18397 research outputs found
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Justice and Child Protection: Misalignment Between Principles and Public Perceptions
No full textChild protection is a non-retributive service aimed at protecting vulnerable children and young people, with many restorative justice principles embedded in practice. However, unfavourable public perceptions plague this service; as a public service that relies on public engagement and cooperation, public support is crucial. Qualitative findings revealed limited public understanding about restorative practices. Experimental findings revealed that although public motives were often aligned with intended restorative frameworks, punitive expectations and biases persisted, and this misaligned public motive directly impacts practitioners. Thus, this project demonstrated a tension between public understanding/motives and child protection that impacts practitioner wellbeing, policy, and practice.</p
Beyond the Visible: Unveiling Galaxy-Galaxy Lenses and Dark Matter Scaling Relations Across Cosmic Scales
No full textThis thesis investigates how dark matter, the unseen material that dominates the universe, behaves across different cosmic structures such as galaxies and clusters. Using data from space telescopes and advanced simulations, it reveals that dark matter density changes with system size rather than remaining constant. The research also applies artificial intelligence to identify gravitational lensing systems, where light from distant galaxies is bent by massive foreground objects. These findings advance our understanding of how dark matter influences galaxy formation and evolution, contributing to a clearer picture of the universe’s large-scale structure.</p
Large deflections and post-buckling of nanorods considering consistent couple stress and surface elasticity theories
No full textThis thesis examines the mechanical behavior of very small rods when they undergo large deflection bending. At small scales, materials do not follow the behavior commonly observed in normal structures, so their response requires refined modeling. The study develops a detailed theoretical and computational framework that more accurately represents how these rods deform and vibrate. The findings contribute to improving the analysis, design and performance of miniature devices in health, sensing, and engineering applications. The work advances fundamental understanding of small-scale structural behavior and supports future development of reliable miniature technologies.</p
Voices of Survivors: A Post-colonial Feminist Analysis of the Role of Patriarchy in Sex Trafficking in Bangladesh
No full textBangladesh legally permits sex work, yet forced prostitution and sex trafficking persist at significant levels, positioning the country as a major site of human trafficking. This study critically examines anti-trafficking policies and rehabilitation programs, highlighting how entrenched patriarchal socio-cultural, political and institutional structures shape the vulnerabilities and lived experiences of women and girls. Using a post-colonial feminist lens, the research argues that sex trafficking is sustained by deep-rooted patriarchal determinants that remain unaddressed in current legal and policy frameworks. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 sex-trafficked victim-survivors residing in a government-run rehabilitation centre, alongside interviews with 35 key informants to analyse patriarchal influences within governance systems. Thematic analysis revealed pervasive patriarchal factors, including forced marriage, polygamy, religious conservatism, social stigma and the silencing of sexual violence, all of which contribute to trafficking and hinder effective law implementation. The findings call for survivor-centred, gender-transformative reforms to meaningfully address patriarchal power structures.</p
Machine-Learning-Based Robotic-Arm Manipulation in Unstructured Environments
No full textMy thesis is focusing on using machine learning techniques to control the robotic arms. Using vision as the input information train the strategy for enabling the robotic arm to conduct actions in unstructured environments (which may conclude stacked objects and moving human being). The proposed methods have the potential capability to be applied in many fields nowadays such as autonomous control, household and medical application.</p
Carers and careers: An exploratory study of how caring for a person with special care needs impacts the careers of academics, vocational education and training staff, and HDR students
No full textHaving a successful career should not be contingent on having no caring responsibilities. However, in Australia, people who care for a person with special care needs outside of their employment report lower wellbeing and poorer employment outcomes. There has been limited research to understand how the careers of carers in tertiary education settings are impacted by caring responsibilities. As a result, few policies, programs, and resources exist to support these members of the workforce. This report offers unique insights into experiences of 50 academics, VET staff, and HDR students at Swinburne University of Technology who care for someone with special care needs.
Findings revealed that 77% of participants provide care for 10+ hours per week. Caring hours increase for those who care for multiple individuals with special care needs. Most respondents indicated their caring responsibilities adversely impact their service contributions (81.8%), research productivity (75.0%), and professional networking (74.4%). Despite these challenges, caring was perceived to enhance empathy for students and to bolster resilience.
While many carers spoke highly of their manager’s support, carers also shared ways Swinburne can do better to ensure that carers’ careers advance. Herein, we propose 10 recommendations for better supporting carers at Swinburne. We hope that by actioning these ideas, Swinburne will lead the way toward removing barriers for career progression for academic and VET staff and HDR students who care for members of our community who have special care needs.</p
Playing in the Long Grass: Artefact and Exegesis
No full textThis research makes an original contribution to knowledge of creative praxis and the representation of memory as it may be depicted in fictionalised forms of life writing. My understanding and representation of the experiential nature of memory opens avenues for the practice of life writing, and the use of remembered events as an impetus for fiction writing. </p
Accelerating Head Injury Prediction from Kinematic Data Using Machine Learning
No full textThis research focuses on improving how we detect and prevent head injuries that occur during activities such as sports, driving, and military training. Current methods for studying these injuries rely on physical testing and complex computer models, which are slow and costly. This research develops a new approach using computer learning to quickly predict how the brain is affected by impacts. The findings can help design safer helmets, improve on-field injury detection, and reduce long-term health risks from repeated head trauma, leading to better protection and safety for people in high-risk environments.</p
Towards a holistic and adaptive digital mental-health assessment for the general adult population in Australia
No full textThis thesis investigated the viability of developing a holistic and adaptive instrument by using digital technologies with modern measurement theories to advance mental health instruments for the public. The developed instrument captures both deficit-based constructs (e.g., mental illness) and strengths-based constructs (e.g., mental well-being). Designed to support self-monitoring of mental health in the public, such a holistic instrument may be more efficient to administer and may offer a more comprehensive understanding of individuals’ mental health than common symptom-focused measures. To address participant burden in repeated self-reporting, the new instrument was developed using contemporary optimisation techniques for digital administration.</p
Prolonged notice of job loss, career HRM interventions and employee transition: A case study of Australian automotive plant closures
No full textIn job loss scenarios advance notice is minimal. But the Australian automotive industry uniquely provided a 3 year prolonged notice for its 2017 closure. This research investigated the usage and efficacy of the career interventions delivered during this extended 3 year closure. This thesis defines “prolonged notice” and presents a conceptual 4S Model for Employee Transition. A key finding is that “self and personal factors” (especially family support and community connection), had the highest impact on career transition, overriding career interventions provided. This counters typical career theories that emphasize individual “agency” and highlights the employers greater opportunity/challenge of unemployment prevention.</p