title: Country-of-origin effects on Russian wine consumers

authors: Cicia, Gianni

subjects: Russian wine market

abstract: In recent years, Russia has experienced significant economic growth. The wine industry is among those most affected by increases in disposable income. As a consequence, Russian wine importers have widened the range at the upper end of the quality spectrum. In the current scenario, some key questions arise concerning consumer attitudes toward wine and the way it is perceived in this evolving market. This article attempts to investigate such concerns through a choice experiment approach conducted by means of a questionnaire-based survey submitted to 388 Russian households located in the country's three largest cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Novosibirsk). In the experiment, respondents were asked to choose their favorite wine among seven dry red wines. The stated choices are analyzed using a random utility model to obtain an estimation of the price effect through a triangular distribution. Our results indicate the presence of three distinct market segments in the Russian wine market: a segment with only high-quality, highly priced Italian and French wines, a medium-quality segment currently limited to Spanish wines, and a much lower quality segment of wines in which demand for alcohol is essentially satisfied.

text: Country-of-origin effects on Russian wine consumers In recent years, Russia has experienced significant economic growth. The wine industry is among those most affected by increases in disposable income. As a consequence, Russian wine importers have widened the range at the upper end of the quality spectrum. In the current scenario, some key questions arise concerning consumer attitudes toward wine and the way it is perceived in this evolving market. This article attempts to investigate such concerns through a choice experiment approach conducted by means of a questionnaire-based survey submitted to 388 Russian households located in the country's three largest cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Novosibirsk). In the experiment, respondents were asked to choose their favorite wine among seven dry red wines. The stated choices are analyzed using a random utility model to obtain an estimation of the price effect through a triangular distribution. Our results indicate the presence of three distinct market segments in the Russian wine market: a segment with only high-quality, highly priced Italian and French wines, a medium-quality segment currently limited to Spanish wines, and a much lower quality segment of wines in which demand for alcohol is essentially satisfied.

year: 2013

title: Restoration of three indigenous forest types in Tauranga City, New Zealand

authors: Dean, Hamish Alston

subjects: restoration

abstract: This research examined the current state and developmental trajectory of forest restoration projects in Tauranga City with the aim of establishing whether they will eventually develop into functioning forest ecosystems similar to their natural counterparts. Three forest types historically present in Tauranga were studied: coastal Metrosideros excelsa forest, semi-coastal broadleaved forest, and semi-coastal Dacrycarpus dacrydioides swamp forest.

Forty-five variable-area plots were established in thirteen categories comprising at least two planted sites of different ages for each forest type, naturally regenerating sites within the city, and old-growth reference forests outside of the city. Vegetation parameters including tree diameters, numbers of saplings and seedlings, cover abundance and groundcover were measured or recorded. Site characteristics such as aspect and slope were also recorded. Soil samples were taken in each of the thirteen forest categories and microclimate conditions were recorded over a period of eight months using micro data loggers. Data were analysed by comparing species population structures along with diversity and naturalness in each forest category. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling and Multi-Response Permutation Procedures were used to examine the relationships between restoration sites and reference sites in each forest type and across all three forest types.  Environmental data were compared using ANOVA and relationships between physical, environmental, and vegetation characteristics were examined using Spearman rank correlations.

Results from the planted restoration sites were compared with the naturally regenerating forests and the reference forests. Coastal forest restoration sites were found to be developing into Metrosideros excelsa forest but recruitment of mid- and late-successional species was failing, probably due to browse from exotic animals and isolation from seed sources.  This was the case even in mature Metrosideros excelsa forest on Mauao. 

Restricted regeneration of canopy species was evident in the semi-coastal broadleaved reference sites but the reason for this was not clear. Naturally regenerating sites were being invaded by Prunus campanulata which has the potential to dominate the vegetation. The understorey in the restoration sites was developing through regeneration and colonisation of species that had not been planted, indicating that the vital ecosystem function of seed dispersal has been restored. However, successional canopy species were failing to recruit. 
Old-growth Dacrycarpus dacrydioides forest at White Pine Bush was found to be on a trajectory towards Beilschmiedia tawa-dominated forest. Naturally regenerating swamp forest in Kopurererua Valley was dominated by Salix cinerea and had almost no regeneration of native species. Planted restoration sites in Kopurererua Valley and Te Maunga are likely to become Dacrycarpus-dominated stands but with lower stem densities than natural stands. The Dacrycarpus dacrydioides in the older restoration sites at Te Maunga were beginning to naturally regenerate but seedlings are only likely to survive where there is sufficient light and reduced competition.
Across all forest types the proportion of exotic species decreased from an average of 50% in the youngest restoration sites to just 1.5% in the reference forests. 
 
Microclimate conditions generally became more similar to reference forest conditions with increasing stand age. While younger sites had similar average temperatures and relative humidity to reference sites, the fluctuations in temperature and humidity significantly decreased with stand age from an average range of 28.6 °C and 76.7% RH in the youngest restoration sites, to an average range of 19.9 °C and 48.9% RH in the reference sites. 

Recommendations relevant to the management of existing and future restoration plantings in each of the three forest types are provided.

text: Restoration of three indigenous forest types in Tauranga City, New Zealand This research examined the current state and developmental trajectory of forest restoration projects in Tauranga City with the aim of establishing whether they will eventually develop into functioning forest ecosystems similar to their natural counterparts. Three forest types historically present in Tauranga were studied: coastal Metrosideros excelsa forest, semi-coastal broadleaved forest, and semi-coastal Dacrycarpus dacrydioides swamp forest.

Forty-five variable-area plots were established in thirteen categories comprising at least two planted sites of different ages for each forest type, naturally regenerating sites within the city, and old-growth reference forests outside of the city. Vegetation parameters including tree diameters, numbers of saplings and seedlings, cover abundance and groundcover were measured or recorded. Site characteristics such as aspect and slope were also recorded. Soil samples were taken in each of the thirteen forest categories and microclimate conditions were recorded over a period of eight months using micro data loggers. Data were analysed by comparing species population structures along with diversity and naturalness in each forest category. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling and Multi-Response Permutation Procedures were used to examine the relationships between restoration sites and reference sites in each forest type and across all three forest types.  Environmental data were compared using ANOVA and relationships between physical, environmental, and vegetation characteristics were examined using Spearman rank correlations.

Results from the planted restoration sites were compared with the naturally regenerating forests and the reference forests. Coastal forest restoration sites were found to be developing into Metrosideros excelsa forest but recruitment of mid- and late-successional species was failing, probably due to browse from exotic animals and isolation from seed sources.  This was the case even in mature Metrosideros excelsa forest on Mauao. 

Restricted regeneration of canopy species was evident in the semi-coastal broadleaved reference sites but the reason for this was not clear. Naturally regenerating sites were being invaded by Prunus campanulata which has the potential to dominate the vegetation. The understorey in the restoration sites was developing through regeneration and colonisation of species that had not been planted, indicating that the vital ecosystem function of seed dispersal has been restored. However, successional canopy species were failing to recruit. 
Old-growth Dacrycarpus dacrydioides forest at White Pine Bush was found to be on a trajectory towards Beilschmiedia tawa-dominated forest. Naturally regenerating swamp forest in Kopurererua Valley was dominated by Salix cinerea and had almost no regeneration of native species. Planted restoration sites in Kopurererua Valley and Te Maunga are likely to become Dacrycarpus-dominated stands but with lower stem densities than natural stands. The Dacrycarpus dacrydioides in the older restoration sites at Te Maunga were beginning to naturally regenerate but seedlings are only likely to survive where there is sufficient light and reduced competition.
Across all forest types the proportion of exotic species decreased from an average of 50% in the youngest restoration sites to just 1.5% in the reference forests. 
 
Microclimate conditions generally became more similar to reference forest conditions with increasing stand age. While younger sites had similar average temperatures and relative humidity to reference sites, the fluctuations in temperature and humidity significantly decreased with stand age from an average range of 28.6 °C and 76.7% RH in the youngest restoration sites, to an average range of 19.9 °C and 48.9% RH in the reference sites. 

Recommendations relevant to the management of existing and future restoration plantings in each of the three forest types are provided.

year: 2013

title: Translating Translations: A study of Ngā Rūpaiaha o Oma Kaiama, a Māori translation of the English version of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

authors: Roa, Hariru Te Aroha

subjects: Translation

abstract: Omar Khayyám, a Persian poet who died in 1131, wrote a number of quatrains in Farsi which are regarded by some as representing the very summit of Sufism (that is, of the mystical dimension of Islamic thought) and by others as being essentially agnostic and hedonistic in nature. Those who are of the latter view are often strongly influenced by the ‘translation’ into English of some of these quatrains by Edward Fitzgerald, a British poet and writer whose first edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám appeared in 1859, at the height of the Victorian era. Although there have been several other translations of Khayyám’s quatrains, none has been as popular or, perhaps, as highly regarded as an artistic work as that of Fitzgerald. It has rarely, however, been regarded as a work that is faithful to the intent of the original. In deciding to translate into Māori Fitzgerald’s rendering into English of some of Khayyám’s Farsi quatrains (5th version), Pei Jones was faced with a peculiarly complex set of problems (linguistic, literary, cultural and religious). Pei Jones’ translation, a translation of a translation, is generally regarded as being faithful to Fitzgerald’s version of the Rubáiyát. It would appear, therefore, that he decided to treat Fitzgeralds’s text, in spite of the reference in its title to the original text, as his source text. This gives rise to a number of questions, including questions about what it means for a translator to be faithful or unfaithful to a source text. With particular reference to Pei Jones’ translation of Fitzgerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, this thesis explores the concept of ‘fidelity’, a concept that, it is argued here (see Chapter 3), is often treated in the literature on translation in a way that belies its extremely complex nature. The thesis proposes a new approach to the concept of fidelity, one that is based on nine fidelity types: grammatical, lexical, informational, metrical, imagistic, rhetorical, historical, didactic and functional fidelity. In terms of this nonagonal analytical model, twenty-five of Pei Jones’ quatrains are analysed in relation to the equivalent quatrains in Fitzgerald’s version (Chapter 4). The analysis indicates that Pei Jones’ translation has neither metrical fidelity (a consequence of the very different nature of the source and target languages) nor functional fidelity (a consequence of the very different expectations and sensibilities that a Māori audience has in relation to the verbal arts). Metre and function are both, however, fundamental to the enduring appeal of Fitzgerald’s quatrains. The overall conclusion is that since it is often impossible to achieve all nine types of fidelity, translators need to carefully consider what their primary aim is in undertaking the translation of artistic works and be prepared to sacrifice certain types of fidelity (e.g. historical and informational fidelity) in order to create a work that fulfils the aesthetic expectations of the target audience. Pei Jones was undeniably successful in achieving those types of fidelity that were possible. However, the work may have had more widespread appeal if he had sacrificed some of them in order to create a work that was more closely aligned with the aesthetic expectations of Māori readers.

text: Translating Translations: A study of Ngā Rūpaiaha o Oma Kaiama, a Māori translation of the English version of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám Omar Khayyám, a Persian poet who died in 1131, wrote a number of quatrains in Farsi which are regarded by some as representing the very summit of Sufism (that is, of the mystical dimension of Islamic thought) and by others as being essentially agnostic and hedonistic in nature. Those who are of the latter view are often strongly influenced by the ‘translation’ into English of some of these quatrains by Edward Fitzgerald, a British poet and writer whose first edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám appeared in 1859, at the height of the Victorian era. Although there have been several other translations of Khayyám’s quatrains, none has been as popular or, perhaps, as highly regarded as an artistic work as that of Fitzgerald. It has rarely, however, been regarded as a work that is faithful to the intent of the original. In deciding to translate into Māori Fitzgerald’s rendering into English of some of Khayyám’s Farsi quatrains (5th version), Pei Jones was faced with a peculiarly complex set of problems (linguistic, literary, cultural and religious). Pei Jones’ translation, a translation of a translation, is generally regarded as being faithful to Fitzgerald’s version of the Rubáiyát. It would appear, therefore, that he decided to treat Fitzgeralds’s text, in spite of the reference in its title to the original text, as his source text. This gives rise to a number of questions, including questions about what it means for a translator to be faithful or unfaithful to a source text. With particular reference to Pei Jones’ translation of Fitzgerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, this thesis explores the concept of ‘fidelity’, a concept that, it is argued here (see Chapter 3), is often treated in the literature on translation in a way that belies its extremely complex nature. The thesis proposes a new approach to the concept of fidelity, one that is based on nine fidelity types: grammatical, lexical, informational, metrical, imagistic, rhetorical, historical, didactic and functional fidelity. In terms of this nonagonal analytical model, twenty-five of Pei Jones’ quatrains are analysed in relation to the equivalent quatrains in Fitzgerald’s version (Chapter 4). The analysis indicates that Pei Jones’ translation has neither metrical fidelity (a consequence of the very different nature of the source and target languages) nor functional fidelity (a consequence of the very different expectations and sensibilities that a Māori audience has in relation to the verbal arts). Metre and function are both, however, fundamental to the enduring appeal of Fitzgerald’s quatrains. The overall conclusion is that since it is often impossible to achieve all nine types of fidelity, translators need to carefully consider what their primary aim is in undertaking the translation of artistic works and be prepared to sacrifice certain types of fidelity (e.g. historical and informational fidelity) in order to create a work that fulfils the aesthetic expectations of the target audience. Pei Jones was undeniably successful in achieving those types of fidelity that were possible. However, the work may have had more widespread appeal if he had sacrificed some of them in order to create a work that was more closely aligned with the aesthetic expectations of Māori readers.

year: 2013