Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of The Brand: Examination Of The Effect Of A Brand Change On Financial Performance Of Eleven South African Retailers, Antonio Fourie

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Has the role of the brand eroded to the point where it no longer influences the customer’s choice or the retailer’s financial performance? Does the brand have little to no relevance to either the customer or the company, to the extent that even an abrupt change in a retailer’s brand will not have a detrimental effect on financial performance? The overarching hypothesis of this research is that in contemporary multi-category mass-market retailing, the retailer brand has little to no effect on a retailer’s financial performance but that the dimensions of the retail mix are all important. This thesis argues that …

Lithium Isotopes In Marine Carbonates To Investigate Changes In Seawater Chemistry And Continental Silicate Weathering In The Neoproterozoic, Holly L. Taylor

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The Neoproterozoic Era is characterised by significant climatic change resulting in two global glaciations, a second major rise in atmospheric oxygen, two major steps in evolution that gave rise to the Ediacaran biota and several large negative carbon isotopic excursions. The onsets and terminations of these global glaciations would have undoubtably altered the chemistry of the Neoproterozoic oceans with potential consequences for life; yet the extent of continental weathering and subsequent elemental fluxes to the ocean during deglaciation is unknown. Here in this thesis, lithium (Li) isotope compositions (⁷Li/⁶Li ratios, expressed as δ⁷Li) in …

Contemporary Iranian Artists And Censorship, Nasibeh Ghasri Khouzani

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

This visual arts practice-based research project explores the impact censorship and associated restrictions have had on the arts practice of contemporary Iranian artists living both within and outside of Iran. These censorship restrictions followed the Revolution in 1979 which saw the Islamic Republic regime secure power in Iran (Rahimi 2015). The newfound regime restricted and controlled the speed of modernisation in Iran, which it believed was misaligned with its religious principles. Subsequently, new revised censorship guidelines and protocols were introduced that impacted on the activities of the secular art communities. The state monitors artistic activities and will often censor art …

Application Of Pervious Geopolymer Concrete In Pavement And Piles, Haiqiu Zhang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Geopolymer materials (pastes, mortars and concretes) are formed through the activation of aluminosilicate sources with an alkaline solution, and can achieve a comparatively similar or superior performance to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Given that these aluminosilicate materials can be industrial by-products such as fly ash and slag, geopolymer materials are green, economical and sustainable materials. Geopolymer materials have also become more globally popular as an alternative to OPC by greatly reducing the emission of CO2, as OPC requires much higher energy and temperature to be produced. Although the properties of geopolymer concrete used in structural members have already been relatively …

Original 2d Transition Metal Selenides/Borides Devoting To Enhanced Energy Conversion And Storage, Haining Fan

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Energy conversion and storage devices (ECSD), such as catalysis, rechargeable batteries, and supercapacitors, have triggered numerous attentions over past decades. Particularly, rechargeable batteries, responsible for fast growing intelligent electronic device and electric vehicle, is highly recommended. Till now, extensive efforts have been dedicated into developing advanced batteries with large capacity, high energy and power density, high safety, long cycle life, fast response, and low cost. Lithium ion (Li-ion) battery, with desirable energy density and long cycle span, lays the foundation of existing and future electrochemical energy storage. However, the limited and uneven geographical distribution of lithium resources restricts their further …

Multiple Imputation For Categorical Variables In Multilevel Data, Helani D. Kottage

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Multiple Imputation (MI) is a technique that imputes a set of plausible values for each missing item using an imputation model. An imputation model predicts a value for the missing item given the observed data and should be compatible with any model that is fitted to the multiply imputed data which is known as the substantive analysis model. To hold the compatibility, the imputation model has to capture the complexities in the substantive analysis model such as the structure of the data set and complex terms (higher order, interaction) considering the type of incomplete variable and the number of incomplete …

Dynamic Scene Recognition, Xiaoming Peng

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Many applications need to deal with a scene that evolves over time. This thesis addresses the dynamic scene recognition problem. Video-based dynamic scene recognition methods and mid-level representations are comprehensively reviewed, followed by several proposed methods. First, a part-based approach for dynamic scene recognition is presented. In this approach, representative parts are located by clustering local convolutional features extracted using a pre-trained Fast RCNN model. A set cover problem is then formulated to select the discriminative parts, which are subsequently refined. Local features from a video segment can be extracted and aggregated. Extensive experiments show that this approach is very …

Integrative Systematics Of Australian Miltogramminae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), Nikolas P. Johntson

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) are one of the major families of calyptrate flies (Calyptratae). The Sarcophagidae are best known for their many carrion-breeding species, despite many sarcophagids displaying an enormous variety of life histories, including parasitism, coprophagy, predation and scavenging. The flesh flies are divided into three subfamilies: the Miltogramminae, Paramacronychiinae and Sarcophaginae; however only miltogrammines and sarcophagines are known to exist in Australia. Previous flesh fly research has been heavily biased towards the predominantly carrion-breeding Sarcophaginae due to their potential agricultural and forensic importance. As a result, the subfamily Miltogramminae has been largely ignored in Australian research, despite …

Development, Modelling And Performance Assessment Of Phase Change Enhanced Desiccant Cooling, Haoshan Ren

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission of the building sector have been continuously increasing in recent decades due to the population growth and demand for better indoor thermal comfort. Desiccant cooling is an attractive option for tackling these challenges as desiccant cooling systems are mainly driven by low-grade thermal energy and consume less electricity and fossil fuels as compared to conventional vapour-compression air-conditioning systems. On the other hand, phase change materials (PCMs) with the ability to provide high energy storage densities and the characteristics to store thermal energy at a relatively constant temperature have attracted increasing attention for developing high-performance …

Electric Vehicles And Storage Systems Integrated With Distribution Grids Fed By Solar Pv, Viet Thang Tran

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

In recent decades, many distributed generators have been installed in the electricity distribution networks, where most of them are renewable energy (RE) systems, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy, which are intermittent in nature. Meanwhile, on the demand side, increasing electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly being charged from the distribution networks at uncertain times in the day. Furthermore, the loads are continuously being switched in and out of the system. In this scenario, the electric power systems are experiencing the highest levels of uncertainty in both the generation and the load demands. The uncertainties in both power generation …

Development Of Advanced Anode Materials For Next Generation Lithium Batteries, Jaewoo Lee

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

For the past few decades, lithium-based batteries have played a crucial role in facilitating more rapid growth of portable electric devices and electric vehicle markets, because of their fascinating higher energy density and operating voltage than those of previous secondary batteries. However, in recent years, the development of lithium-based batteries is beyond increasing demands for energy storage devices due to the difficulties in further progress with the current transition metal oxides-graphite system. To resolve this issue, the exploration of new advanced materials is required to achieve a major breakthrough as well as, to change to next generation lithium batteries.

From …

The Role Of Hdac2 In Olanzapine-Induced Cortical Neuronal Lesions, Xi Chen

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Antipsychotic drugs are primary medication for patients suffering schizophrenia. Although these drugs are effective for the treatment of positive and negative symptoms, the chronic administration of these drugs is associated with cognitive deficits, decreased volume of grey matter, and reduced cortical thickness in schizophrenic patients. Sodium butyrate, one of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) inhibitors, has been shown to promote synaptogenesis in neurons and reinstate cognitive function in animal models of neurodegeneration diseases. This study aimed to examine the side effect and mechanism of olanzapine, one of the most commonly prescribed antipsychotic drugs, on synaptogenesis in neurons, and the possible neuroprotective …

The Role Of Semantic Features In Immediate Serial Recall, Mabel Lau

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The immediate serial recall of words has been found to be affected by the item’s underlying lexical-semantic representation. The influence of these lexical-semantic representations has been taken as evidence demonstrating the involvement of the language system. However, there has been an under-specification on the role of semantics, with the current understanding on the lexical-semantic effects largely based on lexical and phonological effects. In addition, although psycholinguists have developed several measures to tap different aspects of a word’s semantic representation, studies on semantic effects in short-term memory have been mainly on the concreteness effect, emotionality effect, and semantic relatedness effect. The …

Measuring Quality Of Data Collection Process To Ensure Data Quality For Public Health Information Systems, Hong Chen

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Background: High quality data and effective data quality assessment are vital for accurate detection and diagnosis of public health risks, for the design, implementation, and evaluation of public health intervention impact and public health outcome measurement. Effective data quality assessment not only reports the status of data quality but also determines the causes of data quality problems. To date, there is scarce research on the quality of the data collection process for public health information systems (PHISs), in which data quality problems frequently occur.

Aims: This PhD project aims to develop a framework to evaluate the quality of the PHIS …

Country Reputation And Corporate Reputation In E-Government Context: A Mixed Method Study Of Uae, Fatima Al Ali

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The academic study of country reputation is still relatively limited and new. This doctoral research investigates the impact of country reputation and corporate reputation in the e-government context in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The transformational approach adopted by the UAE government and their leadership specifies the future directions through their vision and strategic objectives to assure the country’s competitiveness among other countries around the world. The ultimate vision and goal of the country is to leverage the well-being and happiness of its citizens through government services in different government fields including e-government services. Thus, this research investigates the effect …

Buying Skins: Cultural Intermediaries, Value, And The Localisation Of Australian Digital Games In China, James Keogh

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

This thesis investigates the emergence of China’s bourgeoning cultural sectors and some of the key processes by which audio-visual content is transformed through contributions from a range of national and transnational actors. Specifically, it explores how digital game ‘localisers’ are intersecting economic and cultural fields in unprecedented ways, mediating between well-established cultural policy demands and a bevy of new commercial industry opportunities and networks of stakeholders. Through the lens of Bourdieusian field theory, particularly from Distinction (1984) – which remains highly relevant today, this research analyses how such ‘cultural intermediaries’ are contributing to the transformation of economic capital and evolving …

Extending On Our Understanding Of Digital Play: Children Co-Designing Apps For Children, Maria Clara Selina Rivera

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Understanding the intricacies of digital play and its role in early childhood is complex given that adults drive the design, development and distribution of children's access to digital technology. The lack of representation of children's perspectives of digital play suggests that current understandings of children's play with apps is limited. This study is situated as part of a larger research project, “Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children” (ARC DP140100328). In the larger study, the multiple perspectives of families, educators and young children is the premise with which a holistic …

Erp Markers Of Auditory Go/Nogo Processing, Jack S. Fogarty

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The Sequential Processing Schema is a data-driven model that uses event-related potential (ERP) components to chart the important psychophysiological processes activated when completing auditory equiprobable Go/NoGo tasks. This model is useful for measuring experimental effects on basic cognitive processes and provides a valuable framework to synthesise and test ERP component theories. Determining the cognitive and behavioural correlates of ERP components is critical for understanding their functional significance and utility in psychology. Additional research is also needed to refine the conceptualisation of the ERP components and cognitive processing requirements in equiprobable Go/NoGo tasks, which are commonly used in psychophysiological research. To …

Attentional Bias For Threat And Anxiety: An Extended Research Program, Maryann Wei Shiling

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The association between attentional bias for threat (ABT) and anxiety has conventionally been studied from the information-processing approach, via research traditions adapted from the field of cognitive psychology. While ABT is thought to play a causal role in anxiety, the tendency to orient more quickly to negative compared to neutral stimuli can also represent an adaptive habit which facilitates survival by preparing the organism to respond swiftly to danger. The latter notion bears implications for the design of research on the ABT-anxiety link which are not well reflected within the information- processing approach. Specifically, given the adaptive aspects of ABT, …

Optimizing Data Rate And Energy Delivery In Heterogeneous Radio-Frequency Harvesting Networks, Muhammad Zeeshan Sarwar

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) will be a key enabler of Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks that consist of low-power devices that harvest energy from Radio Frequency (RF) signals emitted by base stations or access points. Hence, future networks will likely have both low-power RF-energy harvesting devices as well as legacy users such as laptops. In particular, both devices and users will share the same wireless channel to receive RF energy as well as transmit data.

To ensure they share the spectrum efficiently, this thesis considers resource allo- cation problems in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple access (OFDMA) net- works. In particular, it considers …

The Rule Of Law In A Penile Settlement And Other Malapropisms: Locating Good Practice Pedagogy To Support And Develop The Writing Skills Of Law Students In Australia, Sandra Lee Noakes

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

This thesis is an exploratory and quasi-experimental project about legal education in Australia – in particular, about law student writing and how it is supported and developed in Australian law schools. Australian law students now come from a wide variety of backgrounds, bringing with them a variety of prior learning experiences. However, despite the importance of writing to success in law school, and the recognised need to support the academic literacy of law students from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds, the issue of how law students’ writing should be supported and developed has not been extensively researched in Australia.

Australian law schools have …

High Spatial Resolution Silicon Detectors For Independent Quality Assurance In Motion Adaptive Radiotherapy And Charged Particle Radiotherapy Energy Verification, Matthew Keith Newall

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Accurate empirical modelling of the treatment beam is necessary to ensure accurate delivery of dose to the intended target site. Dose calculations within the treatment planning system (TPS) for Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SRT) treatment rely upon accurate beam data. Inaccuracies within the empirical measurements will propagate as errors throughout calculated patient dose distributions (Tyler, 2013). The necessary empirical measurements for beam commissioning include: percentage depth dose (PDD), output factor (OF) and beam profiles. Thus, especially for the consideration of the afore mentioned small radiation fields, it is important to ensure the most appropriate detector is chosen to …

The Ethics Of Online Privacy In The Data-Driven Marketplace: A Power-Responsibility Equilibrium And Construal Level Theory Perspective, Ruwan Bandara

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Advancing knowledge regarding online privacy protection has never been so critically necessary as in this age of big data. The emergence of data capitalism, along with disruptive technological changes, has induced mass collection and commoditisation of data, giving rise to restricted freedoms, exploitation of consumer data, and threats to privacy. Firms have a vested interest in consumer data, due to the unprecedented value it can generate for business success. However, they must effectively manage their data practices to avoid consumer backlash from burgeoning ethical, legal, and rights-related concerns. It is now imperative to maintain a balance between utilising consumer data …

Do The Features Of Urban Green Spaces That Promote Social And Active Ageing Vary By International Context? Comparison Between And Within Sydney, Dhaka And Singapore, Faysal Kabir Shuvo

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Background: The challenges of demographic and epidemiological transition around the world have created the need for ageing-friendly cities. Urban green spaces (UGS) are considered to be an important health and wellbeing resource, the role of which can be expanded to include the promotion of social and active ageing. There is accumulating evidence on the positive association between the quantity and quality of UGS and reduced risk of different types of noncommunicable and chronic diseases (NCDs) often associated with ageing. UGS is found to be associated with reduced risk of NCDs through multiple pathways including engaging in physical activities (PA) and …

The Influence Of Dietary Carotenoids On The Performance Of Captive Southern Corroboree Frogs (Pseudophryne Corroboree): Implications For Conservation, Emma Mcinerney

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Conservation breeding programs (CBPs) are considered essential for the recovery of threatened species. However, due in part to poor nutritional conditions experienced by individuals in captivity, CBPs often report poor success. In response, there has been a push to investigate how supplementation of captive diets with micronutrients may improve the success of CBPs. Dietary carotenoids in particular, are one group of micronutrients expected to improve the viability of captive individuals. This is largely owing to their antioxidant capacity, which allows them to limit the harmful effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the effectiveness of dietary carotenoids in improving fitness-determining …

In-Depth Welding Procedure Qualification Of Keyhole Tungsten Inert Gas Welded High Hardness Grade Quenched And Tempered Steel And Dissimilar Stainless Steel Joint, Zhenyu Fei

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Motivated by solving the issues associated with welding of high hardness grade quenched and tempered (Q&T) steel and stainless steel dissimilar joint, such as low production efficiency and low joint efficiency, several advanced welding techniques have been introduced. However, none of them has solved the issue completely due to their respective disadvantages. Keyhole Tungsten Inert Gas (K-TIG) welding process was invented in order to provide a cost-effective and easy-to-operate keyhole mode welding process. It is much more productive and efficient than conventional multi-pass fusion welding processes. Compared with high power density (HPD) welding processes, say laser beam welding (LBW), electron …

Analysis And Design Of Steel Storage Racks Subjected To Rocking, James R. Maguire

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Selective storage racks are used worldwide as a lightweight structure for both temporary and long term storage of palletised goods. These structures are routinely designed for earthquake actions using the equivalent static method, which relies on the fundamental period of vibration to calculate design loads. Selective racks can uplift and rock in the cross-aisle direction during earthquake loading, however, leading to a period of vibration that is longer than the fundamental mode used in conventional design methods. This thesis investigates the uplift and rocking behaviour of selective storage racks and proposes a method to determine the effective period of vibration …

Grain Advantage: Exploring Dietary Intake Of Whole Grains In Comparison To Cereal Fibre In The Context Of Cardiovascular Health, Eden Monique Barrett

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major health burden globally, and is the single leading cause of death within Australia. It is well-recognised that a diet high in whole grains is protective against CVD. Whole grains are rich in many vitamins, minerals and bioactive constituents, all of which may contribute in part to these effects. However, it is the dietary fibre of the whole grains (cereal fibre), located primarily within the bran component, which has been hypothesised to contribute most significantly to cardiovascular health through improvement of CVD risk factors. To date, it is not entirely clear to what extent cereal …

Location Attractiveness For Multinational Enterprises: The Case Of Singapore Maritime Cluster, Mohd Shahrin Osman

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

This thesis is an empirical investigation on the approach for industrial cluster development of the Singapore maritime cluster, using the case study research methodology. The case study approach leverages on multiple sources of evidence such as interviews, observations, documentation and archival records (Yin, 2009). As a means of contributing to the cluster renewal process, Singapore as the country embarks on the next stage of maritime cluster development, a comparison against the Norwegian Innovation Clusters has been incorporated.

Assessment Of Bio-Geochemical Clogging In Permeable Reactive Barriers In Acid Sulphate Soil, Samarakoon Jayasekara Mudiyanselage Subhani Kanchanamala Medawela

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) can successfully treat acidic groundwater generated in acid sulphate soil terrains, but the bio-geochemical clogging of reactive granular assembly hinders their effectiveness. The chemical clogging of the porous media has been analysed extensively in previous studies, but they did not include the component of biological clogging. This doctoral study offers comprehensive research into the coupled chemical and biological clogging of a PRB. Laboratory experiments, field investigations, a novel mathematical model and a numerical model were used to simulate the combined effect of geochemistry, microbiology, and geo-hydraulics in PRBs installed in acidic terrains.