Digital Commons Network^™

Aesthetic Choices: Defining The Range Of Aesthetic Views In Interactive Digital Media Including Games And 3d Virtual Environments (3d Ves), Hira Maqbool

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Defining aesthetic choices for interactive digital media such as games is a challenging task. Objective and subjective factors such as colour, symmetry, order and complexity, and statistical features among others play an important role for defining the aesthetic properties of interactive digital artifacts. Computational approaches developed in this regard also consider objective factors such as statistical image features for the assessment of aesthetic qualities. However, aesthetics for interactive digital media, such as games, requires more nuanced consideration than simple objective and subjective factors, for choosing a range of aesthetic features.

From the study it was found that the there is …

Plant-Herbivore Interactions In A Changing Climate And Implications For Seagrass Resilience, Caitlyn M. O'Dea

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Climate change is affecting herbivore distributions and abundance, resulting in intensified grazing pressure on foundation species such as seagrasses. This, coupled with other, rapid changes in estuarine ecosystems, may threaten the resilience of seagrass. While the overall resilience of seagrasses is generally well-studied, the timeframes of recovery have received comparatively little attention, particularly in temperate estuaries. This study investigated the recovery time of two colonising seagrasses (Halophila ovalis and Ruppia megacarpa) following various intensities of simulated grazing in two southwestern Australian estuaries. Simulated grazing treatments (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% removal from 1 m2 plots) were applied in field experiments …

Content And Frames Of ©Wechat And Chinese State Media - A Critical Literacy Reflection Of The Narratives During The Early Stage Of Covid-19 Pandemic, Zhe Jing

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Governments back disruptive politics on the Internet platforms to influence people. During the global health crisis, because of the popularity and demographic penetration, ©WeChat is said to be one of these platforms. The influential dynamics, the circulated contents relevant to diasporic audiences and the app’s global users are yet to be contextually understood through the educational lens of critical literacy. This study is underpinned by a critical literacy reflective framework which synthesises components from several critical literacy practices: content and frame analysis, critical pedagogies, and specific literacy domain practices to provide guideline for the investigation. The findings demonstrate how state …

Carbon Geosequestration And Enhanced Oil Recovery In Geological Formations: Multi-Scale Analysis, Auby Baban

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Carbon geosequestration (CGS) has been recognized as a strategic solution to prevent/counter the catastrophic consequences of climate change. However, despite recent cutting-edge technical research, predicting quantitative CO2 trapping in geological formations via capillary trapping is currently scarce. Moreover, several aspects of multiphase flow characteristics of CO2/brine/rock systems, that greatly impact carbon capture and containment security, require further investigations. Furthermore, combining carbon geosequestration with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is an efficient and economically attractive technology to reduce global warming caused by emissions of anthropologic CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels, whereby it offsets some of the costs of CO2 extraction. …

Fagotte Forgotten? The Bassoon In The Early Symphonies Of Mozart, Haydn And Contemporaries In The 1760s And 1770s, Katherine J. Walpole

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research project investigates the role of the bassoon in the basso of the early symphonies of Mozart, Haydn and Contemporaries in the 1760s and 1770s. It draws on surviving primary source material pertaining to bassoonists and orchestral practices across Europe before 1780. Autograph scores of Haydn, Mozart and his contemporaries usually scored early Classical symphonies for pairs of oboes, horns, two violin sections, viola and basso. Modern scholars have described these compositions as symphonies for pairs of oboes, pairs of horns and strings, and have translated basso to mean cellos and basses. Eliminating the eighteenth-century term basso has also …

The Influence Of Networks On Suppliers’ Sustainable Innovation In Public Procurement: Insights From Ghana’S Public Works Sector, Peter Adjei-Bamfo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In recent times, governments have been using their procurement function to drive innovation in firms’ product outcomes and to improve operational activities that pose sustainability challenges. Ghana, for example, is currently advancing and upgrading its public works infrastructure with revenues from its commercialised oil reserves to match and improve its anticipated middle-income economy status. Faced with several sustainability challenges, such as environmental pollution and resource depletion, desecration of cultural heritage sites and exposure of labour force to poor working conditions, public works infrastructure procurements constitute a larger proportion of government procurement expenditure, globally, compared with the procurement of goods and …

