Australian nursing students’ perceptions of being a nurse : a mixed methods study
- Authors: Allen, Louise
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background Nursing students often enter nursing programs with idealistic, altruistic perceptions of what it means to be a nurse. Over time, however, many discover that these perceptions are naïve and unrealistic. Nursing is a demanding profession that requires knowledge, skill and emotional resilience in often demanding and challenging situations that can influence emotional intelligence. Therefore, an early and realistic understanding of professional requirements may reduce transition shock and attrition rates. Aim The aim of this thesis is to explore Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students’ perceptions of being a nurse in Australia. Methods This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The 34-item Perceptions of a Registered Nurse (PRN) survey tool was developed using a Nominal Group Technique and validated with a sample of 797 participants across three universities and states. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was incorporated as applicable. In addition, online semi-structured interviews with 23 nursing students (n = 23) explored their perceptions of a nurse in detail, with a thematic analysis of outcomes. Results Demographic variables influenced perceptions. There were significant differences in item-by-item perceptions related to ‘primary language spoken at home’ (13/34 items; p < .04), ‘university of study’ (10/34 items; p
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Allen, Louise
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background Nursing students often enter nursing programs with idealistic, altruistic perceptions of what it means to be a nurse. Over time, however, many discover that these perceptions are naïve and unrealistic. Nursing is a demanding profession that requires knowledge, skill and emotional resilience in often demanding and challenging situations that can influence emotional intelligence. Therefore, an early and realistic understanding of professional requirements may reduce transition shock and attrition rates. Aim The aim of this thesis is to explore Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students’ perceptions of being a nurse in Australia. Methods This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The 34-item Perceptions of a Registered Nurse (PRN) survey tool was developed using a Nominal Group Technique and validated with a sample of 797 participants across three universities and states. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was incorporated as applicable. In addition, online semi-structured interviews with 23 nursing students (n = 23) explored their perceptions of a nurse in detail, with a thematic analysis of outcomes. Results Demographic variables influenced perceptions. There were significant differences in item-by-item perceptions related to ‘primary language spoken at home’ (13/34 items; p < .04), ‘university of study’ (10/34 items; p
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Avenue and Arch : Ballarat's commemoration. How are community attitudes to war and peace reflected in the civic management of the Avenue of Honour and the Arch of Victory?
- Authors: Roberts, Philip
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the importance of memory, commemoration, heritage and militarism in relation to Ballarat’s Avenue of Honour and Arch of Victory. Inspired by Ken Inglis and other historians who have analysed war commemoration, the thesis argues that, led by the Lucas clothing company, Ballarat civic leaders and community members commemorated the war service and sacrifice of local soldiers, airmen, sailors and nurses by planting the 22-kilometre Avenue during 1917–19 and by constructing the prominent Arch in 1920. Although Ballarat voted against conscription in 1916 and 1917 and was a ‘divided’ society, the Avenue and Arch were able to unite members of the local community. From the 1920s, through memory and mythology during the civic maintenance of the Avenue and Arch, Australian community attitudes to war and peace were reflected, and a determined effort was made to remember the service and sacrifice of military personnel for all Australian wars. Discussion of the need for peace remained in the background until recent years. Important influences on the civic management were the collective memory of the so-called Lucas Girls, a group of former female employees of the Lucas clothing company, and of the members of the Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee. Increasingly, the embracing of the Anzac legend and an emphasis on loss and grief was reflected in the civic management. By 2017 the Avenue and Arch were in pristine condition and, through the Garden of the Grieving Mother, had transformed to symbolise the importance of remembering the sacrifices and grief of war and the need for peace. The project was based on documentary research and oral history, using an examination of newspaper and other documentary accounts from 1917–2017, a study of Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee papers and conservation management plans, research of relevant books and articles, landscape fieldwork and interviews with 26 people.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Roberts, Philip
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the importance of memory, commemoration, heritage and militarism in relation to Ballarat’s Avenue of Honour and Arch of Victory. Inspired by Ken Inglis and other historians who have analysed war commemoration, the thesis argues that, led by the Lucas clothing company, Ballarat civic leaders and community members commemorated the war service and sacrifice of local soldiers, airmen, sailors and nurses by planting the 22-kilometre Avenue during 1917–19 and by constructing the prominent Arch in 1920. Although Ballarat voted against conscription in 1916 and 1917 and was a ‘divided’ society, the Avenue and Arch were able to unite members of the local community. From the 1920s, through memory and mythology during the civic maintenance of the Avenue and Arch, Australian community attitudes to war and peace were reflected, and a determined effort was made to remember the service and sacrifice of military personnel for all Australian wars. Discussion of the need for peace remained in the background until recent years. Important influences on the civic management were the collective memory of the so-called Lucas Girls, a group of former female employees of the Lucas clothing company, and of the members of the Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee. Increasingly, the embracing of the Anzac legend and an emphasis on loss and grief was reflected in the civic management. By 2017 the Avenue and Arch were in pristine condition and, through the Garden of the Grieving Mother, had transformed to symbolise the importance of remembering the sacrifices and grief of war and the need for peace. The project was based on documentary research and oral history, using an examination of newspaper and other documentary accounts from 1917–2017, a study of Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee papers and conservation management plans, research of relevant books and articles, landscape fieldwork and interviews with 26 people.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Kinloch, Helen
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "This study of Ballarat and its Asylum covers the period between the 1850s and the early 1900s when an old-age pension was introduced in Victoria. It is essentially a case study. It argues that Ballarat's Asylum progressively developed and expanded upon a model of organised poor relief practiced among the industrial classes in England, in consequence of the perceived need for rapid capital expansion in Australia, and knowledge of the dangers associated with mining, building construction, and other manual work. The introduction of a secular education system in Victoria, together with enthusiasm among producers for technological innovation and skill development, led to changes in the nature and conditions of paid work, as well as to a push among workers and their sympathizers for greater appreciation of past contributions by older workers and the needs of the ill and/or incapacitated. This push was only partially addressed by the Victorian government in 1901 when it introduced the old-age pension."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Barley non-starch polysaccharide content and its relationship with kernel hardness and water uptake
- Authors: Gamlath, Jayantha
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: Harder kernels in barley are thought to be a factor affecting the modification of the endosperm during malting by restricting water and enzyme movement within the endosperm. The traditional method used in the malting industry to determine barley endosperm vitreousness is by visual assessment. Since this method is subjective, laborious and requires training, an alternative method is needed. Similarly, the causes and factors influencing kernel hardness are uncertain. The prime objectives of this study were: to identify an appropriate method to quantify kernel hardness; investigate the relationship between kernel hardness and endosperm composition; and to investigate the relationship between barley variety and environmental influences on endosperm composition in relation to the kernel hardness of malting barley.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Gamlath, Jayantha
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: Harder kernels in barley are thought to be a factor affecting the modification of the endosperm during malting by restricting water and enzyme movement within the endosperm. The traditional method used in the malting industry to determine barley endosperm vitreousness is by visual assessment. Since this method is subjective, laborious and requires training, an alternative method is needed. Similarly, the causes and factors influencing kernel hardness are uncertain. The prime objectives of this study were: to identify an appropriate method to quantify kernel hardness; investigate the relationship between kernel hardness and endosperm composition; and to investigate the relationship between barley variety and environmental influences on endosperm composition in relation to the kernel hardness of malting barley.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Barriers and enablers to women's access to services during childbearing in Timor-Leste
- Authors: King, Rosemary
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background: In Timor-Leste the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is one of the highest in Southeast Asia, in some districts only 15-25% of women birth in a facility with a skilled birth attendant (SBA). Care from SBA is the international benchmark for quality maternity care. Purpose: Determine the barriers and enablers to women's access to services during childbearing in Timor-Leste, including women’s expectations and needs. Methodology: Qualitative research using focused ethnography, data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation. Seventeen stakeholders and thirty women from three districts in Timor-Leste participated. Thematic analysis and coding of data with triangulation of the findings between separate participant groups. Results: Barriers to woman’s access to SBA include poor roads, lack of transport, costs associated with accessing SBA, lack of availability and poor quality services. Lack of privacy, multiple care-givers and poor interpersonal communication from SBA were also noted. Stakeholders emphasise health promotion and antenatal care to counteract the influence of traditional beliefs and promote demand for SBA. Many women demonstrate their agency in health seeking behaviours and choices for care during pregnancy and childbirth. Discussion: Women understand that pregnancy and childbirth poses potential risks to their health. Rural women, women from low socio-economic and other marginalised groups have less access to services. Perceptions of poor quality services also reduce women’s demand. Conclusion: Barriers and enablers to woman’s access to services are identified using an amended AAAQ framework introducing the domain of Antecedents in addition to domains of Access, Availability, Acceptability and Quality (AAAQA). Further expenditure on health service infrastructure, staff training and community outreach will improve access and quality SBA. Culturally safe SBA services may also improve the uptake of SBA service in Timor-Leste. Key words: Timor-Leste, Skilled birth attendance, cultural safety, women’s agency, quality maternity care.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: King, Rosemary
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background: In Timor-Leste the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is one of the highest in Southeast Asia, in some districts only 15-25% of women birth in a facility with a skilled birth attendant (SBA). Care from SBA is the international benchmark for quality maternity care. Purpose: Determine the barriers and enablers to women's access to services during childbearing in Timor-Leste, including women’s expectations and needs. Methodology: Qualitative research using focused ethnography, data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation. Seventeen stakeholders and thirty women from three districts in Timor-Leste participated. Thematic analysis and coding of data with triangulation of the findings between separate participant groups. Results: Barriers to woman’s access to SBA include poor roads, lack of transport, costs associated with accessing SBA, lack of availability and poor quality services. Lack of privacy, multiple care-givers and poor interpersonal communication from SBA were also noted. Stakeholders emphasise health promotion and antenatal care to counteract the influence of traditional beliefs and promote demand for SBA. Many women demonstrate their agency in health seeking behaviours and choices for care during pregnancy and childbirth. Discussion: Women understand that pregnancy and childbirth poses potential risks to their health. Rural women, women from low socio-economic and other marginalised groups have less access to services. Perceptions of poor quality services also reduce women’s demand. Conclusion: Barriers and enablers to woman’s access to services are identified using an amended AAAQ framework introducing the domain of Antecedents in addition to domains of Access, Availability, Acceptability and Quality (AAAQA). Further expenditure on health service infrastructure, staff training and community outreach will improve access and quality SBA. Culturally safe SBA services may also improve the uptake of SBA service in Timor-Leste. Key words: Timor-Leste, Skilled birth attendance, cultural safety, women’s agency, quality maternity care.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Becoming "Brave and Gallant" : Decolonising the myths of Burke and Wills; Cross-cultural exchanges and the co-production of knowledge during the Victorian Exploring Expedition and the subsequent Relief Expeditions
- Authors: Jeffries, Peta
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The history of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (VEE), also known as ‘Burke and Wills’, has commonly been told as a story of ‘brave and gallant men’ who ventured into an unfamiliar landscape and became victims of the ‘ghastly blank’ interior of Australia. Visual artists and historians have memorialised these men as solo-hero explorers who sacrificed their youth and life potential for the sake of Australian nation. The myth of Burke and Wills is a constructed narrative and symbol of glory and achievement that denies the involvement of significant others in exploration and geographical knowledge creation. The path the VEE created through the centre of Australia opened up the broader continent for rapid colonisation and imperial expansion. The tragic legacy of the deaths of Burke and Wills is part of the Australian identity, however, some major aspects of the VEE successes and failures have been sidelined, silenced and even completely ignored in many historical accounts. The historical and visual art accounts that contributed to the memorialisation of Burke and Wills often denied the involvement of other exploration team members, the relief expeditions who went in search of the missing explorers, various intermediaries, guides, go-betweens and significantly Aboriginal peoples’ close involvement and or resistance to interior exploration. Yandruwandha people have been remembered as a friendly and accommodating community who assisted the explorers in their last days and who cared for John King. Within the archives and social memories are examples of agency, power, resistance, and varied perspectives of Burke and Wills. This ethnographic history asks why relations between the explorers, Aboriginal peoples and landscape have been told the way they have and provides examples of encounter and exchange, mutual adaptation and the co-production of knowledge as a way to decolonise the myths of Burke and Wills.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Jeffries, Peta
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The history of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (VEE), also known as ‘Burke and Wills’, has commonly been told as a story of ‘brave and gallant men’ who ventured into an unfamiliar landscape and became victims of the ‘ghastly blank’ interior of Australia. Visual artists and historians have memorialised these men as solo-hero explorers who sacrificed their youth and life potential for the sake of Australian nation. The myth of Burke and Wills is a constructed narrative and symbol of glory and achievement that denies the involvement of significant others in exploration and geographical knowledge creation. The path the VEE created through the centre of Australia opened up the broader continent for rapid colonisation and imperial expansion. The tragic legacy of the deaths of Burke and Wills is part of the Australian identity, however, some major aspects of the VEE successes and failures have been sidelined, silenced and even completely ignored in many historical accounts. The historical and visual art accounts that contributed to the memorialisation of Burke and Wills often denied the involvement of other exploration team members, the relief expeditions who went in search of the missing explorers, various intermediaries, guides, go-betweens and significantly Aboriginal peoples’ close involvement and or resistance to interior exploration. Yandruwandha people have been remembered as a friendly and accommodating community who assisted the explorers in their last days and who cared for John King. Within the archives and social memories are examples of agency, power, resistance, and varied perspectives of Burke and Wills. This ethnographic history asks why relations between the explorers, Aboriginal peoples and landscape have been told the way they have and provides examples of encounter and exchange, mutual adaptation and the co-production of knowledge as a way to decolonise the myths of Burke and Wills.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Behind the masks: a study of teachers' work, emotions and school change
- Authors: McDonough, Sharon
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the role of teachers’ emotions in their work, particularly during times of school reform and highlights the important role they play during change processes.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: McDonough, Sharon
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the role of teachers’ emotions in their work, particularly during times of school reform and highlights the important role they play during change processes.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Being a parent, but not : the role of foster and kinship carers in supporting children and young people
- Authors: Cooper, Kimberlea
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Home-based carers play an important role in the lives of children and young people. In Victoria, Australia, home-based care is now the most common form of alternative care, reflecting national and international trends. However, home-based care does currently face some challenges, such as shortages of carers. Therefore, strengthening this form of care through the training and support of foster and kinship carers is a key priority of Victoria’s reforms of child and family services. In the context of a university-industry collaboration, the current research drew upon the expertise of sixteen foster and kinship carers in the Central Highlands region of Victoria. Using constructivist grounded theory, the research sought to understand how carers support children and young people and how they see their role. In addition, the research sought carers’ perspectives on their interactions with the Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) system, including what they find supportive and challenging. The research revealed that home-based carers see some elements of their role as parenting, and others as going beyond parenting. The carers utilise principles of trauma-informed care to support children and young people, but do not experience trauma-informed support from the OOHC system. This discrepancy suggests that the implementation of trauma-informed care has the potential to increase pressure on home-based carers if it is only encouraged at the interpersonal level between carers and children and does not incorporate associated systems-level change. Therefore, this research proposes that whilst micro-level support and training for carers is necessary and useful, it is crucial to move beyond such initiatives to make macro-level reform. This research also raises doubts regarding the capacity of home-based care to become fully trauma-informed due to potential incompatibilities with the current risk-averse and deficit-oriented paradigm of the child protection system.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Cooper, Kimberlea
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Home-based carers play an important role in the lives of children and young people. In Victoria, Australia, home-based care is now the most common form of alternative care, reflecting national and international trends. However, home-based care does currently face some challenges, such as shortages of carers. Therefore, strengthening this form of care through the training and support of foster and kinship carers is a key priority of Victoria’s reforms of child and family services. In the context of a university-industry collaboration, the current research drew upon the expertise of sixteen foster and kinship carers in the Central Highlands region of Victoria. Using constructivist grounded theory, the research sought to understand how carers support children and young people and how they see their role. In addition, the research sought carers’ perspectives on their interactions with the Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) system, including what they find supportive and challenging. The research revealed that home-based carers see some elements of their role as parenting, and others as going beyond parenting. The carers utilise principles of trauma-informed care to support children and young people, but do not experience trauma-informed support from the OOHC system. This discrepancy suggests that the implementation of trauma-informed care has the potential to increase pressure on home-based carers if it is only encouraged at the interpersonal level between carers and children and does not incorporate associated systems-level change. Therefore, this research proposes that whilst micro-level support and training for carers is necessary and useful, it is crucial to move beyond such initiatives to make macro-level reform. This research also raises doubts regarding the capacity of home-based care to become fully trauma-informed due to potential incompatibilities with the current risk-averse and deficit-oriented paradigm of the child protection system.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Between the public and personal voices : discourses and meanings of quality teaching in higher
- Authors: Crebbin, Wendy
- Date: 1999
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: "This thesis is an analysis of the construction of, and contestation over, meanings about quality teaching in higher education in Ausralia, during the period 1992-1996."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Crebbin, Wendy
- Date: 1999
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: "This thesis is an analysis of the construction of, and contestation over, meanings about quality teaching in higher education in Ausralia, during the period 1992-1996."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Beyond start-up : Regional small to medium enterprises (SMEs) transitioning to growth
- Authors: Henson, Sam
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: Reports on a qualitative, case-based study of the practices that contribute to the growth of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The research engaged with growing SMEs located in regional areas of Australia, and with the entrepreneurs and owner-managers who lead them.
