Family members or carers often undergo a process of recovery which is similar to their loved one. This recovery journey is personal, dynamic and needs to focus on the family members’ strengths not only on their deficits or problems. ‘Personal and Relational Empowerment’ is a term that could be used to describe the recovery journeys of family members or carers, as they seldom see themselves as being in recovery. A ‘Personal and Relational Empowerment’ framework focuses on the intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships of family members. This framework concentrates on the family members’ needs and living their lives in line with their values. Identity is viewed as a fundamental component of ‘Personal and Relational Empowerment’. Personal identity involves the personal meanings that individuals assign to their identity; and can be viewed as the relationship people have with themselves. There is often a discrepancy between how people perceive themselves and how they would ideally like to be. This discrepancy produces feelings of frustration and disappointment; therefore, family members may be motivated to decrease these feelings by moving towards their ideal self (decreasing selfdiscrepancy).

Investigating personal identity may enable the identification of ways to help promote not only coping but also encourage growth and development of the family member towards a ‘preferred’ or ‘ideal’ self. Therefore, the internal processes of identity were investigated with the following research question: How do family members perceive themselves and others in regards to selected personal constructs? Personal identity may also affect or be affected by the other processes associated with recovery. Therefore, the relationship between identity, specifically self-discrepancy, and processes of recovery were investigated with the following research question: What is the relationship between identity (self-discrepancy) and other processes associated with recovery, such as, grief, coping, well-being and stigma? Support groups provide an opportunity for families to share their experiences and to receive help and guidance. What family members or carers experience in the support group may be used within the family to help improve family functioning. Personal identity may also provide an insight into the way that family members perceive their family and support group. Therefore, family, support group and identity were investigated with the following research question: What is the relationship between how the family members perceive their family and the support group? Interviews were conducted to identify themes that occurred from the time the family members’ loved ones had a substance use and/or mental health disorder and after 12 months. The following research question was investigated: What themes are identified in the interviews at the start and after 12 months?

To investigate the research questions a mixed methods design was used. The quantitative component involved the use of questionnaires and a repertory grid. There were seven questionnaires which focused on experiences of care giving, hope, wellbeing, grief, family, support group and recovery. The repertory grid technique was used to examine identity from both ideographic and nomothetic perspectives. The qualitative component involved semi-structured interviews. The participants were drawn from support groups and services for family members or carers impacted by their loved ones substance use and/or mental health disorders. The research included both cross-sectional and longitudinal data collection. The cross-sectional study involved 77 participants (17 males, 33 females; average age 58.67 years) from eight drug and alcohol carer support services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The longitudinal study conducted over 12 months (Time 1 and Time 2) involved 44 participants (11 males and 33 females; average age 62.02 years) from the ‘Very Important Families’ support group provided by the Salvation Army, Wollongong, New South Wales. Nineteen of these participants (5 males and 14 females; average age 62.84 years) were involved in the interviews at Time 1 and Time 2.

Many of the findings in relation to the internal processes of identity are related to the family members’ different selves (i.e., ‘best self’, ‘ideal self’ and ‘past self’) and their loved one. Initially, family members perceived their ideal self and loved one as significantly different; however, after 12 months they perceived them as being similar to each other. Over time family members viewed their loved one more positively and differently from how they viewed themselves on their best day.

Over 12 months there were significant changes in the recovery processes that reflect an intrapersonal relationship (e.g., hope, well-being, personal sacrifice and burden). However, there were no significant changes in those recovery processes reflecting an interpersonal relationship (e.g., experiences of caregiving and worry and felt isolation). It was found that decreases in self-discrepancy predicted increases in the positive aspects of care giving (e.g., emotional well-being and social well-being).

Self-discrepancy moderated the relationship between social learning and how much family members identified with the support group. This finding suggests that the degree to which family members identify with the support group is influenced by the combination of both a movement towards their ideal self (i.e., a decrease in selfdiscrepancy) and how much family members are able to generalise their experiences between the support group and family (i.e., an increase in social learning).

In regards to the interviews, initially the family members’ focus was on the behaviour of their respective loved ones. After 12 months, the focus was mainly on the family members themselves with references to their loved one, other members of their family and the community. The themes occurring after 12 months, identified using Leximancer v 3.5, were more positive than those at baseline. Initially, there was a focus on the negative impacts that their loved one’s substance use and/or mental health disorder had on family members. This negative impact was not only in the past but was currently experienced by family members. After 12 months there was a more positive outlook which persisted regardless of whether their loved ones were in recovery or not. After 12 months, family members spoke about life being better than the past, happier in the present, and more optimistic about the future.

These findings have implications for services providing support for families, particularly in terms of family members refocussing their energies on their own lives. This may enable family members to clarify who they are and who they want to be, and use their own strengths to practice their preferred identities. That is, fulfilling the higher order needs, and moving towards self-actualisation as described in the ‘Personal and relational empowerment’ framework. The movement towards an ideal self has been shown to lead to increases in hope, well-being and the quality of their interpersonal relationships. This increase in the positive aspects of care giving may influence other interpersonal relationships such as those in the community, support group and family.

This research indicates that family members’ or carers’ personal identities are changed when they are impacted by, and recovering from, their loved one’s substance use and/or mental health disorder. Family members initially focus on their loved one and perceive them more negatively. Over time family members focus more on themselves, where they perceive themselves more positively and are optimistic about their future. This finding has impacts on the positive aspects of care giving, as well as the relationship between family members’ ability to generalise their experiences between the support group and family, and the degree to which they identify with the support group. Regardless of whether their loved one was in recovery or not, when family members refocus on themselves a number of positive outcomes are achieved.

Thesis Aim: The aim of this thesis was to identify factors that influence breast support choices made by Australian females when they participate in physical activity, and then systematically investigate the factors that may deter females from using sports bras in order to develop recommendations for improving sports bra usage.

Approach: A mail out survey was firstly used to analyse consumer usage of sports bras in a general Australian female population (Chapter 2), and to determine the deterrents to their use in this population (Chapter 3). Based on the survey results, two subsequent studies were designed to systematically investigate two factors that the survey respondents disliked about current sports bras: (i) the perceived tightness of sports bras around the wearer’s torso (Chapter 4); and (ii) perceived problems associated with sports bra shoulder straps digging into and/or slipping off the wearer’s shoulder (Chapter 5).

Results: The survey revealed that sports bras were not the most common breast support choice during physical activity, with only 41% of respondents indicating they currently wore a sports bra during physical activity (Chapter 2). Furthermore, the main sports bra features that respondents “extremely disliked” were the shoulder straps digging into the shoulder (34%) and the shoulder straps slipping off the shoulder (34%). From a design perspective, respondents also indicated that the perceived tightness of the sports bra around the chest was another disliked feature that deterred them from wearing a sports bra (Chapter 3).

When investigating the perceived tightness of sports bras around the wearer’s torso (Chapter 4), it was revealed that although the sports bra imparted significantly more pressure on the torsos of the females with smaller breasts, when compared with the fashion bra, this increased pressure did not significantly affect measured lung volumes or bra comfort scores. Bra size (or breast hypertrophy), however, affected maximal exercise ability, as well as some temporal measures of resting and submaximal respiration, whereby the participant’s with larger breasts displayed lower maximal exercise ability and faster rates of inspiration.

Investigating the effects of modifying bra shoulder strap orientation (Chapter 5) revealed that the cross-back strap orientation significantly reduced vertical breast displacement (VBD) compared to the no strap condition. However, there was no significant difference between the traditional and cross-back strap orientations in their ability to reduce VBD and both strap orientations successfully reduced breast pain compared to the no strap condition. Although the cross-back strap orientation resulted in some higher force and mean pressure values at the strap-shoulder interface compared to the traditional strap orientation, no significant difference was found between the two strap orientations. Unexpectedly, inserting a bra strap cushion under a bra strap was not effective in decreasing the pressure at the bra strap-shoulder interface due to design flaws that prevented the strap cushion from adequately increasing the strap-shoulder contact area.

Major Conclusions: Sports bras were not the most common breast support choice during physical activity, whereby factors such as perceived tightness around the chest and the shoulder straps digging into or slipping off the shoulder were identified as deterrents to the use of sports bras. However, no significant restriction to respiratory mechanics during exercise was found when participants wore a correctly fitted encapsulating sports bra, compared to other forms of breast support. In addition, if the bra is correctly fitted, using a cross-back strap orientation is a viable option to prevent shoulder straps from slipping off the shoulder of the wearer, without affecting vertical breast support. Further research is warranted to look at strategies to prevent sports bra straps digging into the shoulders of the bra wearer in order to improve sports bra usage when females participate in physical activity.

However to ensure that this level of optimisation and quality can be maintained the focus of research has moved towards the occupational health and safety of the welder. Fume formation rates of welding consumables is one of the areas of interest. Copper has long been used in the production of welding wires firstly as a drawing aid but of late as a protective coating on carbon steel wires to improve the shelf life of the product and secondly to decrease the electrical contact resistance.Previous studies of the fume formation rate (FFR) have indicated that copper coated welding wires produce more fume than un-coppered wires. The copper content of welding wires is defined as a total value that will include the base metal copper content and the added copper in the coating.

The initial investigation focussed on the determination of the FFR of a group of welding wires of known chemical composition welded using a fixed set of welding parameters. The wires were further characterised by determining the quality and appearance of their surface condition and the possible influence that this may have had on the FFR results. The tests confirmed that there was an increase in the FFR with the copper coated wires, however a large variation in results was observed. It was further noted that the un-coppered wires were very unstable during the welding process, indicating that the welding parameters may not have been optimised for these wires.To eliminate fluctuations caused by variations in the chemical composition and manufacturing process that may have influenced the FFR a group of wires were specifically manufactured for this investigation. These wires originated from the same base material and were manufactured following the same manufacturing route. The major difference was that the amount of copper deposited on two of the wires was accurately controlled to deliver two levels of total copper content.

In addition to the control of the basic chemical composition of the wires, FFR testing was performed using an “auto-control” unit developed by the University of Wollongong to maintain optimum welding parameters.

The results of this testing indicated that the increase in FFR for coppered wires varied from 18% to 32%. The second part of the investigation concentrated on finding an explanation for the increased FFR as a result of increased copper content in the welding wire. Several hypothesis were developed and tested and the most likely explanation for the increase in the FFR seemed to be related to the increase in the droplet temperature between a copper coated and uncoated welding wire. This increase in temperature would lead to a higher evaporation rate with a resultant increase in the FFR. The thesis explores possible reasons for an increase in temperature.

Study 1 assessed the feasibility of collecting outcome data from a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, and the usability of a recently developed Aboriginal-specific measure of empowerment, the Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM: Haswell et al., 2010). Study 1 also explored consumer perceptions of the helpfulness of cultural activities within the treatment program. Participants were 57 Aboriginal and 46 non-Aboriginal males attending one residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation service in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Results from Study 1 identified the need for more specific measures of cultural engagement (Study 2) and informed the design of Study 3.

Study 2 examined the views of service providers regarding the cultural activities offered within treatment programs for Aboriginal Australians. Participants were the managers of five residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services in NSW. Study 2 also describes the development and content validation of a measure of cultural engagement for use with Aboriginal Australians, the Aboriginal Cultural Engagement Survey (ACES: Berry, Crowe, & Deane, 2012). Development involved the participation of the Aboriginal community in four phases, and results demonstrate excellent content validity both at the item level (all items above .80) and full scale level (.98).

Study 3 assessed the outcomes of empowerment and mental health for Aboriginal males attending residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services. The association between outcomes and cultural engagement, both in everyday life and while in drug and alcohol treatment, were also investigated. Study 3 examined the preferences of service users regarding the cultural activities offered in treatment programs, including their perceived relevance and helpfulness. Participants were 101 Australian Aboriginal male clients attending five residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services in NSW. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicate that cultural engagement in everyday life significantly predicted empowerment but not other measures of mental health. Cultural engagement undertaken within treatment programs was not associated with empowerment or mental health. Potential explanations for the differential effects of cultural engagement are considered. The opinions of service users are presented, including the desire for treatment programs to provide more education regarding history/heritage and more time on Country. Recommendations are made regarding ways to enhance the effectiveness of cultural activities within drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

Two treatment planning calculation algorithms (a pencil beam and a collapsed cone) and a total of five separate beam models (four of which were formulated specifically for TBI) were examined. Comparisons were made between calculated and measured data, which include percentage depth dose (PDD) values, profiles, an output factor, doses within homogeneous waterequivalent phantoms and doses within anthropomorphic phantoms.

