19366 research outputs found
Sort by
“Soy Boy vs. Holy Cow”—Understanding the key factors determining U.S. consumers’ preferences and commitment to plant-based milk alternatives
Get PDFPlant-based milk products are ultra-processed food products that enjoy a positive reputation as being safe, healthy, ethical, and sustainable. The present study is focused on these products and addresses the product and brand managers of US food retailers. A consumer survey explores the factors explaining US consumers’ preferences for and commitment to plant-based milk and other plant-based milk products. Environmental concerns, food safety, health, and sustainability concerns are identified as relevant predictors for both consumer behaviors. In addition, animal welfare concerns are relevant, but only for product commitment
What is the price of using the Price equation in ecology?
Get PDFThe Dialogue series is intended to promote critical thinking and the expression of contrasting or even opposing viewpoints on important ecological topics. Here, seven researchers debate the use of the Price equation, a framework that has long been used in evolution to analyze temporal changes in the frequency of traits and alleles. This Dialogue describes different philosophical and mathematical perspectives on the application of the Price equation to ecological questions such as the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). The hope is that the broader scientific community will benefit from these contrasting viewpoints
Impacts of no tillage on nitrate leaching and associated mechanisms in arable cropping systems : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
No full textNitrate (NO3-) leaching from agriculture is a growing environmental concern, and various strategies have been proposed to mitigate these losses. While many strategies aim to lower soil NO3- concentrations, they may not always be effective because NO3- leaching is also influenced by frequency and intensity of drainage events, which are affected by hydrological processes. No tillage (NT) has been proposed as an effective management practice to reduce NO3- leaching by influencing drainage. However, limited research has been conducted to identify how, and under what conditions, NO3- leaching can be reduced by regulating drainage with NT management practices. The aims of this study were to determine: (1) the relative importance of hydrological (i.e., drainage) and biochemical risk factors (i.e., NO3- concentration) and associated mechanisms in determining NO3- leaching losses at the global scale, (2) how and under what conditions NO3- leaching reduction can be achieved through regulating drainage with NT practices, and (3) the potential mechanisms explaining the effect of NT on drainage and NO3- leaching. It was hypothesized that (1) hydrological factors had a greater impact on global NO3- leaching variability than biochemical factors, (2) NO3- leaching was more sensitive to drainage in areas with higher nitrogen application rates and lower risks of fast flow, and that reducing NO3- leaching losses could be achieved by regulating drainage under these conditions, (3) the impact of NT on drainage and NO3- leaching was associated with tillage type (inversion vs. non-inversion tillage), soil properties, climate factors, and management practices; and (4) the greater drainage and leaching of NO3- associated with NT would be primarily attributed to higher soil water content rather than preferential flow. These hypotheses were tested through a combination of two meta-analyses of globally published data and field experimentation in New Zealand.
The principal aim of the first meta-analysis was to assess the extent to which drainage contributed to NO3- leaching and the degree of sensitivity of NO3- leaching to drainage, aiming to identify the specific conditions under which regulating drainage could be more effective in reducing NO3- leaching. The second meta-analysis aimed to identify the specific conditions under which a reduction in NO3- leaching from NT practices may be feasible. The results of the first meta-analysis indicated that NO3- leaching variability was more closely linked to drainage than NO3- concentration, and that NO3- leaching was more sensitive to drainage in scenarios where fast flow drainage was less probable, such as NT and non-inversion tillage, and high N fertilizer rates were used. The results of the second meta-analysis revealed that NO3- leaching under NT was typically 7% higher than under inversion tillage but was comparable to non-inversion tillage. Greater NO3- leaching under NT was primarily attributed to drainage, and long-term NT cropping systems on high-SOC (soil organic carbon) soils were found to offer the most significant potential for mitigating NO3- leaching. Finally, field experiments were conducted in Canterbury to investigate the impact of NT on soil hydraulic properties and preferential solute transport, with the aim of elucidating the mechanism behind the increased risk of NO3- leaching under NT relative to inversion tillage using New Zealand as a case study. The findings indicated that NT resulted in greater average soil water content than inversion tillage, but there was no evidence to suggest that NT increased the risk of preferential flow. This suggests that greater drainage and NO3- leaching under NT relative to inversion tillage may be due to increased soil water content rather than preferential flow.
