title: An examination of the managerial decision-making processes of experts from a behavioural perspective

authors: Gilmour, Peter John

abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the interaction between expertise, managerial role, and subjective behavioural characteristics. The research seeks answers to the question: What shapes the managerial decision-making processes of an expert? 

Four case studies examined the decision-making processes of four domain experts who have taken on managerial roles. The studies follow a triangulated approach using interviews, observations and psychological evaluations to discover the dominant decision making processes of the experts in their managerial roles. This study includes interviews with each of the four experts, interviews with people associated with them in their work environment, the researcher’s observations, and three psychological evaluations. 
The research indicates that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied may determine the domain in which they became expert, and consequently the managerial role that they chose and also the managerial decision-making processes that they follow. The experts’ decision-making processes seem to be shaped initially by their subjective characteristics, second by their expertise and last by their managerial role. There was however, an indication that these experts dichotomise their managerial decision-making processes to distinguish between decisions that directly involve people and other decisions. Managerial requirements create situations that require the use of the experts’ subjective characteristics that are not otherwise used. It is therefore concluded that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied have shaped their managerial decision-making processes. 

The outcome from a study of four experts is not expected to be valid for all experts, however it may add weight to an argument that more consideration needs to be made of the two-way interaction between expert and domain.

text: An examination of the managerial decision-making processes of experts from a behavioural perspective The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the interaction between expertise, managerial role, and subjective behavioural characteristics. The research seeks answers to the question: What shapes the managerial decision-making processes of an expert? 

Four case studies examined the decision-making processes of four domain experts who have taken on managerial roles. The studies follow a triangulated approach using interviews, observations and psychological evaluations to discover the dominant decision making processes of the experts in their managerial roles. This study includes interviews with each of the four experts, interviews with people associated with them in their work environment, the researcher’s observations, and three psychological evaluations. 
The research indicates that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied may determine the domain in which they became expert, and consequently the managerial role that they chose and also the managerial decision-making processes that they follow. The experts’ decision-making processes seem to be shaped initially by their subjective characteristics, second by their expertise and last by their managerial role. There was however, an indication that these experts dichotomise their managerial decision-making processes to distinguish between decisions that directly involve people and other decisions. Managerial requirements create situations that require the use of the experts’ subjective characteristics that are not otherwise used. It is therefore concluded that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied have shaped their managerial decision-making processes. 

The outcome from a study of four experts is not expected to be valid for all experts, however it may add weight to an argument that more consideration needs to be made of the two-way interaction between expert and domain.

year: 2001

title: Spatially resolved spectroscopy for detecting firmness and internal disorders of horticultural products

authors: Sun, Zhe (Jason)

abstract: Nondestructive detection of firmness and internal disorders are critical for New Zealand’s horticultural industry. Soft and internally defective products can result both in loss of revenue and the supplier’s reputation for quality. This thesis presents evaluation and development of spatially resolved spectroscopy (SRS) techniques aiming to improve the detection performance of these two quality parameters. Original contributions to literature include: (1) an assessment of an SRS reflectance system and a direct comparison of SRS and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) on
firmness prediction, (2) quantified understanding of NIRS on detecting internal disorders in terms of light transport and detection limitations, (3) accurate estimations of optical properties of healthy and rotten onion flesh, and (4) development of an SRS transmittance system for detecting onion rot, with the aid of finite element method (FEM) simulations.
By applying SRS measurements on the same 100 ‘Royal Gala’ apples, this work showed that the NIRS interactance system slightly outperformed the SRS-based multispectral imaging (MSI) system when applied to the same samples. The cross validation prediction error was RMSECV = 6.99 N when compared with
penetrometer firmness. Before the SRS system can be considered for commercial implementation, SRS firmness system must be further developed to accommodate the conditions and speed (10 samples/second) of a produce grader and demonstrate better performance than the existing online sensors.
Internal disorders that are small and spatially confined inside produce are difficult to detect using NIRS due to its lack of spatial resolution, but improvement might be made with better locations of light illumination and detection on the sample, i.e. optical geometry. Two optical geometries were investigated for detecting small and localised vascular browning (VAB) disorders in ‘Braeburn’ apples. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations indicated that the 180° transmission geometry allowed the light to travel much further than that of the 90ºgeometry inside a sample. However, the sensor is still only sensitive to a small portion of the internal volume, which was
further validated by the poor results from the actual measurements. The 180° geometry system could detect 80% of defective apples with a misclassification rate of 21% for healthy ones.iv
An SRS system was then developed for detecting onion neck rots that are often small and localised to the stem end. The FEM software NIRFast was used to simulate light transport with absorption coefficients determined from juice transmittance measurements. The transmittance ratio of 728/805 nm was sensitive to the presence of the rot and was independent of the onion size. This ratio at different source locations formed a spatial profile, which could indicate the size and location of the rots. Finally, the optical system was implemented using a lock-in amplifier for simultaneous measurements of the light of two lasers at 728 nm and 805 nm. A mechanical scanning system was used to investigate multiple source locations. A preliminary test of the system showed a substantial improvement on typical NIRS performance levels. Future work aims to achieve a similar measurement scheme, while the sample is moving at high speed on a grader.

