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An Advancement In Analytical Modelling Of Soil-Infilled Rock Joints And Their Practical Applications, David Oliveira

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

An infilled rock joint is likely to be the weakest plane in a rock mass. The most pronounced effect of the presence of infill material is the reduction in friction of the discontinuity boundaries (i.e. rock to rock contact of the joint walls). The thicker the infill, the smaller the shear strength of the rock joint. Once the infill reaches a critical thickness, the joint walls (rock) play no significant role in the overall shear strength. Several models have been proposed to predict the peak shear strength of infilled joints under both constant normal load (CNL) and constant normal stiffness …

Shadows Of Another Dimension: A Bridge Between Mathematician And Artist, Janelle Robyn Humphreys

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The fundamental idea that provides a pathway through this exegesis is the Möbius strip. It is examined in relation to the mathematical influences on my art practice and consequently identified in the work of the Australian Modernists.

The other key link is the “bridge.” The aim is to “bridge the gap” between my roles as artist and mathematician through an analysis of the making process of my painting and sculptures. Further, I establish a visual link between the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Möbius strip and Australian modernist paintings.

The Möbius strip is introduced as a model for the paintings of …

Making Links Between Theory And Practice : An Investigation Into Pre-Service Teacher Learning Experiences With An Online Simulation, Lisa A. Carrington

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Current research in teacher education identifies a gap between what teachers are taught during their pre-service teacher education and what they are expected to do at the ‘chalk-face’ in their professional career (Cole & Knowles, 2000; Ramsey, 2000; Sorin, 2004). In response to the perception that theory is often irrelevant to practice, various studies assert that there is a need to integrate the various components of pre-service teacher education (for relevant studies see Brady, Seagal, Bamford & Deer, 1998; Lanier & Little, 1986). An integrated approach is advocated to enable pre-service teachers to gain a better understanding of the theory/practice …

3d Geometric And Haptic Modeling Of Hand-Woven Textile Artifacts, Hooman Shidanshidi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Haptic Modeling of textile has attracted significant interest over the last decade. In spite of extensive research, no generic system has yet been proposed. The majority of the haptic models developed in the previous work assume a 2D mesh model for the textile which does not represent the real geometric configuration of the textile. In addition, they are based on empirical parameters obtained from textile samples using specialized instruments. The process is often time consuming and elaborate, consisting of manual measurement of physical and mechanical properties of the artifacts. The development of a generic approach for 3D haptic modeling of …

Identification And Prioritisation Of Variables Influencing The Cost Of Learning Content Development, Zhengui Wu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

A dominant factor in cost analyses of e-Learning programs at tertiary education institutions is the measurement of direct and indirect costs associated with digital learning content, or in brief, learning content. In broad terms, over 60% of total e-Learning costs are related to design, development, publication and evaluation of learning content. The inclusion of new and emerging concepts and technologies including Learning Objects (LOs) and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs) into e-Learning programs at universities has opened up new opportunities and increased the complexity of learning content cost analyses.

This thesis constructs a model that offers a minimized cost for …

Antibiotic Resistance Genes Located In Integrons Isolated From Escherichia Coli Recovered From Humans And Animals, Fay Ellen Dawes

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Multi-drug resistant pathogens are the principal cause of failure in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases. Accurate surveillance of antibiotic resistance genes in the community is essential to developing strategies for resistance control and prevention. In this study, a collection of 514 Escherichia coli strains from animal and human sources was examined for the presence of class 1, 2 and 3 integrons using a PCR-based screening method. A multiplex PCR was developed to simultaneously screen for intI1, intI2 and intI3 genes. This study characterised all gene cassettes including those that could not be PCR amplified using standard screening methods.

The …

Development Of Novel Nanostructured Conducting Polypyrrole Fibres, Javad Foroughi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Polypyrrole (PPy) as a conducting polymer has potential applications in electrical and electronic devices because of its high electrical conductivity, environmental stability and redox activity. There have been many attempts to endow electrically PPy with processibility. Although some success has been achieved via synthesising soluble PPy, there have remained difficulties to fabricate this material through fibre spinning due to its low molecular weight and poor mechanical properties. Prior to this thesis, there was no report of the production of PPy fibres. This project therefore aimed to produce novel “polypyrrole fibres via the development of nanostructured conducting polypyrrole” by fibre spinning …

Preliminary Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometric Studies On Fullerenyl Bisadducts, Qing Xiang Zhang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In this study, four selected regioisomeric tetraethyl bismethano[60]fullerenyl tetracarboxylates (trans-4, e, cis-2 and cis-3 symmetry patterns) were prepared through the chemical methods reported in the literature with satisfactory yields and purities. They were subsequently analysed by ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMMS) to examine the potential of this method to resolve fullerenyl bisadduct regioisomers of the same molecular weights based on their different cross-sectional areas. This study was also of interest to see if these regioisomeric compounds would undergo a “walk-on-the-sphere” rearrangement under the reductive conditions of – ve ion mode ESIMS.

The tethered bisadducts (40), (41), (43), (44) and (46) …

Autonomous Blimp Control With Reinforcement Learning, Yiwei Liu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Blimps are a special type of airship without rigid structure on the body. Most existing blimps are manually operated by a pilot directly or through radio control. One of the most famous examples is the Goodyear Blimp used for commercial advertising. With the fast development of microcontroller and electronic technologies, autonomous blimps have recently attracted great research interest as a platform to access dangerous or difficulty-to-access environment in applications such as disaster exploration and rescue, security surveillance in public events and climate monitoring, etc..

This thesis investigates the problem of learning an optimal control policy for blimp autonomous navigation in …

The Development Of Teacher Knowledge In Preservice Science Teachers In Thailand, Kanyarat Sonsupap

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The education of preservice teachers is critical to the quality of teaching in schools (Parkinson, 2009). The 1999 National Education Act from Thailand recommends that teachers become facilitators of learning and use different ‘sources of knowledge’ to improve the quality of education (Section 24, p.11). Although there have been many research studies on teacher knowledge, most of them have been conducted in Western settings or conducted with Western teachers.

The purpose of the research is to study the development of teacher knowledge acquired by preservice science teachers during the fourth year of a teacher education degree and to ascertain the …

Role Of Trust In The Relationship Between Branch Managers And Loan Officers Of Bank Branches In India, Shyam Bhati

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Banks in India operate in a very different lending environment as compared to western banks because there is considerable state intervention in bank lending in India. Conventional instruments based methods of risk evaluation have limited use for banks in India because many additional variables required cannot be quantified easily for Indian banks. This thesis uses a social risk evaluation process based on Ferrary’s (2003) notion of social capital and model of trust developed by Mayer et. al (1995). A framework of trust between branch manager and loan officer of bank branches in India is developed and empirically studied in this …

Trace Metal Contamination Of Soils And Sediments In The Port Kembla Area, New South Wales, Australia, Yasaman Jafari

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Anthropogenic emissions of metals from industrial activities such as smelters are an international problem, but there is limited published information on emissions from Australian smelters. The objective of this study was to investigate the regional distribution of trace metals in soils and sediments in the vicinity of the industrial complex of Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia, which comprises a former copper smelter, an integrated steelworks and associated industries.

Thus, 95 soil samples from the Port Kembla area and 3 vibracores from Griffins Bay in the adjacent Lake Illawarra were collected. X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) was used to determine 37 …

Solving Very Large Distributed Constraint Satisfaction Problems, Peter Harvey

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis investigates issues with existing approaches to distributed constraint satisfaction, and proposes a solution in the form of a new algorithm. These issues are most evident when solving large distributed constraint satisfaction problems, hence the title of the thesis.

We will first survey existing algorithms for centralised constraint satisfaction, and describe how they have been modified to handle distributed constraint satisfaction. The method by which each algorithm achieves completeness will be investigated and analysed by application of a new theorem.

We will then present a new algorithm, Support-Based Distributed Search, developed explicitly for distributed constraint satisfaction rather than being …

The Procrustean Approach: Setting Exposure Standards For Telecommunications Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation, Donald Raymond Maisch

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Since the 1950s there has been an ongoing controversy regarding the possibility of health hazards from exposure to non-ionizing radiation emissions from radiofrequency and microwave (RF/MW) technology: from military radar to telecommunications. In response to these concerns, and with support from the World Health Organization’s International EMF Project (IEMFP) human exposure limits have been developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation protection (ICNIRP). These limits, although differing in detail, are founded on the same scientific literature base and deem that the primary hazard to be considered in setting human exposure …

Inducing Hydrogen Assisted Cold Cracking In High Strength Steel Weld Metal, Rian Holdstock

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The thesis explores the hydrogen assisted cold cracking in high strength steel weld metal during flux cored arc welding (FCAW) using a technique involving the deliberate introduction of hydrogen into the CO₂ shielding gas. A specific objective was to investigate weld metal cold cracking susceptibility by development of a research tool which permitted control over both the weld metal diffusible hydrogen content and the stress applied during mechanical testing of single bead on plate weld deposits.

The basis for this undertaking is twofold, and stems from the fact that crack mitigating measures traditionally address cracking in the heat affected …

The Conservation Value Of Young Eucalypt Plantations For Avifauna In Northern New South Wales, Tina Hsu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

There is growing interest in the contribution of native plantations to biodiversity conservation in a variegated landscape. Eucalypt plantations are expanding rapidly in Australia; they provide conservation potential through afforestation, but their real value for native fauna requires investigation. The relative conservation value of eucalypt plantations was investigated through assessment of avifauna richness, abundance and composition with transect surveys incorporating point counts in five broad habitat types – dryland forests, riparian forests, dryland plantations, riparian plantations, and riparian pastures. A total of 73 species were recorded during formal surveys. Species richness and abundance were comparable among all habitat types except …

Drying Of Potable Water Treatment Plant Residuals, Ali Mohammad Gharaibeh

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The need for potable water treatment has become an increasing necessity in modern society. Worldwide, the most widely used water treatment technology remains a combination of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and filtration. As a result, water treatment operations not only produce drinking water, they also produce wet residuals as a by-product. These residuals mainly include suspended solids, any organics found in water, and chemicals used in the treatment process such as coagulants, coagulant aids and filter aid polymers. The main objective regarding residuals management continues to be the reduction of residuals for either reuse or disposal. This reduction can be achieved …

Application Of Constriction Size Based Filtration Criteria For Railway Subballast Under Cyclic Conditions, Laricar D. Trani

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In rail track environments, the loading system is cyclic unlike the steady seepage force that usually occurs in embankment dams. The mechanisms of filtration, interface behaviour, and time dependent changes of the drainage and filtration properties occurring within the filter medium require further research to improve the design guidelines. A novel cyclic process simulation filtration apparatus was designed and commissioned at the University of Wollongong, and a standard test procedure was established. The test apparatus was designed to simulate heavy haul train operations. The key parameters that influence the change in porosity and pore water pressure within the subballast layer …

Sound Installation & Self-Listening, Iain David Mott

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis is an exploration of listening behaviours in the context of sound installation art. A concept of self-listening is developed by the author to describe behaviours that direct the listener's attention towards him- or herself. The concept is derived from an investigation of a common thread found in diverse areas including: acousmatic music, acoustic ecology, cinema studies, phenomenology, the visual arts, psychoanalysis, literature and myth. Self-listening is used to analyse and evaluate seven works of sound installation which form the corpus of creative work by the author. The concept is also presented to contribute more generally towards an aesthetic …

Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Diffraction For On-Stream Monitoring Of Mineralogy, Joel N. O'Dwyer

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Mineral processing and metal production techniques depend on the mineralogy of the feedstock fed into the processing plant. The ability to perform on-stream mineralogical characterisation of feedstock materials, or to monitor intermediate, product and waste streams would allow better process control and increased efficiency. On-line elemental analysers based on X-ray fluorescence and prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis are widely used, but existing mineralogical analysis methods rely on extracting and measuring small samples. This can introduce sampling errors and is time consuming, particularly if the sample must be removed to a laboratory for analysis. These methods are therefore ill-suited to process …

Distant Voices, John E. Tranter

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

‘Distant Voices’ consists of two parts: a collection of poems and a thirty-thousand word exegesis.

The poems are presented in three groups.

In Vocoder four long poems explore, in different ways, the idea of displacing the authorial ego with a kind of writing at one or two removes, through the process of translation, ventriloquy, mask or disguise. Speaking French presents 101 deliberate mistranslations of some of Rimbaud’s ‘Illuminations’ and poems by Baudelaire, Mallarmé and Verlaine. At the Movies is a group of narrative, discursive and reflective poems that speak about various movies and their cultural settings.

The exegesis is also …

Metal-Cell Interactions: Investigation Of The Mode Of Toxicity Of Copper To Microalgae In Plankton And Biofilms, Jacqueline Levy

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Microalgae are sensitive indicators of environmental change and, as the basis of most freshwater and marine ecosystems, are widely used in the assessment of risk and the development of environmental regulations for metals. However, inter-species differences in sensitivity to metals are not well understood and laboratory-based toxicity tests with planktonic microalgae are often criticised for their lack of environmental relevance. One such criticism is that algae do not exist in isolation in the field, interacting with bacteria and other algal species, as well as higher order organisms, both in the plankton and when attached to substrates in the form of …

Invariant Measures On Multifids Of Convex Polytopes, Brian Michael Bray

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Some convex polytopes are studied from the viewpoint of Geometric Probabilities. The probabilities calculated in this thesis all involve -randomness. This type of randomness is the only form based on invariant measures. Under this type of randomness, if a convex body, & is contained in another convex body ., the probability of hitting &, given that it hits the parent body does not depend on the orientation or position of &. This property reduces the complexity of the mathematics. In two dimensions this invariant measure is length, leading to calculations involving the perimeters of various embedded polygons. In three dimensions …

Improving The Dynamic Behaviour Of Adjacent Buildings By Connecting Them With Fluid Viscous Dampers, Mehmet Uz

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Building structures are often built close to each other because of lack of available land in metropolitan cities. To reduce the response of a structure to earthquake excitation, various types of control system devices have been proposed for adjacent buildings. One of the methods to mitigate structural seismic response is installing supplemental damping devices between adjacent buildings. This study proposes to develop a method for analyzing the random seismic response of a structural system consisting of two adjacent buildings interconnected by fluid viscous damping devices. The reduction of displacement, acceleration and shear force responses of adjacent buildings are proposed in …

The Impact Of Loan Characteristics On Credit Risk Of Chinese Listed Firms Under The New Banking Regulatory System, Miao Jianchun

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis examines the relationship between a firm’s credit risk and its loan characteristics in the context of Chinese listed firms. In particular, it focuses on the effect of China's new banking regulatory system on this relationship. It seeks to answer the following questions: Does a collateralized loan imply higher default risk? Is the credit risk markedly higher for borrowers with short-term loans than for borrowers with long-term loans? Is the credit risk more closely related to loan term and collateral after the implementation of the new banking regulatory system? To answer the above questions, quantitative methods will be adopted. …

Designing Online Learning Environments For Local Contexts, As Exemplified In The Sultanate Of Oman, Andrea Hall

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Online learning has a significant role in teaching and learning as it can be used to address the issues of quality and access to learning in higher education. However, for online learning to provide an effective solution, it needs to be designed to meet the learning needs of the students. This includes the consideration of their cultural preferences, as it is generally presumed that these significantly affect how people learn, and consequently affect learning success if courses are not designed appropriately.

This is particularly important for the Sultanate of Oman, the focus of this study. Since Oman's renaissance in 1970, …

An Investigation Of The Possible Influence Of Microorganisms On The Uptake Of Trace Metals By Ulva Lactuca, Curtis Gregory

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Trace metals are actual or potential pollutants in estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Anthropogenic activities, such as mining, industries and waste streams, can result in an increased release of trace metals into the environment at concentrations that may impact on the health, biological diversity and use of coastal ecosystems. They can be transported in food chains after absorption from the water by plants and consequently assessing the behaviour of metals requires an understanding of the factors that control the uptake of metals by organisms. In an attempt to investigate the effect of microorganisms on metal behaviour this study examines the effect …

Contributions To Mobility, Anonymity And Location Privacy In Ip-Based Networks, Rungrat Wiangsripanawan

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The Internet has become an indispensable tool in our life, rather than merely used as a means of communication channel. Accessing the Internet services such as web pages and emails nowadays is as easy as dialling a telephone number. With the advent of the wireless network, a growth of telecommunication technology, and a massive reduction of the computer’s size, a need to access the Internet service anytime, anywhere without interruption, is prominent. Nonetheless, allowing the device to move anytime and anywhere means that the location of the device must be reachable by the network all the time. Hence, the location …

Discovery And Pattern Classification Of Large Scale Harmonic Measurements Using Data Mining, A. Asheibi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Harmonic monitoring is an important issue for electricity utilities and their customers. Continuous monitoring of voltage and current are required to identify any substantial harmonic events before they occur. This monitoring results in large volumes of multivariate data. Although researchers have realised that such large amounts of power quality (PQ) data hold much more information than that reported using classical statistical techniques for PQ monitoring, few have taken the opportunity to exploit this additional information. This hidden information might be of assistance in the identification of critical issues for diagnoses of harmonic problems such as, predicting failures in advance and …

Advanced Materials For Electrodes And Electrolyte In Rechargeable Lithium Batteries, Sau Yen Chew

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery possesses many outstanding advantages over the well known rechargeable battery systems, in particularly higher energy density and longer shelf life, as well as not suffering from the memory effect problems of Ni-MH batteries. Those advantages are making it the greatest energy source of choice for the portable electronic market. Graphite and LiCoO2 are commonly used in commercial Li-ion battery. Despite their widespread utilization, the current electro-active materials have reached to a limit in terms of delivering even higher power, energy density, and longer cycle life for the new, emerging field of large-scale energy storage systems, such …