http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/ The University of Queensland en Fez http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:239702 The majority of research on 'mind reading' has focused on basic theory of mind (ToM); its development and deficiency particularly in those suffering from an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Limited research has been conducted on 'advanced' ToM which individuals unconsciously depend on every day. This study explored the mechanisms behind advanced ToM; the role of empathy, and how this ability impacts on an individual's social world. In addition, this study aimed to improve the ecological validity of existing ToM measures. The first hypothesis was that ToM ability would be greatest when the eyes were displayed and the voice was heard, relative to conditions with decreased cues. Next, it was hypothesised that the affective component of advanced ToM ability would be facilitated by situational empathy. Finally, it was predicted that individuals with a greater ToM ability would have better quality friendships and this would be mediated by dispositional empathy. Results revealed that seeing the eyes compared to the mouth facilitated advanced ToM during cognitive states (CSs); however, not for complex emotional states (CESs). Additionally, speech facilitation occurred when inferring CESs, however, not for CSs. It was found that CESs were better recognised compared to CSs; in spite of this, situational empathy did not seem to play a role. Finally, a significant indirect relationship between advanced ToM and friendship quality was found, with dispositional empathy as the mediator. It was concluded that advanced ToM may require a holistic facial representation with speech integrated; special attention to particular areas within the face might be ineffective in aims of improving this ability. In respect to individuals with ASD, improving their ToM ability may result in an indirect improvement in their social relationships by increasing their ability to empathise. 2011-04-04T00:00:00Z Ilvana Dzafic http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:286839 2012-12-07T09:12:14Z Mohammad Radzi, Nur Hanis http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:177603 The cross-entropy method is an established technique for solving difficult estimation, simulation, and optimisation problems. The method has its origins in an adaptive importance sampling procedure for rare-event estimation published by R. Y. Rubinstein in 1997. In that publication, the adaptive procedure produces a parametric probability density function whose parameters minimise the variance of the associated likelihood ratio estimator. This variance minimisation can also be viewed as minimising a measure of divergence to the minimum-variance importance sampling density over all members of the parametric family in question. Soon thereafter it was realised that the same adaptive importance sampling procedure could be used to solve combinatorial optimisation problems by viewing the set of solutions to the optimisation problem as a rare-event. This realisation led to the debut of the cross-entropy method in 1999, where it was introduced as a modification to the existing adaptive importance sampling procedure, with a different choice of directed divergence measure, in particular, the Kullback-Leibler cross-entropy. The contributions of this thesis are threefold. Firstly, in a review capacity, it provides an up-to-date consolidation of material on the cross-entropy method and its generalisations, as well as a collation of background material on importance sampling and Monte Carlo methods. The reviews are elucidated with original commentary and examples. Secondly, two new major applications of the cross-entropy methodology to optimisation problems are presented, advancing the boundary of knowledge on cross-entropy in the applied arena. Thirdly, two contributions to the methodological front are (a) an original extension of the generalised cross-entropy framework which enables one to construct state- and time-dependent importance sampling algorithms, and (b) a new algorithm for counting solutions to difficult binary-encoded problems. 2009-05-14T11:34:27Z Thomas Taimre http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:174625 With the increasing complexity of the power system, electromechanical oscillations are becoming one of the major problem. Several blackouts have been reported in the past due to insufficient damping of the oscillatory modes. The starting point to avoid catastrophic behaviors would be to simulate actual power system and study the response of the system under various outages leading to blackouts. Recently, it has been identified that appropriate modeling of the load is necessary to match the actual system behavior with the computer simulated response. This research throws some insight into the detailed load modeling and its impact on the system small signal stability. In particular, Composite load model is proposed and its effect on the system small signal stability is investigated. Modeling all the loads in a large power system would be a cumbersome job and hence the method for identifying the most sensitive load location is also proposed in the thesis. The effect of load modeling on the eigenvalue movement is also investigated. The low damped electromechanical modes are always undesirable in the large inter-connected power systems as they might get excited under some event leading to growing oscillations. Proper damping of these modes is essential for effective and reliable system operation. Power system stabilizers have been proved to be an effective way of damping these electromechanical modes. The optimal number and location of PSS to effectively damp the modes via improved Differential algorithm is proposed. Moreover, the effect of TCSC, series compensated FACTs device, on enhancing the system damping is investigated. A fixed order model matching technique is presented to design a damping controller for the TCSC. With the increasing global pressure for reducing carbon emissions, there is a great amount of interest in the renewable sources of energy, particularly Wind Energy Conversion Systems. Of all the present methods of wind generation systems, Doubly Fed Induction Generation (DFIG) based wind farms are gaining popularity. The comparison of various methods of wind generation techniques is presented. In particular, the impact of DFIG based wind farms on the system small signal stability is investigated in this work. Co-ordinated tuning of the controllers is performed using Bacterial Foraging Technique, which is another member of Evolutionary algorithms. Damping controller for the DFIG system is proposed to enhance the damping of the electromechanical modes. Results have proved the effectiveness of the control methodology. The contributions made in this thesis could be utilized to promote the further development of the damping controllers for large power systems. 2009-04-08T00:00:00Z Yateendra Mishra http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:197009 This thesis analyses the potential of a complex adaptive systems (CASs) approach based on system dynamics modelling (SDM) to add value to the currently used assessment tools and monitoring practices for tourism sustainability in an effort to advance sustainable development in tourism destinations. While many different concepts and tools for the assessment of sustainability have developed, most of them do not take the complexity and dynamics of tourism destinations into account. It is argued in this thesis that these linear tools need to be complemented with new approaches that can deal with uncertainty, non-linearity and unexpected changes. New knowledge from ecosystem research, which is derived from complex systems theory, suggests that tourism destinations are indeed social-ecological systems, which need to be viewed and studied as CASs. In recent years tourism researchers have acknowledged the necessity to view tourism as a system with interconnected elements, and have discussed the unpredictability of these tourism systems. CASs approaches, which have been successfully applied by ecologists and economists in other areas, are indicated for tourism management, but have been rarely used in order to promote sustainable tourism development and planning. Appropriate methodologies and frameworks for the implementation of CASs approaches into the tourism context are still lacking. Therefore this thesis addresses the aforementioned challenges as follows: • A critical review of the concepts and tools currently used for the advancement and assessment of sustainability in tourism destinations is presented. The review evaluates the suitability of assessment tools for specific sites and situations, and develops guidelines for tool selection. It is concluded that for particular purposes linear assessment tools need to be combined or complemented with tools that can deal with complexity and dynamics. Tools covered include sustainability indicators, environmental impact assessment, life cycle assessment, environmental audits, ecological footprints, multi-criteria analysis and adaptive environmental assessment. • The use of sustainability indicator as one of the most promoted assessment tools for sustainable development in tourism destination is explored further. A systemic indicator system (SIS) methodology based on a CASs approach as an alternative to linear assessments is developed. This methodology is tested using a case study of a holiday eco-village near Lamington National Park in Queensland. The research findings suggest that the SIS has the potential to enhance system understanding and adaptive management of tourism destinations, and can foster collective learning processes amongst stakeholders. • A framework is developed for a Learning Tourism Destination (LTD) based on the concept of the Learning Organisation, and using SDM as a tool for strategic planning and the promotion of organisational learning. The concept of the LTD is discussed on the basis of 6 case studies, where SDM has been applied primarily for predictive reasons, and through evaluation of the potential of SDM as a tool for the implementation and enhancement of collective learning processes. The results reveal that SDM is capable of promoting communication between stakeholders and stimulating organisational learning. It is argued that the effectiveness of SDM may be greatly increased through incorporation in the foundation of an LTD. • A practical approach for the implementation of an LTD is presented. Preliminary results from a case study undertaken at the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia are discussed. Surveys were conducted to verify if the LTD forms a useful framework for fostering consensus building, dialogue and collective learning processes amongst stakeholders. The preliminary results of the study suggest that the implementation of an LTD on the Ningaloo Coast will improve the capacity of the local industry to take more responsibility for the sustainable development, and thus has the potential to enable a more effective transition to sustainability in the region. Through its multi-methodological approach, this thesis demonstrates the importance of considering tourism destinations as CASs. New concepts and assessment tools for sustainable tourism are needed that acknowledge the complex and dynamic nature of tourism and tourism development. Together, the SIS methodology and the LTD framework provide an initial platform from which to conduct further research. 2010-02-26T00:00:00Z Karin Schianetz http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158536 Background: The traditional public health approach to injury prevention and control is founded on a causal model of injury that focuses on individual-level risk factors relevant to the exchange of energy that causes anatomical injury. Contemporary epidemiology recognises the role of macro-level physical and social determinants in injury aetiology and therefore the ecological approach, which examines the population level effects on health outcomes, has become more frequently employed. The ecological approach underpins the community-based model of injury prevention. Despite implementation of this model on a global scale, few evaluations demonstrate the effectiveness of the community-based model to reduce injury outcomes. Existing evaluations are limited by methodological flaws including inadequate evaluation timeframes, poor selection of community controls, use of poor quality data sources and failure to match the evaluation approach with the ecological nature of the community-based model. Current evaluation methods do not adequately account for the effect of social variables upon injury rates. Aim: The aim of the thesis is to advance evaluation methodology for community-based injury prevention programs by: designing and implementing a case study evaluation program consistent with current best practice methods for community-based injury prevention programs; using the quantitative data from the case study evaluation to illustrate threats to the validity of results obtained by this methodology; and developing an improved methodology for application to future evaluations of community-based injury prevention programs. Methods: A quasi-experimental study which measured changes in process, impact and outcome evaluation components in two matched intervention and control community pairs was conducted between May 2003 and September 2005. Program implementation activities were recorded by the project officers in electronic process logs. Impact evaluation included assessment of community capacity before and after program implementation using a Community Capacity Index, and measurement of pre- and post-implementation prevalences of safety behaviours and injury risk factors using self-report surveys. Outcome evaluation included injury data from emergency department and hospital admissions datasets for thirteen years pre-implementation and eighteen months after program implementation commenced. Effectiveness of the case study programs was assessed by comparing predicted and observed injury rates. A generalised estimating equation model of childhood injury rates was created using state wide data to control for changes in social variables within the two intervention communities. Results: The effect of the prevention program on the intervention communities was minimal. Little change in process activities was demonstrated. Community capacity improved slightly in both communities; however changes to safety behaviour and injury risk factor prevalence were limited. Many of the significant changes represented increased injury risk. Changes to outcome measures were also limited. Observed childhood injury rates were within predicted ranges for Intervention and Control Community One and Intervention Community Two, but increased beyond the predicted range in Control Community Two. The GEE model indicated the intervention was associated with statistically non-significant decrease of 0.07 injuries/10,000 0-4 year olds (95%CI: -0.24, 0.10) in logarithmically transformed injury rates (p=0.40).The GEE model found a significant relationship between childhood injury rates and first (p<0.001) and second order time components (p<0.001). Rurality was significantly associated with childhood injury rates, where childhood injury rates increased by 0.06 injuries/10,000 0-4 year with each increasing unit of remoteness (p<0.001). The model found an increase of 2.69 injuries/10, 0000 0-4 year olds as the proportion of married people within the region increased (p<0.001) and a decrease of 1.84 injuries/10,000 0-4 year olds as the proportion of Indigenous residents increased (p<0.001). There was also a significant association between the proportion of Indigenous residents, time and childhood injuries (p<0.002). When controlling for social variables, the intervention was associated with a decrease of 0.09 injuries/10,000 0-4 year olds (95%CI: -0.29, 0.11) in logarithmically transformed injury rates, however this decrease was not significant (p=0.36). Conclusion: This thesis has explored the need to consider the effect of social level variables on rates of childhood injury. The lack of identification, data collection and analysis of social variables when evaluating community-based injury prevention programs may explain the lack of observed effectiveness of community-based programs. The current best practice methodology for evaluating community-based injury prevention programs can be improved by ensuring the effect of social variables are accommodated with the analytic model of the evaluation. 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Yorkston, Emily Kate http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:174117 Perceptual rivalry refers to visual phenomena that are characterised by alternations between different percepts, despite an unchanging sensory input. Two common types of perceptual rivalry are (i) reversible figures — two-dimensional stable images that when viewed, are perceived to switch between different interpretations, and (ii) binocular rivalry — the alternations in image dominance resulting from the presentation of conflicting stimuli, one to each eye. Several investigators have suggested that these rivalling phenomena are mediated by similar neural mechanisms. Such a view, however, has not only been inadequately substantiated, but has also yet to be assessed in the context of a directly testable neurophysiological model. Miller and Pettigrew have proposed a novel, high-level interhemispheric switch (IHS) explanatory model of binocular rivalry. This model conceptualises the perceptual alternations as being mediated by alternations between one hemisphere’s selected image and the other hemisphere’s selected (rival) image. To assess their hypothesis, caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) was used. CVS is a simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive brain stimulation technique that unilaterally activates high-level attentional areas. In accordance with the IHS model, CVS was found to significantly affect predominance (the duration that one image is perceived relative to the other, within a given viewing period) during conventional binocular rivalry with horizontal/vertical gratings and with orthogonal oblique gratings. The present thesis therefore aims, through the use of CVS, to extend this IHS model of binocular rivalry to reversible-figure alternations and propose a general IHS model of perceptual rivalry. Chapter 1 provides a detailed literature review of the field within the context of comparing both perceptual rivalries. In Chapter 2, investigations are presented on two different reversible figures — the perspective-reversing Necker cube and the figure–ground reversing Rubin’s vase–faces illusion. In these experiments, CVS was found to significantly change observers’ predominance compared to their baseline predominance. These results demonstrate that interhemispheric switching also mediates the alternations of these visual phenomena, in addition to binocular rivalry, thereby extending the IHS model to one of perceptual rivalry in general. Moreover, the findings are interpreted in a cognitive neuroscience context, including a novel proposal of a forebrain framework for the IHS model. Chapter 3 presents CVS experiments that address the issue of percept–to–hemisphere selection and the reproducibility of CVS effects, following Miller’s initial work on two types of conventional binocular rivalry. In planned analyses, significant predominance changes were not found in horizontal/vertical rivalry, oblique rivalry and Necker-cube rivalry. In post-hoc analyses that accounted for study-design differences between Miller’s original experiments and the present experiment, CVS was again not shown to induce significant predominance changes in any of the rivalry types. Assessment of directional predominance changes following CVS appeared to suggest an arbitrary selection of percept–to–hemisphere in all rivalry types, although no firm conclusions could be drawn from the obtained data on this issue. Nevertheless, the experiments further extend upon Miller’s earlier work by examining the inter- and intra-individual reproducibility of CVS-induced effects on predominance. Such reproducibility was found to be low and potential reasons for this are discussed. The experiments in Chapter 4 examine a type of binocular rivalry in which dichoptic presentation of Díaz-Caneja stimuli yields rivalry among four different stable images: half-field rivalry between the images presented to the eyes, and coherence rivalry in which aspects of each eye’s presented image are perceptually regrouped into rivalling coherent images. Each of these rivalries was found to occur for about half the given viewing time. Furthermore, CVS significantly shifted the predominance of perceived coherent images (coherence rivalry) but not half-field images (eye rivalry). This finding suggests that coherence rivalry (like conventional rivalry according to previous experiments) is mediated by interhemispheric switching at a high level, while eye rivalry is mediated by intrahemispheric mechanisms, most likely at a low level. In addition, it is proposed that Díaz-Caneja stimuli induce ‘meta-rivalry’ whereby these discrete high- and low-level competitive processes themselves rival for visual consciousness. The current thesis thus presents a novel meta-rivalry model of multistable binocular rivalry. It also presents the first direct evidence that interhemispheric switching mediates reversible-figure alternations, thereby supporting a generalised IHS model of perceptual rivalry. It is argued that both models provide a parsimonious exploratory framework within which specific predictions can be made and readily tested. Finally, the findings of all experiments in the current thesis are summarised. 2009-04-07T00:00:00Z Trung Thanh Ngo http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:240309 2011-04-20T10:30:02Z Kibbler, Harry. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:136271 2008-04-24T00:00:00Z Meeuwissen, Christiaan Percival http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158028 The exchange of mass (gases, water & salts) between the oceans and the atmosphere is vital to the maintenance of life on earth. At high wind velocities most of this exchange is attributable to breaking wave entrained air bubbles. A vertical supported planar plunging jet experiment was used to model the entrainment process. The bubbles were detected with a dual tip conductivity probe and a video camera. At plunging jet velocities below 1.0m/s there is no bubble entrainment. This inception velocity appears to have a Froude and Weber number scaling for large rough turbulent jets. At jet velocities up to 5m/s air appeared to be entrained via intermittent air cavities at the jet - plunge pool intersection. The entrained air packets subsequently break in the two phase free shear layer under the entrainment point. At higher jet velocities there may be partial penetration of the aerated jet surface via pulsating induction cavities plus air entrainment via jet self aeration before impact. Plunging jet air flow data displays the different types of entrainment mechanisms. Mono-phase diffusion models can be successfully adapted to describe the shear layer developing zone. The diffusion of the air bubbles is approximately a Gaussian self similar process. The mean bubble velocity profiles can be modelled using the Goertler Error function or Hyperbolic Tangent models. The bubble spectra is approximately Lognormal with a geometric mean diameter of 1.0-2.0mm for a range of jet velocities. A bubble Weber number is found to model the maximum bubble size of approximately 10mm diameter. An original adaptation of the potential flow solution for the vortex sheet is shown to be a simple and reasonably accurate finite amplitude model for water surface gravity waves, especially in deep water. This model has some interesting features, such as both vertical and horizontal asymmetry and standing wave water profile modelling. A simple and possibly insightful model of wave growth due to the wind is introduced, using a constant sea surface Reynolds number U*.sqrt(L.F)/Gamma , where U* = wind friction velocity, L = wavelength, F = fetch, and Gamma = wave field vortex circulation per wavelength. The results may have application in the modelling of air - sea gas exchanges, predicting breaking wave forces on structures and the use of the planar plunging jet as an aeration device in industry. 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Cummings, Peter D. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:240743 The application of aerobic sludge granules in secondary activated sludge wastewater treatment processes has the potential to cope with substantially higher hydraulic and organic loading rates compared to the floccular aggregates used in conventional systems. However, very few aerobic full-scale systems use sludge granules globally. This probably reflects our current understanding of why, how and under which conditions granules form. This thesis aims to contribute to this understanding by investigating the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) structure of aerobic granules. To achieve this it was important to understand what aerobic sludge granules are. The rheological profile of aerobic sludge granules performing biological removal of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from abattoir wastewater was indicative of a viscoelastic material exhibiting shear thinning behaviour. Granule strength depended on several environmental factors including temperature, pH and ionic strength, and gel-sol transitions were observed at pH 9-12 and 47 °C. The granules could be disrupted by exposure to proteolytic and amylolytic enzymes suggesting they are protein-polysaccharide composite physical hydrogels. A reversible, pH dependent sol-gel transition was observed subsequently with the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted from these granules, a behaviour analogous to that observed with the granules. This characteristic transition was not observed with any EPS samples extracted from floccular sludges. The granules are therefore distinguished from flocs by their synthesis of a gel-forming EPS. Granular EPS was found by analytical gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to comprise three components: high-molecular-weight (MW) exopolysaccharide, medium-MW proteins and glycosides, and low-MW proteins and glycosides. After this high-MW exopolysaccharide fraction was enriched by fractional precipitation, it possessed a critical overlap concentration (c* = 0.35 % w/w) consistent with the gel-forming constituent being polysaccharide not proteinaceous in nature. Following further purification by preparatory-scale GPC, Atomic Force Microscopy and rheological methods revealed it to have gel-like associative behaviour analogous to that of the granules. The low and medium MW material removed by GPC did not. Such behaviour indicates a structural role, and so it seems likely that the property of granular EPS to form gels appears to be attributable solely to the expression of this high-MW exopolysaccharide. 1D and 2D NMR spectral analyses could show that this gel-forming exopolysaccharide consisted of eight sugar residues. Carbon and proton shifts were assigned for each of these. Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation (HMBC) and Nuclear Overhauser Enhancement Spectroscopy (NOESY) identified the linkage types between individual residues. Together these techniques showed this exopolysaccharide to be a complex single heteropolysaccharide with a repeat sequence of α-galactose, β-mannose, β-glucosamine, N-acetyl-β-galactosamine and 2-acetoamido-2-deoxy-α-galactopyranuronic acid. It possesses a disaccharide branch of β-galactose and β-glucuronic acid attached to 2-acetoamido-2-deoxy-α-galactopyranuronic acid and an α-rhamnose branch attached to α-galactose. To establish whether this exopolysaccharide was expressed in all granule types or restricted to particular groups of bacteria, granules were cultivated under different operating conditions. Candidatus "Competibacter phosphatis‟ and Candidatus "Accumulibacter phosphatis‟ had been identified by FISH as codominant populations in the original granules performing nutrient removal from abattoir wastewater. Granules generated under conditions unfavourable to Accumulibacter and Competibacter (i.e. synthetic feed with methanol and nitrate as sole carbon source and electron acceptor respectively) did not contain this gel-forming exopolysaccharide. It was also absent from Accumulibacter enriched granules. However, those granules enriched in Competibacter from a seed sludge consisting of the original granules (i.e. treating abattoir wastewater) continued to synthesise this exopolysaccharide. Similarly, granules formed from a floccular seed sludge induced the synthesis of the gel-forming exopolysaccharide under conditions of Competibacter enrichment, coincident with an increase in particle size and the onset of granulation. Although these results suggest this gel-forming exopolysaccharide is not synthesised by all granule communities it is not restricted to a single granule type and so may serve an important structural role in other granules forming under alternating anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The approach used in this study could be extended profitably to understanding the structure and role of individual macromolecules in other microbial aggregates. 2011-05-09T00:00:00Z Thomas Seviour http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:213107 2010-08-25T00:00:00Z Gregory, Cedric E. (Cedric Errol), 1908- http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158495 Scale models of the terrestrial re-entry probe FIRE 11, and the proposed Titan aerocapture vehicle Titan Explorer, were tested with regards to their aerothermodynamic environment in the expansion tubes at The University of Queensland. Test models were sized from their respective flight vehicles using binary scaling to ensure similitude was maintained between the flight and experimental flowfields. The FIRE I1 model had a length scale of 1:27.7, maximum diameter of 24.28mm and nose radius 33.78mm. This model was orientated at a 0" angle of attack and was designed to simulate the flight heating environment 21.75s after re-entry, where radiation contributed an estimated 17% - 36% to the total heat transfer. The Titan Explorer test model was a 70" sphere-cone and was designed to simulate a peak heating condition occurring 253s into an aerocapture manoeuvre at Titan, where radiative heat transfer was estimated to contribute more than 80% to the aerothermodynamic heating. The model was sized to a length scale of 1:40.8 giving a maximum diameter of 94.46mm with nose radius of 22.37mm. The Titan Explorer model was tested at both a 0" and 16" angle of attack with lift-up in a simulated Titan atmosphere consisting of 5% CH4 and 95% N2. Both models were manufactured from steel and contained forebody heat flux instrumentation for measurement of the aerothermodynamic heating. A new gauge was developed for the separation and detection of the radiative component of heat transfer to the Titan Explorer model where non-negligible amounts of radiation were present on the test model. This gauge contained two thin-film nickel temperature sensing elements housed in a brass holder. Sensing elements were separated from direct contact with the flow via appropriate optical windows. All reflecting surfaces of the radiation gauge, with the exception of the nickel element, were painted in flat black paint to minimise spurious reflections. Total heat transfer on both models was measured with fast response type-E surface mounted thermocouples. From an analysis of both a transparent and absorptive gas it was proposed that absolute aerothermodynamic radiative heat transfer will remain invariant between an experimental model and the flight vehicle, provided binary scaling was maintained, and radiation was uncoupled or weakly coupled to the flow. This necessitated the treating of each mode of heat transfer independently when scaling flight data to the experimental models and vice versa. A parameter referred to as the reduced flight value was developed that allowed experimentally measured heat transfer to be directly compared with the appropriately scaled flight heating rates. The reduced flight value also allowed for estimation of flight vehicle heating rates from experimentally measured total and radiative heat transfer. Stagnation point results from the FIRE I1 testing successfully demonstrated the ability of expansion tubes to recreate the aerothermodynamic environment of flight vehicles. At this location an average of 14.28&7%kW/cm2 of total heat transfer was experimentally measured. This was shown to have a good agreement of between 5% - 15% with both empirical convective heating correlations and the reduced flight values scaled from the flight data. Total heat transfer values measured at two radial locations 11.4" and 18.7" from the nose were 17.11&7%kW/m2 and l7.14f 7%kW/cm2 respectively and were substantially higher than both the stagnation point and reduced flight values. The high heating rates experimentally measured at these locations were attributed to the boundary layer becoming turbulent on the test model as a result of surface roughness and was estimated likely to occur at approximately 8.4' from the stagnation point. Aerothermodynamic radiative heat transfer was successfully separated and measured on the Titan Explorer test model. It was shown that this measured radiative heat transfer was a direct result of the addition of CH4 into the test gas which promoted the formation of the strong radiating particle cyanogen, CN, in the shock layer. At the design orientation of a 16" angle of attack with lift-up in a simulated Titan atmosphere, 20.8% 14%W/m2 of surface radiative heat transfer was measured at the flow stagnation point. This represented 4% of the total heat transfer of 510&7%W/cm2 recorded by the stagnation point thermocouples. A similar contribution of radiative heat transfer was measured with the model orientated at a 0" AOA when the radiation gauge was positioned 19.6mm vertically below the sphere-cone apex. In this orientation 21.6% 14%W/m2 of radiative heat transfer was measured compared to the local total heat transfer of 420W/cm2. 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Capra, Bianca Rose http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:159573 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z Ivy Lourel http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:107366 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Higgins, Charlotte Emma. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:151414 2008-06-19T00:00:00Z Day, Gregory A. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:133599 Excessive weight can have a severe impact on health as well as creating a significant economic burden. Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions, but the mode of inheritance of obesity and its underlying complexity remains largely unresolved. Thus, the aim of this research project was to provide a further understanding of this condition in an Australian adolescent and adult population. Qualitative and quantitative differences in genetic and environmental influences affecting body mass index (BMI) in males and females, during development were examined. Structural equation models were fitted to longitudinal data collected at ages twelve, fourteen and sixteen from 470 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs and 673 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. In addition, it is generally known that some genetic differences are only exposed in the presence of certain environmental stressors, such as the effects of parity and age on post-partum obesity. Therefore, models were fitted to data from 11, 915 female twins and their sisters from whom reproductive history was available in order to assess the changes in magnitude of genetic and environmental variation in female BMI due to these variables. To detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing adolescent BMI, up to 1133 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers were typed across the genome in a sub-sample of adolescent twins, their parents and siblings. Because gene mutations for some genetic disorders affecting body weight may manifest during childhood, univariate linkage analysis were applied to test for linkage between marker loci and BMI at twelve, fourteen and sixteen across the genome. Additionally, genes involved in pathways regulating body weight may operate differently in men and women. Therefore, a genome-wide linkage analysis allowing for sex difference in linkage patterns was performed in order to identify QTLs influencing BMI which may differ between adult males and females. Genetic factors contributed strongly to BMI in adolescent twins, accounting for approximately ninety percent of phenotypic variation at twelve, fourteen and sixteen years of age. In addition, the majority of this genetic variance was transmitted from age twelve to ages fourteen and sixteen. Sex differences in the size of genetic innovations at ages fourteen and sixteen suggest that the genetic variation in weight regulation is different in males and females. The presence of environmental influences in males and females may reflect the effects of lifestyle activities during adolescents such as severe exercise and diet regimes. Structural equation models exploring the effects of parity and age on female BMI revealed that genes become more important in the variation in BMI as parity increases. The ability to retain weight for lactation and support for foetal growth possibly reflects an evolutionary advantage in times when it was a necessary condition of survival. Unique environmental influences were also important in the variation female BMI across parity and age, possibly reflecting lifestyle factors and individual responses to social attitudes towards weight gain. Genome-wide linkage analysis in adolescent twins revealed strong evidence for linkage on chromosome 14q12-q13 at age fourteen (logarithm of odds (LOD) = 3.71, p = 0.000018) and suggestive linkage in the same region in sixteen year old twins (LOD = 2.46, p = 0.00038) which has been previously implicated in adiponectin in Northern Europeans. Chromosome 6p12 yielded a suggestive LOD = 2.95 (p = 0.00012) which harboured a known gene responsible for rebound weight gain. Evidence for replication (LOD = 1) at other areas of the genome was also observed, including 1, 4, 10, 11, 13 and 20, which have been previously associated with obesity in other studies, being LEPR, UCP1, OB10P, BMIQ3 and BMIQ6, respectively, although we did not have time to genotype these to test for association in our samples. The use of a genome-wide linkage analysis allowing for sex difference in linkage patterns identified areas on chromosome 8 and 20, providing us with evidence that some of the genes responsible for BMI may have different effects in adult men and women. Results revealed a suggestive linkage peak (-log10p = 3.13; equivalent to LOD = 2.19, p = 0.000741) at 12q24 (-log10p = 3.02; equivalent to LOD = 2.08, p = 0.000955), that has been implicated in weight in a wide range of populations and where non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, a consequence of obesity, has also been mapped. We also identified many peaks near the threshold for replicating an existing finding (-log10p = 2; equivalent to LOD = 1.18, p = 0.01) in many areas across the genome that are within regions previously identified by other studies, as well as in locations that harbour genes known to influence weight regulation. Finally, the significances of these results are discussed and future directions are considered including association analysis on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across six candidate genes: LEPR, GNβ3, UCP2, UCP3, FTO and INSIG2 which have previously been associated with obesity or BMI. We typed seventeen SNPs and performed analyses in a sample of 4494 MZ and DZ twins. Significant association was found for rs9939609 (A/T polymorphism) of the FTO gene. In our data, each additional copy of the rs9939609 A allele increased mean BMI by approximately 0.14kg/m2 in an apparent additive manner, comparable with recent published results from population-based studies in white European children and adults. 2008-03-28T00:00:00Z Belinda Cornes http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:159344 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Cherie Faye Gambley http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:241696 2011-06-04T00:00:00Z Campbell, K. S. W. (Kenton Stewart Wall), 1927- http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:254202 During the late eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, the Second Advent movement was a potent religious force in both Europe and North America. Its adherents focused on a specific date for the literal fulfilment of Christ’s Second Advent—his return to earth to establish his kingdom. In America, the rising prosperity and growth of social democracy of the Jacksonian era evoked a fervid optimism that for many focussed on utopian visions of America’s millennial glory. Such an environment proved fertile ground for the theories of William Miller, and his followers, the Millerites, who became the largest and most influential early nineteenth-century American premillennial group. William Miller (1782-1849) was a primarily self-educated farmer living in upstate New York who, while raised a Baptist, became a Deist as a young man. Following his participation in the War of 1812, he first questioned and then rejected his Deist beliefs, undergoing a dramatic conversion experience and rejoining the Baptist Church. In order to respond to the questions of his Deist friends regarding the Bible’s reliability and their accusations that the Bible contradicted itself, Miller began a systematic reading of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. While reading, Miller became convinced that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth would take place, “about the year 1843”. He began to publicly proclaim this Second Advent message in 1831, and soon gathered a large number of followers who accepted his message. Miller came to his conclusions because of the particular way in which he approached Scripture—seeing the Bible as a “feast of reason”—and by using a very systematic approach influenced by Scottish Common Sense Philosophy and based on Historicist principles. Miller approached the Bible “rationally” and a belief in the Bible’s perspicuity, literality, and truthfulness, was at the core of his hermeneutical approach. While he himself refrained from setting an exact date, he eventually accepted the October 22, 1844 date predicted by Samuel S. Snow. When this date passed without Christ’s return, the majority of Millerites gave up their beliefs. A minority of Millerites maintained their beliefs in the soon return of Jesus Christ and/or the significance of October 22, 1844. These groups developed a variety of explanations for Jesus’ non-appearance on that date and either reinterpreted the event linked to October 22, 1844 or set other dates for Christ’s return. The Seventh-day Adventist denomination that formally formed in 1860 out of these Millerite believers was one such group who developed an alternative scenario allowing them to maintain their belief in the significance of the October 22, 1844 date. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is now a 17 million strong denomination with a worldwide presence that reads and interprets the Bible using an approach that owes a great deal to Miller’s hermeneutic. 2011-10-05T00:00:00Z Jeff Crocombe http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:187061 Abstract The present study analyses the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church and the main question addressed is: “How do women construct and maintain an adult Catholic identity in the light of social, political, economic and religious changes?” In order to answer this question I began with grounded theory which enabled me to locate my research in the everyday lives of the study participants. In the course of the research I made a methodological shift to an institutional ethnographic approach in order to better understand the women’s lives as Catholics. One of the major tenets of an institutional ethnographic approach is that in modern bureaucratic organisations the authority and instructions of institutions and organisations are carried via the texts they produce. These texts can be written texts or they can be videos, film, etc. Because they carry the authority of the institution or organisation texts have the power to shape people’s lives and co-ordinate their everyday activities with multiple others, without, however, wholly determining them. In common with other major organisations the Roman Catholic Church is a large, worldwide organisation which relies on the texts it produces to carry its instructions and authority into the homes, churches and personal lives of its members. The greatest production of written texts by the Catholic Church in the modern era took place at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). While many feminist scholars have dismissed the Council proceedings as saying very little about women in particular, I argue that the Councillors’ writings in several major texts have strongly and specifically impacted the lives of contemporary Catholic women. Consequently, while all the texts produced by the bishops at the council can be considered of interest to practising Catholics generally, in this study I have chosen to focus on texts that related to issues that have proved to be of particular interest to the participants of this research study: the role of the laity in the church, Mariology and marriage. In order to carry out the research involved in this study I interviewed thirty women in Australia and thirty women in Ireland between the ages of 55 and 19 years of age. The Australian women immigrated to Australia during the years 1970 and 1997. All of the participants had been baptised into the Roman Catholic Church as babies and they all underwent a similar socialisation process growing up in Ireland. 2009-11-19T00:00:00Z Bridget Broadbent http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:184578 This thesis examined the intra-individual relationship between state affect and task performance, with an emphasis on a) the moderating effects of trait affect and task difficulty; and b) the mediating effects of cognitive and affective regulation. Theory and empirical research from the emotion, motivation, and personality literatures was integrated to develop a multilevel model of states, traits, and situational factors as predictors of task performance. Data from five studies were analysed using single- and multi-level techniques to test the hypothesised model of relationships. The findings are reported within three manuscripts, which comprise the body of this thesis. Manuscript 1 presents validation evidence for the psychometric instruments used to measure the self-regulatory components of the model. Three studies (N = 758) were conducted to examine the nomological network of cognitive and affective regulation. In parallel, two new self-report scales were developed to operationalise these constructs within a repeated measures paradigm. The three studies demonstrated that the new cognitive and affective regulation scales were uniquely associated with other self-regulatory, personality, affective and achievement variables at the intra-individual and inter-individual levels. Study 1 provided evidence for the unidimensionality, internal consistency, and construct validity of each scale. Study 2 replicated and extended construct validity evidence using a different sample and performance domain. Study 3 established the utility of each scale for assessing intra-individual variability in cognitive and affective regulation, and their ability to predict performance within individuals. In sum, the three studies suggested that the new measures of cognitive and affective regulation were psychometrically adequate for use in model testing. Manuscripts 2 and 3 tested the intra-individual relationship between state affect and task performance, with a focus on the moderating effects of trait affect and task difficulty (Manuscript 2), and the mediating effects of cognitive and affective regulation (Manuscript 3). Each manuscript analysed different portions of data from two laboratory experiments (N = 182). In each experiment, participants performed multiple trials of an air-traffic control simulation that varied in task difficulty at the inter-individual (Study 4) or intra-individual (Study 5) level. Trait positive and negative affect were measured before the task, whereas state positive and negative affect, cognitive and affective regulation, and task performance were measured at repeated intervals over practice. In Manuscript 2, hierarchical linear modelling demonstrated that state positive affect was positively related, whereas state negative affect was negatively related, to task performance at the intra-individual level of analysis. As hypothesised, the strength of these affect-performance relationships was significantly moderated by trait affect and task difficulty. In both studies, the positive intra-individual relationship between state positive affect and performance was stronger for individuals with high (versus low) trait positive affect, particularly when task difficulty was high (versus low). In contrast, the negative intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and performance only emerged for individuals with low (versus high) trait negative affect, regardless of the level of task difficulty. In Study 4, the intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and task performance was also more pronounced when task difficulty was high (versus low). In Manuscript 3, multilevel multiple-mediation modelling demonstrated that cognitive regulation significantly mediated the intra-individual relationship between state positive affect and performance in both studies, alongside the intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and performance in Study 4. Unexpectedly, affective regulation failed to mediate either of these affect-performance relationships. However, state positive affect was positively related to affective regulation in both studies, whereas state negative affect was positively related to affective regulation in Study 5. Overall, this thesis makes theoretical, empirical and methodological contributions to understanding how affect relates to performance at the intra-individual level of analysis; and for whom, when, and why these relationships emerge. Within a multilevel framework, it integrates interdisciplinary perspectives to identify the affective determinants of performance from two levels of analysis. The results demonstrate that state positive and negative affect can differentially predict intra-individual variability in task performance, and that these effects may a) depend on trait affect and task difficulty; and b) be partially explained by cognitive regulation. These findings emphasise the importance of adopting a multilevel, repeated measures paradigm to examine how affective states, traits, and task demands interactively predict task performance. There is scope for extending this research further by investigating a broader range of moderating and mediating constructs. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z Elisha Frederiks http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:289156 2013-01-16T11:09:04Z Czaplinski, Iwona http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:185167 The ever increasing global demand for materials has placed aluminium as the world’s second most used metal, with world annual production currently >24 million tons. Consequently, the global alumina industry is perpetually striving to meet demands in conjunction with research, development and implementation of more efficient and sustainable processes and practises. Of specific concern for many proponents within the industry is that increased alumina production inadvertently results in increased Bayer Process-derived alkaline solid and liquid waste loads. Furthermore, in-house power generation at all Australian alumina refineries contributes to acid gas emissions, particularly SOx and NOx, both of which have environmental and anthropogenic impacts of global concern. The focus of this work is SO2 emission. SOx emission control measures can be achieved before, during or after combustion; the latter is termed flue gas desulphurisation (FGD). Commercially available FGD systems are dominated by once-through wet processes whereby the flue gas passes up through an absorbtion tower. The most favourable medium for industrial use is seawater, followed by limestone, and in some cases, a combination of both. However, the ever-increasing stringency of environmental emission legislation continues to inflict tighter controls on power production and is forcing industry to investigate alternative cost-effective FGD mediums. Therefore much research is currently dedicated to the utilisation of high volume, alkaline waste streams over manufactured sorbents. Modern environmental engineering approaches to waste product minimisation, neutralisation and/or reuse have lead to many new processes which change the view of many materials from waste product to environmental resource. Subsequently, this work examines the application of an isolated Bayer Process waste product, tricalcium aluminate hexahydrate (TCA6), as a FGD medium. Initial research assessed the dissolution behaviour and performance of the proposed medium with sulphuric acid, followed by batch reactor trials with a simulated flue gas. Data derived from this research indicated the suitability of TCA6 as a FGD medium and was subsequently applied to a preliminary model and proposed design parameters required for further pilot scale investigations. This work provides strong support for an economically viable and more sustainable approach to FGD for the alumina industry. 2009-10-22T00:00:00Z Leon Munro http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:105772 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Millward, Frank. og Balodis, Janis http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:107257 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Oñederra, Italo Andres. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:106832 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Henricksen, Karen http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:106328 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Eadie, Brian A. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:205710 This report describes a docking system to allow autonomous battery charging of a mobile robot, and a Web interface that allows long-term unaided use of a sophisticated mobile robot by untrained Web users around the world. The docking system and Web interface are applied to the biologically inspired RatSLAM system as a foundation for testing both its long-term stability and its practicality for real-world applications. While there are existing battery charging and Web interface systems for mobile robots, the developed solution combines the two, resulting in a self-sufficient robot that can recharge its own batteries and stay accessible from the Web. Existing mobile robots on the Internet require manual charging by a human operator, leading to significant periods when the robot is offline. Furthermore, since the robot may be operational for extended periods without powering down, it may perform learning operations that require significantly longer operation than a single battery-recharge cycle would allow. The implemented Web interface makes use of the RatSLAM navigation system. RatSLAM provides the onboard intelligence for the robot to navigate to the user-supplied goal locations (such as “go to location X”), despite long paths or obstacles in the environment. The majority of the existing robot interfaces on the Internet provide direct control of the robot (such as “drive forward”) and therefore the users suffer greatly from the inherent delays of the Internet due to the time lag between performing an action and seeing the feedback. Instead, the robot in this study uses an onboard intelligent navigation system to generate all low-level commands. Due to the minimal input required to give high-level commands to the robot, the system is robust to the long and highly unpredictable delays of Internet communication. Traditional methods of autonomous battery charging for mobile robots have had limited reliability, often due to the mechanical docking system requiring a highly precise connection. Therefore, the mechanical design of the implemented battery charging system improves reliability by allowing for a significantly larger navigation error. In addition, the robot uses a standard vision sensor for both the long-range and short-range stages of navigation to the battery charger, compared to the many systems that require an omnidirectional camera and a high-resolution Laser range finder for this process. The result of this study is a public web interface at "http://ratslam.itee.uq.edu.au/robot.html" (currently offline), where any Web user in the world can watch and control the live mobile robot that is using RatSLAM for navigation, as it drives in its laboratory environment without human assistance. 