Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Officials In Sport: An Evaluation Of The Progress Made By The Sport Industry In Response To The Recommendations In The 1994 "A Fair Go" Report, Andrew Taggart, Rod Rate

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Increasing Rural Women's Involvement In Government Decision Making, Teresa Maiolo

Research outputs pre 2011

The purpose of this report was to identify why rural women's involvement in government decision-making is of a low level despite the concerted government action, and to furthermore provide solutions to inform action. The strength of the research presented is that all information is firmly established in the rural women's experiences.

Twenty-one Western Australian rural women leaders were individually interviewed. These women represent the larger rural regions of Western Australia: South West, Great Southern, Goldfields-Esperance, Mid-West, Gascoyne, and Kimberley regions. These women were familiar with the broad systems of government, leadership, information and communication technology, and obviously rural life...

Main Issues Rural Women Experience With Information & Communication Technology, Teresa Maiolo

Research outputs pre 2011

This brief report will outline the main issues rural women encountered with information and communications technology. This information was derived from interviewing twenty-one rural women from the South West, Eastern Goldfields, Murchison, Gascoyne, and Kimberley regions of Western Australia. Recommended actions are given to address each of the main issues.

The Impact Of Pressure Groups On The Western Australian School Education Bill 1999 : A Case Study, Sharan Kraemer

Theses : Honours

This study examines the influence which pressure groups, unelected, unrepresentative groups, exert on the legislative process. This thesis studies the issue in relation to the Western Australian School Education Bill 1999, and the action of four pressure groups- the Aboriginal legal Service of Western Australia, the Disability Services Commission, the Home Based Learning Network and the Western Australian Council of State Schools Organisations. The re-writing of the School Education Bill1999 presented an opportunity to study pressure group activity against the background of two unusual circumstances: the first being that the updating of the seventy year old Act was the occasion …

A Cross-Institutional Evaluation On The Supply And Demand Of The Security Function, Shane J. Norton

Theses : Honours

The security industry has undergone dramatic changes over the last twenty years due to a continually increasing demand for security services and products. Internal organisational pressure to the security function has forced a rethink in the way security managers conduct business. Traditionally, security managers have only been aware of the level of service that customers receive by procedures these managers initiated. The availability of a comprehensive study detailing customer attitudes towards security supply is useful for understanding the security demand from the end user perspective, and providing knowledge to fine-tune the service. A security manager with realistic and recent end …

Macroeconomic Announcements, Volatility And Interrelationships: An Examination Of The Uk Bond And Stock Markets, Bradley Jones

Theses : Honours

This study covers considerable ground and touches on a range of issues in a rigorous investigation of the intraday and end-of-day behaviour of I JK stock index and interest rate futures contracts. Firstly, the paper uses S-minute data in an initial examination of the response of the Short Sterling, Long Gilt and FTSEI00 to the release of macroeconomic announcements (assisted with the application of GMM). Secondly, in an analysis of intraday patterns in returns and volatility a GARCII(I,I) framework is employed, so that further inferences are made robust to time-varying variance. Finally, the paper draws upon some of the latest …

The Perceptions Of Male And Female Western Australian Adolescents In Relation To Body Image And Smoking, Mary Edwards

Theses : Honours

Although the numbers of adult smokers has declined, numbers of adolescent smokers have not, with females outnumbering males. Research has indicated that adolescent females have higher levels of body image dissatisfaction than males. This dissatisfaction is mostly with regard to weight, which suggests a possible association between female adolescents smoking and weight control. A study of American adolescents (Camp, Klesges & Relyea, 1993) found that adolescent females were more likely to perceive that smoking is a method of weight control and to use smoking to control their weight than adolescent males. This present study investigated the perceptions of625 Western Australian …

Spaces For The Spirit: Christian Spirituality As Represented By Australian Media, Jennifer Anne Jones

Theses : Honours

No abstract provided.

