Published research in Behavioural Sciences has indicated that there are some business and work environments which are more effective for the attainment of managerial objectives than others. In this study these research findings have been applied to learning activities of mature vocational students in TAFE in Canberra and to their teachers. Learning processes, learning theories and teaching are discussed. Teacher-student relationships and their impact on learning by creating sound learning environments are examined and a model of sound learning environment is created. This model is tested by investigation with final year certificate students. The impact of the model on teacher selection and teacher education is included in the discussion of results. The principal conclusion which can be drawn from the Study is that the sort of environment, which has been shown to be most effective in achievement of managerial objectives is also likely to be the most effective in achieving educational objectives for adult vocational students.

The first participatory or inter-active science centre in Australia was Questacon, which operated in Canberra for the eight years, 1980-1988. Its very success lead to its demise: it became the inspiration for the National Science and Technology Centre which opened in late 1988. Questacon, in common with many of the World's new breed of science centres and museums, was modelled on San Francisco's famous Exploratorium. These new institutions have copied ideas and even actual exhibits from the Exploratorium, but most of them have failed to copy the Exploratorium's use of Explainers, a feature which Exploratorium staff think is integral to the whole concept. Questacon is one of the institutions in which an explainer system was established, although it differed in some significant respects from that at the Exploratorium. Participatory science centres have been seen as part of the answer to the problem of increasing public awareness and understanding of science. There is a growing body of literature which is concerned with the learning of science in informal educational settings, such as in these centres, but there has been very little work done on the role of museum docents or their equivalents in this learning. One study of the Exploratorium's Explainers concentrated on the value of their work as explainers for the people involved in the system, in terms of their own personal development. The aim of the present study was to compare the two explainer systems and to investigate the work of Questacon Explainers both in terms of their own personal development and in their interaction with visitors to the centre.

This research study was in the field of adult education, focusing on the role of adult educators. Sixty four adult educators in the Australian Capital Territory, from a wide range of institutions took part in the study. The educational orientation of the adult educators, on an andragogical-pedagogical continuum, was measured by The Educational Orientation Questionnaire, (Hadley, 1974). This test was based on Knowles, theory of andragogy "the art and science of helping adults learn" and its corollary, pedagogy, "the art of teaching children" (Knowles, 1985). The E.O.Q. tested adult educators' attitudes in six areas of education to discover the extent to which educators were more andragogical or pedagogical in their orientation. Four personality dimensions of adult educators were measured by The Personal Style Inventory (Champagne and Hogan, 1979) - a test based on Jung's theory of psychological types. The data was analysed and four null hypotheses were tested. Two were rejected and two were accepted. The findings revealed that there was a statistically significant correlation at the .01 level of significance, showing a definite relationship between two of the dimensions, extraversion-introversion and sensing-intuition, and the educational orientation of adult educators: extraversion and intuition with a more andragogical orientation and introversion and sensing with a more pedagogical orientation. The interpretation of these findings raised numerous questions and issues on the role of adult educators as well as recommendations for further research on the correlation of other variables with the educational orientation of adult educators.

After outlining the structure of the Capital Territory Health Commission in Canberra, Australia and detailing the origins of the field study within this sytem, the problem of morale within work environments is examined. This examination reviews local research as well as overseas studies and in particular looks at the relationship of morale to both quality of work life and quality of life generally. The question of work within the local health system is then investigated in detail using questionnaire and search workshop procedures. The findings from these two approaches both support and confirm each other, thereby providing a comprehensive picture of the quality of work life within the local health system. From the results of these investigations the systemic nature of the morale problem within the health system is noted and discussed. The recommendations for remediation proposed from within the system are examined and evaluated. The study then explores the issue of potential conflict between bureaucratically organised systems and the delivery of effective health services. The study also confirms the place of power, trust and communication in changing morale. One conclusion is that continuing workshop and action research methods could be of use in helping the health service meet future objectives.

The Field Study reports on the research and development of a Health Assessment Program (HAP) for secondary school students over a period of three years in the ACT. The 'original' HAP is described, and its early implementation methods discussed. Changes are proposed and trialled, and further refinements made, then trialled again. Through this process a new HAP is developed. The 'Research and Development Cycle' (Borg and Gall 1983) provides the theoretical framework for the planning of the field study. (See 1.4). The 'new' HAP exhibits the characteristics of an 'education' program. The physical components have been developed to enable them to be administered by the teachers who are responsible for the organisation of the HAP in their school, and health professionals are only used for those components which require confidential counselling. This is in contrast to the 'original' HAP which was organised and conducted by health professionals. The process by which the changes took place has determined the quality of the new HAP. The developments have been based on the views of the teachers who used the HAP, the students who were tested, and the health professionals who participated. The literature has also been used to provide the direction for, and nature of, the changes. This process has ensured a program which is highly suitable for use in the school environment. It is not envisaged that the HAP has reached its final stage of development. Each school who uses the program is encouraged to modify and adapt it to suit the needs of their own teachers and students.

This study examines the perceived causes of occupational stress amongst female Registered Nurses working in the clinical setting at both Calvary Public and Calvary Private Hospitals ACT Incorporated. A modified Gray-Toft, Anderson Nursing Stress Scale (1981) was used as the instrument for the research. The questionnaire was modified by the addition of six questions. The questionnaire was distributed to seventy female Registered Nurses. Twenty questionnaires were distributed to staff working within the Private Hospital and fifty to staff in the Public Hospital. Relevant data dating back to 1956 was examined regarding stress and burnout amongst nurses and allied health professionals. The results of this study, not surprisingly, supported the finding of Gray-Toft, Anderson. That is that nursing remains an inherently stressful occupation. Respondents working in both public and private hospitals indicated that Lack of Funding and Death and Dying were considered to be major sources of perceived stress. Registered Nurses working in the Public Hospital perceive higher levels of stress than do those Registered Nurses working within the Private Hospital with respect to relative staffing levels, workload and funding. Comparisons by age group indicated a generally higher reported level for the youngest age group. Comparison of full time versus part time staff indicated a significantly higher level of perceived stress from full time staff. Analysis of reported stress by ward type indicated that staff working in the "medical" groupings experienced higher perceived levels of stress than those working in the "surgical" groupings.

Psychotropic drugs are mind affecting compounds. They range in type from illegal narcotic analgesics such as heroin, to prescribed major tranquillisers used for treatment of psychotic states, to prescribed minor tranquillisers such as the benzodiazepines, Valium and Mogadon, to the freely available, over the counter drugs, Aspirin and Panadol. Overseas and Australian data show the minor tranquilliser group, benzodiazepines, first introduced on the pharmaceutical scene in the early 1960s, to be the most commonly prescribed psychotropic drugs. Their popularity with medical practitioners as prescription drugs for conditions of anxiety, stress, insomnia and some forms of epilepsy, arises from the advertised inference by drug companies that they are free from any side effects in the patient such as dependence, tolerance and on termination of treatment, absence of withdrawal syndrome. Benzodiazepines were first introduced as a substitute for the well known dependence producing barbiturate based sedatives. Overseas and Australian data show women are prescribed psychotropic drugs, particularly benzodiazepines, twice as often as men and in many instances for conditions unrelated to those for which the drugs are recommended. Australian data comes from two sources, official statistics such as the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and from surveys of drug use. Both sources of data are incomplete, inaccurate and in many cases misleading. The true picture of prescribed psychotropic drug use in Australia therefore lacks resolution and in all probability underestimates prevalence and patterns of use in the community. There is no data on the prevalence and patterns of use of prescribed psychotropic drugs in the Australian Capital Territory. It was therefore deemed appropriate to conduct a survey to determine their prevalence and patterns of use. The survey was confined to women for several reasons: Women are a target group in the Commonwealth and State Government 'Drug Offensive'; evidence from studies overseas and in Australia shows that women are prescribed psychotropic drugs, particularly benzodiazepines, twice as often as men; Australian data suggests that this trend is uniform and therefore the Australian Capital Territory should be no different. Data shows that doctors, particularly General Practitioners, are the main source of prescribed psychotropic drugs. The main psychotropic drugs prescribed by general practitioners are benzodiazepines. It was therefore deemed appropriate to conduct a survey of general practitioner's attitudes, knowledge and beliefs about the appropriate use of benzodiazepines as these factors carry weight in a doctor's prescribing habits. The survey of women was conducted using a standardised, structured, telephone survey on a random sample of 120 women in the Australian Capital Territory. The results of the survey show that 40% of the sample had used prescribed psychotropics at some stage in their lives. Most users were older women, married, well educated and working full time. Level of knowledge about the drug was low, compliance with respect to use was high. Most prescribed psychotropic drugs were obtained from a doctor. There appears to be little drug sharing or concurrent drug use. Half of the prescribed psychotropics were benzodiazepines the other half were mostly anti-depressants. Use of over the counter psychotropics was very high. The survey of general practitioners was conducted using a standardised, structured mailed questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 25 general practitioners in the Australian Capital Territory. The results show the majority of doctors prescribe the drugs for common indications (anxiety, stress, insomnia and some forms of epilepsy) in excess of one week. For specific anxiety states however, most prescribe the drugs along with some form of counselling. The majority of doctors (77%) think counselling is not as effective as drug treatment. All doctors surveyed think patients should be advised of the drugs effects on driving and machinery operation; the drugs should not be shared with others; that the drugs should not be terminated abruptly; the drugs should not be used concurrently with alcohol. The majority (92%) believe benzodiazepines are over prescribed and most doctors (77%) believe the drugs produce dependence in patients. The majority (58%) believe women of child bearing age are at risk using benzodiazepines while 50% think pregnant women are at risk. The majority of doctors did not believe that people older than 60 years of age are at risk but most believe children are at risk. The findings of both surveys have implications for health educators and others with a concern for drug education in the community. Recommendations arising from this study have been made. They are presented at the conclusion of this thesis.

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The Report of the Field Study is a descriptive record of:- (i) the development of the A.C.T. Schools Authority according to a particular philosophy and operational structure of devolution of responsibility to schools and community participation in decision making at school and system level. (ii) the impact which changes in government policy in the areas of (a) growth of the Australian Public Service and Canberra (b) funding of the A.C.T. government schools have on the A.C.T. Schools Authority operations. (iii) the mechanism by which policy is being developed for the maintenance of small high schools as individual organizations in a situation of contracting enrolments. The functions of the A.C.T. Schools Authority are, amongst others, to establish and conduct,pre schools, primary schools, high schools and secondary colleges. In 1980 there were 165 schools and of these only three were outside the city of Canberra. During the 1960's Canberra underwent extensive expansion of the city boundaries because of rapid increases in population as a result of government policy in establishing the city as the seat of government. Government departments were moved from rented premises in other cities to new purpose built buildings in Canberra. Economic conditions and government funding supported all aspects of the expansion as it continued into the '70's. The government school building programme was one of many which had to be integrated into the city growth plan. In 1960 there were three secondary schools, in 1970 there were nine and in 1980 there were twenty three. This Field Study is concerned with the A.C.T. Schools Authority's approach to its responsibilities under the following changed circumstances. 1. Change in growth rate of Canberra. From 1976, as a result of a change in government policy and in different economic conditions and policies there was a dramatic and unpredicted decrease in the rate of population increase. Movement of government departments to Canberra was severely curtailed and the service industries and building industries consequently also dramatically reduced their expansion. By 1978 there was evidence of a severe contraction in these industries and the growth of Canberra in the 60's to mid 70's had changed to a no-growth and then a decline. 2. Schools with small enrolments. Added to the nil or very slow population increase in some suburbs is the decline in the number of school age children in the inner suburbs of the city resulting in schools accommodating down to half of their previous numbers of students and the completion of school buildings in the as yet underpopulated outer suburbs. This latter situation developed because the lead time required for the planning and building of new schools is such that irreversible decisions had been made in the context of the population growth period and the resulting building programme was overtaken by the unexpected policy reversal causing a no growth situation to develop. The empty school buildings provoked the sparsely populated new communities to press for their opening and so provide what were seen to be essential community facilities. 3. Strict controls on costs. Allied to its policy restricting the growth rate of Canberra the government introduced strict controls on the cost of government education services in the A.C.T. The real difficulty was in the nature of the controls. Per-pupil costs were not to rise in real terms after 1976/77. With "fixed" costs such as cleaning, heating, maintenance, lighting and janitor rising or at least remaining constant whilst school enrolments decline, there was little hope of meeting the government directive. The Authority therefore considered the possibilities of deferring the opening of new schools and phasing out some inner Canberra schools as the only means of carrying out its responsibility. The proposal evoked strong community reaction. It was claimed that such an edict from the central authority was in contravention of the philosophical and legal foundations of the A.C.T. system. School Boards and communities were the places where decisions could be made that would enable their schools to remain as functioning entities, providing their students with creative educational programmes and still adapt to the economic constraints of the total system. Faced with this resounding community disapproval the Schools Authority established a Working Party on llth June 1979 "To consider the problems of declining and shifting school populations and its effect on the A.C.T. school system. In particular it will examine educational, financial and staffing problems associated with conducting small secondary schools and report to the Authority no later than June 1980". The Working Party then mounted a programme of enquiry throughout the A.C.T. Teachers, parents, students, School Boards, P & C committees and public meetings were asked to submit proposals, express opinions and respond to models. The resulting report Declining and Shifting Enrolments in A.C.T. Secondary schools was presented and public response invited. Once again the philosophy of the A.C.T. government school system was being put into practice. The study also investigates some of the issues in respect of the individual small school facing declining enrolments and consequently reductions in staffing and financial resources. Some conclusions are posed for the individual school, the A.C.T. Schools Authority and the various government instrumentalities which service and to some extent control, the A.C.T. government school system.

The aim of this research was to discover the issues influencing the adoption of e-commerce by small and medium business enterprises (SMEs) in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The demand aspect of the theory of diffusion of innovation enabled the formulation of a number of research propositions which formed the focus for this research. Seventy-five randomly-selected SMEs within the ACT were interviewed. Of these seventy five, fifty had adopted e-commerce and twenty-five had not. Findings complemented results from other studies, but also added to them. Factors from the demand aspect of the theory of time, resources (personnel, financial, technological), business organisation, size, return on investment, push by outside agencies or clients, and communication channels were found to be of little importance. Of greater importance were characteristics of the SME operators themselves (such as their innovativeness, their relative youth and educational level), the size of their business, the number of years it had been operating, and marketing issues. A prime consideration was that of attaining and maintaining a competitive edge over their competitors. Security and privacy issues were of little consideration prior to the adoption process, but became of much greater importance once SMEs had adopted e-commerce. Some things discovered by this research that have not appeared in the reporting of other studies included: � The importance of tertiary education for the primary decision-makers in the organisation; � The role banks played in the adoption process; � The high cost and difficulty of compliance with government regulations, especially regarding the employment of staff; and � The lack of use of specifically established communication channels, set up by government bodies or associated industry organisations to educate and inform SMEs about the potential and process of e-commerce. Results of this research have implications for a large number of associated stakeholders � government, educational institutions, and trade, industry and professional associations � and as such deserve to be widely disseminated.