2010-06-01T00:00:00Z Shervin Emami http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:196047 This thesis examines the diversity of print news media frames during different stages of a crisis to enhance a model of media crisis communication, based on a framing analysis of the British print news media’s coverage of the Maldives after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster of 2004. The tourism sector is vulnerable to disasters and crises with a series of recent events ranging from natural disasters and epidemics to terrorists attacks, many of which have had devastating impacts on the economy of destinations. In 2004, one such event of significance for the tourism industry was the 9.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the coast of northwest Sumatra, unleashing a tsunami that destroyed coastal areas in the Indian Ocean region including the Maldives. This disaster led to extensive media coverage, and has highlighted the importance of immediate and strategic communications after a crisis such as this tsunami. This research adopts the theory of framing and applies it during a tourism crisis situation. There is a lack of knowledge about the process of framing in crisis communications in the tourism literature, especially as it relates to the implications for planning and managing a tourism destination during and after a crisis situation. Previous literature on the framing by the media of tourism events and issues has focused on travel articles, advertising and promotion messages. This thesis finds that framing theory is also useful to identify how the news media responds during a crisis and how that knowledge could help improve tourism crisis management. This study analyzes the print news media regarding Maldives tourism in the aftermath of the tsunami crisis, and evaluates the diversity of frames used by the British news media in different stages of a crisis to enable the enhancement of a media crisis communications model in a tourism related context. This research is underpinned by constructivism with an interpretive orientation with the strategy of inquiry based on a qualitative case study method, and aims to understand aspects of the social and cultural contexts interrelating media and tourism. The framing analysis uses newspaper articles from the British press between December 26, 2004 and December 31, 2005 inclusive. The research uses content analysis of the news stories within a framing analysis paradigm, identifying both the diversity of frames used at different times after a disaster or crisis and the media phases that correspond to the last four stages of Faulkner’s (2001) tourism disaster management framework. The framing analysis reveals how the frames change during the different stages of the crisis and contributes to theory development in the areas of media effects, news discourse and crisis management as well as offering practical advice on tourism destination marketing during a crisis situation. The findings from this research contribute to the theory of framing by finding that during the coverage of crises where events are changing rapidly the media frames also change and different frames become predominant during the stages of a crisis. The findings also contribute to the literature on news discourse by providing evidence on the evolution of news discourse concerning a crisis situation over an extended period. By examining the news media crisis communication language as used at various stages of a crisis, the findings reveal that the media’s response and the frames they use differ over time as a crisis evolves, and that this enables the identification of different media roles during a crisis and crisis communication action stages. The result is a model that contributes to theoretical knowledge in media effects research, news discourse and crisis communications. 2010-02-20T00:00:00Z Aminath Ahmed Shihab http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:155152 2008-09-19T00:00:00Z Lacherez, Philippe F. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:271482 Afterlife beliefs and metaphors: Exploring environmental impacts and expanding ecoreligious discourse Abstract The field of Religion and Ecology has developed gradually over the past four decades in response to increasing awareness of the serious implications of environmental decline. This thesis explores the relationship between ‘engaged scholarship’ and the emerging Western-inspired and consensus-driven ‘environmental episteme’ that is used as the standard against which to evaluate elements within religious traditions in terms of their assumed environmental impact. Within a postmodern framework, I explore a methodology of ‘discourse expansion’ derived from the work of Johan Galtung and Richard C. Vincent to investigate one of the most contentious aspects of ecoreligious discourse – that of afterlife beliefs and metaphors. I do this by examining all references to afterlife beliefs and metaphors found in the nine volumes of the Harvard Religions of the World and Ecology Series that relate to the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Indigenous Traditions. The attitude of contributors towards the afterlife is subjectively determined, using the loose and overlapping categories of afterlife neutral, critic, reformist, apologist, and rebel. Using the data resulting from this exercise, I compare the role and extent of afterlife references across the nine volumes and develop seven categories of afterlife forms (disintegrating naturally, joining parallel spirit worlds, replacing the body, retaining the body, reviving the body, transferring to otherworlds, and dissolving into bliss). I then examine each of these afterlife forms in terms of their ability to meet the ‘Earth-based’ and ‘everykind-inclusive’ standards of the episteme. I argue that it is more advantageous for ecoreligious discourse to be inclusive of afterlife beliefs and metaphors than it is to attempt to exclude them, and that the exploration of the creative possibilities in the reinterpretation of afterlife beliefs and metaphors has barely begun. The field of Religion and Ecology will best contribute to environmental sustainability by expanding the breadth and depth of its discourse and including the concerns and motivations of religious peoples throughout the world. 2012-03-23T00:00:00Z Christine Malcolm http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:260425 Major industrial accidents continue to occur in process industries in spite of advances in risk management and abnormal condition management made over the last 40 years. A change in hazard identification (HAZID) theory and practice is required to better support process diagnosis and improve abnormal condition management, thus leading to a reduction in the number and severity of accidents. To improve HAZID for better supporting diagnosis the scope of HAZID analysis should be widened and knowledge generation and reuse associated with HAZID should be improved. To address these two major issues, a conceptual framework for systematically describing process system operation has been developed to guide the formation of a novel hazard identification methodology able to delivers outcomes with a high coverage of hazards and rich causal knowledge that can be used for supporting diagnosis. The conceptual framework was called the Functional Systems Framework. It allows qualitative knowledge associated with structure-function-goal relationships in process systems to be expressed in a clear and consistent manner. This knowledge describes how components, streams and connections form the structure of the system and how their capabilities describe system function. The capabilities explicitly describe how the actions of components and streams affect system properties to meet the goals of the system. The capability concept is crucial for describing the structure-function-goal relationships of process systems. The Functional Systems Framework was used to guide the formation of a novel HAZID method called the Blended Hazard Identification (BLHAZID) methodology. The primary purpose of the BLHAZID methodology is to generate knowledge to be used for supporting fault diagnosis. Therefore the outcomes of the method must contain a high coverage of hazards, richly describe failure causality and be able to be captured using computer-aided tools. This facilitates effective reuse of knowledge. The BLHAZID methodology takes advantage of the blending of two fundamental approaches to hazard identification: function-driven, such as Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP), and component-driven, such as Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). The BLHAZID methodology utilises the strengths of both approaches and minimizes their weaknesses by blending them together, forming a single approach with increased utility. Explicitly examining both functional and structural failures delivers outcomes with high coverage. The BLHAZID approach can be used to describe failure causality between process system equipment and streams in great detail and hence generate rich causal knowledge. The knowledge associated with the BLHAZID is captured and expressed in a structured language using computer based tools. This knowledge can then be reused for many applications, the most pertinent being diagnosis. Industrial case studies of increasing complexity show how the BLHAZID methodology is applied in practice. A BTX storage system and coke ovens gas bleeder, located at BlueScope Steel Ltd., are analysed to show the basic characteristics of the methodology. The BTX storage and transfer system is a combination of a batch and a continuous system, transferring BTX material periodically to a tanker. The bleeder is a safety relief system that flares coke ovens gas under high pressure conditions and therefore has two major operational modes: under normal pressure conditions and high pressure conditions when flaring occurs. A benzene saturation unit, at BP Refinery (Bulwer Island), is studied to show how the BLHAZID methodology can be applied to more intricate process systems. The benzene saturation unit contains a benzene hydrogenation reactor circuit combined with a control system and a large recycle of material and energy. These industrial case studies showed that the BLHAZID methodology generated outcomes that contained increased coverage and richer causality compared with other HAZID methods, with the extensibility and expressive power of the structured language allowing the effective capture of the BLHAZID outcomes. While the final quality of the outcomes is affected by the strengths of the analysis team, the BLHAZID methodology is indeed more effective at supporting fault diagnosis than other HAZID techniques because of the formal approach of relating capabilities to function and failure, the systematic nature of the workflow, the logical linking between subsystems that allows causality to be traced throughout a process system and the power of the structured language that supports effective reuse of BLHAZID knowledge. This work is a contribution towards a change in the field of HAZID, where detailed theory associated with hazard identification and failure propagation in process systems meets with an increased use of knowledge management tools and practices. 2011-11-02T00:00:00Z Benjamin Seligmann http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:266216 2012-01-27T00:00:00Z Briggs, Cameron A. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:106273 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Wei Wei Lo, Miriam http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:180103 Abstract Background: Aged horses make up an important portion of the equine industry in Australia but have not been the subjects of detailed research. Issues relating to aged horse health, management and welfare are still largely unknown. Horses live up to 40 years, but many are retired before reaching twenty years of age thus making a large discrepancy between productive verses unproductive life. Based principally on reviews of veterinary hospital records, there has been a reported increased occurrence and severity of a range of diseases in aged horses. The increased prevalence of disease, potential for reduced perceived value and lack of regular riding may contribute to reduction in the type and quality of management practices utilised in this population resulting in compromised welfare of aged horses. Aims: By way of an owner-based survey, the first aim was to examine the demographics of aged horses, their management, the prevalence of clinical signs of disease and owner reported health or welfare issues. Using a detailed veterinary clinical examination and appropriate laboratory tests, the second aim was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of more common health disorders, prevention or management of these disorders and how diseases or other factors affect survival. Further, this study aimed to determine owners’ opinions relating to euthanasia of aged horses and to correlate these opinions with the personalities of the owners themselves. Methods: Owners of horses aged 15 years and older were contacted via equestrian organisations in Queensland, Australia and asked to complete a questionnaire on key information about the horse (e.g. age, breed, sex, and colour), use, management strategies, use of equine health care providers, clinical signs that the horse may be demonstrating, known diseases that the horse may have experienced or be experiencing, and identify any health or welfare issues they believed were important for horses aged 15 years or greater. From this population, a subsample was selected with these horses subjected to a thorough clinical examination, dental and ocular examination and blood tests for routine haematology, serum biochemistry, ACTH, α-MSH and insulin concentrations. Owners of the subsample of horses were asked to complete a questionnaire on their opinions of euthanasia of aged horses as well as complete a self assessment personality test. One to four years after the original survey, owners were contacted to gather additional information about the horses’ survival/death and if death had occurred the events and causes related to it. Analysis: Data was managed in Microsoft Access and Excel. Descriptive, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using SPSS, Minitab and Stata. Univariable and multivariable regression modelling and survival analysis were performed where appropriate. Results: Horses aged 15 years or greater in Queensland represented ⅓rd of the total horses owned in the population. The median age of the horses was 20.7 years (IQ range 17-23, min 15, max 44). Owners were able to identify many clinical signs exhibited by their horses, with 83% of horses having at least one reported clinical sign of disease. But, many signs had apparently been overlooked, with only 35.2% of horses reported by the owners to have a known disease or disorder. Further, there was a large disparity between the prevalence of disease by owner reports compared to veterinary examination. For example, owner reported dental disease was 0.5% while moderate to severe dental disease occurred in 46% horses examined. Univariable and multivariable analysis identified many associations between disease and horse factors, management factors and clinical signs, with many diseases significantly related to increasing age. There was considerable variation in the level of owner reported professional and other health care strategies. In the preceding 12 months, 90% had received hoof care, 67% had received dental care, and 50% were vaccinated, while only 39% had received veterinary care. Despite this owners expressed concern about the health and welfare of their horses. The majority of owners, 91.6% (491/536), responded with at least one reply to a question about which they thought were the most important health issues in aged horses. Owners were most concerned about weight loss (maintaining the horse’s condition), arthritis/lameness and teeth and dental care. The major influences on the decision to euthanase involved animal welfare and quality of life and owners were cognizant and concerned about these factors relative to their horses. Of the 766 horses that were followed for survival, 13.2% had died. The median survival time was 777days. Age, breed of horse, region of residence, diagnosis of equine Cushing’s syndrome, being owned by Riding for the Disabled and reported history of difficulty eating were all significantly associated with decreased survival. Conclusions: This is the first major population study of aged horses in Australia. The aged horse population is a large sub population of the Australian horse population. This study has highlighted many aged related diseases and their specific risk factors. Owners demonstrated concern for the health and welfare of aged horses, but a lack of appropriate identification of many diseases by owners and limited veterinary care suggest a need for increased client communication and veterinarian-client interaction. 2009-08-31T00:00:00Z Thomas Mcgowan http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:234388 The ability of older people to successfully participate in life situations can be either facilitated or hindered by the physical, social, cultural and institutional environment. The enablement of older people via environmental intervention at a societal level is a core concern of occupational therapy, and exemplifies macro practice. This example of macro practice is captured by the concept of age-friendliness, used by the World Health Organization. The aim of this thesis is to develop, and evaluate the effectiveness of, age-friendly guidelines using the case study of public buses. The thesis includes two literature reviews and eight original research studies. A review of the literature (chapter 2) regarding older people and bus use identified that older people experience significant transport disadvantage that restricts bus use, useability and participation. Using the Person-Environment-Occupation Model as a conceptual framework, a wide variety of barriers and facilitators to bus use were identified from previous literature. Physical, social, institutional and cultural factors were implicated. In the first stage of the thesis, a series of studies were conducted to develop age-friendly guidelines for public buses (chapters 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8). Multiple methods, both qualitative and quantitative, were used to establish the need for age-friendly guidelines, prioritise the barriers and facilitators to be addressed in age-friendly guidelines, clarify criteria for achieving age-friendliness and review potential interventions to achieve the priorities. The nominal group technique and participant observations with stimulated recall interviews were used to provide complementary data regarding actual and perceived bus useability. The nominal group technique was used to establish that older adults aged 60 and over have specific priorities that differ from those of younger adults (chapter 3). Subsequently, both the nominal group technique (n=227 older adults) and participant observation with stimulated recall interview (n=40 older adults) were used to identify barriers and facilitators to bus use for older people and quantify their relative impact on the useability of the bus system (chapter 4). The seven highest priorities for an age-friendly bus system were concerned with, in order, (1) vehicular accessibility, (2) bus driver friendliness and helpfulness, (3) scheduling, (4) bus stop locations, (5) pedestrian infrastructure, (6) information and training, and (7) routes and destinations. Older people’s priorities for an age-friendly bus system formed the basis for an appraisal of the literature (chapter 5). Multiple interventions that could achieve outcomes in these priority areas have been suggested in the literature, with varying degrees of evidence. The literature review showed that evidence was particularly focussed around interventions to achieve better vehicular and pedestrian accessibility, with limited attention paid to the other priorities. There was a lack of evidence regarding the specific behaviours associated with bus driver friendliness and helpfulness, and specific requirements relating to information, scheduling, routes and bus stop locations. A qualitative analysis of the stimulated recall interviews (n=40 older people) illuminated the behaviours required of age-friendly bus drivers and the characteristics associated with age-friendly information (chapters 6 and 7). It revealed that older people relied on a wide variety of information sources, including printed timetables, bus stop timetables, word-of-mouth, bus drivers, telephone and the internet. The level of information complexity required varied between participants. Age-friendly bus drivers exhibited a range of general and specific behaviours that were considered to be helpful. Age-friendly behaviours included allowing older people to feel safe, being courteous, friendly and helpful, being aware of disabilities that they could not see, giving older people sufficient time, pulling in close to the curb and being an effective communicator of information. A survey of older people (n=100) provided criteria for age-friendly scheduling, routes and bus stop locations (chapter 8). The majority of older people preferred 30 minutes bus headways, a distance to the bus stop of 200m or less and routes that provided cross-suburban travel, access to leisure destinations, shops, the Central Business District (CBD), medical services and other nearby towns. In the second stage of the thesis, age-friendly guidelines were implemented and evaluated in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia (chapters 9, 10 and 11). Focussed studies around flexible route transport and age-awareness training for bus drivers were conducted to enhance the evidence underlying these interventions. A pilot study evaluated age-awareness training for bus drivers (chapter 9). The training session resulted in subjective improvements in observed bus driver friendliness and helpfulness, with some improvements in the frequency of objective observed behaviours. Underlying attitudes and knowledge did not change. The replacement of a fixed route bus service with a flexible route bus service was evaluated using a pre-post test design (chapter 10). Ticket sale data were collected over a seven month period. On-board satisfaction surveys were conducted before and after the intervention. The introduction of the flexible route service was associated with an almost two-fold increase in patronage, alongside significant improvements in satisfaction with the bus system. Flexible route transport was identified as a valuable model of service delivery that meets a number of the priorities for an age-friendly bus system. To culminate the second stage of the thesis, an overall evaluation of the implementation of age-friendly guidelines in Hervey Bay was conducted (chapter 11). North Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where age-friendly guidelines were not explicitly implemented, acted as a comparison site. A pre-post test design was adopted using two methodologies. A repeated measures cohort study (n=100 older people) and an on-board satisfaction survey (n=335 older people) were conducted. Participants in Hervey Bay identified an improvement in the bus system, yet experienced no change in bus frequency of use, useability or social participation over the 3 year intervention period. In comparison, participants in Brisbane experienced a decrease in satisfaction with the bus system, decreased ease of bus use and decreased social participation over the intervention period. Results from this study suggest that the implementation of age-friendly guidelines enhances older peoples’ ability to maintain bus use and social activity despite ageing. Reflections on this case study show that the development of age-friendly guidelines benefits from a systematic approach, requiring multiple methods, both quantitative and qualitative, as well as subjective and objective. Improving age-friendliness is one example of macro practice for occupational therapists. Undertaking macro-, rather than micro- or meso-, occupational therapy practice requires further considerations concerning occupational therapy theory and practice skills. The learnings from this case study provide further guidance for how occupational therapists can continue to expand their role in macro practice. 2011-03-10T00:00:00Z Kieran Broome http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:260123 2011-11-01T00:00:00Z Kent, Damon http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158709 The present study was developed within the information theory, working memory, and cognitive ageing paradigms. The overall aim of the present study was to investigate the age related differences in the patterns of processing uncertainty within the theoretical construct of working memory, particularly the central executive, the episodic buffer, and the visuospatial sketchpad. The uncertainty associated with responding to stimuli is a complex construct that has received little attention in either the ageing literature or the working memory literature. The present study developed choice reaction time tasks based on the findings of Hick (1952) and Hyman (1953), in which the participant’s choice reaction time to a stimulus was shown to depend on three main variables. These three variables were found to vary the uncertainty associated with responding to a stimulus. The first variable was the stimulus set size. The number of stimuli was operationalised by the number of locations, four or eight, from which stimuli could appear. The second variable was condition probability. The currently appearing stimulus could appear from any one of four or eight locations. The current stimulus appeared with a probability equal to the other stimuli appearing in the condition, or appeared with a probability that could be different to the probabilities of other stimuli appearing in the condition. Thus, the current stimulus could appear within an equiprobable or a nonequiprobable condition. The third variable was the probability of appearance of the current stimulus. In the present study the current stimulus probability was manipulated to be either 0.250 or 0.125. These variables were manipulated in order to investigate the effect of responding to uncertainty across the healthy adult lifespan. In general, increasing age increased choice reaction time in response to the current stimulus under all experimental conditions, and increasing choice number significantly increased choice reaction time for all age groups. The literature review in chapter 1 highlighted the difficulties in assessing age related response differences in tasks that measure executive processes. In this chapter it is suggested that the methodology used in choice reaction tasks, developed within the information processing and “uncertainty” paradigm, may provide an insight into how and what changes occur to executive processing over the healthy adult lifespan. The results in the present study were interpreted within the theoretical structure of Baddeley’s (2000b) model of working memory. This gave an explanatory framework to the age related patterns of choice reaction time responses. The experiment in chapter 2 examined the second variable, condition probability. The differences in choice reaction time responses between an 8 choice equiprobable condition and an 8 choice nonequiprobable condition, and between a young and an old age group, were explored. There was a significantly faster choice reaction time in response to the 8 choice nonequiprobable condition for both age groups. However, there was a disproportionately faster choice reaction time response to the 8 choice nonequiprobable condition by the older age group. The results suggested that the uncertainty associated with responding to stimuli was not only dependent on the equiprobable or a nonequiprobable condition in which the current stimulus appears, but also vulnerable to the effects of age. The results suggested that an episodic buffer (Baddeley, 2000b) supplies a central executive with precise information concerning condition probability. The choice reaction time responses indicated that a calculated amount of information using the probabilities of appearance of the stimuli does not explain the total uncertainty associated with the stimulus. The experiments reported in chapter 3 used single response tasks and chapter 4 used dual response tasks. These experiments examined condition probability again, along with the first variable, effect of choice set size, and the third variable, the current stimulus probability. Healthy adult participants aged from late teens to eighties were included. The choice reaction time responses in nonequiprobable conditions, compared to equiprobable conditions, were faster in response to both stimuli probabilities. Responses to the stimulus probability of 0.125 in the nonequiprobable conditions in both single and dual tasks were always significantly faster compared to the stimulus probability of 0.250 for all age groups. The older age groups’ choice reaction times were disproportionately slower in response to the stimuli of probability 0.250, compared to 0.125. This suggested that the central executive retains priority in responding to stimuli with a low probability, 0.125, in older age groups. The disproportionate response by the older age groups to stimulus probability, compared to the younger age groups, also suggested that the episodic buffer may not be as affected by increasing age as other working memory components. This also suggested the information held in the episodic buffer affects the speed of processing. The choice reaction time response patterns to both stimulus probability and condition probability were the same in the dual task conditions, compared to the single task conditions, for all age groups. The experiment in chapter 5 addressed the issue that the choice reaction time results were based on a small number of stimulus presentations per trial, and the response patterns may not be able to be maintained over a longer trial period. Thus, the temporal stability of the response to uncertainty was examined. Results were consistent with the proposal that there is temporal stability in processing uncertainty by all age groups in an extended task, and that the results did not arise because the choice reaction time patterns were a results of shorter trials requiring less sustained effort. Chapter 6 summarised the results found in the present study and interprets those results in terms of Baddeley’s (2000b) theoretical model of working memory, age related response decrements, and uncertainty. The main conclusions were that first, the fastest choice reaction time, for all age groups, is in proportion to the greater uncertainty associated with the stimulus, and in proportion to the greater uncertainty of the context in which the stimulus appears. Second, the gradual age related slowing of choice reaction time responses to the current stimulus indicated a gradual increase in the speed of decision processing within the central executive. Third, the results indicated the information temporarily held in the episodic buffer affects the speed of processing. Fourth, the results indicated that the episodic buffer ages less than the central executive. The uncertainty associated with responding to stimuli with differing probabilities of appearance was found to be an excellent instrument in examining aged changes in working memory. 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Stephens, Stephanie http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:261534 Abstract: Milk protein concentrate (MPC) is a dairy powder with high protein content, up to 85%. MPC powders are used as a food ingredient in a variety of applications for their high nutritional value and favorable taste. Generally MPC powders are associated with a gradual loss of solubility upon storage. It is believed that protein conformational modifications and water-protein interactions are two major factors that induce instability of protein and eventually affect solubility. To test these hypotheses MPC powder was stored at different water activities (aw 0.0 – 0.85) and temperatures (25 °C and 45 °C) for up to 12 weeks. Samples were examined periodically to determine (i) solubility, (ii) change in protein conformation by FTIR (coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squared (PLS) analysis) and (iii) water status (interaction of water with protein molecules/surface) by measuring the transverse relaxation time (T2) with 1H-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). Solubility of MPC decreased significantly with ageing time and this process was enhanced by increasing aw and storage temperature. Minor changes in protein secondary structure were observed with FTIR which seem unlikely to be sufficient to explain the change in solubility. PCA analysis confirmed this result. PLS analysis revealed some correlation between solubility and FTIR spectral features. This result suggests that unfolding of protein could be the initiation step of protein denaturation. NMR-T2 data suggested the presence of three distinct populations of water molecules (differing in their interaction with and distance from protein surfaces) and the proton signal intensity varied with the moisture content of sample. Generally MPC with added mineral salts retained solubility upon ageing more than control powder without additive. Mineral-induced change in MPC could be related to protein conformational modifications and interactions with water; this needs to be explored further for a better understanding of the mechanisms of solubility loss of MPC. For this purpose MPC powder was enriched with NaCl, KCl and sodium citrate in 1% and 10% (w/w salts per 100 g of protein) concentrations. After 60 days of storage at 25°C and at aw 0.23, the mineral-enriched powders were tested by FT-IR, followed by multivariate analysis, and NMR relaxometry. The FT-IR study showed no specific pattern (with respect to salt used) of protein unfolding upon storage. Also no significant change was observed in water-protein interaction patterns between control and salt-treated MPC. Higher solubility of mineral-enriched MPC compared to control was most probably due to changes to the physical structure of casein micelles and the balance between the hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic repulsions induced by interaction with mineral salt. Structural/enthalpy relaxation of protein molecules during storage may also have some effect on solubility of amorphous high-protein powders Characteristics of enthalpy relaxation under different storage conditions and its effect on solubility were investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). A distinct pattern of enthalpy recovery of MPC powder was revealed by DSC, depending on aw, storage temperature and ageing time. The enthalpy value was much less for samples with lower moisture content (mc) (aw ≤ 0.23, mc. ≤ 5.5%) than for those with higher mc (aw ≥ 0.45, mc ≥ 8 %) for a particular storage period. This result suggests that the presence of more water molecules in close proximity to the protein surface facilitates kinetic unfreezing and subsequent motion of molecular segments of protein molecules towards thermodynamic equilibrium. The solubility of powder remained nearly unchanged upon enthalpy recovery. A similar time scale of enthalpy relaxation and solubility loss suggested that enthalpy relaxation within stored samples allows structural rearrangements that are responsible for subsequent solubility decreases. Changes in the structure and dynamics of protein segments could occur upon storage and, as a result of interaction with water and could have some link with solubility loss. Change in molecular mobility (or rigidity) in aged and fresh MPC was investigated by solid state 13C-NMR using cross polarization and direct polarization techniques. This study showed a minor change in mobility of molecular segments (backbone as well as side chain) upon storage of MPC at high aw for 14 weeks. This suggests that the rigidity of protein segments of non-aged MPC is slightly higher than that of aged MPC due to plasticization by water during storage at high aw, which could facilitate protein-protein interactions. Recent research suggests that solubility loss of MPC is related to changes in the surface of the powder particles due to interactions between casein micelles. Probing the changes occurring at different parts of powder particles spectroscopically may help to elucidate their molecular mechanisms. Differential changes in powder particles and similar changes in insoluble and soluble fraction of aged powder were examined by Raman and FT-IR techniques. No significant change in different parts of powder particles was observed by Raman microscopic analysis. The FT-IR study of isolated and freeze-dried insoluble and soluble fractions of MPC powder showed slightly higher unfolding of protein molecules of the aged, insoluble fraction of MPC powder compared to that of non-aged insoluble and non-aged soluble fractions. Combining all these study results, especially the findings of protein conformational changes (performed on aged, non-aged as well as soluble and insoluble fractions) and the similar time scale of enthalpy relaxation and solubility loss (from the thermal study), it could be suggested that there is a link between the limited protein unfolding/refolding and loss of solubility. Protein unfolding could be the initiation step of protein-protein interactions and subsequent changes in the microstructure of casein micelles at the surface of the powder particles that cause a decrease in solubility of MPC upon ageing. 2011-11-16T00:00:00Z Md. Haque http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158394 My research project is the case study of a Master of Education course called Debates in Education and Leadership as told through the accounts of six international postgraduate students. Most were undertaking study in Australia for the first time. The study is a detailed investigation of the students’ representations of and participation in course practices. It is a discourse analysis with a focus on social practice, power relations and knowledge. The study describes academic activities within the course and the lecturer’s and students’ ways of interacting and acting, of representing knowledge and the social world, and of being. The analysis draws out the students’ ‘readings’ of preferred ways of doing academic work and identifies the programs of strategic action that they undertook as a result. The genesis of this study lies in my experiences with students in academic English programs. My aim in the study is to build a comprehensive understanding of student practice with a view to challenging the reductive images in the research literature and circulating in popular discourse. Utilising ethnographic perspectives, an extensive corpus of the students’ representations of the course was collected, with triangulation provided by the lecturer and a body of written materials. The data includes interviews, videoed classroom sessions, a written archive of course documents including the course outline, teaching evaluation forms, student assignments and lecturer feedback, email communication between the lecturer and students, and field notes. The students’ representations of the course emphasise English and particular academic activities such as writing assignments and voicing ideas in class which require new skills, new identities, new ways of viewing the world, and new interaction patterns. The other prevalent themes are the teaching and issues related to the self. Contrary to previous work which has tended to represent students as fixed entities challenged by cultural and academic change, the students in this study are found to be engaged in a project of change and the uptake of practices that is characterised by a gradual coming to ‘do’ and ‘be’. The analysis finds that the lecturer’s teaching approach is significant in facilitating both of these efforts. English is a salient factor and the students respond strategically to the discourse that draws together English and academic practice in a formidable regime of expectations and requirements. The analysis details the students’ recognition of and response to this discourse and its associated practices. Above all, the students’ undertakings and engagement in the course are found to be part of a larger project of personal transformation as they harvest opportunities made available in the prevailing context of internationalised higher education. The implications for the provision of international education by Australian universities are discussed. 2008-11-21T00:00:00Z Kettle, Margaret Anne http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:230235 2011-02-25T11:12:05Z Pomlaktong, Narong. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:106452 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Hansell, Narelle Kaye http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:106235 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Humphry, Matthew Edward http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:267427 2012-02-10T00:00:00Z Ford, Jeffrey Harold. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158954 2008-11-03T00:00:00Z Low Choy, Nancy http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:106799 2007-08-24T00:00:00Z Indulska, Marta Krystyna http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:162229 Abstract In 1900 there were fewer than a dozen Spaniards in Queensland, most of whom were transient labourers from Victoria. By 1975 there were several thousand Spaniards, of which the majority had travelled directly to Queensland to settle permanently. The thesis uses a chronological structure to trace the development of Spanish political and cultural identities in Queensland over the seventy-five year period. Early settlers were strongly influenced by radical anarchism, and were engaged in ideological debates and Queensland industrial disputes that referenced patterns of behaviour throughout the Hispanic world. Later settlers were predominantly Basques, and used political associations and cultural events to project their identity and to engage with Queensland society. Queensland’s Spanish communities were never defined simply in terms of ethnicity, nationality or political persuasion. Their cultural and political identity was the product of dynamic interactions between social narratives and transnational and local spaces. Spanish identities were the result of an ongoing and complex dialogue between experiences in Spain and Queensland, which channelled migrants’ memories and expectations. Spaniards were deeply involved in Queensland politics for the entire period of their settlement. Their engagement involved the application and modification of Spanish models of political and cultural action to the Queensland environment. Memories and behaviours were re-articulated through a dialogue that referenced events in Queensland and Spain, and debated their future implications to the local communities. The thesis does not try to separate migrants’ political and cultural identity. Cultural norms enacted in Queensland provided models to achieve both political and social goals in Australia and Spain. Later migrants used ethnic networks to assert their cultural difference, in processes that often had clear political implications. Queenslanders were tolerant of what were seen as folk cultures, and were rarely attuned to the political discussions that underpinned regional ethnicities. Yet, within the Spanish communities, tensions regarding the valid parameters for regional cultural expression were often foils for broader political debates. Queensland Spaniards’ self-perception, and their negotiation of multiple identities, continued to reference the spaces and imagery of Spain. Yet, these identities were subjective, and the move to Queensland altered their purpose and modes of expression. Queensland Spaniards sought to recreate comparable social networks to those that had sustained their identities prior to emigration, frequently contacting comparable Australian groups that shared similar means of expression. Spaniards did not set old identities aside, but new issues in Spain and Queensland forced a process of clarification and the compartmentalisation of roles. Sharp divisions in Spanish communities’ social memories were accentuated by the regional nature of Queensland settlement, focussing cultural debates on regional norms. The regional nature of Queensland’s Spanish settlement altered the expression of cultural and political identities, but also left them relatively uncontested until the influx of Castilian migrants in the late 1950s. Most Spanish migrants to Australia preferred the southern states of Victoria and New South Wales, where greater stability fostered larger and more cohesively ‘Spanish’ communities. Queensland’s long distances and radical political atmosphere instead facilitated the replication of Spain’s regional characteristics. Industrial tensions aided radicals who were able to find comparable political identities, whilst family networks that referred to spaces in Spain developed sophisticated strategies to accelerate chain migration. The thesis corrects a serious lack of research into Spanish migrants in Australia. The group’s small size has led researchers to favour larger communities, despite the important information offered by the Spanish example. The thesis provides a historical narrative of Spaniards’ experiences in Queensland, but also applies academic debates regarding social memories, and investigates their relationship to cultural and political identities. This includes not only the maintenance of social memories, but also their replication and modification over several generations. The analysis uses awareness of political change in both Queensland and Spain, to investigate migrants’ long-term response to political trauma and changed social circumstance. 2009-01-29T00:00:00Z Robert Mason http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:275125 Abstract Interventions to promote agricultural technology have long played a significant role in programs for rural development and natural resource management in the Philippines. However, the adoption and adaptation of these introduced technologies are complex social processes involving farmer participation, decision-making, and competing values. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of agricultural technology intervention processes, approaches, and strategies in order to make a more realistic and contextualised assessment of the impacts of these interventions on the lives of rural people and communities. To address this aim, a case study was conducted of five major technology interventions in the upland municipality of Malitbog in northern Mindanao, Philippines. An actor-oriented approach was used to understand and analyse the processes of social change in development interventions. This approach recognises the central role of social actors as active participants in development interventions and their different perspectives, goals, interests, and relationships, in which the outcome depends on the shaping and reshaping of social actors’ perspectives and the dynamic interactions between internal and external factors in the process of social change. Thus, from an actor-oriented perspective, the concept of development interventions moves away from a mainstream structural approach to a more agent- and actor-focused analysis that views intervention as a complex chain of events in a particular location, within the broader framework of multiple actors’ activities. A case study design was used to address the following three key objectives: (1) to document and analyse agricultural technology intervention processes, approaches, and strategies employed by different social actors in Malitbog; (2) to explore the decision-making processes and the individual and collective responses to the different technology interventions; (3) to assess the economic, social, and environmental impacts of these technology interventions at the individual and community levels. The data were derived from a variety of quantitative and qualitative sources: documents, key informants using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, farmer interviews, and direct observation. The five major technology interventions considered were: multi-cropping, forage crops, improvements in ruminant production, landcare conservation farming and agroforestry, and sustainable (organic) agriculture. These were implemented by national and local government agencies, non-government organisations, international donor organisations, and various religious groups. The participatory approach was central in the implementation process. Consultations were conducted with stakeholders, and both farmers and project implementers participated in the identification of problems, on-farm research, cross-farm visits, and farmer field schools. The farmer-to-farmer dissemination process was perceived as the most helpful as farmers learned from their fellow farmers. Participation in agricultural project activities was influenced by people or organisations with authority (like the church) and where trust was established (e.g., with extension agents and farmer leaders). These five interventions made significant impacts on farmers’ lives. For the most part, farmers continued to adopt the technology in question because they experienced the economic, social, and environmental benefits of using the technology. Farmers valued tangible impacts like increased farm production; increased income; the ability to send their children to school; improved living conditions; an ability to protect the environment by minimising soil erosion and increasing soil fertility; and an ability to live a healthy life as many of them practised organic farming. The project implementers valued farmers’ receptivity towards the intervention, the perceived improvement in farmers’ living conditions, and the perceived improvement in the farming practices in Malitbog where soil erosion had been minimised. The sustainability of using these technologies continues to be a challenge. While project implementers felt that the local government unit of Malitbog had a major role in sustaining these development programs and projects, and other factors like land tenure, market opportunities, the role of formal and informal institutions as catalysts, and the role of extension agents are acknowledged as equally important, I argue that sustainability ultimately rests on the farmers themselves as they are the users of the technology and their beliefs, values, and social relations shape their participation, adoption, farming practices, and outcomes. The research provides a better understanding of how these actors perceived, responded to, and internalised development interventions which became part of their everyday experience of changing livelihoods. 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z Maria Dinah R. Loculan http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:263388 Navigation is a foundational skill for animals. From insects to birds to mammals, many animals have developed various strategies to search for that which they require, remember its location, then safely return home. Discovering some of the techniques these animals use has yielded unique solutions for the navigational problems of artificial autonomous systems. Yet many questions remain unanswered regarding the navigational abilities that so many animals appear to possess. One such ability is path encoding and recall - learning a set of places in an environment and the connectivity between those places, then using the resulting graph or map for myriad goals. Empirical data collected over the past century indicates that some animals, and specifically rodents, are capable of behaviours difficult to reconcile with non-path-based explanations. In more recent decades, since the discovery of spatially sensitive 'place cells' in the rat brain, it has become clear that the hippocampus plays a significant role in map-based navigation. Simultaneously developing in the field of mobile autonomous systems have been algorithmic techniques to solve a similar map-based navigation problem, termed Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM), which highlight the information-theoretical principles involved. The goal of this thesis has been to explore, using spiking neural modelling techniques, how the electrophysiological and anatomical properties of the rodent hippocampus can satisfy the theoretical requirements of an online path learning and recall system. Recognition of novelty is a key element of any memory system. In particular, it is a core component both in learning and recognising locations and in linking locations into paths. Existing studies have demonstrated learning mechanisms capable of developing appropriate unique memories, and corresponding recall mechanisms capable of ignoring random variance in the input. These features are necessary for navigational memory from a theoretical perspective, and also provide a good fit for some electrophysiological data. However these studies have not addressed the issue of when each process, learning and recall, should occur. The first part of this thesis extends existing models of the hippocampal network, incorporating the timing of individual spikes, and using this extra dimension to provide an internal novelty signal. It demonstrates how a network that matches known hippocampal anatomy can instigate a race between a teaching signal and recall signal, with the teaching signal winning the race only in the case of a novel input. Using this novelty signal, what constitutes a novel input can itself be modified dynamically, without destabilising the system. In a navigational context, individual memories can be likened to place, and sequences of such memories to paths. The predominant interpretation of the spatial selectivity of place cells is that these cells are 'coding for' the location of the animal at the time of their firing. Beyond this pure spatial selectivity, evidence demonstrates that during traversal of a cell's place field, its firing precesses with respect to the local theta oscillation - an effect termed 'theta phase precession' - and this precession is correlated with relative progression through the place field. One common interpretation of this precession effect is that it provides a greater degree of locational specificity. The remainder of this thesis explores an alternative hypothesis that place fields and theta phase precession are evidence of a path encoding and recall mechanism. A mechanism based on the known anatomy of CA3 is proposed that is consistent with many dynamical properties of the region and can explain known variations in spatial selectivity across the CA3 network. The proposed mechanism suggests that CA3 performing path encoding and recall over complete foraging ranges could be the functional justification for anatomical and dynamical variation across the region. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the implications of this theory on the interpretation of place cell data, and an outline of experimental designs for its validation. 2011-12-13T00:00:00Z Christopher Nolan