Digital Commons Network^™

Detection Of Point Mutations In The Dystrophin Gene, John Pedretti

Theses : Honours

The dystrophin gene has been localised to Xp 21.1. Mutations of this gene can lead to the clinical manifestations of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD/BMD). In the majority of DMD and BMD patients the disease-causing mutation is a deletion detectable by southern analysis or multiplex PCR, however in 30% of patients no deletion is observed using these conventional tests. Using PCR amplification of cDNA it was possible to detect a deletion in the product of the dystrophin gene of one such individual affected with BMD. It was then necessary to characterise the mutation in order to determine whether this …

A Hermeneutic Approach To The Detective Story In Our Mutual Friend, Peter Spriggins

Theses : Honours

No abstract provided.

The Uses Of Language In The Portrayal Of Character In Mansfield Park, Anne Chadwick

Theses : Honours

My study of characterisation in Mansfield Park seeks to advance the field and scope of current literary criticism. Recent developments in narrative criticism have included other fields of study in order to elucidate the assertions and observations proposed by literary studies. The findings of traditional literary criticism will be validated and extended in my examination of Mansfield Park, through the application of linguistic theories. My investigation of characterisation intends to assert the significance of linguistic theories in the study of literature.

Not Guest Speakers But Peer Tutors: The Role Of Adoptive Parent Organisations In The Western Australian Preparation For Adoptive Parenthood Education Programme, Maureen Anne Roberts

Theses : Honours

This study was undertaken as a partial requirement for a Bachelor of Health Science (Health Education) Honours. It examines the role of two Western Australian adoptive parent organisations, Australia for Children Society (AFC), and the Adoptive Parents Association (APA), as peer tutors within a Preparation for Adoptive Parenthood Education Programme (PAPEP). The sample consisted of one group which attended a workshop held by AFC and one group which attended a workshop by APA as part of the PAPEP. Measurements of interactions between Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) and between PAPs and workshop presenters were made through observations. PAPs' satisfaction with the …

Strategies In Learning Japanese As A Second Language In Secondary School, Sharon Gay Ainsworth

Theses : Honours

Strategies used by learners of Japanese as a second language were examined. A total of 26 students, seven male and seven female students in Year 8 and six male and six female students in Year 11 in secondary education from two single sex schools were surveyed to investigate preferred language learning strategies. The instrument used was the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford 1990). Six language learning strategy categories were used to classify sample responses. Subjects were also interviewed individually to find out what strategies they used in classroom and non-classroom settings. Students maintained a diary for a six week …

Determinants Of Accounting Policy For Identifiable Intangible Assets, Yuan Chew

Theses : Honours

This research replicates with modifications the previous study by Coombes, Otto and Stokes (1993) which examines the economic determinants of the amortisation of identifiable intangible assets (lIAs). The study focuses on the published consolidated annual reports of a sample of top 150 listed Australian companies, ranked by market capitalisation, as at June 1989, over the period 1989 to 1990, whereas the previous study by Coombes et al. (1993) concentrates on the top 150 listed Australian companies, ranked by market capitalisation, as at 30 June, 1988, over the period 1986 to 1989. The empirical evidence of the present research using contracting …

The Continuity Of Literacy Development: Kindergarten To Year 1, Lennie Barblett

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the continuity of strategies and provisions that teachers use to develop children's literacy in kindergarten and Year 1. In two metropolitan Ministry of Education districts, 27 kindergarten and 25 Year 1 teachers completed a questionnaire concerning issues relating to literacy development in these two educational settings. From this population four teachers were interviewed to investigate areas of interest that arose from the questionnaire. The results showed that kindergarten and Year 1 teachers differed in the selection of strategies and provisions to promote literacy in young children. There was a clear delineation between …

The Effects Of High And Low Repetition Resistance Training On The Force Profile Of The Rowing Stroke, Benjamin Tarbox

Theses : Honours

The effect of resistance training on the ability to generate force throughout the rowing stroke has to date been unreported. The purpose of this study therefore was to determine the changes that occur in the force profile of the rowing stroke, following low repetition strength (LRS) and high repetition endurance (HRE) resistance training. Eight female and 10 male sub elite heavy weight rowers matched according to gender, strength and anthropometric variables, completed 12 weeks of LRS or HRE resistance training. Pre and post testing was completed to determine changes in bench press and leg press repetition maximum (3RM) strength and …

Bone Density And Muscle Development Problems In Female Lightweight Rowers Trying To Make-Weight, Carmel A. Shipway

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to determine whether high intensity exercise, combined with restriction of diet, is counter-productive to the normal health and development of the competitor. The study investigated the effects of high intensity exercise on body composition (fat, muscle and bone); bone density; and physical performance (aerobic capacity, rowing performance, quadricep strength, power and fatiguability) in twelve lightweight female rowers (age range 17- 25yrs), training for the State and National lightweight championships. Six of the rowers completed the testing, which consisted of test1 (pre-training) and test2 (post-training) after a 12 weeks training regime.

Skinfold measurements were lower …

Teaching For Conceptual Change And Conceptual Discrimination With Year 8 Science Students: An Exploratory Study Of The Topic 'Respiration', S. Morgillo

Theses : Honours

Research has shown that despite formal education, secondary and tertiary students hold a host of misconceptions about respiration. This exploratory study investigated whether a four phase conceptual change teaching strategy could overcome conceptual problems typically associated with respiration, in a Year 8 science class from a school in Perth, Western Australia. The strategy consisted of a Conceptual Awareness Phase, an Exposition Phase, a Misconception Awareness Phase and an Application Phase. Two-tier multiple choice test items used in previous studies to identify misconceptions about respiration were also used in this study, together with interviews. The encouraging results suggest that the implemented …

Health Care Beliefs Of Elderly Vietnamese Refugees, Gayle Watson

Theses : Honours

Since 1975, a large number of Vietnamese refugees have settled in Australia. They can be recognised as a distinct cultural group within our society. However, little research has focused upon the health practices and beliefs of these people. This is a study of elderly Vietnamese refugees who have previously been identified as maintaining a great adherence to traditional values and behaviours. The aim of the research is to describe the health practices and beliefs of elderly Vietnamese refugees. As a mini ethno-nursing study, this research sought qualitative data, guided by the Health Belief Model adapted to accommodate cultural perspectives. With …

Fractured Certainties: Epistemology And Ontology In David Malouf's Child's Play, The Great World And Remembering Babylon, Chris Lyon

Theses : Honours

This thesis is an exploration of the way in which David Malouf develops ideas of epistemology and ontology in three of his novels. The novels discussed are Child's Play (1982), The Great World (1990) and Remembering Babylon (1993). Of particular concern here are the different ways in which figures in the text are constructed as having imperfect and sometimes contradictory systems of making sense of their world.

Student Preferences Towards Law Becoming A Tertiary Entrance Score Subject, Penelope Preen

Theses : Honours

In Western Australian schools, student subject selection during Year 10 determines the future career path to which students aspire. Subjects offered in Year 11 and Year 12 Upper School studies are classified as Tertiary Entrance score Subjects or certificate of Secondary Education subjects, and students are given the opportunity to select six subjects which may comprise all Tertiary Entrance score Subjects, all Certificate of Secondary Education Subjects, or a combination of both. Law is classified as a Certificate of Secondary Education subject. It is the student's intention to study Law that is the focus of this research project. The major …

Development Of A Questionnaire To Assess Knowledge In Women With Gestational Diabetes, Caron Mclarty

Theses : Honours

Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a significantly increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus in later life. A lifestyle which includes healthy eating habits, weight control, regular exercise, and stress management has been associated with preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes mellitus and its associated complications. To care for themselves women require educati9n about and knowledge of strategies that have been associated with preventing diabetes. An essential part of education is knowledge assessment Women with GDM have been largely overlooked in the development of instruments to measure knowledge of diabetes. Orem's general theory of nursing …

Development Of A Classification System For Computer Viruses In The Ibm Pc Environment Using The Dos Operating System, Hugh R. Browne

Theses : Honours

The threat to computers worldwide from computer viruses is increasing as new viruses and variants proliferate. Availability of virus construction tools to facilitate 'customised' virus production and wider use of more sophisticated means of evading detection, such as encryption, polymorphic transformation and memory resident 'stealth' techniques increase this problem. Some viruses employ methods to guard against their own eradication from an infected computer, whilst other viruses adopt measures to prevent disassembly of the virus for examination and analysis. Growth in computer numbers and connectivity provide a growing pool of candidate hosts for infection. Standardised and flexible systems for classification and …

A Study Of The Benefits Of Reflection By Journal Writing In Mathematical Learning And Attitudes In The Primary School, Sally Edmonds

Theses : Honours

This descriptive study examines journal writing for the purpose of identifying aspects of children's mathematical reflective ability. It was hypothesised that encouragement to engage with the process of mathematics by reflective writing would reveal and assist learning, and give children a vehicle through which they could express their attitudes about the mathematics they were learning. The aim of this study was to find answers to the following question: How does the keeping of a mathematical journal reveal children's understandings of the mathematics they are learning? Other questions related to the study were: -What evidence is there from the journals about …

Attitudes Of Girls And Boys Towards Compulsory Physical Education In A Selected Government Secondary School, Mileva Pirot

Theses : Honours

This study investigated the attitudes of 175 lower secondary school students towards compulsory physical education and how these attitudes differed by year level and sex. The students were selected from a metropolitan government secondary school. A modified version of the Wear Attitude Inventory was used as the research instrument. A two-way ANOVA was applied to analyse the data for the following sub-groups: Year 8 females, Year 8 males, Year 9 females, Year 9 males, Year 10 females, and Year 10 males. The ANOVA compared the mean scores on the Wear Attitude Inventory for each sub-group. The results indicated that although …

The Effect Of Nutrition On The Morphology Of The Wool Follicle, Gail Moriarty

Theses : Honours

This project was part of a larger CSIRO experiment which was examining the factors involved in the development of tender wool. In order to understand the effect of nutritional variations on wool quality, changes in cellular activity and morphology within the wool follicle were examined. Six sheep with a history of producing low staple strength wool (< 25 N/ktex) and six sheep with a history of producing high staple strength wool (> 30 N/ktex) were selected. The experiment ran for 18 weeks, for the first 10 weeks the sheep were fed a restricted ration to achieve a weight loss of approximately 175g/day. From weeks 11 to 18, the sheep were fed an iso-energetic ration containing …

An Exploratory Study Of The Development Of Perceived Body Image In Elite Female Artistic Gymnasts In One Central Programme, Michelle A. Saliba

Theses : Honours

Women's elite gymnastics is characterised by subjective and aesthetic judgement and together with increasing technical requirements imposes strict body composition and body image requirements throughout the international gymnastic community. Limited research has been conducted on the younger, smaller, leaner and almost prepubescent gymnasts who now dominate the International arena. The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of the way in which current and retired elite, female artistic gymnasts perceive their own and the "ideal" gymnast's body image, and to identify factors influencing the development of these perceptions. Nineteen subjects were drawn from one Australian women's artistic gymnastics …

The Effects Of Different Methods Of Cloze Test Construction And Their Relationship With A Standardised Reading Comprehension Test, Trevor Michael Edward Forde

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study is to provide guidelines to classroom teachers for the construction of valid and reliable cloze comprehension tests. Review of the related literature suggested there are many diverse and contradictary opinions as to the most appropriate method of constructing cloze tests. The subjects were 49 Year 5 primary school children from two metropolitan schools. Three different comprehension tests were administered. The Gap Reading Comprehension Test and two Cloze Comprehension Tests consisting of 50 and 100 word deletions, in which the deletions began at either the fifth or sixth word of the second sentence. The Cloze Tests …

The Effect Of A Semester Unit Of Study On Ethical Issues In Nursing On A Group Of Practising Registered Nurses, E. C. Ambrose

Theses : Honours

This study explored the effect an educational unit on ethical issues in nursing had on the ethical reasoning of practising registered nurses. The educational unit was conducted at a university school of nursing as part of a baccalaureate degree programme for already registered and practising nurses. A quasi-experimental posttest design utilising stratified random samples compared subjects from one group who had undertaken the unit (n=53) with subjects from another group who had not (n=61). Ethical reasoning was measured using Grisham's Nursing Dilemma Test and a researcher designed demographic data sheet provided information on additional variables for analysis.The group which had …

Comparison Of Primiparous Women's Expected And Experienced Pain In Labour, Shelagh Lawrence

Theses : Honours

Pain is a subjective phenomenon and is, in varying degrees, an inherent part of the childbirth experience. However, most Western societies view suffering as unacceptable and as such, regard analgesia as a necessity. Many women do not anticipate the intensity of pain experienced in childbirth and are, therefore, not ready to manage this amount of pain when it occurs. This prospective study compared the expected and experienced labour pain of 99 primiparous women, aged 17-40 years. The relationship between expected and experienced pain and acceptance of pregnancy; identification with the motherhood role; relationship with mother; relationship with husband/partner; preparation for …

The Motivational Bases Of Attitudes To Living North And South Of The Swan River, Darren L. Reynolds

Theses : Honours

Previous approaches to the study of motivation within the domain of place were found to be disparate, and in need of a firm theoretical framework and appropriate methodology. With the exception of Korpela's (1989) model of place identity, the issues of motivation and operationalization of other theoretical perspectives, (e.g., Proshansky, Fabian, and Kaminoff; 1983) have led to a sparse research base in the area of place. Recent developments in attitude theory ( Herek, 1986; 1987; Zanna & Rempel, 1988) and attitude model development (Hills, 1991) were then applied to the place domain A tripartite model of the motivational bases of …

Was Ah "Q" An Ocker?, Douglas James Stewart

Theses : Honours

No abstract provided.

Integrated Computer Controlled Sensor Monitor, Tariq Hafeez Malik

Theses : Honours

This research has developed an Integrated Computer Controlled Sensor Monitor (ICCSM) environment, to monitor and analyse alarm events associated with sensors, including an interface between a PC and a number of detectors. Such an environment will help the security industry analyse the factors causing false alarms at particular locations. The ICCSM environment monitors, and records, alarm data. Knowing exactly which sensor has been activated, and its location, is of paramount importance to the effective deployment of response forces and making the identification of causes of spurious alarms easier. The lCCSM environment is a combination of software and general purpose hardware, …

Needs Of Terminally Ill Cancer Patients In An In-Patient Hospice Unit, Marylynn C. Oldham

Theses : Honours

In Western Australia, in-patient hospice/palliative care units are caring for increasing numbers of terminally ill cancer patients. Hospice philosophy is based on the belief that the terminally ill patient in individual needs are of paramount importance. The needs of advanced cancer patients have been researched in the home, for patients continuing or having completed curative treatment, and for patients receiving palliative care. However, there is a lack of literature about the needs of terminally ill cancer patients in in-patient hospices. Using a descriptive approach, this study investigated the needs of six terminally ill cancer patients in a 26 bed in-patient …

The Prevalence And Sources Of Perceived Occupational Stress Among Teachers In Western Australian Government Metropolitan Primary Schools, Graeme Lock

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and sources of self- reported occupational stress among primary school teachers in Western Australian Government schools. Five specific objectives form the basis of this study. First, the study develops an instrument which measures the perceived levels of occupational stress and reveals the sources of such stress. Second, the study applies this instrument to determine the perceived levels, and sources, of occupational stress among primary school teachers in metropolitan Perth. Third, the study investigates differences in the perceptions of stress and stressors when categorised by socio-biographical characteristics of teachers. Fourth, the …

An Evaluation Of A Workshop On Pain Assessment And Management For Nurses, Beverley Bradshaw

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to assess nurses’ knowledge of pain assessment and management, examine what change occurred immediately following a pain assessment and management workshop and examine whether any changes were retained one month later. Chin and Benne’s theory of change provided the theoretical framework for this study. Their approach to planned change involves assessing the existing structure, formulating and implementing a plan to change that structure, then evaluating the change. The following hypothesis was formulated for investigation: That nurses’ knowledge of pain assessment and management would increase after a workshop on the subject and be retained over …

Tense, Aspect And Time Concepts In English And Bahasa Indonesia: Pedagogical Implications, S. Suwono

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of the study has been to provide theoretical foundations on which padagogical approaches to the teaching of English tense-aspect complexes to EFL teacher trainees in Indonesian tertiary institutions can be based. The study investigates how expression of time and related concepts in English and Bahasa Indonesia (BI) can be compared with particular regard to pedagogical implications. Two major areas of investigation have been explored: 1. questions relevant to the general linguistic theory of tense and aspect and how the two languages compared fit into such a general theory; ii. questions relevant to how the teaching of English tense-aspect …

Measurement Of Teacher Attitude To Direct Instruction, Beth P. Hands

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates teacher attitude towards a teaching innovation, Direct Instruction. In particular, it is concerned with what aspects of this teaching strategy affect a teacher's decision to implement the method and the relationship between experience with Direct Instruction and teacher attitude. A repeated measures, pretest-posttest design was employed to assess participants' attitude before and after viewing a video demonstrating the teaching method, Direct Instruction. The 40 item Attitude towards Direct Instruction (AD I) scale comprised 30 items derived from a questionnaire designed by Proctor (1989) in addition to ten new items created especially for the study. The scoring function …