Digital Commons Network^™

A Quest For Confidence: The Extent To Which Philosophical Inquiry Through The Integrated Pedagogies Of The Question Quadrant And Community Of Inquiry Can Encourage The Exhibition Of Attributes Associated With The Critical And Creative Thinking Capability, Stephanie Massey

Theses

With the increasing need for Australian students to be prepared for the ‘world of work’ once they have finished their schooling (Gonski et al., 2018), it is important for schools to offer opportunities to develop the necessary skills required for adulthood. Western Australian schools have the responsibility of ensuring that all students develop the General Capabilities stipulated by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (2009). One of these capabilities is ‘critical and creative thinking’. One of the ways to develop students’ ability to think critically and creatively is through philosophical inquiry adopting an integrated pedagogy of Cam’s (2006) Question …

Dynamics Of Swept Source Lasers, Ben O'Shaughnessy

Theses

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the dynamics of two kinds of swept source lasers for optical coherence tomography. A mathematical model consisting of a pair of coupled delay differential equations was adapted to study Fourier Domain Mode-Locked (FDML) lasers and short cavity swept source lasers, and to explain experimental observations of these lasers.

The short cavity laser is experimentally observed to produce pulses during the frequency sweep. This ‘sliding frequency mode-locking’ behaviour is reproduced by simulation, which is then used to establish simple relationships between the key parameters of sweep speed, linewidth and output power.

The FDML …

Optical Properties Of Polymers And Their Applications, Samiha Hossain

Theses

The last decade has witnessed explosive growth in the world of photoactive polymers for a variety of applications in several sectors of the global economy. The need for efficient, reliable, and low-cost data acquisition, storage, processing, transmission, and display technologies has made it necessary for research aimed at addressing these needs. Recent accomplishments in this materials area represent exciting opportunities for major innovations in various fields. However, further work needs to be done to transfer the technology from fundamental R&D to manufacturing. The goal of this study is to provide a better understanding of the optical properties of polymers and …

Point Spread Function Determination In The Scanning Electron Microscope And Its Application In Restoring Images Acquired At Low Voltage, Mandy C. Nevins

Theses

Electron microscopes have the capability to examine specimens at much finer detail than a traditional light microscope. Higher electron beam voltages correspond to higher resolution, but some specimens are sensitive to beam damage and charging at high voltages. In the scanning electron microscope (SEM), low voltage imaging is beneficial for viewing biological, electronic, and other beam-sensitive specimens. However, image quality suffers at low voltage from reduced resolution, lower signal-to-noise, and increased visibility of beam-induced contamination. Most solutions for improving low voltage SEM imaging require specialty hardware, which can be costly or system-specific. Point spread function (PSF) deconvolution for image restoration …

Patient Involvement In Healthcare Projects: A Mixed Method Study On The Perspectives Of Project Staff In Western Australian (Wa) Public Hospitals And Health Services, Melanie Wright

Theses

Background: the benefits of patient involvement in clinical care and research is well described in the literature; but there is little evidence to suggest that involving patients in the planning and delivery of healthcare projects is beneficial to the outcomes of the project.

Purpose: this study explores the perspectives of staff who were specifically employed to lead and manage healthcare projects in Western Australian (WA) public hospitals and health services, regarding patient involvement in their projects and the perceived benefits and barriers of this involvement.

Study design: the study was designed using a sequential mixed method approach in three phases …

“Turning Mirrors Into Windows”: A Study Of Participatory Dynamic Simulation Modelling To Inform Health Policy Decisions, Louise Freebairn

Theses

Introduction: Achieving evidence-based public health policy is challenging. There is increasing recognition that more sophisticated, system-science, analytic methods, such as dynamic simulation modelling (DSM), are needed to better understand the dynamic, interacting and interrelated elements within complex public health systems. This thesis explored the implementation, feasibility and value of a novel participatory DSM approach as a tool for knowledge mobilisation and decision support in Australian health policy settings. An indepth case study of participatory modelling of Diabetes in Pregnancy (DIP) in the Australian Capital Territory (2016-2018) was conducted. Two additional modelling case studies focusing on prevention of childhood overweight and …

Mark Oliphant And The Invisible College Of The Peaceful Atom, Darren Holden

Theses

The weapon first created by atomic scientists of the 1940s was unprecedented in its power and potential to kill. Not only can it destroy infrastructure and all living things over a wide area, it leaves a haunting invisible footprint of radiation that can continue to harm long after its heat has dissipated. The atomic bomb was first conceptualised, proven and built by civilian scientists and overseen by an ambitious military and wary bureaucrats. The scientists belligerently lobbied their governments to take the potential of atomic weaponry seriously and it is hence not surprising that they are often portrayed as ghoulishly …

The Unesco Creative City Network - A Case For Cork City, Colette Scariff-Lalor

Theses

We are all creative, but by the time we are three or four years old, someone has knocked the creativity out of us ~ Maya Angelou

This research study will examine the potential interest and perceived benefits of the UNESCO Creative City designation for Cork City as well as exploring the concept of the Creative City concept and what it may mean for Ireland’s second city. At present, Cork City Council have the intention of applying for Creative City status. Comprising of a network of 180 members with Dublin and Galway currently holding the status, it is important for Cork …

Indoor Positioning Using Multiple Signal Sources (Modes), Vishal Chummar Perekadan

Theses

Computation of accurate indoor positioning information is important in several application areas like mobile robotics, navigation, virtual reality and ubiquitous computing. In spite of its importance we still do not have an indoor positioning system equivalent to the Global Positioning System~(GPS), which is the standard for large scale outdoor positioning, but is unreliable or unavailable in indoor environments. In this work, we present a multi-source radio frequency(RF) based system for automatic indoor positioning using the received signal strength (RSS) and demonstrate its efficacy by simultaneously using broadcast FM radio & GSM signals for position estimation. This method is data driven …

A Geometric Approach For Global Stability Of A Predator-Prey Model With An Ivlev-Type Functional Response, Soniykha Dhevi Murukan

Theses

In this paper, using a geometric approach, we study the global stability for a class of predator-prey model with an Ivlev-type functional response. We obtained this by sufficient conditions on the systems parameters, which guarantee that the positive equilibrium point of the presented system is globally asymptotically stable. Our results improve the previously obtained results from Xiaoqin Wang and Huihai Ma [1]. We conjecture that the local and global stability of the positive equilibrium are equivalent. Our conjecture is supported by numerical simulations. The theoretical proof will be our future research effort.

Complexity Assessment Using Systems Modelling Language Models, Victor Emmanuel Pierre Lopez

Theses

A complexity metric was proposed for the quantification of system complexity using information about the composition of a system and its interactions depicted in a System Modelling Language (SysML) model. The proposed metric was adapted from the complexity metric developed by Sinha and Suh for design structure matrix (DSM) applications, and was modified to allow the proposed metric to be applied at different decomposition levels and to accommodate the inclusion of external interactions. The metric was applied to three case studies: an aircraft engine, a Mars lander, and a spacecraft thermal control system. The proposed metric attributed a higher amount …

Effects Of Non-Uniform Temperature Distribution On Degradation Of Lithium-Ion Batteries, Gabriel M. Cavalheiro

Theses

The effects of non-uniform temperature distribution on degradation of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are investigated in this study. A Li-ion battery stack consisting of five 3 Ampere hour (Ah) pouch cells connected in parallel was tested for 2215 cycles and compared with a single baseline cell. The behaviors of temperature distribution, degradation, and current distribution of the stack were characterized and discussed. Results supported the hypothesis that non-uniform temperature distribution causes non-uniform and accelerated degradation. All cells in the stack experienced higher temperature rise and degraded faster than the baseline cell. In particular, capacity retention of the middle cell in the …

Charging Management Of Plug-In Electric Vehicles Applying Monte Carlo Markov Chain And Quantum-Inspired Optimization Algorithm, Mehdi Rahmani-Andebili

Theses

The transportation sector is responsible for almost one-third of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. To mitigate the above-mentioned issues, plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) are being encouraged by governments and environmentalists to replace internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, since PEVs can be charged by renewable energy sources. Based on the predictions performed by the research organizations, the PEV sales will surpass the ICE car sales in the next two decades. Thus, the PEV drivers will consume a considerable portion of electricity soon. However, the uncontrolled and simultaneous charging of PEVs can put the power system under stress. Therefore, the charging …

Seeding Hydrogen Propellant In Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Engines, Daria Nikitaeva

Theses

Using the NASA Design Reference Architecture, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion engine and Mars transfer vehicle models were developed to numerically examine the effects of adding heavy noble gases into the hydrogen propellant stream (seeding) on round trip transit times (baseline of 357 days). Seeded hydrogen, up to maximum seed mass concentration (MSMC) 55.85%, increased engine and vehicle performance by reducing pressure losses, decreasing reactor power, and increasing the overall change in velocity while assuming constant vehicle volume and dry mass. The tradeoff was lowered specific impulse and increased net propellant mass, resulting in increased vehicle wetted mass. Vehicle performance increased at …

A Numerical Model Of The High-Temperature Supercritical Tube Flow Produced By The Ntrees Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Test Facility, Connor T. Pierce

Theses

No abstract provided.

Mechanical Design Automation: A Case Study On Plastic Extrusion Die Tooling, Allen Prasad Varghese

Theses

The Skills Gap in Mechanical Engineering (ME) Design has been widening with the increasing number of baby boomers retiring (Silver Tsunami) and the lack of a new generation to acquire, practice and perfect their knowledge base. This growing problem has been addressed with several initiatives focused on attracting and retaining young talent; however, these types of initiatives may not be timely for this new group to be trained by an established Subject Matter Expert (SME) group. Automated Engineering Design provides a potential pathway to address not only the Skills Gap but also the transfer of information from SMEs to a …

Analysis Of 3d Printed Ndfeb Polymer Bonded And Organic Based Magnets, Chimaobi Ibeh

Theses

Additive manufacturing (AM), or commonly known as 3D printing, has introduced to the manufacturing and commercial sectors novel ways of reducing production times, decreasing material waste, and enabling end products with multi-material configuration and complex geometric designs. From industrial scale to customer-based printers, AM has revolutionized the approach to manufacturing, prototyping, and designing in the field of medical, automotive, aerospace, biomedical, electronics and customizable products. Recently, additive manufacturing has crossed over to the area of applications in magnetism due to the economic push for the miniaturization of electronic and mechanical devices, reduction in production costs and material & design flexibility. …

Icing Thickness Prediction Model For Overhead Transmission Lines, Yue Ming

Theses

Failures in a large electric power system are often inevitable. Severe weather conditions are one of the main causes of transmission line failures. Using the fault data of transmission lines of Shaanxi Power Grid from 2006 to 2016, in conjunction with meteorological information, this paper analyses the relationship between the temporal-spatial distribution characteristics of meteorological disasters and the fault of transmission lines in Shaanxi Province, China.

In order to analyze the influence of micro-meteorology on ice coating, a grey correlation analysis method is proposed. This thesis calculates the grey relational between ice thickness and micro-meteorological parameters such as ambient temperature, …

Polya Db3: A Database Cataloging Polyadenation Sites(Pas) Across Different Species And Their Conservation, Ram Mohan Nambiar

Theses

Polyadenation is an important process occurring in the messenger RNA that involves cleavage of 3 end nascent mRNAs and addition of poly(A) tails. For this thesis,I present PolyA DB3 ,a database cataloging cleavage and polyadenylation sites (PASs) in several genomes specifically for human,mouse,rat and chicken. This database is based on deep sequencing data. PASs are mapped by the 3’ region extraction and deep sequencing (3’READS) method, ensuring unequivocal PAS identification. Large volume of data based on diverse biological samples is used to increase PAS coverage and provide PAS usage information. Strand-specific RNA-seq data were used to extend annotated 3’ ends …

The Use Of Media Technologies In Long-Distance Relationships, Paola P. Soto Herrera

Theses

Communication technologies have helped reduce personal distances and stay connected. This study pursued the following questions: What are the most popular media used to communicate in long-distance relationships? Are those in long-distance relationships more likely to use rich or lean media? Do family, friends, and romantic partners differ in their selection of media? Instant Messaging, social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat), telephone (cellular, mobile, or landline), online video chat, online audio chat, SMS, and regular mail were the most used media. Respondents were significantly more likely to use rich media. Romantic partners were more likely than either family or friends …

An Application Of Deep-Learning To Understand Human Perception Of Art, Sanjana Kapisthalam

Theses

Eye movement patterns are known to differ when looking at stimuli given a different task, but less is known about how these patterns change as a function of expertise. When a particular visual pattern is viewed, a particular sequence of eye movements are executed and this sequence is defined as scanpath. In this work we made an attempt to answer the question, “Do art novices and experts look at paintings differently?” If they do, we should be able to discriminate between the two groups using machine learning applied to their scanpaths. This can be done using algorithms for Multi-Fixation Pattern …

An Adaptive Inventory Management System For Hospital Supply Chain, Pradeep G. Pai

Theses

In healthcare, delivering high quality care to the patients typically requires significant investment in supply chain management systems. Inventory management is an important part of any supply chain system. Researchers have indicated great potential for optimizing existing healthcare inventory systems, especially within hospitals. With ever changing needs, product prices and policies, managing inventory of products in hospitals becomes difficult. As time progresses, the inventory policies of products become sub-optimal. In this research, we study multiple echelons of a hospital supply chain considering the distributors, to address the need for an efficient and effective hospital inventory management system. We propose a …

Equitable Pricing Of Episodes Of Care In A Cluster-Based Bundled Payment System, Bikram P. Singh

Theses

Most of the individuals in the United States are concerned about healthcare affordability and rising healthcare costs. The prevalent healthcare cost reimbursement system, Fee-For-Service (FFS) has been deemed as a key driver for increasing healthcare costs. Bundle payments (BP) has been suggested as an alternative to replace FFS and has shown to reduce the rising healthcare costs. Under BP, the expected set of services involved in treating a diagnosis, or episode of care, is reimbursed by a single payment. We propose a systemic pricing of multiple diagnosis under a Cluster-Based Bundle Payment system (CBBP), where for a given diagnosis, groups …

A Method For Use Phase Definition As Integrated Into An Object-Oriented Approach To Life Cycle Assessment, Alissa Marie Santucci

Theses

As global environmental concerns increase, industries continue to respond prominently to meeting sustainable practice standards through technological innovations and new business models. However, current sustainability measurement tools, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), do not provide practitioners with sufficiently standardized methodology, which leads to uncertainty and limited comparability of results. This research develops a systematic Object-Oriented LCA method to define and quantify the consumed life of a product system during the use scenario under analysis. In this method, the Cumulative Damage Function (CDF) quantifies the consumed life of a product by using inputs of total efficiency or damage, scaling parameters and …

Automatic Modulation Classification Using Cyclic Features Via Compressed Sensing, Andrew J. Ramsey

Theses

Cognitive Radios (CRs) are designed to operate with minimal interference to the Primary User (PU), the incumbent to a radio spectrum band. To ensure that the interference generated does not exceed a specific level, an estimate of the Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) for the PU’s channel is required. This can be accomplished through determining the modulation scheme in use, as it is directly correlated with the SINR. To this end, an Automatic Modulation Classification (AMC) scheme is developed via cyclic feature detection that is successful even with signal bandwidths that exceed the sampling rate of the CR. …

Automatic Trellis Generation For Demodulation Of Faster Than Nyquist Signals, Deepan Govindaraj

Theses

Mobile communication has become one of the most important and fast developing technology in the past couple of decades. Future of telecommunication raises a high demand for higher data rate and system capacity. There are plenty of researches taking place across the world to provide a better service. One such research is Faster than Nyquist signaling and it has grabbed the attention of many researchers in the recent past. In digital communication implemented using Nyquist pulses, the pulse rate is upper-bounded by twice the channel bandwidth. Signaling above this rate results in the loss of pulse orthogonality and introduces ISI. …

Predictive Models In Brain Connectivity Analysis, Guenadie Nibbs

Theses

Neuroscience have been the field with most significant contributions to the study of the human brain. The development of new techniques for image acquisition has made possible the improvement of extracting quality information of brain activity. Utilizing functional MRIs, is possible to measure brain activity based on changes of the oxygen level in the blood at certain period of time. This imaging data is transformed into numerical values using a software that maps all the information into a data object. Taking advantage of the availability of functional connectivity information of the human brain, the present study shows a widespread process …

Statistical Aspects Of Music Mining: Naive Dictionary Representation, Qiuyi Wu

Theses

Extensive studies have been conducted on both musical scores and audio tracks of western classical music with the finality of learning and detecting the key in which a particular piece of music was played. Both the Bayesian Approach and modern unsupervised learning via latent Dirichlet allocation have been used for such learning tasks. In this research work, we propose and develop the novel idea of treating musical sheets as literary documents in the traditional text analytics parlance, to fully benefit from the vast amount of research already existing in statistical text mining and topic modeling.

We specifically introduce the idea …

Multi-Modal Deep Learning To Understand Vision And Language, Shagan Sah

Theses

Developing intelligent agents that can perceive and understand the rich visual world around us has been a long-standing goal in the field of artificial intelligence. In the last few years, significant progress has been made towards this goal and deep learning has been attributed to recent incredible advances in general visual and language understanding. Convolutional neural networks have been used to learn image representations while recurrent neural networks have demonstrated the ability to generate text from visual stimuli. In this thesis, we develop methods and techniques using hybrid convolutional and recurrent neural network architectures that connect visual data and natural …

Cultural Naturalism And The Market God, David Timothy Denenny

Theses

This work employs John Dewey's cultural naturalism to explore how and why the orthodox economic tradition functions as a religious faith.Scholars such as the theologian Harvey Cox and others now view orthodox economic practice as a religion. Other scholars such as Max Weber, Alasdair MacIntyre, and numerous others view modern economic practice as exemplifying a particular ethic. The focus in this work is placed upon the destructive consequences of practicing the Market faith. This work argues that much of contemporary economic practice maintains a view of science that is incompatible with the kind of naturalism found in Classical American Pragmatism. …