School of Geography - Theses
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ItemEstuarine beach morphology as influenced by geology: an investigation into the morphological history and processes of the St Leonards Coastline( 2019)Estuarine beaches are understudied, and consequently, are often managed ineffectively. Due to climatic changes, coastlines are experiencing erosive processes and retreating, placing the communities and ecosystems who rely upon estuarine beaches in a situation of vulnerability. Seeking to add to a growing body of literature regarding the morphodynamic behaviour of estuarine beaches, this thesis researched the morphological history and processes at St Leonards, on the Bellarine Peninsula in Port Phillip Bay (VIC). Attention was given to the historical evolution of the coastline between 1950-2019, and the spatial patterns of this change. More specifically, focus was paid to the morphological impact of a nearshore rocky outcrop situated centrally along the coast. Historical aerial photos, sediment, and beach topography were each examined using a range of field and/or desktop processes. Through these methods, the coastline was observed to be undergoing an overall process of retreat. However, the morphodynamic behaviour of the coastline was non-homogenous and did not occur consistently across a multitude of spatial and temporal scales. The rocky outcrop was also found to influence morphological processes, appearing to protect the coastline from erosion, and promote the accretion of sediment in the direction of longshore drift.
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ItemHow does the mega-project of Hong Kong-Zhuhai and Macau Bridge impact the local people in Hong Kong?( 2019)The impacts of transport infrastructure have been well-studied but the impacts of cross-border transport infrastructure (CBTI) are less studied. This research aims to study how a (CBTI) which is the Hong Kong Zhuhai and Macau Bridge (HZMB) impacts on locals of different socioeconomic status and in different residential locations. To achieve this aim, this research investigated into what the impacts are and how do these impacts distribute among different groups of people. To get insight into that, this research interviewed locals in Hong Kong to collect data. The data was undergone thematic analyse to determine the HZMB’s impacts and distributional effects. This research found that the HZMB has very few benefits to the locals. The benefits are on travelling and economic aspects. However, the HZMB has major social and cultural impacts. Overall this thesis concluded that the social and cultural impacts of the HZMB has outweighed its economic benefits. This research produced results that contribute to the discipline of impact assessment on CBTI on individuals’ level. Whereas, on practical level, the results of this research could inform officials the directions for policymaking processes to enhance the benefits and mitigate the adverse effects of the HZMB.
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ItemUnderstanding the response of Tasmanian rainforest to climate change in the absence of human influence( 2019)The predicted increase of climate-driven wildfires poses a threat to the endemic rainforest species of Tasmania. In order to sustainably conserve and manage these threatened ecosystems in the future, it is crucial to understand the natural response of western Tasmanian vegetation to rapid climate change. While previous research at the Lake Selina site in the region has produced a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the environmental response to climate shifts during a period in which historical indigenous land management practices were in effect, there is a knowledge gap regarding the response of vegetation to rapid climatic warming in the absence of these practices, which describes the situation in western Tasmania today. As such, this thesis seeks to understand the post-glacial response of vegetation to warming Holocene climates in the absence of anthropogenic fire regimes. To do so, a multi-proxy analysis of lake sediments from Darwin Crater in western Tasmania is conducted in order to facilitate comprehensive palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a post-glacial environment. After establishing the suitability of conducting a comparison between the selected sites, this research goes on to determine the differences in the response of Tasmanian vegetation in the presence or absence of fire-based land management. The findings from this research identified a clear relationship between anthropogenic fire regimes and the response of western Tasmanian vegetation and can thus be used to project the future responses of vegetation in the region in the absence of indigenous land management practices.
