Malmsbury bluestone and quarries : Finding holes in history and heritage
- Authors: Walter, Susan
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Malmsbury bluestone was used widely from 1856 in buildings in Victoria, throughout Australia, and in New Zealand. It features in many structures listed on heritage registers, yet its presence is barely recognised. This largely results from the stone quarries, buildings and the men who laboured with it being absent from modern Australian historiography. The fame previously associated with the stone was lost when stone use for structural purposes, and the associated stone skills, declined; a situation exacerbated by poor recognition of the stone industry’s role in building our nation through heritage citations of structures. Inspired by E. P. Thompson, this thesis uses Critical Inquiry though microhistory and landscape analysis to regain the stone’s fame and rescue stoneworkers from the condescension of history. A detailed analysis of quarries, structures, the bluestone industry, and a rarely-attempted total reconstitution of the lives of 194 vital stoneworkers, reveals a valuable cultural heritage currently undervalued and at risk. Malmsbury stoneworkers came from diverse backgrounds but worked co-operatively to promote and sustain a local industry which supplied a nationally-vital building material, despite the absence of a regulatory framework to protect their lives and rights. Scientific methods document the geological properties of the stone and demonstrate how, in the absence of science, skilled stoneworkers nevertheless identified and worked a valuable resource. Modern science could however be used to test building stones in a non-destructive manner to determine the sources of currently unidentified building stones. This thesis significantly contributes to the limited discourse on the history and heritage of Australian stone use through the perspectives of cultural landscapes, labour history and built and cultural heritage. Malmsbury bluestone truly was the standard of excellence and, along with stoneworkers, warrants more extensive recognition in Australia’s Heritage registers.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Walter, Susan
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Malmsbury bluestone was used widely from 1856 in buildings in Victoria, throughout Australia, and in New Zealand. It features in many structures listed on heritage registers, yet its presence is barely recognised. This largely results from the stone quarries, buildings and the men who laboured with it being absent from modern Australian historiography. The fame previously associated with the stone was lost when stone use for structural purposes, and the associated stone skills, declined; a situation exacerbated by poor recognition of the stone industry’s role in building our nation through heritage citations of structures. Inspired by E. P. Thompson, this thesis uses Critical Inquiry though microhistory and landscape analysis to regain the stone’s fame and rescue stoneworkers from the condescension of history. A detailed analysis of quarries, structures, the bluestone industry, and a rarely-attempted total reconstitution of the lives of 194 vital stoneworkers, reveals a valuable cultural heritage currently undervalued and at risk. Malmsbury stoneworkers came from diverse backgrounds but worked co-operatively to promote and sustain a local industry which supplied a nationally-vital building material, despite the absence of a regulatory framework to protect their lives and rights. Scientific methods document the geological properties of the stone and demonstrate how, in the absence of science, skilled stoneworkers nevertheless identified and worked a valuable resource. Modern science could however be used to test building stones in a non-destructive manner to determine the sources of currently unidentified building stones. This thesis significantly contributes to the limited discourse on the history and heritage of Australian stone use through the perspectives of cultural landscapes, labour history and built and cultural heritage. Malmsbury bluestone truly was the standard of excellence and, along with stoneworkers, warrants more extensive recognition in Australia’s Heritage registers.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Managed identities : How do Australian university students who stutter negotiate their studies?
- Authors: Meredith, Grant
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Previous social research focused on people who stutter has problematised and largely ignored the experiences of university students who stutter, relying heavily upon surveys of teachers and peers while almost ignoring the authentic voices of students who stutter. Using a novel bricolage approach incorporating autoethnography, this project posed the question: “How do students who stutter negotiate their university experiences in Australia?” In 2008, a unique, web-based audit of 39 Australian public universities concluded that little publicly accessible information about stuttering support services was available for prospective university students. In many ways, stuttering is absent from disability classifications and service systems in higher education. An online survey of 102 Australian university students who stutter, and follow-up individual interviews with 15 students, revealed how these students manage their social identities from enrolment through to graduation. Only a minority of students reported ever formally disclosing their functional impairment to university support services or academic staff. This meant they rejected and/or avoided the disability label and associated stigma. The students were found to exercise a high degree of individual agency and creativity throughout their university journey. Many employed ‘concessional bargaining’ techniques to effectively navigate the oral assessment requirements during their degrees. Analysis of the interview and survey data is interspersed with critical self-reflection by the author – as a university lecturer who himself stutters. This thesis makes a significant contribution to shaping our understanding of the social identities and trajectories of university students who stutter. These students have been recast as positive, purposeful, resourceful and creative agents whose actions can be largely understood from a social model of disability. A series of recommendations for supporting and teaching these students are made to key stakeholders in higher education.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Meredith, Grant
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Previous social research focused on people who stutter has problematised and largely ignored the experiences of university students who stutter, relying heavily upon surveys of teachers and peers while almost ignoring the authentic voices of students who stutter. Using a novel bricolage approach incorporating autoethnography, this project posed the question: “How do students who stutter negotiate their university experiences in Australia?” In 2008, a unique, web-based audit of 39 Australian public universities concluded that little publicly accessible information about stuttering support services was available for prospective university students. In many ways, stuttering is absent from disability classifications and service systems in higher education. An online survey of 102 Australian university students who stutter, and follow-up individual interviews with 15 students, revealed how these students manage their social identities from enrolment through to graduation. Only a minority of students reported ever formally disclosing their functional impairment to university support services or academic staff. This meant they rejected and/or avoided the disability label and associated stigma. The students were found to exercise a high degree of individual agency and creativity throughout their university journey. Many employed ‘concessional bargaining’ techniques to effectively navigate the oral assessment requirements during their degrees. Analysis of the interview and survey data is interspersed with critical self-reflection by the author – as a university lecturer who himself stutters. This thesis makes a significant contribution to shaping our understanding of the social identities and trajectories of university students who stutter. These students have been recast as positive, purposeful, resourceful and creative agents whose actions can be largely understood from a social model of disability. A series of recommendations for supporting and teaching these students are made to key stakeholders in higher education.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Maremma guardian dogs to protect Little Penguins
- Wallis, Robert, Wallis, Anne, Corbett, Patricia
- Authors: Wallis, Robert , Wallis, Anne , Corbett, Patricia
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Pest Control Vol. 61, no. 4 (2019), p. 196-197
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a major pest in Australia, especially in its predation of so called 'critical weight range' (35-5500g) mammals. the fox is an introduced species that can also cause serious declines in bird numbers, often killing many more than they need to eat.
- Authors: Wallis, Robert , Wallis, Anne , Corbett, Patricia
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Pest Control Vol. 61, no. 4 (2019), p. 196-197
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a major pest in Australia, especially in its predation of so called 'critical weight range' (35-5500g) mammals. the fox is an introduced species that can also cause serious declines in bird numbers, often killing many more than they need to eat.
Reciprocal peer tutoring in an Australian undergraduate clinical skills setting : A mixed methods study
- Authors: Gazula, Swapnali
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background Incorporation of active learning approaches in the preparation of nursing students for future educational roles is an imperative. Reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) is an active teaching/learning approach, in which individuals from similar academic levels rotate teaching/learning roles. This study aimed to explore the outcomes of RPT on undergraduate nursing students learning. Design/Methods A sequential explanatory mixed methods design, incorporating pre-post intervention surveys and focus groups with a convenience sample of 102 final-year students, from a cohort of 132 (RR = 77.3%), from a regional Australian university campus. Prior to attendance, online resources were provided on teaching fundamentals and two selected clinical skills, namely tracheostomy suctioning and intravenous cannulation. Attending participants were randomly allocated into pairs, rotating teaching and learning roles within clinical skills laboratories. Pre-post intervention survey tools examined knowledge and self-reported attitudes to a peer teaching and clinical teaching preferences (Clinical Teaching Preference Questionnaire). Post-intervention measures included a peer teaching experience (Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire). Focus group interviews (n = 4) were conducted with 22 participants, to further understand students’ RPT experiences. Results There was positive improvement in attitudes to peer teaching (M = 49.2, SD = 10.0 to M = 52.3, SD = 8.2, p < 0.05, [95% CI = 0.7 to 5.4]). Knowledge scores also increased significantly (M = 6.9, SD = 2.0 to M = 9.7, SD = 1.9), p < 0.05 [95% CI = 2.3 to 3.2]. Aggregate mean knowledge scores increased more for peer teachers (M = 3.3) than they did for peer learners (M = 2.2). Thematic outcomes from focus groups indicated challenging yet beneficial journeys, collective learning outcomes, along with benefits of RPT including enhanced teaching, self-confidence, communication, and independent and collaborative learning. Conclusion This study concludes that RPT is effective in clinical skills teaching and sets a foundation for further research.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Gazula, Swapnali
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Background Incorporation of active learning approaches in the preparation of nursing students for future educational roles is an imperative. Reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) is an active teaching/learning approach, in which individuals from similar academic levels rotate teaching/learning roles. This study aimed to explore the outcomes of RPT on undergraduate nursing students learning. Design/Methods A sequential explanatory mixed methods design, incorporating pre-post intervention surveys and focus groups with a convenience sample of 102 final-year students, from a cohort of 132 (RR = 77.3%), from a regional Australian university campus. Prior to attendance, online resources were provided on teaching fundamentals and two selected clinical skills, namely tracheostomy suctioning and intravenous cannulation. Attending participants were randomly allocated into pairs, rotating teaching and learning roles within clinical skills laboratories. Pre-post intervention survey tools examined knowledge and self-reported attitudes to a peer teaching and clinical teaching preferences (Clinical Teaching Preference Questionnaire). Post-intervention measures included a peer teaching experience (Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire). Focus group interviews (n = 4) were conducted with 22 participants, to further understand students’ RPT experiences. Results There was positive improvement in attitudes to peer teaching (M = 49.2, SD = 10.0 to M = 52.3, SD = 8.2, p < 0.05, [95% CI = 0.7 to 5.4]). Knowledge scores also increased significantly (M = 6.9, SD = 2.0 to M = 9.7, SD = 1.9), p < 0.05 [95% CI = 2.3 to 3.2]. Aggregate mean knowledge scores increased more for peer teachers (M = 3.3) than they did for peer learners (M = 2.2). Thematic outcomes from focus groups indicated challenging yet beneficial journeys, collective learning outcomes, along with benefits of RPT including enhanced teaching, self-confidence, communication, and independent and collaborative learning. Conclusion This study concludes that RPT is effective in clinical skills teaching and sets a foundation for further research.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Renditions from the inside : Prison Songs, documusical and performative documentary
- Authors: Speed, Lesley
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Continuum-Journal of Media & Cultural Studies Vol. 33, no. 3 (2019), p. 324-336
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Produced for SBS Television, Kelrick Martin's Prison Songs is unusual as a documentary in which the participants convey their stories through songs that were written for the film. Centring on inmates of Darwin Correctional Centre, known as Berrimah Prison, and described in its press kit as 'Australia's first ever documentary musical', Prison Songs involved a collaborative production process in which inmates contributed to writing the musical numbers. As a documusical, the film belongs to a documentary subgenre that originated in the United Kingdom and forms part of a wider landscape of convergence between non-fiction and fictional television. Prison Songs expands Australian documentary, contemporary Indigenous film-making and stories about incarceration. The film's presentation of participants' experiences through music, story, dance and humour can be situated within the performative documentary mode, in which orthodox screen discourses of sobriety are supplanted by poetic expression. Its use of songs and musical performance as partial alternatives to interviews and narration traverses boundaries between avant-garde and television forms, expression and information, and prison and the wider society.
- Authors: Speed, Lesley
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Continuum-Journal of Media & Cultural Studies Vol. 33, no. 3 (2019), p. 324-336
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Produced for SBS Television, Kelrick Martin's Prison Songs is unusual as a documentary in which the participants convey their stories through songs that were written for the film. Centring on inmates of Darwin Correctional Centre, known as Berrimah Prison, and described in its press kit as 'Australia's first ever documentary musical', Prison Songs involved a collaborative production process in which inmates contributed to writing the musical numbers. As a documusical, the film belongs to a documentary subgenre that originated in the United Kingdom and forms part of a wider landscape of convergence between non-fiction and fictional television. Prison Songs expands Australian documentary, contemporary Indigenous film-making and stories about incarceration. The film's presentation of participants' experiences through music, story, dance and humour can be situated within the performative documentary mode, in which orthodox screen discourses of sobriety are supplanted by poetic expression. Its use of songs and musical performance as partial alternatives to interviews and narration traverses boundaries between avant-garde and television forms, expression and information, and prison and the wider society.
An experimental investigation into the drainage properties of coarse Loy Yang pond ash
- Authors: Stipcevich, Jack
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The Latrobe Valley mines, Victoria, Australia, are facing some major challenges as they approach the end of their mining life. Most of these challenges surround current rehabilitation practice and the ability to create safe and stable landforms for future land uses well after the mines have closed. As there has been no developed alternative use for the brown coal at this stage, stopping power generation leads to the cessation of mining. AGL Loy Yang is undertaking rehabilitation cover trials on exposed coal batters to investigate optimal cover materials that will enable safe and stable batters well beyond mine closure. A series of rehabilitation trials using coarse coal ash have been constructed by AGL to assess the performance of coarse coal ash as a ‘subsurface drainage layer’. One of the trials includes the use of a 1 metre coarse coal ash layer placed below a 1 metre thick clay cover and above a coal surface shaped to approximately 18 degrees (1V:3H). Without a drainage layer, water may percolate through the clay cover or seep through the intact brown coal, resulting in a build of pore water pressure at the coal – clay interface and increasing the potential for slope failure. The aim of this research work was to assess the spatial distribution of ash properties known to affect drainage behaviour at the field scale; to test and calibrate field-monitoring equipment that can be used to assess drainage behaviour at the field-scale; to provide recommendations for further research on the use of coal ash drainage layer; and to provide a benchmark for future testing and monitoring. Through an experimental investigation, it was shown that there no significant variation exists in the coarse fraction of Loy Yang pond ash’s physical and chemical properties. Monitoring equipment used to determine the field drainage performance of the ash included a T8 Tensiometer and EnviroPro (multi-capacitance sensor) that were calibrated and tested in the laboratory. It was determined that monitoring devices used in this study were suitable for measuring the ash’s hydraulic behaviour only once calibrations had been performed. As a result the tested field equipment were included in the design of a future monitoring program.
- Description: Masters by Research
- Authors: Stipcevich, Jack
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The Latrobe Valley mines, Victoria, Australia, are facing some major challenges as they approach the end of their mining life. Most of these challenges surround current rehabilitation practice and the ability to create safe and stable landforms for future land uses well after the mines have closed. As there has been no developed alternative use for the brown coal at this stage, stopping power generation leads to the cessation of mining. AGL Loy Yang is undertaking rehabilitation cover trials on exposed coal batters to investigate optimal cover materials that will enable safe and stable batters well beyond mine closure. A series of rehabilitation trials using coarse coal ash have been constructed by AGL to assess the performance of coarse coal ash as a ‘subsurface drainage layer’. One of the trials includes the use of a 1 metre coarse coal ash layer placed below a 1 metre thick clay cover and above a coal surface shaped to approximately 18 degrees (1V:3H). Without a drainage layer, water may percolate through the clay cover or seep through the intact brown coal, resulting in a build of pore water pressure at the coal – clay interface and increasing the potential for slope failure. The aim of this research work was to assess the spatial distribution of ash properties known to affect drainage behaviour at the field scale; to test and calibrate field-monitoring equipment that can be used to assess drainage behaviour at the field-scale; to provide recommendations for further research on the use of coal ash drainage layer; and to provide a benchmark for future testing and monitoring. Through an experimental investigation, it was shown that there no significant variation exists in the coarse fraction of Loy Yang pond ash’s physical and chemical properties. Monitoring equipment used to determine the field drainage performance of the ash included a T8 Tensiometer and EnviroPro (multi-capacitance sensor) that were calibrated and tested in the laboratory. It was determined that monitoring devices used in this study were suitable for measuring the ash’s hydraulic behaviour only once calibrations had been performed. As a result the tested field equipment were included in the design of a future monitoring program.
