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Community attitudes towards advancing climate justice with climate aid
No full textResearch on support for climate policies has predominantly focused on support for mitigation policies. Research remains scarce on public support for climate aid policy (i.e., adaptation policies that direct support to those most affected by climate change). The justice implications of unmitigated climate change loom large, yet it is currently unclear to what extent people view climate change as an inequality issue. To investigate this, we surveyed participants from the United Kingdom (n = 531), United States (n = 528), Australia (n = 1450), and New Zealand (n = 1022) on attitudes about climate change inequality, experiences of climate emotions, support for climate aid policy, and political orientation. Those who reported greater agreement that climate change is an inequality issue also reported experiencing more intense negative emotions about climate change and greater support for climate aid policy. We propose a theoretical model whereby political conservatives are less likely to see climate change as an inequality issue, which could account for their lower support for climate aid policy and their more muted emotional response to climate change. We find preliminary support for this model using mediation analyses. Our findings suggest that in these four nations, beliefs about the inequality in who causes climate change and who suffers its worst consequences may be relevant to community support for the implementation of climate aid policy.</p
Accounting for Alcohol in Sexual Violence Prevention: A Discussion Paper
No full textAlcohol is a significant factor in sexual violence. While alcohol alone does not cause sexual assault, decades of global evidence show that heavy and binge drinking are consistently associated with an increased likelihood of sexual aggression, especially by men against women (Taft et al., 2019). Prevalence studies are rare and under-reporting of sexual violence where alcohol has been consumed is common, but study estimates suggest that at least half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, the victim, or both (Abbey, 2011; Abbey et al., 2004; Orchowski & Gidycz, 2012). Alcohol is often understood as a risk factor that contributes to sexual violence, affecting perpetrators, victims, bystanders and the contexts in which sexual violence occurs. Because of its proximity to sites of sexual violence (e.g., licensed venues, parties), and because alcohol availability is more amenable to change than gender inequalities and attitudes, addressing alcohol consumption presents a valuable opportunity to reduce sexual violence. However, while its role as a risk factor in sexual violence has been noted, alcohol has been addressed less directly in sexual violence prevention.</p
The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Real Economy: Promoting or Crowding Out? Empirical Evidence from Urban China
No full textBased on the sample data of 285 cities at the prefecture level and above in China, this paper uses the fixed-effect model, mediation effect model, and spatial Durbin model to empirically test the impact of the digital economy on the development of the real economy and its internal mechanisms in multiple dimensions. The study shows that the digital economy has already had a significant crowding-out effect on the development of the real economy. This conclusion is valid after using instrumental variables and introducing "Broadband China" policy shocks. The eastern region is more crowded out by the digital economy than the central and western regions, and the negative impact on underdeveloped cities is more significant than on developed cities. The analysis of the mechanism of action shows that industrial restructuring is essential for the digital economy to squeeze the development of the real economy. The digital economy has a negative spillover effect on the development of the real economy in the surrounding areas. This paper concludes that it is enlightening to rationally develop the digital economy and avoid the economic derealization to virtuality.</p
Extending the Screen Idea: Visual Concept Development in Narrative Screen Production
No full textA thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.</p
Optimising Nitrogen (N) inputs for dwarf tomato cultivation in protected cropping
No full textExperiment goals:This experiment aims to optimise nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rates for the dwarf tomato variety Micro Tom. The objective is to promote more uniform fruit ripening and accelerate cultivation cycles. Plants were grown using three distinct nitrogen concentrations (3, 6, and 30 mM) in a 35:65 coco coir-perlite substrate mix.Dataset:The dataset is organised into eight directories, each representing a key aspect of the experimental process:Plant_Information - Contains unique plant identifiers and associated metadata.Environmental_Growth_Conditions - Records of controlled environmental settings used during plant growth.Feeding - Records of the watering and / or feeding events referencing to the nutrient recipes.Harvesting - Destructive harvest data including yield, fresh and dry organ biomass.Images - Time-series images capturing various growth stages of individual plants.Measurements - Morphological trait measurements such as plant height, width, and branch number.Nutrient_Recipe - Detailed chemical composition of each nutrient recipe.Potting - Information on individual plant containers and substrate composition.</p
Data: Aridity modulates post-fire succession of plant communities and plant function groups in two vegetation types.
No full textAimsUnderstanding how plant communities change during post-fire succession is essential for effective fire management that seeks to ensure both human safety and biodiversity conservation. We investigated post-fire succession of plant communities along an environmental gradient in semi-arid southern Australia and compared fire responses for two vegetation types in each of two climate zones.LocationTwo conservation reserve systems in Victoria, south-eastern Australia: Little Desert National Park (132,000 ha; ‘less-arid zone’) and Big Desert Wilderness Area/Wyperfeld National Park (744,850 ha; ‘more-arid zone’).MethodsWe conducted floristic surveys at 251 sites, stratified by climate zone, vegetation type, and time since last fire (across a 75-year chrono-sequence).ResultsTime since fire had a significant influence on floristic composition, species richness and species diversity in each vegetation type and across both climate zones. Floristic composition between sites within early successional age-classes tended to be more similar than composition within late successional age-classes. There were distinct patterns of post-fire succession between climate zones, with time-since-fire having a stronger influence in the more-arid environment. Above-ground species richness and species diversity declined with increasing time since fire. Species diversity of several functional trait groups exhibited divergent time-since-fire responses between climate zones; notably, resprouter diversity was lower and declined more rapidly in the more-arid zone.ConclusionsTime-since-fire had a strong influence on post-fire vegetation succession, with such patterns also influenced by climate for a given vegetation type or fire-response trait group. We highlight the need for context-specific fire management, particularly when applying guidelines across environmental gradients, to ensure the provision of diverse age-classes across the landscape that meet the needs of both plants and animals. This is particularly relevant in the light of a mega-fire (>90,000 ha) in Jan 2025, that reduced >65% of the less-arid study zone to a single age-class.</p
Affordable Carbon Housing: A Scalable Solution for Low-emission Housing Using Modular Hempcrete Technology
No full textHempcrete is a bio-composite material made of the woody core of the hemp plant, a lime-based binder, and water. Its distinct properties position it as an excellent choice for sustainable construction.</p
Attracting and retaining the psychology workforce in public mental health: a study based in Melbourne, Victoria
No full textWorkforce shortages pose a significant barrier to meeting the mental health needs of Australians. This study sought to explore the factors contributing to the recruitment and retention of public (salaried) psychologists and psychologists working as private practitioners within a public mental health service in metropolitan Melbourne. The project involved an online survey of staff and semi-structured interviews. The study found that both private and salaried psychologists identified a number of reasons as to why they were attracted to working in this setting compared with the higher salaries available in full-fee paying private practice. Issues included working with a specific cohort of clients, support of intake and administration teams, flexible working hours, teamwork, the location of the service, the profile of the organisation, and not having to pay room rent or advertise. Salaried staff highlighted the team culture and access to other clinicians for informal discussions as important factors, while private practitioners within the public mental health service most commonly identified financial concerns, including remuneration and failure to attend/cancellations as the biggest challenges. Lack of income was the most commonly cited reason for clinicians’ decisions to leave public mental health. Private practitioners within this setting identified the absence of supervision and professional development, feelings of isolation and lack of team culture as significant deterrents. In sum, numerous issues influence the decisions of psychologists to work in public mental health services rather than, or as well as holding private roles. Public health services need to recognise these and ameliorate identified challenges if they are to attract and retain an adequate psychological workforce.</p
What is White Privilege and How Does it Affect Racism Toward Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander People?
No full textA thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Research to the School of Humanities and Social Science, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.</p
Morphological and anatomical variations in stem-related photosynthetic structures of the Fabaceae
No full textLeaves are the photosynthetic organs of most plants. However some species have other photosynthetic structures as well as leaves or have lost the ability to produce green leaves and have evolved alternative organs for carbon fixation. The Fabaceae is a speciose family that has species with probably the widest range of photosynthetic structures in land plants. We examined five pea species where leaves are often ephemeral or have been entirely reduced to nonphotosynthetic bracts to understand the ways in which alternative structures have been formed. The evolutionary incentive to use stems for photosynthesis is likely related to light and seasonal water availability. Cytisus scoparius sheds leaves under dry conditions and photosynthesis is then restricted to ridged stems where the ridges are derived from highly modified stipular tissues. In Genista sagittalis the annual shoots do have leaves but the stems form extensions derived from leaf bases that laterally expand to form continuous leaf-like wings down the stem increasing photosynthetic area. Anatomically Cytisus and Genista are relatively mesomorphic and avoid water stress by losing leaves (Cytisus) or having annual stems (Genista). The other three species grow in a mediterranean-type climate with pronounced summer drought. Leaf blades are reduced to brown bracts but the leaf bases extend between the stem nodes to form photosynthetic ridged stems or cladodes. Jacksonia alata is a diminutive species with limited photosynthetic area which may contribute to its subordinate position in its community. Leptosema aphyllum and L. tomentosum have much broader cladodes and are larger shrubs. These three species have stems and cladodes with a dense anatomical structure and abundant sclerenchyma that allow the species to take advantage of the winter-spring rainfall but enable their survival through the hot and arid summer. The five species emphasise that different structures can be modified to achieve a similar outcome.</p