Griggs' Folly: An Essay on the Theory, Problems, and Origin of the Adverse Impact Definition of Employment Discrimination and a Recommendation for Reform

This Article examines the adverse impact theory of employment discrimination under Title VII. The author begins by discussing the development of adverse impact in the case law, and by scrutinizing its theoretical underpinnings. He demonstrates that Congress did not intend to mandate adoption of adverse impact theory when it established Title VII. The author then argues that the Courts have exceeded their authority under Title VII by embracing the theory of adverse impact. He concludes that the courts should therefore return to a narrower theory of employment discrimination, namely, a theory based on the legal concept of “intent.”

Weed management in wide-row cropping systems: a review of current practices and risks for Australian farming systems.

Growing agricultural crops in wide row spacings has been widely adopted to conserve water, to control pests and diseases, and to minimise problems associated with sowing into stubble. The development of herbicide resistance combined with the advent of precision agriculture has resulted in a further reason for wide row spacings to be adopted: weed control. Increased row spacing enables two different methods of weed control to be implemented with non-selective chemical and physical control methods utilised in the wide inter-row zone, with or without selective chemicals used on the on-row only. However, continual application of herbicides and tillage on the inter-row zone brings risks of herbicide resistance, species shifts and/or changes in species dominance, crop damage, increased costs, yield losses, and more expensive weed management technology.

Load Transfer from a Smooth Elastic Pin to a Large Sheet

The plane problem of load transfer from an elastic interference or clearance fit pin to a large elastic sheet with a perfectly smooth interface is solved. As the load on the pin is monotonically increased, the pin-hole interface is in partial contact above certain critical load in interference fit and throughout the loading range in clearance fit.Such situations result in mixed boundary-value problems with moving boundaries and the arc of contact varies nonlinearly with applied load. These problems are analyzed by an inverse technique in which the arcs of contact/separation are prescribed and the causative loads are evaluated. A direct method of analysis is adopted using biharmonic polar trigonometric stress functions and a simple collocation method for satisfying the boundary conditions. A unified analytical formulation is achieved for interference and clearance fits. The solutions for the linear problem of push fits are inherent in the unified analysis. Numerical results highlighting the effects of pin and sheet elasticity parameters are presented.

Feeling Better, Performing Better? Holistically-Oriented Top Performance and Well-Being (HOPE) : Performance Enhancement and Its Perceived Impacts on Musicians

Most musicians choose a career in music based on their love of the art and a desire to share it with others. However, being a performing musician is highly demanding. Despite considerable evidence of the great frequency of performance-related problems (e.g. debilitating performance anxiety) among professional musicians or aspiring musicians in the current Western classical music tradition these problems are seldom discussed openly. The existing system offers musicians very little help in learning how to build sustainable performance success into their musical career. This study it is first of its kind in Finland which addresses the issue on larger scale in a systematic way. I devised the HOPE intervention (Holistically-Oriented Top Performance and Well-Being Enhancement), in order to learn how to integrate professional peak performance and a sense of personal well-being into the lives and careers of musicians. Unlike most interventions in previous research, the HOPE intervention is explicitly holistic and aims at enhancing the whole musician, not just alleviating performance anxiety. Earlier research has not in principle focused on musicians´ psychological well-being or on their subjective perceptions. The main purpose of the study is to understand the perceived impacts of the specially devised HOPE intervention on the participants and particularly in four key areas: performing, playing or singing well-being, and overall (performing, playing or singing and well-being combined). Furthermore, it is hoped that a deeper understanding of performers´ development will be gained. The research method is interdisciplinary and mainly qualitative. The primary data consist of a series of linked questionnaires (before and after the intervention) and semi-structured follow-up interviews collected during action research-oriented HOPE intervention courses for music majors in the Sibelius Academy. With the longitudinal group called Hope 1, the core data were collected during a nine month HOPE intervention course and from follow-up interviews conducted six months later in 2003-2004. The core data of Hope 1 (nine participants) are compared with the perceived impacts on fifty-three other participants in the HOPE courses during the period since their inception, 2001-2006. The focus is particularly on participants´ subjective perceptions. Results of the study suggest that the HOPE intervention is beneficial in enhancing overall performance capacity, including music performance, and a personal sense of well-being in a music university setting. The findings indicate that within all key areas significant positive changes take place between the beginning and the end of a HOPE intervention course. The longitudinal data imply that the perceived positive changes are still ongoing six months after the HOPE intervention course is finished. The biggest change takes place within the area of performing and the smallest, in participants´ perception of their playing or singing. The main impacts include reduced feelings of stress and anxiety (an enhanced sense of well-being) as well as increased sense of direction and control in one's life. Since the results of the present research gave no other reason to believe otherwise, it is to be expected that the HOPE intervention and the results of the study can be exploited in other areas of human activity as well, especially where continuous professional top performance is a prerequisite such as in business or sports. Keywords: performance enhancement, professional top performance, subjective well-being, subjective perceptions, holism, coaching, music performance anxiety, studying music, music.

Action learning in partnership with Landcare and catchment management groups to support increased pasture sowings in southern inland Queensland

The incorporation of sown pastures as short-term rotations into the cropping systems of northern Australia has been slow. The inherent chemical fertility and physical stability of the predominant vertisol soils across the region enabled farmers to grow crops for decades without nitrogen fertiliser, and precluded the evolution of a crop–pasture rotation culture. However, as less fertile and less physically stable soils were cropped for extended periods, farmers began to use contemporary farming and sown pasture technologies to rebuild and maintain their soils. This has typically involved sowing long-term grass and grass–legume pastures on the more marginal cropping soils of the region. In partnership with the catchment management authority, the Queensland Murray–Darling Committee (QMDC) and Landcare, a pasture extension process using the LeyGrain™ package was implemented in 2006 within two Grain & Graze projects in the Maranoa-Balonne and Border Rivers catchments in southern inland Queensland. The specific objectives were to increase the area sown to high quality pasture and to gain production and environmental benefits (particularly groundcover) through improving the skills of producers in pasture species selection, their understanding and management of risk during pasture establishment, and in managing pastures and the feed base better. The catalyst for increasing pasture sowings was a QMDC subsidy scheme for increasing groundcover on old cropping land. In recognising a need to enhance pasture knowledge and skills to implement this scheme, the QMDC and Landcare producer groups sought the involvement of, and set specific targets for, the LeyGrain workshop process. This is a highly interactive action learning process that built on the existing knowledge and skills of the producers. Thirty-four workshops were held with more than 200 producers in 26 existing groups and with private agronomists. An evaluation process assessed the impact of the workshops on the learning and skill development by participants, their commitment to practice change, and their future intent to sow pastures. The results across both project catchments were highly correlated. There was strong agreement by producers (>90%) that the workshops had improved knowledge and skills regarding the adaptation of pasture species to soils and climates, enabling a better selection at the paddock level. Additional strong impacts were in changing the attitudes of producers to all aspects of pasture establishment, and the relative species composition of mixtures. Producers made a strong commitment to practice change, particularly in managing pasture as a specialist crop at establishment to minimise risk, and in the better selection and management of improved pasture species (particularly legumes and the use of fertiliser). Producers have made a commitment to increase pasture sowings by 80% in the next 5 years, with fourteen producers in one group alone having committed to sow an additional 4893 ha of pasture in 2007–08 under the QMDC subsidy scheme. The success of the project was attributed to the partnership between QMDC and Landcare groups who set individual workshop targets with LeyGrain presenters, the interactive engagement processes within the workshops themselves, and the follow-up provided by the LeyGrain team for on-farm activities.

Increased reproductive success in older female red kangaroos and the impact of harvesting

Wildlife harvesting has a long history in Australia, including obvious examples of overexploitation. Not surprisingly, there is scepticism that commercial harvesting can be undertaken sustainably. Kangaroo harvesting has been challenged regularly at Administrative Appeals Tribunals and elsewhere over the past three decades. Initially, the concern from conservation groups was sustainability of the harvest. This has been addressed through regular, direct monitoring that now spans > 30 years and a conservative harvest regime with a low risk of overharvest in the face of uncertainty. Opposition to the harvest now continues from animal rights groups whose concerns have shifted from overall harvest sustainability to side effects such as animal welfare, and changes to community structure, genetic composition and population age structure. Many of these concerns are speculative and difficult to address, requiring expensive data. One concern is that older females are the more successful breeders and teach their daughters optimal habitat and diet selection. The lack of older animals in a harvested population may reduce the fitness of the remaining individuals; implying population viability would also be compromised. This argument can be countered by the persistence of populations under harvesting without any obvious impairment to reproduction. Nevertheless, an interesting question is how age influences reproductive output. In this study, data collected from a number of red kangaroo populations across eastern Australia indicate that the breeding success of older females is up to 7-20% higher than that of younger females. This effect is smaller than that of body condition and the environment, which can increase breeding success by up to 30% and 60% respectively. Average age of mature females in a population may be reduced from 9 to 6 years old, resulting in a potential reduction in breeding success of 3-4%. This appears to be offset in harvested populations by improved condition of females from a reduction in kangaroo density. There is an important recommendation for management. The best insurance policy against overharvest and unwanted side effects is not research, which could be never-ending. Rather, it is a harvest strategy that includes safeguards against uncertainty such as harvest reserves, conservative quotas and regular monitoring. Research is still important in fine tuning that strategy and is most usefully incorporated as adaptive management where it can address the key questions on how populations respond to harvesting.

Fuel cells: Problems and prospects

n recent years, fuel cell technology has advanced significantly. Field trials on certain types of fuel cells have shown promise for electrical use. This article reviews the electrochemistry, problems and prospects of fuel cell systems.

Flow over a cylinder with a hinged-splitter plate

Previous work on rigid splitter plates in the wake of a bluff body has shown that the primary vortex shedding can be suppressed for sufficiently long splitter plates. In the present work, we study the problem of a hinged-splitter plate in the wake of a circular cylinder. The splitter plate can rotate about the hinge at the base of the cylinder due to the unsteady fluid forces acting on it, and hence the communication between the two sides of the wake is not totally disrupted as in the rigid splitter plate case. In our study, we investigate this problem in the limit where the stiffness and internal damping associated with the hinge are negligible, and the mass ratio of the splitter plate is small. The experiments show that the splitter plate oscillations increase with Reynolds numbers at low values of Re, and are found to reach a saturation amplitude level at higher Re, Re>4000. This type of saturation amplitude level that appears to continue indefinitely with Re, appears to be related to the fact that there is no structural restoring force, and has been observed previously for transversely oscillating cylinders with no restorin force. In the present case, the saturation tip amplitude level can be tip to 0.45D, where D is the cylinder diameter. For this hinged-rigid splitter plate case, it is found that the splitter plate length to cylinder diameter ratio (L/D) is crucial in determining the character and magnitude of the oscillations. For small splitter plate length (L/D <= 3.0), the oscillations appear to be nearly periodic with tip amplitudes of about 0.45D nearly independent of L/D. The nondiinensional oscillation frequencies (fD/U) on the other hand are found to continuously vary with L/D from fD/U approximate to 0.2 at L/D = 1 to fD/U approximate to 0.1 at L/D = 3. As the splitter plate length is further increased beyond L/D >= 4.0, the character of the splitter plate oscillations suddenly changes. The oscillations become aperiodic with much smaller amplitudes. In this long splitter plate regime, the spectra of the oscillations become broadband, and are reminiscent of the change in character of the wake oscillations seen in the earlier fixed-rigid splitter plate case for L/D >= 5.0. In the present case of the hinged-splitter plate, the sudden transition seen as the splitter plate length (L/D) is increased from 3 to 4 may be attributed to the fact that the wake vortices are no longer able to synchronize with the plate motions for larger splitter plate lengths. Hence, as observed in other vortex-induced vibration problems, the oscillations becomeaperiodic and the amplitude reduces dramatically.

Increased profitability through product diversification and improved sugar quality.

The proposed simplified Integrated Sugar Production Process (ISPP) using membrane technology would allow the sugar industry to produce new product streams and higher quality mill sugar with increased sugar extraction efficiency. Membrane filtration technology has proven to be a technically sound process to increase sugar quality. However commercial viability has been uncertain partly because the benefits to crystallisation and sugar quality have not outweighed the increased processing cost. This simplified ISPP produces additional value-added liquid streams to make the membrane fractionation process more financially viable and improve the profitability of sugar manufacture. An experimental study used pilot scale membrane fractionation of clarified mill juice confirmed the technical feasibility of separating inorganic salt and antioxidant rich fractions from cane juice. The paper presents details on the compositions of the liquid streams along with their potential uses, values and challenges in getting these products out to market.

Low temperature Properties of glasses-unsolved problems

Glasses show very interesting behavior well below the glass transition temperature. Inspite of various experimental observations, even simple quantitative explanations relating these relaxation phenomena to structural properties are absent. In this paper we have tried to point out a phenomenological approach to this problem by identifying certain parameters which we think can be used to characterize these relaxations.

Handpumps: problems and search for remedies

This paper gives a brief survey of research and development work done on hand pumps in India as well as elsewhere and sets out the approach adopted by ASTRA Working Group. Ten ways in which a hand pump breakdown in practice have been identified. The physical reasons behind each type of breakdown analysed. Remedial measures have been developed from this analysis. Laboratory test rigs fabricated to evaluate these measures have been described and some experimental results presented. The course of further work has been charted.

Self-reported bruxism : Associated factors among media personnel with or without irregular shift work

Tutkimuksen kohderyhmänä oli mediatyöntekijöitä, joiden toimenkuva on viime vuosina muuttunut yhä kuormittavammaksi epäsäännöllisen vuorotyön sekä jatkuvien teknisten, organisatoristen ja taloudellisten tekijöiden ristipaineessa. Väitöskirjatutkimus on osa laajempaa tutkimushanketta, joka suunniteltiin selvittämään epäsäännöllisen vuorotyön mahdollisia haittoja. Tutkimusta tukivat taloudellisesti Työsuojelurahasto ja Suomen Hammaslääkäriseura Apollonia sekä resurssipanostuksin Hammaslääketieteen laitos (HY), Työterveyslaitos ja Yleisradio Oy. Bruksismi on tahdosta riippumatonta hampaiden narskuttelua tai yhteenpuristamista. Hampaiden narskuttelu on rytmistä jaksoittain toistuvaa puremalihasten toimintaa, joka esiintyy nukkuessa -tavallisimmin kevyen unen ja havahtumisjaksojen yhteydessä. Valveilla ollessa bruksismi on terveillä ihmisillä lähinnä hampaiden yhteenpuristamista. Yleisen käsityksen mukaan toistuvaa unibruksismia esiintyy noin 10 %:lla ja valveilla tapahtuvaa hampaiden yhteenpuristamista noin 20 %:lla. Aiemmin bruksismi kuului kansainvälisen unihäiriöluokituksen (ICSD 1997) mukaan unen erityishäiriöihin, mutta tuorein luokitus (ICSD 2005) listaa sen unen liikehäiriöihin. Väitöstutkimuksen yleisenä tavoitteena oli kartoittaa koetun bruksismin ja uni- valvehäiriöiden yhteyttä. Tutkimus oli poikittainen vertailututkimus epäsäännöllistä vuorotyötä ja säännöllisiä päivävuoroja tekevien välillä. Mielenkiinto kohdistui myös bruksismin ja kasvojen alueen kivun mahdolliseen yhteyteen. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa selvitettiin joidenkin tunnetusti unen laatua huonontavien psykososiaalisten, neurologisten ja fysiologisten tekijöiden yhteyttä koettuun bruksismiin. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmän muodosti 750 Yleisradion epäsäännöllistä vuorotyötä tekevää työntekijää. Vertailuryhmänä käytettiin samansuuruista satunnaistetusti valittua kaltaistettua Yleisradion työntekijäjoukkoa, joka tekee samankaltaista työtä, mutta säännöllisenä päivätyönä. Kohderyhmälle lähetettiin kyselylomakkeet, jotka kartoittivat koetun bruksismin lisäksi mm. tutkittavien taustatiedot, yleisen terveydentilan, yleisiä koettuja stressioireita ja tuntemuksia, kipuoireita, sekä unen laatua. Lisäksi esitettiin jaksamista ja työympäristöä koskevia kysymyksiä. Kyselyyn vastasi kaikkiaan 874 henkilöä. Kokonaisvastausprosentti oli 58,3 % (53,7 % miehiä). Epäsäännöllistä vuorotyötä tekevien vastausprosentti oli 82,3 % ja säännöllistä päivätyötä tekevien ryhmässä 34,3 %. Työtehtävät sisälsivät ohjelmien toimitus- ja tuottamistyötä, teknistä tuotanto- ja tukityötä, sekä esimies- ja hallintotyötä. Miesten keski-ikä vuorotyöryhmässä oli 45,0 (± 10,6) vuotta ja naisten keski-ikä 42,6 (± 10,7) vuotta, vastaavat luvut päivätyötä tekeville olivat 47,4 (± 9,7) ja 45,5 (± 10,1) vuotta. Vuorotyötä tekevistä oli miehiä 56,6 %, päivätyöryhmässä miehien osuus oli 46,7 %. Usein koettua bruksismia havaittiin koko tutkimusjoukossa 10,6 %:lla. Bruksismin esiintyvyydessä ei ollut merkitsevää eroa epäsäännöllistä vuorotyötä ja päivätyötä tekevien välillä. Kun bruksismia ja stressiä arvioitiin suhteessa tyytyväisyyteen nykyiseen työaikamuotoon, molemmat olivat merkitsevästi vallitsevimpia niillä, jotka halusivat vaihtaa nykyistä työaikamuotoaan. Epäsäännöllistä vuorotyötä tekevät lisäksi ilmoittivat kokevansa enemmän stressiä kuin päivätyötä tekevät sekä olivat tyytymättömämpiä työaikamuotoonsa. Tutkittavista henkilöistä katkonaista unta esiintyi 43,6 %:lla sekä 36,2 % koki unensa virkistämättömäksi. Kasvokipua esiintyi 19,6 %:lla. Usein toistuva bruksaus sekä tyytymättömyys työaikamuotoon olivat erittäin merkitsevästi yhteydessä unihäiriöiden sekä riittämättömän unen oireiden kanssa. Bruksismi ja katkonainen uni osoittautuivat myös kasvokivun taustatekijöiksi. Tutkimus osoitti, että koetulla bruksismilla oli merkitsevä yhteys unihäiriöihin, kasvokipuun, koettuun stressiin ja ahdistuneisuuteen, nuorempaan ikään, runsaampiin hammaslääkäri- ja lääkärikäynteihin sekä siihen että oli tyytymätön työaikamuotoonsa (itse työaikamuoto ei ollut merkitsevä tekijä). Tutkimuksen yhtenä johtopäätöksenä todettiin, että koettu bruksismi voi terveillä työikäisillä henkilöillä olla osa stressaavaa tilannetta ja siihen liittyvää käyttäytymistä. Tämän tiedostaminen terveydenhuollossa voisi olla hyödyllistä.

Establishment and management of salt-tolerant amenity grasses to reduce urban salinity effect

This project built upon the successful outcomes of a previous project (TU02005) by adding to the database of salt tolerance among warm season turfgrass cultivars, through further hydroponic screening trials. Hydroponic screening trials focussed on new cultivars or cultivars that were not possible to cover in the time available under TU02005, including: 11 new cultivars of Paspalum vaginatum; 13 cultivars of Cynodon dactylon; six cultivars of Stenotaphrum secundatum; one accession of Cynodon transvaalensis; 12 Cynodon dactylon x transvaalensis hybrids; two cultivars of Sporobolus virginicus; five cultivars of Zoysia japonica; one cultivar of Z. macrantha, one common form of Z. tenuifolia and one Z. japonica x tenuifolia hybrid. The relative salinity tolerance of different turfgrasses is quantified in terms of their growth response to increasing levels of salinity, often defined by the salt level that equates to a 50% reduction in shoot yield, or alternatively the threshold salinity. The most salt tolerant species in these trials were Sporobolus virginicus and Paspalum vaginatum, consistent with the findings from TU02005 (Loch, Poulter et al. 2006). Cynodon dactylon showed the largest range in threshold values with some cultivars highly sensitive to salt, while others were tolerant to levels approaching that of the more halophytic grasses. Coupled with the observational and anecdotal evidence of high drought tolerance, this species and other intermediately tolerant species provide options for site specific situations in which soil salinity is coupled with additional challenges such as shade and high traffic conditions. By recognising the fact that a salt tolerant grass is not the complete solution to salinity problems, this project has been able to further investigate sustainable long-term establishment and management practices that maximise the ability of the selected grass to survive and grow under a particular set of salinity and usage parameters. Salt-tolerant turf grasses with potential for special use situations were trialled under field conditions at three sites within the Gold Coast City Council, while three sites, established under TU02005 within the Redland City Council boundaries were monitored for continued grass survival. Several randomised block experiments within Gold Coast City were established to compare the health and longevity of seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum), Manila grass (Zoysia matrella), as well as the more tolerant cultivars of other species like buffalo grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) and green couch (Cynodon dactylon). Whilst scientific results were difficult to achieve in the field situation, where conditions cannot be controlled, these trials provided valuable observational evidence of the likely survival of these species. Alternatives to laying full sod such as sprigging were investigated, and were found to be more appropriate for areas of low traffic as the establishment time is greater. Trials under controlled and protected conditions successfully achieved a full cover of Paspalum vaginatum from sprigs in a 10 week time frame. Salt affected sites are often associated with poor soil structure. Part of the research investigated techniques for the alleviation of soil compaction frequently found on saline sites. Various methods of soil de-compaction were investigated on highly compacted heavy clay soil in Redlands City. It was found that the heavy duplex soil of marine clay sediments required the most aggressive of treatments in order to achieve limited short-term effects. Interestingly, a well constructed sports field showed a far greater and longer term response to de-compaction operations, highlighting the importance of appropriate construction in the successful establishment and management of turfgrasses on salt affected sites. Fertiliser trials in this project determined plant demand for nitrogen (N) to species level. This work produced data that can be used as a guide when fertilising, in order to produce optimal growth and quality in the major turf grass species used in public parkland. An experiment commenced during TU02005 and monitored further in this project, investigated six representative warm-season turfgrasses to determine the optimum maintenance requirements for fertiliser N in south-east Queensland. In doing so, we recognised that optimum level is also related to use and intensity of use, with high profile well-used parks requiring higher maintenance N than low profile parks where maintaining botanical composition at a lower level of turf quality might be acceptable. Kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) seemed to require the greatest N input (300-400 kg N/ha/year), followed by the green couch (Cynodon dactylon) cultivars ‘Wintergreen’ and ‘FLoraTeX’ requiring approximately 300 kg N/ha/year for optimal condition and growth. ‘Sir Walter’ (Stenotaphrum secundatum) and ‘Sea Isle 1’ (Paspalum vaginatum) had a moderate requirement of approximately 200 kg/ha/year. ‘Aussiblue’ (Digitaria didactyla)maintained optimal growth and quality at 100-200 kg N/ha/year. A set of guidelines has been prepared to provide various options from the construction and establishment of new grounds, through to the remediation of existing parklands by supporting the growth of endemic grasses. They describe a best management process through which salt affected sites should be assessed, remediated and managed. These guidelines, or Best Management Practices, will be readily available to councils. Previously, some high salinity sites have been turfed several times over a number of years (and Council budgets) for a 100% failure record. By eliminating this budgetary waste through targeted workable solutions, local authorities will be more amenable to investing appropriate amounts into these areas. In some cases, this will lead to cost savings as well as resulting in better quality turf. In all cases, however, improved turf quality will be of benefit to ratepayers, directly through increased local use of open space in parks and sportsfields and indirectly by attracting tourists and other visitors to the region bringing associated economic benefits. At the same time, environmental degradation and erosion of soil in bare areas will be greatly reduced.

Utilisation of local ingredients in commercial pig feeds

The long-term competitiveness of the both the Vietnamese feed and pig production industries are constrained and under pressure whilst the industry is dependent on the use of imported feed ingredients in diets for animal production. These cost pressures are a result of import taxes, transport costs, currency fluctuations and feed supply limitations. By undertaking studies on available resources which are currently under-utilised and with potential as local feeds, we can prove their suitability for use as feedstuffs in pig diets and as replacements for imported feed ingredients. In undertaking this process we can lower feeding costs for pig production in Vietnam by the use of local feeds which are cheaper, generate new industries in Vietnam harvesting or processing these feeds and increase the incomes of Vietnamese workers who are involved in producing these by-products. Our project has shown that rubber seed, when processed correctly to lower the hydrogen cyanide content, is a safe and suitable protein meal feedstuff for use in pig diets with the potential to replace significant quantities of imported soybean and fishmeal in Vietnamese pig diets as long as diets are balanced for any amino acid shortfalls. Our peanut studies have shown that use of binders can help alleviate pig production problems with aflatoxin content in peanut meals. Further work is needed to characterise the fate of the bound aflatoxin to see if there is any meat residue risk. Cassava residue is a resultant by-product from starch extraction in both large and small cassava processing factories. Sub-samples from these two mill types were collected and evaluated for residue HCN. Analyses has shown that the processing and sun drying results in a product with relatively consistent low HCN content. Chemical analyses also reveal that significant residual starch also remains in this by-product. Digestibility studies and pig performance feeding studies have shown that cassava residue can be included in diets at 30% with no adverse effect, although the higher fibre content of this product means that strategically, cassava residue is more suitably used in finisher and sow diets. Research has examined the digestible energy content of a number of sunflower meal types available in Australia and identified major differences in their energy value based on processing, additionally, amino acid analysis has shown a significantly lower lysine content than previous reported. We also examined the digestible energy content of a number of Australian stylo forage legume harvest batches and identified the differences in their energy value based on age/harvest time of the forage legume. Analysis results of various stylo cuts showed that the early cut stylo has a higher starch content and lower fibre fraction content than observed in late and recut stylo which were allowed to grow longer. As a result the faecal digestible energy content was higher for the early cut stylo than for the subsequent cut stylo material which had been allowed to become woody. The results have shown that feeding of stylo meal does provide some nutritive value to the pig with increased energy and nitrogen supply, with a portion of the nitrogen presented which the pig is able to retain. Based on nutrient and fibre content stylo could have a useful role in sow feeding and satiety under non-stall housing situations. With increasing Vietnamese investment in rubber production seen with larger areas under plantations the amounts of rubber seed available for animal feeding will grow significantly over the next 15 years and the importance of the by-product ie rubber seed meal as a protein source in diets for Vietnamese pigs.

Fungal Biopesticide for cattle tick and buffalo fly control

Cattle ticks and buffalo flies impose significant economic burdens on the Northern Australian cattle and dairy industries. With the increased temperatures expected under climate change the range of parasites such as these is likely to extend. Current control options for these ectoparasites are limited by problems associated with chemical resistance and residues. Fungal biopesticides offer a sustainable and promising alternative method of control. Laboratory and animal studies have established the potential for the fungus Metarhizium in tick control and provided data that suggests a secondary effect of buffalo fly control is possible. Small field trials are required to obtain a proof of concept for the control of ticks and buffalo flies on animals.