Digital Commons Network^™

Electrodeposition Of Cu-Based Catalysts For Electrochemical And Photoelectrochemical Co2 Reduction, Kyuman Kim

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Inexpensive and earth abundant copper (Cu)-based catalysts are popular choices to catalyze the electrochemical (EC) and photo-electrochemical (PEC) conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to value-added chemicals. Classes of mixed organic/inorganic and inorganic Cu-based catalysts have been fabricated using the electrodeposition (ED). Electrodeposition conditions are very important factors to determine the chemical nature of Cu-based catalysts and their product selectivity and Faradaic efficiency for CO2 reduction.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the correlations between electrodeposition parameters and their influence on the chemical and catalytic nature of Cu-based materials. In specific, this thesis focused on two electrodeposition approaches to …

The Halls Have Eyes: How The Groups We Make Motivate And Constrain Us, Jimmy Lewis-Martin

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Group agents are collective structures involving multiple individuals who act according to the group’s irreducible norms. These structures include businesses, political parties, charitable organisations, and universities – clearly important and often dominant systems in our social and political lives. These are often necessary and do tremendous amounts of good for us, however they are also capable of causing tremendous environmental destruction, misrepresenting their aims, exploiting us, and selfishly reshaping epistemic pursuits for their own ends. Additionally, it is often unclear what we can do about the harmful behaviours of group agents, despite the fact that the groups that I am …

High-Temperature Thermal, Tribological And Mechanical Properties Of High-Entropy Alloys And Alloys Composites, Tri D. Vo

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The discovery of High-Entropy Alloys (HEAs) has been a significant development in the field of Materials Science. In 2004, Cantor introduced the concept of single solid solution alloys containing several elements in equal or near equal proportions. The concept was also introduced by Yeh and co-workers, who coined the term ‘HEA’. This challenged conventional thinking about how alloys could be designed and opened up new possibilities for creating materials with unique properties. In 2014, Yiping Lu and his team proposed the concept of dual-phase eutectic HEAs, which has enabled the development of improved HEAs with both high strength and high …

The Convoluted Face Of Rejection: A Program Of Research Into The Role Of Rejection Sensitivity In Romantic Relationships, Mandira Mishra

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The fundamental need to belong has likely led to protective behaviours such as an increased awareness to cues of rejection. However, being hypervigilant to rejection can have downsides and might contribute to disruptions in interpersonal relationships. The current program of research aimed to investigate how an oversensitivity to rejection, termed rejection sensitivity, relates to the quality of romantic relationships. Over six chapters, findings from six independent studies are reported that explore rejection sensitivity as it relates to romantic relationship outcomes in adults.

Structure Property Relationship Studies And Low Temperature Sintering Strategies For Bismuth-Based Relaxor Ferroelectric System, Jincymol Joseph

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Relaxor ferroelectrics are well established as an intriguing class of dielectric materials with high scope for use in energy storage applications. Relaxors feature moderately high dielectric constant and reduced hysteresis in polarization- electric field characteristics, providing higher energy storage density and efficiency at relatively low electric fields. Bismuth-based compositions can be sintered at considerably lower sintering temperatures when compared to most extensively used dielectric ceramics, such as BaTiO3 (BT), due to the low melting point of Bi2O3. The weakly coupled relaxor ferroelectric BiScO3- BaTiO3 (BS-BT) has a simple pseudocubic perovskite structure with great possibilities for engineering of parameters by physical …

Assessment And Application Of Practical Methods For Objective And Subjective Player Monitoring In American Collegiate Football, Benjamin Alan Mckay

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

American collegiate football (ACF) is one of the most demanding sports one could participate in. The physicality of the preparation and competition, along with the compounding effects of full-time academic demands provide an environment where adverse outcomes physically or mentally may develop. ACF has a long history, with the first game being played in 1869. The revenue that is generated by each program that’s competing in the Bowl Championship Series provides a significant resource for programs to support the student-athlete. Although, there is still limited research on methods to monitor the health and wellbeing of the student-athlete. It is common …

Coverage Problems In Rechargeable Iot Networks, Zilin Song

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Coverage is required by various applications that leverage Internet of things (IoT) networks to monitor one or more targets. A specific coverage requirement could be to ensure all targets, e.g., the ingress/egress of a building, are monitored by a sensor node for the longest time period possible. Another requirement could be coverage quality, which relates to the number of samples collected by sensor devices. The coverage quality or lifetime of targets, however, is limited by the energy of sensor devices. This is because the operational time of fixed or mobile sensor nodes, e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), is a function …