Derailed : The Social, Economic And Political Implications Of The Closure Of The Westrail Midland Workshops, Lyla D. Elliott

Theses : Honours

The Westrail Midland Workshops had serviced the Western Australian Government Railway fleet for 90 years when they were closed by the Court Government in 1994. As the State's largest and best equipped industrial establishment employing over 900 workers, the announcement of the closure was unexpected and controversial. The research questions asked in this thesis are: Why did the Workshops close? What were the economic and political issues involved? What attempts were made to modernise the Workshops and improve efficiency, and what were the social and economic effects on the workers? The event took place at a time of changing ethos …

An Analysis Of Option Pricing Under Systematic Consumption Risk Using Garch, Alex Georgievski

Theses : Honours

We aim to test two things. Firstly, whether accounting for the persistence in volatility decreases the errors between the option prices implied from our models and the observed option prices and secondly, whether the pricing errors are reduced when you allow for the fact that consumption is correlated with returns on the underlying asset. Three option pricing models are developed and tested. 1-The Black and Scholes option pricing model, 2-The GARCH (1,1) model under risk neutrality and 3- The GARCH (1,1) model under systematic consumption risk, using recent daily data on traded options on the FTSE 100 share price index. …

I Never Thought I Was Going To Marry One : A Study Of Women Partners Of Men Who Have Sex With Men, Elaine Dowd

Theses : Honours

The issue of undisclosed sexual duality amongst outwardly heterosexual men is virtually silent within mainstream western discourses. However, there is evidence that it is a widespread practice and one which is common knowledge amongst workers in related areas such as HIV prevention. When women become aware that their male partner is homosexually active, they may be extremely traumatised, hurt, confused, angry and ashamed. Many are too ashamed to disclose the truth about their partner to friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances. Some women want to talk about their experience but can find nobody willing to listen, or able to understand. Women …

The Term Structure Of Interest Rates In Australia : An Application Of Long Run Structural Modelling, Vicky Shimmings

Theses : Honours

The term structure of interest rates in Australia, using data of different types as well as frequencies covering the period 1991 (11) to 2000 (9), is investigated using a relatively new modelling strategy previously untested on Australian interest rate data. Developed by Pesaran & Shin (1997), this strategy incorporates long-run structural relationships in an otherwise unrestricted vector autoregression model (VAR). The long-run relationships included in the model are based on the Expectations Theory of the term structure. This model is then subjected to Granger-causality, generalised variance decompositions, generalised impulse response and persistence profile analysis, in the context of a vector …

The Relevance And Application Of Public Relations Theories To Australian Diplomatic Communications Management, Renae Michelle Brockman

Theses : Honours

Communication, in the form of diplomatic discourse between nation-states, has long been considered an effective tool of foreign affairs and international relations. The management of international government communication (whether it is through the foreign affairs department of the government of a nation-state, or by the embassies and high commissions that represent that nation) comes under pressure from various internal and external forces acting in the international political environment such as impending war, economic and financial crises, natural disasters, political instability and the approaching millennium. Arguably, it is possible that an alternative method of communications management could be considered to ensure …

The Factors That Influence Psychological Sense Of Community For Students Living On Campus At Edith Cowan University, Colleen Dalton

Theses : Honours

A psychological sense of community (PSOC) has been found to facilitate adjustment and well-being. However, little research has been conducted in Australian universities. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomena, a qualitative approach was adopted. This research explored PSOC from the participants' perspective using McMillan and Chavis's (1986) theoretical framework as a guide and investigated the following research questions. (1) What is the residential students' perception of PSOC, at Edith Cowan University (ECU)? (2) What factors, within the student village, facilitate and inhibit PSOC? (3) What factors within the university setting and beyond, in the wider community, …

An Investigation Of The Multiple Response To Oppression And Implications For Identity Among Aboriginal Adolescents, Victoria E. Hovane

Theses : Honours

In a history characterized by dispossession and oppression since colonisation, the responses of Aboriginal people to oppression have typically been presented from an ethnocentric perspective of internalization and assimilation. Another body of literature however, suggests alternative responses to non-dominant status such as resistance and adaptation to oppression. This study sought to investigate the ways in which Aboriginal adolescents respond to the negative messages they receive about being Aboriginal and the implications for their developing sense of identity, within a sociopolitical framework. A group of nine participants (five females and four males), aged 14 - 17 years (M = 15.4yrs), were …

So-- You Do This For A Living? : A Study Of Women In Adventure Recreation In Western Australia, May Carter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explored the experiences of women working in the adventure recreation industry in Western Australia. Ten women employed in the local adventure recreation industry were selected as a cross-section sample. Selection criteria for this study included employment in the industry for more than five years, competency in several adventure recreation activities and extensive field experience in "hands-on" instructional roles. The women selected ranged in age from twenty-seven to fifty years of age. Years of employment in the adventure recreation industry ranged from five to thirty years. The purpose of this study was to describe the realities of working in …

