School of Geography - Theses
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ItemA formative evaluation of the Gippsland psychogeriatric assessment and treatment team, Community Psychiatric Services for the Elderly: a study of consumer experience( 1995)This study critically examines consumer response to the Gippsland psychogeriatric assessment and treatment team. This service operates under the title, Community Psychiatric Services for the Elderly (C.P.S.E.) and has been operational since 1992. The primary focus of this evaluation is formative: It is envisaged that, as a result of this research, highly practical recommendations will be generated which may contribute towards the overall improvement in service-delivery. This implies that stakeholders will be the recipients of any improvements achieved, particularly the direct consumer groups (clients and families) towards whom such benefits are ultimately directed. The critical dimension to the evaluation design is the perception of consumer groups and the manner in which the quality of service is individually assessed. How appropriately are 'grass-roots needs, expectations, and day to day issues addressed by the service? Are the perceived needs of consumers effectively met, or does there exist an incongruity between the focus of the various stakeholders? The corollary to this is the level of consumer satisfaction with the service. If it is apparent that consumer expectations are not being effectively met, what changes are required to redress this problem? Is a wholesale realignment of the service required or will minor, incremental 'finetuning' suffice? This latter point will be taken up by a working party following the publication of the research results.
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ItemA geographical study of the dairy manufacturing industry in Gippsland, 1840-1910( 1977)Prior to 1888, dairy manufacture in Gippsland was a predominantly farm-based activity catering for a domestic market. Farmers close to a railway usually produced fresh butter, while those in more inaccessible areas produced potted butter. Concentrations of cheese manufacturers occurred in the Berwick - Cranbourne and the Sale - Maffra areas. This production pattern was strongly influenced by the factors of accessibility to the Melbourne market, product perishability and farmer's available capital. In 1888-89 the Victorian Government initiated a number of measures aimed at promoting the factory system of butter manufacture and the number of butter factories and the amount of butter exported to England rapidly increased. Initially in Gippsland most of the factories were farmers' co-operatives, however late in the 1890s proprietary interests gained control of a great deal of the manufacturing capacity. Co-operative factories were weakened by severe climatic conditions and poor management, while many proprietary selling agents used unfair trading practices to undermine co-operatives whilst these same agents promoted hand separators to create a cream supply for country and Melbourne proprietary factories. Discontent with proprietary factories and the establishment of co-operative selling companies allowed co-operative factories to partly re-establish their position in the later 1900s. The general distribution of butter factories in Gippsland was closely related to the density of milch cows and the location of railways, whilst the siting of factories was influenced by water supply, waste disposal, accessibility to transport, land surface, proximity to towns and availability of land. As hand separators became more widely used, factory supply areas increased and by the late 1890s competition between factories was intense and widespread overlapping of supply occurred. Significant variation between factories occurred in the amount of production,while each factory's output varied during the year and from season to season. A factory's output was influenced by the size of its supply area, the density of milch cows in its supply area, the seasonal conditions and the degree of competition with other factories. Production costs were influenced by the amount of milk/cream intake while the prices paid to farmers for milk/cream were influenced by prices received for butter on the London market. Following the introduction of hand separators, the quality of butter deteriorated but little was done by the government, in terms of export controls or cream grading, to rectify the situation. Cheese production do not show the same growth, after 1888, as butter production. The government showed little interest in promoting cheese exports and few new factories were established. Even by 1910, farm produced cheese was still a significant source of supply.
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ItemCauses of incision of Gippsland river channels during the period of European settlement, with particular reference to Bruthen Creek( 1987)Historical evidence shows that many of the Gippsland river channels which are now deeply incised were formerly shallow, meandering and swampy. The change has occurred within the historic period, beginning in most cases between 1870 and 1900. This thesis investigates the changes along Bruthen Creek, near Yarram, using a variety of historical sources, including early maps and air photos, and archival material from the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (now the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands), Victorian Railways (now V-line) and the local Shire offices. Together these provide sufficient evidence to support a model of development of incision through headward migration of a series of five distinct erosion sequences, each of which originated in a different part of the channel system. Possible causes of instability are investigated. It is concluded that although there appears to have been a climatic change towards increased annual rainfall in the area, dating from the mid 1940s, as proposed for coastal New South Wales, there is no evidence that this is causally related to channel instability. Similarly, although there has been extensive deforestation of the catchment, it is argued that this has not had sufficient impact on run-off to have caused channel erosion. The thesis concludes that human interference has been the critical factor leading to incision, particularly the efforts to drain the riverain swamps by channelising flow within them, and limiting the extent and frequency of flooding. This hypothesis is presented for Bruthen Creek, and evaluated in the light of the author's studies of eroded channels in other parts of Gippsland. Many of these studies have already been published, and are presented with this thesis as supporting papers. Some evidence is also included from the preliminary studies by the author, not yet published, of channel instability in a group of tributaries of the Tarra River, the catchment of which adjoins that of Bruthen Creek. It is concluded that all the Gippsland channels which were shallow and poorly defined at the time of settlement and have subsequently incised have been subject to similar attempts to channelise flow. Much of the work was carried out on a small scale by individual farmers soon after land settlement, and the only record of their activities is in the original land selection records. Entrainment of flow to ensure that floodwaters passed under newly constructed road and rail bridges has been a contributory factor, but most of this, particularly in the case of roads, is only poorly documented. The importance of individual action, and the paucity of early road records, has meant that the extent of human interference has often been underestimated, because much of it took place long before the establishment of a government department with a specific interest in river management.
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ItemLand degradation: a study of the Avon River, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia( 1981)No abstract available