Case studies in rural co-operatives: three studies of the organisation and management or rural co-operatives providing post-harvest facilities in the kiwifruit industry: a research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Business and Administration at Massey University

The co-operative ownership structure is one that is commonly encountered in New Zealand's agricultural industry. This type of organisation would appear to have a number of natural advantages that should make it very competitive in modern agri-business. However it is apparent at least some co-operatives have not lived up to their members' expectations. This research project has been undertaken to identify some of the problems of co-operative enterprise and to provide some possible strategies to improve their operation. This report examines the management and organisational practices of three co-operative enterprises providing post-harvest facilities in the Kiwifruit industry. The research follows a longitudinal case study approach, with each co-operative described in terms of the six dimensions of history, facilities, shareholding, direction, operation and finance. The material generated by the study is discussed within a framework of central issues, established from evidence of other co-operative activity, both in New Zealand and overseas. The report concludes with a description of some 14 common problems, and a discussion concerning the effectiveness of management and organisational measures that have been implemented as possible solutions. It then goes on to outline 10 general strategies that could be of significance in the improved operation of rural co-operatives

The student review of the science curriculum

This paper presents some of the main findings of a student-led review of the science curriculum in England. Over 350 students, aged 16-19, designed possible questions for a web-based questionnaire at regional meetings held across England. In the six weeks to 8th February 2002, a total of 1,493 questionnaires were submitted. Analysis of these responses shows considerable student dissatisfaction with the science curriculum. A list of 10 student recommendations is provided

The Cambridge controversies in the theory of capital: contributions from the complex plane

A controversy in capital theory concerns reswitching. When two production techniques are compared, reswitching occurs when one technique is cheapest at low interest rates, switches to being more expensive at higher rates, and then reswitches to being cheapest at yet higher rates. Some believe this inconsistency undermines neoclassical economics. The time-value-of-money (TVM) equation is at the core of the puzzle. The equation is a polynomial having n roots, implying n interest rates. In most analyses, including reswitching, one interest rate is used and the remaining rates are ignored. This analysis demonstrates that every TVM equation has a ‘dual’ form employing all interest rates. The dual of the reswitching equation explains the puzzle

Spiders as surrogate species in ecological monitoring, habitat classification and reserve selection : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Ecology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The use of invertebrates in the monitoring of terrestrial ecosystems was investigated using spiders as a focal group. In a review of previous literature, spiders were found to meet the majority of criteria required of suitable ecological indicators, including high diversity and abundance, a widespread distribution, easy sampling and sorting, relatively low random fluctuation in population sizes and community composition, a range of dispersal abilities, measurable response to habitat change and representation of other taxa. The main weaknesses of spiders as ecological indicators were the lack of taxonomic expertise and sparse knowledge of baseline biology. However, these disadvantages could be rectified and it was concluded that spiders are suitable for further investigation as ecological indicators, involving field trials and hypothesis testing. The spider communities in the litter, herb and shrub layer of eight sites representing four habitat types within a forest successional series were sampled in Pouiatoa State Forest in Northern Taranaki. There were no distinct trends in spider richness or abundance across the successional series. However, spider species and family composition both reflected the successional stage from which they were taken. Site classifications using DCA and cluster analysis were similar when using either plant or spider data. Spider communities demonstrated potential for use in habitat classification of terrestrial ecosystems. Spiders and seven other ground-active invertebrate groups were sampled with pitfall traps from fourteen forest remnants within the Rangitikei Ecological Region to test whether spiders were able to act as indicators of plant and invertebrate diversity. Within-site richness (α-diversity) of spiders was strongly correlated with that of all other invertebrates combined, but spiders were not good predictors of between-site richness (²- diversity) of all other invertebrates. Correlation between the α- and β-diversities of plants and invertebrates were low, indicating that maximising plant diversity in reserve selection might not maximise invertebrate diversity. It is recommended that ground-active invertebrates be included in surveys of potential forest reserves. Spiders are a useful surrogate group for invertebrate communities and could be more widely used in the assessment, monitoring and management of terrestrial ecosystems

Approximation in AC(σ)AC(\sigma)

In order to extend the theory of well-bounded operators to include operators with nonreal spectrum, Ashton and Doust introduced definitions for two new algebras of functions defined on a nonempty compact subset $\sigma$ of the plane. These are the functions of bounded variation and the absolutely continuous functions on $\sigma$. Proofs involving absolutely continuous functions usually require that one first works with elements of a dense subset and then take limits. In this paper we present some new theorems about approximating absolutely continuous functions as well as providing missing proofs for some important earlier results.Comment: 23 page

Identification of a novel regulatory mechanism for the disease associated protein, uPAR

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), as determined through a series of statistical association studies collectively known as genome-wide association (GWA) studies, have provided us with a hypothesis free approach for the investigation into regulatory loci for disease and disease-associated proteins. This has led to the identification of multiple novel gene-disease interactions, especially in the field of respiratory medicine. This review describes the case study of a GWA approach in order to identify eQTLs for the soluble form of the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), a protein associated with obstructive respiratory disease. Molecular and cellular investigations based on the eQTLs identified for this GWA study has led to the identification of a novel regulatory mechanism with implications in the disease processes with which this protein is associated. This highlights the potential of eQTLs defined associations in the identification of novel mechanisms, with implications in disease.peer-reviewe

Two-particle irreducible effective actions versus resummation: analytic properties and self-consistency

Approximations based on two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective actions (also known as $\Phi$-derivable, Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis or Luttinger-Ward functionals depending on context) have been widely used in condensed matter and non-equilibrium quantum/statistical field theory because this formalism gives a robust, self-consistent, non-perturbative and systematically improvable approach which avoids problems with secular time evolution. The strengths of 2PI approximations are often described in terms of a selective resummation of Feynman diagrams to infinite order. However, the Feynman diagram series is asymptotic and summation is at best a dangerous procedure. Here we show that, at least in the context of a toy model where exact results are available, the true strength of 2PI approximations derives from their self-consistency rather than any resummation. This self-consistency allows truncated 2PI approximations to capture the branch points of physical amplitudes where adjustments of coupling constants can trigger an instability of the vacuum. This, in effect, turns Dyson's argument for the failure of perturbation theory on its head. As a result we find that 2PI approximations perform better than Pad\'e approximation and are competitive with Borel-Pad\'e resummation. Finally, we introduce a hybrid 2PI-Pad\'e method.Comment: Version accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics B. 31 pages, 16 figures. Uses feynm

Exploring Malta's welfare model

The paper compares the Maltese welfare state with other mainstream welfare regimes. It makes use of Esping-Andersen’s concepts of decommodification and stratification, whilst also looking at political and ideological factors. The European context in general, as analyzed by Roche, and the Southern European context in particular, as analyzed by Ferrera, are given particular attention. For this purpose, qualitative interviewing and analysis of secondary data was analysed through a sociological perspective. The paper argues that Malta has a hybrid model which does not neatly fit in one particular model of welfare. Indeed it has similarities and differences with other welfare models such as the Liberal, Social-Democratic, Continental and Southern European. However Malta must also keep in line with targets set by the European Union, which in turn are likely to influence Malta’s welfare model.peer-reviewe