Adelaidean 8 September 1997 Vol 6 No 16
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Adelaidean Vol 6 No 16 AdelaideanN EWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE SEPTEMBER 8, 1997 Moths primed to bite into SA weed problem Thousands of moths from Spain, seed that grows there is very lush, France and South Africa will be unlike the boneseed you find here in released in South Australia over the Adelaide,Ó Mr Clarke said. next four months in a bid to combat Mr Clarke is testing a strain of two common species of weed. bitou tip moth from Cape Town, which has a similar climate to Adelaide. The Boneseed is a weed found through- boneseed around the Cape Town area out the Adelaide Hills, while hore- is very poor quality for most of the hound covers an estimated 20 million year, as it is in the Adelaide Hills. hectares of South Australian land, including pasture. ÒIÕve released one hundred bitou tip moths already at Brownhill Creek, and Control methods such as spraying those early tests have shown that the herbicide or simply pulling the weeds strain of moths from Natal Province out by hand are costly in terms of time have simply disappeared,Ó he said. and money and have proven ineffective, particularly where the weeds occur in ÒBut the moths from Cape Town native vegetation. have done very well, establishing themselves in the area and eating the Instead, a biological control method boneseed. is being soughtÑin the form of moths and their larvae, which eat the weeds. ÒThat indicates the Cape Town strain of bitou tip moths, which are PhD student Craig Clarke, a better suited to this climate, will be researcher with the University of more effective in the Adelaide Hills AdelaideÕs Department of Crop than the Natal strain.Ó Protection and the Cooperative Re- search Centre for Weed Management As its name suggests, horehound Systems, is studying the effectiveness plume moth feeds on the horehound of two species of mothsÑthe bitou tip weed. Mr Clarke is testing three dif- Above: Craig Clarke in his laboratory. Below: One of the thousands of horehound moth and the horehound plume moth. ferent strains of the moth in areas plume moths which will help fight a common biological menace. Photos: David Ellis such as the Flinders Ranges. ÒBoneseed and horehound are weeds that were introduced to ÒThereÕs the original strain of hore- Australia, and although itÕs unlikely hound plume moth, which was taken that weÕll ever eradicate them com- from the south of France and has been pletely, weÕre trying to restore the bal- reared in a laboratory for the past ance,Ó Mr Clarke said. eight years, thereÕs a newly imported French strain of moth, and a Spanish ÒHopefully with these moths we can collection from a semi-arid region in begin to control the weeds and allow central Spain. native vegetation in those areas to become more dominant.Ó ÒSo far the moths bred from the original French strain are doing very The bitou tip moth and the hore- poorly, possibly because theyÕre so used hound plume moth have been tested in to being in laboratory conditions. But previous years in South Australia but the Spanish strain is doing very well, failed to control the weed problem. once again because it seems better Mr Clarke believes the failure could suited to our climate,Ó Mr Clarke said. be related to South AustraliaÕs climate, Mr Clarke, whose research is being and heÕs now testing different strains supervised by Associate Professor Rick of the same moths to see if they have Roush (Department of Crop Pro- any impact. tection), will release more than 8000 ÒThe original strain of bitou tip moths at 30 sites around South moth, which eats boneseed, is from the Australia over the next four months. Natal Province in South Africa. But The results of his research are expect- Natal has a sub-tropical environment ed to be known in 1999. equivalent to Brisbane and the bone- —David Ellis Adelaide GSM among top in the Asia-Pacific Australia. Its graduates can count on The University of AdelaideÕs MBA is of incoming students, quality of educa- “The premier school in South high salaries.Ó one of the oldest in Australia. It has tion and the Ômarket valueÕ of students. Australia. Its graduates can count This year is the first time the been substantially consolidated and The magazine also interviewed on high salaries.” University has been included in the continuously improved since the incep- intending students and graduates, Asia, Inc. survey of business schools tion of the Graduate School of deans and large companies with MBA The University of Adelaide’s Graduate throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Management in 1983. recruitment programs. School of Management (GSM) has GSM Associate Director (Academic), It is a general management pro- Universities from Australia, Japan, been ranked among the top 25 MBA Dr Laubi Li, said the high standards gram with a strong strategic empha- India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Schools by Asia, Inc, a leading busi- of the Adelaide MBA, coupled with sis, focusing on business within a Thailand, New Zealand, Pakistan, ness magazine in the Asia-Pacific the SchoolÕs close relationship with the dynamic globalised economy, and with Malaysia and the Philippines were region. business community, its outstanding a special focus on the Asia-Pacific among the top 25 MBA Schools. facilities, and the performance of its region. In its September 1997 edition, Asia, Australian business schools took graduates in the workplace had all Asia, Inc. assessed 73 universities Inc. says the University of AdelaideÕs nine of the top 25 rankings. GSM, which runs the MBA program, contributed to the positive assessment from 13 Asia-Pacific countries, and is Òthe premier school in South by Asia, Inc. formed the ranking based on the quality —Pat Cree In this issue we present the second in a series of thematic features which will appear every few months. INSIDE This feature focuses on working with business and industry. See pages 5-8. Approved For Print Post 565001/00046 PAGE 2 SEPTEMBER 8, 1997 ILLUMINATION ADELAIDEAN GUEST COMMENTARY A portrait of the leader as an artist Dr Anita Donaldson, Dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts, attended Harvard University’s Management Development Program in July. She reflects on some of the issues raised during the program, and considers a few applications to the University. Funding our There we were: 122 or so people holding by embodied in ceremonies, rituals, symbols, middle-management positions of various Dr Anita Donaldson myths, etc. ). shapes and titlesÑAssistant and Associate Dean, Performing Arts The theory behind the four ÒframesÓ future, finding Vice-Presidents and Provosts; DirectorsÑof (Bolman and DealÕs metaphor signifying College Relations, Multicultural Advance- both Òwindows on the world and lenses that ment Programs, and Centres of Leadership; Deans and bring the world into focusÓ), is that each affords its own our future Associate Deans, Chairs and Heads (of Colleges, image of reality, and ÔcoloursÕ the ÔreadingÕ of an event/sit- Divisions, Faculties, Schools and Departments of uation/decision accordingly. In essence then, organisa- One of my great concerns is that aca- Advancement Studies, Professional Programs, Fine Arts, tionsÑin this instance, the universityÑare a complex Arts and Sciences, Health and Human Services, etc., demics in Australian universities are web of simultaneously existing multiple realities and etc.)Ñlined up in neat rows in a large lecture room, bold busyÑfar busier than they should be. meanings, and effective leadership/management name-cards signalling loud and clear that fading quietly (whether solo or collective) needs to take these multiplici- Over the years our funding has declined into the shadows was not going to be an option during ties into account when steering the bestÑmost through cuts to the operating grant and the two week period! effective/constructive/productiveÑway through the deci- through inadequate research infrastructure At first glance, the program might have appeared fairly sion-making maze. support and capital funding. There have mundane. However, the case-study approach and the Although space does not permit going into detail, it also been new demands on academic time, teaching itself (most staff taught as though possessed!) would be interesting to look at the more controversial much of which is now spent on increased ensured that each of the topics was prodded, poked and recommendations of the Penington Report (and indeed administrative reporting required by the unravelled from as many different perspectives as possi- Enterprise Bargaining II ... in fact any decision which State and Commonwealth and on applying ble. Not unexpectedly there were few definitive answers: heralds significant change in the status quo) in the light for various forms of funding. ultimately you drew on your own situation within its spe- of the various frames. The objections to a number of them Indeed the research system places a great cific context, and explored it in light of the different sce- may be better understood as a consequence, and under- load on researchers; they must apply fre- narios presented, to find ÔbestÕ fit (or its opposite!). stood in a context other than that perceived as recalci- quently for relatively small sums of money The curriculum included financial management (Òthe bot- trance of a wayward kind! with relatively small chance of success. tom lineÕs important ... BUT ... always follow the But the notion of frames goes beyond the shaping of deci- This competitive funding regime places money!Ó), legal issues in higher education, re-engineering sions per se. Effective (ÔwiseÕ, ÔgoodÕ or any other synonym undue emphasis on writing proposals as (a dreadful word that seems to have found its way into you may choose) leaders/managers function in the con- opposed to writing papers or producing local use!), transformational learning (intriguing: peeling text of the four frames as the norm: they initiate and other scholarly outputs.