School of Geography - Theses
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ItemThe coalfields of eastern Australia: an examination of the rise, contemporary character and areal impact of bituminous coal mining( 1965)Traditionally the coal mining industry has resisted innovation. Changes in working methods, in conditions of employment and in productivity have often been achieved only as a result of considerable industrial, discord and community discomfort. In Australia reluctance to change has been all too obvious. Yet, since 194-6, few other industries have been quite so profoundly or so completely modified,so that coal mining in 1965 bears little resemblance to the industry of the immediate post-war years except that it is beset by problems resulting from continuing and intensifying fuel competition. The ramifications of these changes have been widespread. In New South Males a booming economy, highly specialised demands and ruthless price competition from the petroleum industry have brought about a drastic decline in the use of general purpose coal but a marked increase in the demand for specialised qualities e.g. for coke making or the generation of electricity. In consequence the prosperity of particular fields, or mines working specific seams within fields has been much affected. Many old, small, or unprofitable pits have been closed} mechanisation of working methods has become general; new mines have been established to meet particular demands; productivity and quality control have been vastly improved and the average size of collieries has tended to increase. In Queensland less specialised demands and the existence of an omnipotent Coal Board have staved off the worst of these changes until much more recently but there,too, the transformation is under way. The first collieries have how been equipped with mining machinery of a type long common in Mew South Wales, larger mines are in the process of establishment, productivity is beginning to rise and to show some marked differentiation according to mine size and the Coal Board is considering the desirability of closing mines unable to meet and maintain satisfactory price and quality standards. In Victoria, however, change is of a retrograde kind for only two of the handful of pits have any importance and these, as State owned enterprises, have made consistent trading losses for many years, an indication of their difficult working conditions and restricted deposits. With limited lives there is little possibility of change other than by demise. In the coalfield communities the social implications of these changes have been equally as significant. The retrenchment of more then 10,000 mine workers in the space of a decade from the New South Males mines alone has caused a major reorientation of some of the more highly specialised settlements and in others out-mignation or occupational diversification through long distance commuting. Others have begun on the slow decline that leads ultimately to loss of function and complete abandonment. With this has gone a change in settlement form - a revival of local commerce in those fortunate enough to retain their residents, further physical deterioration in some of the already under-maintained settlements, a change in population structure as pensioners move in and the school leavers move out, as families move in on the demise of pensioners, as migrants move in to replace the native born. In some localities these changes have contributed further to the distinctiveness of the coal town, in ethers they have tended to blurr a former distinctiveness. At a different level a blurring of the farmer distinctiveness is also taking place in the major urban areas that have risen with and because of the coal industry. Large scale industrial and residential development in the post-war years has now began to obliterate the last traces of more than a century of coal mining in and around the cities of Newcastle, Wollongong and Ipswich. Pit head gear, mineral railways, subsidence areas relics of all kinds and their distinctive contribution to urban morphology are being submerged in amorphous and omnivorous suburbia.
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ItemStudy of a quantitative method of delineating physical-geographic regions in interdisciplinary integrated survey: the grid-point method( 1975)Interdisciplinary surveys involve mapping physicalgeographic regions according to readily observable criteria for the purpose of assisting in making a variety of decisions about land use. Difficulties are associated with traditional surveys, which rely on aerial photographic interpretation and purposive sampling, due to the lack of a standardized, quantitative methodology. The grid-point method is proposed as a rigorous, quantitative approach and was applied in the Grampians north-east section (507 sq.km.), the upper Barwon River catchment (977 sq.km.), and on French Island (172 sq.kin.). Variables used reflect obvious distributions of landform, soil, and native vegetation, and quasi-random sampling patterns with circular sampling units and densities between 1 sampling unit per .89 and 2.42 sq.km. were employed. Landform data were gathered from contour maps, and soil samples and vegetation data were gathered in the field; Boil data were obtained by laboratory analyses. Data were subjected to principal components analysis, and standardized data were scored on the first three scaled and first three orthoreormalized vectors. Sampling units were classified on the basis of the scores and then regionalized by SYM�-V proximal mapping. These regionalizations provided a sound basis for physical-geographic description. Inherent features of the grid-point method overcame difficulties associated with traditional surveys. Statistical analyses indicated that sampling densities as low as 1 sampling unit per 4 sq.km. are sufficient to generate interpretable regionalizations of the Grampians north-east section. Comparisons of regionalizations with the land systems map of this area produced by traditional methods reveals that the grid-point method is capable of generating regions similar in level of generalization to the land systems. With respect to selected variables,the regionalizations are in the majority of cases of higher quality than the land systems map. The cost of survey at 1 sampling unit per .97 sq.km. of this area is within the limits of most survey organizations and estimates for surveys at densities of 1 sampling unit per 1.14, 1.51, 2.07, 3.49, 4.15, and 9.74 sq.km. reveal that although there is a significant reduction in cost with decrease in sample size, an economy of scale factor operates. Because the grid-point method is orientated to field data gathering, it is least expensively applied in study areas characterized by undulating plains as well as flat plains and hills, which are for the most part cleared with a dry surface. Estimates for five study areas previously surveyed by the Soil Conservation Authority indicate that the cost of application of the grid-point method at sampling densities of 1 sampling unit per 1 ?q.km. and lower is not excessive. Efficiency of the grid-point method may be enhanced by purposivesystematic sampling near roads and vehicle tracks and purposive stratification of the study area prior to application. The grid-point method should be applied in interdisciplinary surveys carried out in south-eastern Australia. Applications should take the form of reco??aissan?e surveys involving relatively low density sampling. The resulting regionalizations, although probably somewhat coarse, should provide a sound framework for general pbysical-geographic description.
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ItemAsian migration and changing employment and occupation in Melbourne( 1997)This thesis examines the employment and occupation of South Asian migrants in Melbourne. To this end, census and cross sectional data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Bureau of Immigration and Population Research (0FR) as well as the survey data collected for this study, are used. In this study special attention is paid to South Asian migrants in terms of their demographic and economic characteristics, occupational adjustment, job quality and process of self-employment. The analysis of South Asian migrants is made according to birthplace, gender and policy category under which they enter into Australia. In examining the South Asian migrants, the study reviews the relevant literature and existing theories and models about their economic success and occupational adjustment overseas and in Australia. In this regard the main factors that influence migrants' occupational adjustment and economic success in the host country have been identified at and applied to the study of South Asian migrants in Melbourne. The study also reviews the Victorian economy in this context. The study describes demographic and economic characteristics, general flow and skill composition of South Asian migrants in Australia. According to the BIPR and survey data, most of the migrants from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka are professional and came under the skill migration category. The data also show that South Asian migrants are distinctively different from other non-English speaking background migrants or other Asian migrants in respect of education, professional and occupational backgrounds and skills. The study examines transition and occupational adjustment, quality of jobs and experience of unemployment held by South Asian migrants in the local labour market. The data reveal that the majority of the qualified migrants from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka have adjusted well in their own profession through a sequence of jobs. A considerable number have regained either the same or higher status jobs compared to their pre-migration position. Although a considerable number of South Asian migrants have adjusted into occupations similar to their pre-migration occupations, the data show that they in fact status lost. The data also provide evidence that a significant number of migrants have shifted from professional and managerial to non-professional blue collar jobs in the process of their occupational adjustment in Melbourne. The findings reveal that the economic success and occupational adjustment of the migrants in the labour market vary according to birthplace and gender. Although the statistical test indicated that there is no significant difference between the present occupation status and policy category of the migrants, the chi square test indicates that there is some difference between birthplace groups in terms of the distribution of migrants' present occupation and industry. The chi-square test confirmed the significant difference between gender in terms of the distribution of migrants' present occupation. The evidence also shows that a significant number have not been able to enter the labour market since their arrival in Australia and were not able to utilise their professional, technical and academic skills.The study also examines the experiences of self-employed South Asian migrants. Again, the evidence suggests that the majority of these migrants are able to utilise their skills and potentials in their business. However, the case studies indicate that the career advancement of some migrants has been blocked due to this self-employment. The study also analyses the influence of structural change, particularly changes in employment and labour force characteristics, upon the participation of Asian migrants in different industries and occupations. The evidence reveals that South Asian migrants have been affected in terms of their participation according to industry and occupation due to the structural changes occurred in the 10 years to 1996. In conclusion, the study of South Asian migrants discussed relevant theories and models in the light of ABS and survey data. The examination of these data provides evidence that the human capital of migrants plays a significant role in their economic success and occupational adjustment particularly in terms of income and /or employment. In this regard they are able to utilise their skills and potentials in the local labour market. However, the theory of migrants has not paid attention to occupational status which this study identifies as an important indicator for economic success and occupational adjustment of South Asian migrants. The theory of migrants mainly focused on the overall labour market outcomes of the migrants in relation to employment, income differences, participation and unemployment rates.
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ItemAn impact analysis of enhanced-greenhouse climate change on the Australian alpine snowpack( 1997)This Thesis is concerned with the sensitivity response of the Australian alpine snowpack to the onset of possible enhanced-greenhouse climatic conditions in the 21st Century. The analysis procedure involved the use of both physical and empirical simulation models, and the various caveats associated with each of these components should be assessed when interpreting the results. A statistical downscaling model was constructed, which converted large-scale synoptic data into daily changes in the alpine snowpack. This snow model was calibrated for the Falls Creek site in the Victorian Alps (elevation 1649 m). The model was able to reproduce observed fluctuations in the observed snowpack when it was driven by largescale atmospheric temperature, humidity and airstream inputs. The research methodology used an extensive archive of daily output from the CSIRO 9- level General Circulation Model (GCM). This model incorporated a Mixed Layer Ocean, and operated at an R21 horizontal resolution. A daily-scale validation of a 24- year 1xCO2 control climatology revealed the existence of a number of biases within the simulated atmospheric fields. The most serious of these was a negative bias in tropospheric temperatures of between 2 C and 5 C. These biases were adjusted, and the GCM was used to drive the statistical snow model. The resulting simulation was successfully validated against observed data. The climate change sensitivity evaluation was conducted by applying a 29-year doubled-CO2 data-set from the CSIRO 9-level GCM to the statistical snow model. The resulting simulation showed an extremely high sensitivity response from the model site, with values such as mean snow cover duration and peak seasonal snow depth decreasing by over 90%. This was largely attributed to a particularly strong warming in the driving GCM of around 4.8 C. A range of further sensitivity perturbations were conducted by varying the input temperature fields (in both the GCM and observed atmospheric data-sets) by one degree Celsius increments. The mean snow model response suggested a quasi-exponential decay relationship, with the first degree of warming producing the strongest reduction in snow duration and snowpack depth. For example, mean maximum snow depths decreased by around 40% when the observed atmosphere was increased by 1 C. These changes were caused by a simultaneous decrease in snowfall and a very strong increase in ablation. Some preliminary impact analysis was conducted on various snow-affected sectors. Within the biophysical context, the snowmelt runoff into the Dartmouth Reservoir of northeast Victoria was calculated using a relatively simple terrain interpolation/snowmelt scheme. The seasonal runoff pattern was then perturbed to simulate an environment in which no alpine snowpack existed. The resulting runoff pattern contained an abnormally high mean winter maxima and a depressed spring inflow volume. A socioeconomic analysis was also conducted into the viability of the Australian winter tourism industry under a range of scenario conditions. A statistical regression relationship was delineated between the duration of the snowpack and visitation numbers at various alpine resorts. The analysis suggested that revenue generation and hence commercial feasibility could be threatened by a moderate reduction in the mean size of the Australian snowpack.
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ItemCasa mia : home ownership, identity and post-war Italian Australian migration( 1996)This thesis begins with an inquiry into the high rates of home ownership for Italian Australian post-war migrants and second generation Italian Australians. This inquiry points to the importance of home ownership to Italian Australians and suggests a connection between Italian Australian home ownership and migration. An examination of urban and geographical literature establishes the argument that the experiences and meanings of home ownership are not homogenous but are variously influenced by class, gender and ethnicity. Further, it is argued that the meanings, rates and importance of home ownership cannot be attributed to being Italian. This argument is based on feminist poststructural debates about the formation of identity and arguments within recent cultural geographies against the use of culture as an explanatory tool. The methodology is developed from feminist discussions on standpoint epistemologies and feminist geography debates on research methods. Qualitative data from 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with first generation Italian Australian post-war migrants and 20 interviews with second generation Italian Australians answer the research question: what does home ownership mean to Italian Australians? This thesis argues that to first generation Italian Australian post-war migrants home ownership means security, independence, privacy and autonomy, control, success, responsibility, place and a future. It is argued that these meanings are unique because they take on a distinctive character within the notion of sistemazione, best translated as 'settling down'. This thesis demonstrates how the desire for sistemazione comes out of a specific migration experience. The relationship between sistemazione, immigration, identity and home ownership for first generation Italian Australians is represented as a heterosexual home ownership matrix'. Within the matrix the desire for home ownership is naturalised by connecting it to a specific set of heterosexual household relations. It is argued that second generation Italian Australians naturalise home ownership further, by defining it as an Italian tradition. The matrix is one site around which second generation Italian Australians negotiate their gender, class, sexual and ethnic identities. The nature of these negotiations is reflected in four separate lists of meanings of home ownership for second generation Italian Australians. This thesis shows that the experience and meaning of home ownership are not homogenous but are influenced by the complex relationships between immigration and identity.