Experiments on the properties of liquid mixtures have tended to concentrate on mixtures of globular molecules of approximately equal size or on monomer - polymer mixtures. By contrast there is lack of experimental data for mixtures of large and small globular molecules. It has become more evident that data on these type of systems are essential for testing the various theoretical equations and giving stimulus to new theoretical approaches.

This study represents the first detailed account of the geology of the area mapped and is currently one of the few detailed accounts of the highly deformed and metamorphosed rocks underlaying much of the New England region. Many of the results of this study were derived from lengthy fieldwork, supplemented by petrographic examination of more than 700 thin sections. Approximately 500 of these thin sections were prepared by the author, the remainder being made by the technical staff of the Geology Department of the University of New England. In addition, all drafting of maps and figures and the taking and printing of the plates are the work of the author.

The overall purpose of this study is to investigate the means by which botanical knowledge of the area now known as New South Wales was gained and recorded during the seventy-odd years between the publication of the two classic works of Australian botanical literature--Robert Brown's 'Prodromus', published in 1810, and George Bentham's 'Flora Australiensis' of which the final volume was published in 1878. The course of the investigation is indicated by a series of problems which form the bases of the enquiry made during the subsequent five chapters. These problems demand enquiry into the scientific, political, economic and utilitarian factors which directly or indirectly promoted the botanical investigation of New South Wales during this period; the same problems also involve enquiry into the personalities and personal relationships associated with that investigation.

A study was undertaken to bring the New England grass flora up to date and construct a key to the species present. The nature of the grasslands at the time of early European settlement were investigated in an historical enquiry, and a field survey of grasslands protected from primary production was carried out. Early records of the character of New England grasslands are meagre, but it is evident that the pioneering squatters encountered a relatively open woodland community with 'Themeda australis' among the dominants of the perennial grasslands. In a floristic appraisal of New England Gramineae, an analysis of records in Bentham and Mueller's Flora Australiensis (1878) reveals 60 New England species, about one quarter of the present flora. In 1903, Turner was able to list 92 species in the region, and by 1961 Gray's census tabled 179 grasses for New England. The current flora was amended to 256 grasses, and it was noted that the proportion of exotic species is increasing. Of 66 recent additions to the flora, 44 are introduced species. The key to the flora begins with a generic key based on artificial groupings which is designed for field work with readily distinguished key characters. Brief descriptions of tribes, genera and species are given, as well as notes on distribution and frequency. A subjective assessment of the contribution of major species to New England grasslands is provided and the types of occurrence discussed. The bulk of exotic species are confined to townships, roadsides and wastelands. A point quadrat survey of 'natural' grasslands relatively free from the effects of pastoral management indicated that 'Themeda australis', 'Poa sieberana' and 'Aristida ramosa' are the principal dominants of protected communities. The results conflict markedly with the grassland types characterised in Roe's preliminary survey of native pastures in 1947, and the differences are discussed in relation to the influence of grazing and management practices.

It was established that gluconeogenesis in sheep was affected by the quantity and quality of the diet. With diets of similar digestible energy content but of varying proportions of maize to lucerne, the proportion of plasma glucose arising from propionate produced in the rumen was highest on the diet containing the greatest quantity of lucerne and decreased as the proportion of starch in the diet increased. The low volatile fatty acid concentrations and the reduced conversion of propionate to glucose on the high starch diets, despite similar propionate production rates and irreversible losses of plasma glucose, may have been due to starch escaping fermentation. With different roughage diets, the irreversible loss of glucose increased linearly with the digestible energy and crude protein intake. As the correlation with protein intake was lower than that for energy intake and as the amount of protein which passes to the small intestine is to a large degree independent of the protein intake, it is suggested that protein intake is not causally related to the irreversible loss of plasma glucose. There was no apparent effect of diet on the proportion of plasma glucose derived from propionate or on the proportion of propionate produced in the rumen that was converted into glucose. This indicates for the roughage diets used, that the relative contribution of glucogenic products of ruminal fermentation, particularly propionate and amino acids, to glucose synthesis is similar.

Since their initial release in 1961 short stature wheats of Norin 10 origin have, by virtue of their grain yield potential, made a dramatic impact on wheat breeding programmes in every country where the crop is produced. In an attempt to define the physiological components concerned in this enhanced grain yield potential, some aspects of whole plant physiology of some Norin 10 derivatives were examined and compared with a standard height Australian cultivar of the Gabo type. The research programme incorporated a study of - a) Morphogenetic changes associated with physiological development, on the basis of the whole plant. b) Analysis of morphological and physiological characteristics of the growth cycle of the plant. c) Plant parameters affected by nitrogen fertilizer in two field environments.

The aim of the research was to determine the ecology of the brush-tailed possum 'Trichosurus vulpecula', and the mountain possum 'T. caninus', and to permit their management in pine plantations in such a way that these indigenous species were not threatened and that the pine plantings were safe from possum attack. The study was conducted along three complementary approaches between 1967 and 1972. From a review of literature on possum damage, from a questionnaire and from surveys of damaged areas, the distribution, extent, significance and type of damage attributable to 'Trichosurus' species in pine plantations was determined. From a capture-recapture programme at Clouds Creek in north-eastern N.S.W. and caged studies at Armidale, the structure and function were determined for populations of both species. An assessment was made on the effects of perturbations on populations of these species for their possible assistance in formulating effective management procedures.

In the southern portion of the Tweed Shield Volcano, north-eastern New South Wales, a sequence of alkaline rocks (the Kyogle Basalt) thins eastward where it is overlain by a subalkaline succession composed predominantly of tholeiitic andesite and rhyolite, with minor icelandite and rhyodacite (in stratigraphic sequence, the Lismore Basalt, Nimbin Rhyolite and Blue Knob Basalt). On the basis of detailed mineralogical and chemical data, two distinct: tholeiitic series have been recognised, respectively designated the low-Si series and the high-Si series. Members of the low-Si series (almost exclusively tholeiitic andesites) contain groundmass olivines but lack groundmass Ca-poor pyroxenes. In members of the high-Si series (tholeiitic andesite - rhyodacite), groundmass olivines are absent but Ca-poor pyroxenes occur as phenocryst and groundmass phases and commonly in reaction coronas around olivine phenocrysts. These differences reflect differing levels of silica saturation in tile two series.

Between the 1820s and the 1850s New South Wales experienced a remarkable social and economic transformation. When the first census was taken in 1828 convicts comprised some forty-three per cent of the population. The colony still served the needs of the British government as a dumping ground for criminals and its economy was geared, to a large extent, to the needs of the convicts and their masters. By 1851, native-born persons and free immigrants were the largest sections of the population. Transportation had ceased and convict numbers had fallen to less than two per cent. The ships which landed the immigrants at Sydney Cove reloaded with wool, which would shortly be rivalled by gold as the colony's leading source of wealth. These changes were accompanied by a gradual evolution of the colony's mode of government. In 1824 a nominated legislative council met for the first time, ending the almost completely autocratic powers which governors had enjoyed since the foundations of settlement. A representative element was added to this council in 1843 and in 1856 the executive branch of government became responsible to the lower house of a bicameral legislature. In a little over thirty years New South Wales had been transformed from a penal autocracy to a free colony with the same measure of self-government as that enjoyed by British North American colonies.

Technological change is an important element in the development of agriculture, and a major contributor to the growth of the rural sector. In addition, the impact of technological change is non-uniform between sectors, industries and firms and so creates pressures for change, particularly of a structural nature. Further, the nature of, and process of technological change is an important influence on the use of "inputs, such as the capital-labour ratio, the ease of substitution of capital for labour, and the need for complementary inputs of capital, labour or current operating expenses to introduce and fully utilise new technologies. The study of technological change can be undertaken at a number of levels ranging from the individual firm to the aggregate economy. A full understanding of the nature and process of technological change would demand study at all levels. This study is directed to technological change in the aggregate rural sector, and to understanding the general trends operating in the rural sector.

Prior to 1962, infectious bronchitis (IB) virus had not been identified in Australia. Certainly the disease syndrome caused by IB virus, as seen in Europe and America (Beister and Schwarte, 1959) had not been described in Australia (Gilchrist, 1962, Hungerford, 1962), although reports by Hart (1946), Newton and Simmons (1963) and Gilchrist (1962), all describe syndromes which had some aspects reminiscent of IB infections. One of the prominent poultry diseases at that time had been characterised by a breakdown in kidney function producing a 'uraemia' or nephritis (Hungerford, 1969). This syndrome had been seen since 1948 and was thought possibly to be caused by some nutritional factor (Beilharz and McDonald, 1960). In 1962, Cumming isolated a virus from cases of nephritis and suggested the virus to be IB. This was confirmed by Cumming (1963, 1964), Gilchrist (1963), and Gilchrist and Sinkovic (1964). Supporting serological evidence for the identity of the virus being IB was given by cross neutralisation studies with American IB viruses (Winterfield et al., 1964a), British IB viruses (Berry and Stokes, 1968) and some German IB viruses (von Bulow, 1967). Berry and Stokes (1968) also confirmed the Australian IB virus as a corona-virus by electron microscopy. ... The main approach to the disease problem associated with IB virus infections in the past has been based on the serum neutralisation relationships of the viruses involved and the ability of vaccine viruses to induce these antibodies in birds. The approach to the problem used in this thesis has been based on the ability of virus infections to induce resistance in birds to the affects of virulent IB virus challenge and to evaluate the relationship of this resistance to antibody production. This approach has been aided by, the characteristic of Australian IB viruses to cause death with nephritis under controlled experimental conditions.

Some preliminary field observations on the structure of overturned sediments at Rockvale for an undergraduate project (Korsch 1967), and on the sediments and structure of some coastal headlands in the Woolgoolga region as part of a Bachelor of Science (Honours) course at the University of New England (Korsch 1968), led to the involvement in the present work. Detailed studies on the Rockvale - Coffs Harbour region were commenced in February, 1970 and, except where mentioned in the text, this thesis includes only work carried out since that time. Two supporting papers published in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales (Korsch 1971, 1973) are included in the Map Folder. These papers represent the main results of the Honours work but were written during the period of candidature for this thesis and. include some ideas developed during this time.

This thesis presents the results of a detailed sedimentological analysis of the Late Devonian Keepit Conglomerate. The primary aim of the study was to determine the processes and environments of sedimentation of this coarse conglomeratic unit. Furthermore, it was hoped that an understanding of the origin of the Keepit Conglomerate would provide some insight into the palaeobathymetry of the depositional basin during the Late Devonian. The Keepit Conglomerate is of Famennian age, occurring within the Devonian-Carboniferous sequence of the Tamworth Belt, northeast New South Wales. The Tamworth Belt sequence, >9,500 metres thick, is overall regressive, with marine Devonian-Early Carboniferous sediments passing up to Late Carboniferous terrestial sediments. The terrigenous sedimentary detritus was derived by the erosion of a volcanic chain, which lay to the west of the present day western margin of the Tamworth Belt, and deposited within a fore arc basin. Contemporaneous volcanism accompanied sedimentation in many instances. ... The presence of extensive submarine fan deposits in the marine domain of the Keepit Conglomerate containing abundant coarse resedimented conglomerates and sandstones, mostly of proximal character, suggests the depositional basin contained relatively steep intrabasinal slopes, and was of trough rather than shelf nature. While unequivocal pa1aeobathvmetrie data is lacking, the setting is more in character with "deeper" rather than "shallower" basin conditions. The Keepit Conglomerate provides an ancient example of coexisting terrestial and submarine fan sedimentation within a fore arc basin flanking a volcanic chain. The abundant very coarse detritus reflects the proximity of source and depositional basin, and the nature of the sedimentation processes and transporting mechanisms operating in the two domains.

The macropodines (kangaroos and wallabies) are herbivorous marsupials with a digestive system comparable to the ruminants. Ingested food is subjected to extensive microbial fermentation and modification in a capacious forestomach and secondary fermentation occurs in the caecum-proximal colon. The macropodine stomach is essentially a long tubular structure, markedly different to that of the ruminants, and relationships between stomach structure and digesta flow have not been previously investigated. Similarly, little is known of the mode of microbial activity in the forestomach and quantitative estimates of the extent of microbial fermentation have not been reported. The present comparative study was undertaken to examine some of these aspects of the physiology of fermentative digestion in three macropodine species; 'Thylogale thetis' (red-necked pademelon), 'Macropus giganteus' (eastern grey kangaroo) and 'Macropus eugenii' (tammar wallaby). These species represent adaptation to widely different habitats. Reference was also made to other macropodine species and some direct comparisons were made with sheep.

The Permo-Carboniferous New England Batholith, which is composed of a large number of individual plutons, stocks, dykes and complexes, exemplifies the type of complex intrusive activity manifest in Pacific-type orogenic belts. Granitoids and related rocks predominate, and together their study constitutes the major part of this thesis. The mafic intrusives of this batholith are volumetrically minor, but because they display a close spatial and temporal relationship to these granitoids, and have not been documented previously, they have also been studied in detail.

Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of feedback of results, verbal praise, approval stamps and sweets as rewards for the correct letter-writing responses of typical elementary school children. The first study examined the effects of age and group-size upon the children's responses to variations in reward-administration procedures. Data were collected on the principal dependent variable of handwriting, comments and complaints were recorded, and a post-intervention questionnaire administered.

Studies of large mammalian herbivores point to the importance of food quality and quantity in determining population size. Graziers in the New England Tablelands of New South Wales claim that an increase in numbers of eastern grey kangaroo and wallaroo occurs after pasture improvement measures are adopted on a property. In this region properties are present which differ in pasture management and also support sympatric populations of grey kangaroo and wallaroo. This allowed a study to be made of the comparative ecology of the two kangaroo species in areas differing in the quality and quantity of food present in order to investigate the graziers' claims. The study was conducted on two properties which were within 40 km of each other. These properties had similar rainfall and temperature regimes but differed markedly in the intensity of pasture management for domestic stock. One of the properties, Lana, had been selectively cleared of trees and an intensive program of fertilization of pastures and introduction of exotic pasture plants had been carried out. The other property, Newholme, had had no application of fertilizers and no exotic pasture plants introduced. On Newholme large areas with a dense tree canopy remained and other areas had been totally cleared of trees. The grey kangaroo population on Lana was regularly culled. No grey kangaroo on Newholme, or wallaroo on either property, were harvested. Within their occupied habitats the density of wallaroo was estimated to be seven times greater on Lana than on Newholme and the density of grey kangaroo on Lana was estimated to be double that on Newholme.

The present thesis describes the various phases of development in low pressure (~ 1 Torr) sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) sparks formed in long gaps (4 - 100 cm) and at overvoltages greater than 100%. ... Chapter 3 deals with the experimental results relating to certain aspects of the prebreakdown, breakdown and postbreakdown regimes in the low pressure SF₆ spark, with most of the emphasis placed on postbreakdown development. The various phases and transitions in the growth of the spark are catalogued and discussed in the light of experimental observations. The results indicate the existence of two distinct abnormal glow phases. The mechanism of the transition from the first to the second glow phase is accounted for in terms of molecular dissociation. The transition to the arc phase is observed to be encouraged by the presence of insulating surfaces surrounding the cathode. This transition, which has been accounted for in terms of a field-emission mechanism, can occur from either of the two glow phases. Following a description of the various phases and observed phenomena, a summary and general conclusion are presented.

Firstly, recent literature dealing with the systematics and ecology of vascular epiphytes is reviewed, as are a selection of older key papers. The classification and terminology of vascular epiphytes is briefly reviewed and discussed and the system used here is delineated; tenns are defined, including a ntnnber of new and previously ill-defined ones. The Australian vascular epiphyte flora is then described in a tabulated list and in a more detailed, illustrated descriptive key (Appendix 1). The flora is next discussed in relation to its taxonomic composition, diversity and affinities biogeography, life forms and physiognomic forms, and diaspore dispersal methods; these are also briefly related to basic ecology of the groups. Next, physical ecological factors of epiphyte environments in Australia are investigated. This includes discussion of continental macroclimate and its bearing on the distribution of epiphyte-favoured vegetation types, particularly rainforests, and investigation of microclimate components at different levels within selected sites in five different rainforest subformations of the subtropics. The results of this show that microsites near the canopy are considerably brighter, drier and more temperature-extreme than are those near the tree trunk bases. Beginning with a review of relevant works, the synecology of epiphytes is next discussed and the system of study for use here is outlined. The epiphytic vegetation of five subtropical sites (those mentioned above) and a tropical one, are investigated using this system which involves marked plots and the recording of all trees and epiphytes within them. The data derived from these are used in conjunction with that mentioned above and other observations for comparison and discussion of such topics as epiphyte floristic diversity, population density, vegetational complexity, occurrence of different epiphyte forms, specificity of epiphyte/phorophyte relationships, phorophyte axeny and epiphyte-proneness, allelopathy and phorophyte age ef~ect. Observations and review on nest-epiphytes and succession are discussed. Some basic functions of CAM in two epiphytic orchids were investigated under field conditions and the results are discussed in relation to its adaptive significance; the results of a survey of CAM in the Australian epiphytes are discussed and from this and the former, it is concluded that CAM is a very important water-conserving mechanism particularly to the heliophilous epiphytes. Relevant literature is reviewed. It is generally concluded from all of the above that epiphytism has been developed by small, slow-growing plants to avoid competition for light and in doing so, they have had to concomitantly adapt to water-stress and nutrient deficiency.

The biological effects of feed restriction were investigated in experiments with both layer-type and broiler breeder hens. Major emphasis was placed on the elucidation and clarification of alterations in (a) the important production characteristics, (b) body and liver composition, and (c) energy metabolism, primarily from the aspect of the effects due to feed restriction during rearing. Two experiments which examined in detail the influence of feed restriction during rearing on the production of layer-type birds were carried out. ... The studies presented in this thesis have clarified the effects of feed restriction on the production characteristics of poultry, and have found that biological alterations may occur due to appropriate restriction programmes. Although certain alterations in energy and nitrogen metabolism were illustrated, these may play only a minor role in the overall production effects observed due to restriction, and may be manifestations of an altered production per se. It was postulated that simple time-scaled relationships may determine the production response to a feed restriction programme.

The Pigna Barney Ophiolitic Complex (PBOC) is a lithologically and chemically distinctive ultramafic-mafic melange which is largely confined to major fault zones in the Pigna Barney-Curricabark area, southern New England Orogen (NEO), northeastern New South Wales. For the most part, the PBOC lies along the arcuate, southern-most section of the Peel Fault System. This major steeply-dipping fault system marks the line of contact between a complex accretionary terrane (Zone B) lying to the east and north, and a significantly less-deformed volcanic arcrelated basin (Tamworth Belt) lying to the west and south. Fragments of the PBOC also lie within Zone B, especially along the Curricabark Fault Zone and along faulted contacts between the? pre-Devonian, largely hemipelagic Myra beds and Permian epiclastics of the Nambucca Association. The PBOC is everywhere in contact with adjacent stratigraphic associations, and non-tectonic contacts between its various component lithologies are exceedingly rare. The PBOC consists of: (i) a highly disrupted and incompletely preserved ophiolitic assemblage whose members consistently display atypically low abundances of "incompatible" elements (e.g. Ti, Zr, P); and (ii) a diverse range of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic lithologies which generally occur as tectonic blocks in serpentinite-matrix melange (highly sheared tectonized harzburgite). In its type area the PBOC displays a crude internal ophiolitic stratigraphy which, at least on present orientation, consistently faces the Tamworth Belt to the southwest. Seven distinct lithological groups comprise the ophiolitic members of the PBOC. All groups are altered to varying degrees. In order of general structural position and inferred stratigraphic sequence these groups are: (1) depleted tectonized harzburgite - Fo92-91,Al₂0₃ < 1.2wt%, modal diopside < l%, the lowest in the sequence, followed by: (2) cumulate harzburgites and rare olivine orthopyroxenite cumulates - Fo92-90; (3) "plagioclase"-bearing peridotite cumulates - Fo88-84; (4) cumulate olivine (mela-)norites - Fo2087-80,An90-85; (5) cumulate quartz-bearing gabbros/gabbronorites - mg 77-61; (6) dolerites and quartz "dolerites" - mg 56-45; and (7) pillowed and massive basaltic extrusives and related shallow intrusives - mg 69-56.

Four species of bark-climbing birds occur in south-eastern Australia: the White-throated 'Climacteris leucophaea', Red-browed 'C. erythrops' and Brown 'C. picumnus' Treecreepers, and the Varied Sittella, 'Daphoenositta chrysoptera'. Preliminary studies of the three treecreepers showed that White-throated and Red-browed, similar in external morphology, were arboreal, while the larger Brown was semi-terrestrial. The White-throated and Red-browed were similar in foraging behaviour, but differed in social organization. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between social organization and ecology in all of the above-mentioned bark foragers. Data were collected on all aspects of their life history, as such information was not available in the literature. The White-throated, Red-browed and sittella were studied at Wollomombi Falls, and the White-throated and Brown at Swan Vale, both sites in north-eastern New South Wales. ... Many of the differences between the White-throated Treecreeper and its congeners in life history characteristics presumably relate to ecological factors in their past. It is argued that the White-throated evolved in rainforests, where lack of suitable holes forced it to have generalized nesting sites and roost on the surface of tree-trunks. To avoid predation in the dense, dark rainforests, individuals spaced out and relied more on acoustic cues for communication. The protracted nesting cycle may have evolved to reduce activity at the nest (and thus, conspicuousness to predators), and possibly to compensate for relatively low food abundance. By contrast, the relatively open sclerophyll habitat of the Red-browed and Brown probably placed a high premium on gregariousness. Predation was particularly important to the ground foraging Brown, as evidenced by the evolution of an alarm call, distraction displays and mobbing. Food localization may have been more significant in the Red-browed, in view of their present localized distribution, specialized feeding sites, and lack of morphological adaptations for climbing compared to the White-throated. In addition, it is proposed that the relatively homogeneous bark texture of rainforest trees predisposed the White-throated, and possibly the sittella, towards stringybarks when they moved into adjacent sclerophyll forests, but it is difficult to see why these two species occupy opposite ends of the social continuum.

Native and natural pastures comprise 70% of the 2.9 million ha of agricultural land on the Northern Slopes of New South Wales. These pastures are dominated by warm season frost-susceptible native perennial grasses that have a low availability of winter green forage. Little is known of the grazing value of the individual native perennial grasses, their response to fertility and their ecology and phenology. The responses of individual species to management is largely unknown and there are few objective data on which to assess their desirability or undesirability as pasture species. If valuable native grasses for grazing could be identified in these pastures then management could well be directed at increasing their abundance. Studies were conducted on the eight dominant native perennial grasses of the region to obtain preliminary data on which to classify the desirability of these grasses as pasture species. The grasses studied were the warm season native perennial grasses 'Aristida ramosa' R.Br. (wiregrass), 'Bothriochloa macra' (Steud.) S.T. Blake (redgrass), 'Dichanthium sericeum' (R.Br.) A. Camus (bluegrass), 'Sporobolus elongatus' R.Br. (slender rat's tail), 'Eragrostis leptostachya' Steud. (lovegrass), and 'Chioris truncata' R.Br. (windmill grass), and the yearlong green native perennial grasses 'Danthonia linkii' Kunth (wallaby grass) and 'Stipa scabra' Lindl. (corkscrew grass). Native and natural pastures are complex plant communities containing up to 100 species within a single paddock. Many of these species have similar leaf characteristics making accurate identification difficult and often data may need to be collected for both major and minor species in the pasture. Existing techniques for measuring species herbage mass are often inappropriate. Two methods of estimating the herbage mass of native perennial grasses were devised and tested. Both involved the harvesting of individual plants in the field and the measurement of their components of herbage mass (basal area and mass per unit of basal area) and the number of plants per unit area (plant density).

Forcefully emplaced plutons in the southern part of the New England Batholith, northern New South Wales, have produced extensive contact aureoles in Palaeozoic sediments and volcanics. This thesis describes the contact effects observed in pelitic, psammitic and impure calcareous sediments. Four metamorphic zones are recognised within pelitic sediments around the Walcha Road Adamellite (with distances from the contact in brackets): I) biotite zone (4 km - 1500 m); II) cordierite zone (1500 m - 500 m); III) cordierite + K-feldspar zone (500 m - 100 m); IV) cordierite + K-feldspar ± garnet zone (100 m - contact).

Resource-partitioning among three syntopic species of thornbill ('Acanthiza pusilla', 'A. reguloides' and 'A. lineata') were studied at Wollomombi on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. All three species are mainly insectivorous and weigh about 7 grams. Abundance of arthropods, on foliage and grass, was measured monthly. There were great differences between summer peaks and winter troughs (> 10:1) and also between the 'normal' year of 1978/79 and the two drought years that followed (ca. 4:1). ... The three species were ecologically separated as they fed on different substrates and on different species of plants and at different heights. 'A. pusilla' foraged mainly on dense foliage of understorey shrubs, 'A. reguloides' foraged mainly on the ground or on the bark of trees and shrubs, and 'A. lineata' foraged mainly on the foliage of eucalypts. Foraging behaviour changed seasonally and with the size and composition of the group. For example 'A. reguloides' fed high in trees when in small groups but on the ground when in large groups. All three species foraged differently when in mixed-species flocks, even in areas where they were the nuclear species. ... The monthly overlap in foraging, between species, ranged from 3 to 43%. Overlaps were lowest when food was scarce but during prolonged periods of scarcity rose to comparatively high levels well before food increased. I believe that at such times either that a species is forced by intra-specific competition, in its specialised foraging role, to broaden its niche; or that overall scarcity is so severe that all species have to abandon specialisation and search for whatever prey is available, with a consequent increase in overlap.

The research programme reported here was concerned with the relationship between individual differences in electrodermal activity and the ability to detect deception from measures of differential responsiveness within the electrodermal system. A review of the literature indicated that three dimensions of electrodermal activity might exist and be of relevance to detectability: absolute reactivity of the electrodermal system, relative reactivity or specificity of the system in relation to other response systems, and the degree of change within the system or its lability. The programme therefore involved the measurement of these three aspects, the study of their dimensionality, the development of indices of detectability, and the study of the predictive power of the dimensions in relation to detectability. The relationship of these several measures to scores on self report tests of personality (the superfactors of extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism, and a measure of socialization) was also pursued. The measures of electrodermal activity were derived from recordings in four stimulus situations: relaxing without task demands, listening to tones presented at brief intervals, performing mental arithmetic, and listening to a count-up during which an aversive stimulus, a white noise burst, was expected. ... On the basis of the research programme and the literature review it is concluded that attentional factors reflected in electrodermal lability underlie individual differences in detectability using electrodermal measures in typical laboratory tests of deception. In particular, subjects who maintain orienting responses to stimuli because they attribute significance to these events are more likely to be detected using electrodermal measures. Individual differences in systemic reactivity are far less important. Before further work is conducted on the question of individual differences in detectability, however, the issue of the reliability of these measures should be systematically addressed.

This investigation examined individual differences in cognitive functions amongst Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian children using Luria's neuropsychological theory of functional organisation in the human brain. Luria stated that cerebral activities were the result of complex, organised, functional systems which develop in response to environmental and social demands and depend on the participation of three principal functional units in the brain. Study 1 sought to identify the 2 processing dimensions of the unit for information integration with samples of desert Aboriginal and rural white Australian children, using processing marker measures and tasks from previous research on Aboriginal cognition. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that a 2 factor solution provided equally good fit to both sets of data.

Few things attract the mind more than the resolution of an apparent paradox, none more so than when it appears that good is being produced by evil. Such a paradox seemingly arises from a study of the literary evidence of early colonial N.S.W. These sources paint colonial society, with the exception of a small elite, in the blackest of hues. If one were to believe this description one could not imagine a more inhospitable climate for raising children. Those who have accepted these descriptions have then been faced with the problem of explaining how evil produced good for the general opinion was that the Colonial born children did not manifest the vice of the convict population. To date the argument has been that the Colonial born, convinced, by one method or another, of the value of the morality of the better classes, rejected their parents' values and became worthy citizens. This view was held by many contemporaries, although not all, and by some present day writers. Most modern opinion is derived from the thesis of K. MacNab summarised in the article co-authored with R. Ward.

The Miocene Nandewar Volcano in north-eastern New South Wales is composed of a suite of transitional alkaline eruptives and minor associated intrusives. The volcanics include minor hawaiites but are dominated by a mildly potassic lineage extending from hy-normative trachyandesites to comendites via tristanites and mafic to peralkaline trachytes. Although the trachyandesites, tristanites and trachytes (the main shield-forming sequence) are collectively the most abundant volcanics, alkali rhyolites comprise the most voluminous 'evolved' eruptive type. Peralkaline trachytes and comendites are relatively insignificant volumetrically. Olivine, Ca-rich pyroxene and amphibole display marked decreases in their 100 Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratios in the transition from trachyandesite to comendite, reflecting variation in host-rock compositions. The presence of tschermakitic Ca-rich pyroxenes and aluminian bronzite megacrysts in several trachyandesites indicates that their hosts experienced intratelluric crystallization at elevated pressures (~6 to 8 kb). Some plagioclase, olivine and titanomagnetite phenocrysts may also represent moderate-pressure cognate precipitates. Groundmass pyroxenes in some trachytes and comendites may be strongly acmitic, and this reflects the peralkaline character of those melts. Titanomagnetite is the dominant Fe-Ti oxide phase throughout the series, and only occasionally does it coexist with ilmenite. Fe-Ti oxide compositional data indicate that magmas spanning the spectrum trachyandesite to comendite generally crystallized under conditions of decreasing T and ƒo₂ which were broadly parallel with the FMQ synthetic buffer curve. However, some alkali rhyolites appear to have crystallized under significantly more oxidizing conditions. Crystallization of aenigmatite in the groundmass of peralkaline trachytes and comendites also reflects relatively strongly reducing conditions in the more 'evolved' variants and ns-bearing melts. In several specimens the presence of aenigmatite rimming titanomagnetite and ilmenite microphenocrysts provides some support for the existence of a 'no-oxide' field in T-ƒo₂ space.

If ... it can be shown that Beowulf is truly meaningful in purely pagan terms; if the poem is founded upon pagan ideas of the nature of the cosmos and the struggle of good and evil; and if these ideas are inimical to Christian thought, then serious doubt is cast upon much recent criticism. For if these things are shown, then what can be made of the Beowulf poet? Can we legitimately argue that a mind steeped in paganism is capable of elaborate Christian allegory? Is the Beowulf poet another Augustine of Hippo? Or should we argue, instead, that the entire fabric of allegorical interpretation of the poem is seriously flawed? Again, can we accept any theory which proposes that the poem had its genesis in a monastic library? Would we not incline, rather, to the oral composition theory of the poem and perhaps even re-examine the interpolation theory apparently so thoroughly discredited? Finally, if it can be demonstrated that the poem rests upon pagan ideas of good and evil, then the 'meaning' of the poem must ultimately rest upon those ideas as well. Only by a similarity of type could critics argue for a Christian 'meaning' of the poem, and even then, such an argument would hold good only for the critic, and not for a pagan audience. I believe that the following study will show that all the conditions set down above can be met, and that a thorough-going pagan reading of Beowulf is not only practicable, but indeed the only possible reading of the poem.

The status of the Rufous Scrub-bird 'Atrichornis rufescens' has always been difficult to assess due to the bird's secretive nature and the density of its habitat. The primary aim of this study has been to provide a scientific basis for future assessment of status by answering questions concerning three aspects of the species' biology: detectability, habitat requirements, and geographical variation. A secondary aim of the study has been to provide a preliminary assessment of status based on the results of an exploratory survey, interpreted within the context of the intensive research findings.

The thesis of this study is that the aesthetic, social and educational criticism of Ruskin forms an organic unity. Only two full length studies of Ruskin's views on education have been published - William Jolly's 'Ruskin on Education' (1894) and Hilda Hagstotz's 'The Educational Thought of John Ruskin' (1942) - and both these studies have a narrow focus, ignoring Ruskin as a social critic. Chapters 4 and 5 argue in detail that this social criticism runs right through his art criticism, and forms in turn the basis of his educational thought and practice. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 are concerned specifically with the interconnections of Ruskin's social and educational thought which converge in 'Fors Clavigera' (1871 - 1884), a letter series to English working men. Chapter 8 argues that the neglected 'Fors Clavigera' is central to an understanding of Ruskin's social and educational thought and that this work is one of his major achievements; its extreme length and intensely personal nature often being a barrier to proper appreciation. This personal nature of much of Ruskin's writings - he is possibly the most confessional of major English writers - has meant that the first three chapters of this study are not only concerned with placing Ruskin in his social milieu and historical context but also deal with the developments in Ruskin's inner life and the formative intellectual influences on his writings.

The numerical range of an operator on a complex Hilbert space is considered and we introduce various known results associated with different points of the numerical range. By the Toeplitz-Hausdorff theorem, the numerical range is a convex set in the complex plane, though not necessarily closed. Thus these results, though interesting, are inapplicable to the unattained boundary points of the numerical range. Therefore, generalizations of these results which may hold for all points of the closure of the numerical range seem to be called for. .... Embry has shown that the subsets associated with points of the numerical range behave in a particular fashion if the operator has special characteristics and vice versa. We achieve some easy generalizations of these results for subsets consisting of sequences. Several results of C.S. Lin, 5.G. Stampfli and G. de Barra concerning seminormal and convexoid operators are then extended to the unattained boundary points of the numerical range. K.C. Das and G. Garske gave a theorem concerning weak convergence to zero at the unattained extreme points of the closure of the numerical range. Das and Craven also gave a bound for the norm of the weak limit of sequences corresponding to points on a line segment on the boundary of the numerical range. We achieve all these results as a simple corollary of a generalized Cauchy-Schwartz inequality. In the concluding part of our thesis we investigate whether convexity holds for other numerical ranges as well. A restricted numerical range is defined and certain conditions are imposed so that this newly defined numerical range is convex. As a corollary to this result, we deduce the convexity of Stampfli's numerical range, a result proved differently by J. Kyle.

This exploratory and primarily descriptive study replicated and built upon an earlier study of the author by investigating aspects of the perceived normative world of student teachers at a New South Wales (Australia) college of advanced education. A major purpose of the study was to assess the 'impress' of lecturers and practising teachers on students' perceptions of the primary teacher role. The data gathered also yielded measures of consensus and conflict on role norms amongst students and their significant others, measures of student teacher idealism about their future role, measures of the accuracy of students' role perceptions, a measure of the prevailing climate of opinion about perennially important role behaviours, and measures of the direction and nature of changes in preferred role style during practice teaching, and in student role norms over training. ... The present study confirmed the findings of the initial investigation. By the end of training students had moved strongly toward embracing what they perceived to be the norms held for the primary teacher role by their lecturers and away from those they perceived were held by the teachers they were about to join in the school system. Thus the growing identification with lecturers during training was not accompanied by a similar growth in identification with teachers. Consensus on role norms for all respondent groups was apparently low for teacher/pupil and teacher/parent relationships, and potential conflict between final-year students and teachers high. To a degree, this latter reflected students' misperceptions of teachers' views. However, there were notable actual differences in role norms held by teachers and by teacher educators. That these patterns of student teacher role perception might be more widespread was suggested by a replication of part of the study at another training college where very similar results were obtained.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the ability of nonlinear models to describe the weight/age and feed intake/age growth patterns in mice. The objective underlying this examination was to investigate the possibility of utilising the parameters of these models as selection criteria to alter the shape of the growth curves. In association with this primary aim an investigation of the interrelationships between growth, feed intake and the efficiency of growth was undertaken. Phenotypic and genetic analyses for weight, measures of growth rate, fraction of maturity, feed intake and feed efficiency were presented. Marked differences were found for some estimates of heritabilities, genetic and phenotypic correlation when compared with those reported for other studies on mice. A possible explanation, in terms of the differences in fractions of maturity when comparisons are made at similar ages,was proposed. Heritabilities tended to decrease with age for all measures of growth that were considered. Predicted direct and correlated responses to selection for a single generation were examined and the results obtained were consistent with predictions from two genetic models of growth proposed in the literature. ... It was concluded that the parameters of nonlinear models could be used as alternative selection criteria to alter the shape of the growth patterns for mice and possibly domestic livestock species. However, the large amount of data necessary to make accurate predictions on growth, the statistical problems associated with fitting different models and the requirement of an estimate of mature weight prior to selection may make utilising parameters of nonlinear models as selection criteria an unviable proposition.

A study of the ecology of the lizard, 'Ctenotus taeniolatus' was conducted in the New England Tablelands of NSW, Australia from 1979 to 1982. The two aims of the study were firstly to answer specific questions relating to the life history of 'Ctenotus taeniolatus', and secondly to investigate the significance of the tail, the principal energy storage organ, to that life history. Consequently, questions concerning aspects of habitat selection, food and feeding behaviour, growth, reproduction and energy storage of 'C. taeniolatus' were posed and produced the following results. (i) Lizards used rocks as refuges, where they dug burrows, the shape and depth of which were found to be independent of season or lizard sex. (ii) Lizards were found to be insectivorous, using both sit-and-wait and active foraging feeding behaviours. Adults and juveniles exhibited these behaviours in different ratios. (iii) Lizards hatched at 33 mm SVL and were found to grow to maximum sizes of 75 mm (female) and 70 mm (male), reaching sexual maturity at 52 mm (female) and 43 mm (male), when they were likely to be 2 or perhaps 1 year old. Growth rates and associated growth models are presented. (iv) Females were found to be oviparous, laying 1 to 7 eggs each summer. Spermatogenesis, ovulation and mating all occurred in spring. Clutch size was found to be related to body size. (v) Lizards stored lipid in the general carcass and tail but possessed no abdominal fat bodies. Carcass lipid remained unchanged throughout the year, while tail lipid showed a distinct seasonal cycle in females, males and juveniles with low points occurring at the end of winter and after mating and ovulation. Liver weights, and glycogen and lipid content of the liver also showed seasonal cycles. Further, questions about the significance of the tail to 'C. taeniolatus' produced the following results. (i) Lizards were found to store all of their usable lipids in the tail. (ii) Lipid stores in the tail were found, theoretically and experimentally, to be necessary for survival overwinter and for reproduction. (iii) At most 60% of lizards autotomised the tail. (iv) Lipids within the tail were found to be stored mainly in the proximal end, which only 20% of lizards were found to lose during autotomy. Taken together these results indicated that, because of the practise of economy of autotomy, the probability of lizards being adversely effected by autotomy was very small.

The discovery of a major gold deposit in the early 1970's, in a remote area of Western Australia that was very poorly known geologically, has led to the establishment of the Telfer Gold Mine and to geological mapping and exploration in the region by the State geological survey and by mining companies. The economic importance and geological significance of the gold deposits prompted Newmont Pty. Ltd. and Dampier Mining Co. Ltd. (the developers of the mine) to instigate a Ph.D. research programme through the University of New England. This thesis represents the first detailed account of both the gold deposits and their host Precambrian sedimentary rocks. Due to the relative lack of previous geological data, and the importance of understanding the regional geological setting of any major ore deposit, the study had two main objectives; firstly, to provide comprehensive descriptions and interpretations of the stratigraphy, sedimentology and basin development of the Precambrian sedimentary sequence; and secondly, to study and interpret the textures, mineralogy and geochemistry of the ores themselves, and relate ore genesis to the interpreted geological evolution of the region. The thesis is therefore divided into two major parts, entitled the Yeneena Group, and Mineralisation, which are preceded by a comprehensive summary.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for the analysis, description, and comparison of the administrative arrangements used by school systems for making decisions about the selection of teachers for appointment to positions in schools. Administrative arrangements are defined in terms of the administrative units of which they are composed, the functions performed by these units, and the relations that exist between them. The term 'appointment' refers to any kind of appointment and specifically includes first appointments, transfers, promotions, and appointments made on a permanent, temporary, or casual basis.

The purpose was to be accomplished through the analysis, Gescription, and comparison of the administrative arrangements used by the state education departments of New South Wales and Queensland. The study had three specific objectives: 1) the development of an analytic framework; 2) the description of the arrangements used by the two state education departments; and 3) the identification of significant distinguishing features.

Procedures

The concurrent, parallel case study approach was adopted for the examination of the selected appointment systems. In this approach the same research procedures are used in the investigation of each case, and each phase of the investigation is carried out in respect of each case before proceeding to the next phase.

Data were collected in the sequential mode, i.e., analysis proceeds concurrently with collection and influences subsequent data collection. The major technique of data collection was the research interview. In these interviews the focus was provided by the researcher, the detailed structure and content by the informant. Twenty-five major interviews were conducted, fourteen in New South Wales and eleven in Queensland. A preliminary analysis of each interview was made as soon as possible after the interview. This analysis converted the raw data of the interviews into items of information which provided the basis for further analytic procedures. Supplementary information was obtained by a large number of less formal interviews.

The interviews were preceded by an analysis of the formal framework of each appointment system based on official documents. The information obtained through the interviews was used to develop this framework and to contribute to the evolving description of each system. The descriptions of the systems were compared in terms of the framework.

Findings

There was a great variation in the character of the administrative units identified by the study. They ranged from those whose membership and functions are prescribed in some detail by law or regulation to those which have no formal constitution and are identified largely by the function they perform. Three major orientations that one unit may have to another were identified: 1) sequential; 2) parallel; and 3) hierarchical. The orientation that exists between any two units circumscribes the questions to be asked about the detail of the relations between them.

Type of tenure and level of position were identified as the key appointment type variables. The values of each of these variables fell into two categories. Full and restricted in the case of tenure, base and higher in the case of position. The combination of these variables result in four appointment types: 1) higher-level positions, full tenure; 2) base—level positions, full tenure; 3) higher-level positions, restricted tenure; and 4) base-level positions, restricted tenure.

Three decision areas were identified: 1) teacher assessment; 2) teacher listing; and 3) teacher placement. They were found to apply to each of the appointment types, thus the basic analytic framework consisted of twelve cells, four appointment types each divided into three decision areas.

The comparison of the descriptions of the administrative arrangements used by each system revealed important similarities and significant differences. They shared: 1) an interdependence between various decision areas; 2) an interdependence between various appointment types and subtypes; 3) a concentration of formal power near the top; 4) a notable concern for teacher welfare; 5) varying degrees of formality in different parts of the system; and 6) being in a state of constant change.

Many differences were identified. Particularly significant differences related to: 1) promotions lists; 2) handling teacher preferences; 3) inter-regional transfers; and 4) staffing less popular schools.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The major conclusion was that the framework developed in the course of the study was suited to the purpose for which it was designed. Other conclusions were: 1) the information available in official documents is insufficient for an. accurate description; 2) the research interview as used in this study was a particularly appropriate means of obtaining the data required; 3) the use of the sequential mode of data collection is clearly indicated for research of this kind; 4) the distribution of information among informants makes the systematic collection of multiple viewpoints essential rather than merely desirable; and 5) the study of any component of an appointment system must take into account the influence of other parts of the system on that component.

The major recommendation is that the framework developed in this study be applied to the analysis, description, and comparison of other systems of teacher appointment. To this end the study includes a recommended approach to such studies. Other recommendations for further research are: 1) further analysis of administrative arrangements and in particular the development of a taxonomy of administrative units; 2) investigation of the consequences of using particular administrative arrangements; and 3) the application of the methods used in this study to the investigation of the arrangements used for making decisions about other important matters (such as curriculum).

Based upon a comprehensive survey of the research literature in narratology, three novels by Hubert Aquin are subjected to critical analysis from the viewpoint of the relationship between author and reader and therefore between narrator and narratee. 'Prochain épisode' is examined in terms of the intertextual frames within the role which the implied reader is expected to assume. This analysis is extended to 'Trou de mémoire' with the further examination of the competition of various narrators to establish a textual authority and to 'L'Antiphonaire' where the manner in which successive narrators filter the previous narrator's work is given consideration. In conclusion, it is demonstrated that a geometrical logic underlies the organization of the novels and a model is proposed to explain the relationship of the narrator, narratee and implied reader to the text. A select, annotated bibliography of works on Aquin is appended.

The purpose of this study is to examine leader behaviour, particularly leadership styles, of academic department heads in Thai teachers' colleges using as a basic framework the Situational Leadership Theory as developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1977) at the Centre for Leadership Studies, Ohio University. Situational Leadership Theory is based on a curvilinear, as opposed to a simple linear, relationship between task and relationship behaviour and maturity of followers. The theory attempts to provide leaders with some understanding of the relationship between effective styles of leadership and the maturity level of their followers. The study further attempted to investigate a number of other variables thought likely to influence choices of leadership styles. Such variables included Thai cultural traits, religious tenets, Western education and length of experience in position held. ... The research would have to be regarded as a pilot study only and its conclusions tentative. Although the department heads were observed as being generally effective in their leader behaviour in their daily work where their staff members were assumedly of limited range of maturity levels (moderately high to high), the non choice of all four possible leadership styles in the LEAD instruments indicates a strong potential that in real-life situations where staff members encompass all four maturity levels (low, moderately low, moderately high, high) much of their leader behaviour would be inappropriate and thus ineffective.