Masculinity is an increasingly prominent and important issue in debates within feminism, literary studies and visual theory. This study intervenes in and contributes to such debates by analysing an emerging group of Australian women’s fictions (published between 1998 and 2002) which focus on male characters and, in particular, on the description and narrative potential of their bodies. The majority of these texts, and the ones that are explored in this thesis – namely, Jillian Watkinson’s The Architect, Georgia Blain’s The Blind Eye, Mireille Juchau’s Machines for Feeling, Fiona Capp’s Last of the Sane Days, Sarah Myles’s Transplanted and Wendy Scarfe’s Miranda – share two preoccupations. Firstly, male characters bodies’ are almost always damaged or suffering in some way; secondly, the ability (or inability) of female characters to look at these bodies is repeatedly foregrounded. I argue that the interactions between male characters’ bodies and female characters’ gazes function in complex ways both to confirm and to challenge patriarchal constructions of masculinity and male corporeality. Specifically, this occurs in relation to the engagement of each text with popular discourses of feminism and masculinity crisis, discourses that emerge and interact in complex and often contradictory ways in depictions of male visibility and exposure. While my approach is generally feminist, it is also fiction-centred. Thus, I draw on a variety of theoretical perspectives, including literary theory, masculinity studies, visual theory, history, sociology and philosophy, in order to unpack and engage with these contemporary Australian women’s fictions. Paradoxically, one of the main consequences of this fiction-centred approach is a reengagement with and a rethinking of theoretical concepts emerging from psychoanalytic feminist film theory. In a remarkably consistent and explicitly pedagogical way, these fictions explore notions of objectification and dichotomisation, especially as they are elucidated in Laura Mulvey’s analysis of Hollywood narrative cinema. Objectification is overwhelmingly aligned with oppressive power structures and identified as problematic, and the first half of this thesis explores the novels’ critiques of this mode of visual interaction. The second half investigates the alternatives to objectification imagined in these fictions. While, upon closer consideration, some of these alternatives recapture male and female characters within traditional patriarchal power relations, others enable a rethinking of both women’s vision and desire, and men’s subjectivity, visibility and desirability.

Masculinity is an increasingly prominent and important issue in debates within feminism, literary studies and visual theory. This study intervenes in and contributes to such debates by analysing an emerging group of Australian women’s fictions (published between 1998 and 2002) which focus on male characters and, in particular, on the description and narrative potential of their bodies. The majority of these texts, and the ones that are explored in this thesis – namely, Jillian Watkinson’s The Architect, Georgia Blain’s The Blind Eye, Mireille Juchau’s Machines for Feeling, Fiona Capp’s Last of the Sane Days, Sarah Myles’s Transplanted and Wendy Scarfe’s Miranda – share two preoccupations. Firstly, male characters bodies’ are almost always damaged or suffering in some way; secondly, the ability (or inability) of female characters to look at these bodies is repeatedly foregrounded. I argue that the interactions between male characters’ bodies and female characters’ gazes function in complex ways both to confirm and to challenge patriarchal constructions of masculinity and male corporeality. Specifically, this occurs in relation to the engagement of each text with popular discourses of feminism and masculinity crisis, discourses that emerge and interact in complex and often contradictory ways in depictions of male visibility and exposure. While my approach is generally feminist, it is also fiction-centred. Thus, I draw on a variety of theoretical perspectives, including literary theory, masculinity studies, visual theory, history, sociology and philosophy, in order to unpack and engage with these contemporary Australian women’s fictions. Paradoxically, one of the main consequences of this fiction-centred approach is a reengagement with and a rethinking of theoretical concepts emerging from psychoanalytic feminist film theory. In a remarkably consistent and explicitly pedagogical way, these fictions explore notions of objectification and dichotomisation, especially as they are elucidated in Laura Mulvey’s analysis of Hollywood narrative cinema. Objectification is overwhelmingly aligned with oppressive power structures and identified as problematic, and the first half of this thesis explores the novels’ critiques of this mode of visual interaction. The second half investigates the alternatives to objectification imagined in these fictions. While, upon closer consideration, some of these alternatives recapture male and female characters within traditional patriarchal power relations, others enable a rethinking of both women’s vision and desire, and men’s subjectivity, visibility and desirability.

