EFRC Cereal Variety and Mixture Trials 2001 – Preliminary Results

Of 7 winter wheats grown at 3 sites in southern England in 2001, the highest yielding was the soft wheat Claire; the breadmaking varieties Hereward, Shamrock and Spark did well. Of the feed wheats, Aardvark outyielded Deben. Of various variety mixtures tried, Aardvark/Claire/Deben was highest yielding. When seed was saved from the 2000 harvest of Hereward/Malacca/Shamrock and grown in 2001, it outyielded the first generation mixture, suggesting that some adaptation had occurred, relative composition changing in response to the local conditions. Winter oats and triticale were trialled at one site in Berkshire. The triticales Ego and Fidelio performed well, as did the winter oat Kingfisher. The oat mixture Ego/Fidelio/Taurus outyielded the mean of its component varieties. The triticale mixture Ego/Fidelio/Taurus showed adaptation from 2000 to 2001

Procedural Justice Post-9/11: The Effects of Procedurally Unfair Treatment of Detainees on Perceptions of Global Legitimacy

[Excerpt] “The Global War on Terror has been ideologically framed as a struggle between the principles of freedom and democracy on the one hand and tyranny and extremism on the other. Although this war has arguably led to a short-term disruption of terrorist threats such as al-Qaeda, it has also damaged America’s image both at home and abroad. Throughout the world, there is a growing consensus that America has “a lack of credibility as a fair and just world leader.” The perceived legitimacy of the United States in the War on Terror is critical because terrorism is not a conventional threat that can surrender or can be defeated in the traditional sense. Instead, this battle can only be won through legitimizing the rule of law and undermining the use of terror as a means of political influence. Although a variety of political, economic, and security policies have negatively impacted the perceived legitimacy of the United States, one of the most damaging has been the detention, treatment, and trial (or in many cases the lack thereof) of suspected terrorists. While many scholars have raised constitutional questions about the legality of U.S. detention procedures, this article offers a psychological perspective of legitimacy in the context of detention. I begin with a discussion of the psychology of terrorism. Next, I argue that the U.S. response to terrorism has been largely perceived as excessive, which has undermined global perceptions of U.S. legitimacy. I address this issue by drawing on a well-established body of social psychology research that proposes “a causal chain in which procedural fairness leads to perceived legitimacy, which leads to the acceptance of policies.” In other words, the fairness of the procedures through which individuals are detained and tried will significantly affect the perceived legitimacy of U.S. conduct in the War on Terror. In contrast to current detention policies, which have largely been implemented in an ad hoc manner, I suggest that procedural fairness can be increased through the establishment of a domestic terror court specifically designed to try detainees. Finally, I balance fairness with the competing values of effectiveness and efficiency to provide a framework through which U.S. legitimacy in the War on Terror can be enhanced.

A path to purposive formalism: interpreting Chapter III for judicial independence and impartiality

This paper queries which method of interpreting Chapter III of Australia\u27s Constitution can best achieve the independence and impartiality of the federal judicature.AbstractThe interpretation of the separation of federal judicial power derived from Chapter III of the Constitution is as hotly debated as it is fundamentally important. Two key viewpoints have emerged in this debate, formalism and functionalism. A formalist test focusing on definitional characteristics governs the permissible powers of federal courts. A functionalist test looking to whether a power is incompatible with institutional independence and integrity limits the powers of State courts and of judges personae designatae. A rare point of consensus between the two viewpoints, and the central pillar of my critique, is that Chapter III is purposive and should be interpreted to achieve judicial independence and impartiality. This paper queries which method of interpretation can best achieve the independence and impartiality of the federal judicature. The analysis highlights the inherent strengths and weaknesses of each approach and ultimately leads to the identification of a preferred approach I call ‘purposive formalism’. Purposive formalism is a two-tiered method harnessing the strict formalist framework and a compatibility test. It is proposed as a legitimate and significant step forward in the interpretation of Chapter III to achieve the independence and impartiality of the federal judicature

Early ontogenetic male cone production in Pinus radiata : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Plant Biology at Massey University

The tree breeding industry is interested in early ontogenetic male cone production in Pinus radiata in order to maximise the rate at which successive generations can be bred. The foundation of this thesis was a study of how male cone production differed in various contrasting regions around New Zealand. A study was then carried out to assess whether various morphological and anatomical characteristics of trees were correlated with the onset of male cone production. Various treatments including stress, plant growth regulator application and grafting were examined to determine whether any of these could be used to promote early ontogenetic male cone production. The regional study found that male cone production commenced at age 3 in Nelson, at age 4 in Northern and Southern Kinleith, and age 6 in Karioi and Northland. Findings suggest that high sunshine hours and low autumn and/or winter temperatures are of significance to the precocity of male cone production. A tentative logistic model was developed that may adequately describe cone production across all regions. Morphological and anatomical characteristics of trees were used to develop a model which predicts the probability that a tree will not be producing male cones. Relative cell number was found to provide the greatest ability to predict whether or not a given tree will be producing male cones, supporting the hypothesis that a certain number of cell divisions are required before male cone production commences. Grafting did not promote male cone production in the present study. It is recommended that future grafting experiments for the purposes of promoting male cone production should reconsider the position within the crown at which grafts are made. Male cone production on fascicle cuttings approximately two years old was promoted by growing them under stress in small pots, with minimal watering and no fertiliser application. It is suggested that a "stress" pathway, distinct from the "normal" male cone production pathway is probably involved. Male cone promotion in fascicle cuttings appears to be enhanced through the application of ABA, but not other plant growth regulators. Additionally, male cone production in fascicle cuttings appears to be enhanced by providing relatively high levels of light. The outcomes of this study suggest that a lack of male cone production in young trees may not be the most serious impediment to the breeding program. Instead, the onus may be on the ability to make superior selections at a younger age than occurs at present

Systematic evaluation of design choices for software development tools

[Abstract]: Most design and evaluation of software tools is based on the intuition and experience of the designers. Software tool designers consider themselves typical users of the tools that they build and tend to subjectively evaluate their products rather than objectively evaluate them using established usability methods. This subjective approach is inadequate if the quality of software tools is to improve and the use of more systematic methods is advocated. This paper summarises a sequence of studies that show how user interface design choices for software development tools can be evaluated using established usability engineering techniques. The techniques used included guideline review, predictive modelling and experimental studies with users