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Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School of Environment and Sc, Griffith Sciences, The objective of this research is to provide empirical evidence regarding the nature of the relationship between natural resource rents and economic welfare. Firstly, this relationship is examined in 144 countries from 1996 to 2016; then the relationship is analysed for different groupings of these countries, based on their level of natural resource revenue as a share of total fiscal revenue and in terms of per capita income. Employing fixed-effect regression for panel data, three major auxiliary variables are included in the analysis—institutional quality, foreign direct investment (FDI) and industry value added (IVA). Due to their potential significance for the relationship between natural resource rents and economic welfare, these are analysed as both independent and moderator variables. The study is then extended to focus on one resource-rich country (RRC): Indonesia. Not only is Indonesia endowed with abundant natural resources, but it has also been posited as an example of a country that has overcome the ‘resource curse’—the failure of many RRCs to benefit fully from their natural resource wealth (Hanif & Bria, 2016; Rosser, 2004, 2007). Conversely, some studies claim that the resource curse does exist in Indonesia (see Hanafi & Martawardaya, 2015; Putra & Widodo, 2013). The analysis presented in this thesis comprises a time series regression analysis and a qualitative analysis based on primary data from key informant interviews. The results from the broad sample of countries suggest that, although rents generated from natural resource sectors have contributed positively to economic welfare, as measured by adjusted net saving (ANS), these rents have a conditional link to economic welfare. A focus on RRCs further demonstrates this ambiguous relationship; several models demonstrate no significant association. Following segregation of the RRCs according to per capita income levels, it became evident that a negative association between rents and economic welfare a

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School of Environment and Sc, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, Current human activity is unsustainable in terms of planetary boundaries and citizens and governments in industrialised nations, such as Australia, may need to assume greater responsibility and shift towards more sustainable behaviours and lifestyles. There has been a plethora of research aimed at developing policies which foster more sustainable behaviours and consumption. However, the effectiveness of promoting specific behaviours has been questioned by some authors who argue that encouraging more comprehensive changes in people’s behaviour and time use in the form of sustainable lifestyles may provide a more effective approach to achieving ‘sustainability’ (Backhaus, Breukers, Mont, Paukovic, & Mourik, 2013; Defra, 2011; Shirani, Butler, Henwood, Parkhill, & Pidgeon, 2015; Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles, 2010). Under the assumption that lifestyle changes may be critical in effecting such a transformation, the aim of this research was to identify the key psychological and behavioural factors that characterise and influence different lifestyle choices in Australian societies. The primary research methodology has been based on an on-line survey. Key explanatory variables adopted were drawn from the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Norm Activation Model, New Ecological Paradigm scale and from the broader literature on sustainable living. The main dependent variable of focus was self-identified commitment to sustainable living (measured on a 4-point Likert scale). The sample consisted of 1,002 participants that were broadly representative of the adult Australian demographic in age, gender and living location. The main findings of this work relate to people’s beliefs about sustainable living, social identities, social norms, and feelings of moral obligation to live more sustainably. Firstly, the notion of a ‘sustainable lifestyle’ is not tied to a fixed definition and can be interpreted somewhat differently by different segments in society. This represents an opportu

he study was born from an interest into how language students are driven to read in a second language, do their reading preferences and habits in this second language follow those of reading in their mother tongue. The study paid attention to the issue of print versus electronic reading with these students. The study was conducted with students aged between eight and sixteen years of age at a Turkish private school. The empirical data was drawn from 182 completed questionnaires and four group interview sessions during 2019. Analysis of the results show that reading preferences and habits are transferred from mother tongue to 2nd language reading, especially the feeling of the importance of reading and the pleasure from reading. Further, the study concludes that the majority of these students prefer paper-based reading for pleasure as they consider it an escape from the digital connection that normally engulfs them. The study also concluded that English is often used online for research, in fact most students saw it as a lingua franca for academic research purposes, and students accept that digital reading is necessary in this context. The study found that the motivators to read that had the largest effect on both reading in Turkish and in English were the belief that reading is important to the students and the amount of enjoyment they felt by reading. Further, as expected, the motivation to read has a greater influence on frequency of reading in Turkish than English.

Sanitary Engineering

Sanitary Engineering

he study was born from an interest into how language students are driven to read in a second language, do their reading preferences and habits in this second language follow those of reading in their mother tongue. The study paid attention to the issue of print versus electronic reading with these students. The study was conducted with students aged between eight and sixteen years of age at a Turkish private school. The empirical data was drawn from 182 completed questionnaires and four group interview sessions during 2019. Analysis of the results show that reading preferences and habits are transferred from mother tongue to 2nd language reading, especially the feeling of the importance of reading and the pleasure from reading. Further, the study concludes that the majority of these students prefer paper-based reading for pleasure as they consider it an escape from the digital connection that normally engulfs them. The study also concluded that English is often used online for research, in fact most students saw it as a lingua franca for academic research purposes, and students accept that digital reading is necessary in this context. The study found that the motivators to read that had the largest effect on both reading in Turkish and in English were the belief that reading is important to the students and the amount of enjoyment they felt by reading. Further, as expected, the motivation to read has a greater influence on frequency of reading in Turkish than English.

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Griffith School of Environment, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, In recent years the concepts of environmental sustainability, and of potential \planetary boundaries" with regard to Earth's ability to both continue to supply the material needs of human societies, and sink the waste products of those societies, have come increasingly to the fore. The extraction, processing and use of primary materials (i.e. those extracted directly from the environment such as biomass in the form of crops and wood, fossil fuels, metal ores, and non-metallic minerals) drive important environmental and economic problems such as deforestation, depletion of mineral resources and creation of toxic mine wastes, decreasing biodiversity, water pollution, and the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, to name just a few. Crucially, as societies transition from basic agrarian societies to industrialized economies, they require much higher inputs of primary materials from the environment, and emit much more waste back into the environment. A large portion of the Earth's population is currently undergoing, or poised to undergo, this transition and so we are entering a period where the problems caused by the exploitation of primary materials should increase greatly. The ability to forecast the magnitude of this anticipated growth in material flows would be a valuable aid to planning to deal with these problems. Put simply, if you can't anticipate the likely size and timing of a problem, then it is very di cult to e ectively plan the size and timescale of the response required to mitigate the threat. To usefully inform potential policy making in this regard, the author judged that a relevant forecasting tool would need to be able to discriminate detail on primary material flows to at least the national level, and over multiple decades. The pursuit of such a tool provided the initial impetus for this project. One major existing theoretical framework, that of socio-metabolic transitions (SMT), appeared to have the potential to be developed into a practic

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School of Environment and Sc, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, Anthropogenic climate change poses a significant threat to the planet’s natural ecosystems on which human civilisation depends. Since industrialisation, society has relied on the burning of fossil fuels to supply human settlements with energy. To avoid severe climate change impacts requires: a transformation in the energy supply mix, together with a step-change in energy efficiency of technologies and change in energy consumption behaviours. Yet little is known about the tensions that these necessary changes may provoke. This research is motivated by the need to understand these tensions that arise from action to address sustainable development concerns. Urban consolidation is hypothesised as one form of action which has the potential to address sustainable development concerns through the influence of built environment on energy consumption. For instance, spread-out cities mean energy distribution networks have to cover longer distances (and hence consume more energy), while compacter cities based on high-rise buildings mean fewer opportunities to use solar photovoltaics for energy supply. Research efforts directed towards understanding such tensions place urban planning theory and practice at a crossroads with: a long-standing literature on energy consumption, emerging evidence on society’s transition to renewable energy, and thriving debates on the principles/norms upon which just societies are governed. The tensions which may arise among these domains of inquiry remain under-researched in the scientific literature. The purpose of this thesis is, through a series of related essays, to redress this gap and uncover the tensions between urban life, disadvantage, energy consumption, and the transition to renewable energy for Australian households. To undertake this investigation a number of different data sources are drawn on. This thesis takes advantage of two nation-wide surveys: the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, and the Househ

