This thesis is broadly concerned with the representation of the environment of a mobile robot and the modelling of its motion. An attempt has been made to address some issues of the laser scan matching for global self-localization and map building. Different methods for the interpretation of sensor information have been investigated. Mobile robots have many applications in transportation, surveillance, health care and mining etc. For a successful navigation, the representation of the environment is crucial. The robot environment interaction is very complex in practice. Many factors contribute to this complexity, such as the electromechanical hardware structure and complex controlling and navigational programming modules. Above all however, it is the environment itself which is usually very complex. The perception model is the most important component of the navigation system of a mobile robot, at the core of which is the representation of the environment. Environment parameters are difficult to model and simplistic models are used in various position estimation techniques. However, for true autonomous navigation, the environment should be represented in a more dense fashion and the interpretation should be straightforward. The robot interacts with its environment using sensors. The sensory information provides clues about the location of the robot but the interpretion of this information is very challenging. Some type of model or a mathematical description of the environment is required for any meaningful interpretation and for making critical navigational decisions when a new observation arrives. The second key component of a navigation system is a motion model. Due to structural and software complexity the behaviour of a robot is rarely repeatable under the same motion commands. This can be attributed to many factors such as slippage, wear and tear of wheels at different rates, floor conditions or obstacle negotiation strategies. This means that motion commands have an associated uncertainty and need statistical treatment. Similarly the processing of raw laser data, although highly desirable, is computationally very expensive and therefore we usually need to make a trade off and extract some features from this data, despite losing some of the information. In this thesis we investigated three core issues of motion modelling, perception (or observation) modelling and scan correlation. Some auxiliary issues have also been addressed, such as the extraction of features from laser data and a broader classification of the environment suitable for certain situations. In regard to environment representation, we used the geometrical form of representation and tried to extract some statistical formulation. This method suggests to capture the environment model in a statistical form before the start of navigation when the map is known. The detailed parametric representation of the environment is obtained along with a proposal for a laser scan matching method based on geometrical line and corner features. The geometrical representation is based on some features extracted from raw laser data. This is considered a compact and easily implementable form, which was one of the objectives of our research, however utilisation of all the sensory information is still desirable and we have also investigated this issue. The models have been tested thoroughly on simulations and with real data in laboratory and office-like indoor environments. Laser scan matching is a technique of position estimation based on matching two laser scans taken at the initial and final positions of the robot. We also presented a method to find out the degree of match between two laser scans. At the end of the thesis, the scan correlation has been used to find the most reliable landmarks in the environment. This approach filters out the nuisance landmarks which increase the size of matrices in Simultaneous Localization and Mapping algorithms. An improved computational efficiency was of primary concern and a main focus of this research. All the methods proposed in this thesis, such as feature extraction, broader classification, parametric formulation, line segment based scan matching and the scan matching for measurement updates address the computational issues in a fundamental way by using an appropriate formulation of the problem.

Folate is an important B vitamin in the daily diet. It is not known to what extent naturally occurring folates in the mixed diet is bioavailable. Knowledge on to what extent the natural folates are absorbed would be best studied in a population that is not exposed to any folate fortificant. The aim of the present study was to study the bioavailability of dietary 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) in a whole day??s mixed diet relative to supplemental 5-MTHF in a selected Indian population. A dietary survey (n=200) conducted in South India, revealed a mean total intake of folate of 277+ 92.3 μg/day (which is nearly 3 times higher than the current Indian Recommended Dietary Intake set to 100 μg/day) based on the actual analysis of foods collected from a typical diet using a trienzyme technique followed by the microbiological assay. Further, the individual folate forms present in the foods were also analysed using a newly developed Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry LC-MS/MS). Quantification of folates was performed using internal standards. Good linearity was observed between 2-100 ng/Injection (Injection volume-100 μL, R2: 0.98) that was suitable for analysis of foods (cereal, pulse, vegetables, milk based preparations and fruit) and blood samples (serum folate and erythrocyte folate) for use in bioavailability study. The folate intakes were reported to be higher (429+ 68.7 μg/day) when the individual foods from the diet were analysed using the LC-MS/MS technique when compared to the values generated using microbiological assay. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed that the Indian diets were predominant in 5-MTHF and the important sources being cereals, pulses and vegetables. 22 human volunteers, aged 18-25 years were recruited in India to study the bioavailability of 5-MTHF. A randomized trial (12 weeks) was designed, where the subjects consumed 400 g 5-MTHF/day in the form of as supplemental drink or an experimental diet (400 g/day) consisting predominantly 5-MTHF (90%). Relative bioavailability of 5-MTHF was calculated by comparing the responses to food folate in relation to supplemental 5-MTHF, as indicated by the biomarkers. The relative bioavailability of food folate predominant in 5-MTHF was 41% based on serum folate indicator and 47% based on erythrocyte folate status. A mean increase of 60% was observed in the erythrocyte folate levels of the subjects consuming diets predominant in 5-MTHF in 12 weeks. Diets predominant in 5-MTHF have a good potential in improving the folate status of the population.

