This study seeks to understand the obstacles and challenges that discourage Indonesian SMEs from utilizing IPRs in their businesses. It examines the approaches and measures that have been taken by the government of Indonesia in the administration of its intellectual property system to encourage the integration of IPRs into SMEs business strategies.

The study takes a social legal approach, by interviewing relevant government officers and SME owners in two selected industries, batik and jamu, which are iconic traditional fabric and medicinal industries, in the Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces. The data gained from the interviews was contextualized in the legal, regulatory and historical literature.

The study shows that only a few types of IPRs, namely trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, petty patents and trade secrets are relevant to and can provide direct benefits for SMEs engaged in the batik and jamu industries in Indonesia. It found that the administration of intellectual property in Indonesia is so cumbersome that it discourages the SMEs from incorporating the relevant IPRs into their business strategies. The cumbersome process of obtaining the IPRs is caused by complex rules of procedure, inefficient bureaucracy and a weak decentralization policy, a corruption problem and a lack of skilled human resources, of effective information technology (IT) infrastructure and of financial resources.

The thesis develops a theoretical model of the OCI phenomenon which suggests that a set of antecedent conditions influence the behaviour of perpetrators and organizational and institutional stakeholders over five stages of the phenomenon’s growth and decline. When perpetrators identify and begin to exploit opportunities to act corruptly, the response of stakeholders at each stage either enables or disables such corruption. The OCI progresses through stages of emergence, uncertainty and cover up which, if it eventually becomes unsustainable, results in a powerful intervention and scandal that damages the affected institution before efforts are made by key stakeholders to control the problem and restore its reputation. This model can be used by researchers and managers to understand the complex dynamics which embolden perpetrators to act corruptly and lead to organizational stakeholders, either unintentionally or intentionally, facilitating their corrupt behaviour.

The thesis demonstrates the value of an interpretive, processual methodological approach when exploring the dynamics of corruption development and the benefits of integrating some important extant theories in the diverse fields of organizational corruption, deviance, ethical management and governance, man-made disasters and secrecy and silence. Furthermore, it demonstrates the important role that stakeholders play in enabling and disabling individual corruption in organizations.

A significant outcome of this thesis is that it demonstrates that ethical management alone will not prevent OCI development in its early stages. To overcome this difficulty, the thesis argues that ethical research should be extended to examining prevention and mitigation strategies that governance bodies might use to identify and control potential forms of corruption by individuals in their organizations and institutions.

The guardians of the ideology of public interest have railed against the neo-liberal agenda to ‘devalue’ the institution of planning in seeking to reduce it to being a mere siphon for development. The guardians of the ideology of private property, in turn, have disparaged calls for greater state intervention questioning whether there is any case for government intervention given that cities are such complex social systems. It seems that as society moves beyond the neo-liberal paradigm in land use planning in search of a new explanatory theory to guide its way the very notion of planning is being questioned. Yet, in this debate the function of public participation has been largely ignored; it has been an island in the flux of power. The ideology of public participation remains the untried path in land use planning.

In March 2011, the New South Wales opposition political party went to an election and won government with a policy to reform the land use planning system pledging to empower the people by returning ‘planning controls to local residents’ through their councils. Empowerment is emblematic of democratic principles. But to implement democratic processes in land use planning decision-making would require the government to depart from McAuslan’s ideology of public interest and to embrace the ideology of public participation. It is argued in this research that to change the status quo the government must overturn one hundred years of planning law history. It requires the enactment of legislative mechanisms that elevate the voice of the people to the status of power.

The purpose of this research is to consider the nature and role of public participation in the land use planning system of NSW. The research undertakes a synoptic traverse of the historical narrative relying on an array of secondary sources to understand the dynamic of participation in the context of Patrick McAuslan’s land use planning ideologies. Presently, s5(c) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) elevates participation to the status of an objective of the Act; but the mechanism by which the objective is to be attained is absent in the Act. By framing the thesis as a call to repeal the provision places the government’s dilemma into sharp relief.

The conclusion of the research is that despite the call to reform the NSW land use planning system creating an opportunity for planning to become more participatory and democratic, it is unlikely that any reform will actually achieve that end. If that conclusion is correct, then s5(c) should be repealed. If participation remains and objective of any new planning legislation without an effective legislative mechanism it will only lead to a perpetuation of the confusion and disarray that presently exists in the land use planning system.

First, we ask the question what happens if we change the values of some bytes of some intermediate results during an AES encryption. We aim to investigate the impact of these changes on the output of the encryption, and study the feasibility of cancelling out the effects of such changes. By using the structural features of the AES round transformation, we propose a five-round algebraic property which shows that if one carries out four extra exclusive or operations on four fixed-position bytes in some round, five consecutive rounds of such operations will cancel out all changes made to the intermediate results and, consequently, the final output of the encryption will not be affected by these changes.

Second, we use the proposed five-round algebraic property of the AES cipher to study the construction of the ALPHA-MAC. We introduce two methods: the Backwards-aNd-Backwards search algorithm and the Backwards-aNd-Forwards search algorithm. By combining these two methods, one can find second preimages of the ALPHA-MAC, given an intermediate value. In addition, we demonstrate that the second-preimage search algorithm can also be used to generate internal collisions for the ALPHA-MAC if an intermediate value is known.

Third, we carry out further investigations on the key schedule of the AES cipher, and our research identifies some repeated differential properties in the AES-128 and AES-256 key schedules. In the case of AES-128, if the difference of two secret keys has a special pattern, which we call repeated differential pattern, the propagation of the difference via the key schedule will produce at least seven zero differences in each round, and the same pattern repeats every four rounds. In the case of AES-256, we show that two secret keys with a double-sized repeated differential pattern generate similar repeated features in the resultant subkeys.

Fourth, we describe a differential fault analysis of the LEX stream cipher. The attack exploits computational errors during keystream generation to recover secret keys of the cipher. In our analysis, the cipher is assumed to have random faults in its states and typically, there is one random faulty bit injected during each computation. In the proposed attack, the adversary can extract the secret key of LEX by analysing the output keystream generated by 40 faults.

Rehabilitation services are a critical component of the Australian health care system. They improve outcomes for patients with disabling conditions resulting from serious illness or injury, free up acute hospital capacity and decrease the burden of disability. Yet health system redesign strategies in Australia have largely neglected both the interface between acute care and rehabilitation and the patient journey within rehabilitation. Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the patient journey through the acute hospital and into and through the rehabilitation episode has the potential to enhance patient outcomes and increase hospital capacity.

Program of research

This program of research, presented as six publications, takes a health systems approach to the investigation of the rehabilitation patient journey. It focuses on the management of potential rehabilitation patients in acute care, the rehabilitation selection and transfer process, and the inpatient rehabilitation episode. The purpose of the research is to improve health service provision and utilisation for this cohort of patients and to suggest further areas for investigation.

Literature review

A literature review focusing on rehabilitation patient classification and the role of utilisation review in determining level of care appropriateness identified concurrent utilisation review as a suitable method to investigate the rehabilitation patient journey. The InterQual utilisation review tool was selected for piloting because it was the most contemporary and widely published tool and also contained specific criteria for rehabilitation and subacute level of care appropriateness. Following the pilot, two further studies were conducted, one in acute care and the other within rehabilitation facilities.

Case study of an information management system

A case study on the design, implementation and evaluation of a clinical information management system to improve the logistical aspects of the rehabilitation patient journey is also presented as part of this body of work. This system enables clinicians to manage and track patient referral, consultation outcomes and subsequent transfer to rehabilitation and subacute beds. Its introduction resulted in decreased time to consultation and transfer.

Utilisation review in acute care

In the acute hospital pilot study, patients with diagnoses of stroke, hip fracture or amputation, and other patients referred for rehabilitation assessment, were followed with concurrent utilisation review. Results on 242 acute episodes, representing 2698 bed days, showed that a high proportion (69%) of days of stay did not meet appropriateness for acute care. These findings were consistent with overseas studies. According to the InterQual tool, most patients were appropriate for transfer to rehabilitation much earlier than was current practice. The study found that the InterQual tool had utility in the Australian hospital setting.

In a second, larger acute hospital study, detailed reasons why utilisation review criteria were not met were obtained in addition to concurrent utilisation review findings. Clinical decision making differences between the acute care and rehabilitation teams over patient selection were also examined. Data on 694 acute episodes, (7189 bed days) showed that 56% of days (stroke, hip fracture and joint replacement patients) and 33% of days (other patients, from the time of referral) met acute level of care criteria. Forty five percent of inappropriate days of stay in acute care were due to delays in processes or scheduling within the acute hospital. Being more appropriate for rehabilitation or lower level of care accounted for a further 30% of inappropriate days. From referral, the acute care team and the utilisation review tool deemed patients ready for rehabilitation transfer earlier than did the rehabilitation team (1.4, 1.3 and 4.0 days, respectively). From when deemed medically stable for transfer by the acute care team, 28% of patients subsequently became unstable. From when deemed stable by the rehabilitation team or the utilisation review tool, 9% and 11% of patients, respectively, subsequently became unstable.

Utilisation review in the rehabilitation setting

In a third study, concurrent utilisation review was conducted in inpatient rehabilitation facilities on 267 patient episodes, representing 7359 days of stay. Only 48% of days met appropriateness for a level of care consistent with rehabilitation. Receiving insufficient therapy was the main reason why utilisation review criteria were not met. Other reasons were that the patient was awaiting discharge to long term care or to home, or that they were more appropriate for acute level of care. Therapy time data, available on 208 episodes, showed that therapy was received on only 50% of calendar days, and for an average of 37 minutes per weekday (56 minutes for stroke).

Overall findings

Overall, the research findings suggest that a high proportion of patient days do not meet level of care appropriateness in either the acute or the rehabilitation settings. The acute care findings were consistent with the international utilisation review literature. As this was the first published study of concurrent utilisation review within the rehabilitation setting, comparative data in this context are not available. The reasons why level of care appropriateness were not met are discussed in detail in the respective papers.

The research revealed considerable variability between the acute care teams and the rehabilitation team in the determination of patient appropriateness for rehabilitation and readiness for transfer, and suggested that formal utilisation review could have a decision support role at the interface between acute care and rehabilitation. The findings also highlighted the fact that, for a variety of reasons, patients often remain in acute care when their need is for rehabilitation.

Future directions

Strategies to improve the selection and transfer process to rehabilitation will aid patient flow. Strategies include improved information and logistical management of patients who may be appropriate for rehabilitation, as well as support for clinical decision making. Models of care that provide rehabilitation in the acute setting will offer benefits for patients who remain in acute care when they have need for rehabilitation. Benefits include more effective use of hospital resources and the prevention of functional decline in patients. Funding models in Australia need to support the provision of rehabilitation in the acute setting.

The research findings also show a need to improve the efficiency of inpatient rehabilitation. The low levels of therapy patients received in these typical public rehabilitation units warrants further investigation, as it might be impacting on patient outcomes and the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs. Locating inpatient rehabilitation services in separate facilities, away from acute hospital support, may also have implications for the patient journey and requires further investigation.

Spatial simulation modelling techniques, particularly agent-based land use/land cover (LULC) modelling have been applied elsewhere to understand such complex dynamics. However, existing models cannot be directly applied to study Australian amenity landscapes mainly because of the inadequacy of structure, system elements and encompassed processes that limit the ability of such models to sufficiently describe amenity landscapes and their dynamics. Based on these premises, the broad aims of this thesis were to 1) develop, verify and validate new tools and methods to address critical gaps in existing spatial simulation modelling practices that limit how amenity migration researchers and land use modellers are able to frame their research questions, and 2) demonstrate the use of newly developed tools and methods for amenity migration research in particular and LULC modelling research in general.

This thesis first developed a novel, fully-automated land subdivision tool that uses vector data and is capable of generating complete subdivision layouts with both lot and street arrangements for land parcels of any shape. When the new streets are generally parallel to each other and lots are of approximately the same size, the simulated subdivision layouts very closely resemble observed subdivision patterns in the south-eastern Australia study area. From this validation exercise, the opportunities to improve the subdivision tool for a next version were also identified.

The thesis then presents an innovative method to simulate land subdivision in LULC change models using subdivision layouts generated either by the tool developed in this thesis or by alternative tools. This method is demonstrated with a prototype agent-based LULC change model developed for an amenity landscape (Windellama, New South Wales, Australia). Central to the success of the proposed method is implementing a hierarchical landscape where adjacent cells of the same LULC type form patches, patches form properties and properties form the landscape. The second key element of the method is incorporating real subdivision layouts. The necessary addition of new streets during a subdivision changes both the LULC type and the LULC patches to which some cells belong. An innovative queue-based modified flood-fill algorithm is used to reset LULC patches following a subdivision. Results show that this algorithm is computationally efficient even as spatial resolution is increased. Achieving the right balance between computational efficiency and detail of representation is crucial in LULC change models, and the results show that this balance is reached at 50m resolution for the modelled area.

Finally in the thesis, a comprehensive agent-based LULC change model is developed around the previously described prototype model. This model includes six agent types (graziers, hobby farmers, green lifestylers, non-farming retirees, absentees and real estate agents), simulates realistic land subdivision, and incorporates a detailed endogenous land market. The agent types show clear differences in the socioeconomic attributes and land management strategies they adopt. Verification shows that this model is robust, while validation gives confidence that the representation of land use dynamics for the main LULC classes is sufficiently realistic. Long term experimental simulations with the model reveal that internal buying and nonmonetary conditions imposed on land transactions have a significant effect on LULC and demographic change trajectories in amenity landscapes. Experimental results also suggest that the size of lots decided at the subdivision stage can alter the ownership composition in amenity landscapes in the long run, and thereby affect the course of LULC change.

In summary, the tools, methods and models developed in this study lay the groundwork for amenity migration researchers to gain new insights into changing rural landscapes by enabling them to frame research questions that would have been impractical to answer if not for these key innovations. Importantly, the technical innovations introduced in the thesis are pertinent to entire land use modelling discipline, thus demonstrating the broad applicability of the findings of this thesis.

In this thesis we show how this inferential framework can be used to develop unbiased regression parameter estimates when fitting a linear mixed model to probabilistically linked data. Furthermore, since estimation of variance components is also an important objective when fitting a mixed model, we develop appropriate modifications to standard methods of variance components estimation in order to account for linkage error. In particular, we focus on three widely used methods of variance components estimation: analysis of variance (ANOVA), maximum likelihood (ML) and restricted maximum likelihood (REML). A simulation study investigates the bias and variability of parameter estimates obtained by methods developed in this work. Simulation results indicate that all methods developed here perform reasonably well.

An application to longitudinal modeling is further investigated. In this situation, we focus on fitting linear mixed models to linked longitudinal registers. That is, more than two registers are linked and linkage errors occur across the entire registers. The results from a simulation study illustrate the performance of this approach, and show that although there is improved efficiency compared to the naive method which ignores the linkage errors, there are some issues that still need further investigation and improvement.

The aim of this study was to characterise multiple antibiotic resistance patterns in a large collection of Escherichia coli isolates (n = 605), recovered in Australia over the past decade, from different hosts. Firstly, the collection was PCR-screened for the presence of 12 multiple antibiotic resistance markers (strA, strB, sul1, sul2, sul3, tetA(A), tetB(A), tetC(A), tetD(A) and tetG(A), merA and floR), encoding the most common resistance phenotypes found in enteric bacteria. A subset of 43 representative multi-resistant isolates was also screened by PCR for the presence of the aphA1 and blaTEM-1 genes. The detected multi-resistance gene clusters were then further characterised via PCR, Southern hybridisation, PFGE, DNA sequence analysis and mobilisation experiments.

Multiple antibiotic resistance was widespread in the collection, with 25.9% (157 of 605) multi-resistant isolates carrying two to six different resistance determinants. Even though resistance gene frequencies and associations varied considerably within each host group, the predominant gene combination in the collection was aphA1-strA-strB-sul2-blaTEM-1-merA-tetA(A) and/or tetB(A). These resistance genes were found to be clustered together, and associated with IS26 and elements of transposon Tn21, including class 1 integron gene cassettes encoding trimethoprim resistance. Multi-resistance gene clusters were shown to be predominantly plasmid-borne. Even though some of the multi-resistant isolates, carrying the Tn21-associated resistance locus, were found to be related by PFGE, genetic profiles differed among most strains. Plasmid profiles, however, were often similar, suggesting that horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, more than clonality, played a major role in the dissemination of resistance genes in this strain set. Characterisation of the Tn21-associated multi-resistance locus from 10 isolated E. coli plasmids showed that the gene cluster is preferentially found in large, low-copy number, conjugative plasmids, belonging to the IncF and IncI1 incompatibility groups. These loci are structurally diverse and are associated with complex genetic backgrounds.

Multiple resistance was also found to be mainly associated with pathogenic E. coli types. Sequencing of plasmid pO26-CRL from EHEC strain O6877 showed that this O26 virulence plasmid had acquired the complex Tn21-associated multi-resistance region. The plasmid was found to be mobilisable, but not conjugative. A second plasmid, pO6877, also containing the complex Tn21-associated antibiotic resistance locus, was isolated from the same EHEC O6877 strain. Unlike pO26-CRL, this plasmid did not contain the enterohemolysin operon and was conjugative, and thus capable of promoting the mobilisation of pO26-CRL in trans. Complete sequencing of plasmid pO6877, as well as of nine other multi-resistance plasmids isolated from E. coli strains in the collection, is underway.

The complex Tn21-associated multi-resistance locus was detected in plasmids isolated from both human and cattle E. coli strains. In two instances the very same resistance plasmid was isolated from a human and a bovine E. coli strain, suggesting crosstalk and active DNA exchange between the two bacterial populations. These data provide insight on the evolution of the complex multi-resistance gene clusters, and add to the understanding of the link between resistance and virulence in zoonotic E. coli. Better knowledge of microbial resistance mechanisms is essential for the decision-making processes required for better management of the antibiotic resistance problem.

Kangaroo Island is essentially a south-west extension of the Mount Lofty Ranges. The island is also part of the Adelaide Geosyncline, and forms the southern part of the Fleurieu Arc Segment, encompassing the Kanmantoo Trough. The sub-surface geology is dominated by clastic meta-sediments of Cambrian age. Kangaroo Island incorporates three distinct lithotectonic zones: the Northern Structural Zone comprising relatively unmetamorphosed platformal sediments, the Shear Zone Complex which follows the lines of the Snelling and Signet Faults, and the Southern Basinal Zone encompassing the Kanmantoo Group of metasediments. These rocks are generally poor in outcrop, as they are overlain in most areas by Tertiary laterites or Quaternary calcareous aeolianites. The island is essentially a dissected high lateritic plateau with lowland regions in the north-east and south. Dudley Peninsula is an isolated plateau connected to the island by Quaternary sediments.

This thesis focuses on developing an aminostratigraphical, and chronostratigraphical framework for Bridgewater Formation aeolianite deposition on Kangaroo Island. This required the development of new longer range dating methods, and the use and improvement of existing methods (such as amino acid racemization dating).

Amino acid racemization kinetic experiments were performed on molluscs, foraminifers, and (for the first time) whole-rock carbonate rich sediment, in order to compare the racemization forward rates of various amino acids (GLX in particular) and the changes in the individual amino acid rates across material types, i.e., molluscs, foraminifers, and whole-rock. In the context of the Kangaroo Island samples, and the analysis methods employed, GLX was identified as the amino acid with the most utility (in terms of range, stability, and concentration). It was also revealed that for the Kangaroo Island samples the amino acid GLX was the most compatible (in terms of racemization rate) across many genera of molluscs, and two genera of foraminifers.

This thesis has used luminescence, U-series, ¹⁴C, and independently calibrated amino acid racemization dating (for the first time using the amino acid GLX) to establish an aminostratigraphical and chronostratigraphical framework for carbonate deposition on Kangaroo Island. In order to do this a new long-range, single aliquot, luminescence dating method (SARTT-OSL: based upon the multiple-aliquot TTOSL method of Wang et al, 2006a) was developed and more comprehensive preparation treatments for amino acid racemization samples were established. A novel approach for the analysis of single grain AAR results was developed through the use of a statistical method (Ward [1963] hierarchical cluster algorithm). This allowed the identification of the youngest age population in a group of foraminifers (from the same sample) (for aminostratigraphical purposes) and also the identification of clusters of reworked tests within the sample.

The AAR chronology and morphostratigraphical position of raised shelly / cobble/ pebble beach deposits allowed the estimation of a Last Interglacial sealevel for Kangaroo Island, which supports similar sea-level estimates from the mainland (cf. Murray-Wallace and Belperio, 1991; Stirling et al., 1998). The GLX D-L ratios for Last Interglacial marine molluscs, where available, were similar to those found on the South Australia mainland, in Glanville Formation shell-beds (cf. Firman, 1967; Cann, 1978; Belperio et al., 1983, 1984; Hails et al., 1984; Murray-Wallace et al., 1988; Murray-Wallace and Belperio, 1991; Murray- Wallace et al., 2010).

Aeolianite deposition has taken place on Kangaroo Island since at least the latter part of the Early Pleistocene (and in all likelihood some time before this), with the oldest aeolianites recorded (WR AAR age 786+_ 181 ka) being from Stokes Bay on the north coast of the island, and Kelly Hill Caves (WR AAR age 835 +_ 194 ka, and SARTT-OSL age 1.3 +_ 0.1 Ma) on the south coast. The predominant aeolianites were of MIS 7 (Emu Bay, Pennington Bay, Baudin Beach) and MIS 5 (Pennington Bay, Bales Beach, Vivonne Bay, and Baudin Beach) age, with older aeolianites (MIS 11 and 9) being located on the bounding headlands of embayments (particularly on the south coast: Bales Beach and Pennington Bay). The location of the older sediments on headlands is hypothesized to be due to underlying geology acting as keystones or anchors for deposition, allowing the older sediments to build-up to the stage where younger sediments could begin to accrete in the lower topography in the central portions of embayments.

The indirect evidence of Last Interglacial (MIS 5e) raised beach deposits only being located within sediments older than the late Pleistocene points to regressive phase deposition rather than transgressive or highstand deposition of aeolianites (at least for late Pleistocene aeolianites). It is probable in this respect that late Pleistocene aeolianites were being deposited during the regressive phase just after MIS 5e (ca. 116 ka), and the regressive phases after MIS 5c (at Bales Beach ca. 97 ka—OSL age) and 5a.

The stratigraphical and geochronological findings presented in this thesis demonstrate that Kangaroo Island has a long record of the Quaternary coastal environment. This provides an important record that further increases understanding the complexities of carbonate deposition on Kangaroo Island, and its relevance to the broader issues of aeolianite development.

The evolution of the residential load in terms of magnitude and characteristics into a significant distorting load and as such a potential source of significant power quality disturbances is worthy of detailed study. Distribution utilities are required by law to maintain acceptable power quality levels on their distribution networks to ensure safe and reliable operation of the network as well as equipment connected thereto. This is only possible if detailed understanding of the behaviour of equipment connected to the distribution network has been achieved so that proper planning schemes can be put in place.

In order to understand the electrical behaviour of modern loads the electrical performance of a range of appliances, including a range of CFLs, was examined through laboratory investigations. Examination was made of performance under a range of input voltage conditions (magnitude and waveform distortion). A realistic low voltage (LV) electricity distribution network simulation model was developed to assess their impact on distribution system PQ levels using the appliance load characteristics determined through laboratory testing. This flexible distribution system model allowed a range of feeder lengths and loading scenarios to be examined.

Field monitoring conducted in conjunction with theoretical work is used to substantiate the simulation studies. Broadly, the majority of the results obtained from the modelling work were found to be indicative of credible harmonic magnitudes and profiles. Results most reflective of recent field observations were obtained using the simulation models where the injected current levels were based on appliance behaviour when such appliances were supplied with distorted input voltages rather than sinusoidal input voltages. There are a number of reasons that make direct comparison of model outputs with field data very difficult. Notwithstanding these difficulties, good correlation between field measurements and model outputs was achieved for 3rd and 5th harmonic voltage levels. Correlation between model outputs and field data for the higher order harmonics which were examined (7th, 15th and 21st) was not as strong.

On the whole, results obtained from the simulation models indicate that a very high penetration of modern domestic appliances (i.e. large numbers in each residence) will result in harmonic voltage levels that will exceed the Australian harmonic voltage planning levels on LV feeders. The modelling also indicated that the profile of the harmonic voltages due to modern domestic appliances may be different to the traditional profile where low order harmonics dominate. There is evidence to show that if high penetration of modern appliances occurs, the dominant voltage harmonics due to interaction of appliance load currents with network impedance may be the 7th or 15th harmonic. Special emphasis has been placed on the impact of CFLs on harmonic levels. Results of modelling clearly show that a large number of CFLs can have a significant impact on voltage harmonic levels.

It was clear that some of the simulation models which were developed produced values which were unlikely to be representative of those seen in practice and this is an avenue for future research. Methods of harmonic modelling are complex, especially for higher order harmonics, and if very accurate models are required, some of the assumptions used may need closer examination. Further, as appliances develop over time, it may be necessary to periodically perform studies such as the one presented in this thesis in order to maintain a complete understanding of the electrical behaviour both of modern loads and the LV distribution network.

Recently, Shotwell has formulated two conditions - aperiodicity and cofinality - in a fnitely aligned higher-rank graph Λ which characterise simplicity of C*(Λ). Working independently of Shotwell, we give an alternate formulation of aperiodicity and cofnality in which characterises simplicity of C*(Λ). The key point of difference is that our formulations of aperiodicity and cofnality are given only in terms of nite paths. Thus our conditions are more easily veri ed in examples. Moreover, all of our proofs are direct and employ new techniques for studying higher-rank graph algebras. We also show how our cofinality condition simpli es in a number of special cases occurring in the literature; in these cases our results are also new.

One of they key dynamical invariants used in ergodic theory is topological en- tropy. Here we investigate topological entropy of an endomorphism, known as the noncommutative shift map, of the core of a higher-rank graph algebra. We con- sider the class of locally nite higher-rank graphs with no sources, a subclass of all nitely aligned higher-rank graphs. Recently, Jeong and Park provided estimates for topological entropy of the noncommutative shift map for C*-algebras associated to infnite directed graphs. In addition, Skalski and Zacharias have computed the topological entropy of the noncommutative shift map for C*-algebras associated to nite higher-rank graphs. We provide a common generalisation of the work of Jeong and Park, and of Skalski and Zacharias. That is, we provide estimates for topological entropy of the noncommutative shift map for C*-algebras associated to in nite higher-rank graphs.

In addition to its empirical focus on China, IFRS and fair value accounting (FVA), this thesis draws on the broader literature on neoliberalism and financialisation to argue that accounting as a globalised practice is an instrument of neoliberalism. From this perspective, I argue that the adoption of IFRS embeds the ideological tenets of neoliberalism within its reporting regime, giving them the appearance of neutrality and making them difficult to identify, let alone challenge.

To reveal this ideological bias, this thesis adopts the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) elaborated by Norman Fairclough as its methodological framework. CDA studies the connections between discursive practices and wider social and cultural relations. It seeks to reveal how discourses are ideologically shaped to facilitate particular socio-political agenda. In doing so, this thesis shows how public discussions of the IFRS and FVA in China have been dominated by supportive discourses that rationalise the adoption with a problematic supposition of the „free market‟ and its unquestioned benefits. This discursive practice has created an appearance of „efficiency‟ and „freedom‟ for the transformation of the market that neoliberal theory preaches. The findings disclose, however, that FVA has produced significant volatility in the Chinese capital markets, which has prioritised the interest of Chinese elite and caused the costs to be borne by ordinary investors. The Split Share Structure Reform (SSSR) introduced by the Chinese government to institutionalise market freedom has contributed little more than creating an image that symbolises a commitment to the ideals of neoliberalism – privatisation of public assets, deregulation of markets and the adoption of IFRS.

The contradictions identified by this thesis reinforce the disconnection between the theory and practice of neoliberalism that many political economists have argued. Instead of ensuring the „trickle-down‟ of benefits to create greater welfare for all people or market efficiencies, promised by proponents of the reform, this neoliberalisation process has worsened social struggles and expanded inequities in wealth distribution in China. Accounting has been part of the technical architecture of neoliberalism, sustaining an image of the „free market‟ that is devoid of the regulatory and socio-political apparatus in China.

This research examines an ontology-based knowledge management approach to enable the interoperation of heterogeneous knowledge management systems in the domain of reusing inter-organizational knowledge. An ontology-based Collaborative Inter-organizational Knowledge Management Network is proposed that incorporates ontology and its mediation methods to reuse inter-organizational knowledge to support knowledge creation and dissemination in the organizational knowledge management process. This research also investigates a theoretical ontology mediation framework to develop an integrated ontology by reusing interorganizational ontologies. A Methodology of Integration-oriented Ontology Development is proposed to address the lack of details and insights in ontology integration in the current literature. The proposed methodology is designed to provide a detailed description of phases on how to incorporate and perform integration in its ontology development process. A semi-automatic tool called Integration-oriented Candidate Ontology Evaluation System is included as a component of the proposed methodology to assist in finding suitable source ontologies from a group of candidate ontologies using concept distribution counter and ontology matching techniques. In addition, a Design and Input-Specific Classification of Ontology Matching Technique is proposed to provide guidelines on designing a new mediation tool and method to identify appropriate matching technique and its related executive approach. This research makes research contributions in the area of applying ontology and its mediation methods to develop and manage inter-organizational knowledge management process.

For LiAlH₄, we found that the hydrogen desorption properties of LiAlH₄ can be improved by doping with NbF₅. The observed promotion effect of NbF₅ on the dehydrogenation of LiAlH₄ could be explained by combined effect of active Nbcontaining species and the function of F anions, which facilitates the dissociation of hydrogen molecules on their surfaces. It was also found that the dehydrogenation temperature and the desorption kinetics of LiAlH₄ were improved by adding with SWCNTs-metal catalyst. The enhancement of the hydrogen desorption properties was likewise due to the combined influence of the SWCNT structure itself, hydrogen spillover effect, and high contact area between carbon and the hydride. All these are responsible for the weakened the Al–H bond, consequently improving the dehydrogenation properties of LiAlH₄. We have also found that the dehydrogenation properties of LiAlH₄ were improved by doping with TiO₂ nanopowder. The result shows that TiO₂ nanopowders remain stable during the milling process. The significant improvement is most likely attributable to the TiO₂ nanoparticles act as a surface catalyst, increases the surfaces defects by decreasing crystal grain size in the LiAlH₄ powder, creating a larger surface area for hydrogen to interact, thereby decreasing the temperature for decomposition.

For MgH₂, it was found that the de/rehydrogenation properties of MgH₂ were significantly improved by mechanically either HfCl₄ or FeCl₃, and a significant improvement was obtained in the case of the HfCl₄ doped sample. From the x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results, it appears likely that the significant improvement of MgH₂ sorption properties was due to the catalytic effects of Hf species and Fe that formed during the dehydrogenation process. These species may interact with hydrogen molecules, which may lead to the dissociation of hydrogen molecules and the improvement of the desorption/absorption rate. Besides that, the formation of MgCl₂ may also play a critical role, and there are more likely to be synergetic effects when it is combined with Hf species and Fe.

Another method to improve the hydrogen storage properties of MgH₂ is based on the combined system (destabilization concept). A MgH₂–NaAlH₄ (4:1) composite system was prepared by mechanical milling to investigate the destabilization effect between MgH₂ and NaAlH₄. It was found that this composite system showed improved dehydrogenation performance compared with those of as-milled NaAlH₄ and MgH₂ alone. The dehydrogenation process in the MgH₂–NaAlH₄ composite can be divided into four stages. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the second, third, and fourth stages are fully reversible. The formation of NaMgH₃ and Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase during the dehydrogenation process, which alter the dehydrogenation pathway furthermore change the thermodynamic of the reaction play a critical role in the enhancement of dehydrogenation in MgH₂–NaAlH₄ composite.

We have also systematically investigated the dehydrogenation kinetics and thermodynamics of MgH_2-LiAlH₄ combined system with and without additives. The improvement of the dehydrogenation properties was likewise attributed to the formation of intermediate compounds, including Al-Mg and Li-Mg, upon dehydrogenation, which change the thermodynamics of the reaction through altering the dehydrogenation pathway. Ten different additives, including TiF₃, NbF₅, NiF₂, CrF₂, YF₃, TiCl₃·1/3(AlCl₃), HfCl₄, LaCl₃, CeCl₃, and NdCl₃, were added to the MgH_2-LiAlH₄ (4:1) mixture. Among the additives examined, the titanium-based metal halides, TiF₃ and TiCl₃·1/3AlCl₃, exhibited the best improvement in term of reducing the dehydrogenation temperature and enhancing the dehydrogenation rate. It is believed that the formation of Ti-containing and F-containing species during the ball milling or the dehydrogenation process may be actually responsible for the catalytic effects and thus further improve the dehydrogenation of the TiF₃ and TiCl₃·1/3AlCl₃-added MgH₂- LiAlH₄ composite system.

Aromatic interactions are generally found to stabilize the global structure of proteins and the double helical structure of DNA, and they also play an important role in recognition processes in biological and non-biological systems. However, the complexity and variety in the structure of aromatic molecules are major obstacles to a proper investigation of their interactions. In this thesis, we investigate a typical case of an aromatic interaction, namely that for a benzene dimer. The major result obtained in this thesis is an analytical expression for the interaction energy which is used to predict all possible equilibrium configurations of the benzene dimer. At sufficiently large distances, the relative orientation of the two benzene molecules is found to be approximated by the arctan of the ratio of the two separation distances in two mutually perpendicular directions.

Aromatic hydrocarbons are emitted into the atmosphere as byproducts of combustion, and constitute one of the most widespread human pollutants known as carcinogens and mutagens. The fact that under normal environmental conditions, aromatic hydrocarbons prefer to stay on the surface of airborne particles, provides a possible solution for the elimination of aromatic hydrocarbons from the environment by exploiting materials with high surface area, such as graphitic structures. In this thesis, we study the adsorption mechanism of aromatic hydrocarbons onto a graphene sheet from a full investigation of the adsorption of a coronene molecule onto graphene. We find that coronene is adsorbed on graphene in three stages, and finally becomes stable on the surface of the graphene sheet at a parallel configuration, which is completely consistent with experimental and theoretical results. Furthermore, computational results show that under normal environmental conditions, the interaction energies between the aromatic molecules and the graphene sheet are much higher than the kinetic energies of their thermal motions, and they are strongly held on the graphene surface.

Carbon nanotubes possess extreme mechanical, thermal, electrical and opto- electronic properties. For applications in nanowires, certain molecules are en- capsulated inside carbon nanotubes to enhance their conductivity. Nanopeapods are carbon nanotubes containing fullerenes and are a typical example for such a nanowire. However, due to the non-covalent interactions, a particular molecule might not always be accepted by a carbon nanotube, even though it might be smaller in size than the diameter of the carbon nanotube. More importantly, the non-covalent interactions also determine the equilibrium configuration of the molecule inside the carbon nanotube by which the conductivity of the nanowire is determined. In this thesis, the encapsulation of benzene and acetylene into carbon nanotubes for applications in nanowires is investigated. Questions concerning the acceptance radii of the carbon nanotube and the equilibrium configurations of the molecules inside carbon nanotubes are addressed.

In summary, the original contribution of this thesis is the development of mathematical models for the three interaction energy problems; namely the geometry and energetics of a benzene dimer; the adsorption of aromatic hydrocarbons onto graphene; and the encapsulation of benzene and acetylene into a carbon nanotube. From these mathematical models, the interaction energies between the molecules and the nanostructures are determined analytically and may be readily evaluated using standard algebraic computer packages, so that the interacting mechanisms and the equilibrium configurations of the systems may be fully investigated.

This thesis will develop approaches for sample design to support small area estimation. Sample designs for small areas can be classified into two major categories:

• when it is feasible to select sample units in every small area;

• when only a subset of small areas can be surveyed.

The first case will be represented by stratified sampling where strata are small areas. The second case will be represented by two-stage sampling where clusters are small areas and are selected either by equal probability (simple two-stage) or unequal probability sampling (general two-stage).

In each case, the aim is to find the best sample design for a combination of the anticipated mean squared errors of small area composite estimates and an overall estimator of the population mean, subject to a cost constraint.

This thesis develops sample designs which minimize or reduce this objective function, either using analytical expressions for the optimal design, asymptotic approximation to the optimal design, optimal designs within restricted families of designs (such as power allocations), numerical optimization and ad-hoc approaches.

Power allocation with the exponent chosen by numerical optimization, is found to be a nearly-optimum strategy with appealing properties when all small areas can be selected in the sample. When only a subset of small areas can be selected, a two-stage unequal probability design is found to perform well, with cluster sizes given by the classical optimal cluster size. The optimal selection probabilities are a complex function of the cluster population sizes which is derived analytically. When the only priority is small area estimation, the optimal design is to select the largest clusters with certainty, and to select none of the remaining clusters. In the case where it is feasible to select sample in every small area, analytical and approximate analytical optimal designs are developed. While optimal designs minimize an objective function, they have undesirable practical properties. Simpler designs, including the adjusted power allocation with the exponent chosen by numerical optimization, are nearly as effective.

To generate 3D cave structures with diverse characteristics, the use of different noise functions with different parameters was examined. This thesis presents experimental results showing the relationship between these factors and their influences on the resulting cave structure. Furthermore, the construction of an efficient spatial data structure had to be developed as part of the cave generation process. This research proposed a unique bottom-up voxel-based octree building approach that was specifically designed for the purposes of constructing the cave structure.

In order to be able to render the resulting 3D cave model in real-time, a polygonal mesh of the interior cave walls was obtained from the data stored in the octree. To increase the realism of the cave model, a polygonal mesh smoothing technique was used. However, the naïve smoothing technique caused cracks to appear at certain sections of the cave walls. An effective solution to patch the cracks was subsequently developed to produce a smooth crack-free mesh.

In addition, the procedural simulation of two common cave features, namely stalactites and stalagmites, was explored. The generation of these cave characteristics was seamlessly added to the procedural cave creation process. The end result is a procedural approach capable of generating visually believable cave models automatically on a computer, and being able to render the resulting model in realtime.

NiO-PPy nanocomposites for lithium-ion batteries were prepared by a chemical polymerization method, with sodium p-toluenesulfonate as the dopant, Triton X-100 as the surfactant, and FeCl3 as the oxidant. The new composite material was characterized by Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Nanosize conducting PPy particles with a cauliflower-like morphology were uniformly coated onto the surface of the NiO powder. The electrochemical results were improved for the NiO-PPy composite compared with the pristine NiO. After 30 cycles, the capacities of the NiO and the NiO-PPy composite were about 119 and 436 mAh g^-1, respectively, indicating that the electrochemical performance of the composite was significantly improved.

Graphene-metal-oxide composites as anode materials for Li-ion batteries have been investigated extensively, but these attempts have been mostly limited to moderate rate charge-discharge applications. Here, NiO-graphene nanostructures have been synthesized using a controlled hydrothermal method, which enables in situ formation of NiO with a coralloid nanostructure on graphene. Graphene/NiO (20%), graphene/NiO (50%), and pure NiO show stable discharge capacities of 185 mAh g^-1 at 20 C (1 C = 300 mA g^-1), 450 mAh g^-1 at 1 C, and 400 mAh g^-1 at 1 C, respectively. High rate capability and good stability in prolonged charge-discharge cycling permit the application of this material in fast charging batteries for upcoming electric vehicles. To the best of our knowledge, such fast rate performance of graphene/metal oxide composite as anode and such stability for pure NiO as anode have not been reported previously.

To improve the rate capability and cyclability of LiV3O8 cathode for Li-ion batteries, LiV₃O₈ was modified by forming LiV₃O₈/carbon nanosheet composite. LiV₃O₈/carbon nanosheet composite was successfully achieved via a hydrothermal route followed by a carbon coatingprocess. The morphology and structural properties of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TGA, SEM, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM observations demonstrated that the LiV₃O₈/carbon composite has a very flat sheet-like morphology, with each nanosheet having a smooth surface and a typical length of 400-700 nm, width of 200-350 nm, and thickness of 10-50 nm. Each sheet is surrounded by a thick layer of amorphous carbon. Electrochemical tests showed that the LiV₃O₈/carbon composite cathode features long-term cycling stability (194 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C after 100 cycles) and excellent rate capability (110 mAh g^-1 at 5 C, 104 mAh g^-1 at 10 C, and 82 mAh g^-1 at 20 C after 250 cycles). Electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) indicated that the LiV₃O₈/carbon composite electrode has very low charge-transfer resistance compared with pristine LiV₃O₈, indicating the enhanced ionic conductivity of the LiV₃O₈/carbon composite. The enhanced cycling stability is attributed to the fact that the LiV₃O₈/carbon composite can prevent the aggregation of active materials, accommodate the large volume variation, and maintain good electronic contact.

To reduce the reaction time, electrical energy consumption, and cost, binary α-NiS-β- NiS has been synthesized by a rapid, one-pot, hydrothermal autoclave microwave method within 15 minutes at temperatures of 160-180 oC. The microstructure and morphology of the α-NiS-β-NiS products were characterized by means of XRD, FESEM, and TEM. At 140 oC, pure hexagonal NiAs-type α-NiS phase was identified from the XRD patterns. With increasing reaction temperature (160-180 oC), the XRD evidence indicates that an increasing fraction of rhombohedral millerite-like β-NiS is formed as a secondary phase. The α-NiS-β-NiS sample synthesized at 160 oC yielded good electrochemical performance in terms of high reversible capacity (320 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 C up to 100 cycles). Even at high rates, the sample operated at a good fraction of itscapacity. The most likely contributing factor to the superior electrochemical performance of the α-NiS-β-NiS sample could be the improved morphology. TEM imaging confirmed that needle-like protrusions connect the clusters of α-NiS particles, and the individual protrusions indicated a very high surface area including folded sheet morphology, which helps to dissipate the surface accumulation of Li⁺ ions and facilitate rapid mobility. These factors help to enhance the amount of lithium intercalated within the material.

Microporous PVDF/PMMA membranes were prepared using the phase-separation method. Then, the membranes were immersed in liquid electrolyte to form polymer electrolytes. The effects of PMMA on the morphology, degree of crystallinity, porosity, and electrolyte uptake of the PVDF membrane were studied. The addition of PMMA increased the pore size, porosity, and electrolyte uptake of the PVDF membrane, which, in turn, increased the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte. The maximum ionic conductivity at room temperature was 1.21 x 10^-3 S cm^-1 for Sample E70. The polymer electrolyte was investigated, along with lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) as cathode for all solid-state lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. The lithium metal/E70/LiFePO₄ cell yielded a stable discharge capacity of 133 mAh g^-1 after up to 50 cycles at a current density of 8.5 mA g^-1.

The overall objective of this thesis was to develop and empirically test a proposed model that explains the roles and impact of interpersonal communication effectiveness, service quality and trust on client relationship commitment from a client perspective, in the context of SME financial-planning professional services. More specifically, the study provides an understanding of how the three proposed sub-constructs of interpersonal communications effectiveness (ICE) interact with trust and service quality, and examines the impact of these key mediating variables on client relationship commitment. This thesis will argue that interpersonal communication effectiveness is a key construct that SME personal financial planners can use to enhance clients’ perception of service quality and to build trust with the overall goal of retaining their clients’ commitment to the relationship and to the planner’s business.

Previous research in this area had used a broadly defined constructs approach in their modelling. Whilst this approach identified which constructs were involved, it was of limited benefit to practitioners who wanted to apply this new knowledge, and may have contributed to very limited identification and recognition of important “soft” factors. This study takes a different approach to the analysis of the interpersonal communications effectiveness, trust and service-quality constructs thought to be important in explaining relationship commitment. Instead of adding more constructs, as has been the traditional approach, this thesis makes both theoretical and practice contributions by breaking down these broad constructs into their dimensions and treating these as sub-constructs to develop a new and more comprehensive model. This approach provides much-improved diagnostic and explanatory power.

The proposed model was comprehensively analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques both for confirmatory factor analysis and for testing the structural model itself. The use of SEM (which tests the relationships between constructssimultaneously and takes error into account) offers worthwhile improvements in analysis power over older approaches, such as exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis, used in many of the earlier studies.

This study makes additional contributions to theory development by developing and testing new measurement scales for the sub-constructs of interpersonal communications effectiveness (information provision, communication style and social dialogue), service quality (process quality and outcome quality) and trust (credibility trust and benevolence trust). These new measurement scales are validated, assessed for reliability and tested before using them to test the proposed model.

Important contributions for professional-services practitioners are made by not only giving them an insight into the linkages between the sub-constructs, but also by providing the direction and the strength of these interactions. Knowing the direction, significance and strength of these linkages provides never-before available information on which to base business and marketing strategies.

The results of this thesis provide insights to help solve the professional-service provider’s problem with their client relationships and highlights the strong importance of “soft” factors in such interpersonal business relationships, which had been widely ignored in previous research.

The data was predominantly analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM), including multi-group SEM analysis as a means to investigate all variables in the proposed framework and to confirm the hypotheses of interest. Other techniques employed for data analysis were descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and cluster analysis, including three types of validity tests: convergent, discriminant and nomological.

The analysis revealed a number of interesting findings. First, a firm’s CCC and SCOC both had insignificant influences on its business performance. Second, there was a mutual relationship between CCC and SCOC that may contribute to Malaysian SMEs’ competitive advantage, as CCC and SCOC statistically influenced each other. Finally, this study also discovered aspects of a moderating effect, as the findings indicated that levels of SCI (which were categorised into two different groups) significantly moderated the relationship between (i) CCC and business performance and (ii) SCOC and business performance.

To the best of this researcher’s understanding, the above findings offer new knowledge, particularly through three findings related to: (i) the mutual relationship of CCC and SCOC, (ii) the moderating effects of levels of SCI on the relationship between CCC and business performance and (iii) the moderating effects of levels of SCI on the relationship between SCOC and business performance. The findings also contribute to remedying the lack of studies that examine the interrelationship of CCC and SCOC with business performance, either within or outside the Malaysian context. These findings empirically provide strong support for this study, and suggest that Malaysian SMEs need to consider the role of levels of SCI as the most important factor in improving business performance in respect to their CCC and SCOC.

Also, this is the first study to confirm the specification of each first-order and second-order CCC, SCOC, Levels of SCI and Business Performance constructs, demonstrating more precise findings than those of the previous studies.

Moreover, the current study is among the first empirical studies to apply the measurement-invariance test in ascertaining whether the effects of two different moderating groups (high and low levels of SCI) are equally strong. The study is also the first to examine the moderating effects on two relationships using a separate structural model for each. No previous study has commented on such a difference of findings between a full and separated structural models.

These facts highlight the current study’s contribution to expanding the application of both the RBV and SCM theories to firm- and country-specific research; specifically, to the development of SMEs in Malaysia. Finally, the current study also highlights the theoretical, empirical and practical issues that will guide scholars to undertake parallel studies in the future, as well as provide useful guidance to Malaysian SMEs’ practitioners and policy-makers

Semi-structured interviews and examination of the stoma and peristomal skin were conducted at week 1 and week 4 after discharge from hospital in the Stomal Therapy Clinic. Thematic analyses of the transcribed consultations were conducted using NVivo software package to organise the data.

The most important finding of this study is that it shows that using a qualitative methodology revealed important issues for patients, not previously shown by more structured methodology using instruments with predetermined problem lists for patients to rate or rank.

Physical stoma complications were found to exist in line with the literature including peristomal skin excoriation due to shrinkage of the stoma and stoma retraction. At follow-up after one week at home some participants had adopted obsessive checking and emptying behaviours. Changed eating habits were also found to exist. Neither of these issues has been identified amongst post-stoma patients before. Another, perhaps more unexpected finding throughout the study, was a reluctance to call for help when experiencing stoma complications.

