The tree of life as a methodological metaphor

The Tree of Life is an ancient motif that appears in many cultures and religions. The Tree is symbolic of the interconnected nature of our world(s) and is often used as a reminder of the sacredness of life and its connection to the earth. This chapter uses the Tree of Life from a Native American worldview as a metaphor for a critical participatory action research methodology. I explore the multifaceted nature of being a practitioner of this methodology from the perspective of a university researcher working with a group of school teachers. Critical participatory action research as a method often is reliant on an emergent design and a practitioner is never quite sure what is around the corner in a project. The Tree of Life metaphor can provide guidance and help the practitioner stay faithful to their original intent and the project's aims

BPM, Agile, and Virtualization Combine to Create Effective Solutions

The rate of change in business and government is accelerating. A number of techniques for addressing that change have emerged independently to provide for automated solutions in this environment. This paper will examine three of the most popular of these technologies-business process management, the agile software development movement, and infrastructure virtualization-to expose the commonalities in these approaches and how, when used together, their combined effect results in rapidly deployed, more successful solutions

Evaluating the effectiveness of a small-scale forest extension program on Leyte Island, The Philippines

This paper describes the evaluation of a forestry extension program on Leyte Island, the Philippines which was undertaken as one of the activities of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project ASEM/2003/052, Improving Financial Returns to Smallholder Tree Farmers in the Philippines. The program provided technical assistance to 22 farmers using a field tour and follow-up visits to individual farms as the main extension activities. Farmers responded positively to assistance and overcame difficulties caused by incessant wet weather to grow seedlings and establish timber plantations on unproductive privately owned land. Although the extension assistance was available to any farmer who owned land suitable for planting trees, the program inadvertently targeted a relatively well-off cohort of smallholders who are typically semi-retired or have employment other than on their farms. Evaluation of the program was undertaken by collating a chain of evidence from translated interviews and conversations, reports by extension staff, corroboration by external observers and visual observations. Seventeen of the farmers identified lack of seed or seedlings as major constraints to the expansion of tree growing but did not consider that marketing trees was likely to be a problem in the future. Farmers had little knowledge of nursery procedures and five of them required assistance to set out, stake and plant their trees. Formative evaluation undertaken to guide the delivery of the program indicated that extension activities were well received by farmers. However, eight farmers established plantations on sites which are unsuitable for the growth or marketing of trees. Farmers also prioritised other farming activities over extension assistance and this complicated the scheduling of field visits. Summative evaluation of the program indicated that a hypothetically expanded program would attract support from farmers. However, further research is needed to ascertain the size of the cohort of farmers in Leyte who are likely to respond to extension assistance to grow timber plantations

The Reflectance Signature of Canopy Components: Implications for the Interpretation of Remotely Sensed Images

The reflectance signatures of plantation pine canopy and understorey components were measured using a spectro-radiometer. The aim was to establish whether differences observed in the reflectance signature of stressed and unstressed pine needles were consistent with observed differences in the reflectance of multispectral Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images of healthy and stressed forest. Because overall scene reflectance includes the contribution of each scene component, needle reflectance may not be representative of canopy reflectance. In this investigation, a limited dataset of reflectance signatures from stressed and unstressed needles confirmed the negative relationship between pine needle health and reflectance which was observed in visible red wavelengths. However, the reflectance contribution from bushes, pine needle litter and bare soil tended to reinforce this relationship suggesting that in this instance, overall scene reflectance is comprised of the proportional reflectance of each scene component. In near infrared wavelengths, differences between healthy and stressed needle reflectance suggested a strong positive relationship between reflectance and tree health. For Landsat TM images, previous research had only observed a weak positive relationship between stand health and near infrared reflectance in these pine canopies. This suggests that for multispectral Landsat TM images, reflectance of near infrared light from pine canopies may be affected by other factors which may include the scattering of light within canopies. These results are seen as promising for the use of hyperspectral images to detect stand health, provided that pixel reflectance is not influenced by other scene components

Collaboration and concerted action are key to making open data a reality

The case for open data is increasingly inarguable. Improved data practice can help to address concerns about reproducibility and research integrity, reducing fraud and improving patient outcomes, for example. Research also shows good data practice can lead to improved productivity and increased citations. However, as Grace Baynes reports, recent survey data shows that while the research community recognises the value of open data, uptake remains slow, with good data practice and data sharing far from the status quo. To effect change, government, funders, institutions, publishers, and researchers themselves all have an important role to play

Spatial Technologies: What use are they to managers of environmental lands?

This paper reviews the potential use of three types of spatial technology to land managers, namely satellite imagery, satellite positioning systems and supporting computer software. Developments in remote sensing and the relative advantages of multispectral and hyperspectral images are discussed. The main challenge to the wider use of remote sensing as a land management tool is seen as uncertainty whether apparent relationships between biophysical variables and spectral reflectance are direct and causal, or artefacts of particular images. Developments in satellite positioning systems are presented in the context of land managers’ need for position estimates in situations where absolute precision may or may not be required. The role of computer software in supporting developments in spatial technology is described. Spatial technologies are seen as having matured beyond empirical applications to the stage where they are useful and reliable land management tools. In addition, computer software has become more user-friendly and this has facilitated data collection and manipulation by semi-expert as well as specialist staff

Using FCD Mapper Software and Landsat Images to Assess Forest Canopy Density in Landscapes in Australia and the Philippines

Using Landsat imagery, forest canopy density (FCD) estimated with the FCD Mapper®, was correlated with predominant height (PDH, measured as the average height of the tallest 50 trees per hectare) for 20 field plots measured in native forest at Noosa Heads, south-east Queensland, Australia. A corresponding image was used to calculate FCD in Leyte Island, the Philippines and was validated on the ground for accuracy. The FCD Mapper was produced for the International Tropical Timber Organisation and estimates FCD as an index of canopy density using reflectance characteristics of Landsat Enhanced Thematic (ETM) Mapper images. The FCD Mapper is a ‘semi-expert’ computer program which uses interactive screens to allow the operator to make decisions concerning the classification of land into bare soil, grass and forest. At Noosa, a positive strong nonlinear relationship (r2 = 0.86) was found between FCD and PDH for 15 field plots with variable PDH but complete canopy closure. An additional five field plots were measured in forest with a broken canopy and the software assessed these plots as having a much lower FCD than forest with canopy closure. FCD estimates for forest and agricultural land in the island of Leyte and subsequent field validation showed that at appropriate settings, the FCD Mapper differentiated between tropical rainforest and banana or coconut plantation. These findings suggest that in forests with a closed canopy this remote sensing technique has promise for forest inventory and productivity assessment. The findings also suggest that the software has promise for discriminating between native forest with a complete canopy and forest which has a broken canopy, such as coconut or banana plantation

A GIS Based Assessment of Land Suitable for Growing Hoop Pine in the Atherton, Eacham and Herberton Shires of North Queensland

The area of private land suitable and available for growing hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) on the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland was modelled using a geographic information system (GIS). In Atherton, Eacham and Herberton shires, approximately 64,700 ha of privately owned land were identified as having a mean annual rainfall and soil type similar to Forestry Plantations Queensland (FPQ) hoop pine growth plots with an approximate growth rate of 20 m3 per annum. Land with slope of over 25° and land covered with native vegetation were excluded in the estimation. If land which is currently used for high-value agriculture is also excluded, the net area of land potentially suitable and available for expansion of hoop pine plantations is approximately 22,900 ha. Expert silvicultural advice emphasized the role of site preparation and weed control in affecting the long-term growth rate of hoop pine. Hence, sites with less than optimal fertility and rainfall may be considered as being potentially suitable for growing hoop pine at a lower growth rate. The datasets had been prepared at various scales and differing precision for their description of land attributes. Therefore, the results of this investigation have limited applicability for planning at the individual farm level but are useful at the regional level to target areas for plantation expansion

We need more carrots: give academic researchers the support and incentives to share data

Making data available for other researchers to find, use, reuse, and reproduce is fundamental to open science, and ultimately makes research more efficient and effective. Yet despite funder policies that encourage and require data sharing, researchers in both the UK and the US report lower percentages of data sharing than the global average. In addition to progressive policies, Grace Baynes suggests researchers should be given incentives, expert support, training, and the infrastructure to make it seamless and easy to share data, and worth their while. Governments, funders, research institutions, libraries, and publishers all have a role to play to unlock the huge potential of research data

Jamais Vu

Jamais Vu is a physical representation of a journey taken and realized. Essentially, the project itself is an instrumental EP. It will tell a story to listeners that will evoke emotion that they themselves can tie into their own lives. The goal of the project will be to produce an instrumental EP that can stand on its own to be a playable body of work, and also be used by artists and other producers to make their own songs.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-production-technology/1181/thumbnail.jp