Search results

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of ongoing conversations between researchers and librarians. Without such conversations followed by the active purchasing of manuscripts, the important contributions of individual first settlers would likely remain untold. The research review that unfolds here is of one of New Zealand's significant first settlers, William Colenso (1811-1899). Yet, 30 years ago William Colenso was mostly regarded as a local rather than a national figure, renowned and ridiculed for his being dismissed from the Church Missionary Society for moral impropriety in 1852. By 2011, however, a conference dedicated to his life and work attracted both national and international scholars raising awareness and contributing unique knowledge about Colenso as missionary, printer, linguist, explorer, botanist, politician, author and inspector of schools. It is argued that such scholarship was enabled through the purposeful collecting of Colenso's papers over 30 years.

The historical analysis draws from original documents and published papers chronicling the role and the views of one of New Zealand's first inspector of schools. A self-reflective review approach will show how new knowledge can enhance earlier published works and provide opportunities for further analysis.

It will be demonstrated that as a result of ongoing conversations between librarians and researchers purposeful buying of archives and manuscripts have added fresh perspectives to the contributions William Colenso made to education in provincial New Zealand.

This work is perhaps the first critical re-reading and review of one's own scholarship undertaken across 30 years within New Zealand history of education. It offers unique self-reflections on the subject focus and analyses of it over time.

The Departmental Committee appointed to inquire into the use of preservatives and colouring matters in the preservation and colouring of food, have now issued their report, and the large amount of evidence which is recorded therein will be found to be of the greatest interest to those concerned in striving to obtain a pure and unsophisticated food‐supply. It is of course much to be regretted that the Committee could not see their way to recommend the prohibition of all chemical preservatives in articles of food and drink; but, apart from this want of strength, they have made certain recommendations which, if they become law, will greatly improve the character of certain classes of food. It is satisfactory to note that formaldehyde and its preparations may be absolutely prohibited in foods and drinks; but, on the other hand, it is suggested that salicylic acid may be allowed in certain proportions in food, although in all cases its presence is to be declared. The entire prohibition of preservatives in milk would be a step in the right direction, although it is difficult to see why, in view of this recommendation, boric acid should be allowed to the extent of 0·25 per cent. in cream, more especially as by another recommendation all dietetic preparations intended for the use of invalids or infants are to be entirely free from preservative chemicals; but it will be a severe shock to tho3e traders who are in the habit of using these substances to be informed that they must declare the fact of the admixture by a label attached to the containing vessel. The use of boric acid and borax only is to be permitted in butter and margarine, in proportions not exceeding 0·5 per cent. expressed as boric acid, without notification. It is suggested that the use of salts of copper in the so‐called greening of vegetables should not be allowed, but upon this recommendation the members of the Committee were not unanimous, as in a note attached to the report one member states that he does not agree with the entire exclusion of added copper to food, for the strange reason that certain foods may naturally contain traces of copper. With equal truth it can be said that certain foods may naturally contain traces of arsenic. Is the addition of arsenic therefore to be permitted? The Committee are to be congratulated upon the result of their labours, and when these recommendations become law Great Britain may be regarded as having come a little more into line— although with some apparent reluctance—with those countries who regard the purity of their food‐supplies as a matter of national importance.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the work of Carnegie and Walker and report the results of Part 2 of their study on household accounting in Australia during the period from the 1820s to the 1960s.

The study adopts a microhistorical approach involving a detailed examination of actual accounting practices in the Australian home based on 18 sets of surviving household records identified as exemplars and supplemented by other sources which permit their contextualisation and interpretation.

The findings point to considerable variety in the accounting practices pursued by individuals and families. Household accounting in Australia was undertaken by both women and men of the middle and landed classes whose surviving household accounts were generally found to comprise one element of diverse and comprehensive personal record keeping systems. The findings indicate points of convergence and divergence in relation to the contemporary prescriptive literature and practice.

The paper reflects on the implications of the findings for the notion of the household as a unit of consumption as opposed to production, gender differences in accounting practice and financial responsibility, the relationship between changes in the life course and the commencement and cessation of household accounting, and the relationship between domestic accounting practice and social class.

The necessity of standards of purity for certain kinds of agricultural produce being now recognised by the new Adulteration Act—4, (1)—no apology is needed for attempting to bring the application of the principle into actual practice. Some few standards have already been generally adopted, and the legalization of limits relating to many of those substances with which the Adulteration Acts deal would undoubtedly be welcomed.

The shortage of grain, reflected by an increase in the rate of extraction in milling and then by the rationing of bread, has fully aroused the attention which it warrants. Avoidance of wastage, always important, now becomes imperative. In view of this, notes in connection with the occurrence of “rope” in bread which were recently made available to members of the baking industry by the Ministry of Food may be even more important than the warnings issued in previous years. The disease is associated with warm weather and develops most rapidly at about 100°F. The first of the symptoms is usually the development in the bread of a faint fruity odour, resembling that of an over‐ripe pineapple, which becomes more intense as the bread gets older. Discolouration and softening of the crumb next occurs, so that on attempting to cut the bread it tends to stick to the knife. When the crumb is pulled apart, fine gelatinous threads may be formed. Although an outbreak of “rope” is unpleasant, there is fortunately little or no evidence that such an occurrence is dangerous to health. The disease can of course occur in cakes and similar bakery products, but outbreaks are practically always confined to bread. The comparative immunity of cakes is probably due to a generally lower moisture content, which does not encourage development of the disease. Another possibility is that fruit, where present, may cause the development of a certain amount of acid, and acid conditions discourage the activity of the organism responsible for the trouble. “Rope” in bread is caused by the spore‐forming bacterium B. mesentericus. It has been suggested the disease is due to the decomposition of the starch by amylase, in which the organism is rich. There are several strains of this bacterium, which is of widespread occurrence—it is found, for example, in the soil. All kinds of flour, whether of high or of low extraction, and including those derived from cereals other than wheat, are possible carriers of the disease. However, carefully‐conducted experiments have shown that the “rope” spore content of the flour, unless particularly high, is of minor significance when outbreaks of “rope” occur. Far more important are the conditions under which the bread is made and under which it is treated after baking. It has been found that “rope” formation is more likely to develop in the dense crumb associated with under‐fermentation than in loaves in which the crumb is well‐developed. Use of sufficient yeast to cause the fermentation to be vigorous has also been found to be beneficial. The initial development of the organism appears to be at the expense of the soluble nitrogen compounds, sugars, etc., present in the bread. When these materials are exhausted, attack upon the protein of the loaf proceeds. A possibility is that prolonged fermentation causes a partial transformation of the gluten into nitrogenous substances which are more easily assimilated by the bacteria, whereas in a short, vigorous fermentation the formation of such substances may not occur to the same extent. Occurrences of the disease may be expected to be more severe with high extraction flours or whole‐meals, since higher extraction gives a medium which is better suited for the growth of the “rope”‐causing organism. All the members of the mesentericus group are characterised by the formation of spores which are extremely difficult to destroy by heating. For example, the spores can resist the temperature of boiling water for hours on end. Since the interior of a loaf probably does not exceed this temperature whilst in the oven, many of the spores will escape destruction. The spores will thus pass through the operation of baking and, if conditions are favourable, the development of the disease will start at or near the middle of the loaf. Since the damp, soggy crumb associated with an under‐baked loaf is conducive to the development of “rope,” thorough baking is a definite advantage. Owing to the fact that the “rope” organism requires warmth for its growth, rapid and thorough cooling of the bread in well‐ventilated cooling rooms is an important preventative factor. Spacing upon the racks should be such that the loaves do not touch, and the latter should not be packed whilst warm into delivery vans. Cleanliness is also of vital importance. Odd scraps of bread, dried dough, etc., may contain the spores of the organism and contact of the loaves with such material will lead to contamination which may bring to nought the preventative efforts made in other directions. Since the “rope” organism does not like acidity, addition to the bread dough of acidic substances is a useful deterrent. Acetic acid and acid calcium phosphate are particularly useful in this connection, since the requisite concentrations of these substances do not cause deterioration in bread quality. Bakeries with sackages below 100 per week may obtain without permit acetic acid solution of strength suitable for immediate addition. For larger users, the acid is supplied in a more concentrated form against a permit obtainable from the Directorate of Molasses and Industrial Alcohol, and is diluted before adding to the mixing. Though acetic acid or acid calcium phosphate may be used to suppress outbreaks or as preventatives during exceptional conditions, supplies of these agents are insufficient to enable them to be used continually as general preventatives during hot weather. For this purpose, the “acid dough” process of the British Arkady Co. Ltd., which requires no special materials, is recommended by the Ministry of Food. A small batch of “starter” dough is first prepared and is then incorporated into a larger mixing of “acid dough.” Portions of the latter are then added to the main mixing of bread dough, no alteration in the other constituents of the latter being required. Once the “acid dough” has been prepared, daily supplies may be kept up for months. A portion of the dough from the previous day is used as a starter for the new mixing, and from the second day onwards the “acid dough” becomes a fairly‐stabilised producer of acid.

The study was conducted to investigate the impact of improved cassava cultivars on income generation and food security status of women farmers in Tanzania.

Data were collected from 300 respondents (150 with improved cassava cultivars and 150 without) who were selected using purposive and random sampling techniques. Double Difference, Descriptive Statistics were the analytical tools. The Cost-of-Calorie Index was used to measure food security status of the respondents.

Results show that Double Difference estimates indicated that the annual income of the women farmers with improved cassava cultivars increased by TZS 143,495.20 which was higher than that of the women farmers without improved cassava cultivars which increased by only TZS 58,500. There was a positive impact on income as a result of using the improved cassava cultivars. The Cost-of-Calorie Index showed that the food security line per adult equivalent per month was TZS 2,743.81 and TZS 2,076.69 for farmers with and without improved cassava cultivars respectively. About 66% of the women farmers with improved cassava cultivars and 33% of the women farmers without improved cassava cultivars were food secure. Policies should be formulated to encourage women farmers to adopt and sustain the use of improved cultivars of cassava.

The research may be limited by its scope and generalizability, as it focuses on a specific geographic area (Mkuranga District) and demographic group (women farmers).

The study shed light on the role of agricultural interventions in empowering women economically and enhancing their food security, potentially leading to improved social status and decision-making power within their households and communities.

The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by emphasizing the benefits for women farmers when using improved cassava cultivars for income generation and food sufficiency.

Coastal flooding has disastrous consequences on people, infrastructure, properties and the environment. Increasing flood risk as a result of global climate change is a significant concern both within the UK and globally. To counter any potential increase in future flooding, a range of potential management options are being considered. This study aims to explore future coastal management practice for flood alleviation, incorporating the influence of climate change.

The Taf estuary in South West Wales, a macro-tidal estuary which has a history of coastal flooding, was chosen as the case study in this paper to investigate the impact of coastal management interventions such as construction of hard defences, managed realignment or altering land use of affiliated ecosystems such as salt marshes on the complex hydrodynamics and hence flooding of the surrounding areas of the estuary. The study was carried out using a numerical hydrodynamic model of the Taf estuary, developed using the process-based Delft3D modelling software.

The role of the selected management interventions on coastal flooding was investigated using an extreme storm condition, both with and without the impact of future sea level rise. The results highlight the scale of the effect of sea level rise, with the selected management interventions revealing that minimising the increase in flooding in future requires careful consideration of the available options.

This paper explores the highlighted role of coastal management practice in future with the influence of climate change to study how effective alternative methods can be for flood alleviation.

Technology competencies (TC) and human resources (HR) play a vital role in enhancing productivity in any industry. Yet the significance and interplay of these two factors in developing economies such as Uganda that are kick-starting oil exploration is not clear. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the underlying relationship between technology, human resources and productivity in the petroleum industry is established.

To examine the interrelationship among the independent factors (TC and HR) and the dependent factor (productivity), a questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents in Uganda. All the targeted respondents come from the oil exploration side of the industry in Uganda. SEM, a multivariate statistical analysis technique, was applied to analyze the underlying relationships among variables.

The findings suggest that TC and HR positively and significantly influence the petroleum industry productivity (PI). Both TC and HR explain a 32% variation of the observed improvement in productivity. The relationship between the independent variables (TC and HR) and dependent variable (PI) is summarized using the equation ΔPI = 0.36 TC + 0.25 HR, with TC having a more significant effect on PI than HR.

The study thus proposes to governments and oil companies in resource constrained environments that adoption of advanced technologies in oil exploration plays a relatively much bigger role and has an overarching impact on productivity especially in countries with small scale production, or in hostile environments or with unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs.

For developing economies with fewer resources that often face economic tradeoffs, the study examines the significance of TC and HR development in expanding the oil and gas sectors. This work, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is among the few studies that have examined the impact and the interplay of TC and HR on the productivity of emerging oil industries in developing economies such as Uganda.

Full‐text CDROM is a powerful tool and publishers are finding ways to build more into their product. World Library has upgraded Library of the Future with a third edition (World Library Inc., 1991–1994, Library of the Future, 3rd Edition. Irvine, CA, USA). Library of the Future is a CDROM tool to access classic literature, some religious works and some important documents in full text. World Library has added Windows operation and new graphic effects to the product.

The recent debate in the House of Lords showed that the official plans for milk of better quality, set out in the White Paper three years ago, are only slowly being put into effect. A more active policy was, however, promised by Lord Ammon when labour and plant made it possible. Farmers have come to accept the view that a safe milk supply depends both upon the improvement of animal health and on the heat‐treatment of milk. Some recent figures issued in the Monthly Bulletin of the Ministry of Health show what the pasteurisation of milk has already achieved in reducing the number of deaths among young children from abdominal tuberculosis, a form of the disease which is generally due to tubercle bacillus of bovine origin. In 1921, in the administrative county of London, 136 out of every 1,000,000 children died from this disease. In 1944 the corresponding figure was six. In rural areas the rate in 1921 was 252 and in 1944 still sixty, or ten times the London rate. The London figures for 1944 show a reduction to one‐twenty‐third of the 1921 rate, while for rural areas the reduction is only about one‐quarter. These figures suggest a high degree of correspondence between the increase of pasteurisation and the decrease of mortality from abdominal tuberculosis. In 1944 99 per cent. of London milk supplies was pasteurised; and though more milk has been treated in rural areas and in urban areas outside London during the past twenty years, nothing like the London standard has yet been generally reached. Large towns such as London are at one disadvantage in regard to milk safety in that they receive their supplies in bulk, and samples, before pasteurisation, show a high degree of infection. To this extent rural areas might be expected to have better figures. That they do not would appear to be proof of the greater safety provided by pasteurisation. In the House of Lords debate Lord Rothschild estimated the annual casualties from raw milk contaminated by bovine tuberculosis germs as between 7,000 and 8,000. The case for speedier progress with the provision of pasteurisation plant will be generally endorsed. This development under the auspices of the Ministry of Health needs to be supported by a vigorous effort by the Ministry of Agriculture to build up the health of dairy herds. The problems involved in establishing clean areas, beginning with isolated districts and extending them gradually until in ten or fifteen years' time the whole country is clear of tuberculosis and contagious abortion, were recently discussed in these columns. The Milk Marketing Board, the producers' organisation, has now declared its support for a national drive to clean up the dairy herds; and the Government are assured of general support when a comprehensive plan for ensuring safety in milk is put forward.