Th.--Etud. angl.--Paris 3, 1986.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2001. / Title from title screen (viewed January 22, 2009) Submitted in fullfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philososphy to the Dept. of English, University of Sydney. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

The Marlborough Fault System is a zone of dextral transpression in continental crust at the southern end of the Hikurangi subduction system between the obliquely convergent Australian and Pacific plates. Detailed mapping of an area of deformed Tertiary cover sequence on the down thrown side of the Kekerengu Fault (the Kekerengu- Washdyke study area) has revealed two phases of deformation, D_e and D_l. In the study area De consists of nine kilometre scale thrust faults cutting sediments derived from extra- and intra-basinal uplift. The timing of this episode is constrained by the age of the first clastic deposits and by a previously unidentified unconformity in this area of Late Miocene age. A clear sequence of D_l events is recognized deforming all earlier structures including Pliocene aged sediments. Although elsewhere in Marlborough a regional post-Pliocene <i>ca.</i> 20° clockwise block rotation has been previously identified, in the Kekerengu-Washdyke study area one site suggested no post-Pliocene rotation and another a large <i>ca.</i> 100° clockwise rotation. This lack of D_l rotation was unexplained and the large rotation attributed to localized Early Miocene deformation. Palaeomagnetic work carried out in this study has identified six more sites which contain this large rotation (average <i>ca.</i> 118+11°). The rotation therefore appears to be a regional event, likely to be a result of the location of Marlborough in the hinge zone at the southern end of the Hikurangi Margin. One site from dykes in basement rocks does not record this large rotation, indicating that the rotation occurred in upper layers detached from unrotating rock below by an unknown structure (such as a thrust fault), or that the rotation did not occur in this area. The large rotation is believed to have been achieved by pinning of the D_e thrusts to the south of the Marlborough region. The data suggests that the D_e thrusts in Marlborough were initially NW-trending and seaward, not landward-directed as was previously supposed. Palaeomagnetic work has also added to the evidence for a lack of D_l regional rotation on the downthrown side of the Kekerengu Fault. A previously unidentified second phase of D_l folding and 'bending' within the study area appears to have accommodated the regional rotation and suggests that the Kekerengu Fault acted as the eastern boundary of the D_l rotating block.

No description available.

As part of an investigation into traditional Australian Aboriginal bush medicine a range of Acacia species have been examined. Several species have been reported to be utilised for the preparation of antimicrobial washes and lotions by Aboriginal tribes. Initial bioactivity screening focussed on antimicrobial activity of the polar/and or non-polar extracts of air dried plant material, and a range of interesting activity has been found. Specifically, of the 94 extracts of Acacia species screened, five showed activity against the fungus C.albicans, 47 showed activity showed activity against the gram positive bacteria S.aureus and five showed activity against the gram negative bacteria E.coli. A retrosynthetic analysis and total synthesis of the novel anisidine alkaloid isolated from Acacia trineura was attempted. A variety of methodologies to generate the lithiate of anisidine and subsequently trap with an appropriate electrophile were attempted. While the results only indicated which methods were appropriate, they did give strong leads for future work in this direction / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The Larrikin Paradox is concerned with the unexplored nexus between Australian journalism's larrikin tradition and Enlightenment-informed normative theories relating to journalism's public responsibility in liberal democracy. Australian journalism's larrikin tradition, with its connotations of irresponsibility, has so far been considered an inappropriate lens through which to conceptualise Australian journalism's public role. Yet, paradoxically, it is the larrikin's capacity for irresponsibility that gives him, or her, the potential to be an enacting agent of Australian journalism's public responsibility. Using a form of Cultural Historiography, The Larrikin Paradox tests this Thesis Statement: In Australian history, larrikin journalists have been responsible for facilitating and protecting democratic freedom in the public sphere from authority. Because this freedom is in a state of vulnerability, contemporary Australian journalism still needs its larrikin tradition to vouchsafe a work culture capable of maintaining its declared responsibility to 'inform citizens' and 'animate democracy'. However, the dearth of theory concerning the larrikin as a democratic figure has meant that The Larrikin Paradox has had to conceptualise it, more or less, from scratch. After first assembling the figure from over a century of references to the larrikin, The Larrikin Paradox approaches this conceptualisation using a process of historiographical recovery and interpretation. Using a literature review of larrikinism in general, The Larrikin Paradox investigates a possible larrikin axiology relevant to Australian journalism micro-culture. This axiology is gleaned from an analysis of the term's meanings in sources such as dictionaries and commentaries on Australian English, as well as biographical and autobiographical material directly related to Australian journalism. Once gleaned, this axiology is used to inform an investigation into the history of larrikinism in Australian journalism. The history is drawn from those salient sources of journalism as a micro-culture: biographies and autobiographies by, or about, Australian journalists. Here we assume that our axiological 'compass' can help us seek out the larrikin elements in those micro-cultural sources; thereby identifying manifestations of larrikinism within almost 150 years of Australian journalism history. With larrikinism's historical and axiological significance established, The Larrikin Paradox moves on to a comparative analysis of Australian journalism during the Whitlam (1972 - 1975) and Howard (1996 - 2007) eras using oral history and industry-specific publications. This part of the investigation finds there is marked divergences in Australian journalism's cultural interpretation of its larrikin tradition arising from distinct socio-political contexts. In short, the Howard generation (1996 - 2007) of journalists is found to be less larrikin than those of the Whitlam generation (1972 - 1975). However, with the cultural theories of Stuart Hall (1978) and Raymond Williams (1958, 1977) in mind, The Larrikin Paradox concludes that the larrikin, as a democratic figure, can be re-constructed within the micro-culture of Australian journalism.

The aim of this project was to study the nature and relative proportion of the volatile components in the sternal-gland secretions obtained from a wide range of Australian marsupials.The results obtained were then used to investigate the evolution of semiochemicals in Australian marsupials by using the current phylogenetic tree as a template.The initial part of the study was dedicated to the investigation of some of the techniques available for the sampling and analysis of gland secretions. Individuals from 8 families within the Marsupialia and 1 family from the Monotremata were sampled over an 18 month period.The obtained results were then subjected to multivariate statistical analysis followed by cladistic analysis.In several species the secretion composition was found to be affected by the breeding status of individuals for both genders.Many other factors such as animal-age, hierarchical status, diet,and lifestyle were also observed to affect the secretion composition. Finally, cladistic analysis demonstrated the differences in the levels of divergence at the species, familial and ordinal levels and highlighted secretion components that could be used to differentiate between super families, species and even sexual status of individuals. / Master of Science (Hons)

This thesis is comprised of a survey of all the varying influences behind the author's art making. All pre-occupations are included, the concepts of childhood memory; the use of imagination; the ability to comprehend and put together an old fashioned story in varying forms; as well as considering the notion of blurring historical and actual fact with personal elements of fantastical fiction. These themes have all been threaded delicately through the motif of time-travel, the author's personal favourite of literary genres. The main aim has been to make an attempt to re-create the feelings of childhood.Whilst embracing whimsy, the absurd and the time travel genre, this project hopefully shows a struggle and is an allegorical comment on the author as an artist, who having lost a little of his faith in the world and his abilities, becomes seduced by a new focus. / Master of Arts (Hons) (Creative Arts)

The Torch Collector is a Magical Realist novel set in Sydney. It is a story of non conformity, history, hope. The story moves between three recognisable but not clearly identifiable spheres. A past, a present and the non identified other, which could be called the unreal, magical, other-worldly or third-dimensional The genderless protagonist collects torches which enable him/her to transgress the boundaries between the spheres of existence. S/he moves freely across filling the gaps in her/his identity created by her/his cross-cultural background. The novel examines life on the fringe of contemporary Australian society. The Torch Collector's position appears to be voluntary, defined by his/her relationship to the torches. This vital relationship prevents the protagonist from fully engaging in conventional life. It is also a story of Sydney. A city which hides its cross-cultural spirituality underneath a highly urban and technological facade. / Master of Arts (Writing)

This thesis explores the influence of the Australian Labor Party's (ALP's) national factions on Party policy. The specific emphasis is on policy development during Labor's 1996-2004 period in opposition. Through a total of 88 interviews, predominantly with members of Caucus including Kim Beazley, Simon Crean and Mark Latham, this thesis has been able to examine not only the formal policy development processes but, significantly, also the informal processes within the Party. The thesis begins with an overview of the national factions' organisation and operations in relation to policy development in both the organisational and parliamentary wings. It concentrates on exploring how the informal processes of the faction system dominate the formal Party structures, and demonstrates how the factional elite control these decision-making forums. The thesis then concentrates on analysing in-depth the factional influences on policies developed within the Immigration, Trade and Family and Community Services portfolios. These case studies were selected because they provoked debate, to varying degrees, in the Party. An understanding of how consensus was reached among the diverse perspectives, particularly between the factions, within the Party is critical to exploring the relationship between the national factions and policy development. The case studies cover a range of policy development modes, and therefore provide ample opportunity to explore factional dynamics in relation to policy formulation under different circumstances throughout the 1996-2004 period. This thesis utilises Arend Lijphart's theory of the Politics of Accommodation, which was originally developed to explain inter-party negotiations within the Dutch coalition government during the twentieth century. This theory is relevant to the study of the ALP's modern factions because, similar to the Dutch political system, the faction system operates on the power-sharing principle of proportional representation (PR). By applying Lijphart's theoretical framework, this thesis provides a rigorous and comprehensive analysis of the ALP's factional dynamics in relation to policy. It gives an in-depth analysis of the elite control of the faction system in the domain of policy development. It demonstrates that faction leaders resolve contentious policy issues by negotiating in a 'spirit of accommodation' and when the factions adopt a policy position, the unwritten rules of the 'factional game' are applied to ensure the national factions reach a consensus on Party policy. Given that the national factions compete for power and sometimes pursue a different set of policy objectives, this 'spirit of accommodation' appears to be paradoxical; this palliative application of factional power is arguably in contrast to the general perception of faction politics. Through the presentation and analysis of original primary data this thesis makes a valuable contribution to the study of the ALP and factions in general, significantly advancing existing knowledge.