Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Virtual Reality Learning Environments In Science To Engage Secondary Students In Hazardous Activities, Luke Spartalis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research examines the need for change in including hazardous activities in education. As different learning technologies develop, platforms that retain authentic outcomes via virtual reality are needed. The main objective of this research is to examine the inclusion of Virtual Reality Learning Environments (VRLEs) to determine their value in areas that include hazardous conditions. The research considered the ways that VR tools could be optimised to support these activities, as well as considering the challenges of VRLE implementation. The study examined whether VRLE’s allowed for authentic experiences to sufficiently drive an acceptance of VR to complement existing teaching and …

An Investigation Into The Mechanisms, Barriers, Degree And Sphere Of Risk Influence In Corporate Security, Nicola Lockhart

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates the sphere of corporate security risk influence within organisations, addressing the conceptual and practical ambiguity surrounding the activity’s capacity to shape organisational decisions, behaviours, and risk priorities. While corporate security’s protective role is widely recognised, its broader organisational risk influence remains under-theorised. The study defines the sphere of risk influence as the range of organisational stakeholders and environments with which the corporate security activity interacts, and within which it may engage, persuade, and mobilise action. This sphere is analytically constituted through the intersection of three dimensions: the mechanisms through which influence is attempted, the barriers that constrain …

The Experience Of Homelessness Among Older Adults In Bhutan - A Narrative Inquiry Study, Phuntsho Om

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A shift in the demographics of homelessness started to occur in the 1900s, with a significant increase in the number of middle-aged or elderly men and women being recognised as a part of the homeless population. The rising urgent global concern of homelessness of older adults necessitates a deeper understanding of the lived experience and holistic well-being of these marginalised adults. This thesis aimed to explore the phenomenon of homelessness of older adults in Bhutan, which is an often neglected topic in both national and international gerontological research.

Employing narrative inquiry within the constructivist approach as articulated by Pino Gravidia …

Enhancing Deep Reinforcement Learning With Expert Demonstrations For Mobile Robot Navigation In Unstructured Off-Road Environments, Dulitha Dabare

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Advancements in the field of Deep Learning has ushered in a boom in autonomous navigation research. Most of the work being conducted in this space, however, has focused on on-road urban navigation scenarios, with unstructured outdoor terrain navigation receiving much more limited attention. Given the wide range of applications that exist for legged and wheeled ground robots in off-road environments in areas such as agriculture, mining and disaster recovery, there is a growing need for research work to improve the navigational capabilities of mobile robots deployed in these challenging environments.

A promising candidate for application to these navigation challenges in …

Understanding Climate Change And Wellbeing Through Bhutan's Pursuit Of Gross National Happiness, Tashi Dorji

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Climate change has evolved into one of the biggest global challenges of the twenty first century reshaping ecological systems and social conditions with wide-ranging implications for human wellbeing. Bhutan offers a distinct context to explore interactions between climate change and wellbeing as it remains guided by its wellbeing-centred development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH). At the same time, it remains highly vulnerable to climate change despite being the only carbon negative country in the world. Nonetheless, the intersections between climate change and GNH have not been systematically explored.

This research aims to explore the relationship between climate change and …

Patient Experiences Of Receiving Home-Based Immunotherapy Infusions - A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study, Patricia Ann Cook

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Context: The treatment of cancer and chronic health conditions has been greatly revolutionised via intravenous immunotherapy infusions. Demand, both globally and in Australia, is increasing due to several factors including aging and increased populations, subsequent increases of cancer cases, new immunotherapy indications and increased survival rates.

