This study examined the friendships between gifted and regular adolescents to determine if competition was related to the quality and stability of their friendship. Sullivan (1953) had predicted that competition harmed friendship, but this has not been tested empirically. Thirty-eight gifted and 38 regular friendship dyads from grades seven and eight were recruited from two high schools in Quebec and one in Ontario. Competition was defined in terms of competitive goal orientation. Students who competed in order to improve their performance on a task were rated as more task-oriented. Those who competed in order to show superiority over others were rated as more other-referenced. Competitive goal orientation differed for gifted and regular students. Classroom teachers, physical education teachers, and peers rated gifted students as being more task-oriented and regular students as being more other-referenced in their competitive styles across both scholastic and athletic domains. Being more task-oriented was related to having less negative friendship quality (i.e., fewer conflicts), more friendly competition, and for gifted students only, more friendship stability. Conversely, being more other-referenced was related to more negative friendship qualities and, for gifted students only, unstable friendships. Additionally, friends who reported positive friendship qualities at the end of the school year remained friends over the summer more so than friends who reported negative friendship qualities. However, during the school year, when friends saw each other regularly, the quality of their friendship was not related to whether or not they remained friends. Surprisingly, the friendships of regular adolescents had more positive qualities (companionship, help, security, closeness) than the friendships of gifted adolescents. No difference in friendship stability was found between the groups. Practical implications for teachers include avoiding forms

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

This thesis is an effort to apply Elias’s thinking on social development to the Chinese social situation. At first glance his account of the civilizing process would appear incompatible with this context, in that, after state formation with the Qin and Han dynasties beginning in 221 BC, Chinese civilization remained both stable and highly traditional for well over two millennia. It is argued, however, that closer scrutiny reveals a process that was merely interrupted for a considerable period. The traditional system relied upon a symbiotic relationship between local society and the centre whereby the centre remained relatively small and aloof, not interfering with local social relations, as long as local society provided the required taxes and labour. In this situation the state had the monopolies of both violence and taxation that Elias would look for, but left local society to its own devices primarily because it was already pacified. This self-reinforcing system was enshrined and codified in the Confucian cannon over the course of centuries from the Han dynasty. Central control of the distribution of resources was eventually required to re-start the Chinese civilizing process, for this was the mechanism through which the local social structure would finally be altered. This only happened within the past century as the Chinese people struggled to grapple with their own ‘backwardness’ in the face of incessant Western and Japanese incursions. At this point the old system was toppled and replaced by progressively more aggressive central governments who saw as their most important task the destruction of the traditional social order in the interest of modernization. As the Chinese state consciously and forcibly took control of the distribution of resources at all levels of society, traditional social relations were stretched and warped, and the Chinese civilizing process re-commenced its long-stalled march toward modernization. This has been evidenced both by the dramatic growth in mobility and the rapidly extending chains of interdependence in the form of guanxi connections primarily during the Post-Opening period after 1978.

Researchers have found that inter-firm collaboration, that is, co-operative business networks, can provide a competitive advantage that would not be possible independently for small sized firms. Work has been done by some governments, for example, Danish, Norwegian, New Zealand, American and Japanese, in the area of policy and practice of business networks because they have realised the importance of business networking and have encouraged collaboration of small firms by assisting in the facilitation of networks. The Australian government established a Business Network Program which ran for four years and several studies were completed on various aspects of the program during that period. However, there had been no particular research that examined the success or other outcomes of these networks, thus providing the basis for the research question addressed in this research: How and why did the business networks developed in the AusIndustry Business Networks Program, succeed or not succeed? Further, questions relating to how and why these outcomes may have occurred or how they may have been measured in the Australian government facilitated program were also unanswered. A review of the extant literature in this area established the theoretical foundations upon which this research is based and made possible the development of a model comprising three constructs or research issues that would address the research question: RI 1: How and why is network success evaluated? RI 2: How and why do the internal and external environments affect the outcomes of the network? RI 3: How does facilitation affect the network? In order to address these research issues and the research question, a protocol was developed and case study interviews with the lead business of sixteen networks participating in the AusIndustry Business Network Program were carried out. The resultant data was compared for each of the research issues through a qualitative methodology from which conclusions and answers to the research question and issues were derived. The results of this research showed that network members evaluated their own outcomes often using multiple measures, both qualitative and quantitative, with the most common criteria being whether the network continued or discontinued. Moreover, it was concluded in this research that successful networks usually had a single goal or purpose for joining a network which they ultimately achieved. In contrast the unsuccessful networks generally joined the network with multiple goals and which were not all achieved, thus contributing to their lack of success. This result was not evident in the literature reviewed in chapter 2. Additionally, the findings showed that high levels of trust, commitment and reciprocity were essential elements in the success of business networks. More importantly this study found that whilst all successful networks had these elements, some of the non successful ones also reported high levels of trust, commitment and reciprocity. Thus it appeared in this study that whilst these elements are important for network success, they do not alone ensure that success, further, it was noted that for any network that reported a lack of any one of these elements, non success was more likely. In relation to this finding was the discovery that in these networks formal contracts between the network members increased the levels of commitment and reciprocity and thus increased the chances of success. When external environmental factors were examined in relation to their impact on network success, it was found that whilst all had some impact on their business generally, competition was noted as having the highest impact and government or legal issues the lowest impact. Finally, this research found that facilitation did not necessarily contribute to a network’s success but that possible a lack of appropriate facilitation style did contribute to the non-success of networks. However, it was clear that the small networks needed less facilitator guidance overall and that the larger networks definitely needed facilitation and guidance. Moreover, it was found that the type of facilitation at the various stages of the network process were more important to the likelihood of success, rather than the mere presence of a facilitator. Thus, the main contribution of this theory building research is to extend the general level of knowledge about business networks and provide new insights into network theory and the value of networks using an original application of existing knowledge. This knowledge can contribute to network education and training in business schools and can contribute to the development of future government policy and practice pertaining to network programs.

The apparel manufacturing industry is one of the oldest and most global industries in the world. The industry is characterised by labour intensive, high volatility, low predictability, and relatively low barriers of entry. Over the last fifty years, globalisation and restructuring of the apparel manufacturing industry has been carried out in various parts of the world. Due to its labour intensive nature, this industry has been considered a sunset industry for many high labour cost countries. Thus, the relentless shift of the production base, seeking for the ever-lower labour cost has dominated the strategies of apparel manufacturers. / In the Malaysian context, the apparel trade is one of the main sources of the Malaysian economy over the last two decades. However since its peak in 2000, the export value has decreased considerably. Increasing labour cost, emergence of low labour cost countries and the liberalization of the apparel trade have all contributed to the decline of the industry. However, evidence from the EU and US suggests that with the right strategy, apparel manufacturing can still survive in high labour cost countries. Researchers have also claimed that even though labour cost has been a crucial factor, it is not always sufficient factor in determining competitiveness. Flexibility, lead-time, quality, trade, labour and environment regulations, and government policy are all critical factors in affecting competitiveness. / By conducting an exploratory survey based on the apparel manufacturing industry in Malaysia, this paper attempts to ascertain the manufacturing capabilities affecting the competitiveness; the main obstacles the industry is facing and identifies the strategies adopted for survival. To further strengthen the findings and understanding of the Malaysian apparel industry, a case study was conducted on a successful apparel manufacturer, linking it more explicitly to the recent developments and the strategy adopted in remaining competitive. / The results reveal that Malaysian apparel manufacturers are losing out on the two most lucrative aspects of the global apparel commodity chain: marketing and designing. The findings also indicated that achieving high quality standard is the most inportant factor to remain competitive while pricing, shortages of skilled labour, and quota restriction are the typical problems besetting the industry. The survey also reveals that majority of the respondents believe that Malaysia is still a feasible apparel manufacturing base and partial relocation strategy is their most preferred strategy. Conversely, the findings from the case study reveal that adopting a unique combination strategy and meticulous implementation of the strategy is the key to the success of the case company. Future directions and challenges for the industries are suggested. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2004.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2004.

The working relationship between horses and riders is a unique association requiring cooperation between both to achieve the goals of humans in their selected equestrian sport. This dissertation chose the equestrian sports of eventing and dressage to investigate this working relationship between horse and rider, and its stability across training and competition settings. Consideration was given to psychological, physiological and behavioural factors for the human and horse. The research requiredthe development of a measure to indicate the harmony of the working relationship, which resulted in a rider and observer inventory, and of a physiological indicator of therelationship which became the correlation between the horse and rider heart rate and was called heart rate synchronisation. To examine reactive behavioural factors of the horse a horse Behaviour Check List was created, and to consider possible psychological factors implicated in this behaviour a Horse Temperament Inventory was developed.Anxiety was the psychological factor chosen to assess the rider, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory – 2 and the Emotion and Mood Components of Anxiety – Questionnaire were used as its different components.It was hypothesized that there would be significant environmental differences between most factors with the competition environment showing evidence of lowerworking relationship scores, higher heart rates, higher rider anxiety, and more reactive horse behaviours. Horse temperament was considered to be a trait and therefore nodifferences were predicted. Negative relationships were hypothesized between the working relationship measures and rider anxiety components, horse temperament andcritical horse behaviours. A positive relationship was hypothesized between rider self confidence and the working relationship. Negative relationships were also predictedbetween rider anxiety, horse temperament and horse behaviour. No specific predictions were made regarding relationships between rider and horse heart rates and the other factors.In Study 1 with five eventing teams, results from Cohen’s d analyses of differences between means supported some hypotheses. A moderate to large effect size was found for rider’s somatic anxiety and heart rate being higher in the competition environment, but no significant effects were found for the rider’s cognitive anxiety and levels of self-confidence across environments. However, contrary to hypotheses, working relationship and the heart rate synchronisation factors had higher scores in thecompetition environment and showed a small and large effect size respectively. The horse’s temperament was also more positive in the competition environment, with theHorse Temperament Inventory – Rider (HTI-R) revealing a small effect size and the Horse Temperament Inventory – Observer (HTI-O) without the rider a large effect size,suggesting that it seems to be identifying a psychological state of the horse rather than the hypothesized temperament traits. The hypothesis regarding the horse and rider’s heart rate was also accepted as they also increased in the competition environment. The horse’s maximum heart rate and minimum heart rate showed a moderate effect size and a large effect size was found in the differences of the horse’s mean heart rate. Therider’s maximum heart rate and mean heart rate data also showed a large effect size and the rider’s minimum heart rate means showed a moderate effect size. Due to unforeseencircumstances and the low number of participants, the hypotheses could not be evaluated using inferential statistics. However, the patterns of the findings led to some modifications of methods and the selection of another equestrian sport for Study 2.The findings from Study 2 with thirty dressage teams indicate the working relationship between horse and rider was stable across environments during a dressagetest. The heart rate synchronisation analysis was able to identify significant relationships between most horse and rider teams during a dressage test in both the training and competition environments. At a group level the correlation between the horse and rider heart rates displayed a significant positive relationship in the training environment, but not in the competition environment. A t-test analysis found stabilityof the horse’s temperament across environments, suggesting that the Horse Temperament Inventory is measuring temperament traits. Also the rider’s somatic anxiety showed a significant increase in the competition environment, which was also reflected in the rider’s emotional experience of this anxiety. Unexpectedly the rider’s self-confidence was also significantly higher in the competition environment. However, no predicted associations were found between working relationship scores and heart rate synchronisation, or between these measures and horse and rider factors.The relationship between reactive horse misbehaviours and rider anxiety, and the team’s working relationship was analysed. A significant association was found between each of the rider’s and judge’s ratings of the working relationship and heart rate synchronisation with the horse’s misbehaviour scores in the competitionenvironment. The rider’s somatic anxiety also showed a significant association with the horse’s misbehaviour in both the training and competition environments. Significantrelationships were also found between horse misbehaviour and performance in both training and competition environments. To extend this investigation further adiscriminant function analysis was conducted to determine if the riders with levels of high and low cognitive and somatic anxiety could be categorised on the basis of horsetemperament. It revealed that riders with high and low levels of somatic anxiety could be categorised on the basis of the horse’s temperament score, whereas riders with high and low levels of cognitive anxiety could be classified on the basis of the horse’s heart rate means in the competition environment.Overall, the dissertation has significant methodological, conceptual and practical outcomes. It demonstrates possible self report, observational and physiologicalindicators to assess the horse-rider working relationship, and a reliable measure of horse temperament. It also addresses several speculations, assumptions and anecdotalreferences in the literature about the interactive association between horse and rider. Findings here point to significant associations between horse and rider psychology and physiology, and patterns of relationships that may indicate some relevance to theworking relationship, and ultimately performance.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2004.

"June 2002" / Bibliography: leaves 172-198. / viii, 198 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Proposes that the overall outcome of plant interactions along a temporal gradient of resource availability changes from positive during interpulses to negative during pulses. Examines negative interactions between 4 co-dominant chenopod scrubs in arid Acacia papyrocarpa woodlands. Negative interactions were more intense when conditions were least productive. Positive interactions between seedlings also changed over time, depending on the facilitation mechanism. Plant interactions seem to be most intense at the beginning of interpulses when plants are competing for diminishing water, or survivorship is enhanced in the favorable microsites provided by other plants. Later in the interpulse, interactions become less intense as conditions become more stressful and therefore survivorship and growth are affected more by abiotic conditions than plant interactions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Environmental Biology, 2002

ABSTRACT Despite increasing evidence for the impact of feral cats Felis catus on native fauna in Australia, little is known of the ecology of cats, particularly factors that limit cat abundance. The ecology of the feral cat in Australia is represented by just 15 published studies on diet, only one of which has examined diet in relation to prey availability, and one study of home range behaviour. The red fox Vulpes vulpes is a significant pest to agriculture and native fauna in Australia and widespread fox removals have been proposed by the Vertebrate Biocontrol Cooperative Research Centre (VBCRC). However, there is concern that feral cats may increase compensatorily when fox populations are reduced, as has occurred in Western Australia, and therefore that predation pressure may not be alleviated on native fauna following fox control programs. This thesis is divided into two parts. First, the diet and home range size of cats is examined in relation to prey availability, and home range overlap and habitat use are determined. In the second part, several niche parameters (diet, home range and habitat use) that were potentially important resources for foxes and cats were quantified to assess the potential for competition. Avoidance and aggression between cats and foxes was examined using simultaneous radiotracking techniques and video observations. The hypothesis that foxes limit cats through interspecific competition (exploitation and interference) was then tested using a fox removal experiment. Finally, three further hypotheses were tested using a fox removal experiment to determine which factors limit feral cats at Burrendong. The four hypotheses tested were thus: i) Cats are limited independently of foxes through other factors such as food availability; ii) Foxes limit cats through interspecific competition (exploitation and/or interference); iii) Foxes limit cats through intraguild predation; iv) Cats benefit from the presence of foxes through facilitation. The diets and spatial use of feral cats were examined on agricultural land on the eastern shore of Lake Burrendong, New South Wales (32o40�S, 149o 10�E) between July 1994 and June 1997. The major land use for the area is water catchment under the agistment of sheep Ovis aries and cattle Bos taurus. The study area encompasses about 90 km2 of hilly terrain with undulating slopes that extend down to a flat foreshore area that has been extensively cleared of trees for grazing. The slopes are generally well timbered and dominated by white box Eucalyptus albens woodlands with some yellow box E. melliodora associations. Stands of cyprus pines Callitris spp. are also common. Feral cats and red foxes are established throughout the study area, and the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus was abundant until the arrival of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease (RCD) in June 1996. The diet of feral cats was determined from the analysis of 499 scats. Rabbits were the staple prey of cats, with occurrence (O) in 81.6% of scats and comprising 68.4% by volume (V). Carrion (mostly eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus and sheep) (O 21.5%, V 11.5%) was an important secondary food, particularly in winter and spring. Other mammalian prey included brushtail possums Trichosurus vulpecula (O 4.6%, V 2.4%), house mice Mus domesticus (O 6.2%, V 3.2%), black rats Rattus rattus (O 2.6%, V 1.4%) and a dunnart Sminthopsis sp. (probably S. murina) (O 0.2%, V 0.006%). Invertebrates (mostly Orthopterans) (O 41.5%, V 7.5%), vegetation (O 26.3%, V 3.6%), birds (O 4.2%, V 0.8%) and reptiles (O 3.4%, V 0.3%) were generally of minor importance in the diet. Few significant seasonal differences were found, although invertebrates contributed significantly less, and possums more, to the mean scat volume in winter and summer respectively. A significant dietary response was found for changes in rabbit abundance, but not for the other prey groups. Cats continued to prey heavily on rabbits after the arrival of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease, despite the relatively low numbers of rabbits. Ten months post-RCD, house mice increased in importance in the diet. However, it was not known whether this represented prey switching sensu stricto or opportunistic predation on an increased mouse population, as mouse abundance was not measured during this period. Seventy-seven cats (48 recaptures) were caught in 6762 trap nights between November 1994 and August 1996 using both cage traps and leg-hold traps. A further 18 individual cats were trapped as non-target animals by the VBCRC Fox Sterility Project and used in this study. Trapped adult cats were fitted with radio collars and their home range size, overlap and habitat use examined. Home ranges and core areas were quantified using 95% and 50% kernel utilisation distributions (KE 95 and KE 50) and minimum convex polygons (MCP 100, MCP 95, MCP 50). Four habitat types (grassland, open woodland, open forest, and mudflats) were delineated on aerial photographs and a habitat map produced using ARC/INFO. Compositional analysis was used to examine habitat preference in cats. Home range sizes of cats (n = 15, 598 fixes) in winter 1995, prior to fox removal, were similar to those reported in the only published study of cat spatial use in Australia, but larger than those recorded elsewhere. This may have reflected more dispersed food resources in Australia, although home range size was not correlated significantly with rabbit abundance. Male ranges (MCP 95 = 284 ha, n = 11) tended to be larger than females ( = 151ha, n = 4), but no differences were detected between young (1-3 years, = 271ha, n = 7) and old (>3 years, = 221ha, n = 8) cats. Cats were active both by day and night with no temporal differences being detected in range size. Both adult male and female cats tended to be solitary, although home ranges overlapped extensively. Kin groups were indicated (but not confirmed) as most inter-sexual overlap occurred between young and old cats. Habitat composition of home ranges generally reflected the availability of habitats at the study site, although cats significantly avoided mudflats. Home ranges comprised mostly open woodland and open forest habitats with smaller areas of grassland and mudflats. However, within individual home ranges, cats used grassland and open woodland habitats most often where rabbits were more abundant. Inter-individual (sex, age) or temporal (day/night) differences in habitat use were not detected. Comparison of resource use between cats and foxes indicated a large overlap in diet, home ranges and habitat use. Dietary breadths and overlaps between cats and foxes increased when rabbit availability declined in autumn and post-RCD. Dietary overlap was high overall (75%), although some resource partitioning was detected. Rabbits were more important in the diet of cats than foxes, particularly in summer, when foxes ate more grasshoppers. Carrion, invertebrates and vegetation were more important for foxes than for cats overall. Home ranges of both cats and foxes comprised mostly open woodland habitats followed by grassland, open forest and mudflats, which largely reflected their relative availabilities. However, within individual home ranges, cats showed a preference for grassland habitats. In addition, cats tended to deposit scats more often than foxes at rabbit warrens and at hollow log entrances, while foxes deposited scats more often than cats on sand plots, tracks and at dams. The large overlap in resource use between cats and foxes indicated a high potential for exploitation competition. Foxes may attempt to lessen competition by killing cats (interference competition). Three radiocollared cats were killed by foxes and aggression was observed toward cats. Home ranges overlapped extensively, but avoidance was indicated from the simultaneous radiotracking of both predators, as greater separations and lower overlaps in home ranges and core areas were recorded between species than within species. In addition, video observations suggested avoidance of carcasses by cats in the presence of foxes. The hypothesis that foxes limit feral cats through interspecific competition was then tested using a fox removal experiment. Foxes were reduced at two of the four sites from October 1995 using �1080� baiting and spotlight shooting by the VBCRC Predator-Prey project. Resource use and abundance of cats were compared before and after fox removal and between treated and untreated sites. Although no increase in cat abundance followed the removal of foxes, significant behavioural changes by cats strongly suggested interspecific competition operating via exploitation and interference. Exploitation competition was supported by the increased consumption of carrion by cats at the treated sites after fox removal, while support for interference competition came from the increased use of grassland habitats at night after fox removal. The direction of the resource shifts to more prey-rich habitats indicated asymmetry in the relationship between the two predator species. Although the null hypothesis of no limitation of cats by foxes could not be rejected, as no increase in cat abundance was recorded after fox removal, interspecific competition was considered to be the most likely mechanism limiting feral cats at Burrendong. Intraguild predation was not indicated as no cat remains were found in any of the 343 fox scats or 255 fox stomachs that were examined. In addition, minimal evidence was found for facilitation between cats and foxes, or for food limitation. The potential for foxes to limit cats, as shown in this study, indicates that cats need to be considered in future fox control operations. Integrated pest management, where foxes, cats and rabbits are controlled together, is strongly proposed if the objective is to safeguard native fauna in Australia. Further research is required to improve the effectiveness of current techniques for censusing cat populations, particularly in forested areas. This is essential for monitoring the effectiveness of control campaigns and quantifying factors that limit cat populations, and ultimately for effective protection of susceptible native fauna.