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The thesis consists of a video documentary and an exegesis. The video was shot in a number of different styles to explore the complex issues that exist within the genre of documentary.

Exposing young children to music through the production and presentation of music-appreciation television programs

This paper reports on a research study of the effectiveness of a series of music-appreciation activities for young children in Hong Kong. These activities were designed using world music and were presented as part of a local early childhood television program for community interest. One-undred-and-sixty-eight local preschool children (mean age 4.25) and their classroom teachers, from 16 childcare centres or kindergartens, participated in this study. Qualitative data was collected using individual structured interviews with both children and teachers. The data showed that these music-appreciation activities enriched children's musical experiences and teachers' musical repertoires in early childhood settings. Teachers also showed positive preferences to learn the activities using multimedia tools. Implications for the curriculum planning and teacher training of early childhood music education are discussed.

Fixers and foreign correspondents : news production and autonomy

The television foreign correspondent's licence to roam and generate news is increasingly under threat. This paper concentrates on the micro production processes of today s correspondent as he or she goes about the job of newsgathering 'on the road', and considers the changing nature of the correspondent's autonomy. It inserts the missing character in foreign newsgathering - the locally hired fixer - and explores how this person affects the correspondent's autonomy. An analysis of interviews with 20 foreign correspondents and five fixers leads to the conclusion that the foreign correspondent is rarely the sole editorial figure on the road but is instead the main actor representing the creative interplay of a succession of fixers or 'local producers'. This deconstruction of the ways in which a correspondent builds an ad-hoc newsgathering team each time he or she lands in d new place allows for a deeper understanding of the modus operandi of reporters.

Television viewing habits and time use in Australian preschool children : an exploratory study

The overall aim in this study was to investigate time use in Australian preschool children, paying close attention to the types of television programs and videos/DVDs they watch. Ninety-two mothers of preschool children completed five activity diaries, for three typical weekdays and two weekend days. On average, children spent around just over 1 hour per weekday watching television and 30 minutes watching videos/DVDs; on weekends they spent on average 1 hour watching television and the same amount of time watching videos/DVDs. On weekdays, children spent more time watching child informative television; on the weekend they spent more time watching child animated television programs. When not watching television, children were mainly engaged in general play or in outdoor play. Child informative television was associated positively with time spent outdoors and in general and pretend play on weekdays (and for general play also on weekend days), whereas overall television viewing was correlated negatively with reading. Our findings suggest that the content of television programs may play a critical role in the relationship between television and other daily activities.

Internationalisation of Singapore television : Singaporean regional and global perspectives and contexts

In this study l investigate the Singaporean characteristics of broadcast media internationalisation. I ask the question "e; Does Internationalisation lead to homogenisation and commercialisation of the television culture in Singapore or does it give way to more diversity, thus stimulating cultural differentiation?"e; . I articulate the constraints and/or tensions of supranational regulation, foreign policy, regional and intraregional alliances upon communication and the cultural and social effects as they impact on and respond to production, programming, scheduling and output in Singapore. I explain how Singaporean Television media culture takes part in the processes of globalisation, and how it challenges existing cultures and creates new and alternative symbolic and cultural communities, within the context of regional communication. In this thesis 1 conclude that whilst Singapore definitely does not have equity in information, wealth or resource flows it is attempting to liberalise. To do so, the government recognises that serious inadequacies and imbalances must be addressed and that the path to greater political and economic growth is through an actively informed public. Despite regulatory restrictions on data flow and technical and service ownership, Singapore is encouraging regional alliances, depoliticising cultural differences and concentrating on economic imperatives to build mutual knowledge and understanding, multilateral agreements, collective ownership, mutual exchange and cooperative dissemination.

Culture clash : artistic production and the school environment

Artists-in-schools programs involving contemporary art practices can be transformational for the participants when environmental considerations are integral to the planning and structure of the project and both the form and content of the program are reflected upon critically.

A university-wide ePortfolio initiative at Federation University Australia: software analysis, test-to-production, and evaluation phases

This paper describes an ePortfolio implementation strategy at Federation University Australia, Victoria (formerly the University of Ballarat). The authors combined a personal and practical viewpoint to elicit pitfalls, challenges, and recommendations for improvement. The paper is divided into three main areas in order to outline the experiments that occurred. The first section provides a standard literature review around ePortfolio adoption as well as a research-based analysis of available ePortfolio software at Australian universities. The second part depicts the University’s ePortfolio implementation strategy that focused on “test-to-production” and technology dissemination phases. This section is based on the authors’ personal viewpoint of ePortfolio adoption at a university where a “top-down management decision making model” (Slade, Murfin, & Readman, 2013, p. 178) was used. Third, the evaluation strategy is reported, which was based on similar research conducted at Australian universities (Hallam & Creagh, 2010; Hallam, Harper, Hauville, Creagh, & McAllister, 2009). This part is offered as a modest-scoped, mixed methods evaluation process. The paper extends on ePortfolio implementation strategies (Bell & White, 2013; Coffey & Ashford-Rowe, 2014; Jarrott & Gambrel, 2011; Lambert & Corrin, 2007; Ring & Ramirez, 2012; Slade et al., 2013) and software analysis (ACODE, 2011; Slade et al., 2013). Recommendations are made for the careful integration of pre- and post-rollout of ePortfolio programs with face-to-face ePortfolio tutor support, offering online resources and alternative portfolio-making options for students with poor broadband access.

Culture-based fisheries in non-perennial reservoirs in Sri Lanka: production and relative performance of stocked species

In Sri Lanka, there is a great potential for the development of culture-based fisheries because of the availability of around 12 000 non-perennial reservoirs in the dry zone (<187 cm annual rainfall) of the island. These reservoirs fill during the north-east monsoonal period in October to December and almost completely dry up during August to October. As these non-perennial reservoirs are highly productive, hatchery-reared fish fingerlings can be stocked to develop culture-based fisheries during the water retention period of 7–9 months. The present study was conducted in 32 non-perennial reservoirs in five administrative districts in Sri Lanka. These reservoirs were stocked with fingerlings of Indian (catla Catla catla Hamilton and rohu Labeo rohita Hamilton) and Chinese (bighead carp Aristichthys nobilis Richardson) major carps, common carp Cyprinus carpio L., genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) strain of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.) and post-larvae of giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii De Man, at three different species combinations and overall stocking densities (SD) ranging from 218 to 3902 fingerlings ha⁻¹, during the 2002–2003 culture cycle. Of the 32 reservoirs stocked, reliable data on harvest were obtained from 25 reservoirs. Fish yield ranged from 53 to 1801 kg ha⁻¹ and the yields of non-perennial reservoirs in southern region were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those in the northern region. Naturally-recruited snakehead species contributed the catches in northern reservoirs. Fish yield was curvilinearly related to reservoir area (P < 0.05), and a negative second order relationship was evident between SD and yield (P < 0.05). Chlorophyll-a and fish yield exhibited a positive second order relationship (P < 0.01). Bighead carp yield impacted positively on the total yield (P < 0.05), whereas snakehead yield impact was negative. Bighead carp, common carp and rohu appear suitable for poly-culture in non-perennial reservoirs. GIFT strain O. niloticus had the lowest specific growth rate among stocked species and freshwater prawn had a low return.

Pup production and population trends of the Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus)

We estimated the number of live Australian fur seal pups using capture-markresights, direct ground counts, or aerial photography at all breeding sites following the pupping season of November-December 2002. Pups were recorded at 17 locations; nine previously known colony sites, one newly recognized colony and seven haul-out sites where pups are occasionally born. In order of size, the colonies were Lady Julia Percy Island (5,899 pups), Seal Rocks (4,882), The Skerries (2,486), Judgment Rocks (2,427), Kanowna Island (2,301), Moriarty Rocks (1,007), Reid Rocks (384), West Moncoeur Island (257), and Tenth Island (124). The newly recognized site was Rag Island, in the Cliffy Group, where we recorded 30 pups. We also recorded pups at the following haul-out sites: Cape Bridge-water (7 pups), Bull Rock (7), Wright Rock (5), Twin Islet (1), The Friars (1), He des Phoques (1), and Montague Island (1). In total, we estimate there were 19,819 (SE = 163) live pups at the time of the counts. We discuss trends in pup numbers and derive current population estimates for the Australian fur seal.

Television, computer use and body mass index in Australian primary school children

Objective: To investigate relationships between children's body mass index (BMI) and parent reports of children's television and video game/computer habits, controlling for other potential risk factors for paediatric obesity.

Methods: Child BMI was calculated from measured height and weight collected in 1997 as part of a large, representative, cross-sectional study of children in Victoria, Australia. Parents reported the amount of time children watched television and used video games/computers, children's eating and activity habits, parental BMI and sociodemographic details.

Results: A total of 2862 children aged 5−13 years participated. Child mean BMI z-score was significantly related to television (F = 10.2₃, P < 0.001) but not video game/computer time (F = 2.2₃, P = 0.09), but accounted for only 1 and 0.2% of total BMI variance, respectively. When parental BMI, parental education, number of siblings, food intake, organized exercise and general activity level were included, television ceased to be independently significantly related to child BMI. Using adjusted logistic regression, the odds of being overweight and obese generally increased with increasing television viewing. No relationship was found for video game/computer use.
Conclusions: A small proportion of variance in child BMI was related to television, but not video game/computer time. This was far outweighed by the influence of other variables. Causal pathways are likely to be complex and interrelated.

Lignin production and monolignol pathway gene expression is suppressed by abscisic acid during defence reactions of Arabidopsis

The phytohormone, abscisic acid (ABA) has been shown to influence the outcome of the interactions between various hosts with biotrophic and hemibiotrophic pathogens. Susceptibility to avirulent isolates can be induced by addition of low physiological concentrations of ABA to plants. In contrast, addition of ABA biosynthesis inhibitors induced resistance following challenge of plants by virulent isolates. ABA deficient mutants of Arabidopsis, such as aba1-1, were resistant to virulent isolates of Peronospora parasitica. In interactions of Arabidopsis with avirulent isolates of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, susceptibility was induced following addition of ABA or imposition of drought stress. These results indicate a pivotal, albiet undefined, role for ABA in determining either susceptibility or resistance to pathogen attack. We have found that the production of the cell wall strengthening compound, lignin, is increased during resistant interactions of aba1-1 but suppressed in ABA induced susceptible interactions. Using RT-PCR and microarray analysis we have found down-regulation by ABA of key genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway especially of those genes involved directly in lignin biosynthesis. ABA also down-regulates a number of genes in other functional classes including those involved in defence and cell signalling.

Suppression by abscisic acid of lignin production and monolignol pathway gene expression in interactions of Arabidopsis with oomycete and bacterial pathogens

The phytohormone, abscisic acid (ABA) has been shown to influence the outcome of the interactions between various hosts with biotrophic and hemibiotrophic pathogens. Susceptibility to avirulent isolates can be induced in plants by addition of low physiological concentrations of ABA. In contrast, addition of ABA biosynthesis inhibitors induced resistance following challenge of plants by virulent isolates. ABA deficient mutants of Arabidopsis, such as aba1-1, were resistant to virulent isolates of Peronospora parasitica. In interactions of Arabidopsis with avirulent isolates of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, susceptibility was induced following addition of ABA or imposition of drought stress. These results indicate a pivotal, albiet undefined, role for ABA in determining either susceptibility or resistance to pathogen attack. We have found that the production of the cell wall strengthening compound, lignin, is increased during resistant interactions of aba1-1 but suppressed in ABA-induced susceptible interactions. Using RT-PCR and microarray analysis we have found down-regulation by ABA of key genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway especially of those genes involved directly in lignin biosynthesis. ABA also down-regulates a number of genes in other functional classes including those involved in defence and cell signalling.

Environmentally sustainable food production and marketing : opportunity or hype?

Purpose: Identify and analyse the beliefs of value-chain intermediaries regarding the production and marketing of food products conforming to environmentally sustainable standards.

Methodology: In-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with senior managers of food companies across the value chain.

Findings: In Australia, the demand for foods that are produced under environmentally sustainable standards has been slow to take-off because (a) customers do not perceive these products as offering any special benefits (b) customers distrust the claims made by organisations (c) these products are much more expensive than traditional products, and (d) the implementation of environmental standards is expensive. Customers claim that the use of different terminologies such as organic, green and environmentally friendly in promoting
food products is confusing.

Research Limitations: Findings are not generalisable because the study is based on a small sample.

Practical Implications: Value-chain intermediaries are unlikely to voluntarily adopt environmental standards because of low demand for such foods and the high costs of adopting and monitoring environmentally sustainable production and marketing regimes.