Digital Commons Network^™

Fibromyalgia And Bladder Irritability, Carolyn K. Brand

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Urinary tract sensory symptoms provide an additional symptomatic burden for women with fibromyalgia. The urogenital symptoms of both fibromyalgia and interstitial cystitis have been described as non-infective sensory disorders, suggesting the existence of substantial clinical overlap between the two conditions. Research suggests that although interstitial cystitis has been treated as a specific bladder condition, it may be part of the disorder of central processing of sensory information as seen in fibromyalgia.

The interstitial cystitis symptom index and problem index (ICSI/ICPI) have been used to measure lower urinary tract symptoms and to examine the impact of these symptoms in patients with …

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 …

A Study Of The Abundance, Distribution And Daily Activities Of The Australian Raven (Corvus Coronoides) In Urban Wetland Parks, Desiree L. Moon

Theses : Honours

Habitat destruction as a result of urbanisation has resulted in the population decline of some bird species. However, the Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides), has adapted well to the urban environment and is thriving. Although naturally occurring seasonal food sources are at times restricted in an urban setting, this adaptive species finds alternative food sources. As carrion-eaters this includes roadkill, as well as refuse discarded on the ground and into bins. Coupled with few natural predators, the species enjoys optimal conditions for breeding and survival. This biogeographical study investigated whether seasonal-influxes of populations of ravens cause problems at three urban wetland …

Nurses' Perceptions Of The Pharmacological Management Of Acute Pain Experienced By Patients Hospitalised In The General Ward Setting, Susan Slatyer

Theses : Honours

This study explored and described the experiences and perceptions of nurses managing acute pain in a Western Australian public hospital. The focus was nurses practising in the general ward setting and using current prescribing guidelines. The aim of this research was to explore nurses' attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about pain and pain pharmacology and how this practice setting influences efficient pain management. Qualitative methodology was selected for its ability to explore complex issues in order to build nursing knowledge and guide nursing practice. This study used a descriptive, exploratory design based on a phenomenological approach. The sample comprised ten Registered …

An Examination Of The Transitional Support Needs For Young People Leaving Detention, Kirsten Janke

Theses : Honours

A successful transition from detention to living in the community is a critical step in preventing young people from recidivism and entrenchment in criminal activity (Utting & Vennard, 2000). According to Outcare, an organisation that provides support services to offenders, ex-offenders and their families, there seems to be difficulty accommodating newly released young people in existing accommodation services: additionally, many of these young people are not able to access existing support services which contributes significantly to recidivist behaviour. The purpose of undertaking this qualitative study was to examine the transitional support needs for young people leaving detention. The investigation adopted …

Habermas's Public Sphere : Politics And Australian News Media, Tim Balfour

Theses : Honours

Jurgen Habermas’s theory of an eroded public sphere is common to media studies that address the functions and shortfalls of news media in society. The theory tackles many aspects of society, but is most usually associated with the mass media and its role in facilitating informed public debate among private persons coming together as a public to hold institutions of power to account. The term has been used to such a degree that its authority is taken as rote, which has subsequently reduced the complexity, subtleties and strength of Jurgen Habermas’s original arguments. In turn, this has caused critics to …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Transition Experience Of Students From A High School To A Senior High School In Rural Western Australia, Amiee-Jade Pereira

Theses : Honours

This review outlines literature on the normative high school transitions that occur during adolescence. Research examines factors affecting the school transition experience (e.g., school size, structure, feeder patterns, and the additive affect of multiple school transitions), student outcomes (e.g., academic performance, self-esteem and psychological symptomatology), and student perceptions of their transition experience. Research limitations include the focus on American, metropolitan schools undergoing the elementary to middle school transition, and the utilisation of quantitative methodologies. Future research needs to examine the experience of students from different countries, both metropolitan and rural, undergoing school transitions. Qualitative methodologies should also be utilised to …

The Inevitable Ageing Of The Population And The Implications Of Prolonging Employment For Older Adults, Monica Rose Cooper

Theses : Honours

One of the proposed solutions to Australia's ageing population (12% aged over 65 years in 1997 to 22% by 2031; Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, 2000) and the perceived burden on the economy, is for older adults to remain in paid employment longer. The present study explored the perspectives of older adults concerning employment and working beyond the age of 65 years. A qualitative methodology was employed and data was collected through the use of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 11 participants aged between 60-75 years of age. Thematic content analysis was performed in order to identify core issues and themes. …

Parental Monitoring And The Role Of Community Norms And Neighbourhood, Katrina Sims

Theses : Honours

This study used a qualitative approach to explore parent perceptions of community norms for keeping track of children's activities, within a low socio-economic neighbourhood. Semi-structured interviews based on a questionnaire used by Kerr and Stattin (2000) were used to explore parent beliefs about three sources of parent information: solicitation, parental control and child disclosure. A sample of eight mothers of children aged nine to twelve from two low socio-economic neighbourhoods in Perth, Western Australia were interviewed. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: shared emotional connections, influence, control versus trust, and communication. Results indicated that parents used varied methods of monitoring children …

Child Support Following Separation : An Exploratory Study Of Non-Resident Fathers' Views Of The Fairness Of Current Contact And Child Support Payment Practices, Marian C. Cook

Theses : Honours

Seven non-resident fathers who were supporting their children from a previous relationship were interviewed to elicit their views on the fairness of current contact and CS arrangements. Most fathers were committed to their parental role and had contact with their children at least every second weekend. Fair contact was that which was flexible around their paid work commitments. Unfair contact was that which was limited by the children's mother. Most fathers viewed their CS as excessive and some had negotiated lower CS than that mandated by legislation. Several fathers wanted a say in how their CS was spent. Some fathers …

The Recognition And Application Of Security Risk Management In Corporate Governance, Chris J. Cubbage

Theses : Honours

Security as a profession and discipline has emerged principally in the later half of the twentieth century and has developed to become a more defined, usual, respectable and visual part of management. This study aimed to determine the degree of recognition and application of security risk management to corporate governance practices in Australia. Formal research design used descriptive research methodology, consisting of a literature review, primary document analysis and a questionnaire survey to collect data. This research was contrasted to a Corporate Governance Security Model formulated to determine if the model is applicable to the recognition, or application, of a …

A Descriptive Study Of Ethical Procedures That Maintain Cultural Security When Conducting Health Research With Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander School Children In Western Australia, Dionne Paki

Theses : Honours

Cultural security is the maintenance of values and beliefs and the celebration of diversity unique to different cultures. This honours thesis developed a proposed framework to guide collaborative ethics procedures that demonstrate the Aboriginal values relevant to health research for use in Western Australia (WA). These values of reciprocity, respect, equality, responsibility, survival and protection, and spirit and integrity have been identified in the National Health and Medical Research Council's Values and Ethics: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research. Ethical procedures for maintaining cultural security when conducting health research among Aboriginal people throughout Australia …

End User Preference Of Customisable Features Within A Course Management System, Diana Taylor

Theses : Honours

Customisation is the means by which people alter and change various elements of their environment with the purpose of making it more suited to their immediate needs. This aids in creating a more personalised experience. People are extremely diverse in terms of age, gender, nationality, and with the dominant presence of technology people also have various levels of computer skills and experience. In the context of computer environments, customisation provides the ability to cater for a diverse user group, providing tools and options that assist with specific tasks, improve accessibility and achieve greater user satisfaction. Carter, MacLean, Lovstard & Moran …

Palliative Care Nurses' Perceptions Of Their Management Of The Psychosocial And Spiritual Pain Experienced By Their Clients In The Home Hospice Setting, Laurence Vogler

Theses : Honours

Pain, in palliative care clients, consists of more than just a physical manifestation of their condition. Pain can be experienced on a psychological or emotional level, a psychosocial level or even at a spiritual level. It is widely accepted that nurses in the palliative care setting manage well the physical issues that their clients have, but perceptions can vary on their management of the "non - physical" pain experienced by their clients. This study provided an opportunity for palliative care nurses to describe their perceptions of their management of the psychosocial and spiritual pain experienced by their clients in the …

How To Play The Game: Constructing Australian Masculinities In An Increasingly Mediated World, Carl Broman

Theses : Honours

Increasing research into social constructions of gender, have begun focusing on the study of male behaviour, or masculinity. The study of hegemonic masculinities helps display the dominant forms of socialised acceptable behaviour and expose artificial constructions of gender difference. Concerning trends in destructive masculine behaviour may find relationships with other forms of social disconnection linked with late capitalism. I look at how direct localised contributions to constructing masculinities have been disempowered by the expansion of the Western corporate economy. The culture of popular sport has been transformed to create an individual identification with Australian Rules Football and its masculinities, that …

Healthcare Practitioners' Perspectives On The Use Of E-Health Applications To Support Overweight And Obese Adolescents, Rachel J. Mahncke

Theses : Honours

The aim of this research was to investigate, from an Australian healthcare practitioners' perspective, whether online and e-health applications could provide support for and be beneficial to overweight and obese adolescents. This research has investigated whether diet and exercise related environmental causes of obesity could be positively affected by using e-health applications to re-educate adolescents about healthy eating and exercise behaviours the research identified what online and electronic resources healthcare practitioners' recommended to their patients, in order to understand how information systems· solutions could better assist these patients in achieving healthier lifestyle outcomes. Additionally, the research investigated what content, features …

An Exploration Of Non-Residential Fathers' Relationship With Their Children: Working Towards A Positive Psychology Approach, Suzanne Ray

Theses : Honours

In western culture, the majority of fathers become the non-residential parent after separation and it is reported many disengage from their children as time goes on. This review will elucidate the effects of separation on the father role. Within this body of literature there are two dominant ideologies pertaining to fathers – father absence and father importance. The findings from research support that the quality of contact rather than quantity of contact is important for close bonds between non-residential fathers and their children. There are a number of factors that can help or hinder this relationship which are intrinsically linked …

Towards Persistent Resource Identification With The Uniform Resource Name, Luke Brown

Theses : Honours

The exponential growth of the Internet, and the subsequent reliance on the resources it connects, has exposed a clear need for an Internet identifier which remains accessible over time. Such identifiers have been dubbed persistent identifiers owing to the promise of reliability they imply. Persistent naming systems exist at present, however it is the resolution of these systems into what Kunze, (2003) calls "persistent actionable identifiers" which is the focus of this work. Actionable identifiers can be thought of as identifiers which are accessible in a simple fashion such as through a web browser or through a specific application. This …

Online Defamation: A Case Study In Competing Rights, Julie Dare

Theses : Honours

As a consequence of the dominant role the United States has played in its development, the Internet has become synonymous with a liberal interpretation of freedom of expression, heavily imbued with First Amendment free speech principles. This has resulted in an environment that supports an adversarial, aggressive style of interaction; an environment which has become a "defamation prone zone" (Edwards, 1997). However, resolving online defamation disputes is problematic, particularly in cross-jurisdictional cases involving defendants based in the United States. Incongruities in the balance of free speech and reputation between the United States and most other countries, as expressed through defamation …

An Exploratory Study Of Arts Participation And Wellbeing In Regioinal Western Australia: A Quantitative Study Of Denmark In The Great Southern Region, Julia Anwar

Theses : Honours

This thesis explores the belief that engaging in the arts has a positive influence on wellbeing, not just for individuals considered disadvantaged or "at-risk", but also for the wellbeing of society and communities. An attempt was also made to determine how the benefits of participation in the arts compares to the possible benefits derived from other forms of community participation. An examination into the current literature on arts participation and its links with wellbeing, as well as social impact research was combined with a quantitative survey derived and adapted from wellbeing indicators. The survey was conducted via telephone interviews with …

"The Ship Has Gone Down With The Captain" : A Study Of The Framing Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Commission (Atsic) Chairman Geoff Clark In The Australian, Lauren Heinritz

Theses : Honours

This study looks at the frames used in the Australian newspaper's coverage of Indigenous leader Geoff Clark, from his re-election as chairman of the Aboriginal and Tones Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) at the end of 2002 until the agency's demise in March 2004, and finds two divergent ways of reporting Indigenous issues. In summary, the Geoff Clark case study highlights the ideological divide between proponents of the so-called "tights-based agenda" in Indigenous affairs and those that favour the "responsibilities-based" agenda. When established in 1990, ATSIC was viewed as a significant step towards Indigenous self-determination. With official federal government policy shifting …

Girl Du Jour - Girl Of The Day, Sarah Perfrement

Theses : Honours

Girl du jour explores and discusses a select group of women's lives, as well as factors influencing the development of young women's identities. The project offers a personal and intimate insight into the women's lives through the use of documentary/photojournalism whilst also incorporating the choreographed image. Girl du jour explores the group of young women's lives both theoretically and visually, making reference to the performance of identity, women's issues, body image (including young women and the influence of the fashion industry) and motherhood. The women depicted are exposed in their intimate, public and social lives are depicted in an attempt …

Language Learning Strategies Of Botswana Students : An Exploratory Study, Joel M. Magogwe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this research is to explore the learning strategies used by Botswana students acquiring English as a second language. It also examines whether the choice of strategies is affected by the factors of different age/level of education, proficiency and gender. The research also explores whether the students’ self-efficacy beliefs correlated with their use of language learning strategies. Specifically this research examined the types of strategies used by primary, secondary and tertiary students. It also examined the types of strategies used by the students deemed by their teachers to have good, fair or poor levels of English proficiency. The …

Investigating Information Management Weaknesses In A Local Government Organisation: A Critical Hermeneutic Ethnographic Case Study Of Internet Documents From Information Warfare And Legal Perspective(S), Edward E. Andre

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this thesis I develop an approach to analyse and interpret internet documents belonging to a particular organisation in a State of Australia. My intention in the research is to find ways to protect a local government organisation from litigation and other threats due to weaknesses in information management on the internet. Based on Gadamer's (1985) approach to the interpretation of text discourse, this thesis is a critical hermeneutic ethnographic case study of one local government organisation investigating internet docunents from information warfare and legal perspective(s).

Human Levitation, Simon B. Harvey-Wilson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Human levitation occurs when the physical body rises into the air and then hovers or moves around, seemingly in defiance of the force of gravity. Traditionally most levitation reports have originated from seven groups: shamanism, people supposedly possessed by demonic spiritual entities, those subjected to poltergeist activity, Spiritualism, people who believe they have been abducted by aliens, martial arts such as qigong and mysticism. These anecdotal reports generally describe levitation as rare, spontaneous and involuntary, although some people seem able to levitate at will. So far almost no scientific research appears to have been conducted into this phenomenon. In order …

The Use Of Principles And Techniques Derived From Meditation For The Design And Creation Of Co-Participatory Musical Systems, Hannah E. Clemen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

For this thesis, a detailed study was undertaken to determine whether techniques derived from traditional meditation systems can be applied to "co-participatory" music systems in order to enhance their accessibility, interactivity, and experiential impact, In order to adequately address this subject, a number of investigative steps have been taken. First, a workable list of definitions for what meditation actually is was made by comparing the practices and philosophies of a number of traditional meditation forms. The conclusions derived from this stage of the discussion served to create a definitive "blueprint" for meditation and served as a theoretical foundation for the …

Three Plays : The Other Woman, Banana Split, Awa' The Crow Road ; And An Essay, Writing The End, Heather Nimmo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Other Woman is an eighty-minute stage play which asks the question: Do women really play the political game differently? A high-flying politician can't admit to a small mistake. A woman kills herself. Does her mother want justice or revenge? Banana Split is a ninety-minute comedy for two actors which investigates life after divorce, the connections between risk and reward, and the implications of doubling (or coupling). The play asks a number of questions: Is it riskier to stay or to go? Which is the more damaging to a relationship-nostalgia for a golden age or the fantasy of a perfect …

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 …

A Study Of Intercultural Discourse Between Mainland Chinese Speakers Of English And Anglo-Australians, Leng Hui

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Intercultural communication between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians is receiving ever-increasing attention in many fields. These fields include intercultural communication. English language teaching, education and business. This study approached the intercultural communication between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians from a cognitive perspective by applying the theoretical framework of cultural linguistics. The intercultural discourse produced by mainland Chinese speakers of English in the context of them interacting with Anglo-Australians was analysed. The analysis was made by employing key concepts such as schemas, cultural schemas, discourse scenarios and discourse indexicals. A body of 39 audio-taped conversations between mainland …