title: Evaluation of a low-cost selective shaking device and soft surface catchment for fresh market blueberry harvesting

authors: Sim, Sheau Lan (Alicia)

abstract: With the surge in global blueberry consumption, there is a growing need for efficient harvesting methods to meet market demands. Traditional hand harvesting remains the norm for fresh market blueberries, but it is labor-intensive and costly. This paper presents a feasibility study of a cost-effective human-assisted mechanical harvesting system designed for tunnel-grown blueberries. The system incorporates lightweight, battery-powered hand-held shakers and multi-level soft surface catchers operating in tandem. Performance evaluation compared traditional hand-harvesting with the proposed system in terms of post-harvest quality and harvest rate. Results indicate that the proposed system offers a higher harvest rate (81.3 berry per minute) but may yield more unripe berries (30.6%). Optimization of detachment settings at 900rpm for 1.2s, shows potential to improve system performance up to 80.7%. Overall, the study highlights the effectiveness of the human-assisted approach in bridging the gap between manual and machine harvesting, with implications for enhancing efficiency and reducing labor costs in the blueberry industry.

text: Evaluation of a low-cost selective shaking device and soft surface catchment for fresh market blueberry harvesting With the surge in global blueberry consumption, there is a growing need for efficient harvesting methods to meet market demands. Traditional hand harvesting remains the norm for fresh market blueberries, but it is labor-intensive and costly. This paper presents a feasibility study of a cost-effective human-assisted mechanical harvesting system designed for tunnel-grown blueberries. The system incorporates lightweight, battery-powered hand-held shakers and multi-level soft surface catchers operating in tandem. Performance evaluation compared traditional hand-harvesting with the proposed system in terms of post-harvest quality and harvest rate. Results indicate that the proposed system offers a higher harvest rate (81.3 berry per minute) but may yield more unripe berries (30.6%). Optimization of detachment settings at 900rpm for 1.2s, shows potential to improve system performance up to 80.7%. Overall, the study highlights the effectiveness of the human-assisted approach in bridging the gap between manual and machine harvesting, with implications for enhancing efficiency and reducing labor costs in the blueberry industry.

year: 2024

title: Enhancing the precision of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF) with Rasch methodology

authors: Adu, Peter

abstract: Objectives: Precise measurement of self-compassion is essential for informing well-being–related policies. Traditional assessment methods have led to inconsistencies in the factor structure of self-compassion scales. We used Rasch methodology to enhance measurement precision and assess the psychometric properties of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF), including its invariance across Ghana, Germany, India, and New Zealand. Method: We employed the Partial Credit Rasch model to analyse responses obtained from 1000 individuals randomly selected (i.e. 250 from each country) from a total convenience sample of 1822 recruited from the general populations of Germany, Ghana, India, and New Zealand. Results: The initial identification of local dependency among certain items led to a significant misfitting of the SCS-SF to the Rasch model (χ2 (108) = 260.26, p < 0.001). We addressed this issue by merging locally dependent items, using testlets. The solution with three testlets resulted in optimal fit of the SCS-SF to the Rasch model (χ2 (27) = 23.84, p = 0.64), showing evidence of unidimensionality, strong sample targeting (M = 0.20; SD = 0.72), and good reliability (Person Separation Index = 0.71), including invariance across sociodemographic factors. We then developed ordinal-to-interval conversion tables based on the Rasch model’s person estimates. The SCS-SF showed positive correlations with measures of compassion towards others, optimism, and positive affect, alongside negative associations with psychological distress and negative affect. Conclusions: The current study supports the reliability, as well as the structural, convergent, and external validity of the SCS-SF. By employing the ordinal-to-interval conversion tables published here, the precision of the measure is significantly enhanced, offering a robust tool for investigating self-compassion across different cultures.

text: Enhancing the precision of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF) with Rasch methodology Objectives: Precise measurement of self-compassion is essential for informing well-being–related policies. Traditional assessment methods have led to inconsistencies in the factor structure of self-compassion scales. We used Rasch methodology to enhance measurement precision and assess the psychometric properties of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF), including its invariance across Ghana, Germany, India, and New Zealand. Method: We employed the Partial Credit Rasch model to analyse responses obtained from 1000 individuals randomly selected (i.e. 250 from each country) from a total convenience sample of 1822 recruited from the general populations of Germany, Ghana, India, and New Zealand. Results: The initial identification of local dependency among certain items led to a significant misfitting of the SCS-SF to the Rasch model (χ2 (108) = 260.26, p < 0.001). We addressed this issue by merging locally dependent items, using testlets. The solution with three testlets resulted in optimal fit of the SCS-SF to the Rasch model (χ2 (27) = 23.84, p = 0.64), showing evidence of unidimensionality, strong sample targeting (M = 0.20; SD = 0.72), and good reliability (Person Separation Index = 0.71), including invariance across sociodemographic factors. We then developed ordinal-to-interval conversion tables based on the Rasch model’s person estimates. The SCS-SF showed positive correlations with measures of compassion towards others, optimism, and positive affect, alongside negative associations with psychological distress and negative affect. Conclusions: The current study supports the reliability, as well as the structural, convergent, and external validity of the SCS-SF. By employing the ordinal-to-interval conversion tables published here, the precision of the measure is significantly enhanced, offering a robust tool for investigating self-compassion across different cultures.

year: 2024

title: "That's the price we pay": Kaupapa Māori Programme stakeholder experiences of external evaluation

authors: Masters-Awatere, Bridgette

subjects: Evaluation

abstract: This thesis takes a critical approach to the evaluation of Māori social and health service provision progammes through an in-depth exploration of the dynamics, impacts and politics of such exercises within Māori communities, and upon relationships between Māori and the Crown, and its agents. Since the mid 1980s, New Zealand government devolved responsibilities that heralded a change in economic focus and provided a pathway for targeted service provision, such as social and health programmes, amongst communities. The combined shift to Neoliberal economics and the virtual hegemony enjoyed by right wing economic commentators, policy-makers and business leaders meant that newly anointed Māori service providers were not fully prepared for the subsequent rise in demand for narrowly defined accountability requirements that did not reflect Māori aspirations or values.

This study sought to critically engage with the experiences of stakeholders affected by an external evaluation of “By Māori, for Māori” services. Qualitative data capturing stakeholder narratives, demonstrated the complex relationships and range of emotions experienced by programme stakeholders. Four case studies contain stories that highlight: service provider relationships built on betrayal that contributed to programme tensions and influenced the design of the evaluation; different stakeholder information needs that shaped their expectation of an evaluation; service provider vulnerability when implementing cultural values with their funder, who then seeks financial gain from that knowledge, and; the close links of Kaupapa Māori programmes and their evaluations to socio-cultural and political agendas.

The cases highlight ways Māori evaluators operated from a reflexive approach that recognised two worldviews (Mātauranga Māori and the dominant models of Western social science) and sought to facilitate engaged evaluation relationships with different stakeholders. A proposed Cultural Confluent Evaluation model lays out the dynamics and tensions in an attempt to make visible the underlying agendas, but also the glossed ideologies of power and control attached to conventional evaluations. As existing programmes continue to be examined for their cultural responsiveness, and as new culturally-centred programmes are proposed, the need for culturally embedded evaluation is even more evident.

text: "That's the price we pay": Kaupapa Māori Programme stakeholder experiences of external evaluation This thesis takes a critical approach to the evaluation of Māori social and health service provision progammes through an in-depth exploration of the dynamics, impacts and politics of such exercises within Māori communities, and upon relationships between Māori and the Crown, and its agents. Since the mid 1980s, New Zealand government devolved responsibilities that heralded a change in economic focus and provided a pathway for targeted service provision, such as social and health programmes, amongst communities. The combined shift to Neoliberal economics and the virtual hegemony enjoyed by right wing economic commentators, policy-makers and business leaders meant that newly anointed Māori service providers were not fully prepared for the subsequent rise in demand for narrowly defined accountability requirements that did not reflect Māori aspirations or values.

This study sought to critically engage with the experiences of stakeholders affected by an external evaluation of “By Māori, for Māori” services. Qualitative data capturing stakeholder narratives, demonstrated the complex relationships and range of emotions experienced by programme stakeholders. Four case studies contain stories that highlight: service provider relationships built on betrayal that contributed to programme tensions and influenced the design of the evaluation; different stakeholder information needs that shaped their expectation of an evaluation; service provider vulnerability when implementing cultural values with their funder, who then seeks financial gain from that knowledge, and; the close links of Kaupapa Māori programmes and their evaluations to socio-cultural and political agendas.

The cases highlight ways Māori evaluators operated from a reflexive approach that recognised two worldviews (Mātauranga Māori and the dominant models of Western social science) and sought to facilitate engaged evaluation relationships with different stakeholders. A proposed Cultural Confluent Evaluation model lays out the dynamics and tensions in an attempt to make visible the underlying agendas, but also the glossed ideologies of power and control attached to conventional evaluations. As existing programmes continue to be examined for their cultural responsiveness, and as new culturally-centred programmes are proposed, the need for culturally embedded evaluation is even more evident.

year: 2015