Investigating the configuration of a flight training device for visual flight rules navigation
- Authors: Harvey, William
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The acquisition of pilot navigational skills utilising visual landmarks is a crucial skill that is required as part of Visual Flight Rules navigation towards obtaining a Private Pilot License. Due to the high cost of pilot training simulators, industry has identified a need for research in efficient utilisation of low-end, low cost personal compute flight simulators to assist in developing pilot skills. Analysis of the effectiveness of the use of such personal computer simulators depend on proper configuration determined by measurable errors to define simulator fidelity. To date, research has shown that the configuration of these simulators appears to have been done in an ad-hoc fashion and not in a scientific fashion. Therefore, the problem that needed to be solved was how to effectively configure such simulators. This thesis research attempted to solve this problem and present the process for effectively configuring a personal computer simulator, or flight training device, capable of successful Visual Flight Rules navigation. The simulator was configurated utilising a process that followed an interpretation of the Design Science research method, and an error correction model to determine the errors in the simulator configuration. This was done by comparing two probability distributions to measure the maximum error variable distance in order to configure a simulator suitable for the acquisition of Visual Flight Rules navigation piloting skills required for obtaining a Private Pilot Licence in Australia. This error identification method was then used to indicate simulator configuration efficiency and fidelity in order to achieve a minimum suitable configuration and setup. Further application of the findings of this research could potentially lead to the configuration of different types of non-aviation simulators, in particular Part-Task-Trainers and other training devices, including Virtual Reality Augmented Reality devices utilising various types of platforms such as Windows, Apple, and Android.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Harvey, William
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The acquisition of pilot navigational skills utilising visual landmarks is a crucial skill that is required as part of Visual Flight Rules navigation towards obtaining a Private Pilot License. Due to the high cost of pilot training simulators, industry has identified a need for research in efficient utilisation of low-end, low cost personal compute flight simulators to assist in developing pilot skills. Analysis of the effectiveness of the use of such personal computer simulators depend on proper configuration determined by measurable errors to define simulator fidelity. To date, research has shown that the configuration of these simulators appears to have been done in an ad-hoc fashion and not in a scientific fashion. Therefore, the problem that needed to be solved was how to effectively configure such simulators. This thesis research attempted to solve this problem and present the process for effectively configuring a personal computer simulator, or flight training device, capable of successful Visual Flight Rules navigation. The simulator was configurated utilising a process that followed an interpretation of the Design Science research method, and an error correction model to determine the errors in the simulator configuration. This was done by comparing two probability distributions to measure the maximum error variable distance in order to configure a simulator suitable for the acquisition of Visual Flight Rules navigation piloting skills required for obtaining a Private Pilot Licence in Australia. This error identification method was then used to indicate simulator configuration efficiency and fidelity in order to achieve a minimum suitable configuration and setup. Further application of the findings of this research could potentially lead to the configuration of different types of non-aviation simulators, in particular Part-Task-Trainers and other training devices, including Virtual Reality Augmented Reality devices utilising various types of platforms such as Windows, Apple, and Android.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Never afters : female friendship and collaboration in contemporary re-visioned fairy tales by women
- Authors: McDermott, Kirstyn
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Antagonism among girls and women in fairy tales has been the subject of much critical and popular discussion over recent decades. Significantly less attention, however, has been paid to the frequent absence of collaborative female relationships in traditional fairy tales and their contemporary retellings. Holding re-visioned fairy tales to be a type of feminist creative praxis, this thesis investigates how mutually beneficial relationships between female characters may be constructed within such narratives. “Never Afters” is a collection of six re-visions, written as sequels to well-known fairy tales from the Western European corpus. Situated within a genre that commonly isolates female characters or foregrounds female antagonism, each re-vision employs one (or more) of five key strategies that are used by contemporary authors to imagine collaborative female relationships within retold fairy tales: inversion, insertion/deletion, expansion, fusion, and extrapolation. The exegesis contextualises my creative work and assesses the strengths and limitations of each strategy by critically examining how they are used in contemporary fairy tales by authors including Emma Donoghue, Theodora Goss, Angela Slatter, Aimee Bender, and Kelly Link. I demonstrate that expansion, fusion, and extrapolation best allow authors to introduce new female characters and fresh feminist perspectives that move away from female exceptionalism and instead foreground female collaboration and friendship as potent sources of narrative power. The exegesis further argues that the cognitive sciences, and schema theories in particular, may offer insights as to why collaborative female relationships have received such scant representation. Using case studies of my own creative praxis, I explore the ways in which female isolation and acrimony are re-inscribed in contemporary work and recommend the adoption of new frameworks through which creative writers may critically and reflexively interrogate their tacit storytelling knowledge.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: McDermott, Kirstyn
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Antagonism among girls and women in fairy tales has been the subject of much critical and popular discussion over recent decades. Significantly less attention, however, has been paid to the frequent absence of collaborative female relationships in traditional fairy tales and their contemporary retellings. Holding re-visioned fairy tales to be a type of feminist creative praxis, this thesis investigates how mutually beneficial relationships between female characters may be constructed within such narratives. “Never Afters” is a collection of six re-visions, written as sequels to well-known fairy tales from the Western European corpus. Situated within a genre that commonly isolates female characters or foregrounds female antagonism, each re-vision employs one (or more) of five key strategies that are used by contemporary authors to imagine collaborative female relationships within retold fairy tales: inversion, insertion/deletion, expansion, fusion, and extrapolation. The exegesis contextualises my creative work and assesses the strengths and limitations of each strategy by critically examining how they are used in contemporary fairy tales by authors including Emma Donoghue, Theodora Goss, Angela Slatter, Aimee Bender, and Kelly Link. I demonstrate that expansion, fusion, and extrapolation best allow authors to introduce new female characters and fresh feminist perspectives that move away from female exceptionalism and instead foreground female collaboration and friendship as potent sources of narrative power. The exegesis further argues that the cognitive sciences, and schema theories in particular, may offer insights as to why collaborative female relationships have received such scant representation. Using case studies of my own creative praxis, I explore the ways in which female isolation and acrimony are re-inscribed in contemporary work and recommend the adoption of new frameworks through which creative writers may critically and reflexively interrogate their tacit storytelling knowledge.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Positive attitude change to school - Narrative inquiry into adolescent students' lived experiences
- Authors: Wojtaszek, Sylwia
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis reports on a qualitative research study that investigated adolescent students‟ experiences of positive attitude change to school. The literature review situates the research of students‟ attitude changes to school within the affective component of the multidimensional construct of student engagement and identifies this field and the phenomenon of positive attitude change to school as underresearched and under-theorised. Narrative inquiry methodology was applied in order to provide a detailed description of students‟ lived experiences and generate knowledge to fill the existing gap of how such an experience manifests itself. Eight students, who self-reported to have experienced positive attitude change to school, shared stories through in-depth semi-structured interviews of how the attitude change came about, who or what influenced it, and what meaning they attached to it in relation to its impact on their engagement and wellbeing. Students‟ attitudes to school are predominantly examined through quantitative research, whereas this study provided a unique and nuanced insight into attitude change based on the qualitative paradigm and a social constructionist view of the experience from the students‟ vantage point. Students‟ narrative accounts are compared and contrasted with each other to identify five resonant threads associated with the experience of positive attitude change to school. Data analysis suggests that positive attitude change to school has a significant impact on student engagement in learning and student wellbeing through its embodiment of perceived positive emotions associated with being at school. It consequently illustrates the relevance of broadening the understanding of such an experience to address the critical issue of disengagement in adolescent students. Key findings indicate that students develop a negative attitude to school when personal problems remain unresolved or have been insufficiently addressed within the school environment; no “helping hand” was there to assist these ambitious students who were struggling to engage in learning due to their experience of negative emotions at school. This research study has revealed that a negative attitude to school does not necessarily equate to a negative attitude to learning. Students‟ perception of the available support, both from the teachers and the services offered at school, is a critical factor in the transformation of their attitudes to school. Further, the students who participated in this study did not themselves feel that they were equipped with the required knowledge and skills to manage their personal problems effectively in order to maintain their engagement in learning. Only after having “hit rock bottom” and having sought help from outside the school environment were the students able to apply a different perspective to their circumstances that was associated with positive attitude change to school. From this research study it can be concluded that a student‟s positive attitude to school is a requirement for successful social and academic outcomes, and it is an educational goal in itself regarding the notion of developing lifelong learners. Personal problems and their impact on student engagement and wellbeing need to be acknowledged and catered for within the school environment. School support services must proactively extend a helping hand to students who have a negative attitude to school. Further, students need to develop selfefficacy regarding their personal wellbeing so that they become confident to act autonomously in solving their situations at school that are characterised by the difficult negative emotions that they are experiencing. Students‟ attitudes to school and the complexity of the multidimensional construct of student engagement need to be considered in the development of initiatives to address adolescent student disengagement and in the development of student wellbeing frameworks.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Wojtaszek, Sylwia
