Digital Commons Network^™

An Examination Of The Sustainability Of Online Communities In Australia: Including The Findings Of Participatory Action Research Undertaken On A Beta 3rd Generation Network Type Regional Community Portal In New South Wales, Andrew Connery

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis examines the operations and viability of community portals (RCP) generally and within Australia specifically. It records and analyses, through participatory action research undertaken by the candidate, the development of a beta 3rd generation network type community portal (NCP). The particular aspect of interest in this community portal is that it is a commercial venture aimed at achieving long-term economic sustainability. The evolution of portals can be traced back to the origins of the internet. As a group they can be classified into three broad categories: internet, intranet and extranet. In this thesis it is assumed that a community …

Predictive Models For The Environmental Degradation Of Coastal Lagoon Beaches In New South Wales, Shannon Mark Webb

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

To date a large proportion of coastal researchers have focused their texts and reviews on estuaries to the detriment of coastal lagoons, which have virtually been ignored (Bird 1994). Lagoons are characteristic of much of the temperate southeast coastline of Australia. New South Wales alone has over 70 coastal lagoons and lakes. The NSW coastline is densely populated and developed and is under increasing environmental pressure. Continued population growth in the coastal region demands enhanced coastal management. The current high level of coastal development means that coastal lagoons are frequently subject to a range of direct and indirect impacts due …

Grinding Polycrystalline Diamond Using A Diamond Grinding Wheel, Maryam Agahi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Application of ultrahard cutting tool materials is continuously expanding. One example of an ultrahard cutting tool material is polycrystalline diamond (PCD), which is widely used in tool making and machining. However, because of the high wear resistance of PCD it is characterised by low grindability and machinability. So, any mechanism used to machine PCD has to meet specific requirements. Grinding with a diamond grinding wheel is one of the economic ways to machine PCD compacts. This thesis considers the grinding of polycrystalline diamond using a conventional grinding machine and makes machining parameter recommendations to support the optimisation of PCD grinding. …

Playing With Fire, Matthew Jones

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This research paper examines the essential considerations of my role as a Father, as they reflect and inform my practice as a sculptor. Using initial collaborations with my 5-year-old daughter as a conceptual trajectory, I began to explore domestic rhythms and the communality of multiple objects. Ceramic artist Angela Valamanesh and ‘Outsider’ Howard Finster were found to represent the polarities – austere and chaotic – of repetition.

Artistic engagement with the congenital temperament of a child initiated a return to base sculptural principles, bare materials and processes, pre-dating history and evoking the archetype of childhood. This considered regression led to …

A Thermodynamical Perspective On Organisations: Their Structure And Evolution, Doy Sundarasaradula

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The aim of this research is to generate a better understanding and an insightful explanation of the nature and characteristics of organisational structure and evolution through the synthesis of thermodynamics and traditional organisational theories. As living systems, formal organisations need specific energy fluxes not only for their existence, but also for change and evolution, which are the key features that enable them to survive and prosper.

The synthesis of thermodynamics and traditional organisational theories can be actualised through the application of the theory of dissipative structures and the theory of self-organisation both of which are based upon non-equilibrium thermodynamics. According …

The Role Of Social Identities And Individual Differences In Predicting Prejudice: A Plea For Tolerance, Peter R. Leeson

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis explored the need for greater integration between individual difference and group-based explanations of prejudice. It began by addressing the claim of many self categorisation theorists that any attempt at integration is doomed, because individual differences play little role in predicting intergroup behaviour when a person's social identity is salient (Turner, 1982). Contrary to this prediction, both Study One and Two showed that even when participant's social identities were salient, individual difference variables correlated with prejudice. Study Two went on to illustrate the dynamic nature of individual differences. It demonstrated that the relationship between ingroup belonging, intergroup prejudice, and …

Development Of 2-Dof Haptic Devices Working With Magnetorheological Fluids, Bin Liu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The thesis presents the design and development of a 2-DOF (degree of freedom) magnetorheological (MR) fluid based haptic joystick and studies its applications in virtual reality. MR fluids are controllable fluids that can generate adaptable resistance forces when subjected to a magnetic field. This feature is capable of realizing novel haptic devices. The developed system consists of three main parts: MR joystick, control and display hardware, and software. The MR joystick is constructed of two disc-shaped MR actuators positioned perpendicularly with a gimbal structure, which transfers the movement of the joystick handle into two actuator rotary movements. Therefore, operators can …

Sensors And Actuators For The Cochlear Implant Using Inherently Conducting Polymers, Yanzhe Wu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study considered the use of various inherently conducting polymer (ICP)-based devices for utilisation with the cochlear implant. Investigations centred on the use of polypyrrole (PPy) to produce a mechanical sensor, actuators and controlled release devices. The development of a novel force sensor using the electrodes that are an integrated part of the cochlear implant itself was also investigated. Investigation into mechanically induce electrical signals using PPybased mechanical sensors showed that the polarity of the voltage output was dependent on the dopant ion in the conducting polymer. In addition, it was found that the signal amplitude was related to the …

Sustainable Socio-Economic Development In Tonga: Challenges And Responses, Fotukaehiko Valeli Fisi'iahi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Achieving good progress towards sustainable socio-economic development is a major issue for all developing countries, but it presents special challenges for small island economies. Tonga, a small island kingdom in the Pacific, is no exception. While Tonga is blessed with many human and physical resources, its remoteness, small size, and uneven progress have hampered sustainable socio-economic development.

There are also internal attributes, which, while manageable, constrain the country’s socio-economic development. The thesis sought to provide answers to two important questions. Firstly, what has hindered or limited the sustainable socio-economic development of Tonga? Secondly, how can these challenges be addressed? These …

The Role Of Accounting Systems In Decision Making, Planning And Control In A Developing Country: The Case Of Libya, Bubaker Shareia

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study examines the present and potential role of accounting information systems in meeting the development needs of developing countries, with a special focus on Libya and its unique legal, economic, religious, political and social context. A contextualised study, it uses the economic development Theory of Globalisation in order to interpret the data, with particular emphasis on social and cultural factors determine economic condition, communication and its significance in global world and greater technological unification, including globalised accounting. Within the Libyan context, an ideographic methodology is used to develop two case studies. One organisation is examined as a provider of …

The Impact Of The Introduction Of A Pilot Electronic Health Record System On General Practitioners' Work Practices In The Illawarra, Karolyn Annette Spinks

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis assessed the impact of the use of information technology (IT), specifically, electronic health records (EHRs), on general practitioners' (GPs') clinical work practices in NSW, Australia. The research framework and context was taken from EHR initiatives proposed by the Australian Commonwealth and State Governments for improving the Australian Healthcare system. A new system that provided increased access to electronic patient information was trialed in the Illawarra Region of NSW specifically utilizing a Smart ID Information System. The current research was administered under this larger project. The current research examined the Smart ID Information System (a pilot system designed to …

Enhancing Mental Health Staff Confidence And Skills In Response To Aggression And Violence: A Longitudinal Study Of Aggression Minimisation Training, Olga Ilkiw-Lavalle

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Rationale: Aggression minimisation training is essential for mental health staff. No studies to date have investigated the impact of knowledge, prior learning and staff occupations on confidence. Additionally, no studies have followed-up trained staff following actual aggressive and violent incidents to investigate skills used, perceived confidence, fear and satisfaction with the management of incidents. Aim: This research examines: i) the effectiveness of training in aggression minimisation on mental health staff confidence (Study 1) and; ii) the use of learnt skills on staff perceived confidence and fear during actual aggression and violence on inpatient mental health units (Study 2). Method: 103 …

Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Dose Maps: The Matchline Effect, Puangpen Tangboonduangjit

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In 2002 when this research started the brief of the project was to produce streamlined checks of planar dose maps delivered by IMRT fields to film. At this time no other centre in Australia had a protocol for checking accuracy of RTP planned RT dose distributions. While many US centers have been checking IMRT distributions, there is still no standard protocol for these checks. By the end of this project in 2005, 13 IMRT patient treatments had been successfully checked and this centre remains the only centre to have treated IMRT patients in Australia using the pinnacle RTP planning computer …

Turning User Into First Level Support In Help Desk: Development Of Web-Based User Self-Help Knowledge Management System, Nelson K. Y. Leung

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Information technology has changed the way organizations function. This has resulted in reliance of help desks to support users to deal with a wide range of information technology related problems such as hardware, software and telecommunication. The help desk generally has to cover a wide range of information technology products and services. However, due to resources problem, in particular the lack of help desk staff, users often have to wait for a considerably long time before their enquiries and problems are answered and solved. Literature has shown that the majority of incoming enquiries are considered to be simple and routine …

The Impact Of Supply Chain Process Integration On Business Performance, Peter Wayne Robertson

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Over the past century and accelerated since the end of the post WWII manufacturing boom, a number of forces acting upon manufacturing organisations have led to significant changes to underlying manufacturing philosophies used, to the technologies employed and to the manufacturing methods and practices applied. Such forces (Hammer and Champy, 1993, pp. 17) are related to organisational survival factors such as market share and price premiums, cost reductions, quicker response to new market demands, quicker response to competitor practices, operating equipment effectiveness, cycle time reductions and reductions to inefficiencies and material requirements. As a result, manufacturing organisations now have an …

The Importance Of Fine-Scale Environmental Heterogeneity In Determining Levels Of Genotypic Diversity And Local Adaptation, Craig D. H Sherman

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Fine-scale environmental heterogeneity is predicted to be important in determining variation in genotypic diversity and in selection for important life history traits in natural populations. For example, theory suggests that organisms with complex life histories that involve both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction use sex to produce genotypically diverse and widely dispersed propagules for the colonisation of distant or unstable habitats, but rely on asexual reproduction to restock or maintain populations within their parental habitat. Such organisms should also have great potential for site-specific adaptation as multiple generations may compete within relatively static conditions. Surprisingly, little is still known …

Analytical Solutions For Modeling Soft Soil Consolidation By Vertical Drains, Rohan Walker

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Vertical drains increase the rate of soil consolidation by providing a short horizontal drainage path for pore water flow, and are used worldwide in many soft soil improvement projects. This thesis develops three new contributions to the solution of consolidation problems: (i) a more realistic representation of the smear zone where soil properties vary gradually with radial distance from the vertical drain; (ii) a nonlinear radial consolidation model incorporating void ratio dependant soil properties and non-Darcian flow; and (iii) a solution to multi-layered consolidation problems with vertical and horizontal drainage using the spectral method. Each model is verified against existing …

An Investigation Into Visual Design In The Development Of Educational Web-Based Projects, Lesley J. Knapp

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The thesis describes a study of methods of developing online learning material by non-professional visual designers. The primary areas of investigation for the research were visual design and instructional design. It is the premise of the researcher that visual design skills and instructional design principles are interdependent for creating coherent educational resources. Academics are increasingly expected to design and develop projects for slide presentation and Websites. This is in part because the technology is available in the form of personal computers and development software. Access to the technology however doesn't mean access to design skills. Historically, graphic designers were responsible …

From Risk To Uncertainty: Australia's Environmental Regulation Of Genetically Modified Crops, Fern Wickson

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In this thesis I present a critical appraisal of Australia's environmental regulation of genetically modified (GM) crops. I begin by suggesting that, although realist risk analysis currently dominates environmental decision-making on recombinant DNA technologies, the existence of contested values and widespread scientific uncertainty challenge the adequacy of this approach. What an appropriate approach to regulatory decision-making under these conditions would involve is then used as a guiding question to survey literature on risk and uncertainty from a range of social science disciplines. Through this survey, a theoretical framework is synthesised where the ends of a spectrum of stances taken towards …

Triaxial Behaviour Of Ballast And The Role Of Confining Pressure Under Cyclic Loading, Joanne Lackenby

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Traditional railway foundations or substructures, consisting of one or two granular layers overlying a subgrade or natural formation, have become increasingly overloaded in recent years due to the utilisation of faster and heavier trains. During this period, there has been little, if any, re-engineering of the substructure in Australia, resulting in maintenance cycles becoming more frequent and increasingly expensive. Finding economical and practical techniques for enhancing the stability and safety of the substructure, thereby ensuring a capacity for supporting further increases in load, is vital in securing the long-term viability of the railway industry. The load bearing ballast is located …

Tense Relations: The Tradition Of Hoshi And Emergence Of Borantia In Japan, Nichole Georgeou

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In this thesis I examine the transformations of volunteering in Japan from 'hōshi' (mutual obligation) to 'borantia' (borrowed from the English 'volunteer'). I argue changes in the forms of volunteering overtime point to important shifts in state-citizen and state-civil society relations in Japan. Hōshi emerged during a period of Japan's history when the state had an increasingly authoritarian approach to managing its subjects. It reflects this cultural context as it embodies a strong sense of obligation and is characterised by notions of service and sacrifice, particularly dedicated service to the greater good of the Emperor and state. In contrast the …

Healthcare Providers Communication Mechanisms Using A Case Management Model Of Care: Implications For Information Systems Development, Implementation And Evaluation, Jennifer Lynette Hardy

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis addresses a fundamental problem within health care, namely communication. Major outcomes of the research include the importance of understanding the relationship between information exchange and communication and how this can impact and influence cooperation and collaboration between and among healthcare providers. The thesis has contributed to an increase in the knowledge of the integration and convergence of different theories related to; communication behaviours and patterns, information exchange, organisational change, and social systems. The application of this knowledge is to better understand the interaction among and between healthcare providers. Ultimately the end point is to bring about change that …

Location Of Injury Site In Chronic Low Back Pain Patients: An Electromyographic And Mechanomyographic Analysis, Mark Gorelick

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The primary aim of this thesis was to determine if anatomical injury site in chronic low back (CLBP) patients can be identified by two complementary non-invasive diagnostic techniques, surface electromyography (sEMG) and mechanomyography (MMG). The application of these techniques to injury site identification is based upon the hypothesis that muscle tissues surrounding an injured joint are physiologically distinct from those surrounding “healthy” joints. Such changes in muscle physiology, associated with underlying joint pathology, may include alterations in muscle fibre type composition and number with a corresponding change in the muscle’s speed of contraction and its pattern of neuromotor control. These …

Financial Integration Of The Mena Emerging Stock Markets, Hazem Ali Marashdeh

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The main objective of this study is to examine the financial integration among four emerging stock markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, namely, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Morocco. Their interrelationships with three developed markets, the US, UK and Germany, are also examined. The motivation behind this study is that, although a lot of research has been focused on stock market integration, the emphasis has been mostly on developed markets. Stock market integration in the MENA region has not been investigated deeply enough despite the region being of a global economic and political importance.

To attain this …

Electronic Properties Of Semiconductor Nanostructures Under Terahertz Radiation, Saeid Hessami Pilehrood

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The dynamic conductivity and electromagnetic (EM) absorption of a two dimensional electron-photon system are formulated via calculating the exact time-dependent electronic states and the density matrix of the electron-photon system with its contribution to the electrical current, including electron-THz-photon interaction to all orders. Computations are performed to obtain quantitative results.

The exact response function of the magnetically quantized THz driven heterostructure is calculated from the induced charge density. Then collective excitation eigenfrequencies are computed quantitatively.

The current in a two dimensional electronic system under a quantizing dc magnetic field and ac electromagnetic radiation field is formulated by determining the exact …

A Model For Improving Wastewater Treatment Plant Performance From 'Command & Control' To Managing In Compliance With Esd Principles, Debashis Raha

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Water is the basis of all life, human well-being and economic development. It links together all aspects of life on this planet- human and environmental health, food supply, energy and industry. Wastewater is one of the most important sources of surface and ground water pollution due to the chemical and biological pollutants that it contains and is the world’s greatest killer. Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhoea, the loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness and close to 2.8 billion people in developing countries suffering at any given time from …

Interpersonal Concomitants Of Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Dragica Denise Milicevic

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Objective: Current treatment models of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) emphasise maladaptive worry cognitions in the aetiology and maintenance of the disorder. However, although worry cognitions are often relational in content, interpersonal and developmental concomitants of the disorder have been neglected incontemporary research. New models of treatment are urgently needed as current evidence suggests that over half of those treated with the current best practice therapies gain only limited help and remain symptomatic. This study adopts an interpersonal attachment perspective to studying GAD to examine the purported links between adult cognitive, interpersonal and emotional functioning and the related perceptions of early …

Training General Practitioners In Evidence-Based Mental Health Treatment: Evaluation Of A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Group Supervision Program, Rachael Murrihy

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis investigates CBT group supervision as a potential GP training model. An initial pilot trial of CBT group supervision indicated that GPs' confidence, knowledge and perceived skills in CBT, increased significantly over the supervision period. Patients' depressive and anxious symptomatology also improved. Outcomes from this pilot study, and qualitative results from a focus group were used to devise a brief CBT (BCBT) group supervision program for the main trial that incorporated role-play and case-based discussion, targeting specific GP competencies in a structured format.

The Role Of Volunteer Counsellors In The Prevention Of Psychological Trauma: The Development Of The 'Orienting Approach' To Trauma Counselling, Andrew B. Phipps

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Early interventions for trauma aim to reduce the likelihood of distress and impairment following exposure to a traumatic event. However, a growing body of research suggests that some popular early interventions have the potential to increase the risk of psychological sequelae. This risk maybe increased when such interventions are delivered by practitioners with limited skill and training. This thesis discusses the development and training of the 'Orienting Approach' to Trauma Counselling (Phipps and Byme, 2003). This early intervention was designed for use by volunteer counsellors. It is argued that the approach is a 'no-harm' intervention that can reduce the potential …

Towards A More Flexible Inter-Organizational Workflow Design: The Application Of Local Criteria Principle, Geng Liang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Process oriented technique such as workflow management system is attracting increasing attentions in the e-commerce environment, especially from an inter-organizational workflow perspective. A soundness concept, which identifies if a workflow can terminate properly, is an important factor that needs to be considered when designing a workflow. In an interorganizational workflow environment, the soundness issues become more complicated considering the size of the overall workflow and the privacy of the workflow within individual organization. One of the major approaches to tackle this problem is to use local criteria principle. This principle allows the soundness of the entire inter-organizational workflow to be …