U.S. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH DEFLATORS: 1890-1985

Using newly developed time series on U.S. public sector agricultural research expenditures, two new deflators for agricultural research are constructed. These deflators differ from others currently used in the literature in that factor level price indices are weighted with time varying weights which capture the shifting factor mix of research spending by the state agricultural experiment stations (SAES). The substantial differences in measuring real resource allocation to agricultural research using these deflators and alternatives found in the literature, including that used by the National Science Foundation to report official R&D statistics, are demonstrated. In addition, the factor level expenditure series are used to contrast measurement of resource allocation in agricultural research from 1890 to the present using real research service flows as opposed to real research expenditures.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The impact of workplace mental health support method usage on mental health stigma within the workplace.

The rise in mental health awareness within the New Zealand workforce has stimulated the increased availability of Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) and much debate around the use of mental health days to cope with mental health issues. At the same time mental health stigma is still present within the New Zealand workforce. The present study aims to explore whether the usage of such support methods can lower workplace mental health stigma, along with the role past experience with such support methods plays on mental health stigma. In order to investigate the impact of support method usage on mental health stigma, 253 working adults in Christchurch based organisations were presented with three scenarios, involving a colleague disclosing a mental health issue to the participant along with what support method the colleague was using to cope with their mental health. Each of the three scenarios differed in the method of support used (EAPs, mental health days, or the non- usage of a support method (presenteeism)). Participants then rated their agreement with common assumptions of workplace mental health stigma across the three scenarios. Agreement with all assumptions of workplace stigma were lower in the scenarios where the colleague was using an EAP or mental health day. The effect of past experience with EAPs or mental health days on workplace mental health stigma proved inconclusive. These findings suggest that disclosing the method of support one uses to cope with their mental health issues could reduce the mental health stigma felt towards that individual within the workplace

The effect of fire on forest soils and hydrologic responces : a review

The goal of this review was to investigate the correlation of wildfires with decreased infiltration and increased runoff. Research suggested that wildfires can alter several forest soil properties affecting infiltration and runoff, including the formation of a fire-induced water repellent layer, the addition of a surface ash layer, and the removal of surface cover. The combination of these effects can lead to serious hydrologic and geomorphic events such as flooding, large-scale erosion and water sedimentation problems. The pre-fire soil condition is a determining factor to the overall influence of the fire, in particular, soil moisture content and amount of soil organic substances. Soil moisture content can either promote heat transfer or prevent extreme high temperatures depending on its level. Soil temperature combined with the amount of soil organic substances determines the strength of the fire-induced water repellent layer within the soil profile. Ash was found to have somewhat contradicting short-term effects with respect to infiltration and runoff. It is either seen as a natural way of mitigating water repellency and loss of surface cover by increasing infiltration capacity and protecting underlying mineral soil from raindrop impact. However, some studies also suggest that it adds to reduced infiltration by causing soil sealing. The case study from South Interior Forest Region of British Columbia describes a Risk Analysis report for the Sitkum Creek Fire (number N70347) in 2007 that includes useful management strategies developed to mitigate the effects of wildfire in community watersheds.Forestry, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat

Coarse, inexpensive, infrared tracking for wearable computing

We present a novel, inexpensive, coarse tracking system that determines a person’s approximate 2D location and 1D head orientation in an indoor environment. While this coarse tracking cannot support precise registration of overlaid material, it can be used to drive user interfaces that can adapt to the quality of tracking available. Our approach uses a set of strong infrared beacons, each of which broadcasts a unique ID. The beacons are deployed in the environment such that their zones of influence strategically overlap, partitioning the area of coverage into a set of uniquely identifiable fragments. We use a compound, omnidirectional infrared receiver, composed of a set of individual, directional infrared receivers, to infer 2D position (parallel to the ground plane) and 1D orientation (azimuth), employing a Kalman-filter–based architecture for smoothing and data integration with other tracking systems available. To test our ideas, we have applied them to a prototype head tracker, and present results from our tests. 1