Optimising cleaning behaviour: minimising the costs and maximising ectoparasite removal

Little is known of how client fish minimise the costs of cleaning behaviour while maximising ectoparasite removal by cleaner fish. Previous studies have found that abundance on fish and infestation behaviour of gnathiid isopods, the main parasite eaten by cleaner fish, varies diurnally. We examined whether reduced foraging is a cost of cleaning behaviour in clients and whether the behaviour of the client fish, the thick-lipped wrasse Hemigymnus melapterus, towards the cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus varied diurnally to maximise ectoparasite removal, possibly in response to the diurnal changes in the abundance and infestation patterns of gnathiids. We found that during the midday and afternoon, client foraging rates were negatively related to the duration and frequency of inspections, suggesting that cleaning may, at some times of the day, be energetically costly to the client in terms of reduced foraging opportunities. Surprisingly, we found that the duration and frequency of inspections of clients by cleaners did not vary among diel time periods. A model of gnathiid dynamics on individual fish is proposed. It shows that the observed diurnal pattern in gnathiid abundance on fish can be generated with the constant duration and frequency of inspections that was observed in this study. Thus clients would not have more gnathiids removed by modifying their cleaning behaviour.

Performance measurement in child protection

The increasing use of performance measurement by government means that child protection services are under pressure to demonstrate effectiveness in protecting children from harm and efficiency in the use of public funds to help children and families. From a policy perspective, the way performance measurement is conceptualised and implemented can have major consequences for service delivery. This paper examines key issues raised in the literature about performance measurement, the context for its introduction in child protection, how the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency are dealt with, how client outcomes are defined, and assumptions about 'good performance'. An overview of performance measurement in child protection in Australia is provided. The paper argues that a critical approach to performance measurement in child protection can contribute to improved service delivery to clients.

Eating 'Green': Motivations behind organic food consumption in Australia

Central to the development of green lifestyles is the consumption of foods that by dint of their status as chemical-free, locally produced and/or free of genetically modified ingredients, reduce the environmental impact of food provision. Yet there are many other factors, such as health concerns, that may also encourage the consumption of 'green' foods. This paper explores the ways in which Australian consumers construct organic food-a sector of the food industry that is currently growing at between 20 and 50 percent per annum but is struggling to keep up with rising consumer demand. In order to examine the significance of 'green' signifiers in the consumption practices of Australian consumers a series of focus group interviews and a national consumer survey were conducted. These examined both those characteristics of food that were valued in general, and those meanings that were associated with organic food in particular. In very general terms, analysis reveals that while consumers believed organic foods to be healthy and environmentally sound-both of which were considered desirable-these characteristics were subsumed by an overarching concern with convenience. This does not mean that consumers did not hold genuinely positive environmental attitudes. Rather, it reflects a range of contradictory beliefs and practices that appeared to derive from the discursive conflict between conventional and organic food industries over environmental, health and safety claims. The paper concludes by identifying the barriers and opportunities for expanding the organic industry in Australia in the context of the ways organics is constructed by consumers.

Child welfare workers' use of theory in working with physical child abuse: Implications for professional supervision

This article examines child welfare workers' understanding of physical child abuse and the Implications for those supervising these workers. The article Is based on the results of a study that involved In-depth Interviews and focus groups with statutory child welfare workers. Analysis revealed that workers' understanding of physical child abuse embodied a wide range of ideas that were generally consistent with existing literature. The study highlights the value and utility of a reflective approach In stimulating and making explicit the theoretical underpinnings of child welfare workers practice. Specific Implications for professional supervision are addressed.

Globalisation and the reconstruction of the literate child

In New Zealand, the turn from the welfare state since 1984 to a global market driven economy in the early mid 1990s has affected the way that primary curriculum documents have been developed and implemented. Those documents, together with teachers’ handbooks, have in turn affected the way that teachers teach. In particular, the construction of literacy and what constitutes literacy teaching in these documents have affected teachers’ work and have also constructed and are reconstructing childhood and the child literate. The way that teachers teach literacy depends on their constructions of children and childhood and that as their views of childhood and children change, so too do their views of the teaching of literacy. Against this background of locating childhood and children in educational and literacy discourses, other discourses of new technologies, cultural diversity, time and space of “new times” are also challenging the construction of literacy, the literate child and childhood.

Behaviour of older people admitted for residential respite care

The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether residential respite care is used because of disruptive behaviour displayed by older people. The specific objectives were to 1) characterise older people being admitted for residential respite care, 2) obtain a preliminary estimate of the proportion of older people in residential respite care because of disruptive behaviour, and, 3) examine the relationship between residential respite care and disruptive behaviour. A quantitative approach using a cross-sectional survey was employed. The respite recipients were 35 older people with a mean age of 81.5 years (range 67-96 years). The respite recipients had been admitted for residential respite care to aged care hostels and nursing homes in a provincial city and its surrounding rural area. Nurses rated disruptive behaviour using the Dementia Behavior Disturbance Scale (DBDS). Additional reliability data for the DBDS are provided. The study found that the largest specific group of residential respite care users were widows (31.4%) who lived alone in their own home. The reason for over half (51.4%) of the residential respite admissions was to give a carer a 'break' from the older person. Although a large proportion (80%) of respite recipients were rated as having disruptive behaviour, the proportion of admissions because of disruptive behaviour was much less (28.6%). People with dementia (37.1%) scored significantly higher than people without dementia on the DBDS [F (1,33)=15.57, p

Pea mania: deranged behaviour in cattle grazing a pea crop (Pisum sativum var arvense)

Hypersensitivity to external stimuli, progressing in some animals to manic behaviour, occurred in a cattle herd that grazed a crop of field peas (Pisum sativum var arvense) in the pre-flowering stage. Haematological and biochemical analyses eliminated hypomagnesaemia and ketosis as diagnoses. Other than two steers euthanased due to injuries sustained during manic episodes, all affected animals survived, recovering over 3 days when moved to alternative pasture. No necropsies were conducted. No microbial pathogens or endophytes were found on or in the plants. A previously reported incident in Victoria in 1987 in cattle grazing peas appeared to be of a similar nature. Environmental factors leading to these incidents were not clearly identified.

Who does not gain weight? Prevalence and predictors of weight maintenance in young women

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and predictors of weight maintenance over time in a large sample of young Australian women. DESIGN: This population study examined baseline and 4y follow-up data from the cohort of young women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. SUBJECTS: A total of 8726 young women aged 18 - 23y at baseline. MEASURES: Height, weight and body mass index (BMI); physical activity; time spent sitting; selected eating behaviours (eg dieting, disordered eating, takeaway food consumption); cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption; parity; and socio-demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Only 44% of the women reported their BMI at follow-up to be within 5% of their baseline BMI (maintainers); 41% had gained weight and 15% had lost weight. Weight maintainers were more likely to be in managerial or professional occupations; to have never married; to be currently studying; and not to be mothers. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, weight maintainers were more likely to be in a healthy weight range at baseline, and to report that they spent less time sitting, and consumed less takeaway food, than women who gained weight. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer than half the young women in this community sample maintained their weight over this 4y period in their early twenties. Findings of widespread weight gain, particularly among those already overweight, suggest that early adulthood, which is a time of significant life changes for many women, may be an important time for implementing strategies to promote maintenance of healthy weight. Strategies which encourage decreased sitting time and less takeaway food consumption may be effective for encouraging weight maintenance at this life stage.

Behaviour of the black flying fox Pteropus alecto: 1. An ethogram of behaviour, and preliminary characterisation of mother-infant interactions

The black flying fox Pteropus alecto is one of four species of flying fox found on the Australian mainland. Little information exists about the specific behaviour of this species, and no framework for the study of its behaviour has yet been constructed. In the study reported here, two P alecto colonies were observed at two day roosts in South East Queensland, Australia, between 1998-2000. Observations focused on solitary and social actions in general and on mother-infant interactions in some detail and led to the construction of an ethogram that defines each action structurally and functionally, describing accompanying vocalisations where appropriate. Diurnal activity patterns of P. alecto throughout the year consisted predominantly of roosting, grooming and sleeping, and involved little social activity. Social interactions were largely restricted to the seasonal contexts of the birthing/rearing period of October to March and the subsequent courtship/mating season of February to April. In all, 74 behavioural units were defined with the aim of facilitating further research and the implementation of effective conservation strategies for the species.

Growth and compaction behaviour of copper concentrate granules in a rotating drum

In order to understand the growth and compaction behaviour of chalcopyrite (copper concentrate), batch granulation tests were carried out using a rotating drum. The granule growth exhibited induction-type behaviour, as defined by Iveson and Litster [AIChE J. 44 (1998) 15 10]. There were two consecutive stages during granulation: the induction stage, during which the granules are gradually being compacted and little or no growth occurs, and the rapid growth stage, which starts when the granules have become surface wet and are rapidly growing. In agreement with earlier findings. an increased amount of binder liquid shortened the induction time. The compaction behaviour was also investigated. A displaced volume method was adopted to determine the porosity of the granules. It was shown that this technique had a limitation as it was unable to detect the reduction of the volumes of the granule pores after the granules had become surface wet. Due to this, some of the measurements were not suited for fitting a three-parameter empirical model. Attempts were made to determine whether the rapid growth stage started with the pore saturation exceeding a certain critical value, but due to the scatter in the porosity measurements and the fact that some of the measurements could not be used, it was not possible to determine a critical pore saturation, However, the porosity measurements clearly demonstrated that the porosity of the granules decreased during the induction stage of an experiment and that when rapid growth occurred, the granules had a pore saturation was around 0.85. This value was slightly lower than unity, which is most likely due to trapped air bubbles. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Extra-pair paternity and mate-guarding behaviour in the brown thornbill

We used multilocus DNA fingerprinting to assess parentage in the brown thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla, a socially monogamous Australian passerine. Extra-pair paternity was uncommon (6.2% of 178 offspring; 11.9% of 67 broods) and there was no evidence of intra-specific brood parasitism. Extra-pair paternity was limited because pairs spent more time together when females were fertile and males were able to evict intruding males before they could approach the female. Males were responsible for the close proximity of partners during the fertile period. Mate guarding therefore appears to be a male tactic aimed at preventing female infidelity rather than a cooperative behaviour of the pair aimed at preventing extra-pair copulations and/or female harassment. Females did not attempt to escape male guarding and were rarely observed to solicit copulations from intruding males. Nevertheless, females paired to smaller and younger males were more likely to cuckold their mates than females paired to larger and older males. This suggests that females may be more likely to seek or accept extra-pair matings when paired to small, young males or that old, large males are better at preventing their mates from engaging in extra-pair copulations. We found that male age but not male size influences mate-guarding behaviour. Older males tended to respond more aggressively to intruders. We therefore speculate that the relationship between male size/age and extra-pair paternity in brown thornbills may arise because female thornbills prefer large males as mates but are unable to express this preference as easily when paired to older males.

Behaviour of the black flying fox Pteropus alecto: 2. Territoriality and courtship

Flying foxes are commonly thought of as highly social mammals, yet little is known about the dynamics of their social interactions at a day roost. The aim of the present study was to examine the nature of the seasonal activities of territoriality and courtship amongst wild flying foxes in Australia. Focal observations were conducted at two permanent roosts of black flying foxes Pteropus alecto during periods of peak social interaction in the summers of 1999 and 2000 in urban Brisbane, Queensland. Observations of male territoriality were conducted at dawn and began eight weeks prior to the commencement of mating. The majority of defense bouts (87%) consisted of ritualised pursuit, while 13% of bouts involved physical contact expressed as either wrestling or hooking. One male with an unusually large territory took significantly longer to defend it than other males with less territory to defend. Observations of courtship revealed repetitive courtship sequences, including pre-copulatory approaches by the males, copulation attempts and grooming/resting periods. Thirty-four complete courtship sequences incorporating 135 copulation attempts were recorded over two seasons. Females actively resisted courtship approaches by males, forcing males to display a continuous determination to mate over time where determination can be considered an indicator of 'fitness'. The courtship bout length of females with suckling young was significantly longer ((x) over bar +/- SE; 230.9 +/- 22.16 s) than that of females unencumbered by large pups (158.5 +/- 9.69 s), although the length of copulations within those courtships was not (45.6 +/- 5.19 versus 36.2 +/- 3.43 s).

The long-term effects of cooperative learning on children's behaviour and interactions

This study investigates the long-term effects of training in small-group and interpersonal behaviours on children's behaviours and interactions as they worked in small groups two years after they were initially trained. Forty-eight third grade children, who had been trained two years previously in cooperative group behaviours, were assigned to the Trained condition and 44 third grade children who had not previously been trained were assigned to the Untrained condition. The children in the trained and untrained groups were reconstituted from the pool of students who had participated previously in either trained or untrained group activities. The results showed that there was a long-term training effect with the children in the Trained groups demonstrating more cooperative behaviour and providing more explanations in response to requests for help than their untrained peers.

Paid employment of mothers and fathers of an adult child with multiple disabilities

Background Paid employment is increasingly undertaken by mothers as their children age, with the majority of women being in employment by the time their offspring are adult. Opportunities to engage in employment appear to be reduced for mothers of children with disabilities; however, little is known about the employment of mothers or fathers of adults with disabilities. Method Data were collected regarding the employment decisions of parents of a young adult with multiple disabilities and contrasted with those of parents whose children were all developing normally. Twenty-five mothers and 12 fathers of a young adult with multiple disabilities were interviewed, as were 25 comparison mothers and 19 comparison fathers. Data collected included hours of work, reasons for employment status, attitudes towards work and child care, and psychological well-being. Results Clear differences were found between the two groups. Mothers and fathers of a child with multiple disabilities showed different engagement patterns with the paid workforce from comparison parents. Hours of work for fathers of a young adult with multiple disabilities showed a bi-modal distribution, with some fathers working fewer hours than usual and others working very long hours. For mothers in both groups, the number of hours in paid employment was negatively associated with reports of psychological problems. Conclusions Increased attention needs to be given to the employment opportunities of parents of children with disabilities since employment appears to play a protective role for mothers, in particular. Services provided to adults with disabilities will need to change if parents are to have the same life chances as parents without adult offspring with a disability.