Masculinity is an increasingly prominent and important issue in debates within feminism, literary studies and visual theory. This study intervenes in and contributes to such debates by analysing an emerging group of Australian women’s fictions (published between 1998 and 2002) which focus on male characters and, in particular, on the description and narrative potential of their bodies. The majority of these texts, and the ones that are explored in this thesis – namely, Jillian Watkinson’s The Architect, Georgia Blain’s The Blind Eye, Mireille Juchau’s Machines for Feeling, Fiona Capp’s Last of the Sane Days, Sarah Myles’s Transplanted and Wendy Scarfe’s Miranda – share two preoccupations. Firstly, male characters bodies’ are almost always damaged or suffering in some way; secondly, the ability (or inability) of female characters to look at these bodies is repeatedly foregrounded. I argue that the interactions between male characters’ bodies and female characters’ gazes function in complex ways both to confirm and to challenge patriarchal constructions of masculinity and male corporeality. Specifically, this occurs in relation to the engagement of each text with popular discourses of feminism and masculinity crisis, discourses that emerge and interact in complex and often contradictory ways in depictions of male visibility and exposure. While my approach is generally feminist, it is also fiction-centred. Thus, I draw on a variety of theoretical perspectives, including literary theory, masculinity studies, visual theory, history, sociology and philosophy, in order to unpack and engage with these contemporary Australian women’s fictions. Paradoxically, one of the main consequences of this fiction-centred approach is a reengagement with and a rethinking of theoretical concepts emerging from psychoanalytic feminist film theory. In a remarkably consistent and explicitly pedagogical way, these fictions explore notions of objectification and dichotomisation, especially as they are elucidated in Laura Mulvey’s analysis of Hollywood narrative cinema. Objectification is overwhelmingly aligned with oppressive power structures and identified as problematic, and the first half of this thesis explores the novels’ critiques of this mode of visual interaction. The second half investigates the alternatives to objectification imagined in these fictions. While, upon closer consideration, some of these alternatives recapture male and female characters within traditional patriarchal power relations, others enable a rethinking of both women’s vision and desire, and men’s subjectivity, visibility and desirability.

This thesis is based on three papers on selected topics in Asymptotic Geometric Analysis. The first paper is about the volume of high-dimensional random polytopes; in particular, on polytopes generated by Gaussian random vectors. We consider the question of how many random vertices (or facets) should be sampled in order for such a polytope to capture significant volume. Various criteria for what exactly it means to capture significant volume are discussed. We also study similar problems for random polytopes generated by points on the Euclidean sphere. The second paper is about volume distribution in convex bodies. The first main result is about convex bodies that are (i) symmetric with respect to each of the coordinate hyperplanes and (ii) in isotropic position. We prove that most linear functionals acting on such bodies exhibit super-Gaussian tail-decay. Using known facts about the mean-width of such bodies, we then deduce strong lower bounds for the volume of certain caps. We also prove a converse statement. Namely, if an arbitrary isotropic convex body (not necessarily satisfying the symmetry assumption (i)) exhibits similar cap-behavior, then one can bound its mean-width. The third paper is about random polytopes generated by sampling points according to multiple log-concave probability measures. We prove related estimates for random determinants and give applications to several geometric inequalities; these include estimates on the volume-radius of random zonotopes and Hadamard's inequality for random matrices. / Mathematics

Reproductive division of labor is the most distinctive characteristic of the social Hymenoptera; some individuals reproduce and others forego their own reproduction to raise non-descendant offspring. In species where females are reproductively totipotent and lack morphologically distinct castes, there is potential for reproductive conflict because more than one female in a colony may attempt direct reproduction. I focused my dissertation research on a subtropical population of the primitively eusocial paper wasp, Mischocyttarus mexicanus, to investigate the initiation, establishment, and development of the colony before the emergence of adult offspring. Female M. mexicanus exhibit variation in behavior and task performance, and switch between reproductive and non-reproductive roles. These changes in behavior and reproduction may be influenced by social context. In three studies, I investigated the role of social context on reproduction, behavior, and brain structure. In the first study, I tested the role of body size, reproductive potential, and immediate egg-laying potential on the reproductive tactic employed by females. I found that large females either became solitary foundresses or became part of a group-initiated colony. In contrast, small females left their natal colony and pursued joining other colonies. This joiner tactic is unique to this population and has not been observed in temperate zone populations. I also found that subordinate females had the potential to lay eggs if given the opportunity. This suggests an incentive to remain in a colony for future opportunities of direct reproduction. In the second study, I investigated the effect of three variables on non-nestmate acceptance: non-nestmate age, stage of colony development, and non-nestmate aggressive behavior. I demonstrated that non-nestmate acceptance was context-dependent. Both non-nestmate age and stage of colony development had an effect on the proportion of accepted non-nestmates. Although, non-nestmate aggressive behavior did not affect non-nestmate acceptance, it did trigger an aggressive response from colony nestmates. In the third study, I assessed the relationship of Mushroom Bodies (MB) volume, the brain neuropils associated with learning and memory, to environmental conditions and social interactions. I compared MB volume of newly-established colonies initiated by solitary foundresses to groups of foundresses. In addition, I performed laboratory experiments to differentiate between the effect of environmental conditions and social interactions. I found a positive relationship between MB volume and environmental conditions including light intensity and foraging experience. In contrast to previous studies, I found no association between MB volume and social interactions. Ovary development was positively correlated with MB development. This result suggests that although reproductive dominance is established in newly-initiated colonies, social dominance may not yet be established. In summary, my studies found an effect of social context on behavior, adoption of reproductive tactics and brain structure in colonies of M. mexicanus during the offspring pre-emergence phase.

The exosome, an evolutionarily conserved protein complex with exoribonucleolytic activity, is one of the key players in mRNA quality control. Little is known about the functions of the exosome in metazoans. We have studied the role of the exosome in nuclear mRNA surveillance using Chironomus tentans and Drosophila melanogaster as model systems. Studies of the exosome subunits Rrp4 and Rrp6 revealed that both proteins are associated with transcribed genes and nascent pre-mRNPs in C. tentans. We have shown that several exosome subunits interact in vivo with the mRNA-binding protein Hrp59/hnRNP M, and that depleting Hrp59 in D. melanogaster S2 cells by RNAi leads to reduced levels of Rrp4 at the transcription sites. Our results on Rrp4 suggest a model for cotranscriptional quality control in which the exosome is constantly recruited to nascent mRNAs through interactions with specific hnRNP proteins. Moreover, we show that Rrp6 interacts with mRNPs in transit from the gene to the nuclear pore complex, where it is released during early stages of nucleo-cytoplasmic translocation. Furthermore, we show that Rrp6 is enriched in discrete nuclear bodies in the salivary glands of C. tentans and D. melanogaster. In C. tentans, the Rrp6-rich nuclear bodies colocalize with SUMO. We have also constructed D. melanogaster S2 cells expressing human b-globin genes, with either wild type of mutated splice sites, and we have studied the mechanisms by which the cells react to pre-mRNA processing defects. Our results indicate that two surveillance responses operate co-transcriptionally in S2 cells. One requires Rrp6 and retains defective mRNAs at the transcription site. The other one reduces the synthesis of the defective transcripts through a mechanism that involves histone modifications. These observations support the view that multiple mechanisms contribute to co-transcriptional surveillance in insects. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.

