Proceedings of the Australia-China Wetland Network Research Partnership Symposium
- Authors: Kattel, Giri
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Full Text:
- Description: This publication is a compilation of short papers presented at the Australia-China Wetland Network Research Partnership Symposium, held in China at the Nanjing International Conference Hotel, 24 March 2014. The symposium, jointly organised by the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) of Federation University Australia and the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS), brought together a range of scientists including the neo-ecologists, palaeoecologists and hydrologists from both Australia and China. More than 100 students and scientists from across China attended the symposium. A majority of papers presented at the symposium have overlapping themes between ecology and hydrology of the large river and wetland systems that are exposed to a range of impacts posed by humans and recent climate change. The research focus of this volume is around the topic highlighting the conservation and management of degraded wetlands in Australia and China and the maintenance of a long term ecological resilience.
- Authors: Kattel, Giri
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Full Text:
- Description: This publication is a compilation of short papers presented at the Australia-China Wetland Network Research Partnership Symposium, held in China at the Nanjing International Conference Hotel, 24 March 2014. The symposium, jointly organised by the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) of Federation University Australia and the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS), brought together a range of scientists including the neo-ecologists, palaeoecologists and hydrologists from both Australia and China. More than 100 students and scientists from across China attended the symposium. A majority of papers presented at the symposium have overlapping themes between ecology and hydrology of the large river and wetland systems that are exposed to a range of impacts posed by humans and recent climate change. The research focus of this volume is around the topic highlighting the conservation and management of degraded wetlands in Australia and China and the maintenance of a long term ecological resilience.
Suicide in rural Australia : are farming-related suicides different?
- Kennedy, Alison, Adams, Jessie, Dwyer, Jeremy, Rahman, Muhammad Aziz, Brumby, Susan
- Authors: Kennedy, Alison , Adams, Jessie , Dwyer, Jeremy , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Brumby, Susan
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 6 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Rural Australians experience a range of health inequities—including higher rates of suicide—when compared to the general population. This retrospective cohort study compares demographic characteristics and suicide death circumstances of farming-and non-farming-related suicides in rural Victoria with the aim of: (a) exploring the contributing factors to farming-related suicide in Australia’s largest agricultural producing state; and (b) examining whether farming-related suicides differ from suicide in rural communities. Farming-related suicide deaths were more likely to: (a) be employed at the time of death (52.6% vs. 37.7%, OR = 1.84, 95% CIs 1.28–2.64); and, (b) have died through use of a firearm (30.1% vs. 8.7%, OR = 4.51, 95% CIs 2.97–6.92). However, farming-related suicides were less likely to (a) have a diagnosed mental illness (36.1% vs. 46.1%, OR=0.66, 95% CIs 0.46–0.96) and, (b) have received mental health support more than six weeks prior to death (39.8% vs. 50.0%, OR = 0.66, 95% CIs 0.46–0.95). A range of suicide prevention strategies need adopting across all segments of the rural population irrespective of farming status. However, data from farming-related suicides highlight the need for targeted firearm-related suicide prevention measures and appropriate, tailored and accessible support services to support health, well-being and safety for members of farming communities. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Kennedy, Alison , Adams, Jessie , Dwyer, Jeremy , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Brumby, Susan
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 6 (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Rural Australians experience a range of health inequities—including higher rates of suicide—when compared to the general population. This retrospective cohort study compares demographic characteristics and suicide death circumstances of farming-and non-farming-related suicides in rural Victoria with the aim of: (a) exploring the contributing factors to farming-related suicide in Australia’s largest agricultural producing state; and (b) examining whether farming-related suicides differ from suicide in rural communities. Farming-related suicide deaths were more likely to: (a) be employed at the time of death (52.6% vs. 37.7%, OR = 1.84, 95% CIs 1.28–2.64); and, (b) have died through use of a firearm (30.1% vs. 8.7%, OR = 4.51, 95% CIs 2.97–6.92). However, farming-related suicides were less likely to (a) have a diagnosed mental illness (36.1% vs. 46.1%, OR=0.66, 95% CIs 0.46–0.96) and, (b) have received mental health support more than six weeks prior to death (39.8% vs. 50.0%, OR = 0.66, 95% CIs 0.46–0.95). A range of suicide prevention strategies need adopting across all segments of the rural population irrespective of farming status. However, data from farming-related suicides highlight the need for targeted firearm-related suicide prevention measures and appropriate, tailored and accessible support services to support health, well-being and safety for members of farming communities. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Multivariate statistical analysis of songs of the male Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) : An example from western Victoria, Australia
- Kentish, Barry, Harvey, Jack, Roberts, Lyn, Ross, Jason
- Authors: Kentish, Barry , Harvey, Jack , Roberts, Lyn , Ross, Jason
- Date: 2001
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: EMU Vol. 101, no. 4 (2001), p. 335-340
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Variation in the song of the male Common Blackbird was investigated within and between two locations in western Victoria. Each of 400 phrases (100 phrases per male) was characterised by 61 measurements relating to 13 aspects of each phrase. Principal component and stepwise discriminant analyses were undertaken on these measurements. Classification of blackbird song for location and individuality was based on timing within the phrase of the loudest elements. Evidence was found for within-phrase variability, with the greatest variation in the middle of the phrase. Within- and between-site comparison found that blackbird song exhibited both individual and site-specific characteristics consistent with earlier suggestions of phrase sharing within local populations. The study demonstrated that an objective statistical approach to song analysis was able to disciminate between individual birds from different locations.
- Authors: Kentish, Barry , Harvey, Jack , Roberts, Lyn , Ross, Jason
- Date: 2001
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: EMU Vol. 101, no. 4 (2001), p. 335-340
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Variation in the song of the male Common Blackbird was investigated within and between two locations in western Victoria. Each of 400 phrases (100 phrases per male) was characterised by 61 measurements relating to 13 aspects of each phrase. Principal component and stepwise discriminant analyses were undertaken on these measurements. Classification of blackbird song for location and individuality was based on timing within the phrase of the loudest elements. Evidence was found for within-phrase variability, with the greatest variation in the middle of the phrase. Within- and between-site comparison found that blackbird song exhibited both individual and site-specific characteristics consistent with earlier suggestions of phrase sharing within local populations. The study demonstrated that an objective statistical approach to song analysis was able to disciminate between individual birds from different locations.
Operationalising digital soil mapping – lessons from Australia
- Kidd, Darren, Searle, Ross, Grundy, Mike, McBratney, Alex, Robinson, Nathan, O'Brien, Lauren, Zund, Peter, Arrouays, Dominique, Thomas, Mark, Padarian, José, Jones, Edward, Bennett, John, Minasny, Budiman, Holmes, Karen, Malone, Brendan, Liddicoat, Craig, Meier, Elizabeth, Stockmann, Uta, Wilson, Peter, Wilford, John, Payne, Jim, Ringrose-Voase, Anthony, Slater, Brian, Odgers, Nathan, Gray, Jonathan, van Gool, Dennis, Andrews, Kaitlyn, Harms, Ben, Stower, Liz, Triantafilis, John
- Authors: Kidd, Darren , Searle, Ross , Grundy, Mike , McBratney, Alex , Robinson, Nathan , O'Brien, Lauren , Zund, Peter , Arrouays, Dominique , Thomas, Mark , Padarian, José , Jones, Edward , Bennett, John , Minasny, Budiman , Holmes, Karen , Malone, Brendan , Liddicoat, Craig , Meier, Elizabeth , Stockmann, Uta , Wilson, Peter , Wilford, John , Payne, Jim , Ringrose-Voase, Anthony , Slater, Brian , Odgers, Nathan , Gray, Jonathan , van Gool, Dennis , Andrews, Kaitlyn , Harms, Ben , Stower, Liz , Triantafilis, John
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Geoderma Regional Vol. 23, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Australia has advanced the science and application of Digital Soil Mapping (DSM). Over the past decade, DSM in Australia has evolved from being purely research focused to become ‘operational’, where it is embedded into many soil-agency land resource assessment programs around the country. This has resulted from a series of ‘drivers’, such as an increased need for better quality and more complete soil information, and ‘enablers’, such as existing soil information systems, covariate development, serendipitous project funding, collaborations, and Australian DSM ‘champions’. However, these accomplishments were not met without some barriers along the way, such as a need to demonstrate and prove the science to the soil science community, and rapidly enable the various soil agencies' capacity to implement DSM. The long history of soil mapping in Australia has influenced the evolution and culmination of the operational DSM procedures, products and infrastructure in widespread use today, which is highlighted by several recent and significant Australian operational DSM case-studies at various extents. A set of operational DSM ‘workflows’ and ‘lessons learnt’ have also emerged from Australian DSM applications, which may provide some useful information and templates for other countries hoping to fast-track their own operational DSM capacity. However, some persistent themes were identified, such as applicable scale, and communicating uncertainty and map quality to end-users, which will need further development to progress operational DSM. © 2020 The Authors
- Authors: Kidd, Darren , Searle, Ross , Grundy, Mike , McBratney, Alex , Robinson, Nathan , O'Brien, Lauren , Zund, Peter , Arrouays, Dominique , Thomas, Mark , Padarian, José , Jones, Edward , Bennett, John , Minasny, Budiman , Holmes, Karen , Malone, Brendan , Liddicoat, Craig , Meier, Elizabeth , Stockmann, Uta , Wilson, Peter , Wilford, John , Payne, Jim , Ringrose-Voase, Anthony , Slater, Brian , Odgers, Nathan , Gray, Jonathan , van Gool, Dennis , Andrews, Kaitlyn , Harms, Ben , Stower, Liz , Triantafilis, John
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Geoderma Regional Vol. 23, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Australia has advanced the science and application of Digital Soil Mapping (DSM). Over the past decade, DSM in Australia has evolved from being purely research focused to become ‘operational’, where it is embedded into many soil-agency land resource assessment programs around the country. This has resulted from a series of ‘drivers’, such as an increased need for better quality and more complete soil information, and ‘enablers’, such as existing soil information systems, covariate development, serendipitous project funding, collaborations, and Australian DSM ‘champions’. However, these accomplishments were not met without some barriers along the way, such as a need to demonstrate and prove the science to the soil science community, and rapidly enable the various soil agencies' capacity to implement DSM. The long history of soil mapping in Australia has influenced the evolution and culmination of the operational DSM procedures, products and infrastructure in widespread use today, which is highlighted by several recent and significant Australian operational DSM case-studies at various extents. A set of operational DSM ‘workflows’ and ‘lessons learnt’ have also emerged from Australian DSM applications, which may provide some useful information and templates for other countries hoping to fast-track their own operational DSM capacity. However, some persistent themes were identified, such as applicable scale, and communicating uncertainty and map quality to end-users, which will need further development to progress operational DSM. © 2020 The Authors
Public perception of medical errors : experiences and risks shared in Australia
- Kim, Jeong-ah, Terry, Daniel, Jang, Sunny, Nguyen, Hoang, Gilbert, Julia, Cruickshank, Mary
- Authors: Kim, Jeong-ah , Terry, Daniel , Jang, Sunny , Nguyen, Hoang , Gilbert, Julia , Cruickshank, Mary
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Universal Journal of Public Health Vol. 8, no. 1 (2020), p. 35-41
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Research into patient safety has largely focused on healthcare organisations bureaucratic routines, with little research available regarding the impact of patient perceptions on clinical practice. Acknowledging and openly discussing patient perceptions of medical errors may result in improved quality of healthcare. The research study aimed to gain a better understanding of the public's perception of medical errors to drive a structured approach to improve healthcare outcomes. Methods: In this study, we examined the public experiences of medical errors using an anonymous on-line survey to collect empirical data from April to December 2018. A total of 407 responses were obtained with 303 participants meeting the criteria for inclusion in the study. Results: The majority (74.9%) of these participants identified that they had experienced a medical error during receiving healthcare in Australia and 73% of these confirmed that they were harmed as a result of these errors. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that many participants have experienced medical errors when accessing healthcare in Australia. These findings provide information and a deeper understanding of patient experiences and perceptions of healthcare service delivery which can be used by healthcare organisations to improve healthcare services and promote patient participation in their care. Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
- Authors: Kim, Jeong-ah , Terry, Daniel , Jang, Sunny , Nguyen, Hoang , Gilbert, Julia , Cruickshank, Mary
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Universal Journal of Public Health Vol. 8, no. 1 (2020), p. 35-41
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Research into patient safety has largely focused on healthcare organisations bureaucratic routines, with little research available regarding the impact of patient perceptions on clinical practice. Acknowledging and openly discussing patient perceptions of medical errors may result in improved quality of healthcare. The research study aimed to gain a better understanding of the public's perception of medical errors to drive a structured approach to improve healthcare outcomes. Methods: In this study, we examined the public experiences of medical errors using an anonymous on-line survey to collect empirical data from April to December 2018. A total of 407 responses were obtained with 303 participants meeting the criteria for inclusion in the study. Results: The majority (74.9%) of these participants identified that they had experienced a medical error during receiving healthcare in Australia and 73% of these confirmed that they were harmed as a result of these errors. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that many participants have experienced medical errors when accessing healthcare in Australia. These findings provide information and a deeper understanding of patient experiences and perceptions of healthcare service delivery which can be used by healthcare organisations to improve healthcare services and promote patient participation in their care. Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Web based regional newspapers : The role of content : A thesis
- Authors: Knox, Ian
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The phenomenon and acceptance of electronic publishing has proliferated in the last five years due to the expansion in the use of the World Wide Web in the general community. The initial fears that newspapers would be decimated by the introduction of this technology have been proven groundless, but despite a high web presence by newspapers world wide, profitable models of cyber papers are elusive. In an online environment traditional relationships between newspaper advertising and editorial may not stand. Despite the considerable body of published literature concerning the movement of print newspapers to an online environment, little was found concerning online content. A need to re-evaluate what content and functions are considered to be desirable by print readers, in an online environment was identified as the main objective of this research. Evaluation the of user attitudes to web based newspapers provides a foundation for future research into areas such as developing effective models for profitable online newspapers. To achieve this objective, the research tools used were a content analysis, an online newspaper user survey and newspaper management personal interviews. The study looked at Victorian regional daily newspapers that also had online versions. By focussing on the regional newspapers, meaningful comparisons could be made between content, staff attitudes and readership interests. The content analysis measured the quantum and nature of the content of the print and online versions of the regional dailies during a one week period. This provided a measure of the type and source of the articles included both in print and online. Newspaper editorial staff interviews contributed a personalised view of content priorities, which was then contrasted with a web based questionnaire which measured user requirements in relation to content and interactivity. It was found from the survey that content alone would not provide a sufficient basis to build a profitable online regional newspaper site. The findings were analysed in relation to the literature, newspaper site content and editorial staff interviews. Despite regularly accessing online newspaper sites, it was found that users are unwilling to pay for the experience. Users indicated a desire for a higher level of interactivity, in addition to the content, which is currently provided, by online regional newspapers. Evaluation of user attitudes to web based newspapers provides a foundation for future research into the development of effective for profitable online newspapers.
- Description: Master of Business
- Authors: Knox, Ian
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The phenomenon and acceptance of electronic publishing has proliferated in the last five years due to the expansion in the use of the World Wide Web in the general community. The initial fears that newspapers would be decimated by the introduction of this technology have been proven groundless, but despite a high web presence by newspapers world wide, profitable models of cyber papers are elusive. In an online environment traditional relationships between newspaper advertising and editorial may not stand. Despite the considerable body of published literature concerning the movement of print newspapers to an online environment, little was found concerning online content. A need to re-evaluate what content and functions are considered to be desirable by print readers, in an online environment was identified as the main objective of this research. Evaluation the of user attitudes to web based newspapers provides a foundation for future research into areas such as developing effective models for profitable online newspapers. To achieve this objective, the research tools used were a content analysis, an online newspaper user survey and newspaper management personal interviews. The study looked at Victorian regional daily newspapers that also had online versions. By focussing on the regional newspapers, meaningful comparisons could be made between content, staff attitudes and readership interests. The content analysis measured the quantum and nature of the content of the print and online versions of the regional dailies during a one week period. This provided a measure of the type and source of the articles included both in print and online. Newspaper editorial staff interviews contributed a personalised view of content priorities, which was then contrasted with a web based questionnaire which measured user requirements in relation to content and interactivity. It was found from the survey that content alone would not provide a sufficient basis to build a profitable online regional newspaper site. The findings were analysed in relation to the literature, newspaper site content and editorial staff interviews. Despite regularly accessing online newspaper sites, it was found that users are unwilling to pay for the experience. Users indicated a desire for a higher level of interactivity, in addition to the content, which is currently provided, by online regional newspapers. Evaluation of user attitudes to web based newspapers provides a foundation for future research into the development of effective for profitable online newspapers.
- Description: Master of Business
Virtual teams : Worlds apart
- Authors: Knox, Ian , Wilmott, Deirdre
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Full Text:
- Description: Virtual teams are a relatively new phenomenon. A number of studies have focused on the description of team development and the group process of virtual learning teams as they form. This paper is a study of how Australian and American undergraduates worked together in virtual teams to respond to ethical and business practice problems for a given scenario. The study specifically examined the communication methods, task completion methodology and cultural differences exhibited by two undergraduate classes from the University of Ballarat, Ballarat Australia and Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Both synchronous and asynchronous communications methods were used with differing levels of enthusiasm and acceptance. Although the study was based on a small sample, which limits its generalisability, there are implications to inform those who are considering similar methods in their teaching. © 2008 Ian Knox and Deirdre Wilmott.
- Description: 2003010647
- Authors: Knox, Ian , Wilmott, Deirdre
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Full Text:
- Description: Virtual teams are a relatively new phenomenon. A number of studies have focused on the description of team development and the group process of virtual learning teams as they form. This paper is a study of how Australian and American undergraduates worked together in virtual teams to respond to ethical and business practice problems for a given scenario. The study specifically examined the communication methods, task completion methodology and cultural differences exhibited by two undergraduate classes from the University of Ballarat, Ballarat Australia and Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Both synchronous and asynchronous communications methods were used with differing levels of enthusiasm and acceptance. Although the study was based on a small sample, which limits its generalisability, there are implications to inform those who are considering similar methods in their teaching. © 2008 Ian Knox and Deirdre Wilmott.
- Description: 2003010647
African women’s experience of domestic violence and help-seeking behaviour in Melbourne, Australia
- Kuyini, Ahmed, Kor, Deng, Diu, Joyce, David, Ruffina, Yoa, Tut
- Authors: Kuyini, Ahmed , Kor, Deng , Diu, Joyce , David, Ruffina , Yoa, Tut
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Review of African Studies Vol. 43, no. 2 (2022), p. 59-86
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study explored African refugee background women’s experience of domestic violence and help-seeking behaviour. The women were part of a domestic violence prevention and intervention project run by a local community organisation. Underpinned by help-seeking frameworks such as Theory of Planned Behaviour, data were gathered via two focus group interviews with seventeen women in Melbourne, Australia. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The results showed that participants experienced different forms of violence. Many did not seek help early, and help-seeking was constrained by cultural considerations and children in the relationship. Implications are discussed in relation to formal and informal support or interventions. © 2022, Australasian Review of African Studies. All Rights Reserved.
- Authors: Kuyini, Ahmed , Kor, Deng , Diu, Joyce , David, Ruffina , Yoa, Tut
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Review of African Studies Vol. 43, no. 2 (2022), p. 59-86
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study explored African refugee background women’s experience of domestic violence and help-seeking behaviour. The women were part of a domestic violence prevention and intervention project run by a local community organisation. Underpinned by help-seeking frameworks such as Theory of Planned Behaviour, data were gathered via two focus group interviews with seventeen women in Melbourne, Australia. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The results showed that participants experienced different forms of violence. Many did not seek help early, and help-seeking was constrained by cultural considerations and children in the relationship. Implications are discussed in relation to formal and informal support or interventions. © 2022, Australasian Review of African Studies. All Rights Reserved.
The experience of women from rural Australia with a preterm infant in a neonatal intensive care unit
- Laidlaw, Kerrie, Prichard, Ivanka, Sweet, Linda
- Authors: Laidlaw, Kerrie , Prichard, Ivanka , Sweet, Linda
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and Remote Health Vol. 23, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: This study aimed to understand the experiences of women from rural areas who have had a preterm infant admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit. The study population comprised five women aged 29–36 years who birthed a premature infant of less than 32 weeks gestation within the previous 6 months at the time of recruitment. The setting was in rural areas of Australia, in the states of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Methods: Semi-structured interviews using video-conferencing explored the experiences of the women and were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four key themes were identified from the data: emotional trauma, social displacement, external coping resources and craving continuity of care. Social displacement further impacted the emotional trauma already experienced by women who birthed a preterm infant by temporarily relocating to the city to be near to their infant in the neonatal intensive care unit. This led to the utilisation of additional socioeconomic resources including support from extended family and rural community members. The women highly valued yet struggled to find appropriate peer support and continuity of health care for their infant within their rural community after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit. Conclusion: Health professionals have an opportunity to explore ways to address social displacement, particularly in relation to socioeconomic support and the involvement of extended family into a family integrated care framework within the neonatal intensive care unit. The long-term effects of this on the mother– infant dyad and the lack of appropriate community support also require further examination © 2023, Rural and Remote Health.All Rights Reserved.
The experience of women from rural Australia with a preterm infant in a neonatal intensive care unit
- Authors: Laidlaw, Kerrie , Prichard, Ivanka , Sweet, Linda
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and Remote Health Vol. 23, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: This study aimed to understand the experiences of women from rural areas who have had a preterm infant admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit. The study population comprised five women aged 29–36 years who birthed a premature infant of less than 32 weeks gestation within the previous 6 months at the time of recruitment. The setting was in rural areas of Australia, in the states of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Methods: Semi-structured interviews using video-conferencing explored the experiences of the women and were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four key themes were identified from the data: emotional trauma, social displacement, external coping resources and craving continuity of care. Social displacement further impacted the emotional trauma already experienced by women who birthed a preterm infant by temporarily relocating to the city to be near to their infant in the neonatal intensive care unit. This led to the utilisation of additional socioeconomic resources including support from extended family and rural community members. The women highly valued yet struggled to find appropriate peer support and continuity of health care for their infant within their rural community after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit. Conclusion: Health professionals have an opportunity to explore ways to address social displacement, particularly in relation to socioeconomic support and the involvement of extended family into a family integrated care framework within the neonatal intensive care unit. The long-term effects of this on the mother– infant dyad and the lack of appropriate community support also require further examination © 2023, Rural and Remote Health.All Rights Reserved.
If I Belong Here...How Did That Come To Be?
- Authors: Lambeth, Paul
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The purpose of this research is to contribute a non indigenous perspective to current discourse on sense of place in contemporary Australia. The research employs a number of strategies to investigate current responses to our geographic and historical time position. Within the exegesis there is a vers libre poem, written from the imagined viewpoint of members of the Burke and Wills’ expedition. The poem is supported by a superimposition of the Don Quixote story over that of the ill-fated inland Australian explorers. [...]
- Description: Master of Arts (Visual Arts)
- Authors: Lambeth, Paul
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The purpose of this research is to contribute a non indigenous perspective to current discourse on sense of place in contemporary Australia. The research employs a number of strategies to investigate current responses to our geographic and historical time position. Within the exegesis there is a vers libre poem, written from the imagined viewpoint of members of the Burke and Wills’ expedition. The poem is supported by a superimposition of the Don Quixote story over that of the ill-fated inland Australian explorers. [...]
- Description: Master of Arts (Visual Arts)
Bird responses to targeted revegetation : 40 years of habitat enhancement at Clarkesdale Bird sanctuary, central-western Victoria
- Loyn, Richard, Faragher, J. T., Coutts, D. C., Palmer, Grant
- Authors: Loyn, Richard , Faragher, J. T. , Coutts, D. C. , Palmer, Grant
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Field Ornithology Vol. 26, no. 3 (2009), p. 53-75
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: A program of planting Australian shrubs and trees has been conducted in degraded farmland at the Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary (central-western Victoria) since the 1960s, to address the issue of declining native birds, as perceived by the late landowner Gordon Clarke. The shrubs and trees were selected to attract birds, and included many species that were not native to the region. This form of management is often practised by private landholders (at various scales), but its effects are rarely documented. Bird surveys were conducted for this study between 1999 and 2001 at 27 sites: 11 in native eucalypt forest on ridges and slopes, 13 in planted areas on ridges and slopes, and three in planted areas on river-flats and a small gully (with three supplementary sites in a pine plantation). Total bird abundance and species per count were highest in the planted sites on river-flats and gully, and higher in the planted sites on ridges and slopes than in native forest on similar topography. Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), Superb Fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus, open-country birds, seed-eating birds and five insectivorous guilds reached their maximum abundance in planted sites. Barkforaging insectivores, canopy-foraging insectivores, frugivores and a generalist insectivore were marginally more common in native forest than in planted sites. Introduced birds were uncommon. Generalised linear modelling showed that total bird abundance was positively related to the cover of planted native vegetation, native low shrubs and young wattles Acacia spp. and to the presence of indigenous Cherry Ballart Exocarpos cupressiformis. Various guilds showed positive relationships with the cover of planted native vegetation, native low shrubs, young wattles, original old wattles, original old eucalypts and trees with small or large hollows. The planting program has provided new habitat for many native forest birds. A greater challenge is to address the needs of some uncommon species that have declined locally, such as the Brown Treecreeper Climacteris picumnus and Speckled Warbler Chthonicola sagittata.
- Authors: Loyn, Richard , Faragher, J. T. , Coutts, D. C. , Palmer, Grant
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Field Ornithology Vol. 26, no. 3 (2009), p. 53-75
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: A program of planting Australian shrubs and trees has been conducted in degraded farmland at the Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary (central-western Victoria) since the 1960s, to address the issue of declining native birds, as perceived by the late landowner Gordon Clarke. The shrubs and trees were selected to attract birds, and included many species that were not native to the region. This form of management is often practised by private landholders (at various scales), but its effects are rarely documented. Bird surveys were conducted for this study between 1999 and 2001 at 27 sites: 11 in native eucalypt forest on ridges and slopes, 13 in planted areas on ridges and slopes, and three in planted areas on river-flats and a small gully (with three supplementary sites in a pine plantation). Total bird abundance and species per count were highest in the planted sites on river-flats and gully, and higher in the planted sites on ridges and slopes than in native forest on similar topography. Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), Superb Fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus, open-country birds, seed-eating birds and five insectivorous guilds reached their maximum abundance in planted sites. Barkforaging insectivores, canopy-foraging insectivores, frugivores and a generalist insectivore were marginally more common in native forest than in planted sites. Introduced birds were uncommon. Generalised linear modelling showed that total bird abundance was positively related to the cover of planted native vegetation, native low shrubs and young wattles Acacia spp. and to the presence of indigenous Cherry Ballart Exocarpos cupressiformis. Various guilds showed positive relationships with the cover of planted native vegetation, native low shrubs, young wattles, original old wattles, original old eucalypts and trees with small or large hollows. The planting program has provided new habitat for many native forest birds. A greater challenge is to address the needs of some uncommon species that have declined locally, such as the Brown Treecreeper Climacteris picumnus and Speckled Warbler Chthonicola sagittata.
Conducting suicide research in Australia in relation to the operation of Human Research Ethics Committees
- Authors: Macgill, Jennifer
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis began with a research project on suicide that was abandoned after many hurdles were encountered in terms of reaching participants and after various applications to ethics committees. The ultimate research question was then recast as ‘Do Human Research Ethics Committees influence the conduct of suicide research in Australia?’ The conceptual framework for setting up the research was derived from literature on Critical Theory, Feminism and Weberian concepts of power and rationality. Subsidiary questions were then derived from this literature and the starting exemplar case of my own research attempts. These considered whether suicide research was problematic for ethics committees, the nature of the experiences of ethics committee members in making decisions regarding suicide research and whether the influences of disciplinary background, patriarchal medical dominance and pro-positivism were evident. In addition, questions were raised about whether and how other researchers who sought approval to conduct research into suicide-related issues were appraised. [...]
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Macgill, Jennifer
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis began with a research project on suicide that was abandoned after many hurdles were encountered in terms of reaching participants and after various applications to ethics committees. The ultimate research question was then recast as ‘Do Human Research Ethics Committees influence the conduct of suicide research in Australia?’ The conceptual framework for setting up the research was derived from literature on Critical Theory, Feminism and Weberian concepts of power and rationality. Subsidiary questions were then derived from this literature and the starting exemplar case of my own research attempts. These considered whether suicide research was problematic for ethics committees, the nature of the experiences of ethics committee members in making decisions regarding suicide research and whether the influences of disciplinary background, patriarchal medical dominance and pro-positivism were evident. In addition, questions were raised about whether and how other researchers who sought approval to conduct research into suicide-related issues were appraised. [...]
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Investigations into the ecology and management of the invasive plant Galenia pubescens within the native temperate grasslands of Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Mahmood, Ako
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Plant invasions of natural ecosystems are one of the major threats to the conservation of biological diversity across nearly all biogeographical regions in the world. This thesis focuses on Galenia pubescens (Carpet weed) as a case study of possible approaches to the potential management of environmental weed species. G. pubescens is a woody prostrate perennial plant that is becoming a serious threat to Australian temperate grasslands, surrounding agricultural areas and conservation reserves. It is indigenous to South Africa and was first recorded in Australia in the early 1900s, and it is an aggressive competitor against native species. It is difficult to control, and little information exists about its effects on natural ecosystems, and aspects of its biology and ecology. This study has investigated some important ecological characteristics of G. pubescens’ seeds and has experimented with different management strategies in combination with chemical control. It has also considered the potential for the expansion of the distribution of this species across suitable habitat in Australia under predicted elevated CO2 and drought conditions. Seeds of G. pubescens are shown to be able to germinate over a broad range of temperatures, but short bursts (5 minutes) of high temperatures (80oC to 120oC replicating possible exposures to a fire) reduced seed germination. Seed germination was positively favored by light and declined rapidly in darkness, decreasing by > 80% at a depth of only 0.5 cm in soil. This suggests that fire regimes might be useful in removing mature plants and controlling seed numbers on the surface, and that subsequent native seeding of undisturbed areas may assist in the long-term management of this noxious weed. A trial was conducted to determine the effect of treatment with a plant essential oil (pine oil) to limit the seed germination and seedling emergence of G. pubescens. This trial showed that the effects of pine oil application were significant (P<0.05). Germination was completely inhibited by application of pine oil at 5% or higher concentrations directly to seeds, and seedling emergence was reduced by between 90 and 100% in pot trials. These outcomes demonstrate the potential viability of pine oil as a long-term control option for this species. In field-based experiments, control strategies including herbicide control with glyphosate, organic herbicide control with pine oil, the application of mulch, and the addition of native seeds to the available seedbank (and all possible combinations of these techniques), were tested. The study showed that one single treatment of a G. pubescens infestation without undertaking a secondary treatment is insufficient to control the G. pubescens infestation or to encourage native regeneration, but that a combined strategy, employing all the aforementioned techniques, is more effective. It is however suggested that full regeneration of the area may not be possible unless further restoration programs are instituted after the cycle of G. pubescens’ treatment has been completed. The thesis also assessed the control effects of chemical control combined with a prescribed spring burning. Assessment of the resulting aboveground vegetation of G. pubescens has shown that a combination of chemical control and late-spring burning can reduce the cover of non-native species such as G. pubescens, suggesting that this could be a useful tool in their management. Finally, this study has supported the view that the growth of G. pubescens will be significantly enhanced in a future climate with an enriched atmospheric CO2 concentration. These climatic changes will have important implications for management of this noxious weed in the future.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Mahmood, Ako
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Plant invasions of natural ecosystems are one of the major threats to the conservation of biological diversity across nearly all biogeographical regions in the world. This thesis focuses on Galenia pubescens (Carpet weed) as a case study of possible approaches to the potential management of environmental weed species. G. pubescens is a woody prostrate perennial plant that is becoming a serious threat to Australian temperate grasslands, surrounding agricultural areas and conservation reserves. It is indigenous to South Africa and was first recorded in Australia in the early 1900s, and it is an aggressive competitor against native species. It is difficult to control, and little information exists about its effects on natural ecosystems, and aspects of its biology and ecology. This study has investigated some important ecological characteristics of G. pubescens’ seeds and has experimented with different management strategies in combination with chemical control. It has also considered the potential for the expansion of the distribution of this species across suitable habitat in Australia under predicted elevated CO2 and drought conditions. Seeds of G. pubescens are shown to be able to germinate over a broad range of temperatures, but short bursts (5 minutes) of high temperatures (80oC to 120oC replicating possible exposures to a fire) reduced seed germination. Seed germination was positively favored by light and declined rapidly in darkness, decreasing by > 80% at a depth of only 0.5 cm in soil. This suggests that fire regimes might be useful in removing mature plants and controlling seed numbers on the surface, and that subsequent native seeding of undisturbed areas may assist in the long-term management of this noxious weed. A trial was conducted to determine the effect of treatment with a plant essential oil (pine oil) to limit the seed germination and seedling emergence of G. pubescens. This trial showed that the effects of pine oil application were significant (P<0.05). Germination was completely inhibited by application of pine oil at 5% or higher concentrations directly to seeds, and seedling emergence was reduced by between 90 and 100% in pot trials. These outcomes demonstrate the potential viability of pine oil as a long-term control option for this species. In field-based experiments, control strategies including herbicide control with glyphosate, organic herbicide control with pine oil, the application of mulch, and the addition of native seeds to the available seedbank (and all possible combinations of these techniques), were tested. The study showed that one single treatment of a G. pubescens infestation without undertaking a secondary treatment is insufficient to control the G. pubescens infestation or to encourage native regeneration, but that a combined strategy, employing all the aforementioned techniques, is more effective. It is however suggested that full regeneration of the area may not be possible unless further restoration programs are instituted after the cycle of G. pubescens’ treatment has been completed. The thesis also assessed the control effects of chemical control combined with a prescribed spring burning. Assessment of the resulting aboveground vegetation of G. pubescens has shown that a combination of chemical control and late-spring burning can reduce the cover of non-native species such as G. pubescens, suggesting that this could be a useful tool in their management. Finally, this study has supported the view that the growth of G. pubescens will be significantly enhanced in a future climate with an enriched atmospheric CO2 concentration. These climatic changes will have important implications for management of this noxious weed in the future.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Rainfall prediction in Australia : Clusterwise linear regression approach
- Authors: Mahmood, Arshad
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Accurate rainfall prediction is a challenging task because of the complex physical processes involved. This complexity is compounded in Australia as the climate can be highly variable. Accurate rainfall prediction is immensely benecial for making informed policy, planning and management decisions, and can assist with the most sustainable operation of water resource systems. Short-term prediction of rainfall is provided by meteorological services; however, the intermediate to long-term prediction of rainfall remains challenging and contains much uncertainty. Many prediction approaches have been proposed in the literature, including statistical and computational intelligence approaches. However, finding a method to model the complex physical process of rainfall, especially in Australia where the climate is highly variable, is still a major challenge. The aims of this study are to: (a) develop an optimization based clusterwise linear regression method, (b) develop new prediction methods based on clusterwise linear regression, (c) assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models in predicting monthly and weekly rainfall in Australia, (d) determine the combined influence of meteorological variables on rainfall prediction in Australia, and (e) carry out a comparative analysis of new and existing prediction techniques using Australian rainfall data. In this study, rainfall data with five input meteorological variables from 24 geographically diverse weather stations in Australia, over the period January 1970 to December 2014, have been taken from the Scientific Information for Land Owners (SILO). We also consider the climate zones when selecting weather stations, because Australia experiences a variety of climates due to its size. The data was divided into training and testing periods for evaluation purposes. In this study, optimization based clusterwise linear regression is modified and new prediction methods are developed for rainfall prediction. The proposed method is applied to predict monthly and weekly rainfall. The prediction performance of the clusterwise linear regression method was evaluated by comparing observed and predicted rainfall values using the performance measures: root mean squared error, the mean absolute error, the mean absolute scaled error and the Nash-Sutclie coefficient of efficiency. The proposed method is also compared with the clusterwise linear regression based on the maximum likelihood estimation, linear support vector machines for regression, support vector machines for regression with radial basis kernel function, multiple linear regression, artificial neural networks with and without hidden layer and k-nearest neighbours methods using computational results. Initially, to determine the appropriate input variables to be used in the investigation, we assessed all combinations of meteorological variables. The results confirm that single meteorological variables alone are unable to predict rainfall accurately. The prediction performance of all selected models was improved by adding the input variables in most locations. To assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models and to compare the prediction performance of models, we trained models with the best combination of input variables and predicted monthly and weekly rainfall over the test periods. The results of this analysis confirm that the prediction performance of all selected models varied considerably with geographic regions for both weekly and monthly rainfall predictions. It is found that models have the lowest prediction error in the desert climate zone and highest in subtropical and tropical zones. The results also demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is capable of finding the patterns and trends of the observations for monthly and weekly rainfall predictions in all geographic regions. In desert, tropical and subtropical climate zones, the proposed method outperform other methods in most locations for both monthly and weekly rainfall predictions. In temperate and grassland zones the prediction performance of the proposed model is better in some locations while in the remaining locations it is slightly lower than the other models.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Description: Accurate rainfall prediction is a challenging task because of the complex physical processes involved. This complexity is compounded in Australia as the climate can be highly variable. Accurate rainfall prediction is immensely benecial for making informed policy, planning and management decisions, and can assist with the most sustainable operation of water resource systems. Short-term prediction of rainfall is provided by meteorological services; however, the intermediate to long-term prediction of rainfall remains challenging and contains much uncertainty. Many prediction approaches have been proposed in the literature, including statistical and computational intelligence approaches. However, finding a method to model the complex physical process of rainfall, especially in Australia where the climate is highly variable, is still a major challenge. The aims of this study are to: (a) develop an optimization based clusterwise linear regression method, (b) develop new prediction methods based on clusterwise linear regression, (c) assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models in predicting monthly and weekly rainfall in Australia, (d) determine the combined influence of meteorological variables on rainfall prediction in Australia, and (e) carry out a comparative analysis of new and existing prediction techniques using Australian rainfall data. In this study, rainfall data with five input meteorological variables from 24 geographically diverse weather stations in Australia, over the period January 1970 to December 2014, have been taken from the Scientific Information for Land Owners (SILO). We also consider the climate zones when selecting weather stations, because Australia experiences a variety of climates due to its size. The data was divided into training and testing periods for evaluation purposes. In this study, optimization based clusterwise linear regression is modified and new prediction methods are developed for rainfall prediction. The proposed method is applied to predict monthly and weekly rainfall. The prediction performance of the clusterwise linear regression method was evaluated by comparing observed and predicted rainfall values using the performance measures: root mean squared error, the mean absolute error, the mean absolute scaled error and the Nash-Sutclie coefficient of efficiency. The proposed method is also compared with the clusterwise linear regression based on the maximum likelihood estimation, linear support vector machines for regression, support vector machines for regression with radial basis kernel function, multiple linear regression, artificial neural networks with and without hidden layer and k-nearest neighbors methods using computational results. Initially, to determine the appropriate input variables to be used in the investigation, we assessed all combinations of meteorological variables. The results confirm that single meteorological variables alone are unable to predict rainfall accurately. The prediction performance of all selected models was improved by adding the input variables in most locations. To assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models and to compare the prediction performance of models, we trained models with the best combination of input variables and predicted monthly and weekly rainfall over the test periods. The results of this analysis confirm that the prediction performance of all selected models varied considerably with geographic regions for both weekly and monthly rainfall predictions. It is found that models have the lowest prediction error in the desert climate zone and highest in subtropical and tropical zones. The results also demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is capable of finding the patterns and trends of the observations for monthly and weekly rainfall predictions in all geographic regions. In desert, tropical and subtropical climate zones, the proposed method outperform other methods in most locations for both monthly and weekly rainfall predictions. In temperate and grassland zones the prediction performance of the proposed model is better in some locations while in the remaining locations it is slightly lower than the other models.
- Authors: Mahmood, Arshad
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Accurate rainfall prediction is a challenging task because of the complex physical processes involved. This complexity is compounded in Australia as the climate can be highly variable. Accurate rainfall prediction is immensely benecial for making informed policy, planning and management decisions, and can assist with the most sustainable operation of water resource systems. Short-term prediction of rainfall is provided by meteorological services; however, the intermediate to long-term prediction of rainfall remains challenging and contains much uncertainty. Many prediction approaches have been proposed in the literature, including statistical and computational intelligence approaches. However, finding a method to model the complex physical process of rainfall, especially in Australia where the climate is highly variable, is still a major challenge. The aims of this study are to: (a) develop an optimization based clusterwise linear regression method, (b) develop new prediction methods based on clusterwise linear regression, (c) assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models in predicting monthly and weekly rainfall in Australia, (d) determine the combined influence of meteorological variables on rainfall prediction in Australia, and (e) carry out a comparative analysis of new and existing prediction techniques using Australian rainfall data. In this study, rainfall data with five input meteorological variables from 24 geographically diverse weather stations in Australia, over the period January 1970 to December 2014, have been taken from the Scientific Information for Land Owners (SILO). We also consider the climate zones when selecting weather stations, because Australia experiences a variety of climates due to its size. The data was divided into training and testing periods for evaluation purposes. In this study, optimization based clusterwise linear regression is modified and new prediction methods are developed for rainfall prediction. The proposed method is applied to predict monthly and weekly rainfall. The prediction performance of the clusterwise linear regression method was evaluated by comparing observed and predicted rainfall values using the performance measures: root mean squared error, the mean absolute error, the mean absolute scaled error and the Nash-Sutclie coefficient of efficiency. The proposed method is also compared with the clusterwise linear regression based on the maximum likelihood estimation, linear support vector machines for regression, support vector machines for regression with radial basis kernel function, multiple linear regression, artificial neural networks with and without hidden layer and k-nearest neighbours methods using computational results. Initially, to determine the appropriate input variables to be used in the investigation, we assessed all combinations of meteorological variables. The results confirm that single meteorological variables alone are unable to predict rainfall accurately. The prediction performance of all selected models was improved by adding the input variables in most locations. To assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models and to compare the prediction performance of models, we trained models with the best combination of input variables and predicted monthly and weekly rainfall over the test periods. The results of this analysis confirm that the prediction performance of all selected models varied considerably with geographic regions for both weekly and monthly rainfall predictions. It is found that models have the lowest prediction error in the desert climate zone and highest in subtropical and tropical zones. The results also demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is capable of finding the patterns and trends of the observations for monthly and weekly rainfall predictions in all geographic regions. In desert, tropical and subtropical climate zones, the proposed method outperform other methods in most locations for both monthly and weekly rainfall predictions. In temperate and grassland zones the prediction performance of the proposed model is better in some locations while in the remaining locations it is slightly lower than the other models.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Description: Accurate rainfall prediction is a challenging task because of the complex physical processes involved. This complexity is compounded in Australia as the climate can be highly variable. Accurate rainfall prediction is immensely benecial for making informed policy, planning and management decisions, and can assist with the most sustainable operation of water resource systems. Short-term prediction of rainfall is provided by meteorological services; however, the intermediate to long-term prediction of rainfall remains challenging and contains much uncertainty. Many prediction approaches have been proposed in the literature, including statistical and computational intelligence approaches. However, finding a method to model the complex physical process of rainfall, especially in Australia where the climate is highly variable, is still a major challenge. The aims of this study are to: (a) develop an optimization based clusterwise linear regression method, (b) develop new prediction methods based on clusterwise linear regression, (c) assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models in predicting monthly and weekly rainfall in Australia, (d) determine the combined influence of meteorological variables on rainfall prediction in Australia, and (e) carry out a comparative analysis of new and existing prediction techniques using Australian rainfall data. In this study, rainfall data with five input meteorological variables from 24 geographically diverse weather stations in Australia, over the period January 1970 to December 2014, have been taken from the Scientific Information for Land Owners (SILO). We also consider the climate zones when selecting weather stations, because Australia experiences a variety of climates due to its size. The data was divided into training and testing periods for evaluation purposes. In this study, optimization based clusterwise linear regression is modified and new prediction methods are developed for rainfall prediction. The proposed method is applied to predict monthly and weekly rainfall. The prediction performance of the clusterwise linear regression method was evaluated by comparing observed and predicted rainfall values using the performance measures: root mean squared error, the mean absolute error, the mean absolute scaled error and the Nash-Sutclie coefficient of efficiency. The proposed method is also compared with the clusterwise linear regression based on the maximum likelihood estimation, linear support vector machines for regression, support vector machines for regression with radial basis kernel function, multiple linear regression, artificial neural networks with and without hidden layer and k-nearest neighbors methods using computational results. Initially, to determine the appropriate input variables to be used in the investigation, we assessed all combinations of meteorological variables. The results confirm that single meteorological variables alone are unable to predict rainfall accurately. The prediction performance of all selected models was improved by adding the input variables in most locations. To assess the influence of geographic regions on the performance of prediction models and to compare the prediction performance of models, we trained models with the best combination of input variables and predicted monthly and weekly rainfall over the test periods. The results of this analysis confirm that the prediction performance of all selected models varied considerably with geographic regions for both weekly and monthly rainfall predictions. It is found that models have the lowest prediction error in the desert climate zone and highest in subtropical and tropical zones. The results also demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is capable of finding the patterns and trends of the observations for monthly and weekly rainfall predictions in all geographic regions. In desert, tropical and subtropical climate zones, the proposed method outperform other methods in most locations for both monthly and weekly rainfall predictions. In temperate and grassland zones the prediction performance of the proposed model is better in some locations while in the remaining locations it is slightly lower than the other models.
Factors affecting the organisational adoption of blockchain technology in australia : a mixed-methods approach
- Authors: Malik, Muhammad Saleem
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Blockchain (BCT) is an emerging technology that promises many benefits for organisations, such as disintermediation, data security, data transparency, a single version of the truth, and trust among trading partners. Despite its multiple benefits, the adoption rate of BCT among organisations has not reached a significantly high level worldwide. The present thesis addresses this issue in the Australian context. There is a knowledge gap in what specific factors, among the plethora of factors reported in the extant scholarly and commercial literature, affect Australian organisations while deciding to adopt BCT. To fill this gap, this thesis uses a mixed-methods approach known as sequential exploratory mixed methods. In this approach, the research starts with a qualitative phase as an initial phase followed by a quantitative phase. During the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews of the BCT experts and decision-makers working with the ifferent Australian organisations that adopted or were in the process of adopting BCT. The Technology, Organisation, Environment (TOE) framework, based on the qualitative interpretative approach, was used as a theoretical lens during the qualitative phase. The qualitative data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique with the SQR NVivo software. The analysis shows that the different factors, belonging to the technological, organisational, and environmental contexts, affect the organisational decision to adopt BCT in Australia. The technological factors include perceived benefits, perceived computability, perceived complexity, perceived disintermediation, and perceived information transparency; organisational factors are organisational innovativeness, organisational learning capability, top management support; environmental factors consist of government support, standards uncertainty, competition intensity, and trading partners readiness. The qualitative analysis also shows the direct and moderating effect of the perceived risks between the relationship of the identified factors and organisational adoption of BCT. Based on the findings of the qualitative phase, the thesis develops a theoretical conceptual model, which shows the relationship between the factors and the organisational adoption of BCT. To increase the external validity of the developed conceptual model, the thesis started a quantitative phase with the administration of an online survey for data collection. Certain criteria were set to screen out the irrelevant participants in the survey. During this phase, hypotheses were proposed for the relationship of the factors identified in the qualitative phase and the organisational adoption of BCT. The survey data was analyzed using the PLS Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique with the SmartPLS 3 software. The quantitative analysis confirms the findings of the qualitative phase that the perceived benefits, perceived compatibility, perceived information transparency, perceived disintermediation, organisational innovativeness, organisational learning capability, top management support, competitive intensity, government support, and trading partner readiness have a positive effect on the organisational adoption of BCT. Whereas the perceived complexity, standards uncertainty, and perceived risks have a negative effect. The analysis also shows that the moderating effects of perceived risks are significant in the relationship of perceived compatibility, perceived information transparency, perceived disintermediation, organisational innovativeness, organisation innovativeness, competition intensity, and organisational adoption of BCT. Contrary to the qualitative findings, ‘perceived risks’ has no moderating effects on the relationship of perceived benefits, organisational learning capability, top management support, government support, trading partner readiness, and the adoption of BCT. The thesis has both theoretical and practical contributions, which are useful both for theory development and decision-making for the adoption of BCT in Australia. Theoretically, this thesis contributes to the existing IT adoption literature in several ways. Firstly, the thesis provides empirical evidence about the factors affecting organisational adoption of BCT in Australia. This is the first in-depth sequential exploratory mixed methods research that bridges this knowledge gap in the extant literature. The identification of such factors is important, particularly for the Australian government and organisations interested in the value creation of BCT. Second, the thesis reports the effect of new factors, namely, perceived information transparency, perceived disintermediation, organisational innovativeness, organisational learning capability, standards uncertainty, trading partner readiness, and competition intensity on BCT adoption that are exclusively identified in this research. Third, this thesis confirms the findings of the past studies that the factors of perceived benefits and perceived compatibility, perceived complexity, and top management support have an effect on the organisational adoption of BCT. Fourth, according to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research that has used the qualitative interpretive research approach to investigate the organisational adoption of BCT. Therefore, the thesis confirms the suitability of the qualitative interpretive research approach for BCT adoption. Lastly, most of the researchers have used the TOE framework in either in qualitative or quantitative research. This thesis proves its validity in mixed methods research as well. The thesis's practical contributions are discussed in chapter 7.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Malik, Muhammad Saleem
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Blockchain (BCT) is an emerging technology that promises many benefits for organisations, such as disintermediation, data security, data transparency, a single version of the truth, and trust among trading partners. Despite its multiple benefits, the adoption rate of BCT among organisations has not reached a significantly high level worldwide. The present thesis addresses this issue in the Australian context. There is a knowledge gap in what specific factors, among the plethora of factors reported in the extant scholarly and commercial literature, affect Australian organisations while deciding to adopt BCT. To fill this gap, this thesis uses a mixed-methods approach known as sequential exploratory mixed methods. In this approach, the research starts with a qualitative phase as an initial phase followed by a quantitative phase. During the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews of the BCT experts and decision-makers working with the ifferent Australian organisations that adopted or were in the process of adopting BCT. The Technology, Organisation, Environment (TOE) framework, based on the qualitative interpretative approach, was used as a theoretical lens during the qualitative phase. The qualitative data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique with the SQR NVivo software. The analysis shows that the different factors, belonging to the technological, organisational, and environmental contexts, affect the organisational decision to adopt BCT in Australia. The technological factors include perceived benefits, perceived computability, perceived complexity, perceived disintermediation, and perceived information transparency; organisational factors are organisational innovativeness, organisational learning capability, top management support; environmental factors consist of government support, standards uncertainty, competition intensity, and trading partners readiness. The qualitative analysis also shows the direct and moderating effect of the perceived risks between the relationship of the identified factors and organisational adoption of BCT. Based on the findings of the qualitative phase, the thesis develops a theoretical conceptual model, which shows the relationship between the factors and the organisational adoption of BCT. To increase the external validity of the developed conceptual model, the thesis started a quantitative phase with the administration of an online survey for data collection. Certain criteria were set to screen out the irrelevant participants in the survey. During this phase, hypotheses were proposed for the relationship of the factors identified in the qualitative phase and the organisational adoption of BCT. The survey data was analyzed using the PLS Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique with the SmartPLS 3 software. The quantitative analysis confirms the findings of the qualitative phase that the perceived benefits, perceived compatibility, perceived information transparency, perceived disintermediation, organisational innovativeness, organisational learning capability, top management support, competitive intensity, government support, and trading partner readiness have a positive effect on the organisational adoption of BCT. Whereas the perceived complexity, standards uncertainty, and perceived risks have a negative effect. The analysis also shows that the moderating effects of perceived risks are significant in the relationship of perceived compatibility, perceived information transparency, perceived disintermediation, organisational innovativeness, organisation innovativeness, competition intensity, and organisational adoption of BCT. Contrary to the qualitative findings, ‘perceived risks’ has no moderating effects on the relationship of perceived benefits, organisational learning capability, top management support, government support, trading partner readiness, and the adoption of BCT. The thesis has both theoretical and practical contributions, which are useful both for theory development and decision-making for the adoption of BCT in Australia. Theoretically, this thesis contributes to the existing IT adoption literature in several ways. Firstly, the thesis provides empirical evidence about the factors affecting organisational adoption of BCT in Australia. This is the first in-depth sequential exploratory mixed methods research that bridges this knowledge gap in the extant literature. The identification of such factors is important, particularly for the Australian government and organisations interested in the value creation of BCT. Second, the thesis reports the effect of new factors, namely, perceived information transparency, perceived disintermediation, organisational innovativeness, organisational learning capability, standards uncertainty, trading partner readiness, and competition intensity on BCT adoption that are exclusively identified in this research. Third, this thesis confirms the findings of the past studies that the factors of perceived benefits and perceived compatibility, perceived complexity, and top management support have an effect on the organisational adoption of BCT. Fourth, according to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research that has used the qualitative interpretive research approach to investigate the organisational adoption of BCT. Therefore, the thesis confirms the suitability of the qualitative interpretive research approach for BCT adoption. Lastly, most of the researchers have used the TOE framework in either in qualitative or quantitative research. This thesis proves its validity in mixed methods research as well. The thesis's practical contributions are discussed in chapter 7.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Factors affecting the organizational adoption of blockchain technology : extending the technology–organization– environment (TOE) framework in the Australian context
- Malik, Saleem, Chadhar, Mehmood, Vatanasakdakul, Savanid, Chetty, Madhu
- Authors: Malik, Saleem , Chadhar, Mehmood , Vatanasakdakul, Savanid , Chetty, Madhu
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 16 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Blockchain technology (BCT) has been gaining popularity due to its benefits for almost every industry. However, despite its benefits, the organizational adoption of BCT is rather limited. This lack of uptake motivated us to identify the factors that influence the adoption of BCT from an organizational perspective. In doing this, we reviewed the BCT literature, interviewed BCT experts, and proposed a research model based on the TOE framework. Specifically, we theorized the role of technological (perceived benefits, compatibility, information transparency, and disintermediation), organizational (organization innovativeness, organizational learning capability, and top management support), and environmental (competition intensity, government support, trading partners readiness, and standards uncertainty) factors in the organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. We confirmed the model with a sample of adopters and potential adopter organizations in Aus-tralia. The results show a significant role of the proposed factors in the organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. Additionally, we found that the relationship between the influential factors and BCT adoption is moderated by “perceived risks”. The study extends the TOE framework by adding factors that were ignored in previous studies on BCT adoption, such as perceived information trans-parency, perceived disintermediation, organizational innovativeness, organizational learning capa-bility, and standards uncertainty. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Malik, Saleem , Chadhar, Mehmood , Vatanasakdakul, Savanid , Chetty, Madhu
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 13, no. 16 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Blockchain technology (BCT) has been gaining popularity due to its benefits for almost every industry. However, despite its benefits, the organizational adoption of BCT is rather limited. This lack of uptake motivated us to identify the factors that influence the adoption of BCT from an organizational perspective. In doing this, we reviewed the BCT literature, interviewed BCT experts, and proposed a research model based on the TOE framework. Specifically, we theorized the role of technological (perceived benefits, compatibility, information transparency, and disintermediation), organizational (organization innovativeness, organizational learning capability, and top management support), and environmental (competition intensity, government support, trading partners readiness, and standards uncertainty) factors in the organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. We confirmed the model with a sample of adopters and potential adopter organizations in Aus-tralia. The results show a significant role of the proposed factors in the organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. Additionally, we found that the relationship between the influential factors and BCT adoption is moderated by “perceived risks”. The study extends the TOE framework by adding factors that were ignored in previous studies on BCT adoption, such as perceived information trans-parency, perceived disintermediation, organizational innovativeness, organizational learning capa-bility, and standards uncertainty. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
An exploratory study of the adoption of blockchain technology among Australian organizations : a theoretical model
- Malik, Saleem, Chadhar, Mehmood, Chetty, Madhu, Vatanasakdakul, Savanid
- Authors: Malik, Saleem , Chadhar, Mehmood , Chetty, Madhu , Vatanasakdakul, Savanid
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 17th European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems, EMCIS 2020; Dubai; 25-26 November 2020 Vol. 402, p. 205-220
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Scholarly and commercial literature indicates several applications of Blockchain Technology (BCT) in different industries e.g. health, finance, supply chain, government, and energy. Despite abundant benefits reported and growing prominence, BCT has been facing various challenges across the globe, including low adoption by organizations. There is a dearth of studies that examined the organizational adoption of blockchain technology, particularly in Australia. This lack of uptake provides the rationale to initiate this research to identify the factors influencing the Australian organizations to adopt BCT. To achieve this, we conducted a qualitative study based on the Technology, Organization, Environment (TOE) framework. The study proposes a theoretical model grounded on the findings of semi-structured interviews of blockchain experts in Australia. The proposed model shows that the organizational adoption of blockchain is influenced by perceived benefits, compatibility, and complexity, organization innovativeness, organizational learning capability, competitive intensity, government support, trading partner readiness, and standards uncertainty. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
- Authors: Malik, Saleem , Chadhar, Mehmood , Chetty, Madhu , Vatanasakdakul, Savanid
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 17th European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems, EMCIS 2020; Dubai; 25-26 November 2020 Vol. 402, p. 205-220
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Scholarly and commercial literature indicates several applications of Blockchain Technology (BCT) in different industries e.g. health, finance, supply chain, government, and energy. Despite abundant benefits reported and growing prominence, BCT has been facing various challenges across the globe, including low adoption by organizations. There is a dearth of studies that examined the organizational adoption of blockchain technology, particularly in Australia. This lack of uptake provides the rationale to initiate this research to identify the factors influencing the Australian organizations to adopt BCT. To achieve this, we conducted a qualitative study based on the Technology, Organization, Environment (TOE) framework. The study proposes a theoretical model grounded on the findings of semi-structured interviews of blockchain experts in Australia. The proposed model shows that the organizational adoption of blockchain is influenced by perceived benefits, compatibility, and complexity, organization innovativeness, organizational learning capability, competitive intensity, government support, trading partner readiness, and standards uncertainty. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
iPod therefore I can : Enhancing the learning of children with intellectual disabilities through emerging technologies
- Authors: Marks, Genee , Milne, Jay
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at ICICTE 2008: International Conference on Information Communication Technologies in Education, Corfu, Greece : 10th-12th July 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: This paper explores the pedagogical and social potential of emerging technologies, in particular the iPod, in facilitating the learning of young Australians with severe intellectual and social disabilities. The study, which was carried out in a segregated educational setting in Victoria, Australia, sought to establish whether the intrinsic portable, multi-media capabilities of the iPod particularly lent themselves to a practical application for students with severe disabilities. It was concluded that such new technology has considerable power and potential as an emerging pedagogy with students with severe intellectual and physical disabilities.
- Description: 2003006449
- Authors: Marks, Genee , Milne, Jay
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at ICICTE 2008: International Conference on Information Communication Technologies in Education, Corfu, Greece : 10th-12th July 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: This paper explores the pedagogical and social potential of emerging technologies, in particular the iPod, in facilitating the learning of young Australians with severe intellectual and social disabilities. The study, which was carried out in a segregated educational setting in Victoria, Australia, sought to establish whether the intrinsic portable, multi-media capabilities of the iPod particularly lent themselves to a practical application for students with severe disabilities. It was concluded that such new technology has considerable power and potential as an emerging pedagogy with students with severe intellectual and physical disabilities.
- Description: 2003006449
Effects of Tetranychus lintearius (Acari : Tetranychidae) on the structure and water potential in the foliage of the invasive Ulex europaeus (Fabaceae) in Australia
- Marriott, Jeremy, Florentine, Singarayer, Raman, Anantanarayanan
- Authors: Marriott, Jeremy , Florentine, Singarayer , Raman, Anantanarayanan
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Acarology Vol. 39, no. 4 (2013), p. 275-284
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Ulex europaeus, a native of Western Europe and the Mediterranean coast, is a serious agricultural and environmental weed in many parts of the earth, including Australia. Tetranychus lintearius attacks U. europaeus in its natural range and is one of the four biological control agents introduced into Australia to regulate populations of U. europaeus. Tetranychus lintearius is specific to different species of Ulex, which enhances its status as a key biological control agent. Little is known on the physiological effects and structural changes induced by T. lintearius on U. europaeus. This article describes anatomical changes and evaluates the physiological effects in U. europaeus consequent to feeding by T. lintearius for more than 100 d. This study demonstrates that feeding by T. lintearius reduces the quantity of photosynthetic tissue in U. europaeus, as a result of feeding on mesophyll parenchyma by inserting its stylets through the stomatal aperture. Unfed parenchyma cells display signs of stress, either exhibiting deformed cell organelles aligned along the walls of vacant cells or with cells with no well-defined cell organelles. Subsequent to T. lintearius feeding, leaves externally manifest bleaching. After feeding by a population of T. lintearius, leaf water potential is decreased by 30% and tender shoots lose their turgor, indicating water-related stress. Tetranychus lintearius has the potential to decelerate vigour and retard the competitiveness of U. europaeus by inflicting stress. Our findings reinforce the use of T. lintearius in the biological management of populations of U. europaeus in temperate Australia.
- Authors: Marriott, Jeremy , Florentine, Singarayer , Raman, Anantanarayanan
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Acarology Vol. 39, no. 4 (2013), p. 275-284
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Ulex europaeus, a native of Western Europe and the Mediterranean coast, is a serious agricultural and environmental weed in many parts of the earth, including Australia. Tetranychus lintearius attacks U. europaeus in its natural range and is one of the four biological control agents introduced into Australia to regulate populations of U. europaeus. Tetranychus lintearius is specific to different species of Ulex, which enhances its status as a key biological control agent. Little is known on the physiological effects and structural changes induced by T. lintearius on U. europaeus. This article describes anatomical changes and evaluates the physiological effects in U. europaeus consequent to feeding by T. lintearius for more than 100 d. This study demonstrates that feeding by T. lintearius reduces the quantity of photosynthetic tissue in U. europaeus, as a result of feeding on mesophyll parenchyma by inserting its stylets through the stomatal aperture. Unfed parenchyma cells display signs of stress, either exhibiting deformed cell organelles aligned along the walls of vacant cells or with cells with no well-defined cell organelles. Subsequent to T. lintearius feeding, leaves externally manifest bleaching. After feeding by a population of T. lintearius, leaf water potential is decreased by 30% and tender shoots lose their turgor, indicating water-related stress. Tetranychus lintearius has the potential to decelerate vigour and retard the competitiveness of U. europaeus by inflicting stress. Our findings reinforce the use of T. lintearius in the biological management of populations of U. europaeus in temperate Australia.
Historical mine sites as modern-day sources of contamination : Measurement and characterisation of arsenic in historical gold mine wastes to identify the potential for mobility and human exposure
- Authors: Martin, Rachael
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Centuries of metalliferous mining activities have resulted in a legacy of contamination throughout the world. Unremediated mine wastes and tailings, as well as contaminated soils, water and sediments, represent ongoing sources of environmental degradation and human exposure, long after mine closure and abandonment. Despite global concern over these contaminant sources, there remain uncertainties surrounding the nature of human exposure to mine wastes and their toxicologically relevant characteristics. As urbanisation expands into areas proximal to abandoned mine sites, an understanding of the human-contaminant interface at this boundary is critical for assessing the potential health risks. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by investigating the importance of particle size as a factor governing the distribution of metals and metalloids in historical gold mine wastes in regional Victoria, Australia, with an emphasis on arsenic as a contaminant of potential concern. By characterising those particle size fractions that are relevant to dust mobilisation and human exposure, this thesis examines the human-contaminant interface using a multi-pathway approach. In particular, this thesis focuses on the potential for exposure via inhalation of mine waste particulates. The outcomes of the studies presented in this body of work demonstrate that historical gold mine wastes in regional Victoria represent a source of readily ingestible and inhalable particulates characterised by extremely elevated levels of arsenic (and other contaminants) well above their bulk (in situ) concentrations. Although lung bioaccessibility testing and mineralogical analyses revealed that most of the arsenic in inhalable dust has been naturally immobilised, the lung-soluble fraction should be considered when undertaking risk assessments for chronic exposure. This thesis provides a framework for the development of targeted management strategies for unremediated historical gold mining wastes in regional Victoria. The findings suggest there is a need for environmental regulations to shift from generic guideline values to exposure-specific guidelines that more accurately reflect the human health risks posed by historical mine sites. This thesis has emphasised the notion that in order for remedial action to accurately match the level of risk, the sourcepathway- receptor linkage must be evaluated using a systematic size-resolved approach.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Martin, Rachael
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Centuries of metalliferous mining activities have resulted in a legacy of contamination throughout the world. Unremediated mine wastes and tailings, as well as contaminated soils, water and sediments, represent ongoing sources of environmental degradation and human exposure, long after mine closure and abandonment. Despite global concern over these contaminant sources, there remain uncertainties surrounding the nature of human exposure to mine wastes and their toxicologically relevant characteristics. As urbanisation expands into areas proximal to abandoned mine sites, an understanding of the human-contaminant interface at this boundary is critical for assessing the potential health risks. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by investigating the importance of particle size as a factor governing the distribution of metals and metalloids in historical gold mine wastes in regional Victoria, Australia, with an emphasis on arsenic as a contaminant of potential concern. By characterising those particle size fractions that are relevant to dust mobilisation and human exposure, this thesis examines the human-contaminant interface using a multi-pathway approach. In particular, this thesis focuses on the potential for exposure via inhalation of mine waste particulates. The outcomes of the studies presented in this body of work demonstrate that historical gold mine wastes in regional Victoria represent a source of readily ingestible and inhalable particulates characterised by extremely elevated levels of arsenic (and other contaminants) well above their bulk (in situ) concentrations. Although lung bioaccessibility testing and mineralogical analyses revealed that most of the arsenic in inhalable dust has been naturally immobilised, the lung-soluble fraction should be considered when undertaking risk assessments for chronic exposure. This thesis provides a framework for the development of targeted management strategies for unremediated historical gold mining wastes in regional Victoria. The findings suggest there is a need for environmental regulations to shift from generic guideline values to exposure-specific guidelines that more accurately reflect the human health risks posed by historical mine sites. This thesis has emphasised the notion that in order for remedial action to accurately match the level of risk, the sourcepathway- receptor linkage must be evaluated using a systematic size-resolved approach.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy