7440 research outputs found
Sort by
Developing the higher-order thinking skills of middle-school Geography students using Geographic Information Systems (GIS): a study of direct instruction and guided discovery pedagogies and the impact of additional multimedia scaffolding and teacher modelling pedagogies and the impact of additional multimedia scaffolding and teacher modelling
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 135-168.Chapter 1. The research context -- Chapter 2. Review of the literature -- Chapter 3. Methodology -- Chapter 4. Results -- Chapter 5. Discussion and conclusion -- References -- Appendices.This thesis examines how, and to what extent, Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based pedagogies and practices enhance the higher-order thinking skills of middle-school geography students. In doing so, it sought to investigate the influence of pedagogical orientation, ability level and specific instructional design approaches on GIS-based learning. The findings outline how to understand, document and interpret GIS-based pedagogical approaches that are most effective in improving student thinking and learning outcomes. The key design principles identified seek to change and improve the educational practice in this area and contribute to the body of researcharound GIS-based instructional frameworks.This thesis examined the key components of optimal GIS-based pedagogy for the classroom. This was achieved by investigating the effect of different pedagogies (direct instruction and guided discovery) on thinking performance at different levels. The study was conducted within the context of secondary geography education in New South Wales, Australia. The sample for the study consisted of students commencing Year 9 (9th Grade) at an independent boys’ school in Sydney.A design-based research framework was adopted as the overarching methodological approach, with mixed method techniques employed within three iterations to evaluate the effect of different interventions. A concurrent nested design was used, with the quantitative research approach being dominant and the qualitative research playing a complementary but important role. A 2 x 2 counterbalanced repeated measure design was applied to collect quantitative data, while openended survey questions and focus groups provided qualitative feedback from the participants.The outcomes indicate, firstly, that pedagogy did not emerge as a key factor influencing learning outcomes within the GIS-based units completed in the interventions. Secondly, middle-ability students were unable to develop their higher-order thinking skills, compared with those students of high ability, without the explicit introduction of different forms of multimedia scaffolding and teacher modelling. The final and important result of this research was that well-targeted and constructed multimedia-based scaffolds, as well teacher modelling, can assist middle-ability students to develop their higher-order thinking skills during GIS-based learning tasks. This outcome was achieved after careful consideration of student ability and appropriately designed scaffolding during the GIS-based activities administered during the study.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (ix, 401 pages) colour illustrations, maps (some colour
Procopius and political realism
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 93-106.1. Introduction -- 2. Political realism -- 3. Thucydides and political realism -- 4. Procopius and realism -- 5. Conclusion -- 6. Bibliography.This thesis examines the political philosophy of Procopius of Caesarea, a Late Antique historian who, in his Wars of Justinian, wrote of the wars conducted by the Roman emperor Justinian during the sixth century A.D. The concept of political realism may invoke a modern interpretation; however, this term will be defined by the parameters of power and morality based on the political philosophy of the classical Greek historian, Thucydides. It is well known that Thucydides influenced the literary style of Procopius as many passages from Procopius’ Wars allude to Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War. Thucydides’ concepts have arguably been utilised by modern realists, much in the same way Procopius used Thucydides’ political philosophy as a basis for his own interpretation of politics. Like Thucydides, we will show that Procopius believed that morality and justice would restrain the excessive use of power. Passages that will help us understand Procopius’ concepts will include the siege of Naples by Belisarius in which the moral restraint of power was debated and the siege of Rome by the Goths which revealed the amoral use of power. These passages will be compared to several of Thucydides passages such as the Melian Dialogue and the Mytilenean Debate.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (106 pages
Investigating the economic value of green infrastructure in urban development and planning
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 52-57.1. Introduction -- 2. Methodology -- 3. Literature review -- 4. Results and discussion -- 5. Conclusion -- Appendix.The term Green Infrastructure (GI) is being increasingly used in both policy and urban development settings. Covering everything from green roofs, permeable pavements and living nature strips to smart parks, increased tree coverage and water harvesting and recycling, it has been touted as a solution to making increasingly dense urban environments more liveable. But many development projects in Australia show varying levels of success in truly bringing the concepts of GI into planning policy and construction. While there is a growing body of literature showing the benefits of implementing GI, there is a dearth of research focused on the economic case of GI and its role in the decision-making process.This research aims to partially address that lack of knowledge around how and why GI is, or is not, incorporated into the decisions of the planning and development community. Through a mixed-methods approach of literature review and qualitative and quantitative research techniques including semi-structured interviews of key participants, who have an impact on the planning, approval and construction of large-scale urban developments, this paper examines where and how GI is incorporated into those decision-making processes.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (iii, 59 pages) graphs, table
Precision positioning in unmanned aerial geophysics
No full textEmpirical thesis."Macquarie Planetary Research Centre" -- title page.Bibliography: pages [58-60]Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2.Background -- Chapter 3. Methodology -- Chapter 4. Results -- 5. Discussion -- Chapter 6. Conclusions -- Chapter 7. References.This research investigates the implementation of precision GPS in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for use in geophysical exploration. The prompt for this research was the Desert Fireball Network’s meteorite recovery program, where an advanced impact site prediction system is followed by manual search and recovery. A small, automated, search vehicle is needed to explore the likely impact zones, which would require precise and accurate positioning in conjunction to its sensor capabilities. This thesis presents a Kalman filter implementation to improve and interpolate positioning during post-processing. This thesis also presents a sub-2kg UAV magnetometer system utilising an RTK GPS to achieve centimetric positioning. An RTK GNSS module was integrated with an Arduino microcontroller for acquisition of in-house magnetometer gradiometer data. Results are presented for two field trials, testing both positioning and magnetometer performance. The magnetometer performance was limited, particularly due to flight effects and sensitivity, however under ideal conditions the system would be capable of locating a meteorite sample. Dropout of DGPS during flight did occur during surveys, but the Kalman filter was successful in ameliorating the effects.This preliminary analysis is promising, and builds the foundation for future multispectral research for weed management in KNP, and provides a foundational methodology for spectral pre-assessment in general.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (iii, 57 pages) colour illustration
Non-monolithic analysis of Islam and terrorism in Australian press (1990-2015)
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 329-345.Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Islam and contemporary terrorism -- Chapter 3: Journalism mediated reality -- Chapter 4: Research process -- Chapter 5: Findings and results -- Chapter 6: Discussion and conclusions -- Chapter 7: References.Since 9/11, the mass media space in Western countries, including Australia, is heavily populated with news on terrorism that is linked to the Middle East, Islam, and Muslims. While research on Western media reporting on Islam and terrorism—providing negative representations of Islam—is not uncommon, studies examined in the process are qualitative in nature, relying on interviews and select newspaper content; and inadvertently their findings support Edward Said’s Orientalism theory. Mindful of Orientalism, this study sets out to establish whether there is quantitative evidence supporting the qualitative studies on reporting on Islam and terrorism.This thesis undertakes post-positivist quantitative content analysis of newspaper articles published in Australian newspapers from 1990 to 2015, using the largest national daily (The Australian), the largest daily metropolitan/state broadsheet (The Sydney Morning Herald), and the largest daily tabloid (Herald Sun). In this regard, article frequency containing specified keywords were contrasted between the periods 1990–2000 and 2001–2015; and article frequencies were benchmarked against frequencies of actual recorded terrorist activities (via the Global Terrorist Database), as measured through the number of attacks and the number of killed and wounded in the attacks. The data presented in the thesis indicates that most terrorist groups do not adhere to an Islamist ideology, and most terrorist attacks between 1990 and 2015 were undertaken by non-Islamist terrorist groups. It also indicates that Jihadi-Takfiri Neo-Salafism (often broadly referred to as Salafism/Wahhabism), the minority Islamic ideology that has been espoused by al-Qaeda and ISIS, is linked to the majority of Islamist terrorist organisations and their attacks. The data also suggests significant changes in reporting levels on Islam and terrorism since 2001. The conclusions drawn from the post-positivist quantitative analysis suggest there is resonance between this nomothetic approach and ideographic approaches represented in prior qualitative studies on representation of Islam and terrorism in the Western press. In this regard, findings support Orientalist theory. Due to the nature of circulation of international news in the West, it is likely that similar results would be obtained in other Western countries, however this needs testing -- abstract.1 online resource (xiv, 399 pages
Selfie freedom: towards a sociology of everyday selfie practices
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 94-107.Introduction -- Chapter One. Yearning for the visual : photography, self-portraiture and the snapshot -- Chapter Two. Situating the selfie -- Chapter Three. Sociology of the selfie -- Chapter Four. Snapshots from the field-- Conclusion -- Appendices -- References.This Master of Research thesis is an exploration of the everyday cultural practices of selfie-taking and selfie-viewing. It examines the social drivers behind the production, circulation and consumption of selfies, and looks at the emergence of selfies and selfie-taking as a cultural object and vernacular social practice. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature about selfies, social media, photography, and human interaction, as well as eight in-depth interviews with whom I call “selfie-enthusiasts’ and ‘anti-selfieists’, I attempt to situate the selfie as an emergent cultural form in contemporary society. I approach my investigation of selfies by opposing the popular assumption that it is simply a frivolous enterprise, or a practice taken up solely by self-involved individuals. Through my empirical research, I create eight textural ‘snapshots’ of participants, giving the reader an insight into their opinions and experiences. I explain that both groups of selfie-informants take a reflexive stance, demonstrating thoughtful personal analysis of this seemingly thoughtless activity. Although I look at the selfie using an interdisciplinary approach, I suggest that studying the selfie through a sociological lens is a fruitful exercise: there is a sociology of the selfie.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (107 pages) colour portrait
Creolization, ethnicity, and affective economies: an examination of Chagossian identity under the changing circumstances of life in Mauritius
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 64-71.This thesis examines the lived experiences of the Chagos Islanders in Mauritius by analysing the social impacts of displacement. From 1965-1973 the Chagos Islanders were forcibly relocated from the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, to make way for the construction of a US military base on Diego Garcia. The Chagossians continue to deal with the social ramifications of resettlement and the challenges in establishing an ethnic identity within the culturally diverse society of Mauritius. Drawing on ethnographic research in Port Louis this paper uses creolization as a theoretical framework to examine social impacts that span three generations of displaced Islanders. The thesis will also explore how these same processes of creolization are actively used by the Islanders to adapt to changing life circumstances. This thesis will argue that Chagossian identity is an emergent category of social organisation within Mauritian society and provides a generative base for affective networks that contribute to a collective identity.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (71 pages) colour illustration
Top shelf bottom feeders: food provisioning in stingrays
No full textThesis by publication.Includes bibliographical references.1. The effect of food provisioning on site use in the short-tail stingray -- 2. Social organisation of the short-tail stingray (Bathytoshia brevicaudata) over provisioned food -- Summary -- Appendix.Recreational anglers often discard fish waste back into waterways, yet the effects of incidental provisioning as a result of this activity have not yet been assessed, and are not considered in management. At the Woollamia boat ramp in Jervis Bay, Australia, anglers have provisioned short-tail stingrays since 1985. In Chapter 1, we compared stingray visitation with provisioning activity, which indicated their movements are strongly linked to provisioning. Observations also suggest the area may have reproductive significance to this species. Short-tail stingrays may be capable of complex social behaviours, yet no assessment of their sociality exists. Aggregation at the provisioning site provided an opportunity to study their social behaviour. In Chapter 2, we assessed dyadic agonistic interactions and observed a dominance hierarchy and social network that was reflective of a despotic society, indicating this species is capable of highly complex social behaviour. These stingrays may be at risk of experiencing further negative impacts from provisioning, such as dependency, resulting in reduced fitness. The results of these studies highlight that management of recreational fisheries, with respect to appropriately handling waste and its potential impacts on wildlife, needs to be revised. Our data provide a baseline of effects on which monitoring and management programs can be built.1 online resource (iv, 59 pages : illustrations and maps
Abderrahmane Sissako, Lars Von Trier, Michael Moore and the aesthetics of contemporary political cinema
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 134-146.Chapter One. Introduction -- Chapter Two. Abderrahmane Sissako – the quiet and not so quiet revolutionary -- Chapter Three. Lars von Trier – a lordly racket/artist provocateur -- Chapter Four. Michael Moore - the American subversive -- Conclusion -- References.This thesis explores new currents in political cinema in the films of Abderrahmane Sissako, Lars von Trier and Michael Moore. The three filmmakers selected adopt aesthetic strategies to interrogate and expand older parameters of political cinema to create new and divergent radical cinemas. All three filmmakers work in a politically engaged terrain that challenges the status quo. They contextualize current historic/economic conditions and unite around anxieties and reactions to neoliberalism. They cover different geographic locations and enter at different points along a cultural spectrum to collectively serve as an overall global barometer to shifts in expression of the sociopolitical and cinematic landscape. The work of African filmmaker, Abderrahmane Sissako counters Europeanparochialism and Eurocentrism. Lars von Trier digs deep into a critique of the western canon and the Enlightenment, with an aesthetic of what Deleuze calls a "new baroque". Michael Moore with carnivalesque techniques, and populist appeal, challenges American neoliberalism.The thesis will analyse the aesthetic choices of the three filmmakers who adopt previous dominant models of political cinema and combine them with emergent political aesthetics. It has been stated that it is impossible to return to the heady days of the revolutionary idealist cinemas of the Soviet Revolution or post-1968. However, this thesis argues that there is a blurred boundary between the more modernist strategies of the militant cinema of the 1920s and the 1970s and those after the postmodern turn. The filmmakers selected for analysis create a new political cinema in keeping with postmodernist fragmentation and humour. At the same time, they also borrow an anti-canonical aesthetic from previous waves of political filmmakers by adopting "political modernism" in its Marxist/Brechtian form, using reflexive realism, alienation effects, and counter cinema as strategiesThe result of these combinations has created new, exciting and divergent cinemas that expand the definitions of older forms of political modernist cinema.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (146 pages
Understanding mathematical self-efficacy: student approaches to learning and conceptions of mathematics in learning mathematics
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 132-143.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature review -- Chapter 3. Methodology -- Chapter 4. Research portfolio -- Chapter 5. Discussion -- Chapter 6. Conclusion.My research provides a unique contribution to the field of mathematics education by advancing our understanding of the nature of mathematical self-efficacy, student approaches to learning, and conceptions of mathematics. Influenced by theoretical frameworks of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 1997), student approaches to learning (Biggs, 1987; Marton & Säljö, 1976, 2005) and students' mathematics-related beliefs (Op't Eynde, De Corte, & Verschaffel, 2002), my research aims to investigate the nature of and inter-relations of these constructs with examination performance. This research is important because successful completion of mathematics courses is a priority for higher education providers, whose goals are to improve mathematical skills and knowledge in business, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.This thesis incorporates three studies in Australia and New Zealand. Surveys are carried out with around 300 engineering and business students who study mathematics courses as service subjects. Three noteworthy findings would be of relevance to lecturers: firstly, that strong mathematical performance is predicted by mathematical self-efficacy (Study 1; N=67), secondly, that successful mathematics performance is strongly associated with deep approaches to learning, organised approaches to learning, and a cohesive conception of mathematics (Study 2; N=291), and thirdly, a low-level secondary mathematics education is associated with high examination scores in first-year mathematics courses (Study 3; N=73). These research findings would have practical implications on the development of mathematical self-efficacy, guided mastery experiences, deep learning strategies, real-life applications of mathematics, and authentic assessments for higher education students.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (143 pages) diagrams, table