Results of boron-aluminum thrust structure

Results are presented of testing-to-failure a two member boron-aluminum thrust structure. The structure represented one section of a more complex planar truss and was designed to test the integrity of a diffusion bonded joint. The structure failed at 107 percent of the ultimate design load in the diffusion bond region. Strain gages and displacement transducers were used to measure loads and deflections of the truss. The experimentally derived axial loads, bending moments, and torsion in the various members are presented and compared with predicted values

Water erosion control

Although soil erosion caused by water action is common in our agricultural areas, effective erosion control measures, likely to pay for themselves quickly, can be applied in nearly every case. Plant cover above the soil surface, and fertile soil with good structures are the main factors which enable soils to resist erosion. Dense pasture gives the best cover and at the same time improves the fertility and structure of the soil both effectively and economically, so land management adjusted to the need and capability of soils, slopes and climate is of first importance. Contour practices are of secondary value and are used where needed to support suitable farming methods, thus the care of the soil is essentially in the hands of the farmer. [Article 1 of an ongoing series

Water erosion control - 2

Earthworks are frequently used to help to control or prevent soil erosion where the adjustment of farming methods—as discussed in the March-April issue—is unlikely to be sufficient. Contour earthworks have proved extremely valuable in many cases and incidentally have caused much less inconvenience than most farmers anticipated. Landowners in need of advice on contour earthworks should get in touch with the Soil Conservation Service, Department of Agriculture, Perth, and arrangements will be made for an officer to visit their properties

Socioeconomic impact and farmers' assessment of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture in Bangladesh

The book reports on the socioeconomic study made on tilapia culture in seasonal ponds/ditches in Bangladesh. Results show that the simple technology, requiring very low labor input, is economically viable and brings other benefits.Tilapia culture, Sociological aspects, Cost benefit analysis, Aquaculture techniques, Bangladesh, Oreochromis niloticus

Firebreaks and soil erosion

Erosion has turned many firebreaks into gullies and farmers have sought support of the Soil Conservation Service against local governing authority orders to make firebreaks. But the interests of farmers demand good firebreaks. Ground cover is undoubtedly improving and hence fire prevention is becoming more important every year

Aquaculture research and development in rural Africa: summary report

A summary report on the ICLARM-GTZ/Malawi Fisheries Department/University of Malawi International Conference in Zomba, Malawi, on 2-6 April 1990. Contains abstracts of the papers, which attempt to identify the reasons why the progress of aquaculture in Africa has been slow. With Malawi as a case study, fresh approaches to aquaculture development are presented.Aquaculture development, Small scale aquaculture, Sociological aspects, Aquaculture systems, Africa, Malawi,

‘Handle with care’: literature, archaeology, slavery

This article examines the relationship between literary and bioarchaeological approaches to slavery, and investigates how the methods and priorities of each discipline might inform each other in understanding what it was like to be enslaved. Both bioarchaeologists and creative writers have attempted to access the inner lives of enslaved people, yet there has been little interaction between these disciplines. This paper offers an account of an interdisciplinary research project which brought together a literary scholar, two archaeological scientists and seven creative writers to explore how writing might not only communicate a history primarily understood through archaeological evidence, but could itself inform approaches to that evidence. We discuss two key themes which emerged from the project as ways of opening up, rather than claiming, the past: Conversation and Caring. These are themes which were also crucial to the success of the interdisciplinary process, as it was only through attention to our relationships with each other that we were ultimately able to begin to reassess the nature of material in each of our disciplines.AHR

Salt land survey, 1962 : report of a survey of soil salinity in the agricultural areas of Western Australia

IN Western Australia there are within the agricultural areas about one million acres of salt land, largely within the 14-25 inch rainfall area used for cereal and wool production. In March, 1962, farmers in 68 shires in the agricultural areas of Western Australia estimated that on their properties 305,270 acres of land previously cropped or sown to pasture had become salt affected. Of this total, 59,203 acres had gone salt in the seven years immediately before the survey

Integration of aquaculture and agriculture: a route to sustainable farming systems

The integration of agriculture and aquaculture as a means of intensifying resource use and improving the productivity of many current farming practices in Southeast Asian and African countries is discussed. A brief account is given of work undertaken by ICLARM in Malawi and India regarding the improved use of marginal lands to integrate crops, vegetables, trees, livestock and fish, outlining also the various problems involved in the extension of such integrated fish farming systems

Strain measurements in composite bolted-joint specimens

Strain data from a series of bolted joint tests is presented. Double lap, double hole, double lap, single hole, and open hole tensile specimens were tested and the strain gage locations, load strain responses, and load axial displacement responses are presented. The open hole specimens were gaged to determine strain concentration factors. The double lap, double hole specimens were gaged to determine the uniformity of the strain in the joint and the amount of load transferred past the first bolt. The measurements indicated roughly half the load passed the first bolt to be reacted by the second bolt