In Perth, Western Australia, a private service provider commenced delivering a home based immunotherapy infusions model of care as a hospital substitution service provider in 2013 and the service has now been extended across Australia. The safety and efficacy of home-based infusions have been well documented in research, and an increasing number of patients …

Advancing Treatment Of Pleural Infection, Estee Pui Mun Lau

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Introduction: Pleural infection remains a major clinical concern, with an increasing incidence worldwide. The use of intrapleural tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) with deoxyribonuclease (DNase) therapy represents a major breakthrough as it offers an effective alternative to surgery for patients who fail conventional treatment. However, the optimal dosage of tPA is yet to be established. Indwelling pleural catheter (IPC)-related infections, especially IPC-related pleural infections are a significant concern and a barrier to the uptake of IPC. The development of a long-term preventative strategy is imperative to promote uptake and improve the quality of life of patients, particularly in those who have …

Multimodal Scene Understanding For Mobile Robot Navigation In Unstructured Outdoor Environments, Liyana Mudiyanselage Nipuna Dinendra Wijayathunga

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The application of autonomous field robots in agriculture, mining, transport and logistics, disaster management, and exploration has increased with advances in sensing, perception, and autonomous navigation technologies. Western Australian off-road environments present challenges for autonomous ground robots because they contain unstructured ter rain, variations in appearance and geometry, changing illumination, and visually similar regions with different traversal characteristics. Reliable operation therefore requires scene understanding methods capable of representing the environment according to its navigability for robot traversal.

This PhD research investigates multimodal scene understanding for autonomous ground robot navigation in unstructured off-road environments. The research focuses on the development of …

Productivity Of An Iconic Waterbird, The Common Loon, Is Decreasing Across The Southern Portion Of Its Breeding Range, Matthew Fuirst, Mark L. Mallory, Walter H. Piper, Kristin Bianchini, Sethulakshmi Kumbalathuparambil Sajeev, Griffin Archambault, Dan Clark, John H. Cooley Jr., David C. Evers, Tiffany Grade, Eric W. Hanson, Caroline Hughes, Daniel Poleschook Jr., Virginia R. Poleschook, Lucas J. Savoy, Nina Schoch, Hillary Siener, Andrew Vitz, Harry S. Vogel, Jillian Whitney, Douglas C. Tozer

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The Common Loon (Gavia immer) is an iconic waterbird of the northern wilderness and an indicator of the health of aquatic ecosystems. We conducted a benchmark comparison of productivity rates and long-term trends in productivity (6-week-old young raised per territorial pair) from 45 591 breeding events across 12 different study populations throughout the southern portion of species’ breeding range in North America. While all regions showed long-term mean productivity rates at or above the threshold considered necessary for population stability (0.48 chicks fledged per territorial pair), we found significant declines in productivity (ranging from −0.17% to −2.8% per year) in …

Experimental Investigation Into The Effects Of Air Staging On Fouling In A Fixed-Bed Biomass Combustor, Akram Elsebaie

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Biomass offers significant potential as a sustainable and renewable substitute for fossil fuels in energy generation, playing a critical role in the reduction of global warming. However, despite its environmental benefits, biomass combustion faces persistent operational challenges, particularly fouling, which reduces efficiency and increases maintenance costs. Although fouling mechanisms have been studied in various combustion systems, there is limited research which addresses its formation and behaviour in fixed-bed biomass combustors under different air staging conditions. This research investigates fouling behaviour in a counter-current combustor, focusing on the influence of design (secondary air location), operational (air staging flowrates between the primary …

Enhancing Offshore Wind Resource Assessment Through Neural Network-Based Hf Radar Data Analysis, Nikolas Martzikos, Matthew Craven, David Walker, Daniel Conley

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The increasing demand for offshore wind energy underscores the need for accurate wind speed estimation to support the design and operation of offshore wind farms. High-Frequency Radar (HFR), a widely used remote sensing technology in oceanographic research, offers promising potential for wind resource assessment, particularly in areas where conventional measurements are limited. This study explores the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for offshore wind speed prediction using HFR-derived data, addressing key challenges in model development and training. A key feature of this approach is the use of a decade-long dataset from the Celtic Sea, off the southwest UK coast, …

