Digital Commons Network^™

Measurement Of Instrument Line Shape Functions Of High-Resolution Ftir Spectrometers And Their Application To The Analysis Of Spectra, Cirilo J.H. Bernardo

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Analysis of ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements of the solar radiation transmitted through the atmosphere is an established method for deducing total column amounts and vertical distributions of trace gases in the atmosphere. Such measurements contribute valuable information to the understanding of changes in the earth's atmosphere.

In the analysis of these spectra it is usually assumed that the spectrometer is perfect and that the spectrometer line shape function, also known as the instrument line shape (ILS) function, is ideal. In many cases the ILS function is not ideal and the effects non-ideal ILS on the analysis of spectra …

Assessment Of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type 2 (Pai-2) As An Imaging And Therapeutic Agent Of Human Cancer, Minh-Thu Nguyen Hang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The plasminogen activation cascade is an important proteolytic pathway involved in the growth and spread of cancer. Potentially, an inhibitor of plasminogen activation could make an excellent cancer imaging agent or cancer treatment. The aim of this thesis was to assess whether plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 (PAI-2) can image or treat colorectal cancer. The first part of this thesis examined the ability of PAI-2 to bind specifically to the human colorectal cancer cell line HCT116. These experiments involved confirmation of u-PA expression by HCT116 cells and cell binding studies with 125I-PAI-2. The second part was examining the biodistribution and kinetics …

Some Desirable Features Of Lower Court Systems To Verify And Enforce Civil Obligations, Andrew James Cannon

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Lower court systems to enforce civil obligations are complex and their operation is intertwined with other dispute resolution systems in the community. This interrelationship must be understood to ascertain the role of lower courts. In this thesis I start with that and from that base I deduce desirable features to properly perform the role. This includes systems for debt collecting, fact finding and assisting settlements. The cost of access to lower courts is a primary factor in determining the level of use of them and how they are used. I conclude what are appropriate cost policies to ensure the system …

Stress Distributions Beneath Heaps And Rat-Hole Problems For Granular Materials, G. M. Cox

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Granular materials are widely used throughout the world in many industries, and problems such as stable obstructions or uncontrolled flooding that occur impact significantly on the economies of such industries. Using the proper continuum mechanical theory of granular materials, two such problems are examined in this thesis. Firstly, the phenomenon of stable vertical cylindrical cavities known as rat-holes in stockpiles and hoppers that impede the flow of the granular material through the reclaim hole is examined. Secondly, the stress distribution at the base of a two and three-dimensional sand pile is considered in search of the peak vertical pressure, which …

Measurement And Modelling Of High Temperature Superconductors For Power Engineering Applications, Tri Hardono

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

High temperature superconducting technology has great potential for power engineering applications. The work presented in this thesis investigates measurement and modelling techniques of high temperature superconductors (HTSCs) with the intention of contributing to the skills, tools and understanding needed to assist in utilisation of HTSCs in electrical power engineering. Investigations of short and wires, plates and coils are discussed.

Factors likely to affect the engineering performance of HTSCs in power engineering circuits are firstly discussed. An extensive test-rig has been assembled comprising cryogenic parts, instrumentation and a computerised data collecting system. Detailed measurements are made on the effects of magnetic …

Lossless Medical Image Compression, Jian Wang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Lossless coding is widely applied in medical image compression because of its feasibility. This thesis offers two major contributions for lossless image compression; (i) the relationship between the minimum-mean-squared-error (MMSE) and the minimum-entropy-of-error (MEE) prediction in lossless image compression has been revealed, and (ii) novel methods of improving compression rates and operation using Shape-Vector Quantization (VQ) have been presented. These new schemes have a simpler implementation, more computational efficiency, and lower memory requirement than other lossless schemes have. The proposed schemes are capable of providing significant coding improvement over traditional predictive coders and adaptive predictive coders.

One major goal in …

Redefining Relationships: Aboriginal Interests And Biodiversity Conservation In Australia, Michael Adams

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

There are many points of intersection between the interests of Aboriginal communities and organisations, and the interests of state conservation departments. While these intersections more often generate conflict and confrontation than co-operation and trust, attempts by governments to implement resolutions to these apparently different interests often lead to policy failure. Unresolved conflict over Aboriginal land claims, native title, and jointmanagement regimes for national parks are clearly evident in N e w South Wales and Queensland.

