School of Geography - Theses
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ItemUneven development in Fiji: a critical approach to the core-periphery paradigm( 1987)The penetration of the Fijian islands by Anglo-Australian capitalism laid the foundations for an externally orientated and internally unequal and dependent .form of development. After contact with capitalism, and particularly after the establishment of colonial rule, the process of economic integration was dominated by the invading forces. Consequently, the modification of the village mode of production, and its subsequent marginalization, was not the result of self development processes in the periphery, as defined sectorally and spatially, but was determined by the dominant mode of the overall system. The resulting colonial pattern of a polarized economy remained largely unmodified after independence. Significant in the pattern of unevenness is the correlation between low level of economic welfare and the concentration of the village mode of production. In order to operate more easily within the inherited core-periphery structure, the Fijian village sector evolved various responses to its marginal position. The responses are part of a process of change, in which the production system is preserved in its generally communal form in one area, while causing a distinctive change towards individualism in another. This has been primarily brought about by a practice of selective involvement of the state. The discussion and analysis of the pattern of uneven development in Fiji is largely based on the core-periphery concept as developed within the dependency perspective. The analysis involves a critical evaluation of this concept by incorporating some of the main issues raised by the articulation of modes of production perspective. In addition, considerations is given to physical and environmental conditions ; often a neglected issue in development studies within radical geography. Hence, within the core-periphery paradigm, the explanation of dependency conditions in the Fijian periphery is wanting and some complementary explanation is sought. The analytical consequence thus is a call for the development of an approach combining major issues from the different perspectives in development studies.
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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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ItemPublic information as a component of a residential flood damage reduction policy( 1983)Public information about flood hazard has often been cited as the means to ensure community acceptance of the selected flood damage reduction policy. Information is generally provided to the public through the mass media but this is often supplemented by door to door delivery of information in the form of a flood inundation map. This study evaluated the impact of both methods of delivery of information to the public. The results suggested that irrespective of the recency and frequency of a major flood, the mass media exhibited limited interest in the issue of the availability flood hazard information. The content of the mass media reports in Adelaide emphasised the structural flood mitigation measures and the majority neglected to mention that non structural measures had been incorporated in the policy. A favourable consequence of this emphasis in the Adelaide media reports was, the abatement of a public debate over the environmental effect of the river clearing works. Interviews were conducted with floodplain and non floodplain respondents in Adelaide before and after the media reporting and delivery of the relevant flood inundation map. These interviews included an assessment of independent characteristics of respondents and two sets of attitude questions called response to the flood inundation map and response to flood risk. Positive changes in response - to flood risk were considered to indicate a positive attitude to structural and non structural flood damage reduction measures. For the floodplain and non floodplain respondents given both interviews and the map, one common change in response to flood risk occurred. This was that respondents shifted attitude from actively seeking flood risk information to indicate that they would not seek this information if moving to another house in Adelaide. Floodplain respondents who did not exhibit this change were described by receipt of a map which showed that the floodplain areas were large in relation to the flood free areas. This result suggested, that format of the map is critical and it is important to manipulate the scale of the map to make the floodplain areas appear small in relation to the flood free areas. Comparisons of groups of respondents were performed in order to determine if - awareness of floodplain location - proximity to the River Torrens - the pre map release interview or - delivery of the relevant map had an impact on response to the flood inundation map and response to flood risk. The first two comparisons were performed using respondent groups who were given a detailed interview prior to the media release and delivery of the relevant map. The results suggested that, with this treatment, floodplain respondents tended to become more accepting of the risk than their non floodplain neighbours. The proximity of the floodplain respondent to the source of the hazard (in this case the River Torrens) was also demonstrated to have an impact on acceptability of the risk with those closer to the River being less inclined to accept the risk. Upon closer examination of the methodology used to establish the above differences, it was determined that the pre map release interview exerted an important impact on response to flood risk. This was that, respondents given this interview, were more likely to take a personal action in response to the risk than those not given the pre map release interview. The most important result, was however, that in the absence of the pre map release interview, the impact on response to flood risk and response to the flood inundation map of door to door delivery of the relevant map was negligible. In conclusion, media based public information if it describes the hazard, as well as the proposed flood damage reduction policy may result in community support for the proposed measures. A campaign following this, involving door to door delivery 1 of a flood inundation map may engender a favourable attitude to the selected flood damage reduction policy if:- - a personal contact perhaps by letter, is made with respondent before the media based information is delivered - details of the proposed policy is presented on the flood hazard information - the consequences of a flood are described in a dramatic and clear manner - the format of the map suggests that the flood prone areas are small in relation to the flood free areas - extra effort is put into reaching residents who are located at some distance from the source of the hazard
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