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ItemThe oil palm and conservation 'double bind'? Livelihood aspirations and forest desires in East Kalimantan, Indonesia( 2019)Across Southeast Asian frontiers, forest dependent peoples have been negotiating a relatively rapid agrarian transition towards increasingly market-oriented livelihoods. In changing frontiers, part of this transition has involved rural households seeking lucrative livelihood opportunities in order to fulfil changing social and material aspirations in the face of competing governance and extractive pressures. In East Kalimantan, Indonesia, rural Dayak households have engaged in a similar transition involving a shift towards livelihoods based in expanding oil palm plantations and other off-farm opportunities. Concurrently, however, civil society organisations (CSOs) attempt to counter this transition by encouraging Dayak smallholders to retain customary, forest-based activities in the hope of conserving biodiversity in the context of increasing deforestation from oil palm plantations. Focusing on the village of Lesan Dayak, this study examines how Dayak households negotiate these intersecting pressures, or ‘double bind’, as they define their desired futures. This study finds that rather than necessarily choosing one pathway over another, Lesan Dayak households aspire to integrate both oil palm and forest livelihood options to enhance familial well-being. As such, households are paving their own way, rejecting the two ‘absolute’ livelihood options that oil palm companies and CSOs have presented and represented, as they aspire for greater well-being by maintaining forests and taking advantage of lucrative smallholder oil palm opportunities.
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ItemEveryday hydropolitics: the normalisation of the South-North Water Transfer Project( 2017)No abstract available
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ItemClass and disaster risk: a Kensington case study( 2017)There remains a lack of serious theoretical treatment in the residential fire literature for the socioeconomic inequalities in fire risk, vulnerability and preparedness. Implementation of previous work in this field continues to ignore the findings of researchers working on other types of disaster - that constructive engagement with the community is crucial to the success of safety interventions. By taking inspiration from the use of Marxist class analysis in health inequality research, we take a tentative first step into the application of class theory to the question of unequal fire preparedness. We investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and preparedness in the suburb of Kensington, Melbourne, making use of a quantitative survey instrument followed by semi-structured interviews with a sample subset. The conclusions verify the presence of inequality in preparedness in Kensington, and enable us to confirm that middle-class, homeowning residents possess significant advantages over working class residents in terms of preparedness and access to support networks. They also suggest that elevated class position confers unconscious safety benefits. Possibilities and limitations for community education efforts moving forward are outlined.
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ItemFire politics on the frontier: a political ecology of swidden fire in Palawan's green economy( 2017)The role of fire in swidden agriculture is often overlooked in literature regarding rural livelihoods and agrarian change in Southeast Asia, despite being an integral component of swidden practice. This study aims to fill this gap by describing the varied economic and socio-cultural functions and values of swidden fire and its politically contested nature in forest governance in Palawan Island, the Philippines. Taking a political ecology approach, this study draws on a 'fire politics' framework with insights and methods informed by ethnoecology. In order to examine indigenous Pala'wan uses and perceptions of swidden fire, and the representation and politically contested nature of swidden fire in environmental governance, 23 key-informant interviews with Pala'wan farmers, non-government organisations and government representatives were conducted over three weeks in June 2017. The study found that swidden fire is intimately connected to swidden livelihoods, primarily by providing the most efficient and effective means to produce crops for subsistence. Farmers continue to burn, even as other swidden practices are adjusted in response to landscape change, influenced by green governance that spatially restricts land and pressures farmers to sedenterise agriculture. Other contextual features such as a history of criminalisation of swidden, disjunctures between top-level policies shaped by constructions of the 'kaingin (slash-and-burn) problem', and local policy implementation and understandings of kaingin and are examined. More material characteristics of fire are also considered in examining the persistence and conflicts over swidden and swidden fire. Overall, this study contributes to a growing body of literature on the political ecology of fire, and studies of swidden livelihoods and agrarian change. Such understandings are crucial in engaging broader views on the 'destructive' nature of swidden fire, inherent within global and sub-national interpretations of the 'green economy'.
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ItemWhose home? A Malaysian public housing case study: in the revitalisation of the Kota Damansara PPR flats through the use of tenant participation and a sense of 'kampung'( 2018)Continued urban expansion in Malaysia has increased the demand for affordable housing in cities. Publicly funded, low cost housing known as PPR flats are now in high demand among many lowincome Malaysians. However, PPR flats are also problematic for their poor physical conditions, their stigma and association with crime and drugs, and a top-down governance approach that disempowers tenants. My study is focused on one block of PPR flats known as the Kota Damansara PPR flats, where revitalisation efforts have been made to address some of these problems. One prominent aspect of the revitalisation initiative has been the introduction of a new community garden that seeks to change how residents participate in the management and care of shared spaces and how they engage within their community. Hence this study seeks to investigate the impact of the revitalisation project, focusing in particular on the role of tenant participation in revitalisation initiatives, and its impact in fostering a sense of community among tenants. Specifically, I refer to the concept of "kampung" as a culturally specific form of communal relations in Malaysia. The study takes a qualitative approach to examine the dynamics of participation, belonging and community in revitalization programs in Kota Damansara PPR flats, through the narratives of residents from 19 semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 tenants and four other stakeholders involved in the management of the estate. The findings reveal the community garden's success as a revitalization initiative eliciting positive socio-cultural elements of kampung among residents. But the findings also demonstrate that other elements of kampung were not applicable to Kota Damansara, nor to urban public housing estates more generally. Furthermore, tenant participation efforts were limited due to barriers imposed by management, and tensions associated with social differences among the tenants themselves, including age, gender, ethnicity and income.
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ItemForedune geomorphology along Ninety Mile Beach( 2017)Coastal foredunes occur at the boundary between the terrestrial, oceanic and atmospheric systems and therefore have numerous boundary conditions (factors that influence dune development). Dunes provide numerous ecosystem services, primarily protection of the land behind from inundation. Dune morphodynamics are not yet comprehensively understood. Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland, Victoria provides a unique opportunity to examine dune morphology and its boundary conditions under one continuous stretch of coastline that undergoes a substantial change in orientation. The beach has also been labelled as one of the most vulnerable to climate change in national assessments. Climate change is affecting dune morphology through increased storm activity and sea level rise, therefore understanding the dunal system is increasingly important. This project will analyse and describe foredune geomorphology along this coastline. By measuring dune morphology and the impacts of the boundary conditions of aeolian processes and vegetation. This project aims to create a morphometric model for the foredunes along NMB. This study therefore sets out to explore the morphology of NMB in order to understand its dynamics and provide insights into dune development globally. Varied dune morphology was found along NMB. Coastal orientation and hence wind direction as well as wind velocity were found to be the key drivers of initial foredune development along this coastline with increased onshore and stronger winds leading to dunes greater in area and width. Vegetation controlled morphology was present on three of the eleven sites though no statistically significant correlations were found on this coastline. However, the sites exhibiting vegetation controlled morphology had many stolons present suggesting their importance in stabilising dune morphology along this coastline. NMB dune morphology is dominated by wind. Ultimately, any change in wind regime due to climate change could dramatically effect dune morphology along this coastline.
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ItemLentil as anything: building a commons through labour and hospitality( 2017)This thesis aims to elucidate the practices of the organisation Lentil As Anything. J.K. Gibson-Graham's 'community economies' framework will help highlight the differentiated approaches that this organisation engages in (Gibson-Graham, 200). I elaborate on the research of Gibson-Graham towards an emerging conception of the commons and stress the role that labour and hospitality play in its formation. A qualitative approach to data, drawing on participant observation field methods and semi-structured interviews, was used to examine how labour and hospitality are practiced by the different participants in this organisation. The findings of this thesis highlight how relations of reciprocity are cultivated through different forms of labour and hospitality. It demonstrates how the culture of Lentil As Anything is established through these parameters and how these work to construct and maintain the vision of this organisation. I argue that by drawing on different practices of labour and hospitality this organisation builds a community economy and produces a commons. I conclude this thesis by showing how labour and hospitality practices merge and are reframed towards cultivating new relations and protecting the commons.