An ecological study was undertaken on four populations of Krefft�s River Turtle Emydura krefftii inhabiting the Townsville Area of Tropical North Queensland. Two sites were located in the Ross River, which runs through the urban areas of Townsville, and two sites were in rural areas at Alligator Creek and Stuart Creek (known as the Townsville Creeks). Earlier studies of the populations in Ross River had determined that the turtles existed at an exceptionally high density, that is, they were superabundant, and so the Townsville Creek sites were chosen as low abundance sites for comparison. The first aim of this study was to determine if there had been any demographic consequences caused by the abundance of turtle populations of the Ross River. Secondly, the project aimed to determine if the impoundments in the Ross River had affected the freshwater turtle fauna. Specifically this study aimed to determine if there were any difference between the growth, size at maturity, sexual dimorphism, size distribution, and diet of Emydura krefftii inhabiting two very different populations. A mark-recapture program estimated the turtle population sizes at between 490 and 5350 turtles per hectare. Most populations exhibited a predominant female sex-bias over the sampling period. Growth rates were rapid in juveniles but slowed once sexual maturity was attained; in males, growth basically stopped at maturity, but in females, growth continued post-maturity, although at a slower rate. Sexual maturity was at 6-7 years of age for males, which corresponded to a carapace length of 150-160 mm, and 8-10 years of age for females, which corresponded to a carapace length of 185-240 mm. The turtles were omnivorous, although in the Ross River they ate more submerged vegetation (by percent amount and occurrence) than those of the Townsville Creeks. Turtles in Townsville Creeks ingested more windfall fruit and terrestrial insects.

