the focus of the beam and the Stokes parameters of the beam were calculated as a function of distance. The azimuthal angle was found to be independent of such translations and showed the same optical rotation as the collimated case.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xvi, 51 pages) diagrams, graph