Downstream Air Dilution And Biomass Pulverisation Into Bluff-Body And Swirl Stabilised Confined Turbulent Jets, Syed E. Gillani

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Bluff-body and swirl-stabilised turbulent annular flows (single phase and multi-phase) find broad practical utility, especially in high-power non-premixed combustion applications. Their significance stems from features like their characteristic recirculation zones and intense upstream turbulence, both of which promote air-fuel mixing and aid in flame stabilisation. Moreover, in response to the push for low-emission and carbon-neutral fuel sources, there's a growing emphasis on integrating biomass, especially in its pulverised form, into major power generation systems. In practical gas turbine combustors featuring bluff-body and swirl stabilised flame burners, the incorporation of (air) side dilution jets plays a crucial role. These jets influence …

Where Do Community College Students Go For Their Reference Management Needs: Findings From A Survey Study, Ajatshatru Pathak, Sarah Johnson

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This research article reports the findings of a survey that was conducted at two community colleges affiliated with a large public university system in the Northeast of the United States. A survey was to explore community college students’ citation management help- seeking habits. Findings suggest that respondents were more likely to utilize Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) website for reference management help than other resources. The results also show the impact of various factors (i.e., institution, academic level, undergraduate class level, field of study, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and user type) on students’ citation help -seeking practices. Significant statistical associations …

Adoption And Utilisation Of Artificial Intelligence By Librarians In University Libraries In Southern Nigeria, Ogochukwu T. Emiri

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated how librarians working in the various university libraries in Southern Nigeria adopted and used artificial intelligence. The researcher was able to retrieve 704 copies of the 848 questionnaires that were given to the responders. However, the return rate was 83%, which is a respectable amount. The descriptive statistics approach was used to analyse the data that the questionnaire produced. The results showed that there has been little adoption of AI in university libraries in Southern Nigeria. The research also reveals that security scanning devices at university libraries' entrances and exits are the most prevalent AIs, while other …

Dissemination Of Agro-Based Information By Telecentres Among Selected Rural Farmers In Tanzania With A Focus On Moshi Rural District, Kilimanjaro Region, Neema Florence Mosha Dr, Edith Talina Luhanga Dr, Pascal Nade Dr, Patrick Ngulube Prof

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study assessed the role of Telecentres in the dissemination of agro-based information among selected farmers in rural areas of Tanzania. A cross-sectional study design was conducted in Moshi Rural District, in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. A total of 442 rural farmers aged 21-60 years were randomly selected as study respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect data from respondents. The study found that 205 (55%) respondents were not aware of the existence and services offered among Telecentres, whereas only 12 (7%) respondents reported visiting Telecentres once per day, and 70 (41%) once per year. A total of 140 respondents selected computer …

Leadership Styles, Staff Motivation And Job Satisfaction In Private University Libraries In Osun State, Nigeria, Adebowale Jeremy Adetayo, Abata-Ebire Blessing Damilola (Mrs), Omobola Abigail Babarinde

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study sought to examine the influence of leadership styles and staff motivation on job satisfaction in private university libraries in Osun State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that leadership styles and Staff motivation are predictors of job satisfaction of library staff. There was a high level of job satisfaction among library personnel due to the democratic leadership styles that were predominant. Most of the library staff were highly motivated with a higher level of intrinsic motivation than extrinsic motivation. The study concludes that leadership …

Application Of Icts In Federal University Lokoja Library, Ayooluwa Aregbesola, Juliet Omale, Dauda Yahaya

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This research study, application of ICT in newly Established Federal University Library in Nigeria; a case study of Federal University Lokoja. The research was guided by five research questions. Survey research method was used and questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. Mean scores where used to analyze the data generated. From the analyzed data, it was discovered that ICTs are averagely applicable though it has enormously benefited some library services in Federal University Lokoja, Library. The challenges identified were inadequate ICT facilities, Epileptic power supply and poor network facilities. In consonant with the vision of Federal University Lokoja Library, …

University And College Profiles Available On Indian Research Information Network System (Irins): A Comparative Study, Prabhat Ranjan, Bhupendra Kumar Singh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Indian Research Information Network System (IRINS) is a research information management system that provides details of publications and citations by researchers in academic and research institutes in India. It is an undisputed fact that the productivity of researchers is not uniform within and beyond institutions. A quantitative study was formulated to compare the productivity of researchers within and between categories of central university, state university, deemed university, private university, and college. The coefficient of variation (C.V.) and coefficient of range (C.R.) was measured to know about dispersions among data of publications, patents, Scopus citations, and Crossref citations. It was found …

Enhancing The Master Of Library And Information Science Curriculum Towards The Improvement Of The Librarian’S 21st Century Skills In The Workplace, David A. Cabonero, Rosielyn M. Austria, Regina D. Ramel

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study was conducted to describe: 1) the graduates of the Master in Library and Information Science (MLIS) program in terms of socio-demographic, academic, and professional examination achievements profiles; 2) the employment conditions of the Saint Mary's University (SMU) Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates employment after graduation and current employment; and 3) the extent of skills learned from the program in terms of a) creativity and innovation skills, b) critical thinking and problem-solving skills, c) communication and collaboration skills, d) information, media, and technology skills, and e) life and career skills. The study utilized a descriptive method of research …

Students’ Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Plagiarism At The Faculty Of Engineering Kyambogo University, Bonniface Agungi, Bonny Ongora

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Students’ Knowledge and attitudes towards plagiarism at the Faculty of Engineering, Kyambogo University. The findings of the study revealed that the forms of plagiarism are copying work from the internet, submitting similar coursework and copying during test and exams, because of desire to get good grade, fear of failing, disinterest in the assignment, procrastination or poor time management and laziness encourage students to plagiarize therefore putting plagiarism as a course unit, conducting seminars to orient people about plagiarism, putting in place plagiarism detection software, motivating lecturers to teach students about plagiarism and training students on how to avoid plagiarism will …

Securing Digital Collections: Cyber Security Best Practices For Academic Libraries In Developing Countries, Ayooluwa Aregbesola, Ekene Lawrence Nwaolise

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In today's digital era, there have been an ever increase in academic libraries embracing digital collections to provide access to a wealth of information to their users. However, the demerit of this digitization brings about the need to ensure the security of these valuable digital collections, especially in developing countries where cyber threats are rampant. This paper aims to address the challenges faced by academic libraries in developing countries with regards to best cybersecurity practices for securing digital collections. The paper also highlights the long-term benefits of prioritizing cyber security in academic libraries. Besides protecting valuable digital collections, robust cyber …

Wikipedia As A Source Of Information To Engineering Students-A Study, Nagaraju Kuppugari Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study explored the use of Wikipedia as a source of information by the engineering students at Nellore dist in Andhra Pradesh. The study also tries to examine the reasons to prefer Wikipedia over the traditional encyclopaedia by the engineering students. The study adopted survey method and an online questionnaire for collecting the data from the respondents. After analysing the data the results revealed that ‘easy to understand’ was the reason to prefer Wikipedia to the traditional encyclopedia. The study also found that 77.42 percent of the respondents using Wikipedia to get background information. The investigator suggests that faculty working …

Pattern Of Internet Use Among Librarians In Federal University Libraries In Southeast Nigeria, Ugonna Fidelugwuowo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated pattern of internet use among librarians in three Federal university libraries in Southeast Nigeria. Three research objectives guided the study. The study adopted survey research design. The population comprises 30 principal librarians and University librarians in the three Federal University libraries in Southeast Nigeria. A total of 27 copies of the questionnaire were returned. Interview was conducted and observation was made on internet facilities to determine the authenticity of the respondent’s responses. Findings revealed that major internet facilities available in the libraries include laptops, cybercafé, institutional website, institutional virtual library, desktop computers, wireless fidelity, cable modem, computer …

Access And Use Of Electronic Resources At The University Of Health And Allied Sciences’ Library: Undergraduate Students’ Perspective., George Noble Hotsonyame, Stephen Okyere

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study sampled views from 200 undergraduate students at the School of Pharmacy and School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences. This study’s aim was to explore students’ access and usage of electronic resources in the University of Health and Allied Sciences’ library to make recommendations based on the results for a successful electronic resource provision and access. The study found that about 80% of students were aware of all the e-resources available in the University library, 46% use them daily, and 94% use HINARI, JSTOR, MEDLINE and PubMed. Training programs such as Information Literacy Skills and Library Orientation were effective …

Perceptions And Challenges In Accessing Library Electronic Resources: A Case Study Of The National Open University Of Nigeria (Noun), Babarotimi Oluwaseun, Babarotimi Opeyemi Oluwaseun Bo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigated user perceptions and challenges associated with accessing and utilizing electronic resources at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), including their implications for remote users. Using a quantitative research approach and survey methodology, the study involved 1,680 participants: 1,513 students, 140 academic staff, and 27 academic librarians. Employing a combination of probability (stratified random and systematic) and nonprobability (purposive) sampling ensured comprehensive representation. Participants completed self-administered closed-ended questionnaires distributed through online platforms, primarily Google Forms. Data collected underwent thorough analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings indicated that the NOUN library offers access …

A Cross-Domain Trust Model Of Smart City Iot Based On Self-Certification, Yao Wang, Yubo Wang, Zhenhu Ning, Sadaqat Ur Rehman, Muhammad Waqas

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Smart city refers to the information system with Internet of things and cloud computing as the core technology and government management and industrial development as the core content, forming a large-scale, heterogeneous and dynamic distributed Internet of things environment between different Internet of things. There is a wide demand for cooperation between equipment and management institutions in the smart city. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a trust mechanism to promote cooperation, and based on this, prevent data disorder caused by the interaction between honest terminals and malicious terminals. However, most of the existing research on trust mechanism is divorced …

A New Augmented Reality System For Calculating Social Distancing Between Children At School, Omar Alshaweesh, Mohammad Wedyan, Moutaz Alazab, Bilal Abu-Salih, Adel Al-Jumaily

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Social distancing is one of the most important ways to prevent many diseases, especially the respiratory system, where the latest internationally spread is coronavirus disease, and it will not be the last. The spreading of this pandemic has become a major threat to human life, especially to the elderly and people suffering from chronic diseases. During the Corona pandemic, medical authorities were keen to control the spread through social distancing and monitoring it in markets, universities, and schools. This monitoring was mostly used to estimate the distance with the naked eye and interfere with estimating the distance on the observer …

Educational Leaders’ Perceptions Of Stem Education Revealed By Their Drawings And Texts, Vesife Hatisaru, Garry Falloon, Andrew Seen, Sharon Fraser, Markus Powling, Kim Beswick

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study explored school principals' and teacher educators' perceptions of STEM education based on how they described STEM as a discipline, their understanding of the nature of teaching and learning of STEM, and the capabilities of a STEM-educated person. Data were generated through the Draw a STEM Learning Environment (D-STEM) instrument comprising drawn and written descriptions where participants drew a picture of a STEM learning environment and completed five prompt statements about what STEM is and how an individual develops personal STEM capability. The Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) specialization codes were used for data analysis (198 individual response items in …

Exploring The Use Of Photovoice In Understanding The Lived Experience Of Neurological Conditions: A Scoping Review And Reflexive Thematic Analysis, James Smith, Andre Nels, Laura Emery, Mandy Stanley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

People living with neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and dementia may experience physical impairment, social disengagement, cognitive issues, and emotional disturbances. While qualitative research utilising in-depth interviews can access lived experience perspectives, the use of photovoice has the potential to obtain rich insights that include images and raise community awareness. The purpose of this scoping review was to document salient themes relating to the lived experience of neurological conditions as reported in photovoice studies. Following established scoping review methods of the Joanna Briggs Institute, a comprehensive search of five electronic databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCHINFO, CINAHL, and …

Improved Rate Of Secret Key Generation Using Passive Re-Configurable Intelligent Surfaces For Vehicular Networks, Hina Ayaz, Muhammad Waqas, Ghulam Abbas, Ziaul Haq Abbas, Muhammad Bilal, Kyung-Sup Kwak