Modification by glycosylation gives proteins a range of diverse functions reflecting their structural variability. N-glycans regulate many biological outcomes in mammalian cells under both normal and pathological conditions. They play a major role in various pathologies such as cancer and lysosomal storage diseases. Interplay between N-glycans and other regulators, such as membrane lipid domains, in the control of signaling pathways remains poorly understood. My thesis therefore focuses on how N-glycans and membrane lipid domains oppose and/or work together at different cellular levels to regulate various processes such as receptor signaling and diffusion, endocytosis and lysosomal organelle biogenesis. Mgat5 encodes for ß1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V that produces N-glycans, the preferred ligand for galectins. In tumor cells, galectins bind glycosylated receptors at the cell surface forming a lattice, that restricts receptor endocytosis and enhances its residency at the plasma membrane. In the first part of my thesis, I report that Galectin/receptor crosslinking opposes receptor sequestration by oligomerized caveolin-1 (Cav1) domains overriding its negative regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling, cell surface diffusion and tumor growth. These results identify Cav1 as a conditional tumor suppressor. I also demonstrate that Cav1 is a negative regulator of lipid raft-mediated endocytosis. Cav1 indirectly regulates the internalization of cholera toxin b subunit to the Golgi apparatus independently of caveolae formation. That identifies a new role for caveolin-1 outside caveolae in the regulation of raft-dependent endocytosis Finally, Mgat5 overexpression in pneumocytes is associated with the expression of a lysosomal organelle, the multilamellar body (MLB), via autophagy. MLB expression is also a characteristic of various lysosomal storage diseases. I demonstrate that cholesterol accumulation can override the need for Mgat5 overexpression in MLB formation indicating that they may form via multiple mechanisms. However, I also demonstrate that a contribution of the autophagic pathway is a common determinant of biogenesis of MLB of various lipid compositions. In conclusion, Mgat5-dependent protein glycosylation and Cav1/raft domains therefore both function as regulators of plasma membrane interactions, endocytosis and lysosomal organelle biogenesis. Understanding of this interplay is crucial for the understanding of the mechanisms involve in various pathologies such as cancer and lysosomal storage diseases.

In 1931, judo became a compulsory subject in middle schools throughout Japan, over forty-years after Kanō Jigorō, judo's founder, had initially recommended it to government officials as something which should be included in the schools across the country. While this simple change in middle school curriculum may seem insignificant, it was in fact a watershed marking a new stage of the creation of an able and disciplined populace in Japan. This thesis will explain the significance of the inclusion of judo in schools by investigating the history of judo up to the point of its inclusion in schools, exploring the rhetoric of judo in terms of a larger discourse on "moral education" which was prevalent during the times, and finally an analysis of school judo—in terms of its physical practice as well as the ideology and rhetoric behind it—using the Foucauldian concept of "docile bodies."

In the absence of telomerase activity, a subset of cancerous and immortalized cells maintain telomere length by means of a poorly understood mechanism, termed alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Many details of telomere maintenance in ALT positive cells remain unclear, but significant evidence implicates a homologous recombination mechanism. ALT specific nuclear structures, known as ALT-associated promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (APBs), are thought to serve as the site of telomere extension. Using electron spectroscopic imaging we have demonstrated that APBs contain substantial amounts of nucleic acid sequestered within the bodies. In contrast, promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies in non-ALT cell lines contain no significant nucleic acid. We show that the nucleic acid found in APBs is not RNA and provide evidence that it is in fact telomeric repeat DNA. This evidence supports a role for APBs to sequester extrachromosomal telomeric DNA in order to suppress the activation of DNA repair.

In 1931, judo became a compulsory subject in middle schools throughout Japan, over forty-years after Kanō Jigorō, judo's founder, had initially recommended it to government officials as something which should be included in the schools across the country. While this simple change in middle school curriculum may seem insignificant, it was in fact a watershed marking a new stage of the creation of an able and disciplined populace in Japan. This thesis will explain the significance of the inclusion of judo in schools by investigating the history of judo up to the point of its inclusion in schools, exploring the rhetoric of judo in terms of a larger discourse on "moral education" which was prevalent during the times, and finally an analysis of school judo—in terms of its physical practice as well as the ideology and rhetoric behind it—using the Foucauldian concept of "docile bodies."