The effects of air oxidation on coal may change many important attributes of the coal such as calorific values, solubilities and solvent swelling values. By studying the effects of air oxidation on the soluble portion of coal, we were able to study coal oxidation in a new light.

Spectral and kinetic studies made on CoPc over a concentration range of 1.72 x 10-6M – 1.00 x 10-5M in DMSO are consistent with a monomer-dimer equilibrium at 303 K. The dimerization constant obtained at 303 K is 1.67 x 104M-1 and is two to three orders of magnitude smaller than those of several tetrasulfonated metallophthalocyanines in aqueous solution. The rate constants for the formation and dissociation of the CoPc dimer in DMSO at 303 K are 1.29 x 102M-1s-1 and 7.20 x 10-3s-1, respectively. The low dimerization constant for CoPc in DMSO is attributed to its relatively slow rate of dimer formation. Introduction of cyanide, detergents, and salts to solutions of CoPc in DMSO all enhanced the dissociation of the CoPc dimer. Furthermore, both cyanide and the catonic detergent cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) at concentrations of 6.0 x 10-2M and higher, facilitate oxidation of cobalt in CoPc. For cyanide, this is accomplished by destabilization of the metal eg electrons by back-bonding in the axial positions of CoPc while the CTAB detergent forms a micelle which encapsulates a CoPc monomer striping the dye of axial DMSO molecules in the process. Thus, oxygen can bind to the vacant axial positions on the metal. Kinetic studies of the interactions between cyanide and CoPc in DMSO show two fast reactions which are attributed to the addition of cyanide to the axial positions of CoPc. The rate constants for the addition of the first and second cyanide ligands to CoPc are 7.72 x 105M-1s-1 and 5.51 x 104M-1s-1, respectively, at 299 K. Activation parameters, ΔHs* and ΔSs* for the second cyanide addition are 9.9 kcal/mol and -4.0 e.u., respectively. Both additions are faster than the corresponding reactions with CoTSPc4- in DMSO. The three detergents sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Triton X-100, and cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) dissociate the CoPc dimer more than by dilution with DMSO. Furthermore, Triton X-100 dissociates the CoPc dimer at about the same rate as CTAB while SDS is not as efficient at comparable concentrations to CTAB. The critical micelle concentration for the CTAB-DMSO system is reached at a CTAB concentration of 6.0 x 10-2M where the CoPc dimer dissociation rate nearly triples compared to solvent dilution and oxidation of the metal in CoPc is observed. The addition of tetraethylammonium bromide, tetrapropylammonium bromide and tetrabutylammonium bromide to CoPc in DMSO increases the dimer dissociation rate by a factor of two compared to dilution with DMSO. All salts dissociate the CoPc dimer at similar rates suggesting the hydrocarbon chain is of insufficient length to be as effective as CTAB. Finally, oxygen does not seem to effect the dissociation of the CoPc dimer in DMSO

A nitrogen laser was constructed for use in multiphoton ionization studies. The short pulse duration and highly intense pulse make the nitrogen laser ideal for pumping a dye laser. By using the nitrogen laser to pump a tunable dye laser, the multiphoton ionization spectrum for molecular iodine vapor was obtained for the visible spectrum between 23,188 cm-1 (430 nm) and 16, 304 cm-1 (615 nm) using pulsed electronics and a parallel plate ionization chamber. The ionization occurs in this region upon the absorption of four or five photons. The ionization appears to take place via a three-step process. The first photon excites the molecule to a resonant state which is one of the vibrational states of B3πo+u level. From this level, two photons are absorbed to a higher resonant level, and then ionization takes place when that higher excited state absorbs the one or two photons necessary for ionization.

A review of the research on spatial problem solving indicates that spatial problems can be solved using verbal or spatial strategies. Research on block designs further indicate that increased solving speed is correlated with increased left-handed use in right-handers. However, the effect of strategy teaching on hand involvement has not been explored. The present study selected 38 right-hand dominant college students low in spatial ability (Total Standard Score ≤ 95) using the matrices Analogies Test (Naglieri, 1985). Subjects were randomly assigned to a spatial, verbal, or no (control) strategy condition. After completing the pretest consisting of seven block designs based on Grote and Salmon (1986), subjects spent 20 minutes on strategy training and practice on 67 two-dimensional spatial figures taken from the Dental Aptitude Test (Rudman, 1988). The same block designs used during the pretest were used in the posttest. Results indicate no significant differences in performance between the control and the treatment groups. However, within-group analyses suggest that teaching either a spatial or verbal strategy may help subjects to improve in speed at least for the easier block designs.

Sixty-two male and femal 9-, 10- and 11-year olds were administered the Naglieri Draw-A-Person (DAP) and the Vocabulary and Block Design subtests fro mthe Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). The study was conducted to determine the effects of verbalizations during the DAP on correlations with an estimated Full Scale IQ Score obtained from the two WISC-R subtests. Results of the study indicate that although there was an increase in the correlations between the Verbal DAP group and the estimated Full Scale IQ Score, compared to the standard DAP and the Full Scale IQ, it was not significant. The difference between the mean scores on the Verbal DAP group and the Nonverbal DAP group was also nonsignificant. The overall correlations between the DAP and the estimated Full Scale IQ Scores showed no improvement from previous attempts to correlate standard intelligence tests with drawing tests. Further research is suggested to determine the effects of a larger sample size on a similar design.

This is a thesis about time. It is sited in Perth, Western Australia. Like other Australian states, Western Australia has a modern market system economy and enjoys, comparative to other countries with a market system economy, well developed social welfare and public education systems. The thesis shows how a set of fifteen people from Perth, Western Australia, who had all experienced a change in their domestic arrangements, understood time in the domestic sphere. Drawing upon their representations and constructions of their lives, and focusing on the concept of caring, this work demonstrates how temporal concepts can be utilised to control and limit choices these people have made in their lives.The evidence, collected through a series of open-ended and on-going discussions, is synthesized with theory, particularly the work of Barbara Adam. To Adam, an understanding of time involves appreciating the complexity of time. To gain such an understanding requires a research paradigm that allows this. Such an understanding requires stepping outside Cartesian dualistic thinking, including entrenched notions such as gendered time, and, an appreciation that differing temporal concepts exist and are utilised as mechanisms of control.

Objective: To retrospectively evaluate antibiotic use in pediatric appendectomy procedures following an educational intervention in December 2001. Methodology: Demographic, clinical, and prescribing data was collected for all the patients <18 years old who have had undergone non-perforated appendectomy procedures at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, WA. Data collection and analysis were divided into three groups. Group-I involved patients from May 2002 to April 2004 (which followed the post-intervention follow-up conducted from December 2001-April 2002 by Mallik et al.1). In May 2004, the Western Australian Therapeutic Advisory Group (WATAG) sent an advisory note which recommended a change from the use of cefotetan for surgical prophylaxis to cephazolin plus metronidazole. Group-II of the study involved patients between May 2004 (when the WATAG note was released) and June 2004; while Group-III involved patients from July 2004 to April 2005 (when the hospital issued the new guidelines and withdrawn cefotetan).Patient records were randomly selected for Group I & III and all the records were evaluated for Group III. Results: Records for 408 patients were evaluated across the three groups of the study. There no significant difference (p>0.05) between gender and age across the three groups. An appropriate prophylactic drug regimen was prescribed in 68.5%, 66.7% and 39.8% of patients in Groups I, II and III respectively, with a significant difference in appropriate drug choice between Groups I and III (p <0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to appropriate prophylactic drug dose (p>0.05). Appropriateness rates for antibiotic choices for ward treatment were high at 91.0%, 92.0% and 92.7%, with no significant differences (p>0.05). / There was a significant difference (p<0.05) between the three groups regarding the number of doses for ward treatment, with inappropriateness rates of 29.9%, 40% and 16.4%. The total appropriateness rates (drug choice plus dose in theatre and ward) across the study were 54.7%, 54.2% and 31.5%, with a significant difference (p <0.05) between Groups I and III. Conclusion: This study has identified deficiencies related to the prescribing of antibiotics for prophylaxis. There was a varied level of prescribing appropriateness in terms of antibiotic choice for prophylaxis with an increasing trend for inappropriateness towards the end of the study period. This would indicate that issuing of changed guidelines and withdrawal of the drug being replaced did not positively influence appropriate prescribing. Further interventions are required to improve compliance with hospital prescribing guidelines.

The concentration of phytoplankton in waters off the Western Australian coastline contrast with the coastal waters west of southern Africa and South America. The lack of favourable upwelling conditions results in the majority of the southeastern Indian Ocean surface waters being nutrient poor. Which is reflected in their low productivity. Several areas either on or in close proximity to the coastline are notably more productive. The associated forcing terms generating phytoplankton favourable conditions differ between areas. as do the seasons in which they occur. Measurements of chlorophyll a concentration. the major photosynthetic pigment contained in phytoplankton, may be directly related to oceanic bioproductivity. Using data collected by the Coastal Zone Color Seamier between 1979-86, this work aims to improve the understanding of the spatial and temporal changes that occurred in chlorophyll a abundance in the southeastern Indian Ocean. The highest seasonal mean concentrations occur in Summer (January-March) and Autumn (April-June); the former occurring in waters of the North West Shelf and the latter in close coastal areas of Western Australia south of North West. Cape. Concentrations observed in the offshore oceanic regions are mostly poor. Exceptions to this occur in proximity to the adjacent Indonesian islands and directly south of Albany (possibly due to northwards flow of subantarctic nutrient-rich waters). A considerable interannual variation was also noted, with the highest mean chlorophyll concentrations occurring in 1981. 1982 and 1983. / The influence of the forcing terms on chlorophyll a appears to vary significantly among the waters of North West Shelf, Western and southern Western Australian coastline. This is most notable in the interseasonal variations. The changes observed interannually and their influence on chlorophyll a are not easily discernible. but there may be some connection with the La Nina/El Nino related changes in both currents and winds.

This study was aimed at determining the characteristics of the fish assemblages in nearshore coastal waters of the remote Canning region of tropical Western Australia and to obtain sound quantitative data on crucial aspects of the biology of the two threadfin species, which are commercially and recreationally important in those waters. The community studies focused on comparing the species compositions of the fish faunas found over bare sand and in mangroves and rock pools and on elucidating the factors that influence those compositions. The population studies concentrated on exploring the hermaphroditic characteristics, size and age structures, growth and stock status of the two species of Polynemidae. The arid Canning coast of north-western Australia, which lies between Cape Leveuque (16°21'S, 123°02'E) and Cape Keraudren (19°57'S, 119°46'E),does not contain rivers and thus also estuaries, which traditionally provide alternative fish nursery areas to those found in nearshore waters. It is also subjected to some of the largest tides in the world. The fish faunas at three widely-separated locations, i.e. Port Smith, Eighty Mile Beach and Cape Keraudren, were sampled using seine and gill netting in their shallow, nearshore waters and rotenoning in intertidal pools at the first and third of those locations with the aim of determining the following. 1) The extents to which the diversity, abundance and species composition of the fish faunas of the Canning coast are influenced by location, habitat and time of year. 2) Which species use bare sand, mangroves and/or intertidal pools as nursery areas and which are permanent residents in one or more of those habitats. 3) Identification of the commercial and recreational fish species found in each of the above three habitat types and their relative abundance in those habitats. The fish catches from all three sampling locations collectively yielded 170 species representing 66 families. The most abundant species (with % contributions) in seine net samples collected over unvegetated sand were Stolephorus carpentariae (19.1), Herklotsichthys blackburni (14.7) and Atherinomorus lacunosus (11.8), whereas those in gill net samples taken over the same substrate were Arius proximus (26.6), Eleutheronema tetradactylum (18.8) and Polydactylus macrochir (18.7) and in mangroves were A. proximus (38.9), Valamugil buchanani (18.8) and Scomberoides commersonnianus (18.7). Ambassis vachellii (32.5) and Craterocephalus capreoli (14.4) dominated the catches obtained from intertidal pools. Fifty three of the 170 species that were caught are fished commercially and recreationally along the Canning coast and a further 17 fish species are caught solely by recreational fishers. The most abundant of these species were the polynemids E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir, which are residents of nearshore waters, i.e. are found in these waters throughout the whole of their life cycle. Other species, such as Lutjanus russelli Epinephelus coioides and Sillago vittata, are present in nearshore waters only as juveniles and thus use these waters as a nursery. The compositions of the ichthyofaunal samples collected by both seine and gill nets over bare sand differed markedly among locations. The compositions at Cape Keraudren, the most southerly location, were more similar to those at Port Smith, the most northerly and most protected location, than those that Eighty Mile Beach, the most exposed of the three locations. It is thus proposed that the compositions of the fish faunas found in nearshore, unvegetated waters along the Canning coast are influenced more by factors related to turbidity than those reflecting latitudinal position. The fish fauna at Eighty Mile Beach was distinguished by species typically associated with turbid waters, such as those of the Polynemidae and Sciaenidae and certain species of the Engraulidae, Ariidae, Mugilidae and Carcharhinidae. In contrast, many of those species were absent from catches made in the clearer waters of Port Smith, where the ichthyofauna was disitinguished by certain species of the Clupeidae and Atherinidae and other species associated with low turbidity, such as V. buchanani and Chanos chanos. The compositions of the fish faunas sampled over bare sand by gill and seine nets underwent marked seasonal changes. Furthermore, these changes, particularly in the case of seine net catches, tended to undergo a conspicuous cyclical progression during the year as a result of time-staggered changes in the recruitment and emigration of certain species. The species responsible for seasonal differences in either the gill and/or seine net samples included nearshore residents, such as the clupeids H. blackburni and Spratelloides delicatulus, the polynemids E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir, the engraulidid Thryssa hamiltonii and the atherinids A. lacunosus and C. capreoli, as well as species such as the sillaginid S. vittata, which use nearshore waters as a nursery area. At a broader level, the compositions of the fish sampled by gill net in the wet and dry periods were also distinct, reflecting, in particular, the influx of certain species during the wet period, e.g. mature ariid catfish and the juveniles of a number of elasmobranchs, such as the endangered Green Sawfish Pristis zijsron, aggregate in nearshore, shallow waters during this period. The fish faunas of the intertidal pools at Port Smith and Cape Keraudren, which were sampled using rotenone, differed markedly from each other and from those over nearby bare sand substrates on the coast. The ichthyofauna of intertidal pools at Port Smith was distinguished from that at Cape Keraudren by relatively greater numbers of C. capreoli at the former location, whereas the opposite situation pertained with Amniataba caudavittatus, Acanthopagrus latus and L. macrolepis at Cape Keraudren. These differences were attributable to differences in habitat characteristics of intertidal pools, with pools at the former location containing clearer water and greater amounts of rock, while those at the latter contained mangroves. Few species were caught in both intertidal pools and in the surrounding shallow, nearshore waters, demonstrating that the rock pools provide an important habitat for certain fish species. The composition of the fish fauna of intertidal pools at Port Smith underwent an essentially cyclical progression over the course of a year, reflecting the timing and strength of recruitment of the juveniles of the various species. The species responsible for this recruitment-related change in the fish fauna included both nearshore residents, such as A. vachellii, C. capreoli and A. lacunosus, as well as transient species that use intertidal pools as a nursery area, i.e. E. coioides and L. russelli. In contrast, the seasonal progression in species composition in intertidal pools at Cape Keraudren was largely related to the influence of a tropical cyclone. The fish community in the period immediately following the cyclone was depauparate and distinguished, from that before the cyclone, in particular by a lack of A. vachellii and A. latus. The Blue and King Threadfins E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir, which were among the most abundant species in the seine and gill net catches taken in unvegetated waters, are key species in the Kimberley Managed Gill Net and Barramundi Fishery (KMGBF) and important recreational target species. In addition, these species are an important source of food and of cultural significance for local indigenous communities. The importance of the shared nature of these resources and the marked fluctuations undergone by the catches of threadfin in recent years led to the second major component of this thesis, i.e. to obtain reliable data on the reproductive biology, age compositions, growth rates and mortality of E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir, of the type that are required by managers for developing plans to conserve the stocks of these species in north-western Australia. Length and age compositions of male, bisexual (i.e. possessing gonads comprising both testicular and ovarian tissue) and female E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir, and histological characteristics of the gonads of the full size range of threadfin were examined and analysed. The results demonstrate that, in north-western Australian waters, each of these species is a protandrous hermaphrodite, i.e. individuals mature first as males before changing sex to female. Sexual maturity is attained by 50% of male E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir at ca 200 and 230 mm, respectively. For both species, these lengths approximate those attained towards the end of their first year of life. However, the lengths and ages at which these two species typically change sex differ markedly. In the case of E. tetradactylum, gtransitionalh fish (i.e. those with bisexual gonads assumed to be changing sex) were most prevalent at total lengths between 300 and 400 mm. All fish greater than 450 mm total length possessed gonads that consisted exclusively of ovarian tissue. The L50 for sex change from male and transitional fish to females is ca 400 mm. Thus, the majority of E. tetradactylum change sex during their second or third years of life and males are rarely older than three years. In contrast, the range of lengths at which transitional individuals of P. macrochir were recorded was much broader than E. tetradactylum, i.e. between 310 and 1140 mm. The data on the prevalences of males and females in sequential age classes demonstrate that sex change can occur in P. macrochir as young as two years old and up to eight years old. The lengths at which E. tetradactylum changes sex in north-western Australia was relatively similar at all locations, whereas the L50 for sex change in P. macrochir varied markedly among sampling locations. For example, the L50 value for sex inversion was ca 790 mm at Derby, compared with ca 1160 mm at Anna Plains. The differences presumably reflect variations in environmental conditions at those localities. Analysis of the ages of male, transitional and female E. tetradactylum revealed that the change from male to female by this species occurs over a period of ca 6 months. The presence of mature sperm in transitional gonads, in combination with trends exhibited by the GSIs of the testicular and ovarian portions of transitional gonads, demonstrate that, during the spawning season, transitional threadfin function as males. Analyses indicate that, once individual E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir change sex to become females, all individuals function as mature females during successive breeding seasons. Both species of threadfin have protracted spawning periods of ca 6 months. However, the monthly trends exhibited by the mean GSIs and the proportion of the various gonad stages show that the spawning of both species peaks during spring and early summer, i.e. September to December, and occurs on multiple occasions each year. In north-western Australia, P. macrochir grows far larger and lives for longer than E. tetradactylum, a difference reflected in the maximum total lengths and ages recorded for these two species, i.e. 1393 mm and 10 years vs 793 mm and 6 years, respectively. In addition, P. macrochir grows faster than E. tetradactylum, attaining lengths of 322, 520 and 945 mm vs 245, 400 and 635 mm, by the end of years 1, 2 and 5, respectively. For both species, estimates of total, natural and fishing mortality were derived using different life history models, simulation based on the number of fish in samples above a specified age, relative abundance analyses and a Monte Carlo resampling approach. The various biological parameters determined for E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir, including the estimates of mortality, were incorporated into yield per recruit, spawning biomass per recruit and spawning potential ratio analyses to determine the current impacts of fishing on each species in north-western Australia. The results of these analyses indicate that E. tetradactylum is fully exploited and that P. macrochir is overexploited. The effectiveness of various management options is evaluated. The data produced during the first part of this thesis on the diversity, abundance and species compositions of fish faunas in different nearshore habitats along the Canning coast of north-western Australia, and the way these faunas are influenced by season, provides fisheries and environmental managers with information that will enable them to develop management plans for these habitats and their fish species. In addition, the biological data for E. tetradactylum and P. macrochir, and the results of the stock assessments performed on these species, will enable fisheries managers to develop plans for conserving the stocks of these two species in north-western Australia.

As the focus of this research- ie. an examination of the internal and external vulnerabilities of the international tourism industry - is both exploratory and multi-disciplinary, a broad range of generic and industry-specific sources have been consulted. Accordingly, depending on their direct or peripheral relevance to the research topic, some areas have been researched more comprehensively than others. In addition, some issues have richer research bases than others. As examples, the literature on strategic management theory is quite comprehensive, but it is not the central focus of the topic, whereas the structure of the tourism industry is crucial to an analysis of its vulnerability but literature on this issue is sparse and fragmented. Notwithstanding these limitations this literature review attempts to encompass all relevant research areas in a logical manner, proceeding from a cursory examination of the economic and social significance of the tourism industry, its research and definitional issues; through a considerably more comprehensive analysis of its complex inter- and intra- sectoral structures and relationships with its multiple business environments; towards an exploration of the application of vulnerability/sustainability and strategic/crisis management theories. Specifically, the review is divided into the following sections: the nature of the tourism industry; the business environments for tourism; vulnerability and sustainability, strategic and crisis management. The structure parallels the framework used in the accompanying rationale. All sections analyse the major issues of the relevant literature and discuss them in relation to the vulnerability and sustainability of the international tourism industry. The review concludes with an overall summary of the significant themes and dilemmas. / Doctor of Business Administration