Digital Commons Network^™

The Recovery Of Birds Through Farmland Revegetation In The Shire Of Goomalling, Western Australia, Rebecca Heath

Theses : Honours

The birds of grazed paddocks, early revegetation (less than three years in age), three to seven year old revegetation, older revegetation (greater than seven years in age) and remnant vegetation were surveyed over the course of one year to determine whether revegetation recovers avian biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Habitat features that were useful to the birds, and those that were missing from revegetation, were identified in order to broaden the knowledge base of faunal use of farmland revegetation, and aid in the devising of successful revegetation strategies. Notable differences in the abundance and composition of birds were found between the …

Wireless Local Area Network Security : An Investigation Into Security Tool Usage In Wireless Networks, Susan Webb

Theses : Honours

Many organisations and individuals installing wireless local area networks (WLANs), which are based on the IEEE 802.11 b standard, have little understanding of the security issues that surround this technology.

This study was initiated to determine how WLAN security issues affect organisations in Perth, Western Australia. The scope of the study was restricted to 802.llb WLANs operating in infrastructure mode, where all traffic is transmitted by wireless access points (APs). This study was conducted in two phases. The general aims of the first phase were to determine the number of detectable WLANs in the Perth Central Business District (CBD) and …

Internet Health Promotion: Designing Guidelines, Jane Burns

Theses : Honours

The aim of this research was to investigate the factors which facilitate the communication of health promotion on the Internet and to produce guidelines for developing web pages for health promotion. Health communication in general is a growing field, however there appears to be limited infom1ation in the literature on how the factors of communication on the Internet (such as sender, message, channel, medium, receiver and their subsets), can be incorporated into the design of an

Internet health promotion intervention. Draft guidelines were developed from a critical analysis of the literature. These draft guidelines were used in the production and …

Public Street Surveillance: A Psychometric Study On The Perceived Social Risk, David J. Brooks

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Public street surveillance, a domain of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), has grown enormously and is becoming common place with increasing utilization in society as an all-purpose security tool. Previous authors (Ditton, 1999; Davies, 1998; Horne, 1998; Tomkins, 1998) have raised concern over social, civil and privacy issues, but there has been limited research to quantify these concerns. There are a number of core aspects that could relocate the risk perception and therefore, social support of public street surveillance. This study utilized the psychometric paradigm to quantitatively measure the social risk perception of public street surveillance. The psychometric paradigm is a …

Covert Violence In Nursing, Susette Bakker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

There is no official avenue in nursing for the reporting of incidences of covert violence to staff and so they remain unrecorded and often stressful. This study sought to collect data from currently employed nurses concerning covert violence in their workplace, and to collate the information to obtain a valid assessment of this hidden problem. A qualitative methodology was used to report on the experiences of nurses in relation to covert violence directed at them by their peers, other health professionals, patients and patients' families. The participants were all registered nurses employed by a suburban health service. Each was given …

The Economic Value Of Tourism And Recreation In Forested Areas Of Western Australia, Rachel Goff

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In recent years, natural area tourism has been presented as a more profitable, labour intensive and environmentally sound industry than the traditional extractive industries which have resulted in the depletion of primary resources in many countries (Burr, 1995). However, in order for economic returns from tourism to be maintained over a long period of time, investment in resources and infrastructure that support and encourage sustainable tourism and recreation activity in natural areas is required. The key to sustainability is maintaining the capital stock of resources (Garrod & Fyall, 1998; Russell, 2001). In a society driven by economics, resources are allocated …

Secondary Students Beliefs About, Understandings Of, And Intentions To Act Regarding The Greenhouse Effect, Premnadh M. Kurup

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The greenhouse effect (GHE) is a concern to everyone on this planet. To understand the GHE, students and citizens need an understanding of the chemical processes underlying this environmental phenomenon. Citizens need to be scientifically literate in relation to this phenomenon in order to participate in democratic decision-making and to take appropriate actions in their daily lives. As the GHE is a global issue it will require collective and individual actions to prepare for the likely climatic changes and to reduce the further impact of the GHE. This study focused on high school students' beliefs about, understandings of the GHE …

Children's Attitudes To A Hospital Familiarisation Programme, Lis Mathiasen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many young children are admitted to the emergency departments of our childrens hospitals without the opportunity to receive any preparation in terms of what to expect and what to do or not to do (Health Department of W A, 2000). Surrounded by strange people, environment, smells, sounds and medical equipment, and confronted with possibly painful and invasive procedures, many young children become stressed and anxious. Negative psychological effects may have immediate and/or long lasting psychological consequences (Zuckerberg, 1994; 0 Byrne, Peterson & Saldana, 1997). It is important to protect young childrens rights and to minimise upset and trauma whenever possible. …

Delayed Discharges From An Adult Intensive Care Unit (Icu), Teresa Williams

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Introduction - Maximising efficient and effective use of resources without compromising quality of care is essential in the current healthcare climate. Intensive care unit services are one of the most resource intensive and therefore expensive services within a hospital. Because intensive care unit services comprise a significant portion of hospital costs and resources, appropriate utilisation of intensive care units is imperative. The occurrence of delayed discharges and the reason for the delays is important as they impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of intensive care unit services. Patients who no longer need intensive care unit care block beds for impending …

Life After Diagnosis : The Social Experience Of Adolescents Diagnosed With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And How They Manage Their Lives, Georgia L. Carragher

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is the most frequently diagnosed developmental disorder in school-age children in Western Australia today. It concerns and frustrates the children and adolescents who are diagnosed with the disorder, their parents, teachers and the general community. In spite of the plethora of research associated with AD/HD, dissension abounds in the community, literature and the media over its diagnosis and the best treatment and response to the disorder. Notwithstanding the body of research very little is known about adolescents' experiences, opinions, needs and problems associated with the disorder as research and treatment regimes are currently determined by adults. The research …

Clarifying The Lower Incidence Of Birth Defects In The Midwest Of Western Australia : A Study Using Capture Re-Capture Methodology, Donna Baker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In April 2000 the Western Australian Birth Defects Registry held its 20th Anniversary Scientific Symposium to signify the first 20 years of the Birth Defects Registry in Western Australia. At the Symposium, significant trends and occurrences in birth defects within Western Australia over the past 20 years were addressed. One factor highlighted in the Registry's 1980-1999 report was that birth defects were reported less frequently in rural regions compared with metropolitan areas. Data collected from the metropolitan area is considered by the Birth Defects Registry to be the most accurate. Therefore, incidence rates of birth defects in this area arc …

Multiply-Mediated Households : Space And Power Reflected In Everyday Media Use, Donell Joy Holloway

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates how contemporary Australian families incorporate the consumption of multiple media technologies within their home environments. It uses an approach similar to David Morley's (1986) Family Television where he explored the consumption of television programs in the context of everyday family life. He viewed the household (or family) as the key to constructing understandings of the television audience; where there were gendered regimes of watching, and where program choice often reflected existing power relationships in the home. However since then (a time when most families had only one television set) the media environment of many homes has changed. …

Foraging Ecology And Habitat Selection Of The Western Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria Griseogularis) In A Wandoo Woodland, Western Australia : Conservation Ecology Of A Declining Species, Jarrad A. Cousin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined the foraging ecology and habitat selection of the Western Yellow Robin in Wandoo Woodland at Dryandra Woodland, Western Australia. The foraging ecology component was comprised of an examination of foraging behaviour, perch-use selection and pounce-site characteristics. The habitat selection component was comprised of an examination of habitat characteristics of site occupancy and general nesting ecology. The implications of current management at Dryandra Woodland to the ecology of the Western Yellow Robin are discussed in reference to the findings of the present study. Ground-pouncing was the dominant foraging behaviour throughout all seasons, with dead branches of live subcanopy …

Do Size Differences Of Juvenile Snapper (Pagrus Auratus) In Two Regions Of Shark Bay, Western Australia, Reflect Different Environmental Conditions, Nadia Tapp

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Aspects of the population biology of juvenile Pagrus auratus in the western gulf of Shark Bay, Western Australia, were investigated to explore the causes of an observed size difference between 0+ fish (first year of life) in the northern and southern regions of that gulf. Five trawl surveys were conducted in each region of the western gulf, from November 2000 to December 2001, to collect juvenile P. auratus. The 0+ fish from the northern region were found to be consistently greater in length by between 10 and 20mm LCF, than those in the southern region, thereby confirming those observed size …

A Mathematical Analysis Of The Financial And Medical Impact Of Hepatitis C Among Drug Users In Perth, Western Australia, Raelene Kirkpatrick

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The ability of public health planners continues to be hampered by uncertainties encountered with transmissible diseases. Key epidemiological factors such as, how many Western Australian injecting drug users are hepatitis C seropositive or will become infected, duration of intravenous drug use, the intensity of infection, the fraction of those infected that will develop end-stage disease and after how long a period, all combine to limit the ability of a mathematical model to predict future trends. These models can, however, provide information about certain epidemiological parameters and identify data required to predict future trends. They can be applied to make predictions …

The Effect Of Recreational Fishing On Targeted Fishes And Trophic Structure, In A Coral Reef Marine Park, Mark B. Westera

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Recreational line fishing is highly targeted at predatory fishes, making them vulnerable to overfishing. These same fishes play a role in trophic structure by regulating prey species. Despite increasing numbers of fishers, few studies have investigated the potential effects of recreational fishing on fish populations and subsequent trophic effects. This project investigated whether there were differences in fishes and benthos between unfished and recreationally fished areas, and whether the removal of targeted fishes influenced trophic structure. The study was conducted at the Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, which had Sanctuary (no-take) and Recreation {recreationally fished) Zones. Data were collected from …

A Q-Methodology Evaluation Of Visions Of Sustainable Development, Graham C. Marshall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The concept of the “triple bottom line” has recently become central to sustainable development (SD) and it emerged to be internationally regarded as integrating economic, environmental and social considerations into planning for the future. While numerous authors have contended that successful delivery of SD required a consensus and shared vision about implementation, objectives, and outcomes, others have argued that the lack of consensus about SD is not necessarily problematical. Whether or not a consensus is required for the successful deployment of SD is debatable, but that pluralities of views about SD exist is now widely acknowledged. Involved In the contestation …

Big Boys Don't Cry : Understanding Barriers To Seeking Support For Mental Health Problems Among Adolescent Males, Amanda Miraudo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explored the possible barriers encountered by adolescents in developing and achieving positive mental health. Male adolescents in Perth, Western Australia were consulted in an attempt to provide insight into the motivating and inhibiting factors influencing help-seeking as a coping strategy. Barriers to seeking help for mental health problems were investigated through the inductive process of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to obtain a more detailed understanding of help-seeking than previous studies have provided; The study found that the coping responses most frequently enacted by the adolescent males sampled included avoidance, diversion, and private resolution. Help-seeking was far …

Non-Business Use Of The World Wide Web : A Study Of Selected Western Australian Organisations, Craig Valli

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Employees undertake a wide range of activities when they use the World Wide Web in the work place. Some of these activities may leave the modem Internet connected organisation vulnerable to undue or unknown risk, potential productivity losses and expense us a result of misuse or abuse or the Internet provision. Much of the existing literature on this subject points to a purported epidemic of misuse in the workplace. If this practice is so prevalent and widespread, what can modem Internet connected organisations do to identify the abuse and reduce the risks and losses that these abuses represent? To what …

Identification And Realisation Of The Benefits Of Participating In An Electronic Marketplace : An Interpretive Evaluation Approach, Rosemary Stockdale

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Electronic marketplaces have proliferated as use of the Internet has become widespread in business. A rapid growth in the number of marketplaces, followed by a period of stringent consolidation, as market makers develop a greater understanding of effective business models, has resulted in a climate of uncertainty and confusion. As with many aspects of e-commerce the drive towards participation is fuelled less by strategy planning than by a fear of lagging behind competitors or losing first mover advantage. In this climate of uncertainty organisations often bypass effective evaluation of the benefits that can be realised from participation in e-marketplaces, thereby …

The Service Delivery Process : An Examination Of How Consumers Evaluate Technology-Assisted Service Encounters In The Retail Banking Industry, Catherine W. Munene

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined consumers' perceptions post-adoption of technology and how these perceptions affect their levels of dis/satisfaction and their continued use of technology·assisted service encounters. To this end, this study investigated the criteria that consumers in Western Australia's retail banking industry are likely to use when evaluating banking transactions involving EFTPOS, ATM, telephone, and Online banking modes. II examined whether these criteria changed with the mode of electronic banking in use and whether the significance of the criteria changed with

consumers' demographic characteristics. In addition, this study explored whether consumers who use these modes of electronic banking experience the paradoxes …