7440 research outputs found
Sort by
The professional development needs and experiences of mid and late-career principals
No full textTheoretirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 263-277.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Review of the literature -- Chapter 3. The research framework -- Chapter 4. The research opportunity, design and implementation -- Chapter 5. Phase 1: Exploratory interviews, initial findings and discussion -- Chapter 6. Phase 2: Online questionnaire, findings and discussion -- Chapter 7. Reflections on findings emerging from Phases 1 and 2 -- Chapter 8. Phase 3: In-depth interviews, findings and discussion -- Chapter 9. Summary and triangulation of key findings -- Chapter 10. Discussion of key findings -- Chapter 11. Implications and recommendations -- References -- Appendices.Comparative to what is known about teacher development generally, or what is known about the professional development of aspirant or newly-appointed principals, far less is known about the professional development of experienced principals, defined in this study as principals who have been in the role in excess of five years. This is somewhat surprising when it is considered that this group are key players in the current environment of rapid globalisation of educational expectations and modes of practice. In the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, this group represent the majority of Principals in the NSW Government (public) school sector where this study is set. These experienced principals provided the case study for an investigation into the professional development needs and experiences of mid and late-career principals.The study utilised an iterative, three-phase, mixed method research design. The study began with exploratory interviews and proceeded by way of a state-wide survey and focused, individual interviews. Further insights were sought by triangulating the views of principals with those of a small group of academics and administrators considered to be experts in the field and familiar with working alongside principals. Cumulative analysis of the data gathered across these phases showed the importance and unexpected power of peer-networking engagement in principals’ professional development and in building both individual and collective principal efficacy. This was especially so in situations where principals felt in control of these networks and their focus extended beyond the immediate control and priorities of the employing authority. There was also evidence of the need for these connections to become more international in their focus, with principals increasingly aware of their responsibilities and challenges in leading schools in a competitive and global education environment. The implications of these and other related findings for the professional growth and wellbeing of principals, and for educational leadership research, policy and practice, are discussed.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (378 pages) graphs, table
Negotiating cultural distance in the translation of Japanese tourism texts
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 90-101.Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Literature review -- Chapter 3: Methodology -- Chapter 4: Analysis and discussion -- Chapter 5: Conclusion.Tourism is being heralded as a solution to the economic challenges generated by Japan's declining birth-rate and an aging population. The Japanese government is currently seeking to diversify the Asia-dominated inbound tourist market by targeting tourists from Western countries such as the U.S. and Australia. The diversity of cultures that characterise the Anglophone readership of texts promoting Japan as a tourist destination, as well as the non-homogenous linguacultural background of other potential visitors accessing tourism promotional texts in English, pose particular challenges for the translator when dealing with the cross-cultural transfer of culture-specific items (CSIs). This study aims to investigate the ways in which certain factors condition strategies for the translation of CSIs into English at the micro level, and the impact that these exert at the macro level on cultural representations of the Japanese source language community, drawing on Venuti's (1995/2008) conceptual framework of domestication and foreignisation. The study is a corpus-based investigation that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. The corpus consists of 296 parallel texts totalling 83 478 Japanese source characters and 41 717 English target text words gathered from websites promoting tourism to regional destinations. Findings suggest that the sub-genre of tourism text and the native status of the translator are the primary factors that modulate micro-level choices of translation procedure, in turn shaping the representation of Japan as a tourist destination. The research extends existing literature on the translation of culture-specific lexis in tourism texts, in particular those promoting culturally remote source and target language communities -- abstract.1 online resource (v, 102 pages
Holocene sea level change in Northeastern Australia: a high-resolution record from Albatross Bay, Cape York Peninsula
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 258-285.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Holocene sea level change in Northeastern Australia : a review -- Chapter 3. Methods -- Chapter 4. Coastal sedimentary environments of Albatross Bay -- Chapter 5. A chronicle of coastal evolution and sea level change at Albatross Bay -- Chapter 6. Coastal evolution and sea level change at Albatross Bay -- Chapter 7. Summary and conclusions -- References -- Appendices.There is a lack of data from the Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC), northeastern Australia, about the timing and elevation of sea level fluctuations during and following the culmination of the Holocene marine transgression, and how the coastal environment responded. A localised sea level reconstruction is needed because of the inherent variability in relative sea level change, both globally and within northeastern Australia. The study area of Albatross Bay also has an extensive archaeological record: Aboriginal shell mounds are present across the region that have a history of formation dating back to the mid-Holocene. A high-resolution palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and, in particular, a record of Holocene sea level change, are missing components that currently limit understanding of human-environment interactions in the past in the region. The overarching aim of the research reported in this thesis is to produce a Holocene sea level curve for Albatross Bay, on the northeastern coast of the GoC, which will address these gaps in current knowledge and improve our understanding of Holocene sea level change.The research reported in this thesis was conducted at three locations in Albatross Bay: Red Beach, Kwamter and Wathayn. At Red Beach, a sequence of thirteen beach ridges parallel to the shoreline contained a high-resolution record of sea level change and coastal progradation. At Kwamter and Wathayn, the presence of a single beach ridge at each location, formed during a period of higher relative sea level, along with extensive supratidal mudflats bordered with mangroves, provided ideal proxies for sea level reconstruction. All three field locations are also the focus of past and ongoing archaeological investigations.To establish the sedimentary stratigraphy and quantify the depositional history of each location, pits were hand-excavated into each beach ridge crest, most swales, and across the supratidal mudflats. A soil auger and a D-section corer were used to extract additional sediment samples from beneath the pits, and from the mangrove zone at Wathayn. A trench was also excavated through the modern beach at Red Beach to aid in understanding the formation of the beach ridges and relict beach ridge plain. A total of 38 excavations were conducted: 24 at Red Beach, 8 at Kwamter and 6 at Wathayn. Sediment samples were collected from each stratigraphic section, and organic carbon content, carbonate content, and particle size parameters were analysed in the laboratory. Samples were also collected for absolute age determination using radiocarbon and Optically Stimulated Luminescence techniques.Sandy beach and relict foredune sediments overlie intertidal or supratidal sediments in most of the beach ridges. At Red Beach, basal sediments of all but the three proximal ridges were cemented with carbonate, forming calcrete. Supratidal mudflat and intertidal mangrove deposits were uncovered at Kwamter and Wathayn. A transgressive shell lag was also discovered beneath the supratidal mudflat at Kwamter, formed during a period of higher relative sea level in the past.A sediment facies scheme for the Albatross Bay coastal environments, developed from the field and laboratory data, was combined with the geochronological data to create a high-resolution record of Holocene coastal evolution and sea level change in Albatross Bay. At approximately 6,500 years BP, relative sea level was approximately -1.7 m below present mean sea level (PMSL). Mangroves were present at Kwamter, corresponding to the “big swamp” phase of extensive mangrove habitats reported by other researchers from across the northern coastline of Australia. Relative sea level was rising, and reached PMSL prior to approximately 5,000 years BP. Relative sea level continued to rise, reaching a mid-Holocene highstand of approximately +1 m above PMSL approximately 4,000 years ago, leading to the formation of the beach ridges at Kwamter and at Wathayn. The transgressive shell-lag was deposited at Kwamter during the same period. Relative sea level then either remained at this elevation for a further 1,000 years before falling, or began to fall very gradually after approximately 4,000 years ago. Once relative sea level began to fall, the beach ridges at Kwamter and Wathayn were isolated from active coastal processes. Infilling of the Embley River estuary led to the formation of a mangrove zone on the proximal side of the beach ridge at Kwamter. As relative sea level continued to fall, shoreline progradation resulted in the formation of the supratidal mudflat at Kwamter and Wathayn.Relative sea level was between +0.5 to +1 m above PMSL approximately 2,200 years ago when beach ridge formation commenced at Red Beach, partially influenced by an increase in effective precipitation, and thus sediment supply into Albatross Bay, at this time. From 1,700 years ago to present, there was a change in the morphology, sedimentology and coastal progradation rates within the beach ridges at Red Beach, linked to a further increase in sediment supply into Albatross Bay, together with the re-commencement of tropical cyclone activity in the region. Relative sea level fell to approximately +0.7 m above PMSL around 500 years ago, and then to PMSL.This sea level curve for Albatross Bay provides a new, high-resolution sea level record for the GoC, and for northern Australia. It adds to our understanding of the magnitude, patterns and drivers of local and regional coastal evolution and relative sea level change during the mid- to late-Holocene. It will also have immediate utility for ongoing archaeological research within Albatross Bay, and elsewhere in northern Australia.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xxvii, 337 pages) colour illustration
