Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) have become a major success in telecommunications during the last few years, due to advantages such as mobility, flexibility, and easier maintenance. A device called an access point (AP) acts as a base station in WLAN for connecting a group of users to the network via radio signal. During the planning of such a network an important problem is to determine the optimal number of these devices and their placement/distribution so that coverage, capacity, and physical security are maximised at minimum cost. In this thesis we are using continuous optimisation techniques to optimise the number of APs and their distribution while cost of deployment is reduced and physical security of the network is enhanced. To find the number and placement of APs, we developed a multi-objective functions model based on path losses and power for free space environments. The two functions in the models are combined by using a balancing parameter. Since it is recognised that some of the objectives can be handled one at a time, in another approach, we followed a step-by-step procedure. We start with a novel optimisation model based on path losses for indoor environments including obstacles. Cost of deployment is saved by finding the minimum number of APs ensuring that the path loss at each test point/receiver is below the given maximum path loss. Next, the physical security of the network is enhanced by placing the APs far from places accessible to unauthorised users to reduce the risk of intrusion into the network. This is achieved in the framework of the model by introducing potential unauthorised users in unauthorised areas for whom coverage is minimised. Due to the presence of obstacles in indoor buildings, the path loss function is discontinuous. Therefore, the objective functions are very complicated and most of the existing optimisation algorithms cannot be applied to solve the problem. We use a global optimisation algorithm that is not used by other researchers to solve the same problem. To validate the accuracy of the optimisation model and performance of the numerical methods, we run tests on several indoor buildings and use wide range of WLAN parameters. The results demonstrate the quality of our model and algorithm. Based on the proposed model and algorithm, we developed a software to assist the network designers in planning wireless LANs. / Doctor of Philosophy

"This project has, for its central component, an epic poem, 'A locale of the cosmos'. The accompanying exegesis examines epic as an ancient, but continually evolving form. It argues that, as a contemporary example of the genre and, as a sustained poetic rumination on landscape and memory, 'A locale of the cosmos' represents a significant development within the modern tradition of autobiographical epic. In broader terms, 'A locale of the cosmos' privileges the landscape and history of a region of Australia, the Wimmera region of north-western Victoria and, in doing so, explores the cumulative effects of the physical environment as a site for sustained poetic treatment. The poem is, therefore, an epic of both historical narrative and philosophical reflection, giving meaning to and interpreting ideas of space, place and locale. "Furthermore, it explores, in particular, the psychological and spiritual effects of vast horizontal distances, created by a landscape in which endless plains and immense horizons form an analogue of the wider cosmos. The poem's themes, therefore, bear not only on the prominences of the visible locale, but also explore the salients of an interior world, a landscape of the mind to which the poetry gives shape and meaning." / Doctor of Philosophy

"The major criticism by hospital trained clinical nurses is that university graduates are perceived as not being competent practioners as a result of limited time spent in clinical areas. This lack of clinical experience is thought to contribute to new graduates' sense of occupational stress."--leaf xii. / Doctor of Philosophy

This research project into the manipulation of spatial concepts by artists on the two-dimensional surface plane, has involved a selected study into cultural and aesthetic evolution from early civilization through to the present era. I have cast a line of inquiry into eastern, western and primitive art practices, observing the journey of chance accelerated by developments in technology. Traditionally artists utilized modes of spatial convention and techniques according to the specific cultural traditions of the time and place of their production. By contrast, contemporary artists know no such boundaries, and are able to select from a range of spatial options relevant both to current forms of expression and to a personal visual language. My own art practice has been enriched and extended, increasing my ability to challenge the notion of still life composition by reversing the traditional hierarchy of form and space through the application of a series of experiments brought about by extensive research into this spatial evolution. The research project has further assisted this development in my art practice by engaging me in a new level of understanding of the topic, informing my perceptions and increasing my ability to translate a combination of forms in space with heightened emotion and personal meaning. / Master of Arts (Visual Arts)

"This study extends the use of abstration in program behaviour modelling, and provides a flexible abstraction technique that allows modelling in terms of the logical abstract concepts with which a program operates. This technique is called a Logical Entity Abstracted Program Behaviour Modelling (LEAPBM)."--leaf [ii] / Doctor of Philosophy

"This study of Ballarat and its Asylum covers the period between the 1850s and the early 1900s when an old-age pension was introduced in Victoria. It is essentially a case study. It argues that Ballarat's Asylum progressively developed and expanded upon a model of organised poor relief practiced among the industrial classes in England, in consequence of the perceived need for rapid capital expansion in Australia, and knowledge of the dangers associated with mining, building construction, and other manual work. The introduction of a secular education system in Victoria, together with enthusiasm among producers for technological innovation and skill development, led to changes in the nature and conditions of paid work, as well as to a push among workers and their sympathizers for greater appreciation of past contributions by older workers and the needs of the ill and/or incapacitated. This push was only partially addressed by the Victorian government in 1901 when it introduced the old-age pension." / Doctor of Philosophy

Ill., Univ. of Chicago, Dep. of Economics, Diss.--Chicago, 1970. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich.

University, Diss.--Mainz, 2007.

Conn., Univ., Dep. of Economics, Diss.--Stanford, 1958. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Ill., Univ. of Chicago, Dep. of Economics, Diss.--Chicago, 1948. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich.