Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Magpies'

Many species exhibit some form of colour variation between groups or individuals, and studies of such colour variation, its genetic basis and functional importance can contribute unique insights into the evolutionary, ecological, demographic and genetic processes affecting the diversity of life. Through the examination of the genetics underlying colour traits, the relative importance of different selective and demographic processes in the evolution and maintenance of a trait can be inferred, enabling scientists to gain a better understanding of what drives evolutionary change in different organisms and environments. Such studies also assist in bridging the gaps in our knowledge about the interactions between genetics and ecology that are involved in phenotypic variation. Understanding the pathways linking genetic and regulatory changes to phenotypic change and evolutionary change through time contributes to our knowledge about how species develop and evolve. The Australian magpie (Cracticus tibicen), is a group-living and territorial passerine bird with a characteristic pied appearance of strongly contrasting patches of black and white plumage. The species has several different plumage forms, delineated by the colour and/or pattern of back feathers; these plumage forms hybridise where their distributions overlap. Distributions of plumage forms are highly discordant with patterns of phylogeographic structure found in this species, making a scenario of allopatric divergence followed by secondary recontact at hybrid zones highly unlikely.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith School of Environment
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
Full Text

It is often suggested that species differences in neophobia are related to differences in feeding or habitat specialisation. Generalist species, which have more to gain from exploring novel resources, tend to be less neophobic than specialists. However, some successful generalists including ravens, brown rats and coyotes also demonstrate high levels of neophobia. I explored this paradox using common magpies, a widespread generalist opportunist that displays behaviour indicative of high neophobia. Using a combination of field and short-term captive studies, I investigated whether novelty reactions were a fixed trait or varied according to object features and context as well as for different categories of novelty (i.e. objects, food, location). I found that novelty reactions in magpies were not influenced by object features such as colour, shape or size but varied greatly depending on environmental context and novelty category. Birds did not show avoidance of novel objects presented in novel environments but were extremely wary of similar novel objects presented in familiar environments, suggesting that violation of expectations may be more important than absolute novelty. Magpies could overcome the neophobia through repeated exploration of the objects over longer periods of time, but it affected their foraging behaviour. To avoid interactions with novel objects, wild-living magpies successfully employed an innovative technique that involves observing and pilfering from caching squirrels. Less aversion was shown towards novel food than to novel objects, while familiar objects and food encountered in novel locations were generally accepted. In total, this thesis suggests that neophobia is a complex and dynamic phenomenon in generalist foragers which may set protective limitations on the level of exploration. It can be overcome through learning and the development of alternative behavioural tactics such as kleptoparasitism.

This thesis examines the role of identity on the development and trajectory of music preferences across the lifespan. The focus of interest in recent empirical research has been to predict music preferences using adolescent individual differences. It is widely recognized that adolescents use music to help them deal with a number of psychosocial and emotional challenges, which often arise during this critical period of identity development. There has been little study whether adults similarly use music to deal with a variety of lifespan experiences, and the impact that these have on the trajectory of music preferences. Therefore, I present the results of two studies which explored the relationship between identity and the trajectory of music preferences. The aim of the first on-line quantitative study was to replicate and expand previous research to explore through simple regression analyses, the relationship between personality traits, age, and estimated IQ and identity dimensions as predictors of music preferences. A large sample (n=768), ages ranging from 17-66 completed the survey. Music preference ratings were assessed using STOMP-R. The BFI and the EIPQ were used for personality trait and identity dimension measurement respectively. Results largely supported previous research. Interestingly, adjusted R2 scores suggested that individual differences accounted for less than 20% of variance in music preferences. To obtain a broader perspective of the problem, a second qualitative study (n=62, 18-73 years; X=28.6), was performed using semi-structured interviews to explore through a symbolic interactionist lens the development and evolution of music preferences as symbolic representations of identity. Coding and thematic analysis of the data revealed that the trajectory, meaning and function of music preferences are indeed subject to evolution, largely mediated by identity development, lifespan experiences and changing social groups. Interestingly, an increasing number of older adults had used the internet and media websites to revisit music from their past and expand their musical taste palate. Future research may explore the use of technology by older adults, on the trajectory of music preferences.

Esta tese tem como objetivo verificar os processos de transposição histórica e biográfica para três peças do dramaturgo irlandês Frank McGuinness, Innocence (1986), Mutabilitie (1997) e Speaking like Magpies (2005), e a interculturalidade deles resultante. Ela também se baseia na hipótese de que todos os processos se estruturaram a partir da ficcionalização de informações contidas em textos históricos e biográficos sobre os assuntos tratados em cada uma dessas peças, como uma crítica às narrativas que visam à objetividade. Este estudo constatou que, em relatos inconclusivos e em perfis de um famoso pintor italiano, de um renomado poeta inglês e de um controverso rei escocês da Inglaterra, modelados na Renascença a partir de suas obras e feitos, o dramaturgo encontrou uma oportunidade de mostrar a história e a biografia segundo a perspectiva irlandesa.
This dissertation aims at verifying the processes of historical and biographical transposition to three plays by Irish playwright Frank McGuinness, Innocence (1986), Mutabilitie (1997) and Speaking like Magpies (2005), and the interculturality resulting from them. It is also based on the hypothesis that all of the processes are structured from the fictionalization of the data contained in historical and biographical texts about the issues dealt with in each of these theatrical plays, as a way to criticize the narratives that target objectivity. In this study, it has been noticed that, in inconclusive reports and in the profiles of a famous Italian painter, of a renowned English poet, and of a controversial Scottish king of England, modeled in the Renaissance according to their works and deeds, the playwright found an opportunity to show history and biography from the Irish perspective.

One goal of community ecology is to examine proximate and ultimate factors driving interactions between species. Part of this work addresses breeding bird aggregations, termed nesting associations. I evaluated costs and benefits of nesting along an association gradient in smaller black-billed magpies (Pica hudsonia) and larger American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) over two nesting seasons in Jackson, Wyoming. Specifically, I explored mechanisms of proximate protective benefits gained by magpies nesting nearer crows, along with foraging costs of associating with crow competitors. I also evaluated ultimate influences of association on nesting success for crows and magpies. Protection can operate under two non-exclusive proximate mechanisms, termed predator exclusion and information transfer. I found both mechanisms influenced nest protection for magpies. Crows performed more defensive behaviors at magpie nests nearer their own nests, and magpies responded to crow defensive signals. However, I did not find fitness benefits for magpies related to nesting nearer or farther from crows. I also explored the competitive foraging costs of heterospecific nesting associations by quantifying resource discovery behaviors and providing novel resource extraction problems to crows and magpies. Crows and magpies behaviors differed related to resource extraction problems such that magpies were less neophobic than crows. However, magpies paid a cost, measured as higher food losses to kleptoparasitism, for nesting nearer to crows. Further, crows came to dominate shared resources initially discovered by magpies. These results highlight potential foraging benefits to crows for associating with magpies. Despite these proximate benefits, crows also did not have greater nesting success when nesting nearer to magpies. Crows also experienced proximate costs to associating, measured as increased defensive behaviors and longer latencies to complete more complex resource extraction problems when nearer to magpies. I found that crow nesting success was related to success of associated conspecifics, but was not related to the number of defenders participating in nest defense. In my study system of crows and magpies, both species experienced benefits and costs to nesting nearer a heterospecific associate. However, costs and benefits may balance each other out such that there is no observable difference in fitness for either species based on association.

The urbanised environment provides ecologists with unique situations in which to undertake ecological study. It has been said that urbanisation is like a natural experiment; we often have populations of animals that have gone from living in natural or semi-natural environments to living in a highly modified anthropogenic environment. These situations provide ideal settings to study the ecological and behavioural differences that may develop in populations located in different habitats. Urbanisation typically results in a minority of species dominating the fauna, and this thesis aimed to examine one such species, the Australian magpie. Despite the magpie being a common and well-liked suburban bird, the majority of previous research on this species has been undertaken within rural or exurban locations. This thesis aimed to examine what actually happens to the species when it lives in the suburban environment. In particular I focused on specific behavioural and ecological features, to see if there were any particular adaptations the suburban magpies showed and also if the suburban habitats provide certain resources favourable to the magpies and what ecological effects these may have. Comparisons of the territory structure and resources of rural and suburban magpies showed that although many features of the territory are similar between rural and suburban locations, notably the choice of native nest trees, magpie territories within suburban areas were smaller and contained more anthropogenic features. The reduced territory size may possibly be related to a greater abundance of key food resources also evident within suburban areas. Furthermore, suburban magpies are more successful in their foraging attempts, again possibly reflecting a more abundant food supply in suburbia and also the simplified nature of suburban foraging areas might facilitate more successful foraging. The increased foraging success is likely to explain the greater provisioning rate to nestling suburban magpies. Suburban magpies also utilised human provided foods. I quantified the extent of wildlife feeding within many of the suburban study sites of this thesis (through the use of questionnaire surveys). In each of the locations it was evident that at least one person (usually more) was providing a regular supply of food to wildlife and magpies appeared to be the main recipients of this food. Previous ecological studies suggest the provision of extra food to avian populations is likely to affect the breeding ecology, and this was so for magpies. The suburban populations initiated breeding significantly earlier than rural magpies. To test the influence of food, supplementary food was provided to rural magpies, not currently receiving any additional human provided foods. The fed rural magpies initiated breeding before control rural magpies (i.e. not receiving any additional food) but suburban magpies still initiated breeding before all other groups. This suggests additional factors present within suburbia, such as warmer temperatures, may also control the timing of breeding in magpies. Magpies in rural and suburban locations lived within different vertebrate communities. Within suburban magpie territories a greater number of intrusions were made by domestic animals, notably dogs (Canis lupus) and cats (Felis domesticus). The frequency of raptors entering the territorial areas occupied by magpies appears to suggest such events are more common in rural areas. The number of humans entering magpie territories was obviously greater in the more populated suburban areas and the majority of magpies responded neutrally to humans. However a group of magpies that previously exhibited extreme aggression towards humans were found to have a greater frequency of aggressive interactions with potential predatory intruders, which were primarily humans. Subsequent examination of the level of corticosterone from this aggressive group of magpies found that a high level of aggressive interactions with potential predators and humans is reflected in higher level of corticosterone, which may have implications for further behavioural and even physiological changes. An ability to habituate to human in urbanised areas is a key attribute of successful synanthropic species. Comparisons of magpies disturbance distances at different points along the urban gradient (the gradient that runs from the urbaised city to natural wildlands) found suburban magpies only responded to humans when they had approached to a close distance (often less than one metre) and many simply walked away to avoid the approaching human. Rural and exurban magpies responded to humans at greater distances than suburban magpies. The distance at which they responded to the human was usually 100 meters plus, and these magpies always flew away. A continuation of this investigation over a temporal scale again found the large difference in response to humans, with suburban magpies exhibiting a decreased response towards humans. However, a certain proportion of responses from suburban magpies were also aggressive. The examination of disturbance distance over the breeding season found that in suburban magpies the responses of most disturbance distance variables remained similar between breeding stages. Rural magpies, however, exhibited variation in their responses towards humans depending on the stage of breeding. It is suggested that the response of rural magpies may be a typical fear response towards an unusual potential threat. The studies presented in this thesis show that magpies have the behavioural capacity to take advantage of resources in suburban landscapes that are not available or are in lessor supply in rural landscapes, it is these abilities that facilitate the magpies synanthropy.

The urbanised environment provides ecologists with unique situations in which to undertake ecological study. It has been said that urbanisation is like a natural experiment; we often have populations of animals that have gone from living in natural or semi-natural environments to living in a highly modified anthropogenic environment. These situations provide ideal settings to study the ecological and behavioural differences that may develop in populations located in different habitats. Urbanisation typically results in a minority of species dominating the fauna, and this thesis aimed to examine one such species, the Australian magpie. Despite the magpie being a common and well-liked suburban bird, the majority of previous research on this species has been undertaken within rural or exurban locations. This thesis aimed to examine what actually happens to the species when it lives in the suburban environment. In particular I focused on specific behavioural and ecological features, to see if there were any particular adaptations the suburban magpies showed and also if the suburban habitats provide certain resources favourable to the magpies and what ecological effects these may have. Comparisons of the territory structure and resources of rural and suburban magpies showed that although many features of the territory are similar between rural and suburban locations, notably the choice of native nest trees, magpie territories within suburban areas were smaller and contained more anthropogenic features. The reduced territory size may possibly be related to a greater abundance of key food resources also evident within suburban areas. Furthermore, suburban magpies are more successful in their foraging attempts, again possibly reflecting a more abundant food supply in suburbia and also the simplified nature of suburban foraging areas might facilitate more successful foraging. The increased foraging success is likely to explain the greater provisioning rate to nestling suburban magpies. Suburban magpies also utilised human provided foods. I quantified the extent of wildlife feeding within many of the suburban study sites of this thesis (through the use of questionnaire surveys). In each of the locations it was evident that at least one person (usually more) was providing a regular supply of food to wildlife and magpies appeared to be the main recipients of this food. Previous ecological studies suggest the provision of extra food to avian populations is likely to affect the breeding ecology, and this was so for magpies. The suburban populations initiated breeding significantly earlier than rural magpies. To test the influence of food, supplementary food was provided to rural magpies, not currently receiving any additional human provided foods. The fed rural magpies initiated breeding before control rural magpies (i.e. not receiving any additional food) but suburban magpies still initiated breeding before all other groups. This suggests additional factors present within suburbia, such as warmer temperatures, may also control the timing of breeding in magpies. Magpies in rural and suburban locations lived within different vertebrate communities. Within suburban magpie territories a greater number of intrusions were made by domestic animals, notably dogs (Canis lupus) and cats (Felis domesticus). The frequency of raptors entering the territorial areas occupied by magpies appears to suggest such events are more common in rural areas. The number of humans entering magpie territories was obviously greater in the more populated suburban areas and the majority of magpies responded neutrally to humans. However a group of magpies that previously exhibited extreme aggression towards humans were found to have a greater frequency of aggressive interactions with potential predatory intruders, which were primarily humans. Subsequent examination of the level of corticosterone from this aggressive group of magpies found that a high level of aggressive interactions with potential predators and humans is reflected in higher level of corticosterone, which may have implications for further behavioural and even physiological changes. An ability to habituate to human in urbanised areas is a key attribute of successful synanthropic species. Comparisons of magpies disturbance distances at different points along the urban gradient (the gradient that runs from the urbaised city to natural wildlands) found suburban magpies only responded to humans when they had approached to a close distance (often less than one metre) and many simply walked away to avoid the approaching human. Rural and exurban magpies responded to humans at greater distances than suburban magpies. The distance at which they responded to the human was usually 100 meters plus, and these magpies always flew away. A continuation of this investigation over a temporal scale again found the large difference in response to humans, with suburban magpies exhibiting a decreased response towards humans. However, a certain proportion of responses from suburban magpies were also aggressive. The examination of disturbance distance over the breeding season found that in suburban magpies the responses of most disturbance distance variables remained similar between breeding stages. Rural magpies, however, exhibited variation in their responses towards humans depending on the stage of breeding. It is suggested that the response of rural magpies may be a typical fear response towards an unusual potential threat. The studies presented in this thesis show that magpies have the behavioural capacity to take advantage of resources in suburban landscapes that are not available or are in lessor supply in rural landscapes, it is these abilities that facilitate the magpies synanthropy.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
Full Text

The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a large, sedentary, omnivorous passerine. In some populations, individuals live in groups, and some of these groups breed cooperatively. The white-backed magpie (G. t. tyrannica) from the south-eastern corner of the continent, has had relatively little study, and few details are known of its mating system, social structure, and method of parental care. I conducted an observational study on a population of white-backed magpies, recording details of their demography, dispersal, breeding system, and parental care. In conjunction, I conducted a genetic analysis of the population, to determine if the genetic mating system matched the observed social system, to detect instances of extra-group mating, and to sex juvenile birds. Extra-pair paternity (EPP) is a common feature of the mating systems of many birds. The rate of EPP may vary between species, races and populations. I made a comparison of extra-group paternity (EGP) rates between two races of the Australian magpie, to determine if similar mating systems were being employed. The two populations had similar social structure, but differed in group size and dispersal. I predicted that dispersal differences would have a profound effect on the rate of EGP between the populations, as the population with the lower rate of dispersal and higher chance of breeding with a close relative would engage in EGPs more frequently. Eight microsatellite loci were used to determine parentage in the white-backed Australian magpie. The rate of EGP was found to be 44%. Dispersal rates were estimated from observational data. Over half of the juvenile magpie cohort from the previous breeding season leave the territorial group. These results contrast sharply with the results found by other researchers in a population of western Australian magpies (G t. dorsalis). In this population, 82% EGP is recorded and dispersal of juveniles is close to nil. The results indicate that dispersal rate is a potentially important predictor of rates of extra-group fertilisations between populations of this species, and suggest that females maximise their reproductive output by avoiding breeding with close kin. The reproductive success of a male bird is often correlated with measurable traits that predict his intrinsic quality. Females are thought to select mates based on their quality to gain their 'good genes'. Male Australian magpies of the white-backed race were trapped in two breeding seasons. Measurements were taken of morphometric and other characteristics in order to discover whether particular traits of males were associated with: a) number of fledglings produced in the territory per season; b) percentage of offspring sired in the territory; and c) whether females select males for their 'good genes'. The only variable that was correlated with number of territorial offspring was feather lice load. Males with high numbers of lice were less likely to produce territorial fledglings in one season and across both seasons. Males of inferior quality may be subject to increased conspecific territorial intrusions, leading to more time spent on defence, more failed breeding attempts, less time allocated to grooming and thus high parasite loads. Males that produced many territorial fledglings were more likely to gain genetic paternity of at least some of them, although again this was significant for only one season. Also, across both seasons, a high number of females in the group was correlated with increased paternity within the group. The general lack of correlation between the variables and level of genetic paternity may be due to females engaging in extra-group mating primarily to avoid breeding with a close relative rather than to choose a quality male. In this scenario, males would not have to be 'high quality', but merely genetically different to the female's social mate. Extra-group paternity (EGP) can affect paternal effort. It may also influence the helping effort of auxiliary birds in cooperatively breeding species. If helping is driven by kin selection, helpers should decline to provision unrelated young. Relatedness becomes difficult to assess however, when females mate outside the group. Alternative rewards may then become important in helper decisions. In my study population of Australian magpies, 38% of fledglings were sired by males outside the territorial group. In a second population (G. t. dorsalis), 82% of fledglings were sired by extra-group males. I observed within-group male and helper feeding effort over three breeding seasons in the first population and obtained data recorded over a single season in the second population. In both populations, males provisioned young regardless of relatedness, as did helpers. Males provisioned less than the nesting female on average. Paternal effort did not reduce with an increase in the rate of EGP between populations. In the population with intermediate levels of EGP, the white-backed magpies, I observed helpers in about half of the sampled territories that produced fledglings. Helpers did not increase the production of young. In the population with high levels of EGP, western magpies, I detected helping behaviour in proportionally more territories. It appears that Australian magpie helpers provide help in order to pay 'rent' and remain on the natal territory. I discuss these results in light of the differences between the two races of magpie and the major theories regarding male parenting decisions and helper activity. Finally, I examine the relatively high rates of EGP's in the Australian magpie from a phylogenetic perspective. Although inbreeding avoidance is strongly supported by this study as the major reason EGP is so common in magpie populations, there may be an element of phylogenetic inertia that maintains the frequency of this behavioural trait. I comment upon the use of single-population estimates of species EGP rates in comparative analyses, given the intraspecific variation discovered between Australian magpie populations. Future directions for the study of mate choice in the Australian magpie are outlined with a proposal to study variation at the major histocompatibility complex between mated pairs.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
Full Text

The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a large, sedentary, omnivorous passerine. In some populations, individuals live in groups, and some of these groups breed cooperatively. The white-backed magpie (G. t. tyrannica) from the south-eastern corner of the continent, has had relatively little study, and few details are known of its mating system, social structure, and method of parental care. I conducted an observational study on a population of white-backed magpies, recording details of their demography, dispersal, breeding system, and parental care. In conjunction, I conducted a genetic analysis of the population, to determine if the genetic mating system matched the observed social system, to detect instances of extra-group mating, and to sex juvenile birds. Extra-pair paternity (EPP) is a common feature of the mating systems of many birds. The rate of EPP may vary between species, races and populations. I made a comparison of extra-group paternity (EGP) rates between two races of the Australian magpie, to determine if similar mating systems were being employed. The two populations had similar social structure, but differed in group size and dispersal. I predicted that dispersal differences would have a profound effect on the rate of EGP between the populations, as the population with the lower rate of dispersal and higher chance of breeding with a close relative would engage in EGPs more frequently. Eight microsatellite loci were used to determine parentage in the white-backed Australian magpie. The rate of EGP was found to be 44%. Dispersal rates were estimated from observational data. Over half of the juvenile magpie cohort from the previous breeding season leave the territorial group. These results contrast sharply with the results found by other researchers in a population of western Australian magpies (G t. dorsalis). In this population, 82% EGP is recorded and dispersal of juveniles is close to nil. The results indicate that dispersal rate is a potentially important predictor of rates of extra-group fertilisations between populations of this species, and suggest that females maximise their reproductive output by avoiding breeding with close kin. The reproductive success of a male bird is often correlated with measurable traits that predict his intrinsic quality. Females are thought to select mates based on their quality to gain their 'good genes'. Male Australian magpies of the white-backed race were trapped in two breeding seasons. Measurements were taken of morphometric and other characteristics in order to discover whether particular traits of males were associated with: a) number of fledglings produced in the territory per season; b) percentage of offspring sired in the territory; and c) whether females select males for their 'good genes'. The only variable that was correlated with number of territorial offspring was feather lice load. Males with high numbers of lice were less likely to produce territorial fledglings in one season and across both seasons. Males of inferior quality may be subject to increased conspecific territorial intrusions, leading to more time spent on defence, more failed breeding attempts, less time allocated to grooming and thus high parasite loads. Males that produced many territorial fledglings were more likely to gain genetic paternity of at least some of them, although again this was significant for only one season. Also, across both seasons, a high number of females in the group was correlated with increased paternity within the group. The general lack of correlation between the variables and level of genetic paternity may be due to females engaging in extra-group mating primarily to avoid breeding with a close relative rather than to choose a quality male. In this scenario, males would not have to be 'high quality', but merely genetically different to the female's social mate. Extra-group paternity (EGP) can affect paternal effort. It may also influence the helping effort of auxiliary birds in cooperatively breeding species. If helping is driven by kin selection, helpers should decline to provision unrelated young. Relatedness becomes difficult to assess however, when females mate outside the group. Alternative rewards may then become important in helper decisions. In my study population of Australian magpies, 38% of fledglings were sired by males outside the territorial group. In a second population (G. t. dorsalis), 82% of fledglings were sired by extra-group males. I observed within-group male and helper feeding effort over three breeding seasons in the first population and obtained data recorded over a single season in the second population. In both populations, males provisioned young regardless of relatedness, as did helpers. Males provisioned less than the nesting female on average. Paternal effort did not reduce with an increase in the rate of EGP between populations. In the population with intermediate levels of EGP, the white-backed magpies, I observed helpers in about half of the sampled territories that produced fledglings. Helpers did not increase the production of young. In the population with high levels of EGP, western magpies, I detected helping behaviour in proportionally more territories. It appears that Australian magpie helpers provide help in order to pay 'rent' and remain on the natal territory. I discuss these results in light of the differences between the two races of magpie and the major theories regarding male parenting decisions and helper activity. Finally, I examine the relatively high rates of EGP's in the Australian magpie from a phylogenetic perspective. Although inbreeding avoidance is strongly supported by this study as the major reason EGP is so common in magpie populations, there may be an element of phylogenetic inertia that maintains the frequency of this behavioural trait. I comment upon the use of single-population estimates of species EGP rates in comparative analyses, given the intraspecific variation discovered between Australian magpie populations. Future directions for the study of mate choice in the Australian magpie are outlined with a proposal to study variation at the major histocompatibility complex between mated pairs.

This thesis reports on a study which developed a profile of the reviewers of children's books in Australia. It then compared the profile with one which was developed by Kathleen Craver in 1984 of children's book reviewers in the United States. Five research questions were addressed by this study relating to reviewers and their opinions regarding review aspects, reviewer roles and review practices within the framework of their personal and professional background. Craver surveyed the reviewers from School Library journal because as a group, they provided the greatest potential for statistical significance of all the reviewing journals in the United States. As no Australian journal enjoys either the number of reviewers or the circulation of School Library journal, reviewers from eight journals which are most used by teacher and children's librarians were selected to form the population for this research. These journals are Fiction Focus, LINES, Magpies, Reading Time, Reviewpoin t, Review Bulletin, Scan and Tasmanian Resources Review. The reviewer profile which emerged from this study was very similar to Craver's in that it was not one which could be entirely defined in terms of group characteristics. Selected cross tabulations either with the particular journals, demographic details, or other variables, particularly those relating to reviewer experience failed to produce predictable behaviourial correlations. However, reviewers were united on certain issues which can be attributed to their own professional background.

This thesis is about the possibility for program developers to write programs that are able to interact with already managed files. That means that they are compiled into intermediate language files, which is impossible to read for a human. The objective of this project was to develop a program that would use this possibility to interact with compiled files. This in order to extract information from them about how and if they reference to other chosen compiled files. This thesis also explains the different tools, such as programs, used in this project to accomplish the task at hand.

Over the past decades, quantitative methods linking theory and observation became increasingly important in many areas of life science. Subsequently, a large number of mathematical and computational models has been developed. The BioModels database alone lists more than 140,000 Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) models. However, while the exchange within specific model classes has been supported by standardisation and database efforts, the generic application and especially the re-use of models is still limited by practical issues such as easy and straight forward model execution. MAGPIE, a Modeling and Analysis Generic Platform with Integrated Evaluation, closes this gap by providing a software platform for both, publishing and executing computational models without restrictions on the programming language, thereby combining a maximum on flexibility for programmers with easy handling for non-technical users. MAGPIE goes beyond classical SBML platforms by including all models, independent of the underlying programming language, ranging from simple script models to complex data integration and computations. We demonstrate the versatility of MAGPIE using four prototypic example cases. We also outline the potential of MAGPIE to improve transparency and reproducibility of computational models in life sciences. A demo server is available at magpie.imb.medizin.tu-dresden.de.

Over the past decades, quantitative methods linking theory and observation became increasingly important in many areas of life science. Subsequently, a large number of mathematical and computational models has been developed. The BioModels database alone lists more than 140,000 Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) models. However, while the exchange within specific model classes has been supported by standardisation and database efforts, the generic application and especially the re-use of models is still limited by practical issues such as easy and straight forward model execution. MAGPIE, a Modeling and Analysis Generic Platform with Integrated Evaluation, closes this gap by providing a software platform for both, publishing and executing computational models without restrictions on the programming language, thereby combining a maximum on flexibility for programmers with easy handling for non-technical users. MAGPIE goes beyond classical SBML platforms by including all models, independent of the underlying programming language, ranging from simple script models to complex data integration and computations. We demonstrate the versatility of MAGPIE using four prototypic example cases. We also outline the potential of MAGPIE to improve transparency and reproducibility of computational models in life sciences. A demo server is available at magpie.imb.medizin.tu-dresden.de.

During the Pleistocene, fluctuating climates led to cycles of glacial/arid activity interspersed with pluvial periods across continents in both northern and southern hemispheres. Many studies in the northern hemisphere have used genetic analysis to document the important role that glacial activity has played in structuring avian populations at high latitudes. However, few have attempted to study the associated effect of aridification at low latitudes in the southern hemisphere. I investigated the past effects that cyclic aridification may have had on the population structure and history of a widespread endemic Australian bird species, the Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) and two species of obligate feather ectoparasites. 1166 samples from across the native range of G. tibicen were analysed for mitochondrial control region sequence variation and variation at six microsatellite loci. Analysis of mitochondrial control region sequence data indicated monophyletic clades that were geographically congruent with an eastern and western region. Analysis of mitochondrial variation at the sites sampled in this study suggested the contemporary distribution of eastern and western clades is non-overlapping but in close proximity. Analysis of microsatellite variation suggested that secondary contact may have occurred between eastern and western clades in north-western Australia. From AMOVA analysis and Bayesian analysis of population structure (BAPS) it was indicated that contemporary nuclear gene flow preceded mitochondrial gene flow from eastern populations through to north-western Australia. Most eastern, northern and north-western sites showed little geographic structure for microsatellite variation. BAPS analysis of microsatellite variation however, suggested there was as much structure among south-west populations as there was between eastern and western populations. For a majority of population comparisons, estimates of gene flow based on coalescent analyses (LAMARC) suggested higher gene flow rates for males than predicted by differences in effective population size of nuclear DNA compared to mitochondrial DNA. This result coupled with the spread of nuclear DNA preceding mitochondrial DNA supports earlier studies that suggest dispersal in magpies in male biased. Using the program IM, eastern and western mainland clades were estimated to have diverged in the Pleistocene around 36, 000 years ago. The island population of Tasmania was even more recent in origin, possibly since sea levels rose 16,000 years ago, inundating Bass Strait. The putative Carpentarian and possibly Canning barriers in the north and the Nullarbor-Eyrean arid barriers in the south appear to be associated with the divergence between eastern and western mainland populations. Nested clade analysis indicated a signature of range expansion in the eastern region suggesting movement possibly inland and northward subsequent to the last period of aridity. Although not significant, north-eastern and south-eastern populations appeared to show some evidence of a population expansion from mitochondrial DNA. Collectively, phylogeographic analyses suggested that increasing aridity during the Pleistocene played an important role in structuring the Australian magpie. The east to west pattern of mtDNA divergence that was identified contrasts with the striking north to south pattern in morphological (back colour) variation in magpies. Over a large proportion of northern Australia, magpies are black backed (BB) and over a smaller area in southern Australia, magpies are white backed (WB). Between BB’s and WB’s a contact zone is present where both parental forms and magpies with an intermediate black band occur. The discordance between back colour and mtDNA structure in magpies suggests recent history is not responsible for the morphological variation. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequence variation was analysed for two species of feather lice associated with G. tibicen. Philopterus sp. has greater habitat specificity than Brueelia semiannulata and as predicted showed deeper divergences among populations than B. semiannulata. There was concordance between the distribution of mitochondrial clades for Philopterus sp. and magpies. The overlap of eastern magpie haplotypes and western Philopterus sp. haplotypes at one site suggested secondary contact among eastern and western clades in northern Australia. Two clades were also evident for B. semiannulata. However they were not congruent with geographic structure of the host or Philopterus sp. Rather, the two non-overlapping B. semiannulata clades were distributed in northern and southern Australia. The divergent clades of B. semiannulata may represent populations that diverged on magpies that were isolated prior to the last period of aridity. It was evident that gene flow occurs among populations of northern and southern B. semiannulata; therefore the contemporary maintenance of divergent clades may be due to selection. One possibility is that selection for thermal tolerance is maintaining current distributions of B. semiannulata.Overall microsatellite variation and mtDNA variation in host and lice suggest that increasing aridity and Pleistocene refugia played a role in structuring populations of the Australian magpie. Since the Pleistocene, the dispersal ability and generalist habitat requirements may have facilitated the movement of magpies into an almost contiguous modern distribution across the continent. This study supports the idea that Pleistocene aridification played an important role in structuring intraspecific variation in low latitudinal southern hemisphere avian species.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
Faculty of Environmental Studies
Full Text

This Thesis introduces two novel experimental configurations for studying radiative shocks with the aim of improving our understanding of the physics involved, which is relevant to laboratory astrophysics, inertial confinement fusion and for benchmarking numerical simulations. Experiments on the Orion laser facility used lasers with an intensity of 5x10^14 W/cm^2 to drive counter-propagating shocks, with a velocity of 60 km/s, into a gas-fill (of Neon, Argon, Krypton or Xenon) with an initial mass density of 0.5 to 1.6 mg/cm^3. These experiments simultaneously study both the post-shock material and radiative precursor for the first time, with a combination of X-ray backlighting, self-emission streaked imaging and laser interferometry. Experiments with Neon gas-fills allowed for post-shock compression measurements, x23, and the counter-propagating shock configuration allowed reverse shocks to be studied. In addition, large gas-cells allowed for shocks to evolve in three dimensions, resulting in the formation of post-shock instabilities which will be the subject of future work. Experiments on the MAGPIE generator introduce the 'inverse liner z-pinch', building upon previous experiments on imploding liners where diagnostic access was limited and radiative effects occurred on spatial scales larger than the experiment. A 1 MA current pulse was passed through a liner embedded in a gas-fill (of Neon, Argon, Krypton or Xenon), with an initial mass density of 0.04 mg/cm^3, and returned through a central post. This launched a cylindrically expanding radiative shock which propagated at 10 km/s. Experiments were diagnosed with a combination of self-emission imaging, laser interferometry and optical emission spectroscopy. Shocks were able to propagate for several centimetres, allowing the ionization in the radiative precursor to be measured, which was not possible in previous experiments. Future work will use this platform to study radiative shocks with perturbations by introducing well characterised grooves on the surface of the liner.

This thesis describes data sharing between information systems based on ontologies. In the first chapter shows up the term ontology and used terminology. Then this thesis analyses used basic methods, onthological languages and partially describes semantic web. In the third chapter are write out  utilities and plugins which are used for working with ontologies. The other chapters describe created ontology which are useful for car-selling. Especially ontology with cars, sellers and addresses . At the end of the thesis is explained suggested instrument to transfer existing XML to recording advertising in OWL language.

