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The experiences of survivors of human trafficking in Australia and Singapore
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 293-310.Chapter 1: An introduction to human trafficking -- Chapter 2: The research method: grounded theory -- Chapter 3: Overview of the grounded theory -- Chapter 4: : Survivors' experiences of pre-trafficking -- Chapter 5: : Survivors' experiences of trafficking -- Chapter 6: Survivors' experiences of post-trafficking -- Chapter 7: Discussion.This thesis investigates how survivors of human trafficking reflect upon their lived experiences, contextualised within their life narratives. Adapting the Grounded Theory approach to qualitative research, I conducted semi - structured interviews with 12 survivors in Australia and Singapore (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). My results suggest that a unique constellation of pre-trafficking factors contribute to survivors' vulnerability and encapsulation. This in turn has psychological consequences that impact the strategies survivors' employ to exit their trafficking context. Post - trafficking experiences are characterised by the transition from systemic dependence to resettlement with ongoing consequences for their psychological wellbeing. My findings and theory help to fill large gaps in the literature and drive recommendations for service provision, interventions, legislation and further research.1 online resource (xiv, 325 pages) colour illustration
Cultural integration, social change and identities in late Iron Age and Roman Liburnia
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 375-444.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. The Eastern Adriatic and the Greek world during the Iron Age -- Chapter 3. Identity and culture in late Iron Age Liburnia -- Chapter 4. Material culture and socio-cultural developments in late Iron Age Liburnia -- Chapter 5. Incorporation of Dalmatia and Liburnia into the Roman Empire -- Chapter 6. Reading into Romano-Liburnian society -- Chapter 7. Religion and cult -- Chapter 8. Burials and tombstones in Roman Liburnia -- Chapter 9. Economy and globalizing consumptions -- Chapter 10. Conclusion -- Bibliography.This thesis aims to investigate key issues relating to cultural and social developments in Late Iron Age and Roman Liburnia, based on analysis of archaeological material and ancient written sources. The Late Iron Age, ca. 4th-1st c. BCE, was a period of intensive connectivity and cultural change in Dalmatia that resulted from the Greek economic penetration of the Adriatic and colonization of the central Dalmatia islands. The incorporation of Liburnia into the Roman empire caused dramatic changes to the structure of Liburnian society, as well as existing cultural templates. Rather than a broad overview of all the material, focus is given in this study to select issues and phenomena that are specific to Liburnia, within the context of Late Iron Age Europe and the Roman Empire, and highlight aspects of cultural connectivity. Key topics that are discussed include analysis of imported materials, developing burial practices, social structure, religion and cults, economic issues ,Liburnian identities and how these communities were integrated into the Roman provincial system. The overall objective is to highlight the roles of the indigenous and immigrant populations in cultural changes and social discourses that took place over these two periods, and re-assess some critical issues relating to identities and social structure in Liburnia that are entrenched in scholarship.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (vii, 444 pages
'If the world itself is shaken': Roman responses to natural disasters from the late Republic to the great famine under Claudius and Nero (65BC – AD63)
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 215-221.Introduction - Chapter One. Roman responses to natural disasters throughout the middle and late Republican periods -- Chapter Two. Floods and fires in Augustan Rome -- Chapter Three. Earthquakes, plagues and famines in Augustan Rome, Italy and the Empire -- Chapter Four. Tiberius : flood, fire, earthquake, famine -- Chapter Five. Earthquakes in Asia, Italy, Greece and Thessaly under Tiberius -- Chapter Six. The principates of Gaius, Claudius and Nero and the great famine -- Conclusion -- Select bibliography.The historical analysis of ancient natural disasters, that is, those occurrences of natural phenomena resulting in loss of life and human injury, and damage or destruction to human property, is a new field of research. Yet despite its relatively recent emergence, engagement with this new field can inestimably help historians better understand how those belonging to ancient civilizations understood the natural world around them. This thesis examines the responses of various Romans to natural disasters – an area that has received little attention. For, although scholarly works on individual natural disasters such as the Campanian earthquake of AD62, the great fire of Rome in AD64, and the eruption of Vesuvius, certainly exist, there are relatively few treatments on Roman responses to natural disasters in the broader sense, especially during the Julio-Claudian period which predates those of the aforementioned individual natural disasters under Nero and the Flavians.Stringent historical and historiographical investigative approaches are implemented throughout this monograph in order to derive from the Romans themselves, through the writings and other sources of information they left behind – especially in Rome, but also throughout Italy and the empire – how they articulated their understandings of their natural world and its recurring natural disasters. In line with current scholarship I shall illustrate that Roman perceptions were far from homogeneous and that their responses over time were anything but uniform. However, in divergence from what has gone before, this thesis will demonstrate that the Romans made individual and communal decisions as to how they understood and responded to nature and natural disasters. Thus, the responses of Romans at individual and collective levels are explored throughout this thesis. Moreover, it will be shown throughout, that Romans responded to natural disasters essentially in one or more of the following four ways: firstly as a means of survival, secondly as means of religious observance, thirdly, as a means of following a philosophical standpoint, and fourthly as part of civic duty, at an individual (e.g. a princeps) and/or a communal (e.g. a city or social group) level. Most certainly, cultural trends helped shaped how Romans lived, but so too did their own individual attitudes. In this way, this thesis will benefit future historians seeking to better understand the diversity of the Roman world and, indeed, the ancient Romans themselves.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (221 pages
Social media, mobile, analytics, and cloud: integration and value creation
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 84-99.1. Introduction -- 2. Literature review -- 3. Conceptual framework -- 4. Research design and methodology -- 5. Findings -- 6. Discussion -- 7. Conclusions and future works --8. References -- 9. Appendices.This study examined how integrating two or more SMAC technologies (social media, mobile, analytics and cloud) add business value to organisations. Data was collected from fourteen business and technology stakeholders using semi-structured interviews to investigate critical success factors and barriers of adoption and integration of SMAC technologies. The data was analysed using a conceptual framework using the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) model integrated with value creation theories: value chains, value shops, and value networks. The findings show that relative advantage, compatibility, management support, technology competence, and competitive pressure were critical success factors for the integration of two or more SMAC technologies. Complexity, security, and government regulations were barriers to the integration of two or more SMAC technologies. Firm size was both a critical success factor and a barrier. The findings show that the integration of two or more SMAC technologies improve efficiency, resource optimisation, speed, business agility, competitive advantage, and enhanced customer experience.One possible limitation of this study was that only organisations in Australia were included. The results may be different in other countries. A second limitation was that the limited number of value chain organisations compared to value shops and value networks.Future research into value creation from the integration of various interrelated digital technologies integration (e.g., analytics & Internet of Things, cloud & artificial intelligence). The conceptual framework could be used in future studies to examine emerging and new applications of existing technologies to examine the integration of technologies and how these technologies add value in value chains, value shops, and value networks.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (109 pages) table
Effectiveness of auditory training for adult cochlear implant users
No full textEmpirical thesis."Audiology Section, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia" -- title page.Bibliography: pages 111-128.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Auditory training for adult cochlear implant users : a survey and cost analysis study -- Chapter 3. Effectiveness of computer-based auditory training for adult cochlear implant users : a randomised crossover study -- Chapter 4. Effectiveness of computer-based auditory training for adult cochlear implant users : a rapid review of the evidence -- Chapter 5. Final considerations -- Chapter 5. Reckoning with rape culture : individual and community in young adult rape fiction -- References -- Appendices.Clinicians working with adult cochlear implant (CI) users often recommend auditory training (AT) as an intervention to improve listening abilities. Lack of robust evidence and inconsistencies in AT studies, however, limits confidence in the usefulness of this intervention. This thesis assessed the effectiveness of AT for adult CI users in the context of clinical decision-making, resource allocation and evidence-based practice in a series of three manuscripts.First, AT practices and their associated costs were assessed using data from a survey distributed to Australian audiologists working with adult CI users (n=78, 33% response rate). Is was demonstrated that clinicians believe AT is beneficial, and adopt varied methods to deliver AT. Costs incurred for clients who receive AT were estimated to range from AUD 0 to AUD 1438.98 per program, depending on the AT method of delivery.Second, a randomised crossover study investigated the effectiveness of a computer-based auditory training (CBAT) program, in comparison to a computer-based visual training (VT) program, on measures of listening and cognitive abilities, and self-reported communication and quality of life in 26 adult CI users. It was demonstrated that although on-task improvement occurred for both the AT and the VT programs, these improvements did not transfer to the outcome measures assessed post-training and at follow-up.Finally, a rapid review of nine CBAT studies in adult CI users was conducted. Inconsistencies in training stimuli, outcome measures and study findings associated to risk of bias present within and across studies, indicated that current evidence provides very low confidence that AT can improve speech perception, and low confidence that it can improve cognitive abilities, self-reported listening and quality of life in adult CI users.This thesis provides practical and up-to-date evidence about AT in adult CI users which can influence both current clinical practices and future research studies.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (viii, 187 pages) diagrams, graphs, table