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis reports on a qualitative research study that investigated adolescent students‟ experiences of positive attitude change to school. The literature review situates the research of students‟ attitude changes to school within the affective component of the multidimensional construct of student engagement and identifies this field and the phenomenon of positive attitude change to school as underresearched and under-theorised. Narrative inquiry methodology was applied in order to provide a detailed description of students‟ lived experiences and generate knowledge to fill the existing gap of how such an experience manifests itself. Eight students, who self-reported to have experienced positive attitude change to school, shared stories through in-depth semi-structured interviews of how the attitude change came about, who or what influenced it, and what meaning they attached to it in relation to its impact on their engagement and wellbeing. Students‟ attitudes to school are predominantly examined through quantitative research, whereas this study provided a unique and nuanced insight into attitude change based on the qualitative paradigm and a social constructionist view of the experience from the students‟ vantage point. Students‟ narrative accounts are compared and contrasted with each other to identify five resonant threads associated with the experience of positive attitude change to school. Data analysis suggests that positive attitude change to school has a significant impact on student engagement in learning and student wellbeing through its embodiment of perceived positive emotions associated with being at school. It consequently illustrates the relevance of broadening the understanding of such an experience to address the critical issue of disengagement in adolescent students. Key findings indicate that students develop a negative attitude to school when personal problems remain unresolved or have been insufficiently addressed within the school environment; no “helping hand” was there to assist these ambitious students who were struggling to engage in learning due to their experience of negative emotions at school. This research study has revealed that a negative attitude to school does not necessarily equate to a negative attitude to learning. Students‟ perception of the available support, both from the teachers and the services offered at school, is a critical factor in the transformation of their attitudes to school. Further, the students who participated in this study did not themselves feel that they were equipped with the required knowledge and skills to manage their personal problems effectively in order to maintain their engagement in learning. Only after having “hit rock bottom” and having sought help from outside the school environment were the students able to apply a different perspective to their circumstances that was associated with positive attitude change to school. From this research study it can be concluded that a student‟s positive attitude to school is a requirement for successful social and academic outcomes, and it is an educational goal in itself regarding the notion of developing lifelong learners. Personal problems and their impact on student engagement and wellbeing need to be acknowledged and catered for within the school environment. School support services must proactively extend a helping hand to students who have a negative attitude to school. Further, students need to develop selfefficacy regarding their personal wellbeing so that they become confident to act autonomously in solving their situations at school that are characterised by the difficult negative emotions that they are experiencing. Students‟ attitudes to school and the complexity of the multidimensional construct of student engagement need to be considered in the development of initiatives to address adolescent student disengagement and in the development of student wellbeing frameworks.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Random finite element method prediction and optimisation for open pit mine slope stability analysis
- Authors: Dyson, Ashley
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Inherent soil variability can have significant effects on the stability of open-pit mine slopes. In practice, the spatial variability of materials is not commonly considered as a routine component of slope stability analysis. The process of quantifying spatially variable parameters, as well as the modelling of their behaviour is often a complex undertaking. Currently, there are no large-scale commercial software packages containing in-built methods for modelling spatial variability within the Finite Element environment. Furthermore, conventional Limit Equilibrium Methods (LEM) incorporating spatial variability are unable to consider the stress/strain characteristics of these materials. The following research seeks to accurately model the slope mechanics of spatially variable soils, adopting The Random Finite Element Method (RFEM) developed by Griffiths and Fenton (2004) to determine slope failure mechanisms and safety factors. Techniques are developed to produce a set of optimised Random Finite Element Method simulations using the Monte Carlo Method. Additionally, random field analysis techniques are investigated to compare and categorise soil parameter fluctuation, providing a direct relationship between random field properties and slope failure surfaces. Optimisation and analysis techniques are implemented to examine the effects of cross-sectional geometries and input parameter distributions on failure mechanisms, safety factors and probabilities of failure. Cross-sectional RFEM analysis is performed in the Finite Element Method (FEM) software package Abaqus, with the techniques of this research demonstrated for a large open-pit brown coal mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. The outcome of this research is a comprehensive procedure for optimised RFEM simulation and analysis.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Dyson, Ashley
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Inherent soil variability can have significant effects on the stability of open-pit mine slopes. In practice, the spatial variability of materials is not commonly considered as a routine component of slope stability analysis. The process of quantifying spatially variable parameters, as well as the modelling of their behaviour is often a complex undertaking. Currently, there are no large-scale commercial software packages containing in-built methods for modelling spatial variability within the Finite Element environment. Furthermore, conventional Limit Equilibrium Methods (LEM) incorporating spatial variability are unable to consider the stress/strain characteristics of these materials. The following research seeks to accurately model the slope mechanics of spatially variable soils, adopting The Random Finite Element Method (RFEM) developed by Griffiths and Fenton (2004) to determine slope failure mechanisms and safety factors. Techniques are developed to produce a set of optimised Random Finite Element Method simulations using the Monte Carlo Method. Additionally, random field analysis techniques are investigated to compare and categorise soil parameter fluctuation, providing a direct relationship between random field properties and slope failure surfaces. Optimisation and analysis techniques are implemented to examine the effects of cross-sectional geometries and input parameter distributions on failure mechanisms, safety factors and probabilities of failure. Cross-sectional RFEM analysis is performed in the Finite Element Method (FEM) software package Abaqus, with the techniques of this research demonstrated for a large open-pit brown coal mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. The outcome of this research is a comprehensive procedure for optimised RFEM simulation and analysis.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Special needs, special play? Examining the agency of children with impairments in play-based learning in a special school
- Authors: Claughton, Amy
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Play is an inherent part of childhood, often cast as an innate behaviour of children. Over the years, play has been scrutinised by theorists, researchers and educators alike in their attempts to understand how children engage in play, the role of play in development and how to identify, define and measure play. For children with impairments, play is frequently subjected to surveillance and compared to that of children whose development is considered typical. This thesis interrogates the play-based learning experiences of five children who attended a special educational school in rural Victoria, Australia. It examines the experiences that these children had in play and how teacher actions and responses enabled and supported their engagement in play-based learning. The theoretical framework for this study draws on critical ethnography underpinned by disability studies. Disability studies recognises the social model of disability, in which disability is a social construction. Using this model, impairment is distinct and separate from disability. In this study, socially constructed barriers that confront children in their play are identified as being created by attitudes, structures and environments (Bishop et al., 1999). These barriers are overlaid by the psycho-emotional dimensions of disability (C. Thomas, 1999) in an effort to represent the experiences of children as shaped by the actions and responses of others. This thesis introduces a new analytic tool in the learning portal framework. The learning portal framework aims to provide a platform through which teacher actions and responses can be analysed to understand how children are enabled to access play-based learning. The findings of this study indicate that children with impairments play in complex and nuanced ways. They show purpose in their play, are able to self-initiate, and independently investigate play-based learning experiences. Adult actions and responses often enable children with impairments to engage in play by offering opportunities and pathways for exploration. Indirect adult facilitation in play supports children’s ability to act in play with individuality and determination.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Claughton, Amy
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Play is an inherent part of childhood, often cast as an innate behaviour of children. Over the years, play has been scrutinised by theorists, researchers and educators alike in their attempts to understand how children engage in play, the role of play in development and how to identify, define and measure play. For children with impairments, play is frequently subjected to surveillance and compared to that of children whose development is considered typical. This thesis interrogates the play-based learning experiences of five children who attended a special educational school in rural Victoria, Australia. It examines the experiences that these children had in play and how teacher actions and responses enabled and supported their engagement in play-based learning. The theoretical framework for this study draws on critical ethnography underpinned by disability studies. Disability studies recognises the social model of disability, in which disability is a social construction. Using this model, impairment is distinct and separate from disability. In this study, socially constructed barriers that confront children in their play are identified as being created by attitudes, structures and environments (Bishop et al., 1999). These barriers are overlaid by the psycho-emotional dimensions of disability (C. Thomas, 1999) in an effort to represent the experiences of children as shaped by the actions and responses of others. This thesis introduces a new analytic tool in the learning portal framework. The learning portal framework aims to provide a platform through which teacher actions and responses can be analysed to understand how children are enabled to access play-based learning. The findings of this study indicate that children with impairments play in complex and nuanced ways. They show purpose in their play, are able to self-initiate, and independently investigate play-based learning experiences. Adult actions and responses often enable children with impairments to engage in play by offering opportunities and pathways for exploration. Indirect adult facilitation in play supports children’s ability to act in play with individuality and determination.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Student mobility and transition : setting your compass for success
- Authors: Murrell, Kerry
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: With increasing levels of student mobility within Victorian schools, many educational settings experience frequent changes to their student population. These changes are often met with an ad hoc array of practices implemented by schools in an attempt to adequately manage them. This thesis addresses the impact of student mobility on an educational community and its stakeholders in Victoria, Australia. The research was undertaken in five Victorian government schools that encompassed diverse geographical locations and socio-economic profiles. Key stakeholders include: school principals, teachers and education support staff, mobile students, parents/carers of mobile students, non-mobile students and their families. Each group offered a unique perspective regarding student mobility and transition processes. Participants in this study were involved in interviews and focus groups, and completed a questionnaire. Socio-economic status was identified as a predominant factor in student mobility for both families and schools. This was evidenced by high levels of often unpredictable mobility in socio-economically disadvantaged and significantly disadvantaged participating schools. The participating non-disadvantaged school experienced mobility related specifically to perceived academic gain or parental promotion. Regardless of socio-economic status, each group was reliant on other stakeholders to be successful. No stakeholder groups stood alone as being able to successfully navigate the process of mobility and transition independently. This study, through the thematic analysis of the data collected, has uncovered many actionable and achievable recommendations for families, schools and the education system itself both within Victoria and nationwide. The participants in this research clearly indicated a need for a more strategic and planned approach to mobility. Educational communities must respond proactively in order to provide optimal academic, social and emotional outcomes for students in these circumstances.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Murrell, Kerry
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: With increasing levels of student mobility within Victorian schools, many educational settings experience frequent changes to their student population. These changes are often met with an ad hoc array of practices implemented by schools in an attempt to adequately manage them. This thesis addresses the impact of student mobility on an educational community and its stakeholders in Victoria, Australia. The research was undertaken in five Victorian government schools that encompassed diverse geographical locations and socio-economic profiles. Key stakeholders include: school principals, teachers and education support staff, mobile students, parents/carers of mobile students, non-mobile students and their families. Each group offered a unique perspective regarding student mobility and transition processes. Participants in this study were involved in interviews and focus groups, and completed a questionnaire. Socio-economic status was identified as a predominant factor in student mobility for both families and schools. This was evidenced by high levels of often unpredictable mobility in socio-economically disadvantaged and significantly disadvantaged participating schools. The participating non-disadvantaged school experienced mobility related specifically to perceived academic gain or parental promotion. Regardless of socio-economic status, each group was reliant on other stakeholders to be successful. No stakeholder groups stood alone as being able to successfully navigate the process of mobility and transition independently. This study, through the thematic analysis of the data collected, has uncovered many actionable and achievable recommendations for families, schools and the education system itself both within Victoria and nationwide. The participants in this research clearly indicated a need for a more strategic and planned approach to mobility. Educational communities must respond proactively in order to provide optimal academic, social and emotional outcomes for students in these circumstances.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Techniques for the reverse engineering of banking malware
- Authors: Black, Paul
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Malware attacks are a significant and frequently reported problem, adversely affecting the productivity of organisations and governments worldwide. The well-documented consequences of malware attacks include financial loss, data loss, reputation damage, infrastructure damage, theft of intellectual property, compromise of commercial negotiations, and national security risks. Mitiga-tion activities involve a significant amount of manual analysis. Therefore, there is a need for automated techniques for malware analysis to identify malicious behaviours. Research into automated techniques for malware analysis covers a wide range of activities. This thesis consists of a series of studies: an anal-ysis of banking malware families and their common behaviours, an emulated command and control environment for dynamic malware analysis, a technique to identify similar malware functions, and a technique for the detection of ransomware. An analysis of the nature of banking malware, its major malware families, behaviours, variants, and inter-relationships are provided in this thesis. In doing this, this research takes a broad view of malware analysis, starting with the implementation of the malicious behaviours through to detailed analysis using machine learning. The broad approach taken in this thesis differs from some other studies that approach malware research in a more abstract sense. A disadvantage of approaching malware research without domain knowledge, is that important methodology questions may not be considered. Large datasets of historical malware samples are available for countermea-sures research. However, due to the age of these samples, the original malware infrastructure is no longer available, often restricting malware operations to initialisation functions only. To address this absence, an emulated command and control environment is provided. This emulated environment provides full control of the malware, enabling the capabilities of the original in-the-wild operation, while enabling feature extraction for research purposes. A major focus of this thesis has been the development of a machine learn-ing function similarity method with a novel feature encoding that increases feature strength. This research develops techniques to demonstrate that the machine learning model trained on similarity features from one program can find similar functions in another, unrelated program. This finding can lead to the development of generic similar function classifiers that can be packaged and distributed in reverse engineering tools such as IDA Pro and Ghidra. Further, this research examines the use of API call features for the identi-fication of ransomware and shows that a failure to consider malware analysis domain knowledge can lead to weaknesses in experimental design. In this case, we show that existing research has difficulty in discriminating between ransomware and benign cryptographic software. This thesis by publication, has developed techniques to advance the disci-pline of malware reverse engineering, in order to minimize harm due to cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, government institutions, and industry.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Black, Paul
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Malware attacks are a significant and frequently reported problem, adversely affecting the productivity of organisations and governments worldwide. The well-documented consequences of malware attacks include financial loss, data loss, reputation damage, infrastructure damage, theft of intellectual property, compromise of commercial negotiations, and national security risks. Mitiga-tion activities involve a significant amount of manual analysis. Therefore, there is a need for automated techniques for malware analysis to identify malicious behaviours. Research into automated techniques for malware analysis covers a wide range of activities. This thesis consists of a series of studies: an anal-ysis of banking malware families and their common behaviours, an emulated command and control environment for dynamic malware analysis, a technique to identify similar malware functions, and a technique for the detection of ransomware. An analysis of the nature of banking malware, its major malware families, behaviours, variants, and inter-relationships are provided in this thesis. In doing this, this research takes a broad view of malware analysis, starting with the implementation of the malicious behaviours through to detailed analysis using machine learning. The broad approach taken in this thesis differs from some other studies that approach malware research in a more abstract sense. A disadvantage of approaching malware research without domain knowledge, is that important methodology questions may not be considered. Large datasets of historical malware samples are available for countermea-sures research. However, due to the age of these samples, the original malware infrastructure is no longer available, often restricting malware operations to initialisation functions only. To address this absence, an emulated command and control environment is provided. This emulated environment provides full control of the malware, enabling the capabilities of the original in-the-wild operation, while enabling feature extraction for research purposes. A major focus of this thesis has been the development of a machine learn-ing function similarity method with a novel feature encoding that increases feature strength. This research develops techniques to demonstrate that the machine learning model trained on similarity features from one program can find similar functions in another, unrelated program. This finding can lead to the development of generic similar function classifiers that can be packaged and distributed in reverse engineering tools such as IDA Pro and Ghidra. Further, this research examines the use of API call features for the identi-fication of ransomware and shows that a failure to consider malware analysis domain knowledge can lead to weaknesses in experimental design. In this case, we show that existing research has difficulty in discriminating between ransomware and benign cryptographic software. This thesis by publication, has developed techniques to advance the disci-pline of malware reverse engineering, in order to minimize harm due to cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, government institutions, and industry.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The Melbourne art scene and the Victorian artists’ society 1870-2020
- Authors: Williams, Graeme
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis is a socio-cultural history, utilising the Victorian Artists’ Society as a longitudinal case study to look at the extent to which it has serviced the professional needs of artists. The Victorian Artists’ Society, formed in 1870, is the oldest organisation representing the visual arts in Victoria and, as such, is an appropriate vehicle to examine the discourse between history and the construction of cultural values in the visual arts in Melbourne. The Melbourne ‘art scene’ has existed since Victoria’s proclamation as a separate colony in 1851. During the greater part of this time, the Victorian Artists’ Society functioned as a meeting and an exhibition space for visual artists. Although it is Australia’s second oldest continuous organisation representing visual artists, the Society has been uncontroversial and largely ignored by academics as a focus of research in its own right. Notwithstanding, the two groups subject of the most academic attention and research, namely the Australian Academy of Art and the Contemporary Art Society, were announced and formed within its walls, with many of their key proponents members of the Society. Researching extensive archival records, this thesis explores the relationship that existed between the Society and Melbourne’s art community throughout its 150-year history. It historically interrogates to what extent the Society has been a harbinger for change. Through a study of organisations and events impacting the Melbourne art scene, the thesis argues the relevance of the Society to professional and amateur artists today. It reviews how societies, and clubs in general, once servicing the needs of all artists, have evolved into a more general function, and what role the emergence of the commercial gallery system played as the main platform for the success of the artist. Finally, it examines what sustains, inspires, and informs contemporary professional artists working in Melbourne today.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Williams, Graeme
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis is a socio-cultural history, utilising the Victorian Artists’ Society as a longitudinal case study to look at the extent to which it has serviced the professional needs of artists. The Victorian Artists’ Society, formed in 1870, is the oldest organisation representing the visual arts in Victoria and, as such, is an appropriate vehicle to examine the discourse between history and the construction of cultural values in the visual arts in Melbourne. The Melbourne ‘art scene’ has existed since Victoria’s proclamation as a separate colony in 1851. During the greater part of this time, the Victorian Artists’ Society functioned as a meeting and an exhibition space for visual artists. Although it is Australia’s second oldest continuous organisation representing visual artists, the Society has been uncontroversial and largely ignored by academics as a focus of research in its own right. Notwithstanding, the two groups subject of the most academic attention and research, namely the Australian Academy of Art and the Contemporary Art Society, were announced and formed within its walls, with many of their key proponents members of the Society. Researching extensive archival records, this thesis explores the relationship that existed between the Society and Melbourne’s art community throughout its 150-year history. It historically interrogates to what extent the Society has been a harbinger for change. Through a study of organisations and events impacting the Melbourne art scene, the thesis argues the relevance of the Society to professional and amateur artists today. It reviews how societies, and clubs in general, once servicing the needs of all artists, have evolved into a more general function, and what role the emergence of the commercial gallery system played as the main platform for the success of the artist. Finally, it examines what sustains, inspires, and informs contemporary professional artists working in Melbourne today.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The Millers: Historical analysis of an early Australian Colonial family
- Authors: Barrera, Jennifer
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: In July 1823, a family originally from Derry-Londonderry, Ireland, embarked on the long journey from Chatham Dockyards, along with the first despatch of troops from the 40th Regiment, to the colony of New South Wales. Lieutenant Henry Miller would become the first commandant of the Moreton Bay penal settlement. But by August 1825, Lieutenant Miller had been replaced—in effect, dismissed—and the family relocated to Van Diemen’s Land. This thesis explores the growing importance of family history in the twenty-first century as a popular pursuit for engaging with and writing history. It highlights family history’s potential for historical inquiry and its capacity to unpack settler colonial history and the role of the individual in Empire. It offers fresh historical perspectives on Australia’s colonial experiment. The research uses the combined methodologies of microhistory, biography and family history to recover the lives of Henry Miller, his wife Jane, sons Henry and Mars, his father the Reverend Miller, as well as, the diverse and interconnected lives of Captain John Townson, his brother Robert, convict Sarah Griggs, and her children. As a number of scholarly histories in the last decade have shown, family history as an approach for engaging with the past continues to gain attention globally and offers powerful benefits to those who engage with it, for the family historian and academic historian alike. The six core chapters that comprise this thesis demonstrate the importance of family history research to deepening our understanding of the past and its capacity to change the way we think and write about the past. This thesis aims to make a substantial and original contribution to Australian colonial history by recovering powerful lost voices and identities, and connecting the past with the present in a more intimate and accessible way through the exploration of a colonial family.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Barrera, Jennifer
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: In July 1823, a family originally from Derry-Londonderry, Ireland, embarked on the long journey from Chatham Dockyards, along with the first despatch of troops from the 40th Regiment, to the colony of New South Wales. Lieutenant Henry Miller would become the first commandant of the Moreton Bay penal settlement. But by August 1825, Lieutenant Miller had been replaced—in effect, dismissed—and the family relocated to Van Diemen’s Land. This thesis explores the growing importance of family history in the twenty-first century as a popular pursuit for engaging with and writing history. It highlights family history’s potential for historical inquiry and its capacity to unpack settler colonial history and the role of the individual in Empire. It offers fresh historical perspectives on Australia’s colonial experiment. The research uses the combined methodologies of microhistory, biography and family history to recover the lives of Henry Miller, his wife Jane, sons Henry and Mars, his father the Reverend Miller, as well as, the diverse and interconnected lives of Captain John Townson, his brother Robert, convict Sarah Griggs, and her children. As a number of scholarly histories in the last decade have shown, family history as an approach for engaging with the past continues to gain attention globally and offers powerful benefits to those who engage with it, for the family historian and academic historian alike. The six core chapters that comprise this thesis demonstrate the importance of family history research to deepening our understanding of the past and its capacity to change the way we think and write about the past. This thesis aims to make a substantial and original contribution to Australian colonial history by recovering powerful lost voices and identities, and connecting the past with the present in a more intimate and accessible way through the exploration of a colonial family.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The optimization of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) as a diagnostic tool for low-density, asymptomatic malaria infections
- Authors: Surrao, Leanna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Current diagnostic tools for malaria lack the sensitivity to identify individuals with low-density infections. Asymptomatic low-density infections are common in malaria endemic regions and these individuals provide an important reservoir of infection that enables transmission to mosquitoes. Failure to detect these individuals threatens the global health goal of malaria elimination. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a technique to amplify DNA and has the potential to diagnose these individuals. The LAMP assay was assessed in a field study in rural Vietnam. 5421 samples were collected and tested with a commercially available LAMP assay in Commune Health Care Centres in Binh Phuoc and Dak Nong Provinces. 101 positive LAMP cases (asymptomatic, smear, and RDT negative) were identified, with the proportion of positives ranging from 0.18% and 3.25% across five communes. In order for LAMP to be used as a screening tool, it must be cost effective and have a workflow suitable for minimally trained end users. To achieve this, an in-house LAMP assay was developed and compared to PCR. The assay was combined with instrument detection to simplify decision making for the end user and improve sensitivity. The in-house assay was as sensitive as the PCR assay and cost US$0.60 per reaction compared to US$3.57 for PCR and US$8.23 for the commercial LAMP. An integrated single cartridge, called T1, was assessed to further simplify this workflow of sample preparation, LAMP amplification and detection. Further development of the cartridge and the assay will be required for future deployment. The LAMP assay is suitable for detection of low density infections in asymptomatically infected individuals in field settings and has the potential for cost effective population based screening.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Surrao, Leanna
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Current diagnostic tools for malaria lack the sensitivity to identify individuals with low-density infections. Asymptomatic low-density infections are common in malaria endemic regions and these individuals provide an important reservoir of infection that enables transmission to mosquitoes. Failure to detect these individuals threatens the global health goal of malaria elimination. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a technique to amplify DNA and has the potential to diagnose these individuals. The LAMP assay was assessed in a field study in rural Vietnam. 5421 samples were collected and tested with a commercially available LAMP assay in Commune Health Care Centres in Binh Phuoc and Dak Nong Provinces. 101 positive LAMP cases (asymptomatic, smear, and RDT negative) were identified, with the proportion of positives ranging from 0.18% and 3.25% across five communes. In order for LAMP to be used as a screening tool, it must be cost effective and have a workflow suitable for minimally trained end users. To achieve this, an in-house LAMP assay was developed and compared to PCR. The assay was combined with instrument detection to simplify decision making for the end user and improve sensitivity. The in-house assay was as sensitive as the PCR assay and cost US$0.60 per reaction compared to US$3.57 for PCR and US$8.23 for the commercial LAMP. An integrated single cartridge, called T1, was assessed to further simplify this workflow of sample preparation, LAMP amplification and detection. Further development of the cartridge and the assay will be required for future deployment. The LAMP assay is suitable for detection of low density infections in asymptomatically infected individuals in field settings and has the potential for cost effective population based screening.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The regional trifecta: Entrepreneurs, managers and community leaders - an Ethnographic typology of leaders collaborating in a Regional Vicrorian Community
- Authors: Isham, Amy
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This doctoral thesis explores a socioeconomic model for understanding and analysing leadership in the regional area of Horsham and its hinterland communities. This thesis critiques accepted models of regional development policy and leadership theory and in doing so argues for a new approach emphasising the roles that leaders adopt to achieve goals. These roles comprise the entrepreneur, manager and community leader that this thesis terms the regional trifecta model of leadership. This is a model that explores the ways that leaders attain mutuality within social and economic eco-systems in order to achieve long-term regional economic sustainability and liveability for residents. This doctoral study uses a critical qualitative ethnographic exploration of Horsham and its surrounding region drawing on researcher, the informant participant’s observations from a wide range of industries and social backgrounds. This thesis discusses themes of policy barriers to environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship, social ostracism of female leaders, a sense of futility in bureaucratic compliance, passive and unsupportive communities, tempered with the critical hope of social enterprise and potential partnerships. In examining these themes the thesis argues that entrepreneurs are overwhelmingly values driven. It also asserts that they experience barriers of unreliable labour and unsupportive external partnerships. Managers are also strongly values driven and can experience many barriers from internal partnerships within their own organisations. Community leaders are values driven and struggle against the barriers of bureaucracy with the organisations they partner with. The thesis provides a new contribution to the literature. This includes a critique of psycho-social approaches to leadership through role-based explorations that emphasise a collective responsibility for success within an eco-system. It also examines the types of people that become leaders and their motivations in regional Victoria. From this emerges a discussion about the tension between formal governance and power structures and the informal agency of leaders. The recommendations that emerge from this research are that policy-makers, local, state and federal governments acknowledge and support the role of existing informal leaders and the significant social and economic benefit they bring to regional Victoria.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Isham, Amy
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This doctoral thesis explores a socioeconomic model for understanding and analysing leadership in the regional area of Horsham and its hinterland communities. This thesis critiques accepted models of regional development policy and leadership theory and in doing so argues for a new approach emphasising the roles that leaders adopt to achieve goals. These roles comprise the entrepreneur, manager and community leader that this thesis terms the regional trifecta model of leadership. This is a model that explores the ways that leaders attain mutuality within social and economic eco-systems in order to achieve long-term regional economic sustainability and liveability for residents. This doctoral study uses a critical qualitative ethnographic exploration of Horsham and its surrounding region drawing on researcher, the informant participant’s observations from a wide range of industries and social backgrounds. This thesis discusses themes of policy barriers to environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship, social ostracism of female leaders, a sense of futility in bureaucratic compliance, passive and unsupportive communities, tempered with the critical hope of social enterprise and potential partnerships. In examining these themes the thesis argues that entrepreneurs are overwhelmingly values driven. It also asserts that they experience barriers of unreliable labour and unsupportive external partnerships. Managers are also strongly values driven and can experience many barriers from internal partnerships within their own organisations. Community leaders are values driven and struggle against the barriers of bureaucracy with the organisations they partner with. The thesis provides a new contribution to the literature. This includes a critique of psycho-social approaches to leadership through role-based explorations that emphasise a collective responsibility for success within an eco-system. It also examines the types of people that become leaders and their motivations in regional Victoria. From this emerges a discussion about the tension between formal governance and power structures and the informal agency of leaders. The recommendations that emerge from this research are that policy-makers, local, state and federal governments acknowledge and support the role of existing informal leaders and the significant social and economic benefit they bring to regional Victoria.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Tracing farmers' exploitation, alienation and agency through technology
- Authors: Latham, Amity
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Grain growers are caught in a system of production which is characterised by the privatisation of the farm services sector, global trade, machinery automation, and technologies. The commodity chain is structured so that costs are passed on to farmers through what they buy and sell. As a consequence of this structure, farmers are exploited and subject to the condition of alienation. Previous research has revealed the challenges of farm-scale efficiencies and the demise of rural areas due to farmer-exodus. Since Kautsky’s original publication of The Agrarian Question in 1899, there is still limited material offering a new sociological understanding of farming and the humanistic effects of farm trade. Therefore, this doctoral study is about farmer-exploitation, alienation, and agency, together with the role of political economy, and the function of the commodity chain. It draws upon historical works from labour theorists to seek a better understanding of the humanism of work and participation in commerce in reference to the relations and networks that exist through farming. To trace farmers and their operations, this research uses actor network theory by deploying some of the methods that sit within this approach. Reflexive photography creates a hybrid method with digital images supporting the findings. The photographs in this thesis help to transport the reader to the research setting that is family operated grain growing farms. The key findings are that agency is a property of farmers, land and their machinery. It was found that technology and science facilitated farmer-agency to re-arrange humans and non-humans to hold science stable on farm through strong networks. Technology is responsible for facilitating farmer-agency, which is used as a tool and then it becomes a force, to exert control over farm production. This thesis makes a significant contribution in understanding modern farmer exploitation and how farmers can work to overcome their vulnerability in socio-political economy. This research is place-specific in the dryland agricultural zone of the Wimmera Southern Mallee region of Victoria, but it contributes to a global understanding of what makes farmers act.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Latham, Amity
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Grain growers are caught in a system of production which is characterised by the privatisation of the farm services sector, global trade, machinery automation, and technologies. The commodity chain is structured so that costs are passed on to farmers through what they buy and sell. As a consequence of this structure, farmers are exploited and subject to the condition of alienation. Previous research has revealed the challenges of farm-scale efficiencies and the demise of rural areas due to farmer-exodus. Since Kautsky’s original publication of The Agrarian Question in 1899, there is still limited material offering a new sociological understanding of farming and the humanistic effects of farm trade. Therefore, this doctoral study is about farmer-exploitation, alienation, and agency, together with the role of political economy, and the function of the commodity chain. It draws upon historical works from labour theorists to seek a better understanding of the humanism of work and participation in commerce in reference to the relations and networks that exist through farming. To trace farmers and their operations, this research uses actor network theory by deploying some of the methods that sit within this approach. Reflexive photography creates a hybrid method with digital images supporting the findings. The photographs in this thesis help to transport the reader to the research setting that is family operated grain growing farms. The key findings are that agency is a property of farmers, land and their machinery. It was found that technology and science facilitated farmer-agency to re-arrange humans and non-humans to hold science stable on farm through strong networks. Technology is responsible for facilitating farmer-agency, which is used as a tool and then it becomes a force, to exert control over farm production. This thesis makes a significant contribution in understanding modern farmer exploitation and how farmers can work to overcome their vulnerability in socio-political economy. This research is place-specific in the dryland agricultural zone of the Wimmera Southern Mallee region of Victoria, but it contributes to a global understanding of what makes farmers act.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Training and testing of 1v1 agility in Australian football
- Authors: Rayner, Russell
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Little is known of how agility events occur in the sport of Australian football (AF). As a result, appropriate training and testing methods are unknown. This thesis investigated 1v1 agility in AF to evaluate alternative methods for training and testing agility. The thesis was undertaken in three studies. Study one investigated if training and testing practices used in elite AF align with the demands of competition. A notational analysis revealed substantial variation in movement patterns used by, and the cognitive demands of, athletes in agility events. A survey of high-performance managers in the AFL revealed that a mixture of open and closed training methods are used in elite AF, and that subjective agility assessment is preferred to formal testing. Study two assessed the reliability and ecological validity of a field-based test of attacking and defending agility for AF. The text exhibited excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability, as well as moderate test-retest reliability. Characteristics of the test were compared to the notational analysis to assess the ecological validity of the test. While the test did not fully replicate the agility demands of AF, the test improved ecological validity when compared to previous tests described in the literature. Study three evaluated the effectiveness of a four-week 1v1 training intervention for improving attacking and defending agility in Australian footballers. In addition, the study assessed the crossover of attacking training to defending agility and defending training to attacking agility. Improvements in attacking agility were found which were greater for attacking-trained athletes. However, no improvements in defending agility were realised. This thesis indicates that 1v1 training and testing is suitable for assessing and developing agility in Australian footballers. However, 1v1 training may be more suitable for improving attacking agility. Further, agility is context-specific, and testing and training should consider the role of the athlete.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Rayner, Russell
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Little is known of how agility events occur in the sport of Australian football (AF). As a result, appropriate training and testing methods are unknown. This thesis investigated 1v1 agility in AF to evaluate alternative methods for training and testing agility. The thesis was undertaken in three studies. Study one investigated if training and testing practices used in elite AF align with the demands of competition. A notational analysis revealed substantial variation in movement patterns used by, and the cognitive demands of, athletes in agility events. A survey of high-performance managers in the AFL revealed that a mixture of open and closed training methods are used in elite AF, and that subjective agility assessment is preferred to formal testing. Study two assessed the reliability and ecological validity of a field-based test of attacking and defending agility for AF. The text exhibited excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability, as well as moderate test-retest reliability. Characteristics of the test were compared to the notational analysis to assess the ecological validity of the test. While the test did not fully replicate the agility demands of AF, the test improved ecological validity when compared to previous tests described in the literature. Study three evaluated the effectiveness of a four-week 1v1 training intervention for improving attacking and defending agility in Australian footballers. In addition, the study assessed the crossover of attacking training to defending agility and defending training to attacking agility. Improvements in attacking agility were found which were greater for attacking-trained athletes. However, no improvements in defending agility were realised. This thesis indicates that 1v1 training and testing is suitable for assessing and developing agility in Australian footballers. However, 1v1 training may be more suitable for improving attacking agility. Further, agility is context-specific, and testing and training should consider the role of the athlete.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Young mothers: Discursive constructions of their lives and identities
- Authors: Felstead, Karen
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The notion that early motherhood is a significant problem for society is widely documented in the academic literature, and there is a complicated history surrounding young pregnant and parenting women in social and educational policy contexts. Less is known about young mothers themselves and how they experience the social and material effects of early motherhood. The purpose of this study was to examine how young mothers, who attended a young parent program in Lake City in Victoria Australia, experienced early motherhood and how they contested the social discourses that framed their lives. Using a poststructural lens and drawing on the work of Michel Foucault, this thesis used narrative inquiry and discourse analysis to examine the complex nature of seven young mothers’ lives. Analysis of the narrative data showed that despite the complexities, early motherhood was a significant turning point as the young mothers drew on resources of resistance and responsibility to transform their lives. An analysis of the social welfare policy practices identified surveillance and regulation measures as responses to alleviate long-term welfare dependency but did not account for the structural and economic barriers that young mothers encountered in their lives. In educational contexts, the young mothers in this study had experienced disrupted education trajectories before moving to an alternative setting. The findings highlight that they were ‘invisible’ in mainstream educational contexts and while ‘learning from the margins’ in the young parent program. This study found that the voice of the young mother was missing in the social and educational policy discourses, and the complexities of early motherhood were not accounted for within the policies. This thesis argues that young mothers’ voices need to be included in strategic policy responses to address issues of inequity and reduce the structural and economic barriers faced by young mothers.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Felstead, Karen
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The notion that early motherhood is a significant problem for society is widely documented in the academic literature, and there is a complicated history surrounding young pregnant and parenting women in social and educational policy contexts. Less is known about young mothers themselves and how they experience the social and material effects of early motherhood. The purpose of this study was to examine how young mothers, who attended a young parent program in Lake City in Victoria Australia, experienced early motherhood and how they contested the social discourses that framed their lives. Using a poststructural lens and drawing on the work of Michel Foucault, this thesis used narrative inquiry and discourse analysis to examine the complex nature of seven young mothers’ lives. Analysis of the narrative data showed that despite the complexities, early motherhood was a significant turning point as the young mothers drew on resources of resistance and responsibility to transform their lives. An analysis of the social welfare policy practices identified surveillance and regulation measures as responses to alleviate long-term welfare dependency but did not account for the structural and economic barriers that young mothers encountered in their lives. In educational contexts, the young mothers in this study had experienced disrupted education trajectories before moving to an alternative setting. The findings highlight that they were ‘invisible’ in mainstream educational contexts and while ‘learning from the margins’ in the young parent program. This study found that the voice of the young mother was missing in the social and educational policy discourses, and the complexities of early motherhood were not accounted for within the policies. This thesis argues that young mothers’ voices need to be included in strategic policy responses to address issues of inequity and reduce the structural and economic barriers faced by young mothers.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
‘You can’t hear a child you don’t see’ : Frontline workers’ perspectives on engaging young people in out-of-home care in the decisions affecting their lives.
- Authors: McRae, Lynda
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Traditionally, young people in out-of-home care have been marginalised from the most important decision-making processes that affect their lives. A compelling, contemporary evidence base confirms that this dilemma persists despite the ratification of young people’s participation rights in legislation and policy, which has grave implications for young people’s wellbeing, the quality of decisions and subsequent interventions. This place-based, participatory action research drew on the perspectives of case and program managers at the frontline of out-of-home care service delivery in Inner Gippsland to provide unique insights into the barriers and opportunities to increased inclusion of young people in the decisions being made about them. The study was supported through a university–industry research collaboration within the Inner Gippsland Children and Youth Area Partnership. This thesis contends that a confluence of factors in response to unprecedented demand on the Inner Gippsland child welfare service system has significantly eroded the time and opportunity for face-to-face practice between workers and young people, which is fundamental to the facilitation of young people’s engagement in decision-making. The research process was underpinned by a blend of critical theory and the capability approach. New insights were developed to advocate for diverse, context-specific interventions and broader system reforms to expand the capacity for workers to engage in face-to-face practice with young people. An authorising environment that legitimises participatory practice is required to support connections between workers and young people. This thesis argues that the alignment of rights-based participation principles with critical components of the system—policy, performance management regimes, compliance and administrative practices and professionalisation strategies—could transform decision-making processes for young people. This is especially vital for a growing cohort of young people who live in out-of-home care. Keywords: participation, decision-making processes, face-to-face practice, children, young people, critical theory, capability approach, action research, out-of-home care research
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: McRae, Lynda
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Traditionally, young people in out-of-home care have been marginalised from the most important decision-making processes that affect their lives. A compelling, contemporary evidence base confirms that this dilemma persists despite the ratification of young people’s participation rights in legislation and policy, which has grave implications for young people’s wellbeing, the quality of decisions and subsequent interventions. This place-based, participatory action research drew on the perspectives of case and program managers at the frontline of out-of-home care service delivery in Inner Gippsland to provide unique insights into the barriers and opportunities to increased inclusion of young people in the decisions being made about them. The study was supported through a university–industry research collaboration within the Inner Gippsland Children and Youth Area Partnership. This thesis contends that a confluence of factors in response to unprecedented demand on the Inner Gippsland child welfare service system has significantly eroded the time and opportunity for face-to-face practice between workers and young people, which is fundamental to the facilitation of young people’s engagement in decision-making. The research process was underpinned by a blend of critical theory and the capability approach. New insights were developed to advocate for diverse, context-specific interventions and broader system reforms to expand the capacity for workers to engage in face-to-face practice with young people. An authorising environment that legitimises participatory practice is required to support connections between workers and young people. This thesis argues that the alignment of rights-based participation principles with critical components of the system—policy, performance management regimes, compliance and administrative practices and professionalisation strategies—could transform decision-making processes for young people. This is especially vital for a growing cohort of young people who live in out-of-home care. Keywords: participation, decision-making processes, face-to-face practice, children, young people, critical theory, capability approach, action research, out-of-home care research
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
'You Beauty' Alex Jesaulenko An historical exploration of the migrant who became a legend
- Authors: Eddy, Daniel
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: The Austrian-born Alex Jesaulenko played football in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1967 to 1981. His rise to national prominence emerged during a period of great change within both Australian society and Australian rules football. This thesis, through a critical biographical approach, examines for the first time Jesaulenko’s early life, looking at his migrant experience and the role that Australian rules football played in aiding his integration into Australian society. It is not a kick-and-handball analysis of Jesaulenko’s entire football career; that has been extensively covered within copious amounts of primary and secondary sources. Instead, it explores his migrant journey – an important aspect of Jesaulenko’s life which has been largely overlooked – and the key developmental years of sporting education prior to emerging as a VFL champion. It concludes with one of, if not the most, iconic moments in the game’s history: Jesaulenko’s mark in the 1970 VFL grand final, which cemented his name within the Australian sporting consciousness. Australian rules football, and sport more generally, holds a unique place within society. Footballers, it can be argued, are archetypes for our daily dreams and aspirations; exalted figures that we afford status which few will experience in their everyday lives. Therefore, it is through the prism of Jesaulenko’s journey that we can learn more about the role Australian rules football has played for migrants integrating into Australian society.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
A case study of teacher roles in engaging with student aspirations
- Authors: Walker, Amy
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: This thesis investigated the complex role teachers play, both formally and informally, in relation to engaging and supporting student aspirations. Due to the links that have been established between aspirations and school completion and involvement in tertiary education, aspirations are important in an educational context. Yet, despite the abundance of aspiration related research, most has focused on student or parent perspectives, with few scholars targeting teacher perceptions of their roles in relation to student aspirations. This research is therefore significant as it addresses this gap through a single case study investigating perceptions of P-12 teachers from a peri-urban independent school in Victoria, Australia. Data were collected from 57 teachers via survey, interviews, and school document analysis. A lens of research-as-bricoleur, incorporating the theoretical frameworks of Bronfenbrenner (1979; 1994), Turner (2001), Gottfredson (1981, 1996), and Patton and McMahon (2015), provided the interpretative basis for the applied thematic analysis of the different data sets. Findings demonstrated differences in the way that teachers conceptualised their role in engaging with student aspirations. While teacher participants identified various formal and informal roles that they played in relation to engaging student aspirations, they also reported a lack of clear guidance or guidelines, necessitating the development of personal processes to direct their involvement. Other important findings highlighted a number of factors that teacher participants perceived as facilitating or impeding possible roles they could play in engaging student aspirations. The understandings emanating from this research provide substantive assistance to stakeholders, including school administrators and teacher educators, in appreciating and appropriately responding to an area of practice which remains misunderstood and without clear policy or guidelines. Ultimately, this research adds to the growing body of research into student aspirations and the concomitant importance of teachers in helping students aspire to and achieve their goals.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
A framework for sustainability performance assessment for manufacturing processes
- Authors: Singh, Karmjit
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Sustainable manufacturing methods make it possible to develop products in ways which minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and save natural resources whilst being economically sound. The concepts of sustainability in manufacturing being are still fairly broad, in scope, and need to be more focused and firmly established at the process, machine or factory levels. This project proposes a structure for manufacturing with a main objective to develop a sustainability framework which encompasses various production processes. Structured information models for the seamless flow of information across the design and manufacturing domains, for selected manufacturing processes, are defined. The thesis work identifies key performance indicators (KPIs) for the assessment of manufacturing sustainability and performs analysis of selected unit manufacturing processes and their sub-processes with the aim of proposing a methodology for determining science-based measurements of the manufacturing processes affecting these KPIs. The theoretical foundations established are then used to develop a model that could evaluate sustainability of selected manufacturing processes and their respective process plans providing a basis for inter-process comparison and selection of the most sustainable process plan. The proposed framework is presented in form of a manufacturing planning computer-based package which is designed to to consider different influencing factors such as product information, part geometry, material related physical and processing properties and the manufacturing equipment operating data. The thesis presents a number of case studies which have been published in international journals. The case studies present estimates of the manufacturing sustainability KPIs for a number of production methods. These estimates have been verified with available shop floor data. The work in the thesis makes it possible to establish manufacturing industry equipped to deal the challenges of the future when sustainability will be the major factor up on which the quality of success will be determined.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Singh, Karmjit
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Sustainable manufacturing methods make it possible to develop products in ways which minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and save natural resources whilst being economically sound. The concepts of sustainability in manufacturing being are still fairly broad, in scope, and need to be more focused and firmly established at the process, machine or factory levels. This project proposes a structure for manufacturing with a main objective to develop a sustainability framework which encompasses various production processes. Structured information models for the seamless flow of information across the design and manufacturing domains, for selected manufacturing processes, are defined. The thesis work identifies key performance indicators (KPIs) for the assessment of manufacturing sustainability and performs analysis of selected unit manufacturing processes and their sub-processes with the aim of proposing a methodology for determining science-based measurements of the manufacturing processes affecting these KPIs. The theoretical foundations established are then used to develop a model that could evaluate sustainability of selected manufacturing processes and their respective process plans providing a basis for inter-process comparison and selection of the most sustainable process plan. The proposed framework is presented in form of a manufacturing planning computer-based package which is designed to to consider different influencing factors such as product information, part geometry, material related physical and processing properties and the manufacturing equipment operating data. The thesis presents a number of case studies which have been published in international journals. The case studies present estimates of the manufacturing sustainability KPIs for a number of production methods. These estimates have been verified with available shop floor data. The work in the thesis makes it possible to establish manufacturing industry equipped to deal the challenges of the future when sustainability will be the major factor up on which the quality of success will be determined.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Advocates or corporates : constructions of clinical nursing practice in Australia with regards to the idealisation of advocacy and autonomy
- Authors: Cole, Clare
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Although the idealisation of nurses as advocates is popularised in nursing literature and supported within nursing frameworks, codes and standards, there has been little critical examination of these ideas within contemporary Australian healthcare settings and nursing practice. The Australian Healthcare system is a complicated system of interacting service providers and consumers. Institutions that regulate healthcare professionals and organisations normalise understandings of nursing and nursing practice, including conceptualisations of the importance of autonomy and advocacy and how each is to be supported and/or practised. This study used the perceptions of practising Registered Nurses (RNs) to examine the actualities of advocacy and support for autonomy as they are carried out within clinical practice, and to highlight, problematise and then analyse differences between the rhetoric and realities of practice. Firstly, a phenomenological lens, including an ethnographic model of observation, was used to thematically map and examine the RNs’ lived experience of their practice, paying particular attention to their conceptions of and responsibilities toward advocacy and autonomy. This thematic analysis brought to the fore a range of assumptions that, although clearly normative within nursing practice, are in evident tension with one other. These were then re-examined using a range of Michel Foucault’s concepts concerning the construction and maintenance of regimes of truth. Designed to unpack the operations of power and knowledge, and to make visible the techniques of disciplinarity and governmentality that inform and support them, an engagement of these concepts has allowed this thesis to critically examine the normative constructions and enactments of nursing practice with regards to ideas and practices concerning advocacy and autonomy. What this thesis provides is a detailed examination of the contrasting constructions of power and knowledge within nursing practice in relation to advocacy and autonomy, how and why these concepts have been operationalised within nursing practice, and how they could be re-visioned into the future.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Cole, Clare
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Although the idealisation of nurses as advocates is popularised in nursing literature and supported within nursing frameworks, codes and standards, there has been little critical examination of these ideas within contemporary Australian healthcare settings and nursing practice. The Australian Healthcare system is a complicated system of interacting service providers and consumers. Institutions that regulate healthcare professionals and organisations normalise understandings of nursing and nursing practice, including conceptualisations of the importance of autonomy and advocacy and how each is to be supported and/or practised. This study used the perceptions of practising Registered Nurses (RNs) to examine the actualities of advocacy and support for autonomy as they are carried out within clinical practice, and to highlight, problematise and then analyse differences between the rhetoric and realities of practice. Firstly, a phenomenological lens, including an ethnographic model of observation, was used to thematically map and examine the RNs’ lived experience of their practice, paying particular attention to their conceptions of and responsibilities toward advocacy and autonomy. This thematic analysis brought to the fore a range of assumptions that, although clearly normative within nursing practice, are in evident tension with one other. These were then re-examined using a range of Michel Foucault’s concepts concerning the construction and maintenance of regimes of truth. Designed to unpack the operations of power and knowledge, and to make visible the techniques of disciplinarity and governmentality that inform and support them, an engagement of these concepts has allowed this thesis to critically examine the normative constructions and enactments of nursing practice with regards to ideas and practices concerning advocacy and autonomy. What this thesis provides is a detailed examination of the contrasting constructions of power and knowledge within nursing practice in relation to advocacy and autonomy, how and why these concepts have been operationalised within nursing practice, and how they could be re-visioned into the future.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Barriers and enablers to women's access to services during childbearing in Timor-Leste
- Authors: King, Rosemary
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background: In Timor-Leste the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is one of the highest in Southeast Asia, in some districts only 15-25% of women birth in a facility with a skilled birth attendant (SBA). Care from SBA is the international benchmark for quality maternity care. Purpose: Determine the barriers and enablers to women's access to services during childbearing in Timor-Leste, including women’s expectations and needs. Methodology: Qualitative research using focused ethnography, data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation. Seventeen stakeholders and thirty women from three districts in Timor-Leste participated. Thematic analysis and coding of data with triangulation of the findings between separate participant groups. Results: Barriers to woman’s access to SBA include poor roads, lack of transport, costs associated with accessing SBA, lack of availability and poor quality services. Lack of privacy, multiple care-givers and poor interpersonal communication from SBA were also noted. Stakeholders emphasise health promotion and antenatal care to counteract the influence of traditional beliefs and promote demand for SBA. Many women demonstrate their agency in health seeking behaviours and choices for care during pregnancy and childbirth. Discussion: Women understand that pregnancy and childbirth poses potential risks to their health. Rural women, women from low socio-economic and other marginalised groups have less access to services. Perceptions of poor quality services also reduce women’s demand. Conclusion: Barriers and enablers to woman’s access to services are identified using an amended AAAQ framework introducing the domain of Antecedents in addition to domains of Access, Availability, Acceptability and Quality (AAAQA). Further expenditure on health service infrastructure, staff training and community outreach will improve access and quality SBA. Culturally safe SBA services may also improve the uptake of SBA service in Timor-Leste. Key words: Timor-Leste, Skilled birth attendance, cultural safety, women’s agency, quality maternity care.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: King, Rosemary
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background: In Timor-Leste the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is one of the highest in Southeast Asia, in some districts only 15-25% of women birth in a facility with a skilled birth attendant (SBA). Care from SBA is the international benchmark for quality maternity care. Purpose: Determine the barriers and enablers to women's access to services during childbearing in Timor-Leste, including women’s expectations and needs. Methodology: Qualitative research using focused ethnography, data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation. Seventeen stakeholders and thirty women from three districts in Timor-Leste participated. Thematic analysis and coding of data with triangulation of the findings between separate participant groups. Results: Barriers to woman’s access to SBA include poor roads, lack of transport, costs associated with accessing SBA, lack of availability and poor quality services. Lack of privacy, multiple care-givers and poor interpersonal communication from SBA were also noted. Stakeholders emphasise health promotion and antenatal care to counteract the influence of traditional beliefs and promote demand for SBA. Many women demonstrate their agency in health seeking behaviours and choices for care during pregnancy and childbirth. Discussion: Women understand that pregnancy and childbirth poses potential risks to their health. Rural women, women from low socio-economic and other marginalised groups have less access to services. Perceptions of poor quality services also reduce women’s demand. Conclusion: Barriers and enablers to woman’s access to services are identified using an amended AAAQ framework introducing the domain of Antecedents in addition to domains of Access, Availability, Acceptability and Quality (AAAQA). Further expenditure on health service infrastructure, staff training and community outreach will improve access and quality SBA. Culturally safe SBA services may also improve the uptake of SBA service in Timor-Leste. Key words: Timor-Leste, Skilled birth attendance, cultural safety, women’s agency, quality maternity care.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy