Bundaberg: A regional perspective

Broad-spectrum research in rural regions has been a rare feature of the Australian research scene until relatively recent times, especially research carried out by investigators located in the study region. The Bundaberg district hosts a number of researchers actively involved in such research across a wide range of disciplines and working in diverse organizations, including several government departments and private companies. The papers included here are from a research conference held at the Bundaberg Campus of Central Queensland University on August 21, 1999. Fourteen papers were presented and eight are included in this volume. Within the over-arching theme, "Bundaberg: Regional Perspectives", conference presentations were arranged in four sub-themes. Mapping the Region contained papers defining parameters of the region. The conference keynote paper by Dr. Roy Powell presented a summary of the economic profile of the region, a very important framework for all other conference contributions. Other papers in this sub-theme covered aspects of the region's earthquake seismicity, especially earthquake risk and associated construction engineering matters (included here); the influence of location demographics on regional development patterns; and a discussion of the region's water resources in relation to supply options and sustainable utilization practices. Changing Regional Practices included papers concerning changing sociological effects of different modes of sugar cane harvesting (included here); changes in, and regional variations in, practices of management of burns in public health services (included here); changes in the expression of regional art over a 50 year period; and changes in the expectations of, and services provided by, a large regional library over time. Community Participation in Regional Issues involved papers on community participation in a baseline study of the Woongarra Marine Conservation Park and on a pair of case studies of current community participation in rural development (included here). Regional Education encompassed papers on innovative educational changes within a small regional university; the relationship between practical teaching experience, 'self-image' and professional development of first year education students (included here); university-designed undergraduate coursework projects in information technology in comparison with industry-based projects (included here), and on a review of the Central Queensland University STEPS tertiary preparation program and success rate of its graduates over time. The Editorial Panel gratefully acknowledges the essential assistance provided by Central Queensland University's Centre for Social Sciences Research in publishing this volume of proceedings from the conference. We also thank Lynda HerbertCheshire, Alison Ruth, Angelika Schlotzer and Rosslyn Schuppner, other members of the conference organizing committee, together with other administrative support staff from the Bundaberg Campus, for their critically important assistance in planning, publicizing and running the conference.