Fleshed sacred : the carnal theologies of Nick Cave

Contents: Cultural contexts. The light within : the 21st century love songs of Nick Cave / Jillian Burt ; Planting seeds / Clinton Walker ; Nick Cave and the Australian language of laughter / Karen Welberry ; Nick Cave, dance performance and the production of masculinity / Laknath Jayasinghe -- Intersections. An audience for antagonism / Chris Bilton ; And the ass saw the angel : a novel of fragment and excess / Carol Hart ; Red right hand : the cinema and Nick Cave / Adrian Danks ; Grinderman : all stripped down / Angela Jones -- The sacred. From mutiny to calling upon the author : Cave's religion / Robert Eaglestone ; Oedipus wrecks : Cave and the Presley myth / Nathan Wiseman-Trowse ; Fleshed sacred : the carnal theologies of Nick Cave / Lyn McCredden ; The moose and Nick Cave : melancholy, creativity and love songs / Tanya Dalziell.

Inside Plato's cave (after Irigaray)

Coventry University exhibition curated by Rosemary Cisernos

DDT and metabolites residues in the southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii) of south-eastern Australia

The southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii) is an insectivorous, obligate cave dwelling species found in south-eastern South Australia and western Victoria, Australia. In recent times, the finger of blame for an apparent population decline at Bat Cave, Naracoorte (one of only two known maternity roosts for this species, the other being Starlight Cave, Warrnambool) has been pointed at pesticide use in the region, following the finding of organochlorine and organophosphate insecticide residues in bat guano. This study sampled juvenile southern bent-wing bats from Bat Cave and Starlight Cave, and determined DDT, DDD and DDE concentrations in liver, pectoral muscle, brain and back-depot fat tissues.

Change in the diet of sooty owls (Tyto tenebricosa) since European settlement: from terrestrial to arboreal prey and increased overlap with powerful owls

The current diet of the sooty owl (Tyto tenebricosa) was determined by analysing freshly regurgitated pellets collected beneath their roosting sites in East Gippsland, Victoria. Comparisons were then made with: (i) prehistoric and historic diet from bone deposits found in cave roosts, and (ii) diet of a sympatric owl species, the powerful owl (Ninox strenua). Sooty owls consumed a large array of terrestrial mammal species before European settlement, but only three terrestrial species were detected in their current diet, a reduction of at least eight species since European settlement. To compensate, sooty owls have increased their consumption of arboreal prey from 55% to 81% of their diet. Arboreal species are also a major component of the powerful owl diet and this prey shift by sooty owls has increased dietary overlap between these two species. Predation by foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and other feral species is likely to have reduced the amount of terrestrial prey available to sooty owls since European settlement. Investigation of changes in the diet of sooty owls may offer a unique monitoring system for evaluating the ability of fox-control strategies to influence increases in numbers of critical-weight-range mammals.

Benchmark generation algorithm for stochastic mixed model assembly shop simulation and optimization

The Operations Research (OR) community have defined many deterministic manufacturing control problems mainly focused on scheduling. Well-defined benchmark problems provide a mechanism for communication of the effectiveness of different optimization algorithms. Manufacturing problems within industry are stochastic and complex. Common features of these problems include: variable demand, machine part specific breakdown patterns, part machine specific process durations, continuous production, Finished Goods Inventory (FGI) buffers, bottleneck machines and limited production capacity. Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is a commonly used tool for studying manufacturing systems of realistic complexity. There are few reports of detail-rich benchmark problems for use within the simulation optimization community that are as complex as those faced by production managers. This work details an algorithm that can be used to create single and multistage production control problems. The reported software implementation of the algorithm generates text files in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format that are easily edited and understood as well as being cross-platform compatible. The distribution and acceptance of benchmark problems generated with the algorithm would enable researchers working on simulation and optimization of manufacturing problems to effectively communicate results to benefit the field in general.

Organochlorine and trace metal residues in adult southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii) in Southeastern Australia

In recent times, the apparent population decline of the southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii) at Bat Cave, Naracoorte has been ascribed to pesticide use in the region, following the finding of organochlorine and orgaonophosphate insecticide residues in bat guano. Adult southern bent-wing bats were collected from Bat Cave and Starlight Cave in 2003. Organochlorine contaminants were detected in all carcass samples: p,p′-DDE was by far the most dominant contaminant with concentrations ranging from 11 000 to 59 000 ng g⁻¹, followed by p,p′-DDT (110–1600 ng g⁻¹), p,p′-DDD (35–620 ng g⁻¹), ∑PCBs (33–490 ng g⁻¹), ∑chlordane and related compounds (7.9–270 ng g⁻¹), HCB (1.6–120 ng g⁻¹), HP epox. (3.1–230 ng g⁻¹), TCPMOH (3.8–38 ng g⁻¹), ∑HCHs (1.4–9.6 ng g⁻¹), and TCPMe (0.1–4.2 ng g⁻¹) (all values on lipid-weight basis). No significant difference in DDE, DDD, DDT, ∑DDT, ∑PCB, trans-chlordane, heptachlor epoxide, trans-nonachlor, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, TCPMOH or TCPMe concentrations were observed either between sexes within sites, or between sites (p > 0.05). However, there were significant differences in HCB and oxychlordane concentrations between sexes and between sites (p < 0.05), between site differences in cis-nonachlor concentrations in male bats (p < 0.05), and cis-chlordane concentrations between sexes at Starlight Cave, and between males of each site (p < 0.05). There were also significant differences in the liver concentrations of some metals between sexes within sites (Ag, Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Se, Zn), and between sites (Ag, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se, V, Zn). Clustering or grouping of sites was observed when the OC data was expressed on a lipid-weight basis. These inter-site differences in OC concentrations reflect local exposure over a period of time, and do not unambiguously support any suggestion that we are witnessing incipient speciation. However, for conservation purposes, it may be prudent to assume that there are two sub-populations of M. s. bassani feeding in different locations in this region of southern Australia, rather than the single homogeneous population suggested by genetic studies.

Simulation optimization for process scheduling through simulated annealing

This paper presents a simulation optimization of a real scheduling problem in industry, simulated annealing is introduced for this purpose.  Investigation is performed into the practicality of using simulated annealing to produce high quality schedules.  Results on the solution quality and computational effort show the inherent properties of the simulated annealing.  It is shown that when using this method, high quality schedules can be produced within reasonable time contraints.