Digital Commons Network^™

Does Accurate Data, Identifying Obese Patients Impact Nurse Safety And Hospital Finances?, Kim Mcclean

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Healthcare staff who manage obese patients are at increased risk of sustaining patient handling injuries, and this risk is anticipated to intensify as projected Australian obesity rates increase to 42% by the year 2035 and obese patients admitted to hospitals also increase. High cost burdens to healthcare organisations will result due to increased funding requirements for bariatric risk management solutions and growing costs of workers’ compensation claims of injured staff. Five (5) studies explored if identification of obese patients impacts the safety of nurses and other healthcare staff who manage obese patients and investigated the accuracy of obesity data recorded …

Improving Sprint Performance In Road Cycling: The Forward Standing Sprint Position, Paul Franciscus Johannes Merkes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The majority of road cycling races finish with a sprint and as such sprints are a key determinant of success. Surprisingly, the scientific literature on this specific topic is scarce, with limited to few studies describing the characteristics of road cycling sprinters and the demands of road sprinting. Cyclists’ sprinting velocity, which is mostly influenced by power output and aerodynamic drag (CdA) is critical to performance outcomes. However, to date, there is very limited research specifically examining how to maximise road sprint velocity. Thus, the overall objective of the four studies outlined in this thesis was to manipulate CdA, physiology, …

Assessment Of Competitive Requirements, Repeated Sprint Paddle Ability And Trainability Of Paddling Performance In Surfers, Oliver Farley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Studies examining the physical demands of surfing, the physiological characteristics of surfers, training techniques and various indices important to surfing performance are limited and characterised by methodological discrepancies. This thesis consists of five studies to assess the competitive requirements, test specific repeat sprint fitness and the trainability of sprint paddling in surfers.

Initially an understanding of surfing movement patterns and a determination of the reliability and validity of custom-made GPS units was established (SurfTraX, Gold Coast, Australia) (Study 1: The validity and inter-unit reliability of custom-made SurfTraX GPS units and use during surfing). Durations, intensities, external loads and velocity …

Education And Training Of Specialist Sexual Offence Investigators In Victoria, Australia From 2009 To 2011, Jennifer Anne Turnley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The topic of training specifically designed for investigators of sexual offences has received little attention from academic researchers to date. Previous studies have not described training provided to police investigators of sexual offences in Australia. This thesis developed Turnley’s Framework for the Examination of Police Training in Sexual Assault Investigation, to examine and describe a Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigative Teams (SOCIT) Course, provided to Victorian Police from 2009 to 2011. This entailed triangulation of findings from non-participant observations of one SOCIT Course, with quantitative and qualitative data sourced though an in-depth interview with course trainers; feedback sheets voluntarily …

A Series Of Studies Examining The Development Of Sprint Speed And Momentum Of International Rugby Union Players, Matthew John Barr

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Sprinting speed is a highly valued physical ability in rugby. There is little research examining sprinting biomechanics in rugby players and it is unclear the extent that sprinting speed and sprint momentum can even be improved in highly trained rugby players and how different speed and strength training methods might help improve it. This thesis consists of 6 studies that examine the sprinting biomechanics of elite rugby players, how strength and power training might improve sprinting speed and the potential for elite rugby players to make further improvement in their sprinting speed and sprint momentum.

Key biomechanical factors were that …

Causes And Effects Of Physical Injuries To Prison Officers Employed In A High Risk And High Need Offender Management Environment In Western Australia, Bigboy Ngwenya

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Prison Officers (POs) involved in high need offender management frequently face risks that could affect their health, safety and wellbeing. Several studies have shown that direct client centred violence, inadequate management systems and the general nature of prison environments are major factors impacting on the well being of POs (Fisher & Gunnison, 2001; Kiekbusch, Price, & Theis, 2003; Mitchell, Mackenzie, Styve, & Gover, 2000).There is limited literature on causes and effects of physical injuries on this group of law enforcements officers. This is the first study conducted in Western Australia (WA) that investigated the causes and effects of physical injuries …

Manager Learning In The Micro Business Context : The Role Of External Business Advice, Training Providers And Close Others, Jennifer Devine

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small business has often been referred to as the “engine driving the economy”. This description highlights the significance of small business to the economy of most countries. But what about the smallest of these organisations; those businesses with fewer than five employees? These businesses, termed micro businesses, form a large part of our economy and are sometimes the starting point for larger business and sometimes provide a long term, alternate business structure. This type of business has special needs and characteristics and is often neglected in the management literature. The nature and diversity of these businesses prompted an interest in …

Practical Precooling Strategies And Cycling Time Trial Performance, Megan L. Ross

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Whole-body precooling can improve endurance exercise performance, especially in the heat; however there are logistical considerations that restrict the use of various precooling strategies prior to actual competition. Precooling is proposed to collectively reduce deep skin and body temperature and in effect, increase the heat storage capacity of an athlete, thereby allowing a greater amount of work to be completed prior to attainment of a critical core temperature. While there is a sound theoretical basis for implementing precooling to improve cycling time trial performance in the heat, the practicalities of employing effective precooling strategies in the field warrant further investigation. …

Reducing Risk And Injury To Transit Officers, Christine Teague

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines whether an understanding of the communication and safety culture of transit officers, who form part of a security section of a large state Rail Transport Organisation (RTO), can lead to strategies to reduce their risk of injury. The core functions of the transit officer position are passenger safety and customer service. This puts the officers in the front line of defence against the antisocial behaviour from some patrons that occurs regularly on the railway system. Like urban railways the world over, this anti-social behaviour can range from bad language to severe violence. Whilst these officers are not …

Does Training With Powercranks™ Affect Economy Of Motion, Cycling Efficiency, Oxygen Uptake And Muscle Activation Patterns In Trained Cyclists?, Jack Burns

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

PowerCranks™ are claimed to increase economy of motion and cycling efficiency by reducing the muscular recruitment patterns that contribute to the resistive forces occurring during the recovery phase of the pedal stroke. However, scientific research examining the efficacy of training with PowerCranks™ is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if five weeks of training with PowerCranks™ improves economy of motion (EOM), gross efficiency (GE), oxygen uptake (V.O2) and muscle activation patterns in trained cyclists. Sixteen trained cyclists were matched and paired into either a PowerCranks™ (PC) or Normal Cranks (NC) training group. Prior to training, all …

A Series Of Studies On Professional Rugby League Players, Daniel G. Baker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Rugby league football is a popular game in Australia, which appears to rely heavily upon strength, power, speed and endurance due to the nature of the phyiscal contacts. In an effort to discern the importance of upper body strength, power speed and endurance to rugby league players a retrospective data analysis was performed. Three areas of investigation were: 1) the testing of upper body physical qualities of strength, power, speed and strength-endurance and their significance to playing status in the elite national first-division (NRL), second-division (SRL) and third-division (CRL), 2) the effect of acute training variable manipulations upon power output …

Comparative Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Online Vs Paper Based Post Graduate Courses In Occupational And Environmental Safety And Health At Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Suzanna Paul

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Although online / e-learning is shifting the teaching paradigm at tertiary institutions, there are limited studies that assess the effectiveness of online courses, particularly in the occupational and environmental health field and among mature aged students. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of online "Blackboard" units as compared to traditional "paper based" units taught as part of the Professional Masters in Occupational and Environmental Health at the Edith Cowan University. Unit commencement and completion questionnaires were designed and distributed over two academic semesters (in 2004 and 2005) to evaluate students' perceptions of the effectiveness of …

The Relationship Between Individual Differences, Training In Second Language Aural Comprehension Strategies And Performance In Year 9 Indonesian Language Students, Wendy L. Young

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

There are three distinct but interrelated parts to this research. The first part measures language learning strategies (LLS) and other individual differences (IDs), as well as the relationship between LLS and the other IDs of year 9 students of Indonesian as a foreign language (L2). The second part measures differences in use of LLS between the control and experimental groups, and then over time. The third part measures the effects of training in LLS on listening comprehension. The study had three main aims. One was to determine the relationship between participants' LLS use and their language learning background, affective factors, …

The Effect Of Strength Training On 3km Performance In Recreational Female Endurance Runners, Cherina M. Rice

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a strength training program, as an additive to endurance training, would cause significant improvements in 3km run time in a group of recreational female endurance runners when compared to endurance training only. Subjects were 16 active women, randomly assigned to either a running only group (control group, n=9) or a combined strength and endurance training group (experimental group, n=7). The ten-week training program for both groups consisted of an endurance running program three times per week, which included steady-state endurance running, tempo runs and interval training. The experimental group however, participated …