AUSTRALIA’S STRATEGIC CULTURE: An investigation of the concept of strategic culture and its application to the Australian case

The notion that each state in the international system approaches matters of war and peace somewhat differently because they each possess a unique strategic culture is not a new or obscure one – but it nevertheless remains controversial. While some scholars dismiss the utility or practicality of examining states’ cultures when seeking to explain or predict those states’ patterns of strategic decision-making, even amongst those who accept that we should pay attention to cultural differences between states when carrying out strategic analysis there remains a frustratingly eclectic range of offerings from scholars regarding how best to do so. In short, significant uncertainty remains regarding both whether strategic culture should be used as an analytical tool and, if it is so utilized, how one should go about doing so. This thesis therefore explores the concept of strategic culture in great detail, both theoretical and empirical. The opening three chapters examine why the more traditional rationalist/materialistic theories should not exclusively dominate strategic analysis, then the various existing strategic cultural offerings are considered and critiqued and, finally, a new conceptual model for strategic cultural analysis is proposed which draws from the hitherto largely neglected psychological and sociological literature. Both of these fields, it is submitted in Chapter 3, have spent more time and effort developing ways of understanding and analyzing culture than the field of IR has to date, and therefore the models and methods debated and developed in these fields should, it is argued, be ‘imported’ into IR to drive further strategic cultural research. The thesis then moves in the following six chapters to consider Australia’s strategic culture. The purpose of this part of the thesis is two-fold: first, it illustrates how the model offered in Chapter 3 works and, by implication, suggests how scholars may go about applying it to other cases. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the latter six chapters explore the twists and turns of Australia’s substantive strategic decision-making over the course of the last century or more, thereby explaining how Australia’s strategic history can be understood from a cultural perspective.

Characterisation of a beta-tubulin gene from the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica.

This study represents the first ß-tubulin sequence from a trematode parasite, namely, the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica. PCR of genomic DNA showed that at least one ß-tubulin gene from F. hepatica contains no introns. A number of amino acids in the primary sequence of fluke tubulin are different from those described previously in various nematode species and the cestode, Echinococcus multilocularis. ß-Tubulin is an important target for benzimidazole anthelmintics, although (with the exception of triclabendazole) they show limited activity against F. hepatica. The amino acid differences in fluke ß-tubulin are discussed in relation to the selective toxicity of benzimidazoles against helminths and the mechanism of drug resistance.

Triclabendazole-resistant Fasciola hepatica: β-tubulin and response to in vitro treatment with triclabendazole

Resistance in Fasciola hepatica to triclabendazole (Fasinex) has emerged in several countries. Benzimidazole resistance in parasitic nematodes has been linked to a single amino acid substitution (phenylalanine to tyrosine) at position 200 on the [beta]-tubulin molecule. Sequencing of [beta]-tubulin cDNAs from triclabendazole-susceptible and triclabendazole-resistant flukes revealed no amino acid differences between their respective primary amino acid sequences. In order to investigate the mechanism of triclabendazole resistance, triclabendazole-susceptible and triclabendazole-resistant flukes were incubated in vitro with triclabendazole sulphoxide (50 [mu]g/ml). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed extensive damage to the tegument of triclabendazole-susceptible F. hepatica, whereas triclabendazole-resistant flukes showed only localized and relatively minor disruption of the tegument covering the spines. Immunocytochemical studies, using an anti-tubulin antibody, showed that tubulin organization was disrupted in the tegument of triclabendazole-susceptible flukes. No such disruption was evident in triclabendazole-resistant F. hepatica. The significance of these findings is discussed with regard to the mechanism of triclabendazole resistance in F. hepatica.

The occurrence and significance of triploidy in the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica.

Karyotyping of Fasciola hepatica samples from Britain and Ireland has identified a triploid isolate which is effectively aspermic, rendering it necessarily asexually reproducing. Considering the extensive presence of asexually reproducing diploid and triploid Fasciola in Asia it is suggested that facultative gynogenesis is widespread in this parasite. This has important implications for the population genetics and evolution of Fasciola, especially in relation to the development and spread of drug resistance, and must be considered in the mathematical modelling of this process.

Dramatic structure in the photodetachment of inner shells of negative ions: Li-

Deep inner-shell photodetachment of negative ions is shown to differ qualitatively and quantitatively from the corresponding process in neutral atoms and positive ions. As an example, calculations of the photodetachment of Li- out of the 1s shell, using an augmented R-matrix methodology, are presented and show numerous structures over a broad energy region including a new phenomenon: Auger decay of a shape resonance. Li- was selected because it is the simplest multishell negative ion and is amenable to experimental scrutiny.