The adverse impacts on vegetation and soils due to livestock grazing have been extensively studied for many years. The extent to which native wildlife may also be causing change to their environment, as a result of local increases in population density, has been the subject of debate in a number of countries. In Australia there has been a growing awareness in recent years that native herbivores, particularly kangaroos and wallabies, may also be causing changes to ecosystem dynamics. Environmmental changes, produced firstly by the aboriginal people and then by Europeans, have favoured the larger macropods, resulting in increased population levels. These impacts can also be seen in areas around cities, where pressure from urbanisation has restricted populations to smaller and smaller patches of remnant vegetation and reserves, increasing the pressure on diminishing food resources within these patches. This study focuses on one of the areas that supplies drinking water to Melbourne, the Yan Yean Reservoir catchment, which is situated 37 km north east of Melbourne. This study adds to our understanding of the impacts of native wildlife populations by investigating the extent of some of these possible changes to ecosystem dynamics.

The purpose of this study was to determine the oral health status and treatment needs of elderly persons living in residential institutions in Melbourne. A total of 175 elderly persons aged 65 years and over were selected from 20 hostels located within a 10 km radius of the Melbourne GPO. A two stage field design was used to collect data. First, subjects were interviewed using a standard questionnaire, then clinical examinations were performed using a fiber optic light, plane mouth mirror, dental probe and periodontal probe. Coronal caries (DMFT), root caries (R-DF), periodontal status (CPITN), denture status, and treatment needs were assessed. The mean age of the subjects was 83.7 (sd 7.2) years. Eighty per cent were female and 20% were male.

Arena Theatre Company’s Eat Your Young is examined as an intrinsic case study. The aim is to investigate the role of a director in the creation of an original multi-media theatre production designed for young people. The study explores the current social, political and cultural position of young people and argues that they are viewed and portrayed as a marginalised “other”. The history of Arena Theatre Company is documented in relation to the development of Theatre in Education from its British roots to the Company’s current emphasis on contemporary artists exploring the possibilities of multi-art form technology. The development of multi-media usage in theatre over the past century is outlined in order to gain an understanding of Arena’s place within this technological experimentation. Utilising ethnographic methodology, including participant observation, “unstructured” interactive interviews and the construction of participant monologues, the creative rehearsal and planning process of Eat Your Young is chartered over a five month period. The outcomes of the study confirm the literature relating to the qualities of a good director: they are leadership, vision and the ability to collaborate. The metaphor chief architect is coined to describe the central figure of the director, Rosemary Myers. The case study discusses the development of a Company culture where artists work in an intensive social and interactive environment and it identifies the unique pressures and individual responsibility of the role of director.

Law enforcement agencies worldwide, including those in Australia, have declared partnerships with the private sector to police e-crime as “critical”. However, this strategy faces uncertainties about appropriate formats and the potential for fostering corruption. Sarre and Prenzler’s (2000) Regulated Intersections model proposes that, to avoid corruption, cooperation must be limited and regulated closely. Consequently, this thesis examines the conditions under which investigative partnership policing of e-crime at the state police level can be mutually beneficial to police and the private sectors, while maintaining public interests. The thesis aims, therefore, to establish normative standards and guidelines for configuring effective and ethical public-private partnerships for e-crime investigation. An exploratory analysis of 3529 e-crime incidents, reported to and cleared by Victoria Police during 1999/00 to 2003/04, investigated the nature of reported e-crime, routine factors affecting its successful investigation and whether partnership was one of those factors. A pilot survey canvassed private sector responses to these issues and partnered e-crime investigation. Thirty-seven interviews were conducted with police, private investigators and e-crime victims. During the research, three Australian attempts at public-private investigative partnership formed to varying success, including the Joint Banking and Finance Sector Investigation Team (JBFSIT) at the Australian High Tech Crime Centre.

For recent church historians the nineteenth century has provided a study of the church in a developing industrial and secular society. An advantage of the Wesleyan Church in Victoria in such a study is its concentration in cities and towns during the nineteenth century, which made it more sensitive than other denomination to the secular society which accompanied urban development. Secularisation affected the church in two major ways; first in its relations with the state, and secondly in the shrinking of church attendances which accompanied the growth of cities. (For complete abstract open document)

Seeds of seven alpine and subalpine Australian shrub species (Acacia alpina,A. obliquinervia, Bossiaea foliosa, Hovea montana, Oxylobium ellipticum,Grevillea australis & Pimelea ligustrina) with potential to colonise in badly disturbed alpine and subalpine sites had a range of treatments (scarification,stratification, leaching, chemical soaks, freezing & diurnally fluctuating temperatures) applied to them to enhance germination success. Seeds of the hard seeded legumes responded well to scarification and stratification treatments. Acacia obliquinervia was scarified with boiling water which resulted in enhanced germination success. The scarification treatment with the best result was nicking for the other four legumes. The use of hot-watersoaks for these other legumes, of a minute or less showed some potential as a useful scarification treatment Stratification periods between 8 to 14 weeks for Acacia alpina, 12 to 14 weeks for Bossiaea foliosa, 2 to 8 weeks for Hoveamontana and 4 to 6 weeks for Oxylobium ellipticum gave significantly enhanced germination. Grevillea australis did not respond to germinationpre-treatments, except for an isolated case of nicking and stratification for 6weeks. The same treatment of older seed did not result in significantgermination. Pimelea ligustrina did not reliably respond to germination pretreatments.Germination trial results were then applied to one of the legumespeCIes (Bossiaea foliosa) as a guide to how these seeds respond to apretreatment before sowing on a disturbed site at the Bogong High Plains.The treatment of 30s in water @ l00°C and 14 weeks stratification before sowing in autumn was found to significantly enhance the field establishment success of Bossiaea foliosa.

To most Australian historians, the political history of Victoria during the final decades of the nineteenth century is a closed book. Except for the considerable attention bestowed on the labor party, which was after all of minor importance in Victoria until the early years of this century, few historians indeed have ventured to comment even briefly on this colony’s political live.

Measuring the environmental condition of waterways is of interest to river managers, governments and the community. In the State of Victoria, Australia and elsewhere, there is concern that environmental values of streams are declining and that information about the environment, needs to be considered when river management decisions are being made. / This thesis explores the use of environmental indicators as a tool to assist management of rivers. The promise of indicators is that they can turn large amounts of environmental data into simple, timely results and thereby provide an effective means of incorporating this information into river management decisions. It is also suggested that indicators will be useful for measuring the outcomes of management intervention and provide feedback on the effectiveness of strategies. / Can environmental indicators live up to this promise? This thesis examines this question by reviewing indicator systems that have been developed by others and then exploring, in detail, the Index of Stream Conditions (ISC) that is is intended as a tool to assist the management of rivers in Victoria. I argue that environmental indicators have a role at the level of regional waterway management authorities but only if they are closely aligned with managers’ needs. Without consideration of non-technical issues, indicators are unlikely to be used, so it is important to establish a balance between pragmatic constraints and the need for scientific rigour. A procedure to achieve this balance is described in this thesis and was applied to the development of the ISC. Selection of indicators and the choice of indicator frameworks are explored and the value judgements behind the interpretation of indicator scores are examined. / It is also important to consider the accuracy and sensitivity of indicators. Possible objectives for the use of indicators include benchmarking, detecting change and providing information to trigger management intervention. Case studies are used to explore the performance of indicators in practical applications in streams in Victoria in relation to these objectives. Extensive use is made of non-traditional statistical procedures, including bootstrapping, and results are presented that show the likely variance of indicator scores and the relationship between indicator objectives and required sampling effort.

In Australia, industrial relations research has focused almost exclusively on the major industrial relations institutions and their role in the determination of the rules of the workplace. Local workplace industrial relations and the interaction between worker and representatives and enterprise management has been a neglected area of research. This study attempts to rectify this situation. By focusing attention on the workplace a number of important questions are raised that have not been systematically addressed in Australian industrial relations research. In particular, what, if any, is the role of shop stewards in a centralised system dominated by unions, employers and tribunals organised on a state and national basis? If there is a role for shop stewards, how does this role manifest itself in terms of the stewards’ relationships with members, fellow shop stewards, union officials and management? Finally, what factors explain variations in role perceptions, and how does the adoption of a particular role affect the behaviour of shop stewards? (For complete abstract open the document)

The introduction and establishment of a new and markedly different environment within a long established natural system provides an excellent opportunity to study the principles of adaptation and colonisation by native species. In Australia, an example is furnished by the conversion of large areas of native eucalypt forests to mono-cultured plantations of Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata). The principal aim of this study was to assess which species of native mammals, birds and higher plants are able to utilise or occupy such plantations. Successional aspects of community structure, and colonisation in pine forest systems, were investigated by considering stands of different ages. A variety of adjacent native eucalypt forests provided controls and indicated the range of potential colonisers. Various habitats in both forest types were studied with regard to potential nest sites and availability of food, in order to determine those habitats most favourable for mammals and birds. The effect, on wildlife, of clearing eucalypt forests, but leaving forest remnants along gullies, was also assessed.