The Transplanted Bush: Dislocation, Desire and the Domestic takes as its theme the idea of the Australian bush and seeks new ways to represent it within the traditions of Australian figurative landscape painting. The research identifies ways to disrupt the bush brand, a paradigm that has played a significant and romantic role in the construction of Australian national identity, as a rallying point for nationalist sentiment and to sell Australia to the world as a unique tourist destination. The bush, as a space that is anti-city, an idea that generally relies on a British genealogy, and one that is constructed according to hetero-normative strategies, is significant in the creation of Australian identity because it is widely regarded as the real Australia. Real in this context has somehow become distorted to mean those parts of our nation that make us distinct from the rest of the world, while continuing to reflect the values and aspirations of a dominant culture and its heroic history of colonising and domesticating a strange land. The overriding focus of this investigation has been to determine to what extent it is possible to reconceptualize the bush brand so that it can accommodate new themes of identity, particularly in relation to gender and sexuality. This research adopts the position that the bush is an idea that has relied heavily upon myths, legends and mono-cultural perspectives for its construction and, as a result, is open to negotiation. Consequently, this investigation takes place at the very heart of the bush paradigm, within its grand master narratives, by engaging with its symbols and signifiers. It reviews the ideological and representational role played by the traditional model of Australian figurative landscape painting, and considered how it can be reinvested with new signs, symbols, motifs, colours and ideas. By developing and introducing a new vocabulary of signs and symbols that erodes the distinctions between the bush, the urban and the domestic, this research disrupts the internal logic and coherence of the bush brand.

This thesis adopts post-colonial theory as a reading strategy to address both fiction and interdisciplinary critical writing on the subject of tourism. The introduction argues for the viability of this methodology, highlighting similarities between the ideological underpinnings of tourism and imperialism, especially in relation to the power of the gaze. The first chapter draws on analyses of early exploration and travel writing to advance the argument that as the ideology of empire was encoded in travel writing, so contemporary tourist culture, in so far as it has inherited this discourse, continues to operate within it. I suggest that in much the same way as the explorer???s gaze was a form of creating knowledge disseminated through writing, fiction constitutes a cultural production that contests the power of the gaze. The second chapter focuses on the ambivalent effects of the commodification of culture caused by the tourist industry. I argue that cultural tourism, centred on heritage and history, has constituted a platform from which to review conventional representations of Australian history in a way that demonstrates the relevance of heritage to contemporary national narratives. The third and final chapter examines the relationship between cultural performances in tourism and subject formation, contending that the repetitive nature of performance offers an ideal opportunity to interpolate transformative views of both locals and tourists into the conventional tourist discourse.

Successful implementation of any technology requires acceptance by the users. Numerous studies in the area of information technology acceptance, based on wellknown theories have been conducted to examine technology acceptance models and predict user adoption/acceptance behaviour. There are several studies dealing with patients??? acceptance of different telemedicine applications, but few about the patients??? acceptance of home telecare. Most existing studies are not based on a strong theoretical framework. In this study, based on an extensive literature review and preliminary qualitative data, a theoretical model of the effect of Home Telecare Management System (HTMS) characteristics and psychological variables associated with technophobia on patients??? acceptance of HTMS is proposed. The proposed model is an augmented Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of Davis (1986), which is called Home Telecare Management System acceptance model (HTMS-AM), in which TAM has been augmented by two constructs: HTMS anxiety and HTMS self-efficacy. The model is proposed to improve our understanding regarding patients??? acceptance of HTMS, which may lead to successful design and implementation of home telecare systems. In addition, it can be used as a theoretical basis to evaluate new generations of HTMS in terms of users acceptance in the early stage of their design and development even prior to implementation. In order to test the reliability and validity of the measures, video demonstrations of a home telecare system and demonstration of a system prototype to potential users was employed. To propose the HTMS-AM the following five stages were taken: 1. General well-known theoretical models of human behaviour from psychology and technology acceptance models from information technology were reviewed to create a basic template for the proposed model. 2. A preliminary study (focus group interviews, Chapter 5) was conducted to assess patients??? perceptions of HTMS. 3. Based on an extensive literature review and findings from preliminary qualitative studies, HTMS acceptance model was proposed, to improve our understanding about factors, which may affect patients??? intention to use HTMS. Several adaptations were applied in the model to be applicable in the HTMS context, such as augmenting the model with HTMS self-efficacy and HTMS anxiety constructs. 4. To measure the different psychological variables in the proposed model, valid and reliable measures from previous studies were used. However the preliminary study was used to develop measures, which did not exist in the literature. 5. These measures were tested in the final study. The subjects were patients who had been affected with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and/or Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). Given the chronic nature of these diseases, the necessity for extended monitoring and management and frequent admission to hospitals due to worsening health status, these patients were deemed the most appropriate candidates for the HTMS. Further studies with more cases need to be conducted to test the actual model in which the impact of HTMS characteristics, psychological and demographic factors associated with technophobia upon intention to use the HTMS and the correlation of these factors with each other in appropriate healthcare settings.

Do western management practices and beliefs and Chinese business practices complement or substitute each other in the emerging world of Chinese business? This thesis explores the interaction between two central ideas in western and Chinese thinking about the way business should be done ??? between the western emphasis on market orientation as the key to profitable growth, and the Chinese reliance on traditional networks embodied in the concept of guanxi. These two variables are embedded in a broader model of strategic decision making in order to identify moderating factors that may influence performance outcomes. Following pretests and in-depth interviews, in 2003 a sample of 152 businesses was drawn in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang area from two industries, the electronics industry and the textile/garment industry. Low response rates and a small sample were two important limiting factors. Two broad analytical approaches were used. The first made use of graphical smoothing methodology, an approach that facilitates the identification of complex non-linear interactions among the variables. The second used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) where a linear structure is imposed on the relationships among the variables, allowing simultaneous consideration of the full variable set together with an analysis of fit and measurement error, while the graphical smoothing non-linear method was effectively limited to three variables at a time. The graphical analysis suggested the existence of nonlinearities in many relationships, and found a positive interaction between guanxi and market orientation in influencing performance, and that both were in that sense complements rather than substitutes. The SEM analysis suggested that while there were some indirect links between guanxi, market orientation and performance, these were relatively weak, (although the use of guanxi with other managers was a factor in market orientation), and that the primary driver of performance was the strength of the competitive advantage possessed by the firm. This factor directly impacted market orientation, indirectly affected guanxi and accounted for much of the observed correlation between the two cultural variables, guanxi and market orientation, and performance.

This thesis constructs, principally from primary sources, a long term time series for house and land prices for Sydney and Melbourne, and house price and rental yield series for Australia. These new series span the period 1880-1965 and give an historical perspective beyond the period from 1970 for which existing house price time series begin for Australia and for most of the world. The price series indicates that the modern experience (i.e. since the 1970s) of a significant upward trend in real prices differs markedly from the experience in the first half of the 20th century when house prices moved very little. The thesis then takes several approaches to explaining the apparent shift in direction in the mid 20th century. The first approach examines house prices in terms of demand and supply variables. Urban theory says that demographic and income factors are critical. However, assessed over this long time span, these demand factors do not offer a satisfactory explanation. Additionally, it is found that there is no cointegrating relationship between prices and income. Rather, it appears that supply factors have probably been the pivotal influence in explaining the shift in direction, consistent with a growing literature which focuses on the role of regulation and other constraints on supply. In Australia???s case, government policies imposing capital contributions on the cost of land appear to be a major factor. The second approach taken is to view housing in terms of asset pricing as more typically applied to the equity market by Campbell and Shiller (1988) and others. A central debate is whether or not there has been a structural fall in the equity yield and given the parallel fall in the house yield, this question is posed for housing. The thesis finds that tax and other factors can explain a structural decline in the housing yield. The house rental yield appears to be a better predictor of future rental growth and a negative predictor of future returns.

This thesis constructs, principally from primary sources, a long term time series for house and land prices for Sydney and Melbourne, and house price and rental yield series for Australia. These new series span the period 1880-1965 and give an historical perspective beyond the period from 1970 for which existing house price time series begin for Australia and for most of the world. The price series indicates that the modern experience (i.e. since the 1970s) of a significant upward trend in real prices differs markedly from the experience in the first half of the 20th century when house prices moved very little. The thesis then takes several approaches to explaining the apparent shift in direction in the mid 20th century. The first approach examines house prices in terms of demand and supply variables. Urban theory says that demographic and income factors are critical. However, assessed over this long time span, these demand factors do not offer a satisfactory explanation. Additionally, it is found that there is no cointegrating relationship between prices and income. Rather, it appears that supply factors have probably been the pivotal influence in explaining the shift in direction, consistent with a growing literature which focuses on the role of regulation and other constraints on supply. In Australia???s case, government policies imposing capital contributions on the cost of land appear to be a major factor. The second approach taken is to view housing in terms of asset pricing as more typically applied to the equity market by Campbell and Shiller (1988) and others. A central debate is whether or not there has been a structural fall in the equity yield and given the parallel fall in the house yield, this question is posed for housing. The thesis finds that tax and other factors can explain a structural decline in the housing yield. The house rental yield appears to be a better predictor of future rental growth and a negative predictor of future returns.

Successful implementation of any technology requires acceptance by the users. Numerous studies in the area of information technology acceptance, based on wellknown theories have been conducted to examine technology acceptance models and predict user adoption/acceptance behaviour. There are several studies dealing with patients??? acceptance of different telemedicine applications, but few about the patients??? acceptance of home telecare. Most existing studies are not based on a strong theoretical framework. In this study, based on an extensive literature review and preliminary qualitative data, a theoretical model of the effect of Home Telecare Management System (HTMS) characteristics and psychological variables associated with technophobia on patients??? acceptance of HTMS is proposed. The proposed model is an augmented Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of Davis (1986), which is called Home Telecare Management System acceptance model (HTMS-AM), in which TAM has been augmented by two constructs: HTMS anxiety and HTMS self-efficacy. The model is proposed to improve our understanding regarding patients??? acceptance of HTMS, which may lead to successful design and implementation of home telecare systems. In addition, it can be used as a theoretical basis to evaluate new generations of HTMS in terms of users acceptance in the early stage of their design and development even prior to implementation. In order to test the reliability and validity of the measures, video demonstrations of a home telecare system and demonstration of a system prototype to potential users was employed. To propose the HTMS-AM the following five stages were taken: 1. General well-known theoretical models of human behaviour from psychology and technology acceptance models from information technology were reviewed to create a basic template for the proposed model. 2. A preliminary study (focus group interviews, Chapter 5) was conducted to assess patients??? perceptions of HTMS. 3. Based on an extensive literature review and findings from preliminary qualitative studies, HTMS acceptance model was proposed, to improve our understanding about factors, which may affect patients??? intention to use HTMS. Several adaptations were applied in the model to be applicable in the HTMS context, such as augmenting the model with HTMS self-efficacy and HTMS anxiety constructs. 4. To measure the different psychological variables in the proposed model, valid and reliable measures from previous studies were used. However the preliminary study was used to develop measures, which did not exist in the literature. 5. These measures were tested in the final study. The subjects were patients who had been affected with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and/or Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). Given the chronic nature of these diseases, the necessity for extended monitoring and management and frequent admission to hospitals due to worsening health status, these patients were deemed the most appropriate candidates for the HTMS. Further studies with more cases need to be conducted to test the actual model in which the impact of HTMS characteristics, psychological and demographic factors associated with technophobia upon intention to use the HTMS and the correlation of these factors with each other in appropriate healthcare settings.

Successful implementation of any technology requires acceptance by the users. Numerous studies in the area of information technology acceptance, based on wellknown theories have been conducted to examine technology acceptance models and predict user adoption/acceptance behaviour. There are several studies dealing with patients??? acceptance of different telemedicine applications, but few about the patients??? acceptance of home telecare. Most existing studies are not based on a strong theoretical framework. In this study, based on an extensive literature review and preliminary qualitative data, a theoretical model of the effect of Home Telecare Management System (HTMS) characteristics and psychological variables associated with technophobia on patients??? acceptance of HTMS is proposed. The proposed model is an augmented Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of Davis (1986), which is called Home Telecare Management System acceptance model (HTMS-AM), in which TAM has been augmented by two constructs: HTMS anxiety and HTMS self-efficacy. The model is proposed to improve our understanding regarding patients??? acceptance of HTMS, which may lead to successful design and implementation of home telecare systems. In addition, it can be used as a theoretical basis to evaluate new generations of HTMS in terms of users acceptance in the early stage of their design and development even prior to implementation. In order to test the reliability and validity of the measures, video demonstrations of a home telecare system and demonstration of a system prototype to potential users was employed. To propose the HTMS-AM the following five stages were taken: 1. General well-known theoretical models of human behaviour from psychology and technology acceptance models from information technology were reviewed to create a basic template for the proposed model. 2. A preliminary study (focus group interviews, Chapter 5) was conducted to assess patients??? perceptions of HTMS. 3. Based on an extensive literature review and findings from preliminary qualitative studies, HTMS acceptance model was proposed, to improve our understanding about factors, which may affect patients??? intention to use HTMS. Several adaptations were applied in the model to be applicable in the HTMS context, such as augmenting the model with HTMS self-efficacy and HTMS anxiety constructs. 4. To measure the different psychological variables in the proposed model, valid and reliable measures from previous studies were used. However the preliminary study was used to develop measures, which did not exist in the literature. 5. These measures were tested in the final study. The subjects were patients who had been affected with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and/or Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). Given the chronic nature of these diseases, the necessity for extended monitoring and management and frequent admission to hospitals due to worsening health status, these patients were deemed the most appropriate candidates for the HTMS. Further studies with more cases need to be conducted to test the actual model in which the impact of HTMS characteristics, psychological and demographic factors associated with technophobia upon intention to use the HTMS and the correlation of these factors with each other in appropriate healthcare settings.