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Griffith School of Environment, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been surrounded by controversy regarding drug safety and to what extent it meets the health needs of menopausal women. HRT became the prevailing treatment in Western medicine for women with menopause-associated complaints, but a huge worldwide reduction in use began in July, 2002, following the release of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) reports warning of its risks. The implications of this large reduction on the health needs of menopausal women have not been fully appraised, particularly from the perspective of the women affected. This brings into question whether HRT use actually meets the health needs of menopausal women, and, indeed, what their health needs are. This study investigates the use of HRT by middle-aged women in Taiwan and their menopausal health needs in order to identify these and recommend comprehensive strategies to promote women’s health and well-being. A broad and in-depth exploration of Taiwanese menopausal women’s health needs has been carried out using both quantitative and qualitative methods. As well as examining the allocation and efficiency of health resources associated with menopausal health, it presents and analyses the perspectives of the principal stakeholders of HRT use: women, doctors, health policy decision-makers, women’s health activists and researchers. The study found that menopausal women in Taiwan have significant health needs. In each month of the study period (2000–2004 inclusive), over 60% of the middle-aged women insured with the National Health Insurance (NHI) Scheme utilised NHI-subsidised medical services. Moreover, these women frequently consulted doctors and medical specialists in different fields, indicating that they also had unmet health needs.

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Griffith School of Environment, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, Community and participatory engagement processes have received heightened attention on the political agenda with an increasing number of scholars and practitioners viewing them as a key component in robust, democratic decision-making. These participatory practices are, however, far from perfect. In order to refine and strengthen these imperfect practices it is first necessary to understand in detail how they work. This thesis uses a case study of the Gold Coast Waterfuture Strategy, a participatory engagement process held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia in 2004 and 2005 to focus on two elements that can strengthen or undermine participatory engagement processes. These two key elements are power and trust. This thesis argues, following a networked theory of power that a variety of different modalities of power are exercised during participatory engagement processes, with some of these power modalities contributing to strong trust relationships. Other modalities of power, however, undermine trust relationships. Understanding how these modalities of power undermine or strengthen trust is an important contribution to strengthening participatory engagement processes overall. In dissecting the Gold Coast Waterfuture Strategy Community Advisory Committee process in detail through the lens of specific modalities of power, several key outcomes came to light. First, when individual modalities of power are investigated, it was discovered that participants in the Gold Coast Waterfuture Strategy seemed able to selectively target their trust to deserving individuals or institutions. Second, not all negative modalities of power automatically engender distrust, nor do all positive modalities of power automatically engender trust. Third, the importance of context has been highlighted. It is truly a key issue that needs to replace blanket, universal institutions in many cases. Fourth, there are different mechanisms at play between expert planning and policy systems and parti

Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.

Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.

Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.

Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.

Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.

Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Griffith School of Environment, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, With regional rainfall of good volume and quality, and growing demand on the urban water supply in South East Queensland, rainwater harvesting (RH) is increasingly considered as a potential household supplement to the mains supply. RH is attractive because it offers households access to control over an augmented water supply. It also constitutes a form of demand management on the mains water supply and offers beneficial externalities to the environment. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (Cat No. 4602.0: 2005) reported that household adoption of RH systems was limited to fewer than eight percent of households across South East Queensland in 2004. Yet, as our society has become more cognisant of its impact on the environment and of our dry continent, household adoption of RH systems has boomed. By the end of 2008, almost 40% of South East Queensland households had adopted RH systems. Understanding the issues that influence household adoption can significantly contribute to regional water security. So, what factors influence household RH adoption? Two perspectives applicable to decentralised environmental technology adoption provide insight. Ecological modernisation (EM) provides a systemic perspective on households as consumers in a market context that is shifting to greater recognition of the economic, environmental and social advantages of more sustainable technologies. EM recognises the importance of systemic influences such as the environment, governance and regulation and the economic availability of appropriate technologies on household adoption. But EM fails to reach the fine-grained experience of individual households and its construction of social consumption issues as a ‘lifestyle choice’ is stepwise and clumsy. Diffusion of innovation (DI), conversely, emphasises temporally diffuse adoption and idiosyncrasies of the Adopter experience which are neglected in the EM perspective. But by concatenating the advantages households obtain through adoption, i

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Griffith School of Environment, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, In this study, I have investigated the relationship between mosquito control and mosquito-borne disease rates within Queensland, Australia. The thesis considers the most prevalent arbovirus causing human disease in Australia (Ross River virus) and estimates, how much Ross River virus disease is avoided through local government mosquito control in Queensland, and then compares the monetary value of avoided Ross River virus disease with the financial costs of local government mosquito control. A survey to collect information about mosquito control costs and practices was designed and implemented in each of the 125 local governments in Queensland. This survey collated previously dispersed information; because, although local governments in Queensland are legally obliged to perform mosquito control for disease prevention and nuisance reduction, there is no formal or regular reporting of mosquito control costs and practices to the State. A substantive conclusion from this research is that mosquito control has resulted in lower Ross River virus disease notifications in some local government areas. Ross River virus disease notifications are consistently lower in local government areas that implement mosquito control programs that pre-empt mosquito outbreaks using routine surveillance and then reduce mosquito abundance using mosquito control. Furthermore, there is evidence that local governments using extensive freshwater mosquito control, in addition to saltwater mosquito control, have relatively lower annual Ross River virus disease rates and lower standard deviations of the annual Ross River virus disease rates (indicating the freshwater mosquito control is important in suppressing outbreaks of Ross River virus disease). In contrast, mosquito control practices in the inland local government areas tend to be reactive to community complaints of mosquito abundance causing nuisance, and generally include ad-hoc mosquito control treatments. There is no evidence that reactive

Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Australian School of Environmental Studies, Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology, Insect pests (such as mosquitoes) and their associated impacts have become important social, economic and environmental health issues. Mosquitoes transmit diseases, are widely perceived as a nuisance and are becoming a serious health concern for the public. The incidence of contracting mosquito-transmitted diseases has markedly increased in recent decades in Australia (Russell 1994). Currently, Ross River virus is the most prevalent mosquito-transmitted viral disease in Australia with up to 8,000 cases reported annually (Curran et al. 1996). The absence of documented evidence about the full social costs of mosquito-transmitted diseases is a critical issue as there is currently no economic rationale underlying existing resource allocation for intervention programs. This study of the full social costs of Ross River virus was conducted between April and July 2002. Demographic, health-state and disease-related data were collected using survey questionnaires for 201 notified Ross River virus victims from across Queensland. Two self-administered surveys were conducted at the time approximately onset and six months from onset while a phone survey was conducted at 12 months after onset. Direct impacts such as the costs of health care (medical consultations, pathology services and medicines), non health care resources (treatment-related transport) and indirect impacts such as the opportunity cost of lost productivity (due to disability and treatment-related waiting times) of the viral illness were recorded in the questionnaires and were valued using market prices. A non-market valuation method (willingness-to-pay), in conjunction with a self-assessed standard health measure (Short Form 36) were used to quantify more intangible health-related quality of life effects such as change in physical, mental and social functioning. Estimated full social costs of the disease were analysed across age and gender groups. Based on the mean cost estimates for the study sample, the total di

Mechanisms for monitoring Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) virus activity include surveillance of human cases, surveillance for activity in sentinel animals, monitoring of mosquito vectors and monitoring of weather conditions. The monitoring of human cases is only one possible trigger for public health action and the additional surveillance systems are used in concert to signal the risk of human disease, often before the appearance of human cases. Mosquito vector surveillance includes mosquito trapping for speciation and enumeration of mosquitoes to monitor population sizes and relative composition. Virus isolation from mosquitoes can also be undertaken. Monitoring of weather conditions and vector surveillance determines whether there is a potential for MVE activity to occur. Virus isolation from trapped mosquitoes is necessary to define whether MVE is actually present, but is difficult to deliver in a timely fashion in some jurisdictions. Monitoring of sentinel animals indicates whether MVE transmission to vertebrates is actually occurring. Meteorological surveillance can assist in the prediction of potential MVE virus activity by signalling conditions that have been associated with outbreaks of Murray Valley encephalitis in humans in the past. Predictive models of MVE virus activity for south-eastern Australia have been developed, but due to the infrequency of outbreaks, are yet to be demonstrated as useful for the forecasting of major outbreaks. Surveillance mechanisms vary across the jurisdictions. Surveillance of human disease occurs in all States and Territories by reporting of cases to health authorities. Sentinel flocks of chickens are maintained in 4 jurisdictions (Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria and New South Wales) with collaborations between Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Mosquito monitoring complements the surveillance of sentinel animals in these jurisdictions. In addition, other mosquito monitoring programs exist in