Digital Commons Network^™

Community Participation Group Interventions For Children And Adolescents With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities : A Systematic Review ; And, Community Participation For Girls And Women Living With Rett Syndrome, Jaimi Andrews

Theses : Honours

Community participation group interventions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopment disabilities : A systematic review

Objective: To describe the effectiveness of community integration interventions on community participation, self-esteem and quality of life for children and adolescents with a neurodevelopment intellectual disability.

Method: Electronic searches of five databases and manual searches of reference lists were conducted. Community integration interventions which targeted friendship development, recreation participation, quality of life and self-esteem were included.

Results: Thirteen studies were included in this review. A variety of study designs and interventions were used. Following interventions, all but one study reported significantly increased …

Capturing The Cape : A Photographic Case Study Of The Cape Range Bioregion Of Northwest Australia ; Straight Lines : A Photographic Case Study Of The Cape Range Bioregion Of Northwest Australia, David J. Bradley

Theses : Honours

In Australia, as with much of the world, landscape photography has played a significant role in raising awareness of human impact on the environment. For the most part, this awareness raises questions of conservation and preserving the natural world. Landscape photography commonly depicts environmental issues in one of two ways: the damaging effects of humanity’s mastery over the environment; or the sublime wonder of nature. In effect, the messages sent by landscape photography are singular, describing either nature, or culture. However, with an intention to develop a more sustainable viewpoint concerning humanity’s relationships with the environment, landscape photography could be …

The Impact Of Powered Mobility Devices On Occupational Performance : A Systematic Review ; And, The Experience Of Being A Motorised Mobility Scooter User, Ryan Fomiatti

Theses : Honours

The impact of powered mobility devices on occupational performance: A systematic review

Purpose: To systematically review the impact powered mobility devices have on engagement in independent occupations for adults with acquired mobility limitations. Method: The following databases were searched electronically: CINAHL Plus, Medline, PsychInfo, OT Seeker, Joanna Briggs Institute and Physiotherapy Evidence Database. The search terms used a combination of words to encompass all terms which are used for powered mobility. Studies were included if they evaluated adults’ use of a motorised mobility device, and if individuals used a powered mobility device due to acquired mobility limitation. Results: Eleven studies …

Capturing Dance: The Art Of Documentation (An Exploration Of Distilling The Body In Motion), Kasey J. Lack

Theses : Honours

This research paper is an exploration of documenting and capturing live dance performance in regards to three artistic mediums, Notation, Photography and Film. This piece of writing discusses practitioners who have contributed to the development of these processes such as: Ann Hutchinson Guest, Rudolf von Laban, Eadweard Muybridge, Lois Greenfield, Ted Shawn, Norman McLaren and Sue Healey. In conjunction with historical and current day research the secondary document provided alongside this thesis describes the practical investigation undertaken. The reflections included define first-hand discoveries of how these three mediums of documenting interconnect to describe a contemporary dance solo. Thoughts, findings and …

African Refugee Mothers’ Experiences Of Their Children’S School Readiness, And The Role Of Supported Playgroup, Rebecca New

Theses : Honours

An emerging pressure for refugee parents in Australia relates to children’s ‘school readiness’. Existing research on mainstream, ethnic and migrant parents has highlighted that preparing children for school can be stressful; however, current literature has not considered this phenomenon for refugees in Australia. Social support is important for parents as they navigate school-related problems, and supported playgroups can potentially play an important role here for refugees. However, existing research has not yet examined the ways such programs can support these individuals in dealing with school readiness issues. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences of African …

Newborns With Feeding Issues: Parental Perceptions Of The Hospital Discharge, Transition Home And The Role Of Speech Pathology, Katie Louise Ilich

Theses : Honours

This study explored the perceptions of discharge from hospital and the transition home for mothers of newborns with feeding issues. To gain an understanding of their experiences, mothers were interviewed twice, once at discharge and once up to a month later. Participants had a strong desire for their babies to be discharged from hospital, but felt anxious and underprepared. Once home, more questions typically arose. Mothers found this a highly stressful and emotional experience, especially for those without consistent speech pathology involvement. Mothers valued being involved in the decision-making process, and found this an effective coping mechanism. The value of …

Exploring The Multi-Generational Influence Of American Ragtime Music Through The Works Of Charles Ives, William Walton And William Bolcom, Rebecca E. Smith

Theses : Honours

Ragtime music is a style of popular music established in America that came to prominence between the years of 1896 and 1918. It is believed to have its roots in Blackface minstrel shows, it's defining feature, the heavily syncopated rhythm, quickly becoming a stereotype of African-American music. This thesis will explore the multi-generational influence of American Ragtime music on the art-music world through the works of Charles Ives (1874-1954), William Walton (1902-1983), and William Bolcom (1938-). It will timeline the undulating influence of Ragtime music on these subsequent generations of composers, noting in particular the revivals of the 1940's and …

The Effect Of Working Memory (N-Back) Training On Fluid Intelligence, David Preece

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this thesis is to report on a study that examined the effect of working memory training (using the n-back task) on fluid intelligence (Gf). Recent research by Jaeggi and colleagues (2008; 2010) found that training in a visualspatial n-back task resulted in gains on two different matrix reasoning tests of fluid intelligence (compared to participants who did no task). The present study replicated and extended these results by testing the fluid intelligence construct using a different type of fluid intelligence test, and employing an ‘active’ rather than ‘no-contact’ control group to account for motivational effects on intelligence …

Full-Forward And, Macho Homos : Toward A Masculist Reframing Of Male Homosexuality, Kristian Guagliardo

Theses : Honours

The following work explores the nexus of male homosexuality and traditional masculinity.

The creative work examines the ways in which both patriarchal and popular, purportedly feminist or queer theorist cultures arbitrarily assign allegedly immanent feminine qualities to homosexual males even when these characteristics are not congruent with the male subject. This facet of western, and specifically Australian, culture is explored through the prism of a hegemonically masculine ‘country boy’ who finds that despite his own comportment and identity, he becomes culturally and socially feminised by virtue of his homosexuality alone. He experiences isolation, angst, anger and cognitive dissonance as he …

Exploring The Intention Of The South West Of Western Australian Residents To Purchase Solar Panels Using The Theory Of Planned Behaviour Approach, Greg Murray

Theses : Honours

Global warming is a concern for many people around the world (Lorenzoni, Pidgeon, 2006; Searle & Gow, 2010). The negative effect of climate change is increasingly apparent (Belluscio, 2010; Dunlop, 2010; Hirabayashi, Kanae, Emori, Oki & Kimoto, 2008; Oelemans, 1994). In response to growing public concern, governments are implementing legislation and carbon initiatives to decrease the impact of climate change (Crane, 2010; D’Souza, 2005). Although these government actions are important to implement environmental preservation among industries, this study focuses on the intentions of purchasing behaviour of the individual homeowner of the South West region of Western Australia. More specifically, the …

The Marketing Relevance Of Australian Cosmetic Brand Ambassadors, Jessica Boswarva

Theses : Honours

Brand ambassadors are often employed to perform important marketing roles such as influencing product adoption and creating brand awareness (Livesley, 2009; O’Leary, 2010; Voight, 2007; Wragg, 2004). Brand ambassadors provide personalised customer service, including educational, experiential and relational roles and as a result propagate trust, minimize perceived risk and create familiarity and involvement (Belch & Belch, 2007; Chiou & Droge, 2006; Elliot & Percy, 2007). Whilst studies highlight benefits to businesses in general, there is limited research to the role of brand ambassadors within the Australian cosmetic industry. Cosmetic brand ambassadors are a traditional feature of the cosmetic industry and …

Aphasia Incidence And Intervention In The Acute Hospital Setting, Dominique Lidia Ferreira

Theses : Honours

Background: Current research highlights the significance of providing early and intensive aphasia therapy to maximise neural plasticity and enhance communication gains. Acute speech pathology service delivery in Australia does not consistently meet best practice standards recommended by the National Stroke Foundation. Aims: This study aimed to: i) investigate the incidence of post-stroke aphasia in the acute setting; ii) determine the referral rate to speech pathology for patients with aphasia; iii) investigate the amount of language therapy provided to people with aphasia and iv) explore the relative proportion of aphasia service delivery within the overall caseload management of speech pathologists. Method …

Retrospective Time Perception Of A Long Task: Using Music To Distinguish Between Attention-Based And Memory-Based Models, James Brooks

Theses : Honours

There are two main models of time perception, attention-based models, and memorybased models. The aim of this study was to determine which model best explained retrospective time perception of a long and monotonous task. The monotonous task was a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) that lasted 1390s. The monotony of the task was altered by the addition of musical stimuli. Participants were randomly assigned to either a silent condition, or one of three music conditions that differed in song familiarity and performing instrument. Participants were 48 adults, primarily recruited from Edith Cowan University. The perceived duration of the task, …

Investigating The Structure Of Acoustic And Electronic Noise : An Analysis Of 'Volumina' By Gyorgy Ligeti And 'Canaanda' By Merzbow, Sam Gillies

Theses : Honours

The term noise as it pertains to music is a subjective one and open to interpretation. What we find is that over 20th century discourse, the term noise has been used as a broad label to encapsulate all musical sound that functions in a way that opposes what would widely be considered 'musical'. While much of the literature covers the categorisation and political theory of noise in music, there is comparatively little literature that analyses musical construction of noise music beyond that of a purely aesthetic or political reaction.

This thesis seeks to explore the world of noise music with …

Visual Memory Improvement In Recognition, Allison Prandl

Theses : Honours

Fluid intelligence and working memory has been improved by training on a visual working memory n-back task (Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides & Perrig, 2008). The present study investigated whether n-back training can improve visual memory using a test of visual recognition. A sample of 47 participants were trained for 20 days on either the single n-back task (n = 26) or a general knowledge and vocabulary task (n = 21). The results showed that training using the single n-back task did not significantly increase scores on a test of visual recognition when compared with general knowledge and vocabulary training. However, when …

Parent-Teacher Interactions: A Study Of The Dynamics Of Social Influence, Michelle K. Ellis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The focus of this study was to explore the nature of parent-teacher interactions and to find evidence of social influence strategies used within their interactions. The literature showed that schools, internationally, nationally, and locally, have implemented parental involvement programs advocated by their respective governments. These programs are designed to encourage parents to interact more with the school and the teachers, forming parent-teacher partnerships to enhance student achievement levels. However, in practice, previous research has also signalled that there are underlying tensions in these parent-teacher partnerships that impact on parent-teacher interactions. This study sought to identify factors that parents and teachers …

Face-To-Face : An Exploratory Study Of How People With Aphasia And Speakers Of English As A Second Language Perceive Their Interactions With Government Agencies, Susan Booth

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Creating communication accessible environments is increasingly recognised as an essential component to facilitating the social inclusion of people with aphasia (a language disorder after brain damage), (Cruice, 2007; Duchan, 2006; Duchan, Jennings, Barrett, & Butler, 2006; Howe, Worrall, & Hickson, 2008 ; Pound, Duchan, Penman, Hewitt, & Parr, 2007; Simmons-Mackie & Damico, 2007). There have been suggestions that communication access principles in aphasia may also assist people with the communication difficulties associated with English as a second language (ESL) (Kagan & LeBlanc, 2002; Law et al., 2010; Worrall, Rose, Howe, McKenna, & Hickson, 2007). Currently, in Western Australia for example, …

An Evaluation Of The Instructional Practices In Voice Teaching At Australian Performing Art Institutions, Ann Adlem

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate the practices and techniques of vocal training for student actors at a tertiary level, through a survey of experienced voice practitioners in Australian performing arts schools, appropriate texts, consideration of contexts and my own professional experience. Vocal instruction starts with the basic training of ‘the instrument’ or the vocal capabilities of the body. Following this or concurrent with its teaching, more specific forms of training are addressed. This research project used qualitative research methods to compile a detailed description of the voice teaching practices currently used in Australia. It comprises …

Alignment Of Intended Learning Outcomes, Curriculum And Assessment In A Middle School Science Program, Reid J. Smith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study focused on the intended learning outcomes, curriculum and assessment in the science curriculum offered at a regional independent Middle School in the state of Victoria, Australia. In-school assessment has indicated that the current science curriculum of this Middle School may not develop students' skills in scientific literacy as effectively as intended. One hypothesis to explain this deficit is that there is a misalignment of intended outcomes, curriculum materials and assessment. This study aimed to determine the extent to which the intended curriculum and assessment in this Victorian middle years' science program is aligned to its stated goals and …

Brand And Public Relations In The Taiwanese Not-For-Profit Sector : A Case Study Of The Eden Social Welfare Foundation, I-Hsuan Wu

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In a competitive environment in Taiwan, not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) seek to differentiate themselves from other NPOs. ‘Brand’ improves the internal functions and competitiveness of these NPOs; attracts funding to them by making use of public relations (PR) strategies and techniques and expanding the access to public resources; and also conveys a slick corporate image to the public. This research project has adopted a PR perception of leading marketing concepts to look at charity brand strategy. This approach has been taken instead of the more common marketing-oriented perspective. NPOs exist because of their public service or social welfare missions. The best …

Efficient Medium Access Control Protocol For Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks, Niravkumar Shah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) have enjoyed a tremendous growth in the last decade and the advancement in communication technologies has played a big role behind the success of ITS. Inter-vehicle communication (IVC) is a critical requirement for ITS and due to the nature of communication, vehicular ad-hoc network technology (VANET) is the most suitable communication technology for inter-vehicle communications. In Practice, however, VANET poses some extreme challenges including dropping out of connections as the moving vehicle moves out of the coverage range, joining of new nodes moving at high speeds, dynamic change in topology and connectivity, time variability of signal …

Teacher Professional Development In An Online Learning Community : A Case Study In Indonesia, Eunice R. Sari

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Over the past decade the rapid pace of technological innovation has changed the knowledge-based society and gradually changed the way teaching and learning are conducted (Hargreaves, 2003). Teachers are increasingly viewed as not only the knowledge providers, but also the facilitators of a learning process. These changes have been difficult for teachers to adapt to, requiring substantial amounts of professional development. In Indonesia, the government has continually developed a number of strategic education policies and implemented various pathways to improve the professionalism of teachers. Nonetheless, there are still a large number of teachers who struggle to access the professional development …

Development Of Capillary Electrophoresis For The Analysis Of Phenolics And Glucoraphanin In Brassica Oleracea, Iris Lee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been used increasingly more over the last decade in the area of food analysis. Numerous food products and food components have been analysed using this technique because of its high efficiency and short separation times. However, the inherent lack of detection sensitivity in CE combined with the complex matrices present in many food samples, especially those of plant origins, is one of the contributing factors to the limited development on CE in this particular area of food analysis. In this project, the potential of CE as a tool in the analysis of vegetables belonging to the …

Application Framework For Wireless Sensor Networks [Thesis], Amro Qandour

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are based on innovative technologies that had revolutionized the methods in which we interact with the environment; i.e., through sensing the physical (e.g., fire motion, contact) and chemical (e.g., molecular concentration) properties of the natural surroundings. The hardware in which utilized by WSNs is rapidly evolving into sophisticated platforms that seamlessly integrate with different vendors and protocols (plug-n-play). In this thesis, we propose a WSN framework which provides assistance with monitoring environmental conditions; we focus on three main applications which include: a. Air-quality monitoring, b. Gas-leak detection, and c. Fire sensing. The framework involves four specifications: …

The Construction Of Wellbeing For Solo Mothers: An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Work, Welfare, Social Justice And Wellbeing For Solo Mothers, Kathryn M. Russell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Using a sequential transformative mixed methods approach prioritising qualitative data, the construction of subjective wellbeing of Australian solo mothers was explored in relation to work, welfare and social justice. A purposive sample of 73 solo mothers was recruited for the quantitative part of the study and 15 solo mothers were selected from the sample to interview for the qualitative component. The study was undertaken on a background of welfare reform announced in the Federal Budget for 2005-2006 with changes taking effect from July 1, 2006 affecting many solo mothers with young children. Initial analyses of data obtained through the Personal …

Causes And Effects Of Physical Injuries To Prison Officers Employed In A High Risk And High Need Offender Management Environment In Western Australia, Bigboy Ngwenya

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Prison Officers (POs) involved in high need offender management frequently face risks that could affect their health, safety and wellbeing. Several studies have shown that direct client centred violence, inadequate management systems and the general nature of prison environments are major factors impacting on the well being of POs (Fisher & Gunnison, 2001; Kiekbusch, Price, & Theis, 2003; Mitchell, Mackenzie, Styve, & Gover, 2000).There is limited literature on causes and effects of physical injuries on this group of law enforcements officers. This is the first study conducted in Western Australia (WA) that investigated the causes and effects of physical injuries …

Protective-Restoring To Maintain Self Integrity : A Grounded Theory Of The Human Experience Of Dog Relinquishment, Mary Ellen Elizabeth Edwards

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Dog relinquishment or ‘getting rid of the dog’ is common practice in Australia and other countries where dogs are kept as pets. Each year thousands of dogs are relinquished for a variety of reasons. While losing a pet through death can be as devastating for some people as the death of a loved human, little is known about the human impact of losing a dog through relinquishment. This qualitative study sought to explore the experience of dog relinquishment from the perspectives of a Western Australian sample of 21 relinquishers, 10 adults who had experienced dog relinquishment in childhood and 15 …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Small Business Owner-Managers' Participation And Learning In An Online Discussion Forum : Not Quite Paradise Found, Tara Laureen Smith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small business owner-managers (SBOMs) are a difficult group to engage in formal face-to-face training and learning activities. Research to encourage SBOMs' participation has focused on two main themes: first, trying to ascertain why they do not attend training and, second, determining their learning preferences. They are reluctant to attend formal training because they prioritise business operations (no time to attend training), perceive training as a poor return on investment, have negative perceptions of training and education, and believe the training provision often does not meet their needs. In terms of their learning preferences, it is clear that SBOMs prefer informal, …

Security Awareness By Online Banking Users In Western Australian Of Phishing Attacks, Nattakant Utakrit

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Phishing involves sending e-mails pretending to be from the legitimate financial institutions to recipients and asking for personal information such as username and password. It also redirects network traffic to malicious sites, deny network traffic to web services, and modify protection mechanisms in the targeted computer systems. Consequences of successful attacks can include identity and financial losses, and unauthorised information disclosure.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of Western Australian bank users in using online banking. The study considered the relationship between the background of the Western Australian bank users and their experience in using online …

Microstructure And Mechanical Properties Of Cold Drawn Steel Wires, Ning Liu

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Cold drawn eutectoid steel wires have been widely used for a variety of applications, such as suspension bridges, steel cords for automobile tires, and springs. Much research has been done to increase their mechanical strength. With advances in modern production technology, both the drawing speed and the quality of drawn steels have been enhanced. After a careful literature survey, it is obvious that some issues are still controversial. As Y.S. Yang, J.G. Bae and C.G. Park mentioned, the lamellar spacing, thickness and volume fraction of cementites have all reached the nanometer regime, and the conventional theory is not enough to …