Submitted by Rosivalda Pereira (mrs.pereira@ufma.br) on 2017-06-23T17:42:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ValkiriaAiresViegas.pdf: 8922033 bytes, checksum: 379eb5178100f51a32bb17c3542c5ef6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-23T17:42:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ValkiriaAiresViegas.pdf: 8922033 bytes, checksum: 379eb5178100f51a32bb17c3542c5ef6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-25 / Brazil possesses a wealth of natural resources, however part of the population, even living near these resources, has a low quality of life. This same context can be perceived in Maranhão. The state has diverse vegetation composed of the Amazon Forest, savanna, mata dos cocais (coconut wooded region), swamps and the second largest coast in the country with immense marine biodiversity. However, the state of Maranhão has the municipalities with the lowest Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI). In this context, the dissertation directs the perspective to Sustainable Design seeking to understand which Project strategies can stimulate the valorization of local resources and the form in which such strategies can be understood and applied to lead product development, services and sustainable communication in a Maranhense context. The hypothesis of this research is that Design possesses tools and the capacity to stimulate and increase local activities, and from this point, improve people’s quality of life. The research was carried out in three stages: Theoretical Foundation composed of bibliographical and documental research; Intensive Direct Observation which combined simple and contextual observation with structured and semistructured interviews; and finally, Qualitative Analysis of data obtained in these stages using the babaçu coconut productive chain in the Itapecuru Mirim micro-region in Maranhão as demarcation. As a result of this study, relations were establishe between Design management levels, the main obstacles in the babaçu cocnut productive chain and sustainable design strategies that favor the valorization and promotion of local resources in Maranhão. / O Brasil apresenta grandes riquezas em recursos naturais, no entanto, uma parte da população, mesmo residindo próximo a esses recursos, vive com uma baixa qualidade de vida. Esse mesmo contexto pode ser percebido no Maranhão. O estado apresenta uma vegetação diversificada, composta de floresta Amazônica, cerrado, mata de cocais, mangues e o segundo maior litoral do país com a imensa biodiversidade marinha. Porém, o estado do Maranhão tem os municípios com os mais baixos Índices de Desenvolvimento Humano Municipal do Brasil (IDMH). Nesse contexto, esta dissertação direciona o olhar para o Design Sustentável buscando compreender quais as estratégias de projeto podem estimular a valorização dos recursos locais e a forma como tais estratégias podem ser entendidas e aplicadas para orientar o desenvolvimento de produtos, serviços e comunicação sustentáveis no contexto maranhense. A hipótese deste trabalho é que o Design possui ferramentas e a capacidade para estimular e incrementar as atividades produtivas locais para, a partir disso, proporcionar um aumento na qualidade de vida das pessoas. A pesquisa foi executada em três etapas: a Fundamentação Teórica, composta por uma pesquisa bibliográfica e uma pesquisa documental; a Observação Direta Intensiva, que combinou uma observação simples com uma observação contextual e entrevistas de tipo estruturada e semiestruturada; e, por fim, a Análise Qualitativa dos dados obtidos nessas etapas, tendo como delimitação de pesquisa a cadeia produtiva do babaçu presente no município de Itapecuru Mirim no Maranhão. Como resultado desse estudo foram estabelecidas relações entre os problemas identificados e os níveis da gestão do design envolvidos, os principais entraves da cadeia produtiva do babaçu e as estratégias de design sustentável que favorecem a valorização e a promoção dos recursos locais no Maranhão.

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2017-03-21T17:26:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Monique de Moura Gurgel.pdf: 5504454 bytes, checksum: 56c93476cae66a9ba7cfc9cad8b26016 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-21T17:26:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Monique de Moura Gurgel.pdf: 5504454 bytes, checksum: 56c93476cae66a9ba7cfc9cad8b26016 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-29 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / The chemical analysis and structural analyzes of tropical biomass products has become a potential interest for the production of biofuels. Residues from coconut is promising because it doesn`t compete with the food industry and it can be transformed into a higher product added value due the lignocellulosic origin. Green coconuts had been separated between fiber and parenchyma following by anatomical characterization which it could better be understood and visualized the effect of pretreatment delignification; ozonolysis, with the chemical and compositional changes in the cell wall. To access the carbohydrates, lignin must be removed, thus it had been explored the changes induced by ozone under pH conditions; with addition of acetic acid and sodium hydroxide, and treatment time in milli-Q water. The ozonolysis was carried out at pH 3, 5 and 8 for 2; 4 and 6 hours at 25 ? C. Analyses were performed before and after the ozonolysis reaction to investigate the change of polysaccharides and lignin with the following techniques: SEM, Py-GC/MS, HPLC, FT-IR and TGA. With Scanning electron microscope and infrared spectroscopy, it was possible to observe the degradation of structural components of the fibers, in the form of "spring", from 4 hours of oxidation and changes in the intensities of the bands. According to the Py-GC/MS results, compounds resulting from lignin had been identified and stablished S/G ratio as 0,73. With a lignin Klason content of 26.28% from green coconut fiber and 25.45% from parenchyma. The best conditions of ozone treatment were determined to be the fiber with no addition of reagents for 4 hours under oxidation as determined by the increase of glucose content in the hydrolysate to 45.96 % after acid hydrolysis of ozone treated fibers. / An?lises qu?micas e estruturais dos produtos de biomassa tropical tem se tornado um potencial interesse para produ??o de novos produtos que agreguem valores sustent?veis, dentre eles, os biocombust?veis. Res?duos de coco se tornam promissores pois n?o competem com a ind?stria aliment?cia e podem ser transformados em um produto de maior valor agregado visto serem de origem lignocelul?sica. Nesse contexto, os cocos verdes foram separados entre fibra e par?nquima e por conseguinte, caracterizados a n?vel anat?mico para que melhor pudesse ser compreendido a rela??o do tratamento utilizado para deslignifica??o; no caso, a ozon?lise, assim como as altera??es qu?micas e composicionais da parede celular. Para acessar os carboidratos, a lignina precisa ser removida, portanto foi explorado as mudan?as induzidas pelo oz?nio sob condi??es de pH; atrav?s adi??o de ?cido ac?tico e hidr?xido de s?dio, e tempo. O tratamento com oz?nio em solu??o de ?gua biodeionizada foi conduzido em pH 3, 5 e 8 por 2, 4 e 6 horas a temperatura de 25?C. As an?lises foram realizadas com amostras anteriores e posteriores ? rea??o de ozon?lise, investigando as altera??es dos polissacar?deos e da lignina com as seguintes t?cnicas: MEV, Pi-GC/MS, CLAE, FT-IR e TGA. De acordo com a Microscospia eletr?nica de varredura e Espectroscopia de infravermelho, foi poss?vel observar a degrada??o dos componentes estruturais das fibras, em forma de ?mola?, a partir de 4 horas de oxida??o e altera??es nas intensidades das bandas respecivamente. De acordo com a Pi-GC/MS, os derivados da lignina foram identificados e estabelecido uma rela??o S/G de 0,73 para fibra. O teor de lignina de Klason foi de 26,28% para a fibra e 25,45% para o par?nquima. Em visto disso, chegou-se a conclus?o que a melhor condi??o de tratamento com oz?nio foi obtido com as fibras sem adi??o de reagente sob 4 horas de exposi??o ao agente oxidante, determinado pelo aumento do teor de glicose a 45,96%.

Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de: 1) determinar a influência da tensão de oxigênio na viabilidade das células do cumulus oriundas de oócitos caninos maturados em meio com alta concentração de glicose (11,0 mM); 2) determinar a taxa de maturação in vitro de oócitos caninos mantidos em meio contendo altas concentrações de glicose (11,0 mM), bem como avaliar o efeito da tensão de oxigênio sobre a taxa de maturação in vitro de oócitos caninos; 3) determinar a influência da adição de água de coco em pó (ACP-318®) ao meio de maturação com alta concentração de glicose (11,0 mM) na taxa de maturação in vitro de oócitos caninos. O meio de maturação usado nos experimentos foi TCM 199 suplementado com 26,19 mM de bicarbonato de sódio, 50 μg/ml de gentamicina, 0,20 mM de ácido pirúvico, 20 μg/ml de estradiol, 0,5 μg/ml de FSH e 0,03 UI/ml hCG. O meio de maturação era modificado de acordo com a proposta experimental apresentada. Os resultados do primeiro experimento mostraram diferença estatística nas taxas de apoptose nas células do cumulus entre os três grupos avaliados. Foi concluído que células do cumulus oriundas de COCs caninos cultivados em meio contendo altas concentrações de glicose apresentaram significativamente menos apoptose do que as cultivadas em meio com soro fetal bovino, e que a baixa tensão de oxigênio foi eficiente em reduzir a ocorrência de apoptose nas células do cumulus. No segundo experimento deste estudo, os índices mais elevados (p < 0,001) de oócitos degenerados foram obtidos, quando TCM 199 era suplementado com 10 % de FCS. Uma influência positiva sobre a retomada de meiose e aquisição de metáfase I (MI) foi observada quando os oócitos caninos foram maturados em meio livre de soro e com altas concentrações de glicose. Foi concluído que a adição de FCS ao meio de maturação de oócitos caninos resulta em altas taxas de degeneração dos oócitos e que a redução da tensão de oxigênio não resultou em melhora da taxa de maturação nuclear dos oócitos caninos. Os resultados obtidos no terceiro experimento mostraram que nos grupos experimentais cujo meio foi suplementado com ACP-318®, houve melhora significativa (p < 0,05) na taxa de maturação nuclear dos oócitos caninos. Oócitos maturados em meio suplementado com 5% de ACP-318® mostraram-se menos susceptíveis a alterações na configuração típica da cromatina que os maturados com 10% de ACP-318® no meio de maturação. Os resultados sugerem que tanto a integridade da morfologia nuclear, como a progressão da meiose dos oócitos caninos são positivamente influenciadas quando estes são expostos ao TCM 199 com alta concentração de glicose e suplementado com 5% de ACP-318®. / This study was designed: 1) determine the influence of oxygen tension on cumulus cell (CC) viability from canine oocytes in vitro matured in high glucose medium (11.0 mM); 2) determine the influence of two oxygen tensions on the nuclear maturation of canine oocytes in vitro matured in high glucose medium (11.0 mM); 3) determine the influence of powdered coconut water (ACP-318®) diluted in high glucose (11.0 mM) TCM199 in the achievement of nuclear in vitro maturation (IVM) of canine oocytes. Basic medium used in the experiments was TCM 199 suplemented with 26.19 mM sodium bicarbonate, 50 μg/ml gentamicin, 0.20 mM piruvic acid, 20 μg/ml oestradiol, 0.5 μg/ml FSH and 0.03 IU/ml hCG. Maturation medium was modified following the beyond described experimental proposals. The results of the first experiment showed that there was statistical difference in the rate of CCs apoptosis among the three groups. It was concluded that CCs of canine COCs cultured in high-glucose medium showed significantly less apoptosis than those cultured in medium with FCS. Low O2 tension was efficient in reducing apoptosis in canine CCs. In the second experiment of this study, the highest rates (p < 0.001) of degenerated oocytes were achieved when TCM 199 was added with 10% FCS. A positive influence on the meiosis resumption and on the MI acquisition rate was observed when canine oocytes were matured in defined high-glucose medium. It was concluded that the addition of FCS in the maturation medium of canine oocytes result in a high level of degenerated oocytes, and that the low level of oxygen tension did not improve the nuclear maturation of canine oocytes. The results achieved on the third experiment showed that in the experimental groups with the medium supplemented with ACP-318® (groups 2 and 3) enhanced the rates of oocytes’ nuclear maturation (p < 0.05). Ooocytes matured in medium added with 5% powdered coconut water (ACP-318®) were less prone to deviation of typical chromatin configuration than those matured in medium added with 10% ACP-318®. The results suggest that oocytes’ nuclear morphology integrity and meiosis achievement were positively influenced when exposed to high glucose TCM199 supplemented with 5% powdered coconut water.

A ingestão de alimentos que, além de fornecerem a nutrição, promovem a saúde, como os alimentos funcionais adicionados de probióticos, que auxiliam no equilíbrio da microbiota intestinal, é de vital importância. Em virtude do crescente interesse da indústria e da comunidade científica por novos produtos probióticos, o desenvolvimento de uma sobremesa láctea que permita a adição de probióticos, como o manjar branco, é promissor. O presente trabalho visou desenvolver um manjar branco com a adição dos microrganismos potencialmente probióticos, Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei e/ou Bifidobacterium longum, adicionados isoladamente e em co-cultura, e avaliar o comportamento dos probióticos e as características do produto ao longo do seu armazenamento refrigerado. Quatro tratamentos de manjar branco foram produzidos (com 3 repetições cada): T1 (controle - sem a adição de culturas), T2 (com Bifidobacterium longum), T3 (com Lactobacillus paracasei) e T4 (com B. longum + L. paracasei). O produto foi avaliado sensorialmente (após 7, 14 e 21 dias de armazenamento a 4±1°C, através de escala hedônica estruturada, com 24 provadores não treinados em cada período) e, durante o seu armazenamento por até 28 dias, microbiologicamente quanto à viabilidade dos probióticos e à contagem de contaminantes (coliformes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp. e bolores e leveduras) e quanto às suas características físico químicas (umidade, pH) e de textura instrumental. Durante o armazenamento dos produtos por 28 dias, as populações médias de L. paracasei aumentaram de 6,6 para 8,6 log UFC/g e de 6,4 para 7,3 log UFC/g, para T3 e T4, respectivamente. B. longum revelou populações sempre entre 7,3 e 7,5 log UFC/g e entre 7,1 e 7,5 log UFC/g para T2 e T4, respectivamente. O manjar T3 resultou em uma redução mais acentuada do pH (p<0,05), mas a umidade não foi significativamente distinta para os diferentes produtos (p>0,05). A firmeza de todos os tratamentos de manjar branco estudados aumentou ao longo do armazenamento e o manjar T2 apresentou menor firmeza a partir de 14 dias de armazenamento. No entanto, essa diferença não foi observada durante a análise sensorial do manjar branco para nenhum dos tratamentos. De fato, a avaliação sensorial não detectou diferenças evidentes da adição de culturas isoladas ou em co-cultura de bifidobacteria e L. paracasei nas características sensoriais. Não foi observada nenhuma diferença significativa entre os tratamentos (p = 0,06) durante o período de vida-de-prateleira de 21 dias (p = 0,24). Entretanto, foi observada uma tendência de melhores notas para os manjares adicionados de microrganismos probióticos, comparados ao manjar branco controle e uma tendência de redução das notas quando ambos os microrganismos foram adicionados. A adição de Lactobacillus paracasei e Bifidobacterium longum ao manjar branco resultou em um produto potencialmente probiótico e com excelentes atributos sensoriais, particularmente quando a adição das culturas foi realizada individualmente. / The ingestion of foods that promote health in addition to providing basic nutrition, like foods supplemented with probiotics cultures, which may exert a positive effect on the gut indigenous microbiota is becoming increasingly important. The development of a non-fermented dairy dessert which allows the supplementation with probiotics, like coconut flan, appears to be a good option, due to the growing interest that food companies and the scientific community have demonstrated in new probiotic products. The present research aimed to study the viability of Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei and Bifidobacterium longum, added as single cultures or in co-culture, in coconut flan supplemented with these potentially probiotic cultures and to evaluate the behavior of the probiotics and the features of the product during refrigerated storage. Coconut flans were produced with no addition of cultures (T1 - control), or supplemented with Bifidobacterium longum (T2), Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei (T3) and B. longum + L. paracasei (T4). The products were sensory evaluated (after 7, 14 and 21 days of storage, at 4±1°C, employing a structured hedonic scales, with 24 untrained panelists at each period) and monitored microbiologically for the viability of the probiotics and the counts of contaminants (coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., yeasts and moulds), as well as for their instrumental texture profile and their physicochemical features (pH, moisture) through the 28 days of storage at 4±1ºC. During storage of the products for 28 days, the mean populations of L. paracasei increased from 6.6 to 8.6 log CFU/g and from 6.4 to 7.3 log CFU/g, for T3 and T4, respectively. B. longum presented populations always between 7.3 and 7.5 log CFU/g, and between 7.1 and 7.5 log CFU/g for T2 and T4, respectively. Coconut flan T3 underwent higher decreases in pH values (P<0,05). On the other hand, moisture showed no significant differences (P>0,05) between trials and during the shelf life period. The firmness of all coconut flans studied increased during storage, and coconut flan T2 presented lower firmness after 14 days of storage. Nevertheless, this difference was not detected during the sensory evaluation of coconut flans. In fact, the sensory analyses did not shown marked differences from the addition of probiotic cultures of bifidobacteria and L. paracasei as single cultures or in co-culture, on sensory features. No significant differences between trials (P=0,06) and during the 21 days of shelf life period (P=0,24) were detected. However, a tendency of better scores for the coconut flans supplemented with the probiotic microorganisms, compared with the control product, and a tendency of reduction of scores when both microorganisms were presented in the coconut flan formulation were observed. The supplementation of coconut flans with Lactobacillus paracasei and Bifidobacterium longum resulted in great potential as a functional food, and with high sensory acceptability, particularly when single cultures were employed.

Cashew nut and coconut shells are two potential renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources that are commonly found as agro-industrial wastes in tropical countries. Despite this fact, they are not yet widely studied as such. Given this lack of specific technical and reliable data, technologies for their conversion into energy cannot be designed with confidence as it happens with other commonly studied biomass feedstock. Thus, the need to generate these data guided this research in order to provide technical information for the designing of appropriate thermochemical conversion technologies for energy generation, particularly, in remote areas, where electricity grid is neither a feasible nor an affordable solution.Among thermochemical processes, pyrolysis plays a key role as it is found in both combustion and gasification at their earlier stages. In both technologies, pyrolysis products are generated and later submitted to further transformations according to the process in use.Hence, pyrolysis was selected for thermal characterisation of cashew nut and coconut shells. The main characteristics envisaged are i) pyrolysis profiles; ii) global, semi-global and individual kinetics; iii) pyrolysis global and individual yields; iv) modelled pyrolysis yields at high heating rates; and, v)char combustion kinetics and reactivity. The main technique used for experimental data generation is thermogravimetry and FTIR spectroscopy. Data experimentally generated from TG and TG-FTIR experiments were processed through different methods and codes, such as the Coats and Redfern model-fitting method, the modelfree methods of Ozawa-Flynn-Wall, Friedman and ASTM E698, for semi-global and global kinetics; DAEM and FG-Biomass were used for pyrolysis individual kinetics and yields determination. Proximate and ultimate analyses were performed as well.The study revealed peculiar characteristics compared to the commonly known lignocellulosic biomass. The volatiles content was above 66%w/w; hemicelluloses DTG peak did not overlap with the cellulose peak; the global pyrolysis activation energies were around 200 and 120 kJ/mol for coconut and cashew nut shells, respectively. Hemicelluloses and cellulose showed varying activation energies as 130-216 and 155-208 kJ/mol, respectively. Char combustion showed two steps with activation energies of 135 and 121 kJ/mol (cashew nut shells); 105 and 190kJ/mol (coconut shells). Individual yields and kinetics were determined for 17 compounds, including tars. These data are of key importance for modelling and the consequent data generation for the designing of appropriate thermochemical energy for these biomasses. / QC 20100914

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Victoria University of Wellington, [2008] / Includes bibliographical references.

The coconut rhinoceros beetle, an economically important pest of coconut and oil palms, is effectively managed by application of its natural pathogen, the Oryctes nudivirus (OrNV), which act as a bioinsecticide. While this approach offers an environment-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides, the current method of production in infected larvae suffers from inconsistencies in virus productivity and purity. While the anchorage-dependent DSIR-HA-1179 insect cell line has been identified as a susceptible and permissive host for OrNV and therefore would be suitable for the in vitro mass production of the virus, no attempts have been made toward the mass production of the virus, because of the technological challenges that working with DSIR-HA-1179 cells represent. Thus, the main objective of this research was to develop processes for the in vitro production of OrNV in the DSIR-HA-1179 cell line. Knowledge of the growth kinetics and metabolic properties of the host cell line in a chosen culture medium, as well as the selection of an appropriate infection strategy, form the basis for the rational development of bioreactor-based virus production processes. However, characterization of these properties in the DSIR-HA-1179 cell line has been virtually precluded, due to its strongly adherent growth characteristics and the lack of a reliable method to accurately dissociate and count cells grown in monolayers. Using TrypLE™ Express enzyme, a technique allowing the precise counting of cells was developed. The cell line was adapted to grow in four serum-supplemented culture media: TC-100, IPL-41, Sf-900 II and Sf-900 III, which were then individually screened for cell growth and virus production in 25 cm2 attached T-flask cultures. TC-100 supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum was chosen as a suitable culture medium, based on its capacity for achieving a high cell yield and OrNV production. The cell line metabolism was characterized with respect to nutrient consumption and metabolites production in this culture medium. Glucose, along with glutamine were found to be the nutrients that were consumed faster and to a greater extent, while other amino acids were not consumed to a significant degree. The production of metabolites was characterized by non-production of lactate and ammonia, and production of alanine, as a non-toxic alternative to ammonia. The influence of cell density (CD) at time of infection (TOI) and multiplicity of infection (MOI) on OrNV production was evaluated in T-flask cultures that were infected at different CDs at the TOI and a range of MOIs. The CD at TOI was found to significantly influence OrNV yields, while MOI influenced the dynamics of infection. The cell density effect was found to exist for the DSIR-HA-1179/OrNV system with the progressive decline in cell-specific yield beginning at low cell densities. It was found that in order to maximize OrNV volumetric yield, a combination of MOI and CD at TOI should be selected that allows to keep the maximum cell density reached by the infected culture within a range between 5.0 and 7.0 x 105 viable cells/ml. The roller bottle system was evaluated for its potential to scale-up DSIR-HA-1179 cell growth and OrNV production, and culture parameters were optimized for the improvement of cell and virus yields. An inoculum density of 3.3 x 105 cells/ml and culture volume of 60 ml resulted in the highest cell yield of 1.5 x 106 cells/ml, in 490 cm2 roller bottles. It was found that an optimal infection strategy for roller bottle cultures, which represented the most efficient use of viral inoculum, involved infecting cells at a density of 5.0 x 105 cells/ml and at a MOI of 1. The resulting OrNV volumetric yield of 2.5 x108 TCID50/ml, improved significantly the viral yields obtained in attached T-flask cultures infected under similar conditions (6.8 x 107 TCID50/ml). The microcarrier system was also evaluated for culturing DSIR-HA-1179 cells and producing OrNV in spinner flask bioreactors. Three types of microcarriers (Cytodex-1, Cytodex-3 and Cultispher-G microcarriers) were screened for their ability to support DSIR-HA-1179 growth. Cells attached to Cytodex-1 and 3, but failed to attach to Cultispher-G microcarriers. The final cell density reached in microcarrier culture was dependent on bead type and concentration, and the cell to bead ratio. At an optimal bead concentration of 1 mg/ml and cell to bead ratio of 30, cells grew to a maximum density of 1.7 x 106 cells/ml on Cytodex-1, but only to 1.3 x 106 cells/ml on Cytodex-3 microcarriers. Since it supported higher cell yields, Cytodex-1 was chosen to study the kinetics of OrNV production in this system. Microcarrier cultures infected at a cell density of 5.0 x 105 cells/ml and a MOI of 1, produced OrNV at 1.4 x 108 TCID50/ml, which was higher than the yield obtained in T-flask cultures infected under similar conditions. A framework of knowledge on the physiology, metabolism and growth kinetics of the DSIR-HA-1179 insect cell line has been developed in this thesis. In addition, the feasibility of using roller bottles and microcarrier systems for the in vitro production of the virus has been ascertained. It is envisaged that these findings will contribute to the future development of a large-scale industrial process for the production of the OrNV biopesticide.

Problem of the Study: Non-traditional, value-added coconut products, such as Virgin Coconut Oil, Coco Water and Coco Sugar, have increased tremendously the last few years and the end-consumer pay a high price in retail for these considered luxury products. However, there is no abundance or indulgence in the life of the farmers and small producers in the Philippines at the other end of this global billion-dollar industry. Purpose of the Thesis: The purpose of this study is to describe, analyse and define the export network, and the roles of the actors, of the value-added coconut products in the Philippines as well as locate the origin of the single or combined problems that have led to struggling industry suppliers, and through that identify possible solutions which can increase the economic viability of the suppliers. Methodology: This study has been conducted as a case study, where the empirical findings was collected during an 8 weeks long field trip to the Philippines. A qualitative approach was adapted in order to create a deeper understanding of the problem and abduction made this possible. Six semi-structured interviews and one in-depth interview were executed. The majority of the data was collected through these interviews, although participating observation was also an important source of information along with secondary data. The validity and reliability has been secured by carefully explaining the methodology of the study, interviewing several different actors, following a interview guide and by separately interpreting the the primary data before comparing them with each other. Conclusions: The study showed that the Philippine coconut industry network is far from centreless. The government and MNCs play the biggest roles in the network, meanwhile the farmers and small producers have a very small part in the export activities of value-added coconut products. In order for the existing inequalities within the network, in both influence and profit shares, to be resolved farmers and small producers need increased support to be able to engage in value-added production, reach collaborative advantage and get access to direct export channels.

Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1938. Bibliography: leaves 150-158.

Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1951. Bibliography: leaves [98]-103.