Beyond the natural : perceptions of spirituality and spiritual nurturing in volunteer pastoral care workers in christian ministry : implications for training
- Job, Kay
- Authors: Job, Kay
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Practical and evidence-based research is scarce regarding the perceptions of spirituality and spiritual nurturing of volunteer pastoral care workers. This study set out to explore perceptions of spirituality and spiritual nurturing of volunteer pastoral care workers in a Christian ministry. The aim was to identify what influence their spirituality had on ministry, whether there were links between spiritual experiences, spiritual nurturing and spiritual growth and to develop relevant recommendations to improve training and praxis within the field of pastoral care, an area of increasing interest and demand within the Christian tradition. Thirty participants from an interdenominational volunteer ministry in the Christian tradition, Victorious Ministry Through Christ (VMTC), were interviewed and data were analysed using principles of Grounded Theory to inform subjective spiritual experiences and discover themes regarding spiritual awareness, sensitivity, and effective practice. There were strong indications that a totally dependent, reciprocal relationship exists between spirituality and the ability to minister, suggesting a negation of ability could occur by an absence, unawareness of, or disengagement from the existence of a spiritual dimension. The extent to which an individual was able to effectively and sensitively offer pastoral care was dependent on the degree to which properties of Substantive Spirituality were appropriated, demonstrated through strands of spiritual Sensibility, capacity for Reciprocity, and response to Modification, which combined to form Integrative Spiritual Function (ISF). ISF supported mature functioning of the individual personally, was pre-eminent to formation and effective ministry, and integrative for the whole person. ISF also informed the development of SIFTable; an example of an appraisal tool for use in pastoral care contexts to gauge competency. Recommendations regarding thoughtful and appropriate training of volunteer pastoral care personnel may assist in the formative process associated with ministry to ensure a holistic response to pastoral needs of the volunteer, and the recipient of ministry.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Job, Kay
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Practical and evidence-based research is scarce regarding the perceptions of spirituality and spiritual nurturing of volunteer pastoral care workers. This study set out to explore perceptions of spirituality and spiritual nurturing of volunteer pastoral care workers in a Christian ministry. The aim was to identify what influence their spirituality had on ministry, whether there were links between spiritual experiences, spiritual nurturing and spiritual growth and to develop relevant recommendations to improve training and praxis within the field of pastoral care, an area of increasing interest and demand within the Christian tradition. Thirty participants from an interdenominational volunteer ministry in the Christian tradition, Victorious Ministry Through Christ (VMTC), were interviewed and data were analysed using principles of Grounded Theory to inform subjective spiritual experiences and discover themes regarding spiritual awareness, sensitivity, and effective practice. There were strong indications that a totally dependent, reciprocal relationship exists between spirituality and the ability to minister, suggesting a negation of ability could occur by an absence, unawareness of, or disengagement from the existence of a spiritual dimension. The extent to which an individual was able to effectively and sensitively offer pastoral care was dependent on the degree to which properties of Substantive Spirituality were appropriated, demonstrated through strands of spiritual Sensibility, capacity for Reciprocity, and response to Modification, which combined to form Integrative Spiritual Function (ISF). ISF supported mature functioning of the individual personally, was pre-eminent to formation and effective ministry, and integrative for the whole person. ISF also informed the development of SIFTable; an example of an appraisal tool for use in pastoral care contexts to gauge competency. Recommendations regarding thoughtful and appropriate training of volunteer pastoral care personnel may assist in the formative process associated with ministry to ensure a holistic response to pastoral needs of the volunteer, and the recipient of ministry.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Beyond the princess, the priestess and the galactic kitchen sink: Reformulation of feminine roles in certain work of Lois McMaster Bujold
- Authors: Herington, Caitlin
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: In this thesis I examine the Science Fiction and Fantasy works of Lois McMaster Bujold in the Vorkosigan Series and Chalion Series, in particular the way she reformulates women’s roles and identities in society through the characters presented in these novels. I use the term Speculative Fiction as an umbrella term that encompasses both Science Fiction and Fantasy as modes of speculation, in that they both rely on extrapolation and estrangement as narrative features. My main proposition is that Bujold is an important transitional figure in speculative fiction between second and third wave feminist thinking. Although her work mimics some distinctive features of speculative fiction that utilise patriarchal structures and traditional gender norms, it is not limited by them. As a result, Bujold conveys a more complex and insightful understanding of gender. The research method of this thesis is the close reading of a range of sample texts from Bujold’s Vorkosigan Series and Chalion Series which feature female protagonists. I seek to explore the discussion of gender relations and reformulation that occurs within them in the context of both speculative and feminist criticism. Bujold’s exploration of the identities and social roles of women in these fictional worlds is complex and challenging, using a range of approaches from simple reversal, to hybridity of gender, to more complex partial positions. This thesis argues that she takes an implicitly feminist approach, focussing on female experiences and examining the modes of social control and exercise of power within patriarchal social structures as they impact on women. Science Fiction and Fantasy often seem to reiterate traditional patriarchal hierarchies. Validating gender norms that conform to social expectations rather than challenging them. Bujold is presented in this thesis as utilising established norms and tropes such that her texts are easily identified as examples of Science Fiction and Fantasy, but in other ways her reformulations present radical challenges to cultural expectations of gender. This thesis reveals that social critique and reformulation of gender roles is possible and powerful in both Science Fiction and Fantasy by examining the work of a significant author whose work has lacked critical attention until recently. Although numerous studies have examined the way gender has been treated in Science Fiction and Fantasy, the unique contribution of this thesis is to examine an author previously under-studied and to consider the patterns of these reformulations as expressed in Bujold’s works.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Herington, Caitlin
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: In this thesis I examine the Science Fiction and Fantasy works of Lois McMaster Bujold in the Vorkosigan Series and Chalion Series, in particular the way she reformulates women’s roles and identities in society through the characters presented in these novels. I use the term Speculative Fiction as an umbrella term that encompasses both Science Fiction and Fantasy as modes of speculation, in that they both rely on extrapolation and estrangement as narrative features. My main proposition is that Bujold is an important transitional figure in speculative fiction between second and third wave feminist thinking. Although her work mimics some distinctive features of speculative fiction that utilise patriarchal structures and traditional gender norms, it is not limited by them. As a result, Bujold conveys a more complex and insightful understanding of gender. The research method of this thesis is the close reading of a range of sample texts from Bujold’s Vorkosigan Series and Chalion Series which feature female protagonists. I seek to explore the discussion of gender relations and reformulation that occurs within them in the context of both speculative and feminist criticism. Bujold’s exploration of the identities and social roles of women in these fictional worlds is complex and challenging, using a range of approaches from simple reversal, to hybridity of gender, to more complex partial positions. This thesis argues that she takes an implicitly feminist approach, focussing on female experiences and examining the modes of social control and exercise of power within patriarchal social structures as they impact on women. Science Fiction and Fantasy often seem to reiterate traditional patriarchal hierarchies. Validating gender norms that conform to social expectations rather than challenging them. Bujold is presented in this thesis as utilising established norms and tropes such that her texts are easily identified as examples of Science Fiction and Fantasy, but in other ways her reformulations present radical challenges to cultural expectations of gender. This thesis reveals that social critique and reformulation of gender roles is possible and powerful in both Science Fiction and Fantasy by examining the work of a significant author whose work has lacked critical attention until recently. Although numerous studies have examined the way gender has been treated in Science Fiction and Fantasy, the unique contribution of this thesis is to examine an author previously under-studied and to consider the patterns of these reformulations as expressed in Bujold’s works.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Bi what means : Paratextual and filmic representations of bisexuality in contemporary cinema
- Authors: Benson, Chloe
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The question of how bisexuality, which is predominantly nonvisual and lacks a coherent cinematic code, can be represented in film remains a consistent concern within bisexual cinema studies. Scholars have tended to approach this problem by concentrating on the ways that the film text itself codes bisexuality or encourages a bisexual reading. This approach can offer important insights into the potential for and problems of screening bisexuality. However, this thesis argues that in order to more fully explore how bisexual meaning is constructed, critical attention must extend beyond the confines of the film text to engage in what Jonathon Gray describes as a form of “off-screen studies” (7). By developing a sustained engagement between paratextual theory and bisexual cinema studies this project develops a new methodological approach to filmic representations of bisexuality. Two samples of bisexual films and the official entryway paratexts - such as posters, trailers, and festival program notes - used to promote them are examined. These samples comprise films screened in the period from 2012-2014 on either the Melbourne general release circuit or at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival that have been identified online by viewers as incorporating bisexual meanings. Considering these texts in relation to their exhibition contexts, the thesis demonstrates that bisexual films can be found in diverse settings. It also establishes the impact that these settings have on the ways the films are framed paratextually. Close textual readings illustrate that paratexts can function as discrete texts that circulate bisexual meanings, as well as framings with the potential to prime viewers’ receptivity to onscreen bisexuality. The thesis reveals that the promotional impetus of paratexts can lead to the amplifying or subduing of bisexual readings across exhibition contexts and argues that an understanding of filmic bisexuality must acknowledge this. In sum, the thesis proposes that paratexts play a formative role in the production and circulation of bisexual meanings both on screen and off, within the niche realm of the queer film festival and on the general release circuit.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Benson, Chloe
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The question of how bisexuality, which is predominantly nonvisual and lacks a coherent cinematic code, can be represented in film remains a consistent concern within bisexual cinema studies. Scholars have tended to approach this problem by concentrating on the ways that the film text itself codes bisexuality or encourages a bisexual reading. This approach can offer important insights into the potential for and problems of screening bisexuality. However, this thesis argues that in order to more fully explore how bisexual meaning is constructed, critical attention must extend beyond the confines of the film text to engage in what Jonathon Gray describes as a form of “off-screen studies” (7). By developing a sustained engagement between paratextual theory and bisexual cinema studies this project develops a new methodological approach to filmic representations of bisexuality. Two samples of bisexual films and the official entryway paratexts - such as posters, trailers, and festival program notes - used to promote them are examined. These samples comprise films screened in the period from 2012-2014 on either the Melbourne general release circuit or at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival that have been identified online by viewers as incorporating bisexual meanings. Considering these texts in relation to their exhibition contexts, the thesis demonstrates that bisexual films can be found in diverse settings. It also establishes the impact that these settings have on the ways the films are framed paratextually. Close textual readings illustrate that paratexts can function as discrete texts that circulate bisexual meanings, as well as framings with the potential to prime viewers’ receptivity to onscreen bisexuality. The thesis reveals that the promotional impetus of paratexts can lead to the amplifying or subduing of bisexual readings across exhibition contexts and argues that an understanding of filmic bisexuality must acknowledge this. In sum, the thesis proposes that paratexts play a formative role in the production and circulation of bisexual meanings both on screen and off, within the niche realm of the queer film festival and on the general release circuit.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Biopsychosocial Data Analytics and Modeling
- Authors: Santhanagopalan, Meena
