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Startup decision-making: integrating trial-and-error with the entrepreneur-as-scientist approach
No full textPurpose In recent years, trial-and-error and entrepreneur-as-scientist approaches have gained significant traction in business model development. However, selecting the most suitable one can be challenging. This paper analyses the impact of these approaches on the performance of newly established companies to help entrepreneurs select and tailor the most suitable approach to achieve business success. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 20,631 student-owned businesses from the Global University Entrepreneurship Spirits Students' Survey (GUESSS). Hierarchical regression was performed using SPSS, and AMOS was used to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the measurement models. To ensure the model's robustness and reliability, a series of pre-tests were conducted before hypothesis testing. Findings The entrepreneur-as-scientist approach significantly enhances the relationship between solution and value proposition with business outcomes, whereas the trial-and-error approach shows limited moderation. Additionally, while solution proposal and value proposition design directly positively impact business performance, problem identification does not. Originality/value By examining the impact of trial-and-error and entrepreneur-as-scientist approaches on the success of companies founded by young university entrepreneurs, this paper adopts the organizational ambidexterity and the Popperian epistemology as a foundational framework. It introduces the ambidextrous tailoring model for experimental-structured approaches, which reconciles two seemingly incompatible entrepreneurial methodologies to serve as a guiding framework for validating nascent business models.</p
Critical social work and co-design: preparing graduates for emancipatory practice
No full textCo-designing with service users is an increasingly common practice in social and community service organizations and one that graduate social workers are likely to encounter. The potential benefits of using co-design for social work are that service users become active participants in problem solving and develop creative solutions to social issues that may not be achieved by more traditional methods of intervention. However, co-design in social work education is considered a novel approach to working with diverse stakeholders to address issues of mutual concern. Therefore, graduates may not be equipped to engage with co-design and other forms of design thinking are through a critical lens. Herein lies a challenge. How might social work academics equip students with co-design skills in ways that complement critical social work ethics, practices and values? This paper analyzes the alignment of critical social work with the problem-solving focus of co-design and examines the implications for social work academics when preparing graduates to work in critical and creative ways within organizations employing social workers. This article makes an original contribution to the emerging literature on social work education and co-design in neoliberal contexts.</p
Beyond policy transfer: cultural hybridisation in multicultural disaster communication
No full textThis paper examines multicultural disaster communication policies and practices in Australia and Japan through a cross-national roundtable dialogue held in Melbourne in 2023. The study initially assumed that: 1) Australian practices are more advanced and could be transferred to Japan; and 2) policy hybridization would produce a more effective model of multicultural disaster communication policy and practice. However, the roundtable revealed fundamental cultural differences embedded within each nation’s approach. Australia demonstrates a system-focused approach characterized by institutional infrastructure, including NAATI certification, formal policies and ethical codes, and an emphasis on producing multilingual materials through established processes. This approach values standardized quality assurance and systematic service delivery. Conversely, Japan exhibits a human-focused approach emphasizing practice-based community education and interpersonal connections in trust formation for disaster preparedness and response. While Australia’s approach faces challenges including imbalanced responsibilities placed on translators and communities, and the risk of impersonal communication practice, Japan’s model prioritises trust-building through direct personal relationships while lacking systematization. The findings suggest that simple policy transfer between nations has limited utility due to these cultural contexts. Instead, policy hybridization adapted to local contexts offers more promising potential for improving multicultural disaster communication. This research contributes to understanding how cultural contexts fundamentally shape policy design, implementation and practice in multilingual disaster communication.</p
Fundamentals of Gas-Particle Flows and Applications in the Human Respiratory Airway
No full textAccurate simulation of aerosol transport and deposition in the human respiratory airway is essential for optimising intranasal drug delivery, assessing environmental exposure risks, and improving surgical outcomes. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become a powerful tool for investigating these flows, yet many studies prioritise geometric fidelity while overlooking the fundamental mechanisms of particle transport. These mechanisms, governed by turbulence–particle interactions, numerical integration accuracy, and stochastic dispersion effects, strongly influence deposition predictions but are often not systematically examined. Without such analysis, the reliability and reproducibility of respiratory CFD results are limited.
This thesis develops and validates a computational framework for gas–particle flows that integrates both anatomical realism and fundamental particle transport physics. High-resolution CFD simulations were performed in Ansys Fluent using constant inhalation flow rates of 15, 30, and 60 L/min, as well as pulsatile flows to aid sinus ventilation and aerosol penetration. The gas phase was resolved using a hybrid RANS-LES approach to capture both unsteady flow structures and turbulent features. Particle trajectories were modelled using an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach coupled with stochastic turbulence dispersion for a range of particle diameters relevant to pharmaceutical aerosols.
The numerical methodology was first examined using simplified cylindrical tubes and 90 bend configurations as analogues to localised regions of the respiratory airway. Such well-defined geometries allow for direct comparison between modelling strategies and validation of numerical findings. These benchmark studies quantified the effects of turbulence model selection, particle time-integration scheme, and dispersion treatment on near-wall particle behaviour and deposition outcomes. The results provided clear guidance on numerical settings that balance accuracy and computational efficiency.
Validated modelling strategies were then applied to patient-specific nasal airway geometries reconstructed from medical imaging. Steady and pulsatile flow simulations were used to characterise mixed laminar–turbulent regimes, secondary flow structures, and their effects on aerosol transport pathways. Pulsatile flows were found to enhance maxillary sinus ventilation and particle penetration compared with steady flows, revealing flow-particle behaviours not captured under constant inhalation conditions.
The outcomes of this research demonstrate that resolving the fundamentals of particle transport is as critical as anatomical detail in predicting respiratory aerosol deposition. Gas-phase model, particle integration accuracy, and dispersion model selection were shown to significantly influence deposition patterns, particularly in near-wall regions where impaction and capture occur. By establishing a validated, reproducible methodology and providing best-practice recommendations, this thesis advances both the fundamental understanding of particle-laden respiratory flows and the applied methods used to simulate them. The findings offer practical value to biomedical engineers, clinicians, and researchers developing inhalation therapies, assessing exposure risks, or designing surgical interventions aimed at improving nasal airflow and sinus function.</p
Applying Systems Analysis and Decision Support for Improving Feedback Processes in Computing Disciplines
No full textSystems are interconnected processes that facilitate and support any work environment, in addition to serving stakeholder and helping them make appropriate decisions. Developing such systems requires improving the processes by analysing their components, identifying strengths and weaknesses with the involvement of stakeholders, and then regulating them. This approach is known in information systems research as systems analysis, development, and design. This study applied this aspect in higher education system, specifically within computer science specialisations. We focused on one of the most important processes in the educational system: the feedback process.
Systems in higher education consist of interconnected processes to support students’ academic and professional improvement. It also helps and supports making appropriate decisions that serve the educational process’s interest. Feedback is one of the essential processes in that system because it plays a crucial role in student learning, fostering more profound understanding
and knowledge and promoting meta-cognition. It is vital to ensure that feedback processes adapt to the continuously changing teaching environment to benefit students.
Due to the dual nature of computing education, combining theoretical knowledge and practical skill development, feedback in this discipline is especially important. In addition, computing education requires students to engage in open-ended problem-solving, debugging, and iterative development, demanding feedback beyond simple error correction.
Previous studies have investigated feedback processes in different disciplines and focused on
how educators provide feedback, format it, and how students use it. Moreover, these studies focus
on improving engagement and effectiveness, but research on feedback in computing education
remains limited, particularly from the perspective of computing educators. Furthermore, these
studies usually focus on a limited part of the feedback process; they do not combine educators’
and students’ perspectives and often do not take into account the whole learning environment.
In particular, the feedback process does not consider the computing students’ backgrounds,
such as students’ backgrounds (level of education, industry experience, etc.), students who come
from different cultures, etc. Addressing these gaps is essential for developing more effective
feedback processes tailored to computing education.
This thesis aims to enhance feedback processes in computing education by analyzing and improving the feedback system. Strengthening these processes will support stakeholders in making appropriate and informed decisions. The rapid evolution of the computing field requires feedback approaches that adapt to new technologies and industry trends. One important factor we investigate in the feedback process is the differences in learning environments, identifying how they influence their effectiveness, particularly from the perspectives of educators and students regarding feedback methods. This study examines how different teaching and learning strategies impact feedback methods and identifies key factors contributing to high-quality feedback. Fur-
thermore, this study aims to propose guidelines for novice computing educators, especially those without prior experience, to help them provide quality feedback while considering different situations. These guidelines are developed based on insights from experienced computing educators and computing students to improve the feedback process and support student learning after understanding all possible influencing factors.
This study’s comparative approach is a significant contribution, as it examines feedback processes at two universities from different countries and cultures. Institutional policies, learning environments, and cultural factors shape the effectiveness of feedback. For instance, at Jeddah University, computer science courses are taught in English to Arabic-speaking students, potentially affecting their engagement and comprehension of feedback, whereas RMIT students are either na-
tive speakers or have a certified command of English. Considering such linguistic and contextual
factors, this research provides a culturally independent perspective on feedback in computing edu-
cation. The findings will contribute to developing practical recommendations to improve feedback
strategies in diverse educational environments.
To achieve these aims, we selected two distinct universities, Jeddah University in Saudi Ara-
bia and RMIT University in Australia. Beyond the cultural differences, these universities also
represent different learning environments, including variations in policies and structures. We con-
ducted semi-structured interviews with computing educators from both institutions to explore their
perspectives and preferences regarding five main feedback methods: adding feedback directly in
the submission file, adding feedback within the rubric, recording videos for feedback, recording
audio for feedback and providing feedback through scheduled feedback sessions of various types
(group/individual, online/face-to-face).
Moreover, we surveyed computing students from the both universities, asking them the same
questions posed to educators. This comparison helped us identify similarities and differences
between students’ and educators’ perspectives, ultimately aiding in developing improved feedback
process guidelines that account for both groups’ needs, preferences, and perspectives.
After our analysis, we identified educators’ perspectives and factors influencing them. We
examined computing educators’ estimates of the time required to provide effective feedback to
their students. Regarding computing students, we investigated the factors affecting their feedback
preferences. Based on previous literature, we developed 16 hypotheses: eight related to feed-
back methods in general and eight specific to feedback sessions. Jeddah University accepted five
general feedback method hypotheses, all eight related to feedback sessions. RMIT University accepted six hypotheses concerning general feedback methods, and two hypotheses were related to
feedback sessions.
Then, we compared and analysed both cohorts of computing students and computing educators. First, we examined Jeddah University’s cohorts, and then we compared RMIT University’s
cohorts. Lastly, we conducted a general comparison between the computing students and educa-
tors from both universities to develop culturally independent guidelines. We formalise three sets
of guidelines to help and support computing educators, especially novice ones, to deiced the better
and more efficient feedback to their students. Then we provided recommendations for applying
these guidelines by integrating and adopting tools within learning management systems (LMS).
This approach aims to enhance feedback processes and assist computing educators in making
more effective decisions.</p
Evaluation and Optimisation of Dual Role Electrical Drive and Regeneration Propellers
No full textThis study delves into the innovative realm of in-flight energy regeneration within electric-powered aircraft, marking a significant stride towards sustainable aviation practices. A novel toolset for evaluating inflight regeneration of electric or hybrid-electric propeller-driven aircraft across various flight missions is introduced. The toolset, versatile in its application, can function as a standalone program, integrate into existing propeller design frameworks, or enhance aircraft sizing tools.
When the propeller operates as a windmill during descent, the motor transitions into a generator, recharging the batteries. Aerodynamic performance is evaluated using the Blade Element Method, supplemented by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and validated through wind tunnel experiments. Results emphasize the necessity of CFD for accurately predicting regenerative torque during flow detachment.
Three novel energy recovery metrics are proposed: (NEE), quantifying regenerated energy relative to expended energy; Extended Range Ratio (ERR), indicating range gain through regeneration; and Payload Efficiency Ratio (PER), measuring payload transport efficiency considering recovered energy. Analyses of two case study aircraft demonstrate varying regeneration potential based on mission profiles. A light electric aircraft achieves 9.6% NEE in traffic patterns, while a medium hybrid-electric aircraft achieves 6.1% NEE on a short-haul island transfer. Cross-country missions show decreased NEE but improved ERR and PER values. Further optimisation is explored through a dedicated windmill recuperation propeller, revealing that variable-pitch propellers recover up to 71% of maximum regeneration potential, significantly outperforming fixed-pitch designs.
This study demonstrates that integrating regenerative capabilities into electric aircraft powertrains enhances energy efficiency and operational flexibility. Additionally, regeneration offers a potential alternative to conventional air brakes, further optimising aircraft performance.</p
Critical Ecological Representations: Object-Oriented Metaphorism as Design Praxis
No full textIn the context of accelerating global crises and technological advancements, this research investigates applied approaches for the more-than-human design paradigm in order to orient that hopeful design ideology to become cogent concepts which decentre the human object of design research and practice. My approach to this research, and to design praxis, has developed from extended practice in communication and interaction design disciplines. This past practice establishes my examination of philosophic ideas for design through a system of processes—of mappings, of experimentation and making—from which reflection and insights manifest. My design experiences across graphics, 3D, motion, and programming technologies, coupled with a personal passion for Nature, oriented the research context around the relations between humans, technology, and Nature—particularly urban Nature. Therefore, the research within that context is a rationalist, design-led examination of Speculative Realist (SR) ideas for opportunities to decentre the human object and to engage with object–object relations, upon which it subsequently expounds through reflection. The rationalisation and process-driven examination of this research’s philosophic ideas leads it to develop and articulate an Object-Oriented Metaphorism design methodology, reasoned through ideas which it gathers under the heading of Speculative Realist design theory.
Object-Oriented Metaphorism situates a design praxis that is both robust through research and speculative through imagination, and which enables the examination of contexts from multiple object viewpoints in order to generate artefacts which stand in for, or between, object realities. These object-oriented viewpoints can be unveiled through design processes that incorporate imagination, collaboration, and multidisciplinary expertise. This research contributes designerly concepts for creative practitioners seeking a reasoned approach to implement more-than-human concepts in design contexts, as it is founded on Speculative Realist ideas which account for nonhuman spatiotemporal scales, for asymmetry in object–object relations, and for the essential and nonessential aspects of objects—including broader unified contexts. The development of object viewpoints is necessarily enhanced by art-theory concepts of theatricality and absorptivity, which help rationalise differences of perception and of experiences of objects, as well as helping convey the reasoning of myriad design decisions. The research suggests, and the writing presented here provides evidence, that the many and varied processes of creating metaphors—as required by the practices of Object-Oriented Metaphorism—are more essential to knowledge generation than the resulting artefacts.
Supporting that vital realisation that knowledge is generated through the processes of Object-Oriented Metaphorism are the various design projects which helped clarify my interpretations of abstract ideas. Helical iterations of making and reflecting suggested further projects to deepen knowledge, as well as enabling me to write comprehensively on the translated ideas. Early practice research projects interrogated concepts of essence formation between me and objects, between idea and physicality, and thereby established the asymmetry of object relationships. As such, the resulting artefacts are metaphoric, existing between philosophic ideas and myself, between my interpretations and access to the examined contexts—the presented artefacts are objects of philosophy and objects of epistemology. Building upon these early projects and the resulting knowledge are three core projects which present the major milestones of the research. Project 1, Habitat Robots, implemented more-than-human entanglements, including the abstraction of data, which identified the need to examine how metaphors for designing data representations emerge. Project 2, Soil Protector Robot Series, interrogates the emergent SR Design ideas in praxis in order to manifest object-oriented metaphors, and to further develop the presented design philosophy and methodology. These projects foreshadow a Speculative Realist praxis of design, which developed Project 3, Ecoacoustic Sound Sculptures. Ecoacoustic Sound Sculptures is a practice-led enquiry into the nature of data, and the implications of technologies which mediate our understanding of Nature. The Ecoacoustic Sound Sculptures were co-created serendipitously with technology, allowing the creative practitioner to develop new understandings of Nature and the limits of technologies, framed through philosophic ideas. The aims of Ecoacoustic Sound Sculptures are to further evolve an object-oriented metaphoric design praxis and to provoke human observers—both experts and non-experts in the field—to break from presuppositions and reflexive perceptions of natural lifeworlds, and of the natures of data and technologies which can stand in for actuality.
The research’s object-oriented metaphoric design praxis uses rationalist design processes to examine the conflicting priorities within flat ontological approaches, develops processes to determine boundaries of complex contexts, and explicates our inescapable anthropometaphorism—a term for the generalised human access to reality—and from that definition the research extrapolates the term Object-Oriented Metaphorism. The findings and insights from this research are of consequence in offering a reasoned methodology for evaluating manifestations of object lifeworlds, whether they be natural or technological or fantastical, and thereby this research offers an applied, cogent approach for the more-than-human design paradigm. The research has revealed that Object-Oriented Metaphorism, as praxis, creates a practice of proliferation and of joy as enquiries span the poetic and the scientific, the digital and the sensorial, while facilitating the philosophic reasoning to contend with emergent paradoxes in more-than-human, object-oriented thinking.</p
Working with Half the Script: The Role of the Talkback Radio Broadcaster in Creating Community Connection
No full textTalkback radio has a relatively long history in Australia, beginning in 1967 with broadcasters Barry Jones in Melbourne and Mike Walsh in Sydney. Through that history, the figure of the white and male talkback radio broadcaster emerged as the central authoritative actor. Over time that role has evolved into what we now refer to as the shock jock, whose strategies rely on social disruption and outrage as a ploy to entertain. This PhD project can be understood as an antidote to that history in its effort to build an alternate vision of talkback radio as a site of community connection, and of the broadcaster as a figure who uses the tools of the industry in new ways. This PhD offers an insider experience and reflection of a talkback radio broadcaster to interrogate the role that the broadcaster plays in creating conditions for community connection. Using practice-based research alongside an autoethnographic methodological approach to draw on the researcher’s practice as a talkback radio broadcaster at ABC Radio Melbourne between 2018 and 2025, this PhD asks: What are the strategies, motivations, and collaborations that make it possible for a broadcaster to create the conditions for listeners to form a connected community? To answer this overarching question, three further questions are posed. First, how does the history of talkback radio enable or constrain the building of community cohesion? Second, what are the methods and strategies a broadcaster can develop to create positive community connection? And third, what are the affordances and obstacles to community connection around a talkback radio program? To examine the detailed ways in which I interacted with members of the community to engage, support, and nurture a community, the thesis develops eight case studies. They include portraits of my engagement with: a traffic reporter; a Yorta Yorta comedian; Avice, an almost 100-year-old from Gippsland; Kylie Minogue on her birthday; A house painter named Phil from Warrnambool; a lost tape of love songs; and a man looking for a swimming certificate decades after it went missing in the post.From these cases drawn from my practice I articulate three strategies that the broadcaster can use to cultivate an identifiable community. These are: (1) taking risks as a broadcaster and program team; (2) understanding and using the voice as an affective tool; and (3) building character and story arcs through collaborative storytelling.Through examining practice and broader research, this PhD argues talkback radio plays an important role in providing a connection for a community of listeners, and it will detail the role the broadcaster plays in the cultivation of an identifiable community. Through reflecting the broadcasters’ strategies in building a radio community, this PhD offers new frames to reference the work of talkback radio within its social context.This PhD argues that now, more than ever, as audiences fragment across multiple sites and formats, talkback radio must be valued for the role it plays in community cohesion and connection.</p
Land Tenure Security in Disaster Affected Areas and The Role of Spatial Data Infrastructure: A Case Studies of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
No full textIndonesia faces significant vulnerability to disaster risks due to its susceptibility to geophysical and hydrometeorological hazards. This vulnerability is exacerbated by factors such as high population density, economic inequality, and rapid urbanization. Within this challenging environment, complex land tenure arrangements present substantial obstacles to effective disaster management and securing land rights, particularly during post-disaster recovery. The devastating 2004 tsunami disaster in Aceh vividly illustrated how land tenure insecurity, extensive destruction, and ineffective land administration can hinder the rebuilding process following a disaster. In response, the Indonesian government incorporated the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) into land governance to formalize land rights, improve land tenure security and disaster resilience. However, this thesis argues that the implementation of SDI has intensified bureaucratic control, risks marginalizing local knowledge, and overlooks the social complexities involved in land tenure systems.Using Banda Aceh as a case study, this study examines the role of SDI as a government-led intervention tool in addressing land tenure insecurity in a disaster context. Examining the relationship between disaster recovery, land tenure, and SDI implementation reveals the institutional and socio-political constraints that emerge when formal spatial data systems are introduced into a pluralistic land tenure environment. This perspective highlights the tensions between standardized, technocratic approaches to land governance and the complex realities of overlapping, informal, and customary land claims in disaster-affected areas. Based on primary data collected through interviews and focus group discussions with government agencies, NGOs, academics, and local landowners, the study identifies significant gaps in data accessibility, technical expertise, and inclusiveness. The study finds that while SDI can support land tenure security for some, it also perpetuates inequality by favouring formal land administration systems over the actual experiences and needs of local communities, in particular in the context where land tenure is plural, overlapping and shaped by informal or customary arrangements. This study contributes to post-disaster recovery processes, land governance studies and Geo-ICT utilization by demonstrating that technological interventions such as SDI are political instruments that can influence and shape land tenure outcomes in post-disaster recovery contexts. The findings prompt reflection on the dominant “Build Back Better” narrative, suggesting that a more inclusive and bottom-up approach to post-disaster land tenure security is needed. These insights provide an important framework for policymakers, practitioners and researchers to evaluate land governance strategies in disaster-prone areas.</p
Development of Electrochemical and Optical Sensing Methodologies for Food Toxicants
No full textFood is a source of energy and an essential part of our lives. Food processing has evolved and developed over time due to increasing populations and the availability of non-seasonal food for everyone at all times. However, food processing methods (such as thermal, fermentation, irradiation, etc.) lead to the formation of toxicants in food matrices. This thesis focuses on acrylamide (AM) and acetaldehyde (AcH) due to their high toxicity (carcinogenicity), high abundance in processed food. Therefore, developing sensing methodologies to ensure food safety for consumers is critical.Chapter 3 presents the electrochemical sensing of AM using poly(methylene blue) (PMB) on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), where PMB functions as an electrochemical reporter. PMB was modified onto the GC by the electrochemical polymerisation method. Electrochemical sensing of AM was facilitated by the interaction between AM and PMB. The association constant of AM with PMB/GCE was found to be 8.9 × 10^6 M⁻¹. This result indicated a strong interaction of AM on the PMB/GCE surface.Chapter 4 presents the electrochemical sensing of AM using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA)-modified over a gold electrode (GE). 4-MBA was adsorbed onto the gold electrode using the cyclic voltammetry technique. Electrochemical sensing of AM was facilitated by the formation of an adduct between AM and 4-MBA through hydrogen bonding. The electrochemical performance was assessed using cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry. Cyclic voltammetry analysis shows a decrease in reduction current of the gold electrode upon the addition of AM. The association constant and binding number of AM with 4-MBA/GE were calculated using square-wave voltammetry and found to be 0.5 × 10^6 M⁻¹ and 1.2 (~1), respectively. The calculated association constant is almost comparable to that of DNA interaction with AM, which reveals that 4-MBA acts as a better recognition element than DNA.Chapter 5 presents a fluorescence sensor using commercially available rhodamine B (RhB) as a fluorescent reporter for AM detection. The method utilises the fluorescence quenching (λex = 256 nm) and enhancement (λex = 304 nm, 354 nm, and 402 nm) properties of RhB in the presence of AM. Mechanistic studies on fluorescence quenching and enhancement have been conducted using ultraviolet-visible, nuclear magnetic resonance and fluorescence spectroscopy. Additionally, temperature-dependent fluorescence studies confirm the dynamic quenching process. These results reveal that PMB, RhB and 4-MBA can replace haemoglobin as a molecular recognition element.Chapter 6 shows the enhanced peroxidase activity of Co(OH)₂ while it binds with an AM-specific aptamer, which retains its catalytic activity while AM binds with the AM-specific aptamer. Moreover, this method shows a detection range from 0.02 nM to 200 nM. This characteristic phenomenon is used to develop a colourimetric sensing methodology for AM in picomolar level detection.Chapter 7 shows electrochemical sensing of AcH. Here, electrochemically activated copper nitroprusside (CuNPr) produces Cu¹⁺ over the GCE. This Cu¹⁺ ion can oxidise AcH into acetic acid. This chemical reaction-assisted electrochemical process is used to develop an electrochemical sensor for AcH.</p