Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'University of Tasmania'

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.

This thesis is an exploration of ancestral narratives in the fiction of Thomas Keneally and Christopher Koch. Initially, ancestry in literature creates an historical relationship which articulates the link between the past and the present. In this sense ancestry functions as a type of cultural memory where various issues of inheritance can be negotiated. However, the real value of ancestral narratives lies in their power to aid in the construction of both personal and communal identities. They have the potential to transform these identities, to transgress “natural” boundaries and to reshape conventional identities in the light of historical experience. For Keneally, ancestral narratives depict national forbears who “narrate the nation” into being. His earlier fictions present ancestors of the nation within a mythic and symbolic framework to outline Australian national identity. This identity is static, oppositional, and characterized by the delineation of boundaries which set nations apart from one another. However, Keneally’s more recent work transforms this conventional construction of national identity. It depicts an Irish-Australian diasporic identity which is hyphenated and transgressive: it transcends the conventional notion of nations as separate entities pitted against one another. In this way Keneally’s ancestral narratives enact the potential for transforming identity through ancestral narrative. On the other hand, Koch’s work is primarily concerned with the intergenerational trauma causes by losing or forgetting one’s ancestral narrative. His novels are concerned with male gender identity and the fragmentation which characterizes a self-destructive idea of maleness. While Keneally’s characters recover their lost ancestries in an effort to reshape their idea of what it is to be Australian, Koch’s main protagonist lives in ignorance of his ancestor’s life. He is thus unable to take the opportunity to transform his masculinity due to the pervasive cultural amnesia surrounding his family history and its role in Tasmania’s past. While Keneally and Koch depict different outcomes in their fictional ancestral narratives they are both deeply concerned with the potential to transform national and gender identities through ancestry.

The thesis consists of two volumes. Volume I comprises work in various areas of mathematical analysis, especially abstract harmonic analysis, differential equations and moment problems. Volume II comprises work primarily in harmonic analysis, especially work on the Fourier transform, invariant linear forms, and associated phenomena. The ideas in this work have had a long period of gestation, although the fuller development and expression of them has occurred over a relatively short and intense period. The dominant ideas emerged in an endeavour to answer the following question: if f is a function in L2(IRn), how can the behaviour of its Fourier transform near the origin of IRn be described and characterized? The corresponding question for the circle group had been given a satisfactory answer by Gary Meisters and Wolfgang Schmidt in 1972, so the work also can be regarded as arising from an attempt to extend their result from the compact case of the circle group to the non-compact case of IRn. The answers presented to these and related questions have implications for other areas of analysis; the notable ones being the ranges of partial differential operators, and the behaviour of some of the singular integral operators of classical analysis.

Contained within this volume are Papers One and Two. Both use as a central structure a quotation from Roland Barthes' book Camera Lucida - Reflections on Photography. The portrait-photograph is a closed field of forces. Four image repertoires intersect here, oppose and distort each other. In front of the lens, I am at the same time: the one I think I am the one I want others to think I am the one the photographer thinks I am and the one he makes use of to exhibit his art.' What the quotation really identifies, is the nature and the deduction of human behaviour that is a determining factor in any portrait process, whether it is photographic, painted or filmic. Paper One, therefore establishes the process where, as a witness to someone's behaviour, we arrive at a deduction that assesses who and what they are - their personality. By appropriating Barthes' quotation, four major areas are investigated: 1) the 'self' we think we are 2) the 'self' we present to others 3) the 'self' interpreted by others (society) 4) the 'self' that is physiognomically determined. By expanding the concerns of Paper One, the second paper examines photographic portraiture and those artists who continue to believe they can reveal the soul - the personality of the sitter. On applying for the Master of Fine Arts Degree, my photographic work had concentrated on those people who suffered from either physical, mental or social handicaps. Of particular importance was a continuing study of degree work with the Royal Derwent Mental Hospital. However, the Higher Degrees Committee was not prepared to support this proposal for reasons of the legal liability it felt might come, as a result of this investigation. Therefore, I sought to re-evaluate the MFA Proposal that would investigate the more general principles of photographic portraiture. Throughout the MFA Degree, considerable time has been devoted to the technical refinement of my photographic practice. This was of considerable importance in the first year of the course, that lead to a greater familiarisation with the zone system, extensive correspondence with Kodak and Ilford and learning something of the techniques of hand colouring. Studio work, about which I knew nothing, was investigated late in this year and became the predominant way of working for the remainder of the course. Whilst a number of subject areas were investigated in this first year ranging from panorama portraits of single women, to the portraits of those who live in the country town of Tunbridge; it was in November of that year that l approached the Church of England. I approached the clergy in an effort to investigate the strategies of show, where there exists an explicit dualism of roles - the man who is at the same time within the institution of the church and the individual outside the church. The concept of the split personality supported by appropriate props is immensely intriguing and at the same time socially poignant, as it begins to question the nature of perception and the strategies of surface. An additional concern of the work was the continuing investigation of photographic portraiture as the photograph becomes a further diversive element in the strategy of surface. Roland Barthes in Camera Lucida identifies it in this way. In front of the camera as subject: I am at the same time the one I think I am, the one I want others to think I am, the one the photographers think I am and the one he, the photographer makes use of as his art. With these thoughts in mind and having gone to considerable effort to organize the clergy who were in support of this project, I was offered a commission for the Legal Practices Building, Hunter Street. I saw there were a number of explicit similarities between the Church and the law fraternity. Both speak of power, wealth or implied wealth, both are institutions that are predominantly conservative in their views and on a more fundamental level, are predominantly concerned with the strategies of the facade - that range from buildings, to ceremonies and the archaic traditions of costume. I therefore appropriated the concerns I had for the clergy for this new opportunity.

This study identifies the education industry's role as a prominent attractor within the tourism system model (TSM) by examining a university's role in bringing visitors to the state through a variety of activities. This study is based on the assumption that these visitors are engaged in tourism activities and also create additional value in VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) segment.

Many international declarations affirm the vital role of universities in moving societies toward more sustainable futures. Part of a wider agenda of ‘education for sustainability’ (EfS), universities are tasked with embodying sustainability in their teaching, research, social leadership and operations. Within Australia, universities are now allocating significant resources to define, implement and measure their contributions to sustainability, and are developing associated policies, strategies, plans and activities. To date, little research has examined the assumptions and possibilities that surround this institutional reform, given the heterogeneous nature of the university. In this context, this study addresses the research question: In what diverse ways is sustainability brought into being at the university? I begin with a theoretical analysis of the contested discourse and practice of sustainability in the context of universities. A qualitative social research design involving two case studies at the University of Tasmania is then described before findings are presented and discussed. The methodology is constructivist and based on a dialectical approach to understanding. The study is not intended to uncover any universal truth about what sustainability is or ought to be. Rather, the focus is on how different material and social contexts influence how sustainability is made within the university, an institution central to the history of modernity. First, the emerging university discourse about sustainability is introduced. Second, research on the efforts of Australian universities to enact and embody sustainability is reviewed. Third, a theoretical analysis positions dominant discourses and practices of sustainability in the context of a modernist project that aligns visions of human progress with economic growth and technological efficiency. I then present a thematic analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews drawn from two case studies of the practice of sustainability at the University of Tasmania: the Bike Hub and Source Community Wholefoods (Source). Three central practices and associated themes of sustainability were identified for both case studies. For the Bike Hub, these practices centre on creating a symbol of healthy living, legitimacy within the university, and real-life learning for sustainability. For Source, these practices centre on creating a community co-operative, a countercultural organisation, and a place of experiential learning. These two cases embody divergent understandings of EfS. The Bike Hub is primarily an expression of the modernist project of sustainability linked to the identification of universal solutions to global problems that secure human prosperity. Source is primarily an expression of a radical politics linked to projects of participatory democracy, economic localisation, non-capitalist exchange and voluntary simplicity. The juxtaposition of the two cases studied opens-up wider dynamics, choices, challenges and ambiguities in efforts to realise sustainability within the university. The study’s findings reveal the university as a microcosm of the overall contest between modernist sources of social power and plural sites of resistance in the practice of sustainability. This contest juxtaposes the dualistic constitution of sustainability as an objective, finished truth, with efforts to constitute sustainability as a contextual, contingent good that is made through lived relationships of concern. The study concludes that Australian universities can aid transformation for sustainability by enabling administrators, academics, students, professions and wider society to become critical enquirers into the manifold and contestable processes and embodied practice through which sustainability is brought into being.

The aim of this study was to see whether international students felt safe to live in Hobart, Tasmania. The hypothesis of this study was that some of the international students have obtained a bad impression about their safety and security while they live in Hobart, Tasmania. In order to research this, the study used a survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire allowed international students to make any comments or give any impressions about their safety and security. The survey questionnaire has been put up on the Survey Monkey website. It does not identify who answered the survey questions. The survey questionnaire was divided into four parts. The four parts of this study were general information, personal safety and security issues, perceptions of safety, and making things safer. The purpose of the survey questionnaire was given broad ideas about how safe the international students. This dissertation provides a review on background literature about the problem and reports the research on the survey. This showed that international students in Hobart are concerned about the issue. The last chapter makes some recommendations.

Contains essays and documentation of work towards the MFA degree of the University of Tasmania, 1989. The career of South Australian artist Walter Grosser is discussed. His production of stereoscopic photographs is placed in the context of the history of this medium. Scientific investigation of stereoscopic vision up to the present time is summarised, and reasons are sought for the virtual exclusion of the medium from the art world. Although the Arabs may have recognised the importance of binocular vision a thousand years ago, stereopsis was ignored by Western philosophers until Wheatstone's discovery in 1838. Wheatstone's invention of the stereoscope was adapted to photography by Brewster. The device became popular, especially in the United States, where it was developed commercially, importing images, and exporting card-sets and cheap stereoscopes all over the world (including Australia). About 1910, Walter Grosser was struggling to make a living as a commercial photographer in the small South Australian town of Millicent. His commercial work included stereoscopic views but he made also a small opus of unusual and intensely personal work in the medium (illustrated). His photographic production ceased by 1914, probably as a result of wartime anti-German sentiment. After Wheatstone and Brewster, science ignored stereopsis for a century. Research resumed only after the commercial development had virtually ended in the 1930's.. Theories of visual space-perception were based on analogies of camera and range-finder. In 1960 Julesz used computer-generated patterns to show these analogies to be inappropriate. Current theory suggests visual space-perception is achieved by cortical scanning and comparison of the two visual fields. Other 'cue-systems' are usually of secondary importance. The paper ends by suggesting reasons for lack of interest in stereoscopic work such as that of Grosser within the fine arts, and fantasises on connexions yet to be established between stereoscopic photography and holography.

This thesis examines the impacts of new technology on university library administration as reflected in a case study. The institution chosen for the study is the University of Tasmania Library, which has recently adopted a totally integrated automated library system based on the Library's own mini-computer. The opening chapter introduces the topic, and puts forward five propositions. These include propositions about the use of new technology to reinforce the organization's niche within the parent institution; the role of technology in environmental turbulence and uncertainty; the effects of new technology on routineness, standardization, formalization and flexibility; the structural impacts of new technology; and the human and social impacts upon organization members. The chapter continues with a review of relevant literature, and concludes with a description of the methodology employed. Subsequent chapters consider the University Library in the light of each of the propositions. Two chapters are devoted to the background and particular circumstances of the organization - one on its history, nature and technology, and another on its task environment. The nature of the technology employed by the University Library is then examined in more detail in an attempt to classify it. Perrow's scale of routineness is chosen as a suitable classification scheme, and the effects of automation on the level of routineness of the organization's technology are considered. A tendency towards increased routineness, standardization and formalization is observed, but there is little corresponding loss of flexibility. Rather, new opportunities for creativity and flexible services are noted. Structural impacts of the introduction of automated systems are examined. While the formal structure remains virtually unchanged, there are changes occurring in the informal organization. The results of a survey of organization members indicate that the human impacts of automation generally have been minor, although a small group of employees experiencing loss of job satisfaction and deteriorating social relationships is identified. Finally, the impacts observed in the case study are considered in the context of the particular circumstances of the University of Tasmania Library - its history, nature, technology, environment and management, as described in the earlier chapters - and concludes that these are all contributing factors to the nature of the impacts of the introduction of new automated systems in the particular organization.

By examining the Learning-by-Making (LBM) studios at the School of Architecture, University of Tasmania (SA UTas) the educational benefits to students of LBM are identified. LBM studios allow student groups of twenty or more to collaboratively design and build a small timber project. These types of studios have developed as a regular part of the School curriculum since 1994. In doing this study, detailed information was generated on student learning experiences and their perceptions of LBM, as previously only anecdotal evidence from lecturers in LBM and similar studios was available. The Literature Review identifies the origins of LBM studios in architectural education and its contentious relationship with higher education, the background of LBM studios in Tasmania and other similar models in North America (commonly referred to as Design/Build studios) and Australia. A surprising revelation was the absence of research examining this pedagogical model. Consequently, several methods used to evaluate education curricula were reviewed for their suitability. The Illuminative Model (a qualitative research method, using observation, questionnaire and interviews) was selected, as it provided an appropriate strategy to investigate the LBM model. It allowed the scope of the study to be progressively refined in response to new knowledge, as preliminary data was reviewed, informing the development of subsequent stages. The findings indicate that an ‘average’ student participating in a LBM studio, spent half of their time engaged in high-level problem solving and cognitive activities, even though LBM studios require a lot of time to be spent on repetitive motor tasks. At the same time, students’ learning experiences varied and this was a consequence of the teamwork structure and students’ own willingness to experiment with ideas or construction. Despite students’ varying learning experiences, the majority recognised the advantages of integrating design and construction concepts (an underlying principle of LBM studios). This study contributes to the methodological discourse of evaluating architectural education and identifies a number of Schools of Architecture that employ the LBM model, thus presenting further research opportunities. This study has only begun to identify and understand the potential benefits of LBM studios for architecture students. However, importantly, it has established that students’ perceptions of design and architecture alter, as they begin to appreciate the critical role that construction plays in the process of executing their ideas beyond imagining, into a built form.

The Modern City of Western Society is currently confronting many issues that will determine its future form. For those responsible for 'controlling' development patterns these issues are personified by the Sustainable Development Debate. Such debate is formulated upon a concern for the future ability of the earth's environment to handle society's growing pressures on its natural resources - earth, air and water. The process through which the Western City has developed has lead to the establishment of development patterns, and social habits that effectively threaten the maintenance of these systems. This Study is concerned with those development patterns and habits centred around transport patterns, aiming at the establishment of recommendations and strategies to alter current systems and to provide movement alternatives to communities. For the purpose of practical implementation, and more favourable community acceptance, the author choose to consider a specific area with existing traffic problems as a Case Study. Such Case Study was the University of Tasmania's Sandy Bay Campus. The University experiences traffic and parking problems associated with oncampus parking and street formations, and ease of access to the neighbouring suburban area. The Campus provides insufficient parking on site in an inadequate form resulting in an overspill of traffic into residential streets. Traffic and parking in the area visually degrades building forms and streets capes. It physically separates local residents from their neighbours on the opposite side of the street, creating problems with noise and safety. Such concentration of traffic by the University and the Hobart City Council has placed the pedestrian, bicyclist and public transport patron into the 'too hard basket'. Services for these persons are substandard, illegible and often inaccessible. With these concerns in mind, the author discusses the current theory on Traffic Calming - as a total streets cape issue - and Planning for Alternative Forms of Transport. Considerations include: (a) The implementation of street forms that cater for all intended users, the motorist, bicyclist, pedestrian and resident in a practical, safe and visually attractive manner; (b) The advantages and disadvantages, implementation processes and relevance of public transit modes such as heavy rail, light rail and buses; (c) The advantages and disadvantages of non-motorised transport - walking and bicycling, including the necessary considerations in their design. With these considerations in mind, the Study then discusses the problems of the Study Area in detail, including the role of the historical pattern of development in the current problems. These discussions highlight the inadequacies of parking form, street design, public transport legibility, services for the pedestrian and bicyclist, and traffic control. Chapter 5 therefore lists the options available to address these problems, within the umbrella of theory discussed: (a) Consideration is given to the reestablishment of at least one of the sportsgrounds to an alternative area of the title for the purpose of introducing a multi-level carpark, and further residential facilities; (b) An alternative parking policy is recommended allowing equal access to on-campus parking through the payment of a minimal fee; (c) A recommendation is made that pedestrian services both on-campus and off be improved through the use of paving, landscaping, and the introduction of street furniture and directional signage; (d) Consideration is given to the lack of facilities for bicyclists and a recommendation made that services be upgraded through the introduction of segregated and shared footways both on and off campus, providing continuous separation from traffic along major traffic routes. In addition parking facilities are recommended for oncampus accommodation through the provision of a sheltered parking area. (e) An alternative street system is recommended through the introduction of a number of street designs-based upon traffic calming techniques- providing improved visual amenity, reduced formation widths, safer and wider pedestrian facilities, segregated footways for bicycles, and improved safety at intersections (f) Recommendations are made to improve the legibility of the Metropolitan Transport Trust Services and to upgrade the services provided by the intra-campus bus service. Although many of the recommendations made are specific to the site, the strategies implemented will be applicable to any area experiencing traffic problems. Even more so, however, the author hopes that the problems raised and issues discussed within the Study can act as catalyst for the formulation of traffic and movement strategies for implementation in areas not yet confronted with these concerns, this is the real issue for the Sustainable future of Cities.

Recent developments and changes in language education have been described,and their implications explored by many theorists and practitioners with regard to their effects on language syllabuses, materials and assessment. There has been less discussion about how these changes should affect the initial preparation of those who are to teach languages in the schools. Changes discernible at present in language education include more overt support for such education and related changes in its aims and approaches which,by now,are sufficiently well-established to be summed up by the label of the 'communicative approach'. Despite this 'improvement' in the approach to language education, an examination of the student teachers' experiences as language learners during their secondary and tertiary years shows some deficiencies which have to be remedied during the Dip.Ed. year if they are to become competent and informed language teachers. The Dip.Ed. course at the Tasmanian Centre for Education is examined with particular reference to those components which introduce students to the specific areas of knowledge and skill required of language teachers. The Tasmanian course is compared with equivalent courses in other Australian states, in Britain and in the West German state of Bremen. An examination of the ways in which students are assessed suggests that there is a lack of coherence in the course which imposes an unnecessary burden on students in this area. The perennial question of the relationship between theory and practice is addressed, with reference to both language education and teacher education. Both are interlocking parts of one educational process, and several inadequacies of the Dip.Ed. course result from a destructive distinction between the two areas. There is also a failure to conceptualise the Dip.Ed. course as one part of an on-going developmental process which begins when students first become language learners, and which must continue after they have become language teachers. The concluding chapter describes ways in which the Dip.Ed. course could perform its role more effectively.

Parenting education is a core strategy adopted by many parent support services. The research literature is replete with varying degrees of evidence attesting to the effectiveness of a variety of parenting education interventions. Some recent literature questions the veracity of some of these claims and the nature of their supporting evidence. Despite this, professionally led parenting education interventions remain a dominant strategy in parent support services and have been widely disseminated. There is little research exploring the benefits and impact of alternative approaches that are collaborative and peer-led in the Australian context. The absence of research evidence about alternative approaches contributes to the hegemony of the traditional paradigm. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the experiences of parents who were participating in an innovative peer-led parenting intervention, specifically in communities characterised by disadvantage in Tasmania. Often, where situational disadvantage is compounded by inter-generational issues of unemployment and welfare dependency, family relationships are fragile and parenting is under pressure. It is important to consider how parents in such situations can be supported to develop confidence and skill in their parenting. The primary question addressed through this research was ‘What insights do the experiences of parents participating in a peer-led parenting intervention provide for approaches to parenting education and the provision of parent support services?’ In order to capture fine grained data about the issues and concerns of the participants, their interactions within the program and the program processes and impact, a qualitative methodology, informed by ethnographic perspectives was adopted for the research. This allowed the gathering of personal and contextual data that would contribute to addressing the research question. Thematic data analysis was undertaken through highly recursive processes of researcher immersion within the data and triangulation of data sources to verify emerging themes and interpretations. The following three sub questions emerged as important to addressing the overall question through this iterative process of data analysis: What are the experiences of parents participating in a peer-led parenting program? In what ways do the experiences of parents’ participation in a peer-led parenting intervention influence their parenting and their relationships? What insights can the parents’ experiences provide for program designers, policy makers and service providers? More broadly, this research aimed to contribute to an emerging body of knowledge about the changing nature of relationships between parents and professional workers resulting from parent and professionals working together in implementing parenting interventions. Furthermore, this study sought to investigate how the involvement of parents in the delivery of parent support services influence models of service provision.

Background Better understanding of the demographic distribution of epilepsy and the prevalence of 'more specific forms of epilepsy' in community-based settings would improve our understanding of this disorder at the population level . Although we now have good estimates of epilepsy prevalence for most countries, we still lack knowledge on its demographic distribution by age, ethnicity, region, and socioeconomic status. In addition, no studies to date have reported the prevalence of epilepsy syndromes using patient interview outside a hospital setting. This thesis provides the first community-based estimates of the prevalence of the most common clinical group of epilepsies presumed to have a genetic basis - The Idiopathic Generalised Epilepsies (IGE) - by patient and witness interview. Methods This thesis has involved conducting five pieces of new research: (i) a series of reviews and analyses of descriptive data on epilepsy prevalence, particularly focusing on the critical methodological issues of ascertainment, diagnosis and classification of epilepsy for epidemiological purposes; (ii) the validation of a modified diagnostic epilepsy questionnaire adapted for administration in population studies; (iii) recruitment of a community-based cohort - The Tasmanian Epilepsy Register (TER) - through the Australian national prescription database; (iv) estimation of the overall prevalence and distribution of self-reported treated epilepsy in Tasmania by imputation methods; (v) estimation of the prevalence and distribution of IGE in Tasmania by telephone interviewing. Results My modified diagnostic questionnaire, administered by telephone interviewing and interpreted with standardized guidelines, demonstrated excellent agreement with an epilepsy specialist's clinical assessment in diagnosing the presence of epilepsy (K = 0.94), seizure-onset types (K = 0.84), simple or complex partial seizures (K=0. 87), any generalized non-convulsive seizure (K=0.82), and IGE (K = 0.82). A lthough stil l substantial, agreement was not as close for secondarily general ized seizures (K = 0.74), and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (K = 0.79). 7541 patients treated with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in the preceding year in Tasman ia were eligible for recruitment through the Australian national prescription database. After three mail contacts, 54.0% responded, with 43.6% who indicated treatment for epilepsy representing 86.0% of total possible epilepsy cases by imputation (n=2063) in Tasmania. 1180 agreed to participate in the TER, 90.0% of participants received their AEDs either exclusively from their general practitioner (70.9%) or in combination with a medical specialist (19.1%) in the preceding twelve months. The adjusted treated epilepsy prevalence was 4.36 per 1000 (95% CI 4.34, 4.39); this was: lower in women (prevalence ratio 0.92 (95% CI 0.84, 1.00); greater with increasing age (p< 0.001 ); similar in the three main geographical regions; and similar by categories of socioeconomic status based on postcode of residence. Following enrolment, 959/1083 (88.6%) eligible TER participants completed the diagnostic telephone interviewing, with partial epilepsy classified in two thirds, and generalised epilepsy in slightly more than one-fifth. IGE was observed in 20.3%, with tonic-clonic seizures (17.03%) and the absence epilepsies combined (11.01 %) being the most common IGE seizure types and syndromes respectively. The estimated prevalence of IGE was 0.89 per 1000; is highest between the ages of 20-39 years and in females, but was similar between Tasmanian regions and socio-economic groups. IGE prevalence beyond childhood related to refractory childhood or adolescent disease rather than olderonset cases, and was characterised by the presence of myoclonic and tonic-clonic seizures. Generalised seizures, but not IGE, were less prevalent in southern Tasmania. Conclusions Utilising the design approach described in this thesis may provide an alternative to neurological assessment, and when coupled with case ascertainment through prescription data, can provide a valid estimate of the prevalence of 'more specific forms of epilepsy' in countries with high access to health services. The observed pattern of high elderly epilepsy prevalence, is similar to patterns in recent studies in other developed countries, and has important implications for future planning of health services in these countries. IGE represents a considerable proportion of community-treated disease with important aetiological and prognostic determinants occurring at the seizure rather than syndrome level of classification.

This thesis is a self-study of my development as an environmental activist. I trace the generation of my living theory of environmental activism over a period of 37 years, working and researching within the cultural context of a 6th generation Tasmanian. The originality of the thesis lies in both its methodological inventiveness and original contribution to knowledge in explaining the development of an environmental activist through propositional, dialectic and inclusional phases of inquiry and understanding. Methodologically the thesis uses insights from ethnomethodology in a life history narrative that shows the importance of creative responses to both family relationships and scientific enquiry in growing through a dialectical process towards an inclusional self-awareness of oppressive colonising influences. The development of my ‘activist’ approaches and styles are described and analysed in terms of two transitional phases, firstly into a young scientist using detached, propositional methods of inquiry, then into environmental activism, using dialectical methods, prior to my on-going emergence into natural inclusional approaches. The analysis includes categories from traditional learning theories. In an analysis of my values and standards of judgement Living Theory is used to describe, analyse and discuss a series of ‘Living Contradictions’ leading to my unexpected appreciation of ‘Natural Inclusional ways of knowing’. I see Natural Inclusionality as having possible future application in social activism. Natural Inclusional standards of judgement of environmental activism are used as a fluid creation to evaluate the quality of the thesis, including its contribution to living epistemologies and ontologies.

Tasmanian lacewing, Micromus tasmaniae Walker, is an important predator of a number of economically important pests such as aphids. This study was conducted to investigate some aspects of general biology and factors affecting the reproductive fitness of this species Emergence of M. tasmaniae peaked 3 h before light off and there was no significant difference in emergence patterns between males and females. Males became sexually mature earlier than females. Mating success significantly increased from the first to the eleventh hour after lights on. Predation, development and oviposition of M. tasmaniae were affected when reared under different photoperiods [i.e. 24:0, 16:8, 12:12, 0:24 h (light:dark)]. Results indicate that no individuals entered diapause at either an immature or adult stage. M. tasmaniae larvae could feed in both the photophase and scotophase and late instar larvae consumed significantly more aphids than early instar larvae. M. tasmaniae reared at 16:8 h developed faster and had lower mortality, heavier adult body weight and higher reproductive output in terms of fecundity and fertility rate. Therefore, mass-rearing programmes are recommended to be carried out at 16:8 h to obtain the higher quality of individuals and faster increase of populations. The larger-the better theory predicts that the reproductive fitness is positively linearly associated with body size or weight. However, the body weight of female M. tasmaniae had no effect on the reproductive fitness in terms of fecundity, fertility, fertility rate, oviposition period and longevity. The male body weight may contribute to the population growth of M. tasmaniae as the average females that mated with average or heavy males had significantly higher fecundity, fertility and fertility rate and longer reproductive period. These results suggest that development of any control method that should selectively mass-produce heavy and average individuals in the laboratory would help increasing M. tasmaniae quality and populations. M. tasmaniae is a polygamous species. Results indicate that female remating either with the same or different males was crucial for maximizing their reproductive success. Males could inseminate up to eight females and father about one thousand offspring during their life span.

Background: A strong link between education and cognitive performance suggests that a period of education in later-life could reduce age-related cognitive decline (ARCD) and risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The aim of this thesis was to examine the effect of late-life education on cognitive reserve (CR), cognitive functioning; and the potential influence of genetic factors on any relationship. Method: A sample of 459 participants aged 50-79 years (M = 60.24, SD = 6.75) enrolled in the first four years of the THBP, provided salivary samples for genetic analysis and completed comprehensive annual cognitive assessments. Within this sample, an intervention group (n = 359) who undertook a minimum of 12 months part-time university level education were compared with a control reference group (n = 100). Results: Growth Mixture Modelling (GMM) revealed that while 92.5% of the intervention group displayed an increase in CR, only 55.6% of the control group displayed an increase. Further, the intervention group displayed a significant increase in language processing capacity but no significant change in episodic memory, working memory or executive function. There was no influence of genetic factors (APOE ε4 or BDNF Val66Met) on cognitive function over time or on intervention response. Conclusions: Attending university improved CR and triggered a commensurate improvement in crystallised cognitive function (language processing capacity) but not fluid cognitive functions (episodic memory, working memory or executive function). These results indicate that encouraging mental activity in later-life may be a viable means to reduce ARCD and potentially delay the onset of AD.

The research investigated pre-service teachers and in-service teachers' beliefs and understandings of Languages teaching in Tasmanian government primary schools. Pre-service and in-service teachers' understandings of languages teaching were identified and analysed using a range of formal, practice-orientated and experiential measures designed to ascertain pedagogical understandings, the role of Languages in a primary curriculum and the requirements for successful languages teaching. As the thesis is situated within the Tasmanian context, it provided contextual information and recommendations that had the capacity to be translated into the local learning environment. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The main data collection methods were questionnaire and interview. The pre-service participants for this study were first year and third year undergraduate pre-service teachers from the Bachelor of Education program at the University of Tasmania in Launceston. A total of 185 students were invited to participate in the study. The majority of students was from throughout Tasmania and fell within a wide age range, with the majority between the ages of 18 -25. In-service participants were selected from government primary schools from across the state where a Languages program was in place and where the teacher had been teaching Languages for a minimum of four years. Primarily, this research began with the need to find out more about how, where and why Languages fitted into to both in-service and pre-service teachers' beliefs — to find out the extent of their investment in teaching Languages and how this investment was articulated through their beliefs about Languages and notions of teacher knowledge and teacher identity. Several matters of significance have emerged from the study that highlight the central role that knowledge plays in the construction of teacher identity and the significance of belief systems for supporting adaptive and pedagogically responsible teaching practice.

The interconnected nature of the oceans, the small size and passive nature of larvae has resulted in the presumption that marine populations are large and open. However, this paradigm has been challenged in the last few of decades, where genetic studies have found significant structure at very fine-scales (of the order of 10 km). Given that many sedentary marine organisms can only disperse via a larval phase, it is intuitive that the duration of this phase (pelagic larval duration, PLD) should correspond with a species dispersal capacity and hence predict population genetic structure. Furthermore, if PLD predicts dispersal capacity then PLD should correlate with a species distribution. In this thesis, the population genetic structure of three sedentary marine organisms, endemic to the south-east Australia Pacific region, was examined to explore the relationships between dispersal capacity, life-history and geographical distribution. In chapter 2 the influence of an oceanic frontal system, the Subtropical Front (STF), on the genetic structure (mitochondrial region cytochrome c oxidase subunit I), trophic status (stable isotopes δ15N and δ13C) and condition (RNA:DNA, protein:DNA, DNA:dry weight) of the benthic gastropod Fusitriton magellanicus was examined across the Chatham Rise, New Zealand. The front acted as barrier to the transport of material between flanks, such that populations of F. magellanicus from the northern flank were in poorer condition than those from the southern flank. In addition, δ15N signatures were different between flanks, the northern flank being more enriched than the southern flank, indicating that F. magellanicus on the north flank where either starving or occupying a higher trophic level. Despite the STF shaping the trophic ecology of F. magellanicus, no differences in genetic structure were found. This indicates that there is larval exchange between or around the STF and hence larval biology may override environmental factors. To explore if a limited dispersal capacity, in contrast to its PLD (~30 days), was responsible for driving the unusual and abbreviated distribution of the sea urchin Heliocidaris tuberculata, its population genetic structure was characterised in chapter 3. Examination of the genetic structure using three different genetic markers (COI, 16S and 12 microsatellites) across the geographical distribution of the species (New South Wales coast and across the Tasman Sea to Lord Howe, Norfolk and the Kermadec Islands) was made, revealing a complete absence of structure (microsatellites FST = 0.003, COI PhiPT = 0.0021, and 16S PhiPT = 0.029). To elucidate the role of other important environmental factors in shaping genetic patterns, correlations between genetic measures and key environmental variables were explored, but no significant relationships were found. Therefore, H. tuberculata is panmictic across its range and its unusual restricted latitudinal distribution, despite it wide longitudinal distribution, is not explained by a limited dispersal capacity. The population genetics of H. erythrogramma was examined across south-eastern Australia, to explore the influence of historical versus contemporary forces on the structure of a species with a short PLD (3-5 days), in chapter 4. Using two different markers (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and microsatellites), the population genetic structure of H. erythrogramma was examined from New South Wales to South Australia inclusive of Victoria and Tasmania. Analysis of the COI data revealed two strong eastern and southern genetic groups, diverging across a known phylogeographical barrier, the Bassian Isthmus. Within the two genetic groups, the signature of contemporary processes was evident with the direction of migration consistent with the influence of the ocean currents on larval dispersal. A combination of contemporary oceanography, and habitat restrictions appear to maintain these signatures in the present day. Whilst PLD places some restrictions on dispersal capacity, it does not prevent an extensive geographical range and/or high levels of gene flow at extensive spatial scales. In chapter 5, it was postulated that temperature may restrict the southern range limit of H. tuberculata. Examination of the thermal tolerance of the two species revealed that the upper temperature tolerance for both species was the same, however, H. erythrogramma had a lower cold thermal tolerance than H. tuberculata. Furthermore, the temperature tolerances of both species matched sea surface temperatures that their larvae would normally encounter. Hence, an inability to tolerate cold temperatures explains why H. tuberculata has a restricted southern range limit, whereas the wider thermal envelope of H. erythrogramma ensures its distribution around temperate Australia. In summary, the thesis reveals that whilst life history considerations can shape the genetic structure of a species, oceanography and environmental considerations (e.g. temperature) can play a more important role in determining how populations are connected and species range limits.

This thesis is about seeking empowerment through informed reflection. It articulates changes to Maori identity and culture when whanau leave their traditional homelands in Aotearoa and move across the Tasman Sea to live in Australia. The thesis presents a community narrative derived from autoethnographic reflections, short stories and informal conversations I gathered from youth, families and community groups during individual interviews and focus groups. These storylines help to illustrate how whanau have managed to exist as Maori in another country without their tribal system close by to support the traditional and cultural way of life. The thesis also highlights how the research methods used in this study enable culturally competent practices and it endeavors to describe the self-organizing, dynamic and emerging behaviour of our Maori community. In undertaking this research and through writing the thesis I have chosen to follow a particular format. This is not to flaunt convention, but to find a position, my space, a Maori place amidst the conversations and storylines that articulate living in and between two worlds. In doing this I have sought to manage the research and writing process by having recourse to a conceptual design. The work is informed by Kaupapa Maori and Complexity theory. It is autoethnographic in style moving back and forth between an insider’s passionate perspective and an outsider’s impassive one (Van Maanen 1988) all the while I tell stories and engage in conversation about what I/we see and how this can help me/us to know how trans-Tasman migration has influenced a change in the way we practice our Maori ways of being and knowing. As the inquirer, my role is to be the facilitator of the emergent in which bicultural issues, scholarly insights, and the ‘new’ in the ‘old’ narrative unfolds. I then turn to my Tupuna, Matua Tekoteko who now becomes the kaitiaki or caretaker of this work. He holds it within for safekeeping.