We propose a novel approach to investigate and implement unsupervised segmentation of color images particularly natural color images. The aim is to devise a robust unsu- pervised segmentation approach that can segment a color textured image accurately. Here, the color and texture information of each individual pixel along with the pixel's spatial relationship within its neighborhood have been considered for producing precise segmentation of color images. Precise segmentation of images has tremendous potential in various application domains like bioinformatics, forensics, security and surveillance, the mining and material industry and medical imaging where subtle information related to color and texture is required to analyze an image accurately. We intend to implement a robust unsupervised segmentation approach for color im- ages using a newly developed multidimensional spatially variant ¯nite mixture model (MSVFMM) using a Markov Random Fields (MRF) model for improving the over- all accuracy in segmentation and Haar wavelet transform for increasing the texture sensitivity of the proposed approach. [...] / Master of Computing

This thesis uses fiction as a research technology for investigating and thinking about issues to do with bodies and knowledge at the cusp of the 20th and 21st centuries. It includes sample material from a novel in progress -- A Short (Personal) History of the Bra and its Contents -- to illustrate some of the unique outcomes of this approach to exploring cultural history and writing cultural criticism. One of the advantages of fiction is that it allows me to create a discursive field in which it is possible for the very wide range of issues raised by my topic to coexist, work off each other and cross-fertilise. These include ideas regarding gender, sexuality, nurture and subjectivity; issues to do with the implants controversy, the cancer industry and the corporatisation of medicine (and hence various current debates within science and medicine); as well as movements in fashion history and popular culture -- all of which contribute to making up the datasphere in which and through which we continually reproduce ourselves as subjects. [...] / Doctor of Philosophy

This exegesis explores the sacred, holy and commercial aspects of spring water as revealed by an exploration of the relationships of Indigenous Australians and non–Indigenous European Australians to spring water. As a non–Indigenous Australian migrant, my knowledge of Indigenous Australian spiritual and cultural matters was limited, as was knowledge of Indigenous Australian history, both pre- and post-European settlement. As a migrant, I have many memories and experiences of spring water at European wells, springs and places of pilgrimage where healing, both physical and spiritual was sought. In childhood, I enjoyed reading the many myths and legends that surround the magical, mysterious and often invisible resource of spring water. Realising that my current knowledge of spring water relied more on folklore and anecdotal information than on fact, I decided that the topic of spring water offered worthwhile opportunities for research. [...] The availability of spring water is being challenged on more than one front. This research explores and investigates the abundance of (particularly) art references to spring water in Indigenous Australian culture and traditions, while noting the dearth of art references relating specifically to spring water in non-Indigenous Australian culture; although an abundance of art references to water in general is revealed. In the latter context, references to art depicting aspects of the hydrologic cycle have been substituted and explored. / Master of Arts

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) is marked by deficits in attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The current DSM-IV conceptualisation of AD/HD as comprising of separate, but related, Inattention (IA) and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity (H/I) dimensions have been supported in confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) studies. Despite being one of the most extensively studied childhood disorder, there is a lack of research on AD/HD in non-western populations. Research on AD/HD in Asian countries, particularly, is limited. To date, no study has comprehensively investigated the characteristics of AD/HD in a Malaysian sample. The current study had 4 major aims. The first aim of the study was to investigate how the IA and H/I symptoms groups vary by age, gender, and age by gender interaction. The second aim of the study was to obtain prevalence rates of DSM-IV AD/HD and the three subtypes (i.e., Predominantly Inattentive Type, AD/HD-IA; Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Type, AD/HD-H/I; and Combined Type, AD/HD-C) within this population. This was examined for boys and girls separately, and together. The third aim of the study was to investigate the internal validity of DSM-IV AD/HD using single source confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), while the fourth aim of the study was to examine trait, source and error variance of the AD/HD symptoms using the CFA multitrait (IA and H/I) by multisource (parent and teacher) approach (CFA MT-MS). All the CFA and CFA MT-MS analyses were conducted separately for boys and girls and used scores recoded via the binary method, as opposed to the ordinal scoring method. The sample consisted of 934 Malaysian schoolchildren aged 6-12 years (436 boys: mean age 8.86 years; and 498 girls: mean age 9.02 years) [...] There was more source than trait variance for parent rated H/I and teacher rated IA for girls. Unique to the current study is the use of binary as opposed to ordinal data to run the CFA and MTMS analysis. The implications of the findings for the conceptualisation, assessment, treatment, psychometric properties of AD/HD rating scales and the recognition of AD/HD in the Malaysian population are discussed. Suggestions for future research are offered. / Doctor of Psychology (Clinical)

"This dissertation illustrates an interdisciplinary sport science approach to further understand the interaction between physiology and performance in tennis. An integral theme throughout the experimental phases was the emphasis on obtaining information from actual competitive scenarios or settings that simulated a match environment. [...] This study extended the work of similar investigations through the multifaceted methods in which performance was quantified. Overall the thesis provides unique insight into the physiological demands of professional tournament tennis and the constraints these impose on performance. Furthermore, evidence was accrued to support some of the common preparatory and in-match behaviours used by players to enhance performance." / Doctor of Philosophy

Whilst the notion of the ‘Reflective Space’ could arguably encompass many conceptual positions and propositions, for the purposes of this research investigation the ‘Reflective Space’ referred to in the title of this exegesis will focus upon what I consider as an emerging and growing consciousness of the natural world. As a theoretical and conceptual construct, the investigation considers how this growing consciousness can be seen to be expressed through the medium of representations of the Australian landscape. This work considers a number of contemporary theoretical positions and a number of relevant social and political questions; it also acknowledges that within such spheres of reflection, the issue of being sustainable in relation to our interactions and perceptions of this natural world looms as perhaps one of the most pressing of our time. While it will be acknowledged that the depiction of landscape enjoys a long-standing tradition within the Australian cultural mind, the suggestion will be made that certain aspects of these visualisations can be seen to be ‘reflective’ of a visual, cultural and physical degradation, and indeed even an apprehension of the physical ‘space’ that is represented as landscape. The investigation considers and reflects upon what can be observed as contentious and ambivalent attitudes expressed towards landscape perceived through works of art. Strategies for adopting a perceptual visual ethic grounded within the concepts and principles of sustainability will be presented for consideration. By applying such modes of interpretation to perceptions of land and landscape depiction, new appreciations for the cultural ‘space’ that is landscape will be developed. Such understandings will consider and reflect upon the temporal nature of our natural world. The thesis is this: that to be able to think and act in a sustainable fashion in relation to our environment, our perceptions and interpretations of visualisations of landscape must include a recognition that the land is a ‘temporal’ space, in which past and possible futures are immanent in the present. / PhD (Visual Arts)

The sun-moths (family Castniidae) are a distinctive group of monocot-feeding diurnal Lepidoptera that contains a high proportion of threatened species worldwide. Seven of the eight Victorian Synemon species are considered as threatened. This study has determined through extensive fieldwork that most of these species are now restricted to very small remnants of their particular habitats. These findings have been integrated into a review of the current distribution, biology and habitat requirements of all the Victorian species. This has enabled recommendations for their long-term conservation and management to be made. Special attention was paid to the Pale Sun-moth (Synemon selene Klug, 1850) because it appeared to be nationally endangered and without a government strategy for its conservation. Also, there was strong circumstantial evidence of complete parthenogenesis within all of its Victorian populations. The Victorian occurrences are shown to be parthenogenetic, although specimens of both sexes are known from a ?now-extinct population near Two Wells, South Australia. It was also established that these parthenogenetic populations include five distinct morphs, two or three of which occur sympatrically at four localities in the Wimmera area. Parthenogenetic populations of these morphs cannot interbreed, this potentially restricting their genetic diversity. The extent of genetic diversity was examined with all parthenogenetic Victorian morphs of S. selene. DNA sequencing of 1515 bp of the COI gene revealed a maximum divergence level of 12 bp between some of the morphs and 1 to 2 bp within some morphs. This level of genetic diversity implies that these morphs have continued to evolve in the absence of males through time. This study has highlighted the special academic interest of S. selene and the urgent need for its adequate conservation. Some important directions for future research on the species are also discussed. / Master of Applied Science

In this thesis I have researched what I believe is the powerful, catalytic effect of poetry on the creative work of some artists. I have chosen three, Australian painters; Sidney Nolan, James Gleeson and Brett Whiteley. I have looked carefully at how the works of various poets have influenced and inspired these artists. I have put forward the idea that this engagement with the poetic realm has greatly enhanced the artist’s creative form-making. Indeed these artists have acknowledged their strong links with the world of poetry. I have touched very briefly on the ideas of some renowned philosophers who stress society’s need for fine works of art. In my opinion great works of art can come from this linking of painting with poetry and therefore, this nexus is to be encouraged. I have in my own painterly works looked to the poets for inspiration. In The Wimmera Series of landscape works, I read Brian Edwards’ and Homer Reith’s poetry, and found in their imagery a rich source of creative ideas. I continued to read the works of the poets and found that the poetry of Ezra Pound, Dante Alighieri, Judith Wright and the works of many others, were an inspirational and catalytic force. I have also discovered on this artistic journey that the very writing of poetry, my own attempts in this field, seemed to bring to my painting, a sharper, a more analytical and critical focus. Renowned art critics and art historians have criticised contemporary art for its lack of the poetic, and its boring shallowness. I would urge artists to engage with the poetic realm, and this interplay between painting and poetry, may produce fine works of lasting greatness. / Master of Visual Arts

Rapid changes in the competitive environment and increasing customer demands drive the public and private sectors to innovate by continually investing millions of dollars in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects. Basically, organisations depend on ICT technology for every part of their business. Companies are not only challenged to apply new technologies to remain competitive, they also need to spread (diffuse), manage and implement technological innovation across extended organisational boundaries. Diffusion, management and implementation of ICT innovation involve a considerable amount of risk and potentially protracted delays of technological projects. As a consequence of high demand for ICT innovation, as well as the risk of failure, a wide range of organisations such as state agencies and banks now employ so-called change agents to diffuse, manage and implement innovation within technological projects. While a large number of academics and practitioners are concerned with change agents who alter organisational culture, structure and processes, relatively little research has been undertaken on the role of ICT change agents in the innovation process. Thus, this professional doctorate study aims to fill that gap by exploring ICT change agents’ project work experiences within state agencies and banks and fuse them with theory. The research is based on case study methodology, including 41 cases within 12 target organisations in Australia and Germany. As a former ICT change agent, the researcher of this Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) study applied mixed research methods, also incorporating her ICT project experiences by using an individual reflection model. From this investigation emerged that change agents’ roles are embedded in components (organisational structure, project stages) and processes (ICT diffusion, informal networks). These findings underpin the model of ICT change agents who perform the multiple linker roles of these components and processes in order to deliver set project outcomes. The model is designed to inform practice by providing guidance for advanced ICT change agents’ training in public and private sector settings. / Doctor of Business Administration

The complexity in building massive scale parallel processing systems has re- sulted in a growing interest in the study of interconnection networks design. Network design affects the performance, cost, scalability, and availability of parallel computers. Therefore, discovering a good structure of the network is one of the basic issues. From modeling point of view, the structure of networks can be naturally stud- ied in terms of graph theory. Several common desirable features of networks, such as large number of processing elements, good throughput, short data com- munication delay, modularity, good fault tolerance and diameter vulnerability correspond to properties of the underlying graphs of networks, including large number of vertices, small diameter, high connectivity and overall balance (or regularity) of the graph or digraph. The first part of this thesis deals with the issue of interconnection networks ad- dressing system. From graph theory point of view, this issue is mainly related to a graph labeling. We investigate a special family of graph labeling, namely antimagic labeling of a class of disconnected graphs. We present new results in super (a; d)-edge antimagic total labeling for disjoint union of multiple copies of special families of graphs. The second part of this thesis deals with the issue of regularity of digraphs with the number of vertices close to the upper bound, called the Moore bound, which is unobtainable for most values of out-degree and diameter. Regularity of the underlying graph of a network is often considered to be essential since the flow of messages and exchange of data between processing elements will be on average faster if there is a similar number of interconnections coming in and going out of each processing element. This means that the in-degree and out-degree of each processing element must be the same or almost the same. Our new results show that digraphs of order two less than Moore bound are either diregular or almost diregular. / Doctor of Philosophy