Digital Commons Network^™

Wildfire Suppression – An International Analysis Of Operations, Strategy And Firefighter Safety, Greg Peter Penney

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Wildfire suppression remains an inherently dangerous yet increasingly frequent task for fire services throughout Australia and the world. Each year firefighters from career and volunteer agencies respond to wildfires that impact the urban interface. When such an event occurs during a period of intense fire behaviour the conditions are often incompatible with life for persons either caught in the open or those seeking refuge in a vehicle. In order to improve firefighter safety and operational effectiveness at the rural urban interface (RUI) during landscape scale wildfires, this dissertation serves to examine critical components of wildfire response, most notably wildfire suppression …

The Experiences Of Western Australian Muslims Within The Current Political And Social Environment, John Lehane

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of Western Australian (WA) Muslims, within the context of the current Australian political and social climate, with a key focus on how political and social factors, and the vast introduction of Australian antiterrorism legislation, may impact them. Also explored in this inquiry, was how mainstream media and their regular portrayal of Islamic-inspired terrorist attacks, which has at times connected all Muslims to these atrocities, is creating a social division within the Australian community which is difficult to overcome.

A generic qualitative methodology was utilised to best capture the lived experiences …

Their Sorrow, Their Story: The Lived Experience Of Individuals Impacted By The Death Of Special Forces Members In The 1996 Black Hawk Accident, Marion Ann Smyth

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

On the 12 June 1996, the Australian Special Forces were conducting night-time counterterrorism training when two Black Hawk helicopters transporting Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) troops collided mid-air. Eighteen personnel were killed, including members from the elite SASR and crew from the 5th Aviation Regiment. In the aftermath of this accident a charity, the Special Air Service Resources Trust, was established to provide ongoing support to the dependants of those killed. This trust is now the Special Air Service Resources Fund (SASRF), and it continues to support the dependants of those killed and the injured from the accident.

There is …

An Exploration Of The Critical Success Factors Associated With Implementing A Public Health Plan In Local Governments Within Western Australia, Anne Polley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Public Health planning in local governments in Western Australia (WA) is a relatively new approach to addressing local health needs. The Western Australian Public Health Act came into effect in 2016. The Public Health Act 2016 encompasses a range of legislative requirements, some of which include the development of Local Public Health Plans. A range of roles within the local government workforce therefore are likely to require support to plan and implement Public Health Plans, which in the past have not directly been a component of their role. There is limited understanding and evidence of the barriers and enablers that …

Maximising The Contributions Of Phd Graduates To National Development: The Case Of The Seychelles, Marina Fatima Confait

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is the pinnacle of educational attainment and the most respected of the doctoral programs. The degree certifies the holder as an independent researcher, an expert with extensive knowledge about the chosen field of study, and a professional with a wide range of transferable skills . As such, PhD graduates have the capability to make important contributions to knowledge and drive change in society. Furthermore, PhD graduates represent accumulated human capital, a valuable human resource with potential for making significant contributions to a country’s development. This can materialise through enhancing the knowledge of others, performing …

A Nested Environmental Approach To Typhoid Epidemiology In Central Division, Fiji, Aaron Jenkins

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many current disease threats involve interactions within and between nested subsystems of biological organisation. Typhoid fever is a serious disease threat in the South Pacific region, with Fiji reporting the highest annual number of cases, yet risk factors in this setting have been poorly studied. While localised behaviours have dominated perspectives on typhoid transmission, interactions between distal ecological conditions, conditions of the residential environment and localised behaviour deserve greater attention for their potential to influence transmission. This thesis demonstrates a nested approach to typhoid epidemiology using a fivefold methodology to explore how regional, river basin, residential, socio-cultural and behavioural subsystems …

Managing Learning In The Workplace: A Study Of The Perceptions And Practice Of Local Government Managers, Jenna Rogers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In 1995 the Australian Government commissioned the report Enterprising Nation ‘: renewing Australia’s managers to meet the challenges of the Asia-Pacific century (Karpin, 1995), which emphasised the change that was necessary in Australian business to remain competitive in the global and growing economy. The development of flexible organisational cultures, where managers increasingly displayed leadership and developed their staff to generate innovative cultures, was a central premise of the Karpin Report Task Force’s vision. Twenty years later, this study explored the extent to which managers have moved from being ‘cops to coaches’ and integrated the facilitation of employee learning within …

A Study Of Walking And Walkability Through A Spatial Justice/Spatial Practice Framework, In Maylands, Western Australia, Tina Askam

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Recent studies have focused on the benefits of walking to health, wellbeing, creativity and social capital. However, apart from select ethnographic observations on walking as a distinct spatial practice (J. Lee & Ingold, 2006), there is a paucity of studies that investigate the ways in which walkers and space interact. Most importantly, there has been a distinct lack of attention to pedestrian perspectives and experiences in theory and in policy on walkability (Middleton, 2011, 2016).

Notable theorists have demonstrated the benefits of participatory walking practices as a conversive and convivial methodology for performance research (Myers, 2009), for intergenerational urban pedagogy …

Dynamic Risk Management In Fire And Rescue Emergency Operations, Greg Penney

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Firefighting is an inherently dangerous occupation involving numerous risk sources, unique contexts, multiple personnel and rapidly changing environments. Firefighting operations are dynamic in nature yet require calculated risk taking and structured command to prevent the realisation of potentially catastrophic outcomes to both casualties and rescuers. The notion of “dynamic risk management” is a term that has gained popularity throughout fire services worldwide, yet the process of dynamic risk management is typically poorly articulated. This study demonstrates ‘dynamic risk management’ is a misnomer, with risk management being a defined process applied within the context of dynamic emergency response. Failure to recognise …

The Evolution Of Joint Management In Western Australia Parks And The Indigenous Tourism Nexus, Lori-Ann Shibish

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Since the early 2000s, park management approaches to protected area governance have undergone a significant transformation, driven by the realisation that long-term conservation outcomes depend on participation in decision-making by stakeholders. To meet these challenges one of the measures being adopted by park managers is to engage in joint management arrangements. Recent changes to the conservation legislation in Western Australia provides the capacity for the Department of Parks and Wildlife (Parks and Wildlife) to enter into joint management arrangements with Aboriginal traditional owners and others for the management of protected areas, regardless of the land vesting or tenure. Joint management …

Intensity Based Interrogation Of Optical Fibre Sensors For Industrial Automation And Intrusion Detection Systems, Gary Andrew Allwood

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this study, the use of optical fibre sensors for intrusion detection and industrial automation systems has been demonstrated, with a particular focus on low cost, intensity-based, interrogation techniques. The use of optical fibre sensors for intrusion detection systems to secure residential, commercial, and industrial premises against potential security breaches has been extensively reviewed in this thesis. Fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensing is one form of optical fibre sensing that has been underutilised in applications such as in-ground, in-fence, and window and door monitoring, and addressing that opportunity has been a major goal of this thesis. Both security and industrial …

The Story Speaks For Itself: A Thematic Information Analysis Of An Intended Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Spouses And Parents Bereaved By The Death Of Special Forces Members Killed In Combat, Marion A. Smyth

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Australian Special Forces (SF) members have faced considerable adversity with combat deployments to Afghanistan as an elite operational unit of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). There have been 40 combat deaths since 2001 and despite the significant research available on bereavement and violent death, to date there is a gap in the literature to guide the provision of bereavement support for spouses and parents of those SF members killed in action. Contemporary qualitative research into combat related bereavement has found a number of themes which gave meaning to bereavement outcomes found in the non-SF context and recommended that future …

Countering-Insurgency : A Comparative Analysis Of Campaigns In Malaya (1948-1960), Kenya (1952-1960) And Rhodesia (1964-1980), William J. Bailey

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

History has lessons for the present; could this be the case for modern counterinsurgency operations in countries resembling Iraq and Afghanistan? This research set out to study three historical counter-insurgencies campaigns in, Malaya (1947-1960), Kenya (1952- 1960) and Rhodesia (1964-1980), with a view to establishing whether or not the Colonial authorities had a substantial advantage over modern forces when combating insurgencies. If this was the case, are these advantages transferable to aid forces involved in modern counterinsurgencies?

The research questions focussed on how important the role of the Colonial Forces was to the eventual outcome, examining the principal factors that …

Face-To-Face : An Exploratory Study Of How People With Aphasia And Speakers Of English As A Second Language Perceive Their Interactions With Government Agencies, Susan Booth

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Creating communication accessible environments is increasingly recognised as an essential component to facilitating the social inclusion of people with aphasia (a language disorder after brain damage), (Cruice, 2007; Duchan, 2006; Duchan, Jennings, Barrett, & Butler, 2006; Howe, Worrall, & Hickson, 2008 ; Pound, Duchan, Penman, Hewitt, & Parr, 2007; Simmons-Mackie & Damico, 2007). There have been suggestions that communication access principles in aphasia may also assist people with the communication difficulties associated with English as a second language (ESL) (Kagan & LeBlanc, 2002; Law et al., 2010; Worrall, Rose, Howe, McKenna, & Hickson, 2007). Currently, in Western Australia for example, …

You Don't Know What You Don't Know: Investigating The Information Needs Of Clients Of Web Based Public Sector Information Services, Julie Ann Johnson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research grew from two frustrations. The first was the personal frustration experienced when attempting to find information on websites; especially government websites. Often the sites were loaded down with all sorts of information such as corporate organisation charts and press releases but lacked the information which would allow clients to interact effectively with the agency or meet their information needs and move on. The second frustration was that of Edith Cowan University students who battled with a diverse, overlapping and incomplete set of both online and paper based resources as they sought to make decisions about their selections of …

The Political Origins And Development Of Australia’S People Smuggling Legislation: Evil Smugglers Or Extreme Rhetoric?, Jack H. Smit

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis explores the Australian State response to the voyage facilitators of maritime asylum seekers, commonly known as ‘people smugglers’. It does so by examining a number of Parliamentary debates and previously confidential Cabinet papers. Negative depictions of asylum seekers and their voyage facilitators as well as the prevailing political discourse is critically explored while Parliamentary debates are analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis. The research questions the ways Australian legislators justified the criminalisation of these voyage facilitators and investigates whether political elites were sufficiently informed about the circumstances of maritime asylum seeker journeys and the unique nature of their travel …

Taking Shape: Implementing Citizen-Centric Local Digital Government In Western Australia, Deborah Jane Stanton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Digital government, encompassing output-focused e-government (delivering services online) and outcomes-focused e-governance (developing ICT-enabled citizen interaction and participation) has been proposed as the next step in online interaction between government and its citizens. Local government is still coming to grips with providing a mechanism for implementation of both facets of digital government, particularly those of e-governance. The Local Digital Government Framework (LDGF) was developed in this study to incorporate the citizen-centric focus of e-governance, facilitating the move from the organisational, New Public Managementbased focus of e-government. The LDGF extends existing frameworks, providing continuity in the literature. It comprises a new conceptual …

Constraints To Youth Participation In The Current Federal Political Environment, Judith G. Bridgland Sorenson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research explores the constraints to youth participation through the mechanism of the National Youth Roundtable. In 1999 the National Youth Roundtable was established as the centrepiece of the Federal Government's `Voices of Youth' initiative, designed to go to the grass roots of the youth population and seek their participation on matters of policy development. This was to be the new interface between young people and the Australian government, replacing the peak body for youth affairs as a more effective participation mechanism.

Policing Performance Management Systems: Identifying Key Design Elements Within A `New' Public Management Context, John Gillespie

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The new public management (NPM) philosophy and move towards a governance approach places emphasis on the accountability of individuals, supervisors and managers relative to practice, processes and designated outcome - conformance and performance. A dichotomy is highlighted working within the NPM environment where managers need to practice creative and innovative freedoms, and at the same time to exercise constraint and compliance within a regulated and permission seeking framework. This situation can create inertia in respect to performance reforms within the public service. Police Services in Australia, and in particular the Western Australia Police (WAPOL) have made some inroads into providing …

Where Are The Active Citizens Of Tomorrow? We Need Them Now..., Margaret E. Piasecka

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In 1997, Hindess labelled the gap between governments and citizens the democratic deficit. This gap, or deficit, has arisen over a long time period as a result of public scandals, perceptions of poor performance and poor economies. Local governments around the world are now attempting to regain community respect and support - the unstated mandate for governance - and seeking to implement government policies relating to concepts variously described as community engagement, capacity building, active citizenship or public/citizen participation. This thesis has identified a methodology for finding people who are motivated to act in the public interest in one local …

The Quest For A Formula : Parliamentary Remuneration In Western Australia, Michael J. Britton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Western Australian Payment of Members Act 1900 was promulgated upon two tenets, namely, that Members of Parliament should be compensated for their services to society and that other Australian colonies were already receiving some form of compensation. The premise stipulated that all people, regardless of economic background should be given an opportunity to fulfil the honourable duly of a Representative. Remuneration in this thesis covers the minimalist advent of Parliamentary Remuneration whereby Mrs were compensated by way of a basic salary to the current multifaceted Parliamentary Remuneration which encompasses various structures, processes and is often overarched by complicated determinative …

Is A Knowledge Based Value Network An Effective Model For Implementing E-Government?, Greg Robins

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Is a knowledge based value network an effective model for implementing e-government? E-Government is a vision of how public sector organisations will govern, serve citizens, and interact with business partners, their employees, and other Government organisations. The “e” in e-Government represents a move to fully integrated, secure, on-demand accessible electronic Government that will: • improve integrated service delivery • provide universal citizen access • begin to enhance traditional Government structures and processes • support new Government products and services by relying on the emergence and convergence of new technologies • improve effectiveness Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has fundamentally changed the way …

Pulling Down Their Breaches : An Analysis Of Centrelink Breach And Appeal Numbers From 1996 To 2001 Using A Case Study Of A Single Centrelink Office, Lyndal Sleep

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is about current Centrelink breach and appeal figures. It is also about the current conservative neo-liberalising climate of Australian social policy reforms, with which they are inextricably connected. It shows that while Centrelink breach numbers have increased more than three fold since 1996, formal appeals against Centrelink decisions have not increased similarly. This thesis asks: what might this mean? It answers this question through a single case study of a Centrelink office. Data was collected using individual focused interviews, documents collected from the site, and direct observation (including a map of the office drawn by the researcher). Various …

Democracy And Disorder: Electoral Violence And Political Modernisation In England And Wales, 1857-1880, Justin Wasserman

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The thesis analyses mid-nineteenth century electoral violence in England and Wales in order to contribute to our understanding of the character of Victorian electoral politics, and to assess the pace of political modernization as it has recently been defined. Historians have long acknowledged the presence of physical violence, rioting and intimidation during British elections from at least the Middle Ages to the turn of the twentieth-century, and yet the precise nature, frequency and scale of this phenomenon has remained somewhat obscured by a lack of statistical data on the subject. Therefore, by compiling a numerical sample of violence, based on …

Making The Invisible Visable : An Analysis Of The Home And Community Care Program : A Socialist-Feminist Perspective, Daniela Anna Stehlik

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As the population of Australia ages, social policy and human service practice in the field of aged care is increasingly important and relevant. The Home and community Care (H.A.C.C.) Program was established in 1985 by the Labor Government as a response to a demand for more community services for the frail aged and was designed to reduce the incidence of institutionalisation by increasing home care services. In this way the Home and Community Care Program is seen as linchpin in the Federal Government's initiative to create an efficient and cost-effective aged care policy to contend with the future growth of …