"August 2002" Bibliography: leaves 230-254. Field sites and soils from cropping studies in the mid-north of South Australia were used to address questions of soil responses to lime and the influence of acidifying inputs. The study showed that LMWOAs associated with different stubbles can help to ameliorate toxicity through complexation with A1.

Bibliography: leaves 118-122. Presents the history of this boys' school chronologically, using the periods of tenure of the various principals as a basis for organizing the material. -- abstract.

Bibliography: leaves 294-314

Bibliography: leaves 94-102.

This thesis develops two related themes.The first is that participatory approaches to agricultural research and extension can provide a sound process for all stakeholders to learn how to develop more sustainable agriculture. The second is that appropriate levels of participation can be used to link knowledge from three important sources: local knowledge, scientific knowledge and experiential knowledge.The thesis develops these two related themes by examining the inconsistencies between esposed theories of participatory approaches (i.e.intended behaviour) and theories in action (i.e. what is actually practised).The study was based upon the work of a major research, development and extension (R, D and E)project known as the Western Farming Systems Project (WSFP),which was concerned with the development of sustainable rotations and cropping practices in south western Queensland and north western N.S.W. between 1994-1999. The study was conducted in the Balonne Shire, centred on the town of St. George, Queensland, Australia. / Master of Science (Hons)

Over the past thirty years, price relativities and technological development have motivated an increase in the area of land allocated to cropping, as opposed to pasture production, throughout the central wheat belt of Western Australia. Nevertheless, reducing the proportion of pasture in these rotations has challenged the future productivity of farming systems in this area. First, the frequent application of selective herbicides for weed control in extended cropping rotations has promoted the development of herbicide resistance in a number of major agricultural weeds. Second, the primary use of annual plants has promoted the development of soil salinisation by allowing a significant proportion of rainfall to recharge saline water tables. The inclusion of perennial pasture phases between extended periods of cropping may mitigate or delay these constraints to production through (a) allowing the use of costeffective forms of non-selective weed control, and (b) through creating a buffer of dry soil that absorbs leakage occurring beneath subsequent crops. This study consequently explores the value of including perennial pasture phases in dryland agricultural systems in the eastern-central wheat belt of Western Australia, accounting for benefits related to herbicide resistance and water table management. A novel computational algorithm for the solution of multiple-phase optimal control problems is developed and used to conduct a conceptual analysis of the value of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) pasture for managing annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaudin), the primary weed in wheat belt cropping systems. The competitiveness and fecundity of annual ryegrass provide strong economic incentives to maintain a low weed population, irrespective of herbicide-resistance status. Consequently, the ineffectiveness of selective herbicides primarily reduces the profitability of cropping by motivating the adoption of more costly non-selective forms of weed control. The inclusion of lucerne in land-use rotations is only optimal in the presence of severe herbicide resistance given (a) the low efficiency of alternative weed-management practices available during the pasture phase, relative to selective-herbicide application; (b) the significant cost of establishing this perennial pasture; and (c) the high relative profitability of cereal production in the absence of resistance. The value of lucerne, relative to annual pastures, for weed management is explored in greater detail through the use of compressed annealing to optimise a sophisticated simulation model. The profitability of candidate rotations is also manipulated to account for the long-term production losses accruing to the recharge of saline groundwaters that occurs beneath them. Sequences incorporating lucerne are only more profitable than those that include annual pasture at the standard set of parameter values if (a) annual ryegrass is resistant to all selective herbicides, (b) the water table is so shallow (approximately less than 3.5 m deep) that frequent rotation with perennials is required to avert soil salinisation, or (c) sheep production is highly profitable. The value of perennial pasture is sufficient under these circumstances to overcome its high establishment cost. Consistent with intuition, these benefits are reinforced by lower discount rates and higher rates of leakage occurring beneath annual-based systems. Formulation of an effective communication strategy to report these results to producers is justified given the complexity involved in determining the true magnitude of these intertemporal benefits through alternative means, such as field trials.

This thesis describes the development, application and evaluation of an OHS measurement tool incorporating positive performance indicators to measure OHS performance in Australia Post, a large multi-site postal organisation. Positive Performance Indicators (PPIs) are identified as systematically implemented measures of the management processes initiated to achieve strategic goals. A literature review indicated that there was widespread support for the use of PPIs to measure OHS performance, with proponents advocating their use to monitor and promote implementation of target OHS strategies, and to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies by using PPIs in conjunction with outcome indicators. Despite this widespread support, there was little practical guidance published on the development or application of PPIs, nor was there empirical evidence validating the claims of advocates. A series of research projects was undertaken to firstly develop - then evaluate - a set of OHS self-assessment tools incorporating PPIs. These projects comprised: review of the Australia Post OHS strategic plan, as the basis for the development of PPIs to measure that plan; development of a set of paper-based self-assessment tools incorporating quantitative OHS PPIs to measure the local implementation of the OHS strategic plan; quasi-experimental pilot study of the use of the OHS PPI self-assessment tools by Postal Managers, to investigate the reliability and effectiveness of the OHS PPI process in monitoring and driving conformance of OHS management processes; experimental study of the use of the OHS PPI self-assessment tools by Postal Delivery Facility Managers, to validate and extend the findings of the pilot study; development of a web-based software application to facilitate OHS PPI data collection and reporting; and, the use of correlation statistics to study the relationship of OHS PPIs with OHS outcome measures, and to assess their role in evaluating the effectiveness of specific OHS strategies. The studies demonstrated that the OHS PPI self-assessment tool could be effectively used by local facility managers to assess and report their implementation of the OHS strategic plan. In addition, the OHS PPI self-assessment process proved to strongly improve the local implementation of those OHS management processes measured. The study further showed that the consistent attention to OHS management processes driven by the OHS PPI measurement process assisted in the achievement of impressive OHS outcome improvements. However, the study showed that the use of correlation statistics to link OHS PPIs with outcome measures to evaluate the effectiveness of OHS management strategies has only limited value. Limitations in both the OHS PPI and outcome measurement data and in the correlation statistics restrict the extent to which findings can be interpreted or that conclusive judgements concerning the effectiveness of strategies can be drawn. The thesis concludes with an account of Australia Post's experiences in integrating OHS PPIs into its OHS management system.

Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 459-472.

Includes abstract. Includes bibliography.

[Truncated abstract] Investor relations (IR) management encompasses a broad range of activities including voluntary disclosure, attracting analyst coverage, targeting investors, and providing feedback to corporate managers (Byrd, Goulet, Johnson and Johnson 1993; Brennan and Tamarowski 2000; Bushee and Miller 2005). In recent years, a number of high profile corporate collapses and concerns about selective disclosure have contributed to an increased awareness of the importance of effective IR practices in promoting investor confidence. To this end, Australian market regulators and industry bodies have developed a number of best practice guidelines relating to disclosure and corporate governance. The current study undertakes a comprehensive investigation of corporate approaches to IR in the Australian context, and seeks to explain cross-sectional variation in these. The sample utilised in this study comprises 129 All Ordinaries Index (AOI) constituent companies that responded to a mail survey conducted in 2006 regarding their IR practices. The survey of all AOI companies constitutes the first Australian academic survey of IR practices, and the views of the individuals responsible for the function. Self-reported data are combined with data collected from the sample entities' websites to provide a detailed overview of corporate IR programs. The results of the survey suggest that there is widespread recognition, within the sample, of the importance of devoting organisational resources to IR. ... Several proxies for the extent of investment in IR are developed in this study. Two proxies capture organisational arrangements for managing IR, one proxy captures the frequency of one-to-one meetings with analysts and investors, and one proxy captures the quality of IR websites. Multivariate analyses relate cross-sectional variation in these to a number of firm-specific variables. Consistent with findings presented in the empirical voluntary disclosure literature, this study shows that the extent of investment in IR is positively associated with firm size, a finding that is common across all IR proxies. Ownership characteristics play an important role in explaining different types of investment in IR, as captured by the four proxies. Ownership concentration is negatively associated with the likelihood of employing an external IR consultant and positively associated with the frequency with which one-to-one meetings are held with analysts and investors. Firms with a foreign stock exchange listing, a proxy for the importance of foreign investors, achieve higher scores for the quality of their IR websites. Adverse selection models of voluntary disclosure predict that firms with good news are likely to disclose more. In contrast, the results of this study show that less profitable firms and firms with lower price-to-book ratios are more likely to have an IR department/officer, and they achieve higher scores for the quality of their IR websites. Finally, the nature of the investment in IR appears to differ with sector membership. Firms in the Materials and Energy sectors held more one-to-one meetings than firms in other sectors, while firms in the Information Technology sector are more likely to have an IR department or IR officer, and have higher quality IR websites than firms in other sectors.