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Removal Of Trace Organic Chemicals By Membrane Bioreactors And Hybrid Processes, Kaushalya Chandrakanthi Wijekoon

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) can effectively remove a wide range of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs), yet their fate and recalcitrant contaminant removal during MBR treatment is uncertain. This study focused on revealing the fate and removal of TrOCs during MBR treatment, membrane distillation (MD) and novel membrane distillation bioreactor hybrid treatment (MDBR). It also aimed to elucidate the effect of physicochemical properties (namely, molecular structure, log D, and volatility) on the fate and removal of TrOCs during MBR, MD and MDBR treatment. The effect of molecular properties on the fate of trace organic contaminants in the aqueous and solid phases during …

The Peritectic Phase Transition And Continuous Casting Practice, Suk-Chun Moon

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The thin solidifying shell in the meniscus region of a continuous caster deforms due to severe contraction in steels of near-peritectic composition, thereby exacerbating the risks of cracking and in the extreme, breakouts. The main purpose of the present study was to contribute to an improved understanding of the fundamentals underpinning the solidification behaviour of selected steels of industrial importance and to relate these fundamentals to industrial practice. A further aim was to explore the potential of countermeasures aimed at avoiding or at least minimizing surface defects that originate as a result of the occurrence of the peritectic phase transition. …

Afghanistan Diaries: 1993 - 2012, Stephen Dupont

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

There is little discourse analysis on war diaries and their value as journalistic, historic, artistic and cultural artefacts. War diaries can be truthful, personal and raw accounts of war from the war correspondent’s perspective. When designed and contextualized, they can also become works of art that explore creative and challenging ways of seeing, and so may be a new genre of journalism. Such diaries are often accurate confessions, in public interest, which can also be therapeutic to the writer under pressure, enabling reflection on professional practice. The war diary can help the photojournalist reflect on process and detect instances where …

Mathematical Models For Tumour Invasion, Andrew Brett Holder

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Mathematical modelling of tumour invasion and cancer development has grown dramatically in recent years, with mathematics being applied to understand more complex and specific tumour mechanisms such as angiogenesis and metastasis. One such mechanism that has gained attention is aerobic glycolysis due to the association of this mechanism with increased tissue invasion, increases in angiogenesis and metastasis and some evidence suggesting it causes an increase in chemoresistance. Aerobic glycolysis is an altered metabolism that results in the extracellular tumour environment becoming acidic. This acidity has been hypothesised to be a mechanism for invasion termed the acid-mediation hypothesis. This is the …

Perovskite Titanium Nitride Oxides And Vanadium Phosphates: Synthesis And Characterization, Spencer Hampton Porter

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The synthesis, crystal structures, ordering, magnetic, optical, water oxidizing, and electronic properties of RTiNO₂ (R = La - Nd) have been investigated. Neutron powder diffraction indicates that CeTiNO₂ and PrTiNO₂ crystallize with orthorhombic Pnma symmetry (Ce: a = 5.5580(5), b = 7.8369(7), and c = 5.5830(4) Å; Pr: a = 5.5468(5), b = 7.8142(5), and c = 5.5514(5) Å) as a result of a^-b⁺a^- tilting of the titanium octahedra. Careful examination of the NPD data, confirms the absence of long range anion order in both compounds, while apparent superstructure re …

Fabrication Of Gamma Titanium Aluminide Alloys By Gas Tungsten Arc Welding-Based Additive Layer Manufacturing, Yan Ma

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Although intermetallic titanium aluminide alloys have extensive practical industrial applications owing to their unique characteristics, their usage has been limited by the difficulties and high cost of fabrication.

This research proposes an alternative manufacturing approach to fabricating titanium aluminide alloys, which combines in-situ alloying and additive layer manufacturing (ALM) using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). This new fabrication process promises significant time and cost saving in comparison to traditional methods. Since the chemical composition, microstructural features and mechanical performance of the asfabricated components can be greatly influenced by the manufacturing parameters, the effect of several important variables including arc current, …

Driving With Dementia: Obstacles And Solutions, John Carmody

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Dementia refers to a syndrome characterised by a progressive deterioration of memory and at least one other cognitive domain which interferes with daily function and independence. Epidemiological data indicate the prevalence of dementia to be 6.4% of those aged over 65. Recent estimates by the World Health Organisation claim that 35.6 million people have dementia. It is expected that this figure will double every 20 years to 115.4 million by 2050. The issue of driving is critically important for people as they age prompting calls for the development of interventions to maintain the mobility of older adults. Given the rising …

Schedule Design For Liner Shipping Networks With Port Time Windows, Abdurahim Fares M Alharbi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Containers are transported by global liner companies on regularly scheduled ship routes. A large variety of general cargos are containerized, such as manufactured products, food, and garment. Liner shipping services have fixed sequences of ports of call and fixed schedules, i.e., arrival and departure times at each port of call. Liner services are announced in advance to attract potential customers. Customers can arrange the delivery of their cargo based on the available date of the cargo at the origin port and the expected arrival date at the destination port. Therefore, container liner shipping is of significant importance to the global …

New Nanostructured Alloy And Metal Sulfide Materials For Sodium-Ion Batteries, Kan Huang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Lithium (Li)-ion batteries have attracted wide attention for grid-scale energy storage application in the last several years. The price of lithium-ion batteries is dramatically constrained, however, by the extent of lithium sources. Therefore, sodium-ion batteries are regarded as a substitute for lithium-ion batteries because of both the low cost associated with the high natural abundance of sodium and the decent energy densities, which is similar to those for Li. This Master's work on sodium-ion batteries can be mainly divided into two parts: 1) synthesis of antimony-tin alloy materials for anode materials in sodium-ion batteries; 2) synthesis and characterization of carbon-coated …

A Study Of Grain Size Effect On Mechanical Behaviour, Fracture Mechanism, Texture Evolution And Springback In Microforming Process, Zhi Fang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Size effects play a significant role in microforming process, and any dimensional change on microstructure or specimens can have a great impact on materials’ mechanical properties. In this research, the grain size effect on deformation behaviour, fracture and grain orientation of phosphor bronze foil are investigated in the form of the ratio of materials’ thickness (T) to average grain size (D) by micro tensile tests. The ratio is designed to be greater than, less than and equal to 1 respectively. The results show that the amount of plastic deformation decreases with the decrease of the ratio T/D, which indicates the …

Behaviour Of Geocell-Reinforced Subballast Under Cyclic Loading In Plane Strain Condition, M Mahdi Biabani

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Ballasted rail tracks have gained a competitive edge over other modes of transportation systems in terms of long term performance, better ride quality, higher safety, lower cost of construction and relatively acceptable speed and efficiency of services. In order to keep rail infrastructure costs minimal, the railway industry needs to use locally available materials during track construction, some of which do not have sufficient shear strength. At times owing to use of poor quality material, ballast and subballast cause excessive lateral spreading that leads to differential track settlement, cases of derailment and regular costly maintenance. In addition, presence of soft …

Decision Support System For The Remediation Of Flexible Road Pavements In Local Government, Matthew Mendes Apolo

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis investigates the development of a decision support system for the remediation of road infrastructure in local government, specifically flexible pavements. Augmenting theoretical knowledge with the heuristics and procedural knowledge of experienced road asset managers and road engineers, the software program “PaveMaint SELECT” was created to assist local government organisations in the maintenance and management planning of their road networks.

An extensive literature review was undertaken on the characteristics, performance and the deterioration modes of flexible pavements along with suitable remediation practices necessary to prolong the life of those pavements. A further review was undertaken on decision making practices …

Identifying The Influencing Factors In Sustainable Tea Supply In The Sri Lankan Tea Industry, Mahawattage Dona Ranmali Pradeepa Jayaratne

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In monetary terms, the Sri Lankan tea industry was until 1995 consistently the country’s largest exporting element. The tea industry has always played an important role in the Sri Lankan economy, because it uses mainly local resources and over 20% of the population directly depends on it.

The Sri Lankan tea industry also plays a significant role in the global tea industry. For over three decades it was the largest tea exporter into the global supply chain (in both value and volume). However, Sri Lanka is currently ranked as the fourth-largest tea exporter in the world. Tea-production volume has stagnated …

Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Phenothiazinium-Efflux Pump Inhibitor Hybrids As New Agents For Use In Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy, Ardeshir Rineh

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) uses photosensitiser (PS) molecules in combination with visible light to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS; e.g. 1O2 and •OH) that kill bacteria. The approach is highly suited to skin and other body surface infections, where photosensitisers and light can easily be applied directly to infection sites. As examples, the phenothiazinium PS methylene blue (MB) has been used in aPDT for the sterilisation of blood products, and aPDT with a related compound toluidine blue O (TBO) has been used for oral disinfection of dental cavities and for treating periodontitis.

It has been shown that membrane efflux pumps …

Coastal Vulnerability Assessment: A Case Study In Kien Giang, Western Part Of The Mekong River Delta In Vietnam, Thang Thi Xuan Nguyen

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Climate change, particularly sea-level rise, threatens low-lying coastal systems, such as small islands on coral atolls, and deltas where millions of people are living. The Mekong River Delta is considered especially at risk. Although most of the delta is only a few metres above sea level, there have been few assessments of vulnerability at local scale. The aim of this thesis is to provide quantitative and qualitative information to guide the process of adaptation and provide visualisations that will enhance local authority’s decision making to adapt to climate change, particularly sea-level rise. It focuses on the seven coastal districts within …

Pairing-Free Identity-Based Cryptography, Ibrahim Elashry

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Identity-based cryptography (IBC) is considered nowadays as the evolution of public key cryptography because it completely eliminates the use of digital certificates by representing the public key of a user as his identity. Although the first IBC proposed by Adi Shamir [Sha84] was based on RSA, most of the proposed IBC systems are based on bilinear pairings. This limite the use of IBC in the real world because of several reasons. First, a bilinear pairing is time- and power-inefficient and it takes around 2.5 times an RSA modular exponentiation based on MIRACL benchmarks. Second, these systems are incompatible with the …

Localization And Tracking Of Robotic Endoscopic Capsules Using Multiple Positron Emission Markers, Trung Duc Than

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Wireless capsule endoscope (WCE) is a first-line medical tool for the diagnosis of many gastrointestinal (GI) tract diseases such as obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohn’s disease, small bowel tumors, and Celiac disease. In the past few years, significant research attention has been dedicated to upgrading the WCE from a diagnostic-only tool to an active medical robot having not only diagnostic capabil- ities but also therapeutic functionalities such as biopsy, microsurgery, and targeted drug delivery. One of the major limitations that impedes the development of such a robotic-type endoscope is the lack of a highly accurate localization system. In this thesis, a …

Challenges In The Conservation Of High Seas Biodiversity In The Southeast Pacific, Carole Claire Durussel

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is a global challenge. The loss of marine biodiversity has been attributed to intensifying human activities on and in the oceans, and the nonparticipation in and non-compliance by States with international and regional fisheries instruments. The special legal status of the high seas as a global commons also contributes to the difficulties in achieving the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ. With no legal instruments adequately addressing the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, there is a pressing need to …

Factors Affecting Nursing Staff Use Of Nursing Information Systems In Residential Aged Care Homes, Malatsi Galani

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The use of nursing information systems (NIS) has the potential to improve the delivery of nursing care. In particular, these systems facilitate accurate, efficient and high quality documentation.

Further, the other benefits of using NIS are to reduce staff time on documentation, facilitate organisational management and improve communication. Although NIS have been introduced throughout the healthcare sector in recent years, the use of these systems is still limited in residential aged care homes (RACHs). To date, there is limited or no research in Australia that has examined the factors that can facilitate or hinder exploitation of the potential of NIS …

Complex Hedonic Online Services: A Systemic Semiotic Functional Analysis For Context Discovery, Robert George Cardross Grant

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Online shopping has achieved what is for many a surprisingly low share of overall retail spending in developed economies with figures from the USA census bureau and the Australian Productivity Commission reporting between 5-7% of all retail spending occurring online. While growing faster than offline spending, a major constraint seems to be the limitations of online information that result in considerable frustration for customers seeking to buy structurally and/or semantically complex high-involvement services. This is particularly relevant in the structurally and semantically complex purchase of international travel to an unfamiliar destination. Frustrations include: inability to find the information sought, discomfort …

Coverage Problems In Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks, Changlin Yang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), in general, contains many low-cost sensor nodes, each with the capability to monitor its surrounding environment. As conventional or non-rechargeable WSNs are restricted by the nite battery capacity of sensor nodes, researchers have sought the help of renewable energy techniques such as solar and wind. Consequently, each sensor node, in the resulting energy harvesting WSN, is able to harvest energy and recharge its battery from its environment. Assuming no other failures, WSNs are now able to operate perpectually if all nodes have energy neutral operation; i.e., they harvest more energy than what they spend.

A …

Emergency Department Registered Nurses’ Conceptions Of Recovery For Mental Health Consumers: A Phenomenographic Study, Donna Therese Marynowski-Traczyk

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Mental health reforms have changed the Australian health care landscape, altering the location of mental health services and impacting their accessibility. A consequence of the restructuring is that people who are experiencing a mental health crisis often access mental health care through the Emergency Departments of general hospitals. Registered Nurses, many with no formal mental health training, often care for consumers as part of their daily practice. The Emergency Department is now an integral link to both mental health inpatient and community services and has a significant role in supporting the optimal transition of consumers between services.

Recovery underpins contemporary …

Using Flexsim® To Simulate The Complex Strategies Of Longwall Mining Production Systems, Dalin Cai

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Longwall mining operations are complex systems which involve numerous interrelated activities. This thesis is an attempt to establish a simple yet effective methodology using discrete event simulation to identify primary constraints in the longwall mining process and to assess the effect that modifications to the system have on elevating a particular constraint without having to implement the change in situ.

A model of potential longwall mining systems, including roadway development technologies and practices, was developed using Flexsim® simulation software. The simulation model was structured such that it can be configured to most longwall layouts, with cutting and development sequences matching …

Let It Be What It Is: Fact And Fiction In Helen Garner's Monkey Grip And The Spare Room & Deepwater, Alexandra Mcleavy

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In literature, the line between fiction and real life is often seductively thin. Taking the example of Helen Garner's autobiographical fictions in her first novel, Monkey Grip (1977), and her last, The Spare Room (2008), the theoretical component of my Masters project examines how the first person narratives are vivified by their connection to the author’s life. The thirty-one years separating the novels' publication saw distinct changes in the critical landscape, and I argue that while Monkey Grip was condemned for its likeness to a journal, The Spare Room capitalised on its correlation with reality. This dynamic constructs an extra-textual …

Phytochemical And Biological Studies On Selected Stemona And Stichoneuron Species (Stemonaceae), Rosdayati Alino Ramli

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Chapter 1 of this thesis is a review of the literature on the structure, biological activities and isolation of Stemona alkaloids from the Stemonaceae family of plants. This chapter also outlines the aims of this project, which were to isolated and determine the structures of the Stemona alkaloids and other chemical constituents in four species of Stemonaceae; three of them collected in peninsular Malaysia and another one in Indonesia. Another aim of this project was to determine the biological activities of these alkaloids.

Chapter 2 reviews and describes the genus of Stemona and Stichoneuron including their distribution and morphologies, and …

Utilisation Of Unconventional Ferrous Materials By Sintering, Zhe Wang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

To sustain stable operation of a blast furnace, iron ore fines produced during mining and ore dressing processes need to be agglomerated into lumps. Sintering is the most economical and widely used agglomeration method for iron ore fines. Also, the sintering technology can be used for recycling of metallurgical wastes produced by the ironmaking process. The aim of the project was to study the sintering behaviour of three kinds of unconventional ferrous materials (New Zealand ironsand, mill scale and filter cake wastes) and assess the feasibility of their utilization by sintering. The effects of sintering conditions on the formation of …

Nursing Work Activities In Australian Residential Aged Care Homes, Siyu Qian

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Background Australian residential aged care (RAC) homes are facing challenges of an increasing number of older people with complex care needs and a chronic shortage of skilled nursing staff to provide quality and efficient aged care services to these older people. Strategies like task re-allocation, process management and introduction of electronic information systems can be promising to overcome these challenges; however development of these strategies requires knowledge of nursing work activities and associate problems. Two important aged care services provided by nursing staff are personal care and nursing care. To date, there is little research on nursing work activities of …

Exploring Crisis Management Challenges In Destination Management Organizations, Michelle Renee Scarpino Johns

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Characterized as integrated and open systems, tourism economies are highly susceptible to external factors due to the number and diversity of stakeholders involved. The alarming rise of global crises, coupled with the capacity of each crisis to severely impact a range of tourism organizations and a variety of other stakeholders (Ritchie, 2009), has led tourism scholars and professionals to take a more rigorous approach toward addressing this issue through tourism crisis management (TCM). TCM is essentially crisis management for the tourism industry.

Development Of Mass Spectrometry-Based Methods For The Analysis Of Lipid Isomers, Rachel Kozlowski

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Glycerophospholipids, or phospholipids, are important biochemical components of many biological organisms. They are involved in many biochemical processes including signal transduction, serving as enzyme substrates for lipoprotein metabolism and serving as ligands for receptors and precursors of essential biomolecules; they are also intracellular traffickers of cholesterol as well as modulators of the immune system. Likely to fulfill these diverse functional roles, not only do phospholipids contain a variety of head groups attached to a glycerol backbone but even more diversity exists within the fatty acyl chain(s) that are attached to the same glycerol backbone. These differences can be very subtle …

The Impact Of Oral Probiotics On Vaginal Group B Streptococcal Colonisation Rates In Pregnant Women: A Pilot Randomised Control Study, Paula Grace Olsen

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Aim The aim of this study was to complete a pilot project to ascertain if the research design was appropriate to determine whether a daily oral dose of probiotics can reduce the rate of vaginal group B streptococcal (GBS) colonisation in pregnancy.

Methodology A pilot randomised controlled trial was performed which recruited 34 GBS-positive women who were approximately 36 weeks pregnant. The participants were randomly allocated to the control group, who continued with standard antenatal care, or to the intervention group, which continued with standard antenatal care and received a daily oral dose of probiotics for three weeks or until …