- Description: Masters by Research
Anti-war, radical youth revolt, Victoria, 1965-1975
- Authors: Butler, Nicholas
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis is a political history of the emergence and evolution of selected radical, left, student and workers movements in Victoria between 1965 and 1975. It examines the development of radical alliances, demonstrations and public actions using documentary materials and oral accounts provided during interviews. It argues that the radical left movement in Victoria began within the Monash University Labor Club, which subsequently generated radical groups outside the university. During this timeframe, both military conscription for the Vietnam War and the war itself became focal points for oppositional political mobilisation in Victoria. In 1967, the Monash Labor Club’s disruptive campaign against university authority was sufficiently popular for the club to turn its attention to disrupting the war effort. Soon, its locus of operations shifted into the general anti-war movement and the Labor Club established new, non-student, and avowedly communist and revolutionary organisations. Roughly termed the “Maoists,” by 1970 these organisations coalesced into the Worker Student Alliance (WSA), which grew rapidly to become a “left-wing” body that challenged the leadership of the established “left” organisations. The cessation of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War removed a major cause for radical action and, despite the generation of some important campaigns to replace it, the WSA dissolved itself in 1974.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Butler, Nicholas
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis is a political history of the emergence and evolution of selected radical, left, student and workers movements in Victoria between 1965 and 1975. It examines the development of radical alliances, demonstrations and public actions using documentary materials and oral accounts provided during interviews. It argues that the radical left movement in Victoria began within the Monash University Labor Club, which subsequently generated radical groups outside the university. During this timeframe, both military conscription for the Vietnam War and the war itself became focal points for oppositional political mobilisation in Victoria. In 1967, the Monash Labor Club’s disruptive campaign against university authority was sufficiently popular for the club to turn its attention to disrupting the war effort. Soon, its locus of operations shifted into the general anti-war movement and the Labor Club established new, non-student, and avowedly communist and revolutionary organisations. Roughly termed the “Maoists,” by 1970 these organisations coalesced into the Worker Student Alliance (WSA), which grew rapidly to become a “left-wing” body that challenged the leadership of the established “left” organisations. The cessation of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War removed a major cause for radical action and, despite the generation of some important campaigns to replace it, the WSA dissolved itself in 1974.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Avenue and Arch : Ballarat's commemoration. How are community attitudes to war and peace reflected in the civic management of the Avenue of Honour and the Arch of Victory?
- Authors: Roberts, Philip
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the importance of memory, commemoration, heritage and militarism in relation to Ballarat’s Avenue of Honour and Arch of Victory. Inspired by Ken Inglis and other historians who have analysed war commemoration, the thesis argues that, led by the Lucas clothing company, Ballarat civic leaders and community members commemorated the war service and sacrifice of local soldiers, airmen, sailors and nurses by planting the 22-kilometre Avenue during 1917–19 and by constructing the prominent Arch in 1920. Although Ballarat voted against conscription in 1916 and 1917 and was a ‘divided’ society, the Avenue and Arch were able to unite members of the local community. From the 1920s, through memory and mythology during the civic maintenance of the Avenue and Arch, Australian community attitudes to war and peace were reflected, and a determined effort was made to remember the service and sacrifice of military personnel for all Australian wars. Discussion of the need for peace remained in the background until recent years. Important influences on the civic management were the collective memory of the so-called Lucas Girls, a group of former female employees of the Lucas clothing company, and of the members of the Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee. Increasingly, the embracing of the Anzac legend and an emphasis on loss and grief was reflected in the civic management. By 2017 the Avenue and Arch were in pristine condition and, through the Garden of the Grieving Mother, had transformed to symbolise the importance of remembering the sacrifices and grief of war and the need for peace. The project was based on documentary research and oral history, using an examination of newspaper and other documentary accounts from 1917–2017, a study of Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee papers and conservation management plans, research of relevant books and articles, landscape fieldwork and interviews with 26 people.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Roberts, Philip
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the importance of memory, commemoration, heritage and militarism in relation to Ballarat’s Avenue of Honour and Arch of Victory. Inspired by Ken Inglis and other historians who have analysed war commemoration, the thesis argues that, led by the Lucas clothing company, Ballarat civic leaders and community members commemorated the war service and sacrifice of local soldiers, airmen, sailors and nurses by planting the 22-kilometre Avenue during 1917–19 and by constructing the prominent Arch in 1920. Although Ballarat voted against conscription in 1916 and 1917 and was a ‘divided’ society, the Avenue and Arch were able to unite members of the local community. From the 1920s, through memory and mythology during the civic maintenance of the Avenue and Arch, Australian community attitudes to war and peace were reflected, and a determined effort was made to remember the service and sacrifice of military personnel for all Australian wars. Discussion of the need for peace remained in the background until recent years. Important influences on the civic management were the collective memory of the so-called Lucas Girls, a group of former female employees of the Lucas clothing company, and of the members of the Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee. Increasingly, the embracing of the Anzac legend and an emphasis on loss and grief was reflected in the civic management. By 2017 the Avenue and Arch were in pristine condition and, through the Garden of the Grieving Mother, had transformed to symbolise the importance of remembering the sacrifices and grief of war and the need for peace. The project was based on documentary research and oral history, using an examination of newspaper and other documentary accounts from 1917–2017, a study of Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee papers and conservation management plans, research of relevant books and articles, landscape fieldwork and interviews with 26 people.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Conspectus of Australian Brachystomellidae (Collembola) with description of new species of Rapoportella and redescription of Cassagnella anomala
- Authors: Greenslade, Penelope
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Entomology Vol. 115, no. 1 (2018), p. 117-126
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: As part of a modern review of all Australian Collembola families, a key is provided to the nine genera of Brachystomellidae currently known from Australia, their morphology is compared, their distribution within and outside Australia is noted and the high diversity of genera in southern regions emphasised. Three Australian genera are endemic, five are also found in South America, South Africa and/or New Zealand and one has a cosmopolitan distribution. The distribution, ecology and habitat preferences of Australian genera are compared. Two genera, Cassagnella Najt & Massoud and Rapoportella Ellis & Bellinger, are newly diagnosed and additions to the description of C. anomala Womersley are given. Australian Cassagnella species appear restricted to southern, humid regions and C. anomala possesses some characters that indicate it is adapted to living in habitats that are periodically flooded. A new species, Rapoportella edwardi sp. n. is described in the rarer genus from drier eucalypt forests. The effect of agricultural practices on an introduced species of Brachystomella is noted and its indicator value emphasised. Possible threats to the endemic genera and species are noted.
- Authors: Greenslade, Penelope
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Entomology Vol. 115, no. 1 (2018), p. 117-126
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: As part of a modern review of all Australian Collembola families, a key is provided to the nine genera of Brachystomellidae currently known from Australia, their morphology is compared, their distribution within and outside Australia is noted and the high diversity of genera in southern regions emphasised. Three Australian genera are endemic, five are also found in South America, South Africa and/or New Zealand and one has a cosmopolitan distribution. The distribution, ecology and habitat preferences of Australian genera are compared. Two genera, Cassagnella Najt & Massoud and Rapoportella Ellis & Bellinger, are newly diagnosed and additions to the description of C. anomala Womersley are given. Australian Cassagnella species appear restricted to southern, humid regions and C. anomala possesses some characters that indicate it is adapted to living in habitats that are periodically flooded. A new species, Rapoportella edwardi sp. n. is described in the rarer genus from drier eucalypt forests. The effect of agricultural practices on an introduced species of Brachystomella is noted and its indicator value emphasised. Possible threats to the endemic genera and species are noted.
Developing an evidence base for assessing natural capital risks and dependencies in lending to Australian wheat farms
- Cojoianu, Theodor, Ascui, Francisco
- Authors: Cojoianu, Theodor , Ascui, Francisco
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment Vol. 8, no. 2 (2018), p. 95-113
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Farmers are highly dependent on stocks of natural capital, and lenders are in turn exposed to natural capital through their loans to farmers. However, the traditional process for assessing a farmer’s credit risk relies primarily on historical financial data. Banks’ consideration of environmental factors tends to be limited to major risks such as contaminated land liabilities, and to large project and corporate finance, as opposed to the smaller loans typical of the Australian agricultural sector. The relevant risks and dependencies for agriculture vary by sub-sector and geography, and there is a lack of standardised methodologies and evidence to support risk assessment. We provide an evidence base to support natural capital risk assessment for a single sub-sector of Australian agriculture–wheat farming. We show that such an assessment is possible, with a combination of quantitative and qualitative inputs, but the complexity and interconnectedness of natural capital processes is a challenge, particularly for soil health. © 2017, © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- Authors: Cojoianu, Theodor , Ascui, Francisco
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment Vol. 8, no. 2 (2018), p. 95-113
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Farmers are highly dependent on stocks of natural capital, and lenders are in turn exposed to natural capital through their loans to farmers. However, the traditional process for assessing a farmer’s credit risk relies primarily on historical financial data. Banks’ consideration of environmental factors tends to be limited to major risks such as contaminated land liabilities, and to large project and corporate finance, as opposed to the smaller loans typical of the Australian agricultural sector. The relevant risks and dependencies for agriculture vary by sub-sector and geography, and there is a lack of standardised methodologies and evidence to support risk assessment. We provide an evidence base to support natural capital risk assessment for a single sub-sector of Australian agriculture–wheat farming. We show that such an assessment is possible, with a combination of quantitative and qualitative inputs, but the complexity and interconnectedness of natural capital processes is a challenge, particularly for soil health. © 2017, © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Exploring young Australian adults’ asthma management to develop an educational video
- Coombs, Nicole, Allen, Louise, Cooper, Simon J., Cant, Robyn, Beauchamp, Alison, Laszcyk, Jacki, Giannis, Anita, Hopmans, Ruben, Bullock, Shane, Waller, Susan, McKenna, Lisa, Peck, Blake
- Authors: Coombs, Nicole , Allen, Louise , Cooper, Simon J. , Cant, Robyn , Beauchamp, Alison , Laszcyk, Jacki , Giannis, Anita , Hopmans, Ruben , Bullock, Shane , Waller, Susan , McKenna, Lisa , Peck, Blake
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Health Education Journal Vol. 77, no. 2 (2018), p. 179-189
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: This study explored young university students’ (aged 18–24 years) health literacy, asthma experiences and help-seeking behaviours to inform the development of a web-based asthma education intervention relevant to this age group. Design: Exploratory mixed-methods design incorporateing a health literacy survey and interviews, plus the development of a web-based educational video. Setting: Participants were students at two universities in the state of Victoria, Australia. Method: In total, 20 asthma sufferers were interviewed by trained pairs of university students. Interpretative phenomenology underpinned the narrative analysis and enabled the description of the participants’ lived experience. A branching e-simulation video was developed. Results: A number of key themes were identified: ‘Life with asthma’, including ‘A life of vigilance’ regarding asthma triggers, lifestyle limitations and heightened sensitivities; ‘Asthma management – call Mum’, a lack of knowledge and support systems with substantial maternal reliance; ‘Health literacy: family and Dr Google’, denoting low health literacy levels with passive reluctant involvement in personal health management; and ‘Information gathering – one size doesn’t fit all’ – in the form of the need for immediate gratification and resource variety. Based on interviewees’ words and terminology, we designed an interactive branching educational video for YouTube portraying a young person (an actor) during an asthma flare-up. Conclusion: Young adults lacked insight into their condition and even after moving away from home, relied on Google searches and/or parents’ advice. To enhance health-seeking behaviours, interactive programmes with smartphone access may be valuable. Our open access programme Help Trent Vent provides an educational resource for young people with asthma and for health education teams, to reinforce asthma knowledge. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.
- Authors: Coombs, Nicole , Allen, Louise , Cooper, Simon J. , Cant, Robyn , Beauchamp, Alison , Laszcyk, Jacki , Giannis, Anita , Hopmans, Ruben , Bullock, Shane , Waller, Susan , McKenna, Lisa , Peck, Blake
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Health Education Journal Vol. 77, no. 2 (2018), p. 179-189
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: This study explored young university students’ (aged 18–24 years) health literacy, asthma experiences and help-seeking behaviours to inform the development of a web-based asthma education intervention relevant to this age group. Design: Exploratory mixed-methods design incorporateing a health literacy survey and interviews, plus the development of a web-based educational video. Setting: Participants were students at two universities in the state of Victoria, Australia. Method: In total, 20 asthma sufferers were interviewed by trained pairs of university students. Interpretative phenomenology underpinned the narrative analysis and enabled the description of the participants’ lived experience. A branching e-simulation video was developed. Results: A number of key themes were identified: ‘Life with asthma’, including ‘A life of vigilance’ regarding asthma triggers, lifestyle limitations and heightened sensitivities; ‘Asthma management – call Mum’, a lack of knowledge and support systems with substantial maternal reliance; ‘Health literacy: family and Dr Google’, denoting low health literacy levels with passive reluctant involvement in personal health management; and ‘Information gathering – one size doesn’t fit all’ – in the form of the need for immediate gratification and resource variety. Based on interviewees’ words and terminology, we designed an interactive branching educational video for YouTube portraying a young person (an actor) during an asthma flare-up. Conclusion: Young adults lacked insight into their condition and even after moving away from home, relied on Google searches and/or parents’ advice. To enhance health-seeking behaviours, interactive programmes with smartphone access may be valuable. Our open access programme Help Trent Vent provides an educational resource for young people with asthma and for health education teams, to reinforce asthma knowledge. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.
From gold field to municipality : The establishment of Ballarat West 1855-1857
- Authors: Cartledge, Graeme
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the establishment of the Ballarat West Municipality in the years of 1855 – 1857 and the factors that contributed to the introduction of local self-government in the immediate aftermath of the Eureka Stockade. Underlying the study is the changing administrative requirements necessitated by the transition from a temporary gold field to a permanent city. A central theme explored in relation to this development is that it was a consequence of the emerging culture of modernity of that era precipitating radical political changes in local government that began with the 1835 British Municipal Corporations Act. This theme is expanded to highlight the reform of local government in the Victorian era in response to urbanization and the need for modern and rationalised methods of managing the new towns and growing cities. The difficulty in making and sustaining such progressive changes in Britain is contrasted with the eager adoption of the concept of progress and the new Victorian Municipal Corporations Act of 1854 on the Ballarat goldfields. The question as to why the Municipality was established is answered by exploring the connection between the failure of the Goldfields Commission at the end of 1854 and the belief held by many, that taxes should be accompanied with political representation and should be spent where they were collected. This study exposes the remarkable story of how the first elected councillors, starting from scratch, quickly established administrative systems and brought order to a community emerging out of turmoil. The process of how the municipality was established is uncovered by an extensive survey of the council minutes, the media, council correspondence and public records.
- Description: Masters by Research
- Authors: Cartledge, Graeme
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines the establishment of the Ballarat West Municipality in the years of 1855 – 1857 and the factors that contributed to the introduction of local self-government in the immediate aftermath of the Eureka Stockade. Underlying the study is the changing administrative requirements necessitated by the transition from a temporary gold field to a permanent city. A central theme explored in relation to this development is that it was a consequence of the emerging culture of modernity of that era precipitating radical political changes in local government that began with the 1835 British Municipal Corporations Act. This theme is expanded to highlight the reform of local government in the Victorian era in response to urbanization and the need for modern and rationalised methods of managing the new towns and growing cities. The difficulty in making and sustaining such progressive changes in Britain is contrasted with the eager adoption of the concept of progress and the new Victorian Municipal Corporations Act of 1854 on the Ballarat goldfields. The question as to why the Municipality was established is answered by exploring the connection between the failure of the Goldfields Commission at the end of 1854 and the belief held by many, that taxes should be accompanied with political representation and should be spent where they were collected. This study exposes the remarkable story of how the first elected councillors, starting from scratch, quickly established administrative systems and brought order to a community emerging out of turmoil. The process of how the municipality was established is uncovered by an extensive survey of the council minutes, the media, council correspondence and public records.
- Description: Masters by Research
Lived experiences and insights into the advantages important to rural recruitment and retention of general practitioners
- Terry, Daniel, Nguyen, Hoang, Schmitz, David, Baker, Ed
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Nguyen, Hoang , Schmitz, David , Baker, Ed
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and remote health Vol. 18, no. 3 (2018), p. 1-16
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: INTRODUCTION: Despite existing studies in this field, community factors behind recruiting and retaining rural general practitioners (GPs) are not fully understood. To address this issue, the Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed to extend the understanding of communities' assets and capabilities that impact GP recruitment and retention. However, more in-depth insights are vital to develop a comprehensive approach. METHODS: This mixed methods study was administered using face-to-face structured interviews with a total of 40 health service representatives. All interviews lasted 35-40 minutes and were audio-taped. Qualitative data were generated from the extended responses to the structured questions of the CAQ and later transcribed. Thematic analysis was conducted in relation to explanations, elaborations, and relevant strategic approaches to improving workforce retention. RESULTS: The qualitative findings illuminated the most important advantages of recruiting and retaining GPs were linked to medical support, hospital and community support, and economic factors, while the challenges were related to geographic factors. The underlying reasons for and nature of those advantages and challenges reinforce that health professionals' decisions to stay or leave are complex and multifactorial. CONCLUSION: The originality of the study rests on the administration of the CAQ accompanied by the opportunity for participants to provide extended responses, which gives critical insights into the complexities of rural recruitment and retention. As such, the results confirm the need for a flexible multifaceted response to improving rural GP workforce and informs decision-making in terms of addressing workforce issues within the scope of available resources and capacity.
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Nguyen, Hoang , Schmitz, David , Baker, Ed
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and remote health Vol. 18, no. 3 (2018), p. 1-16
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: INTRODUCTION: Despite existing studies in this field, community factors behind recruiting and retaining rural general practitioners (GPs) are not fully understood. To address this issue, the Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed to extend the understanding of communities' assets and capabilities that impact GP recruitment and retention. However, more in-depth insights are vital to develop a comprehensive approach. METHODS: This mixed methods study was administered using face-to-face structured interviews with a total of 40 health service representatives. All interviews lasted 35-40 minutes and were audio-taped. Qualitative data were generated from the extended responses to the structured questions of the CAQ and later transcribed. Thematic analysis was conducted in relation to explanations, elaborations, and relevant strategic approaches to improving workforce retention. RESULTS: The qualitative findings illuminated the most important advantages of recruiting and retaining GPs were linked to medical support, hospital and community support, and economic factors, while the challenges were related to geographic factors. The underlying reasons for and nature of those advantages and challenges reinforce that health professionals' decisions to stay or leave are complex and multifactorial. CONCLUSION: The originality of the study rests on the administration of the CAQ accompanied by the opportunity for participants to provide extended responses, which gives critical insights into the complexities of rural recruitment and retention. As such, the results confirm the need for a flexible multifaceted response to improving rural GP workforce and informs decision-making in terms of addressing workforce issues within the scope of available resources and capacity.
Pandemic Influenza at Oodnadatta, 1919 : Aspects of treatment and care in a multiracial community
- Authors: Bullen, Heatheranne
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: On 24 January 1919, a thirty-two-year-old nurse from Sydney, Jean Williamson, disembarked at the railway station at Oodnadatta in the far north of South Australia to commence her new role as sister in charge of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM) hostel. On 18 April that year, Williamson greeted thirty-four-year-old minister from Melbourne, Coledge Harland, who had arrived by train to take up a three-year post as padre for the AIM’s central Australian parish. Just over a month later, an influenza pandemic that had already killed untold numbers of people worldwide reached the isolated township. Drawing on primary documents, including an extensive collection of previously unseen photographs, letter and diaries from Harland and Williamson, this thesis examines the management and care of pandemic influenza at Oodnadatta from May to late July 1919. Intercultural aspects of the management and care of European, Afghan, Chinese and Aboriginal patients are examined in the context of the health and lifestyle of local residents, nursing practices, medicines, foods, accommodation and the contribution of individuals, groups and their roles. This intimate microhistory sheds light on a relatively unknown, yet important group of people in Australia’s frontier history: the missioners and others who cared for seriously ill Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients at Oodnadatta, provided culturally sensitive care that afforded respect, dignity and compassion to all. At the time, the gravity of the world wide situation and the sheer need to provide care saw individual efforts go unnoticed; however, in hindsight, it is possible to see and appreciate the significance of what they achieved under the most difficult of circumstances.
- Description: Masters by Research
- Authors: Bullen, Heatheranne
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: On 24 January 1919, a thirty-two-year-old nurse from Sydney, Jean Williamson, disembarked at the railway station at Oodnadatta in the far north of South Australia to commence her new role as sister in charge of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM) hostel. On 18 April that year, Williamson greeted thirty-four-year-old minister from Melbourne, Coledge Harland, who had arrived by train to take up a three-year post as padre for the AIM’s central Australian parish. Just over a month later, an influenza pandemic that had already killed untold numbers of people worldwide reached the isolated township. Drawing on primary documents, including an extensive collection of previously unseen photographs, letter and diaries from Harland and Williamson, this thesis examines the management and care of pandemic influenza at Oodnadatta from May to late July 1919. Intercultural aspects of the management and care of European, Afghan, Chinese and Aboriginal patients are examined in the context of the health and lifestyle of local residents, nursing practices, medicines, foods, accommodation and the contribution of individuals, groups and their roles. This intimate microhistory sheds light on a relatively unknown, yet important group of people in Australia’s frontier history: the missioners and others who cared for seriously ill Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients at Oodnadatta, provided culturally sensitive care that afforded respect, dignity and compassion to all. At the time, the gravity of the world wide situation and the sheer need to provide care saw individual efforts go unnoticed; however, in hindsight, it is possible to see and appreciate the significance of what they achieved under the most difficult of circumstances.
- Description: Masters by Research
The contribution of silverfish (insecta: zygentoma) to Australian invertebrate biodiversity and endemism
- Authors: Smith, Graeme
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Silverfish (Order Zygentoma) are quite abundant in Australia but have been largely overlooked. This thesis examines the biodiversity of the Australian fauna at the level of genus, describing at least one representative species from each named genus and some new genera. The endemism of the fauna is evaluated and likely zoogeographic origins proposed. Over 4000 specimens were examined, either collected by the author, borrowed from or examined within museum collections or supplied by organisations and individuals conducting fauna surveys. Twenty- seven new native species are described and two redescribed, bringing the number of named species recorded in Australia to 74. Five new genera are described and four additional genera recorded in Australia for the first time including autochthonous representatives of three subfamilies previously unrecognised as native to Australia (Acrotelsatinae, Lepismatinae and Coletiniinae). No representatives of the families Maindroniidae, Tricholepidiidae and Protrinemuridae were found. The subfamily Acrotelsatinae was redefined following a revision of the enigmatic genus Anisolepisma Paclt, 1967 with the unique structure of the thoracic sterna identified as diagnostic for the subfamily. Contrary to existing opinion, it is suggested that this is a fundamentally different and plesiomorphic character, rather than an apomorphic reduction of the free thoracic sterna. A monograph of the Australian Zygentoma is presented, including a summary of the biology of the order, a key to and diagnoses of the genera, as well as information on the known habitat and distribution of each genus and a discussion of their zoogeography. At the suprageneric level the fauna is less diverse than seen in other zoogeographic regions but appears to be rich in the number of species. The fauna displays a high degree of endemism with 91% of described species and 52% of the genera known only from Australia. Some genera appear to be ancient and probably represent a Pangean element in the Australian fauna. Others appear to have emerged in the late Jurassic when Africa was still joined to Gondwana, while some may have appeared in the Cretaceous or Palaeocene when Australia and South America were connected to Gondwana. More recent links with the Asian fauna are limited and there appears to be no widespread highly mobile global species other than the six introduced anthropophilic species. Maps of the worldwide distribution records extracted from the taxonomic literature are used to discuss the zoogeography of the subfamilies and tribes present in Australia. Molecular data using two mitochondrial genes (16S and COI) as well as a nuclear gene (28S) were compared with detailed morphological and morphometric analysis to examine populations initially determined as Heterolepisma sclerophylla or close to it. Distances of 0.9– 1.8% or greater in 28S, and 7.2–14% in COI were associated with morphologically distinct species. A southern Queensland population was found to be genetically, morphometrically and morphologically very distinct from those collected in NSW and was described as new (Heterolepisma sp. B). Six well-defined barcode clusters (“lineages”) were identified within the NSW populations, each with >4% divergence in COI sequences and each geographically restricted. Intracluster divergences are also large, and despite the well-supported phylogeny no clear “barcode gap” (distinction between intracluster and intercluster distances) was found for three of the six NSW populations. The 28S data distinguished only four of the six COI clusters from NSW with essentially no variation within each cluster. The 28S data generally aligned well with morphological evidence, clearly identifying Heterolepisma sp. B as a distinct species, and supporting also the description of Heterolepisma sp. A even though it only appears to differ from H. sclerophylla in the number of styli. Similar genetic distances are observed in 28S data for H. sclerophylla populations from North Nowra, Glenbrook/Burralow/Nattai and Megalong, however the Broulee and Wellington populations have identical 28S sequences. The low levels of variation in 28S sequences between NSW populations accord with the lack of unambiguous morphological differences.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Smith, Graeme
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Silverfish (Order Zygentoma) are quite abundant in Australia but have been largely overlooked. This thesis examines the biodiversity of the Australian fauna at the level of genus, describing at least one representative species from each named genus and some new genera. The endemism of the fauna is evaluated and likely zoogeographic origins proposed. Over 4000 specimens were examined, either collected by the author, borrowed from or examined within museum collections or supplied by organisations and individuals conducting fauna surveys. Twenty- seven new native species are described and two redescribed, bringing the number of named species recorded in Australia to 74. Five new genera are described and four additional genera recorded in Australia for the first time including autochthonous representatives of three subfamilies previously unrecognised as native to Australia (Acrotelsatinae, Lepismatinae and Coletiniinae). No representatives of the families Maindroniidae, Tricholepidiidae and Protrinemuridae were found. The subfamily Acrotelsatinae was redefined following a revision of the enigmatic genus Anisolepisma Paclt, 1967 with the unique structure of the thoracic sterna identified as diagnostic for the subfamily. Contrary to existing opinion, it is suggested that this is a fundamentally different and plesiomorphic character, rather than an apomorphic reduction of the free thoracic sterna. A monograph of the Australian Zygentoma is presented, including a summary of the biology of the order, a key to and diagnoses of the genera, as well as information on the known habitat and distribution of each genus and a discussion of their zoogeography. At the suprageneric level the fauna is less diverse than seen in other zoogeographic regions but appears to be rich in the number of species. The fauna displays a high degree of endemism with 91% of described species and 52% of the genera known only from Australia. Some genera appear to be ancient and probably represent a Pangean element in the Australian fauna. Others appear to have emerged in the late Jurassic when Africa was still joined to Gondwana, while some may have appeared in the Cretaceous or Palaeocene when Australia and South America were connected to Gondwana. More recent links with the Asian fauna are limited and there appears to be no widespread highly mobile global species other than the six introduced anthropophilic species. Maps of the worldwide distribution records extracted from the taxonomic literature are used to discuss the zoogeography of the subfamilies and tribes present in Australia. Molecular data using two mitochondrial genes (16S and COI) as well as a nuclear gene (28S) were compared with detailed morphological and morphometric analysis to examine populations initially determined as Heterolepisma sclerophylla or close to it. Distances of 0.9– 1.8% or greater in 28S, and 7.2–14% in COI were associated with morphologically distinct species. A southern Queensland population was found to be genetically, morphometrically and morphologically very distinct from those collected in NSW and was described as new (Heterolepisma sp. B). Six well-defined barcode clusters (“lineages”) were identified within the NSW populations, each with >4% divergence in COI sequences and each geographically restricted. Intracluster divergences are also large, and despite the well-supported phylogeny no clear “barcode gap” (distinction between intracluster and intercluster distances) was found for three of the six NSW populations. The 28S data distinguished only four of the six COI clusters from NSW with essentially no variation within each cluster. The 28S data generally aligned well with morphological evidence, clearly identifying Heterolepisma sp. B as a distinct species, and supporting also the description of Heterolepisma sp. A even though it only appears to differ from H. sclerophylla in the number of styli. Similar genetic distances are observed in 28S data for H. sclerophylla populations from North Nowra, Glenbrook/Burralow/Nattai and Megalong, however the Broulee and Wellington populations have identical 28S sequences. The low levels of variation in 28S sequences between NSW populations accord with the lack of unambiguous morphological differences.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel in Australia : An examination of the role of VFR hosts
- Authors: Yousuf, Mohammad
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel is a significant form of travel in terms of global travel numbers. However, research on VFR travel is small relative to its size. In particular, research regarding the role of hosts of VFR travellers in shaping their trips including travel decisions and activities has been examined by few researchers. No previous research explored the differences in hosting between immigrant and non-immigrant local residents despite VFR travel being commonly associated with migration in existing literature. Before this research, the differences between hosting friends and relatives had been neglected, resulting in VFR hosts being treated as one homogenous group. Previous research also failed to empirically test the influence of destination on the hosting of VFRs. Thus, this is the first study examining the hosting of VFRs through combining how migration, relationship types, and destination types, impact VFR travel experiences for hosts. Given that VFR travel is a significant component of Australia’s visitor numbers, and that it comprises a large immigrant population, Australia is a suitable setting for this study. Considering the multi-dimensional elements in the study, the “VFR Whole Tourism Systems Model” was used as the conceptual model for this study. Quantitative research was conducted nationally with 331 residents, collected through an online survey, assessing the differences and similarities in hosting behaviours. Qualitative research was undertaken through in-depth interviews with 34 local residents in three contrasting destinations in Victoria understanding the social interactions between VFR hosts and their visiting friends/relatives. Significant differences were found between immigrants and nonimmigrants regarding attracting VFRs and hosting experiences. Differences were also noted between hosting friends versus hosting relatives, and it was also determined that the destination types impact VFR hosting. Such findings have provided valuable insights regarding the economic and social benefits of promoting local marketing campaign targeting local residents.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Yousuf, Mohammad
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel is a significant form of travel in terms of global travel numbers. However, research on VFR travel is small relative to its size. In particular, research regarding the role of hosts of VFR travellers in shaping their trips including travel decisions and activities has been examined by few researchers. No previous research explored the differences in hosting between immigrant and non-immigrant local residents despite VFR travel being commonly associated with migration in existing literature. Before this research, the differences between hosting friends and relatives had been neglected, resulting in VFR hosts being treated as one homogenous group. Previous research also failed to empirically test the influence of destination on the hosting of VFRs. Thus, this is the first study examining the hosting of VFRs through combining how migration, relationship types, and destination types, impact VFR travel experiences for hosts. Given that VFR travel is a significant component of Australia’s visitor numbers, and that it comprises a large immigrant population, Australia is a suitable setting for this study. Considering the multi-dimensional elements in the study, the “VFR Whole Tourism Systems Model” was used as the conceptual model for this study. Quantitative research was conducted nationally with 331 residents, collected through an online survey, assessing the differences and similarities in hosting behaviours. Qualitative research was undertaken through in-depth interviews with 34 local residents in three contrasting destinations in Victoria understanding the social interactions between VFR hosts and their visiting friends/relatives. Significant differences were found between immigrants and nonimmigrants regarding attracting VFRs and hosting experiences. Differences were also noted between hosting friends versus hosting relatives, and it was also determined that the destination types impact VFR hosting. Such findings have provided valuable insights regarding the economic and social benefits of promoting local marketing campaign targeting local residents.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Workplace aggression experiences and responses of Victorian nurses, midwives and care personnel
- Hills, Danny, Lam, Louisa, Hills, Sharon
- Authors: Hills, Danny , Lam, Louisa , Hills, Sharon
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Collegian Vol. 25, no. 6 (2018), p. 575-582
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Workplace aggression is a major work health and safety, and public health concern. To date, there has been limited investigation of population level exposure and responses to workplace aggression from all sources, and little evidence on the experiences, reporting and support-seeking behaviour of nurses, midwives and care personnel in Australian settings. Aim: To determine the 12-month prevalence of aggression experienced by nurses, midwives and care personnel from sources external and internal to the organisation, and the reporting behaviours and support sought from employers, health services, Trade Unions, work health and safety agencies, police and legal services. Methods: An online survey of the membership of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation – Victorian Branch was conducted between 1 st May and 30th June 2017. Findings: In the previous 12 months, 96.5% of respondents experienced workplace aggression, with 90.9% experiencing aggression from external sources and 72.3% from internal sources. A majority indicated they just accepted incidents of aggression, and most rarely or never took time off work, sought medical or psychological treatment, or sought organisational or other institutional support, advice or action. Levels of satisfaction with institutional services were mostly neutral to poor. Discussion: Victorian nurses, midwives and care personnel work in aggressive and violent workplaces. The incivility endemic in health care likely sets the climate for the generation of and exposure to so much explicit aggression and violence. It appears that any systems or processes instituted to protect health care personnel from harm are failing. Conclusion: More targeted and effectively operationalised legislation, incentives and penalties are likely required. Further research may elaborate the extent of the impact of exposure to workplace aggression over time.
- Authors: Hills, Danny , Lam, Louisa , Hills, Sharon
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Collegian Vol. 25, no. 6 (2018), p. 575-582
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Workplace aggression is a major work health and safety, and public health concern. To date, there has been limited investigation of population level exposure and responses to workplace aggression from all sources, and little evidence on the experiences, reporting and support-seeking behaviour of nurses, midwives and care personnel in Australian settings. Aim: To determine the 12-month prevalence of aggression experienced by nurses, midwives and care personnel from sources external and internal to the organisation, and the reporting behaviours and support sought from employers, health services, Trade Unions, work health and safety agencies, police and legal services. Methods: An online survey of the membership of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation – Victorian Branch was conducted between 1 st May and 30th June 2017. Findings: In the previous 12 months, 96.5% of respondents experienced workplace aggression, with 90.9% experiencing aggression from external sources and 72.3% from internal sources. A majority indicated they just accepted incidents of aggression, and most rarely or never took time off work, sought medical or psychological treatment, or sought organisational or other institutional support, advice or action. Levels of satisfaction with institutional services were mostly neutral to poor. Discussion: Victorian nurses, midwives and care personnel work in aggressive and violent workplaces. The incivility endemic in health care likely sets the climate for the generation of and exposure to so much explicit aggression and violence. It appears that any systems or processes instituted to protect health care personnel from harm are failing. Conclusion: More targeted and effectively operationalised legislation, incentives and penalties are likely required. Further research may elaborate the extent of the impact of exposure to workplace aggression over time.
10 Days in 2009 : An auto-ethnographical study of "Communical Resistance" taken by international students in Australia
- Authors: Saunders, Owen
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The early millennium saw the rise of an educational system in Australia where unchartered private educational provider institutions teach degree courses via contractual arrangements with parent universities. This study examines an incident where students at several such institutions collectively declined to submit a required online assessment piece to the possible detriment of the successful completion of their degrees. The research questions that arose from this incident were; what went wrong; how can we understand what happened here; and, what does this mean for me personally? Students’ perceptions of an online assessment piece are examined in the study of this incident. The study covers identical units offered at six private providers in three different Australian cities and the parent university. The students at the private institutions were all international students; those at the parent were a mix of international and domestic students. The assessment piece, a mandatory requirement for completion of the degree, was given to a collective cohort of approximately 400 students. The majority of students from four of the private institutions declined to submit the assessment piece. Initial research indicated that the students were uncomfortable with the format of a new blended-learning delivery introduced that year (2009). Upon deeper investigation, it was revealed that the declination to submit was, in fact, a complex situation involving conflicts, cultural clashes, social upheaval, and legislative misunderstandings that combined to create an environment where the students felt they had no option but to openly protest against perceived injustices. The author of this work is also the educator at the centre of this event, thus the thesis has been written in an auto-ethnographical method, viewed through the educator’s lens. To protect sensitive information, pseudonyms have been used and identifying details removed. The parent university at the centre of the event, named Newgarth University, is fictitious. Auto-ethnography has been used to present the empirical data (quantitative and qualitative), and the reader will be taken through a “detective story” that reveals various characters, plots, and protest. The study documents a previously unrecorded incident in the international student education industry in Australia. The study offers explanations as to why this incident occurred and adds to the cumulative knowledge of the international student education industry in Australia by offering suggestions to prevent such incidents occurring again. The study demonstrates that when a group of students are placed in an unfamiliar uncomfortable environment with little or no access to pastoral care or welfare services, they will create support groups of allegiance to protect their interests. These allegiance groups will employ tried and tested methods of communal resistance practised by the dominant culture of that field of endeavour.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Saunders, Owen
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The early millennium saw the rise of an educational system in Australia where unchartered private educational provider institutions teach degree courses via contractual arrangements with parent universities. This study examines an incident where students at several such institutions collectively declined to submit a required online assessment piece to the possible detriment of the successful completion of their degrees. The research questions that arose from this incident were; what went wrong; how can we understand what happened here; and, what does this mean for me personally? Students’ perceptions of an online assessment piece are examined in the study of this incident. The study covers identical units offered at six private providers in three different Australian cities and the parent university. The students at the private institutions were all international students; those at the parent were a mix of international and domestic students. The assessment piece, a mandatory requirement for completion of the degree, was given to a collective cohort of approximately 400 students. The majority of students from four of the private institutions declined to submit the assessment piece. Initial research indicated that the students were uncomfortable with the format of a new blended-learning delivery introduced that year (2009). Upon deeper investigation, it was revealed that the declination to submit was, in fact, a complex situation involving conflicts, cultural clashes, social upheaval, and legislative misunderstandings that combined to create an environment where the students felt they had no option but to openly protest against perceived injustices. The author of this work is also the educator at the centre of this event, thus the thesis has been written in an auto-ethnographical method, viewed through the educator’s lens. To protect sensitive information, pseudonyms have been used and identifying details removed. The parent university at the centre of the event, named Newgarth University, is fictitious. Auto-ethnography has been used to present the empirical data (quantitative and qualitative), and the reader will be taken through a “detective story” that reveals various characters, plots, and protest. The study documents a previously unrecorded incident in the international student education industry in Australia. The study offers explanations as to why this incident occurred and adds to the cumulative knowledge of the international student education industry in Australia by offering suggestions to prevent such incidents occurring again. The study demonstrates that when a group of students are placed in an unfamiliar uncomfortable environment with little or no access to pastoral care or welfare services, they will create support groups of allegiance to protect their interests. These allegiance groups will employ tried and tested methods of communal resistance practised by the dominant culture of that field of endeavour.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
A financial stress index to model and forecast financial stress in Australia
- Authors: Mukulu, Sandra
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The series of financial crises that cascaded through and rocked much of the world over the past decade created opportunities to draw meaning from the pattern of countries succumbing to crisis and those who appear to be wholly or partially immune. This thesis examines the case of Australia, a developed country that has seldom experienced an endogenous crisis in the last few decades, but has experienced crisis by contagion. This study designs a financial stress index to measure and forecast the health of the Australian economy and proposes a custom-made stress index to: Gauge the potential for a crisis; and Signal when a timely intervention may minimise fear and contagion losses in the Australian financial market. Financial and economic data is used to design indicators for stress in the banking sector and equity, currency and bond markets. Further, this study explores how movements in equity markets of key trading partners of Australia can be used to predict movements in the Australian equity market. The variance-equal weights (VEW) and principal components approach (PCA) are used to subsume 22 stress indicators into a composite stress index. The VEW and PCA stress indexes were examined to determine monitoring and their forecasting capabilities. It was found that the VEW stress index performed better than the PCA stress index, because it provided more consistent estimates for the level of Australian financial stress. Although, both models show some promise, each model fell short of giving adequate forecasts in financial stress especially at the peak time of the 2007-2009 GFC. Thus, more research is needed to understand the complex nature of financial crisis, how crises develop and the techniques that can be used to predict the onset of financial crises.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Mukulu, Sandra
