Digital Commons Network^™

Elephants And Suffering In Dusty Corners, Susanna Ferrar

Sound Scripts

The following non-refereed paper has been compiled by the editors from the audio transcript and notes provided by Susanna Ferrar for her talk delivered to the Inaugural Totally Huge New Music Festival Conference (Perth: 9 Oct. 2005). The original program note to her presentation reads: "I keep talking about this project I'm doing, visiting places where the ashes of my grandparents' children ended up, who were all born and raised in Western Australia. As I proceed, adventures seem to be befalling me. Sometimes it seems more important to hang out the washing or change the cat litter. The level of …

On-Line Training For Smes: Final Report, Beth Walker, Beverley Webster, Sue Stoney

Research outputs pre 2011

This research aimed to explore the appropriateness of on-line training delivery methods for small business owner/managers.

It is widely recognised that training and education are effective ways to reduce small business failure. In Australia, small business accounts for 96 percent of Australian private sector, non-agricultural businesses and they employ 47 percent of the private sector, non-agricultural workforce. Not surprisingly then, encouraging the development of the skills of the workforce has emerged as a major priority for government policy. However, what is also recognised is that many small business owner/managers (SBOs) have limited e-competencies.

Results of this research confirmed this and …

Using A Blended Learning Approach To Support Problem-Based Learning With First Year Students In Large Undergraduate Classes, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper describes an exploration of the use of a technology-enabled problem-based learning approach undertaken with a group of first year students. The exploration sought to determine students' responses to the learning setting and to investigate its ability to successfully cater for the diverse needs and expectations of the subjects.

The Law And Racism: Some Reflections On The Australian Experience, Laksiri Jayasuriya

Research outputs pre 2011

Racism in Australian society is not something new and surprising. For a variety of historical and socio-political reasons it has existed from the earliest days ·of colonisation, and there have been a variety of strategies tried over the years to deal with racism as a social problem. One strategy most frequently resorted to, especially in recent years, has been to use the law as a means of combating racism. Before considering the questions of law and racism, we need first to clarify what we mean by the term racism...

Effects Of Partial Immobilization After Eccentric Exercise On Recovery From Muscle Damage, Zainal Zainuddin, Peter Hope, Michael Newton, Paul Sacco, Kazunori Nosaka

Research outputs pre 2011

Context: Short-term strict immobilization of the arm using a cast enhances recovery of muscle function after eccentric exercise. Objective: To determine if placing one arm in a sling (‘‘light’’ immobilization) for 4 days after eccentric exercise of the elbow flexor muscles would reduce muscle soreness and enhance recovery compared with the exercised but not immobilized contralateral arm. Design: Subjects performed 10 sets of 6 maximal isokinetic (90·s 1) eccentric actions of the elbow flexors of each arm ona Cybex dynamometer, separated by 2 weeks. Setting: University laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Ten healthy subjects (5 menand 5 women) with no …

An Investigation Into The Paradox Of Organisational Flexibility Versus Security: A Research Project, Rosanna Fanciulli

Research outputs pre 2011

The trend towards utilising geographically and temporally dispersed personnel has grown quickly over the past decade; enabled by swift advances in computing, telecommunications, and networking technologies. The impact of these developments on corporate strategies and forms has manifested itself in a move to de-legitimise the rigid structure of a traditional bureaucracy and move towards one that is more flexible. These new technologies and organisational structures, however, also bring with them Information Security threats and risks. It is critical that managers become informed and equipped to deal with these issues. This paper presents an ongoing study designed to determine the major …

Online Learning As Information Delivery: Digital Myopia, Jan Herrington, Thomas Reeves, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

In business and commerce, the concept of marketing myopia has been a useful tool to predict, analyze and explain the rise and fall of businesses. In this paper, we question whether the concept can also be used to predict the ultimate downfall of online learning in higher education, if universities continue to confuse their key mission— education—with the much more product-oriented aim of information delivery. The proliferation of information-based online courses is examined within the context of the limitations imposed by widely used course management systems, institutional impediments and other factors that encourage teachers to adopt information delivery in preference …

An Ant Colony Optimization Approach To Test Sequence Generation For State-Based Software Testing, Huaizhong Li, Chiou Peng Lam

Research outputs pre 2011

Properly generated test suites may not only locate the defects in software systems, but also help in reducing the high cost associated with software testing, ft is often desired that test sequences in a test suite can be automatically generated to achieve required test coverage. However, automatic test sequence generation remains a major problem in software testing. This paper proposes an ant colony optimization approach to automatic test sequence generation for state-based software testing. The proposed approach can directly use UML artifacts to automatically generate test sequences to achieve required test coverage.

Eccentric Torque-Velocity Relationship Of The Elbow Flexors, Dale Chapman, Michael Newton, Kazunori Nosaka

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Learning Designs And Learning Objects: Where Pedagogy Meets Technology, Ron Oliver, Ralph Wirski, Lisa Wait, Vivienne Blanksby

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper discusses an Australian project where online learning materials with problem-based learning designs are being developed in a form which facilitates their inclusion in digital repositories and learning management systems. To that end the products are being developed as properly formed SCORM compliant IMS content packages. This paper discusses issues associated with the design of online resources characterised by quality learning designs and their subsequent redevelopment as IMS content packages.

Vlsi Implementation Of A Skin Detector Based On A Neural Network, Farid Boussaid, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum, Douglas Chai

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper describes the VLSI implementation of a skin detector based on a neural network. The proposed skin detector uses a multilayer perception with three inputs, one hidden layer, one output neuron and a saturating linear activation function to simplify the hardware implementation. The skin detector achieves a classification accuracy of 88.76%. To reduce mismatch associated errors, a single skin detection processing unit is used to classify all pixels of the input RGB image. The current-mode fully analog skin detection processing circuitry only performs computations during the read-out phase, enabling real-time processing. Fully programmable, the proposed skin detection processing circuitry …

Nitrate Reductase Activity In Macroalgae And Its Vertical Distribution In Macroalgal Epiphytes Of Seagrasses, Erica Young, Paul Lavery, Beverley Van Elven, Mat Dring, John A Berges

Research outputs pre 2011

Macroalgal epiphytes within seagrass meadows make a significant contribution to total primary production by assimilating water column N and transferring organic N to sediments. Assimilation of NO3 – requires nitrate reductase (NR, EC 1.6.6.1); NR activity represents the capacity for NO3 – assimilation. An optimised in vitro assay for determining NR activity in algal extracts was applied to a wide range of macroalgae and detected NR activity in all 22 species tested with activity 2 to 290 nmolNO3 – min–1 g–1 frozen thallus. With liquid-N2 freezing immediately after sample collection, this method was practical for estimating NR activity in field …

Ten More Years Of Educational Technologies In Education: How Far Have We Travelled?, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper describes the advancements that have occurred in the use of educational technologies over the past ten years (1995-2005) and argues that progress has been slow and reminiscent of the slow progress observed in the previous decade (1985-1995). The paper argues that one of the principal reasons for the less than spectacular results stems from the top-down approaches that always seem to drive technology use in education and schools. It argues the need for applications and activities to be driven by bottom-up forces, by the teachers and students themselves and presents the argument that more applied and grounded research …

Benchmarking E-Business Security: A Model And Framework, Graeme Pye, Matthew J. Warren

Research outputs pre 2011

The dynamic nature of threats and vulnerabilities within the E-business environment can impede online functionality, compromise organisational or customer information, contravene security implementations and thereby undermine online customer confidence. To negate these problems, E-business security has to become proactive, by reviewing and continuously improving security to strengthen E-business security measures and policies. This can be achieved through benchmarking the security measures and policies utilised within the E-business, against recognised information technology (IT) and information security (IS) security standards.

Diversity In Information And Communication Technologies: The Cost Of Lost Opportunities, Susan Gail Webb

Research outputs pre 2011

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry develops products that are used by many people regardless of gender, age, social status, ethnicity, or religion. Technology has had a significant impact on the way that information is produced, stored and communicated, especially in the fields that have traditionally been heavy producers of information such as libraries and education institutions. Though all types of people use technology, not all types of people are involved in the design and development of technology. Women represent just twenty percent of Australian ICT professionals. They often receive less pay than their male colleagues and are greatly …

The Underestimation Of Threats To Patients Data In Clinical Practice, Patricia Williams

Research outputs pre 2011

Issues in the security of medical data present a greater challenge than in other data security environments. The complexity of the threats and ethics involved, coupled with the poor management of these threats makes the protection of data in clinical practice problematic. This paper discusses the security threats to medical data in terms of confidentiality, privacy, integrity, misuse and availability, and reviews the issue of responsibility with reference to clinical governance. Finally. the paper uncovers some of the underlying reasons for the underestimation of the threats to medical data by the medical profession.

Common Versus Uncommon Causes Of Dementia, Nicola Lautenschlager, Ralph Martins

Research outputs pre 2011

When patients present with a dementia syndrome at a young age, the experienced clinician will automatically include uncommon dementias in the diagnostic considerations, as familial uncommon dementias due to genetic mutations frequently present as early-onset dementias. This paper highlights why uncommon dementias due to genetic mutations, although marginal in terms of prevalence numbers in the total population, are of significance in the quest to unravel the underlying cause of common dementias such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), frontotemporal dementias (FTD) and vascular dementia (VaD).

Outcome Evaluation Of The School Drug Education Project: Final Report Presented To The School Drug Education And Road Aware Project, Therese Shaw, Margaret Hall, Donna Cross, Hamilton Greg

Research outputs pre 2011

In 2002, Curtin University's Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research provided a report which explored the feasibility of a range of options to evaluate the impact of the School Drug Education Project (SDEP) on students' drug use, perceptions of drug-related harm and attitudes towards drug use. Given the difficulties of achieving a prospective design, this proposal recommended comparing retrospective measures of SDEP participation, level of SDEP training and dose of SDEP implementation with Years 8-12 student drug-related outcome data collected from four large Western Australian studies conducted somewhat concurrently with the School Drug Education Project.

It was hypothesised that …

Exploring System Factors That Influence Community Development In Online Settings, Christopher Brook, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper presents an exploration of the community experience in online settings where the development of a learning community was a key instructional aim. The inquiry used the Learning Community Development Model (Brook & Oliver, 2003) to guide the exploration of the community experience in online settings. The paper reports the findings of a multi-case study that sought to investigate system factors that influence the development of online communities of learning.

The Relevance Of Information Systems (Is) Research Publications To Is Practitioners' Key Concerns, J. S. Fall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The primary aim of the research was to determine if, and if so how, the topics published in information systems (IS) journal articles were related to the key issues reported to be of concern to IS managers. The secondary aim was to determine what proportions of the journal articles were investigating closely-related and distantly-related information, , " - technology (IT) phenomena. The research covered 1376 -articles published in nine highly rated journals for the seven-year period 1995-2001. The journals chosen for the research included five US-academic journals, two European academic journals, and two practitioner journals. -'The' primary data source for …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Visual Culture On Visual Arts Practice And Visual Arts Education, Robyn Roper

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research project is based on the premise that school students have a right to an education that assists them to "develop a sense of personal meaning and identity, and be encouraged to reflect critically on the ways in which that occurs." (Curriculum Frameworks, 1998, Values, Statement 2.2 Personal meaning: 325). Not only should education offer students a sense of well being, it should make a difference to their lives and foster an appetite for life long learning. A key ingredient that makes for a rich, fulfilling and rewarding life, is an understanding of visual culture, that according to Freedman …

The Search For An Effective International Regime For The Long-Term Safety And Security Of High Level Radioactive Waste: Pangea And Beyond, Vincent Cusack

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is a study of public policy issues relating to multinational geological repositories for high-level radioactive waste disposal (HLW). Nuclear states have attempted for decades to implement effective radioactive waste policies, though with limited success. The safe disposal of HLW has proven particularly troublesome and, thus far, a solution has eluded all states. A review of radioactive waste policy in the UK, the US and Switzerland reveals some of the underlying themes behind community opposition to repository siting and the reasons for a broader global search. The failure to achieve HLW repositories at a national level has led to …

Seven Decades Of Sports Writing At The West Australian (1901-1971), David R. Marsh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

For a country whose identity is much bound up with sport, little research has been done so far into Sports journalism in Australia. This study traces the changes that have occurred in the reporting of sport in the West Alustralian between 1901 and 1971. This time span has been chosen to cover the period from Federation to the point when sport acquired its own section at the back of the newspaper and sports editor Ted CoIlingwood retired after 32 years in the job. In this seventy year period, January and July of every seventh year are taken as a sample …

Character Cars : How Computer Technology Enhances Learning In Terms Of Arts Ideas And Arts Skills And Proceses In A Year 7 Male Visual Arts Education Program, Gemma E. Scarparolo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

'The possibilities that the technology can offer are seemingly endless and remain to be fully explored in [visual] art education." (Callow. 2001. p,43) The aim of this research is to investigate whether the integration of Visual Arts Technology Tools (TECH-TOOLS) into Traditional Visual Arts Programs (TRAD-['ROG) enhance the students' learning in terms of Arts Ideas (AI) and Arts Skills and Processes (ASP) and whether it is a cost effective option for Western Australian primary schools. To determine whether it is worth the inclusion of TECH-TOOLS in terms of enhancing learning. this research will statistically state whether the combination of TECH-TOOLS …

An Exploratory Case Study Using An Expert Learning Process Designed To Promote Number Sense In A Year 6 Classroom, Paula Mildenhall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

not available

Towards A Pro-Active Model Of Professional Development For Tertiary Level Teachers In The United Arab Emirates, Lynn J. Nicks-Mccaleb

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This body of work identifies the professional development needs of teachers at Abu Dhabi Men's College in the UAE as their role in the classroom and pedagogical trends change in response to the needs of the 21st century global workforce. The aim of the research was to identify what pedagogical changes had impacted the teaching and learning environment at the college and subsequently to identify strategies and professional development models to prepare the teachers for dynamic developments in their teaching and learning environment. A pragmatic, interpretive approach was taken in the study, drawing on qualitative data to explore ways to …

Six Archbishops And Their Ordinands: A Study Of The Leadership Provided By Successive Archbishops Of Perth In The Recruitment And Formation Of Clergy In Western Australia 1914-2005, Brian Kyme

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis seeks to tell the story of the evolution of ordained ministry in the Christian Church, with an emphasis on the work of the ministry in the Anglican Church of Western Australia since the arrival of the first settlers in 1829. After a brief look at the early days, the focus is on the efforts to recruit ordination candidates in Western Australia during the terms of each of the six Archbishops of Perth from 1914 up to the present time. An integral part of the narrative is the histories of the Perth Clergy Training College, later renamed St John's …

"My Dearest Mum": A Biographical Journey Based On My Mother's Letters From Australia To England 1968-1985, Helen Ritter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

not available

The Role Of Communicative Creativity In Starting Regional Trade Relationships With China: An Action Research Practitioner Case Study, David W. Maguire

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Action Research project studies the role of information management and knowledge generation in establishing overseas political and trade activity to assist regional development in Australia. It is the work of a researcher whose background in information management ranges across more than 30 years working in the newspaper and regional economic development industries. It applies a hybrid term called “communicative creativity” – distilled from Wieman’s (1963) Doctrine of Creative Interchange and Habermas’s (1984) Theory of Communicative Action – to the researcher’s professional practice of facilitating the development of two entities – the economic development organization and its method of facilitating …

The Impact Of Digital Persona On The Future Of Learning: A Case Study On Digital Repositories And The Sharing Of Information About Children At Risk In Western Australia, Mark Balnaves, Joseph Luca

Research outputs pre 2011

Modern databases and digital depositories have the capacity to store vast amounts of information on individuals. In the case of normal everyday affairs, of course, there may be many databases and many organizations involved in collecting information on individuals. There are two types of digital persona possible in these environments —active persona and passive persona (Clarke, 2001). In this paper the authors will report on initial results from an exploratory study on attitudes towards information sharing in Western Australian education and explore the role of active and passive digital persona in information sharing. Many organizations collect information on students, ranging …