Communication in infant diagnostic audiology
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 173-189.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Methodology -- Chapter 3. Information from supporting data sources -- Chapter 4. Communication in paediatric audiology appointments -- Chapter 5. Rapport building strategies in paediatric audiology appointments -- Chapter 6. The delivery of audiological diagnoses in paediatric audiology -- Chapter 7. Emotions and empathy in paediatric audiology appointments -- Chapter 8. Conclusions.Effective communication is an essential skill for healthcare professionals and necessary for the provision of family-centred service delivery. Within Audiology, it has become increasingly important for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS), where babies are diagnosed with permanent hearing loss within a few weeks of life - before any visible signs exist. However, few published qualitative studies looking at communication in infant diagnostic audiology exist. These could target areas to improve or provide exemplar models of practice. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate communicative interactions and competence using recorded audiological appointments, where infants are being tested for hearing loss, following referral from UNHS.Four in-depth qualitative linguistic analyses of the communication between parents and experienced audiologists were conducted with nine audio-recorded and transcribed infant diagnostic appointments. Analyses focussed on; the type of communication that takes place in these appointments and levels of communicative engagement (Chapter 4), how relationships are built within these appointments (rapport building; Chapter 5), the ways that relationships are threatened (through the delivery of the diagnosis; Chapter 6) and, the way that emotional reactions to the diagnosis are expressed and responded to (Chapter 7).Results show that mothers and audiologists have equal communicative engagement throughout the appointment, whereas fathers have significantly less. However, separate analysis of the audiometric testing phase and the results dissemination phase shows that the mothers’ level of communicative engagement decreases significantly after a diagnosis. Further, audiologists employ numerous rapport building strategies and continue to use these throughout the appointment, employing them when the relationship is threatened as a result of the diagnosis. They also attempt to frame the diagnosis of hearing loss in neutral or positive terms, whilst attending to the emotional needs of parents. These studies highlight the importance of good communication skills within this sensitive area of audiology.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xiii, 213 pages) table
Giving information in cosmetics sales interactions: exploring some interactional functions of the Mandarin response token dui
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 82-89.1. Introduction -- 2. Method -- 3. Data analysis -- 4. Discussion and conclusion -- References -- Appendices.This study examines cosmetics sales interactions involving speakers of Mandarin Chinese. It focuses on assertion sequences initiated by salespeople, and explores the interactional functions of the Mandarin response token dui. It employs qualitative, collection-based conversation analytic methods. 10 people were recruited to participate. Five participants were salespeople working in a cosmetics store, and five participants were customers. 65 minutes of recordings were subjected to conversation-analytic transcription and analysis, focusing on 29 assertion sequences. In these assertion sequences, the response token dui occurs in third position, and is produced by the salesperson. It is argued that third-position dui registers the development of common ground via the prior assertion and the customer's response to it. This is tied to important institutional goals, and foreshadows possible transition in the interaction. However, when customers offer weaker or ill-fitting receipt of the first-position assertion, third-position dui is much less likely to occur. This project generates new knowledge on sequential positions and interactional functions of the response token dui, and highlights its role in the organisation of cosmetics sales interactions.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (vi, 92 pages) colour illustration
K-pop: its social and spatial influence on the Tokyo cityscape
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 82-87.Introduction -- Chapter 1. K-pop in the consumable city -- Chapter 2. Shin-Ōkubo as a K-pop sakariba -- Chapter 3. Views of the Kanryū lifestyle from the outside -- Conclusion -- Reference list -- Appendices.This thesis examines the influence and effect of K-pop (Korean Popular Music) on the Tokyo cityscape and how Tokyo residents’ react to the ongoing consumption of the genre and its related commodities. Using participant observation, a pilot survey and interview data collected through ethnographic fieldwork, I argue that K-pop is normalised within the cityscape using previously embedded neoliberal practices. I also demonstrate that K-pop and the broader Korean wave have transformed Shin-Ōkubo — a previously-established “Koreatown” — into a K-pop sakariba (amusement district). This sakariba has become pivotal to the construction of a Korean Wave subculture that I call the “Kanryū lifestyle”, which I conceptualise via Bourdieu’s sociological theories of habitus and taste. Finally, I suggest that non-consumers attempt to manage identity boundaries in relation to K-pop consumption and the Kanryū lifestyle by maintaining its exceptionality through nihonjinron beliefs and attitudes, often used to defend the idea of a unique and homogenous Japan. Together, this study argues that while non-consuming Tokyo residents may attempt to minimise K-pop and the Kanryū lifestyle’s influence in order to regulate their own identities, K-pop’s adoption of Japan’s neoliberal consumption practices means that it continues to become normalised both socially and spatially within the cityscape.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (vi, 99 pages) colour illustration
Radiolarian-based Quaternary palaeoclimate reconstructions of the Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 50-54.1. Introduction -- 2. General methods -- 3. Radiolarians as indicators of Quaternary glacial/interglacial cycles -- 4. Radiolarian-based palaeotemperature estimates for the current interglacial -- 5. Conclusion -- References -- Supplementary material.Understanding past Southern Ocean climate is important for predicting future climate scenarios. Siliceous microfossil tests preserved in seafloor sediment can be used as proxies to investigate and reconstruct the timing of glacial/interglacial cycles and to estimate past sea-surface temperature. Well-preserved radiolarian tests were sampled from two 2.5 m sediment cores obtained from the continental slope of the Sabrina Coast region, East Antarctica, during RV Investigator voyage IN2017-V01. The radiolarian assemblages were used to verify that the microfossil record can be used as a proxy to reconstruct palaeoclimatic parameters in this region and to estimate summer sea-surface palaeotemperatures using the Imbrie-Kipp transfer function. This research demonstrates that the timing of glacial/interglacial cycles can be identified in Sabrina Coast sediment using the fossil radiolarian record. The Holocene and previous glacial period (i.e. Marine isotope stages 1 and 2) are clearly differentiated with Holocene oceanographic conditions being conducive to biosiliceous sedimentation, whilst conditions during glacial periods are not. Holocene summer sea-surface palaeotemperature estimates range between -3.26 °C and 3.26 °C. Future research will include a Ph.D. project using radiolarians from longer Sabrina Coast cores for palaeoclimate reconstruction over multiple glacial/interglacial cycles.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (66 pages) illustration
The epistolary character of Marcus Caelius Rufus
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 88-92.Introduction -- Cicero and letters -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Appendix.Marcus Caelius Rufus was a young, hot-headed, and complex character in the dramas of the late Roman Republic. This thesis is a study of the fourteen letters he wrote to Marcus Tullius Cicero between 51 and 50 BCE. This small selection of letters will serve as the basis for a subsequent detailed study which aims to read between the lines of the correspondence and identify the underlying character of Caelius and the nature of his self-presentation.To do so, this study will observe the usage or avoidance of particular features of the epistolary genre, including the use of politeness, humour, sarcasm, seriousness, and the making of requests. By observing the circumstances in which these features of communication are employed or avoided, valuable biographical data concerning important historical figures will be revealed, along with sociolinguistic data relevant to how individuals communicate in different circumstances and contexts.There has been a plethora of scholarly work on different communicative and epistolary features. By and large, this scholarship is concerned primarily with what function different features serve, but not what their use tells us about the user. We understand clearly what being polite is meant to achieve, but what does it say about the letter writer himself?Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (102 pages
Knowns and unknowns: an assessment of knowledge shortfalls in the digitised collection of Australia's flora
No full textThesis by publication.Includes bibliographical references.Chapter One. Introduction -- Chapter Two. How well documented is Australia's flora? Understanding spatial bias in vouchered plant specimens -- Chapter Three. A journey through time : exploring temporal patterns among digitised plant specimens from Australia -- Chapter Four. Taxonomic shortfalls in digitised collections of Australia's flora -- Chapter Five. Filling the gap : how quickly do Australia's herbaria digitise their vouchered specimens -- Chapter Six. Discussion.Massive digitisation of natural history collections (NHC), the predominant source of primary biodiversity data (i.e. species occurrence information), has provided myriad opportunities for studying biological diversity across space and time. Despite recent efforts to collate centuries of biodiversity inventories into comprehensive databases, these collections suffer inherent limitations in their spatial, temporal and taxonomic dimensions. Identifying these limitations is a priority to ensure that multiple targets specified by the Convention on Biological Diversity are met. In this thesis, which consists of four data chapters, I assess spatial, temporal and taxonomic patterns in the digitisation of data held within the Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) - the largest electronic source of plant occurrence records in the country. In Chapter 2, I document spatial biases in the number of occurrence records from across Australia, with the Human Influence Index being a strong predictor of this bias. In Chapter 3, I demonstrate temporal biases, with 80% of records collected from 1970-1999. Furthermore, only 18% of the continent is represented by a relatively complete inventory consistently sampled over the last 200 years. I also found that around 25% of digitised specimens are missing key attribute information (i.e. collection date, taxonomic identification or geographic coordinates). An assessment of taxonomic bias in Chapter 4 indicates that, for one-third of Australia's plant families, the number of preserved specimens per family is not proportional to the family's known species richness. There is also a strong positive correlation between the number of collectors sampling a family and the taxonomic bias of that family. Finally, in Chapter 5, I demonstrate that digitisation effort over the last three decades varies significantly among Australia's herbaria: a time lag in digitisation means that only 30% of specimens are digitised within a year of collection. As the uses of primary biodiversity data continue to expand, my findings can direct future strategic sampling and digitisation efforts to increase our knowledge of Australia's flora.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (viii, 130 pages) colour map
Access and equity in work-integrated learning placements: a host organisation perspective
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 212-241.Section 1. Introduction - setting the scene -- Section 2. Background and rationale for the Study - who’s not gaining access to a placement? -- Section 3. Orienting concepts and disciplinary lens for exploring and understanding student access to placements -- Section 4. Study methodology and design -- Section 5. Findings : host organisation perspectives on equitable student access to work-integrated learning (WIL) placements -- Section 6. Discussion -- Section 7. Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Despite recognition that work-integrated learning (WIL) is a valuable strategy to prepare graduates for their futures, not all students who want, or need, a WIL placement gain access to one. This thesis examines equitable student access to placements, specifically the role of organisations and their employees. This exploratory study draws on multiple sources of data using a qualitative approach including: (1) analysis of publically available organisational documents focused on diversity and inclusion; (2) interviews with employees from organisations involved in WIL; and (3) theoretically informed concepts of social inclusion/exclusion, organisational culture, gatekeeping and behavioural ethics. These concepts are used throughout the research process to explore and explain the problem, and to find ways to address it (Layder, 2013).Findings show a complex range of interconnected factors and forces at organisational, occupational and individual employee levels that influence decisions about which students to host. Individuals with specific influence over student access are identified as organisational ‘WIL gatekeepers’ and their decisions are shaped by a range of normative, instrumental and situational factors. The notion of inclusion may be affected by a focus on equal opportunity and merit, or shaped by a lived experience of marginalisation by the Gatekeeper. Purposes for WIL that focus on ‘talent spotting’ and getting work done, create expectations about an ‘ideal intern’ and influence which students are included/excluded. The thesis offers a framework to explicate the complexity of organisational and employee intentions and actions in relation to WIL students, and a set of conditions to help organisations build their inclusive WIL culture and capacity. This thesis argues that universities and industry need to work with intentionality and a shared sense of responsibility to remove barriers so the full potential of WIL can be realised for students, employers, the economy and society more broadly, now and into the future.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (278 pages) diagrams, table