Mode Selection Methods For Wireless Powered Iot Networks, Xiaoyu Song

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Internet of Things (IoT) networks have gained significant attention in recent years as it has the potential to transform various industries. A key concern, however, is that sensing devices have limited operational lifetime. Specifically, they have finite energy, which affects the amount of data they are able to collect and upload. One solution is to power these devices wirelessly, where devices harvest energy from Radio Frequency (RF) signals from transmitters such as a Hybrid Access Point (HAP). A key issue, however, is that energy delivery and data transmissions may be conducted on the same frequency band. This means a HAP …

Preliminary Characterisation Of An Active Cmos Pad Detector For Dosimetry In Hdr Brachytherapy, Thi Ngoc Hang Bui

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

This thesis aims to characterise the accuracy of a new active CMOS pad detector for dosimetry in HDR Brachytherapy. A 1x1x1 mm³ detector is doped with high resistivity n-type silicon, thickness of 100 μm (Wafer10) and 48 μm (Wafer20) epitaxial substrate and built in standard CMOS along with a transimpedance amplifier. This work investigates and examine this detector’s sensitivity and signal to noise ratio in air for use in High Dose Rate Brachytherapy (HDR BT) dosimetry.

To understand operational characteristics of the detector, a current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curve was created, and the depletion voltage of the junction observed by …

The Implications Of Parent Mental Health And Wellbeing For Parent-Child Relationships, With A Special Population Focus On Military Families, Alixandra Risi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The first relationship a child develops is with their parent. This relationship is arguably the most influential relationship experienced by an individual across their lifetime and forms the foundation for later socio-emotional development and health and wellbeing. This thesis, comprising of four studies, explores associations of parent mental health and wellbeing with the early parent-child relationship, within an attachment framework.

In the first study, a systematic review of the current literature explored the impact of parent mental health and wellbeing on the intergenerational transmission of attachment. Findings from 11 studies indicated that parent mental health and wellbeing likely impacts the …

Cuntz-Krieger Algebras Associated To Self-Similar Groupoids, Isnie Yusnitha

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

In this thesis, we study self-similar actions of groupoids on row-finite directed graphs and their associated Cuntz-Krieger algebras. Roughly speaking, if for all scales of parts of the object reiterate the whole, then the object is self-similar. For algebraic objects such as groups or groupoids that have this self-similarity property, we simply call them selfsimilar groups or self-similar groupoids. As an illustration of this self-similarity property, we recall the addition algorithm of integers that we learned from primary school, there is a so-called carrying operation that takes place to deal with addition of larger integers. Analogous to this carrying operation …

Understanding The Prevention And Management Of Radial Artery Spasm During Transradial Cardiac Catheterisation, Elizabeth Curtis

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Background: Coronary artery disease, involving stenoses of the coronary vasculature, is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality in Australia. Cardiac catheterisation is a key strategy in the management and diagnosis of coronary artery disease. This procedure is rapidly evolving as new knowledge and technological advancements change practice. Such rapid evolution has created challenges in sustaining the evidence base to guide best practice.

Current recommendations suggest the use of the radial artery to gain access for the procedure. Despite the current emphasis on radial artery access, the prevalence of radial artery spasm (RAS) poses a notable challenge …

Targets Coverage And Data Computation In Energy Harvesting Iot Networks, Longji Zhang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

To date, a wide range of industries leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve efficiency and productivity. Briefly, an IoT network consists of wireless sensor devices that are used to monitor an environment, provide coverage, or collect data of targets. The collected data can then be processed before it is uploaded to a sink/gateway or the cloud to be used by various applications. The full potential of IoT, however, is limited by a number of issues. First, most IoT networks are designed for a specific application. This motivates the use of virtualization technologies, where the same network substrate runs …

A Full Sharding Scheme For Consortium Blockchain In A Zero-Trust, Shared Resource Setting, Quang Long Le

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Blockchain technology has emerged as a response to the growing demand for trust, transparency, and security in the realm of digital financial transactions, in which Bitcoin serves as an initial prime example. It offers an immutable, decentralised ledger system to verify and record transactions without a central authority, indicating a paradigm shift in traditional financial systems. Blockchain is a pioneering topic including a set of technologies that have the potential to revolutionise, improve, or even substitute existing technologies, particularly focusing on its implications and applications in the financial transaction sector.

The inherent properties of Blockchain, such as decentralisation, immutability, and …

The Diachronic Mind Institutionalized: On The Distributed Organization Of Cognition And Its Challenges, Mads Julian Dengso

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Recent developments from 4E approaches to cognition argue for variously distributed forms of life and cognition. But while these accounts assert the existence and predominance of distributed forms of organization, what is less clear is: what role does distributed organization play for life and cognition? This thesis seeks to explore, explain, and apply the active role that spatiotemporally distributed forms of organization play in facilitating the cognitive capacities of living systems. It will employ a broadly interdisciplinary synthetic philosophy in dialogue with 4E approaches to cognition. The thesis will thus address the material and organizational substrates of cognition while raising …

Impact And Sustainability Through Alignment Of Fisheries Management And Rural Development In Solomon Islands, Senoveva Mauli

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Globally, community-based resource management (CBRM) is viewed as an effective tool for management because it enables a bottom-up approach and acknowledges the role of communities as a key ingredient in governance. However, ensuring that CBRM contributes to wider development goals has remained challenging. One facet of this has been a disconnect between CBRM and rural development (RD) initiatives.

Solomon Islands has a rural base that makes up 80% of its population, and numerous communities have participated in resource management efforts over the past two decades. However, among coastal communities in Solomon Islands, the wider development impact of CBRM (which is …

The Impact Of Leadership Styles On Intention To Report Errors In The Healthcare Sector, Ensieh Taeidi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The healthcare sector has a complex context consisting of a variety of professions with different designations who work collaboratively to provide safe patient care. The reporting of medical errors is an important indicator of quality improvement, which can promote patient safety. Underreporting is a significant issue in healthcare sectors worldwide, and the failure to report errors contributes to bad and adverse patient outcomes, increased hospital stays, decreased efficiency and increased patient mortality.

The interaction between nurses and their leaders plays an important role in nurses’ errorreporting behaviours. While effective leadership promotes and strengthens quality in health care, which leads to …

Microglia Activation Impairs Neurites And Mitophagy Associated With Aging, Anjila Dongol

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerating neural connectivity disorder that results in memory loss and cognitive impairment. The accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain is the first pathological mechanism to initiate AD pathogenesis. However, the precise role of Aβ in the disease progression remains unclear. Thus, it is of high importance to determine the exact role of Aβ throughout the entire course of AD to treat or possibly prevent AD progression.

Perceptions Of Leadership Intelligence, Safoora Pitsi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

In this thesis, leadership perceptions refer to assessments made by followers or potential leaders themselves that a target individual has both the qualities typical of leaders and the potential to exhibit leadership in a specific situation. Perceptions play a crucial role in leadership, as individuals who are perceived as leaders possess a heightened potential to influence both organisational processes and outcomes. In this thesis, leadership is described as a process of being perceived as a leader by followers. It results from an individual’s social-cognitive process to categorise others. Leadership Categorisation Theory (LCT) maintains followers’ implicit leadership theory (ILT) or leadership …

Development Of A Reusable Low-Enriched Uranium Target For Sustainable Fission-Produced 99mo, Robert Raposio

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

⁹⁹Mo is an essential medical radioisotope that comprises of at least 70% of procedures globally. Currently an essential component of ⁹⁹Mo manufacturing is the enriched uranium target from which ⁹⁹Mo is produced by fission. As the world moves towards low enriched uranium (LEU) targets due to non-proliferation concerns it is becoming of interest to find methods to increase the efficiency of the LEU targets to reduce the ever-increasing nuclear waste levels of which a long-term solution for disposal or treatment has yet to be satisfactorily found. In this thesis I examine advantages and disadvantages of various target …

Methods To Identify Protonation Isomers And Control Their Populations In Mass Spectrometry, Boris Ucur

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Molecules with multiple protonation sites pose a challenge to the assignment of analyte ions in mass spectrometry due to the formation of protonation isomers (protomers). This thesis provides insight on how to assign and manipulate protomer populations in atmospheric and low-pressure ion trap conditions.

The archetype protomer system—para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA)—is shown to react with a single methanol molecule and induces proton isomerism between the amino site to the carboxylic acid site. Unique protomer fragment ions are used to monitor methanol-catalyzed protomer interconversion. The second order rate constant is k_2nd = (1.9 ± 0.1) × 10 …

Scalable Multi-Objective Task Allocation, Planning, And Learning In Multiagent Systems, Thomas M. Robinson

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Robotic decision making in multiagent systems is becoming more popular with rapidly advancing technology, where these systems are broadly applicable in many relevant domains including manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, transportation, and space exploration. For instance, multi-robot systems are used in smart manufacturing to automate complex precision tasks. These robots use decision-making algorithms to optimise the assembly process, reduce errors, and improve quality control This thesis focuses on a problem domain where a team of loosely coupled agents cooperate to complete a set of tasks in a stochastic environment. Each task is allocated to an agent who will compute, or learn a …

Critical Questioning: Tracking Hegemonic Meaning Transformations Across Semiotic Modes In The History Classrooms Of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Schools In Chile, Carolina Andrea Badillo Vargas

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Critical questioning in history is essential for Chilean secondary students studying hegemonic multimodal discourses in a discipline involving interpretation. Being able to question, however, presents significant challenges for learners, particularly those enrolled in socioeconomically disadvantaged schools. One of the main challenges involves cultivating the skill and proficiency in composing written content that relies on both primary and secondary sources. Although existing literature examines the role of questions in the development of historical thinking, pedagogies of multiliteracies in which students learn to pose questions after viewing texts comprising multiple semiotic modes have not been investigated. The present study examines the potential …

Identifying Key Nutritional Outcomes And Patterns Of Clinical Care In Bariatric Surgery: Moving Towards Clinical Practice Guidelines, Nazafarin Zarshenas

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Obesity has been recognised as a chronic relapsing and complex condition. The tendency to maintain a physiological set point makes it challenging to achieve and maintain a significant weight loss in those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of > 30 kg/m2 [1]. The medical treatment options for obesity are currently limited and costly, with little long-term data on weight loss and potential side effects. Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment of choice in treating obesity. It results in the resolution or improvement of obesity-related co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, sleep apnoea, abnormal lipids, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and improves …

Machine Learning Applications In Time Series Forecasting For Engineering Problems, Xinyu Gu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Time series forecasting, which capitalizes on historical trends and patterns to anticipate future events, is especially significant in engineering. Two critical components in this process are data preprocessing and the selection of suitable machine learning models. Given that raw data frequently presents issues such as missing values, outliers, or noise, data preprocessing is an indispensable step to refine this data prior to its application in machine learning models. Moreover, the choice of a machine learning model is crucial as various models are optimized for different types of data. Therefore, designing an appropriate architecture that aligns with the specific characteristics of …

Synthesis And Palladium-Catalysed Reactions Of Cyclic Sulfamidate Imines And Related Analogues, Quoc Hoang Pham

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Five-membered cyclic sulfamidate imines—the unsaturated analogues of the well-established synthetic precursor cyclic sulfamidates—have attracted increasing interest from synthetic chemists within the last two decades, and the recent developments involving this intriguing scaffold is summarised in Chapter 1. Featuring a highly reactive imine functionality, these stereodefined heterocycles are popular substrates in various transition metal-catalysed asymmetric reactions such as hydrogenation, transfer hydrogenation, and nucleophilic addition. On the other hand, the nucleophilic reactivity of these cyclic imines, enabled by the acidic proton(s) at the α-position to the imine functionality, have also been elegantly demonstrated in several organocatalysed cascade transformations. This manuscript describes the …

From Statement To Purpose: An Interview With Bill Siemering, Neil Verma

RadioDoc Review

This article is an interview between RadioDoc Review Editor Neil Verma and Bill Siemering, founding Director of Programming at National Public Radio and lifelong proponent of public radio. Siemering and Verma discuss Siemering's role at the founding of NPR, his earlymcareer in Wisconsin, WHYY Philadelphia, WBFO and KCCM, as well as his enduring work in community radio development in Africa.

Enabling The Enablers: Professional Development For Peer Leaders To Enhance The Learning Experience Of Enabling Education Students, Min Pham

Journal of Peer Learning

This paper discusses the impact of a series of professional development workshops for peer leaders to enhance the student learning experience at an Australian enabling education institution over the period of three years (2019–2021). It reports the impact of these workshops on peer leaders’ professional development and, more importantly, on enhancing the learning experience of students participating in Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS). The paper also highlights the effect of this initiative on curricular and teaching practices. The insights for this report are drawn from a wide range of data including student and peer leader surveys, reflections, and teacher commentaries. …

Perceived Gains Of Peer Educators In Campus Learning Centers: Academic Performance And Learning, Non-Academic Skillsets, And Self-Confidence And Fulfillment, Rebecca Cofer, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Cordelia Zinskie, Pamela Wells, Katherine Fallon

Journal of Peer Learning

This study explored the peer tutor and Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader experiences in campus learning centers as seen through the perceived gains in three subcategories: 1) academic performance and learning, 2) non-academic skillsets, and 3) self-confidence and fulfillment. The peer tutors and SI Leaders surveyed in this study had experience in one or both of these roles and came from institutions across the nation and from several international institutions. In this quantitative study, participants completed a researcher-created survey. The major findings showed a significant difference in the peer educators’ perceived gains based on their roles, with tutors reporting greater perceived …

Peer-Assisted Learning Online: Peer Leader Motivations And Experiences, Rebecca Rawson, Christine Rhodes

Journal of Peer Learning

This research explores the different types of motivation that inspired students to engage in an online peer-assisted learning (PAL) leader role. An interdisciplinary online PAL pilot programme at a university in the United Kingdom was reviewed to investigate the experience and perceptions of voluntary online PAL leaders. The purpose of the study was to address a paucity in knowledge about the motivations for this role, specifically from an online perspective, and to guide future online PAL leader recruitment.

A thematic analysis of in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews was used to determine emerging and relevant themes. Three research questions guided the interviews, …