PhD / In Australia, like most countries, circus has been an element, at times a very important element, in the mosaic that constitutes its popular culture. An outgrowth of the circus as recast in a modern form in London in the 18th century, an Australian circus profession has existed almost continuously since 1847. Australia’s circus entrepreneurs took the principal features of English, and later American, circus arts and management and reworked these features to suit their new antipodean context. The athletic, intellectually undemanding nature of its equestrian-based entertainments harmonised with the emerging patterns of modern Australia’s way of life. In time, Australia produced renowned circus artists of its own, even artists capable of reinvigorating the concept of circus in the very countries from which their art had been derived. Since their transience and labours, indeed their very existence, were somehow tangential and inconsequential to mainstream Australian society, Australia’s circus people did not attract tokens of recognition in story and verse as did shearers, drovers, diggers and other identities of the Australian outback. Their contribution to Australia’s social, economic and cultural development has been largely overlooked. Despite its pervasive role in Australia’s cultural life over more than 150 years, examples of academically grounded research into Australian circus are few. The primary aim of this study is to demonstrate the major themes evident in Australia’s circus history, in terms of society, enterprise and culture, between 1847 and 2006. None of these areas, of course, is exclusive of the others, especially the first and last named. These deliberations are framed within the broader influences and events apparent in Australian society and history. Implicit within this demonstration is the notion that circus, whatever its characteristics and merits as an artform, has been, and continues to be, a ‘barometer’ of social, economic and cultural change in Australia.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. / The Working-Class Experience in Contemporary Australian Poetry Contemporary Australian poetry neglects its working-class voices. Literary journals rarely publish poetry that focuses on working-class life and there is little analysis of the poetics of class in contemporary Australian scholarship on poetry. It may well be argued that notions of class are outdated and no longer relevant in literary criticism; alternatively, working-class poetry might be seen to lack the kind of literary merit and linguistic innovation that invites scholarly review. It may even be the case that working-class poetry is seen as closer to propaganda than art. However, this thesis takes a different view. It argues that there is a strong and vibrant body of contemporary Australian working-class poetry that merits greater public attention and more incisive critical review. We need to know if and how this poetry builds on important Australian literary traditions; we need to evaluate whether working-class poets have earned a rightful place in the contemporary poetry field. We need a poetic for analysing the cultural discourse of the working class. Therefore, this thesis offers an analysis of the content and poetics of contemporary Australian working-class poetry and of the context in which it has been produced. It presents works that to date have been ignored or dismissed by the literary mainstream. It proposes that working-class poetry can be regarded as a distinctive genre of poetry, distinguished by its themes, use of language and authors’ intentions. It argues that working-class poetry is not unsophisticated but rather a specific expressive form that provides important insights into the ways in which class relations continue to reproduce inequalities. This argument is developed by reference to literature from the discipline of working-class studies in Australia and overseas. It is supported by the literature on class relations in Australia and there is also a small body of scholarship on working-class writing that contributes to the discussion. The main body of the thesis presents the work of individual working-class poets and provides detailed readings of their works that highlight the ways in which the poems exemplify the proposed category of working-class poetry. In short, this thesis creates a poetic for approaching the academic analysis of working-class cultural discourse. The conclusions I have drawn from my analysis of poetry and lyrics are that working-class poetry displays significant literary and artistic merit, and functions not only as a way for working-class people to express themselves creatively, but also provides a valuable insight into the ways in which class affects Australians on a daily basis. It is an important cultural achievement to give full and meaningful voice to disadvantaged Australians at a time of political and cultural upheaval where class cleavages and notions of identity are in a state of flux.

The 1996 Johnson stakeholder review of Australian engineering education recommended the development of a number of broadly defined attributes in all engineering graduates. The Institution of Engineers, Australia (now Engineers Australia) responded swiftly by switching the focus of its engineering course accreditation requirements from course content to graduate attribute outcomes. To maximise the effectiveness of this approach to the mechanical engineering discipline a clear understanding of the relative significance of a more detailed range of attributes to Australian industry is essential, yet the scope of the mechanical engineering profession is broad and views of individual practitioners contributing to debate on attribute requirements are largely influenced by their own often unique professional formation. The research presented in this thesis is unique in using a role based analysis of the relative significance of an extensive range of attributes considered relevant to Australian mechanical engineers. The study covers the six industries found to employ the greatest number of Australian mechanical engineers. The significance of these attributes in the core mechanical engineering roles of each industry are weighted according to the numbers of mechanical engineers employed in those roles. These attribute significance profiles are considered in the context of a study of the formative development of the profession under the extensive influence of 19th and 20th century UK and US practices and recent momentous changes in engineering employment and formation. A wide range of appropriate teaching strategies to develop the most significant attributes through proximal and distance learning are explored and a brief account of the candidate’s work in developing and assessing the use of technology to enhance flexible learning in the field of engineering education is also included in this thesis. Whilst major areas of the mechanical engineers knowledge base are considered as part of the main study, further case study based research is presented to assess in more detail the knowledge base requirements for Australia’s best performing manufacturing industry by ‘industry value added’ - Food, Beverage and Pharmaceuticals and as such provides an indication of the relevance of the content base of Australian mechanical (as well as chemical and electrical) engineering degree programs to an Australian industry sector.

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This field study is an attempt to provide detailed suggestions for a one semester elective course of study Australian Minorities: Concepts and Perspectives to be offered at a tertiary institution. It is intended primarily to provide a context in which minority group persons can be introduced to and analyse the theories and concepts which have been used to describe them as minority group persons, and to give minority group persons the opportunity to formulate and develop their own theories and concepts derived from their own experience. Since the program in which the course is offered is already operating and this course is a required part of it, the case for the provision of specific courses for minority group students is not argued here. The purpose in providing a detailed course description through this field study is (a) to contribute to the, as yet, small number of tertiary level courses from which both minority group and mainstream students select their programs, and (b) to provide suggestions for teachers of such courses to enable them to present courses which have specific interest for minority group students. The principles on which the course is constructed constitute a blending of humanistic and social reconstructionist perspectives with the purpose of (a) making the course acceptable to the espoused values of institutions offering teacher education programs, and (b) providing students with some knowledge and skills whereby they are empowered to make changes in the societies in which they will work. The course was compiled from (a) Suggestions solicited on an informal basis from students involved in an initial teaching of a similar course. (b) The writer's perceptions of needs arising from experience of teaching in a tertiary program catering specifically for Aboriginal and Islander persons. (c) Library research of, especially, material written by minority group persons, but also material written about minority group persons. Suggestions for evaluating the effectiveness of the course are provided because it is intended that this course be used as a base or beginning structure to generate new courses, or for modifications of this one according to specific needs of teachers and student groups. It is presented in a form intended to be useful as a starting point for other minority group teachers involved in offering courses to cater for similar needs. Source material is drawn mainly from sociological and philosophical perspectives, combining western concepts from these disciplines with contemporary minority group definitions of experience.

The main objective of this study is to examine the characteristics of the literature of Indonesian Economics, Indonesian Agricultural Development Economics, and Indonesian Demography. The data used are the references made by Ph.D. and master's candidates in these three subject fields in their theses, which were submitted to the Australian National University during the period from 1971 to 1981. At first the references were examined according to four researcher groups : Ph.D.'s in Indonesia Economics (Ph.D Indec); Masters of Agricultural Development Economics (MADE), with Indonesia as the subject area; Ph. D.'s in Demography (PhD Demog), with Indonesia as the subject area; Masters of Arts in Demography ( MAD ), with Indonesia as the subject area. The results indicate that the literature referred to by the four researcher groups has many of the same characteristics, as well as/ a high degree of relationship amongst them. Therefore, the references made by the four researcher groups were combined. In total, there were 5235 references from 42 theses. It was found that 54.48% of the references were to monographs and 44.85% were to serials. Academic research centres, which contributed 21.32% to the literature of the four researcher groups, constituted the major source' institution, slightly above the contribution of commercial publishers. The United States was the most important source country, contributing 35.28%; and Indonesia was the second most important, contributing 25.86%. The main language used was English, accounting for 82.35% with Indonesian the second, accounting for 15.01%. Materials of up to 10 years old accounted for 68.41% of the total.

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The internship requirements for Master of Applied Science in Materials Conservation were completed in the Materials Conservation laboratory of the Australian Museum under the direction of Miss Sue Walston between November 30th, 1981 and July 9th, 1982. The work programme focused upon the preparation of artefacts for a permanent gallery display entitled "The Abelam, a people of Papua New Guinea". Wooden carvings, shell ornaments, bone implements, ceramic and coconut bowls, and wooden spears were the most common artefact types requiring treatment, prior to display. Many objects were decorated with pigments, shells, beads or feathers and were secured with plied fibre string. Artefacts were photographed , condition and proposed treatment reports were written, practical work was carried out and final treatment reports were finished. Upon completion of the gallery, the Materials Conservation laboratory staff reviewed their role in the overall gallery plan. As a group, the problems affecting the conservation and display of artefacts were identified and analysed. A flow chart of exhibition guidelines for Materials Conservation was prepared for use when planning future galleries. The relative humidity and temperature were monitored regularly in various areas throughout the museum. Accurate readings were obtained using a sling psychrometer and thermohygrographs. Each week the modes of the relative humidity charts were calculated, analysed and recorded. While treating objects for the Abelarn gallery, the need for specifically coloured support materials became evident. Dye types capable of permanently colouring a diverse range of cellulosic materials were investigated. Trichromatic colour cards were prepared for each material. A flood occurred in the Aboriginal gallery which required immediate action by the conservation staff. Affected artefacts were transported to the laboratory, stabilized and reports on their condition were written. A workshop on microscopic examination of cellulosic materials was organized by Mary-Lou Florian, Conservation Scientist with the British Columbia Provincial Museum, Canada. She also gave a lecture at the Forestry Commission of N.S.W. on Conservation of Aboriginal carved trees and Canadian totem poles. Dr. P. Casey presented information on fungi to the Australian Museum Conservation staff. A technical meeting on the topic of interlaboratory co-operation was attended at the conservation unit of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. The conservation facility at the Art Gallery of N.S.W. and the Nickleson Museum, University of Sydney, were viewed.

The evaluation of Australian outdoor education activity has been conspicuous by its absence. While outdoor education in Australia is experiencing a dramatic growth in facilities and programs, while state departments of education are calling for 'school-based' evaluations, while accountability is becoming an increasingly likely prospect and while high-risk activities are acknowledged as common elements in outdoor education, Australian outdoor educators have yet to avail themselves of the benefits available through formal evaluation. One significant reason for this evaluation inactivity arises from the massive and often conflicting evaluation literature confronting outdoor educators. To help outdoor educators overcome both the daunting task of putting a sense of order into the myriad evaluation methodologies and the possibility of implementing an evaluation unsuited to the outdoor educator's needs, this study presents two dimensions from which the outdoor educator might usefully view evaluation methodologies. The first dimension is that of the prepositional and tacit knowledge value bases, which will help the outdoor educator to understand better not only his own aims/approaches to education, but also the type of knowledge valued as important by specific evaluation methodologies. The second dimension is that of program awareness, which will aid the outdoor educator to identify the levels of descriptiveness or depth and the type of personal involvement by the evaluator which the outdoor educator would be seeking through formal evaluation. Application of these dimensions includes a review and classification of evaluation literature within these dimensions, commencing with the 'pre-Tyler' period, thence Tyler, Glaser, Provus, Popham, Stufflebeam, Alkin, Cronbach, Scriven, Atkin, Eisner, Stenhouse, Stake, and Parlett and Hamilton. A number of outdoor education evaluations conducted predominantly overseas are then classified according to their propositional or tacit knowledge value base as a further demonstration of the applicability of the value base dimension for the outdoor educator hoping to gain useful information from evaluations conducted previously. Evaluations reflecting ambiguity in value base and outdoor education guidelines representative of the propositional and tacit knowledge value bases are also presented. Although suggesting the bi-polar nature of the value base dimension and the rather significant difference in degrees of program awareness available through formal evaluation, this study argues strongly that it is through an appreciation and understanding of alternative evaluation methodologies that outdoor educators might more capably be able to establish the nature of communication needed within a formal evaluation to best suit their needs and the needs of other audiences to whom evaluation reports will be directed.

This thesis examines the question of the extent to which theories of citizenship, especially as developed in political liberalism, help to formulate an understanding of cultural diversity in relation to political stability and justice. Taking the recent debates over liberal and communitarian political philosophy as the object of inquiry, it explores the social and political character of multiculturalism and indigenous rights movements in Australia’s political culture. The principal aim is to establish that political liberalism provides appropriate political and ethical norms for adjudicating multicultural and indigenous rights claims. Thus, the exposition is twofold: first the thesis explores the concepts of justice as fairness as expounded in Rawlsian political liberalism. Second it applies the Rawlsian perspective to analyse the implications of multiculturalism and indigenous politics for the Australian liberal state. Interpreted in the light of the problems of contemporary patterns of pluralism, Rawls’ theory demonstrates the necessity and desirability of applying justice as fairness to the ‘special rights’ challenges confronting Western liberal states, including Australia.