Identification Of Environmental Variables For Use In Monitoring For The Evaluation Of The Rural Environment Protection Scheme

Teagasc wishes to acknowledge the support of the Environmental RTDI Programme 2000–2006 in financing this research project.End of project reportThe aim of this study was to identify and select quantitative environmental attributes for a monitoring programme that may be integrated into an environmental evaluation of Ireland’s agri-environmental scheme. This was achieved primarily by reviewing a range of agri-environmental indicators and suggesting indicators that would be appropriate for monitoring the REPS. The study conducted a desk review to collate information on current best practice in monitoring for environmental quality. A Project Group (comprising representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], Department of Agriculture and Food [DAF], Teagasc, and the project supervisors) advised on the ongoing development of the project. There was a consultation process with national experts, and with a selection of stakeholder organisations with an interest in monitoring the environmental impact of the REPS.Environmental Protection Agenc

Galactic Archaeology and Minimum Spanning Trees

Chemical tagging of stellar debris from disrupted open clusters and associations underpins the science cases for next-generation multi-object spectroscopic surveys. As part of the Galactic Archaeology project TraCD (Tracking Cluster Debris), a preliminary attempt at reconstructing the birth clouds of now phase-mixed thin disk debris is undertaken using a parametric minimum spanning tree (MST) approach. Empirically-motivated chemical abundance pattern uncertainties (for a 10-dimensional chemistry-space) are applied to NBODY6-realised stellar associations dissolved into a background sea of field stars, all evolving in a Milky Way potential. We demonstrate that significant population reconstruction degeneracies appear when the abundance uncertainties approach 0.1 dex and the parameterised MST approach is employed; more sophisticated methodologies will be required to ameliorate these degeneracies.Comment: To appear in "Multi-Object Spectroscopy in the Next Decade: Big Questions, Large Surveys and Wide Fields"; Held: Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, 2-6 Mar 2015; ed. I Skillen & S. Trager; ASP Conference Series (Figures now optimised for B&W printing

A model for the anisotropic response of fibrous soft tissues using six discrete fibre bundles

The development of accurate constitutive models of fibrous soft-tissues is a challenging problem. Many consider the tissue to be a collection of fibres with a continuous distribution function representing their orientations. A novel discrete fibre model is presented consisting of six weighted fibre bundles. Each bundle is oriented such that they pass through opposing vertices of a regular icosahedron. A novel aspect of the model is the use of simple analytical distribution functions to simulate the undulated collagen fibres. This approach yields a closed form analytical expression for the strain energy function for the collagen fibre bundle that avoids the sometimes costly numerical integration of some statistical distribution functions. The elastin fibres are characterized by a neo-Hookean strain energy function. The model accurately simulates the biaxial stretching of rabbit-skin (error-of-fit 8.7%), the uniaxial stretching of pig-skin (error-of-fit 7.6%), equibiaxial loading of aortic valve cusp (error-of-fit 0.8%), and the simple shear of rat septal myocardium (error-of-fit 9.1%). The proposed model compares favourably with previously published soft-tissue models and alternative methods of representing undulated collagen fibres. The stiffness of collagen fibres predicted by the model ranges from 8.0 MPa to 0.93 GPa. The stiffness of elastin fibres ranges from 2.5 kPa to 154.4 kPa. The anisotropy of model resulting from the representation of the fibre field with a discrete number of fibres is also explored

A Study of the Robustness of the Three-Parameter Item Response Model

Simulation techniques were employed to investigate the use of the three-parameter item response model on psychological test data which violated the model\u27s assumptions of large sample sizes, long tests and test unidimensionality. The accuracy of the person ability and item characteristic curve parameter estimates derived by the three-parameter item response model was evaluated. Data sets and distributions of person ability and item characteristic curve parameters were generated using a computer-based algorithm, AVRAM (Ree, 1980), which employs the three-parameter logistic probability equation described by Birnbaum (1968). A computer software package, LOGIST5 (Wingersky, Burton & Lord, 1982), which utilizes the three-parameter logistic probability equation, was used to derive the parameter estimates for the person response and the item characteristic curves. The present study based its analyses on the unedited person-item data matrix. As such, the findings are somewhat inconsistent with those reported by studies employing an edited data matrix (e.g., Ree, 1979). However, these findings are much more consistent with the types of test situations likely to occur in industrial-organizational research, where the focus of research will be the evaluation of differences in individual and group test scores as opposed to the design and construction of tests. The results showed that the item discrimination, ai, and lower asymptote, ci, parameters of the item characteristic curve were both accurately recovered when small sample sizes and short tests were used, and conditions of item bias existed. The person ability parameter, Bv was also accurately recovered. The recovery of bi, the item difficulty parameter, was most affected. The average absolute differences and root-mean-square errors obtained on bi were extremely large relative to those obtained on ai and ci, as well as, those reported for bi elsewhere in the literature (Ree, 1979). Not only were the individual parameter estimates for bi not accurately recovered, but also, changes in the means of the distributions of bi were observed. When the samples available for item analysis are comprised of less than 2,000 examinees, and conditions of item bias exist, the practitioner of industrial-organizational psychology should consider the following: (1) Use the three-parameter model, but proceed with caution; or (2) adopt an alternative item response model. BICAL (Wright & Mead, 1976), a one-parameter model which employs maximum likelihood procedures, is suggested for sample sizes of 1000 examinees, and PROX (Cohen, 1976), a one-parameter model that uses algebraic procedures, is suggested when samples are comprised of 500 examinees or less

Blood, Sweat and Tears: Insights into the Lived Experiences of Graduates of an Accelerated Undergraduate Degree-Completion Program, A Phenomenological Study

With the growing popularity of adult education programs in higher education, older working adults have more options for completing their bachelor‘s degrees. Accelerated degree-completion programs emerged in the 1970s and have gained popularity over the years. These programs are an option for adults to complete their studies without disrupting their schedules. The purpose of this research study was to understand the lived experiences of adult learners in an accelerated undergraduate degree-completion program. This was a qualitative study using a phenomenological research methodology and the theoretical framework of transformative learning. The literature review discussed relevant research addressing both accelerated programs and transformative learning. There were fourteen participants in the study who were recent graduates of an accelerated undergraduate degree-completion program. The research method included a combination of semi-structured interviews and a review of reflection papers written by the participants. The findings revealed the emergence of the following four themes: motivation, value of collaborative process, pedagogy and self concept, with related subthemes identified. The findings indicated that many participants experienced transformation as a result of their educational experience. Since accelerated learning in higher education is not confined to undergraduate students, future research studies might focus on graduates of an online accelerated undergraduate program or an online or face-to-face accelerated master degree program

Supply Chain Structure, Inventory Turnover, and Financial Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in China

Using data collected by the World Bank, we empirically investigate the relationship between Chinese manufacturers’ supply chain attributes, raw material and finished goods inventory turnover, and return on sales. Our findings indicate that location proximity, relationship continuity, and the relative power of the manufacturer over suppliers and customers have a significant impact on inventory performance, which in turn drives profitability. We especially focus on characteristics unique to China’s business environment. We find that Chinese manufacturing companies have relatively weak operational performance, and better operational performance is associated with closer distance, longer relationship with suppliers and customers, and relative power over suppliers. Unlike their counter parties in some developed countries, Chinese manufacturers’ profitability relies on both downstream and upstream inventory performance, with downstream inventory performance playing a somewhat more important role

Special Topic Forum on Supply Chain Management in Emerging Markets: Critical Research Issues

Spurred by the rapid development of international markets, w enhanced ease of communications and rapidly developing infrastructure, supply chains that transcend national boundaries have become standard in today's dynamic global environment, causing a number of critical research issues to emerge. The importance of such issues is intensified when considered in the unique environment faced by supply chains in emerging economies, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. Traditional supply chain management practices may be ineffective, due to the unique characteristics of supply chains in emerging economies or that span developed and emerging economies. In this special topic forum, we seek high quality conceptual and empirical research that addresses critical research issues related to managing supply chains in emerging economies. Conceptual papers should draw upon and extend existing theoretical foundations, developing models and propositions for future research. Empirical research studies that employ survey methodology, structured case research, secondary data analysis, controlled experiments and other empirical approaches are welcomed. In line with JSCM's mission statement, authors must clearly identify how their work extends or contributes to theory relating to global supply chain management, as well as providing implications for practice