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Adapting port cluster theory to contextualise the remarkable rise of the gold rushes port of Melbourne: 1851–1861

- Taylor, Peter

Authors: Taylor, Peter
Date: 2022
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: The research question that forms the basis of this thesis asks how and what drove the port of Melbourne to advance 30–50 years growth in less than ten during the 1850s gold era. To answer this question this thesis modifies and tests a new methodological approach to read the port’s growth driven by a close reading and evaluation of port cluster theory. Developed in the early 2000s the theory synthesises elements that constitute a port and operations through a wide range of components and activities. Recognising that a twenty-first-century port is not the same as a mid-nineteenth-century port, through advances brought on by a wide range of modern technologies, the theory has been historicised to dismantle the 1851–1861 gold era port of Melbourne to recognise its parts and how it was built. One of the tools to be enhanced and expanded for this is the cluster table of components and activities, providing specifics for activities undertaken at a mid-nineteenth-century port. A key constituent this propels the research forward when applied at Melbourne’s four ports of central Melbourne, Sandridge (Port Melbourne), Williamstown, Footscray and the Saltwater (Maribyrnong) River (combined). The argument is made that the ports evolved to be a port cluster reinforced by the exploration of specific themes of defence, security, river punts, entrepreneurs, ballast trade, quarrying, railways, noxious industries, shipwreck salvage, shipbuilding, ship repairs, tourism and wharf construction as topics. This thesis then uses the evidence gained to claim that the port did indeed evolve into a cluster port by 1861. The wider implication of this research is that a new framework exists for understanding the complexities of a mid-nineteenth-century port and how this can be done in a systematic way. For this methodology to demonstrate utility outside the port of Melbourne, requires further testing at sites within Australia, and worldwide, for confirmation of universality.
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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Efficient texture descriptors for image segmentation

- Tania, Sheikh

Authors: Tania, Sheikh
Date: 2022
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: Colour and texture are the most common features used in image processing and computer vision applications. Unlike colour, a local texture descriptor needs to express the unique variation pattern in the intensity differences of pixels in the neighbourhood of the pixel-of-interest (POI) so that it can sufficiently discriminate different textures. Since the descriptor needs spatial manipulation of all pixels in the neighbourhood of the POI, approximation of texture impacts not only the computational cost but also the performance of the applications. In this thesis, we aim to develop novel texture descriptors, especially for hierarchical image segmentation techniques that have recently gained popularity for their wide range of applications in medical imaging, video surveillance, autonomous navigation, and computer vision in general. To pursue the aim, we focus in reducing the length of the texture feature and directly modelling the distribution of intensity-variation in the parametric space of a probability density function (pdf). In the first contributory chapter, we enhance the state-of-the-art Weber local descriptor (WLD) by considering the mean value of neighbouring pixel intensities along radial directions instead of sampling pixels at three scales. Consequently, the proposed descriptor, named Radial Mean WLD (RM-WLD), is three-fold shorter than WLD and it performs slightly better than WLD in hierarchical image segmentation. The statistical distributions of pixel intensities in different image regions are diverse by nature. In the second contributory chapter, we propose a novel texture feature, called ‘joint scale,’ by directly modelling the probability distribution of intensity differences. The Weibull distribution, one of the extreme value distributions, is selected for this purpose as it can represent a wide range of probability distributions with a couple of parameters. In addition, gradient orientation feature is calculated from all pixels in the neighbourhood with an extended Sobel operator, instead of using only the vertical and horizontal neighbours as considered in WLD. The length of the texture descriptor combining joint scale and gradiet orientation features remains the same as RM-WLD, but it exhibits significantly improved discrimination capability for better image segmentation. Initial regions in hierarchical segmentation play an important role in approximating texture features. Traditional arbitrary-shaped initial regions maintain the uniform colour property and thus may not retain the texture pattern of the segment they belong to. In the final contributory chapter, we introduce regular-shaped initial regions by enhancing the cuboidal partitioning technique, which has recently gained popularity in image/video coding research. Since the regions (cuboids) of cuboidal partitioning are of rectangular shape, they do not follow the colour-based boundary adherence of traditional initial regions. Consequently, the cuboids retain sufficient texture pattern cues to provide better texture approximation and discriminating capability. We have used benchmark segmentation datasets and metrics to evaluate the proposed texture descriptors. Experimental results on benchmark metrics and computational time are promising when the proposed texture features are used in the state-of-the-art iterative contraction and merging (ICM) image segmentation technique.
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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Efficacy of various complex and contrast set protocols acute responses and chronic muscle power development.

- Talpey, Scott

Authors: Talpey, Scott
Date: 2014
Type: Text , Thesis
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Description: PhD
Description: "The complex and contrast methods are two separate, but related approaches to resistance training that present intriguing options for coaches who are seeking to enhance an athletes explosive lower body movement. This intrigue is caused by the post-activation potentiation (PAP) phenomenon, which provides the physiological underpinning for these training methods. Exploitation of the PAP response is believed to elicit acute responses, and ultimately chronic adaptations in an individuals explosive force producing ability to an extent that is greater than can be obtained through conventional training methods. However, evidence to support the use of these training methods is derived from investigations that have reported acute increases in performance within a single session and not over an extended period of time. Additionally, the complex method of training, in which sets of a heavy resistance exercise (conditioning action) are performed prior to sets of a lighter explosive exercise has not been investigated as extensively as the contrast method, in which heavy and light exercises are alternated in a set-by-set fashion, leading to question which method is more effective. Furthermore, it is currently not understood if a static or dynamic conditioning action is more effective in complex or contrast methods, and how a change in body position from seated to standing acutely effects explosive lower body movement. Therefore, four studies were designed to address these current gaps in the literature." "The first study sought to determine the reliability of the explosive force variables of jump height (JH), peak bar velocity (BV), peak force (PF), and peak power (PP) obtained from a countermovement jump (CMJ) test." "The second study of the thesis examined the acute responses to five different unconventional resistance training methods which attempted to capitalise on a PAP response and one conventional session where CMJs were performed without any influence from a previous conditioning action." "The third investigation of this thesis was a nine-week training study in which participants were randomly assigned to two training interventions, conventional (n = 11) or complex (n = 9)." "Due to the dramatic improvements observed in CMJ height, that were not observed in other variables, it was questioned whether the specific instructions provided to participants during training and testing throughout the study to jump for maximal height had any influence on these results. This question led to the design of a fourth study. Though not directly related to complex or contrast training, this investigation into the effects of instructions on CMJ variables has scope to alter the way this test is conducted both in research and in a practical setting.

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Learning Bayesian networks based on optimization approaches

- Taheri, Sona

Authors: Taheri, Sona
Date: 2012
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: Learning accurate classifiers from preclassified data is a very active research topic in machine learning and artifcial intelligence. There are numerous classifier paradigms, among which Bayesian Networks are very effective and well known in domains with uncertainty. Bayesian Networks are widely used representation frameworks for reasoning with probabilistic information. These models use graphs to capture dependence and independence relationships between feature variables, allowing a concise representation of the knowledge as well as efficient graph based query processing algorithms. This representation is defined by two components: structure learning and parameter learning. The structure of this model represents a directed acyclic graph. The nodes in the graph correspond to the feature variables in the domain, and the arcs (edges) show the causal relationships between feature variables. A directed edge relates the variables so that the variable corresponding to the terminal node (child) will be conditioned on the variable corresponding to the initial node (parent). The parameter learning represents probabilities and conditional probabilities based on prior information or past experience. The set of probabilities are represented in the conditional probability table. Once the network structure is constructed, the probabilistic inferences are readily calculated, and can be performed to predict the outcome of some variables based on the observations of others. However, the problem of structure learning is a complex problem since the number of candidate structures grows exponentially when the number of feature variables increases. This thesis is devoted to the development of learning structures and parameters in Bayesian Networks. Different models based on optimization techniques are introduced to construct an optimal structure of a Bayesian Network. These models also consider the improvement of the Naive Bayes' structure by developing new algorithms to alleviate the independence assumptions. We present various models to learn parameters of Bayesian Networks; in particular we propose optimization models for the Naive Bayes and the Tree Augmented Naive Bayes by considering different objective functions. To solve corresponding optimization problems in Bayesian Networks, we develop new optimization algorithms. Local optimization methods are introduced based on the combination of the gradient and Newton methods. It is proved that the proposed methods are globally convergent and have superlinear convergence rates. As a global search we use the global optimization method, AGOP, implemented in the open software library GANSO. We apply the proposed local methods in the combination with AGOP. Therefore, the main contributions of this thesis include (a) new algorithms for learning an optimal structure of a Bayesian Network; (b) new models for learning the parameters of Bayesian Networks with the given structures; and finally (c) new optimization algorithms for optimizing the proposed models in (a) and (b). To validate the proposed methods, we conduct experiments across a number of real world problems. Print version is available at: http://library.federation.edu.au/record=b1804607~S4
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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First World War Avenues of Honour : Social history through the landscape

- Taffe, Michael

Authors: Taffe, Michael
Date: 2018
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: This thesis argues that avenues of honour were the first choice of memorial to the Great War created by Australians. Despite not being the first such avenue, the thesis argues that, by virtue of the massive amount of publicity it brought to focus on this form of memorial, the Ballarat Avenue of Honour was a significant cultural statement by Australians during the Great War. The Ballarat Avenue of Honour was inspirational and pivotal to the establishment of a movement that saw similar memorial avenues planted throughout Australia and also in the U.S.A., U.K., Canada and New Zealand. Using examples from municipal council minutes, correspondence and newspaper reports the spread of this form of memorial is followed from its infancy in South Australia through the Ballarat experience to Britain, North America and New Zealand. Following Australia‘s first plantings in 1915, there was a groundswell from many communities throughout Australia who adopted this form of memorialisation. Australian communities took control of their own need to honour their heroes, their local volunteers, in avenue of honour plantings. Following the example of Ballarat after 1917, this desire to plant memorial avenues became a movement. Examples of the growth of this memorial movement, while government aimed to control spending by curtailing ‗waste‘ on memorials, are outlined and analysed. The thesis also examines the symbolism of avenues against the perceived superior ‗worthiness‘ of later built memorials. By the time the movement declined in Australia, other countries were continued to plant avenues. The diminution, and eventual fall, from memory of many of these heritage landscapes is explored as a part of the politics of identity. In examining the arguments, the links between Ballarat‘s avenue and others throughout Australia, the respective Commonwealth countries as well as the U.S.A. are developed.
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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The biopsychosocial impact of Autism on families and the contribution of solar irradiance to its aetiology

- Syed, Somayya

Authors: Syed, Somayya
Date: 2020
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disorder of unknown aetiology. A recent hypothesis is that a lack of Vitamin D is implicated in either the aetiology or maintenance of ASD. The human body synthesises Vitamin D from Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation found in sunlight. It follows that greater exposure to sunlight hours may be related to decreased rates of ASD. There are no interventions that target the causes of ASD rather therapies address either its symptoms or its comorbidities. ASD not only affects individuals, it also has an impact on their families. Family members have experienced social, occupational and personal costs associated with their child’s ASD which can result in parental separation or divorce. While researchers have established some of the factors which contribute to the impact on families, this research has not addressed families living in regional areas nor have empirical studies used domain-specific scales. The aims in this thesis were: Study 1) to determine whether the prevalence rates of ASD vary as a function of exposure to sunlight by reviewing reported prevalence rates by latitude where, the greater the distance from the equator, the higher the expected prevalence rates; Study 2) to conduct interviews with parents and caregivers of children with ASD who live in a regional area to determine the factors which affect them and those which might protect them; and Study 3) use the interview data to develop domain specific measures and test a model of living with a child with ASD. The results of Study 1 revealed that there is an increase in the prevalence of ASD as distance from the equator increases lending some support to the hypothesis that Vitamin D is implicated in ASD. The 16 interviews conducted in Study 2 revealed seven themes: impact on finances; family life; child’s health and behaviour, and schooling; child’s future; limited support, and regional living. In Study 3, with 178 participants, domain-specific scales were developed to test a model of the impact of living with a child with ASD. Resilience manifested by social support and coping strategies, explained 54% of the variance in impact of living with a child with ASD which, was operationalised by financial and relationship costs, social impact and feelings. Family life as assessed in this thesis, is significantly impacted by living with a child with ASD. The implications of these findings are discussed, especially around the need for greater exposure to outdoor activities and hence sunlight for children with ASD, more regional facilities and assistance for families, the importance of educational interventions for the public as well as enhancing levels of family resilience, as operationalised by support and coping strategies. Limitations of the studies and future research are discussed.
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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An integrated approach to wallrock alteration in the Bendigo goldfield, Victoria, Australia

- Swan, Haydn

Authors: Swan, Haydn
Date: 2002
Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
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Description: "Wallrock alteration associated with the world-class, vein-gold deposits of the Bendigo goldfield is more extensive than has been previously documented. Alteration is characterised by the development of a pervasive and extensive carbonate alteration halo, as well as a somewhat lesser sulphide alteration halo. Alteration features observed resulted from the passage of large volumes of hydrothermal fluids over a protracted period, with alteration features being centred on major structures that acted as the main fluid conduits. The location and history of the evolution of these structures was a dominant control on the location, intensity and extent of wallrock alteration developed."
Description: Master of Engineering Science

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The molecular epidemiology of influenza in Cambodia

- Suttie, Annika

Authors: Suttie, Annika
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) represent a risk to the health of humans and animals. The prevalence of AIVs in live bird markets in Cambodia is among the highest in the world, being detected in 45.5% of tested poultry in 2015. To better understand the potential risk presented by AIVs, this thesis investigated the genetic characteristics of AIVs circulating in Cambodia between 2014 to 2018; focusing on subtypes that pose the greatest risk to human and animal health (H5, H7 and H9). Highly pathogenic (HP) H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1c viruses and low pathogenic H9N2 BJ/94-like h9-4.2.5 clade viruses were the most frequently detected subtypes, and circulate endemically in Cambodia’s domestic poultry. Co-infections were detected and facilitated the production of two novel reassortant H5N1 AIVs with single genes from H9N2 viruses. Additionally, numerous intrasubtypic reassortment events were detected for H5 and H9 AIVs. This is concerning as reassortment events can rapidly produce novel viruses of public health risk. Phylogenetic analyses showed some genes of the Cambodian H5, H7 and H9 AIVs clustered with zoonotic viruses, suggesting a common origin. There are parallels between H5N1 and H9N2 AIVs detected in Cambodia and Vietnam, likely facilitated through the illegal trade of live poultry and/or the migration of wild birds. Molecular analyses showed H9 AIVs have major markers associated with adaptation to mammals; though during the study period the only human AIV cases were the result of HP H5N1. Molecular markers of resistance to adamantine antivirals was observed in 3% of H5 and 41% of H9 AIVs; however, both subtypes remain susceptible to first line antiviral treatment, neuraminidase inhibitors. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that circulation of Cambodian AIVs represents a risk for the emergence of novel viruses. Interventions are urgently needed to mitigate the threat posed to poultry and humans.
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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The optimization of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) as a diagnostic tool for low-density, asymptomatic malaria infections

- Surrao, Leanna

Authors: Surrao, Leanna
Date: 2020
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: Current diagnostic tools for malaria lack the sensitivity to identify individuals with low-density infections. Asymptomatic low-density infections are common in malaria endemic regions and these individuals provide an important reservoir of infection that enables transmission to mosquitoes. Failure to detect these individuals threatens the global health goal of malaria elimination. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a technique to amplify DNA and has the potential to diagnose these individuals. The LAMP assay was assessed in a field study in rural Vietnam. 5421 samples were collected and tested with a commercially available LAMP assay in Commune Health Care Centres in Binh Phuoc and Dak Nong Provinces. 101 positive LAMP cases (asymptomatic, smear, and RDT negative) were identified, with the proportion of positives ranging from 0.18% and 3.25% across five communes. In order for LAMP to be used as a screening tool, it must be cost effective and have a workflow suitable for minimally trained end users. To achieve this, an in-house LAMP assay was developed and compared to PCR. The assay was combined with instrument detection to simplify decision making for the end user and improve sensitivity. The in-house assay was as sensitive as the PCR assay and cost US$0.60 per reaction compared to US$3.57 for PCR and US$8.23 for the commercial LAMP. An integrated single cartridge, called T1, was assessed to further simplify this workflow of sample preparation, LAMP amplification and detection. Further development of the cartridge and the assay will be required for future deployment. The LAMP assay is suitable for detection of low density infections in asymptomatically infected individuals in field settings and has the potential for cost effective population based screening.
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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A class of Increasing Positively Homogeneous functions for which global optimization problem is NP-hard

- Sultanova, Nargiz

Authors: Sultanova, Nargiz
Date: 2009
Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
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Description: It is well known that global optimization problems are, generally speaking, computationally infeasible, that is solving them would require an unreasonably large amount of time and/or space. In certain cases, for example, when objective functions and constraints are convex, it is possible to construct a feasible algorithm for solving global optimization problem successfully. Convexity, however, is not a phenomenon to be often expected in the applications. Nonconvex problems frequently arise in many industrial and scienti¯c areas. Therefore, it is only natural to try to replace convexity with some other structure at least for some classes of nonconvex optimization problems to render the global optimization problem feasible. A theory of abstract convexity has been developed as a result of the above considerations. Monotonic analysis, a branch of abstract convex analysis, is analogous in many ways to convex analysis, and sometimes is even simpler. It turned out that many problems of nonconvex optimization encountered in applications can be described in terms of monotonic functions. The analogies with convex analysis were considered to aid in solving some classes of nonconvex optimization problems. In this thesis we will focus on one of the elements of monotonic analysis - Increasing Positively Homogeneous functions of degree one or in short IPH functions. The aim of present research is to show that finding the solution and ²-approximation to the solution of the global optimization problem for IPH functions restricted to a unit simplex is an NP-hard problem. These results can be further extended to positively homogeneous functions of degree ´, ´ > 0.
Description: Master of Mathematical Sciences (Research)

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Distribution of arsenic and heavy metals in soils and surface waters in Central Victoria (Ballarat, Creswick and Maldon)

- Sultan, Khawar

Authors: Sultan, Khawar
Date: 2006
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: "Three sampling campaigns were conducted in the Ballarat, Creswick and Maldon areas. The sampling area is part of the Golden Triangle region where significant gold-mining activities took place from the 1850s to the present day. [...] Locations were chosen to evaluate arsenic distribution in soils, surface waters and plants in different environments. Easy access to sampling locations allowed detailed scientific sampling, especially in the seasonality study. The different range of environments such as agricultural, state forest, mining, urban and rural provided an opportunity to compare the concentrations of arsenic and other elements in the study area. The study of the three selected areas combined provided further understanding of possible exposure and pathways through which arsenic can get into the food chain. "The objective of the study is to measure levels of heavy metals/metalloids in soils, water and plants in various environments, identify whether the heavy metals/metalloids are mobile and bioavailable and understand the importance of clays and oxide complexes in the fixation of metals."
Description: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Magic and antimagic labeling of graphs

- Sugeng, Kiki Ariyanti

Authors: Sugeng, Kiki Ariyanti
Date: 2005
Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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Description: "A bijection mapping that assigns natural numbers to vertices and/or edges of a graph is called a labeling. In this thesis, we consider graph labelings that have weights associated with each edge and/or vertex. If all the vertex weights (respectively, edge weights) have the same value then the labeling is called magic. If the weight is different for every vertex (respectively, every edge) then we called the labeling antimagic. In this thesis we introduce some variations of magic and antimagic labelings and discuss their properties and provide corresponding labeling schemes. There are two main parts in this thesis. One main part is on vertex labeling and the other main part is on edge labeling."
Description: Doctor of Philosophy

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Green IT: Sustainability by aligning business requirements with IT resource utilization

- Subburaj, Srikanth

Authors: Subburaj, Srikanth
Date: 2012
Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
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Description: The term “green IT” is defined as “Optimal use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for managing the environment sustainability of enterprise operations throughout their life cycles.” Its objective is to create a positive impact on environment through net lowered emissions. The heart of green IT (Information Technology) is the concept of “Environmental Sustainability,” its initiatives are multifaceted to support enterprises “business as usual model,” in low-carbon economy. Many green IT initiatives have provided short–term financial benefits, based on which organizations are now focusing on increased energy efficiency. Since many of these approaches provide less financials benefits’ which are harder to implement but provides improved environmental performance. So the financial benefits and environmental performance should be the multiple objectives in the green IT study.
Description: Master of Computing (by Research)

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