Minimal Betti Numbers

We give conditions for determining the extremal behavior for the (graded) Betti numbers of squarefree monomial ideals. For the case of non-unique minima, we give several conditions which we use to produce infinite families, exponentially growing with dimension, of Hilbert functions which have no smallest (graded) Betti numbers among squarefree monomial ideals and all ideals. For the case of unique minima, we give two families of Hilbert functions, one with exponential and one with linear growth as dimension grows, that have unique minimal Betti numbers among squarefree monomial ideals

Econometric and time series models for predicting the futures market basis for Tennessee feeder cattle

The purpose of this study was to develop forecasting models capable of predicting basis for Tennessee feeder cattle six months in advance. Both econometric and time series models were developed, estimated and tested out-of-sample. The econometric model was estimated using five continuous inde-pendent variables. These were: transfer cost, futures price level, feeder cattle supply, stage of the cattle cycle and local grazing conditions. Dummy variables were used to represent the futures contract change to a cash settlement system and to represent the seasonality of feeder cattle production and marketing. The first type of time series model used was a univariate ARIMA model. Two ARIMA model specifications were used in the study, both of which accounted for seasonal components in the autoregressive scheme. Transfer function models were the second type of time series models used. Two forms of transfer function models were used with each including the futures contract change dummy variable in addition to seasonal autoregressive components. The second transfer function also used a transportation cost index as an exogenous variable. The five models were used to predict values for 12 10-day market-ing periods out-of-sample. These forecasts were compared to actual values using Theil\u27s U2 coefficient, root mean square error and graphics. Four models were able to predict better than a naive no-price-change model as indicated by coefficients less than one. Values for the U2 coefficients ranged from 0.28 to 1.12 and the cor-responding RMSE ranged from $0.87 to$3.49. The transfer function model with the dummy variable to represent the futures contract change to cash settlement and the transportation cost index was the superior model based on the above criteria. The econometric model was second best and the transfer function model with only the cash settlement dummy variable ranked third. The pure time series models ranked fourth and fifth, consistently overestimating the Tennessee feeder cattle basis

Genetic and functional studies of osteoarthritis susceptibility at COL11A1 and GDF5

PhD ThesisOsteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal disease and is characterised by joint pain and dysfunction resulting from the progressive focal loss of the articular cartilage of the joint. It is a multifactorial disease arising from the interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors, with a continuous distribution between the two extremes of predominantly genetic and predominantly environmental. Whilst several environmental risk factors for the disease are known, including body mass index (BMI), injury and occupation, known genetic risk factors are less well understood. Two major strategies have been employed in order to identify genetic factors conferring OA susceptibility: the investigation of candidate genes, which are principally chosen on the basis that the proteins that they code for are known to have a role in joint formation and maintenance, and genome wide association scans (GWASs), which search agnostically for disease associated polymorphic DNA variants. Within this thesis I report research on two genes highlighted using both strategies, although each is a compelling candidate. I report on the investigation of the functional effects of common polymorphism within COL11A1, which harbours a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that showed evidence of association to OA via the arcOGEN GWAS. I also report on the search for and analysis of rare variants of GDF5, a gene previously discovered as harbouring OA susceptibility by candidate gene studies. I tested for an allelic expression imbalance (AEI) of COL11A1 using RNA from patient cartilage but I did not detect a correlation between genotype at the GWAS OA associated SNP rs2615977 and the expression of the gene. I did however discover that genotype at a second polymorphism within COL11A1, rs1676486, did correlate with COL11A1 AEI. rs1676486 has previously been reported to be associated with lumbar disc herniation. However, my analysis of the arcOGEN dataset revealed that this SNP is not associated with OA. To identify rare variants in GDF5 that could impact upon OA susceptibility I sequenced the protein coding region of the gene, its untranslated regions, exon-intron boundaries and its proximal promoter in 962 OA cases and controls. Six novel and very rare variants with minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of ≤0.0006 were discovered and I confirmed the existence of known variants with common MAFs. The absence of variants with intermediate MAFs implies that the gene may have been subjected to a genetic bottleneck. One rare variant, within the proximal promoter of GDF5, was carried forward for functional analysis using luciferase reporter assays. I discovered that the novel A-allele of this variant increased the expression of the reporter plasmid relative to its common C-allele. I also demonstrated that this A-allele is able to counteract the reduced gene expression mediated by the T allele of the previously reported OA associated GDF5 SNP rs143383. I subsequently performed electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and identified the transcriptional activator/repressor YY1 as the trans-acting factor binding differentially to the alleles of the variant. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that the OA association to COL11A1 identified by GWAS is not caused by AEI of that gene within the articular cartilage of OA patients, and that the deep sequencing of current OA susceptibility loci to identify novel risk alleles is also a means to identify mechanisms to counteract the effects of susceptibility alleles that are already known.Cardiovascular Research Centre, Adelaid

Digital Alchemy for Materials Design: Colloids and Beyond

Starting with the early alchemists, a holy grail of science has been to make desired materials by modifying the attributes of basic building blocks. Building blocks that show promise for assembling new complex materials can be synthesized at the nanoscale with attributes that would astonish the ancient alchemists in their versatility. However, this versatility means that making direct connection between building block attributes and bulk behavior is both necessary for rationally engineering materials, and difficult because building block attributes can be altered in many ways. Here we show how to exploit the malleability of the valence of colloidal nanoparticle "elements" to directly and quantitatively link building block attributes to bulk behavior through a statistical thermodynamic framework we term "digital alchemy". We use this framework to optimize building blocks for a given target structure, and to determine which building block attributes are most important to control for self assembly, through a set of novel thermodynamic response functions, moduli and susceptibilities. We thereby establish direct links between the attributes of colloidal building blocks and the bulk structures they form. Moreover, our results give concrete solutions to the more general conceptual challenge of optimizing emergent behaviors in nature, and can be applied to other types of matter. As examples, we apply digital alchemy to systems of truncated tetrahedra, rhombic dodecahedra, and isotropically interacting spheres that self assemble diamond, FCC, and icosahedral quasicrystal structures, respectively.Comment: 17 REVTeX pages, title fixed to match journal versio

We have the means but what's the model? A better way for universities and industry to produce investigative journalism

This paper offers a solution to two problems facing Australian journalism: the declining numbers working in newsrooms on investigative journalism and the shortage of specific and up to date curriculum materials about investigative journalism. These problems create an opportunity for universities not only to improve teaching of journalism but for them to play a greater role in providing the public with the fruits of investigative journalism projects. This paper examines the various models for producing investigative journalism within university settings. It explores collaborations with industry partners and the various forms of selfpublishing undertaken by journalism courses. It asks which forms of association with industry work well and which forms of investigative journalism best suit such collaborations. It assesses recent examples in which industry partners work alongside journalism students on investigative projects. Several universities have created their own print outlets for investigative journalism and the proliferation of digital platforms has made self-publishing more accessible. This paper asks how worthwhile these stories are if they are limited to university rather than mainstream or independent publications. The paper proposes a new approach to industry-academy collaborative investigative journalism and the creation of a new model that draws on the successes and failures of existing and previous ones so that universities can better realise their potential in this field and so that student learning can be enhanced while audiences are better served

Training political reporters during a federal election: The UniPollWatch student journalism project

UniPollWatch was the largest student journalism project ever undertaken in Australia. Approximately 1000 students from 28 universities worked to cover the 2016 federal election. The project aimed to provide effective training on political reporting in a work-integrated learning environment. Utilising a combination of analysis and descriptions of the project and a survey research methodology, the results of this project suggest that by placing student reporters in the midst of a fluid and highly contested election environment they learn by observing and doing. The project demonstrated that students’ attitudes to, and aptitude for, covering politics varied greatly, but that the skills needed for political reporting can be improved through projects such as UniPollWatch

Collaboration on a national scale: journalism educators, students and the 2016 Australian federal election

Journalism is a collaborative process that requires individuals to work autonomously and collectively to produce news and information. In 2016, journalism educators from 28 Australian universities collaborated to provide coverage of the Australian federal election in a project called UniPollWatch. This project involved around 1000 students and 75 staff producing coverage of 150 House of Representatives seats that included 346 candidate profiles, 125 electorate profiles and verdict stories, profiles of 26 Senate candidates, and feature stories on nine key policy areas. The purpose-built UniPollWatch website also hosted two large-scale data journalism projects. This paper describes how the largest Australian student university project was devised and how it attracted and sustained collaborative participation. It also reports on the results of a survey of participating journalism academics about the structure of the project and draws insight from their comments about the management of future projects on this scale. The theoretical perspectives of analysis are drawn from journalism practice as well as governance theory, journalism pedagogy and work integrated learning. This paper argues that the UniPollWatch model offers possibilities for further development and adaptation for universities to collaborate for the benefit of journalism education, students and the practice of journalism

The future of sports delivery in Australia NBN multicast, IPTV and the role of the ISPs

Where lucrative media rights deals for sports content currently lie primarily with pay TV and free to air (FTA) broadcasters, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) entering the content delivery market through partners such as Fetch TV may be better placed to compete for distribution rights to sporting and other live events. In response to this shifting environment this paper outlines the technological capacities of NBN-based multicast Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), and examines public comment and interview data from ISPs, sports organisations and NBN Co. regarding their intentions for IPTV delivery. This paper begins with the assumption that diversity in these emerging media forms remains important as ISPs enter the media content market. We demonstrate, however, that despite the emergence of NBN-based technologies, diversity in sports content distribution cannot be assumed. The paper points toward the important role that regulators, such as the ACCC, have in maintaining diversity and competition in IPTV services. Introduction The design and rollout of a comprehensive fibre optic National Broadband Network (NBN) across Australia has initiated a great deal of discussion regarding innovation in both media technology and content provision. Recent developments in the testing and pricing of wholesale multicast services by NBN Co. poses the possibility that, amongst other changes to Australia's media landscape, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will have greater potential to deliver high definition IPTV services over the NBN. This raises the tantalising, or threatening, possibility of transformations to the distribution of premium, desirable televisual content such as sport. For sport media, where lucrative exclusive media rights deals, along with resulting sponsorship and advertising, currently lie with free to air (FTA) and subscription television, one possible outcome is that ISPs would be better placed to compete for web based and managed IPTV rights to sporting and other live events. Multicast technology made available through the NBN renders this scenario more likely. For instance, Landry Fevre, the general manager of media at NBN Co., predicts future negotiations for the rights to broadcast major Australian sports will feature AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE DIGITAL ECONOMY, VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1, NOVEMBER There are some important qualifications to be made here. Firstly, Australia is by no means leading the way internationally with the proposed FTTP broadband network. Secondly, a great deal hangs on the survival of the FTTP model beyond 2013, where incumbent media interests and the newly elected Coalition policy favour a lower-speed fibre to the node (FTTN) NBN that restricts IPTV capacity. In addition there is ample evidence that on the whole, the current arrangements for sports content rights and market share will become further entrenched with perhaps even greater concentration around exclusive rights deals between major sports organisations and the commercial FTA networks, and subscription Sports organisations are an important part of the mix, and it is in relation to fiercely contested sports content rights that many competition concerns arise. In light of these potential shifts, this paper examines the technological capacities of multicast and its implications for new forms of live event content delivery, and questions its ability to improve diversity in the provision of sports-related programming. We begin with the assumption that diversity in these emerging media forms remains important as ISPs enter the media content market. However, despite the development of NBN-based technologies, Contesting sports rights in Australia Sport is rightly considered a prized global, national and local media commodity; however, the value really lies in the media rights -that is, in the allocation of access and the level of exclusivity provided to those who record and distribute sports media. In Australia the Australian Football League (AFL), National Rugby League (NRL) and Cricket in particular attract fierce competition between FTA broadcasters, subscription TV and online and mobile providers for exclusive media rights. This is because in a context of uncertainty, sporting events and code loyalty still ensures an audience. As Hutchins and Rowe (2012, 21) have pointed out: 'The value of sports rights is built upon the immediacy of fixtures'. The timelines of sports events, news and information works against time-shifting technologies and video on demand (VOD) audience preferences that affect other forms of television content. With the rise of new technologies and platforms for delivery over the last decade, the claim has often been made that the domination of sports rights by broadcast media institutions is under threat. In a rapidly changing environment for television this is not so clear-cut In other sporting codes the price of exclusive rights deals continues to climb, and despite the changing media environment it is the traditional broadcasters that are securing exclusivity. The Seven Network broke records in the most recent round of negotiations when it paid $1.25B for the right to broadcast Australian Rules football, as did Telstra by paying$153M for exclusive online and mobile rights (which is seen as undervalued by many analysts). Telstra's arrangements were threatened by Optus's attempt to provide 'near live' recordings and online playback through its now defunct TV Now service (Battersby 2012). Optus had offered a cloud-based service to copy and replay sports content to its customers shortly after Multicast dedicates up to 20 Megabits per second of a 100 Mbps bandwidth to establish a managed media stream to distribute primarily, but not exclusively, quality audio-visual content. Network efficiency is gained by injecting the stream once into a network, and the