The removal of TrOCs by a hybrid treatment process incorporating an MBR with NF/RO filtration was investigated. Using a laboratory scale MBR system and a cross-flow NF/RO system, experiments were conducted with 40 organic compounds representing the major groups of TrOCs found in wastewater. The results suggest that the MBR system could effectively remove hydrophobic and biodegradable trace organic compounds, while the remaining trace organic compounds (mostly hydrophilic) were effectively removed by the NF/RO membranes. The combination of MBR and a low pressure RO membrane resulted in more than 95% removal (or removal to below the limits of analytical detection), for all the compounds investigated in this study. Results reported in this research component also suggest that fouling mitigation of the NF/RO membranes can be adequately controlled.

The rejection of TrOCs by an osmotically driven membrane filtration process was also investigated using a set of 40 compounds. Their rejection by an FO membrane specifically designed for the osmotically driven process and a tight NF membrane was systematically investigated and compared under three different operating modes, namely forward osmosis (FO), pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), and reverse osmosis (RO). The results revealed that the FO membrane had a considerably higher water flux than the NF membrane when operated in either the FO or PRO modes. However, the NF membrane consistently rejected the contaminants better than the FO membrane. In the RO mode, electrostatic interactions played a dominant role in governing the rejection of charged compounds, whereas in the FO and PRO modes, their rejection was governed by both electrostatic interaction and size exclusion. On the other hand, the rejection of neutral compounds was dominated by size exclusion, with rejection increasing with the molecular weight of the component. The PRO mode resulted in a higher water flux but a notably lower rejection of TrOCs than with the FO mode. It is also noteworthy that the rejection of neutral compounds in the FO mode was higher than in the RO mode. This behavior could be attributed to the retarded forward diffusion occurring in the FO mode.

The removal of TrOCs using an innovative OMBR system was also investigated. Following an initial gradual decline, a stable permeate flux value was obtained after approximately four days of continuous operation, although the biological activity of the OMBR system continued to deteriorate, possibly due to the build-up of salinity in the reactor. The OMBR mostly removed the large molecular weight trace organic compounds by above 80% and was possibly governed by the interplay between the physical separation of the FO membrane and biodegradation. Whereas, the removal efficiency of smaller trace organic compounds by OMBR was scattered and appeared to depend mostly on biological degradation.

In our nonclassical analysis, we present new strictly nonclassical symmetries to the governing equation and use these to find new solutions to the governing PDEs. In particular, we establish relationships between the infinitesimal X(x, t, u), (the coefficient of ϑ /ϑx of the symmetry generator) and the function f(x; t) in the governing equation. For given X(x, t, u) these relationships can be used to generate function f(x, t) for which non-classical symmetries exist.

As well, we investigated the use of symmetries in solving initial value problems (IVPs). It is generally believed that in order to be able to solve IVPs, the given condition of the form u(x, 0) = F(x) need be left invariant under the one-parameter Lie group of transformations that leaves the PDE invariant. Under this procedure, and using the symmetries found for our governing PDE, general initial conditions solvable with our PDE were established. However in recent years it has been proven that some initial conditions that are not left invariant by the symmetries that leave invariant the PDE might still be able to solve the IVP. With this in mind we found additional initial conditions for which the corresponding IVPs could be solved by using classical and nonclassical symmetries. Many examples are provided to illustrate the method. Further, we examined a paper by Zhiyong Zhang and Yufu Chen on symmetries and initial conditions and extended the main result of the paper which gave the most general form for a first-order initial condition to be admitted by a given classical or nonclassical symmetry. Their result assumed that the generator needs leave to the initial condition invariant. In this thesis this result is extended to the case where the first-order initial condition need not be left invariant, and thus many more initial value problems could be solved with the symmetries. We then applied the result to our governing PDE with first-order initial conditions and provided examples with classical and nonclassical symmetries.

In addition, we have demonstrated the usefulness of classical and nonclassical symmetries of a PDE with one dependent (u) and two independent (x, t) variables to finding functionally separable solutions of different forms such as, q(u) = G(t) + (z), q(u) = F(x) + (z), and q(u) = F(x) + G(t) + (z), where z = z(x, t). The method is illustrated on our governing PDE and examples in each case are provided.

Vegetation based strategies are one of the most common and widely used mitigation strategies used today in almost all cities. This is mainly due to not only its ameliorating effect towards the UHI but also due to it being easy to implement in established cities as well as its additional benefits such as increasing aesthetics of an area.

This thesis investigated whether there was an advantage or disadvantage of using exotic vegetation over native vegetation in green city plans for the Illawarra region. Initially I explored whether historical Landsat imagery could detect a relationship between land cover change and plant stress after a heat event along an urban gradient. While there were indications of stress along the urban gradient, the methodology did not show any correlation suggesting that further data or an alternative approach were needed. It highlighted the reduction of vegetation along an increasing urban gradient with all the indices used picking out the change.

Two field based experiments were then carried out to compare native and exotic vegetation at a local level. The ameliorating effect of native and exotic trees was compared using an IR imaging camera. Surface heat under trees was measured on hot (27-35°C) and normal days (18-24°C) and compared between native and exotics. There was a difference between exotic and native vegetation in their ameliorating effect and this effect varied over season and prevailing temperature. The results suggest that there is some characteristics of trees that affect the surface heat under its canopy for example density of the shaded region under the tree. The second experiment compared whether native or exotic vegetation was better adapted at surviving increasing temperatures. This was done by comparing the spectral signatures of native and exotic vegetation in two seasons; spring (normal/average temperatures) and summer (hot temperatures). Native and exotic vegetation exhibited different responses to increasing temperatures. Exotic vegetation experienced higher water stress in response to increasing temperature and a subtle change in the composition of leaf pigments whereas native vegetation was less pronounced. The loss of water specifically for exotic vegetation was attributed to an adaptation where the tree uses water to try and buffer against the onset of extreme heat stress.

Finally a lab-based experiment was conducted to identify whether vegetation undergoing heat stress expressed any diurnal recovery or any adaptations to reduce heat stress during an ongoing heat event. Forty eight trees (24 native and 24 exotic) were placed in temperature cabinets and an eight day heat event was induced (4 days of 30°C and 4 days of 35°C). On each day during the day and night spectral signatures of 2 leaves per tree were collected and analysed for stress using stress indices. What was found was for the control, t1 and R temperature there was no diurnal recovery however for T2 exotic vegetation did exhibit lower stress levels during the night. The results suggest that native vegetation have an advantage over exotic species in ameliorating the urban heat effect as well as in their ability to cope with heat stress.

Water flux and reverse salt flux were investigated at different pH values (un-adjusted pH, pH4, and pH6), and the results showed that the HTI-Cartridge membrane produced a higher permeate flux than the HTI-Pouch membrane when the same draw solution concentration was used in the FO mode (e.g. active layer facing the feed solution). On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the water flux and reverse salt flux at different pH values for each individual membrane. The transport phenomena of the HTI-Cartridge were also investigated since it performed better as a permeate flux than the HTI-Pouch membrane. An HTI-Cartridge membrane was evaluated in the FO and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) modes (in the PRO mode, the active layer of the membrane is in contact with the draw solution). Higher water flux and reverse salt flux were observed under the PRO mode rather than the FO mode because the internal concentration polarisation (ICP) phenomenon which is considered to be unique in the FO process.

The performance of the FO membranes (HTI-Cartridge and HTI-Pouch) and NF membranes (NF-90 and NF-270) were also investigated under reverse osmosis (RO) mode and the results were compared with the FO mode. The rejection of acetate by the FO and NF membranes was strongly pH-dependent. At near neutral pH (6.7-7.3), acetate rejection by either the HTI-Cartridge or HTI-Pouch membranes was almost 100%. The rejection of acetate decreased dramatically as the feed solution pH decreased to pH 4, although both of them rejected acetate more efficiently under FO mode where the active layer faced the feed solution and the backing layer faced the draw solution. Acetate rejection by the NF-270 and NF-90 membrane was considerably lower than the FO membranes. The rejection of acetate increased from 55% to 92% with the NF-90 membrane, as the feed pH increased from 4 to 9. Similarly, the rejection of acetate by the NF-270 membrane (which has a larger pore size than the NF-90 membrane), increased from as low as 2% to 89% as the feed pH increased from pH 4 to pH 9. In the FO mode, acetate rejection was also strongly pH dependent. More importantly, acetate rejection in the FO mode was at least 10 % higher than in the RO mode. In addition, the allowable oil content (30 mg/L) did not affect acetate rejection in either the FO or RO modes. Furthermore, the allowable oil content of 30 mg/L did not cause any discernible membrane fouling in either the FO or RO modes. The reported results indicate that a highly efficient removal of acetate from produced water can be achieved using the FO process without pH adjustment, because the pH range of the produced water produced from light crude oil is usually from pH 6 to pH 7.7.