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The series of financial crises that cascaded through and rocked much of the world over the past decade created opportunities to draw meaning from the pattern of countries succumbing to crisis and those who appear to be wholly or partially immune. This thesis examines the case of Australia, a developed country that has seldom experienced an endogenous crisis in the last few decades, but has experienced crisis by contagion. This study designs a financial stress index to measure and forecast the health of the Australian economy and proposes a custom-made stress index to: Gauge the potential for a crisis; and Signal when a timely intervention may minimise fear and contagion losses in the Australian financial market. Financial and economic data is used to design indicators for stress in the banking sector and equity, currency and bond markets. Further, this study explores how movements in equity markets of key trading partners of Australia can be used to predict movements in the Australian equity market. The variance-equal weights (VEW) and principal components approach (PCA) are used to subsume 22 stress indicators into a composite stress index. The VEW and PCA stress indexes were examined to determine monitoring and their forecasting capabilities. It was found that the VEW stress index performed better than the PCA stress index, because it provided more consistent estimates for the level of Australian financial stress. Although, both models show some promise, each model fell short of giving adequate forecasts in financial stress especially at the peak time of the 2007-2009 GFC. Thus, more research is needed to understand the complex nature of financial crisis, how crises develop and the techniques that can be used to predict the onset of financial crises.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Algae-based models to configure consumptive flows for ecological benefit in the highly regulated MacKenzie River, south-east Australia
- Authors: Atazadeh, Ehsan
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Many river ecosystems, especially those in arid and semi-arid, are experiencing severe stress due to the increasing demands on the ecosystem services they provide, coupled with anthropogenic catchment impacts and factors associated with climate change and weather extremes. The flow regime of the Mackenzie River was substantially modified since the construction of a water supply reservoir on its upper reach in 1887. Water is now regulated at several locations downstream of the reservoir, creating a substantially modified flow regime, impacting key environmental values of the river. The river receives an environmental flow allocation and the river channel is used to transfer water dedicated for consumptive use. Water Quality and algal monitoring formed the basis of models that were developed evaluate the ecological condition of this working river under base flow and before, during and after freshes that deliver water to users. Samples of diatoms, soft algae and measurements of water quality were analysed at ten sampling sites for three years (between February 2012 and November 2014) along the MacKenzie River in different seasons and under different flow regimes to understand the spatial and temporal variation in the relationship between algal communities and water quality, and so stream condition. Baseline information on algal communities and water quality was collected during base flow conditions, while experiments on the effect of water releases on algal communities were based on flow regime variations (manipulated flow regimes), specifically on the algae community structure, water quality and ecosystem function. These comprised cease to flow (0 ML/day), low flows (10-15 ML/day), freshes (35-40 ML/day) and high flow (55ML/day) conditions. Physical and chemical characteristics of water, including pH, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, phosphorus and cations and anions were measured. Biological properties of the algal periphyton communities, including dry mass, ash-free dry mass, chlorophyll-a concentration and species composition, were also measured. Furthermore, the DSIAR (Diatom Species Index for Australian Rivers) score was calculated to classify the condition of the waterway. The results showed the algal species composition changed under different flow regimes along the river. The sensitivity of diatoms to changes in water quality and flow rates deemed them useful indicators of river condition. The results indicated that flows tended to improve DSIAR scores and diatoms versus green algae and cyanobacteria biomass measures in the mid and lower reaches. The biological properties of the algal periphyton communities, and the species composition, varied between sites under different flow regimes. The accumulation of dry mass (not ash-free) decreased downstream during freshes, however the accumulation of AFDM (ash-free dry mass) gradually increased downstream. The results showed that the concentration of chlorophyll-a decreased downstream under water release events. The Pearson’s correlation matrix revealed flow regimes had a significant influence on the water chemistry characteristics and biological properties. The principal component analysis (PCA) illustrated that upstream species of algae were associated with low pH and temperature and higher DO. In contrast downstream species were associated with higher turbidity, TSS, conductivity, TN, and TDS. The correspondence analysis (CA) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) showed a split between algal assemblages during water release events in comparison with before and after water release. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) identified five significant environmental variables including pH, TSS, Turbidity, TN and TP explaining algal assemblage and structure along the river. The collected data were used to develop ecological response models based on algae communities living under different flow regimes in the MacKenzie River. The algae-based models across a hydraulic gradient may be useful in water management efforts to find sustainable solutions in the river by balancing environmental and human values. The empirical data and models showed the lower reaches of the river to be in poor condition under low flows, but this condition improved under flows of 35 ML/day, as indicated by the reduction in green algae and cyanobacteria and improvement in DSIAR scores. The results are presented to tailor discharge and duration of the river flows by amalgamation of consumptive and environmental flows to improve the condition of the stream thereby supplementing the flows dedicated to environmental outcomes. Ultimately the findings can be used by management to configure consumptive flows to enhance the for ecological condition of the MacKenzie River.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Atazadeh, Ehsan
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Many river ecosystems, especially those in arid and semi-arid, are experiencing severe stress due to the increasing demands on the ecosystem services they provide, coupled with anthropogenic catchment impacts and factors associated with climate change and weather extremes. The flow regime of the Mackenzie River was substantially modified since the construction of a water supply reservoir on its upper reach in 1887. Water is now regulated at several locations downstream of the reservoir, creating a substantially modified flow regime, impacting key environmental values of the river. The river receives an environmental flow allocation and the river channel is used to transfer water dedicated for consumptive use. Water Quality and algal monitoring formed the basis of models that were developed evaluate the ecological condition of this working river under base flow and before, during and after freshes that deliver water to users. Samples of diatoms, soft algae and measurements of water quality were analysed at ten sampling sites for three years (between February 2012 and November 2014) along the MacKenzie River in different seasons and under different flow regimes to understand the spatial and temporal variation in the relationship between algal communities and water quality, and so stream condition. Baseline information on algal communities and water quality was collected during base flow conditions, while experiments on the effect of water releases on algal communities were based on flow regime variations (manipulated flow regimes), specifically on the algae community structure, water quality and ecosystem function. These comprised cease to flow (0 ML/day), low flows (10-15 ML/day), freshes (35-40 ML/day) and high flow (55ML/day) conditions. Physical and chemical characteristics of water, including pH, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, phosphorus and cations and anions were measured. Biological properties of the algal periphyton communities, including dry mass, ash-free dry mass, chlorophyll-a concentration and species composition, were also measured. Furthermore, the DSIAR (Diatom Species Index for Australian Rivers) score was calculated to classify the condition of the waterway. The results showed the algal species composition changed under different flow regimes along the river. The sensitivity of diatoms to changes in water quality and flow rates deemed them useful indicators of river condition. The results indicated that flows tended to improve DSIAR scores and diatoms versus green algae and cyanobacteria biomass measures in the mid and lower reaches. The biological properties of the algal periphyton communities, and the species composition, varied between sites under different flow regimes. The accumulation of dry mass (not ash-free) decreased downstream during freshes, however the accumulation of AFDM (ash-free dry mass) gradually increased downstream. The results showed that the concentration of chlorophyll-a decreased downstream under water release events. The Pearson’s correlation matrix revealed flow regimes had a significant influence on the water chemistry characteristics and biological properties. The principal component analysis (PCA) illustrated that upstream species of algae were associated with low pH and temperature and higher DO. In contrast downstream species were associated with higher turbidity, TSS, conductivity, TN, and TDS. The correspondence analysis (CA) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) showed a split between algal assemblages during water release events in comparison with before and after water release. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) identified five significant environmental variables including pH, TSS, Turbidity, TN and TP explaining algal assemblage and structure along the river. The collected data were used to develop ecological response models based on algae communities living under different flow regimes in the MacKenzie River. The algae-based models across a hydraulic gradient may be useful in water management efforts to find sustainable solutions in the river by balancing environmental and human values. The empirical data and models showed the lower reaches of the river to be in poor condition under low flows, but this condition improved under flows of 35 ML/day, as indicated by the reduction in green algae and cyanobacteria and improvement in DSIAR scores. The results are presented to tailor discharge and duration of the river flows by amalgamation of consumptive and environmental flows to improve the condition of the stream thereby supplementing the flows dedicated to environmental outcomes. Ultimately the findings can be used by management to configure consumptive flows to enhance the for ecological condition of the MacKenzie River.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy