Developments in the Structure of the Australian Financial System

Some countries’ financial systems have undergone significant changes in response to the global financial crisis. While Australia’s financial system also experienced a variety of pressures and changes as a result of the crisis, the overall effect was much less severe than in some other developed countries and some of the recent changes in the structure of the Australian financial system have been a continuation of longer-term trends. This article examines recent developments in the institutional structure and performance of the Australian financial system, focusing on the past five years or so since the Reserve Bank published an article on this subject.Australia; financial system; structure; assets; liabilities; funding; capital; profit; liquidity; developments; authorised deposit-taking institution; ADI; bank; credit union; building society; CUBS; registered financial corporation; RFC; managed fund; funds management; general insurance; securitisation; superannuation; life insurance; super; financial institution; pension fund; concentration; growth; APRA; regulation;

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe occurrence of postembryonic neurogenesis in the vertebrate brain is now a widely accepted belief. Observations of adult neurogenesis have been made in multiple regions of the brain across numerous species. However, why some regions continue to make neurons while others do not is not completely clear. The functional significance of continual neurogenesis is also not well understood and remains a highly investigated topic. Determining why the brain continues to make new neurons under normal physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions will allow us to better understand how it functions overall. Additionally, a greater understanding of postembryonic neurogenesis will provide valuable therapeutic benefits to human life in terms of treating brain injury and neurodegenerative disease. One of the more recently identified regions to undergo continual neurogenesis is the hypothalamus-the homeostatic control center of the brain. It responds to both physiological and external environmental cues in order to regulate conditions in the body, such as body temperature, heart rate, sleep/wake cycles, and energy balance. Previous studies in Dr. Richard Dorsky's lab identified a population of neural precursors that express dlx transcription factors and continue to generate new neurons throughout adulthood in the hypothalamus of zebrafish. When I began my studies in this lab, I wanted to iv understand the functional significance of continual neurogenesis of this cell population. In this dissertation, I present findings that further our understanding of the factors regulating postembryonic neurogenesis of these neural precursors and the functional role these cells play. I developed reagents that aided in determining that the dlx+ cells were regulated by Wnt signaling. I also developed reagents that lead to the identification and characterization of a neurogenic radial glia-like population of cells, called tanycytes, residing in the caudal hypothalamus, which our lab went on to show was a stem cell population capable of giving rise to many cell types postembryonically. Furthermore, I determined that the dlx+ neural precursors generated tyrosine hydroxylase 2 (th2)-positive dopaminergic neurons that modulate swimming behavior. Finally, I went on to show that these th2+ neurons are capable of functional recovery. This discovery has potential therapeutic significance in future studies of neurodegenerative disease, such as Parkinson's disease. Overall, my investigations have lead to significant advances in our understanding of postembryonic neurogenesis

Non-invasive Measures of Core Temperature versus Ingestible Thermistor during Exercise in the Heat

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(2): 225-233, 2017 The accuracy of core temperature (Tc) thermometry from temporal, tympanic, and oral thermometry devices has been variable during exercise in a hot, humid environment. The purpose of the present study was to cross-validate temporal, two tympanic devices, and oral devices compared to an ingestible thermistor during exercise in a hot, humid environment. Fourteen young, active adults (6 women) completed a graded exercise test until voluntary exhaustion in an environmental chamber (35.5 ± 0.6 °C, 53.9 ± 5.8 % RH). There was no statistical difference in mean temperature between tympanic device 1 and pill-based core temperature (PBTc) measurements across all time points and were positively correlated (0.357; P\u3c0.001). Temperatures of tympanic device 2 were statistically higher than PBTc (37.8 ± 0.7 ºC vs. 37.6 ± 1.0 ºC; respectfully) (P=0.008). At all time points, temperatures for the second tympanic device and PBTc were positively correlated (0.192; P=0.043). Temporal and PBTc values did not differ across time points and were positively correlated (0.262; P=0.005) across all time points. Mean oral temperature was significantly less than mean PBTc across all time points. (37.0 ± 0.4 ºC vs. 37.6 ± 1.0 ºC, respectively) (P\u3c0.001). Across all time points, oral and PBTc were positively correlated (0.262; P=0.010). Tympanic and temporal devices can reflect Tc while exercising in a hot, humid environment. However, care should be taken when selecting the tympanic or temporal measurement device and validation is advised prior to heat illness mitigation in the field

Family Violence Within LGBTQ Communities in Australia: Intersectional Experiences and Associations with Mental Health Outcomes

BackgroundWhile prior research has documented intimate partner violence (IPV) and family of origin violence (FOV) experienced by LGBTQ communities at rates at least comparable to heterosexual and/or cisgender populations, little knowledge exists of how this experience occurs within intersections of these communities and who is most at risk.MethodsThis study utilised data from a from a large nationwide Australian survey of the health and wellbeing of 6835 LGBTQ adults aged 18 + years. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify individual factors associated with reporting ever having experienced FOV or IPV.ResultsIn total, 2675 (43.18%) participants reported ever experiencing FOV and 3716 (60.7%) reported ever experiencing IPV. Non-binary people, cisgender women, and trans men were most likely to have experienced FOV. Non-binary people and cisgender women were most likely to experience IPV. Participants aged 55 + years (compared to 18–24 years) were less likely to have experienced FOV, while the likelihood of experiencing IPV increased with age. Education was associated with both FOV and IPV (highest among the non-university tertiary educated). Having a moderate or severe disability and ever experiencing homelessness were associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing FOV and IPV. Recent experiences of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and high/very high psychological distress were associated with experiences of FOV and IPV.ConclusionsThis new knowledge regarding the factors that identify LGBTQ people at greater risk of family or intimate partner violence can ensure the tailoring of family violence practice and policy to those most in need

Robust Weak-lensing Mass Calibration of Planck Galaxy Clusters

In light of the tension in cosmological constraints reported by the Planck team between their SZ-selected cluster counts and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropies, we compare the Planck cluster mass estimates with robust, weak-lensing mass measurements from the Weighing the Giants (WtG) project. For the 22 clusters in common between the Planck cosmology sample and WtG, we find an overall mass ratio of \left = 0.688 \pm 0.072. Extending the sample to clusters not used in the Planck cosmology analysis yields a consistent value of $\left< M_{Planck}/M_{\rm WtG} \right> = 0.698 \pm 0.062$ from 38 clusters in common. Identifying the weak-lensing masses as proxies for the true cluster mass (on average), these ratios are $\sim 1.6\sigma$ lower than the default mass bias of 0.8 assumed in the Planck cluster analysis. Adopting the WtG weak-lensing-based mass calibration would substantially reduce the tension found between the Planck cluster count cosmology results and those from CMB temperature anisotropies, thereby dispensing of the need for "new physics" such as uncomfortably large neutrino masses (in the context of the measured Planck temperature anisotropies and other data). We also find modest evidence (at 95 per cent confidence) for a mass dependence of the calibration ratio and discuss its potential origin in light of systematic uncertainties in the temperature calibration of the X-ray measurements used to calibrate the Planck cluster masses. Our results exemplify the critical role that robust absolute mass calibration plays in cluster cosmology, and the invaluable role of accurate weak-lensing mass measurements in this regard.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure