THE IMPACT OF VISIONARY LEADERSHIP IN ACHIEVING ORGANIZATIONAL HAPPINESS IN GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES IN THE STATE OF KUWAIT

This study aimed to know the impact of visionary leadership in achieving organizational happiness in Kuwaiti ministries. This study is considered as a descriptive and analytical study. A Convenience sample of (300) employees and administrators was selected to distribute the questionnaires on them and 233 questionnaires were returned. Thus, the response rate was (77.66%). The researcher concluded that the relative importance of visionary leadership is high and that the (conservative leadership) dimension came in first place, while it came after (Vigorous leadership) in the last place with a high relative importance. This reflects the interest of the ministries under study in applying the dimensions of visionary leadership. It also showed the high level of organizational happiness among workers in Kuwaiti ministries.

Phytosociological Survey and Weed Interference in Eggplants Cultivation1

ABSTRACT Eggplants are vegetables of great importance in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil, which are subject to interference from weeds. In order to collaborate with weed management in this vegetable, this study was carried out to determine the periods of weed interference in growing eggplants. The study was conducted in the Brazilian municipality of Jaboticabal, SP, at the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, UNESP [Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (São Paulo State University)], in the period from February to July 2013. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with 22 treatments, three replications divided in 11 periods of coexistence and weed control with eggplants: 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84, 98, 112, 126, 140 and 154 days after transplanting (DAT). In each treatment, a phytosociological study was carried out to identify the important species of weeds in eggplant crops. The main weeds were Eleusine indica, Nicandra physaloides, Portulaca oleracea and Cyperus rotundus due to their high relative importance. The interference of these weeds caused losses of up to 96% to the standard commercial fruit yield. The period before interference was 6 DAT and the total period of interference was 102 DAT. Therefore, it is concluded that after the initial six days after transplanting eggplants, the crop should be free of weeds within the next 96 days.

Viticultural terroirs in Stellenbosch, South Africa. II. The interaction of Cabernet-Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc with environment

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aims</strong>: A terroir can be defined as a grouping of homogenous environmental units, or natural terroir units, based on the typicality of the products obtained. Terroir studies therefore require an investigation into the response of grapevines to the natural environment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results</strong>: A network of plots of Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon were delimited in commercial vineyards in proximity to weather stations and their response monitored for a period of seven years. Regression tree methodology was used to determine the relative importance of the environmental and management related variables and to determine regression trees for each dependent variable. Excepting for scion clone, which had a high relative importance for bunch mass of Sauvignon blanc and yield to pruning mass index of Cabernet Sauvignon, no other nonenvironmental variable included in the analyses appeared to have a strong effect on grapevine performance and wine character. The performance of Cabernet-Sauvignon was related to the potassium content of the subsoil and climate (temperature and rainfall) of the season. The performance of Sauvignon blanc appeared to be related to soil texture, wind exposure and temperature of the site and season, both during the green berry growth stage and the month prior to ripening.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusions</strong>: From the results presented, it appears that environmental parameters have an overriding effect on the performance of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon blanc but that these two cultivars react differently to environmental stimuli.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Significance and impact of study</strong>: These results should contribute to the identification of viticultural terroirs with specific agronomic potential for Cabernet-Sauvignon and Sauvignon blanc.</p>

Conjoint Analysis Reveals Consumers Prefer Long, Thin Asparagus Spears

Michigan fresh asparagus marketers were interested in profiling asparagus consumers in the Northeast and Midwest with regard to preferences, purchases, preparation, and consumption. A computer-assisted survey was conducted with a total of 1126 respondents representative of the population on average in 12 selected states in the Northeast and Midwest. Even though the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends adults consume three servings of vegetables daily, on average over the 2 weeks before taking the survey, 62% did not. Only 39% of the persons in the sample ate fresh asparagus in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Twenty-five percent ate it steamed on the stovetop. The conjoint analysis accounted for 63% of the variance in asparagus preference with attribute relative importance decreasing from price (42.0%), to brand (29.9%), to spear diameter (23.5%), to spear segment (4.6%). Light users consumed fresh asparagus at least once in the 4 weeks before the survey, during the peak fresh asparagus season. The potential to increase consumption in this large group (28% of the sample but 71% of asparagus consumers) is tremendous. They placed high relative importance on price per pound and will likely be the more price-sensitive group. If their consumption can be increased by one more asparagus consumption event per month, it could increase asparagus demand by 14%. Results show there is good market potential for a prepackaged fresh asparagus product in the Northeast and Midwest.

An Australian temperate pastures database

A census of pasture types and their composition and attributes (e.g. purpose and carrying capacity) was carried out throughout southern Australia from June to October 1994. This paper describes the survey process and subsequent creation of an Australian temperate pastures database. Data were created for 562 local government areas (LGAs) from ‘desk estimates’ by trained agriculturists. They identified about 2500 pasture types, which were grouped into 120 standardised pasture categories. Some findings from the data are identified, namely the high relative importance on an area basis of unimproved native pastures, the importance of weedy species (e.g. Vulpia), and the marked decline with increasing rainfall in importance of annual medics compared with subterranean clover. This paper provides examples of the data and their use for assessment of the regional economic impact of increases in productivity of pasture species.