Background Climate variation has affected diverse physical and biological systems worldwide. Population health is one of the most important impacts of climate variation. Although the impact of climate variation on infectious diseases has been of significant concern recently, the relationship between climate variation and infectious diseases, including vector-borne diseases and enteric infections, needs greater clarification. Australia is grappling with developing politically acceptable responses to global warming. In China, few studies have been conducted to examine the effect of climate variation, including global warming, on population health. As residents of developing countries may suffer more from climate change compared with people living in more developed countries, this thesis has significance for both countries. Aims This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of climate variation on population health, and to provide scientific evidence for policy makers, researchers, public health practitioners and local communities in the development of public health strategies at an early stage, in order to prevent or reduce future risks associated with ongoing climate change. The objectives of this study include: (1) to quantify the association between climate variation and selected vectorborne diseases and enteric infections in different climatic regions in Australia and China; (2) to project the future burden of selected vector-borne diseases and enteric infections based on climate change scenarios in different climatic regions in Australia and China. Methods This ecological study has two components. The first uses time-series analyses to quantify the relationship between meteorological variables and infectious diseases, whereas the second projects the burden of selected infectious diseases using future climate and population scenarios. Temperate and subtropical climatic zones in both Australia and China were selected as the primary study areas, and a study of an Australian tropical region was also conducted. Study of Australia’s temperate zones was conducted in Adelaide, South Australia, as well as the Murray River region in that State. The study of China’s temperate zone was carried out in Jinan, Shandong Province. Subtropical studies were conducted in Baoan, Guangdong Province, China, and Brisbane in Queensland, whilst research for the tropics centred on Townsville, also in Queensland, Australia. The selected infectious diseases - one vector-borne disease and one enteric infection in each country - are Ross River Virus (RRV) infection and salmonellosis in Australia, and malaria and bacillary dysentery in China. Study periods vary from eight to sixteen years (depending upon the availability of data). Climate data, infectious disease surveillance data and demographic data were collected from local authorities. Data analyses conducted in the ecological studies include Spearman correlation analysis, time-series adjusted Poisson regression and the Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model with consideration of lag effects, seasonality, long-term trends, and autocorrelation, on a weekly or monthly basis depending on data availability, and Hockey Sticky model to detect potential threshold temperatures. In the burden of disease component, analyses include the calculation of an indicator of the burden of disease - Years Lost due to Disabilities (YLDs) - and use scenario-based models to project YLDs for the selected diseases in 2030 and 2050 in Australia and 2020 and 2050 in China respectively. The projections consider both different scenarios of projected temperature and future population change. Results Relationship between climate variation and selected infectious diseases In all the study regions in Australia, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall and humidity are all significantly related to the number of RRV infections, with lag effects varying from 0 to 3 months. Additionally, high tides in the two seaside regions with tropical (Townsville) or subtropical (Brisbane) climates, and river flow in the temperate region (Murray River region), are related to the number of cases without any lag effects. A potential 1°C increase in maximum or minimum temperature may cause 4%~23% extra cases of RRV infection in the temperate region, 5~8% in the subtropical region, and 6%~15% in the tropical region. Maximum temperature, minimum temperature, humidity and air pressure are significantly related to malaria cases in the temperate city Jinan and subtropical city Baoan in China, with a lag effect range of 0 to 1 month. An association between rainfall and malaria cases was not detected in either region. A potential 1°C increase in maximum or minimum temperature may lead to 4%~15% extra malaria cases in the temperate region, and 12%-18% in the tropical region in China. Maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall and humidity are all significantly related to the number of salmonellosis cases in the three study cities in Australia, with lag effects varying from 0 to 1 month. A potential 1°C increase in maximum or minimum temperature may cause 6%~19% extra salmonellosis cases in the temperate region (Adelaide), 5%~10% in the subtropical region (Brisbane), and 4%~15% in the tropical region (Townsville). The thresholds for the effects of maximum and minimum temperatures are 20ºC and 12ºC respectively in Adelaide. No threshold temperatures are detected in Townsville and Brisbane. Maximum temperature, minimum temperature, humidity, air pressure and rainfall are significantly related to bacillary dysentery cases in the temperate city Jinan and subtropical city Baoan in China, with the lag effect range of 0 to 2 months. A potential 1°C increase in maximum or minimum temperature may cause 7%~15% extra bacillary dysentery cases in the temperate region and 10% ~ 19% in the subtropical region in China. The thresholds for the effects of maximum and minimum temperatures on bacillary dysentery are 17ºC and 8ºC respectively in Jinan. No threshold temperatures are detected in Baoan. Projection of YLDs from target diseases In Australia, considering both climatic and population scenarios, if other factors remain constant, compared with the YLDs observed in 2000, the YLDs for salmonellosis might increase by up to 48% by 2030, and nearly double by 2050 in South Australia, while the YLDs might double by 2030 and increase by up to 143% by 2050 in Brisbane, Queensland. The YLDs for RRV infection might increase by up to 66% by 2030, and nearly double by 2050 in South Australia. They might increase by up to 61% by 2030 and double by 2050 in Brisbane, Queensland. In China, considering both climatic and population scenarios, if other factors remain constant, compared with the YLDs observed in 2000, the YLDs for bacillary dysentery might double by 2020 and triple by 2050 in both Jinan and Baoan. The YLDs for malaria might increase by up to 108% by 2020 and nearly triple by 2050 in Jinan, the temperate city, and increase by up to 144% by 2020 and nearly triple by 2050 in Baoan, the subtropical city. Conclusions 1. Both maximum and minimum temperatures are important in the transmission of vector-borne diseases in various climatic regions in both Australia and China. River flow or high tides may also play an important role in the transmission of such diseases. 2. Both maximum and minimum temperatures play an important role in the transmission of enteric infections in various climatic regions in both Australia and China, with a threshold temperature detected in the temperate regions but not in subtropical and tropical regions. 3. The effects of rainfall and relative humidity on selected infectious diseases vary in different study areas in Australia and China. 4. The burden of temperature-related infectious diseases may greatly increase in the future if there is no effective preventive intervention. Public health implications 1. Implication for health practice • Public health practitioners, together with relevant government organisations, should monitor trends in infectious diseases, as well as other relevant indexes, such as vectors, pathogens, and water and food safety. They should advise policy makers of the potential risks associated with climate change and develop public health strategies to prevent and reduce the impact of infectious disease associated with such change. • Doctors and other clinical practitioners should be prepared and supported in the provision of health care for any expected extra cases associated with climate variation and should play an important role in relevant health education on climate change. • Community participation is of significance to adapt to and mitigate the risk of climate change on population health. Community involvement helps to deliver programmes which more accurately target local needs. Therefore, community should be involved in the partnerships of climate change as early as possible. • Relevant education programs on the potential health impact of climate change should be conducted by government at all levels for different stakeholders, including industries, governments, communities, clinicians and researchers. • Advocacy for adapting to and mitigating climate change should be a longstanding public health activity. 2. Implication for researchers • The main task for researchers is to identify the independent contribution made by key climatic variables and whether there are exposure thresholds for infectious disease transmission. Further studies should include various infectious diseases in different climatic regions. • Developing countries and rural regions are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change so more research should be conducted for people living in those regions. • Studies using summary measures that combine prevalence of disease, quality of life and life expectancy, such as Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), to assess the burden of disease due to climate change is necessary to assist in decision making. • More research should be conducted on the assessment of adaptive strategies and mitigation to future climate change. 3. Implication for policies • Public and preventive health strategies that consider local climatic conditions and their impact on vector and food borne diseases are important in reducing such impact due to climate change in the future. • The extra health burden that may be caused by future climate change may have a great impact on the currently overloaded public health system in both developed and developing countries. Long-term planning about health resource allocation, infrastructure establishment, and relevant response mechanisms should be developed at relevant government levels. • Effective prevention and intervention strategies will be possible only if the efforts of relevant sectors, including governments, communities, industries, research institutions, clinical professionals and individuals, have coordinated responses. • International and regional collaborations are necessary to address this global issue. In addition, strategies of an international dimension should be translated into regional and local actions. This is extremely important to developing countries such as China and India. • Sustainable development policies with consideration given to reducing green house gases and environmental degradation need immediate action which will benefit future generations. Health priorities should include the prevention of climate change. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1290777 / Thesis(Ph.D.)-- School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, 2007

[Truncated abstract] In an era of emerging and resurging infectious diseases, understanding the ecological processes that influence pathogen activity and the influences of anthropogenic change to those are critical. Ross River virus (RRV, Togoviridae: Alphavirus) is a mosquito-borne zoonosis occurring in Australia with a significant human disease burden. In the southwest of Western Australia (WA) RRV is principally vectored by Aedes camptorhynchus Thomson (Diptera: Culicidae), which is halophilic. The inland southwest, the Wheatbelt region, of WA is substantially affected by an anthropogenic salinisation of agricultural land called dryland salinity, which threatens to influence transmission of this arbovirus. This study assessed the ecological impacts of dryland salinity on mosquitoes, mammalian hosts and their interactions to influence the potential for RRV transmission. Many aquatic insect taxa colonise ephemeral water bodies directly as adults or by oviposition. Using a manipulative experiment and sampling from ephemeral water bodies in the Wheatbelt, I demonstrated that salinity of water bodies can modify colonisation behaviour and the distribution of some organisms across the landscape. Halosensitive fauna selected less saline mesocosms for oviposition and colonisation. In particular, Culex australicus Dobrotworksy and Drummond and Anopheles annulipes Giles (Diptera: Culicidae), potential competitors with Ae. camptorhynchus, avoided ovipostion in saline mesocosms and water bodies in the field. This finding suggests salinity influences behaviour and may reduce interspecific interactions between these taxa and Ae. camptorhynchus at higher salinities. Using extensive field surveys of ephemeral water bodies in the Wheatbelt I found mosquitoes frequently colonised ephemeral water bodies, responded positively to rainfall, and populated smaller water bodies more densely than larger water bodies. The habitat characteristics of ephemeral water bodies changed in association with salinity. Consequently there were both direct and indirect associations between salinity and colonising mosquitoes. Ultimately the structure of mosquito assemblages changed with increasing salinity, favouring an increased regional distribution and abundance of Ae. camptorhynchus. The direct implication of this result is secondary salinisation has enhanced the vectorial potential for RRV transmission in the WA Wheatbelt. ... This thesis contributes to an emerging body of research aimed at delineating important ecological processes which determine transmission of infections disease. Collectively the findings in this study suggest dryland salinity enhances the potential for RRV activity in the Wheatbelt. Currently, human RRV notifications in the Wheatbelt do not reflect the salinity-RRV transmission potential in that area, but appear to be associated with dispersal of RRV from the enzootic coastal zone of southwest WA. I speculate dryland salinity is a determinant of potential for RRV transmission, but not activity. Dryland salinity is predicted to undergo a two to four fold expansion by 2050, which will increase the regional potential for RRV activity. Preservation and restoration of freshwater ecosystems may ameliorate the potential for transmission of RRV and, possibly, human disease incidence.

Les questions que se pose le glaciologue peuvent souvent être identifiées à des problèmes inverses. C'est ce qui est illustré dans ce travail à travers trois exemples: * Reconstruction des températures du passé : nous essayons de combiner l'information donnée par la composition isotopique de la glace et le profil de température mesuré à Vostok (Antarctique). Cette approche suggère que le profil de température ne permet pas de donner de meilleure estimation de la température du dernier stade glaciaire à Vostok que le thermomètre isotopique classique. * Reconstruction de la composition de l'atmosphère du passé: lors de la transformation de la neige en glace, des bulles d'air de composition voisine de celle de l'atmosphère sont emprisonnées dans la porosité de la glace. Différents processus naturels peuvent altérer la composition de la bulle et l'interprétation des mesures n'est pas immédiate. Nous proposons ici une méthode de déconvolution du signal atmosphérique prenant en compte les phénomènes de diffusion et de gravitation dans le névé polaire. Nous appliquons ensuite cette méthode à l'interprétation des mesures de méthane, CFCs et rapport isotopique du méthane dans le névé et la glace. * Reconstruction des propriétés rhéologiques de la glace à grande échelle : les iceshelves (plates-formes de glace flottantes) constituent avec les ice-streams (fleuves de glace) les éléments dynamiques de la calotte Antarctique. Leur rhéologie est un paramètre important à prendre en compte pour prédire l'évolution de la géométrie de la calotte Antarctique. Nous montrons comment retrouver ce paramètre critique à partir d'un modèle d'écoulement et de mesures de terrain, puis nous fournissons une carte de viscosité apparente du Ross Ice Shelf (Antarctique de l'Ouest). Les techniques d'inversion décrites dans ce travail sont classiques dans de nombreux domaines de la géophysique, mais elles sont peu connues en glaciologie. En les appliquant sous une forme simplifiée, nous nous sommes efforcés de montrer ce qu'elles peuvent apporter à la glaciologie et quelles sont leurs limites.