Next-Generation Virtual Environment Training For Cybersecurity In The Maritime Logistics Industry: A Position Paper, Tyler Cheng, Rory Hopcraft, Kimberly Tam, Ji-Jian Chin

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The maritime logistics industry is the most dependent on it in the modern world, yet it is not well protected against cyber risks. Recently, the maritime industry has been transitioning into industry-specific tech, and threats of cyberattacks are increasing as the adoption of technology and automation continues. One of the most effective methods to protect industries and ships from such security incidents, is to train seafarers to mitigate and handle such incidents. However, to the best of our knowledge, we did not find anything that addresses this gap. This article will present the idea and benefits of using virtual environments …

Angle-Based Formation Stabilization And Maneuvers In Port-Hamiltonian Form With Bearing And Velocity Measurements, Ningbo Li, Pablo Borja, Arjan Van Der Schaft, Jacquelien M.A. Scherpen

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This paper proposes a port-Hamiltonian approach for angle-based formation stabilization and maneuvers using bearing and velocity measurements with an underlying triangulated Laman graph. The corresponding port-Hamiltonian controller is designed using virtual couplings on the errors of angle constraints in angle space. Then, the angle constraints and agent actuators are mapped by the constraint Jacobian, which can be applied to other formation constraints. In addition, to avoid unavailable distance terms in the control law, an estimator is designed based on port-Hamiltonian theory and the property that energy is coordinate-free for different sensor modalities using bearing and velocity measurements, which permits our …

Rapid Electrochemical Biosensor With Enhanced Accuracy And Repeatability Using Pyrene Nhs Ester Modified 3d Graphene Electrodes, S. Nazir, D. Jenkins, G. Pan

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

A consistent and reproducible chemical modification of the transducer interface is essential to ensure effectiveimmobilization of bioreceptors, thereby improving the sensitivity and reproducibility of biosensors. Althoughnotable progress has been made in fabricating graphene-based biosensors, the effects of surface biofunctionalization on sensing performance remain not fully understood. This study shows that combining threedimensional (3D) graphene foam electrodes with a straightforward, single-step surface biofunctionalizationmethod is key to enhancing the performance of graphene-based biosensors. Specifically, it presents a single-stepapproach to functionalize the 3D graphene foam (Gii-Sens) with 1-pyrenebutyric acid N-hydroxysuccinimideester (Pyrene-NHS ester). Electrochemical techniques, including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulsevoltammetry (DPV), confirmed …

Diagnosing Long-Term Divergence In Build Back Better Outcomes In Low- And Lower-Middle-Income Communities, E. A. Opabola, M. Baiguera, A. Raby, T. Rossetto, A. Pomonis, E. Meilianda, Y. Idris, S. Nurdin, K. Adams, D. J. Mcgovern, N. Acikgoz, H. Mistry, F. Marafini

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Low-income communities in disaster-prone regions face persistent challenges in translating post-disaster recovery investments into sustained resilience, as they navigate trade-offs among engineering objectives, policy constraints, and evolving socio-economic needs. Despite the widespread adoption of Build Back Better (BBB) principles, evidence on the long-term sustainability of outcomes remains limited, particularly in low- and lower-middle-income contexts. This study examines the sustainability of BBB outcomes in two Indonesian case studies: Banda Aceh (approximately 18 years after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami) and Central Sulawesi (approximately 4 years after the 2018 earthquake, liquefaction, and tsunami). Drawing on structured housing assessments, household surveys, semi-structured interviews, …

Clinical Factors And Diagnoses Associated With Inappropriate Urine Culture Ordering In Primary Care, Marissa Valentine-King, Barbara W Trautner, Michael A Hansen, Roger Zoorob, Lisa C K Danek, Kenneth Muldrew, Forrest Hudson, Robert L Atmar, Larissa Grigoryan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for inappropriately ordered urine cultures in primary care.

Design: Cross-sectional study using chart reviews.

Setting: Two primary care, safety-net clinics in Houston, Texas.