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Sustained customisation of digital health intervention (DHI) programs, in the context of community health engagement, requires strong integration of multi-sourced interdisciplinary biopsychosocial health data. The biopsychosocial model is built upon the idea that biological, psychological and social processes are integrally and interactively involved in physical health and illness. One of the longstanding challenges of dealing with healthcare data is the wide variety of data generated from different sources and the increasing need to learn actionable insights that drive performance improvement. The growth of information and communication technology has led to the increased use of DHI programs. These programs use an observational methodology that helps researchers to study the everyday behaviour of participants during the course of the program by analysing data generated from digital tools such as wearables, online surveys and ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Combined with data reported from biological and psychological tests, this provides rich and unique biopsychosocial data. There is a strong need to review and apply novel approaches to combining biopsychosocial data from a methodological perspective. Although some studies have used data analytics in research on clinical trial data generated from digital interventions, data analytics on biopsychosocial data generated from DHI programs is limited. The study in this thesis develops and implements innovative approaches for analysing the existing unique and rich biopsychosocial data generated from the wellness study, a DHI program conducted by the School of Science, Psychology and Sport at Federation University. The characteristics of variety, value and veracity that usually describe big data are also relevant to the biopsychosocial data handled in this thesis. These historical, retrospective real-life biopsychosocial data provide fertile ground for research through the use of data analytics to discover patterns hidden in the data and to obtain new knowledge. This thesis presents the studies carried out on three aspects of biopsychosocial research. First, we present the salient traits of the three components - biological, psychological and social - of biopsychosocial research. Next, we investigate the challenges of pre-processing biopsychosocial data, placing special emphasis on the time-series data generated from wearable sensor devices. Finally, we present the application of statistical and machine learning (ML) tools to integrate variables from the biopsychosocial disciplines to build a predictive model. The first chapter presents the salient features of the biopsychosocial data for each discipline. The second chapter presents the challenges of pre-processing biopsychosocial data, focusing on the time-series data generated from wearable sensor devices. The third chapter uses statistical and ML tools to integrate variables from the biopsychosocial disciplines to build a predictive model. Among its other important analyses and results, the key contributions of the research described in this thesis include the following: 1. using gamma distribution to model neurocognitive reaction time data that presents interesting properties (skewness and kurtosis for the data distribution) 2. using novel ‘peak heart-rate’ count metric to quantify ‘biological’ stress 3. using the ML approach to evaluate DHIs 4. using a recurrent neural network (RNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) data prediction model to predict Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and primary emotion (PE) using wearable sensor data.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Santhanagopalan, Meena
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Sustained customisation of digital health intervention (DHI) programs, in the context of community health engagement, requires strong integration of multi-sourced interdisciplinary biopsychosocial health data. The biopsychosocial model is built upon the idea that biological, psychological and social processes are integrally and interactively involved in physical health and illness. One of the longstanding challenges of dealing with healthcare data is the wide variety of data generated from different sources and the increasing need to learn actionable insights that drive performance improvement. The growth of information and communication technology has led to the increased use of DHI programs. These programs use an observational methodology that helps researchers to study the everyday behaviour of participants during the course of the program by analysing data generated from digital tools such as wearables, online surveys and ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Combined with data reported from biological and psychological tests, this provides rich and unique biopsychosocial data. There is a strong need to review and apply novel approaches to combining biopsychosocial data from a methodological perspective. Although some studies have used data analytics in research on clinical trial data generated from digital interventions, data analytics on biopsychosocial data generated from DHI programs is limited. The study in this thesis develops and implements innovative approaches for analysing the existing unique and rich biopsychosocial data generated from the wellness study, a DHI program conducted by the School of Science, Psychology and Sport at Federation University. The characteristics of variety, value and veracity that usually describe big data are also relevant to the biopsychosocial data handled in this thesis. These historical, retrospective real-life biopsychosocial data provide fertile ground for research through the use of data analytics to discover patterns hidden in the data and to obtain new knowledge. This thesis presents the studies carried out on three aspects of biopsychosocial research. First, we present the salient traits of the three components - biological, psychological and social - of biopsychosocial research. Next, we investigate the challenges of pre-processing biopsychosocial data, placing special emphasis on the time-series data generated from wearable sensor devices. Finally, we present the application of statistical and machine learning (ML) tools to integrate variables from the biopsychosocial disciplines to build a predictive model. The first chapter presents the salient features of the biopsychosocial data for each discipline. The second chapter presents the challenges of pre-processing biopsychosocial data, focusing on the time-series data generated from wearable sensor devices. The third chapter uses statistical and ML tools to integrate variables from the biopsychosocial disciplines to build a predictive model. Among its other important analyses and results, the key contributions of the research described in this thesis include the following: 1. using gamma distribution to model neurocognitive reaction time data that presents interesting properties (skewness and kurtosis for the data distribution) 2. using novel ‘peak heart-rate’ count metric to quantify ‘biological’ stress 3. using the ML approach to evaluate DHIs 4. using a recurrent neural network (RNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) data prediction model to predict Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and primary emotion (PE) using wearable sensor data.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Bitcoin : users’ characteristics, motivations and investment behaviours
- Authors: Carter, Corey
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: In less than a decade, the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin has gone from a fringe phenomenon to a topic of increasing interest to academia and mainstream investors. However, despite the growing body of research seeking to understand Bitcoin, the pseudonymous, decentralised, and globally-diffused nature of its user base means that the individuals who use it remain poorly understood. In particular, the motivations, risk-appreciation, and investment behaviours of early adopters and innovators are subject to supposition in the absence of data derived from the user base. This thesis seeks to address this gap in knowledge by employing a multi-stage, mixed methodology approach and a theoretical framework to understand the Bitcoin user base. Utilising semantic analysis, a survey of online cryptocurrency communities, and econometric time-series analysis, this thesis addresses the extent and nature of Bitcoin in hedging; how individual users perceive their own motivations, uses, and risks that have driven their behaviour; and the nature of the relationship between the prices of cryptocurrency and indices of confidence. Analysis of the data determined that the use of Bitcoin as an instrument of hedging is limited, and influenced by political and institutional factors. Likewise, its motivations, uses, and risks are reflective of the users’ political ideology, with the community and marketplace becoming more sophisticated as they evolve over time. Additionally, despite several case studies demonstrating risk-averse adoption of Bitcoin, there is no relationship between its prices and confidence.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Carter, Corey
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: In less than a decade, the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin has gone from a fringe phenomenon to a topic of increasing interest to academia and mainstream investors. However, despite the growing body of research seeking to understand Bitcoin, the pseudonymous, decentralised, and globally-diffused nature of its user base means that the individuals who use it remain poorly understood. In particular, the motivations, risk-appreciation, and investment behaviours of early adopters and innovators are subject to supposition in the absence of data derived from the user base. This thesis seeks to address this gap in knowledge by employing a multi-stage, mixed methodology approach and a theoretical framework to understand the Bitcoin user base. Utilising semantic analysis, a survey of online cryptocurrency communities, and econometric time-series analysis, this thesis addresses the extent and nature of Bitcoin in hedging; how individual users perceive their own motivations, uses, and risks that have driven their behaviour; and the nature of the relationship between the prices of cryptocurrency and indices of confidence. Analysis of the data determined that the use of Bitcoin as an instrument of hedging is limited, and influenced by political and institutional factors. Likewise, its motivations, uses, and risks are reflective of the users’ political ideology, with the community and marketplace becoming more sophisticated as they evolve over time. Additionally, despite several case studies demonstrating risk-averse adoption of Bitcoin, there is no relationship between its prices and confidence.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Black gold : A history of the role of Aboriginal people on the goldfields of Victoria, 1850-70
- Authors: Cahir, David (Fred)
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Reconstructs the history of Aboriginal people and gold mining in Victoria from 1850-1870.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Cahir, David (Fred)
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Reconstructs the history of Aboriginal people and gold mining in Victoria from 1850-1870.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Breaking the safety barrier : engineering new paradigms in safety design
- Authors: Culvenor, John
- Date: 1997
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Occupational health and safety legislation in Australia and internationally is based on the safe place concept and the hierarchy of control. A safe place is best achieved at the design stage and consequently the education of engineers in safety has been a priority. There have been notable efforts at the integration of safety with engineering studies, and this should be an ongoing objective, however extensive integration is likely to be difficult at least in the short term. The challenge was to develop a supplemental, innovative way to improve the ability of engineers to develop safe place solutions. The hypothesis was that training in creative thinking would achieve this aim. The hierarchy of control methodology shares a strong relationship with creative thinking. Safe place thinking challenges assumptions in the same way that creative thinking seeks to escape dominant paradigms. For this reason creative thinking seems a natural aid to the safe place approach. This study tested the effect on safety design of a creative thinking program; de Bono’s six thinking hats method. Given a recognition that groups other than engineers impact on workplace design, a range of subjects were included; engineering students, technology students, industry safety advisers, and government safety advisers. In response to safety case studies, subjects were required to generate solutions and to prioritize potential solutions. Subjects worked on a range of problems, some individually and some in teams of three. Results show that training in creative thinking improved the generation of solutions to safety problems. As the number of solutions increased, the average quality of ideas was maintained, therefore the increased number of solutions was accompanied by a similar increase in good quality safe place solutions. The results also showed in some instances the training improved the prioritization of solutions according to the safe place methodology. The effects were of a similar magnitude for individuals and teams. Creative thinking training was shown to be a useful way to enhance the generation of safe place solutions to safety problems. Given that creative thinking skills can theoretically be applied to any area of problem solving, the enhancement of these skills are likely to yield wider benefits. Furthermore the enhancement of creative thinking accords well with the current industrial mandates for improved innovation.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Culvenor, John
- Date: 1997
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Occupational health and safety legislation in Australia and internationally is based on the safe place concept and the hierarchy of control. A safe place is best achieved at the design stage and consequently the education of engineers in safety has been a priority. There have been notable efforts at the integration of safety with engineering studies, and this should be an ongoing objective, however extensive integration is likely to be difficult at least in the short term. The challenge was to develop a supplemental, innovative way to improve the ability of engineers to develop safe place solutions. The hypothesis was that training in creative thinking would achieve this aim. The hierarchy of control methodology shares a strong relationship with creative thinking. Safe place thinking challenges assumptions in the same way that creative thinking seeks to escape dominant paradigms. For this reason creative thinking seems a natural aid to the safe place approach. This study tested the effect on safety design of a creative thinking program; de Bono’s six thinking hats method. Given a recognition that groups other than engineers impact on workplace design, a range of subjects were included; engineering students, technology students, industry safety advisers, and government safety advisers. In response to safety case studies, subjects were required to generate solutions and to prioritize potential solutions. Subjects worked on a range of problems, some individually and some in teams of three. Results show that training in creative thinking improved the generation of solutions to safety problems. As the number of solutions increased, the average quality of ideas was maintained, therefore the increased number of solutions was accompanied by a similar increase in good quality safe place solutions. The results also showed in some instances the training improved the prioritization of solutions according to the safe place methodology. The effects were of a similar magnitude for individuals and teams. Creative thinking training was shown to be a useful way to enhance the generation of safe place solutions to safety problems. Given that creative thinking skills can theoretically be applied to any area of problem solving, the enhancement of these skills are likely to yield wider benefits. Furthermore the enhancement of creative thinking accords well with the current industrial mandates for improved innovation.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Broadening the concept of school: how a re-configuration of school must be inclusive of students who are "put at" a disadvantage
- Authors: Peters, Edward (Keith)
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis critically examines how students enrolled in state-funded schools can be ‘put at’ a disadvantage. I do this through examining two techniques of exclusion that stimulate student disconnection from school: first, the ways in which standards-based and performativity-driven learning outcomes are implemented to shape how student success is determined. Secondly, I examine how discourses around power control curriculum and student identity instil monological learning structures that normalises standards-based learning outcomes. Challenging this, I allow the voices of my co-researchers, the students in my thesis, to speak back to confront these school-based policies that allow disconnection to occur. Examining school policy and student voice at the point where they intersect allowed me to undertake an evaluation of how schools adversely affect students, and what students say they want from their experience of schooling. The final theme I develop is based on student and agency worker voice and what they say school-based learning should become. Relational learning and learning that develops students ethically emerged as fundamental strengths of what enriching learning transactions should look like. I argue that creating relational learning spaces develop challenging environments that can lead students to ethically understand their identity within complex social and cultural lifestyles. I argue that the ways in which schools are organised to administer time and space must be radically overhauled if this is to be achieved.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Peters, Edward (Keith)
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis critically examines how students enrolled in state-funded schools can be ‘put at’ a disadvantage. I do this through examining two techniques of exclusion that stimulate student disconnection from school: first, the ways in which standards-based and performativity-driven learning outcomes are implemented to shape how student success is determined. Secondly, I examine how discourses around power control curriculum and student identity instil monological learning structures that normalises standards-based learning outcomes. Challenging this, I allow the voices of my co-researchers, the students in my thesis, to speak back to confront these school-based policies that allow disconnection to occur. Examining school policy and student voice at the point where they intersect allowed me to undertake an evaluation of how schools adversely affect students, and what students say they want from their experience of schooling. The final theme I develop is based on student and agency worker voice and what they say school-based learning should become. Relational learning and learning that develops students ethically emerged as fundamental strengths of what enriching learning transactions should look like. I argue that creating relational learning spaces develop challenging environments that can lead students to ethically understand their identity within complex social and cultural lifestyles. I argue that the ways in which schools are organised to administer time and space must be radically overhauled if this is to be achieved.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Building an understanding of the development of OHS management in small business in the Victorian construction industry
- Authors: Leggett, Susan
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "Small businesses are regularly perceived to be poor performers in OHS management. However, attributing poor performance soley to size, to the hazardous nature of the industry or to a simplistic combination of both aspects neglects the recognition that there are some small businesses that can manage OHS with greater capacity than others."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Leggett, Susan
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: "Small businesses are regularly perceived to be poor performers in OHS management. However, attributing poor performance soley to size, to the hazardous nature of the industry or to a simplistic combination of both aspects neglects the recognition that there are some small businesses that can manage OHS with greater capacity than others."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Building social capital through the delivery of outdoor education at Victorian government schools
- Authors: Keeble, Tony
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis describes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research project that investigated the changes to student social capital indicators resulting from an outdoor educational program, Future Maker, delivered to Victorian government school students. A systematic review of literature found minimal evidence of research relating to the change to social capital indicators as a result of programs that deliver outdoor education curriculum. The initial chapters of this thesis explore research on outdoor residential schools and the development of the Future Maker program as an alternative form of outdoor education curriculum design. Quantitative data were gathered from 287 students in the form of the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ), over a 12-month period. Students completed the LEQ on three separate occasions: Day 1 of the program, Day 12 of the program, and 6 months after the program. Furthermore, qualitative data were gathered using a semistructured interview process. Twenty-eight students and seven teachers were randomly selected from participating schools to partake in the interviews. The final sections of the thesis present and discuss the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data that provided sufficient evidence that showed a significant increase in effect size for the social capital indicators of communication, relationships, group processing, networking and leadership. Furthermore, the research indicated that the domestic chores undertaken by students on an outdoor education program contributed to how social capital is learnt in an outdoor educational context. Moreover, the research positions outdoor education as a subject with content and pedagogy rather than a discipline and argues that outdoor education as a standalone subject has been sitting in plain sight. Finally, it concluded that a purpose-designed outdoor education program, which is built using a framework for curriculum development, can develop positive indicators for social capital.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Keeble, Tony
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis describes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research project that investigated the changes to student social capital indicators resulting from an outdoor educational program, Future Maker, delivered to Victorian government school students. A systematic review of literature found minimal evidence of research relating to the change to social capital indicators as a result of programs that deliver outdoor education curriculum. The initial chapters of this thesis explore research on outdoor residential schools and the development of the Future Maker program as an alternative form of outdoor education curriculum design. Quantitative data were gathered from 287 students in the form of the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ), over a 12-month period. Students completed the LEQ on three separate occasions: Day 1 of the program, Day 12 of the program, and 6 months after the program. Furthermore, qualitative data were gathered using a semistructured interview process. Twenty-eight students and seven teachers were randomly selected from participating schools to partake in the interviews. The final sections of the thesis present and discuss the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data that provided sufficient evidence that showed a significant increase in effect size for the social capital indicators of communication, relationships, group processing, networking and leadership. Furthermore, the research indicated that the domestic chores undertaken by students on an outdoor education program contributed to how social capital is learnt in an outdoor educational context. Moreover, the research positions outdoor education as a subject with content and pedagogy rather than a discipline and argues that outdoor education as a standalone subject has been sitting in plain sight. Finally, it concluded that a purpose-designed outdoor education program, which is built using a framework for curriculum development, can develop positive indicators for social capital.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy