Thesis (PhD.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2002. / "A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. March 2002; August 2003" Includes bibliography.

Includes bibliography.

The major aim of this study was to investigate the use of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) in health science classrooms in Tasmania, Australia. In the past, the QTI has been used in a number of learning areas. However, it has not been used in the learning area of health science.This study involved 1,471 grade 9 and grade 10 health science students and their teachers in 75 classes. The QTI was used to study student and teacher perceptions of health science teacher interpersonal behaviour.Statistical analyses revealed that the QTI is a valid and reliable instrument for use in health science classrooms. Quantitative results from the QTI were supported by qualitative data including comments from the students and a reflective narrative of the experiences of the researcher as a health science teacher.An investigation into the associations between QTI scales and student attitudinal and cognitive outcomes revealed that all scales of the QTI related to student attitudinal and cognitive outcomes in health science classrooms. It is, however, the scales of Leadership and Helping/Friendly which make the greatest positive influence to student attitudinal and cognitive outcomes.Health science students perceived their teachers as displaying high levels of leadership, helping/friendly and understanding behaviour, and low levels of uncertain, dissatisfied and admonishing behaviour. Teachers generally perceived themselves in a more favourable manner than their students did.The students also perceived the less experienced teachers as less dominant and more oppositional compared to teachers with more experience. Female health science students generally perceived their teachers in a more positive way than male students and male students, in general, have better attitudes to health science lessons.

The Pieman River catchment has seen continuous mining of economic deposits of gold, silver, lead, copper, zinc and tin since the 1870’s. Tributaries of this river which receive mining effluent, either directly or from acid mine drainage (AMID), have total metal concentrations considerably above background levels and are of regulatory concern. The lower Pieman River is however classified as a State Reserve in which recreational fishing and tourism are the major activities. It is therefore important that water entering the lower Pieman River from upstream hydroelectric impoundments is of high quality. Metals in natural waters exist in a variety of dissolved, colloidal and particulate forms. The bioavailability and hence toxicity of heavy metal pollutants is very dependant on their physico form. Knowledge of the speciation of a metal in natural aquatic environments is therefore necessary for understanding its geochemical behaviour and biological availability. Complexation of metal ions by natural ligands in aquatic systems is believed to play a significant role in controlling their chemical speciation. This study has investigated temporal and spatial variation in complexation of metal ions in the Pieman River. The influence of pH, temperature, organic matter, salinity, ionic strength and time has been investigated in a series of field studies and in laboratory-based experiments which simulated natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Labile metals were measured using two techniques in various freshwater and estuarine environments. Diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) allowed in situ measurement of solution speciation whilst differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) was used to measure labile metal species in water samples collected from the catchment. Organic complexation was found to be a significant regulating mechanism for copper speciation and the copper-binding ligand concentration usually exceeded the total copper concentration in the river water. Complexation was highly dependent on pH and at the river-seawater interface was also regulated by salinity, probably as a result of competitive complexation by major ions in seawater (eg. Ca 2+ ions). Zinc complexation was also evident, however total zinc concentrations in the water column often far exceeded the potential binding capacity of available ligands. In addition to organic complexation, Zn speciation may also be associated with adsorption by flocculated or resuspended colloidal Mn and/or Fe oxyhydroxides. Metal ion complexation and hence speciation was found to be highly variable within the Pieman River catchment. This presents major difficulties for environmental managers, as it is therefore not possible to make catchment-wide assumptions about the bioavailability of these metals. These results emphasise the importance of site-specific sampling protocols and speciation testing, ideally incorporating continuous, in situ monitoring.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2002 / "A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. March 2002; August 2003" Includes bibliography

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Today’s competitive and dynamic business world, solicits ever higher levels of performance and productivity. At the core of this drive to higher performance is the enhancement and managing of employees’ performance through a Performance Management system. Performance Management however, is a very complex, multi-dimensional and integrated system with a number of interacting critical prerequisites. Even in ideal circumstances, these fundamental elements would, in all likelihood, not all be satisfied during the initial phases of implementing a Performance Management system. The concern existed, on the basis of the abovementioned probabilities, that the Performance Management system of the Children and Families Division (CAF) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of Tasmania, Australia, was not enjoying optimal operational effectiveness. The aim of this study was to identify those factors in the system that are underdeveloped, possibly unsuccessfully implemented or in need of attention as they impact negatively on the effective running of the CAF’s Performance Management system. A suitable tool for this diagnostic purpose already exists in the form of the Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ), developed by Spangenberg and Theron (1997). Through administering and analysing the PMAQ results, the CAF could obtain a clear indication of the system’s current effectiveness and would be able to identify where the problem areas are in order to refine the system for greater operational effectiveness. The results successfully identified the underdeveloped or absent areas of the organisation’s current Performance Management system. The results further found a clear difference between managerial and non-managerial perceptions of the effectiveness of the Performance Management system. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of proposed remedial actions that could be implemented to address the problem areas. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Konstante strewe na steeds hoër vlakke van prestasie en produktiwiteit is aan die orde van die dag in die huidige hoogs kompeterende en dinamiese besigheidswêreld. Die verbetering en bestuur van werknemers se prestasie deur middel van ‘n Prestasiebestuurstelsel, blyk ‘n sleutel te bied tot hierdie strewe na hoër prestasie. Prestasiebestuur is egter ‘n hoogs komplekse, multidimensionele en geintegreerde stelsel met ‘n aantal interverwante kritieke vereistes. Selfs onder ideale omstandighede, sou dit onwaarskynlik wees dat al hierdie fundamentele elemente aangespreek sou kon word gedurende die anvanklike fases van die implementering van ‘n Prestasiebestuurstelsel. In die lig van die bogenoemde waarskynlikhede, het daar spesifiek twyfel geheers oor die mate waartoe die Prestasiebestuurselsel van die ‘Children and Families’ (CAF) afdeling van die ‘Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Tasmanië, Australie, optimale operasionele effektiwiteit weerspieël. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die faktore binne die stelsel te identifiseer wat onderskeidelik onderontwikkeld, onsuksesvol geimplementeer, of aandag benodig het ten einde hulle negatiewe impak op die effektiewe bedryf van die CAF se Prestasiebestuurstelsel aan te spreek. ‘n Geskikte hulpmiddel vir so ‘n diagnostiese doelwit het reeds bestaan in die vorm van die Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ) wat deur Spangenberg en Theron (1997) ontwikkel is. Deur middel van die administrasie van die PMAQ en die analise van die resultate, sou die CAF ‘n duidelike aanduiding kon verkry van die stelsel se effektiwiteit en sou hulle die probleemareas kon identifiseer ten einde die stelsel tot groter operasionele effektiwiteit te verfyn. Die resultate het die leemtes en onder-ontwikkelde areas binne die organisasie se huidige Presasiebestuurselsel suksesvol geidentifiseer. Die resultate het verder gedui op ‘n duidelike verskil tussen die persepsies van bestuurders en nie-bestuurders oor die effektiwiteit van die Prestasiebestuurstelsel. Die implikasies van hierdie bevindings word ten slotte bespreek in terme van die voorgestelde remediëringsaksies wat geimplementeer sou kon word om die probleemareas aan te spreek.

Tree-ring based climate reconstructions have been critical for understanding past variability and recent trends in climate worldwide, but they are scarce in Australia. This is particularly the case for temperature: only one tree-ring width based temperature reconstruction – based on Huon Pine trees from Mt Read, Tasmania – exists for Australia. Here, we investigate whether additional tree- ring parameters derived from Athrotaxis cupressoides trees growing in the same region have potential to provide robust proxy records of past temperature variability. We measured wood properties, including tree-ring width (TRW), mean density, mean cell wall thickness (CWT), and tracheid radial diameter (TRD) of annual growth rings in Athrotaxis cupressoides, a long-lived, high-elevation conifer in central Tasmania, Australia. Mean density and CWT were strongly and negatively correlated with summer temperatures. In contrast, the summer temperature signal in TRW was weakly positive. The strongest climate signal in any of the tree-ring parameters was maximum temperature in January (mid-summer; JanTmax) and we chose this as the target climate variable for reconstruction. The model that explained most of the variance in JanTmax was based on TRW and mean density as predictors. TRW and mean density provided complementary proxies with mean density showing greater high-frequency (inter-annual to multi-year) variability and TRW showing more low-frequency (decadal to centennial-scale) variability. The final reconstruction model is robust, explaining 55% of the variance in JanTmax, and was used to reconstruct JanTmax for the last five centuries (1530–2010 C.E.). The reconstruction suggests that the most recent 60 years have been warmer than average in the context of the last ca. 500 years. This unusually warm period is likely linked to a coincident increase in the intensity of the subtropical ridge and dominance of the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode in summer, which weaken the influence of the band of prevailing westerly winds and storms on Tasmanian climate. Our findings indicate that wood properties, such as mean density, are likely to provide significant contributions toward the development of robust climate reconstructions in the Southern Hemisphere and thus toward an improved understanding of past climate in Australasia.

