School of Geography - Theses

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    Pigs, gigolos and mail order brides from Bali to Melbourne: Balinese-Australian marriage as an acculturative response to tourism in Bali and multiculturalism in Melbourne
    Ida Bagus, Mary ( 1998)
    Bali has become a major international tourist destination over the past twenty years. The constant contact between tourists and locals in some cases results in marriages. Using the empirical examples of marriages between Balinese Hindus and Australian tourists who decide to settle in Melbourne, this thesis presents cross-cultural marriage as an acculturative response to contact. The contextualisation of these partnerships in nation state Indonesia, tourist areas in Bali and eventually in multicultural Melbourne shows them to be marginal for a number of historic reasons. Using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus, acculturative change is recognised as a constant process. The concept of acculturation, reframed in a contemporary situation, separates it from its colonial antecedents and therefore proves useful in describing social change. Indonesia's post-colonial response to nation building places Balinese people within the confines of a nationalistic discourse and an encompassing Indonesian identity. The tourist domain in Bali repositions the Balinese outside a totalising Indonesian system and somewhat surprisingly, highlights idiomatically Balinese responses to marriage. Tourists are ritually incorporated into Balinese families when they marry Balinese partners. Explaining ritual incorporation involves a redefinition of the structural circulating connubium, or circulation of women, often understood in anthropology to form the basis Balinese marriage practice. Thus, contact with tourism, the very domain thought to subsume Balinese identity, in some cases reinforces pragmatic Balinese marriage practices that have become unpopular within Indonesian nationalist rhetoric. Multicultural Melbourne is the locus of the ongoing relationships between some Balinese and tourists. Melbourne as the choice of settlement focuses the discussion on miscegenation, engagement with bureaucracy and migration in general. Multiculturalism plays the dual function of assuring the legitimacy of these partnerships in a traditionally racist environment, but also in limiting them to mono-cultural constructions. Acculturation as both a processual and substantive state informs Balinese-Melbourne marriages beyond the limitations of the multicultural model. Rather than representing 'culture loss' or 'culture gain', these cross-cultural marriages show that acculturation is the inevitable result of contact and cross-cultural identities formed through this contact represent the acculturative response.
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    Stakeholders' perceptions of the management of groundwater contamination in Altona, Melbourne: is there a problem?
    Callinan, Martin ( 1997)
    The problem of chemical groundwater contamination in Altona has been well documented since 1962 (State Development Committee, 1962). A basalt hosted, upper most aquifer, approximately ten meters from the surface, has been the focus of investigation by the Altona Chemical Complex since the late 1980s. Currently, a contamination plume, containing known carcinogens and mutagens, extends from the Altona Chemical Complex approximately two kilometers to beneath wetlands and residents' homes (GTA, 1996). The existence of such toxic compounds, potentially in contact with biological receptors, warrants investigation into the adequacy of the current management of groundwater contamination in Altona. Interviews were conducted to analyse the perceptions of twenty eight representatives from Altona residents; the petroleum and chemical companies of Altona; the Environment Protection Authority of Victoria; City West Water (water supply company); the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment; environmental assessment and remediation consultancies; environmental pressure groups; Federal, State and local political representatives; academia; banking; and real estate agent stakeholders. Based upon the perceptions of these stakeholders and with reference to supporting literature, this thesis examines the processes of the current management of groundwater contamination with respect to, management effectiveness, management motives, adherence to the precautionary principle, intergenerational equity and compliance to ecologically sustainable development. Analysis of the interviews determined that the management of the groundwater contamination issue was effectively in the hands of the Altona Chemical Complex, with the EPA, albeit with limited resources, facilitating and reviewing works being carried out. The existence of unregistered domestic bores and a lack hydrogeological knowledge indicated that the risk to public health and the ecological environment had not been adequately defined, despite Altona Chemical Complex claims to the contrary (EVS, 1996). In addition, the current management system was found to favour chemical industry management interests as they are the most influential stakeholder. These uncertainties and conflicting motives render the current management strategy inadequate as the precautionary principle was not utilised, intergenerational equity was not safeguarded and ecologically sustainable development was not being practiced. The ramification of the current management of groundwater contamination in Altona is that while action now may appear to be cost effective, the longer term consequences for the Altona Chemical Complex, public health and the ecological environment may not be affordable. iii
