CHANGES IN NEW ZEALAND MARKETING BOARDS

Marketing,

PRIVATIZATION AND COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES TO THE NEW ZEALAND APPLE AND PEAR BOARD AND THE EXPORT IMPLICATIONS

Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

VIRTUAL PACKAGING: A CHALLENGE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Agribusiness,

Updates from the Transportation and Wildlife Front

Multiple western states are researching how to best mitigate roads for wildlife. We will present updates to ongoing projects in Montana and Utah and several other states.  Lessons learned from these projects can be applied to Montana wildlife mitigation. Recent research is learning of mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, pronghorn, big horn sheep, moose and other wildlife preferences for types of crossing structures. The results show support for the idea that the length of wildlife crossing structures is the most important structural dimension for mule deer success. Results also show a willingness of white-tailed deer to use bridged structures that are under 5 feet high to pass beneath roads. Elk are the “problem child” of wildlife crossing structures in several places, and are very hesitant to use any structures. Pronghorn and bighorn sheep are successfully using wildlife overpasses in three states. The efficacy of the use of double cattle guards and wildlife guards to prevent wildlife access to roads is being examined in a Utah study. Results will be presented on the effectiveness of these and electric mats at preventing wildlife access and will help elucidate which types of guards would work for various situations. Recommendations for future mitigation types and concerns will be presented at the end of our presentation

Medical Student Burnout: A Social Cognitive Learning Perspective on Medical Student Mental Health and Wellness

Medical students\u27 mental health is a topic of great interest as it has implications not only for medical students but also for the patients of these future doctors. Medical students face many academic pressures and burnout is one possible consequence of these stressors with some studies suggesting that burnout affects up to 50% of medical students. Our own study of American students in a medical programme located outside of the U.S. showed that student perceptions of the medical learning environment were linked with burnout suggesting that reducing burnout requires a pedagogical approach that addresses academically related stress factors. This chapter contends that one institutional strategy to prevent problems such as burnout is to adopt a theory-based approach to instructional design that addresses the causes of medical student stress and burnout from the instructional side

Investigation of the precipitation and hardening response of maraging stainless steels 17-4 and 13-8+Mo during multi-pass welding

Martensitic precipitation strengthened stainless steels 17-4 and 13-8+Mo are candidate alloys for high strength military applications. These applications will require joining by fusion welding processes thus, it is necessary to develop an understanding of microstructural and mechanical property changes that occur during welding. Previous investigations on these materials have demonstrated that significant softening occurs in the heat affected zone (HAZ) during welding, due to dissolution of the strengthen precipitates. It was also observed that post weld heat treatments (PWHT’s) were required to restore the properties. However, PWHT’s are expensive and cannot be applied when welding on a large scale or making a repair in the field. Thus, the purpose of the current work is to gain a fundamental understanding of the precipitation kinetics in these systems so that optimized welding procedures can be developed that do not require a PWHT.Multi-pass welding provides an opportunity to restore the strengthening precipitates that dissolve during primary weld passes using the heat from secondary weld passes. Thus, a preliminary investigation was performed to determine whether the times and temperatures associated with welding thermal cycles were sufficient to restore the strength in these systems. A Gleeble thermo-mechanical simulator was used to perform multi-pass welding simulations on samples of each material using a 1000 J/mm and 2000 J/mm heat input. Additionally, base metal and weld metal samples were used as starting conditions to evaluate the difference in precipitation response between each. Hardness measurements were used to estimate the extent of precipitate dissolution and growth. Microstructures were characterized using light optical microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). It was determined that precipitate dissolution occurred during primary welding thermal cycles and that significant hardening could be achieved using secondary welding thermal cycles for both heat inputs. Additionally, it was observed that the weld metal and base metal had similar precipitation responses. The preliminary multi-pass welding simulations demonstrated that the times and temperatures associated with welding thermal cycles were sufficient to promote precipitation in each system. Furthermore, these findings indicate that controlled weld metal deposition may be a viable method for optimizing welding procedures and eliminating the need for a PWHT.Next, an in-depth Gleeble study was performed to develop a fundamental understanding of the reactions that occur in 17-4 and 13-8+Mo during exposure to times and temperatures representative of multi-pass welding. Samples of each material were subjected to a series of short isothermal holds at high temperatures and hardness measurements were recorded to investigate the dissolution behavior of each alloy. Additional secondary isothermal experiments were performed on samples that had been subjected to a high temperature primary thermal cycle and hardness measurements were recorded. Matrix microstructures were characterized by LOM and reverted austenite measurements were recorded using X-ray diffraction techniques. The hardness data from the secondary heating tests was used in combination with Avrami kinetics equations to develop a relationship between the hardness and fraction transformed of the strengthening precipitates. It was determined that the Avrami relationships provide a useful approximation of the precipitation behavior at times and temperatures representative of welding thermal cycles.Finally, an autogenous gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding study was performed to demonstrate the utility of multi-pass welding for strength restoration in these alloys. Dual-pass welds were made on samples of each material using a range of heat inputs and secondary weld pass overlap percentages. Hardness mapping was then performed to estimate the extent of precipitate growth and dissolution. It was determined that significant softening occurs after primary weld passes and that secondary weld passes, using a high heat input, restored much of the strength. Furthermore, optimal weld overlap percentages were approximated. It was concluded that controlled weld metal deposition can significantly improve the properties of 17-4 and 13-8+Mo and potentially eliminate the need for costly PWHT’s

Evidence-based organizational change and development: organizational understanding, analysis, and evaluation

The chapter first provides an overview of “best practice” and conventional “received wisdom” relating to OCD and emphasizes the importance of adopting more evidence-based approaches to develop in-depth understanding of the organization prior to planning and instigating an OCD initiative. The authors then discuss a range of historical and contemporary theoretical perspectives for analyzing and making sense of the interacting relationships between an organization’s structure, function, and culture, and of the complexities, contradictions, and paradoxes of organizational life. Additionally, they identify various approaches, tools, techniques, and desirable attributes, competencies, and political skills for developing and evaluating the effectiveness of EBOCD strategies and change agency practice.Chapter

Perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness in Mexico and the USA: a comparative study of effective and ineffective managerial behaviour

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of Mexican and US employees about effective and ineffective managerial behaviour. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multiple cross-case comparative analysis of findings obtained from two past emic replication studies of observed effective and ineffective managerial behaviour carried out in Mexico and the USA respectively was conducted. Findings Notwithstanding the significant cultural variances between Mexico and the US underlined by various cross-cultural studies, our findings suggest that Mexican and US employees perceive effective and ineffective managerial behaviour in a very similar manner. Research limitations While the results of our study suggest that culture may not play a significant role in the way people perceive managerial and leadership effectiveness, we suggest that more replication studies with larger and more balanced gender samples using different methods need to be performed in both countries. Practical implications The findings of our study may be relevant for HRD professionals in both countries when providing training to expatriates for international assignments. Reinforcing the set of managerial practices that are perceived as effective in these two countries, and emphasizing those practices that may be particular to Mexico and the US respectively, could lead to an improvement in the performance of Mexican executives managing in the US and US executives managing in Mexico

How Will Wildlife Crossings Mitigate Roads for Wildlife in the Face of Climate Change?

This paper will address the developing trends in wildlife crossing structure research across the western U.S. and along US 93 South in Montana. This discussion may help to better design and retrofit structures to facilitate wildlife movement in the face of climate change. The objectives of our wildlife crossing structure research across the west are to determine wildlife use of crossing structures and structure designs that work best in passing large and medium mammals. Many of today’s wildlife crossing structures and existing culverts and bridges along roadways were designed before the science of transportation ecology had developed enough to understand what designs worked for different species. Our method of evaluating these new and existing structures is to place motion-sensed camera traps 10 m from the entrances to the culverts and bridges to monitor wildlife reactions to the structures. Wildlife approaches, successful passages through the structure, and repels away from the structure are tallied for every individual. Species’ reactions to culverts and bridges differ. White-tailed deer are willing to use many different sized culverts and bridges, while mule deer are more cautious. Carnivores use structures of all types, although the landscape factors such as human development may play a role in their willingness to use some structures. These and other results have greater implications for species adaptations to climate change: it will be critical that roads be permeable for the entire suites of species in an area as they need to move to adapt to changing conditions