Constructing Compatibility : Managing Breastfeeding And Weaning From The Mothers' Perspective, Yvonne Louise Hauck

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Breastfeeding involves phases of initiation, continuation, and weaning. Research to date has focused upon its initiation and continuation rather than the later phases, when the child is weaned from the breast. Selective aspects relating to weaning have been explored to determine infant feeding practices such as the timing of food introduction. However, that research has focused upon developing countries where the impact of infant feeding patterns and weaning practices have a significant impact on infant growth and child health. The weaning process or final phase of breastfeeding from the mothers' perspective has not been examined within the western world. In …

Indeterminacy In First And Second Languages: Case Studies Of Narrative Development Of Chinese Children With And Without Language Disorder, Bee Hong Lo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Bilingual children with specific language impairment (SLI) from non English speaking background (NESB) present a major diagnostic problem to speech pathologist and educationist in an English speaking country. There has been no known study on the simultaneous narrative development involving bilingual Chinese children with and without SLI. This longitudinal case study examined the relationship of Chinese (L1) and English (L2) in narrative development in a child with no language difficulty (Child LN) and a child (Child L1) diagnosed as having SLI. The hypothesis posed for this study was that Child L1 has the same developmental profile for narrative skill in …

Living With A Transvestite : A Phenomenological Study Of Wives And Committed Partners Of Transvestites, Heather Christine Freegard

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Being a man or woman is at the core of human social lives and personal identity, and guides appropriate behaviours such as dress, mannerisms and relationships. Transvestism, or the practice of wearing the clothes of the other gender, challenges societal values and guidelines for behaviour. The attitude of society to this practice has varied from veneration to vilification depending on the period of history and the culture of the people. In western countries, although there is little social or legal repression, transvestism is largely a hidden phenomena. The tradition of comic drag has dominated public recognition of cross-dressing. Hence transvestites …

Shamanism And Alien Abductions : A Comparative Study, Simon Brian Harvey-Wilson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Some UFO researchers (ufologists) claim that being abducted by aliens can be compared with shamanic initiation experiences in traditional societies in that both types of experience may be similarly transformative, leading to a more spiritual or animistic world-view, a deep concern for the environment and the development of paranormal abilities such as healing. This qualitative study is designed to investigate the validity of such claims. The research aim is to see whether the experiences and subsequent world-view of eleven alien abductees (eight women and three men) from a local abduction support group are similar to those of the typical shaman …

Justice Or Differential Treatment? : Adult Offenders With An Intellectual Disability In The Criminal Justice System, Judith Cockram

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of the study was to present a thorough examination of the extent of participation of adult offenders with an intellectual disability within all levels of the criminal justice system in Western Australia, that is, from arrest to charge, to court appearance and finally to conviction. Western Australia provides a unique opportunity to examine the operations of the criminal justice system, because it possesses comprehensive computerised data sources on offenders, and by utilising the State central register on people with disabilities; it was possible to include in the study a significant proportion of those people with an intellectual disability …

Managing The Information Overload : A Case Study Of Managerial Staff In A Government Department, Kerttu Hamilton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research shows that the amount of information has grown vastly and information technology has greatly increased its availability. This has caused changes in the organisational environment, placing greater and greater demands on the individuals' and organisations' capacity to absorb and process information. Since information is considered to be a valuable and necessary asset, and as time for processing information is limited, an individual will have to make choices about what information to process. An exploratory case study was conducted to ascertain what rationale do individuals in an organisational setting use for making decisions about what information to process from the …

Psychological Sense Of Community In Jewish Adolescents Of Perth, Western Australia, Darren M. Stein

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This paper explores Psychological Sense of Community (PSC) in the Jewish adolescent population of Perth. The main aim was to investigate the differences between student attending the private Jewish School (Carmel) or another school within the metropolitan area. Participants were recruited from Carmel School, W A Maccabi (Jewish sport club) and by using a snowball sampling technique. The total sample included 167 students (60 males and 107 females) in years 10, II and 12. Participants' PSC was assessed by the modified Sense of Community Index (SCI). Results showed significantly higher PSC in Carmel students (ᵽ< .05), males (ᵽ< .01) and Somewhat observant individuals (ᵽ< .0 I). No relationship was found between PSC and whether one lived in the central Jewish suburbs. The relationship between PSC and length of time lived in the community was not a positive, linear one as expected. Results that were contrary to those in the literature may be effected by the community's traditional gender stereotypes and high numbers of migrants. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.

