Agri-food leadership case study: Alex Guichard & Monique Kelly and Revology

This report forms part of a wider Unlocking Export Prosperity Research Programme led by the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University. This case study is the third of six instalments and is focused on Revology and its founders, Alex Guichard and Monique Kelly. Establishing themselves in Wanaka, Revology was founded on a vision of a more sustainable composites and design industry in New Zealand. They have focused on the use of sustainable resources to create high-quality products with long life cycles and a circular design model. The Revology DNA underpins their sustainable model of design, and this has required a departure from established practices in the composites and design industries. Alex Guichard and Monique Kelly have been value-driven, innovative, and entrepreneurial in their approach to revolutionising the market. Their leadership is the focus of this case study, and their leadership aligns with the leadership models described in earlier case studies and an earlier literature review. Innovation and a differentiated strategy are qualities that have helped them realise their vision for a sustainable business in New Zealand agribusiness

Agri-food leadership case study: John Brakenridge and the New Zealand Merino Company

This paper forms part of a wider Unlocking Export Prosperity Research Programme led by the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University. This is the first of six case studies and is focused on The New Zealand Merino Company and its Chief Executive John Brakenridge. The success of the New Zealand Merino Company is the product of a complex network of committed growers, innovative brand partners, a skilled and supportive Board and a great team. Within this complex network, however, Chief Executive John Brakenridge emerges as a central driver of the company’s achievements. This case study looks at Brakenridge’s leadership through the lens of the leadership models described in an earlier literature review. The essence of his leadership, however, can be seen in his ability to foster and persuasively articulate a transformative vision for New Zealand Merino and for New Zealand agriculture

Agri-food leadership case study: Mike & Sharon Barton and Taupō Beef and Lamb

This paper forms part of a wider Unlocking Export Prosperity Research Programme led by the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University. This is the second instalment in a series of case studies and is focused on Taupō Beef and Lamb, which is owned and operated by Mike and Sharon Barton Mike and Sharon Barton have needed to adapt to changes imposed on them and have responded by increasing the value of their product so that consumers pay a premium that helps cover the cost of operating under a nitrogen cap. This strategy involved shifting away from beef and lamb as a commodity and branding Taupō Beef and Lamb through environmental stewardship and creating unique value propositions. While challenges have arisen over this journey, the change Taupō Beef and Lamb has undergone has been pivotal to its survival. Taupō Beef and Lamb is an example of how leadership is crucial for adding value to agri-food products, protecting New Zealand’s environment, and garnering a price premium for high-value products

Preventing transition to turbulence: a viscosity stratification does not always help

In channel flows a step on the route to turbulence is the formation of streaks, often due to algebraic growth of disturbances. While a variation of viscosity in the gradient direction often plays a large role in laminar-turbulent transition in shear flows, we show that it has, surprisingly, little effect on the algebraic growth. Non-uniform viscosity therefore may not always work as a flow-control strategy for maintaining the flow as laminar.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Agri-food leadership case study: Pegasus Bay Wines

This is the fourth case study in a series analysing leadership in New Zealand agrifood companies. It is part of the Unlocking Export Prosperity Research Programme led by the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University. This case study examines Pegasus Bay, a winery in Waipara Valley founded by Ivan and Chris Donaldson, and now run by the next generation of Donaldsons. Their passion for wine and the craft shines through in the high-quality products they create. They focus on creating wines they enjoy, rather than being led by the market. They have built a strong brand and garnered an international audience through capitalising on sustainable practices and lifting the image of New Zealand. Achieving this has been no coincidence as founders Ivan and Chris Donaldson, and the next generation of Donaldsons – Matthew, Edward, Belinda, and Di – embody the qualities of leadership that support innovation and coordination, and align people to their vision and core purpose. This aligns with previous case studies and the findings of the earlier literature review

Imprints of the nuclear symmetry energy on gravitational waves from the axial w-modes of neutron stars

The eigen-frequencies of the axial w-modes of oscillating neutron stars are studied using the continued fraction method with an Equation of State (EOS) partially constrained by the recent terrestrial nuclear laboratory data. It is shown that the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy $E_{sym}(\rho)$ affects significantly both the frequencies and the damping times of these modes. Besides confirming the previously found universal behavior of the mass-scaled eigen-frequencies as functions of the compactness of neutron stars, we explored several alternative universal scaling functions. Moreover, the $w_{II}$-mode is found to exist only for neutron stars having a compactness of $M/R\geq 0.1078$ independent of the EOS used.Comment: Version appeared in Phys. Rev. C80, 025801 (2009

The contribution of the Unresolved Extragalactic Radio Sources to the Brightness Temperature of the sky

The contribution of the Unresolved Extragalactic Radio Sources to the diffuse brightness of the sky was evaluated using the source number - flux measurements available in literature. We first optimized the fitting function of the data based on number counts distribution. We then computed the brightness temperature at various frequencies from 151 MHz to 8440 MHz and derived its spectral dependence. As expected the frequency dependence can be described by a power law with a spectral index $\gamma \simeq -2.7$, in agreement with the flux emitted by the {\it steep spectrum} sources. The contribution of {\it flat spectrum} sources becomes relevant at frequencies above several GHz. Using the data available in literature we improved our knowledge of the brightness of the unresolved extragalactic radio sources. The results obtained have general validity and they can be used to disentangle the various contributions of the sky brightness and to evaluate the CMB temperature.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa