Analysis of spectral response patterns of Kiwifruit orchards using satellite imagery to predict orchard characteristics of commercial value before harvest : : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Prod Tech in the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Several characteristics of kiwifruit determine its value to the kiwifruit marketing company, Zespri Ltd, and to the grower. The foremost of these is the dry matter content. Much effort is expended in predicting the final dry matter content of the fruit as early in the season as possible so that the optimal dry matter content can be achieved. Dry matter content is currently measured through a destructive 90-fruit protocol that may be repeated several times in a season on each maturity block. Remote sensing data available from modern satellites can provide four-colour (red, green, blue and near-infrared) data with resolution down to 1-2m, less than the size of one kiwifruit vine. Many indices can be created from these and correlated to the characteristics of plants with indifferent results. This thesis presents the development of an index wherein the four colours are used to create a three-dimensional unit colour vector that is largely independent of light level. This transform was used to allow the direct visualisation of data from a number of satellite images of the Te Puke kiwifruit growing area in New Zealand over five years, for which dry matter content values were available from the 90-fruit protocol. An attenuation model was chosen to correct the top-of-atmosphere light intensities recorded by the satellite cameras to those at ground level. The method of Hall et al., (1991) was found to reduce the variation of fiduciary pixels by the largest amount and was used. The visualisation revealed that there was an axis along which dry matter was ordered by magnitude. A regression line of best fit was applied to this data producing an R2 value of 0.51 with a standard mean-square error of 0.76. This is significantly lower than the average mean-square error of 1.05 for the 90-fruit protocol. Comparison of the predictive power of other indices, based on one image, showed a range of R2 values of 0.008 to 0.49. The method developed in this thesis produced an R2 of 0.70 for the same data

The evolution of architecture faculty organizational culture at the University of Michigan

Understanding and navigating the multiple academic disciplines and administrative subcultures, which operate within higher education institutions, is challenging for both internal and external stakeholders who may be unfamiliar with the disparate normative, regulative, and cultural cognitive systems that guide social behavior of each area. Higher education leaders need to understand the cultures operating within the organizational groups and subgroups in order to coordinate, integrate, and foster collaboration toward organizational and institutional goal attainment activities. This case study, which focused on the emergence and evolution of the organizational culture of the architecture faculty at the University of Michigan, provides insights into this particular organizational unit as well as a conceptual framework and research process from which to examine other faculty subcultures. Findings included explication of historical, societal and technological influences; the sociocultural, norms, roles and structural elements developed by the organizational members to structure their social behavior; a list of norms, roles and statuses used by members; as well as an explication of leadership actions that were accepted or rejected by faculty members as the organizational culture developed

The Relationship Between Learner Responsibility and Performance of Students Enrolled in Career and Technical Education Core Curriculum Courses

To guide this study the following hypotheses were established: 1. Students who take responsibility for their academic outcomes will out perform those students who do not in Marketing Education courses; 2. Female students will take more responsibility for their academic outcomes and will outscore males in the same Marketing Education courses

THE ELECTRONIC BRIEFCASE AND WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT: AN ANALYSIS BY GENDER

Individuals who have personal computers or terminals at home which they use for job-related purposes outside of regular office hours are said to use an electronic bn\u27efcase. This study uses Profile Analysis to examine how selection of an electronic briefcase workstyle affects employee work-family conflict. Data was collected from 359 dual-career couples with children. Seventy-three percent of the men in the sample and forty-nine percent of the women used an electronic briefcase workstyle. The rest of the sample choose not to use this work arrangement. Men and women with computers at home work significantly more hours per week and a significantly greater number of hours of overtime than do men and women who do not use an electronic briefcase. Based upon the profile analysis, a genderelectronic briefcase interaction effect appears to exist. Men and women who do not use an electronic briefcase experience essentially the same levels of work-family conflict as do men who work at home on a computer outside of office hours. However, women who use this work arrangement show a considerably different profile. Using an electronic briefcase seems to enable men to work longer hours without increasing their work-family conflict. A computer at home does not help women cope with conflict caused by dual role expectations. Women who use an electronic briefcase experience significantly more work-family conflict than do women who do not use such a work arrangement and men who do

Minutes from January 2015 meeting

Resenh

Moving Beyond the Criminal Justice Paradigm: A Radical Restorative Justice Approach to Intimate Abuse

This article traces the history of the development of the treatment of domestic violence as a crime in the United States and the conceptual and practical limitations of this approach in addressing this important social issue. An extensive body of research on restorative justice practice suggests that restorative approaches may contribute to reducing and preventing family violence. Drawing on restorative justice principles, an alternative or supplement to criminal justice approaches is outlined for working with all parties involved in abusive relationships