Why firms in China go green and how they market green?
- Authors: Song-Turner, Helen
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Since the late 1970s China has strived to build a globally competitive market economy based on a range of industry sectors, focusing on manufacturing and allied industries. By 2014 the size of China’s economy is second only to that of the United States of America. A challenge in this context and situation—where economic growth is still a key area of policy focus for the government—is dealing with associated environmental matters and issues. By the turn of the 21st Century, environmental issues were receiving an unprecedented degree of attention from the Chinese Government, and one of the subsets of this issue is the concept of green marketing. A question arises regarding the possibilities of successful growing firms in China applying the concepts, principles and practices which embody green marketing within a rubric and context of sustained economic development. To gain a deep understanding of ways in which the concepts, applications and conditions of green marketing actually work in China, this research explores why firms in China go green and how they market their green products and services in China using an emic approach that emphasizes an indigenous, within culture perspective of firms’ behaviour in the Chinese context. Related to the research question this research explores a range of possible motivating factors and ascertains features of key influential stakeholders which might well influence firms’ green marketing approaches and practices in China. These firms are exceptional in the way they have addressed green marketing. The research undertaken seeks to identify ways in which these factors translate in marketing terms within a green marketing paradigm. Given that green marketing is arguably where economic development and environmental matters tend to interact and intersect within a market economy, this research provides insights to how sustainable Chinese firms deal with this complex and important issue. The use of a case study approach, across a range of industry sectors and in a variety of locations in China, provides depth and realism to this research. The result of this research contribute significantly to the understanding of how Chinese managers perceive ecological sustainability and expand firm stakeholder theory by identifying key influential stakeholders in proactive green decisions. The ways in which firms define and identify key influential stakeholders in their green decisions are influenced by resource dependency, the institutional power of the stakeholders, and moderated by firm’s characteristics and life cycle stages. Firms operating in a strong government-driven setting derive four conceptual green motivations—philosophical and social responsibility, management of risk reduction, competition pressure, and special events— that offer insights on understanding firms’ green behaviours and green orientations in China.
- Authors: Song-Turner, Helen
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Since the late 1970s China has strived to build a globally competitive market economy based on a range of industry sectors, focusing on manufacturing and allied industries. By 2014 the size of China’s economy is second only to that of the United States of America. A challenge in this context and situation—where economic growth is still a key area of policy focus for the government—is dealing with associated environmental matters and issues. By the turn of the 21st Century, environmental issues were receiving an unprecedented degree of attention from the Chinese Government, and one of the subsets of this issue is the concept of green marketing. A question arises regarding the possibilities of successful growing firms in China applying the concepts, principles and practices which embody green marketing within a rubric and context of sustained economic development. To gain a deep understanding of ways in which the concepts, applications and conditions of green marketing actually work in China, this research explores why firms in China go green and how they market their green products and services in China using an emic approach that emphasizes an indigenous, within culture perspective of firms’ behaviour in the Chinese context. Related to the research question this research explores a range of possible motivating factors and ascertains features of key influential stakeholders which might well influence firms’ green marketing approaches and practices in China. These firms are exceptional in the way they have addressed green marketing. The research undertaken seeks to identify ways in which these factors translate in marketing terms within a green marketing paradigm. Given that green marketing is arguably where economic development and environmental matters tend to interact and intersect within a market economy, this research provides insights to how sustainable Chinese firms deal with this complex and important issue. The use of a case study approach, across a range of industry sectors and in a variety of locations in China, provides depth and realism to this research. The result of this research contribute significantly to the understanding of how Chinese managers perceive ecological sustainability and expand firm stakeholder theory by identifying key influential stakeholders in proactive green decisions. The ways in which firms define and identify key influential stakeholders in their green decisions are influenced by resource dependency, the institutional power of the stakeholders, and moderated by firm’s characteristics and life cycle stages. Firms operating in a strong government-driven setting derive four conceptual green motivations—philosophical and social responsibility, management of risk reduction, competition pressure, and special events— that offer insights on understanding firms’ green behaviours and green orientations in China.
Data classification through nonsmooth optimization
- Authors: Soukhoroukova, Nadejda
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "The purpose of this thesis is to develop and test new methods for data classification based on mathematical programming and nonsmooth optimization."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Soukhoroukova, Nadejda
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "The purpose of this thesis is to develop and test new methods for data classification based on mathematical programming and nonsmooth optimization."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The Body as Fiction / Fiction as a Way of Thinking: On Writing A Short (Personal) History of the Bra and its Contents
- Authors: Spencer, Beth
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis uses fiction as a research technology for investigating and thinking about issues to do with bodies and knowledge at the cusp of the 20th and 21st centuries. It includes sample material from a novel in progress -- A Short (Personal) History of the Bra and its Contents -- to illustrate some of the unique outcomes of this approach to exploring cultural history and writing cultural criticism. One of the advantages of fiction is that it allows me to create a discursive field in which it is possible for the very wide range of issues raised by my topic to coexist, work off each other and cross-fertilise. These include ideas regarding gender, sexuality, nurture and subjectivity; issues to do with the implants controversy, the cancer industry and the corporatisation of medicine (and hence various current debates within science and medicine); as well as movements in fashion history and popular culture -- all of which contribute to making up the datasphere in which and through which we continually reproduce ourselves as subjects. [...]
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Spencer, Beth
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis uses fiction as a research technology for investigating and thinking about issues to do with bodies and knowledge at the cusp of the 20th and 21st centuries. It includes sample material from a novel in progress -- A Short (Personal) History of the Bra and its Contents -- to illustrate some of the unique outcomes of this approach to exploring cultural history and writing cultural criticism. One of the advantages of fiction is that it allows me to create a discursive field in which it is possible for the very wide range of issues raised by my topic to coexist, work off each other and cross-fertilise. These include ideas regarding gender, sexuality, nurture and subjectivity; issues to do with the implants controversy, the cancer industry and the corporatisation of medicine (and hence various current debates within science and medicine); as well as movements in fashion history and popular culture -- all of which contribute to making up the datasphere in which and through which we continually reproduce ourselves as subjects. [...]
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
An evaluation of the effectiveness of a consumer-led educational program about stigma in mental illness and recovery attitudes among Mental Health Nurses
- Authors: Sreeram, Anju
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Fear, frustration and myths about mental illness engenders negative attitudes towards mental illness. Such negative attitudes impede the recovery of people diagnosed with mental illness. Despite an increasing emphasis on stigma and recovery-focused practices, evidence shows prejudicial attitudes towards mental illness and the recovery of people with mental illness among mental health professionals still exist. Anti-stigma initiatives and recovery-oriented interventions can aid in enhancing the attitudes of mental health professionals. Contact-based interventions have the greatest impact on attitudes among the mental health professionals including nurses. However, research regarding initiatives targeting stigma of mental illness and recovery attitudes among Mental Health Nurses working in the acute inpatient psychiatric units is limited. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a consumer-led education package on stigma about mental illness and recovery attitudes of Mental Health Nurses. A sequential explanatory mixed-method, with a pre-test and post-test design was used to evaluate the effect of consumer-led education. This research involved three phases. In the first phase, the study explored Mental Health Nurses' attitudes towards mental illness and recovery using surveys and non-participant observation. The second phase focused on the co-development and co-implementation of a consumer-led education package. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated using immediate post-test assessment and again three months later. The final phase focused on exploring the results obtained in the first and second phases of the study through an in-depth interview.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Sreeram, Anju
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Fear, frustration and myths about mental illness engenders negative attitudes towards mental illness. Such negative attitudes impede the recovery of people diagnosed with mental illness. Despite an increasing emphasis on stigma and recovery-focused practices, evidence shows prejudicial attitudes towards mental illness and the recovery of people with mental illness among mental health professionals still exist. Anti-stigma initiatives and recovery-oriented interventions can aid in enhancing the attitudes of mental health professionals. Contact-based interventions have the greatest impact on attitudes among the mental health professionals including nurses. However, research regarding initiatives targeting stigma of mental illness and recovery attitudes among Mental Health Nurses working in the acute inpatient psychiatric units is limited. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a consumer-led education package on stigma about mental illness and recovery attitudes of Mental Health Nurses. A sequential explanatory mixed-method, with a pre-test and post-test design was used to evaluate the effect of consumer-led education. This research involved three phases. In the first phase, the study explored Mental Health Nurses' attitudes towards mental illness and recovery using surveys and non-participant observation. The second phase focused on the co-development and co-implementation of a consumer-led education package. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated using immediate post-test assessment and again three months later. The final phase focused on exploring the results obtained in the first and second phases of the study through an in-depth interview.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The effectiveness of using static features in identifying scam genres
- Authors: Stabek, Amber
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Thesis details a cybercrime classification framework stemming from a mixed methodological approach, which is both top down and bottom up and is designed to be multidisciplinary and adaptable across sectors.
- Description: Master by Research of Mathematical Sciences
- Description: Variation in scam classification is regularly identified as a primary cause of discrepancy in victim report data resulting in unsuccessful scam identification and insufficient rates of interception by law enforcement, which results in the low prosecution rate of scammers. The result of such discrepancies lead to complex concerns, such as the under reporting of scam incidence, and reduced rates of successful follow up by investigative and enforcement agencies consequential to difficulties in making correct referrals. Without a shared and common lexicon of scam labels and descriptions, communication between investigative agencies and cross-border cooperation is obstructed. With no compatible comprehension of the scam lexicon, timely progression in scam-case management leading to the identification, tracking and interception of scammer communications cannot be realised. Ambiguities leading to interpretational impedances are aiding scammers by enabling their scams in cross-jurisdictional and multi-national platforms. If the wide variety of known scam types could be condensed to recognisable and traceable instances, the business models that scammers use could be identified and future scamming events predicted, monitored, and interrupted. Following a mixed methodology, this research aims to address some of these concerns. This is achieved by clustering scam descriptions and partitioning them into scam types, called scam genres. The result of which reveals homogeneous groups of scam cases and allows for the assessment of the effectiveness of using static features in identifying scam types. Second to this, identification of the most suitable model for reducing scam cases into the fewest number of clusters with the least number of scam cases within in each cluster at an accuracy level of at least 95% is achieved. Through the use of hierarchical clustering, this research grouped publically available scams into homogeneous clusters of scam genres. Two-hundred and seventy-seven scams from 38 separate categories of scam classification were condensed into as few as 7-clusters of scam genre. Following a mixed methodological, grounded theoretical approach and using discriminant function analysis, 82 static features were derived from the 277 scam descriptions analysed. Of the 82 static features derived, it was concluded that only 68 significantly predicted scam type and explained 95% of the total variation found in scam case assignment. The most significant static features determined to be crucial to any scamming campaign and useful in identifying the type of scam genre a scam case belongs to were; what the scam offered, the role of the victim, the goal of the scammer and the method of scam introduction. The results of this research provide empirical evidence of the inconsistent use of definitions across jurisdictions in scam descriptions, and will contribute to the development of a uniform lexicon of scamming terminology as well as become foundational to further research on the impact of scams for law enforcement, the public and private sector, the community and the individual.
- Authors: Stabek, Amber
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Thesis details a cybercrime classification framework stemming from a mixed methodological approach, which is both top down and bottom up and is designed to be multidisciplinary and adaptable across sectors.
