Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Inventors' Association of Australia'

"August 2000" Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-118) and index of inventors 1. Introduction, overview of years 1836-1886 -- 2. The Patent Act, no. 18, of 1859 -- 3. The Provisional Registration of Patents Act, no. 3, of 1875 -- 4. The Patent Act, no. 78, of 1877 -- 5. Numerical list of inventions

Many orchids require mycorrhizal symbioses with fungi for their development and survival. Rhizanthella gardneri the Western Australian underground orchid is associated with the companion plant Melaleuca uncinata and its ectomycorrhizal fungus symbiont. Much less is known about the habitat requirements of its sister species, R. slateri, which occurs in Eastern Australia. The absence of chlorophyll from Rhizanthella gardneri and R. slateri results in total dependency on associations with fungal symbionts. Many ecological and biological aspects of these fascinating orchids remained poorly known, including the identity of the fungal associates and the nature of their tripartite associations with Rhizanthella and Melaleuca. Extremely high specificity of these mycorrhizal relationships is likely to be the most important factor explaining the highly specific habitat requirements of underground orchids. The purpose of this study was to conduct further investigations of the role of the mycorrhizal associations of Australian underground orchids by identifying the fungi involved in these associations, optimising their growth in sterile culture and devising efficient means for synthesising their tripartite associations with R. gardneri and M. uncinata. In total, 16 isolates of fungi were successfully obtained from the two underground orchids and used in a series of experiments to understand both the nature of the fungi and their relationship with orchids. The identity of these fungi was established by using conventional morphological and molecular methods. Cultural and morphological studies revealed that all isolates from R. gardneri and R. slateri were binucleate rhizoctonias with affinities to members of the genus Ceratobasidium. However, the teleomorph state that was observed from the R. slateri symbiont during this study more closely resembled a Thanatephorus species. Further identification using ITS sequence comparisons confirmed that mycorrhizal fungi of Rhizanthella belonged to the Rhizoctonia alliance with relatives that include Thanatephorus, Ceratobasidium, or Rhizoctonia from other continents with over 90% similarity. Most of these related fungi are known as plant pathogens, but some were orchid mycorrhizal fungi. However, the isolates from the two underground orchids were most closely related to each other and formed a discrete group relative to other known members of the Rhizoctonia alliance. Sterile culture experiments determined culture media preferences for mycorrhizal fungi from Rhizanthella and other orchids. A fully defined sterile culture medium designed to more closely resemble Australian soil conditions was formulated. This new medium was compared to undefined media containing oats or yeast extract and recommendations for growth of these fungi are provided. The undefined media based on oats provided the best growth of most fungi, but the new Australian soil media was also effective at growing most orchid mycorrhizal fungi and this fully defined media was less prone to contamination and should provide more reproducible results. A comparison of three methods for inoculating M. uncinata with the underground orchid fungi resulted in the production and characterisation of ectomycorrhizal roots and hyphae formed by fungi isolated from R. gardneri and R. slateri. These underground orchid fungi could easily be distinguished from other mycorrhizal fungi (caused by airborne contamination) by the characteristic appearance of these roots and hyphae. A new system for growing and observing tripartite mycorrhizal associations was devised using pots with side viewing windows and the use of transparent seed packets to contain Rhizanthella seeds. This method allowed all the stages of seed germination to be observed in the glasshouse, culminating in the production of underground orchid rhizomes. Seed germination was only successful when seed was placed directly over active M. uncinata ectomycorrhizas confirmed to belong to the correct fungus by microscopic observations through the side of window pots. The importance of these new scientific discoveries concerning the biology and ecology of the underground orchids and their associated fungi for the recovery of these critically endangered orchids are discussed.

In Japan, electronic government has been developed since the enforcement of the Information Disclosure Act and the formulation of the e-Japan Strategy, both in 2001. Such electronic government produces a number of government information services available all over the world via the Internet, including databases of law texts, congressional minutes and white papers, as well as digital archives. At the same time, electronic government raises several issues of preservation of and "permanent public access" to electronic information, accessibility of electronic government, inclusion of government information into library services, and so forth. The author hopes this presentation will facilitate requests and comments from participants for electronic government and government information services in Japan.

Respiratory disease is an important cause of wastage in the Australian horse racing industry and viruses are frequently suspected as aetiological agents of respiratory disease or poor performance by clinicians and trainers but confirmation is seldom attempted. This thesis deals with the potential role of equine herpes virus types 1, 2, 4 and 5 in upper respiratory disease and poor performance in horses in Western Australia. The methodology selected for the identification of equine herpes viruses in tissues of horses was polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and therefore individual PCR assays were developed for the detection of each herpes virus, and then a nested multiplex PCR was developed to detect all four viruses. There was good correlation between the multiplex PCR for the detection of EHV and the detection of virus by isolation in cell culture, although a combination of the 2 techniques provided greater sensitivity than either technique alone. The multiplex PCR described appeared equally sensitive as specific PCR assays using a single set of primers for each individual virus but reduced labour and reagent costs. As latency is a well recognised phenomenon in the equine herpes viruses and the horse is subjected to a number of stresses which might induce reactivation of latent infections, it was hypothesised that there would be a background level of replication of the equine herpes viruses in clinically normal horses. Nasal swabs and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) were obtained from 282 clinical normal horses and examined for EHV. The results clearly demonstrated the widespread occurrence of EHV in the clinically healthy horses. The rate of detection of different types of EHV varied, as did the prevalence in young and adult horses. The most common EHV detected was EHV5: in 83.2% of 131 of horses <2 years of age; in 40% of horses >2 years of age. A prospective clinical study was conducted whereby respiratory tract samples and PBL from adult horses with respiratory disease and/or poor performance were examined for equine herpes viruses; the aim was to determine a possible association between equine herpes virus infection and respiratory disease and/or poor performance. The relative incidence of factors identified in the history, signalment, physical and laboratory evaluation of horses in the study population was compared between horses from which EHV was identified in respiratory samples and horses negative for equine herpes virus. The results indicated that equine herpes viruses were important causes of respiratory disease in the study population, and that haematological and cytological data were a poor indicator of such equine herpes virus infection. The occurrence of equine herpes virus in nasal swabs and PBL of weaned or unweaned foals from Thoroughbred breeding establishments was determined and provided data on the occurrence of EHV in association with respiratory disease. EHV5 was detected in nasal swabs and/or PBL at a high prevalence rate in healthy foals and yearling horses but its occurrence was not associated with clinical signs of respiratory disease. In contrast, EHV2 was detected more commonly in nasal swabs and/or PBL from foals with respiratory disease than in similar samples from healthy horses. Experimental infection of 8 horses with EHV2 was attempted and induced clinical signs of respiratory disease, but less severe than observed in the epidemiological studies. The results suggested that EHV2 is associated with mild upper respiratory tract infection in young horses.

Respiratory disease is an important cause of wastage in the Australian horse racing industry and viruses are frequently suspected as aetiological agents of respiratory disease or poor performance by clinicians and trainers but confirmation is seldom attempted. This thesis deals with the potential role of equine herpes virus types 1, 2, 4 and 5 in upper respiratory disease and poor performance in horses in Western Australia. The methodology selected for the identification of equine herpes viruses in tissues of horses was polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and therefore individual PCR assays were developed for the detection of each herpes virus, and then a nested multiplex PCR was developed to detect all four viruses. There was good correlation between the multiplex PCR for the detection of EHV and the detection of virus by isolation in cell culture, although a combination of the 2 techniques provided greater sensitivity than either technique alone. The multiplex PCR described appeared equally sensitive as specific PCR assays using a single set of primers for each individual virus but reduced labour and reagent costs. As latency is a well recognised phenomenon in the equine herpes viruses and the horse is subjected to a number of stresses which might induce reactivation of latent infections, it was hypothesised that there would be a background level of replication of the equine herpes viruses in clinically normal horses. Nasal swabs and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) were obtained from 282 clinical normal horses and examined for EHV. The results clearly demonstrated the widespread occurrence of EHV in the clinically healthy horses. The rate of detection of different types of EHV varied, as did the prevalence in young and adult horses. The most common EHV detected was EHV5: in 83.2% of 131 of horses <2 years of age; in 40% of horses >2 years of age. A prospective clinical study was conducted whereby respiratory tract samples and PBL from adult horses with respiratory disease and/or poor performance were examined for equine herpes viruses; the aim was to determine a possible association between equine herpes virus infection and respiratory disease and/or poor performance. The relative incidence of factors identified in the history, signalment, physical and laboratory evaluation of horses in the study population was compared between horses from which EHV was identified in respiratory samples and horses negative for equine herpes virus. The results indicated that equine herpes viruses were important causes of respiratory disease in the study population, and that haematological and cytological data were a poor indicator of such equine herpes virus infection. The occurrence of equine herpes virus in nasal swabs and PBL of weaned or unweaned foals from Thoroughbred breeding establishments was determined and provided data on the occurrence of EHV in association with respiratory disease. EHV5 was detected in nasal swabs and/or PBL at a high prevalence rate in healthy foals and yearling horses but its occurrence was not associated with clinical signs of respiratory disease. In contrast, EHV2 was detected more commonly in nasal swabs and/or PBL from foals with respiratory disease than in similar samples from healthy horses. Experimental infection of 8 horses with EHV2 was attempted and induced clinical signs of respiratory disease, but less severe than observed in the epidemiological studies. The results suggested that EHV2 is associated with mild upper respiratory tract infection in young horses.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
After the turmoil of the 1890s shearing contractors eliminated some of the frustration from shearers recruitment. At the same time closer settlement concentrated more sheep in small flocks in farming regions, replacing the huge leasehold pastoral empires which were at the cutting edge of wool expansion in the nineteenth century. Meanwhile the AWU succeeded in getting an award for the pastoral industry under the new arbitration legislation in 1907. Cultural and administrative influences, therefore, eased some of the bitter enmity which had made the annual shearing so unstable. Not all was plain sailing. A pattern of militancy re-emerged during World War I. Shearing shed unrest persisted throughout the interwar period and during World War II. In the 1930s a rival union with communist connections, the PWIU, was a major disruptive influence. Militancy was a factor in a major shearing strike in 1956, when the boom conditions of the early-1950s were beginning to fade. The economic system did not have satisfactory mechanisms to cope. Unionised shearers continued to be locked in a psyche of confrontation as wool profits eroded further in the 1970s. This ultimately led to the wide comb dispute, which occurred as wider pressures changed an economic order which had not been seriously challenged since Federation, and which the AWU had been instrumental in shaping. Shearing was always identified with bushworker ‘mateship’, but its larrikinism and irreverence to authority also fostered individualism, and an aggressive ‘moneymaking’ competitive culture. Early in the century, when old blade shearers resented the aggressive pursuit of tallies by fast men engaged by shearing contractors, tensions boiled over. While militants in the 1930s steered money-makers into collectivist versions of mateship, in the farming regions the culture of self-improvement drew others towards the shearing competitions taking root around agricultural show days. Others formed their own contracting firms and had no interest in confrontation with graziers. Late in the century New Zealanders arrived with combs an inch wider than those that had been standard for 70 years. It was the catalyst for the assertion of meritocracy over democracy, which had ruled since Federation.

Thesis (B. Sc.(Hons))--National Centre for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, University of Adelaide, 1991.
"National grid reference 1:250 000 - Parachilna SH54-13." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-47).

Organizations are experiencing problems with the control of information in computer-based information systems. Records management is a system that consists of a number of elements to control recorded information over its life cycle. Previous studies have ranked various records management activities. However, these studies were not conducted in Australia, were not specifically related to computerbased information systems, and were based on the frequency with which records management tasks, or duties and responsibilities were being performed by records management personnel rather than the perceived importance of records management elements for overcoming problems. This study is conducted in Australia on the role of records management within the context of computer-based information systems. It has two purposes: to determine whether there is an appreciable difference in the perceived importance of the various records management elements for overcoming excessive quantity, poor quality and storage media problems in computer-based information systems by RMAA individual members; and to determine whether regardless of professional involvement and level of education of RMAA individual members, there is no statistically significant difference in the perceived importance of the various records management elements in computer-based information systems for overcoming these three problems. To carry out the research a questionnaire was devised and distributed to individual members of the Records Management Association of Australia. The survey obtained a usable response rate of 53.1 percent from a population of 399 individual members of the Association. The study indicated that there is a difference in the perceived importance of the various records management elements for overcoming excessive quantity, poor quality and storage media problems in computer-based information systems. There was evidence to suggest that respondents frequently involved in professional activities are more likely to consider certain records management elements more important than respondents not frequently involved in these activities. The study also found that level of education is associated with the selection of certain records management elements. In particular, those respondents with no tertiary qualifications are more likely to consider the records management elements mail management and a records retention and disposition schedule important than respondents with tertiary qualifications.

This thesis examines the career of Arthur Baldwinson (1908-1969), a Sydney-based modernist architect. It argues that Baldwinson was a central figure in the development of a modernist domestic architecture in Australia from the late 1930s until the late 1950s through his practice as well as his activist role in the development of the Australian design reform and arts organisations: the Modern Architecture Research Group (MARS); the Designers for Industry Association of Australia (DIAA); and the Contemporary Art Society (CAS). It is further argued that Baldwinson designed and built two of Sydney's first authentically modernist houses before the 1939-45 War and that his subsequent development and refinement of a regional methodology for modernism in Sydney's domestic architecture is at the centre of the later regionalist styles of the late 1950s and early 1960s currently described as the

This thesis set out to ascertain the position of recent Australian Governments on the latest instalments of Asian regionalism in the context of an assessment of whether there has been a redefinition of Asia and thus a redefinition of Australia???s engagement with Asia. It will concentrate on the broad themes of politico-strategic and economic engagement. Whilst there has been extensive research and documentation on the Asian economic crisis there has been less work on the issue of a new Asian regionalism and the implications for Australia???s complex and variable engagement with the region. This is the basis for the claim to originality of this thesis, a claim supported by its focus on the practical and policy implications of Australia???s engagement, or lack of it, with regional institutions. The process of regional integration has been extremely slow, thus supporting the conclusion that there is no evidence of a major redefinition of Asia. Efforts at Asian regionalism are meeting obstacles that pose immense challenges. Asian regionalism remains nascent and poorly defined. This reflects the diversity and enormous disparities in cultures, political systems and the levels of economic development and differences over economic philosophies within East Asia. What is discernible is that the regionalism is proceeding more rapidly on financial issues than on trade, and in the security area it is conspicuously absent. This research highlights the fact that the question of Asian engagement remains a sensitive issue in Australia and continues to grow more complex. Australia???s engagement with Asia since 1996 has been variable because of the Howard Government???s broader balance of priorities between global and regional issues, and because of the changing nature of the Asian region. The perception gleaned from sources is that, for the Australian Government, regionalism initiatives are characterised by much discussion but lack substance. Consequently, this appears to have led the Government to the position that exclusion from some manifestations of regionalism is not so important. Australia is excluded from some of the regional architectures being constructed. In its efforts to seek inclusion in ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, Australia is facing the same barriers that have stood in the way of an AFTA-CER agreement. Exclusion would be important if the performance of regional groupings was not so indifferent. Exclusion from ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, however, does not equate to Australia???s exclusion from the region.

It is generally assumed that increased map precision (ie map unit homogeneity) and map purity (map unit accuracy) should result from increasing the scale of mapping of the soil resource, since it should enable a more intricate breakdown of the landscape into landform facet based units. This study compared the predictive success of a 1:1 OK scale soil association map with the 1:25K and 1:1OOK scale soil landscape maps within the Birrigai area of the Paddy's river catchment, south west of Canberra, A.C.T. The 1:25K and the 1:100K scale soil landscape maps were also evaluated in a second larger evaluation area in the Paddy's river catchment which allowed more of the larger soil landscape map units to be evaluated. The 1:25K scale soil map was produced by another author for the A.C.T Government, and was surveyed at a substantially lower survey intensity than that for the 1:100K and 1:10K scale soil maps (ie only 0.05 observation sites / cm2 of published map). These maps were evaluated using a set of randomly located independent evaluation sites in each evaluation area, and from these calculating and comparing standard Marsman & de Gruijter(1986) measures of Map Purity. The strength of soil-landscape relationships within this catchment were determined from a Fixed One Way Analysis of Variance, and from more simplistic graphical comparisons of the means and standard deviations of the discrete soil data within these landform based map units. Soil-landscape relationships for the Nominal scale soil data (ie class type data) were evaluated by comparing the Marsman & de Gruijter(1986) Homogeneity index ratings among the soil map units. Intensive survey traverses were also carried out in selected soil landscapes to further evaluate the strength of soil landscapes present. The results revealed obvious improvements in map quality associated with increasing map scale from 1:100,000 to 1:10,000, and these included increases in the predictive success (Map Purity), reductions in the extent of map unit impurities, and planning advantages associated with having individual land facets delineated on the 1:10,000 scale map. The respectable purity ratings achieved by the 1:100,000 scale soil landscape map (ie average purity rating of 63%) was largely attributed to the flexibility of the "soil material" approach to soil landscape mapping. The relatively poor performance of the 1:25K consultancy soil landscape map demonstrated the fact that; any benefit gained from the improved intricacy in the representation of map unit delineation's with increased mapping scale, will be drastically reduced if it is not matched by an associated increase in the intensity of field investigations. Evaluations of the soil-landscape relationships found that the land facets of the Paddy's river catchment generally failed to delineate areas that were both uniform and unique in respect of their soil properties. Soil-landscape relationships were instead found to be quite complex, applying to only certain land facets, and in regards to only certain soil properties. Soil maps with units based on landsurface features were recommended on the basis of the importance of other landscape factors other than soils to land capability ratings, as well as on the useability of such maps. This study recommended the adoption of a " >2 detailed soil profile observations / land facet in each map unit " mapping standard to ensure a reasonable estimate of the variability and modal soil conditions present, as well as a reliable confirmation of the perceived soil-landscape relationships. The error usually associated with small scale mapping was effectively reduced by rapid ground truthing, involving driving along the major roads dissecting the map area and making brief observations of soil exposures on road batters, despite the bias of the road network making such mapping improvements uneven across the map. The major point to come from this study was the re-emphasising of the point that soil spatial variability has to be accepted as a "real landscape attribute" which needs to be accurately described and communicated to land users, and must not be considered as some sort of soil mapping failure. The fact that individual facets of the landscape rarely coincide with unique pockets of uniform and unique soils and soil properties must be considered simply an on the ground reality of nature, and not some mapping failure. It was thought that since other landscape factors (eg hillslope gradient) most often dominate the determination of land use suitability and capability, it is better to effectively describe the range and modal state of the soil conditions within such facets, then to attempt to extrapolate possible soil boundaries using geostatistical techniques which cut across such land facets, and may or may not correlate with real groupings of soil properties, depending on the spatial resolution of the soil variability distribution in the landscape. Even so the results of this investigation do put the validity of the physiographic terrain class mapping model as a predictor of soil traits under question, at least for the more complex landscape settings.

This thesis examines the history of Commonwealth Government higher education policy in Australia between 1958 and 1997 and its impact on the development of two groups of academic librarians: the Association of Librarians in Colleges in Advanced Education (ALCAE) and the Committee of Australian University Librarians (CAUL). Although university librarians had met occasionally since the late 1920s, it was only in 1965 that a more formal organisation, known as CAUL, was established to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information. ALCAE was set up in 1969 and played an important role helping develop a special concept of library service peculiar to the newly formed College of Advanced Education (CAE) sector. As well as examining the impact of Commonwealth Government higher education policy on ALCAE and CAUL, the thesis also explores the influence of other factors on these two groups, including the range of personalities that comprised them, and their relationship with their parent institutions and with other professional groups and organisations. The study focuses on how higher education policy and these other external and internal factors shaped the functions, aspirations, and internal dynamics of these two groups and how this resulted in each group evolving differently. The author argues that, because of the greater attention given to the special educational role of libraries in the CAE curriculum, the group of college librarians had the opportunity to participate in, and have some influence on, Commonwealth Government statutory bodies responsible for the coordination of policy and the distribution of funding for the CAE sector. The link between ALCAE and formal policy-making processes resulted in a more dynamic group than CAUL, with the university librarians being discouraged by their Vice-Chancellors from having contact with university funding bodies because of the desire of the universities to maintain a greater level of control over their affairs and resist interference from government. The circumstances of each group underwent a reversal over time as ALCAE's effectiveness began to diminish as a result of changes to the CAE sector and as member interest was transferred to other groups and organisations. Conversely, CAUL gradually became a more active group during the 1980s and early 1990s as a result of changes to higher education, the efforts of some university librarians, and changes in membership. This study is based principally on primary source material, with the story of ALCAE and CAUL being told through the use of a combination of original documentation (including minutes of meetings and correspondence) and interviews with members of each group and other key figures.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

This study investigates early life stages of the southern sea garfish (Hyporhamphus melanochir) and their association with seagrass in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia. The overall aims were to identify and describe the early life stages of H. melanochir and to explore the possible relationship(s) between these life stages and seagrass habitat with the emphasis on seagrass as a requirement for spawning or as a food source. The reproductive biology of female H. melanochir from the commercial fishery was assessed by microscopic examination of ovaries, oocyte size distributions, gonadosomatic indices, and macroscopic ovarian stages. Five stages of oocyte development were identified and described: perinucleolar, yolk vesicle, yolk globule, migratory nucleus and hydrated. A coherence between histological and whole oocyte descriptions is demonstrated. Hyporhamphus melanochir are characterised as multiple spawners with group-synchronous oocyte development and indeterminate fecundity. A protracted spawning season from October to March was indicated by the occurrence of ripe ovaries and increases in gonadosomatic index. Females reach sexual maturity at 193 mm standard length, and batch fecundity ranged from 201-3044 oocytes depending on fish size. Spawning shoals are segregated by sex, as indicated by commercial samples, with a biased female-to-male ratio of 4.5:1 during the spawning season (1.2:1 during the non-spawning season). In addition, features of the oocyte surface were closely examined, which revealed that the filaments on the chorion of the hydrated oocyte are adhesive. These adhesive filaments presumably allow the fertilised egg to become attached to vegetative substrate by adhesion and/or entanglement. H. melanochir larvae were discriminated from another hemiramphid species, river garfish (H. regularis), which is also known to occur in the study area, based on species-specific amplification of part of the mitochondrial control region using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The species were easily discerned by the number and distinct sizes of PCR products [H. melanochir, 443 bp; river garfish (H. regularis), 462 and 264 bp]. Although based on a single gene, this molecular method will correctly identify the species of individuals in at least 96% and 94% of tests for H. melanochir and H. regularis, respectively. Subsequent to verifying the identification of species by molecular discrimination, the larval development of H. melanochir and H. regularis were described. Larvae of H. melanochir and H. regularis had completed notochord flexion at hatching and are characterized by their elongate body with distinct rows of melanophores along the dorsal, lateral and ventral surfaces; small to moderate head; heavily pigmented, long straight gut; persistent preanal finfold; and extended lower jaw. Fin formation occurs in the sequence: caudal, dorsal and anal (almost simultaneously), pectoral, pelvic. Despite the similarities between both species and among hemiramphid larvae in general, H. melanochir larvae are distinguishable from H. regularis by: having 58-61 vertebrae (v. 51-54 for H. regularis); having 12-15 melanophore pairs in longitudinal rows along the dorsal margin between the head and origin of the dorsal fin (v. 19-22 for H. regularis); and the absence of a large ventral pigment blotch anteriorly on the gut and isthmus (present in H. regularis). A logistic regression analysis of body measurements also revealed interspecies differences in the combined measurements of eye diameter and pre-anal fin length. Both species can be distinguished from morphologically similar larvae found in southern Australia (other hemiramphids and a scomberosocid) by differences in meristic counts and pigmentation. Hyporhamphus melanochir larvae were successfully collected throughout Gulf St Vincent using a neuston net; however, attempts to sample eggs were unsuccessful. Abundances of larvae in the gulf averaged 4.8 and 12.3 larvae 1000⁻ ² of surface water in December 1998 and December 2000, respectively. Larvae exhibit fast growth, as indicated by otolith growth increments, with backcalculated spawning dates falling within the October-March spawning season. Spatial analysis of larval distributions revealed a positive spatial autocorrelation, i.e. non-randomness or clustering of similar abundance values. Most larvae were found in the upper region of the gulf, and the prevalence of seagrass habitat throughout this region supports the view that the demersal eggs of H. melanochir become attached to seagrass and/or algae following spawning. A gyre in waters of the upper gulf, influenced by prevailing southerly winds, the Coriolis effect, and land boundaries, may explain retention of larvae. The importance of seagrass beds to H. melanochir spawning is also supported by anecdotal evidence and available literature on eggs of other Beloniformes, which are also demersal and attach to marine plants. Dual stable isotope analysis (δ¹³ and δ¹⁵N) of larval, juvenile and adult H. melanochir and several potential food sources from the Bay of Shoals was carried out to estimate the importance of zosteracean seagrass towards the assimilated diet of H. melanochir. Although the diet of H. melanochir larvae is probably planktonivorous, their isotopic signatures partly reflect the parental diet due to the influence of pre–existing tissue in addition to growth. According to mixing model calculations, the signatures of juveniles can be explained by a diet consisting of 23–37% Zostera, 0–10% Halophila and the remainder zooplankton, whilst the diet of adults consists of 53–58% Zostera and the remainder zooplankton. These findings indicate an increasing dependence upon Zostera with growth of H. melanochir. The results of this study enhance the completeness of our understanding of the fisheries biology and ecology of H. melanochir. Significant contributions are provided in reproductive biology and larval biology, seagrass beds (in combination with mixed algae) are demonstrated to be an important habitat for spawning, and Zostera seagrass is shown to be a necessary food source in the diet of juveniles and adults.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2005.

Attempts were made to grow Fergusobia nematodes in a dual aseptic culture with Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Callus tissue was grown from E. camaldulensis stem pieces in aseptic conditions. Calli were prone to deterioration after 14 days unless transferred to fresh growth medium. Lower levels of solutes (25% Murashige and Skoog salts, 25% plant vitamins and 0.5% sucrose) were more successful than published concentrations. Fergusobia J2 nematodes were surface sterilised with either Hibitane or washed with water to prepare them for inoculation of callus (Hay, 1994). Fergusobia subsequently recovered from plates of callus were all dead, which raised questions of how the nematodes are suited to Murashige and Skoog salt solutions. The survival of Fergusobia in aqueous solutions was then observed. It has been assumed that Fergusobia live about 2 days after dissection. Amphimictic nematodes from E. camaldulensis axial bud galls were used for a survival study. Nematodes lived for as long as 12 days in fresh tap water and 11 days in 1% M.S. solution. They were more active in tap water than in 1% M.S. solution. Nematodes in a dish together with dissected gall material died within 2 days. Nematodes in a separate dish with fresh tap water and clean gall fibres were observed to gather around the fibres. Observations of Fergusobia could be made within fresh solutions providing deteriorating gall tissues were removed from the dish. Gall production was attempted on E. camaldulensis grown in the glasshouse. These tree saplings were pruned to encourage new growth and periodically treated for infestations of scale insects leading to growth of sooty mould. Two forms of cage construction were used: (1) 1 m ³ screened cages and (2) acetate sleeves as used by Goolsby et al., 2000. Within the 1 m ³ cages containing flies, the growing points on saplings were blackened, possibly due to over-exploitation by ovipositing flies. One growing point caged in an acetate sleeve showed oviposition scars but did not produce a mature gall. Production of galls in the glasshouse was hindered by a lack in coincidence of flies emerging from mature galls and the flush of new growth following pruning. The production of galls within the glasshouse was not achieved. The phenology of E. camaldulensis, a host for the Fergusonina/Fergusobia mutualism, and gall ecology were observed in a two-year, non-destructive, field study in the Urrbrae Wetlands, Adelaide, South Australia. Tree growth and gall development was observed in the lower regions (0 – 2 m) of young trees. Three bud forms, terminal leaf bud, axial leaf bud and flower bud galls were monitored on the trees. The densities of galls were highly seasonal. Greatest density of growing points, axial leaf bud and flower bud galls occurred mostly during mid-winter to spring, whereas that of terminal leaf bud galls occurred during mid-spring to summer. Galling of flower buds did not appear to influence flowering and more flower buds and flowers occurred in the second year of the study as the trees matured. Trees mostly had medium (30-70%) levels of leaf damage, but there were seasonal trends in damage levels. Low scores for leaf damage were associated with increases in flower bud and flower production. Leaf damage, including sooty mould, appeared to increase during the cooler winter months. There were no significant seasonal relationships between levels of leaf damage and either growing point density or the occurrence of galls. When trees were compared with each other, those with lower leaf damage were more likely to have more growing points. The appearance of the canopy and the likelihood of a tree to have galls varied greatly between the trees. One tree was particularly susceptible to leaf attack, rarely had new leaves and produced no mature galls during the study. The colouring of leaves varied between trees, which indicates possible genetic variations causing some trees to be more likely hosts for Fergusonina/Fergusobia. Both new vegetative growth and terminal leaf bud galls were concentrated on the northern and eastern quadrants. Axial leaf bud and flower bud galls occurred more on the western or southern quadrants where they were possibly more protected from sun exposure on the northern or eastern quadrants. Axial galls on the northern side of one tree became reddened while those in the southern and western quadrants remained green. Reddening of axial galls may increase their likelihood of parasitism and predation by birds. Each of the three gall forms occurred within certain positions in the canopy. The tree host resource is partitioned effectively, with the three gall forms occurring on three different host structures. Additionally, the two vegetative forms terminal leaf bud and axial leaf bud galls occur on different shoot regions and in different seasons. The numbers of the galls is probably also affected by biotic and climatic influences. Parasitism, plant canopy shading, nutrient levels and host genetics are possible influences. Assuming an interval of 4 weeks between oviposition and first observation within the current study, terminal leaf bud galls had an average longevity of 11 weeks and axial leaf bud galls an average longevity of 14 weeks. Flower bud galls had longevities of 14 to 27 weeks from oviposition to senescence, assuming an interval of 6 weeks between oviposition and first observation within the current study. Flowers and flower buds occur irregularly within the eucalypts so it would be advantageous for flies and nematodes developing within flower bud galls to have extended or variable longevities to allow fly emergences to coincide with new flower buds. Not all of the galls recorded matured to produce adult flies. Nearly half of the terminal leaf bud galls initiated were aborted, recorded as absent, parasitised or eaten (45% of initiated galls). Of the three gall forms, they were the most prone to obvious parasitism and as many as 12 hymenopteran species have been reared from terminal leaf bud galls on E. camaldulensis (Taylor et al., 1996). These galls obviously provide a resource for many species within multiple trophic levels. Fourteen percent of axial leaf bud galls were absent or eaten and birds were seen breaking off and feeding on the galls. More than half (55%) of the initiated flower bud galls disappeared during the period of observation, possibly due to the foraging of birds. Destructive sampling and rearing out of parasitoids from both axial leaf bud and flower bud gall forms is needed to establish what species exist within them. Terminal leaf bud galls ranged from 7.5 to 30.1 mm in diameter and 10.0 to 43.6 mm in length. Flower bud gall size varied, with the largest being 15.0 mm by 22.3 mm. Axial leaf bud galls, ranged from 2.6 to 13.0 mm in diameter and length ranged from 2.3 to 10.5 mm. The larger axial leaf bud galls were nodular and appeared to have multiple locules. Destructive sampling and rearing out of flies is needed to establish the relationship between size and numbers of flies emerging. Terminal leaf bud galls increased in size, including many locules and exit holes per gall. Axial leaf bud galls were much smaller than the terminal leaf bud galls and 99% had only one to three exit holes. The rounded shape and presence of few locules within the axial leaf bud galls indicate that this form is limited to a shape and size producing few flies. The observation of greater size of terminal leaf bud galls suggests that these galls may have multiple foundresses. Twelve of the 13 flower bud galls with exit holes had either one or two holes. In flower bud galls on E. camaldulensis. the operculum remains sealed and the characteristic Fergusonina “window” appears at the side of the flower bud before fly emergence through a single hole. Destructive sampling is also necessary to determine parasitism of each of the gall forms.
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Thesis (M.Sc.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 2008

This is an historical investigation into the provision of education services for deaf children in the State of New South Wales in Australia since 1860. The main focus is those deaf children without additional disabilities who have been placed in mainstream classes, special classes for the deaf and special schools for the deaf. The study places this group at centre stage in order to better understand their educational situation in the late 1990s. The thesis has taken a chronological and thematic approach. The chapters are defined by significant events that impacted on the education of the deaf, such as the establishment of special schools in New South Wales, the rise of the oral movement, and aftermath of the rubella epidemic in Australia during the 1940s. Within each chapter, there is a core of key elements around which the analysis is based. These key elements tend to be based on institutions, players, and specific educational features, such as the mode of instruction or the curriculum. The study found general agreement that language acquisition was a fundamental prerequisite to academic achievement. Yet the available evidence suggests that educational programs for most deaf children in New South Wales have seldom focused on ensuring adequate language acquisition in conjunction with the introduction of academic subjects. As a result, language and literacy competencies of deaf students in general have frequently been acknowledged as being below those of five their hearing counterparts, to the point of presenting a barrier to successful post-secondary study. It is proposed that the reasons for the academic failings of the deaf are inherent in five themes.
PhD Doctorate