A study of patchiness in mid-season dairy pastures : consequences and control : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science at Massey University

There is interest among some dairy farmers in increasing herbage intake of cows during spring by increasing pasture cover but without compromising pasture quality into the summer. "Late control" is a grazing management strategy developed in Massey University that meets those requirements (Matthews et al., 1996). In addition, it has been demonstrated in previous trials that Late control increases pasture production in the summer-autumn period by increasing ryegrass tillering vigour. Late control requires a period of lax grazing during spring to allow some reproductive growth development on ryegrass pastures, which is then controlled by hard grazing in late spring before anthesis. However, patchiness may develop in Late control during the lax grazing period when the herbage allowance is high. The objectives for the present experiment were to compare the pasture characteristics under Late control and conventional "Early control" spring management strategies in December-January, with particular reference to the consequences of vegetation heterogeneity to pasture production and utilisation over this period, and to discuss the implications to spring grazing management. The experiment involved detailed studies on three paddocks chosen from each of two farmlets of 22 paddocks used for a system trial comparing Early and Late control spring management on herds of 120 cows. Herbage mass distributions were estimated by taking 200 capacitance meter readings at random on each paddock. Relationships between herbage mass and utilisation and accumulation were estimated by using two 30 m permanent transects in each paddock. To determine botanical composition and tiller population variability within a sward, five tall patches and five short patches were sampled in each paddock. Paddocks in Late control before the control phase in December had more herbage mass than paddocks in Early control (3600 vs. 5000 kg DM/ha), but the variability of herbage mass was similar (1000 vs. 1000, standard deviation in kg DM/ha). The skewness of the herbage mass distribution was positive but greater in Early control than in Late control (0.57 vs. 0.32). Botanical composition was similar between treatments and within paddocks. Pasture morphology showed tiller size-density compensation in both treatments. Pasture characteristics in late control were not an impediment for efficient pasture removal in late control and more herbage was harvested than in Early control (1900 vs. 1000 kg DM/ha), although herbage allowance was greater in Early control. Short patches in both treatments were defoliated in less proportion than tall patches, but in Late control the proportion of short patches was less than in Early control. Therefore, low herbage mass and greater proportion of short patches in Early control had a negative effect on total herbage utilisation. Harvesting efficiency was controlled on Late control paddocks to avoid limitations to herbage intake, and the skewness of the distribution of herbage mass after grazing increased compared to Early control, as well as the proportion of tall poorly utilised patches. Topping of pastures after grazing was effective in removing poorly utilised material and in decreasing patchiness in January. In January, Late control paddocks had more herbage mass, but less patchiness than Early control paddocks (6300 vs. 4700 kg DM/ha). Sward characteristics were affected by treatment, and in general Late control increased ryegrass content and its leafiness during January compared to Early control. In January, herbage utilisation was greater in Late control than in Early control (3000 vs. 1700 kg DM/ha). It was concluded that because Late control had greater responses in tall patches, the objective should be to modify management to a longer rotation length before controlling reproductive growth in late spring, to allow a greater proportion of the sward to achieve high herbage mass. The combination of grazing and topping of pastures gave high herbage intakes and effective pasture control. More pasture was produced in Late control than in Early control and the rotation length can also be increased during the summer in Late control, which may benefit further ryegrass tillering

The Rhythmic Course: A Trajectory in Four Movements

Experimental piece on Accelerationism

Le grand Autre: The Symbolic Order of Ideology

On the 19th of April, 2008, after decades of seclusion and abuse, Elisabeth Fritzl and her six children were liberated from the basement of her father’s house in Amstetten, Austria. The kids had been born in confinement, and had never been out in the real world. The Police chief reported that “they communicated with noises that were a mixture of growling and cooing” that was unintelligible to others. The question this unsettling anecdote poses is why these children could not communicate. Had they been dislocated from their position to the Other? If so, what, who, or where is this Other? The Other is the place that interpellates the subject into the symbolic order of ideology

The Gothic Third World: Photography and the Poetics of Exclusion

A series of constellated readings that both reflect and displace Benjamin and Kracauer’s critical treatment of modernity. While their ideas are usually understood as symptoms of the catastrophic historical situation in Weimar Germany, this essay re-inscribes their theories upon the accelerated processes of modernisation which took place in the Third World during the last decades of the 20th century. Reading photographs by Susan Meiselas and Rafael Trobat, and the poetry of Nicaraguan poet Carlos Martínez Rivas in constellation with Benjamin and Kracauer, this argument works through the logic of temporal and spatial superimposition, and elaborates a poetics of exclusion as a tentative discourse on the utopian potential of the photographic image

Protocol i guia d’avaluació de l’alumnat en la realització de projectes tecnològics a l’aula taller

L’aprovació de la LOGSE l’any 1990 va significar la incorporació de l’assignatura de tecnologia a l’educació secundària obligatòria. Al llarg de tots aquests anys s’han anat consolidant els continguts curriculars, s’han desenvolupat gran quantitat de recursos, i s’han organitzat moltes activitats de participació entre diferents centres, etc. També respecte a l’aula taller s’han estandarditzat les dotacions de material, s’han creat espais de creació i intercanvi de recursos didàctics i s’han dissenyat moltes propostes de projectes tecnològics per desenvolupar a l’aula taller. Per altra banda, durant tot aquest temps s’han desenvolupat escassos recursos i eines que facilitin al docent la tasca avaluadora quan es realitzen els projectes tecnològics a l’aula taller. També, la singularitat de les activitats, i més concretament dels projectes que es poden desenvolupar a l’aula taller, fa que el seguiment i l’avaluació de l’alumnat per part del professorat tingui unes connotacions especials. Aquest Projecte Final de Màster té la intenció de ser una eina d’ajut per al docent en el procés d’avaluació de l’alumnat en la realització de projectes tecnològics a l’aula taller. Amb aquesta intenció es proposa una metodologia de seguiment continu i avaluació utilitzant com a eina vertebral i integradora de tot aquest procés una aplicació informàtica dissenyada en Visual Basic 2008. Durant el procés de disseny d’aquesta metodologia sempre ha estat present la intenció de, per una banda, poder dissenyar una eina genèrica que pogués avaluar qualsevol tipus de projecte de tecnologia realitzat a l’aula taller de tecnologia, i a qualsevol curs de la ESO. Per altra banda, també que aquesta eina tingués en compte les singularitats de cada tipus de projecte per tal de poder-les avaluar. La metodologia i eina informàtica que es proposa té quatre parts que es poden resumir de la següent manera. Una primera part on es realitza el disseny de la rúbrica mitjançant la selecció d’uns criteris d’avaluació. Una segona part basada en el seguiment de l'alumnat a l'aula taller durant la realització del projecte tecnològic. La tercera part tracta de la recopilació d’aquestes dades i l’obtenció de una nota final individual. Per últim, el docent pot consultar les dades desades dels projectes tecnològics realitzats a l’aula taller

The Indigenous Communal Sense in Enrique Dussel\u27s Concept of People

In Twenty Theses on Politics, Argentine-Mexican philosopher Enrique Dussel compares the concept of people with two Indigenous terms: The Aztec altepetl and the Mayan Amaq’. Both concepts mean ‘community’ or ‘people,’ and ‘us/we.’ However, beyond his reference to Carlos Lenkersdorf’s book Filosofar en clave tojolabal (Philosophizing in Tojolabal Code), Dussel delves not further into these Indigenous words and their implications to understand what he means by people. Focusing on the work of Carlos Lenkersdorf (2005), Gladys Tzul Tzul (2018), Alejandra Aquino Moreschi (2013), Raúl Madrid (2014) and Josef Estermann (2006), I shall examine how the political proceeding of distinct Latin American Indigenous communities, literally changes the manner in which Dussel’s concept of people is understood in non-Indigenous realities. Indeed, among Indigenous peoples, a search for an alternative political system is commonplace. I will examine that search especially in the Tojol ab’al, K’iche’, and Andean instance; and, taking guidance from Dussel’s notion of people, I will examine how there may be a solution to be found in the political participation of the citizenry made by consensus. This political resolution may, in turn, be instrumental in the creation of a new notion of the ‘we’ in non-Indigenous realities

How Much Water Do Households Require?

What is the basic water requirement per month of a Philippine household consisting of six members? This study provides an estimate based on various household activities dovetailed to local practices and situation which may serve as a valuable input in water sector planning, water supply allocation, and water pricing determination.water sector, water demand

The role of parenting styles on behavior problem profiles of adolescents

Parental behavior is one of the most influential factors on the development of adolescent externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. These behavioral problems are closely related and often co-occur. The objectives of this work were: (i) to identify adolescents profiles according to their behavior problems; (ii) to explore individual, family, and social characteristics associated with these profiles; and (iii) to analyze the potential role of parenting styles in belonging to adolescents’ profiles. A total of 449 Spanish adolescents (223 from families declared at-risk and enrolled in Child Welfare Services and 226 from families from the general population) participated in this study. The analyses revealed three profiles of adolescents based on external and internal behavior problems (adjusted, external maladjustment, and internal maladjustment). Parenting styles explained the adolescents’ belonging to different profiles, in which the indulgent style was the most favorable in general terms. The distinctive role of parenting styles on two types of maladjustment profiles was confirmed. The relationship between parenting styles and adolescent adjustment is a key component that should be included in interventions according to adolescents’ behavior problem profiles. Furthermore, the results shed light on the need that family interventions are complemented with individualized interventions with adolescents that accumulate stressful life events.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad EDU2013-41441-