- Description: Master by Research of Mathematical Sciences
- Description: Variation in scam classification is regularly identified as a primary cause of discrepancy in victim report data resulting in unsuccessful scam identification and insufficient rates of interception by law enforcement, which results in the low prosecution rate of scammers. The result of such discrepancies lead to complex concerns, such as the under reporting of scam incidence, and reduced rates of successful follow up by investigative and enforcement agencies consequential to difficulties in making correct referrals. Without a shared and common lexicon of scam labels and descriptions, communication between investigative agencies and cross-border cooperation is obstructed. With no compatible comprehension of the scam lexicon, timely progression in scam-case management leading to the identification, tracking and interception of scammer communications cannot be realised. Ambiguities leading to interpretational impedances are aiding scammers by enabling their scams in cross-jurisdictional and multi-national platforms. If the wide variety of known scam types could be condensed to recognisable and traceable instances, the business models that scammers use could be identified and future scamming events predicted, monitored, and interrupted. Following a mixed methodology, this research aims to address some of these concerns. This is achieved by clustering scam descriptions and partitioning them into scam types, called scam genres. The result of which reveals homogeneous groups of scam cases and allows for the assessment of the effectiveness of using static features in identifying scam types. Second to this, identification of the most suitable model for reducing scam cases into the fewest number of clusters with the least number of scam cases within in each cluster at an accuracy level of at least 95% is achieved. Through the use of hierarchical clustering, this research grouped publically available scams into homogeneous clusters of scam genres. Two-hundred and seventy-seven scams from 38 separate categories of scam classification were condensed into as few as 7-clusters of scam genre. Following a mixed methodological, grounded theoretical approach and using discriminant function analysis, 82 static features were derived from the 277 scam descriptions analysed. Of the 82 static features derived, it was concluded that only 68 significantly predicted scam type and explained 95% of the total variation found in scam case assignment. The most significant static features determined to be crucial to any scamming campaign and useful in identifying the type of scam genre a scam case belongs to were; what the scam offered, the role of the victim, the goal of the scammer and the method of scam introduction. The results of this research provide empirical evidence of the inconsistent use of definitions across jurisdictions in scam descriptions, and will contribute to the development of a uniform lexicon of scamming terminology as well as become foundational to further research on the impact of scams for law enforcement, the public and private sector, the community and the individual.
Testing the efficacy of therapeutic footwear with rocker-soles to protect ulceration in diabetic and neuropathic patients
- Authors: Stacpoole Shea, Susan
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "This thesis aimed to test rocker-sole shoe designs to select the most effective design for protecting plantar hallux and plantar first metatarsophalangeal joint ilcerations from plantar pressures during walking in adults with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Stacpoole Shea, Susan
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "This thesis aimed to test rocker-sole shoe designs to select the most effective design for protecting plantar hallux and plantar first metatarsophalangeal joint ilcerations from plantar pressures during walking in adults with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Stacy, Robert
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: The heavy construction industry, as a contractor-dominated environment, is challenged by the need to achieve significant and sustainable improvements in occupational health and safety performance. To overcome such challenges an occupational health and safety improvement methodology was developed incorporating a transformational change model and an action research method."
- Description: Doctor of Philosphy
- Authors: Stapleton, Craig
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: Doctor of Psychology
The use of on-farm water points and artificial wildlife ponds in providing habitat for fauna in the Wimmera and Southern Mallee, Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Starks, Jonathan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Fauna living in arid environments face strong ecological and physiological constraints. Water is the key requirement and vertebrates exhibit a range of adaptations for survival. Some species obtain water from their diet, but those which require water to drink or as habitat must either live in or near permanent water, or move in search of water. This strongly influences the distribution and abundance of vertebrate species in arid environments. In arid agricultural landscapes, the development of artificial water sources for stock has benefited water-dependant native fauna, particularly frogs. Little is known about the effects of removal of artificial water sources in these environments. In North-western Victoria, completion of the Northern Mallee Pipeline and the proposed construction of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline will ultimately replace over 20,000 farm dams, resulting in the widespread loss of an open water resource currently used by fauna across the Wimmera and southern Mallee. The wildlife values of the different on-farm water points in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the remaining Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Channel System were examined. Species richness and abundance of vertebrates were surveyed at farm dams, channels and stock troughs in open paddocks, and at farm dams in Mallee woodlands. Mallee woodlands with no available water were also surveyed. Sites were surveyed once per season to determine which species were utilising the different on-farm water points and Mallee woodlands. Knowledge of their usage by different species allowed the importance of each water point type to be determined and the impact of the closure of the channel system to be assessed. The study recorded 57 vertebrate species in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region, including six reptile, 43 bird, seven mammal and zero frog species. Surveys in the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region recorded 74 different species, including three reptile , 57 bird, eight mammal and six frog species. Overall species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, and the levels of species richness and abundance were significantly higher than at sites with Mallee woodland and no available water. The differences between the two site types were due mainly to greater abundance of water- dependant species at farm dams in Mallee woodland sites. For water points in open paddocks, species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in an open paddock and lowest at sites with a stock trough in an open paddock. The difference between the different open paddock water point types were significant, and like woodland sites, were driven by greater numbers of water-dependant species. The study also examined whether purpose-built artificial wildlife ponds could provide habitat for water-dependant fauna and whether artificial wildlife ponds could potentially maintain fauna populations after de-commissioning of the existing channel system. The results of this study showed that artificial wildlife ponds placed in Mallee woodlands can provide habitat for birds, both in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region. The results also showed that these wildlife ponds can support species assemblages at levels comparable to a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, demonstrating that wildlife ponds can be effective in providing a degree of ‘replacement’ habitat for birds on farms. Frogs were not recorded using wildlife ponds situated in Mallee woodlands and this was considered due to the wildlife ponds being placed at least 900 metres from a nearby water source potentially too far for many frog species to disperse in an arid environment. Given these findings, the position of ponds was adjusted for the ponds installed in Black Box woodlands. Wildlife ponds in Black Box woodlands were also successful in providing habitat for birds and functioned as an important source of water for water-dependant birds in summer. Frogs were recorded using the wildlife ponds situated in Black Box woodlands and this was most likely due to their close proximity (<200 metres) to a nearby water source, as well as being located in a wetland-associated vegetation type. The success of the wildlife ponds concept has been demonstrated both in their ability to function as habitat for water-dependant fauna and through widespread community acceptance and support. With the de-commissioning of the channel and dam system removing open water sources from the farming landscape, artificial wildlife ponds installed on farms across the region could provide not just a vital habitat resource supporting water-dependant fauna, but in many areas, the only source of water for wildlife within the Wimmera and southern Mallee regions.
- Description: Masters of Applied Science
- Authors: Starks, Jonathan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Fauna living in arid environments face strong ecological and physiological constraints. Water is the key requirement and vertebrates exhibit a range of adaptations for survival. Some species obtain water from their diet, but those which require water to drink or as habitat must either live in or near permanent water, or move in search of water. This strongly influences the distribution and abundance of vertebrate species in arid environments. In arid agricultural landscapes, the development of artificial water sources for stock has benefited water-dependant native fauna, particularly frogs. Little is known about the effects of removal of artificial water sources in these environments. In North-western Victoria, completion of the Northern Mallee Pipeline and the proposed construction of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline will ultimately replace over 20,000 farm dams, resulting in the widespread loss of an open water resource currently used by fauna across the Wimmera and southern Mallee. The wildlife values of the different on-farm water points in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the remaining Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Channel System were examined. Species richness and abundance of vertebrates were surveyed at farm dams, channels and stock troughs in open paddocks, and at farm dams in Mallee woodlands. Mallee woodlands with no available water were also surveyed. Sites were surveyed once per season to determine which species were utilising the different on-farm water points and Mallee woodlands. Knowledge of their usage by different species allowed the importance of each water point type to be determined and the impact of the closure of the channel system to be assessed. The study recorded 57 vertebrate species in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region, including six reptile, 43 bird, seven mammal and zero frog species. Surveys in the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region recorded 74 different species, including three reptile , 57 bird, eight mammal and six frog species. Overall species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, and the levels of species richness and abundance were significantly higher than at sites with Mallee woodland and no available water. The differences between the two site types were due mainly to greater abundance of water- dependant species at farm dams in Mallee woodland sites. For water points in open paddocks, species richness and abundance was highest at sites with a farm dam in an open paddock and lowest at sites with a stock trough in an open paddock. The difference between the different open paddock water point types were significant, and like woodland sites, were driven by greater numbers of water-dependant species. The study also examined whether purpose-built artificial wildlife ponds could provide habitat for water-dependant fauna and whether artificial wildlife ponds could potentially maintain fauna populations after de-commissioning of the existing channel system. The results of this study showed that artificial wildlife ponds placed in Mallee woodlands can provide habitat for birds, both in the Northern Mallee Pipeline region and the Wimmera Mallee Channel/dam region. The results also showed that these wildlife ponds can support species assemblages at levels comparable to a farm dam in a Mallee woodland, demonstrating that wildlife ponds can be effective in providing a degree of ‘replacement’ habitat for birds on farms. Frogs were not recorded using wildlife ponds situated in Mallee woodlands and this was considered due to the wildlife ponds being placed at least 900 metres from a nearby water source potentially too far for many frog species to disperse in an arid environment. Given these findings, the position of ponds was adjusted for the ponds installed in Black Box woodlands. Wildlife ponds in Black Box woodlands were also successful in providing habitat for birds and functioned as an important source of water for water-dependant birds in summer. Frogs were recorded using the wildlife ponds situated in Black Box woodlands and this was most likely due to their close proximity (<200 metres) to a nearby water source, as well as being located in a wetland-associated vegetation type. The success of the wildlife ponds concept has been demonstrated both in their ability to function as habitat for water-dependant fauna and through widespread community acceptance and support. With the de-commissioning of the channel and dam system removing open water sources from the farming landscape, artificial wildlife ponds installed on farms across the region could provide not just a vital habitat resource supporting water-dependant fauna, but in many areas, the only source of water for wildlife within the Wimmera and southern Mallee regions.
- Description: Masters of Applied Science
An experimental investigation into the drainage properties of coarse Loy Yang pond ash
- Authors: Stipcevich, Jack
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The Latrobe Valley mines, Victoria, Australia, are facing some major challenges as they approach the end of their mining life. Most of these challenges surround current rehabilitation practice and the ability to create safe and stable landforms for future land uses well after the mines have closed. As there has been no developed alternative use for the brown coal at this stage, stopping power generation leads to the cessation of mining. AGL Loy Yang is undertaking rehabilitation cover trials on exposed coal batters to investigate optimal cover materials that will enable safe and stable batters well beyond mine closure. A series of rehabilitation trials using coarse coal ash have been constructed by AGL to assess the performance of coarse coal ash as a ‘subsurface drainage layer’. One of the trials includes the use of a 1 metre coarse coal ash layer placed below a 1 metre thick clay cover and above a coal surface shaped to approximately 18 degrees (1V:3H). Without a drainage layer, water may percolate through the clay cover or seep through the intact brown coal, resulting in a build of pore water pressure at the coal – clay interface and increasing the potential for slope failure. The aim of this research work was to assess the spatial distribution of ash properties known to affect drainage behaviour at the field scale; to test and calibrate field-monitoring equipment that can be used to assess drainage behaviour at the field-scale; to provide recommendations for further research on the use of coal ash drainage layer; and to provide a benchmark for future testing and monitoring. Through an experimental investigation, it was shown that there no significant variation exists in the coarse fraction of Loy Yang pond ash’s physical and chemical properties. Monitoring equipment used to determine the field drainage performance of the ash included a T8 Tensiometer and EnviroPro (multi-capacitance sensor) that were calibrated and tested in the laboratory. It was determined that monitoring devices used in this study were suitable for measuring the ash’s hydraulic behaviour only once calibrations had been performed. As a result the tested field equipment were included in the design of a future monitoring program.
- Description: Masters by Research
- Authors: Stipcevich, Jack
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The Latrobe Valley mines, Victoria, Australia, are facing some major challenges as they approach the end of their mining life. Most of these challenges surround current rehabilitation practice and the ability to create safe and stable landforms for future land uses well after the mines have closed. As there has been no developed alternative use for the brown coal at this stage, stopping power generation leads to the cessation of mining. AGL Loy Yang is undertaking rehabilitation cover trials on exposed coal batters to investigate optimal cover materials that will enable safe and stable batters well beyond mine closure. A series of rehabilitation trials using coarse coal ash have been constructed by AGL to assess the performance of coarse coal ash as a ‘subsurface drainage layer’. One of the trials includes the use of a 1 metre coarse coal ash layer placed below a 1 metre thick clay cover and above a coal surface shaped to approximately 18 degrees (1V:3H). Without a drainage layer, water may percolate through the clay cover or seep through the intact brown coal, resulting in a build of pore water pressure at the coal – clay interface and increasing the potential for slope failure. The aim of this research work was to assess the spatial distribution of ash properties known to affect drainage behaviour at the field scale; to test and calibrate field-monitoring equipment that can be used to assess drainage behaviour at the field-scale; to provide recommendations for further research on the use of coal ash drainage layer; and to provide a benchmark for future testing and monitoring. Through an experimental investigation, it was shown that there no significant variation exists in the coarse fraction of Loy Yang pond ash’s physical and chemical properties. Monitoring equipment used to determine the field drainage performance of the ash included a T8 Tensiometer and EnviroPro (multi-capacitance sensor) that were calibrated and tested in the laboratory. It was determined that monitoring devices used in this study were suitable for measuring the ash’s hydraulic behaviour only once calibrations had been performed. As a result the tested field equipment were included in the design of a future monitoring program.
- Description: Masters by Research
Organisational resilience within a complexity science framework : A case study of Ballarat City Council
- Authors: Stockton, Imogen
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Understanding the resilience of organisations, their vulnerabilities and capacity to adapt to an unknown future is critical because modern society is dependent upon the continuation of these systems or alternative systems which support humans, their communities and the environment. The challenge for organisations assessing their resilience is to find a way to undertake this assessment that best meets the needs of the organisation and the context in which it operates. Thus this study aims to develop an understanding of resilience, in particular, organisational resilience and develop a means of identifying resilience in an organisation. A conceptual model of organisational resilience was developed together with an operational Framework of Analysis which was then applied to the Ballarat City Council as a single case study. The conceptual model proposes that resilience is a state of being, that is a proximity to the edge of chaos, where the connections between agents within a system are most flexible. The absence of rigid, inflexible connections enables agents within a complex adaptive system to innovate, co-evolve and adapt to changing circumstances. This is achieved by having an awareness of the fitness landscape, having the flexibility to manage vulnerabilities and being able to adapt. Coevolution, adaptation and creativity occur most readily from close proximity to the edge of chaos. Using a Critical Realist approach, the Ballarat City Council case study evaluates the Framework of Analysis. Data collection occurred over a six month period with primary sources of data being an organisational document analysis, interviews and an infrastructure assessment. The results indicate that situational awareness, the identification and management of keystone vulnerabilities and an increase in adaptive capacity act as mechanisms of adaptation and are integral to an organisation achieving a position of resilience. This research presents a new perspective to the concept of resilience, in which resilience is a position relative to the edge of chaos, rather than a process or set of characteristics.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Stockton, Imogen
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Understanding the resilience of organisations, their vulnerabilities and capacity to adapt to an unknown future is critical because modern society is dependent upon the continuation of these systems or alternative systems which support humans, their communities and the environment. The challenge for organisations assessing their resilience is to find a way to undertake this assessment that best meets the needs of the organisation and the context in which it operates. Thus this study aims to develop an understanding of resilience, in particular, organisational resilience and develop a means of identifying resilience in an organisation. A conceptual model of organisational resilience was developed together with an operational Framework of Analysis which was then applied to the Ballarat City Council as a single case study. The conceptual model proposes that resilience is a state of being, that is a proximity to the edge of chaos, where the connections between agents within a system are most flexible. The absence of rigid, inflexible connections enables agents within a complex adaptive system to innovate, co-evolve and adapt to changing circumstances. This is achieved by having an awareness of the fitness landscape, having the flexibility to manage vulnerabilities and being able to adapt. Coevolution, adaptation and creativity occur most readily from close proximity to the edge of chaos. Using a Critical Realist approach, the Ballarat City Council case study evaluates the Framework of Analysis. Data collection occurred over a six month period with primary sources of data being an organisational document analysis, interviews and an infrastructure assessment. The results indicate that situational awareness, the identification and management of keystone vulnerabilities and an increase in adaptive capacity act as mechanisms of adaptation and are integral to an organisation achieving a position of resilience. This research presents a new perspective to the concept of resilience, in which resilience is a position relative to the edge of chaos, rather than a process or set of characteristics.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Strachan, Shirley