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    The effect of aquatic vegetation on water quality (particularly phosphorus) in farm dams
    Wilson, Skye ( 1996)
    This research investigates the value of aquatic vegetation (particularly lypha sp. ) in managing the phosphorus levels in the water column and thereby reducing the likelihood of eutrophication. Nine farm dams were chosen with varying degrees of aquatic vegetation (three not vegetated, three vegetated and three vegetated including Typha sp.) and the total phosphorus in the water column measured at each dam. The dams had the same hydrology and amount of riparian vegetation, however, they differed in respect to size, age, dam use, surrounding paddock use and soil type. Although it is generally believed by researchers that aquatic vegetation in natural wetlands will reduce the phosphorus levels in the water column of that wetland, the actual ability of the vegetation to do this is yet to be demonstrated. In this research no significant difference between the phosphorus levels in each of the vegetation categories was detected because all the dams were significantly different to each other, irrespective of vegetation status. The significant difference between all nine dams could have been due to variability in the amount of phosphorus reaching the dams (with diffuse source phosphorus it is difficult to ascertain loadings and sources of phosphorus), in addition the nature of phosphorus in solution (continually changing speciation) makes it difficult to get a true measure of the phosphorus in the system. Other factors that influenced the findings were that the power of the experiment was too low, the age of the dam was confounded with the vegetation status of the dam and temporal variability was not accounted for.
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    Communities of resistance: the closure of schools in Victoria, 1992-1994
    Hunt, Jane ( 1996)
    The role of discourse in campaigns of local resistance to the Government has been neglected in most analyses of community protest. This thesis examines the way in which community resistance to the Victorian Government's policy of school closures has been constructed through discourse. In particular, this study demonstrates how discourses were strategically mobilised in the protests over the closures of the Fitzroy, Richmond and Northland Secondary Colleges. It is argued that constructions of community, race and gender were employed to counter the dominant economic discourse of the Liberal Government. This study also illustrates how notions of power and class were evoked to emphasise the unity and sense of purpose of the protest groups.
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    Germination response of species with soil seed banks to heat treatment and fuel reduction burning
    Ata, Pembe ( 1996)
    The effects of heat on seed germination were tested for a broad range of taxonomic groups and life forms of plants growing in fire prone open woodland/heathland communities of northwestern Victoria. Thirty-two species characterised by storage of seeds in the soil (soil seed bank) were tested for germination response to temperatures of 20 (i.e. control), 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120C. Germination response to heat treatment varied between species. Heat stimulated germination was important for a broad range of taxa and life forms. Twelve species ranging across the families Fabaceae, Mimosaceae, Myrtaceae, Proteaceae, Asteraceae, Sterculiaceae and Iridaceae required heat for seed germination. Maximum germination in these species occurred at temperatures between 60 and 120C. Twelve further species ranging across the families Mimosaceae, Liliaceae, Myrtaceae, Asteraceae, Proteaceae, Juncaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae could germinate without heat, but were also tolerant of heat. Only one species (Bursaria spinosa; Pittosporoaceae) was adversely affected by heat, showing maximum germination at 20C. Seven species showed no germination response to any treatment. Heat induced mortality occurred at 100C for some species and at 120C for others, however, twelve species could tolerate temperatures of at least 120C. In an attempt to link seed germination requirements to conditions experienced in the field during fire, soil temperatures at depths of 1, 3 and 5 cm were measured during spring and autumn prescribed burns (i.e. fuel reduction burns). Temperatures that were found to stimulate seed germination in the laboratory were experienced in the surface layers of the soil, but to varying degrees, depending on the plant community and season of burn. Soil temperatures were highly spatially variable. Temperature maxima declined with increasing soil depth, such that temperatures were almost always <65C at 5 cm. As such species requiring temperatures z60C are unlikely to germinate from this depth. Autumn fires were hotter and more uniform than spring burns. Temperatures likely to stimulate germination (i.e. z60C) were experienced at 5 cm during autumn fires in some vegetation types, while heat-stimulated germination would be limited to the top 1 cm of soil during spring burns. Fires in autumn are more likely to provide suitable germination temperatures for species requiring heat for seed germination, and since many species could tolerate seed heating, these are unlikely to be adversely affected by the hotter autumn burns. Soil temperatures during spring burns generally remained <65C regardless of depth. Thus, seed germination would be limited to species requiring temperatures lower than this. These results have important implications for fire management in relation to seed germination and post-fire recruitment from the soil seed bank.
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    A question of choice: the match between family lifestyle and preschool service
    Caddick, Margarita A. ( 1995)
    This thesis explores the gap in the delivery of preschool services and the emerging diversity in family lifestyle. The prevalent model of preschool in the 1990s is b ased on a 1950s service w hich w as predicated u p o n the availability of mothers to deliver their children to frequent short sessions of kindergarten. The significant and sustained increase in the number of mothers who engage in the p a id workforce has rendered this style of service delivery inappropriate for the majority of families. However, juxtaposed is the high use and value placed up o n the preschool service by many families. This research sought to explore the factors which influenced a family's selection of a preschool, in order to identify th e elements of the service which pro v id ed su p p o rt to the different family lifestyles. The re se a rc h em p lo y ed a case s tu d y m e th o d to ex p lo re th e re a so n s u n d e rp in n in g a family's choice of preschool. A multi-method approach was ap p lied to d a ta collection and analysis, drawing u p o n b o th qualitative and quantitative d a ta to illuminate the topic. The empirical d a ta is d raw n from a m id d le class community, and as such the findings reflect the needs an d aspirations of such families. The re se a rch fo u n d th a t the diversity of family lifestyles (based u p o n household membership and employment status of the parents) demanded a range of preschool service models. In the case stu d y municipality there is currently an oversupply of the short sessional service and an u n d e rsu p p ly of preschool services that include a component of childcare. The mix of service models which a community needs will reflect the profile of resident families and their lifestyles. This project demonstrates th a t a range of service models sh o u ld be p ro v id ed . Determining the balance of service types requires investigation and vigilant monitoring of social change.
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    Leaf yeasts as indicators of air pollution
    Grimm, Katharina ( 1993)
    In the early 1970s, Paul Dowding, a botanist at the University of Dublin accidentally discovered that leaf yeasts, especially Sporobolomyces roseus, can be used as indicators of air pollution. Dowding, having forgotten to collect leaves from the country for a 2nd year practical class, took them from his home in the suburbs and from the university grounds in the centre of Dublin. Very few pink yeasts appeared for the students to see in the practical class. Dowding, therefore, conducted a number of citywide surveys over the next few years. These confirmed that numbers of leaf yeasts were consistently lower in the suburbs than in the countryside and reduced even further in the centre of the city. (Dowding, 1980) Based on this chance discovery, a method using leaf yeasts as indicators of air pollution was developed and applied in several European cities. In most cities which monitored air pollution using this technique, maps were drawn indicating areas with high levels of air pollution. (Dowding, 1990) The leaf yeast technique developed by Dowding has the advantage that it is much cheaper than conventional air quality monitoring and facilitates the development of maps of the spatial distribution of pollution. No expensive devices are required and the material necessary for the methodology exists in every basic laboratory. The technique in itself is very simple and according to Dowding (1990) it can even be carried out by schoolchildren. The particular aim of the present study is to test the applicability of the methodology to the Melbourne setting. Air pollution in Melbourne has been monitored using the leaf yeast technique and compared to the results obtained for Melbourne by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Furthermore, the extension of the methodology to native species has been investigated. The following chapter reviews the literature on the nature of leaf yeasts and their relation to air pollution. The discussion begins by considering some physical aspects of air pollution and then goes on to describe the air quality in Australia and Melbourne. Additionally, the impact of air pollution on plants is outlined. This chapter concludes with a summary of the nature of leaf yeasts and their reactions to airborne pollutants. Chapter 3 describes the methods used to monitor air pollution with leaf yeasts and sets out the advantages and limitations of this technique. Chapter 4 describes preliminary investigations which were carried out to test the applicability of the method in Melbourne and the possibility of using native species as bioindicators. This is followed by a discussion of the sensitivity of leaf yeasts to air pollution. The occurrence of leaf yeast populations in different seasons and in different areas is examined and described in Chapter 5 using the same data for both investigations. Chapter 6 describes an attempt to increase the data coverage in Melbourne with the participation of schools in data collection. This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this approach which has been widely used in Europe by Dowding (Dowding, 1988,1990) In Chapter 7 an attempt is made to correlate the spatial distribution of air pollution in Melbourne as indicated by the leaf yeast surveys with data collected by the Victorian Environment Protection Authority using conventional air quality monitoring stations. Finally, an overview and summary of this work are presented in Chapter 8 with a discussion of the utility and applicability of this method in Melbourne.
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    Exemplar emulation and journalism: the rhetoric of the Zhao Zhankui campaign in Yan'an
    Li, Kaiyu ( 1993)
    The subject of my thesis is the role of the Chinese press in exemplar emulation campaigns. By examining one such campaign in the early years of the Chinese Communist Party and locating it in a tradition that began before Communist history and has continued to this day, I will demonstrate how the press played a vital part in social transformation by propagating new meanings of events and generating new modes of social action.
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    The impact of agricultural modernisation on women in traditional agriculture : a case study on the effects of the Green Revolution on Indo-Fijian women in rice farming
    Chetty, Monica ( 1992)
    From ancient days, women have played a pivotal role in agriculture. They have not only attended to various field operations like transplanting and post-harvest operations like harvesting, threshing and drying but have also provided much of the unpaid family labour in agriculture. The roles of farm women in agriculture can be classified as follows: (i) contributor in agricultural production; (ii) responsible for the management of cattle and other farm animals; (iii) responsible for storage of seeds and food grains and processing; and (iv) decision - maker. The 'green revolution' in rice production has attracted enormous attention. The green revolution is used loosely to cover so much technological, agrarian and social change, in so many countries and zones, with so many ecological and social differences that generalisations are precarious and subject to exceptions [CHAMBERS, 1984:362]. Central to the green revolution has been the dissemination of the ,'new rice t�chnology' - high yielding rice varieties, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and also, in same cases, tractors and other forms of mechanization. This new technology has been supported by improvements in irrigation, credit facilities and extension; taken as a whole, the ensemble is the green revolution [BYRES and CROW 1983:6]. The central objective of this study is to assess the gender differentiated impact of the green revolution rice package, using the Rewa Rice Irrigation Project (RRIP) in Fiji as the case study. The fieldwork was undertaken in Buiduna, a small Indo-Fijian rice growing community forming part of the RRIP.
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    China's grain production: government policies and their impacts since the 1950s
    Yang, Hong ( 1991)
    China has long been known as a large agricultural country. Agriculture plays an important role in the Chinese economy. Grain, in particular, provides a foundation for this country.l As China has to feed 22 percent of the world's total population with only 7 percent of the total arable land on the earth, food production continues to be the most fundamental task for the Chinese government and the Chinese people. Since the founding of the People's Republic, the Chinese government has initiated a series of agricultural policies to deal with grain production. During the past four decades, government policies have strongly influenced Chinese grain production: favourable policies producing fast increases in grain production and for the whole national economy the appearance of prosperity, unfavourable policies meaning stagnations or declines in grain output and suffering in the national economy. For example, when policy failure led to serious grain shortfalls from 1959 to 1961, the national economy was also grim. Successful reform during the late 1970s and the early 1980s promoted rapid growth in grain production and optimism in the national economy. Due to the importance of grain in the national economy, it is necessary to explicitly examine the relationship between government agricultural policy and grain production. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse systematically the agricultural policies and their impact on grain production during the past four decades. In China, government policy affects grain production through three main channels. The first channel is production organisation, which concerns ownership of land and means of production, as well as the organisation of labour and other resources for grain production. The second channel is the marketing and price system, including types of grain procurement and purchasing price. The third channel is capital investment and technological transformation, which includes sources, quantity and orientation of capital investment, and concrete measures for improving technology. This study traces policies and their impacts on grain production through these three channels.