title: Battery performance assessment method and apparatus

authors: Scott, Jonathan B.

abstract: The invention provides a battery performance assessment apparatus which includes two terminal connectors configured to electrically connect the assessment apparatus to the positive and negative terminals of a battery being assessed, and a response measurement system configured to measure the terminal voltage and current of the battery when supplied with at least one alternating test current having a frequency less than the impedance transition frequency associated with the battery being assessed and preferably between 100uHz and 1mHz, and a processor in communication with the response measurement system and being configured to output a performance assessment indicator for the battery being assessed by calculating at least one impedance for the battery using terminal voltage and current measurements communicated by the response measurement system.

text: Battery performance assessment method and apparatus The invention provides a battery performance assessment apparatus which includes two terminal connectors configured to electrically connect the assessment apparatus to the positive and negative terminals of a battery being assessed, and a response measurement system configured to measure the terminal voltage and current of the battery when supplied with at least one alternating test current having a frequency less than the impedance transition frequency associated with the battery being assessed and preferably between 100uHz and 1mHz, and a processor in communication with the response measurement system and being configured to output a performance assessment indicator for the battery being assessed by calculating at least one impedance for the battery using terminal voltage and current measurements communicated by the response measurement system.

year: 2020

title: Human access and deterministic processes play a major role in structuring planktonic and sedimentary bacterial and eukaryotic communities in lakes

authors: Pearman, J. K.

abstract: Lakes provide habitat for a diverse array of species and offer a wide range of ecosystem services for humanity. However, they are highly vulnerable as they are not only impacted by adverse actions directly affecting them, but also those on the surrounding environment. Improving knowledge on the processes responsible for community assembly in different biotic components will aid in the protection and restoration of lakes. Studies to date suggested a combination of deterministic (where biotic/abiotic factors act on fitness differences amongst taxa) and stochastic (where dispersal plays a larger factor in community assembly) processes are responsible for structuring biotic communities, but there is no consensus on the relative roles these processes play, and data is lacking for lakes. In the present study, we sampled different biotic components in 34 lakes located on the South Island of New Zealand. To obtain a holistic view of assembly processes in lakes we used metabarcoding to investigate bacteria in the sediment and surface waters, and eukaryotes in the sediment and two different size fractions of the water column. Physicochemical parameters were collected in parallel. Results showed that deterministic processes dominated the assembly of lake communities although the relative importance of variable and homogeneous selection differed among the biotic components. Variable selection was more important in the sediment (SSbact and SSeuks) and for the bacterioplankton (Pbact) while the assembly of the eukaryotic plankton (SPeuks, LPeuks) was driven more by homogeneous selection. The ease of human access to the lakes had a significant effect on lake communities. In particular, clade III of SAR11 and Daphnia pulex were only present in lakes with public access. This study provides insights into the distribution patterns of different biotic components and highlights the value in understanding the drivers of different biological communities within lakes.

text: Human access and deterministic processes play a major role in structuring planktonic and sedimentary bacterial and eukaryotic communities in lakes Lakes provide habitat for a diverse array of species and offer a wide range of ecosystem services for humanity. However, they are highly vulnerable as they are not only impacted by adverse actions directly affecting them, but also those on the surrounding environment. Improving knowledge on the processes responsible for community assembly in different biotic components will aid in the protection and restoration of lakes. Studies to date suggested a combination of deterministic (where biotic/abiotic factors act on fitness differences amongst taxa) and stochastic (where dispersal plays a larger factor in community assembly) processes are responsible for structuring biotic communities, but there is no consensus on the relative roles these processes play, and data is lacking for lakes. In the present study, we sampled different biotic components in 34 lakes located on the South Island of New Zealand. To obtain a holistic view of assembly processes in lakes we used metabarcoding to investigate bacteria in the sediment and surface waters, and eukaryotes in the sediment and two different size fractions of the water column. Physicochemical parameters were collected in parallel. Results showed that deterministic processes dominated the assembly of lake communities although the relative importance of variable and homogeneous selection differed among the biotic components. Variable selection was more important in the sediment (SSbact and SSeuks) and for the bacterioplankton (Pbact) while the assembly of the eukaryotic plankton (SPeuks, LPeuks) was driven more by homogeneous selection. The ease of human access to the lakes had a significant effect on lake communities. In particular, clade III of SAR11 and Daphnia pulex were only present in lakes with public access. This study provides insights into the distribution patterns of different biotic components and highlights the value in understanding the drivers of different biological communities within lakes.

year: 2022-11-11

title: Supervision and continuing professional development: Supervisors’ hopes for meaningful, supervision-supported CPD

authors: Flanagan, Paul G.

abstract: Continuing professional development (CPD) is now embedded into the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) practices, such as its members’ supervision, processes for membership renewal and applications for annual practicing certificates. Since its implementation in 2017, a number of developments have been made to NZAC CPD requirements, and in 2020 the process went online. During the same year, six experienced supervisors participated in a small-scale study in which they were interviewed about their experiences of the CPD process and its effects on supervision. The research project was part of a postgraduate paper in professional supervision and worked to introduce and engage researcher-students, all of whom were experienced counselling practitioners, in a supervised collaborative project. This article offers a review of literature on CPD and supervision, and presents the new findings about supervisors’ hopes for meaningful, supervision-supported CPD. The findings highlighted limitations with current competencies for CPD and questioned these competencies as reflecting dominant Pākehā constructions of counselling and therefore, having effects for Māori practitioners. The study also revealed a tension between treating professional development as a requirement to be accounted for and hopes for supervision as a space to reflect on and shape future professional development.

text: Supervision and continuing professional development: Supervisors’ hopes for meaningful, supervision-supported CPD Continuing professional development (CPD) is now embedded into the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) practices, such as its members’ supervision, processes for membership renewal and applications for annual practicing certificates. Since its implementation in 2017, a number of developments have been made to NZAC CPD requirements, and in 2020 the process went online. During the same year, six experienced supervisors participated in a small-scale study in which they were interviewed about their experiences of the CPD process and its effects on supervision. The research project was part of a postgraduate paper in professional supervision and worked to introduce and engage researcher-students, all of whom were experienced counselling practitioners, in a supervised collaborative project. This article offers a review of literature on CPD and supervision, and presents the new findings about supervisors’ hopes for meaningful, supervision-supported CPD. The findings highlighted limitations with current competencies for CPD and questioned these competencies as reflecting dominant Pākehā constructions of counselling and therefore, having effects for Māori practitioners. The study also revealed a tension between treating professional development as a requirement to be accounted for and hopes for supervision as a space to reflect on and shape future professional development.

year: 2021