Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Mental Wellbeing Of Family Day Care Educators In Australia: A Mixed Methods Study, Theresa Rayfield

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Family Day Care (FDC) is an essential service within the Australian early childhood education and care sector. FDC educators support Australian families who require convenience, flexibility, and versatility in the education and care of their children. FDC educators’ mental wellbeing (MWB) is vital to ensure optimal education and care is provided, however this is often overlooked by educators. This research aimed to gauge Australian FDC educators’ MWB, identify factors positively or negatively affecting MWB and strategies employed to maintain and support MWB.

Primarily, a cross-sectional quantitative questionnaire measuring MWB and ten predictor variables determining relationship with food, food insecurity, alcohol …

Novel Methods For Assessing Pulmonary And Cardio-Vascular Limitations To Aerobic Performance In Older And Younger Populations, Toni Haddad

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Around the world, life expectancy is increasing, the ageing population is growing, and maintaining quality of life at an older age currently represents a major global challenge. While ‘successful ageing’ relies on a variety of factors, aerobic performance and exercise capacity are key determinants and attenuating their decline is of the utmost importance. The decrease in maximal oxygen consumption is often considered as a major determinant explaining the age[1]related decline in aerobic performance. Yet, multiple physiological systems are impaired with ageing and their contribution to aerobic limitation in older individuals is unclear. Understanding how the limitations to aerobic performance may …

Exploring Treatment Burden In People With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2dm) In Primary Care Settings, Kai Lin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Introduction

Treatment burden is the perceived workload of care by individuals. The treatment burden experienced by individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a major obstacle to achieving effective healthcare outcomes. The aim of this research is to facilitate better management of treatment burden in people with T2DM in primary care settings.

Methods

A systematic review, encompassing narrative analysis was used to characterise the treatment burden of T2DM and critical appraisal was used to identify the appropriate patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for measuring this burden. The selected instruments were employed with subsequent questionnaires, followed by patient focus groups. A …

The Physiological And Performance Consequences Of The Australian Special Forces Selection Course, Angela Uphill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Special Forces (SF) soldiers are the most elite element of military forces, who have undergone rigorous training in order to prepare them for a wide array of specialised missions. In Australia, entry into the SF is determined through the highly competitive SF Selection Course (SF-SC), which is a gruelling program involving extreme physical demands, psychological stress, and restricted access to sleep and nutrition. The stressors involved in arduous military training events such as the SF-SC can result in significant losses of fat mass and lean mass, disruption to hormonal homeostasis, and significant decreases in neuromuscular capacity, which can potentially increase …

Western Australian Mothers' Experiences Of Breastfeeding Support In Hospital After Birth: A Mixed Methods Study, Justine Van Der Watt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background: The benefits of breastfeeding are well established for infants, mothers and the community, with the World Health Organisation recommending that infants be exclusively breastfed up to six months of age with an achievable goal of 70% globally. Yet in Australia only 15-37% may be reaching that goal. There have also been reported benefits and desires for mothers to be supported with their breastfeeding in order to increase and prolong breastfeeding duration and exclusivity, especially early after birth. However, there is limited research or literature exploring what experiences mothers are having with breastfeeding support, especially during their hospital admissions in …

A Wreck Of Seabirds: Entrapment And Isolation Within The Australian Coastal Gothic Landscape, Karleah May Olson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis explores the concepts of entrapment and isolation as they relate to the Australian Gothic literary mode and coastal landscapes. It does so through a creative work, a novel entitled A Wreck of Seabirds, and an accompanying exegesis, which examines these concepts alongside the shift of the Gothic to Australian landscapes and ultimately to coastal settings, and their representation in fiction. It examines ways in which elements and tropes of the Gothic are utilized in Australian Coastal fiction, particularly through depictions and metaphors of entrapment and isolation. A Wreck of Seabirds is an Australian Coastal Gothic novel set in …

