Skydiving and the metaphorical edge

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The social & economic implications of alternative land uses involving pastoral farming and forestry in Northland : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Natural Resource and Environmental Economics at Massey University

This thesis is a scenario study which examines the social and economic impacts of different types of forestry being established in an area of pastoral farmland in Northland, New Zealand. Detailed production, income, expenditure, employment and demographic data was collected from 57 of the 59 farms in the study area. This included expenditure direction data. Those businesses and schools which supported, and were in turn supported by, the study area farms were interviewed to find out the importance of these farms to their continued operation. This pastoral farming scenario is then compared with four forestry scenarios - two conventional forestry scenarios, plus a woodlot and finally an agroforestry scenario. In the first conventional forestry scenario all the study area farms (15,000 hectares) are planted in exotics and in the second about 3,000 hectares are planted. With the two farm forestry scenarios about 1,000 hectares are planted. In the first conventional forestry scenario forestry replaces pastoral farming, while in the second and the farm forestry scenarios pastoral farming and forestry are integrated. Variable results resulted from the comparison, with expenditure comparisons very sensitive to the time harvesting commences, the amount cut and the time span of the scenarios. (Thirty-five years.) These comparisons were also sensitive to the locality in which farming and forestry expenditure were being compared. Forestry expenditure would be markedly higher than farming expenditure once harvesting commenced. But farming has higher backward linkage multipliers and unless forestry processing plants are established, the conventional forestry developments in the scenarios imply a relative decline in regional incomes and employment. If forestry processing plants are established, an increase in regional incomes and employment is implied. Woodlot and agroforestry generally imply an increase in expenditure and employment without the drop in agricultural spending associated with conventional forestry activities on former pastoral farmland. Conventional forestry would result in disruption to the existing social structure. It may result in a long term population decline, but it is likely many ex-farm houses would be re-occupied. Woodlot and agroforestry would strengthen the existing social and economic structure. It is concluded that the Northland United Council's interest and concern about the afforestation of pastoral farmland is justified. However, the rural decline, the corporatisation of government departments, plus the impacts of forestry harvesting and wood processing are considered to be of more importance in the establishment of regional planning priorities

Finite Markov chains and recurrent events.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University N.B.: Page 3 of Abstract is incorrectly labeled as Page 2. No content is missing from thesis.Many processes or systems can be fully or partially described by using that part of the probability theory called "stochastic processes." The term stochastic process is usually used when a change of state of a process may occur with time. A Markov process is a stochastic process where the probability of the process being in some state in the future depends only on the state which the process is presently in. A Markov chain is a Markov process which may occupy only a finite number of a denumerably infinite number of states. [TRUNCATED

Isotope (¹⁴C and ¹³C) analysis of deep peat CO₂ using a passive sampling technique

We developed and tested a new method to collect CO<sub>2</sub> from the surface to deep layers of a peatland for radiocarbon analysis. The method comprises two components: i) a probe equipped with a hydrophobic filter that allows entry of peat gases by diffusion, whilst simultaneously excluding water, and, ii) a cartridge containing zeolite molecular sieve that traps CO<sub>2</sub> passively. We field tested the method by sampling at depths of between 0.25 and 4 m at duplicate sites within a temperate raised peat bog. CO<sub>2</sub> was trapped at a depth-dependent rate of between ∼0.2 and 0.8 ml d<sup>−1</sup>, enabling sufficient CO<sub>2</sub> for routine <sup>14</sup>C analysis to be collected when left in place for several weeks. The age of peatland CO<sub>2</sub> increased with depth from modern to not, vert, similar170 BP for samples collected from 0.25 m, to ∼4000 BP at 4 m. The CO<sub>2</sub> was younger, but followed a similar trend to the age profile of bulk peat previously reported for the site (Langdon and Barber, 2005). δ<sup>13</sup>C values of recovered CO<sub>2</sub> increased with depth. CO<sub>2</sub> collected from the deepest sampling probes was considerably <sup>13</sup>C-enriched (up to not, vert, similar+9‰) and agreed well with results reported for other peatlands where this phenomenon has been attributed to fermentation processes. CO<sub>2</sub> collected from plant-free static chambers at the surface of the mire was slightly <sup>14</sup>C-enriched compared to the contemporary atmosphere, suggesting that surface CO<sub>2</sub> emissions were predominantly derived from carbon fixed during the post-bomb era. However, consistent trends of enriched 13C and depleted <sup>14</sup>C in chamber CO<sub>2</sub> between autumn and winter samples were most likely explained by an increased contribution of deep peat CO<sub>2</sub> to the surface efflux in winter. The passive sampling technique is readily portable, easy to install and operate, causes minimal site disturbance, and can be reliably used to collect peatland CO<sub>2</sub> from a wide range of depths

COMPARATIVE RENTS FOR FARMLAND AND TIMBERLAND IN A SUBREGION OF THE SOUTH

This study compares equivalent annual rents for two alternative land uses in a region where farming and timber plantations coexist. The comparison is motivated by the possibility that rising timber prices may stimulate timber processors to compete for farmland. Prices, costs, and market rents are assumed to first follow existing trends and then to reach steady state values. Market rents are projected and capitalized for agriculture. Internal soil rents are capitalized for timber. The results show timber to have a comparative advantage on high fertility sites and suggest that timber might become a competitive land use at the intensive margin of the region's farmland base.Land Economics/Use,

Differences between left- and right-handers in approach/avoidance motivation: influence of consistency of handedness measures

Hand preference is often viewed as a troublesome variable in psychological research, with left-handers routinely excluded from studies. Contrary to this, a body of evidence has shown hand preference to be a useful variable when examining human behavior. A recent review argues that the most effective way of using handedness as a variable, is a comparison between individuals who use their dominant hand for virtually all manual activities (consistent handers) versus those who use their other hand for at least one activity (inconsistent handers). The authors contend that researchers should only focus on degree of handedness rather than direction of preference (left versus right). However, we argue that the field suffers from a number of methodological and empirical issues. These include a lack of consensus in choice of cut-off point to divide consistent and inconsistent categories and importantly a paucity of data from left-handers. Consequentially, researchers predominantly compare inconsistent versus consistent right-handers, largely linked to memory, cognition and language. Other research on response style and personality measures shows robust direction of handedness effects. The present study examines both strength and direction of handedness on self-reported behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) scores, using evidence from a large (N = 689) dataset including more than 200 left-handers. There were degree of handedness effects on BIS and BAS-Fun Seeking, but effects are largely driven by differences between consistent left-handers and other groups. Choice of cut-off point substantively influenced results, and suggests that unless a suitable sample of left-handers is included, researchers clarify that their degree of handedness effects are applicable only to right-handers. We concur that strength of hand preference is an important variable but caution that differences related to consistency may not be identical in right and left-handers

Are left-handers really more anxious?

Research examining anxiety and handedness is inconclusive. Davidson and Schaffer (1983) found left-handers had higher trait anxiety, while Beaton and Moseley (1991) found no state or trait differences. Such studies potentially have methodological issues, and we have argued that handedness related reactivity differences (Wright & Hardie, 2011) suggest that state anxiety needs to be measured within a context. Thus the current study investigated state and trait anxiety levels in an experimental situation. We found left-handers had significantly higher state scores, supporting the right hemisphere's role in negative affect and inhibition. It also fits with predictions based on the behavioural inhibition system's role in the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST). No trait differences were found, but there was a significant relationship between trait and state anxiety. Using ANCOVA to control for the influence of trait anxiety on state anxiety, we still found a handedness effect. When participant's trait anxiety levels were similar, left-handers showed a relatively larger state response. We conclude that in the context of an experiment, state anxiety was directly correlated with trait anxiety but that the relatively higher reactivity of left-handers may be a major influence on how they respond in a new situation

The relationship between Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST), handedness and indecision

Indecisiveness is an inability to make a decision, manifest across a number of behaviours. We explore the influence that both direction and strength of hand preference may have on this construct, examining it in relation to the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST). Frost and Shows’ (1993) Indecisiveness Scale was administered to 328 undergraduates (221 females), alongside the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (Oldfield, 1971) and Carver and White’s (1994) BIS/BAS scales. Simple correlations showed left-handers had a positive relationship between strength of handedness and BIS. In right-handers, strength and aversive indecision were positively correlated. Regression analysis demonstrated no significant relationship between hand strength and indecision, but that indecision was related to all three measures of rRST. Consistent with previous work, BIS was positively related to all indecision but particularly aversive, while BAS was negatively related to indecision but most strongly the avoidant category. We found that FFFS is more closely related to aversive than avoidant indecision. The relationship between rRST and indecision may be influenced by handedness; for right-handers the same pattern was found, but in left-handers BAS was not a significant predictor of indecision, BIS only predicted aversive indecision and FFFS predicted all three categories

Influences of lateral preference and personality on behaviour towards a manual sorting task

Differences in task behaviour between left- and right-handers and left- and right-eared individuals have been reported (e.g. Jackson, 2008 and Wright et al., 2004) with left-handers taking longer to begin a task and right-eared individuals having a more disinhibited approach. Personality measurements are also important when examining approach behaviour. Jackson (2008) reported that those with higher neuroticism levels and a right-ear preference react faster to tasks. The current study investigated the effects of lateral preference and personality on behaviour towards a manual sorting task. Eighty-five participants completed laterality and personality scales and a card-sorting task. Degree of hand preference was found to influence behaviour towards the task with strong left-handers taking longer to begin. Those with a left congruent lateral preference (left-hand, left-ear) took significantly longer to begin the task than those with a right congruent preference. Neither neuroticism nor extraversion influenced task approach. We concluded that hand preference, and more specifically a strong left-hand preference is a good predictor of a longer initiation time on a manual task. Ear preference on its own does not predict initiation time