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Running away to the circus: a pilot study for a national survey of Australian contemporary circus exploring the lived experience and motivations of practitioners
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 139-151.Chapter One. The great stumble forward -- Chapter Two. Waiter, there's a circus in my soup -- Chapter Three. Appetite -- Chapter Four. Precarious -- Chapter Five. Barely contained -- Chapter Six. Party ghost -- Chapter Seven. But wait ... there's more -- Chapter 8. The three rings of circus -- Bibliography -- Appendices.This pilot study begins to explore the motivations of Australian Contemporary Circus practitioners to choose circus rather than other forms of artistic expression by interviewing two practitioners from the five decades of its development. The thesis records and examines their lived experience and takes an ‘insider’s’ approach, drawing on my own twenty-year professional experience in Contemporary Circus. Australia has played a major role in the international development of the form which has had considerable artistic and social impact. This thesis lays some groundwork, records Australian experience, presents original research and points to the need for further investigation.The participants interviewed have all have worked for Australia’s premier Contemporary Circus company, Circus Oz, and their lived experience reflects the wider Australian cultural environment in which the form developed. This thesis identifies ten Key Motivations for the practitioners’ adoption of circus professionally and shows that circus is a unique form of artistic expression for them. This thesis creates an emerging taxonomy that leads to a preliminary new framing for identifying circus as a unique performance medium, and it provides agency to the practitioners themselves, giving them a direct voice within the emerging field of circus studies.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xiv, 196 pages) illustrations (some colour), portraits (some colour
‘Daily life scenes’ and their distribution in the post-Amarna New Kingdom tombs: re-evaluating the evidence
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 107-112.The religious themes in tomb decoration during the later New Kingdom has been the focus of many Egyptological studies over the past decades. It is generally believed that, in the aftermath of the Amarna religious reforms, the emphasis in private tomb decoration had shifted from the secular to the sacred realm, from familial relationship to interaction with the divine and the existence of the deceased in the next world. Such a shift came at the expense of some traditionally favoured motifs, of which many had been significantly reduced in number, while others had almost completely disappeared. To such motifs belong the so-called ‘scenes of daily life’. Popular in the decoration of private tombs during the earlier XVIIIth Dynasty, yet nearly extinct from the Amarna private tombs, they are thought to had never regained popularity during the XIXth and XXth Dynasties. Through the analysis of selected ‘daily life scenes’ from private tombs of the late XVIIIth, XIXth and XXth Dynasties, this study aims to investigate whether such claims are true, and to investigate how this change in the distribution of ‘daily life scenes’ can be viewed in with the light of the transformation in religious ideas and concepts of the afterlife in the aftermath of the Amarna revolution.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (112 pages) illustration
An action research study on dynamic sight translation as a pedagogical tool for skill development and transfer in simultaneous interpreting teaching
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 285-321.1. Introduction -- 2. Review of simultaneous interpreting teaching -- 3. Cognitive and pedagogical relations between ST and SI -- 4. Action research as a research framework -- 5. Research design and data synopsis-- 6. Qualitative analysis of DST-related exercise effectiveness in SI skill development and transfer : report of action in 2014 -- 7. Constant adjustment in action : searching for successful skill development and transfer via DST-related exercises -- 8. The merits and demerits of DST-related exercises as didactic tools in SI -- 9. Benefits and limitations of the AR -- 10. Conclusion -- Appendices -- References.Sight translation (ST) is a common didactic tool in simultaneous interpreting (SI) teaching but there is only limited research on systemic usage of ST and expansion of its current pedagogical roles in skill acquisition. This research therefore is conducted to fill such a pedagogical gap. Based on Moser's (1978) information processing model, Giles's effort model and cognitive theories of skill acquisition, shared cognitive stages and skill components in SI and ST are discussed as the basis upon which a new ST variant, the so called dynamic sight translating (DST) is designed and further the effects of the new variant integrated into different forms of DST-related exercises for SI skill acquisition are discussed.The findings show that appropriate use of DST-related exercises can contribute to the skill development and transfer in SI training, which requires measured yet flexible manipulations of variables to accommodate students' skill levels and learning needs. Nevertheless, their intrinsic limitation calls for complementary use of other exercise components in SI to achieve a synergy of skill development. Meanwhile, the findings also have proved R is an effective methodological approach to explore pedagogical issues in a way that is personal, holistic,locally relevant and mutually stimulating to both teacher-researchers and students.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xiii, 321 pages) graph
Valuing inclusive play:: researching with disabled children
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 89-96.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Rethinking disability, play and inclusion : framing the issues in NSW -- Chapter 3. Unseen intersectionalities -- Chapter 4. Studying inclusive play for disabled children : the methodological challenges -- Chapter 5. Playing in Ryde -- Chapter 6. Inclusive play : the experience -- Chapter 7. Making sense of inclusive play, inclusive playspaces and complicated lives -- Chapter 8. Conclusions -- References -- Appendices.Children with disabilities do not have the same opportunities to engage in meaningful play, social interaction, and peer-based learning as children without disabilities. Understanding the spaces in which this disadvantage plays out is key to alleviating the pressure felt disproportionately throughout our communities. Public playspaces are one such environment. It is argued that through the thoughtful creation of public playspaces using Universal Design principles, we can provide these children with the opportunity to experience that which they have historically been denied - their right to play.This research project evaluates the experiences of play which four children between the ages of six and twelve with experiences of disability have, in a universally designed playspace in Ryde, NSW. The project addresses the following research questions: 1. In what ways can children’s experience of play be captured using participatory methods, 2. What are children’s experience of inclusive play spaces? 3. What have Local and State Government responses been to the challenges which children with disabilities face when engaging in play?By answering these questions, the research also develops and trials innovative research methods for conducting research with (Matthews & Limb, 1999) children who have disabilities. Research on the experiences of children with disabilities is recognised as a large and politically charged gap in academic research. This, in-part, is due to a reluctance of the research community to engage with vulnerable groups owing to anxiety for their ethical treatment. The rationale of these new research methods is to challenge this anxiety and bridge the gap in research by distancing itself from traditional research approaches which investigate child experiences by-proxy. This research instead elevates the child research participants to the level of ‘co-researchers’, allowing for their ideas, experiences, and authority to be recognised.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (106 pages) colour illustrations, colour map
Long-range Internet of Things: analysis of LoRa performance
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 67-70.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature review -- Chapter 3. Signal propagation -- Chapter 4. Methodology for LoRa performance -- Chapter 5. Results and discussion -- Chap[ter 6. Conclusions and future work -- Appendices -- References.The internet of things (IoT) is a concept for a wireless network that allows objects to be sensed or controlled remotely using the internet as a carrier. The IoT is attractive for future wireless systems and it is estimated that the IoT will consist of 75 billion objects by 2025. As the IoT looks to scale up, the cellular industries are likely to use both licensed and unlicensed bands for this purpose. The Low-power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) is one of the IoT technologies, which hires licensed and unlicensed spectrum for data transmission over long distances. Since one of the most important issues in sending and receiving data is to minimise the maintenance and deployment cost, having a knowledge of the system propagation plays a vital role in designing a reliable and cost-effective network. Therefore, the main aim of this project is to assess the propagation performance of long-range IoT technology (LoRa) as unlicensed spectrum in an LPWAN, at the frequency of 915 MHz.To reach this goal, real-world measurements are recorded at different locations of the Macquarie University campus, Sydney, Australia. Using the measurement data, we will introduce path-loss models for Line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) areas which enable operators to estimate the number of LoRa base stations required for covering a specific area.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xvi, 70 pages) colour illustration
The relationship between employee engagement and the quality of work environment (QWE): a mixed method analysis using Australian evidence
No full textEmpirical thesis."Centre for Workforce Futures, Faculty of Business & Economics" -- title page.Bibliography: pages 220-237.Chapter 1. Background, literature, frameworks and objectives -- Chapter 2. Understanding employee engagement through HRM : a review -- Chapter 3. Quality of work environment (QWE) as a determinant of employee engagement -- Chapter 4. Employee engagement at a major Australian financial services firm : case study evidence -- Chapter 5. Discussion and conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Employee engagement is a multifaceted concept encompassing the physical,emotional and cognitive connections employees experience at work. Ensuring employees are engaged is considered important in today's organisations due to claimed benefits such as improved productivity, increased innovation as well as greater commitment and employee wellbeing. However, globally, there is an increasing divergence between the perceived benefits or expectations of engagement and reported levels of employee engagement. So, understanding what factors or conditions are most likely to create a highly engaged employee has become one of the most urgent questions for organisations and practitioners to address. Although several influencing factors or 'determinants' of employee engagement have been identified in the scholarly literature, there is no universally accepted set of factors.The engagement literature has reached a crossroads that requires a consideration of new options and alternative approaches to research in moving forward. Firstly, in order to advance our understanding of employee engagement, new avenues and perspectives must besought from neighbouring disciplines. Currently, employee engagement research has made limited use of wider environmental factors, such as context, as controlling conditions influencing engagement.Much of the engagement field has become pigeon holed towards one main research approach, based on the positivist paradigm, which lends all research to test and explore individual behaviours and attitudes in isolation. Such an approach assumes a single or narrow relationship, rather than adopting a more nuanced approach to better understand how a wider network of influencing factors influence employee engagement. There is also a lack of qualitative studies exploring the employee 'experience' of engagement. This has limited the scope and depth of research that is needed to understand engagement and its determinants. To address these gaps, a new expanded conceptual framework is proposed and empirically analysed to test for the work environment as a determinant of engagement.This thesis uses Kahn's definition of employee engagement (Kahn, 1990), which is grounded on the notion that employee engagement is a broad multifaceted concept which captures all aspects of the self at work. It also extends and integrates engagement research by emphasising the primacy of context in influencing employee engagement, echoing Kahn's concern that situational and not merely individual factors need to be explored in order to understand this concept. An existing conceptual model from the wellbeing literature is applied to the study of employee engagement in a novel way to capture the contextual factors.The thesis captures the 'interactions' or contextual factors through the notion of the 'work environment'. Work environment is represented through the concept known as quality of the work environment (QWE), using the World Health Organisation's 'Healthy Workplaces Framework'. The central concern of the QWE perspective is the wellbeing of employees by paying particular attention to the physical aspects, psychosocial and organisational environment of work rather than individual employee or job characteristics.This conceptual model provides a valuable extension to the current research on employee engagement. Until now, QWE has not been considered as an influencing factor. Despite there being previous research which examines the impact of specific components of the work environment on individual employee engagement, such as 'the values and actions of management' and 'the organisational climate and structure', there has been no research which explores how employee engagement may in fact be influenced by a unique combination or set of interrelated work environment factors.This thesis therefore addresses the following central research question: "Does the quality of the work environment have an impact on levels of employee engagement? If so, which elements of the QWE have a larger impact on employee engagement?"Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (x, 257 pages) table
Design and analysis of UFLS scheme for a low-inertia based power grid
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 47-50.Due to the high penetrations of renewable energy sources, a significant change to power systems' dynamic behavior following a contingency event has become a major concern in modern days. A power system's inertia is getting weaker with the integrations of renewable generators. As a result, UFLS schemes may fail to protect the frequency decline below the threshold limits with conventional settings. Inadequate load shedding during frequency excursion process may lead a cascade tripping of remaining generators, leading to a possible blackout.This thesis addresses this problem and analyses the impacts of penetration of renewable energies into grid. Here, a modified load-shedding method is proposed by considering ROCOF and the total system's damping factor. Then, it models the under-frequency relay by using MILP techniques to provide complete freedom of relays while dealing with the same problem. Furthermore, this thesis also shows a comparison of performances of these three techniques (conventional, proposed and MILP). Here, a13-bus network from real power system is considered as a test system and several case studies are conducted using the PSS/E. From simulations it is found that the proposed on-line based UFLS scheme is more efficient and one of the promising solutions to avoid blackoutsMode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xi, 50, iii pages) diagrams, graphs, table
The aerodynamic consequences on wheels due to tyre deformation under operating conditions
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 51-53.1. Introduction -- 2. Computational methodology -- 3. Validation and verification -- 4. Results and discussion -- 5. Conclusions and future work -- References -- Appendices.The aerodynamic performance of a vehicle is a key attribute that affects its fuel efficiency. The wheels of a vehicle contribute approximately 30% of its total aerodynamic drag, therefore understanding key flow structures is vital in the hopes of improving overall vehicle fuel efficiency. A detailed review has been presented on the operating conditions of wheels as well as the deformation this causes to the contact patch and sidewall of a tyre. This study presents five tyres based off Fackrell's A2 wheel with either centrifugal growth, increased vertical loading or asymmetric loading. It was seen that the growth of the sidewall increases the strength of the two main vortices produced at the contact patch of the wheel. These wheels also saw a reduction of drag by 3-10% and reduction of lift by 11-26%. Increased vertical loading reduced the strength of the two main vortices, with extreme loading restricting their formation. The drag reduction from minor loading was negligible, however lift increased by 14%. Major loading resulted in a drag and lift reduction of 18% and 13% respectively. The wheel with both centrifugal growth and increased vertical loading saw no variation in lift and drag.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (1 online resource (x, 58 pages)) colour illustration
Ecological effects of coastal armouring on sedimentary shorelines
No full textThesis by publication.Includes bibliographical references.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Ecological impacts of seawalls : beyond the site scale -- Chapter 3. Spatial variation in infaunal communities between sedimentary shorelines with and without seawalls -- Chapter 4. Comparison of wrack dynamics and habitat structure in natural and seawall modified mangrove forests -- Chapter 5. Epifaunal communities in armoured and unarmoured mangrove forests -- Chapter 6. Discussion -- Additional output.As human populations continue to grow in the coastal zone, there is need to protect both natural and man-made infrastructure from coastal erosion and inundation. The construction of seawalls is one common approach to coastal protection, which can have large impacts on the structure and function of ecosystems. Although commonly constructed along sedimentary shorelines, seawall impacts to soft sediment ecosystems remain poorly understood, particularly in the southern hemisphere.This thesis compares the structure and function of estuarine sedimentary communities between pairs of sites with and without seawalls in estuarine habitats of temperate south-eastern Australia.Sampling along largely unvegetated shorelines revealed differences in infaunal communities between armoured and unarmoured sites that varied according to environmental setting. Patterns with respect to armouring were strongest at mid-intertidal elevations, with higher abundances at armoured than unarmoured sites at sandy locations, but the reverse pattern was apparent at muddy locations.Mangrove forests with and without armouring displayed structural differences, with armoured forests narrower in width, with higher pneumatophore densities, and smaller wrack deposits including a greater proportion of terrestrial litter. Wrack on armoured mangrove forests washed away more readily, and decomposed more rapidly when containing terrestrial litter. Densities and richnesses per unit area of epifauna generally displayed idiosyncratic patterns with respect to armouring in mangrove forests, but taxa, such as anemones, that attach to pneumatophores had higher densities at sites with seawalls. Although densities of fauna did not display consistent patterns with respect to armouring, reduced habitat availability was associated with armouring.Overall the results of this thesis suggest that impacts of seawalls on sedimentary shoreline are highly context dependent and understanding how impacts vary as a function of the local species pool, abiotic conditions, and seawall design will be critical to managing and mitigating impacts.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xv, 158 pages) map
The influence of Islam on auditors' professional judgments in Pakistan
No full textTheoretical thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Chapter 1: 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and context 1.2. Literature summary 1.3 Aims and objectives 1.4 Structure of thesis -- Chapter 2: Study 1: The influence of Islamic religiosity on auditors ' preference for more or less judgment 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Literature review 2.3 The Pakistani context 2.4 Theory development and hypothesis formulation 2.5 Research method 2.6 Results and discussion 2.7 Conclusions -- Chapter 3: Study 2: The influence of clients' religious adherence and gender on auditors' evidence reliability judgments in an Islamic context 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Literature review and hypothesis development 3.3 Research method 3.4 Results 3.5 Discussion and conclusions -- Chapter 4: Study 3: The influence of auditors' Islamic religiosity and clients' religious adherence on the level of conservatism in auditors' judgments 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Literature review and background 4.3 Hypothesis development 4.4 Research method 4.5 Results 4.6 Conclusion -- Chapter 5: Conclusions 5.1 Summary and main findings 5.2 Contributions and implications 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research.This thesis by publication contributes to the literature on auditors' judgment and decision making by investigating the influence of Islam on auditors' professional judgments. Pakistan, this study's proxy for Islamic countries, provides an appropriate national setting because over 97% of the population strongly identifies with Islam. Pakistan is selected as a proxy for Islamic countries given its adoption, without modifications, of the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) in 2005 as part of international auditing and accounting convergence. Given the growing influence of Islam on accounting and auditing practices, it is timely to examine its influence on auditors' professional judgments. Auditors' professional judgments pervade virtually all aspects of contemporary financial statement audits and is selected for examination in this thesis because the exercise of informed judgments is referred to as the most important element i n applying the firm's audit approach at the various stages of the audit . This thesis consists of three individual studies . Study 1 is based on a survey conducted in medium - tier auditing firms. Given the calls to provide causal evidence in audit research, Studies 2 and 3 adopted 2x2 between - subjects experimental designs and collected data from Big 4 firms. The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate the influence of Islamic culture on auditors' judgments. Prior research provides evidence of the influence of culture as a broad variable on auditors' judgments ; this thesis "unpacks" culture by invoking the concept of Islamic religiosity, which provides sharper insights into auditors' judgments. As such, this thesis contributes to the literature by introducing an Islamic religiosity measure to the audit judgment literature. Together, the three interrelated studies of the thesis provide holistic insights into the influence of Islam on auditors' professional judgments. Specifically, Study 1 investigates the influence of Islamic religiosity on auditors' preference for more or less judgment in a doubtful debt provision context. T his doubtful debt assessment scenario is selected because it involves a considerable level of judgment and i s relevant to various audit seniority levels. The Muslim Religiosity Personality Inventory (MRPI), a well - validated and extensively used Islamic religiosity framework, is selected in this study to measure auditors' Islamic religiosity. Based on Kraussetal. (2005) framework, "Islamic values" are referred to as Islamic worldview and "Islamic rituals" are referred to as religious personality. Islamic worldview represents deeply held, core Islamic values while religious personality measures believers' perceptions of rituals, prayers, and worship. The survey was conducted with a sample of 66 auditors in medium - tier auditing firms. Medium - tier auditing firms were selected as an appropriate sample for participation given their mandatory adoption of ISAs. In addition, owing to their smaller size and limited integration with international networks, their firm culture was expected to be similar to other local organizations. The results suggest that auditors who scored high on the overall Islamic religiosity and Islam ic worldview scales, on average, have a preference for more judgment . However, the results are not significant for auditors' religious personality levels. The results, however, indicate that regardless of auditors' preference for more or less judgment , the re is an issue with the quality of those judgments. More specifically most auditors based their final judgment (the adjustment to the provision for doubtful debt) on unverified information provided by the client. The results suggest evidence reliability assessment concerns, non - compliance with ISAs, inappropriate level of professional scepticism, and conservatism. Given the auditors' reliance on unverified client - provided information in Study 1, Study 2 introduces a manipulated cultural variable, that is, clients' religious adherence (manipulated as low and high adherence to Islamic religious practices). Clients' gender is also manipulated . Study 2 investigates the influence of clients' religious adherence and gender on auditors' evidence reliability judgments. A 2x2 between - subjects experiment was conducted with 97 auditors in Big 4 auditing firms. Big 4 firms were selected for examination because audit methodologies adopted by Big 4 firms are in line with ISAs, they exhibit a similar organizational culture , and represent a relatively homogenous sample. The results provide evidence that audit evidence provided by a client with high religious adherence is assessed by auditors to be more reliable. However, the gender of the client did not significantly influence audit evidence reliability judgments. The results raise further concerns that are similar to those in Study 1 regarding non - compliance of ISAs within the context of audit evidence reliability assessments, a 6 inappropriately low level of professional scepticism, and conservatism resulting in negative consequences for audit quality.Study 3 extends the research by focusing on the level of conservatism in auditors' judgments by specifically examining the influence of auditors' Islamic religiosity and clients' religious adherence on the level of conservatism. Conservatism is selected for examination because it is a core cultural value in society and influences almost all aspects of personal and professional conduct. The MRPI is adopted to measure auditors' Islamic religiosity, Islamic worldview, and religious personality. Clients' religious adherence to Islamic practices is manipulated between subjects as high versus low. The results of a 2x2 between - subjects experiment with 105 auditors in Big 4 auditing firms provide support for the hypotheses that auditors who scored high on the overall Islamic religiosity and Islamic worldview scales, on average, exhibit a higher level of conservatism in their judgments. However, clients' religious adherence and auditors' religious personality do not impact the level of conservatism in auditors' judgments. The results further support the concerns raised by the results of Studies 1 and 2 of this thesis regarding auditors' non - compliance with ISAs and exercise of an inappropriate level of professional scepticism and conservatism resulting in reduced audit quality and materially misstated financial information. Overall the results of this thesis demonstrate the importance of Islam (specifically Islamic religiosity and religious adherence) as a cultural variable in the auditing context. The results from the three studies highlight a number of significant biases resulting in non - compliance with ISAs, exercise of an inappropriate level of professional scepticism, and conservatism. The results of this thesis also support the recent findings of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators' (IFIAR) global annual audit inspection survey (IFIAR, 2018), which highlights many instances of auditors' failure to assess the reasonableness of assumptions, including consideration of contrary or inconsistent evidence regarding accounting estimates (IFIAR, 2018, p. 10). The findings of this thesis have a number of important implications for cultural audit research, global and regional standards setters, and global audit firms either operating in Islamic countries or employing auditors with an Islamic cultural background. Particularly, the findings of this thesis provide greater insights into auditors' judgments in an Islamic cultural context and will assist global standard setters and auditing firms enhance the quality and consistency of audit practices within and across countries, particularly in response to the international convergence of ISAs as well as the growing cultural diversity in auditing firms. The findings suggest that understanding Islamic culture will assist global standard setters and multinational auditing firms in considering the potential implications of cultural variables such as Islamic religiosity on auditors' judgments and assist them and professional bodies in developing relevant policies, procedures, and training to overcome potential consequential culturally induced biases with a negative impact on audit quality.1 online resource (228 pages