text: Spatially resolved spectroscopy for detecting firmness and internal disorders of horticultural products Nondestructive detection of firmness and internal disorders are critical for New Zealand’s horticultural industry. Soft and internally defective products can result both in loss of revenue and the supplier’s reputation for quality. This thesis presents evaluation and development of spatially resolved spectroscopy (SRS) techniques aiming to improve the detection performance of these two quality parameters. Original contributions to literature include: (1) an assessment of an SRS reflectance system and a direct comparison of SRS and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) on
firmness prediction, (2) quantified understanding of NIRS on detecting internal disorders in terms of light transport and detection limitations, (3) accurate estimations of optical properties of healthy and rotten onion flesh, and (4) development of an SRS transmittance system for detecting onion rot, with the aid of finite element method (FEM) simulations.
By applying SRS measurements on the same 100 ‘Royal Gala’ apples, this work showed that the NIRS interactance system slightly outperformed the SRS-based multispectral imaging (MSI) system when applied to the same samples. The cross validation prediction error was RMSECV = 6.99 N when compared with
penetrometer firmness. Before the SRS system can be considered for commercial implementation, SRS firmness system must be further developed to accommodate the conditions and speed (10 samples/second) of a produce grader and demonstrate better performance than the existing online sensors.
Internal disorders that are small and spatially confined inside produce are difficult to detect using NIRS due to its lack of spatial resolution, but improvement might be made with better locations of light illumination and detection on the sample, i.e. optical geometry. Two optical geometries were investigated for detecting small and localised vascular browning (VAB) disorders in ‘Braeburn’ apples. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations indicated that the 180° transmission geometry allowed the light to travel much further than that of the 90ºgeometry inside a sample. However, the sensor is still only sensitive to a small portion of the internal volume, which was
further validated by the poor results from the actual measurements. The 180° geometry system could detect 80% of defective apples with a misclassification rate of 21% for healthy ones.iv
An SRS system was then developed for detecting onion neck rots that are often small and localised to the stem end. The FEM software NIRFast was used to simulate light transport with absorption coefficients determined from juice transmittance measurements. The transmittance ratio of 728/805 nm was sensitive to the presence of the rot and was independent of the onion size. This ratio at different source locations formed a spatial profile, which could indicate the size and location of the rots. Finally, the optical system was implemented using a lock-in amplifier for simultaneous measurements of the light of two lasers at 728 nm and 805 nm. A mechanical scanning system was used to investigate multiple source locations. A preliminary test of the system showed a substantial improvement on typical NIRS performance levels. Future work aims to achieve a similar measurement scheme, while the sample is moving at high speed on a grader.

year: 2018

title: Census 2018 and Implications for Māori

authors: Kukutai, Tahu

abstract: The population census is a universal tool of governance but has come under increasing pressure as governments look to reduce costs, gain efficiencies and counter declining response rates. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the census transformation strategy has a short-term focus on modernising the census and a long-term vision of a fully administrative census. The digital-first 2018 Census was an ambitious step towards modernisation but there are growing concerns that it may fail to deliver high-quality data, particularly for Māori and iwi. This research note considers the implications of lower response rates and reflects on the steps that might be taken to retain the trust and confidence of Māori in the census, including possibilities for Māori data governance across the official statistics system.

text: Census 2018 and Implications for Māori The population census is a universal tool of governance but has come under increasing pressure as governments look to reduce costs, gain efficiencies and counter declining response rates. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the census transformation strategy has a short-term focus on modernising the census and a long-term vision of a fully administrative census. The digital-first 2018 Census was an ambitious step towards modernisation but there are growing concerns that it may fail to deliver high-quality data, particularly for Māori and iwi. This research note considers the implications of lower response rates and reflects on the steps that might be taken to retain the trust and confidence of Māori in the census, including possibilities for Māori data governance across the official statistics system.

year: 2018