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) is a new technology that can be utilized to provide security to vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications at the physical layer. In this paper, we achieve a higher key generation rate for V2V communications at lower cost and computational complexity. We investigate the use of a passive RIS as a relay, to introduce channel diversity and increase the key generation rate (KGR), accordingly. In this regard, we consider the subsets of consecutive reflecting elements instead of the RIS as a whole in a time slot, i.e., instead of a single reflector, the subsets of reflectors are utilized …

Novel Insights Into Potential Cannabis-Related Cancerogenesis From Recent Key Whole Epigenome Screen Of Cannabis Dependence And Withdrawal: Epidemiological Commentary And Explication Of Schrott Et Al., Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Whilst the cannabis-cancer link has been traditionally described as controversial recent whole nation and whole continent studies have demonstrated that well documented laboratory-based multimodal cannabinoid genotoxicity is indeed reflected in numerous cancer types in larger epidemiological series. A recent longitudinal human sperm epigenome-wide DNA methylation screen in both cannabis dependence and cannabis withdrawal has revealed remarkable insights into the manner in which widespread perturbations of DNA methylation may lead to cancerogenic changes in both the exposed and subsequent generations as a result of both cannabis exposure and withdrawal. These results therefore powerfully strengthen and further robustify the causal nature of …

The Wacdt, A Modern Vigilance Task For Network Defense, Oliver A. Guidetti, Craig Speelman, Peter Bouhlas

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Vigilance decrement refers to a psychophysiological decline in the capacity to sustain attention to monotonous tasks after prolonged periods. A plethora of experimental tasks exist for researchers to study vigilance decrement in classic domains such as driving and air traffic control and baggage security; however, the only cyber vigilance tasks reported in the research literature exist in the possession of the United States Air Force (USAF). Moreover, existent cyber vigilance tasks have not kept up with advances in real-world cyber security and consequently no longer accurately reflect the cognitive load associated with modern network defense. The Western Australian Cyber Defense …

A Review Of Cyber Vigilance Tasks For Network Defense, Oliver A. Guidetti, Craig Speelman, Peter Bouhlas

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The capacity to sustain attention to virtual threat landscapes has led cyber security to emerge as a new and novel domain for vigilance research. However, unlike classic domains, such as driving and air traffic control and baggage security, very few vigilance tasks exist for the cyber security domain. Four essential challenges that must be overcome in the development of a modern, validated cyber vigilance task are extracted from this review of existent platforms that can be found in the literature. Firstly, it can be difficult for researchers to access confidential cyber security systems and personnel. Secondly, network defense is vastly …

Careful And Curious: A Transformative Ethos For Artistic Evaluation, Vahri Mckenzie, Denise Thwaites, Cathy Hope

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The logic of government subsidy recognises that there are forms of value not suitably captured by exchanges of the free market. Yet there remains a growing impetus for arts organisations and individual artists to measure and articulate the specific value of their practices through formal processes of evaluation. In the context of government subsidy, evaluation typically misses opportunities to capture unforeseen insights that artists and communities may articulate through alternative forms of evaluation. This article offers a conceptual discussion and illustrative example of how more open and exploratory evaluation methodologies may intersect with existing government frameworks. We draw on the …

Using Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles In A Magnetic Field To Enhance Oil Production From Oil-Wet Carbonate Reservoirs, F. Amrouche, M. J. Blunt, Stefan Iglauer, M. Short, T. Crosbie, E. Cordero, D. Xu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Enhanced oil production can maximise yield from depleted reservoirs, and in the face of dwindling global oil reserves can reduce the need for exploratory drilling during the transition away from fossil fuels. A hybrid technique, merging a magnetic field (MF) and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles (NPs), was investigated as a potential method of enhancing oil production from oil-wet carbonate reservoirs. The impact of this hybrid technique on rock wettability, zeta potential, and interfacial tension was also investigated. Displacement experiments were carried out on oil-wet Austin chalk – a laboratory carbonate rock analogue – using MgO NPs in deionized water (DW) …