Patients: Non-pregnant adults without a urinary catheter who had a urine culture and a primary care visit between 11/2018 and 3/2020.

Methods: We classified patients lacking physician documentation of the following symptoms as having an inappropriately ordered urine culture: dysuria, frequency, urgency, hematuria, fever, chills, costovertebral angle tenderness, nephrolithiasis, and pain (suprapubic, pelvic, or flank). We extracted patient demographics, visit-related diagnostic codes, past medical history, and urine culture results. Diagnostic …

Efficacy And Safety Of Pyrimidine Nucleos(T)Ide Therapy In Thymidine Kinase 2 Deficiency, Michio Hirano, Caterina Garone, Richard Haas, Carmen Paradas, Fernando Scaglia, Irene Rebollo Mesa, Carl Chiang, Anny-Odile Colson, Susan Vanmeter, Cristina Domínguez-González

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Thymidine kinase 2 deficiency (TK2d) (MIM 609560) is an ultra-rare, autosomal recessive mitochondrial myopathy caused by TK2 variants, leading to mitochondrial DNA depletion and/or multiple deletions. People with thymidine kinase 2 deficiency experience progressive myopathy, bulbar weakness and respiratory insufficiency, often losing the ability to walk, eat and breathe independently. Doxecitine and doxribtimine represents the first approved treatment for patients with thymidine kinase 2 deficiency with age of symptom onset ≤12 years by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency; previously, disease management was limited to supportive care. We investigated the efficacy and safety of pyrimidine …

A Note On The Novel Passive Sampling In Environmental Dna (Edna) Collection Technique To Detect Yellow Mud Turtle (Kinosternon Flavescens): Field And Laboratory Approaches In Turtle Edna, Sakib Tahmid Rishan, Richard J. Kline, Md. Saydur Rahman

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a powerful and sensitive method for monitoring aquatic and terrestrial organisms, offering insights into their distribution. Usually, eDNA is collected using a filter membrane through water filtration. However, the passive eDNA method can simplify sampling and broaden its scope, offering new insights for ecological surveillance. This study examined the efficacy of six different membrane filters in detecting the yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens) through a novel passive eDNA method. After being immersed in water for 12 h, only the mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane filter consistently demonstrated specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using …

Guidelines For Standard Basic Notations In Applied Statistics, Abhaya Indrayan, Shivani Saini Ms

COBRA Preprint Series

Whereas some statistical notations are standard and uniformly used by different workers, many are not. Varying notations lead to confusion among the readers, particularly those engaged with applied statistics material, such as medical professionals. This communication proposes that all basic notations be standardized so that the same notations are consistently used by different authors, in different books, journals, and articles for the benefit of those who are not rigorously trained statisticians. Guidelines for such standard notations are also provided. The lead must be taken by statisticians.

Connecting The Dots - Recognition Of Artificial And Natural Shapes Relies On Representing Points Of High Information, Gunnar Schmidtmann, Nicholas Baker, Kevin J. Lande, Filipp Schmidt

School of Health Professions

Physiological and psychophysical evidence suggests that the visual system represents object outlines using prominent curvature features, particularly regions of extreme curvature (convex maxima and concave minima). These curvature extrema often coincide with points of high informational content (“surprisal”), but this relationship is only correlational. It remains unclear whether the visual system explicitly encodes curvature extrema or instead prioritizes the most informative contour locations. To address this, we conducted two shape-matching experiments comparing the roles of curvature extrema and surprisal in shape representation. Observers performed match-to-sample tasks in which smooth reference shapes were matched to simplified polygonal versions created by connecting …

Shelled Shut-Ins: A Conditional Escape Task Showing Perceptual Awareness In Hermit Crabs, Ari Drummond, John Spicer, Mark Briffa