A questionnaire survey was adopted as the research method. It received a total of 53 valid responses from 150 of the larger main contracting companies in Australia. The mean score value analysis and Relative Importance Index was used for data analysis and the data was then processed by Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The findings from this research demonstrate that the factors attributed to poor quality performance are mostly soft factors, which could be properly addressed by the concepts of SCQM. From the survey, though the level of awareness of SCQM is not very high in the Australian construction industry, the willingness to accept some approaches related to this concept is high. This provides a possible foundation to implement SCQM in the construction industry. Lastly, a model of KPIs had been developed, based on the result from the previous theoretical studies and this survey, which will encourage the implementation of SCQM in subcontracted projects. It is expected that it will help construction companies achieve a better quality performance, especially in their subcontracted projects. Although the relationship between enhancement of quality and SCQM is not examined directly in this thesis, it does provide a perspective that SCQM could address poor quality performance caused by subcontracting.

The production of surfboards is, however, in a state of flux. Since the 1950s the international growth of surfing as an industry has been driven by convergence with other popular culture and media industries (TV, sport, tourism, fashion, film and music). This has given rise to transnational firms including Billabong and Quiksilver that package the surf in the form of equipment, clothing and fashion accessories. Such firms now dominate a multi-billion dollar industry with tentacles spreading into various other lifestyle and leisure pursuits. Against a background where consolidation of corporate power and offshore manufacturing have up-scaled surfboard production, I document how independent custom workshops survive in surf-friendly coastal regions.

They do so through their use of two cultural production systems. The first enrols hand-based crafting methods and emphasises customisation. Here surfboards are made to suit local environmental conditions and individual surfers: customers pay high price for quality, hand-made and personalised products. This system relies on artisanal skills gained over years or even decades, and specialised, embodied knowledge, where artisans produce boards for consumers they know and will see riding them. Board-makers are iconic individuals within regional surf scenes, and take great pride in the practice of crafting tangible cultural products in this way, by hand. Yet this system of production is vulnerable to growing external competition from imported, mass produced boards. Hence independent workshops have increasingly turned to a second system: one that has speeded-up production following a computerised process that generates replicated boards for mass consumption. Relying on networks of surf retailers, sponsorship of professional surfers, and niche branding strategies, independent surfboard workshops can through automation make more boards than is possible through customisation, and thus potentially access wider markets for their products.

While fifteen of the eighteen participating workshops have shifted production towards the use of mechanised technologies – to varying degrees – all but three maintain hand-shaping techniques, guarding hard-gained skills while lending cultural capital to their customised surfboards and brand identity. Their ageing makers – all of whom are men, the outcome of the highly gendered surfing subculture – consequently survive precariously in financial and logistical terms, the result of limited production capacity. Working hours and conditions have become erratic and irregular, rates of pay fluctuate across short temporal scales, skills development is informal and there is a lack of succession planning amongst an older generation of craftsman.

Why hand-makers ultimately persist with uncertain, lowly paid and demanding jobs relates to the emotional transactions surrounding this form of cultural work. To understand meaning and value in this cultural industry I adapt the notion of an emotional terrain to expose the attachments and passions of surfboard-makers to their jobs. While uncovering deeply pleasurable pay-offs – surfboard shapers frequently described it as ‘soulful work’, making artful physical artefacts they saw being used locally, that linked to regional traditions, and in which they could take pride – there are equally significant unpleasurable experiences where workers are open to exploitation. Here discourses of ‘flexibility’ and ‘lifestyle work’ within surfing subculture mask more sinister conditions for labour. As surfboard production has shifted from labour-intensive to capital-intensive methods, automated production has become a flashpoint between workshop owners and their workers. The advent of automated production only increases the sense amongst these precarious workers that they make ‘soulful’ products using rare, inherited skills, valuable to surfing subculture beyond purely ‘economic’ considerations. I argue that for symbolic goods like surfboards, analysis can fruitfully combine political-economic considerations (competition, work place relations, labour markets, technological change) with greater sensitivity to local subcultural settings and the emotional transactions of cultural work. In the surfboard industry subcultural motivations powerfully drive design and production, and persistence with precarious forms of work. Hand-shaping survives only because of embodied and emotional connections to the work and to surfing subculture more generally.

Examination of post-translational processing in Mhp683 and Mhp684 revealed that both pre-proteins were cleaved into three fragments. Mhp683 fragments were identified at very similar masses and designated P45₆₈₃, P48₆₈₃ and P50₆₈₃. N-terminal sequencing of the three Mhp683 fragments revealed (1) no signal peptide cleavage and (2) that cleavage occurred at the motif TTKF ↓ QE. This cleavage motif was found to be predictive of post-translational cleavage in P216 (Mhp493) and similar motifs are found in identified cleavage regions of several P97/P102 family members. All three Mhp683 fragments were found on the surface of M. hyopneumoniae and cleavage was consistent in multiple field isolates. Recombinant fragments (F1₆₈₃ – F5₆₈₃) spanning the entire Mhp683 sequence were shown to bind heparin in a dose-dependant and saturable manner that was inhibited by unlabelled heparin and other sulphated glycosaminoglycans, suggesting that sulphate groups are important in heparin binding. Denatured F4₆₈₃ protein, representing a C-terminal portion of Mhp683, was also found to bind heparin, indicating that a linear heparin-binding motif is present in this fragment. Mhp683 expressed regions were found to bind cilia and antisera generatedfrom these recombinants were observed to significantly inhibit binding of M. hyopneumoniae cells to porcine cilia.

Mhp684 (P146) fragments were identified at three different masses in twodimensional gels and immunoblots and designated P40_P146, P50_P146 and P85_P146. All three cleavage fragments were found on the surface of M. hyopneumoniae and immunoblots revealed that efficiency of proteolytic cleavage varied between field isolates. Three recombinant Mhp684 fragments (F1_P146 – F3_P146) were generated and two of these (N-terminal F1_P146 and C-terminal F3_P146) bound heparin in a dosedependant and saturable manner that was inhibited by unlabelled heparin and fucoidan, again suggesting sulphate groups are important in this interaction. However, mucin and chondroitin sulphate B did not inhibit this binding, suggesting that the position of sulphate groups is important. Versions of recombinant F3_P146 from M. Hyopneumoniae strains J and 232, containing a C-terminal lysine or arginine respectively, bound porcine plasminogen in dot-blots and surface plasmon resonance experiments; an interaction that was significantly reduced by removal of the C-terminal residue, indicating that this residue is critical to plasminogen binding by P146.

Analysis of the gene and protein differences of P97/P102 family members in high and low adherence variants of strain 232 revealed only small differences in these variants. Immunoblots using antisera to P97/P102 family members revealed differences in the processing of one these proteins (Mhp107), but no significant differences in their expression were observed. Examination of the nucleotide sequences of the P97/P102 family members revealed no difference between high and low adherent variants; however, small differences between both of these variants and the published 232 genome sequence were identified. While the immunogenic lipoprotein P65 had previously been shown to be down-regulated in the low adherence variant, we found no evidence of this, as expression levels of P65 in the high and low adherence variants were not significantly different. Finally, despite the presence of a poly-adenine repeat near the promoter region of P65, we found no evidence that P65 underwent phase variation in both the high and low adherence variants and various laboratory strains and field isolates of M. hyopneumoniae.