In May 2003, the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was identified in Alberta, and the impact was immediately devastating on farmers and rural communities across Canada. Not only were farmers faced by the impacts of BSE, they were also contending with record low farm incomes, changing commodity prices, and overall rural depopulation. One grassroots adaptation to this rural crisis is the adoption of Holistic Management (HM) by farmers in western Canada. Although growing in popularity, HM has yet to be systematically assessed in the literature. The overall objectives of this study were to characterize HM; to assess to what degree it simultaneously addresses environmental, economic, and social priorities; to examine the impacts caused by the BSE crisis on HM and non-HM producers; and to explore the potential of HM for adapting and dealing with future crises. This was carried out through a questionnaire that was mailed to 784 HM producers across western Canada. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of survey data showed that HM allowed producers to systematically address all three pillars of sustainability (environment, economic, and social). In particular, the social aspect emphasized in the practice of HM was unique compared to other approaches to agricultural sustainability that focus on economic and/or environmental priorities. When comparing HM producers to non HM producers, the HM producers were less impacted by the BSE crisis. Indeed, holistic managers described how the occurrence of BSE and subsequent consequences to the entire industry actually made them more resilient. The key factors that helped HM producers adapt to the BSE crisis were community involvement, within the family and larger community, and farm management. New farm practices, such as rotational grazing, and the HM clubs to support these new farm innovations/practices also aided producers in adapting to the BSE crisis. The results of this study demonstrate the value of alternative community based approaches that address agricultural challenges in a truly holistic and sustainable manner.

No description available.

Reliable colour constancy by industry for colour conducted to quantify metamerism. and metamerism indices are highly desired quality control. Two experiments were the degree of colour constancy and In the colour constancy experiment, 240 wool samples were prepared and scaled using a magnitude estimation method by a panel of 5 experienced observers under sources D65, A and TL84. 2 corresponding data sets derived from the experimental results were used to test various chromatic adaptation transforms. The results clearly show that the BFD transform gave the most precise prediction than the other transforms. Attempts were also made to derive 4 new transforms from four independent data sets. These gave similar performance as that of the BFD, but overcome the BFO's problem (incapable of predicting some of the high saturated colours). Hence, these transforms should be used with confidence for predicting the degree of colour constancy. This experimental results were also used to test various uniform colour spaces and colour appearance models. The Hunt94 model gave the most precise prediction to the colourfulness and hue results. Modification was made to its lightness scale for improving the fit. In the metamerism experiment, 76 pairs of wool samples were prepared and assessed with 20 observations using a grey scale under 7 sources: D65, A, TL84, TL83, P27, W and WW. The experimental results were used to test 3 types of illuminant metamerism indices derived here. It was found that calculating colour difference using 3 colour difference formulae, i.e. CMC, BFD and CIE94 gave the most precise prediction to the visual results. The degree of precision is quite satisfactory in comparison with typical observer precision. A new standard deviate observer (SDO) was also derived. This together with the CIE SDO and 1964 Observer were tested using the author's and the Obande's data. The results showed that the new SDO predicted results more accurate than those from the other two CIE Observers. An Observer Metamerism Index (OMI) was also derived to indicate the degree of metamerism based upon the new SDO. The results showed that the new SDO was more suitable for indicating the degree of observer metamerism.

A colour may have a different appearance under different viewing conditions. This causes many problems in the colour reproduction industry. Thus the importance of prediction of colour appearance has arisen. In this study, a mathematical model to predict colour appearance was developed based on the investigation of the changes of colour appearance under a wide range of media and viewing conditions. The media studied included large cut-sheet transparency films, 35mm projected slides, reflection samples and monitor colours. The viewing conditions varied were light source, luminance level and viewing background. Colour appearance was studied using the magnitude estimation technique. In general, colours appeared more colourful, lighter and brighter with an increase in luminance level. Background and flare light had considerable influence on colour appearance for cut-sheet transparency media. Simultaneous contrast effects occurred when a monitor colour was displayed against a chromatic surround. The monitor colour appeared lighter with a darker induction field. When a coloured area was enlarged, lightness tended to increase while colourfulness tended to decrease. Colour appearance was also affected by the closest neighbouring colour. In this case, the hue of the colour largely shifted towards the direction of the opponent hue of the induction colour. The data obtained were applied to test three colour spaces and two colour appearance models. For reflection media, the Hunt91 model performed the best. However it was not satisfactory when applied to transmissive media. Based on these results, the Hunt93 model was developed by modification of the Hunt91 model. The new model widens the application range of the Hunt91 and is reversible.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2000. / Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984 / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-54).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-179).

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala University, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-33).