http://hdl.handle.net/2440/14760 2020-02-27T12:00:35Z 2020-02-27T12:00:35Z Magnusson, Meagan http://hdl.handle.net/2440/123467 2020-02-25T06:09:03Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: State Power and Environmental NGOs in South Australia: Moving Towards a Sustainable Society? Author: Magnusson, Meagan Abstract: Environmental Non-government Organisations (ENGOs) have come to play an important and increasingly institutionalised role in environmental governance in Australia. Yet, as their relationships with government evolve and they become detached from their original grassroots forms, their new incarnations need to be examined to ensure they contribute to environmental governance in ways that enhance democracy. Improved environmental governance may be dependent on understanding these relationships, how they operate and the ways that they may change the activities and behaviour of ENGOs. This is particularly true if the inclusion of ENGOs in environmental governance is based on the premise that they are independent and able to articulate public sentiment about how the environment should be managed. A theoretical synthesis of Foucault and Gramsci informs the research questions which focus on whether ENGOs are inhibited by being embedded in government and how ENGOs work within these structures whilst maintaining independence. To answer these questions, the research used thematic analysis of interviews with ENGO professionals and government representatives. Results show how the South Australian (SA) government uses a variety of techniques to govern the activities of ENGOs. It also shows that ENGO professionals predominantly seek strong sustainable development that challenges the primacy of economic growth over environmental concerns. However, it is difficult for them to voice political-economic critiques of the weak sustainability that is hegemonic in environmental governance in Australia in their current relationships with government. Finally, the thesis shows the vulnerability of ENGO professionals to perpetuating the weak sustainability discourse because of a willingness to subvert critical discourses to the hegemony. The study suggests pursuit of projects that create horizontal links across civil society and focus on establishing connection to nature in the community to produce a new common sense that challenges the weak sustainability discourse.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Lanfranchi, Franco http://hdl.handle.net/2440/123466 2020-02-25T05:39:52Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: An analysis of the interaction between professed values and humanitarian behaviour Author: Lanfranchi, Franco Abstract: Giving behaviour in its various forms has been widely investigated, mostly from the point of view of finding what motivates certain people to donate to certain organisations. However, in Australia, there have been few studies that have examined how the underlying personal values of an individual affect charitable behaviour. The overarching aim of this thesis was to explore this relationship, which required also achieving the preliminary aim of identifying, selecting and testing the applicability in the Australian environment of a strong theoretical framework for the classification and measurement of personal values. This thesis commences with a review of the two most prominent of these frameworks and a justification of the choice for the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values, which is well established worldwide but has not been as widely applied in Australia as in other countries, especially in Europe. To provide a context for the empirical work, the effectiveness of this framework in the Australian environment is investigated. The thesis then summarises the findings of two studies that analysed the data obtained by means of questionnaires that included instruments developed by Schwartz for the measurement of personal value preferences. These studies were aimed at investigating: a) how a progressive or conservative tendency, a philanthropic or charitable attitude, and religious belief affect the propensity to donate; b) whether donating to animal welfare causes is an expression of the same values that drive humanitarian donations. The first survey aimed at obtaining a sample (N = 1865) that could approximate a representative random sample of the Australian population or at least of the population of the State of South Australia. The method chosen was address based sampling and over 30,000 questionnaires were posted to randomly selected address clusters throughout the State. Within identified and addressed limitations, some generalisation of findings was possible. Findings indicated that progressive or conservative orientation has no significant effect, whereas the mode of contribution and religious belief were found to be significantly related to the choice of recipients selected for the donations. Personal values were found to be weaker predictors of charitable behaviour than self-reported income, education and religiosity. The second survey was an online survey conducted by means of a subscription software for collecting and analysing data. The analysis of the convenience sample of 780 South Australian residents obtained in this way confirmed and refined the findings of the first study and provided previously unavailable empirical evidence that the concern for animal welfare, the only non-humanitarian charitable purpose allowed by Australian law, is not compatible with the values expressed by donations to humanitarian causes. As a subsidiary finding it also provided evidence that, contrarily to previous literature, in Australia religiousness is significantly correlated with conservatism. Besides providing new information contributing to the understanding of specific aspects of the relationship between personal values and behaviour and indicating areas of interest for further studies, particularly as regards gender differences and the evolution of the attitude towards animal welfare, this thesis presents an opportunity to advance the discussion of the morality of the legislation that defines charitable purposes in Australia by assessing the degree of its alignment to the universal personal values expected to drive charitable behaviour.

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z Lo, Kenneth http://hdl.handle.net/2440/123465 2020-02-25T04:58:19Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Effectiveness, Economic Cost and Adoption of Robotic Rehabilitation for Mobility and Functional Ability in Adult Stroke Patients Author: Lo, Kenneth Abstract: Robotic rehabilitation devices have been developed to assist therapists to rehabilitate stroke patients based on intensive, high repetitions of task specific exercises to train the impaired limbs of patients. In contrast, conventional therapy is labour intensive and places physical strain on therapists when sustaining intense exercises. Hence it is hoped that with robotic assistive devices, better rehabilitation progress can be achieved for patients, together with alleviation of time and physical demands on therapists. However, there are still uncertainties regarding the use of robotic devices. Studies on the clinical effectiveness of robotic devices have presented a mixed picture. Robotic devices are high capital cost items and its economic cost effectiveness is unclear. The adoption of robotic devices into clinical settings is also an area lacking clarity, as these devices do not work alone but are part of a wider spectrum of clinical care that involves clinicians, patients, hospital administrators and device manufacturers. Inadequate, or incomplete interconnection across these domains of clinical care could affect adoption into clinical settings. Given these uncertainties, the aim of this thesis was to examine and investigate the clinical effectiveness, economic cost, and clinical adoption of robotic rehabilitation. The specific research questions were: Can robotic devices help adult stroke patients to regain motor movement of their upper and lower limbs? Can robotic devices rehabilitate adult stroke patients cost economically? What are the clinical views and experiences of utilizing robotic rehabilitation? What are the factors to consider when introducing robotic devices into the clinical care environment? How can findings from the effectiveness, economic cost and adoption studies be aggregated to create a conceptual framework of providing robotic rehabilitation? To determine the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of robotic rehabilitation, two systematic reviews were conducted according to the JBI review methodology. To seek insights regarding its clinical adoption, qualitative descriptive interviews were conducted with therapists to understand their experiences working with robotic devices. The findings of our research show that robotic rehabilitation is not only clinically effective but also economically cost effective, and especially for severely impaired lower limb patients robotic therapy provides better outcomes. The adoption study, which bridges the gap between the effectiveness and economic evidence from systematic reviews and translation into clinical practice, has uncovered a multitude of factors that need to be taken into consideration when introducing robotic rehabilitation into practice. These factors involve not just simply user training for these devices, but also aspects such as workflow processes, interfacing systems, communication strategies to influence adoption, perceived benefits, and attitudes and motivations of users. From the understandings gained from these various streams of research, a conceptual framework on implementing robotic rehabilitation was developed in order to facilitate translation of the research evidence into practice. This thesis contributes new evidence on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and clinical integration to the global knowledge base about the use of robotic rehabilitation, and ultimately will lead to stroke patients benefiting from robotic rehabilitation and gaining better health outcomes.

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z Amalraj, Amritha http://hdl.handle.net/2440/123464 2020-02-25T04:25:27Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Molecular Genetics and Genomics Approaches to Improve Phytophthora Root Rot Resistance in Chickpea Author: Amalraj, Amritha Abstract: Phytophthora root rot (PRR) caused by the oomycete Phytophthora medicaginis is a major soil-borne disease of chickpea in Australia. No economic in-crop control is available and breeding for PRR resistance is considered a sustainable management option. Moderate field resistance was identified in Cicer arietinum and incorporated into the cultivated variety Yorker. Also, a higher level of resistance identified from a wild relative of chickpea (C. echinospermum) was incorporated into a cultivated background. These genotypes were used to develop intra-specific and interspecific recombinantinbred line (RIL) populations, respectively, to facilitate genetic studies. The genetic basis of PRR resistance in chickpea is unknown. The aim of this thesis is to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) linked to PRR resistance in chickpea and determine underlying molecular mechanisms. RIL populations were genotyped using Genotype-by- Sequencing and phenotyped for PRR in three field environments inoculated with P. medicaginis. Multi-environment genetic analysis identified major QTL on chromosomes 3, 4 and 6 with resistance derived from wild Cicer. Two QTL were identified on chromosomes 5 and 6 with resistance derived from C. arietinum. Aligning these QTL to the chickpea reference genome indicated that C. arietinum and C. echinospermum sources of PRR resistance are different. A PRR phenotyping method was developed in hydroponics using P. medicaginis zoospores as inoculum. Efficiency of the system was validated both qualitatively by observations of PRR symptom development, and quantitatively by measuring the amounts of pathogen DNA in roots. Large-scale screening with two RIL populations was performed. QTL were identified that associated with two measures of PRR resistance, canker length and Kaplan-Meier estimates of plant survival. PRR resistance traits from field and hydroponics experiments were combined in model-based correlation analysis, showing strong genetic correlations between them. A QTL region identified in hydroponics on chromosome 4 corresponds to the same region identified for PRR resistance in field screening. These analyses substantiated the hydroponics PRR phenotyping method as a suitable alternative to screening in field conditions. RNA-sequencing study identified changes in gene expression linked to PRR infection responses in roots of resistant chickpea genotypes derived from C. arietinum and C. echinospermum sources, and in a PRR-susceptible variety. Redox processes were regulated, signifying successful pathogen recognition in all genotypes. Differences in signalling events between Yorker and wild Cicer derivative indicated a difference in their resistance response to P. medicaginis. Several differentially expressed genes mapped to PRR resistance QTL identified from genetic studies. The gene Ca_24447, encoding aquaporin SIP1-2, is located within the QTL region on chromosome 6 and was upregulated in both PRR-resistant genotypes compared to the susceptible variety following PRR infection. The QTL identified in this thesis will enable the implementation of markerassisted selection in breeding for PRR resistance. The hydroponics PRR phenotyping method could be scaled up for screening of PRR resistance in a breeding program, and to provide plant tissue suitable for molecular studies to further knowledge of the hostpathogen interaction. The RNA-sequencing study provides a basis for future research to decipher the genetic factors underlying PRR resistance in wild Cicer and cultivated sources.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z