Road miles associated with agricultural production

Road Transport Forum NZ (RTFNZ) is the national industry organisation representing the interests of the road transport industry, with the aim to build an efficient and cost effective road transport sector that will enable New Zealand industry, businesses and communities to prosper. RTFNZ has identified that the transportation associated with agricultural production in New Zealand has not been subject to much analysis. Considering agricultural production is the backbone of the New Zealand economy, there is a need for better understanding of road usage in agriculture to ensure producers’ roading needs are met.This report was commissioned by the E J Brenan Memorial Trust

The key elements of success and failure in the NZ kiwifruit industry

The study explores the nature and performance of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry from 1980 to 2006. As almost 94 per cent of kiwifruit produced in New Zealand is exported the focus of this study is on the export sector of the kiwifruit industry. Value chain theory is used to define the kiwifruit industry in New Zealand. The value chain links the key participants and organisations that ultimately bring kiwifruit to consumers. Therefore it incorporates the three main stages from the orchard to market - growing kiwifruit, post harvest operations, and exporting. The examination of the industry since 1980 can be separated into the following key focus areas: 1. changing market characteristics: production trends, target markets, changing consumer preferences and increasing competition. 2. operating environment: how different factors have changed to impact on the industry. 3. industry structure: changes at the firm and industry level in response to changing circumstances and environments. 4. conduct and performance: analysis of broad performance measures, extent of sharing of information, knowledge and resources within the industry, and the degree of interdependence along the value chain. In particular this study explores the kiwifruit industry’s current single desk seller structure – Zespri. It examines how it evolved by looking at the structural developments that preceded its existence and the factors that influenced its formation. It also looks at the recent consolidation amongst post-harvest operators and explores the factors that have bought about this change. It reviews how the industry has responded to changing market conditions by producing new products and how the role of marketing (i.e. branded products) has influenced export turnover.Funded by AGMARDT The Agricultural Marketing Research and Development Trus

Improving School Leadership: The Promise of Cohesive Leadership Systems

Describes Wallace grantees' work to create a cohesive leadership system of coordinated policies between states and districts and across state agencies, states' and districts' efforts to forge cohesive policies, and the impact on instructional leadership

Adjacent Functional Group Effects on the Assembly of Columnar Liquid Crystals

Although the impact of individual functional groups on the self-assembly of columnar liquid crystal phases has been widely studied, the effect of varying multiple substituents has received much less attention. Herein, we report a series of dibenzo[a,c]phenazines containing an alcohol or ether adjacent to an electron-withdrawing ester or acid. With one exception, these difunctional mesogens form columnar phases. The phase behavior appeared to be dominated by the electron-withdrawing substituent; transition temperatures were similar to derivatives with these groups in isolation. In most instances, the addition of an electron-donating group ortho to an ester or acid suppressed the melting temperature and elevated the clearing temperature, leading to broader liquid crystal thermal ranges. This effect was more pronounced for derivatives functionalized with longer chain hexyloxy groups. These results suggest a potential strategy for controlling the phase ranges of columnar liquid crystals and achieving room temperature mesophases