Description:
The faithful dog has the ability to become an Australian legend, as has Simpson's Donkey of Gallipoli. The true, heartrending tale of a devoted terrier's reaction to the death of his master, a pikeman at the ill-fated and brutal Eureka Stockade, is what legends are made of.
Description:
Variation in the song of the male Common Blackbird was investigated within and between two locations in western Victoria. Each of 400 phrases (100 phrases per male) was characterised by 61 measurements relating to 13 aspects of each phrase. Principal component and stepwise discriminant analyses were undertaken on these measurements. Classification of blackbird song for location and individuality was based on timing within the phrase of the loudest elements. Evidence was found for within-phrase variability, with the greatest variation in the middle of the phrase. Within- and between-site comparison found that blackbird song exhibited both individual and site-specific characteristics consistent with earlier suggestions of phrase sharing within local populations. The study demonstrated that an objective statistical approach to song analysis was able to disciminate between individual birds from different locations.
Description:
Variation in the song of the male Common Blackbird was investigated within and between two locations in western Victoria. Each of 400 phrases (100 phrases per male) was characterised by 61 measurements relating to 13 aspects of each phrase. Principal component and stepwise discriminant analyses were undertaken on these measurements. Classification of blackbird song for location and individuality was based on timing within the phrase of the loudest elements. Evidence was found for within-phrase variability, with the greatest variation in the middle of the phrase. Within- and between-site comparison found that blackbird song exhibited both individual and site-specific characteristics consistent with earlier suggestions of phrase sharing within local populations. The study demonstrated that an objective statistical approach to song analysis was able to disciminate between individual birds from different locations.
Description:
In 2001 the Victorian Government launched its Community Building initiative. As part of this initiative the government funded 11 locally based community building demonstration projects. One of these projects is located within the Pyrenees Shire. In this discussion paper the authors examine the Pyrenees Shire’s Community Building Demonstration Project, describing the program and its objectives. They focus on the factors which have had a significant impact on the community building process within the municipality, identifying factors which have both facilitated and impeded the process. In terms of facilitating factors they identify a number: the involvement of community champions, strong local government support and community readiness, the capacity to deliver ‘runs on the board’ early in the life of the project, along with a flexible planning process. Conversely, they identify factors which have impeded the community building process in the Shire. Lack of continuity of personnel, an inability to develop shared understanding on occasions and difficulties associated with engaging disparate groups are described. This paper is significant for a number of reasons. In the first instance, it contributes useful, ‘real time’ insights into the implementation of community building in regional Victoria. Secondly it may, through its contribution to theory building and managerial practice, develop and strengthen community building programs in the future. Finally, at the level of public policy, it may contribute to the growing body of knowledge around the efficiency, effectiveness and appropriateness of these types of regional interventions.
Description:
In 2001 the Victorian Government launched its Community Building initiative. As part of this initiative the government funded 11 locally based community building demonstration projects. One of these projects is located within the Pyrenees Shire. In this discussion paper the authors examine the Pyrenees Shire’s Community Building Demonstration Project, describing the program and its objectives. They focus on the factors which have had a significant impact on the community building process within the municipality, identifying factors which have both facilitated and impeded the process. In terms of facilitating factors they identify a number: the involvement of community champions, strong local government support and community readiness, the capacity to deliver ‘runs on the board’ early in the life of the project, along with a flexible planning process. Conversely, they identify factors which have impeded the community building process in the Shire. Lack of continuity of personnel, an inability to develop shared understanding on occasions and difficulties associated with engaging disparate groups are described. This paper is significant for a number of reasons. In the first instance, it contributes useful, ‘real time’ insights into the implementation of community building in regional Victoria. Secondly it may, through its contribution to theory building and managerial practice, develop and strengthen community building programs in the future. Finally, at the level of public policy, it may contribute to the growing body of knowledge around the efficiency, effectiveness and appropriateness of these types of regional interventions.
Description:
Principal Topic: This research is investigating the scope and relationships of the fine arts and associated sectors before, during and after disruption of the National Gallery of Victoria’s (NGV) core activities over the period 1999 to 2003. The significance of the research is to examine the effect of the NGV’s scaled down operations and understand what happens to an industry and business relationships when a key player moves out of and then re-enters a market. The NGV has long been a dominant figure within the Victorian fine art cluster and, for the purpose of this research, has been used to investigate the way small / medium enterprises (SMEs) may be affected when a key player (one that has in the past dominated the cluster) is forced temporarily to assume a weaker role. The research focuses on the interactions and inter relationships between the NGV and SMEs specifically and the repercussions of dislocation within the cluster. The investigation will determine if the NGV’s dislocation and consequent re-entry as two separate entities has a bearing on the innovation and system behaviour of the cluster and its consequent adaptability to change in a turbulent environment. The fine art cluster together with other cultural enterprises are part of the Victorian cultural environment which has been experiencing turbulent times over the past decade (1995 to 2005) due to the Federation funds that were made available by the Australian and state governments. Specifically Melbourne’s cultural landscape changed extensively due to the high incidence of development that occurred. The speed of change was also a significant factor as the Federation funding meant that everything had to open before 2001, that is, before the centenary of Federation. The level of change in Victoria’s cultural landscape was not only in its physical infrastructure but also ensured dramatic organisational change within the institutions. The extent of the turbulence faced by the cultural institutions during this period of change demonstrates that the fine art and cultural art clusters were seen to be laggards, ’latent clusters ’ (Rosenfeld 1997:11) or ’defenders’ (Slater and Olsen 2000) in terms of governance processes, internal organisational structure, processes, management styles and innovation. The Federation funds offered an opportunity for a consistent redevelopment strategy, which was a catalyst for change in the fine art and cultural clusters that might not otherwise have happened. Methodology/Key Propositions: This longitudinal study undertaken over five years will analyse the nature of the market place as well as the interactions and relationships between players. The impact on this market or cluster will then be observed and compared over four stages, that is, before the NGV closed for refurbishment, during the period of dislocation, upon re-entry of the restructured NGV as two separate entities and 18 months after its re-entry. These investigations will not only help illuminate changes in the functional characteristics and relationship between the NGV and SMEs, but most importantly will answer the fundamental premise that the fine art cluster does exist. The question to ask is, do the institutions and their behaviour over this period of time ’fit’ within the definition of a cluster? A cluster has been defined as a complex system capable of initiating a synergetic process where interconnected organisations and associations are linked by commonalities, complementarities and rivalry. The interconnections between cluster members can be explicit and implicit, that is, as informal social systems or as formal structures. A second aspect of a cluster is that of proximity which may be geographic or functional. This connectivity and synergy transforms the local experience of each member where they can be expected to define their relations vis-`a-vis rivals and with markets. Consequently, the position a cluster member occupies is a matter of great strategic importance and reflects its power and influence and how it may influence the actions of other actors. The significance of this study lies in two areas. First, it is about the key player closing down and reopening as two separate entities (operational innovation). Second, the fine art cluster has a different dynamic from other clusters in that the main player derives its power from its expertise, trust and legitimacy; that is, its reputation. There is a focus on the intangible values of the product and its peripheral services, rather than its control through product and product innovation. In this case the dimension investigated is innovation since the aspect of cluster functioning under investigation is how clusters can provide an environment where change is either actively enhanced or standardized (through incremental innovation). An individual firm’s innovative status (ie accumulated knowledge and continuity of innovative activity), it’s networking activity and knowledge transfer channels as well as the information and management behaviour of the firm determine a cluster’s propensity to be innovative (Spielkamp and Vopel 1999). Hence, the key question for research needs to determine the nature of the cluster’s operations and inter-relationships, that is, does dislocation of the dominant player affect the way the fine art cluster operates (that is, level of innovation) and change the inter-relationships between members? Results and Implications: This research will provide information on how fine art businesses, including some that are competitors, interrelate, and if the dominant player’s dislocation and consequent re-entry has a bearing on the innovation and system behaviour of the cluster. The NGV’s 1999 to 2003 redevelopment and consequent scaled down operation provides a unique opportunity to examine the effects of dislocation of the dominant player on the way a cluster functions and its propensity to be innovative.
