[Truncated abstract] The core objective of this thesis is summarised by its title: “Understanding the World Wool Market: Trade, Productivity and Grower Incomes”. Thus, we wish to aid understanding of the economic mechanisms by which the world wool market operates. In doing so, we analyse two issues trade and productivity and their effect on, inter alia, grower incomes. To achieve the objective, we develop a novel analytical framework, or model. The model combines two long and rich modelling traditions: the partial-equilibrium commodity-specific approach and the computable-general-equilibrium approach. The result is a model that represents the world wool market in detail, tracking the production of greasy wool through five off-farm production stages ending in the production of wool garments. Capturing the multistage nature of the wool production system is a key pillar in this part of the model . . . The estimated welfare gain for China is 0.1% of real income; this is a significant welfare gain. For three losing regions Italy, Germany and Japan the results are robust and we can be highly confident that these regions are the largest losers from the complete removal of 2005 wool tariffs. In both wool tariff liberalisation scenarios, regions whose exports are skewed towards wool textiles and garments gain the most as it is these wool products that have the highest initial tariff rates. The overall finding of this work is that a sophisticated analytical framework is necessary for analysing productivity and trade issues in the world wool market. Only a model of this kind can appropriately handle the degree of complexity of interactions between members (domestic and foreign) of the multistage wool production system. Further, including the nonwool economy in the analytical framework allows us to capture the indirect effects of changes in the world wool market and also the effects on the nonwool economy itself.

Thesis (PhD(Agric))--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study set out to determine (co)variance components for the important production, reproduction and conformation traits of a South African fine wool resource flock that was established at the request of the South African wool industry. A secondary aim was to assess progeny of these animals under pastoral conditions in areas where the production of fine wool is uncommon. The Cradock fine wool Merino stud was established in 1988 with ewes bought from producers with the finest clips in South Africa. Data collected from 1988 to 2010 were used to estimate the (co)variances for the genetic fine wool resource flock. The quantification of the interdependencies of fibre diameter (FD) with production, reproduction and subjective traits were the main objective of this study. It is evident from the results of this study that FD is a highly heritable (0.63 ± 0.03) trait, which can lead to marked genetic progress provided that there are adequate levels of phenotypic variation available during selection. Fibre diameter was unfavourably correlated with body weight (0.30 ± 0.05), clean fleece weight (0.24 ± 0.05) and reproduction (0.59 ± 0.18), which implies that selection for reduced FD can have a detrimental effect on all these traits. Despite these unfavourable genetic correlations genetic gain in the other economical important traits was achievable in the stud (-0.129 ± 0.033). These results were supported by the results obtained during the evaluation of progeny of this stud under pastoral conditions where the production and reproduction of the fine wool animals were comparable with medium wool animals. It can therefore be concluded that selection for reduced FD can be practiced without detrimental effects on the economically important traits and subsequently the profitability of the sheep enterprise, as long as breeders have a reasonable selection objective based on economic considerations. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het dit ten doel gehad om (ko)variansie komponente vir die belangrike produksie, reproduksie en subjektiewe eienskappe in 'n Suid-Afrikaanse fyn wol hulpbronkudde, wat gevestig is op versoek van die Suid-Afrikaanse wolbedryf te bepaal. 'n Sekondêre doel was om die nageslag van hierdie diere onder veldtoestande te evalueer in gebiede waar die produksie van fynwol ongewoon is. Die Cradock fynwol Merino stoet is in 1988 gestig met die aankoop van ooie van produsente met die fynste skeersels in Suid-Afrika. Data wat ingesamel is vanaf 1988 tot 2010 is gebruik in die bepaling van (ko)variansie komponente vir hierdie genetiese fynwolkudde. Die kwatifisering van die interafhanklikheid van veseldikte (VD) met produksie, reproduksie en subjektiewe eienskappe was die hoofdoel van die studie. Dit is duidelik uit die resultate van die studie dat VD `n hoogs oorerflike (0.63 ± 0.03) eienskap is, wat tot vinnige vordering in VD kan lei indien genoegsame fenotipiese variasie beskikbaar is tydens seleksie. Veseldikte is ongunstig gekorreleer met liggaamsgewig (0.30 ± 0.05), skoonvaggewig (0.24 ± 0.05) en reproduksie (0.59 ± 0.18), wat beteken dat seleksie vir ʼn verlaagde VD nadelige vordering in hierdie eienskappe tot gevolg kan hê. Ten spyte van hierdie ongunstige genetiese korrelasies was die genetiese vordering in die ekonomies belangrike eienskappe haalbaar in die kudde wat ondersoek is (- 0.129 ± 0.033). Die laasgenoemde resultate word ondersteun deur die bevindinge dat die nageslag van hierdie stoet se produksie en reproduksie ooreengestem het met medium wol diere onder veldtoestande. Die gevolgtrekking wat gemaak kan word uit die studie is dat VD verlaag kan word sonder nadelige gevolge in die ekonomies belangrike eienskappe, asook die van `n skaapboerdery onderneming. Om dit te vermag moet telers `n aanvaarbare benadering tot seleksie, gegrond op ekonomiese beginsels, volg.

