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Determining the past, present and future effects of alien species on native biodiversity is a globally recognized problem. The Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis, was introduced to Vancouver Island from Europe in 1970. To assess potential competitive interactions with the native Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea), I investigated several aspects of P. muralis ecology. D i h i o n along manmade corridors (e.g. roads and powerlines) and human-facilitated jump dispersal are contributing to range expansion; three separate populations currently exist. Reproductive output of P. muralis was not affected by amount eaten while gravid, but feeding level and incubation temperature affected offspring phenotypes. In comparative tests of locomotor performance, P. muralis was faster than Z. coerulea, but only at moderate temperatures. I found no effect of P. muralis dour on E. coeruela behaviour, but E. coeruela avoided cover objects that housed P. muralis. These two species use similar habitats, but were found on different substrates and mesoslopes. Based on the results of these experiments there is a potential for comvetition between these two lizard species.

This case study explores Chinese international students' perceptions of meaningfill learning. Ten Chinese international students, who have post-secondary educational experience in both China and Canada, and five student services staff participated in this study. Data triangulation and method triangulation were used in this study. The study identifies four major themes found in student perceptions of meaningful learning: Practical Learning, Learning Under Pressure, Comfortable Learning, and Active Learning. This study indicates a positive relationship between out-of-school experiences and meaningful learning for international students. It reveals that students are aware of the important influence of the learning environment in their motivation and learning. This study challenges the stereotype of Chinese learners and highlights their preference for active learning over passive learning. The implication of this study emphasizes combined efforts of students and educators in co-constructing meaningful learning. The paper ends with the researcher's self-reflections on how this study affects her meaningful learning.

No description available.

No description available.

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Abstract not available

A central feature of public sector reform in Australia in the past decade or so has been the introduction of competition into service markets that were previously monopolised by public agencies. The adoption of more competitive strategies by these agencies has usually been accompanied by changes in their organisational culture - found in their structures, modes of operation and in internal and external relationships, as well as in the underlying values orientation of the organisation. The introduction of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) in local government in the state of Victoria reflected criticisms of the performance of traditional local government bureaucracies and a determination by the state government to secure a change in local government culture. This study investigates the impact of CCT on local authorities in Victoria, and explores the changes to organisational culture that have occurred. It assesses the extent to which the changes are consistent with a 'post-bureaucratic' conception of public organisations. The study presents evidence that cultural change has occurred in Victorian local authorities, particularly in the establishment of new organisation structures, a more entrepreneurial or outward focused orientation, and the development of more market focused and customer oriented service delivery systems. While cultural changes may not have progressed as far as intended by the Victorian government, they represent a more radical approach to local government reform than in other Australian states - so radical that they present a serious challenge to long-held views of the role of local government in the community. The thesis reveals that the new competitive environment may itself generate new problems such as transactions costs and erosion of trust within local councils and enables senior managers to assert stronger control over the council. It is this control, together with the technocratic or top-down approach to reform taken by the state government, which has constrained the development of model post-bureaucratic local government organisations in Victoria. In particular, it seems that senior managers are more intent on reshaping their organisations than in encouraging the greater market responsiveness anticipated in the post-bureaucratic model.

Bibliography: p. 283-313. / xxxii, 313 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Two systems of dryland cropping, one conventional and one conservation, were studied on the same farm over a period of 10 and 14 years respectively. The conventional cropping system was based on cultivated fallow which served to manage and conserve water, nitrified organic matter and controlled weeds. Stubble was burnt prior to cultivation for the fallow phase, with pasture and cropping phases rotated. The conservation farming system was based on the absence of soil tillage, stubble retention, rotation of a variety of crops and chemical control of weeds. Water conservation was achieved through increased infiltration by improved soil structure, avoidance of compaction, reduced water runoff and reduced evaporation by stubble retention. Overall, the conventional farming system was proven to be unsustainable. The conservation system was sustainable in terms of productivity, profitability and effect on the environmental resources of soil and water. The growing of sorghum as a summer grass in the Wimmera was also found to be an opportunity for improving productivity, profitability and sustainability by controlling winter weeds. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Agronomy and Farming Systems, 1998