Research Problem: What Are The Differences Between Wadjela And Nyungar Criteria When Assessing Organisational Effectiveness Of Non-Government Human Service Organisations?, Keith Truscott

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Wadjela and Nyungar experts (of managerial, administrative, service staff), from the same South-West city location in Western Australia were randomly chosen from the non-government human service field for separate workshops and asked the question “what makes a non-government human service organisation effective?" The purpose was to compare the group consensus answer between the two separate workshop groups. The Nyungars are the Indigenous people in the South-West of Western Australia and the Wadjelas are the Non-Indigenous people living in the same area. The results listed five criteria, in order of priority that made non-government human service organisations effective. For the Wadjela …

Parents' Construction Of Emotional Abuse And Neglect Of Children Aged Birth To Six Years In A Rural District In Uganda, Edreda Tuwangye

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Child abuse and neglect are endemic not only in Western countries but also in developing countries such as Uganda. An investigation was conducted to establish how parents living in rural Uganda construe child abuse and neglect. The study is of theoretical interest on two counts. First, there is evidence to suggest that Western accounts of child abuse and neglect may not apply to developing countries, a matter of importance given the dominance of Western research in the thinking of policy and intervention studies. Second, most of the research assumes that abuse and neglect are self-evident constructs and there is seldom …

Killing Ostriches: Young Women, Family Violence And Youth Work, Judy Kulisa

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Using a phenomenological approach, this study, "Killing Ostriches" sought to investigate the experience of violence in the home of a small group of young women living in the northern suburbs of Perth. Seven young women between the ages of 17-26 took part in the study. Five of these young women claimed to have experienced violence in their family of origin and the: remaining two, introduced for triangulation purposes, claimed not to have done so. The study sought, not only to explore the lived experience of violence in the home for these young women, but to also investigate their experience of …

Prisoners' Use Of Social Support, Gaynor S. Hobbs

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Manuscript 1: It is generally acknowledged that prison is often a stressful environment, yet little is known of the coping processes employed by prisoners. This paper aims to examine the question of what facilitates and frustrates prisoners' use of social support whilst imprisoned. This question is examined with regards to both informal (family and friends, other prisoners) and 'formal sources of support (professional support services, peer support prisoners, prison officers). The conclusion that was drawn from this review of the literature is that the role of social support in correctional environments is largely unknown and current thinking is based primarily …

Gender Differences In Coping Responses For Partners Of Problem Drinkers, Patricia O'Brien

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is compiled in two parts. Each part is an independent piece of work intended for separate publication. Consequently each part has separate page numbering. The list part is a literature review with relevant appendices attached. The second part is a research report incorporating the collection and analysis of data. This research report also has its own appendices. A general appendices section at the end of the thesis supplies documentation not included in either the literature review or the study. The literature review is to be submitted to the Clinical Psychology Review and the research report to the Journal …

Coping With Health-Related Problems And Psychological Distress Amongst Older Adult Hospital Patients, Fotini Katerina Zachariades

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study addresses the extent to which coping strategies can predict emotional status amongst a sample of older adult hospital patients in Perth, Western Australia. Older people are frequently in hospitals because of the large number of serious health problems that are more common in this age group. Older people vary in how well they deal with illness, and negative emotional reactions can complicate medical care. The emotional states of depression, anxiety and somatic complaints were assessed in a group of 120 older adults from two Perth hospitals. Two questionnaires were administered: the Depression, Anxiety and Somatic Complaints subscales from …

Suggestibility In Children: A Review: Suggestibility Differences Between Children With And Without Mild Intellectual Impairment, Rebecca Purchon

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Literature review: The following review outlines the broad area of children and suggestibility with a focus on children with intellectual disabilities. Key determinants of suggestibility including cognitive, social and stress factors underpinning the phenomenon are examined. Secondly, methodological issues such as poor ecological validity and generaliseability to the child-victim context are discussed. Relevant studies in the field are examined in light of these methodological issues. The implications of generalising from ecologically invalid studies for legal and psychological professionals are discussed. Finally, future directions for research such as effects of different ages, differences in ethnicity and IQ differences on suggestibility are …