Digital Commons Network^™

Other Englands: Regionalism In Shakespeare's First Historical Tetralogy, Graham Cattle

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This dissertation examines the representation of England in the plays of the first tetralogy. Arguing that a large number of studies of Shakespearian drama have tended to gloss over the inherent differences within the English nation. I suggest that regionalism and regional identity play a pivotal role in Shakespeare's dramatisation of English history from the accession of Henry VI to the death of Richard Ill. In this thesis I propose that the first tetralogy is not only a representation of the past, but an expression of the political, cultural and geographical divisions within England during the period of the plays …

To Immunize Or Not To Immunize, That Is The Question! An Investigation Into The Reasons Behind Parents' Decisions In Immunizing Their Children Against Whooping Cough In Western Australia, Eliena Kirov

Theses : Honours

Demographic data on the immunization status of Australia indicates that Western Australia has relatively low immunization coverage for whooping cough. Australian quantitative studies have been carried out on parental attitudes in Australia towards immunization, but there has been no analysis of parents' reasons for their decisions. This study identified the key issues that influenced the decisions made by the target group of parents and explored their decision-making in more depth. The data from this study could also be used to supplement the information currently available to health workers. Eight participants with children between the ages of 2 months and 6 …

Bourdieu's Concept Of Social Capital : An Examination Of His Broader Theoretical Framework And The Concept's Applications And Implications For Australian Social Policy, Dawn Marie Atkin

Theses : Honours

The concept of social capital is investigated in this thesis both in its theoretical and potential social policy environment Pierre Bourdicu 's 'Theory of Practice' provides the theoretical frame within which this concept is investigated. A variety of texts, with a particular focus on Australian publications, provide the basis for further application analysis. This is primarily a textual research therefore data gathering procedures were library based. Being a theoretical analysis of the current status of social capital, as it relates to prospective social policy reform in Australia, this thesis both collates and contributes to a body of knowledge regarding the …

Academic Security Education : The Development Of An Industry Based Security Management Curriculum, Layne M. Hesse

Theses : Honours

This study examined the education profiles and skills and knowledge required for security managers conducted through an educational needs analysis of the security field. Little information is currently available about security education in Australia and there is no centralised source of information about such education. There is also comparatively little information exchanged across institutions, government and industry. A survey using the interview method obtained and analysed the opinions and perceptions of security skills and knowledge from the sample population. The aim of this study was to contribute to the security field by exploring and analysing the skills and knowledge required …

The Perception Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Values : Is Value Incongruence Related To Social Distance?, Lauren Jennifer Breen

Theses : Honours

This review examines prejudicial actions directed towards outgroups as a function of personal values and the perception of the values held by other groups. Prejudice is a result of social and cognitive categorisation. Although it is well learned, prejudice is not inevitable, if individuals attend to and control their prejudicial thoughts. Pleasurable interaction, cooperation, equal status, and making humanitarian values conspicuous serve to reduce intergroup conflict. It was proposed that values motivate approach and avoidance behaviours directed at outgroups, and both belief congruence theory and expectance-value theory arc relevant in explaining such behaviour.

Therapeutic Factors In Small Groups : A Review Of The Literature Since 1985, Nicki Mckenna

Theses : Honours

This article reviews 23 studies post 1985 that measure therapeutic factors. In particular, the current review investigates whether research post 1985 has addressed the specific areas identified by Bloch and Crouch, ( 1985) and Butler and Fuhriman (1983) as needing further investigation. Areas of study under investigation are (i) behavioral evidence for therapeutic factors. (ii) the relationship between therapeutic factors and treatment outcome, (iii) the relationship between therapeutic factors and individual differences, (iv) the association between therapeutic factors conditions of change and techniques. Studies reviewed were categorized into Inpatient and Outpatient settings. Only one study used observational methods, with the …

The Generalisability Of The Stages And Processes Of Change ; The Concurrent Validity Of The Stages And Processes Of Change, Suzanne E. Marko

Theses : Honours

The transtheorctical model of behaviour change is comprised of the stages of change and the processes of change. The stages explain when change occurs, and the processes outline how change occurs. This model has been influential in clinical practice in the areas of tobacco smoking, alcohol use, eating disorders, and exercise behaviour. This review focuses on the previous literature concerned with the transtheorctical model. Although the model is popular and used to tailor interventions, it has not yet been cross-culturally vaildated, or tested comprehensively in the field of illegal drug use. Further research is necessary to examine whether or not …

The Defendant And The Criminal Trial : Does Providing Knowledge About The Criminal Justice System Help?, Daniel B. Hurley

Theses : Honours

Defendants are required to make many decisions during their encounter with the criminal justice system (i.e., plea, venue, representation, bail and, possibly, appeal). The assumption exists that defendants possess sufficient organizational and pragmatic knowledge of the system to make these decisions. However, research suggests that many defendants lack sufficient knowledge of the criminal justice system to make these decisions, and that this lack of knowledge may lead to feelings of anxiety. As a consequence of these findings, many defendants may be unable to effectively participate in the criminal justice system. By way of remedying this situation, it has been argued …

Astride Two Worlds: The Chinese Response To Changing Citizenship In Western Australia (1901-1973), Tian M. Cai

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Citizenship is central to understanding the nature of Chinese migrants and their relationships within the social and political environment in Australia. Utilising the concept of citizenship can be a new way to interpret the human experience of the Chinese survival in Australia and to show that a historical balance can be found between the Australian social environment on the one side and the Chinese experience in Australia on the other. How the Chinese community reacted to the changing issues in citizenship and attitudes towards Asian immigration become the focus of the thesis. This research is designed to ask how Chinese …

Fourth World Consumer Culture: Emerging Consumer Cultures In Remote Aboriginal Communities Of North-Western Australia, Ronald George Groves

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Over the two centuries since the arrival of European settlers in Australia, the material culture and lifestyle of the indigenous Aboriginal people of Australia has undergone dramatic change. Based on qualitative fieldwork in three remote Aboriginal communities in north-western Australia, this study examines the emergence of unique consumer cultures that appear to differ significantly from mainstream Australia and indeed from other societies. The study finds that the impact of non-indigenous goods and external cultural values upon these communities has been significant. However, although anthropologists feared some fifty years ago that Aboriginal cultural values and traditions had been destroyed, this study …

Emotion Altering Effects Of Research Participation, Matthew Dunsire

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Previous studies have suggested that participating in psychological research may temporarily amplify participants’ experience of positive or negative emotions (Daugherty & Lawrence. 1996). In the present research, 114 male and female university students completed either self-focused or non-self-focused questionnaires to investigate characteristics that may predispose some participants to positive or negative reactions following participation in research. Four hypotheses were examined: (a) A self-focused task compared to a non-self-focused task would significantly increase average levels of emotional arousal; (b) the amplification of emotional reactions would be greater in females than males (c) participants experiencing negative life events and who are less …

The Art Of Healing : A Journey Through Cancer : Implications For Art Therapy, Carmen Zammit

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is designed to investigate how art assisted in the healing process of a person suffering from a life threatening illness. The research method used is a clinical case study. This study is a form of evaluative research, a systematic data-based inquiry concerning the participant's engagement with art in her healing process, a process which unfolds as being both life affirming and spiritually enriching. This case study takes a qualitative approach, with its emphasis on the participant's own account of her behaviour. The participant is a fifty-three year old woman, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, who was diagnosed with multiple …

Student And Teacher Perceptions Of A Season Of Sport Education In A Regional Primary School, J. G. Strikwerda-Brown

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

An interpretive case study approach was employed to examine student and teacher perceptions of the implementation of a sport education in physical education program (SEPEP) in a Western Australian regional primary school. Choi’s (1992) curriculum dimensions were used as a framework. Three year seven teachers implemented SEPEP using a team teaching approach. The focus teacher, Ms Jenson, a highly regarded classroom teacher, described herself as non-sporty and lacking confidence and expertise in PE teaching. Students in her SEPEP volleyball class were considered less popular and less athletic when compared with those in the other two SEPEP classes. A focus volleyball …

Colour Perception: A Phenomenological Study Into People's Spontaneous Physical, Psychological, Emotional And Spiritual Reactions, Through Experiential Use, To Colour, Nicolette Smith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The predominance of colour as a therapy is becoming more apparent in our culture at present. It is a well-known fact, which has been thoroughly documented, that colour affects our senses in many ways and on many levels. Colour is considered to possess a healing element. A phenomenological study will be conducted to investigate people's spontaneous physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual reactions to colour. This will be explored through the experiential use of colour by the participants. The use of a pre-test questionnaire, post-test questionnaires, observation and de-briefing will be the main research instruments. A pilot study will be used …

Notions Of Justice Through Drama, Elvira Sammut

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This paper explores and describes the lived-experience of a group of 16-year-old girls in a drama class designed to heighten awareness of values of social justice. The students involved are experienced drama students, with a good knowledge of the theory of role-play and play-making, as well as, sound dramatic skills and techniques. The lived-experience provided the source for the research study that used film as a medium to inculcate notions of justice and equity in the classroom through self-devised drama. Phenomenological research was conducted with a group of seventeen Year II drama students. The students took part in a series …

Digital Imaging: Creating New Realities, Mark Datodi

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

More and more it is becoming increasingly difficult to discern photo reality from digital reality. Digital imagery is revolutionising photography and challenging preconceived notions of this art form. Over the years, photography has been viewed metaphorically as a window on the world and on the past. No longer however, is the creation of photographic imagery reliant upon its intrinsic relationship with reality. Using computer technology original photographic material can be altered, manipulated and seamlessly combined with other fictional imagery without obvious detection and with relative ease. The proliferation of digital imaging is producing two apparent crises for photography. The first …

Conversational Code-Switching Among Japanese-English Bilinguals Who Have Japanese Background, Yoshiko Morishima

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of this study is to investigate the code-switching of native speakers of Japanese in an English-speaking context. The languages involved in code-switching therefore are English and Japanese. This is an instance of communication in the participants' first language, in a setting where the speakers' second language is dominant. The research focused on a sample of twelve Japanese people. These participants were born in Japan, and their parents' native language is Japanese. Even though the length of time each has spent in residence in an English-speaking country varies, the minimum is two years. Further, all have previously studied English, …

An Evaluation Of Digital Chisel 3.0 As A Multimedia Authoring Tool In A Year Seven Classroom, Robert Richardson

Theses : Honours

Most commercial interactive multimedia authoring packages are designed to be used by teachers and trainers to build commercial training or classroom teaching applications (Handler, Dana, Peters & Moor, 1995; Magel, 1997). The evolution of interactive multimedia technologies however, has made it possible for students to become actively involved in creating their own interactive multimedia projects, and in so doing, gain considerable learning benefit (Lehrer 1993). Facilitating this in the classroom and particularly at the Year Seven level, requires the use of a cost-effective, purpose-built authoring tool. Digital Chisel 3.0 (DC3), was developed by Pierian Spring Software (1997), as just such …

The Changing Form And Function Of Claisebrook - East Perth, Graeme R. O'Neill

Theses : Honours

This study will focus on the changing social function and form of Claisebrook, East Perth, and will show how the area has geographically changed over time. This research will also examine the significance of the area to the Aboriginal people and focus on the settlement and land use patterns from the 1830's to the 1990's. It will then elucidate the characteristics attributable to a sense of place, and link these to the physical and urban environment throughout different periods of time. Finally, this study will concentrate on the current redevelopment, investigating the current form and function of the area. It …

Head Stabilisation During Running In Place Of Children With Varying Motor Proficiency Levels, Craig Atkins

Theses : Honours

Understanding head motion in children may contribute to development of effective strategies to improve coordination of children. The purpose of this study was to investigate head motion in children during stationary running. Twelve healthy 8-year-old children participated in this study and underwent a running proficiency test based on the Test for Gross Motor Proficiency (TGMO). Subjects were then videotaped while running for one minute "on the spot". Reflective markers were digitised for analysis of head motion relative to the external environment, and relative to the trunk. Resultant and component head angular velocities were calculated for each subject over five consecutive …

Culture As Commodity: The Home As Spectacle In Popular Culture, Jillian E. Benn

Theses : Honours

This study proposes to examine representations of the home in the media. The media play a significant role in the culture of Australians, who are obsessed with the suburban home and its cultural and social meanings. The place of the home within popular thought and culture and the subsequent ideologies and meanings associated with the home are questioned in this dissertation. The major theme to emerge is that the contemporary suburban home is a spectacle. This project interprets, evaluates and contributes to current theories and debates surrounding the concept of suburbia. It is an original contribution to the perception of …

Head Motion In Overarm Throwing For Children With Varying Levels Of Motor Proficiency, Kevin J. Netto

Theses : Honours

The overarm throw has been classified as a fundamental motor skill that is the basis for a number of more complex sporting skills. There are a number of developmental stages over which a child progresses to the mature form of the skill. Control of the overarm throw, especially towards a target is very dependent on visual and vestibular information for successful execution. The quality of the information is, in tum, dependant on the head movement of the performer during the execution of the skill. It has been reported that head angular velocities above 350 degrees/second result in a degradation of …

Moral Dilemmas And Cases Of Conscience : Trollope's Morality In The Warden And The Last Chronicle Of Barset, Hannah Louise Rogers

Theses : Honours

This thesis offers an exploration of Trollope's morality in The Warden and The Last Chronicle of Barset. Existing critical work which explores Trollope's morality often argues either for or against Trollope's moral relativism. This thesis argues, instead, that Trollope's morality unifies aspects of both theoretical perspectives. It reconciles the polarisation of Trollope's moral absolutism and moral relativism, taking the middle-ground. In doing so, it makes evident the contradictions and extremes in existing Trollopian criticism.

The thesis places Trollopian morality within the historical and socio-cultural context of Victorianism. It focuses on the Victorian consciousness of change, securing a definition …

Age Discrimination In Hiring Practices Against Older Adults In Western Australia : The Case Of Accounting Assistants, Eyal Gringart

Theses : Honours

The percentage of older adults in the Australian population is predicted to increase from about 18 at the end of this century to about 33 per cent by the year 2050. One anticipated consequence of this significant ageing of the population is that increasing numbers of older adults may be required in the workforce. Still, age discrimination in hiring places older adults at a disadvantage. Local measures of actual discrimination are needed in order to formulate appropriate policies and interventions to combat such negative attitudes. Evidence suggest that, contrary to employers perceptions, older adults are willing and able to work …

Repetition Priming And Melody : Implicit Memory For Music, Jacqueline Landre

Theses : Honours

The present study investigated the existence of repetition priming for melody and the extent to which that priming would be affected by the manipulation of frequency. A group of 62 university students and 2 members of the public listened to 20 high frequency and 20 low frequency melodies in the first phase of a repetition priming experiment. Participants were required to name as many melodies as they could as quickly as possible. The same melodies were then re-presented immediately in the second phase of the experiment along with another group of 40 melodies matched in frequency to those in the …

University Teachers' Attitudes Towards Giftedness, Gifted Students And Special Provision For The Gifted, S. M. Cooper

Theses : Honours

What are the attitudes of university teachers towards giftedness, gifted and talented students and special provision for the gifted? The present study explored the attitudes towards gifted and talented students by two cohorts of university teachers. Both cohorts, one from 1996 and the other from 1997, were third year, secondary Bachelor of Arts in Education students, both participating in a university module related to catering for the high ability student in the regular classroom. The 1997 cohort's attitudes were measured before and after the module. Subsequently, some willing participants from the 1997 cohort were followed through to ascertain whether their …

Avenues Of Communication : The Suburban Press And Globalisation, Shane Hewerdine

Theses : Honours

Over the past two decades there has been an increasing amount of attention within academia, regarding the issue of globalisalion, within all disciplines. Cultural studies in particular have speculated upon the effects of globalistion that will potentially affect all of the diverse cultures and societies throughout the world For the most part the concenus amongst cultural critiques is that globalisation will adversely affect localised communities and cultures. The principle argument has been that local cultural and societal tenets, that constitute unique identities and senses of community, will be subsumed by a homogenised global culture largely produced by American cultural and …

K-1 Children's Understandings Of Selected Child Abuse Prevention Concepts, Samantha Wynne

Theses : Honours

Over the past decade, child sexual abuse has gained increasing recognition as a problem of social consequence and significant proportion in Australia. Children have the right to be safe at all times and adults have the responsibility to preserve this basic right for all children. The risk and the growing statistics on the prevalence of abuse has led Australia to follow the United States and develop child sexual abuse prevention programmes. The programme used in WA schools is the WA Health Syllabus, Prevention Education Supplement (1990). Prevention education relies on children recognising when they feel unsafe. The aim of this …

An Adaptive Hierarchical Fuzzy Logic System For Modelling And Prediction Of Financial Systems, Mark Kingham

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this thesis, an intelligent fuzzy logic system using genetic algorithms for the prediction and modelling of interest rates is developed. The proposed system uses a Hierarchical Fuzzy Logic system in which a genetic algorithm is used as a training method for learning the fuzzy rules knowledge bases. A fuzzy logic system is developed to model and predict three month quarterly interest rate fluctuations. The system is further trained to model and predict interest rates for six month and one year periods. The proposed system is developed with first two, three, then four and finally five hierarchical knowledge bases to …

Teacher Receptivity To System Wide Change: The Introduction Of Student Outcome Statements In Secondary Schools In Western Australia, Rose Moroz

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The study has three aims. One is to investigate teachers’ receptivity to the use of Student Outcome Statements in Western Australian government secondary schools. The dependent variable is receptivity towards the use of Student Outcome Statements and is measured in four aspects: Overall Feelings, Attitudes, Behaviour Intentions and Behaviour. Two is to investigate the relationships between receptivity, as the dependent variable and ten independent variables: non-monetary cost benefits, alleviation of fears and concerns, significant other support, feelings compared to the previous system, shared goals (shared teaching goals and cohesiveness), collaboration (team teaching, involvement in decision making and teacher collaboration) and …