Digital Commons Network^™

Developing Mathematical Identities: Australian Children’S Gendered Constructs In The First Formal Year Of School, Rachelle Glynn

Theses

Researchers have been intrigued by the dichotomy of similar achievement levels between boys and girls but disparate mathematical attitudes, which show that girls are much less likely to enjoy or engage with mathematics or choose professions involving mathematics (Kyriacou & Goulding, 2006; Vale, 2008). Although studies have explored differences in boys' and girls' perceptions of their mathematical identity from age seven, there has not been research conducted on students as they begin school to see what gendered perceptions they bring to their mathematical learning. This study seeks to answer the question: How are girls’ and boys’ mathematical identities being informed …

"That All May Justice Share: Sydney Catholics In The Interwar Years 1919-1929, Monica Van Gend

Theses

While the years immediately following Australia’s participation in World War I have received much academic attention, the churches in the post-war era have been largely overlooked. Responding to Michael McKernan’s claim that Australian churches became less relevant to Australian society after the war, this thesis examines the response of the Catholic Church in Sydney to life after the war. Utilising a dual methodology of religious history and social history, this thesis analyses the role of the Church at this time by examining its works and activities, drawing on primary sources in Archdiocesan archives and the archives of specific Catholic lay …

Raising The Curtain: A History Of Patch Theatre Company, 1939 - 1950, Elizabeth Leong

Theses

This thesis investigates the social history of one of Perth’s oldest and longest-running amateur theatres, the Patch Theatre Company, from when it was founded in 1939 by Ida and Edward Beeby until their departure from the company in the late 1940s. The Beebys’ strong partnership and dynamic personalities helped build Patch into a successful company and thriving community. It was a school of music, drama, and dance, and one of the most popular amateur theatres in Western Australia during and after the Second World War. The development, operation and impact of Patch has been largely overlooked in Western Australian histories. …

The Process And Impact Of A Catholic School Amalgamation: A Mixed Method, Single Case Study, Stephen Gough

Theses

This research provides an investigative analysis of the impact of a large-scale change process involving the amalgamation of two long-standing Catholic schools in a capital city of Australia. The study explores how a change process impacted staff, student and parent stakeholders within the initial year of a school amalgamation by examining Catholic school life and culture, student learning and wellbeing, the physical learning environment, and leadership and administration. The objective is to better understand the process and the impact of the change that took place during the amalgamation, in order to further inform the planning and leading of future Catholic …

Tourism Trails And Resurgent Pathways: An Exploration Of The Nexus Between Indigenous-Led Tourism And Resurgence Discourses Alongside Karajarri Traditional Owners Of The Saltwater Kimberley, Australia, And Beyond, Bobbie Chew Bigby

Theses

This research explores the intersections between Indigenous-led tourism and resurgence among Indigenous communities. Resurgence is understood as practices promoting connections with culture, Country (i.e. Indigenous lands and waterways), and community. The research utilises a comparative case study approach to specifically analyse the experience of Karajarri Traditional Owners (TOs) of the saltwater Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. Comparative examples are drawn from Indigenous-led tourism development by other coastal Kimberley Aboriginal tourism leaders, as well as from the author’s own Tribal Nation, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, United States.

The conceptual framework for this work is derived from the following concepts from …

Intraperitoneal Instillation Of Local Anaesthetic (Ipila) In Bariatric Surgery And The Effect On Post-Operative Pain Scores: A Randomised Control Trial, Ramandeep Kaur

Theses

Background
Effective analgesia during bariatric procedures may be vital as it could reduce post-operative opioid use. This can lead to less nausea which may be associated with shorter post- operative length of stay (LOS). Understanding analgesic requirements in patients with obesity is important due to the varied physiology and increased number of comorbidities.

Objectives
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of IntraPeritoneal Instillation of Local Anaesthetic (IPILA) to reduce opioid requirements in patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

Methods
A double-blinded randomised control trial was conducted to compare intraperitoneal instillation of ropivacaine to normal saline in 104 …

Personalised Antimicrobial Dosing In Paediatric Cystic Fibrosis, Sahand Imani

Theses

Children with cystic fibrosis (CF) are predisposed to recurrent pulmonary exacerbations throughout their lifetime. This is characterised by an acute worsening of respiratory symptoms in the setting of bacterial infection and results in significant morbidity and mortality. Appropriate antimicrobial therapy is fundamental to management, in particular aminoglycoside antibiotics. Tobramycin is the preferred aminoglycoside of choice, usually administered intravenously for 7 to 14 days.

Tobramycin dosing can be challenging in patients with CF. This is due to the underlying pharmacokinetic derangements (e.g., volume of distribution, organ function) frequently observed in this population. Accordingly, the use of standard dosing (based on age …

Does Acupuncture/Dry Needling Improve Pain And Itch In Abnormal Hypertrophic Scars, Catherine Tuckey

Theses

This research program investigated the use of acupuncture intervention as an adjunct for hypertrophic scar (HTS) management. Mechanistic evidence from ex vivo and animal studies suggests that acupuncture has the potential to modulate neurogenic inflammation to influence pain and itch associated with HTS. Further, acupuncture may mediate non-neuronal cells involved in the proliferation and remodelling stage of healing to promote scar maturation. Previous studies using acupuncture for scar management demonstrated positive outcomes, however low-quality clinical trials and case studies provide limited evidence for treatment benefit.

A treatment protocol was designed to investigate the effects of locally applied acupuncture compared to …

Community Development Supporting Ecological Conversion, As Identified In Laudato Si’: On Care For Our Common Home, Anne Jennings

Theses

In this extraordinary time of multiple, intersecting crises with compounded costs in social, economic, and environmental degradation, calls for transformative change are emerging from all levels of humanity – global to local. Within that setting, my study concentrated on investigating change at a local level to address the research question ’How can community development theory and practice contribute to ecological conversion, as identified in Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home?’

Since its release, Laudato Si’ has provoked considerable academic/theological and scientific/environmental debate that does not necessarily contain local people’s views and everyday lived experiences, given their often-limited access …

Transgression And Its Practice: The Role Of The Cultural Provocateur From The Twentieth To The Twenty-First Century, Luke Beattie

Theses

This thesis addresses the axiom that cultural provocation has lost its potential as a strategy of subversion due to the capacity of late capitalism – aka neoliberalism – to imbue any venture with profit-generating potential. In light of the tensions between economic exploitation in a digital consumer society and the transformative potential of subversive and transgressive art and performances, this thesis produces a “cognitive map” that reflects the current state of cultural provocation in the absence of an understandable social totality, reflective of the decentering affect and effects that constitutes late capitalism. In generating this cognitive map, the thesis examines …

The Synthesis And Biological Assessment Of Novel Ursolic Acid Derivatives As Potential Chemotherapeutic Agents For Cancer, Julie Rose Mae Mondala

Theses

Glioblastoma (GBM) is considered to be the most biologically aggressive type of brain tumour accounting for approximately 48% of all malignant primary brain tumours. GBM patients diagnosed have poor prognosis with a low five-year survival rate of

The aim of this study was to develop novel UA derivatives to enhance its bioavailability. Nine novel UA derivatives: three different diamine linkers, with Boc-protected and deprotected ends, and with folic acid were designed and synthesized to improve compound activity and/or delivery. The structures of the newly synthesised compounds were confirmed using mass spectrometry, FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The structural activity …

Geospatial Analysis Of Wildland Fire Impact On Surface Air Pollution Utilizing Data Fusion, Ashlyn Lee Shirey

Theses

As vehicular and industrial impacts on air pollution continue to decrease over the continental United States (CONUS), smoke from wildland fires has become the major contributor to particulate matter pollution (PM2.5). With the frequency of wildland fires expected to increase, there is considerable interest in quantifying their impact on PM2.5 pollution. For the first time, this work estimates smoke impact on PM2.5 pollution over CONUS using direct observations of presence of smoke at the surface made by trained observers. These observations are combined with in situ observations of PM2.5 and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) smoke forecast fields to …

Differentiating Oil Palm Plantations From Natural Forest To Improve Land Cover Mapping In Ghana, Jacob C. Abramowitz

Theses

Tree crops like oil palm present a unique challenge in land cover mapping, as they are often misclassified as natural forest. The area cultivated with oil palm in Ghana has rapidly expanded since 2000, and production is expected to continue to increase. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite data was used to map mature, closed-canopy oil palm extent in 2019 around a known oil palm mill in a Ghana study area that includes both industrial plantations and smallholders. The combination of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 inputs outperformed either input alone for mapping industrial oil palm. A separate accuracy assessment for this combined input …

Itraconazole Nanocomposites Prepared Via Rotary Evaporator Drying Of Nanomilled Suspensions, Alexander Santos Coelho

Theses

The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of rotary evaporation for drying wetmilled drug suspensions as a novel approach to produce drug nanocomposites that exhibit fast redispersion and immediate drug release. To this end, the physical stability of the nanomilled itraconazole (drug) suspensions, a.k.a., nanosuspensions, during the milling and storage; the drying of the itraconazole nanosuspensions via the rotary evaporator; and the type/loading of various polymers/surfactants (dispersants) on aqueous redispersion and drug release from the nanocomposites were examined. Our results suggest that smaller drug particle size, owing to nanomilling, and smaller nanocomposite particle size, owing to optimized …

Flexible Microfluidic Device With Nonplanar Interdigitated Microelectrodes, Saud Alssaidy

Theses

The lab-on-a-chip concept has improved significantly in recent years to meet global demand for various applications with the advent of new technologies. Much progress has been achieved, but many microfluidic devices still suffer from design limitations in terms of sensitivity and selectivity because they use rigid, fragile substrate materials and conventional electrodes, which do not provide high sensitivity or selectivity and suffer from signal-to-noise ratio issues. This work proposes a novel device architecture that uses flexible, transparent top and bottom layers integrated with (nonplanar interdigitated microelectrodes) to create a sandwich-like flexible substrate base. The top and bottom layers consist of …

Sentiment Analysis Of News Tweets, Haya Fathim

Theses

Sentiment Analysis is a process of extracting information from a large amount of data and classifying them into different classes called sentiments. Python is a simple yet powerful, high-level, interpreted, and dynamic programming language, which is well known for its functionality of processing natural language data by using NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit). NLTK is a library of python, which provides a base for building programs and classification of data. NLTK also provides a graphical demonstration for representing various results or trends and it also provides sample data to train and test various classifiers respectively. Sentiment classification aims to automatically predict …

Understanding Engendered Trust: Facilitating School-Nurse Trustworthiness Behaviors, Anne H. J. Summach

Theses

School nurses are involved in a complex framework of interactions with students, other professionals, parents and administrators. Trust between nurse and student is critical for interaction effectiveness. Little extant research examines trust in this setting, or interactions between students and nurses. The goal of this study was to understand through phenomenology the process of engendering trust in school nurse—high school student interactions. The qualitative approach explored school nurse perceptions of experiences interacting with students, yielding insights into nurse and setting based factors contributing to the development of trust. Subthemes within these included key behaviours and attributes enhancing trust engenderment in …

Cognitive Systems Engineering Models Applied To Cybersecurity, Tiffani Bragg

Theses

Cybersecurity is an increasing area of concern for organizations and individuals alike. The majority of successfully executed cyberattacks are a result of human error. One common type of attack that targets human users is phishing. In spite of this, there is a lack of research surrounding human implications on phishing behavior. Using an online survey platform with both phishing and legitimate emails, the present research examined the utility of various cognitive engineering models for modeling responses to these example emails. Using Signal Detection Theory (SDT) and Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory (Fuzzy SDT), the influence of familiarity with phishing and having …

Analysis Of Car Accidents Causes In The Usa, Mohamed Aljaban

Theses

Over the past decade more people are opting in to purchase and own their own personal vehicle and in some instances several, which means that road accidents rates are doomed to increase. And this presents a challenge to the government, individuals and the collective community as car accidents are in most cases life threatening and a hazard to society. Thus, this paper aims to tackle this issue and dig deep to explore the main factors contributing to the increase of car accidents rate. The dataset used in this research is data collected from traffic accidents events captured by the department …

Solar-Powered Bike Lanes, Eman Al Ali

Theses

The problem of lack of bike paths in urban areas is a common problem with the increase in the number of riders. Riding the bikes in the main roads due to the lack of cycling tracks affects negatively on the urban area, its residents, visitors, and in many other aspects. To solve this problem, this study examines the design of a solar-powered cycling path in one of the areas of Umm Al Quwain city that located in the northern region of the United Arab Emirates. The research included secondary data sources derived from best practices research for solar-powered cycling paths …

Solving Commuting Challenges With Rts Bus Rapid Transit (Rts-Brt) Rochester, Ny, Lelise Tesfaye Bekele

Theses

The public transport service in Rochester, NY, is inefficient in terms of reliability, safety, comfort, security, waiting, transfer, and longer commute hours. The public transportation system needs significant transformation to overcome this alleviating issue and relieve the burden on low-income residents, pedestrians, and non-motorized vehicle users. The research objective of this thesis is to advance and discover a connection pattern between transportation, urban sprawl, poverty, and unemployment in Rochester, NY. It targets the low-income resident’s detachment from diverse uses, residential settlement, locations of jobs, and transportation options. The research analyses how-: people commute to work, how long the commute takes, …

Esaal (Smart Delivery System In Dubai), Banout Alketbi

Theses

Delivery sector has been facing many issues lately due to covid 19 pandemic mainly delivering items and packages late and some of them being in bad condition. The new smart delivery system ( will help in making the delivery system in Dubai more sustainable and at the same time more accurately functioning The proposed system will achieve that by running on their own tracks that are especially made for them to deliver Furthermore, the new designed system will be running and functioning depe nding on solar energy. These routes will be designed to have way to all of the areas …

Amazon Reviews Using Sentiment Analysis, Ammar Rashed Hamdallah

Theses

The intense competition to attract and maintain customers online is compelling businesses to implement novel strategies to enhance the customer experiences. It is becoming necessary for companies to examine customer reviews on online platforms such as Amazon to understand better how customers rate their products and services. The purpose of this study is to investigate how companies can conduct sentiment analysis based on Amazon reviews to gain more insights into customer experiences. The dataset selected for this capstone consists of customer reviews and ratings from consumer reviews of Amazon products. Amazon product reviews enable a business to gain insights on …

Health, Productivity, And Engagement: Using Modular Product Design To Integrally Improve The Workplace Environment, Xinyue Guo

Theses

With the fast pace of city life and workplace stress, there are growing concerns in relation to well-being and staying healthy. As a space that has relatively undefined functions in a work environment, breakrooms are increasingly expected to contribute to reducing these concerns. However, the vast majority of workplace breakrooms that exist are insufficiently designed achieving only basic functions such as sitting and eating. This thesis questions why existing workplace breakrooms are so neglected, when they have great potential to play a much more important role in the workplace. Firstly, this thesis discusses current literature and qualitative research on the …

Suno ("Listen"), Kajal Kohli

Theses

Suno (“Listen” in Hindi) is a 3D Animated Short that revolves around our main character Sid’s day in his life where he decides to find someone who would listen to him about what he’s going through without passing judgement of their own. Sid is an 18-year-old boy living in a typical Indian household with his parents and grandmother. Sid has always been a brilliant student academically and has had accolades in sports rendering him in what one may call an astounding over-all achiever. Even so, he has started to feel burned out and depressed. He has gone into his own …

Pun Monster: How To Effectively Maintain Fitness And Improve Socialization, Yue Yuan

Theses

With the global outbreak of the COVID-19 in 2020, national governments have introduced policies of home quarantine and closing public places, and following social distances. As people spent more time at home, lifestyles changed dramatically, people spent more time looking at their phones and computers, and eating habits changed. This has brought about weight gain and increased anxiety and stress. People have started to do fitness activities at home, but have encountered various problems such as lack of motivation to exercise and lack of peers to supervise each other. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key factors …

Access To Physical Activity: How Does Access To Physical Activity In Deaf Adolescence Affect Their Activity Levels In College?, Kenly Nicole Vater Ciampaglione

Theses

Background: Individuals who identify as deaf and hard of hearing are overlooked or excluded from public health research, surveillance, and outreach and education programs. Studies have shown that there is a connection between motor skill development in children and their participation in physical activities. Generally, deaf children lag in motor skill development when compared to their hearing peers, and these developmental discrepancies can be minimized with increased participation in physical activity and sports. Purpose: This project involved the creation and validation of a survey that retrospectively assessed how both parental hearing status and the number of barriers experienced by a …

Temporal Requirements For Future Landsat Systems For Agricultural Monitoring, Emily Myers

Theses

Agricultural monitoring is an important application of earth-observing satellite systems, which may be used for stress and disease detection, growth stage monitoring, and yield prediction in crops at a fraction of the time and cost it would take to survey fields manually. Satellites within the Landsat program are frequently used for agricultural monitoring, but they do not always collect imagery often enough to capture rapid changes in vegetation health. To address this limitation, an increase in revisit rate is being considered for future Landsat systems. This research aims to determine the necessary overpass frequency for a future Landsat sensor for …

Fruffeltin, Jared Ratzel

Theses

Fruffeltin is a short 2D animated film following the journey of a goofy children’s book character trying to win back the affection of a child after being replaced by a fighting video game. The film’s core message regarding mental health awareness is illuminated through the visualization of character-driven animation, juxtaposing environments and symbolic details. The concept stems from my own personal growth trajectory and reflection upon it within the framework of animated creatures and robots. The narrative follows Fruffeltin, a children’s book character with three leaves on his head, who lives to make a young boy laugh by performing silly …

Ivalet – A Smart Parking Reservation System, Aaesha Alrefaei

Theses

In the current time with the continuously increasing population in the world generally and in big cities like Dubai particularly, many problems arise related to traffic and transportation. Due to covid-19 virus spread pandemic, WHO is submitting different regulations and recommendation for the need of social distancing along with avoiding any activities that might increase the possibility of the virus spread and minimize the number of infected people to save more lives. The need for decreasing the usage of the public transportation in Dubai have created parking issues in the city, streets, and buildings. One of the preferred solutions by …