Physiological performance and fruit quality of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) cultivated in different agro-climatic zones of Fiji

Noni (Morinda citrifolia) fruit juice is widely used as a strong antioxidant nutritional supplement. With its demand for supplementary products globally, commercial noni farming is now increasing in the Pacific Islands. Information on its growth performance and fruit quality under variable climatic condition is limited. This study aimed to establish the climatic requirements and identify the agro-climatic zone in Fiji that provides for increased antioxidant levels in fruits in addition to optimal plant growth and physiological performance. The study investigated plant growth, photosynthetic performance, fruit yield and antioxidant properties of plants that were cultivated under rain fed conditions in the dry, wet and intermediate agro-climatic zones in Fiji Islands. The physiological performance was significantly influenced by the soil moisture, sunshine hours and soil nutrients. Physiological performance including fruit yields were the highest in the intermediate zone which was characterized by a moderate rainfall and fairly good soil properties while it was lowest in the dry zone. Highest fruit antioxidant properties occurred in the dry zone followed by wet zone. The study implies that under cultivation, moderate abiotic stress can enhance the antioxidant properties of noni

Historians of Asia on Political Violence

In the general opinion, Asia as a whole tends to be represented (and more often than not, to represent itself) as devoid of violence: look at Indian “non-violence”, Chinese Taoist “non-action”, Confucian “harmony”, Buddhist “love for peace” or Japanese “Zen philosophy”… This may fill the shelves of “Oriental wisdom” sections in our bookshops, but most historians do not buy into this kind of “feel good” projections and are acutely aware that any society whatsoever, wherever it is located, teems with violence, and that violence is part and parcel of any kind of polity. Furthermore, the political violence which is the topic of this volume is not just about war, it can take on very diverse forms, including, as will be shown by some of the articles presented here, iconic vandalism, distorted modes of interpretation, warped forms of ideological discourse, collective amnesia and negationism. The present volume is the second of the “Myriades d’Asies” series inaugurated with India-China: Intersecting Universalities. Just as the preceding one, it is a collection of articles resulting from an international conference organised by the Chair of Chinese Intellectual History in June 2019. As a reflection of the Collège de France spirit of public service intent on making knowledge available to all for free, all the volumes of the series are published online and in open access. Our hope is that these articles, written by eminent historians of Asia and from very different viewpoints which cut across vast expanses of time and space, will lead readers and researchers alike to reflect further on the multiple faces of political violence, as well as their infinite complexities, so as to avoid giving in to ideological and judgmental binaries that are the common junk food for non-thought. This seems to be increasingly essential today since the 21st century is supposed to be the century of Asia.In the general opinion, Asia as a whole tends to be represented (and more often than not, to represent itself) as devoid of violence: look at Indian “non-violence”, Chinese Taoist “non-action”, Confucian “harmony”, Buddhist “love for peace” or Japanese “Zen philosophy”… This may fill the shelves of “Oriental wisdom” sections in our bookshops, but most historians do not buy into this kind of “feel good” projections and are acutely aware that any society whatsoever, wherever it is located, teems with violence, and that violence is part and parcel of any kind of polity. Furthermore, the political violence which is the topic of this volume is not just about war, it can take on very diverse forms, including, as will be shown by some of the articles presented here, iconic vandalism, distorted modes of interpretation, warped forms of ideological discourse, collective amnesia and negationism. The present volume is the second of the “Myriades d’Asies” series inaugurated with India-China: Intersecting Universalities. Just as the preceding one, it is a collection of articles resulting from an international conference organised by the Chair of Chinese Intellectual History in June 2019. As a reflection of the Collège de France spirit of public service intent on making knowledge available to all for free, all the volumes of the series are published online and in open access. Our hope is that these articles, written by eminent historians of Asia and from very different viewpoints which cut across vast expanses of time and space, will lead readers and researchers alike to reflect further on the multiple faces of political violence, as well as their infinite complexities, so as to avoid giving in to ideological and judgmental binaries that are the common junk food for non-thought. This seems to be increasingly essential today since the 21st century is supposed to be the century of Asia

WisDOT Workforce Development and Readiness Project

0092-21-62The purpose of this project was to understand and analyze the nature of personnel gaps at the Division of Transportation System Development (DTSD) and offer recommendations on how best to address some of the gaps. The UWM-IPIT project team conducted gap analysis using a variety of methodologies: SWOT analysis, attrition analysis over time, areas of failed recruitments, assessments of mission critical activities performed in various regions and bureaus, the extent of current needs met by FTEs vs. consultants across regions and bureaus, analysis of benchmarking data obtained through interviews with peer DOTs. The cumulative results of all gap analyses identified a multitude of internal and external forces confronting DTSD and WisDOT, with staffing and workforce development challenges among the chief concerns. Recommendations were based on the assessment of key best practices, results of gap analysis, benchmarking information, and analysis of WisDOT organizational structure. Three broad recommendations were offered: (1) establish a team of workforce planning professionals to engage in annual/biennial workforce planning activities that are coordinated with the strategic planning process and engage multiple layers of leadership; (2) develop succession planning and knowledge management programs that are aligned with strategic workforce planning and development plans; (3) re-envision retention practices that are aligned with strategic workforce planning and development needs and focus on core competency training, establishing communities of practice, and career development programs

Women's Under-Representation in the Engineering and Computing Professions: Fresh Perspectives on a Complex Problem

Understanding the many complexities that define gender inequality has been described by researchers as a grand challenge. Novel insights, innovation, a broader community to conduct research and to ascertain effective interventions are essential in the challenge to create organizations that are gender equal. As such, this Research Topic in Frontiers in Psychology addresses the under-representation of women in engineering and computing as a complex, but solvable problem. This Research Topic seeks to inform the global community about advances in understanding the under-representation of women in engineering and computing with a focus on what enables change. Further, this Topic will promote fresh perspectives, innovative methodologies, and mixed method approaches important to accelerating the pace of change

What matters most? : the relative role of mentoring and career capital in career success

This study used a career capital framework to compare the relative role of mentoring and three other forms of career capital (human, agentic, and developmental network capital) in predicting career success. Using a three-wave longitudinal design we found that mentoring added value, above and beyond the other forms of career capital, in predicting promotions and advancement expectations. However, although mentoring mattered for career success, it represented just a part of a constellation of career resources that are embedded within individuals and their relationships. Implications for future research are discussed.

WHY WOMEN LEAVE ENGINEERING

�My work for many years at a US national laboratory has provided both the flexibility and scientific/ educational environment I need. In turn I give my professional best while at work. It is a WIN-WIN.” �There is little to no RESPECT for women in male-dominated fields.” My current workplace is very WOMAN ENGINEER FRIENDLY. Women get promoted and paid at the same rate as men.” “�Being a blonde, blue-eyed female DOESN’T HELP when interviewing in a manufacturing/plant setting.” Still getting asked if I can handle being in a mostly male work environmen

Women’s Reasons for Leaving the Engineering Field

Among the different Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields, engineering continues to have one of the highest rates of attrition (Hewlett et al., 2008). The turnover rate for women engineers from engineering fields is even higher than for men (Frehill, 2010). Despite increased efforts from researchers, there are still large gaps in our understanding of the reasons that women leave engineering. This study aims to address this gap by examining the reasons why women leave engineering. Specifically, we analyze the reasons for departure given by national sample of 1,464 women engineers who left the profession after having worked in the engineering field. We applied a person-environment fit theoretical lens, in particular, the Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA) (Dawis and Lofquist, 1984) to understand and categorize the reasons for leaving the engineering field. According to the TWA, occupations have different “reinforcer patterns,” reflected in six occupational values, and a mismatch between the reinforcers provided by the work environment and individuals’ needs may trigger departure from the environment. Given the paucity of literature in this area, we posed research questions to explore the reinforcer pattern of values implicated in women’s decisions to leave the engineering field. We used qualitative analyses to understand, categorize, and code the 1,863 statements that offered a glimpse into the myriad reasons that women offered in describing their decisions to leave the engineering profession. Our results revealed the top three sets of reasons underlying women’s decision to leave the jobs and engineering field were related to: first, poor and/or inequitable compensation, poor working conditions, inflexible and demanding work environment that made work-family balance difficult; second, unmet achievement needs that reflected a dissatisfaction with effective utilization of their math and science skills, and third, unmet needs with regard to lack of recognition at work and adequate opportunities for advancement. Implications of these results for future research as well as the design of effective intervention programs aimed at women engineers’ retention and engagement in engineering are discussed

Why do women engineers leave the engineering profession? The roles of work–family conflict, occupational commitment, and perceived organizational support

This study investigated the factors that underlie the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and women engineers\u27 intention to leave the occupation. The study draws from three theories: Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, turnover theory, and Rhodes and Doering\u27s (1983) integrated model of career change. We proposed that both work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) influence women\u27s intention to leave an engineering occupation by decreasing their commitment to the occupation. Using insights from the above theories and models, we further examined how perceptions of support from the organization changed the relationship between commitment to the occupation and intention to leave the occupation, as well as how conflict between work and family was related to intention to leave the occupation. We tested our predictions using time-lagged data from a sample of 245 women engineers. The results revealed that occupational commitment mediated and explained the positive relationship between FIW and occupational turnover intentions but not the relationship between WIF and occupational turnover intentions. In addition, perceptions of organizational support influenced the relationship between occupational commitment and occupational turnover intentions and also the indirect relationship between FIW and occupational turnover intentions. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings as well as future research directions are discussed