Digital Commons Network^™

Reconstructing The Quaternary Landscape Evolution And Climate History Of Western Flores: An Environmental And Chronological Context For An Archaeological Site, Kira E. Westaway

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The recent discovery of a late-surviving new human species, Homo floresiensis, in western Flores has accentuated our lack of understanding of the history of the genus Homo in Asia and of the environmental challenges that may have influenced these hominins. Western Flores contains a wealth of archaeological and palaeoanthropological material with far-reaching implications for human evolution and for Indonesian, Australian and world archaeology. But the interpretation of this evidence has been hindered by a limited Quaternary context and age control for complex stratigraphies in a region of great geological instability and widespread environmental change.

Liang Bua in western Flores is …

Characterisation Of Cell Wall Proteins, Virulence Factor Maturation And Invasive Disease Trigger Of Group A Steptococcus, Jason Nicklaus Cole

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus; GAS) is a Gram-positive human pathogen responsible for numerous life-threatening diseases, including necrotising fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). The non-suppurative sequelae of acute rhematic fever (ARF) and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) may develop upon repeated exposure to GAS. Over the last two decades, there has been a world-wide resurgence in GAS infection. In this study, a proteomic analysis was undertaken to identify the major cell wall-associated proteins of GAS. Mutanolysin cell wall extracts from GAS strain NS931 (serotype M69), NS13 (serotype M53) and S43 (serotype M6) were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and …

Constructing Visual Literacy: An Investigation Into Upper Primary Teachers' Construction Of Visual Literacy Teaching, Sarah-Jane Atkins

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the conceptual and practical construction of visual literacy philosophy and pedagogy within the broader context of effective literacy teaching. More specifically, the study set out to illuminate the key features of visual literacy as a course of study and a dynamic teaching and learning domain, as well as identify teachers' rationale and motivation for instigating educational change within their literacy teaching to encompass the teaching of visual literacy. The research literature from social change theorists demonstrated that multiliterate practices are required by individuals in contemporary western industrialised society and visual literacy holds …

The Effect Of Marketing's Participation In New Product Development On Its Manifest Influence: A Test Of A Contingency Model, Eddie Fu-Keung Yu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

A substantial body of research suggests that new product development (NPD) is a critical potential source of competitive advantage and profitability for organisations. It has also been well recognized that new product development is a complex process that involves multi-disciplinary and multi-functional activities. This thesis initially argues a critical factor that influences the efficacy of the NPD process in the participation of different functional groups. Despite the strong theoretical link between the interaction of R&D and Marketing and NPD success, empirical studies on this topic have had contradictory results. One important reason attributing to these inconsistent results is that few …

A Conceptual Study On Perceptions Of Information Seeking Activity, Joseph A. Meloche

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The evolution of information and communication technologies have heightened our awareness of information in our lives and emphasised the significance of our information seeking activities. This study proposes that the conceptualisation of information seeking, is and has been, metaphorically based in its many manifestations. The study approaches this topic by examining the understandings that active information seekers (and information professionals and educators) have of the activity of information seeking. The study also examines their understandings of the related terms information and information technology. Thus this study establishes the nature of these understandings through an examination of choices that the participants …

Morphological Changes Of A Small Reef Island On A Platform Reef, Bongkoch Samosorn

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study examines: i) the morphological evolution of a small sand cay on a platform reef over past millennia; ii) changes in its shoreline over past decades; and ii) contemporary characteristics of waves on the reef platform. The study site is Warraber Island located on a platform reef in Torres Strait, Australia. The study is based upon: i) detailed radiocarbon dating; ii) 3-D morphological reconstruction using a DTM; and iii) field measurement of island topography, waves and wind.

Temporal patterns of evolution were assessed based on radiocarbon dating on both bulk samples and on specific components. Bulk radiocarbon ages are …

Investigation Of The Role Of The Plasminogen-Binding Group A Streptococcal M-Like Protein (Pam) In The Pathogenesis Of Streptococcus Pyogenes, Martina L. Sanderson-Smith

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The Gram positive bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus; GAS) is the major etiological agent of a variety of skin and mucosal infections in humans. Whilst the majority of GAS infection results in only mild, uncomplicated disease, the migration of GAS from superficial to deep tissue sites can result in invasive infection. In recent years, there has been a resurgence in severe GAS disease, however, the details of GAS pathogenesis have yet to be fully elucidated. Increasingly, subversion of the host plasminogen activation system is being implicated in the virulence of S. pyogenes. GAS display receptors for the human zymogen …

From Periphery To Centre: Shaping The History Of The Central Peninsula, Philip King

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Southeast Asia as a regional category of analysis has long been a contested one. Debates over the nature of the cultural matrix or the ecological factors that have produced a regional identity have driven some of the most innovative research in the field of Southeast Asian studies since the Second World War. These debates have not been limited to the types of external boundaries that may help to distinguish the region sandwiched between India to the west and China to the northeast. As the latter have more or less stabilised, attention has increasingly been directed towards the internal composition of …

Creativity Under The Glass Ceiling: A Study Using A Contextual Theory Of Creativity As A Framework, Margaret Botticchio

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The purpose of a study of creativity under the glass ceiling was to make a contribution to a viable theory of creativity. Six case studies were constructed in which each of six women talked about an individual experience of creative work in a distinct domain. These data were not fully included in the early development of a contextual theory of creativity. The initial proposal of a contextual theory of creativity was developed by asking questions of visibly creative people. Because women were not found in sufficient numbers at the top of many domains or professions, these important questions were not …

Translocation Of The Eastern Bristlebird And Factors Associated With A Successful Program, David Bain

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In the ongoing concern for the conservation of biodiversity around the globe, intensive, hands-on management of threatened species is becoming commonplace. The translocation of organisms to establish, re-establish or augment populations is one of the intensive strategies being used. This thesis explores the contemporary use of translocation in conservation, with a focus on the reintroduction of the Eastern Bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus) as a case study. Translocation can be defined as the movement of living organisms from one area to free release in another. It is becoming increasingly common in the conservation of threatened species of a range of taxa around …

Foreign Exchange Risk Management: A Description And Assessment Of Australian Firms' Practices, Bunyamin

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The extension of floating exchange-rate regimes and going change in the global nature of business are the two of the most critical factors that constitute business risk today. Australian firms engaging in international business have to manage the adverse consequences of exchange rate movements because firms may confront greater business risk that arises from, among other factors, the volatility of the Australian dollar since floating in 1983, the nature of the Australian products sold overseas, and the increase in international operations of the firm. Recent corporate crashes, indeed, demonstrate the urgency for managing foreign exchange exposure as part of providing …

Investigation Of The Expression Profile Of Streptokinase, Priya Shyam

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus; GAS) is a Gram-positive bacterium that causes invasive and non invasive infections in human skin and mucosal tissue. Since the mid-1980s, a conspicuous increase in the incidence and severity of invasive infections caused by GAS has been observed worldwide. S. pyogenes infections are endemic amongst many Aboriginal communities of Northern Australia. With rates of infection in these communities being amongst the highest in the world, there is an urgent need for identifying the key virulence factors involved in the initiation and progression of invasive GAS diseases. Streptokinase, a secreted group A streptococcal protein, activates host …

Impacts Of Plant Invaders And Management Techniques On Native Communities : Ecological And Social Perspectives At Regional And Global Levels, Tanya J. Mason

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Plant invasions of natural communities threaten biodiversity and ecosystem processes across many biomes and trophic levels. Understanding and managing invader impacts are therefore significant steps in achieving conservation. Both causes and management of invasion are dependent on human behaviour and ecologists must consider this human dimension in developing management protocols. While control of invaders is routine in many conservation reserves, assessment of ecological outcomes following control is rarely enacted. Management is itself a disturbance and the compounding effects of both invasion and management on biodiversity merit rigorous assessment. While species-level responses to plant invasion have been widely reported, functional group …

The Role Of The Internet In The Primary School Classroom, Chris Campbell

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Computer related technology is increasingly used in society today, and has impacted in various ways on classrooms across the world. In New South Wales, Australia, there has been an increasing emphasis on teaching using information and communication technology (ICT), and in particular the Internet. Previous research has suggested that few teachers are significantly integrating ICT into their class teaching and learning activities (Oberg & Gibson, 1999; Robertson, Grady, Fluck, & Webb, 2006). This study has investigated how the Internet was used to support teaching and learning in primary school classrooms. Case study methodology was used for the study to provide …

Influential Factors In The Trust Relationships Existing Between Financial Analysts And Corporate Managers In Iran, Mehdi Arabsalehi Nasrabadi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This research explored the role of trust in the relationship between the financial analysts and corporate managers in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) by focusing on two important aspects of the trust relationship. These aspects are key trustworthiness factors and the influential factors to perceive these key factors. Financial analysts use financial reports, which are prepared by corporate managers, in their analysis. In this thesis components of trust are distinguished from each other. These components are antecedent factors to trust, trust, and outcome of trust. Trust is considered as the financial analysts intention to depend on managers based on their perception …

An Analysis Of Blind Signal Separation For Real Time Application, Daniel Smith

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The ‘cocktail party problem’ is the term commonly used to describe the perceptual problem experienced by a listener who attempts to focus upon a single speaker in a scene of interfering audio and noise sources. Blind Signal Separation (BSS) is a blind identification approach that can offer an adaptive, intelligent solution to the ‘cocktail party problem’. Audio signals can be blindly retrieved from the mixture, that is, without a priori knowledge of the audio signals or the location of the audio sources and sensors. Hence, BSS exhibits greater flexibility than other identification approaches, such as adaptive beamforming, which require precise …

Performance And Capacity Of Centrifugal Gas Cleaning Devices, Mohamed S. Saad

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The purpose of dust control systems is to capture, collect and dispose of contaminant in an efficient manner. This research examines how to improve the operational and collection efficiency of gas cleaning devices via variations in geometry of different cyclone components. Unfortunately many of the predictive models provide inaccurate and contradictory results. Furthermore, many practical issues such as outlet and inlet configurations have not been investigated properly or at all. This study investigates the effect of cyclone outlet (vortex finder) diameter on cyclone pressure drop. Two cyclone configurations were used: air discharging directly to atmosphere; air discharging through a pipe …

Management Control Systems In Research And Development Organisations: A Multiple Case Study In Indonesia, Parulian Silaen

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Research and Development organisations deal with different environments, purposes, goals, and employees characteristics compared to non-Research and Development organisations. Research and Development (R&D) activity is a learning process that makes the R&D units deal with relatively uncertain conditions in conducting their tasks. The R&D activity is a non-repetitive task with a purpose to contribute new knowledge whether or not it has specific commercial objectives. Such a situation makes the goals relatively difficult to measure quantitatively and monetarily. This thesis is built on the thrust of those characteristics of R&D organisations and uses a descriptive case study research strategy to conduct …

Bio- And Pedogeochemical Investigations In Southern Australia : Implications For Mineral Exploration And Environmental Assessment, Hamid Reza Hemmati Ahoei

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Leaves, twigs and bark of six different mallee species (Eucalyptus oleosa, E. gracilis, E. socialis, E. eremophila, E. transcontinentalis and E. diversifolia) and their adjacent soils have been collected from 94 sites in up to nine botanical regions spread over a wide area in southern Australia. All samples were analysed for 44 elements by INAA and ICP-MS techniques. The results of robust analysis of variance show that organs exhibit different behaviour with respect to elemental concentrations and their mobile nature. The nature of the underlying substrate (regolith or bedrock) is found to have a considerable influence on elemental composition of …

The Power Of The Extractive Industries: Capturing The International Accounting Standard Setting Process, Corinne L. Cortese

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Purpose

- This thesis examines the role of power in the international accounting standard setting process for the extractive industries and explains how that process was mobilised by key extractive industries constituents. For many years these constituents, highly significant in the global economy, have enjoyed choice in the application of accounting standards, enabling them flexibility in the way they present their operations. This investigation illuminates the way in which they have influenced the process of setting an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for the extractive industries. Design/methodology/approach

- The methodology is based on a critical approach to accounting research, termed …

Efficient Topology Control Algorithms For Ad Hoc Networks, G. Srivastava

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

An Ad-hoc network is a collection of devices equipped with computing and wire- less communication capabilities, co-operating together to form a network. An ad-hoc node can communicate with other nodes within its transmission range, or use intermediate nodes to establish communication paths to nodes outside its transmission range. Intermediate nodes in a route can collaborate to act as routers and forward their own traffic as well as the traffic generated by other nodes in a network. This strategy of routing is different to wired networks were communication is made possible through specialised networking devices includ- ing hubs, switches and routers …

Returning To The Scene Of The Crime: The Brothers Grimm And The Yearning For Home, Maureen Clack

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Almost two hundred years ago, in 1812, two German brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collected folk stories, and revised and published them in a book of fairy tales. The publication, Grimm's Fairy Tales, remains amongst the best sellers in contemporary western children's literature despite increasing feminist concerns that the tales deliver outdated and inappropriate patriarchal messages. This thesis seeks to discover what other messages are contained in the tales that are enticing and strong enough to over-rule the well supported feminist warnings. Considering that most support for the tales praises their value in regard to the psychological development of children, …

Almaviva: A Contemporary Adaptation Of Mozart's Le Nozze Di Figaro, Rachel Mcdonald

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Almaviva: A Contemporary Adaptation of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro

Almaviva is a creative project, consisting of the text and score for a musical based on Mozart’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro as well as a supporting essay on the nature of adaptation. The musical is based on a heavily reduced version of the Figaro score. Half the opera score is cut, although the “greatest hits” remain, and nearly all the recitative is replaced with dialogue.

The Almaviva text is entirely original. The new text sets the Figaro story in a contemporary work-place and has an informal, vernacular quality. It …

Synthesis, Characterisation And Application Of Inherently Conducting Polymer Nanoparticles, Orawan Ngamna

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Synthesis of inherently conducting polymers (ICPs) nanoparticles is an option to improve the processability and conductivity of ICPs. In this thesis, the synthesis and application of ICPs nanoparticles has been demonstrated. Various polymerisation methods, such as emulsion polymerisation, use of steric stabiliser and synthesis in ionic liquid (IL) media, have been used to synthesise polymer nanoparticles. These synthesis methods render the ICPs nanoparticles stable as dispersions which are more processable and contain peculiar and fascinating properties superior to their bulk counterparts. These nanoparticles are further applied as mediators for biosensors. They have been fabricated into sensors using electrodeposition, evaporative casting, …

Becoming A Lawyer: The Transformation Of Student Identity Through Stories, Cassandra E. Sharp Phd

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

To study law is to invite change. Not just change, but transformation. In the process of becoming lawyers, students interpret stories of law, transform meanings about law, and construct legal identity. Desperate to make sense of the world in which they will one day inhabit, first year law students draw on resources from two cultural realms: the legal and the social. In particular, they use popular stories as one resource to interpret what it means to be lawyer, and as a result students occupy a central place amid the intersection of law, society and fiction. This thesis is concerned with …

The Game Of Expertise: Investigating The Use Of Science In A Professional Disciplinary Setting, Margaret Christina Wallace

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The thesis aims to examine and understand what takes place when a statutory authority, responsible for regulating the practice of a particular set of clinicians (nurses and midwives), claims to use the principles of evidence-based practice to scrutinise the practice of an authorised clinician. It reports on the results of a thematic analysis of the reasons for decision, findings, and transcripts of the New South Wales Nurses’ Tribunal hearings into allegations of professional misconduct made against homebirth midwife Maggie Lecky Thompson in the period 1996 to 1998.

This thesis is about the connection between the scientific basis for health care …

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 …

Synthesis Of Biaryl Substituted Isoquinolines Based On The Reticuline Scaffold, Stephen R. Taylor

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis examines the preparation of phenyl-, benzyl-, bisbenzyl- and phenylethylisoquinolines possessing a biaryl moiety, based on the structures of reticuline and laudanosine. The synthetic strategy involves the formation of an appropriately protected biphenyl unit followed by construction of the isoquinoline unit by converting the biphenyl into a 2-[3,4-dimethoxyphenyl]ethylamide, cyclising the amide under Bischler-Napieralski cyclisation conditions and reducing the resulting imine under conditions that will also reductively methylate the isoquinoline nitrogen. In Chapter 2, the bisbenzylisoquinoline 49 was the primary synthetic target. Formation of the biphenyl moiety was investigated using the Ullmann coupling reaction of halides 89 or the oxidative …

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 …

An Exploration Of The Challenges Of Sustainable And Effective Professional Development For English As Second Language Teachers In Sri Lanka, Sudharma Rohini Gajadeera

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study explores challenges of sustainable and effective professional development for English as Second Language (ESL) teachers in Sri Lanka. It aims to critically examine how the existing English teacher education system as a whole responds to the wider context of the crisis of sustainability in the quality of teaching and learning. It further aims to investigate perceptions of various stakeholders regarding issues, concerns and constraints of ESL teachers in order to explore approaches, strategies and changes needed to enhance effective and sustainable English teacher education within the system.

In order to capture the complexity of the education system as …