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: This PhD is the first prosopographical study of two generations of Australian manual healers in the twentieth century. The central historical figure is Thomas Ambrose Bowen (1916-1982) a self-titled Australian osteopath and arguably a therapeutic genius turned victim of health politics of the twentieth century. Bowen was stripped of his osteopathic identity as a result of political machinations that occurred during regulation of the industry in the late-1970s and early-1980s. This thesis reveals the legitimacy of Bowen’s claim to osteopathic stature and how his career is representative of the experience of a number of osteopaths during regulation of chiropractic and osteopathy. Bowen’s career was obscured in two respects. Firstly, in the lead up to the Chiropractors and Osteopaths Act 1978, overseas educated interests sought to disenfranchise Australian practitioners. This was offset by a successful response from the Australian chiropractic lobby. Secondly, posthumous commercial popularisation of Bowen’s claimed work, absent observer consensus and historical research, has further served to obfuscate Bowen’s prowess and marginalised his legacy. This thesis is the first to link Bowen’s practice to the influence of F G Roberts, an early Australian pioneer of naturopathic osteopathy. It explores Bowen’s emergence from a network of prominent football masseurs to his professional engagement with osteopathic advocates. This thesis is the first historical study to present the clinical life and times of Bowen among his contemporaries. In doing so it examines his broader significance as a consummate Australian osteopath. New historical narratives founded on extensive primary sources, oral histories as well as discourse analysis, ethnography, biography, hermeneutics and cultural mapping are used to place Bowen in context with his peers on the Australian osteopathic stage. Posthumous narratives that underpin commercial global marketing are challenged to the extent they obscure a clear historical view of Bowen and his marginalised contemporaries as unique actors in their struggle for recognition
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
A program visualisation meta language
- Authors: Stratton, David
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The principle motivation of this work is to define an open PV architecture that will enable a variety of visualisation schemes to interoperate and that will encourage the generation of PV systems and research into their efficacy. Ultimately this may lead to more effective pedagogy in the field of computer programming and hence remove a barrier to students entering the profession.
- Description: Doctorate of Philosophy
- Authors: Stratton, David
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The principle motivation of this work is to define an open PV architecture that will enable a variety of visualisation schemes to interoperate and that will encourage the generation of PV systems and research into their efficacy. Ultimately this may lead to more effective pedagogy in the field of computer programming and hence remove a barrier to students entering the profession.
- Description: Doctorate of Philosophy
Green IT: Sustainability by aligning business requirements with IT resource utilization
- Authors: Subburaj, Srikanth
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The term “green IT” is defined as “Optimal use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for managing the environment sustainability of enterprise operations throughout their life cycles.” Its objective is to create a positive impact on environment through net lowered emissions. The heart of green IT (Information Technology) is the concept of “Environmental Sustainability,” its initiatives are multifaceted to support enterprises “business as usual model,” in low-carbon economy. Many green IT initiatives have provided short–term financial benefits, based on which organizations are now focusing on increased energy efficiency. Since many of these approaches provide less financials benefits’ which are harder to implement but provides improved environmental performance. So the financial benefits and environmental performance should be the multiple objectives in the green IT study.
- Description: Master of Computing (by Research)
- Authors: Subburaj, Srikanth
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The term “green IT” is defined as “Optimal use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for managing the environment sustainability of enterprise operations throughout their life cycles.” Its objective is to create a positive impact on environment through net lowered emissions. The heart of green IT (Information Technology) is the concept of “Environmental Sustainability,” its initiatives are multifaceted to support enterprises “business as usual model,” in low-carbon economy. Many green IT initiatives have provided short–term financial benefits, based on which organizations are now focusing on increased energy efficiency. Since many of these approaches provide less financials benefits’ which are harder to implement but provides improved environmental performance. So the financial benefits and environmental performance should be the multiple objectives in the green IT study.
- Description: Master of Computing (by Research)
Magic and antimagic labeling of graphs
- Authors: Sugeng, Kiki Ariyanti
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "A bijection mapping that assigns natural numbers to vertices and/or edges of a graph is called a labeling. In this thesis, we consider graph labelings that have weights associated with each edge and/or vertex. If all the vertex weights (respectively, edge weights) have the same value then the labeling is called magic. If the weight is different for every vertex (respectively, every edge) then we called the labeling antimagic. In this thesis we introduce some variations of magic and antimagic labelings and discuss their properties and provide corresponding labeling schemes. There are two main parts in this thesis. One main part is on vertex labeling and the other main part is on edge labeling."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Sugeng, Kiki Ariyanti
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "A bijection mapping that assigns natural numbers to vertices and/or edges of a graph is called a labeling. In this thesis, we consider graph labelings that have weights associated with each edge and/or vertex. If all the vertex weights (respectively, edge weights) have the same value then the labeling is called magic. If the weight is different for every vertex (respectively, every edge) then we called the labeling antimagic. In this thesis we introduce some variations of magic and antimagic labelings and discuss their properties and provide corresponding labeling schemes. There are two main parts in this thesis. One main part is on vertex labeling and the other main part is on edge labeling."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Distribution of arsenic and heavy metals in soils and surface waters in Central Victoria (Ballarat, Creswick and Maldon)
- Authors: Sultan, Khawar
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "Three sampling campaigns were conducted in the Ballarat, Creswick and Maldon areas. The sampling area is part of the Golden Triangle region where significant gold-mining activities took place from the 1850s to the present day. [...] Locations were chosen to evaluate arsenic distribution in soils, surface waters and plants in different environments. Easy access to sampling locations allowed detailed scientific sampling, especially in the seasonality study. The different range of environments such as agricultural, state forest, mining, urban and rural provided an opportunity to compare the concentrations of arsenic and other elements in the study area. The study of the three selected areas combined provided further understanding of possible exposure and pathways through which arsenic can get into the food chain. "The objective of the study is to measure levels of heavy metals/metalloids in soils, water and plants in various environments, identify whether the heavy metals/metalloids are mobile and bioavailable and understand the importance of clays and oxide complexes in the fixation of metals."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Authors: Sultan, Khawar
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "Three sampling campaigns were conducted in the Ballarat, Creswick and Maldon areas. The sampling area is part of the Golden Triangle region where significant gold-mining activities took place from the 1850s to the present day. [...] Locations were chosen to evaluate arsenic distribution in soils, surface waters and plants in different environments. Easy access to sampling locations allowed detailed scientific sampling, especially in the seasonality study. The different range of environments such as agricultural, state forest, mining, urban and rural provided an opportunity to compare the concentrations of arsenic and other elements in the study area. The study of the three selected areas combined provided further understanding of possible exposure and pathways through which arsenic can get into the food chain. "The objective of the study is to measure levels of heavy metals/metalloids in soils, water and plants in various environments, identify whether the heavy metals/metalloids are mobile and bioavailable and understand the importance of clays and oxide complexes in the fixation of metals."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
A class of Increasing Positively Homogeneous functions for which global optimization problem is NP-hard
- Authors: Sultanova, Nargiz
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: It is well known that global optimization problems are, generally speaking, computationally infeasible, that is solving them would require an unreasonably large amount of time and/or space. In certain cases, for example, when objective functions and constraints are convex, it is possible to construct a feasible algorithm for solving global optimization problem successfully. Convexity, however, is not a phenomenon to be often expected in the applications. Nonconvex problems frequently arise in many industrial and scienti¯c areas. Therefore, it is only natural to try to replace convexity with some other structure at least for some classes of nonconvex optimization problems to render the global optimization problem feasible. A theory of abstract convexity has been developed as a result of the above considerations. Monotonic analysis, a branch of abstract convex analysis, is analogous in many ways to convex analysis, and sometimes is even simpler. It turned out that many problems of nonconvex optimization encountered in applications can be described in terms of monotonic functions. The analogies with convex analysis were considered to aid in solving some classes of nonconvex optimization problems. In this thesis we will focus on one of the elements of monotonic analysis - Increasing Positively Homogeneous functions of degree one or in short IPH functions. The aim of present research is to show that finding the solution and ²-approximation to the solution of the global optimization problem for IPH functions restricted to a unit simplex is an NP-hard problem. These results can be further extended to positively homogeneous functions of degree ´, ´ > 0.
- Description: Master of Mathematical Sciences (Research)
- Authors: Sultanova, Nargiz
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: It is well known that global optimization problems are, generally speaking, computationally infeasible, that is solving them would require an unreasonably large amount of time and/or space. In certain cases, for example, when objective functions and constraints are convex, it is possible to construct a feasible algorithm for solving global optimization problem successfully. Convexity, however, is not a phenomenon to be often expected in the applications. Nonconvex problems frequently arise in many industrial and scienti¯c areas. Therefore, it is only natural to try to replace convexity with some other structure at least for some classes of nonconvex optimization problems to render the global optimization problem feasible. A theory of abstract convexity has been developed as a result of the above considerations. Monotonic analysis, a branch of abstract convex analysis, is analogous in many ways to convex analysis, and sometimes is even simpler. It turned out that many problems of nonconvex optimization encountered in applications can be described in terms of monotonic functions. The analogies with convex analysis were considered to aid in solving some classes of nonconvex optimization problems. In this thesis we will focus on one of the elements of monotonic analysis - Increasing Positively Homogeneous functions of degree one or in short IPH functions. The aim of present research is to show that finding the solution and ²-approximation to the solution of the global optimization problem for IPH functions restricted to a unit simplex is an NP-hard problem. These results can be further extended to positively homogeneous functions of degree ´, ´ > 0.
- Description: Master of Mathematical Sciences (Research)
The optimization of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) as a diagnostic tool for low-density, asymptomatic malaria infections
- Authors: Surrao, Leanna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Current diagnostic tools for malaria lack the sensitivity to identify individuals with low-density infections. Asymptomatic low-density infections are common in malaria endemic regions and these individuals provide an important reservoir of infection that enables transmission to mosquitoes. Failure to detect these individuals threatens the global health goal of malaria elimination. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a technique to amplify DNA and has the potential to diagnose these individuals. The LAMP assay was assessed in a field study in rural Vietnam. 5421 samples were collected and tested with a commercially available LAMP assay in Commune Health Care Centres in Binh Phuoc and Dak Nong Provinces. 101 positive LAMP cases (asymptomatic, smear, and RDT negative) were identified, with the proportion of positives ranging from 0.18% and 3.25% across five communes. In order for LAMP to be used as a screening tool, it must be cost effective and have a workflow suitable for minimally trained end users. To achieve this, an in-house LAMP assay was developed and compared to PCR. The assay was combined with instrument detection to simplify decision making for the end user and improve sensitivity. The in-house assay was as sensitive as the PCR assay and cost US$0.60 per reaction compared to US$3.57 for PCR and US$8.23 for the commercial LAMP. An integrated single cartridge, called T1, was assessed to further simplify this workflow of sample preparation, LAMP amplification and detection. Further development of the cartridge and the assay will be required for future deployment. The LAMP assay is suitable for detection of low density infections in asymptomatically infected individuals in field settings and has the potential for cost effective population based screening.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Surrao, Leanna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Current diagnostic tools for malaria lack the sensitivity to identify individuals with low-density infections. Asymptomatic low-density infections are common in malaria endemic regions and these individuals provide an important reservoir of infection that enables transmission to mosquitoes. Failure to detect these individuals threatens the global health goal of malaria elimination. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a technique to amplify DNA and has the potential to diagnose these individuals. The LAMP assay was assessed in a field study in rural Vietnam. 5421 samples were collected and tested with a commercially available LAMP assay in Commune Health Care Centres in Binh Phuoc and Dak Nong Provinces. 101 positive LAMP cases (asymptomatic, smear, and RDT negative) were identified, with the proportion of positives ranging from 0.18% and 3.25% across five communes. In order for LAMP to be used as a screening tool, it must be cost effective and have a workflow suitable for minimally trained end users. To achieve this, an in-house LAMP assay was developed and compared to PCR. The assay was combined with instrument detection to simplify decision making for the end user and improve sensitivity. The in-house assay was as sensitive as the PCR assay and cost US$0.60 per reaction compared to US$3.57 for PCR and US$8.23 for the commercial LAMP. An integrated single cartridge, called T1, was assessed to further simplify this workflow of sample preparation, LAMP amplification and detection. Further development of the cartridge and the assay will be required for future deployment. The LAMP assay is suitable for detection of low density infections in asymptomatically infected individuals in field settings and has the potential for cost effective population based screening.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The molecular epidemiology of influenza in Cambodia
- Authors: Suttie, Annika
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) represent a risk to the health of humans and animals. The prevalence of AIVs in live bird markets in Cambodia is among the highest in the world, being detected in 45.5% of tested poultry in 2015. To better understand the potential risk presented by AIVs, this thesis investigated the genetic characteristics of AIVs circulating in Cambodia between 2014 to 2018; focusing on subtypes that pose the greatest risk to human and animal health (H5, H7 and H9). Highly pathogenic (HP) H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1c viruses and low pathogenic H9N2 BJ/94-like h9-4.2.5 clade viruses were the most frequently detected subtypes, and circulate endemically in Cambodia’s domestic poultry. Co-infections were detected and facilitated the production of two novel reassortant H5N1 AIVs with single genes from H9N2 viruses. Additionally, numerous intrasubtypic reassortment events were detected for H5 and H9 AIVs. This is concerning as reassortment events can rapidly produce novel viruses of public health risk. Phylogenetic analyses showed some genes of the Cambodian H5, H7 and H9 AIVs clustered with zoonotic viruses, suggesting a common origin. There are parallels between H5N1 and H9N2 AIVs detected in Cambodia and Vietnam, likely facilitated through the illegal trade of live poultry and/or the migration of wild birds. Molecular analyses showed H9 AIVs have major markers associated with adaptation to mammals; though during the study period the only human AIV cases were the result of HP H5N1. Molecular markers of resistance to adamantine antivirals was observed in 3% of H5 and 41% of H9 AIVs; however, both subtypes remain susceptible to first line antiviral treatment, neuraminidase inhibitors. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that circulation of Cambodian AIVs represents a risk for the emergence of novel viruses. Interventions are urgently needed to mitigate the threat posed to poultry and humans.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Suttie, Annika
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) represent a risk to the health of humans and animals. The prevalence of AIVs in live bird markets in Cambodia is among the highest in the world, being detected in 45.5% of tested poultry in 2015. To better understand the potential risk presented by AIVs, this thesis investigated the genetic characteristics of AIVs circulating in Cambodia between 2014 to 2018; focusing on subtypes that pose the greatest risk to human and animal health (H5, H7 and H9). Highly pathogenic (HP) H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1c viruses and low pathogenic H9N2 BJ/94-like h9-4.2.5 clade viruses were the most frequently detected subtypes, and circulate endemically in Cambodia’s domestic poultry. Co-infections were detected and facilitated the production of two novel reassortant H5N1 AIVs with single genes from H9N2 viruses. Additionally, numerous intrasubtypic reassortment events were detected for H5 and H9 AIVs. This is concerning as reassortment events can rapidly produce novel viruses of public health risk. Phylogenetic analyses showed some genes of the Cambodian H5, H7 and H9 AIVs clustered with zoonotic viruses, suggesting a common origin. There are parallels between H5N1 and H9N2 AIVs detected in Cambodia and Vietnam, likely facilitated through the illegal trade of live poultry and/or the migration of wild birds. Molecular analyses showed H9 AIVs have major markers associated with adaptation to mammals; though during the study period the only human AIV cases were the result of HP H5N1. Molecular markers of resistance to adamantine antivirals was observed in 3% of H5 and 41% of H9 AIVs; however, both subtypes remain susceptible to first line antiviral treatment, neuraminidase inhibitors. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that circulation of Cambodian AIVs represents a risk for the emergence of novel viruses. Interventions are urgently needed to mitigate the threat posed to poultry and humans.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
An integrated approach to wallrock alteration in the Bendigo goldfield, Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Swan, Haydn
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: "Wallrock alteration associated with the world-class, vein-gold deposits of the Bendigo goldfield is more extensive than has been previously documented. Alteration is characterised by the development of a pervasive and extensive carbonate alteration halo, as well as a somewhat lesser sulphide alteration halo. Alteration features observed resulted from the passage of large volumes of hydrothermal fluids over a protracted period, with alteration features being centred on major structures that acted as the main fluid conduits. The location and history of the evolution of these structures was a dominant control on the location, intensity and extent of wallrock alteration developed."
- Description: Master of Engineering Science
- Authors: Swan, Haydn
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: "Wallrock alteration associated with the world-class, vein-gold deposits of the Bendigo goldfield is more extensive than has been previously documented. Alteration is characterised by the development of a pervasive and extensive carbonate alteration halo, as well as a somewhat lesser sulphide alteration halo. Alteration features observed resulted from the passage of large volumes of hydrothermal fluids over a protracted period, with alteration features being centred on major structures that acted as the main fluid conduits. The location and history of the evolution of these structures was a dominant control on the location, intensity and extent of wallrock alteration developed."
- Description: Master of Engineering Science