When people, ideas or things migrate across cultural milieux, many opportunities for cultural transformation arise. The focal point of this thesis is a large stupa/temple (Great Stupa) being built at Atisha Centre, a Buddhist retreat near Bendigo in Australia, by members of an international organisation called the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). I approach the planning, promotion and construction of the stupa as an instance of the transplantation of religious material culture, arguing that Atisha Centre and particularly the stupa play a constitutive role by acting as a contact zone (Pratt 1992). Since the Centre is a site of alternate social ordering in which the Buddhists attempt to actualise their universalist ideals in a specific place, I also conceptualise it as a heterotopia (Foucault 1986, Hetherington 1997). The contact zone entails engagement between different socio-cultural domains. One of the key domains is the globalisation of contemporary Buddhism and its permutations in new locales. Stemming from this is the question of how the Buddhists and their imported material culture engage with wider concerns such as various non-FPMT Buddhist, Anglo- Australian and Aboriginal locals’ responses towards the transplantation of a Tibetan temple into a rural Australian locale. The complex and shifting relationships between different kinds of Buddhism feature in relation to different ideas about the value of holy objects. The FPMT conforms to the enlightenment-oriented ideals of “Buddhist modernism” (McMahan 2008) but appears to depart from it in its pronounced emphasis on merit-making and holy objects. However, the project’s proponents consider the stupa a method for enacting their enlightenment aspirations. I attribute the stupa project’s relatively smooth passage through local planning application procedures to proponents’ prior social and cultural capital, which I link to positive public perceptions of Buddhism, aspirations for Bendigo to become more culturally diverse and the economic development the stupa is expected to bring. The literally concrete structure of the stupa not only provides Buddhists with a tangible focal point for their ideals, but also serves as a vehicle for the establishment of Tibetan Buddhism in a new land.

This thesis considers the 'spirits of governing' that currently frame youth justice approaches to Samoan youth offending in New Zealand, today. It claims that, in the current management of Samoan youth offending cases, three main spirits of governing are in play. These are the spirits of neo-liberal risk management cultural appropriateness, and faaSamoa. All three spirits operate simultaneously, in multilayered and intersecting ways. Gaining insight into this complexity is critical to building an understanding of the points of tension that may arise in the operationalisation of 'culturally appropriate' youth justice policies in the case of Samoan youth offenders. To highlight the complex character of these spirits of governing and their relationships, the thesis first describes each spirit of governing and then considers how they compete, intersect and/or diverge through a close analysis of seven youth justice cases. Analysis of each of the seven cases is based on interviews with a Samoan youth offender, a family representative, their CYFS social worker, police youth aid officer, Youth Court youth advocate and a community intervention programme worker. The key sites of government examined in this work are those of the family, the Youth Court, the youth justice family group conference and a community intervention programme service. The thesis reveals that to gain nuanced understanding of the complexities of managing a Samoan youth offender case, it is not simply a question of knowing what 'spirits of governing' are at play, one also needs to examine how they play. I contend that these three 'spirits' have specific relationships with each other. In youth justice, neo-liberalism opened up space for cultural appropriateness which, in turn allowed for the circulation of the faaSamoa. These three 'spirits', however, can not be reduced to each other because of their differing understanding of governmental strategies, techniques and subjects. In particular, they differ on their understanding of the role of families, of collaboration and of cultural expertise. Consequently, for example, while these three 'spirits of governing' 'agree' on the value of cultural appropriateness, they do not 'agree' on how it should be defined and measured. Too often when politically sensitive programmes or policies, such as those involving ethnic-specific cases, do not work, the response from politicians and programme personnel alike is to couch their failures in overly simplistic terms. This work seeks to indicate the importance of developing culturally nuanced models of analysis that can engage in the complexities of governing across cultural divides, in the improvement of practice in the field and in the development of a sociology capable of enhancing cross-cultural understanding.

This thesis considers the 'spirits of governing' that currently frame youth justice approaches to Samoan youth offending in New Zealand, today. It claims that, in the current management of Samoan youth offending cases, three main spirits of governing are in play. These are the spirits of neo-liberal risk management cultural appropriateness, and faaSamoa. All three spirits operate simultaneously, in multilayered and intersecting ways. Gaining insight into this complexity is critical to building an understanding of the points of tension that may arise in the operationalisation of 'culturally appropriate' youth justice policies in the case of Samoan youth offenders. To highlight the complex character of these spirits of governing and their relationships, the thesis first describes each spirit of governing and then considers how they compete, intersect and/or diverge through a close analysis of seven youth justice cases. Analysis of each of the seven cases is based on interviews with a Samoan youth offender, a family representative, their CYFS social worker, police youth aid officer, Youth Court youth advocate and a community intervention programme worker. The key sites of government examined in this work are those of the family, the Youth Court, the youth justice family group conference and a community intervention programme service. The thesis reveals that to gain nuanced understanding of the complexities of managing a Samoan youth offender case, it is not simply a question of knowing what 'spirits of governing' are at play, one also needs to examine how they play. I contend that these three 'spirits' have specific relationships with each other. In youth justice, neo-liberalism opened up space for cultural appropriateness which, in turn allowed for the circulation of the faaSamoa. These three 'spirits', however, can not be reduced to each other because of their differing understanding of governmental strategies, techniques and subjects. In particular, they differ on their understanding of the role of families, of collaboration and of cultural expertise. Consequently, for example, while these three 'spirits of governing' 'agree' on the value of cultural appropriateness, they do not 'agree' on how it should be defined and measured. Too often when politically sensitive programmes or policies, such as those involving ethnic-specific cases, do not work, the response from politicians and programme personnel alike is to couch their failures in overly simplistic terms. This work seeks to indicate the importance of developing culturally nuanced models of analysis that can engage in the complexities of governing across cultural divides, in the improvement of practice in the field and in the development of a sociology capable of enhancing cross-cultural understanding.

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This study examined the effects of quantisation of force plate data used to measure body sway and the relationship between this body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance in shooting. Quantisation error in and resolution of selected body sway parameters were calculated from force plate data sampled using 12-bit and 16-bit analog to digital conversion (ADC). It was concluded that 12-bit ADC does not offer adequate precision when assessing the body sway of shooters and that 16-bit ADC is required. The relationship between body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance was examined on both group and individual bases. Body sway was measured in six elite rifle and five elite pistol shooters while performing 20 shots in simulated competition conditions over 5s, 3s and 1s before shot using an AMTI LG6-4 force plate and 16-bit ADC. This was synchronised with a SCATT shooting training analysis system, which measured aim point fluctuation and performance. From 16 time-based body sway parameters quantified, principal components analysis identified four body sway factors, which related to the amplitude and speed of this sway in both the X and Y axis. Using four body sway parameters that represented these factors, correlation and multiple regression analysis indicated that body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance were related for some but not all shooters. Further, this association was specific to the individual shooter in terms of degree and direction of association, the axis of influence of body sway and aim point fluctuation and the time period. This highlighted the importance of individual based analysis in elite shooting. Further research with larger subject numbers, aim point fluctuation more thoroughly examined and including kinematic analysis may assist in better defining the relationship between body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance.

This project is a controlled prospective longitudinal study of stress experiences of parents with premature infants born from 30-35 weeks gestation being cared for in a tertiary special care nursery (SCN). Sixty mothers and 59 fathers of premature infants and 60 mothers and fathers of term infants were recruited into the study. A range of repeated selfreports and biochemical markers of stress (cortisol and tribulin) were carried out on 5 measuring times through approximately a total of 24 weeks for parents of premature infants and 17 weeks for parents of term infants. Parents of premature infants reported higher stress levels than parents of term infants within the first week of infant’s birth but had lower biochemical markers of stress. The stressors perceived by these parents in a SCN were appearance and behaviour of the infants and the delayed in performing the parental role. Parents used both emotion- and problemfocused coping strategies to deal with the stressful events. A follow-up telephone interview of these parents a year after the birth of their premature infant found that most parents expressed the experience as positive. A few parents were concerned over the neurodevelopmental and cognitive outcomes of their infants. Implications for clinical practice were discussed.

In general, choking has been defined as the occurrence of sub-optimal performance under pressure (Baumeister and Showers, 1986). The most widely accepted theory of choking is what I have labeled the 'automatic execution model' (Baumeister, 1984), the basic premise being that choking occurs due to the inhibition of well-learned or automatic skills. The present dissertation was designed to test the automatic execution model in a sport context. Beyond this, I was interested in broadening the research paradigm by concentrating on choking as a process. The five inter-related studies contained in this dissertation tested predictors of choking, perceptions of pressure, coping processes, the automatic execution model, and gender differences. The general aim of this dissertation was to produce an integrated model of choking in sport. The five studies used to examine choking had a total of 89 competitive basketball players as participants (M = 20.01 years old, SD = 2.12). Sixty-four participants took part in studies, 1, 2, 3 and 5. The remaining 25 participants took part in study 4 only. All participants completed a series of basketball free throws in a low-pressure (LP) condition and a high-pressure (HP) condition. Pressure was manipulated by videotaping performance, using an audience, and offering financial incentives. In Study 1, dispositional self-consciousness (S-C) and trait anxiety (A-trait) were tested as potential predictors of choking. Participants (N = 66) completed the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS; Fenigstein, Scheler, & Buss, 1975) and the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS; Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990). A correlational analysis and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis supported the hypothesis that athletes high in S-C and somatic A-trait were susceptible to choking under pressure. In Study 2, the effects of manipulated pressure were examined for possible changes in perceived state anxiety (A-state) and subsequently performance. Participants (N = 64) completed the modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Jones & Swain, 1992) prior to performing in the LP condition and the HP condition. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a correlational analysis showed that participants experienced increased intensity of somatic and cognitive A-state in the HP condition, but the direction (facilitative/debilitative) of somatic A-state and cognitive A-state did not change significantly. Correlation analysis between A-state and performance under pressure was also not significant. In addition, a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed an absence of significant differences in performance between participants who had a negative A-state and participants who had a positive A-state. Study 3 was designed to examine the relationship between coping styles and choking susceptibility. Participants (N = 64) completed the Coping Style Inventory for Athletes (CSIA; Anshel & Kaissidis, 1997). As stated above participants also completed the CSAI-2 prior to performing in the LP and HP conditions. Correlation and hierarchical regression analyses supported the hypothesis that approach coping strategies would result in heightened A-state and performance decrements under pressure. In Study 4, the automatic execution model was tested by investigating possible differences in the occurrence of choking as a function of task characteristics. Participants (N = 25) completed a running task (effort-dominant task) and a free throw shooting task (skill-dominant task) in a LP condition and a HP condition. As hypothesized, a series of t tests showed that the HP condition resulted in improved performance for the running task but decrements in performance for the free-throw shooting task. Study 5 was used to investigate potential gender differences in choking susceptibility. Participants (male = 46; female = 18) had already completed the SCS, SAS, CSIA, and CSAI-2. A one-way MANCOVA showed there were no gender differences in somatic and cognitive A-state changes from the LP condition to the HP condition. Furthermore, a one-way ANCOVA showed no gender differences in performance from the LP condition to the HP condition. In addition, a correlational analysis showed that S-C was more likely to affect performance for females and A-trait was more likely to affect performance for males. Based on the results of these five studies, previous choking research, and the theoretical choking framework, a proposed choking process model is presented and discussed. This proposed choking process model includes susceptibility factors, perception of pressure, coping process, task characteristics, and skill levels.

This thesis is a study of the Great Strike of 1917, arguably the biggest class conflict in Australian history. For over two months up to 100,000 workers confronted an enraged and belligerent combination of conservative state and federal governments, employers, the establishment press and a middle class which was organised against them on an unprecedented scale. The thesis assesses the strike from a ‘history from below’ perspective. In doing so, it challenges the existing historiographic consensus that the strike was doomed to defeat and that the consequences of that defeat were wholly negative. It argues that the leadership of the strike was primarily responsible for defeat and that the failure of leadership was a product of a conservatism inherent in the trade union bureaucracy. This conservatism was, moreover, underlined by the prevailing faith, predominant within official circles of the Australian labour movement at this time, in arbitration as an alternative to industrial confrontation. It analyses the connection between the defeat in 1917 and the revival of the movement in 1919, concluding that anger at the betrayal of the 1917 strike by its official leadership played a significant role in shifting the movement to the left, motivating key sectors of the working class to seek revenge in 1919.

This thesis reports on an original qualitative study of older people’s perceptions about how they benefited from participating in a creative arts program. The study brought together the research fields of leisure, arts and ageing well to explore the meaning that 10 older people gave to their creative leisure experiences. Narrative data from in-depth interviews were analysed using a qualitative approach. The major finding of this study was that creative activities, particularly group arts activities, can be a powerful mode for delivering leisure benefits to enhance ageing well. Many participants attributed a sense of a new lease of life to the stimulating opportunities they now had for self-expression. This new lease of life resulted from the benefits of heightened enjoyment along with a strengthened sense of life purpose and meaning. Sharing a common interest was identified as vital to enjoyable social interactions and a sense of belonging. The findings of this study indicate that there is certainly scope for the arts, leisure and aged care fields to provide a more stimulating and developmental range of creative programs to benefit older people. Furthermore, this study identified specific facilitating strategies that leisure providers can incorporate into program design to enable older people to reap the potential benefits that creative leisure can bring to their lives.