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Sentience is an increasingly popular topic in animal welfare and behavioural research. However, studying sentience can be difficult and contentious. Sentience has frequently been associated with ‘feelings’ and ‘subjective states’ not directly accessible to human observers; thus, investigating awareness in animals could be an alternative approach. Frameworks of awareness have been developed for the experimental examination of cognitive capacities that might underpin ‘feelings’ as affective states and subjective experiences. Using a framework of four hierarchically arranged levels of awareness (that is, perceptual, cognitive, assessment and executive), the awareness of an intertidal crustacean, the common hermit crab, Pagurus bernhardus , was …

Testing The Transferability Of Ai Models For Cold-Water Coral Detection And Classification, Kyran P. Graves, Louise Allcock, David K.A. Barnes, Amelia E.H. Bridges, Kerry L. Howell

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The proliferation of accessible deep-water imaging platforms has resulted in the acquisition of vast amounts of image data, resulting in an analysis bottleneck. Object detection is now being applied to assist the image annotation process, with the potential to reduce analysis time. However, for object detectors to effectively tackle the scale of the challenge, models need to be generalisable to allow the transfer between imaging platforms and in space. This study trains YOLOv5 object detection models to identify six coral morphology groups using annotated imagery collected by ROV ISIS in the UK (JC136). Model performance was tested with independent datasets …

Investigating Spatial And Seasonal Differences In Microgastropod Assemblages Within The Little-Studied Camamu Bay, Brazil: A Potential Bioindicator For Remote Tropical Areas?, Francisco Kelmo, Sol De Maria Cesar Ferreira, Eduardo Henrique Galvão, Martin J. Attrill

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

This study investigates spatial and seasonal variation in the assemblages of benthic microgastropods (snails < 5–10 mm in length) within a poorly studied tropical bay. As these organisms are abundant, diverse and relatively easy to sample, with well-established taxonomy, they may prove a highly suitable group for ecological studies in such areas. Sediment samples were collected from three river basins in Camamu Bay, Brazil, during the wet and dry seasons. A total of 132 microgastropod species was recorded, demonstrating high diversity. The most abundant species were Eulithidium affine, Bittiolum varium, Cerithium atratum, Vitta virginea and Schwartziella bryerea. The least abundant species were Tenaturris gemma, Turbinella laevigata, Petaloconchus erectus, Parviturboides interruptus and Vitrinella cupidinensis. Statistical analysis revealed significant seasonal and spatial differences in diversity and assemblage composition, which correlated with environmental gradients. The results suggest that microgastropods are a suitable component of the biota for ecological and applied studies in marine sediments, particularly in remote tropical locations where full macrofaunal analysis may be challenging. Whilst further testing across impact gradients is needed, this approach offers a practical solution for ecological investigations in remote regions with limited taxonomic expertise and highlights microgastropods as a useful indicator taxon for impact biomonitoring in tropical marine sediments.

The Giant Antarctic Amphipod Paraceradocus Miersi Will Not Fare Well If Freshening Continues In The Southern Ocean, John I. Spicer, Simon A. Morley, Katie N.G. Thiessen, Lloyd S. Peck

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Sea water provides a stable environment for marine animals. Most oceanic invertebrates have body fluids similar in ionic composition to sea water. However, Antarctic coastal ecosystems are increasingly exposed to freshening—a reduction in salinity driven by glacial melt, increased precipitation, and extreme weather events. Such changes can cause mortality in Antarctic invertebrates, which generally are intolerant to reduced salinity. This study investigated osmotic and ionic regulation of the Antarctic amphipod Paraceradocus miersi exposed to simulated freshening. When salinity was reduced (from S = 34.6 to 28.0) for 12–48 h, haemolymph osmolality and sodium concentration declined, while calcium remained stable; magnesium …

Overview Of The Ergonomic Model Of Soccer And The Training Process, James J. Collins, Shane Malone, Kieran D. Collins

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Soccer is a complex sport with significant physical, physiological, psychological, technical, and tactical demands on players. This review presents an ergonomics-based model of soccer performance, emphasizing that no single component operates in isolation. Building on the foundational ergonomic framework, this review integrates contemporary evidence on training load monitoring, ecological dynamics, and cognitive-perceptual performance dimensions not systematically addressed in prior frameworks. Elite outfield players cover 9–14 km·h⁻¹ per match, with high-speed running (19.8–24.8 km·h⁻¹) making up about 20% of total distance and sprinting (>25 km·h⁻¹) around 2%. These outputs vary by playing position, tactical formation, …

Exploring The Prevalence Of Eating Disorders, Low Sex Drive, And Exercise Compulsion Among Professional And Non-Professional Elite Male Rugby Union Players, Gary Sweeney, Siobhain Mcardle, Danielle Logue, Nessan Costello, Kieran Collins

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Rugby union exhibits large variations in the idealised player physical profiles across positions. The pursuit of physique ideals with limited professional support can influence eating disorder symptomology, exercise compulsion, and low sexual drive. The primary aims were to (1) explore the prevalence of elite male rugby union players who are at risk for eating disorders, low sex drive, and exercise compulsion, and (2) explore the relationship between risk and players’ professional status, weight, age, and playing position. A secondary aim was to explore the nutritional service support and dietary monitoring practices experienced by the players. Participants were recruited from four …

An Analysis Of Diet Sustainability Among Different Dietary Patterns In The Portuguese Adult And Elderly Population, Mariana Rei, Áine Burke, Sadhbh O’Shea, Annemarie E. Bennett, John M. Kearney, Sara S.P. Rodrigues

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Purpose: Dietary patterns influence human and environmental health. Shifts toward convenience and ready-to-eat ultra-processed foods have contributed to the rising prevalence of malnutrition, chronic disease, and ecological harm. This study examined the associations between dietary patterns and diet sustainability among Portuguese adults. Methods: Data from 2287 individuals aged 18–84 years were obtained from the last National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey (2015–2016). Three dietary patterns were identified based on food composition and processing: Traditional, Diet Concerns, and Unhealthy; while four dietary patterns were categorized according to food preparation location: At home by themselves, At home by relatives or friends, …

Physique Development And Management Shape Experiences Of Low Energy Availability Risk In Elite Professional Male Rugby Union Players, Gary Sweeney, Siobhain Mcardle, Nessan Costello, Kieran Collins

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This study aimed to explore elite male rugby union players’ perceptions and lived experiences of physique development and management in relation to low energy availability risk. Semi-structured interviews (29 ± 8 min) were conducted with 18 players (senior: n = 9; academy: n = 9; mean age: 23 ± 3) across four professional rugby union clubs in Ireland. Through reflexive thematic analysis, the following themes were constructed. Players had limited awareness of low energy availability, yet described experiences consistent with symptoms, including fatigue, low mood and reduced libido. A pervasive physique culture, characterised by body composition ‘ideals’ and weight or …

Editorial: Harnessing Of Soil Microbiome For Sustainable Agriculture: Harnessing Of Soil Microbiome For Sustainable Agriculture, Debasis Mitra, Marika Pellegrini, Leonard Koolman

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

No abstract provided.

From Platelets To Particles: Optimizing Extracellular Vesicle Isolation In A National Blood Centre, Y. Chintala, A. Waters, F. Mcgrath, A. Lorusso, C. Wynne, S. Meaney

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Background and Objectives: Platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (PEVs) are submicron, membrane-bound particles released upon platelet activation, with a recognized role in haemostasis, inflammation and immunoregulation. PEVs remain insufficiently characterized in blood products. This study compared four isolation methods to evaluate their impact on PEV yield, purity and characteristics, aiming to identify a practical approach for transfusion service workflows. Materials and Methods: PEVs were isolated from expired single-donor aphaeresis platelet concentrates (n = 12) using methods based on different isolation principles: ultracentrifugation (UC), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), mixed size/charge separation (hybrid) and an affinity-based spin column method (affinity). Size, number and biochemical …