Densities and behaviour of Noisy Friarbirds Philemon corniculatus and Red Wattlebirds Anthochaera carunculata were measured during 1992 and 1993 at six sites along an east-west transect through central New South Wales from the Central Coast through to the Central Western Slopes, and at Goobang National Park from 1993 to 1996. Both P. corniculatus and A. carunculata were found to be mostly canopy foragers with occasional forays into the shrub layer when food resources became available there. Flower-probing and foliage gleaning comprised the bulk of foraging behaviour. Most of the food resources used by these honeyeaters were seasonally unreliable and unpredictable, so that they needed to shift between foods and track them over hundreds of kilometres. A strong relationship was found between the densities of honeyeaters and the density of flowering trees at both regional and local scales. Sites on the western slopes were more important for nectar during winter and spring, while sites on the tablelands provided a greater diversity of foods over all seasons. When foraging at foliage, both honeyeaters were found to preferentially select Eucalyptus punctata. These two honeyeaters are very mobile and appear to cope within the fragmented landscape. Their ecological role as plant pollinators, seed dispersers and insect population limiters may have increased proportionally due to habitat fragmentation compared with less mobile species with similar ecological roles. Hence they may also have become more important in maintaining habitat patch quality / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Abstract: Globalisation, Gender and Teachers’ Employment This thesis examines the nexus between globalisation and patterns of gendered employment in the education industry in New South Wales, Australia. Globalisation has had an impact on employment and gender relations in Australia through economic restructuring, through the transformation of the labour market and through public sector reform. A number of theories of globalisation recognise its impact on employment practices, but many fail to examine its impact on gender relations. This study brings the gendered aspects of globalisation into focus. The changing nature of employment in the education industry is located within the broader context of globalisation and economic restructuring in Australia. Using statistical information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other sources, this thesis traces the impact of globalisation on the Australian economy, labour market and, in particular, the public sector. The thesis also traces historically the institutional changes in Australia that have contributed to the globalisation process. A field study was undertaken to examine casual teachers’ experiences of globalisation, economic and labour market restructuring and public sector reform in New South Wales. Interviews were conducted with 20 casual school teachers working in the New South Wales public education system. Men and women teachers, working in rural and urban locations, were asked about their experiences of globalisation and its impact on gender relations in the workplace and in the home. Although household and workplace structures in Australia are changing as a result of globalisation, these structures remain gendered. Gender relations in the household continue to structure access to the workplace. There are elements of systematic discrimination in the treatment of casual teachers in public education in New South Wales, and teachers are penalised for adopting non-standard forms of work. Globalisation has individualising and peripheralising impacts on casual teachers; however, they have developed mechanisms for resisting these aspects of globalisation. Although individuals are formed by and respond to the structural conditions created by globalisation they are able to make choices about employment patterns and gender divisions between home and paid work.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Abstract: Globalisation, Gender and Teachers’ Employment This thesis examines the nexus between globalisation and patterns of gendered employment in the education industry in New South Wales, Australia. Globalisation has had an impact on employment and gender relations in Australia through economic restructuring, through the transformation of the labour market and through public sector reform. A number of theories of globalisation recognise its impact on employment practices, but many fail to examine its impact on gender relations. This study brings the gendered aspects of globalisation into focus. The changing nature of employment in the education industry is located within the broader context of globalisation and economic restructuring in Australia. Using statistical information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other sources, this thesis traces the impact of globalisation on the Australian economy, labour market and, in particular, the public sector. The thesis also traces historically the institutional changes in Australia that have contributed to the globalisation process. A field study was undertaken to examine casual teachers’ experiences of globalisation, economic and labour market restructuring and public sector reform in New South Wales. Interviews were conducted with 20 casual school teachers working in the New South Wales public education system. Men and women teachers, working in rural and urban locations, were asked about their experiences of globalisation and its impact on gender relations in the workplace and in the home. Although household and workplace structures in Australia are changing as a result of globalisation, these structures remain gendered. Gender relations in the household continue to structure access to the workplace. There are elements of systematic discrimination in the treatment of casual teachers in public education in New South Wales, and teachers are penalised for adopting non-standard forms of work. Globalisation has individualising and peripheralising impacts on casual teachers; however, they have developed mechanisms for resisting these aspects of globalisation. Although individuals are formed by and respond to the structural conditions created by globalisation they are able to make choices about employment patterns and gender divisions between home and paid work.

The rural land market in Australia is a very complex property market. This complexity is not limited to the volatility of the returns in the rural land market, but also those factors that influence the change inland prices within specific rural property markets. Rural land returns – over the period 1975-1996, there has been higher than the returns achieved from residential and commercial real estate in respective rural areas: traditional farming areas have not provided the same level of returns as developing and marginal farming areas. Economic and financial factors and rural land prices – there is significant correlation between rural land price trends in adjoining areas with similar land use and level of farming development: as the distance between specific rural area increases the correlation between changes in land price decreases. Modelling rural land values – relationship between change in rural land prices and the change in economic factors is more significant in the developing and marginal cropping areas compared to the traditional cropping areas: there is a more significant association between rural land prices and rural economic factors when the economic factors are lagged, rather than contemporaneous. Rural property and valuation implications – rural land sales in one location are generally not an accurate measure of changing prices in another location: factors other than rural economic factors have a greater impact on rural land prices in areas which are closer settled or where alternate non agricultural land uses are available / Master of Commerce (Hons.)

The purpose of the present study is to examine the genetic and morphological variation found in narrow-range endemic terrestrial invertebrate species at different geographic scales, and the ramifications of this for their systematics, management and conservation. The listed endangered land snail Meridolum corneovirens and several related forms are restricted to the Sydney region, and were used to address the above issues. Morphological, anatomical, allozyme and DNA data were obtained for a total of 77 populations from across the known range of Meridolum. A particular emphasis was placed on the forms found across the Sydney region. The analysis of the different datasets, both individually and in combination indicate at least 35 taxa mostly parapatric and seven genera were represented. This includes several previously unrecognised taxa. The analysis supports the conclusion that Meridolum corneovirens belongs to a new genus. This includes several species found from eastern Sydney south along the coast to Nowra. A total of six new species and five new genera are described. The conservation and management of narrow-range endemics such as Meridolum corneovirens provide a number of challenges to conservation managers. The alternative of listing a gene pool rather than listing species separately is proposed and explore / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This research investigated a new community-based model of continuity of care provided collaboratively by a small team of midwives and obstetricians (St George Outreach Maternity Project or STOMP). The study considered whether STOMP improved maternal and neonatal clinical outcomes, resulted in a better experience for women and could be implemented within the current resources of a public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. A randomised controlled trial using a Zelen design was used to compare the STOMP model with standard care. One thousand and eighty-nine women were randomly allocated to either the STOMP model or standard hospital-based care. The Zelen design was used to increase the participation of women from non-English speaking backgrounds and to reduce disappointment bias in women allocated to the control group. The results suggest that the model of community-based continuity of care is associated with a lower caesarean section rate, more positive experiences for women and costs less than standard care. There were no differences in the number of medical complications experienced in either group, but more women in the control group were admitted to hospital during the antenatal period. There were four perinatal deaths in each group. Women in the STOMP group reported a higher quality of antenatal care compared with the control group. Women in the STOMP group also reported that the community-based service was accessible and convenient with reduced waiting times for appointments. Women in the STOMP group were more likely to have received adequate information about labour, birth and the postnatal period and felt more 'in control' during labour compared with the control group. Women from both groups reported problems with postnatal care, particularly when provided in the hospital. The study also examined the impact of the STOMP model on women from Chinese and Arabic-speaking backgrounds. The STOMP model appeared to reduce the rate of elective and emergency caesarean section in Chinese-speaking women compared with English-speaking women. Small numbers precluded statistical analysis on these data so the results must be interpreted with caution. Women from Chinese-speaking backgrounds reported receiving insufficient information. The STOMP model improved the provision of information, however Chinese-speaking women still reported inferior experiences. There were also differences in the method of infant feeding. The results indicate that the model provides effective, cost efficient and satisfying maternity care. New models of maternity care can be implemented within current resources when organisations have a strong commitment to change.

The purpose of the present study is to examine the genetic and morphological variation found in narrow-range endemic terrestrial invertebrate species at different geographic scales, and the ramifications of this for their systematics, management and conservation. The listed endangered land snail Meridolum corneovirens and several related forms are restricted to the Sydney region, and were used to address the above issues. Morphological, anatomical, allozyme and DNA data were obtained for a total of 77 populations from across the known range of Meridolum. A particular emphasis was placed on the forms found across the Sydney region. The analysis of the different datasets, both individually and in combination indicate at least 35 taxa mostly parapatric and seven genera were represented. This includes several previously unrecognised taxa. The analysis supports the conclusion that Meridolum corneovirens belongs to a new genus. This includes several species found from eastern Sydney south along the coast to Nowra. A total of six new species and five new genera are described. The conservation and management of narrow-range endemics such as Meridolum corneovirens provide a number of challenges to conservation managers. The alternative of listing a gene pool rather than listing species separately is proposed and explore / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This research investigated a new community-based model of continuity of care provided collaboratively by a small team of midwives and obstetricians (St George Outreach Maternity Project or STOMP). The study considered whether STOMP improved maternal and neonatal clinical outcomes, resulted in a better experience for women and could be implemented within the current resources of a public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. A randomised controlled trial using a Zelen design was used to compare the STOMP model with standard care. One thousand and eighty-nine women were randomly allocated to either the STOMP model or standard hospital-based care. The Zelen design was used to increase the participation of women from non-English speaking backgrounds and to reduce disappointment bias in women allocated to the control group. The results suggest that the model of community-based continuity of care is associated with a lower caesarean section rate, more positive experiences for women and costs less than standard care. There were no differences in the number of medical complications experienced in either group, but more women in the control group were admitted to hospital during the antenatal period. There were four perinatal deaths in each group. Women in the STOMP group reported a higher quality of antenatal care compared with the control group. Women in the STOMP group also reported that the community-based service was accessible and convenient with reduced waiting times for appointments. Women in the STOMP group were more likely to have received adequate information about labour, birth and the postnatal period and felt more 'in control' during labour compared with the control group. Women from both groups reported problems with postnatal care, particularly when provided in the hospital. The study also examined the impact of the STOMP model on women from Chinese and Arabic-speaking backgrounds. The STOMP model appeared to reduce the rate of elective and emergency caesarean section in Chinese-speaking women compared with English-speaking women. Small numbers precluded statistical analysis on these data so the results must be interpreted with caution. Women from Chinese-speaking backgrounds reported receiving insufficient information. The STOMP model improved the provision of information, however Chinese-speaking women still reported inferior experiences. There were also differences in the method of infant feeding. The results indicate that the model provides effective, cost efficient and satisfying maternity care. New models of maternity care can be implemented within current resources when organisations have a strong commitment to change.

This research investigated a new community-based model of continuity of care provided collaboratively by a small team of midwives and obstetricians (St George Outreach Maternity Project or STOMP). The study considered whether STOMP improved maternal and neonatal clinical outcomes, resulted in a better experience for women and could be implemented within the current resources of a public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. A randomised controlled trial using a Zelen design was used to compare the STOMP model with standard care. One thousand and eighty-nine women were randomly allocated to either the STOMP model or standard hospital-based care. The Zelen design was used to increase the participation of women from non-English speaking backgrounds and to reduce disappointment bias in women allocated to the control group. The results suggest that the model of community-based continuity of care is associated with a lower caesarean section rate, more positive experiences for women and costs less than standard care. There were no differences in the number of medical complications experienced in either group, but more women in the control group were admitted to hospital during the antenatal period. There were four perinatal deaths in each group. Women in the STOMP group reported a higher quality of antenatal care compared with the control group. Women in the STOMP group also reported that the community-based service was accessible and convenient with reduced waiting times for appointments. Women in the STOMP group were more likely to have received adequate information about labour, birth and the postnatal period and felt more 'in control' during labour compared with the control group. Women from both groups reported problems with postnatal care, particularly when provided in the hospital. The study also examined the impact of the STOMP model on women from Chinese and Arabic-speaking backgrounds. The STOMP model appeared to reduce the rate of elective and emergency caesarean section in Chinese-speaking women compared with English-speaking women. Small numbers precluded statistical analysis on these data so the results must be interpreted with caution. Women from Chinese-speaking backgrounds reported receiving insufficient information. The STOMP model improved the provision of information, however Chinese-speaking women still reported inferior experiences. There were also differences in the method of infant feeding. The results indicate that the model provides effective, cost efficient and satisfying maternity care. New models of maternity care can be implemented within current resources when organisations have a strong commitment to change.

This thesis documents the early history of the City of Sydney Eisteddfod from its beginning in 1933 until it recessed in 1941 for the duration of the Pacific War. Eisteddfods had long been commonplace in Australia, but this competition began for political rather than cultural reasons in 1932, when organisers of the Harbour Bridge celebrations decided that since the spectacular edifice had made Sydney an icon on the world map, the city needed to cultivate a more sophisticated image. In observing events that led to its establishment, the project looks at the technological revolution of the 1920s and the social upheaval of the jazz age. This thesis observes that Sydney competition was Welsh only in name and grew from the political roots of the high and lowbrow debates that had come to divide society. In examining these issues, this thesis focuses on the Sydney contest, the talent that rose from its stages and the cultural revival that exploded in its wake. Written as a narrative history, this thesis draws mostly from empirical sources. It includes a statistical analysis and a substantial amount of original material / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)