A new map of the universe : A novel and accompanying essay

This thesis comprises a novel entitled A New Map of the Universe and an accompanying essay. The novel tells the story of a young architect named Grace Darlowe, who is struggling with her very first project: the design of a house for her lover, Michael. Grace struggles partly because she is uncertain about the future of her relationship with Michael, but her insecurities are more deeply rooted in her troubled relationship with her mother, Madeleine. Embittered by grief, Madeleine blames Grace for her husband Peter\u27s death and resents Grace\u27s choice to follow her father in becoming an architect. Grace is debilitated by her mother\u27s attitude and is unable to begin her career as an architect because she feels overshadowed by her father\u27s unfulfilled potential

Chemokine modulation of hippocampal function across aging

The hippocampus undergoes several structural, cellular, and functional changes during normal aging which is directly associated with cognitive decline and the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. Dysregulation of innate immune function in the peripheral and central nervous system during aging is thought to contribute to reduced cognition and the pathophysiological events leading to neurodegeneration. Most studies of aging compare young individuals with elderly, however there is limited investigation into whether hippocampal function also declines in early aging. In this thesis I used in vitro electrophysiology on mouse hippocampal slices to examine hippocampal excitability along the perforant path in an early aging model, comparing neuronal activity between juvenile (9-15 weeks old) and adult (25-35 weeks old) C57BL/6J mice. I also examined if the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC), which mediates circulating pro-inflammatory chemokine concentration, was affecting hippocampal excitability using homozygous DARC knockout mice. Extracellular measurements of dentate gyrus neurons during perforant pathway stimulation showed that hippocampal excitability increases in early aging. Intracellular measurements of intrinsic membrane properties indicated that dentate gyrus granule neurons become hyperpolarised and have increased membrane resistance during early aging, which occurred only in the supra-pyramidal subregion. Bath application of chemokine CCL2 increased hippocampal excitability via its cognate receptor CCR2, however not in an age-dependent manner, indicating that CCL2 does not regulate early age-dependent excitability. Measurements of population excitability and granule cell intrinsic properties in DARC knockout mice indicated that DARC regulates neuronal excitability in early aging and resting membrane potential of supra-pyramidal granule neurons. Adult DARC knockout mice also had increased hippocampal microglia proliferation. These are the first reported effects of DARC deficiency on brain cells. These implications of these findings, for our overall understanding of how hippocampal function changes in early aging and how chemokines and chemokine receptors alter hippocampal excitability, are discussed

Successional specialization in a reptile community cautions against widespread planned burning and complete fire suppression

Conservation of biodiversity in fire-prone regions depends on understanding responses to fire in animal communities and the mechanisms governing these responses. We collated data from an Australian semi-arid woodland reptile community (4796 individuals captured over 6 years) to: (i) determine the ability of commonly used shorter-term (2 years) surveys to detect reptile responses to time since fire (TSF) and (ii) investigate whether ecological traits of species reliably predicted their responses to fire. Of 16 reptile species analysed, four had responses to TSF consistent with shorter-term surveys and three showed no response to TSF. Nine species had responses to TSF not detected in previous studies using smaller but substantial subsets of the same data. Among the 13 affected species, times of peak abundance ranged from 1 to 50 years after fire. Nocturnal, burrowing species tended to be early successional and leaf-litter dwellers to be late successional, but these were only weak trends. Synthesis and applications. We found only limited support for a generalizable, trait-based model of succession in reptiles. However, our study revealed that the majority of common reptile species in our study region specialize on a post-fire successional stage and may therefore become threatened if homogeneous fire regimes predominate. Our study highlights the importance of interpreting results from time- or sample-limited fire studies of reptiles with the knowledge that many ecological responses may not have been detected. In such cases, an adaptive or precautionary approach to fire management may be necessary.This study was funded by the Australian Research Council, The Australian National University, DENR, Flinders University and the Australia and Pacific Science Foundation

Skeletochronological analysis of age in three ‘fire-specialist’ lizard species

Copyright (2013) the Field Naturalists Society of South Australia. Published version of the paper reproduced here with permission from the publisher.Adverse fire regimes threaten the persistence of animals in many ecosystems. ‘Fire-specialist’ species, which specialise on a particular post-fire successional stage, are likely to be at greatest risk of decline under adverse fire regimes. Life history data on fire-specialists, including longevity, are needed to develop tools to assist fire management for conservation. We used skeletochronology to estimate the age of individuals of three South Australian fire-specialist lizard species: Amphibolurus norrisi (Agamidae), Ctenotus atlas (Scincidae) and Nephrurus stellatus (Gekkonidae). Bone samples were sourced from specimens captured in mallee vegetation predominantly on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Transverse sections of femora were prepared using a standard histological procedure. We counted the minimum and maximum number of lines of arrested growth (LAG) in each sample to provide a conservative and non-conservative estimate of age for each individual. Our results showed that A. norrisi may live for at least five and up to seven years, C. atlas for at least three and up to four years and N. stellatus for at least four and up to seven years. The assumptions that one LAG was deposited per year and that endosteal resorption was minimal must be considered before using these estimates in further research. Our results provide a guide to the potential longevity of the three species which can be used in simulation modelling and genetic studies to improve fire management for animal conservation

Managing uncertainty in movement knowledge for environmental decisions

Species’ movements affect their response to environmental change but movement knowledge is often highly uncertain. We now have well-established methods to inte-grate movement knowledge into conservation practice but still lack a framework to deal with uncertainty in movement knowledge for environmental decisions. We provide a framework that distinguishes two dimensions of species’ movement that are heavily influenced by uncertainty: knowledge about movement and relevance of movement to environmental decisions. Management decisions can be informed by their position in this knowledge-relevance space. We then outline a framework to support decisions around (1) increasing understanding of the relevance of movement knowledge, (2) increasing robustness of decisions to uncertainties and (3) improving knowledge on species’ movement. Our decision-support framework provides guid-ance for managing movement-related uncertainty in systematic conservation plan-ning, agri-environment schemes, habitat restoration and international biodiversity policy. It caters to different resource levels (time and funding) so that species’ movement knowledge can be more effectively integrated into environmental decisions. © 2018 The Authors. Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Application of the Implicit Association Test to a study on deception

Version of RecordThree experiments were conducted to find out whether the standard Implicit Association Test (IAT) could be used to distinguish truthful and deceitful witnesses. We anticipated that IAT effects would be greater after lying. Participants were asked to answer questions with incorrect answers (i.e., the lie condition) or correct answers (i.e., the truthful condition). A third group of participants were not interviewed (a control group). Participants then took the IAT, in which they were asked to associate correct and incorrect answers with positive or negative attributes. Results demonstrate that standard IAT effects are greater after lying than after truth telling, but only when attribute labels were clearly and explicitly linked to positive and negative affect. Theoretical implications are considered.Frost, P., Adie, M., Denomme, R., Lahaie, A., Sibley, A., & Smith, E.. (2010). Application of the Implicit Association Test to a Study on Deception. The American Journal of Psychology, 123(2), 221-230. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/amerjpsyc.123.2.022

Vegetation structure moderates the effect of fire on bird assemblages in a heterogeneous landscape

Ecological theory predicting the impact of fire on ecological communities is typically focused on post-disturbance recovery processes or on disturbance-diversity dynamics. Yet the established relationship between vegetation structure and animal diversit

Teacher agency in the selection of literary texts

This is the final version. Available from Routledge via the DOI in this record. The nature of English as a school subject – and particularly English literature – is a longstanding issue of debate for practitioners and researchers internationally. One dimension of this concerns the forces that shape the diet of literary texts that students are fed. In this study, we draw on the ecological model of agency to interrogate the factors which influence how teachers choose literary texts for whole class teaching. Dimensions of agency are used as lenses to reveal the complex ways in which values and beliefs, structures of authority, material resources, and identities shape the selection of books, plays and poetry that are taught in English. By looking across these dimensions, we identify important questions which contribute to the debate: who should have agency to choose the texts taught; how does teacher agency influence students’ experiences of English literature; how far should we expect these experiences to be standardised?United Kingdom Literacy Associatio