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This paper describes how water content reflectometers (WCRs) were analyzed to develop a calibration equation. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique is the most prevalent method in in-situ moisture monitoring; and WCR is a type of low frequency TDR sensors, which is sensitive to soil type. Developing soil-specific calibration and investigating different environmental effects on WCR calibration is important. This study focused on investigation of the soil dry density and temperature effects on WCR calibration in RMA soil. Two series of tests to develop soil-specific calibration with dry density and temperature offset were conducted. Results from testing program showed that WCR response was positive related to volumetric water content, dry density, and temperature. Equations were developed to illustrate the response-density-temperature-moisture relation. Application to a field site was also presented to illustrate the difference in volumetric water contents obtained by using manufacturer method and the calibration procedure drawn in this paper. / text

<p>Root phenotyping technology is an essential component of modern agriculture and plant science research. Conducting root-related research in a non-destructive manner is crucial for studying plant roots without damaging the plants themselves and allowing for time-series studies. The research aims to validate the efficacy of MISIRoot, an innovative root phenotyping technology, through the implementation of two projects. The first project focuses on the early detection of western corn rootworm, one of the most devastating corn rootworm species in North America, particularly in midwestern corn-growing areas. The second project focuses on the assessment of the soybean nodulation process, which is crucial for nitrogen fixation by Rhizobia living in the nodules on the soybean roots. The current state-of-the-art methods for western corn rootworm and soybean nodulation assessments still require the whole plant to be dug up, which causes irreversible destruction to the plant itself. Although recently developed root phenotyping methods such as minirhizotron, CT, and MRI scanners offer unique advantages in observing plant roots, their potential for field applications is currently limited.</p> <p>Data collection for both projects was carried out using MISIRoot, a minimally invasive plant root phenotyping robot that works in situ within natural soil. The MISIRoot system mainly consists of an industrial-level robotic arm, a mini-size camera with a lighting set, a plant pot holding platform, and image processing software for root recognition and feature extraction. MISIRoot can take high-resolution color images of the roots in soil with minimal disturbance to the root and reconstruct the plant roots' three-dimensional (3D) structure at an accuracy of 0.1 mm.</p> <p>For the first project, the MISIRoot system successfully distinguished the corn plants inoculated with western corn rootworm larvae from the healthy plants before the shoot section of the corn plants revealed significant differences. For the second project, the MISIRoot system successfully demonstrated its ability to differentiate soybean plants with and without nodules.</p>

Rörelsekapitalhantering (WCM) är en viktig del i små och medelstora företags (SMF) i syfte att generera nytt kapital samt effektivisera verksamheten. Företagen i Sverige består till större delen av SMF vilket gör det viktigt att undersöka hur företagen hanterar sitt kapital. Syftet för studien var att studera WCM i form av CCC och WCR med företagsspecifika, branschspecifikaoch makrospecifika faktorer. Detta testades i en OLS-modell med studiens beroende variabler CCC och WCR mot de oberoende variablerna lönsamhet, tillväxtmöjligheter, storlek, kassaflöde och branschtillhörighet. Studien undersökte även hur en finanskris påverkar rörelsekapitalet i form av ett t2-test. Denna studie innefattade 4240 företag under perioden 2008 till 2015 där 2008 till 2009 beskrivs som krisperiod. Resultatet för studien visar ett positivt signifikant samband mellan CCC och kassaflöde samt ett negativt signifikant samband medlönsamhet, storlek och branschtillhörighet. Vidare påvisar studien ett positivt signifikant samband mellan WCR och lönsamhet samt storlek medans tillväxtmöjligheter, kassaflöde och branschtillhörighet har negativt signifikant samband med WCR. Företagen har en längre CCC samt en högre WCR under krisperioder. / Working capital management (WCM) is an important part of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to generate new capital and streamline operations. The companies that consist in Sweden is to the majority SMEs, which makes it important to investigate how companies handle their capital. The purpose of the study was to analyse WCM thru CCC and WCR with company-specific, industry-specific and macro-specific factors. This was tested in an OLS model with this studies dependent variables CCC and WCR against the independent variables profitability, growth opportunities, size, cash flow and industry affiliation. The study also examined how a financial crisis affects working capital with a t2 test. This study included 4240 companies in the period 2008 to 2015, where 2008 to 2009 is described as a crisis period. The result for the study shows a positive significant correlation between CCC and cash flow, as well as a negatively significant correlation with profitability, size and industry affiliation. Furthermore, the study shows a positive significant correlation between WCR and profitability, and the size of the growth potential, cash flow and industry affiliationare negatively significant in relation to the WCR. The companies have a longer CCC and a higher WCR during crisis periods.

The primary focus of this study is to determine how clausal complexity and accuracy develop over the course of three academic years of intermediate to advanced-level German. This study aims to shed light on issues related to learner development of writing during advanced stages of language acquisition, particularly after conducting a study abroad. The main goal of this study will be to track the writing complexity and accuracy of multiple students longitudinally. This paper will identify Weighted Clause Ratio (Foster & Wigglesworth, 2016), as well as address Skills Acquisition Theory (DeKeyser, 2007), Interaction Hypothesis (Swain, 1985), and the Limited Attentional Capacity Theory (Skehan, 1998). In addition to this, the study will discuss the impact of a study abroad on the language-learning process, task complexity, and the language-learning plateau. Following a review of terminology, I will discuss how Weighted-Clause Ratio will be used to determine clausal accuracy and complexity. The data of this study will be analyzed with results shown in intervals throughout three academic years, comparing each of the three years with one another. Results indicate that accuracy increases drastically over the final two years when compared to the change in the first two years, confirming the effect that study abroad has on the written accuracy of learners, and the complexity showed improvements in some measures over the course of the study, but varied in other measures. I conclude the thesis by discussing by discussing the implications of these findings for our understanding of writing complexity and accuracy, and the long-term effects of study abroad.

The theoretical and practical importance of working capital management (Sharma &amp; Kumar, 2011) and its strong link with the firm’s financial stability (Wang et al., 2020, p. 2; Kamel 2015, p. 35) make it one of the most important functional areas of corporate finance. Although literature and the corporate world recognize corporate sustainability mainly through corporate social responsibility (CSR), ESG emerged in the recent past and quickly made its strong footfall as an indicator of corporate sustainability. Literature is evident that studies have mainly focused on studying both working capital management (WCM) and corporate sustainability in relation to firm financial performance (FFP), while scant research has assessed the relationship between WCM and corporate sustainability (Barros et al., 2022, p. 1). The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate sustainability and WCM in the Swedish market to fill this gap in the literature and contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject matter through its findings, especially with reference to the use of ESG rating scores.  The relationship was examined through the quantitative approach. Sample data was comprised of 418 firm-year observations retrieved from Refinitiv Eikon on 38 firms listed on Nasdaq Stockholm between 2010-2020. ESG rating scores were used to measure corporate sustainability, while two proxy measures; cash conversion cycle (CCC) and working capital requirements (WCR) were for WCM. Stata software was used to find the results of the study by running the pertinent regression models using robust standard errors. Various statistical tests were performed to satisfy all the OLS classical assumptions. The empirical results of our study revealed mixed findings. The findings connected to CCC indicated no statistically significant relationship between ESG scores and CCC which allowed us to conclude that sustainable firms in Sweden do not operate with a shorter CCC (or cash cycle). The findings connected to WCR indicated a significant negative relationship of WCR with the environmental and social score, however no relationship with ESG and governance scores. These results allowed us to conclude that sustainable firms in Sweden are able to operate with WCR (or cash requirements), however, these effects entirely come from the environmental and social pillars, which indirectly implies more sustainable firms can operate with lower levels of debt than their counterparts. Since we found no significant effect from the ESG scores for both CCC and WCR, our findings were partially in line with the shareholder theory, the stakeholders’ theory, and the legitimacy theory we used as theoretical references in our study. The overall findings of our study allow us to suggest sustainable firms in Sweden reconsider their working capital policy decisions to achieve working capital efficiency (a shorter cash cycle) while staying aligned with their sustainability goals.

A wave cavity resonator (WCR) is investigated to determine the suitability of the device as an energy harvester in rivers or tidal flows. The WCR consists of coupling between self-excited oscillations of turbulent flow of water in an open channel along the opening of a rectangular cavity and the standing gravity wave in the cavity. The device was investigated experimentally for a range of inflow velocities, cavity opening lengths, and characteristic depths of the water. Determining appropriate models and empirical relations for the system over a range of depths allows for accuracy when designing prototypes and tools for determining the suitability of a particular river or tidal flow as a potential WCR site. The performance of the system when coupled with a wave absorber/generator is also evaluated for a range piston strokes in reference to cavity wave height. Video recording of the oscillating free-surface inside the resonator cavity in conjunction with free-surface elevation measurements using a capacitive wave gauge provides representation of the resonant wave modes of the cavity as well as the degree of the flow-wave coupling in terms of the amplitude and the quality factor of the associated spectral peak. Moreover, application of digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) provides insight into the evolution of the vortical structures that form across the cavity opening. Coherent oscillations were attainable for a wide range of water depths. Variation of the water depth affected the degree of coupling between the shear layer oscillations and the gravity wave as well as the three-dimensionality of the flow structure. In terms of the power investigation, conducted with the addition of a load cell and linear table-driven piston, the device is likely limited to running low power instrumentation unless it can be up-scaled. Up-scaling of the system, while requiring additional design considerations, is not unreasonable; large-scale systems of resonant water waves and the generation of large scale vortical structures due to tidal or river flows are even observed naturally. / Graduate / 0547 / 0548 / reaumejd@uvic.ca