Distorting the corpus: scholarly interaction and the erroneous authentication of the Sheikh Ibada fakes
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 98-116.Introduction -- Chapter I. Background -- Chapter II. The existing environment -- Chapter III. The mechanics behind scholarly interaction -- Chapter IV. The consequences of authentication -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Bibliography.Far too often antiquities purchased on the market without verifiable provenance information enter scholarship as authentic antiquities only to be later exposed as modern creations. When this occurs, the scholarly discourse surrounding these events tends to treat these fakes as singularities and focusses on the methods used to uncover them. Largely ignored during these discussions are the processes by which these fake antiquities were erroneously authenticated by scholars in the first place. It is this deficit in the scholarship that this thesis contributes towards.Through a careful study of the Sheikh Ibada fakes, a group of sculptures once heralded as important examples of early ‘Coptic’ sculpture, this thesis explores the erroneous authentication of fake antiquities by scholars. It is demonstrated here that the methods by which scholars approached the Sheikh Ibada fakes, devoid of archaeologically recovered provenance, were highly problematic and led to the fakes being erroneously authenticated. There was a lack of what should be routine suspicion regarding the authenticity of antiquities acquired not from scientific excavation, but rather the antiquities trade. As a result, the Sheikh Ibada fakes were authenticated and entered scholarship as authentic antiquities.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (116 pages
‘Folk belongs to the people’: exploring Balkan music in Sydney, Australia
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 56-65.Introduction : music, emotion & memory in diaspora -- Chapter One. World music, ‘Balkan’ identity & musical interculturality -- Chapter Two. Music, memory & diasporic nostalgia -- Chapter Three. Balkan diversity & Australian multiculturalism -- Limitations, future directions & concluding remarks -- References.Australia’s world music scene incorporates a great variety of music-making practices and performers, a growing subset of whom identify themselves and their musics with Southeast Europe and the Balkans. This music scene brings together diverse migrant and musical communities, performing regularly at both public and private venues in Sydney. Given the turbulent socio-political history of Southeast Europe and the ethnic tensions that have accompanied waves of migration from the region during the 20th century, my research investigates what role music, and this burgeoning music scene, might play in the social lives and relations between these diasporic groups in Sydney. How are memories of homeland(s) made present through musical performance? Can music enhance social cohesion and collective identification among disparate migrant communities? And if so, how are issues of cultural ownership, authenticity and hybridity negotiated in the multicultural space of the world music scene?My research draws on participant observation and semi-structured interviews to explore the social spaces of music performance, as well as online and radio marketing materials which reveal the discourses surrounding music production. While previous inquiry critiques categories of ‘world music’ and questions the so-called ‘Balkan craze’ as a space for genuine cross-cultural exchange, my research suggests at the ways in which organisers and performers adeptly draw on and play with identity categories (such as ‘Balkan’) to generate shared emotional experiences, foster social cohesion and promote intercultural musical engagement in Australia.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (vii, 65 pages) illustrations (some colour
Radar emitter recognition using hierarchical feature extraction within magnitude and frequency domains
No full textTheoretical thesis.Includes bibliographical references.1 Introduction -- 1.1 Radar Emitter Recognition Beginnings -- 1.2 Traditional Features in Early Radar Detection -- 1.3 Extracting Features from Spectrogram Samples -- 1.4 Overview -- 2 Literature Review -- 2.1 Traditional Features in Early Emitter Recognition -- 2.1.1 Pulse Descriptor Words in Detail -- 2.2 Beyond Traditional Features -- 2.2.1 Intrapulse Information -- 2.2.2 Fractal Dimensions -- 2.2.3 Extents as features -- 2.3 Conclusion Summary of Literature - 3 Methods -- 3.1 Method Overview -- 3.2 Simulated Radar Spectrogram Data -- 3.2.1 Spectrogram Signal to Noise Ratio -- 3.2.2 Exploratory Data Analysis -- 3.2.3 Waveform Class Descriptions and Shape Geometry -- 3.2.4 Spectrograms Coherence -- 3.2.5 Confounding Data -- 3.3 Frequency Over Time Feature Extraction -- 3.3.1 Defining Class Geometry using Subsample Peak Interpolation -- 3.4 Power Over Frequency Feature Extraction -- 3.4.1 Defining Class Geometry using Max Smoothing -- 3.5 Classification Methods -- 3.5.1 Confusion Matrix -- 3.5.2 Monte Carlo Cross Validation -- 3.5.3 k-Nearest Neighbor -- 3.5.4 Support Vector Machine -- 3.5.5 One-versus-Rest SVM -- 3.5.6 Hierarchical SVM -- 4 Results -- 4.1 Testing Methods -- 4.2 Confusion Matrix -- 4.2.1 Definition of Metrics Used -- 4.3 Euclidean kNN Test Results -- 4.4 SVM Test Results -- 4.4.1 One-versus-Rest SVM Test Results -- 4.4.2 Hierarchical SVM Test Results -- 4.5 Analyses -- 5 Conclusion -- 5.1 Limitations -- 5.2 Future Work -- 5.3 Conclusion -- Appendix -- ReferencesRadar Emitter Recognition (RER) is used in Electronic Warfare (EW) to avoid being detected during stealth operations, or to detect specific radar installations for targeting in an offensive campaign.Its role in both offensive and defensive measures make it a critical component within the scope of a larger Electronic Countermeasure (ECM) strategy. Radar spectrograms are captured from emissions, measuring frequency and power over time. The emission samples vary in the amount of time spent in each frequency, making a single approach to feature extraction ineffective. This thesis attempts to address RER challenges using modified radar signals from spectrograms sampled from five different classes, each containing 250 unique examples. A hierarchical approach is used where spectrograms with fewer time intervals have their features extracted from the magnitude spectrum, while signals with more time intervals have features extracted from the frequency domain. Both of these feature extraction methods are tested using k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms. Experiments show that the hierarchical approach to feature extractionis a viable new way of thinking about spectrogram based RER.1 online resource (x, 66 pages) colour illustration
Film on the march!: visual documents of war and the cinematic war genre
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 50-57.Chapter One. Declaration of war -- Chapter Two. Recreating the real -- Chapter Three. The internet archive -- Chapter Four. Film on the march! -- Chapter Five. After action report -- Bibliography -- Filmography -- Online sources.This research uncovers the artistic influence that visual war documents have on the cinematic war genre by analysing key archival documents, war genre films, and scholarly texts. The practice of emulating visual war documents in genre films to craft realistic depictions of war has become a key convention in the cinematic war genre throughout the twentieth century. In recent years the proliferation of visual war documents available through the internet has contributed to widespread familiarity with war images, particularly newer types of visual war documents such as helmet camera footage. These visual war documents are unique to the conflicts of the twenty first century and offer the potential to further the boundaries of the cinematic war genre. However, the emulation of newer visual documents in contemporary war cinema is noticeably lacking, with filmmakers instead continuing to emulate the characteristics of older war documents. By analysing key archival documents and war genre films this research project defines, critiques, and proposes future possibilities for the cinematic war genre. This research also implements creative practice research and offers a short film which tests the arguments of this thesis and experiments with the war genre form. The purpose of this research project is to extend scholarly, artistic, and audience awareness of the influence of visual war documents on the cinematic war genre.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (v, 57 pages) black and white illustrations
Vascular targeting in an arteriovenous malformation animal model
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 204-228.Chapter 1 Literature review -- Chapter 2. Methods -- Chapter 3. Annexin V/T hrombin conjugate optimisation -- Chapter 4. Vascular targeting of PS in the AVM animal model -- Chapter 5. Dose modification increases targeting selectivity -- Chapter 6. Preliminary validation of novel radiation-induced vascular target -- Chapter 7. General discussions and future directions.Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) pose a significant lifetime risk of haemorrhagic stroke that preferentially affects children and young adults. Despite the current available treatments of surgical excision, approximately one third of AVMs have no effective treatment. It is therefore important that newer treatment modalities are identified. A treatment that has shown some promise in cancer is vascular targeting. This method may provide an alternative treatment for AVMs without affecting surrounding normal brain vasculature. Previous work has identified phosphatidylserine (PS) as a potential target that is increased in the endothelium following radiation exposure. It is hypothesised that treatment of AVMs with gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) and using a vascular targeting agent to deliver a pro-thrombotic compound can cause localised thrombosis and vessel occlusion within AVM vessels. Using a rat animal model, a novel vascular targeting conjugate was formed from the protein annexin V and thrombin to target PS. On assessment of the conjugate, AVM occlusion occurred in 75% of conjugate-treated animals with similar rates of flow cessation noted in the GKS and non GKS treated groups. These findings were noted both with angiographic occlusion and histological evidence of large and small vessel thrombus formation. On reducing the dose to half the dose per weight per animal and administering it in a multiple dose treatment regimen a statistically significant proportion of animals had evidence of AVM occlusion in only irradiated animals, suggesting effectiveness of sensitising AVMs with focussed irradiation. This research has demonstrated a significant association between use of the vascular targeting annex in V/ thrombin conjugate and thrombosis of AVM vessels both radiologically and histologically. This technique and the use of radiation sensitisation may demonstrate a potential new treatment for AVMs. This finding is the first of its kind in the treatment of AVMs and with further development may become an alternative treatment modality for previously untreatable lesions.1 online resource (231 pages) illustration