Parental Involvement In Children's Writing, Bronte Peta Kelso-Marsh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research suggests that parental involvement is important for supporting children’s early literacy development. However, much of the existing research has focused on reading outcomes, and studies have seldom examined the influence of parental involvement on children’s writing outcomes. Learning to write is a complex process. Furthermore, although writing is a necessary skill required throughout schooling and the workforce, evidence from international studies suggests children’s writing performance is in decline. Theoretical models of writing have proposed the importance of contextual factors in shaping children’s writing acquisition and development, which may include parents. However, whilst previous research suggests parental involvement in supporting …

Shifting Soil Fungal Communities In Response To Fire And Weed Management In Urban Banksia Woodlands, Aaron Justin Brace

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research aims to fill the knowledge gap in soil fungi in the Banksia woodland and emphasizes considering holistic ecosystem dynamics in invasive species management strategies. This is accomplished by surveying soil fungi under different fire regime across the Swan Coastal Plain, and within both in and ex situ herbicide application trials. This is the first such study to investigate the fungal component of the Banksia woodland so thoroughly. Chapter 2 quantified and analysed changes in soil fungal community composition and functional groups over a 50-year fire chronosequence in fire-prone Banksia woodland in southwestern Australia. Effects were variable, but fungal …

Coordinating The Telematic Music Performance Experience With Telemidi: Synchronising Nodes, Enhancing Musicality, And Delivering Simultaneity, Matthew Clive Bray

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The practice of Telematic Music Performance (TMP), a subset of Network Music Performance (NMP), enables geographically remote musicians to engage in real-time musical interplay, typically occurring over a Wide Area Network (WAN: the Internet). However, the transmission of data between remote collaborators introduces millisecond latencies that obstruct the nuance of traditional human-to-human musical intercourse, and consequentially, the music generated by TMP often lacks rudimentary degrees of syncopation. Reducing network latency has been a critical focal point for research in this field, wherein effective networks support low-latency, multi-modal data transmission to enhance sensations of immersion and telepresence for participants; the sense …

The Experiences Of Older Immigrants Living With Dementia In Australia: A Multi-Method Secondary Analysis, Pelden Chejor

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The ageing immigrant population and rising dementia cases underscores the need for culturally appropriate dementia care services. However, accessing dementia care services can be challenging for immigrants due to cultural and linguistical differences including their health beliefs. Understanding the experiences and concerns of older immigrants living with dementia is imperative for the planning and delivery of culturally and linguistically appropriate care. The aim of this thesis was to explore and describe the experiences of older immigrants living with dementia, as well as to describe and compare (against non-immigrants living with dementia) the characteristics (neuropsychiatric symptoms and pain characteristics) of older …

Diagnosing Innovation: A Design-Led Approach To Cultivate Innovation In The Western Australian Public Health System, Sash Milne

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Recent research highlights the significance of design-led approaches, such as human-centred design, in fostering an innovative culture within complex public systems like public health. However, transforming systemic culture on a large scale presents a formidable challenge, constituting its own "wicked problem" that is both a fertile ground for design intervention and exceptionally difficult to tackle.

My research employs a design-led research perspective to investigate the current state of innovation culture within WA Health and to identify potential leverage points for future cultural transformation. Utilising data gathered from interviews and workshops, this research project sheds light on the multifaceted barriers confronting …

Crop Yield Using Novel Parametric L-System Plant Modelling, Christopher Cameron Napier

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research considers a system for the recognition of real plant parts through image analysis based upon synthetic plant modelling. It aims to use data pipelines and synthetic datasets to define recognizable features that assist in the efficient analysis of real plants and plant images. This research asks about the efficacy of L-systems in accurately simulating wheat crop characteristics. It specifically focusses on readable, understandable, accurate, and complex L-system algorithms. The research examines wheat crops in terms of phenotypes and examines the accuracy of a dataset in support of real image annotation. The methodology used was experimental in nature and …

How 'Strong' Is The British Army?, Peter Ladlow, C. Suffield, J. P. Greeves, Paul Comfort, J. Hughes, R. P. Cassidy, A. N. Bennett, R. J. Coppack

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

One of six research themes outlined in the 2021 Strategic Delivery Plan for UK Defence Medical Services (DMS) Research 2021–2026 is ‘preventing and treating musculoskeletal injury (MSKI)’.1 The research priorities identified include: ‘injury prevention and prehabilitation’, ‘lower-limb injury’, ‘shortened time to return-to-service’ and ‘physical comorbidity’. The strategic development plan also identified a need for research investigating ‘factors affecting deployment suitability and how they can be assessed and mitigated’. . . .

The Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A Novel Intervention For Delirium Prevention And Management In An Adult Intensive Care Unit: A Mixed Methods Study, Gideon Ugochukwu Johnson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background: Delirium is a prevalent acute brain dysfunction in patients within intensive care units. Delirium is marked by a fluctuating mental state, inattention, and altered consciousness. This condition affects a substantial proportion of patients in intensive care units, and which leads to increased mortality, severe physiological and psychological consequences, and a significant economic burden on healthcare systems. Despite the evidence that supports the use of non-pharmacological interventions to prevent or minimise the impact of delirium such as orientation, sensory stimulation, early mobilisation, and family involvement, their implementation in intensive care units remains inconsistent. The involvement of family members in the …

Developing A Framework For Musical Ekphrasis In Jazz Composition, Jessica Carlton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Musical ekphrasis, as defined by musicologist Siglind Bruhn (2001), refers to musical compositions that transform, re-create, or ‘re-present’ a work of visual art or poetry. Though there exists a significant body of musical works that are based on visual art and poetry, there is a distinct lack of research and documentation on musical ekphrasis, particularly in the field of jazz and improvised music. Further, a formalised process framework for practitioners approaching ekphrastic composition has yet to be developed. This research project investigated musical ekphrasis through qualitative interviews with key practitioners, and a combination of practice-led research and research-led practice methodologies, …

The Experiential Salience Of Music In Identity For Singing Teachers, Melissa Forbes, Jason Goopy, Amanda E. Krause

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Professional musicians with strong identities in music may also have a high degree of music in their identities. Accordingly, a rigid identification with work may be problematic for musicians, particularly when forces beyond their control change their work circumstances. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 singing teachers, representing a subset of professional musicians, and used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the ways in which they enacted music in their identities. The framework of musical identities in action was used to interpret the findings, revealing the dynamic, embodied, and situated complexity of music in participants’ identities. Music …

From Grain To Malt: Tracking Changes Of Ultra-Low-Gluten Barley Storage Proteins After Malting, Mahya Bahmani, Angéla Juhász, Utpal Bos, Mitchell G. Nye-Wood, Malcolm Blundell, Crispin A. Howitt, Michelle L. Colgrave

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a major cereal crop produced globally. Hordeins, the major storage proteins in barley, can trigger immune responses leading to celiac disease or symptoms associated with food allergy. Here, proteomics approaches were employed to investigate the proteome level changes of grain and malt from the malting barley cultivar, Sloop, and single-, double- and triple hordein-reduced lines. The triple hordein-reduced line is an ultra-low gluten barley cultivar, Kebari®. Using discovery proteomics, 2,688 and 3,034 proteins in the barley and malt samples were detected respectively. Through the application of targeted proteomics, a significant reduction in the quantity …

Mental Health On The Go: Navigating Travel And Travel Eligibility, Fangli Hu, Jun Wen, Weng M. Lim, Haifeng Hou, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The 21st century has seen tourists from various source markets significantly impacted by non-communicable diseases, including mental disorders. Yet, research and practice frequently overlook tourists with mental disorders. Building on Buckley’s discussion in the Journal of Travel Research about tourism and mental health, this study examines the travel eligibility of tourists diagnosed with four prevalent mental disorders: major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), schizophrenia, and dementia. We present preliminary recommendations for accommodating these tourists and highlight the urgent need for collaborative efforts between stakeholders in tourism, hospitality, and medicine. © The Author(s) 2023.

Gender Wobbles But It Don’T Fall Down: Feste And The Instability Of Gender In Twelfth Night, Evangeline Thurston Wilder

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night appears to some readers as a conservative story of gender-bending, in which all is made “right” in the end. The central character, Viola, disguises herself as Cesario in order to survive. In the final scenes of the play, this character reveals herself to have been a woman all along, and immediately enters a cis-heterosexual marriage with the Duke Orsino. To other readers, the play appears to be an early depiction of what we might now call transmasculinity. In this view, the central character is not just dressing up as a man to survive; he really is Cesario. …

Heterochrony In The Interpretation Of Stained Glass Windows: A Case Study On Light In The Church Of Orsanmichele, R.J. Maupin

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In the last decade, scholars of medieval art have examined how the materiality of religious objects was seen to increase the sacredness of the rituals in which they were used. Christians in the Middle Ages understood that objects had the potential to move from the material (such as glass or gems) to the immaterial (the divine presence of God). While stained glass is a medium that is defined by the mutability of its material, scholars have focused primarily on the iconography of glass windows and the workshop practices of glaziers rather than phenomenological meanings. There is recognition of the visual …

Rising From The Dust: (In)Visible Women In Australian Mining, Angela Webb

Postgraduate

Artivism (Art + Activism) has effectively raised awareness, challenged societal norms, and catalysed change through creative expression. Deepwell (2020) noted that “art engages with feminist politics” and “feminist politics reinvents art”. Deepwell's statement emphasises the mutual influence and transformative power between art and feminist politics. Art serves as a vehicle for expressing and advancing feminist ideologies, while feminist politics, in turn, reshapes artistic practices, content, and perspectives, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and diverse art discourse. (EXTRACT taken from page 2 of exergesis)

Zine And Collage-Making As An Engine For Queer Self-Making: Cutting, Pasting, And Seeing What Sticks, Robin Lao

Postgraduate

The purpose of this project aims to explore the potential of graphic design as a means of discovering and expressing queer identity on both a personal level and as a form of public engagement- to connect the individual to community and discover new knowledge of the self.

This project aims to add to the conversation and representation of queer identity so that both current and future generations can exist comfortably in their bodies and the spaces they occupy in the world. The necessity of more queer, more diverse and nuanced perspectives within studies of queer identity is more important than …

Early-Career Music Teachers’ Perspectives Of Their Initial Teacher Education Program In China, Han Meng, Jason Goopy

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Initial teacher education plays an important role in preparing music teachers for schools. There is a growing interest in Chinese music teacher education, though limited research currently exists. This study investigated early-career teachers’ perspectives concerning the efficacy of the initial music teacher education program at Yu Cai Normal University (pseudonym), China. This mixed-methods study used a sequential explanatory design where qualitative interview data were used to provide further explanation and detail regarding survey results. The perceptions of early-career music teachers were sought on the importance, effectiveness, and usefulness of their initial teacher education and the most rewarding and challenging aspects …

Mhair: A Dataset Of Audio-Image Representations For Multimodal Human Actions, Muhammad Bilal Shaikh, Douglas Chai, Syed M. S. Islam, Naveed Akhtar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Audio-image representations for a multimodal human action (MHAiR) dataset contains six different image representations of the audio signals that capture the temporal dynamics of the actions in a very compact and informative way. The dataset was extracted from the audio recordings which were captured from an existing video dataset, i.e., UCF101. Each data sample captured a duration of approximately 10 s long, and the overall dataset was split into 4893 training samples and 1944 testing samples. The resulting feature sequences were then converted into images, which can be used for human action recognition and other related tasks. These images can …

Multimodal Fusion For Audio-Image And Video Action Recognition, Muhammad B. Shaikh, Douglas Chai, Syed M. S. Islam, Naveed Akhtar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Multimodal Human Action Recognition (MHAR) is an important research topic in computer vision and event recognition fields. In this work, we address the problem of MHAR by developing a novel audio-image and video fusion-based deep learning framework that we call Multimodal Audio-Image and Video Action Recognizer (MAiVAR). We extract temporal information using image representations of audio signals and spatial information from video modality with the help of Convolutional Neutral Networks (CNN)-based feature extractors and fuse these features to recognize respective action classes. We apply a high-level weights assignment algorithm for improving audio-visual interaction and convergence. This proposed fusion-based framework utilizes …

Study Protocol For A Stepped-Wedge Cluster (Nested) Randomized Controlled Trial Of Antenatal Colostrum Expression (Ace) Instruction In First-Time Mothers: The Ace Study, Cassandra Cuffe, Roslyn Giglia, Matthew N. Cooper, Julie Hill, Desiree Silva, Anita M. Moorhead, Valerie Verhasselt, Joshua R. Lewis, Deborah Ireson, Jill R. Demirci, Talea Cotte, Kathryn Webb, Frances Patey, Therese A. O’Sullivan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Although many mothers initiate breastfeeding, supplementation with human-milk substitutes (formula) during the birth hospitalization is common and has been associated with early breastfeeding cessation. Colostrum hand expressed in the last few weeks before birth, known as antenatal colostrum expression (ACE), can be used instead of human-milk substitutes. However, evidence is lacking on the efficacy of ACE on breastfeeding outcomes and in non-diabetic mothers. Methods and Planned Analysis: This multicenter stepped-wedge cluster (nested) randomized controlled trial aims to recruit 945 nulliparous pregnant individuals. The trial is conducted in two phases. During Phase 1, control group participants are under standard care. …

Understanding The Impact Of Environmental Impact Assessment Research On Policy And Practice, Angus Morrison-Saunders, Annette Nykiel, Nicole Atkins

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

There is an enormous and ever-growing body of environmental impact assessment (EIA) research, much of which is grounded in practice or seeks to advance it. In this paper we show how the impact of EIA research on policy and practice might be conceptualised and how to set about evidencing it. A framework is developed through literature review to account for impact in four areas pertaining to instrumental impact, conceptual impact, capacity building and knowledge brokerage and co-production. Methods for implementing the framework include citations within policy documents along with content analysis to determine influence and interviews or surveys with policy …

Unleashing The Power Of Internet Of Things And Blockchain: A Comprehensive Analysis And Future Directions, Abderahman Rejeb, Karim Rejeb, Andrea Appolloni, Sandeep Jagtap, Mohammad Iranmanesh, Salem Alghamdi, Yaser Alhasawi, Yasanur Kayikci

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

As the fusion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technology advances, it is increasingly shaping diverse fields. The potential of this convergence to fortify security, enhance privacy, and streamline operations has ignited considerable academic interest, resulting in an impressive body of literature. However, there is a noticeable scarcity of studies employing Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to dissect and categorize this field. This review paper endeavours to bridge this gap by meticulously analysing a dataset of 4455 journal articles drawn solely from the Scopus database, cantered around IoT and blockchain applications. Utilizing LDA, we have extracted 14 distinct topics …

Analysis Of Element Yield, Bacterial Community Structure And The Impact Of Carbon Sources For Bioleaching Rare Earth Elements From High Grade Monazite, Melissa K. Corbett, April Gifford, Nick Fimognari, Elizabeth L. J. Watkin

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Rare earth element (REE) recovery from waste streams, mine tailings or recyclable components using bioleaching is gaining traction due to the shortage and security of REE supply as well as the environmental problems that occur from processing and refining. Four heterotrophic microbial species with known phosphate solubilizing capabilities were evaluated for their ability to leach REE from a high-grade monazite when provided with either galactose, fructose or maltose. Supplying fructose resulted in the greatest amount of REE leached from the ore due to the largest amount of organic acid produced. Gluconic acid was the dominant organic acid identified produced by …

Co-Designing An Online Treatment Decision Aid For Men With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer: Navigate, Penelope Schofield, Amelia Hyatt, Alan White, Fiona White, Mark Frydenberg, Suzanne Chambers, Robert Gardiner, Declan G. Murphy, Lawrence Cavedon, Jeremy Millar, Natalie Richards, Barbara Murphy, Ilona Juraskova

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives: To develop an online treatment decision aid (OTDA) to assist patients with low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC) and their partners in making treatment decisions. Patients and methods: Navigate, an OTDA for LRPC, was rigorously co-designed by patients with a confirmed diagnosis or at risk of LRPC and their partners, clinicians, researchers and website designers/developers. A theoretical model guided the development process. A mixed methods approach was used incorporating (1) evidence for essential design elements for OTDAs; (2) evidence for treatment options for LRPC; (3) an iterative co-design process involving stakeholder workshops and prototype review; and (4) expert rating using the …