Development of a model of mental health vulnerability for young men living in rural and regional areas : An investigation of the roles of sense of belonging and employment status
Description:
Understanding organisational capacity is crucial for addressing how organisations can develop in order to contribute to health promotion objectives and facilitate the implementation of health promotion activities within their settings. This study explored the capacity of Sport Governing Organisations (SGOs) to participate in population-focused health promotion activities. Participants from SGOs in the Australian state of Victoria were invited to complete a Health Promotion and Sport Assessment Tool (HP-SAT) which included items from capacity building checklists (strength of a coalition, capacity of an organisation to tackle health issues, and quality of planning including strategic and operational planning for health promotion) and a partnership analysis tool. Participants completed the HP-SAT in two phases—first to identify their SGO's current capacity to implement health promotion activities; and second a reflection of their SGO's capacity five years previously, prior to funding from a health promotion body. For each substantive area in the HP-SAT (e.g., capacity to address health issues) a composite score was calculated by summing the numerically coded responses to each item pertaining to the particular area. The scores represented the capacity to implement health promotion activities, and were expressed on a scale of 0–100. Paired samples t-tests were used to test for differences in the capacity scores between the two time points. The mean scores for the six capacity and partnership areas ranged from 39.1 to 61.5 at the retrospective survey and significantly increased to 56.9–78.2 for the current survey (p < 0.05 for all six areas). Scores for operational planning for health promotion and SGO collaboration activities increased the most, by 27.9 and 19.4 percentage points, respectively. Strategic planning for health promotion scored the lowest for the current survey. This presentation will discuss how to build capacity within the sport sector to facilitate the implementation of health promotion activities and to engage sport settings in health promotion activities. In particular, it will focus on how to promote health by creating health-promoting environments and/or increase physical activity levels through sport participation.
Description:
Arid areas are often overgrazed and dysfunctional with poor recruitment of desirable species, diminished control over resources and altered soil properties. Restoration ecology re-establishes these valued processes. State-and-transition models summarise knowledge of vegetation dynamics and tools for restoration, and encourage the incorporation of new information. The model developed here for semi-arid woodlands of north-west Victoria highlighted the unknown cause of observed, natural recruitment and the need for a technique, other than direct seeding and handplanting, for enhancing the recruitment of desirable species. I pursued these knowledge gaps for two dominant, woodland trees: Allocasuarina luehmannii and Casuarina pauper. Natural recruitment of juvenile C. pauper was found to be limited and primarily from root suckers. Extensive recruitment of A. luehmannii was shown to be mostly seedlings established following substantial reductions in grazing pressure since 1996. Seedlings were associated with areas devoid of ground flora near a female tree. The importance of competition between seedlings and ground flora, spatial variation in soil moisture and individual variation in the quantity of seed produced deserves further investigation to enhance future restoration success. Root suckers of both C. pauper and A. luehmannii can be artificially initiated, albeit in low numbers and this was found to be a feasible, new tool for restoration. Suckers are preceded by the growth of callus tissue on exposed or damaged, living, shallow roots. Both male and female trees can produce suckers and spring treatments may be more successful. Genetic fingerprinting of mature A. luehmannii and C. pauper trees in six populations did not identify any clonal individuals indicating that recruitment in the past has been from seedlings. Despite this, the high level of gene flow suggests that the impact of introducing small numbers of root suckers into existing populations is unlikely to impact negatively on the population genetics of these species.
Description:
Arid areas are often overgrazed and dysfunctional with poor recruitment of desirable species, diminished control over resources and altered soil properties. Restoration ecology re-establishes these valued processes. State-and-transition models summarise knowledge of vegetation dynamics and tools for restoration, and encourage the incorporation of new information. The model developed here for semi-arid woodlands of north-west Victoria highlighted the unknown cause of observed, natural recruitment and the need for a technique, other than direct seeding and handplanting, for enhancing the recruitment of desirable species. I pursued these knowledge gaps for two dominant, woodland trees: Allocasuarina luehmannii and Casuarina pauper. Natural recruitment of juvenile C. pauper was found to be limited and primarily from root suckers. Extensive recruitment of A. luehmannii was shown to be mostly seedlings established following substantial reductions in grazing pressure since 1996. Seedlings were associated with areas devoid of ground flora near a female tree. The importance of competition between seedlings and ground flora, spatial variation in soil moisture and individual variation in the quantity of seed produced deserves further investigation to enhance future restoration success. Root suckers of both C. pauper and A. luehmannii can be artificially initiated, albeit in low numbers and this was found to be a feasible, new tool for restoration. Suckers are preceded by the growth of callus tissue on exposed or damaged, living, shallow roots. Both male and female trees can produce suckers and spring treatments may be more successful. Genetic fingerprinting of mature A. luehmannii and C. pauper trees in six populations did not identify any clonal individuals indicating that recruitment in the past has been from seedlings. Despite this, the high level of gene flow suggests that the impact of introducing small numbers of root suckers into existing populations is unlikely to impact negatively on the population genetics of these species.
Description:
Stanhope was described in the original 1988 small towns study as a manufacturing and service centre for an important irrigated dairying district. According to 2001 Census data, the role of manufacturing based on the dairy processing plant has remained significant. The same data reveals that this plant also continues to service the dairy farms in the district and provide significant jobs for these farms. The original study noted the importance of service clubs and other voluntary organisations in providing community capacity building to build and fund local facilities and amenities such as a community hall and a swimming pool. The recently established Stanhope and District Development Committee seems to be providing a similar function today for soft, or information technology infrastructure for business development and information-based transactions.The 1988 study also noted that Stanhope faced a range of issues and concerns about its ongoing viability, including its narrow dairying economic base, strong competition from larger service centres, constraints on residential growth due to lack of facilities, and closure of V/Line freight services. This update identifies that essentially the same concerns remain.
Description:
Stanhope was described in the original 1988 small towns study as a manufacturing and service centre for an important irrigated dairying district. According to 2001 Census data, the role of manufacturing based on the dairy processing plant has remained significant. The same data reveals that this plant also continues to service the dairy farms in the district and provide significant jobs for these farms. The original study noted the importance of service clubs and other voluntary organisations in providing community capacity building to build and fund local facilities and amenities such as a community hall and a swimming pool. The recently established Stanhope and District Development Committee seems to be providing a similar function today for soft, or information technology infrastructure for business development and information-based transactions.The 1988 study also noted that Stanhope faced a range of issues and concerns about its ongoing viability, including its narrow dairying economic base, strong competition from larger service centres, constraints on residential growth due to lack of facilities, and closure of V/Line freight services. This update identifies that essentially the same concerns remain.
Description:
Gold mineralisation in the Lachlan Orogen of western Victoria, is generally hosted in turbidites with very low-grade metamorphic assemblages. Metamorphic data from these turbidites are relatively rare because of the fine-grained nature of the pelitic component and lack of suitable assemblages for thermobarometric estimates. In this study, 'illite crystallinity' (Kubler Index) and b-lattice spacing measurements were carried out on white micas in metapelites, collected from near the inferred western margin of the Selwyn Block, as well as three exploration targets, in an attempt to relate thermal and barometric conditions to mineralisation. Higher-grade (epizone) metamorphic conditions are recorded in sequences west of the Whitelaw Fault and lower-grade (anchizone) metamorphic conditions to the east of the fault. The change from epizonal to anchizonal grade is abrupt, resolved to a distance of a few hundred metres. The b-spacing values change adjacent to the Muckleford Fault. This is due to rocks to the east being exhumed as the edge of the Selwyn Block moved westward during the Middle Devonian Tabberabberan Orogeny at 380Ma. We propose that the juxtaposition of rocks with contrasting thermal and barometric histories represents expression of the upper crustal location of the western margin of the Selwyn Block at the time of peak deformation, at about 440Ma, and this crustal structure controlled the distribution of the major quartz-vein-type gold deposits. The Middle Devonian orogenic activity (380Ma) was accompanied by the formation of disseminated gold deposits such as Fosterville. This represents a mineralising event that overprints the earlier gold deposits in a corridor at least 50km wide and to the west of the Whitelaw Fault, that parallels the margin of the Selwyn Block. The correlation between gold assays and 'illite crystallinity' results, from X-ray diffraction and from short-wave infrared-reflectance field-spectroscopy data, were ambiguous. Kubler Indices are not found to be effective in targeting of mineralisation as the values obtained from the alteration and the host-rock assemblages were similar and reflected the ambient P-T conditions at the time of mineralisation.
Description:
The Lal Lal Falls, situated within the traditional country of the Wathawurrung people, is one of Victoria's most significant Indigenous cultural sites, as it is one of several recorded living sites of Bundjil--the Kulin peoples' creator spirit. Lal Lal Falls, near Ballarat in Western Victoria, became a tourism attraction for non-Indigenous Australians for its natural and cultural values.
Description:
The key issue of concern behind this study was that there have been recent concerns about the gender-based discrepancies in morbidity and mortality rates amongst men and the scant attention generally held by Australian men towards their own health and well-being ... the models of education that have emerged from this research as being appropriate for health delivery advice to urban, rural and disenfranchised men, suggest effective ways to reach out to Australian males.
Description:
The key issue of concern behind this study was that there have been recent concerns about the gender-based discrepancies in morbidity and mortality rates amongst men and the scant attention generally held by Australian men towards their own health and well-being ... the models of education that have emerged from this research as being appropriate for health delivery advice to urban, rural and disenfranchised men, suggest effective ways to reach out to Australian males.
Description:
The clay mineralogy and heavy metal/metalloid (As, Pb and Cu) contents of soils developed on the various rock units in a central highlands environment in Victoria (Creswick, Australia) have been investigated. The clay minerals identified showed an order of abundance as: kaolinite - illite > smectite > mixed-layer (ML) ≈ vermiculite. The soil clay mineralogy did not change systematically with depth (0- 10, 10- 20 and 20- 30 cm) and showed large variations spatially. The high proportion of kaolinite was probably due to the removal of 2:1 phyllosilicates by the formation of 1:1 kaolinite through weathering, which also reduced the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and electrical conductivity (EC, soil: water ratio of 1:5) of soils by aging. Soils were classified as silty loam to loam with a low clay size (≤ 2
Description:
Adults in Australia have tended to return relatively recently to learning in patterns that are significantly different by gender. These patterns of gender segmentation for adults are particularly noticeable in the findings of recent research by the author into adult, community and vocational learning in small and remote towns in Victoria. The issues associated with such patterns form the basis of this exploratory paper.
Description:
Soil is the component in the landscape along with land use management and vegetation that determines all the partitioning of water balance components that affect surface hydrology (runoff to waterways and wetlands) and recharge to groundwater. Most soil and land degradation processes are hydrologically driven or depend on hydrological conditions. Conceptual models and quantification of erosion processes (wind erosion is a result of lack of moisture), land salinisation, acidification, nutrient loss and impacts of nutrient movement, all require an understanding of the role of hydrology specific to the landscape under consideration. In Australia, salinity is a major problem for agriculture in irrigated and rainfed (‘dryland agriculture) land and has significant economic impacts in urban areas too. A general water balance approach has been used to conceptualise the processes and the problem. Large scale clearing of treed landscapes in favour of annual crops and pastures has been seen as the major change in the water balance of Australian landscapes since settlement. This change in vegetation and water use is frequently cited as the most significant factor in causing land salinisation, which is attributed to increase in groundwater recharge, mobilisation of salts, groundwater rise and discharge. We provide three case studies for landscapes that require quite different conceptual models and all of which are in some degree counter to the developed conventional wisdom regarding increased salinity. These case studies illustrate the importance of developing an appropriate conceptual model of hydrological processes in the ‘critical zone', in particular for implementation of policy and practice in land management. Case 1. South Eastern Dundas Tablelands, Victoria. In this landscape the apparent degradation of land by salinity is the result of changed hydrological conditions but has not resulted from increased groundwater discharge or increased salt accumulation. We have evidence that groundwater recharge and discharge have not increased since clearing of the landscape during European settlement. Laboratory hydrological studies in large diameter cores from soil and regolith, interpretation of redoximorphic features and functional horizons in the field and analysis of historical records of streamflow support this hypothesis. We also show that the degradation of salt affected areas is due to fluctuating waterlogging and drying of the soil causing cyclic redox conditions and changes in soil chemistry. Case 2. Dissected Coastal Plain, Victoria. In this landscape, slowly permeable marine clay overlain by coastal sand deposits provides a classic ‘layer cake' picture of differentially permeable material. The unconsolidated nature of the clays and the relatively deep dissection that exists presents a landslide prone landscape and one that also shows the effects of salting in low areas. In this region we show that upward pressure from a deep (200 m) confined freshwater aquifer maintains saturation in the marine clay and that waterlogging, landslides and salinity result from hydrological dynamics of the upper few metres of regolith and soil. Evidence has been collected from field survey, groundwater studies, geotechnical measurements and regolith mineralogy. Case 3. Granite Uplands, Victoria. In this landscape we have interpreted redoximorphic features of functional horizons and measurement of shallow groundwater salinities in a toposequence. Our conceptual model is of a regional saline groundwater system discharging in springs relatively high in the landscape. We show the role of shallow throughflow of water in the soil in spreading salt from these point sources, simultaneously diluting the effect of salinity in local drainage lines but increasing the area of salt affected land upslope from the drainage lines. In each case study area we have been compelled to develop an understanding that fits the landscape realities. We have used empirical observations and interpretation of soil morphology, regolith and groundwater characteristics, laboratory studies, soil chemistry and hydro-chemistry to support our work. We stress the importance of this approach integrating the sciences of hydrology, pedology, chemistry and geology in coming to appropriate conclusions about land degradation processes, especially if we are to advise on land management investment and policy to tackle degradation.
Description:
This research examined the outcome of a translocation of 30 koalas moved from French Island to three sites on mainland Victoria (Creswick, Enfield and Lal Lal State Forests)
Description:
This research examined the outcome of a translocation of 30 koalas moved from French Island to three sites on mainland Victoria (Creswick, Enfield and Lal Lal State Forests)