This thesis looks at the reality of the situation of the Tasmanian Aborigines using the theme of the 19th Century genocide of the Tasmanian Aborigines and the Sacred wound in the context of the law and spirituality. The methodology of the lived experience of the author is drawn upon for a legal and spiritual analysis of cases lived by the author, which provide a backdrop to the handing back of certain Aboriginal lands in Tasmania as well as reflecting on the intersection of Aboriginal lore and the legal system. The meaning of these cases goes beyond a rational legal analysis as the idea that genocide is still continuing is a difficult one for Australians to understand due to compartmentalisation between spirituality and the law in the context of modern Australia. The High Court case of Mabo poses a dilemma for Aborigines as it contains an opportunity to move beyond terra nullius thinking, but at the same time it limits claims in a way that continues dispossession and may in certain circumstances disallow aspects of Aboriginal self determination. Within this apparent standoff lies the possibility for a development of the law that can embrace or incorporate the Aboriginal spiritual attachment to the land, ancestors and artefacts. There is no word in the English language that can describe the multifaceted, inside and outside, perspectives required to carry out the required discussion that could bring the law more into tune with the people, the land and the original inhabitants. The spiritual direction of Australia, however, could be affected by the turning away from a material, logical rational perspective to the embracing of connection as a value in itself: to spiritual values and a personal sense of calling. The Sacred wound is the meditation around which the discussion of all these themes of lived experience, the law and spirituality moves and ultimately rests. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis addresses the identification of critical incidents in schools, the factors influencing teachers' coping, and the implications for crisis intervention and management. An argument is developed that school communities may be best served by a salutogenic (wellness) perspective for crisis response and recovery, which focuses on the personal and collective resources that contribute to successful coping and mental health. Three aims were addressed. First considered was the potential for commonly occuring events (e.g., the death or injury of a teacher or student, assault, vandalism or damage to school property, professional misconduct on the part of a teacher), to evoke stress, grief, or trauma responses in individuals and organisations. Emphasised was the nature of individual differences in responses to such critical incidents, and ways of dealing effectively with the varying character and intensity of such responses. The second aim was to examine the influence of pre-existing personal wellbeing and resources on individuals' responses, adjustment and growth after an incident. The third aim was to explore the interface between the individual and the organisation following critical incidents, and the nature and impact of intervention and management strategies on an individuals' sense of wellbeing and ongoing investment within the organisation. Two related studies investigated the impact of critical incidents on teachers. In Study 1, 245 teachers completed a self-report questionnaire that gathered quantitative data comprising three measures of personality and positive functioning (Psychological Wellbeing & Sense of Coherence), demographic data, and teachers' previous experience of critical incidents. Teachers also provided an autobiographical account of a personally significant critical incident. Results showed that commonly occuring events, such as the death of a student or teacher, and other issues such as professional misconduct of a colleague, professional conflict, theft and vandalism were regarded as critical incidents by teachers. The four distinct response categories indentified (negative feelings, positive cognitions, negative conditions, & negative impact on functioning) were characteristically grief or stress responses rather than those associated with psychological trauma. Significant relationships were identified among the personality variables and the measures of positive functioning. Extraversion was positively related to positive functioning, and introversion negatively related. The findings point to personal and collective issues that have the potential to facilitate and enhance coping and recovery after a critical incident. In particular, six management strategies (Wellness Factors), comprising both personal and organisational components, emerged as potential contributors to ongoing psychological wellbeing, sense of coherence, and posttraumatic growth outcomes. These Wellness Factors were identified as: (a) emotional and practical support; (b) active involvement; (c) responding according to individual need; (d) access to information; (e) readiness; and (f) leadership. Study 2 involved a more detailed examination of the experience of 30 teachers following a critical incident subsequent to the completion of Study 1. This study examined personality, posttraumatic growth and personal trauma history (gathered through a self-report questionnaire), in conjunction with the pre-event personal characteristics gathered in Study 1. The second component of Study 2 consisted of a semi-structured interview that explored the teachers' personal experiences of the critical incident. Results revealed that PCI Extraversion showed significant positive relationships with Psychological Wellbeing and Sense of Coherence. PCI Emotionality showed a significant positive relationships with Posttraumatic Growth. Interview data showed that 22.5% of teachers reported a high incidence of Acute Stress responses (DSM-IV-TR criteria). In addition, anger directed at the school's leadership, and conflict between disillusionment with authority and the impact of the event. Strong negative relationships were identified among Extraversion and Openness, and the Wellness factors. Results showed that moderate stress responses are associated with Posttraumatic Growth at a personal level. However, the same responses can evoke disillusionment and cynicism at an organisational level. The findings are discussed in terms of the personal and organisational factors that contribute to healing and recovery following critical incidents. Implications for critical incident management planning, intervention and recovery are considered, along with directions for future research.

The following study, in examining theoretical constructs and their practical implications, as they relate to organization management, innovation, and ethnicity, notes the inter-relationship of all aspects of administration. It also recognizes that organizations are social entities which have a nonrational component. These non-rational elements can lead to prejudice, discrimination, and hostility, particularly across organizations and across ethnic boundaries. In the field of education it is contended that innovation or change is only acceptable where effective communication across all involved groups occurs; and in ethnic settings educators must heed the feelings of the ethnic community accepting that the community has knowledge about its culture that they do not possess. Educators are often unprepared, or unwilling, to do this, hence the move towards change stagnates, and hostility between the groups festers. To overcome the stalemate appropriate cultural forms of communication between the participating groups must be established. To demonstrate the application of the various theories under review, an inter-organizational conflict situation between the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Education Consultative Committee was examined. The reasons leading to the conflict are cited, along with their relevance to theory, and proposals to overcome the obstructions facing each group are delineated. In putting forward these notions there is a realization that closer bonds must be forged between the University and the TAECC if the conflict is to be resolved. To do this it is advocated that the change strategy, Organization Development, be utilized, using outside change agents who are acceptable to both organizations.