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Theses : Honours

Theses/Dissertations

2003

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Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Identifying Complex Issues Surrounding The Construction Of Indigeneity In Film And Documentary, Debbie Carmody Jan 2003

Identifying Complex Issues Surrounding The Construction Of Indigeneity In Film And Documentary, Debbie Carmody

Theses : Honours

Indigenous identity can only be located within . a framework of historical dislocation from where white notions of assimilation are shattered. Therefore Indigeneity can only be defined in relation to the black experience within colonialism's hegemonic structures. I will argue this by looking at constructions of Indigenous Australians in the feature film Radiance (1998) directed by Rachel Perkins, and the documentary Sissy (2000) directed by Debbie Carmody (previously known as Debbie Gittins), which was made as part of this thesis. This raises questions: What is the black experience and the process of black survival within colonialism's hegemonic structures? How does …

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Storying The Body : Women's Narratives Through The Lens Of Breast Cancer, Janet A. Griffin Jan 2003

Storying The Body : Women's Narratives Through The Lens Of Breast Cancer, Janet A. Griffin

Theses : Honours

What can women's narratives contribute to our understanding of breast cancer and to feminist theories of the body? This thesis explores the meanings women construct to make sense of embodied experiences of breast cancer, and the profound experience of breast loss. Rich contextual data was elicited from in depth, guided conversations with five premenopausal women who have undergone mastectomy. Adopting feminist methodology, biographic-narrative was used to place the body at the heart of inquiry. This thesis explores the personal and theoretical meanings of mastectomy, embedded in the larger story of how these five women experience their breasts, throughout their lives. …

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Attributions Of Criminal Responsibility Of Children : An Exploratory Study Of The Role Of Wrongdoer Age, Victim Harm And Perceptions Of Intent And Consequence, James Mccue Jan 2003

Attributions Of Criminal Responsibility Of Children : An Exploratory Study Of The Role Of Wrongdoer Age, Victim Harm And Perceptions Of Intent And Consequence, James Mccue

Theses : Honours

Recent cases, such as that of James Bulger, have provided anecdotal evidence of children's capacities to commit illegal acts. Currently however, the public's attributions of children who engage in antisocial and criminal behaviour, and whether they should be held criminally responsible for their actions, has received little attention in terms of empirical research. The aim of the present study was to examine these attributions and establish whether they concur with the guidelines for criminal responsibility set down by the Western Australian criminal justice system. Two independent variables were manipulated using vignettes and included the age of the wrongdoer (7, 10 …

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Public Scepticism And The Social Conscience : New Implications For Public Relations, Rachel Yeates Jan 2003

Public Scepticism And The Social Conscience : New Implications For Public Relations, Rachel Yeates

Theses : Honours

This research thesis explores the question "how can public relations counteract growing public scepticism, maximising trust and goodwill between an organisation, its target publics and the wider community?" Public scepticism of large corporations is not a new phenomenon, but it is gaining great momentum. Subsequently, it has been suggested that the practice of corporate public relations must focus on fostering an organisational culture that adopts a 'social conscience', that is necessary to counteract consumer distrust. This includes organisations practicing attributes of 'excellence' such as open communication, corporate transparency and honesty. They must also be aware of, and sensitive to, the …

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Gender Differences In Stress And Coping Of Parents With Adolescent Daughters Undergoing Treatment For Anorexia Nervosa, Steven Collishaw Jan 2003

Gender Differences In Stress And Coping Of Parents With Adolescent Daughters Undergoing Treatment For Anorexia Nervosa, Steven Collishaw

Theses : Honours

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex condition characterised by an uncertain etiology, protracted course and an inordinately high prevalence among adolescent females. Treatment of AN requires a multifarious approach, however, among adolescents family therapy is considered a necessary component to ensure positive outcome. Interestingly, while the efficacy of these systemic interventions is reliant on parents' ability to cope with treatment demands and stress, adaptive patterns among parents remain relatively under researched. The aim of this inquiry was to address this paucity of studies focused on mothers and fathers by providing a preliminary investigation of differences in their stress and coping …

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The Ecological Evolution Of Public Relations Theories: An Exploration Of The Ningaloo Controversy, Allison Campbell Jan 2003

The Ecological Evolution Of Public Relations Theories: An Exploration Of The Ningaloo Controversy, Allison Campbell

Theses : Honours

Many contemporary public relations scholars are attempting to redefine the discipline to incorporate more than the current token gesture of community beneficence into professional practice. Communication activities that perpetuate organizational privilege in Wester style democracies are now considered outdated and unethical. Current theoretical research suggests that public relations suffers an image crisis front its association with liberalist ideology and is considered something of an adversary to the purpose of social movements such as environmentalism. An ever-growing endorsement of communitarian values within society signifies that public relations has the opportunity to enhance greater cohesion between diverse interests by contributing to the …

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The Experiences Of International Students At An Australian University: An Exploratory Qualitative Study, Andrea Halse Jan 2003

The Experiences Of International Students At An Australian University: An Exploratory Qualitative Study, Andrea Halse

Theses : Honours

The number of international students studying in Australia has steadily increased over the last ten years providing many benefits both to the country and Australian universities. However, little is known about the transition experiences of these students and there has been little acknowledgment of the issues facing students adjusting to a new environment and learning context. Typical issues that international students encounter include; language difficulties, homesickness, culture shock, lack of background knowledge and skills, housing difficulties, developing new social relationships and adapting to their new environment. Much of the research has been in the form of questionnaires and surveys focusing …

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Online Avatar Based Interactions, Han Wei Koay Jan 2003

Online Avatar Based Interactions, Han Wei Koay

Theses : Honours

The gridWorld project attempts to utilize 3D to develop an online multi-user visual chat system. GridWorld address ideas of how conversations in a virtual environment can be facilitated and enhanced by an abstract visual interface design. The visual interface was developed from research and examination of existing ideas, methodologies and application for development of user-embodiment, chat/virtual space, and interface useability towards the visualization of communication.

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A Historical Geography Of The Bayswater Wetlands, Anna Ciuppa Jan 2003

A Historical Geography Of The Bayswater Wetlands, Anna Ciuppa

Theses : Honours

This study examines the loss of 80-90% of wetlands in the City of Bayswater within the Perth Metropolitan Region. As a geographical study of wetlands it is largely concerned with the value of those wetlands to the local community, as well as to the flora and fauna species diversity of the City of Bayswater. The City of Bayswater is a sub-catchment of the Swan-Avon River system. It is approximately 5 kilometres from the Perth Central Business District. In its pristine state the Bayswater catchment would have been a landscape of swamps and lakes that supported prolific birdlife, frogs, native …

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What Is Treatment? : Understandings And Responses Of Workers To Child Sex Offenders, Casey Eyden Jan 2003

What Is Treatment? : Understandings And Responses Of Workers To Child Sex Offenders, Casey Eyden

Theses : Honours

With the field of sex offender treatment is in its infancy, there is a tack of clarity concerning nearly all aspects of offending behaviour, from theoretical frameworks that explain why the offending occurs, to the effectiveness of different treatment techniques. This study sought to gain insight into workers' understandings of the phenomenon of child sexual offending, and how these understandings informed their responses to child sex offender treatment. Locating the 'sense making' of workers within the context of a four dimensional systematic integration model; personal, professional, organisational and social influences and impacts were also explored. Currently practicing with child sex …

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Crane Operator Training Delivery : Is The Current System The Way To Go?, Ian Douglas Jan 2003

Crane Operator Training Delivery : Is The Current System The Way To Go?, Ian Douglas

Theses : Honours

There are over 20,000 people certificated to operate cranes in West Australia and there are currently approximately 2000 construction cranes operating in the state of West Australia. The safe operation of these machines in the workplace is critical to safety on the job. As is often the case when machinery is involved in an accident or event, when something goes wrong there is the possibility of people being injured or for damage to occur to the machine and the surrounding infrastructure. The number of events that have been reported in the media during recent months highlights this fact. To help …

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The Direction Of Memory For Music For Popular And Novel Songs, Susan Rose Sibma Jan 2003

The Direction Of Memory For Music For Popular And Novel Songs, Susan Rose Sibma

Theses : Honours

Previous research on memory for music has typically measured participants' reaction times (RTs) and accuracy in tests of recall and recognition of songs presented to them. The current study was interested in what occurs during the time that elapses between stimulus onset and the generation of a response. It has been suggested that people sing or hum to themselves as they search for an answer (Rubin, 1977), but a question that has been overlooked to date is in what direction this occurs. As music unfolds in time, it was proposed that in memory for music, 'forward is best'. In the …

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An Exploration Of Psychological Sense Of Community In Western Australian School Children Aged 7-8 Years, Debra K. Roberts Jan 2003

An Exploration Of Psychological Sense Of Community In Western Australian School Children Aged 7-8 Years, Debra K. Roberts

Theses : Honours

The current exploratory study examined Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC) in 16 Western Australian school children, between the ages of seven and eight from two schools in the Perth metropolitan region. The aim was to identify whether young children understand the concept of PSOC, within their school environment. A qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews was employed. Questions were generated based on the Neighbourhood Youth Inventory (NYI) and the Sense of Community Index (SCI), as a measure of children's PSOC in their school environment. A thematic content analysis was performed using a question ordered matrix, to compile common themes and meanings …

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Hepatitis C, Quality Of Life And Cognitive Function : An Exploratory Study, John Caithness Jan 2003

Hepatitis C, Quality Of Life And Cognitive Function : An Exploratory Study, John Caithness

Theses : Honours

Active chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a viral infection that affects approximately 150,000 Austra1ians. It has various quality of life impacts and the literature suggests some cognitive ramifications. In this Western Australian exploratory study, 13 healthy students from Edith Cowan University made up a control group. One experimental group consisted of 11 people with CHC and mild liver damage, and a second experimental group consisted of 8 people with CHC and at least moderate liver damage. The participants were assessed with a health-related quality of life questionnaire, the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36); a test of cognitive functioning, the …

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The Experiences Of Mothers Studying At University Who Have Pre-School Aged Children, Alison Welsh Jan 2003

The Experiences Of Mothers Studying At University Who Have Pre-School Aged Children, Alison Welsh

Theses : Honours

This study of three women's experiences ·with studying at university whilst bearing the responsibilities of family and work, investigated the unique situations and problems that these mothers encountered. A qualitative research approach was utilised, using a narrative inquiry method to give voice to the student mothers, which has proved to be lacking in academic research. In addition to an auto-ethnographic case study, two case studies were formulated by conducting conversational interviews with two other student mothers. Common themes were identified and discussed, with reference to the literature. The findings of this study suggested that the experiences of mothers studying at …

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The Lived Experience Of Men With A Postnatally Depressed Partner, Colela M. Browning Jan 2003

The Lived Experience Of Men With A Postnatally Depressed Partner, Colela M. Browning

Theses : Honours

The aim of this study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of men living with a partner who has postnatal depression (PND). Family systems theory was used to provide a framework within which to evaluate men's relationships with immediate and extended family members. A semi-structured interview was used to understand the experiences and perceptions of seven men with partners who had PND. Schweitzer's (1997) phenomenological approach was used to explicate meaning and extract themes from the interview transcripts. Six major themes were identified from the data. These included changes in the division of labour, issues of self, altered family …

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Is The 'Hierarchy Of Effects' View Of Advertising Evident Amongst Perth Advertising Agencies?, Carolyn Boulden Jan 2003

Is The 'Hierarchy Of Effects' View Of Advertising Evident Amongst Perth Advertising Agencies?, Carolyn Boulden

Theses : Honours

Hierarchy of effects models have underpinned the advertising industry for over 100 years. These models are based on an underlying pattern of cognition => affect=> behaviour, in other words: think=> feel=> do, and suggest that consumers process advertising in a linear fashion, in stages. Recently, however, hierarchy of effects models have begun to be questioned by some authors who claim that there is no actual evidence that advertising is processed by consumers according to a hierarchy of effects. If this is the case, the advertising industry will need to seriously rethink the basis upon which many, if not all, campaigns …

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