This thesis explores the status of a specific subset of absent characters within twentieth century American drama. By borrowing the term “proximate cause” from tort law and illuminating its intricacies through David Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature, this thesis re-appropriates proximate cause for literary studies. Rather than focus on characters whose existence remains the subject of critical debate, this set of absent characters presumably exists but never appear onstage. Despite their non-appearance onstage, however, these absent characters nonetheless have a profound effect upon the action that occurs during their respective plays. Highlighting the various ways in which these characters serve as the proximate cause for the onstage action of a given play will expand the realm of drama and literary studies in myriad ways.

Pricing options quickly and accurately is a well known problem in finance. Quantum computing is being researched with the hope that quantum computers will be able to price options more efficiently than classical computers. This research extends the quantum binomial option pricing model proposed by Zeqian Chen to European put options and to Barrier options and develops a quantum algorithm to price them. This research produced three key results. First, when Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics are assumed, the quantum binomial model option prices are equivalent to the classical binomial model. Second, options can be priced efficiently on a quantum computer after the circuit has been built. The time complexity is O((N − τ)log(N − τ)) and it is in the BQP quantum computational complexity class. Finally, challenges extending the quantum binomial model to American, Asian and Bermudan options exist as the quantum binomial model does not take early exercise into account. / May 2009

The following study examined leadership characteristics of a modern leader of the Cherokee Nation, Ross O. Swimmer, during his three elections as Principal Chief, 1975-1985. Few Western scholars paid attention to the Cherokee Tribe after the break-up of institutions legislated by the federal Indian policy of Allotment. The position of the government was, the Cherokee Tribe no longer existed. For almost seventy years, no form of Cherokee leadership was visible; no Cherokee government existed. Federal Indian policy changed again, allowing tribes to elect their own leaders. This study began filling in gaps of missing information on modern Cherokee leadership by examining Swimmer’s leadership characteristics. The study attempted to add to the body of leadership knowledge by mining minds and memories, searching for the meaning of leadership from a modern Cherokee perspective. The three questions guiding the study were: what were the leadership characteristics of Principal Chief Ross O. Swimmer; to what extent did these leadership characteristics reflect traditional Cherokee leadership characteristics; and from a tribal perspective, did these make a difference, and to what extent? The data indicate seven Swimmer leadership characteristics: Visionary, Goal Oriented, Bureaucratic, Top-Down, Authoritarian, Delegator, and Communicator. There was inconsistency with Swimmer’s use of traditional leadership practices. Swimmer used a combination of traditional Cherokee, traditional Native American, and Anglo-European-American leadership characteristics during his three terms as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Two possible explanations for Swimmer’s blending leadership characteristics from varying models were suggested. First, given his bi-cultural heritage, Swimmer could navigate back and forth between the mainstream White culture and the traditional Cherokee culture, to pick and choose various types of leadership characteristics. Second, adaptability has always been a unique characteristic of the Cherokee people. Cherokee leaders frequently applied the feature of borrowing from White culture in order to adapt and survive. Swimmer accomplished many of his goals for the Cherokee people and set the Nation on a path of growth and stability. His methods were not without criticism from traditional Cherokees. However, Swimmer built the foundation for a corporate government that instilled pride in the Cherokee people and provided opportunity for self-sufficiency. / text

Not available / text

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1641-5388 / Pricing options quickly and accurately is a well known problem in finance. Quantum computing is being researched with the hope that quantum computers will be able to price options more efficiently than classical computers. This research extends the quantum binomial option pricing model proposed by Zeqian Chen to European put options and to Barrier options and develops a quantum algorithm to price them. This research produced three key results. First, when Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics are assumed, the quantum binomial model option prices are equivalent to the classical binomial model. Second, options can be priced efficiently on a quantum computer after the circuit has been built. The time complexity is O((N − τ)log(N − τ)) and it is in the BQP quantum computational complexity class. Finally, challenges extending the quantum binomial model to American, Asian and Bermudan options exist as the quantum binomial model does not take early exercise into account. / May 2009

Not available / text