Collectively, this study emphasizes the important role of drainage management in reducing global NO3- leaching risks, particularly in situations where fast flow drainage is less common (e.g., conservation tillage) and high N fertilizer rates are utilized. This study also highlights that adopting NT on average had greater NO3- leaching losses than inversion tillage and the greater NO3- leaching loss under NT is mainly through changes to soil hydrological properties that modulate intensity and frequency of drainage events. However, these effects are production system specific due to non-linear interactions between environmental and management conditions. NT increases the risks of NO3- leaching on low SOC soils and where NT adoption is short-term. In contrast, NO3- leaching is reduced by NT where it is practiced in the longer-term and on soils with high SOC content
Wine, tourism and the global pandemic: Realizing opportunities for new wine markets and experiences
No full textThe global economy is currently facing unprecedented challenges from the COVID- 19 pandemic sweeping the world (Folke et al. 2021). While countries and regions have taken different measures to limit the spread of the virus, the consequences for the tourism and hospitality sectors are far reaching. The pandemic has curtailed international tourist movements and expenditure, while the hospitality sector has been particularly badly affected, due to the role of bars and restaurants in spreading the virus. Primary sectors, including the wine industry, have also been affected by the requirements for lockdowns and social distancing, by disruptions to supply chains, and due to difficulties in accessing a global labor force. Many wineries are also facing significant interruptions to two important distribution channels – the cellar door (or tasting room) and the hospitality trade. This chapter begins by presenting a brief overview of the impacts of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the global wine industry and the tourism and hospitality sectors. This overview is followed by a case study of the New Zealand experience and response to the virus, with a particular focus on the response of wine producers and wine tourism operators to the ‘new normal’; a largely domestic wine tourism market, keen to explore the country and support local producers. A number of examples of ways in which wine tourism providers are meeting the needs of this market are outlined, including the opportunities to provide more memorable experiences to winery visitors while also being conscious of the need to offer great value for money to a price- conscious market
Probability estimation in accounting: Subjective numeracy matters
No full textPurpose
This study examined subjective numeracy and its relationship with accounting judgements on probability issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A subjective numeracy scale (SNS) questionnaire was distributed to 231 accounting students to measure self-evaluated numeracy. Modified Bayesian reasoning tasks were applied in an accounting-related probability estimation, manipulating presentation formats.
Findings
The study revealed a positive relationship between self-evaluated numeracy and performance in accounting probability estimation. The findings suggest that switching the format of probability expressions from percentages to frequencies can improve the performance of participants with low self-evaluated numeracy.
Research limitations/implications
Adding objective numeracy measurements could enhance results. Future numeracy research could add objective numeracy items and assess whether this influences participants' self-perceived numeracy. Based on this sample population of accounting students, the findings may not apply to large populations of accounting-information users.
Practical implications
Investors' ability to exercise sound judgement depends on the accuracy of their probability estimations. Manipulating the format of probability expressions can improve probability estimation performance in investors with low self-evaluated numeracy.
Originality/value
This study identified a significant performance gap among participants in performing accounting probability estimations: those with high self-evaluated numeracy performed better than those with low self-evaluated numeracy. The authors also explored a method other than additional training to improve participants' performance on probability estimation tasks and discovered that frequency formats enhanced the performance of participants with low self-evaluated numeracy
Physiological mechanisms behind exercise and hypoxic training
No full textI specialise in the effects of exercise on human physiology and am a world expert on altitude/hypoxic training. My research is theoretical (regarding the physiological mechanisms behind exercise training adaptation) as well as practical (how does altitude training effect a rugby player’s sprinting and game performance?). I am interested in both ends of the exercise continuum –from training elite athletes to enhance their performance on the world stage, to improving health outcomes in sedentary individuals and chronic disease patients
A Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) program for industry professionals in NZ-Horticulture
No full textBackground & Research Aim: The horticultural sector is an integral part of New Zealand’s primary industry. For the past decade, horticultural leaders in Australasia have called for tertiary education programs that allow the next generation of professionals to gain work experience alongside their studies [1]. The diploma program “Horticultural Business” (DIPHORTBUS) is a WIL program for horticultural professionals tailored to this need. The program builds on elements of self-directed learning and faceto-face workshops. The courses deliver strategy, financial management, innovation, entrepreneurship, and marketing concepts. While for undergraduates in horticulture and agriculture, work-integrated learning experiences are well established (e.g., sandwich models and internships) [2], programs for industry professionals are yet to be more widely explored. Building on the work of Acuna et al. (2019), who describes the design and execution of a program for industry professionals [1], the present study is dedicated to Academics engaged in such programs and serve as content creators, teachers, examiners, and supervisors. The present study is twofold and aims to a) identify factors influencing the practices of these academics and b) further understand how they execute their complex and multifaced roles in these programs.
Results & Discussions: The practices of academics involved in WIL programs are influenced by disciplinary traditions, the specific type of WIL model, the variation of people involved, and the degree of involvement of academics with students. These findings align with Winchestor-Seeto et al. (2016), who discuss academic role execution and influential factors in undergraduate programs [3]. The DIPHORTBUS program requires academics engaged in the delivery to work together closely. The delivery must combine finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship content and be meaningfully tailored to the horticultural lifeworld. Academics with knowledge in both subject areas facilitate the stretch to unite disciplinary traditions. In addition, academics need to accommodate students' personal and professional circumstances. For instance, academic progress, unemployment during the study, work- related peak seasons, such as harvest, and the nature of the industry, including natural disasters. Pastoral care, ethical decisions, and flexibility are critical to the program’s success. Pastoral care requires program directors, examiners, and learning success advisors to play administrative, educational, and support roles [4]. Examiners must balance the dual role of advisor and evaluator [3]. In WIL programs, continued advice and mentoring are required, whereas pastoral care is mainly executed in crisis circumstances [4]. The extent of pastoral care depends on the individual academics understanding of the role.
Lessons for the WIL Community: The demands towards academics in DiPHORTBUS and other WIL programs are often complex and need stronger notice within institutions. Students require professional and emotional support beyond the three critical academic roles. The perception of roles, responsibility, and execution is a key challenge in the delivery. The intersection of supervision, pastoral care, and education can be an area of conflict between stakeholders in programs
Understanding the life cycle of the floral microbiota of Leptospermum scoparium (mānuka) : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
No full textLeptospermum scoparium is a shrub native to New Zealand and holds high cultural value (taonga = a treasure)
and economic value due to the antimicrobial mānuka honeys produced from its nectar. Previous studies
demonstrated a high frequency of association between microorganisms and the leaves, stems and roots of L.
scoparium, with some modifying the secondary metabolite profile of L. scoparium leaves and improving growth.
Flowers are an important niche for microorganisms; however, no research has focused on the L. scoparium
anthosphere (flower), despite its potential impact on the honey industry. The aim of this research was 1) to
characterize the endophytic and epiphytic microbial communities associated with L. scoparium flowers, 2) to
characterize the effect of floral development on the anthosphere community of L. scoparium, 3) to determine
the origin of the microbial communities associated with L. scoparium flowers, and 4) to determine the effects of
soil on the bacterial communities associated with L. scoparium flowers. To answer these objectives, bacterial and
fungal communities were characterized using 16S rRNA and ITS1-based community profiling (or cultivation
independent approach) by high throughput sequencing.
Host contamination (plastid and mitochondrial sequences) in 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing from plant samples
impedes plant microbiota studies, thus I first optimised the 16S-sequencing method for L. scoparium bacterial
microbiota studies (overall increase of bacterial sequences by 30%) based on modifications to the published
Cas9-16S seq method. I then characterized for the first time which bacteria and fungi that live in (endophytic
community) and on (epiphytic community) L. scoparium flowers. The results showed that nectar-consuming
yeasts from Aureobasidium and Vishniacozyma genera, functionally diverse filamentous fungi from the
Cladosporium genus, and bacteria from Candidatus Phytoplasma, Pseudomonas and Pantoea dominated the L.
scoparium anthosphere. The L. scoparium epiphytic community was richer (5.6 times and 2.5 times more
bacterial and fungal OTUs) and differed in composition relative to the endophytic community (p < 0.001),
demonstrating filtering by the plant. This study demonstrated that a wide diversity of microbial taxa inhabit the
L. scoparium anthosphere.
As flower morphology and biology change rapidly over time, dynamic niches for microorganisms are formed and
lost. Floral physiology at each life stage can therefore influence arrival, persistence, and loss of microbial species;
however, this remains poorly understood despite its potential consequences for host reproductive success. Thus,
I characterized the effect of transition through five floral stages on the flower-inhabiting bacterial and fungal
communities, from immature bud to spent flower, and subsequent allocation to seed. The results showed a core microbiota (representing >80% of all fungal reads and between 47.5% and 94.0% of all bacterial reads at each
floral stage) persisted across this dynamic niche despite high microbial turnover, as observed in shifts in
community composition (p = 0.001) and diversity (increase in alpha diversity between closed and open floral
stages, p<0.001) as flowers matured and senesced. The results demonstrated that floral stages are strong drivers
of the L. scoparium anthosphere community assembly and dynamics.
One of the challenges for research seeking to understand the origin and dynamics of floral microbial communities
is that every year floral microbiota must begin anew, and, unlike other vegetative organs (roots, stems, and
leaves), develop and exist for a limited time. In this study, I collected flowers from L. scoparium plants over two
consecutive flowering seasons to understand the effect of seasonality on shaping the microbial community. I also
characterized the microbiota within different niches of L. scoparium; flowers, bagged flowers (to exclude animal
visitation), leaves, underlying flower stems and lateral roots, and surrounding the plants; soil and bee surfaces
to understand the origin of flower-inhabiting microorganisms. The results showed that the L. scoparium
anthosphere community was recruited from more than one reservoir. Local reservoirs (leaves, stems) were an
important source of microorganisms for the L. scoparium anthosphere (41% of the bacterial and 81% of the
fungal community potentially originated from leaves), however pollinators were also important for bacterial
community assembly (>25% bacterial community potentially originated from bee visitations). The selection or
specialisation of microorganisms was demonstrated across flowering season with a few highly prevalent and
abundant taxa (representing >90% of the reads for fungal and bacterial communities in both years). However,
most of the taxa retrieved were not prevalent in flower samples indicating stochasticity in the anthosphere
assembly process that may depend on environmental conditions, vectors and the microbial community
surrounding the flower at the time.
Finally, as the rhizosphere is an interface for plant microbial acquisition, soil is an important factor for microbial
colonisation of plants. To date there has been little research conducted on the contribution of soil bacteria to
the anthosphere bacterial community. Thus, seedlings of L. scoparium were planted in pasteurized potting mix
and in soils collected from three contrasting sites. Once the first flowers appeared (~1.5 years), flowers and soil
were collected for 16S rRNA gene community profiling. I found that soil played a relatively small role in bacterial
community composition of L. scoparium flower, as the anthosphere bacterial community for plants grown in only
one soil, ‘home soil’, was different compared to the anthosphere bacterial community for the plants grown in
the other soils or pasteurize potting mix (p <0.05).
In this research, new understanding of the spatial and temporal floral microbiota of L. scoparium was produced,
demonstrating its likely origin and recruitment pathways and the impacts of floral development, organ/tissue
filtering and soil on community assembly and dynamics. Finally, this research demonstrated that interaction
between microorganisms is likely to play an important role in shaping L. scoparium anthosphere. This study builds
fundamental knowledge in microbial ecology of healthy flowers as well as producing a foundation for further
research on enhancing the production of mānuka honey by manipulating floral microorganisms
Are we getting better at using the horses we bred?
No full textThis article is a comparison of how well we have used the 2011 and 2016 foal crops to the end of their 4-year-old year. Using the Infohorse database we know when a horse is registered with a trainer (stable return), trialled (official trial), and raced. We then ran the same analysis for both the 2011 and 2016 foal crops up to their 4-year-old year. (We know that 86 horses from the 2011 foal crop had their first start as a 5YO or older
Additive manufacturing of human torso phantom for microwave imaging
No full textA new method for additive manufacturing of human torso phantom is being developed to support the study of pneumothorax using a microwave imaging system. Conductive PLA has been chosen as the material due to its high dielectric constant and lossy property. Based on the mixing rule, the major parts of human torso, including heart, lungs, rib cage, muscle layer and fat layer can be simulated by conductive PLA or mixing the saline water with conductive PLA having different infill percentage. The dielectric measurements of the material, the calculated representation of human torso parts and the simplified torso phantom model will be presented in the paper