Digital Commons Network^™

Generation Of A Combined Dataset Of Simulated Radar And Electro-Optical Imagery, Nancy L. Baccheschi

Theses

In the world of remote sensing there exist radar sensors and EO/IR sensors, both of which carry with them unique information useful to the imaging community. Radar has the capability of imaging through all types of weather, day or night. EO/IR produces radiance maps and frequently images at much finer resolution than radar. While each of these systems is valuable to imaging, there exists unknown territory in the imaging community as to the value added in combining the best of both these worlds. This work will begin to explore the challenges in simulating a scene in both a radar tool …

An Investigation Of The Factors That Influence The Career Aspirations Of Year 12 Science Students, Christina R. Holly

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

What has become apparent in recent years is the lack of upper secondary students choosing science related subjects in their final years of schooling. Even of those students who choose science subjects to study in Years 11 and 12 in Australia, many tend to choose non-science pathways for tertiary education options (department of Education, Science and Training, 2003). This is worrying trend, given the numbers of science professionals and teachers required in the new age of technology. By investigating a sample of Western Australian Year 12 students that study any science related subjects, it is expected that there may be …

The Effectiveness Of Back Belts As A Control Measure For Occupational Low Back Pain In A Retail Hardware Chain, Nick Merdith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of the mandatory introduction of back belts on the incidence, days lost and cost of occupational low back injuries resulting from manual handling in 11 retail hardware chain. The study was of a non-experimental before-and-after design with all retail employees in Western Australia being included in a retrospective cohort. The pre-intervention period extended for 21 months and included 2,265,933 work hours with 647 full-time equivalent positions, while the intervention period was 32 months for 4,411,352 hours worked and 827 full-time equivalent positions. Workers' compensation claims for all occupational injuries occurring …

A Comparative Analysis Of Locally Owned Banks In The United Arab Emirates, Catherine Budd

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

All UAE banks perform the dual role of intermediaries 'for both the money and capital markets. They are entering a crucial stage of banking" development towards global competition with new banking laws imminent and the Basel II Capital acc6'rd being , , effective by December 2006. Within a challenging climate of financial transparency and limited data availability, .this research provides a benchmark and a unique league table of efficiency performances between 1998 and 2003 for comparative analysis between local banks in the UAE for present and future operational policymakers and researchers. This study offers an analysis and insight into UAE …

The Genetic Heritage Of China: A Genomic Study Of Pr China Based On Nine Representative Ethnic Populations, Michael Black

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

During the course of the last decade, genetic data have increasingly complemented linguistic, archaeological and palaeontological evidence in efforts to reconstruct human history. As technology has developed, studies have utilised genomic techniques in tracing the origins and migratory patterns of modem humans. East Asia is a particular hotspot of human migration, _especially Mainland China where a large number of human fossils have been unearthed and more than 20% of the wor1d's population now resides. There are 56 officially recognised ethnic groups (minzu) within the population of PR China which totals 1,300 million. The majority Han population is distributed throughout the …

Promoting Metacognitive Regulation Through An On-Line Environment, Mark Mcmahon

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The constantly evolving world of work is causing a great deal of emphasis on the need for graduating students to demonstrate a range of generic skills to enable them to be both employable and able to adapt easily to new requirements. However, research indicates that secondary schooling is not preparing students adequately for learning independently.

This study sought to explore strategies for developing and supporting the metacognitive skills of higher education students. In particular, it sought to explore how university students' cognitive self-regulation could be supported in an on-line environment designed to engage them in the self-monitoring integral to metacognitive …

3d-Softchip: A Novel 3d Vertically Integrated Adaptive Computing System [Thesis], Chul Kim

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

At present, as we enter the nano and giga-scaled integrated-circuit era, there are many system design challenges which must be overcome to resolve problems in current systems. The incredibly increased nonrecurring engineering (NRE) cost, abruptly shortened Time-to- Market (ITA) period and ever widening design productive gaps are good examples illustrating the problems in current systems. To cope with these problems, the concept of an Adaptive Computing System is becoming a critical technology for next generation computing systems. The other big problem is an explosion in the interconnection wire requirements in standard planar technology resulting from the very high data-bandwidth requirements …

Boys And Writing: Attentiveness Levels And The Impact Of Single Gender Classes And Teaching Methods, Janet Fellowes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The study is concerned with boys' literacy learning. It seeks to gauge whether the change to a single-gender class brings about any improvement in the boys' attentiveness levels during writing lessons and also to ascertain whether attentiveness is influenced by other factors associated with the learning tasks, and with the teacher's pedagogical and management practices.

This study involves the scrutiny of writing lessons in three classes in Western Australian metropolitan primary school - a Year 5 co-educational class, a Year 6 allboy's class ( comprising boys from the Year 5 class) in the hands of one teacher and the same …

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 …

Image Quality Assessment Using Artificial Neural Networks, Alexander Havstad

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

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Survivability Through Pre-Configured Protection In Optical Mesh Networks, Quoc V. Phung

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Network survivability is a very important issue, especially in optical networks that carry huge amount of traffic. Network failures which may be caused by human errors, malfunctional systems and natural disaster (eg. Earthquakes and lightening storms), have occurred quite frequently and sometimes with unpredictable consequences. Survivability is defined as the ability of the network to maintain the continuity of service against failures of network components. Pre-configuration and dynamic restoration are two schemes for network survivability. For each scheme, survivability algorithms can be applied at either Optical Channel sublayer (Och) known as link-based. Or, Optical Multiplex Section sublayer (OMS) known as …

The Pulse Of Change : E-Education And Other Reforming Influences On Vocational Education And Training, Robin Stark

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Reform has been a feature of the Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) system for more than a decade. The Portfolio tracks the theme of reform through the sub-themes of e-education and globalisation, considering each as a set of changing hegemonic discourses that have redefined VET over the intervening years. Into this mix it is speculated a third sub-theme, that of social capital development, is now emerging. The new social paradigm however is likely to create new uncertainties and expectations in a system that struggles to cope with existing reforms.

Exploring A Technology-Facilitated Part-Complete Solution Method For Learning Computer Programming, Stuart K. Garner

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Learning to program is now a requirement in many courses of study in such areas as computer science, information technology, information systems, multimedia. engineering, and science. However, research indicates that many students have great difficulties in learning to program and this results in high failure rates and high levels of withdrawal from academic courses. It is accepted that programming is an intrinsically difficult subject however the teaching and learning methods used in many programming courses have changed little over the years. The literature indicates the importance of reducing the cognitive load that students experience when learning programming and that one …

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 …

The Quest For A Formula : Parliamentary Remuneration In Western Australia, Michael J. Britton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Western Australian Payment of Members Act 1900 was promulgated upon two tenets, namely, that Members of Parliament should be compensated for their services to society and that other Australian colonies were already receiving some form of compensation. The premise stipulated that all people, regardless of economic background should be given an opportunity to fulfil the honourable duly of a Representative. Remuneration in this thesis covers the minimalist advent of Parliamentary Remuneration whereby Mrs were compensated by way of a basic salary to the current multifaceted Parliamentary Remuneration which encompasses various structures, processes and is often overarched by complicated determinative …

Drama And Technology: Teacher Attitudes And Perceptions, Kim Flintoff

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Educational systems are continuing to prioritise the importance of technology in learning. Curriculum guidelines and frameworks from across the globe insist that all learning areas find ways to utilise appropriate technologies in the teaching learning process. Drama Education is one area where the use of technology seems to be quite limited. The study seeks to determine some emerging understanding of the perceptions and attitudes held by Drama teachers about the introduction of Interactive and Information Technology (Digital Environments) into classroom Drama practice. Of particular interest to this researcher is the seeming reluctance to engage with such technology. Drama educators from …

Issues Of English Language Proficiency For International Students, Patricia Dooey

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In the last 20 years or so, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of international full-fee paying students applying to study in Australian universities, The revenue provided in this way has helped to address the problems faced by cash-starved universities facing recurring funding cuts over the same period. Furthermore, the presence of such students on any university campus provides immeasurable enrichment to the student body in terms of cultural diversity and research potential, and indeed it is very tempting in an ever,-increasing global market, to be as flexible as possible with prospective international students. However, the process …

The Status And Quality Of Secondary Science Teaching And Learning In Lagos State, Nigeria, Taiwo O. Ogunmade

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigated and described the status and quality of secondary science teaching and learning in Lagos State, Nigeria. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used for gathering research data. Quantitative data were obtained from the surveys of 78 junior secondary science teachers and 500 junior secondary students from three Local Education Districts of Lagos State. Qualitative data on the other hand, were gathered from analysis of national and state curriculum documents and from focus groups of science teachers, school principals, parent association representatives, education officers, teacher educators, representatives of the professional association for science teachers and representatives of examination bodies …

Opto-Vlsi Processing For Reconfigurable Optical Devices, Chung-Kiak Poh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The implementation of Wavelength Division Multiplexing system (WDM) optical fibre transmission systems has the potential to realise this high capacity data rate exceeding 10 Tb/s. The ability to reconfigure optical networks is a desirable attribute for future metro applications where light paths can be set up or taken down dynamically as required in the network. The use of microelectronics in conjunction with photonics enables intelligence to be added to the high-speed capability of photonics, thus realising reconfigurable optical devices which can revolutionise optical telecommunications and many more application areas. In this thesis, we investigate and demonstrate the capability of Opto-VLSI …

Developing A Flexible And Expressive Realtime Polyphonic Wave Terrain Synthesis Instrument Based On A Visual And Multidimensional Methodology, Stuart G. James

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Jitter extended library for Max/MSP is distributed with a gamut of tools for the generation, processing, storage, and visual display of multidimensional data structures. With additional support for a wide range of media types, and the interaction between these mediums, the environment presents a perfect working ground for Wave Terrain Synthesis. This research details the practical development of a realtime Wave Terrain Synthesis instrument within the Max/MSP programming environment utilizing the Jitter extended library. Various graphical processing routines are explored in relation to their potential use for Wave Terrain Synthesis.

Implementing Best Practice Protocols For Occupational Hygiene Monitoring, Hayden Wing

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis outlines the results of an occupational hygiene monitoring program implemented at Minara Resources' Murrin Murrin mine site. The research was conducted as part of a collaborative agreement between Edith Cowan University and Minara Resources, the title of which was "Establishing best practice protocols in the management of occupational and environmental health in a high risk mining and ore processing environment". To form the basis of this research it was hypothesised that chemical hazards had not been adequately identified, that existing occupational hygiene monitoring programs did not adequately quantify employee exposures to these hazards, and that the implementation of …

The Educational Beliefs Of A Group Of University Teachers And Their Students: Identification, Exploration And Comparison, Maria T. Northcote

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The quality of teaching and learning in tertiary education contexts is influenced by many factors including the educational beliefs of the university teachers and students who teach and learn in such contexts. Most belief research in the tertiary education sector has, to date, reported on the teaching or learning beliefs of just teachers or the teaching or learning beliefs of just students. Much less research has explored the connections between the educational beliefs of these two groups. This research has aimed to extend the parameters of previous research by investigating the point of intersection between the educational beliefs of a …

A Salt On The Land: The Osmolyte Production And Physiological Responses Of Selected Myrtaceae Species Exposed To Salt And Water Stress, Janelle Atkinson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Glasshouse trials were conducted on Calothamnus quadrifidus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Melaleuca uncinata

to test relative tolerance and uniformity of response in the Myrtaceae family to salt, waterlogging and salt x waterlogging. Seed sources from both saline (SA) and non-saline areas were used to compare differences in survival, growth and proline production to these stresses.

Spectra: Secure Power Efficient Clustered Topology Routing Algorithm, Waqaas Siddiqui

Theses

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have emerged as one of the hottest fields today due to their low-cost, self-organizing behavior, sensing ability in harsh environments, and their large application scope. One of the most challenging topics in WSNs is security. In some applications it is critical to provide confidentiality and authentication in order to prevent information from being compromised. However, providing key management for confidentiality and authentication is difficult due to the ad hoc nature, intermittent connectivity, and resource limitations of the network. Though traditional public keybased security protocols do exist, they need large memory bandwidths and complex algorithms, and are …

Belief In A Just World, School Stress And Academic Success, Elizabeth A. Hepworth

Theses

Belief in a just world, a construct first introduced by Lerner (1978), has been the topic of psychological research for the past forty years (Lerner, 1965; Rubin & Peplau, 1973; Tomaka & Blascovich, 1994; Dalbert, 1999; Hafer, 2000; Furnham, 2003). Much of the research conducted on the belief in a just world focused on its cognitive use as a protective mechanism. For example, Belief in a Just World (BJW) has been positively correlated with helping behavior (Beirhoff, 2002), commitment to long range goals (Hafer, 2000), positive well-being (Dalbert, 2000), and negatively associated with stress (Takoma & Blascovich, 1994). In the …

Analytical Investigations Of Modified Active Remote Dynamic Vibration Absorbers, Piyes Srungboonmee

Theses

This thesis investigates the performance of proposed modified Active Remote Dynamic Absorber (ARDA) systems. The modification is intended to improve the practicability of the previously proposed ARDA technique. The current ARDA concept utilizes an absorber system identical to the primary system (the system whose vibration is to be controlled) and two voltage amplifiers. The modification to the current ARDA system employs one amplifier only and a smaller absorber system. The mathematical model of the modified ARDA systems is developed based on a finite element approach. The developed mathematical model is programmed and solved using Maple. The program is validated by …

Gas Plume Species Identification In Lwir Hyperspectral Imagery By Regression Analyses, David Pogorzala

Theses

The goal of this research was to develop an algorithm for identifying the constituent gases in stack releases. At the heart of the algorithm is a stepwise linear regression technique that only includes a basis vector in the model if it contributes significantly to the fit. This significance is calculated by an F-statistic. Issues such as atmospheric compensation, gas absorption and emission, background modeling, and fitting a linear regression to a non-linear radiance model were addressed in order to generate the matrix of basis vectors. Synthetic imagery generated by the DIRISG model were used as test cases. Results show that …

Modeling Multiple Scattering And Absorption For A Differential Absorption Lidar System, Daniel D. Blevins

Theses

The Digital Image and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) model has been developed and utilized to support research at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for over a decade. The model is an established, first-principles-based scene simulation tool that has been focused on passive multi- and hyper-spectral sensing from the visible to long wave infrared (0.4 to 14 pm). Leveraging photon mapping techniques utilized by the computer graphics community, a first-principles-based elastic Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) model was incorporated into the passive radiometry framework so that the model calculates arbitrary, time-gated photon counts at the sensor for atmospheric, topographic, …

Comparison Of Hyperspectral Imagery Target Detection Algorithm Chains, David C. Grimm

Theses

Detection of a known target in an image has several different approaches. The complexity and number of steps involved in the target detection process makes a comparison of the different possible algorithm chains desirable. Of the different steps involved, some have a more significant impact than others on the final result the ability to find a target in an image. These more important steps often include atmospheric compensation, noise and dimensionality reduction, background characterization, and detection (matched filtering for this research). A brief overview of the algorithms to be compared for each step will be presented.

This research seeks to …

Effect Of Casting Conditions On The Crystallization And Resulting Morphology In Compatibilized And Uncompatibilized Poly (Ethylene Oxide )-Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride) Blends, Tejas Upasani

Theses

This thesis describes the effect of casting conditions on the crystallization and resulting morphology in compatibilized and uncompatibilized blends of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly (vinylidene fluoride). Two systems based on grades of PVDF were used: Kynar 301, pure PVDF, and Kynar7201, a 80:20 copolymer of PVDF and hexafluoro propylene. Poly (methyl methacrylate) and poly (vinyl acetate) were used as compatibilizers. Acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran were used as common solvents to prepare the polymer blends. Two casting conditions were employed. In the first, hot polymer solutions were precipitated in cold hexane. In the second, the hot solutions were cast on aluminum pans. …