Achieving the successful development, transfer and adoption of new agricultural technology is a popular issue in the innovation literature. Innovation diffusion and economic theory has informed this literature by emphasising the central role that technology attributes and economic rationality play in the adoption of new technology. In agricultural innovation context, research has traditionally taken a technological determinist perspective, assuming that technologies shape society and that all technological change is positive and progressive. As a result of limitations of the linear, determinist perspective of agricultural innovation to explain how new technologies are adopted and diffused, social constructivist approaches to agricultural innovation have emerged as a complement to this approach. However, a unifying framework of the social construction of new agricultural technologies has not been presented in the agricultural innovation literature. In this study Karl Weicks seven properties of sensemaking are used as the foundation for the development of a unifying conceptual framework for the examination of the social construction of agricultural technology. This thesis is a study of sensemaking in the context of agricultural innovation. It examines how participants in the Australian wool industry make sense of new technologies and how that sensemaking shapes their use of new technologies over time. The focal innovation initiative studied in this thesis is the development, transfer, adoption and abandonment of objective wool fibre testing technologies. This initiative commenced in the 1960s and has resulted in significant changes in the way that Australian wool is produced, marketed and processed. An interpretive research paradigm is adopted in this study. A theory-building case study approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis is used to capture the ongoing, iterative, enactive and social actions and interactions that occur throughout the agricultural innovation process. The case study is divided into three separate but interlocking empirical analyses which examine how industry participants' sensemaking shaped their use of wool testing technologies at the industry, technological system and individual farm level. The findings and implications of the three empirical studies in this thesis are discussed in relation to (1) the interpretation frameworks of agricultural industry participants and technology enactment, (2) the sensemaking process, (3) the social construction of shared technology frames, and (4) the social construction of industry belief systems. This study contributes to the debate on the social construction of agricultural technology and sensemaking in the innovation process by exploring the development, transfer, adoption and abandonment of new wool fibre testing technologies by industry participants over time. It builds on theoretical and empirical agricultural innovation and sensemaking research, and draws on a theoretical framework sensitive to the social construction of technology at the individual, group and industry levels. In doing so this study develops the concept of sensemaking in the agricultural innovation process as a way of deepening our understanding of how new agricultural technologies are transferred, adopted and diffused.

This work investigates the tensile behaviour of non-uniform fibres and fibrous composites. Wool fibres are used as an example of non-uniform fibres because they're physical, morphological and geometrical properties vary greatly not only between fibres but also within a fibre. The focus of this work is on the effect of both between-fibre and within-fibre diameter variations on fibre tensile behaviour. In addition, fit to the Weibull distribution by the non-brittle and non-uniform visco-elastic wool fibres is examined, and the Weibull model is developed further for non-uniform fibres with diameter variation along the fibre length. A novel model fibre composite is introduced to facilitate the investigation into the tensile behaviour of fibre-reinforced composites. This work first confirms that for processed wool, its coefficient of variation in break force can be predicted from that of minimum fibre diameters, and the prediction is better for longer fibres. This implies that even for processed wool, fibre breakage is closely associated with the occurrence of thin sections along a fibre, and damage to fibres during processing is not the main cause of fibre breakage. The effect of along-fibre diameter variation on fibre tensile behaviour of scoured wool and mohair is examined next. Only wet wool samples were examined in the past. The extensions of individual segments of single non-uniform fibres are measured at different strain levels. An important finding is the maximum extension (%) (Normally at the thinnest section) equals the average fibre extension (%) plus the diameter variation (CV %) among the fibre segments. This relationship has not been reported before. During a tensile test, it is only the average fibre extension that is measured. The third part of this work is on the applicability of Weibull distribution to the strength of non-uniform visco-elastic wool fibres. Little work has been done for wool fibres in this area, even though the Weibull model has been widely applied to many brittle fibres. An improved Weibull model incorporating within-fibre diameter variations has been developed for non-uniform fibres. This model predicts the gauge length effect more accurately than the conventional Weibull model. In studies of fibre-reinforced composites, ideal composite specimens are usually prepared and used in the experiments. Sample preparation has been a tedious process. A novel fibre reinforced composite is developed and used in this work to investigate the tensile behaviour of fibre-reinforced composites. The results obtained from the novel composite specimen are consistent with that obtained from the normal specimens.

Unlike other fibres, wool felts readily when agitated in the presence of water. For this reason, only the minimum necessary quantity of water is used when the garments are drycleaned. However, wool fibres are often deliberately felted to obtain a warm bulky handle by controlled addition of water to the solvent. This process is known as solvent milling and recently, it has become a popular alternative to the traditional milling in water alone. Although the factors which influence milling in solvent are known, the relationships between them are not well defined. A comprehensive study of the relationship between water distribution and milling shrinkage during agitation of wool in perchloroethylene has been carried out in this thesis. The Karl Fischer method of determination was used throughout to establish the distribution of water between the wool fibre and the solvent liquor. The emphasis was placed on practical production variables. The role of surfactant in affecting milling shrinkage through its effect on the transport of water to the fibre from the solvent was examined. The ability of a suitable surfactant in promoting even and rapid sorption of water by the fibre was related to the colloidal properties of the milling liquor.

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No description available.

The matching of colours on dyed fabric is an important task in the textile industry. The current method is based on the matching the visible reflectance spectrum to standard spectral libraries. In this study, the amount of dye on various wool and wool-blend fabric was measured using vibrational-spectroscopic techniques. FT-IR PAS and FT-Raman spectroscopy was used to analyse the following set of samples: woollen fabrics (supplied by CSIRO- Geelong, Australia), dyed with Lanasol dyes (Red 6G, Blue 3G and Yellow 4G) and wool/polyester fabrics (supplied by Ceiba-Geigy, Switzerland), dyed with Forosyn dyes (grey, yellow, green, brown, orange, red). A minimum of six spectra was recorded for each sample. The spectra recorded were consistent with those reported previously. FT-IR PA spectral data were block normalised with Y-mean centring and examined using Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares (PLS). Although PCA separates the woollen fabrics dyed with a combination of two colours, it does not do equally well for samples dyed with three colours. The dyed wool/ polyester blend samples appeared in a totally random fashion on the PCA plot. The PLS analysis of PA spectra of various ratios of dyes on woollen fabrics as well as wool/polyester blend was found to be a viable procedure and should be investigated further, perhaps with a broader set of data. FT-Raman spectra were examined using PCA and PLS. The best pre treatment for FT-Raman spectral data was found to be normalising followed by Y-mean centring. The PCA plots demonstrate that woollen samples are separated according to the dye ratios and that the presence or absence of some of the peaks is influenced by individual dyes. For example, the presence of the peak at 1430cm 1 is inversely related to the presence of blue dye on the fabric. The PLS resulted in SEE and SEP values of around 1 and 2 respectively indicating that the prediction of the dye ratios have not been very successful and suggesting that there was some problem with the measured values of the calibration set. PCA plots of wool/polyester fabrics dyed with a single colour indicate that PC1 separates the samples according to how close the shades are together, while PC2 and PC3 separate samples according to their individual colours. PC4, although explaining only a small percentage of variance, suggests that the samples are not homogeneously dyed. PCA plots of the samples dyed with various combinations of the three main dyes display each cluster of samples in their right position on the colour card. Calculated SEE and SEP values (Yellow: ~0.30, ~0.55, Brown: ~0.30, ~0.79, Red: 0.16, 0.49 and Grey: ~0.2, ~0.40, respectively) indicate that FT-Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics may offer promising methods for measuring the ratio of various dyes on wool/polyester fabrics. FT-Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics were also used to investigate the change in the ratio of dyes on UV-treated dyed woollen samples. Samples were weathered for 7 and 21 days, using accelerated weathering instrument. The substrate subtracted spectral data were normalised to 100% substrate of the first derivative (9 points and 7 degrees) followed by double centring of the matrix in the spectral region of 1500-500cm-1. PCA effectively separated non-irradiated from the irradiated sample but did not separate the irradiated samples further according to the number of days of irradiation. The pre-treatment used for PLS was first derivative of substrate subtracted spectral data normalised to 100% substrate, and then Y-mean centred. PLS failed to predict the ratio of the irradiated dyes very well. This may be because degradation products are not modelled by PLS or because the total amount of dye has reduced without changing the dye ratios.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Animal Physiology, Waite Agricultural Research Institute, 1977.