Denna rapport beskriver hur dagens tekniska processer ser ut vid tillverkning av applikationer för interaktiva publikationer. En interaktiv publikation är en digitalt skapad tidning med ett extra lager av information som man kan interagera med. Exempel på interaktivitet är bildspel, video och informationsflöden i realtid som visas direkt i tidningen.  Rapporten fokuserar på vad det är som ger ett mervärde till en digital interaktiv publikation och vilka funktioner det är som kan ge upphov till detta. Genom en jämförande analys mellan digitala publikationer och papperstidningar tas fyra designaspekter fram för att användas som grund för hur interaktiva element bör hanteras i framställningen av digitala publikationer.  En prototyp av en interaktiv publikation har tagits fram för att visa hur designaspekterna kan tillämpas och för att visa hur information kan presenteras på ett mer interaktivt sätt.
This report describes how today's technological processes look like in the production of applications for interactive publications. An interactive publication is a digitally created magazine with an extra layer of information that you can interact with. Examples of interactivity is slideshows and video and data streams in real time that are displayed directly in the magazine. The report focuses on what it is that adds value to a digital interactive publication, and what functions which may provide cause to this. Through a comparative analysis of digital publications and the newspapers, four designaspects have been developed as an basis for how the interactive elements should be handled in the production of digital publications.  A prototype of an interactive publication was developed to show how the designaspects can be applied and to show how information can be presented in a more interactive way.

The Tay estuary is situated on the east coast of Scotland. The estuary is dominated by sediment biotopes, including mudflats which support sparse beds of two nationally scarce seagrass species, Zostera marina var. angustfolia (Hornem.) and Z. noltii (Hornem.). Seagrasses have been described as ecosystem engineers, shaping their sediment environment, and this may increase sediment deposition and stability. In this thesis the ecosystem engineering characteristics of seagrass habitats are explored. In 2008, the distribution of Zostera spp. in the Tay estuary was surveyed and mapped for the first time. Sediments within beds of Z. marina and Z. noltii were compared to investigate the influence of seagrasses on sediment characteristics. To explore the role of seagrass in sediment deposition and erosion, and coastal stability, sediment depth measurements were made in patches of Z. noltii, Z. marina and bare sediment over one year. The role of the root/rhizome system on sediment retention over winter was also considered. Sediment deposition in Z. noltii beds, and the influence of the plants on near-bed flow dynamics was further explored in the laboratory, using an 8 m seawater flume. In the field the retention of particles over 2 and 14 tides was measured, and the results of this experiment led to a study of the influence of leaf and sediment biofilms on particle retention, using the novel method of magnetic particle induction (MagPI). The efficacy of artificial seagrass beds and Z. noltii transplantation as habitat restoration techniques were compared over one year. During the trial, sediment deposition and changes in sediment characteristics were determined, and the protection given to saltmarsh cliffs fringing the study plots was assessed. Mechanisms underlying the results are suggested and the findings discussed. This study provides an insight into the ecology of seagrass in the Tay estuary and its role as an ecosystem manager. It may offer valuable data which could be utilised for future conservation policies, habitat restoration schemes and management planning of the area.

Positioned between writing and drawing, the diagram is proposed by John Berger as an alternative strategy for articulating encounters with landscape. A diagrammatic approach offers a schematic vocabulary that can compress time and offer a spatial reading of information. Situated within the contemporary field of direct data visualisation, my practice-led research interprets Berger’s ‘Field’ essay as a guide to producing four field | studies within a suburban park in Canberra. My seasonal investigations demonstrate how applying the conventions of the pictorial list, dot-distribution map, routing diagram and colour-wheel reveals subtle ecological and biographical narratives.

The thesis will show that a distinctive New Zealand voice in the arts may be found not in an "essence", as has sometimes been suggested, but at chronologically specific intersections of discourses. Each of the six works I examine has been made in New Zealand and is a mixture of music and language. As generic hybrids, combinations of music and language make appropriate objects of study for a thesis that explores a specific local dialogue between the 'mixture' and the 'essence', the 'hybrid' and the 'authentic', the 'indigenous' and the 'exotic', the 'local' and the 'imported', the 'centre' and the 'periphery.' Like acquisitive magpies, New Zealand artists constantly collect and select their material. They sift, save, reject and synthesise, and in so doing they create new combinations out of old ingredients. One of the characteristics of New Zealand poetry is that it has often been combined with music. There have been many collaborations between poets and musicians since colonial times. These collaborative texts occupy a complex space between art forms, just as New Zealand artists negotiate between orientations, positioning themselves between different cultural traditions. In its own process of selection, the thesis selects six works for close analysis which represent not only different periods but also different forms of synthesis. Each work represents 'New Zealand', yet what this means in practice is different in each case.