State conservation agencies, as subsets of mainstream Australian culture, hold normative cultural constructs which may be only tenuously linked to the 'realities' they symbolise. These …

Semantic Content-Based Video Retrieval, Lilac A. Al-Safadi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The development in multimedia technology has brought the use of video documents to personal computers. The increased volume of multimedia data available in everyday lives has dramatically adopted these technologies for storing that multimedia data. Now these everyday live environments demand sophisticated systems for management and effective systems for the search and retrieval of multimedia data.

This thesis presents a semantic content-based video retrieval system. This work focuses on the semantic content of video documents and describes the implementation of a semantic-based video indexing and retrieval system suitable for the video-on-demand style applications.

This thesis addresses issues related to developing …

Analysis Of Aggregated Spatial Social Data, Gandhi Pawitan

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

There is an increasing tendency to take a spatial perspective in analysing census or sample data. This thesis contributes to the development of spatial analysis and concentrates on methods for analysing data on social characteristics. The important case of aggregated census data will be considered.

If we are interested in spatial relationships, then we must consider how to analyse social data that have been obtained by methods of sampling or aggregation. There may not be a direct interest in spatial relationships, but the presence of spatial interdependence may still need to be taken into account in the analysis. There may …

Supporting The Retrieval And Analysis Of External Statistical Data By Casual And Novice Users, Peter Hyland

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis describes the development of a research prototype of a Statistical Information System intended for use by casual and novice users of External Statistical Data (ESD). The research prototype, Abacus, has been developed by integrating Online Analytical Processing, Multi-Dimensional Databases and the World Wide Web. Critical reflection on the development of Abacus has provided useful insights into the development of such hybrid systems. Typical users of ESD have tested Abacus and the results suggest that the technologies integrated in Abacus provide suitable functionality for the intended users. Moreover, user evaluation of the prototype suggests that Abacus is perceived as …

Surface Engineering Of Sheet Metal Forming Dies, Tamara Hayward

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Zinc coated steel is an attractive material for the manufacture of automotive body panels due to its excellent corrosion resistance and good weldability. It does however pose problems during sheet metal forming operations due to zinc pick-up on the die surfaces which changes the original forming characteristics of the part and increases maintenance of the die. The hypothesis presented here is that the severity of the problem may be reduced through surface engineering of the critical areas of the die so as to modify the frictional and chemical properties of the die surface. The critical area of the die to …

Designing Simulations To Improve Learner Outcomes In Ecological Education, Robert M. Corderoy

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The study of complex ecological processes presents many difficulties for learners including the time frame in which it may take place and the complexity of the relationships involved. The learning outcomes and level of understanding of the underlying relationships for students studying such processes may be effectively supported and improved through the use of carefully designed simulations which provide the learner with the opportunity to explore and test their ideas, knowledge and understanding without risk. The purpose of this study was to design, develop, implement and test the efficacy of a simulation tool designed to simulate algal bloom in a …

Exploring The Textual Metafunction In Japanese: Case Study Of Selected Written Texts, Elizabeth Anne Thompson

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study sets out to explore the relationship between the grammar of the textual metafunction within Systemic Functional Grammar and the organisation of a set of Japanese selected written texts into discrete text types or genres. The study is motivated by the need for grammatical descriptions of Japanese discourse for teaching Japanese as a Second/Foreign Language. Descriptions of how Japanese organises textually, as a coherent message, are limited, with most work centred on clause level descriptions. This study looks at the resources of textual organisation above the clause.

This study investigates the proposition that in Japanese, the clause is patterned …

Responding To The Fears Of Early Childhood: An Investigation Of Perception And Practice In Emotion Education, Reesa Sheryl Sorin

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The focus of this study was to investigate basic emotions, in particular the emotion of fear, as they are reported to be experienced by preschool children and how fear is responded to by parents and caregivers. To accomplish this, it looked firstly at whether eight basic emotions are reported as present in the preschool child. It then focused on fear: which fears are reported as experienced by preschool children and how they are displayed. Parents were surveyed as to how they respond to their child's fears and all participants were asked to report how caregivers in the early childhood settings …

Using Monte-Carlo Methods For Designing Calibration Facilities And Radiation Barriers, Armia R. George

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This project was devoted to simulation an radiation measurement in different radiation modalities: Calibration Facility, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy. In a new radiation calibration facility (for radiation monitoring devises), the role of scattered radiation (due to finite size of the facility) was estimated. This was performed by using MCNP Version 4a (Monte-Carlo Simulation Software), Thermolimiinescent Detector (TLD) chips and a Cesium-137 calibration source. The results from MCNP and TLD were compared, they showed a deviation up to 6% and 10% respectively from the inverse square law.

Investigation Of Outgrowth On Multifilamentary Bi-2223 Superconducting Tapes, Han-Yeu Ling

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Both mechanical and electrical properties of pure silver and silver alloy (Ag-0.5%wt. Mg. Ag-0.4%wt. Sb) sheathed multifilamentary Bi-2223 high-Tc superconducting tapes are studied in this project by various techniques, with a particular focus on outgrowth.

Application Of Self Compacting And Self Curing Technologies In Concrete Water Tank Construction, Paul William Hutchinson

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study has been developed in order to address a number of difficulties currently experienced by a concrete product manufacturing plant. It has attempted to combine the technologies of self compacting concrete and self curing concrete in the application of water tank manufacture. Additionally, fibre reinforcement has also been used in order to address problems resulting from the use of conventional reinforcement in tank production. Following the mix design procedure developed by Okamura, a mix of sufficient fluidity and mechanical properties was developed before modification to account for fibre content. Once an appropriate level of fluidity had been reestablished, self …

Geohydraulic Aspects Of Dam Filters, Senanie Sujeewa Radampola

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In an earth dam, stored water will always try to escape by creating and developing channels of its own, using water load and flow through any available weak point; picking up whatever soil particles it can, resulting in its failure and catastrophe. To overcome this natural phenomenon, a core (base) of low permeability is located within the dam together with a downstream filter to capture any eroded particles from the core. This study investigates the geo-hydraulic parameters that affect soil filtration at the interface of core and filters of granular materials through an analytical model, which can predict the effective …

Synthesis, Structures, Transport And Magnetic Properties In Zinc Doped La0.8sr0.2mno3 Perovskite Manganite, Emilia Velinova Sotirova-Haralambeva

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The La0.8Sr0.2Mn1-xZnxO3 system with x = 0, 0.01, 0,03, 0.05, 0.1,0.15, 0,3, 0.5 and 0.75 was prepared by the solid state reaction and investigated by structural, transport and magnetic properties measurements. X-ray powder diffraction results indicate a single orthorhombic phase over the whole range of x values and an increase in the lattice parameters (a, b, c) with an increase in zinc doping concentration in the studied system. Single phase is retained for x < = 0.3. SEM investigation shows that the average grain size of the La0.8Sr0.2Mn1-xZnxO3 system decreases from 3 um to less than 1 um with increases in the zinc doping level in the system. Results of transport measurements performed by the four-probe technique indicate that the insulator to metal transition temperature, Ti-m, decreases with an increase in the zinc substitution in the Mn site, while the resistivity of the La0.8Sr0.2Mn1-xZnxO3 system increases with an increase in the doping concentration for all doping levels.

An Evaluation Of The Seagrass Zostera Capricorni As A Biomonitor Of Metals Contamination In Lake Illawarra, Christina Howley

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The seagrass Zostera capricorni was evaluated as a possible biomonitor of metal contamination in coastal waters. Metal concentrations in Z capricorni leaves and rhizomes were analyzed for correlations with porewater and sediment concentrations from 7 locations within Lake Illawarra, a 35 km² lagoon located south of Wollongong, NSW (Australia). Concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, M n , Pb, and Z n in seagrass tissues collected near to an industrial complex including a steelworks and copper smelter, and adjacent to a former power station, were significantly higher than concentrations in seagrass collected from the lake entrance. Variations in metal concentrations …

Does Obesity Affect Foot Structure And Function, Foot Sensation And Plantar Pressure In Children?, Annaliese Dowling

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Childhood obesity is considered to be reaching epidemic proportions where obese children tend to become obese adults. As obese individuals have increased mass they are at greater risk of developing musculoskeletal dysfunction, which may in tum alter quality of life. One main musculoskeletal concern is the feet of obese individuals, as the feet are the foundation for stance and gait. Musculoskeletal foot pathologies have not been widely investigated in relation to childhood obesity. However, previous research has found a general trend for obese children to have flatfeet and generate higher pressures under the forefoot during gait. These high pressures in …

Pre-Employment Functional Capacity Assessment And Remedial Intervention Program For The New South Wales Police, Damien Peter Johnston

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Assessment of physical capacity prior to employment serves a vital function in ensuring police recruits have the physical capability to perform essential policing functions. In the past, law enforcement agencies have used a variety of physical assessments to exclude potential candidates. The assessment criterion that has been used has lacked appropriate validation with critics arguing that the tests are invalid, irrelevant and potentially discriminatory. Additionally, the tests that have been used have focused on the assessment of policing specific skills prior to any skill-based training. For many years, sports scientists have used physiological assessments to identify specific weaknesses in the …

Motivation, Psychological Distress And Exercise Adherence Following Myocardial Infarction, Mary Angela Ljubic

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Patient adherence to post coronary exercise therapy is relatively poor with at least 50% discontinuing within 6 to 12 months of starting their cardiac rehabilitation programme (Dishman, 1988; Oldridge, 1988). The relationship between exercise motivation, psychological distress and adherence to exercise therapy following myocardial infarction (Ml) was examined. The extent to which myocardial infarction patients adhered to their cardiac rehabilitation programme was also explored. Researchers have found that the factors that influence participation in cardiac rehabilitation include intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and psychological distress (Blumenthal, Williams, Wallace, Williams, & Needles, 1982; Oman & McAuley, 1991; Mullan, Markland & Ingledew 1997). …

Hearing Their Voices: A Case Study On Workplace Stress, Neil Shaw Lindsay

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Occupational injury causes a significant loss of resources in Australia every year. Whilst the direct social and economic costs of stress can be measured, the personal costs to the individuals concerned may be less apparent. This thesis explores the meaning of occupational stress through the experience of thirteen case study respondents. The research method employed is the qualitative approach; data were primarily collected from personal interviews with workers who had made a claim for stress at work. The data were subjected to thematic analysis.

The major findings in the three broad areas of inquiry are presented. Firstly, the crucial role …

Waste Management Practices, Perceptions And Attitudes In Tonga, Vika Lutui

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The Kingdom of Tonga faces critical problems with regards to managing waste. Increasing generation of solid waste in the household accompanying the changes in the Tongan lifestyle with a dependence on imported tinned and packaged goods, far exceeds the island Kingdom's ability and capability for safe disposal. Littering in the household and throughout the Kingdom is a persistent problem despite various clean-up and anti-litter promotional campaigns and programs run by government organizations, non-government organizations and other community groups.

The persistent problems of litter and mismanaging solid waste in the household need to addressed. This study was undertaken to investigate why …

Aspects Of Micropayments, Terje Tollisen

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

There are many challenges to make micropayment systems on the Internet work as reliably, safely and efficiently as they need to. I have studied many of these problems, and seen how different researchers have tried to solve the challenges. A summary of many of these problems and suggested solutions are presented in this thesis. A new micropayments system is presented, based on Merkle's authentication tree and Wintemitz's one-time signatures. The scheme can add efficiency and flexibility to a range of existing micropayment schemes based on hash chains. Unlike earlier system, hash chains can be made relatively short, since the computational …

Post-War Portuguese Migration To The Illawarra, Kerrie Halilovic

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Objectives: This research arose from a proposal by the Portuguese Consulate General to study the Po1iuguese Community in the Illawarra. There has been one such analysis already completed which the researcher had access to: The Portuguese Community in the lllawarra, a report jointly published by the Illawarra Area Health Service and the South Coast Portuguese Association. This report states that it is the first survey of its kind on the Illawarra's Portuguese population and was initiated for two reasons. First, knowledge of and information about the Portuguese community lacked a satisfactory definition. Second, the survey was seen as a means …

A Multimoal And Systemic Intervention For Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Evelyn Goodison-Farnsworth

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The primary aim of this thesis was to design, deliver and evaluate a long term cognitive behavioural multimodal and multisystemic (MMS) intervention for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The need to design an intervention was based on research identifying a notable proportion of children with ADHD who for a variety of reasons cannot use stimulant medication.

Exploring The Contribution Of Professional Development And Training To Human Resources Capacity Enhancement In The Ministry Of Industry And Trade (Moit) Indonesia: A Case Study, Baginda Simaibang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study was concerned with an exploration of the contribution of professional development and training (PDT) to human resources capacity (HRC) enhancement in the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) Indonesia. Professional development was defined as the process where individuals increased their competencies, skills and attitudes to perform better in their position; for example, seminars, workshops, observations and visits. Training, on the other hand, was seen as an organizational and instructional procedure by which people learnt knowledge and developed skills for a certain purpose. The purpose of these strategies is to raise human working capability to higher levels to meet …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Physical Education Within The K-6 Personal Development, Health And Physical Education Key Learning Area, Peter John Webster

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

For many years educators have been concerned with the decline of physical education in schools. The concern for physical education has been outlined in articles by Alexander, Taggart and Medland (1993), Blanksby (1995), Crowley (1993), Evans (1993), Hickey (1992), Moore (1994) and Tumbull (1995) and was emphasised by the Senate Report on 'Physical And Sport Education', which was tabled in March 1994. This report made several recommendations that are of particular significance to physical education and the teacher. The recommendations focus on policy formulation, qualification of physical educators, minimum training levels, provision of support networks, the preservicing and inservicing of …