ABSTRACT Do you have stories of meaningful places in your life? Are there examples of stories of place(s) you have heard have been powerful influences for you? Why? How have these places been impacted by climate change, and how will they be impacted by climate change? Our shared environment is at a critical juncture. The physical survival of this planet and our collective wellbeing is increasingly dependent on challenging our ways and bettering educating ourselves and others to respect and acknowledge the interconnection we have with the planet home that gives us life. In this research, I examine the power of personal stories which focus on relationship to place in order to connect us to each other and to the places we inhabit as a powerful tool to forge practices that are benevolent towards the Earth. Sharing personal stories of our meaningful place-based settings has the power to expand universal understanding of the link between our behavior towards the Earth and the wellbeing of these places, which is crucial for the health of all species, including human survival. Stories are perhaps one of the most efficient methods in highlighting interdependency between humans and the environment to foster an ethic of a care for the planet and future generations. This thesis draws from storytelling as action in indigenous cultures and their effectiveness in Earth justice movement building today specifically in the United States. I examine the Gwich’in Steering Committee as one vital model that uses storytelling as their primary tool for not only Earth and human rights justice, but importantly, their survival. Additionally I will reference storytelling used as a method of education and action used by the Water Protectors of Standing Rock and L’eau Est La Vie camp. These indigenous organizations are by no means the only indigenous models that use personal, place-based storytelling for movement building, but serve as the research focus for this thesis. The literature review will reflect upon the Gwich’in Steering Committee’s use of story throughout their movement; their own sustainable, cultural and spiritual way of life, to protect The Sacred Place Where Life Begins, their water and food sovereignty in the face of oil drilling proposals and climate change. Through Scholarly Personal Narrative methodology, this deep dive account unearths my own depictions of my place-based stories which have taught me that the Earth deserves our compassion, our empathy, and our urgent attention and to craft a sustainable planet. This thesis will draw from on my personal lived experiences in my local and global settings, my own stories of connecting to the places sources of cultivating care and wellbeing for the planet. This project explores my narrative journey through my childhood in Vermont, my family homes across Maine, my four undergraduate years in Connecticut, my studies in Chile, and return to Vermont. My hope is that the indigenous model of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, paired with my personal and reflective account of place-based stories can prompt educational leaders to reflect and utilize personal storytelling as one educational tool that assists with building empathetic and active healing for the wellbeing of our shared planet.

In the United States, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the 3rd leading cause of death for infants; other unintentional sleep injuries are the 5th. In addition, the estimated newborn fall rate in the United States is 1.6 to 6.6 falls/10,000 live births. At the project facility, postpartum registered nurses observed parents engaging in behavior that did not contribute to a safe newborn environment such as placing the infant at risk for injury from a fall or from a sleep injury. This observation led to this current project, which examined the development of an educational program for post-partum nurses to educate families in the creation of safe newborn environments. The educational project was guided by the concepts of adult learning and social learning theories, and on the recommendations resulting from the review of the literature and of the American Academy of Pediatrics' for creating a safe sleep environment. The education program included a safe sleep environment education handout for nurses to give parents, a safe newborn environment policy, and a PowerPoint presentation describing the contents of the new policy and the handouts. The PowerPoint will be retained by the facility to present at the biannual skills days to approximately 120 registered nurses working on the postpartum unit. Evaluation measures included an assessment of nurses' comfort and confidence to teach families how to create a safe newborn environment. Process evaluation included a team member questionnaire assessing leadership, analysis of evidence, and meeting facilitation. An increase in comfort and confidence and a consistent method of teaching parents would represent positive social change. Far reaching effects of creating a safe newborn environment could include improving the health of infants and preventing future health problems.

This study was undertaken to investigate changes in classroom environment as students move between upper primary and lower secondary school in selected schools in South Australia. A new instrument, the Middle School Classroom Environment Indicator (MSCEI), was devised to measure students' perceptions of particular aspects of classroom environment that were considered important in this transitional phase along the educational continuum. Actual and preferred versions of the instrument were used longitudinally with students in Grade 7 and again in Grade 8 in order to determine whether students perceived an improvement or deterioration in salient aspects of their classroom climate. Also, student satisfaction was assessed before and after transition. Quantitative data from the questionnaire were supported by qualitative data gathered through discussions with teachers, students and administrators, as well as classroom visits before and after transition into secondary school.Research questions were answered through numerous statistical analyses of questionnaire data: item analysis, factor analysis and analysis of variance for establishing the reliability and validity of the MSCEI; simple correlation and multiple regression analyses for investigating associations between student satisfaction and classroom environment scales; and paired t tests to compare and contrast perceptions of classroom environments in Grade 7 and Grade 8.The sample consisted of 311 students in six schools in Grade 7 and 575 students in six schools in Grade 8. The schools represented different enrolment profiles and 'distinctive settings. The schools involved were two single-sex boys' schools, one single-sex girls' school, and three co-educational schools. Five of the six schools in the sample had both primary and secondary classes in the school, while one school terminated enrolment as a primary school ++ / in Grade 7 and students moved to a new secondary setting in Grade 8.Classroom environments in secondary settings were generally perceived less favourably, given rapid lesson turnover, multiple specialist teachers and larger school sizes, which were associated with a perceived increase in alienation. These findings seem generally consistent across the sample of schools involved in the study, although variations were evident in different schools with differing enrolment profiles and internal arrangements for catering for students moving from primary to secondary schooling. Satisfaction was closely associated with the classroom environment dimensions of affiliation and autonomy in Grade 7, and with affiliation, autonomy and teacher support in Grade 8.Given the extensive work undertaken by researchers and scholars in the area of middle schooling, this study holds significance for teachers and administrators who wish to promote effective and manageable classroom experiences for students as they move from upper primary to lower secondary schooling.

Telecommunication service providers have recently begun to offer ubiquitous access to packetised data. As a result, the Internet is not limited to computers that are physically connected but is also available to users that axe equipped with mobile devices. This ubiquitous access fuels the growth and the usage of the Internet even further, and thus the realisation of dynamic Internet. With the realisation of the dynamic Internet, increasing support is needed for Internet protocol (IP) and transmission control protocol (TCP) over wireless/mobile networks.Two areas of interest in this thesis are unicast and multicast routing in connectionless and connection-oriented networks. To address the problems of routing protocols in mobile computing environments, the active networks (ANs) paradigm is employed. ANs provide an alternative paradigm to solving network problems and comprise programmable network elements that allow enhancement of existing protocols and the execution of active protocols which run for the duration of the communication session.This thesis investigates the viability and advantages of ANs when applied to routing in mobile communications. Two new AN-based protocols, for IP and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, that address the problems of multicast routing with mobile group members are outlined. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) mobile IP has been augmented with active programs in order to enhance its operation further. Also, a novel model for rerouting connections in ATM networks is presented.Results of extensive simulation studies comparing performances of conventional as well as some recently proposed protocols with those of AN-based protocols are presented. The results obtained from these simulation studies show that AN-based protocols have the following benefits: (i) efficient adaptation to mobility, (ii) reduced signaling overheads, ++ / (iii) high reuse of allocated network states, (iv) extensibility, (v) network topology independence, and (vi) scalability. The aforementioned points are crucial in mobile environments where states at routers (switches) are frequently updated due to mobility. It was shown that ANs provide the most benefits to protocols that maintain states within the network, for example connection-oriented and multicast protocols. AN-based protocols enable fast and efficient update of the states maintained at the routers/switches without incurring excessive signaling overheads. Moreover, part of a connection or multicast tree can be updated iteratively with the use of ANs, resulting only in modifications to routers (switches) that are affected by host migration. A model for deploying active programs that is coupled with the protocol operation is also demonstrated. Implementation of such a model eliminates the need for strategic positioning of active services.

Globally, as distance education has become firmly embedded as a part of the higher education landscape, governments and institutions are calling for meaningful research on distance education. This study involved designing, developing and validating a learning environment survey instrument for use in distance education-delivered courses in post-secondary education. Specifically it involved merging two distinctive areas of study: psychosocial learning environments research and distance education research. The unique social structure of asynchronous distance education learning environments requires a unique and economical instrument for measuring the perceptions of distance education course participants. The research followed a three-stage instrument-development process of identifying salient scales, developing survey items, and field testing and analysing data using item analysis and validation procedures. This was followed by an investigation into the associations between the psychosocial learning environment and students enjoyment of distance education. The results yielded a new six-scale, 34-item Web-based learning environment instrument suitable for use in a number of asynchronous post-secondary distance education environments. The new instrument, the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES) assesses Instructor Support, Student Interaction and Collaboration, Personal Relevance, Authentic Learning, Active Learning, and Student Autonomy. Analyses of data obtained from 680 subjects supported the factorial validity and internal consistency reliability. The results also indicated statistically significant associations between the distance education learning environment and student enjoyment of distance education.

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) has recently been identified as a potential and profitable alternative oilseed crop in the grain growing regions of Australia. To date, no research has been reported on adaptation of mustard in water limited Mediterranean-type environments in south Western Australia. Experiments presented in this thesis were undertaken to study adaptation of mustard in the Mediterranean-type environments in south Western Australia, with the hypothesis that mustard would be better adapted to these environments due to its reputation for drought tolerance. Experiments were conducted with three main aims. Firstly, to identify the effects of genotype, environment (times of sowing/seasons/sites) and genotype x environment interaction on the phenology, growth, dry matter production, seed yield, oil and protein contents of mustard and canola. Secondly, to identify phenological, morphological and physiological characters responsible for adaptation and yield improvement of mustard in these environments. Thirdly, to study the response of mustard to soil moisture deficits, especially in the post-flowering period, in comparison to canola. Adaptation of six mustard breeding lines/cultivars varying in maturity, height and oil quality and three canola cultivars varying in maturity were tested at a medium rainfall site (Northam) in the 1999 growing season. These genotypes were sown at four times after the break of the season and their phenology, growth, morphology, dry matter production and partitioning, radiation absorption, seed yield and its components, and seed oil and protein concentrations were measured. Adaptation of mustard to short season, low rainfall areas was tested, in the 2000 and 2001 growing seasons, at three sites (Merredin. Mullewa and Newdegate), by sowing seven genotypes of mustard and canola at three times after the break of the season. / Seed yield, oil and protein concentrations were measured at all three sites and detailed measurements of phenology, morphology, dry matter production and partitioning, radiation absorption, seed yield and its components, and seed oil and protein concentrations were taken only at Merredin. The effects of post-flowering soil moisture stress on mustard and canola was studied in detail using rainout shelters at Merredin in the 2001 growing season. Measurements of water use, leaf water potential, osmotic potential, osmotic adjustment, relative water content, and leaf diffusive conductance were taken together with morphology, dry matter production and partitioning, radiation absorption, seed yield and its components, and seed oil and protein concentration. Mustard produced seed yields similar to canola at a medium rainfall site at Northam in south Western Australia. Early sowing (May) was more suitable for mid and late maturing genotypes and mid sowing (early June) was optimum for early maturing genotypes at this site. Dry matter production and seed yield was highest in early sowing due to balanced pre-anthesis and post-anthesis development of the crop and its ability to avoid terminal drought. Very late sowing (after July) significantly reduced the dry matter production, seed yield and oil concentration of mustard and canola due to poor establishment, reduced post-anthesis duration, soil moisture and high temperature stresses which occurred at the end of the season. Mustard did not produce significantly higher dry matter and seed yield compared to canola at the medium rainfall site, Northam. Seed yield and oil concentration of mustard and canola in low rainfall environments (Merredin, Mullcwa and Newdegate) were higher when sown early in the season (May). Longer growing duration and post-anthesis duration were favourable for higher yields. / Higher rainfall during the post-anthesis phase, warmer pre-anthesis phase and cooler post-anthesis phase were associated with higher seed yield in these environments. As shown by the Principal Component Analysis and the Finlay Wilkinson Analysis, adaptation of mustard genotypes to low rainfall environments was better compared to canola genotypes. Mustard genotypes, 887.1.6.1, 82 No 2298 demonstrated their general adaptability by producing the highest mean seed yield across all environments and showing average phenotypic stability across all environments. The low yielding canola genotype, Oscar was best adapted to high yielding environments and showed below average phenotypic stability. Low yielding mustard genotypes, JM 25 and JM 33 were best adapted to low yielding environments and showed above average phenotypic stability. Early flowering and developmental plasticity had a significant contribution to yield potential and its stability. All mustard genotypes were more tolerant to soil moisture and high temperature stresses and exhibited early vigour compared to canola varieties. Mustards produced significantly higher dry matter compared to canola under soil moisture and high temperature stresses. Yield reduction due to late sowing VI was greater in canola compared to mustards. Greater dry matter production of mustards under severe soil moisture stress was related to their higher water use and radiation use, which in turn was related to their superior osmotic adjustment. / Osmotic adjustment improved dry matter production in mustards as it allowed stomata to remain partially open at progressively lower leaf water potentials and maintained higher stomatal conductance, maintained leaf area and reduced the rate of leaf senescence by increasing both avoidance and tolerance of dehydration and thereby increased radiation use, increased water use by stomatal adjustment, and increased soil moisture uptake by producing deeper roots. Mustard exhibited many agronomic advantages over canola, such as vigorous seedling growth, quick ground covering ability, early vigour, and the feasibility of direct harvesting due to non-shattering pods. Despite all these advantages currently available mustard genotypes do not have the ability to out yield canola due to their lower efficiency of conversion of dry matter to seeds, as indicated by lower harvest indices, and inferior yield component structure. Further breeding in mustard is required to modify its morphology and yield component structure. Mustard plants with more pods and pods with more seeds would produce higher yields. Shorter, compact plant stature and reduced branching would improve harvest index in mustard. Furthermore, development of mustard genotypes with high oil quality and concentration similar to canola would improve its market value as an oil seed crop.

The research aims to understand the nature of ICT diffusion at the intra-organisational level. It uses both quantitative and qualitative research approaches to identify factors and processes influencing ICT diffusion at the actual implementation phase. The result indicates that management, individual and technology group factors are essential to ICT diffusion at the initial adoption stage. In addition, the integration of change management and knowledge sharing and learning theory to diffusion of innovation theory can help to better explain ICT diffusion at the actual implementation stage.

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