A genetic investigation on translocation of Australian commercial freshwater crayfish, cherax destructor

The Australian freshwater crayfish, Cherax destructor is cultured commercially and has been translocated throughout much of Australia. Previous investigation on C. destructor using 16S rRNA sequences of samples collected from natural environments has revealed a significant phylogeographic structure in this species with three well supported geographically non-overlapping clades, namely ‘northern’ C. d. destructor, ‘southern’ C. d. destructor and C. d. albidus. Movement of individuals beyond their natural range of distribution may have adverse effects on genetic integrity of the species. In the present study, aspects of translocations of the species were genetically investigated. Sequences of the 16S rRNA gene region of themitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were obtained fromsamples collected in nine quasi-natural waterbodies, supplemented with sequences of samples obtained from 31 natural waterbodies examined in a previous study. Results of phylogeographic analysis provide evidence that certain haplotypes from major clades of C. destructor have been translocated. The findings of this study have important implications for the conservation and management of genetic diversity within C. destructor.

Androgen metabolism in the Australian lizard Tiliqua rugosa

Nonmammalian vertebrates possess some unusual features in their hormonal systems/ when compared to mammals. As a consequence, they can make an important contribution in investigations concerning the fundamental mechanisms operating in endocrinology. Such studies concerning androgens include inter alia their effects on developmental aspects in the brain of birds and related singing behaviour; the role of neural enzymes in reproductive processes in fish; and the relation between androgens and the stages of spermatogenesis in amphibia, The present thesis examines the biochemistry of androgens in the Australian lizard Tiliqua rugosa. The major compounds studied were testosterone and epitestosterone, which are known to be present in high concentrations in the plasma of the male animal. Previous investigations are expanded, particularly in the areas of steroid identification and testicular biosynthesis. In addition, preliminary studies on the metabolism in the brain (and other tissues) and plasma protein binding are reported. The presence of epitestosterone as a major free androgen in the plasma of the male lizard was confirmed. Other steroids were found in the sulphate fraction. Testosterone sulphate was the most rigorously identified compound, while some evidence was also found for the presence of conjugated 5-androstene-3β,17-diols, etiocholanolone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA). Epitestosterone does not appear to be extensively conjugated in this animal. Steroids were not found to be conjugated as glucuronides. The identification studies employed a novel method of electrochemical detection of steroids. This technique was investigated and extended in the current thesis. Biosynthetic studies were carried out on androgen interconversions in the testis, in vitro. The major enzyme activities detected were 17α-arid 17β-oxidoreductases (17α-OR and l7β-OR) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD)/isonerase. No evidence was found for the presence of a steroid-17-epimerase that would directly interconvert testosterone and epitestosterone. The 17-oxidoreductases were found to be dependent on the cofactor NBDFH. Testosterone appears to be formed mainly via the 4-ene pathway, whereas epitestosterone is formed from both the 4- and 5-ene routes. The compound 5-androstene-3β, 17α-diol was found to be an intermediate in the synthesis of epitestosterone from DHA. Temperature was found to significantly affect 17α-OR activity (maximum at 32°C). In contrast,17β-OR activity was independent of this factor in the testis. Androgen metabolism in the testis was found to be regulated by cofactors, temperature and season. The major enzyme activities found in the male brain were 17α- and 17β-OR. 3βHSD/isomerase was not found; however a low activity of 5α-reductase was identified. Aromatase activity was not positively identified, but preliminary results suggest that it may be present at low levels. The 17-oxidoreductases were widespread throughout the brain. The 17α-OR was significantly lower in the forebrain than other brain sections. The 170-OR activity did not vary significantly throughout the organ, although there was a trend for its activity to be higher in the midbrain region (containing the hypothalamus in these sections). The concentration of endogenous steroids in brain tissue was estimated by radioimmunoassay. Epitestosterone was found throughout the organ structure, whereas testosterone was found mainly in the midbrain (containing hypothalamic regions in these sections). Correlations between enzyme activities and steroid concentrations in brain regions suggested that the main function of 17α-OR is to produce epitestosterone, whereas the 17β-OR may catalyse a more reversible reaction in vivo. Temperature was found to significantly affect both 17α- and 17β-OR activities in the brain. In contrast to the testis, the maximum activity of the brain enzymes occurred at 37°C. The level of 17α-OR activity in the male lizard (100 nmol/g tissue/h) is the highest reported for this enzyme in vertebrates. Both activities were found to be quantitatively similar in the whole brain homogenates of male and female animals, and did not vary seasonally when examined in the male. The 17-oxidoreductases were also found in most other tissues in T.rugosa, including epididymis, adrenal, kidney and liver (but not blood). This suggests that the high activities of both 17α-OR and 17β-OR are dominant features of the steroid system in this animal. The formation of 11-oxygenated compounds was found in the adrenal, in addition to the formation of polar metabolites in the kidney and liver (possibly polyhydroxylated and conjugated steroids). A preliminary investigation into the plasma binding of androgens was carried out. The insults suggest that there are several binding sites for testosterone; one with high affinity and low capacity; the other with low affinity and high capacity. Binding experiments were carried out at 32°C. At this temperature, specific binding was greater than at 25 or 37°C. From the results of competition studies it was suggested that epitestosterone (with a K(i)= 3 X 10 (-6)M for testosterone binding) regulates the binding of testosterone (K(i)=10(-7)M) and hence the concentrations of the latter steroid as a free compound in plasma. In general, the study has shown that the biochemistry of androgens in the reptile T.rugosa is largely similar to that found in other vertebrates. The major difference is a greatly increased activity of 17α-OR, which causes a higher concentration of 17α-compounds to be present in the tissues of this lizard. The physiological roles for epitestosterone are not yet clear. However it appears from this study that this steroid regulates testosterone concentrations in several tissues by either steroidogenic or binding mechanisms. Several major influences on this regulation include temperature, availability of cofactors and seasonal effects.

Australia and East Timor : elitism, pragmatism and the national interest

For over two decades the issue of East Timor's right to self-determination has been a ‘prickly’ issue in Australian foreign policy. The invasion by Indonesian forces in 1975 was expected, as Australian policy-makers had been well informed of the events leading up to the punitive action being taken. Indeed, prior discussions involving the future of the territory were held between the Australian Prime Minister and the Indonesian President in 1974. In response to the events unfolding in the territory the Australian Labor Government at the time was presented with two policy options for dealing with the issue. The Department of Defence recommended the recognition of an independent East Timor; whereas the Department of Foreign Affairs proposed that Australia disengage itself as far as possible from the issue. The decision had ramifications for future policy considerations especially with changes in government. With the Department of Foreign Affairs option being the prevailing policy what were the essential ingredients that give explanation for the government's choice? It is important to note the existence of the continuity and cyclical nature of attitudes by Labor governments toward Indonesia before and after the invasion. To do so requires an analysis of the influence ‘Doc’ Evatt had in shaping any possible Labor tradition in foreign policy articulation. The support given by Evatt for the decolonisation of the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) gave rise to the development of a special relationship-so defined. Evidence of the effect Evatt had on future Labor governments may be found in the opinions of Gough Whitlam. In 1975 when he was Prime Minister, Whitlam felt the East Timor issue was merely the finalisation of Indonesia's decolonisation honouring Evatt's long held anti-colonialist tradition existing in the Australian Labor Party. The early predisposition toward Indonesia's cohesiveness surfaced again in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments of later years. It did not vary a great deal with changes in government The on-going commitment to preserving and strengthening the bilateral relationship meant Indonesia's territorial integrity became the focus of the Australian political elites’ regional foreign policy determinations. The actions taken by policy-makers served to promote the desire for a stable region ahead of independence claims of the East Timorese. From a realist perspective, the security dilemma for Australian policy-makers was how to best promote regional order and stability in the South East Asian region. The desire for regional cohesiveness and stability continues to drive Australian political elites to promote policies that gives a priority to the territorial integrity of regional states. Indonesia, in spite of its diversity, was only ever thought of as a cohesive unitary state and changes to its construct have rarely been countenanced. Australia's political elite justifications for this stance vacillate between strategic and economic considerations, ideological (anti-colonialism) to one of being a pragmatic response to international politics. The political elite argues the projection of power into the region is in Australia’s national interest. The policies from one government to the next necessarily see the national interest as being an apparent fixed feature of foreign policy. The persistent fear of invasion from the north traditionally motivated Australia's political elite to adopt a strategic realist policy that sought to ‘shore up’ the stability, strength and unity of Indonesia. The national interest was deemed to be at risk if support for East Timorese independence was given. The national interest though can involve more than just the security issue, and the political elite when dealing with East Timor assumed that they were acting in the common good. Questions that need to be addressed include determining what is the national interest in this context? What is the effect of a government invoking the national interest in debates over issues in foreign policy? And, who should participate in the debate? In an effort to answer these questions an analysis of how the ex-foreign affairs mandarin Richard Woolcott defines the national interest becomes crucial. Clearly, conflict in East Timor did have implications for the national interest. The invasion of East Timor by Indonesia had the potential to damage the relationship, but equally communist successes in 1975 in Indo-China raised Australia's regional security concerns. During the Cold War, the linking of communism to nationalism was driving the decision-making processes of the Australian policy-makers striving to come to grips with the strategic realities of a changing region. Because of this, did the constraints of world politics dominated by Cold War realities combined with domestic political disruption have anything to do with Australia's response? Certainly, Australia itself was experiencing a constitutional crisis in late 1975. The Senate had blocked supply and the Labor Government did not have the funds to govern. The Governor-General by dismissing the Labor Government finally resolved the impasse. What were the reactions of the two men charged with the responsibility of forming the caretaker government toward Indonesia's military action? And, could the crisis have prevented the Australian government from making a different response to the invasion? Importantly, and in terms of economic security, did the knowledge of oil and gas deposits thought to exist in the Timor Sea influence Australia's foreign policy? The search for oil and gas requires a stable political environment in which to operate. Therefore for exploration to continue in the Timor Sea Australia must have had a preferred political option and thoughts of with whom they preferred to negotiate. What was the extent of each government's cooperation and intervention in the oil and gas industry and could any involvement have influenced the Australian political elites’ attitude toward the prospect of an independent East Timor? Australia's subsequent de jure recognition that East Timor was part of Indonesia paved the way for the Timor Gap (Zone of Cooperation) Treaty signing in 1989. The signing underpinned Australia's acceptance of Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. The outcome of the analysis of the issues that shaped Australia's foreign policy toward East Timor showed that the political elite became locked into an integration model, which was defended by successive governments. Moreover, they formed an almost reflexive defence of Indonesia both at the domestic and international level.

Learning to be drier : a case study of adult and community learning in the Australian Riverland

This article explores the adult and community learning associated with 'learning to be drier' in the Riverland region of South Australia. Communities in the Riverland are currently adjusting and making changes to their understandings and practices as part of learning to live with less water. The analysis of adult and community learning derived from this research identifies six different forms of learning. These are, learning to produce, learning to be efficient, learning to survive, learning to live with uncertainty, learning to be sustainable and learning to share. These forms of learning do not occur in isolation and separately from each other but to the contrary are occuring simultaneously with and alongside each other. Further, it is argued that the people and communities in the Riverland, through learning to live with the effects of climate change and less water, are at the forfront of learning to be drier.

Procedural justice and Australian environment : the case of the Wonthaggi water desalination plant

Drier conditions in Australia have compelled governments to implement various projects to address current or impending water shortages. Such projects have not always been popular with the local community who are directly affected by this infrastructure, with 'procedural justice' emerging as a critical issue. This paper analyses issues of public perceptions of 'procedural justice' in implementing environmental projects in regional areas, in the context of the recently approved desalination plant in the regional Victorian town of Wonthaggi. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data from a survey of 316 Wonthaggi residents, we show that one of the major predictors of residents' resistance toward accepting the building of the desalination plant was explained by perceptions of procedural injustice. We further argue that inadequate attention to the particular political history of the region has compounded the sense that the plant implementation has been unfair. Attention to such political histories is vital to avoiding conflict with local stakeholders and to the successful and ethical implementation of development projects in regional areas.

Rethinking the region

This thesis explores the shift in focus of Australian regional defence and foreign policy away from Malaysia and towards Indonesia between 1965 and 1971. It finds that this shift was caused more by the consequences of Britain's military withdrawal from Malaysia and Singapore than by Suharto's accession to power.

Interannual variation in pup production and the timing of breeding in benthic foraging Australian fur seals

¯Large interannual variations in reproductive success caused by fluctuations in oceanography and prey availability are common to many species of air breathing epipelagic predators. In contrast, little is known about variation in benthic foragers such as Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus). Between 1997 and 2007, pup production was assessed in 9 yr, while the timing of breeding and adult female condition was assessed in 5 yr at Kanowna Island in Bass Strait, southeastern Australia. Pup production was variable ( ¯x = 1,726 ± 42, range = 1,386–2,301), but without temporal trend, as was median birth date ( ¯x = 23 November±1, range = 21–25 November) and pupping synchrony (period of 90% births: ¯x = 28 ± 2 d, range = 23–31 d). Pup production was negatively correlated with median birth date and positively correlatedwith female condition,winter sea-surface temperature (SST) and zonal wind strength within Bass Strait. Pup production was also negatively correlated with SST in the previous summer within Bass Strait and in the eastern Great Australian Bight upwelling region. The results suggest that the reproductive success of Australian fur seals is influenced by oceanography but less so than in otariids foraging epipelagically in major upwellings. Despite spanning several El Niño events, no correlation between pup production and the Southern Oscillation Index was observed.

Generational change : regional security and Australian engagement with Asia

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has recently announced plans to develop greater regional integration and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Historically, Australian opinion, however, has expressed some anxiety about forging closer economic, political and security ties with Asia. Using trend data from the Australian Election Study and the Lowy Institute Poll, this article examines changes in Australian public opinion on closer engagement with Asia and whether the Australian public is likely to support the Rudd government’s push towards developing deeper regional diplomacy. The article finds a shift in opinion since the 1990s with a younger generation of voters who are moderately supportive of Australia’s engagement with Asia.

The process evaluation of it's your move!, an Australian adolescent community-based obesity prevention project

Background
Evidence on interventions for preventing unhealthy weight gain in adolescents is urgently needed. The aim of this paper is to describe the process evaluation for a three-year (2005-2008) project conducted in five secondary schools in the East Geelong/Bellarine region of Victoria, Australia. The project, 'It's Your Move!' aimed to reduce unhealthy weight gain by promoting healthy eating patterns, regular physical activity, healthy body weight, and body size perception amongst youth; and improve the capacity of families, schools, and community organisations to sustain the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity in the region.

Methods
The project was supported by Deakin University (training and evaluation), a Reference Committee (strategic direction, budgetary approval and monitoring) and a Project Management Committee (project delivery). A workshop of students, teachers and other stakeholders formulated a 10-point action plan, which was then translated into strategies and initiatives specific to each school by the School Project Officers (staff members released from teaching duties one day per week) and trained Student Ambassadors. Baseline surveys informed intervention development. Process data were collected on all intervention activities and these were collated and enumerated, where possible, into a set of mutually exclusive tables to demonstrate the types of strategies and the dose, frequency and reach of intervention activities.

Results
The action plan included three guiding objectives, four on nutrition, two on physical activity and one on body image. The process evaluation data showed that a mix of intervention strategies were implemented, including social marketing, one-off events, lunch time and curriculum programs, improvements in infrastructure, and healthy school food policies. The majority of the interventions were implemented in schools and focused on capacity building and healthy eating strategies as physical activity practices were seen by the teachers as already meeting students' needs.

Conclusions
While substantial health-promoting activities were conducted (especially related to healthy eating), there remain further opportunities for secondary schools to use a whole-of-school approach through the school curriculum, environment, policies and ethos to improve healthy eating, physical activity and healthy body perceptions in youth. To achieve this, significant, sustained leadership will be required within the education sector generally and within schools specifically.

Genetic status of an endemic marine mammal, the Australian fur seal, following historical harvesting

Genetic variation, and the way in which it is partitioned among populations, has implications for a species’ survival and evolutionary potential. Such information is particularly important for the successful conservation and management of species that have experienced past human impacts and potential losses of genetic diversity. Overharvesting of the Australian fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus in the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in severe population reductions and elimination of an estimated 17 of 26 colonies. Currently, the subspecies is recovering and c. 20 000 pups are produced annually at 13 colony sites, most of which are situated in Bass Strait in south-eastern Australia. Genetic analysis of samples collected from pups captured at nine colonies revealed no difference in allelic diversity or heterozygosity at five microsatellite loci and no differences in haplotype diversity within a 344 bp region of the mitochondrial DNA control region. There was some evidence for isolation by distance but the program STRUCTURE predicted a single cluster of individuals. Gene flow among colonies appears to be substantial at present, indicating that the Australian fur seal is currently a single, panmictic unit.

The Australian and New Zealand dialysis workforce study in the international context

Background: Given increasing demand for renal replacement therapy, this study sought to identify of key workforce issues facing dialysis units, based on a “snapshot” of the current workforce.

Methods: A web-based survey of all dialysis unit managers in Australia and New Zealand, in October 2008, about their workforce.

Results: A significant minority of dialysis staff in most regions were not registered nurses. Many renal registered nurses worked part time. Staff/patient ratios in dialysis units varied significantly by region, reflecting the relative prevalence of home therapies. Most dialysis units were generally adequately staffed. The proportion of registered nurses with specific renal qualifications varied significantly by region.

Conclusion: The changing character of the workforce in the dialysis unit in the future will require clarification of the relationships between different categories of dialysis staff. Specialty education for nurses needs to be oriented to equipping staff to be effective in their changing work environment.

From despotism to democracy : reporting Iraq's January 2005 election in the Australian and Middle Eastern print media

It is only in recent times that the magnitude of Ancient Mesopotamia’s contribution to language, agriculture, modern thought and urbane society has begun to be understood. Most relevant to this study is the governance of Mesopotamia’s early city-states by a political system that Jacobsen has termed ‘Primitive Democracy’ where “…ultimate political power rested with a general assembly of all adult freemen” (Jacobsen, 1977; 128). Yet, despite this, the coverage of Iraq in the Western media since its creation at the end of the First World War and particularly since the first Gulf War, has tended towards Orientalism (Said, 1978) by trivialising this nation and thereby reinforcing the hegemony of the West over the ‘backward, barbaric’ East.

This paper examines this issue further by comparing and contrasting the representations of the Iraqi election of January 30, 2005 in four of Australia’s leading daily newspapers (The Australian, The Courier-Mail, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald) with four Middle Eastern English language papers (The Daily Star from Lebanon, Andolu Agency and Dunya both based in Turkey, and the eponymous Kuwait Times). In essence, it finds that while the Australian media posits democracy as a Western concept and asserts a discourse of US hegemony, the Middle Eastern papers are more contemplative, focusing on the impact that this election could have throughout the region.

Iraq's December 2005 election : reporting democratisation in the Australian and Middle Eastern print media

Throughout the coverage of Iraq since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s and especially since September 11, the Western mainstream Media have eschewed key historical and contextual data about Iraq, thereby serving to reduce and homogenize the complexity of the issues surrounding the region and the conflicts therein. In so doing, the media has tended towards Orientalism (Said, 1978) by trivialising Iraq and its people and thereby reinforcing the hegemony of the West over the ‘backward, barbaric’ East. Building on earlier research (Isakhan, 2005a), this paper further examines the reductive and homogenising reporting of Iraq in the Western media by using both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods to compare and contrast the discursive practices used to construct the Iraqi election of December 15, 2005 in Australia’s leading daily newspapers with newspapers from the Middle East. In essence, it finds that while the Australian media propagates Orientalism through its one-eyed coverage, the Middle Eastern papers are more contemplative, focusing on the impact that this election could have throughout the region.

Media discourse and Iraq's democratisation : reporting the 2005 constitution in the Australian and Middle Eastern print media

This paper analyses in detail the coverage of two milestones in Iraq's shift towards democracy: the drafting and approval of the constitution by Iraq s interim government (August 2005) and the ratification of this constitution via the Iraqi polls (October 2005). Aside from some rudimentary quantitative analysis, a critical discourse analysis method is utilised to compare and contrast the discursive practices used in three of Australia s leading daily newspapers (The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) with three Middle Eastern English-language papers (The Daily Star, Anadolu Agency and the Jordan Times). The paper finds that the Australian print media continues the neo-Orientalist tradition of media coverage of Middle Eastern democracy, while the Middle Eastern press eschews these discourses in favour of a more open, varied debate on Iraq s constitution and the future of democracy across the region.

Australian waterbirds : time and space travellers in dynamic desert landscapes

Australia’s waterbirds are mostly nomadic, capitalising on highly variable aquatic resources in the arid interior (70% of the continent) for feeding and breeding. Waterbirds, unlike most aquatic organisms, can move between catchments, exploiting habitat wherever it occurs. In Australia, patterns of resource availability for waterbirds are mostly pulsed with peaks of productivity, coinciding with flooding and differing in time and space, affecting individuals, species and functional groups of waterbirds. Australian waterbirds are no different from waterbirds elsewhere, with their behaviour reflecting broad-scale resource availability. They respond to changing patterns of resource distribution, with rapid movements at spatial and temporal scales commensurate with the dynamics of the resource. The most serious conservation threat to waterbirds is a bottleneck in resource availability, leading to population declines, increasingly forced by anthropogenic impacts. River regulation and other threats (e.g. draining) reduce the availability of wetland habitat and decrease the probability of viable resource patches. It is axiomatic that waterbirds need water and such population bottlenecks may occur when the availability of water across the continent is limited. The rehabilitation of regulated rivers with environmental flows and protection of naturally flowing rivers in the arid region are essential for long-term sustainability of Australia’s waterbird populations.