Tese de doutoramento, Estudos de Cultura (Cultura Inglesa), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2011
This dissertation deals with Salman Rushdie’s self-professed magpie tendency as displayed in both his literary writings and critical pronouncements. One of its main purposes is to draw attention to a dimension of Rushdie’s oeuvre that has often been mentioned, but has not been subjected to consistent scrutiny – the transgression of the high/low cultural divide and, beyond that, the actual debunking of the artificiality of that divide through parody and pastiche. Furthermore, this dissertation interrelatedly addresses the roles assumed by the writer of cultural broker, gatekeeper, and mediator in various spheres of public production; in particular, it looks at the roles performed across various creative platforms including, besides those of novelist and short story writer, those of public intellectual, reviewer, and film critic. Examining the issue of cultural brokerism in Rushdie’s life and work, this study positions itself in a line of a growing body of scholarship which has been situating the contemporary production, circulation, and consumption of postcolonial texts within the sinuous workings of cultural industries. The need to assess such processes taking place in a market strictly regulated by a few multinational corporations proves essential when approaching a postcolonial author both personally and professionally enmeshed in the dealings of the cultural industries, and in such critical assessment lies, I believe, the relevance of this dissertation for the area of contemporary cultural studies. What the present study contends is that marginality should not be construed exclusively as a basis for understanding Rushdie’s work, as a critical grounding in marginality will predictably involve a reproduction of the traditional postcolonial binaries of oppressor/oppressed and coloniser/colonised the writer subverts altogether. Ultimately, this dissertation endeavours to be part of what I feel is a much needed renaissance of Rushdie criticism by attempting to add new critical itineraries and frameworks of interpretation of the writer’s work today, itineraries and frameworks that take into account the actual conditions of postcolonial cultural production and circulation within a marketplace which is global in both orientation and effects.
Esta dissertação pretende examinar a autodenominada ‚magpie tendency‛ de Salman Rushdie, revelada nos seus textos literários e na sua crítica. Propõe-se, em primeiro lugar, analisar uma dimensão da obra rushdiana que, apesar de muito referida, não foi ainda sujeita a um estudo devidamente aprofundado: o transgredir de uma antiga separação entre ‚alta‛ cultura e cultura popular e, para além disso, o evidenciar do carácter artificial daquela distinção pelo recurso à paródia e ao pastiche. Paralelamente, examinam-se os papéis assumidos pelo escritor enquanto agente e mediador cultural nas várias esferas da sua produção pública. O enfoque centra-se nos papéis desempenhados no contexto de várias plataformas criativas que incluem, para além daquelas que decorrem do papel de romancista e de escritor de narrativas curtas, as que lhes estão ligadas enquanto intelectual, autor de recensões críticas e comentador de cinema. Ao examinar a questão da mediação cultural na vida e obra de Rushdie, este trabalho posiciona-se em linha com um crescente número de estudos que tem vindo a situar a actual produção, circulação e consumo de textos pós-coloniais no âmbito das operações das indústrias de cultura. A necessidade de avaliar tais processos, que ocorrem num mercado estritamente regulado por poucas corporações, afigura-se determinante quando se procura analisar a vida e obra de um autor pós-colonial envolvido, tanto pessoal como profissionalmente, nas transacções das indústrias de cultura, e é neste exame crítico que cremos residir a pertinência desta dissertação no contexto dos estudos culturais contemporâneos. A investigação recente ligada à produção cultural pós-colonial, numa época em que é notória uma dinâmica cada vez mais complexa de trocas à escala global, foi instigada por estudos como: Critique of Exotica (2000) de John Hutnyk, The Postcolonial Exotic (2001) de Graham Huggan e Postcolonial Writers in the Global Literary Marketplace (2007) de Sarah Brouillette, para referir apenas três. Os seus projectos críticos complementares – em particular, a sua fundamentação conceptual na noção de ‚mercado‛ e a perspectiva bourdieusiana de ‚campo‛ adoptada por Huggan e Brouillette – exerceram um forte impacto na presente pesquisa. O trabalho desenvolvido por Hutnyk foi de igual forma crucial na procura de uma perspectiva crítica sobre a interacção entre a pós-colonialidade e a leitura freudo-marxista encetada por Theodor W. Adorno da economia política da indústria da cultura. Na verdade, os debates concorrentes gerados por aquelas três obras auxiliaram-nos a definir a matéria da investigação ora apresentada e foram, como tal, instrumentais, desde o início, na delimitação e estabelecimento do enquadramento teórico deste estudo. Pelo que disse, esta dissertação pretende situar-se no âmbito da reconfiguração dos modos de análise cultural que têm vindo a examinar as operações das indústrias do exótico (Hutnyk 5), da alteridade (Huggan x) e da pós-colonialidade (Brouillette 20) na construção e negociação da diferença cultural em geral. Uma abordagem crítica do ‚mainstreaming‛ da literatura pós-colonial envolve, como Huggan e Brouillette argumentam persuasivamente, questões relacionadas com a mercantilização da diferença, para além de implicar questões ligadas à resistência em relação a estruturas de poder neocoloniais. Em última análise, será que a literatura pós-colonial resiste ou reproduz a lógica do mercado literário global? Até que ponto estarão as forças de mercado a orientar um processo de formação do cânone envolvendo autores pós-coloniais? Pretende-se sugerir respostas para estas e outras questões, examinando as manobras em acção no espaço das formações culturais e práticas textuais diaspóricas sul-asiáticas. As análises críticas encetadas por Hutnyk, Huggan e Brouillette baseiam-se na premissa materialista de que a produção cultural pós-colonial tem que ser vista à luz das suas mediações económicas. A ênfase destas análises recai sobretudo nos processos de mercantilização da diferença no âmbito das esferas públicas transnacionais (especificamente nas inquietudes que surgem do que se percepciona ser uma neutralização das erupções políticas e do potencial subversivo associado às expressões pós-coloniais) e também nas estratégias envolvidas no capitalizar do ‚exótico‛ num panorama cultural cada vez mais globalizado. Na esteira da teorização elaborada por Homi Bhabha, a resistência pós-colonial é recorrentemente encarada nos termos da ambivalência ou hibridismo disruptores das oposições binárias que estão na base do exercício do poder. Defende-se neste estudo que o carácter marginal da obra de Rushdie não deve ser entendido exclusivamente como a base para a compreensão daquele corpus, na medida em que uma fundamentação crítica naquela marginalidade conduzirá de forma iniludível a uma reprodução dos tradicionais binarismos pós-coloniais de opressor/oprimido e colonizador/colonizado que o escritor procura subverter inequivocamente. O que aqui se sugere é uma saída do labirinto do ‚hybridity-talk‛ (Hutnyk 33), entendido como base para a compreensão do trabalho de Rushdie. Nesta dissertação procura-se ser parte daquilo que consideramos ser um muito necessário renascimento dos estudos dedicados a Rushdie, procurando acrescentar novos itinerários críticos e enquadramentos interpretativos da obra do escritor, itinerários e enquadramentos que tenham em consideração as efectivas condições da produção e circulação cultural pós-colonial, no contexto de um mercado que é global, tanto na sua orientação como nos seus efeitos. Assim, questionam-se as análises deste corpus que se concentram exclusivamente nas questões de hibridismo cultural, migração, e ‚writing back‛ pós-colonial para propor uma crítica destas mesmas categorias analíticas, considerando em simultâneo o significado fundamental do questionar da distinção entre ‚alta‛ cultura e cultura popular no desenvolvimento destas problem{ticas. Olhar a obra de Rushdie desta forma permitir-nos-á ter em atenção a transgressão das fronteiras no seu âmago e também apreender as possibilidades transformativas inerentes ao contacto, neste particular, entre a ‚alta‛ cultura, tradicionalmente elitista, e a cultura popular, tradicionalmente ligada às massas. Num corpus aberto a leituras múltiplas, a selecção de um enfoque de análise deixa inevitavelmente por examinar algum material e por ouvir algumas interpretações oriundas de outras posições críticas. Contudo, espera-se contribuir para a revitalização de um campo que, saturado pela repetição dos mesmos temas, tem permanecido pouco inventivo há tempo demais. Com o propósito de explorar a ‚magpie tendency‛ de Rushdie e os papéis inter-relacionados assumidos pelo escritor enquanto mediador cultural, esta dissertação procede à aplicação de uma crítica baseada em teorias adornianas das práticas culturais pós-coloniais acima descritas. Tal como foi originariamente formulado por Adorno e Max Horkheimer no início dos anos 40 do século XX, a ‚indústria da cultura‛ é uma estrutura guiada pelos imperativos capitalistas do lucro, que manipula as massas no intuito de as induzir à passividade através da produção, ao estilo de uma fábrica, de bens culturais estandardizados. O que nos interessa neste âmbito não é tanto o centrar a análise naquilo que os críticos têm interpretado como uma tendência para uniformizar a indústria da cultura, tal como foi referido em variadíssimos estudos, nem é nossa intenção sancionar uma leitura simplista da cultura popular baseada na sujeição e na ausência de autodeterminação por parte dos produtores culturais e das audiências que alegadamente resultaram da racionalização fordista das práticas culturais. Ao invés, interessam-nos a constituição dinâmica e conflituante das ‚indústrias culturais,‛ um conceito potencialmente mais abrangente do que aquele que foi elaborado originalmente pelos pensadores associados à Escola de Frankfurt ou, pelo menos, um conceito mais congruente com uma paisagem dominada por corporações à escala global, com os seus próprios circuitos sistémicos de troca cultural. Tendo em conta que a teoria crítica freudo-marxista se baseia fortemente no potencial analítico do conceito de mercantilização para uma reconversão dialéctica da cultura contemporânea, talvez seja produtivo retornar a estas teorias de forma a religar capital global, hibridismo cultural e resistência pós-colonial num contexto de políticas de representação em constante mutação. Com referência particular à obra de Rushdie, esta dissertação posiciona-se no centro de políticas de poder e de representação que não pretendem opor o ‚Ocidente‛ ao ‚Oriente,‛ mas pretendem atingir um entendimento mais complexo (que não poderia, de modo algum, confinar-se a estas duas estruturas discursivas) da produção cultural pós-colonial e do seu engendrar de perspectivas neo-orientalistas e re-orientalistas. Neste contexto, esta dissertação procura explorar os modos como os textos de Rushdie – tais como outras obras recentes que têm surgido da diáspora sul-asiática – reconstroem, manipulam e subvertem representações (re-)orientalistas. O que se procura analisar é, portanto, a renegociação de representações subversivas no contexto de diferentes noções de orientalismo e as consequentes inquietudes expressas por produtores culturais pós-coloniais, sendo Rushdie um caso exemplar.
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT);

碩士
景文科技大學
視覺傳達設計系數位文創設計碩士在職專班
102
"Bluird Says" is a 3D animation creation to deliver and pass on the beauty of Taiwan Blue Magpie’s characteristics. The core element of the story is based on the Blue Magpie’s unique habits of “Helpers at the nest system”. Combining with the humanistic Familism doctrine, it expresses the solidarity of family values in traditional Taiwanese societies. Using symbolic methods to express abstract philosophies, this creation expresses the association between roles and role interaction anthropomorphically, performing without any dialogue, through each character’s expressions, body language and with sound effects and music melodies as its methods of performances. The use of 3D cartoon style animation character modeling helps to show the story of Taiwan Blue Magpie in both real and fantasy ways.

碩士
華梵大學
美術學系碩士班
97
National bird of Taiwan, the Formosan blue magpie (Urocissa caerulea) is an endemic species that inhabits only on Taiwan Island and nowhere else in the world. If the last of its kind disappears from Taiwan, it would mean the total extinction of the species. This paper is an attempt to show the magnificence of the Formosan blue magpie through literary discussions as well as works of painting, so that more people, both in Taiwan and aboard, could learn about the bird. The artworks as shown in this paper demonstrate artistic expressions of beauty, as well as function to bring people’s attention to environmental conservation. A summarize of each chapter in this paper is provided below: Chapter 1 delineates the background, purpose, methodology and range of the study. Chapter 2 reviews the history of traditional fine-brush painting of flowers and birds and provides an analysis on renowned works of the Formosan blue magpie from past to present. Chapter 3 focuses on the ecological aspect of the Formosan blue magpie, including its morphological characteristics, ecological habits and how it became an endemic bird of Taiwan. Chapter 4 provides a statement of my art, beginning from my training background and innovations to my artistic development and evolution of concepts in early, middle to advanced stages. Chapter 5 discusses individual works from different aspects, including approach, composition, coloration to form of expression and technique. Medium used and style of expression are also touched upon in this chapter. Finally Chapter 6 delivers a summary of my creative process, person reflections and self-examination as well as future prospects.

碩士
國立中央大學
光電科學與工程學系
102
In this research, we study the coloration mechanism of the blue feather from the Formosa blue magpie (Urocissa caerulea). The color appearance is due to the scattering and interference between the air scatterers of the nanostructure in the feather barb which is called spongy structures. To prove the optical phenomenon induced by the spongy structures, we use Fourier analysis to resolve the distribution of these air holes. We have proved successfully that the distribution of the air holes in the feather barb have the characteristic of quasi-order or short range order and the optical theory in the spongy structures was based on coherent scattering. Furthermore, we found that the spongy structures have the directionality aligned along the outline of the feather barbs. The quasi-order structures with directionality would enhance the interference between the reflections light. And these characteristic explain the strong blue color is emerged at high incidence larger than 40-degree. Finally, we used the Fourier power spectrum to predict the reflectance of these structures. We provide a method to improve the accuracy of the predicted reflectance spectrum by analyzing the directional property of the strongest intensity in Fourier power spectrum. And this way truly improved the accuracy of the predicted reflectance spectrum of the spongy structures away from the top of the feather barb

The magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata) is a spectacular and unique waterbird from tropical north Australia and southern New Guinea. Due to recent human persecution, the species has been eliminated from most of its former strongholds in southern and south-eastern Australia – reduced to small conservation-dependent populations through habitat loss, exploitation and drought. Yet, genuine conservation opportunity still exists in northern Australia, in the country's Northern Territory in particular, to maintain viable populations through evidence-based management of wetlands that support the waterbirds and mitigation of the threats posed by global change. Much has been achieved over the last 50 years to understand the ecology and life history of magpie geese, but little has been done to understand important population-level interactions with wetland habitat and the likely outcomes under climate warming, wetland loss to sea level rise, altered competitive interactions among wetland plants, increased frequency and severity of epizootics, and synergies with over-hunting. My review of pathogens and parasites likely to cause morbidity and mass mortality in magpie geese shows that bacterial diseases such as avian cholera and botulism, as well as pathogenic avian influenza viruses, pose the most serious threats. Bacterial diseases in particular are more likely to occur under warmer and wetter conditions, and geese are susceptible to these given large aggregations at favoured nesting and feeding sites. I use a metapopulation model to demonstrate that increased frequency and severity of epizootics will likely force extirpation of geese under current harvest rates across the Northern Territory. Magpie geese are also vulnerable to climate change through dependency on a favoured food plant – the water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis). As a result of a two-year field programme, I was able to show how birds seasonally migrate and aggregate in response to the availability of this resource and gain body condition following predation on the root tubers of the plants. My geospatial modelling of ocean level inundation of wetlands that support E. dulcis show marginal habitat loss under 1.4 m of sea level rise, and large-scale losses under multi-metre sea level rise, but the current resolution of GIS data do not account for fine-scale saline water intrusion through channel or eroded levees. The population models constructed predict that magpie geese are broadly resilient to change where harvest is tightly regulated, but current harvest rates are unlikely to be sustainable. Given the importance of maintaining viable, connected subpopulations large enough to maintain genetic diversity, and because of the value of magpie geese to Aboriginal Australians as a food source, ongoing monitoring of geese population trends will be essential. Wetland management options include erecting buffers to stop or slow down saltwater intrusion resulting from sea level rise, and implementing a system to monitor annual indigenous harvest. Temporary restrictions on harvest may be necessary following mass mortality events such as epizootics or droughts. Only the careful management of wetlands that support current geese populations, and close monitoring of populations will ensure continued sustainable harvest of geese under global change. Given the cultural and biological significance of this species and the north Australian wetlands that support it, this is a conservation resource we cannot afford to squander.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Science, 2009

The study of religion can be undertaken using diverse methods. This thesis focuses on the novel as a medium for exploring theoretical, experiential, and fictional materials alongside each other. It is divided into two principle sections. The first is an essay explaining the reasons for choosing the medium of the novel, and exploring its advantages over traditional, non-fiction works. The second section is reserved for the novel itself, an original story that makes use of ideas obtained both through daily experience and formal study. The novel, entitled The Magpie , tells the story of a woman in search of religious affiliation as a means of grounding and structuring her ideas about God. Her goal pushes her to accept a job in Guatemala, working alongside a Catholic priest and a Protestant missionary. The experience does not yield the desired results. Instead, the main character is forced to come to terms with what she has learned about herself. One of the goals of writing such a novel is the synthesis of potentially disparate materials, treated both objectively and subjectively by way of a set of characters. By placing the narrative in time, there is also opportunity to imitate the types of transformations that can occur in the mind of individuals. Finally, as students of religion must consider a variety of forms of expression, it further made sense to experiment with a less academic form of written expression.

The endemic landbirds of the Seychelles granitic islands have suffered considerable losses due to predation by introduced rats and cats and extensive habitat destruction. With less than 100 individuals, the Critically Endangered Magpie Robin Copsychus sechellarum Newton, faces the greatest risk of extinction. Translocations to three predator-free islands, Aride, Cousin and Cousine, have provided valuable opportunities for gaining insights into the ecology of the species. Of particular interest are links between the Magpie Robin, endemic skinks Mabvya spp., ground-living invertebrates and seabird colonies. Magpie Robin faecal pellet and skink gut content analysis demonstrated a high degree of dietary overlap between the species. A widespread exotic cockroach Pycnoscelus indicus was the favourite prey item for each species. However, behavioural observations and a dietary choice experiment indicated that there is no significant competition for food during the main seabird breeding season. Invertebrate sampling on Cousine identified 52 species which were available in all habitat types currently in use or those considered suitable for the Magpie Robin. Seabird and skink density counts on Cousine demonstrated the considerable magnitude of vertebrate organic food also available. Invertebrate sampling results on Cousin and Cousine were used to determine territory quality and the carrying capacity of each island for the Magpie Robin. While most seabirds are not breeding, skink survival depends on invertebrate abundance. M. wrightii weight declined throughout this period but that of M. sechellensis remained fairly stable. The data were insufficient to conclude that inter-specific competition for food exists between M. sechellensis and the Magpie Robin during this period. Further expansion of the Magpie Robin population depends on eradicating mammalian predators from other islands and maximising the potential carrying capacities of those already supporting the species.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

A snapshot coherence imaging system has been designed to measure brightness, flows and temperatures for argon ions in a helicon plasma with expected ion temperatures of ~1 eV and subsonic ion flows less than 1000 m/s. This technique measures Doppler information from the 488 nm ion spectral line, and encodes this information in the phase and contrast of an interferogram. Taking into account line-of-sight effects, demodulation of the interferogram yields a 2D spatial map of the ion temperatures and flows. At these plasma conditions, large interferometric delays (greater than 10^4 waves) are necessary to resolve the Doppler features. Passive stabilisation and an automated online calibration system was used to counteract thermally-induced phase drifts in the birefringent delay plates. The design features of this device are presented here. Measurements are presented of the ion brightness, flows and temperatures in the MAGnetised Plasma Interaction Experiment (MAGPIE) for an argon plasma at 3 mTorr gas pressure, forward power of 1 kW and a 0.08 T peak magnetic field (in a magnetic pinch configuration). Spatial scans taken longitudinally along the chamber shows the peak brightness occurs in the high magnetic field region and the radial profile is centrally peaked with secondary wing-like features. There are also high ion temperatures in the plasma edge which indicate a secondary ion heating mechanism. In the magnetic pinch region the azimuthal ion flows are largest and the axial ion flows show a flow reversal. Measurements of the brightness, ion temperature and ion flows are also examined over a range of magnetic field configurations and gas pressures and ion flow measurements are confirmed using a Mach probe. The results of this study demonstrate that, with careful consideration to instrument design, coherence imaging can be used to study ion features in cold plasmas. This opens opportunities for measurements of ion dynamics in laboratory-based plasmas across a range of research areas.

博士
國立中央大學
光電科學與工程學系
104
There is a great diversity of species on the earth; among them birds have the amazing and multiple colors, especially on their plumage. The colors of feathers play several important roles for birds, such as hardness of feather enhancement, protection from the erosion of feather by bacteria, thermoregulation, concealment, advertisement, and disguise. In addition, color can serve as an indicator of nutrition condition of birds. As a result, color is also a criterion of mate choice and competition to others of the same sex, especially for structural color. Particularly, there are high associations between ultra-violet color and courtship display. Therefore, in this research, we have explained the physical mechanism of the structural blue-violet coloration in birds’ feathers and build the corresponding mathematical models. Blue feathers of two endemic avian species in Taiwan are chosen in this study, Swinhoe’s pheasant (Lophura swinhoii), and Taiwan blue magpie (Urocissa caerulea). A range of iridescent color appearances are presented by male Swinhoe’s pheasants’ mantle feathers. Two distinct regions of the open pennaceous portion of its feathers display particularly conspicuous angle-dependent reflection. A bright blue band appears in one region at normal incidence that spatially shifts to another at higher illumination angles. The two-dimensional photonic crystal-like nanostructures, melanin rods, inside the barbules of these two regions are similar. However, this study found that the spatial variation in their color appearance results from a continuously changing orientation of barbules with respect to the alignment of their associated barb. A multi-layered rigorous coupled-wave analysis approach was used to model the reflections from the identified intra-barbule structures. Well matched simulated and measured reflectance spectra, at both normal and oblique incidence, support our elucidation of the origin of the bird’s distinctive feather color appearance. Different to the conspicuous iridescence in Swinhoe’s pheasant’s mantle feather, the iridescence of the blue feathers of the Taiwan blue magpie is not obvious when the viewing angle is less than 40-degree. In addition, the biomaterial, medullary keratin, producing the blue color of Taiwan blue magpie exists inside the barbs rather than barbules. The spongy medullary keratin inside the feather barbs is investigated by two-dimensional Fourier analysis of transmission electron microscopic images of various positions on a barb to explain this unique characteristic. The orientation of the quasi-ordered nanostructure varies depending on its position of the feather barb. The predicted reflectance increases with the distance of the nanostructures from the vertex of the feather barb, and this results agrees closely with measurements. This research provides two optical models to elucidate two different iridescent colorations from nanostructures in barbs and barbules of bird’s feathers successfully.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
建築與城鄉研究所
102
This thesis focuses on the issue of “the action of Pinglin Taiwan Blue Magpie tea”. It explores how Pinglin through developing a call for protection of the tea to bring up an ecological farming possibility which is more practical in local rural, and also shows progressive agriculture thinking. &;#160; &;#160; This paper first gives a brief overview of the history of tea industry in Taiwan. And then it analyzes that during the history, how this industry has emerged various industrial transformation types based on different construction of value added, while currently it has&;#160; become the “cultural and creative gilded” industry type. Moreover, as Polanyi interprets the concept of “economy” from Aristotle, the term of “economy” includes “community”, “self-sufficiency“, and “justice”, and it is a moral economic thought. The combination of this argument and "Satoyama initiative", the practice of eco-diversity farming, becomes the foundation of&;#160;“the action of Pinglin Taiwan Blue Magpie tea”. The action builds a new industrial model to break through the path of “cultural and creative gilded” industrial transformation.&;#160; Meanwhile, this paper also addresses the Satoyama co-exist example of Oriental White Stork from Toyooka, Japan. With an analysis of this co-exist historical construction, the study traces why and how Toyooka developed "the Oriental White Stork farming" through restoration of white storks to develop, and even established a strong support system. Finally, the research examines how the actors involving in Pinglin apply the model of Toyooka to develop the "moral economy transformation" of tea industry, "the action of Pinglin Taiwan Blue Magpie tea”. It also illustrates that the exclusive supporting system of Pinglin is constructed of several supporting units in different levels that are triggered by the events behind the action.

碩士
僑光科技大學
企業管理研究所
103
Leisure agriculture can also be transferred as agriculture community to provide leisure experience with tourism and recreation sites or enterprises collectively, belongs to the leisure travel market a product or service type. Leisure agriculture was a binding properties of agricultural resources and sightseeing, and both agricultural production and rural life and rural ecological balance concept, providing people a new travel options for leisure activities. Leisure Farm features include: economic function; social function, education function, environmental function, recreational function, medical, cultural, heritage features. These features are consistent with the needs of modern leisure. Therefore, to explore the impact of leisure agriculture for the people has its importance.Satisfaction comes from psychological and emotional feeling after the individual and the situation arising from the interaction destination. If the experience of visitors exceeded expectations, expectations of tourist satisfaction or service will show a positive response, it will have a positive impact on future behavior. Also, customer satisfaction is the best indicator of corporate profits. Therefore, understanding the factors that affect tourist satisfaction, leisure agriculture industry will help to develop strategies to enhance tourist satisfaction. In this study, a random questionnaires in blue magpie farm were distributed 230 questionnaires, 205 valid questionnaires the results found, gender dimensions for each facets motivation recreation motivation P&;lt;0.05 significant influence, to satisfaction, behavioral Intention and revisited Intention P &;gt;0.05 no significant influence. The P value of age is greater than 0.05 that represent significant influence. The analysis of educational background which shows the P value of variable, motivation, satisfaction, the revisit willingness and behavior disposition are smaller than 0.05 that represent significant influence. The analysis of monthly income which shows the P value of variable satisfaction, and the revisit willingness are smaller than 0.05, therefore variable of location is significant influence, but the P volume of motivation and behavioral intentions are greater than 0.05 that denotes there are no significant influence between them. The analysis of occupation which shows the P value of variable, motivation, satisfaction and the revisit willingness are smaller than 0.05, therefore the variable of location is significant influence, but the P volume of behavior disposition is greater than 0.05 that denotes there is no significant influence. The analysis of reside place which shows the P value of variable, motivation, satisfaction and the revisit willingness and behavior disposition are greater than 0.05, therefore the variable of location is no significant influence.

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
財務金融研究所
107
Based on case study research method, this study discusses how an ESG-oriented social enterprise start-up has been trying to get balance between ecosystem and economy. With the entrepreneurship, Mr. Huang Po-Chun founded the company of BlueMagpie Tea Social Enterprise Co. Ltd. As a social enterprise when he pursuing his doctoral degree at the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University after serving for the Society of Wildness and the Chinese Wild Bird Federation respectively. Based on the spirit of Satoyama Initiative, Mr.Huang began with the two proposals of Distributors Yielding Profits and Tea Farmers Yielding the Land, and Recovering the Drainage Basin, hoping to clarify and confirm the business model of the brand in order to reach the balance of ecosystem and economic livelihoods. Then, he and his team utilized the mechanism of ambidexterity to expand their action plans. On the one hand, his team has been continually serving for the tutoring for the children of tea farmers, then wining trust from farmers in order to convince them to change their way of farming as well as involving famers in the pricing model to raise the purchase price. On the other hand, all the tea products have been undergoing full inspection for pesticide residues to gain consumer confidence. In addition, the company invited tea farmers to run the business cooperatively, guiding farmers to create value through branding. Further, Mr. Huang and his team also implemented many activities which were different from the past to help farmers’ living, such as the educational program in the farmland, volunteering activities, and one-day tour in the tea mountains. They also held workshops for the tea farmers and their offspring, winning back their recognition to the home business and reconstructing the cultural landscape in the villages. The team has been cooperating with companies that highlighted social responsibilities on corporate contracts of the tea farms and working holiday for their employees etc. To reach the goal of eco-village and based on the strategy of Recovering the Drainage Basin, Mr. Huang has been proactively assisting to expand the commercial channels for these farmers who adopt environmentally friendly farming to sell their products. The combination of farming and education model can also be utilized in other areas that have the conflicts between ecosystem and economic development. Mr.Huang has been acting as a pioneer to assist farmers for creating and enhancing the values of Pin Lin areas, with the expectations to reach the balance of environmental sustainability and economic development. This case is an ongoing development case. The discussions can be considered as a reference for other social enterprises that involve environmental sustainability. It would be of valuable references to those have to compromise between ecosystem and economic development.

Cities are concentrations of diverse populations that undergo continual transformation over time. This thesis deals with the question, how does the individual make place in a constantly changing environment? The entry point for this study was looking at neglected places in urban environments. I looked specifically at the Don River Valley in Toronto, Ontario and how it has developed as an open-ended and complex system. The site research is presented through a series of stories describing specific events or places in the Don Valley that have taken place over the past 200 years. This thesis offers a mongrel approach to design for a site within the Don Valley. “The Mongrel Approach” is an opportunistic way of building that is committed to survival and open as to how this can be achieved. The design proposes a series of intimate yet public infrastructural devices; a toilet, water fountain, shelter and bridge that are presented in a set of hand drawings as well as through an “Explanatory Tale.” A magpie narrates this short story, which is part true, part fiction and part wishful thinking. As the earth’s population becomes more urban than rural and increasingly mobile, contemporary cities are becoming home to a diverse range of individuals with complex and layered identities. The Mongrel Approach offers a way of building that can handle difference and contradiction and accommodate incongruous or inharmonious parts. It positions the designer as a conjurer or first mover. This thesis proposes Mongrel buildings that respond to change by transforming slowly and incrementally over time with the involvement of multiple authors; but at each moment, a register of time and human ritual.