Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Huston Gibson / Green infrastructure is a new term with old principles that address the protection of valuable open space through the use of connected natural areas. Through implementation of green infrastructure, communities can experience environmental, social, and economical benefits such as increased biodiversity, improved human health, and increased property values. In order to determine the specific opportunities and constraints municipalities face when implementing green infrastructure, MetroGreen was examined. MetroGreen is a greenways plan for the Kansas City Metropolitan area. The plan was studied as a whole, as well as in more detail in two different municipalities: Platte County, MO and Lenexa, KS. Eight planners, landscape architects, Park and Recreation employees, and public administrators involved with MetroGreen were interviewed to document their experiences. From these interviews three categories were identified as being closely related to successful implementation of regional green infrastructure: management, education, and funding. It was found that in order to implement green infrastructure successfully, leadership of a civic-advisory group, private entity, or non-profit organization is needed; regional dedicated funding is crucial; principles should relate to broader societal issues such as storm water and health; partnerships should be created at all levels through city, county, and citizen organizations to aid in connectivity; and public support can contribute a significant amount to the progress made. These findings serve as an analysis of regional implementation of green infrastructure, in order for professionals and community members to learn from the experiences of MetroGreen.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Deborah D. Canter / Junehee Kwon / Food allergies affect 1 in 25 school-aged children in the U.S., and Child Nutrition Professionals (CNPs) need more vigilance serving them. To assess CNPs’ knowledge, attitudes about food allergies including barriers to providing food allergy training, as well as current training practices; an online survey was conducted with randomly selected 1,500 CNPs nationwide. The survey instrument was developed based on focus groups, pilot-tested, and sent to the sample via email. About 24% or 340 CNPs completed the survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics including hierarchical and logistic regressions were calculated using SPSS. A majority of respondents currently provide allergen free meals in their districts (n=256). The mean food allergy knowledge score of CNPs was 31.9 (Standard Deviation=3.3) of 39. Respondents scored lowest on recognizing symptoms of food allergic reactions and understanding food allergen-related terminology. Years of managerial experience and previous food allergy training were positively associated with the knowledge scores. Most participants viewed food allergy as an important issue, but they faced challenges fulfilling last-minute allergen-free meal requests and purchasing allergen-free products. Sixty percent (n=200) did not provide any food allergy training. Of those who provided some sorts of training (n=140), the training was provided in groups (n=96), “one-on-one” basis (n=30), or combination of both methods (n=14). The employees were trained annually (n=76), once a year if they worked directly with the students with food allergies (n=52), and/or when they were newly hired (n=33). Lack of time and funding were barriers to providing food allergy training. Previous food allergic reactions and regulatory requirements served as cues to providing food allergy training. Previous food allergy training, knowledge, and self-efficacy were factors differentiating if food allergy training had or had not been provided in past 12 months. Systematic and regular food allergy training may be needed to ensure allergen-free meals are properly prepared. Food allergy training for CNPs to improve knowledge and self-efficacy may increase food allergy training at school food service establishments.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Deborah Canter / Junehee Kwon / Foodborne illnesses are a challenge, especially in ethnic restaurants partly because of differences in food handling practices and ethnic cultures. Chinese restaurants, representing the largest number of ethnic restaurants in the U.S., have unique food safety challenges. This study investigated variables including Chinese cultural values (CCVs) that influence U.S. Chinese restaurateurs’ behavioral intention regarding food safety training. The qualitative study, individual interviews with 20 Chinese restaurateurs, found 17 major CCVs that are important to participants. Most participants felt satisfied with previous health inspections, but several expressed difficulty with understanding health inspectors’ instructions and the reports. A limited number of participants provided food safety training mainly because it was required by law. Lack of money, time, labor, energy, and perceived needs for food safety training were major obstacles to providing food safety training in Chinese restaurants. The quantitative study assessed behavioral intention to provide food safety training and the influencing factors including CCVs using the instrument developed based on the qualitative study. Sample included 500 Chinese restaurateurs across the U.S., and 261 provided usable data. Among 17 CCVs, respondents perceived “courtesy” (6.95±0.24), “respect” (6.87±0.47), and “harmony” (6.85±0.41) as most important. The opinions of customers (5.74±1.71), family members (5.73±1.60), and business partners (5.49±1.57) were considered most important. Barriers to providing food safety training included employees’ physical exhaustion (5.89±1.58), employees’ learning capabilities (4.80±1.97), and financial resources (4.56±2.19). Of five CCV factors identified, CCVs pertaining to customer relations (β=0.133, p<.05) and interpersonal relations (β=0.320, p<.001) were significantly associated with behavioral intention to provide food safety training. Additional factors influencing food safety training intention were, personal influence (Fchange=3.98, p<.05), perceived barriers (Fchange=6.42, p<.05), and past experiences (Fchange=21.78, p<.001). Among participants, the males (t =2.97, p<.05) valued customer relations, whereas the females (t =5.52, p<.001) valued interpersonal relations. Chinese restaurateurs with bachelor’s degrees or higher (F=5.905, p<.01) had greater intentions to provide food safety training than others. Manual-based food safety training (6.17±1.23) in Chinese (6.13±1.33) was preferred by the respondents. Future research should evaluate if recommendations from this study have positive influences on food safety training at Chinese restaurants.

Master of Public Health / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Deon Van der Merwe / Cyanobacteria are Gram-negative photosynthetic bacteria capable of producing toxins responsible for morbidity and mortality in humans and domestic animals. Many are capable of forming concentrated blooms that impact the environment by limiting the growth of sub-surface plants and phytoplankton. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are also capable of producing multiple types of toxins, creating a potential hazard to recreational water users and animals drinking water from or near a bloom. Characterization of HABs is necessary to prevent these human and animal exposures and includes classifying of the type of cyanobacteria present and whether or not they are capable of toxin production, and the exact type of cyanotoxin that is actually present in bloom. Current methods used to classify cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins include microscopy, bioassays, ELISA, PCR, HPLC, and LC/MS. All of these methods, however, have limitations that include time, labor intensity, or cost. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) is another potential tool for cyanobacterial classification that is not limited by these factors. To examine the practicality of this method, library screening with default software algorithms was performed on diagnostic samples received at the Kansas State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, followed by PCA of samples meeting minimum quality requirements to produce cluster analyses and dendrograms. Both spectrometers and software packages used were successful at distinguishing cyanobacteria from green algae in clean samples with 89.13% agreement. PCA resulted in clear classification of cyanobacteria or green algae demonstrated by a large order of magnitude difference produced by average Euclidian distance dendrograms. While this method is only capable of differentiating cyanobacteria from green algae or other aquatic environmental constituents, its simple, rapid use and low cost make it a beneficial screening tool when coupled with toxin-detection methods to characterize HABs.

Doctor of Philosophy / Food Science / Justin Kastner / Many Chinese aquaculture farmers use unapproved chemicals to treat their fish, many of which are diseased as a result of the country’s poor waste management and environmental practices. During 2006-2007, the United States (U.S.), the European Union, and Japan rejected large amounts of Chinese seafood imports due to the presence of unapproved chemicals or the presence of approved chemicals at concentrations that exceeded permitted levels. This dissertation examines the sources of environmental health and food safety problems in China; it also examines how effective the U.S. and Chinese governments’ regulations are in protecting consumers from hazards in Chinese aquaculture products. The study looks at specific chemical contaminants found in Chinese aquaculture imports, explores their potential toxicity or carcinogenicity, and examines the reasons for their prohibition from human food. The study exploits the available U.S. seafood consumption patterns (courtesy of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey—NHANES—database) and then uses probabilistic modeling (courtesy of CREMe Software Limited) to determine the extent to which specific sensitive U.S. consumer subpopulations were exposed to aquaculture chemical contaminants in the food supply in a contrived scenario using real consumption data (from NHANES) and actual contamination data (from the FDA). The study compares exposure between children and adult consumers, and also looks at exposure among women aged 18 years and older and the elderly aged 60 years and older. This study suggests a strong likelihood that NHANES children, as well as female consumers aged 18 years and older and elderly consumers aged 60 years and older, were (in the contrived scenario) all exposed to violative intake levels of chemical contaminants from Chinese aquaculture imports. Children forming the 99.5th and 99.9th percentiles of NHANES seafood consumers were exposed to higher levels of nitrofuran, gentian violet, and malachite green contaminants per kilogram of body weight than were their adult counterparts. Conversely, children were exposed to lower levels of fluoroquinolone contaminants per kilogram of body weight than were their adult counterparts. The 50th, 95th, and 99.9th percentiles of female consumers aged 18 and older and elderly consumers aged 60 years and older were exposed to violative daily intake levels of contaminants in Chinese aquaculture. The study concludes by examining what the U.S. and Chinese governments should do to address aquaculture safety.

Master of Landscape Architecture or Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Timothy Keane / Kansas City is expecting a 25% growth in population by 2050. This design proposal promotes West Bottoms as a potential area to house some of the new population, and more importantly supply a live and work community for these people. West Bottoms is also home to major industry in Kansas City as well as an up and coming art culture. West Bottoms has great potential for a community that allows the existing and new population to be a part of a live-work-play community with the vacancies in the area. The projected population growth is expected to promote sprawl, further increasing the average driving time to the city. West Bottoms currently has few connections to the downtown and offers few reasons to come to the area. These connections are mainly major bridges or highways. Another issue West Bottoms faces is flooding problems from OK Creek and Turkey Creek, which lead into the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. Finally, post and present industrial soil contamination threatens the groundwater. When mixed with flooding concerns, this contamination is potentially harmful for the health of downstream cities. Drawing inspiration from travels, Kansas City charm, plants, art, and water storage, case studies were researched. Themes from each case study were quantified. These themes paired with inventory and analysis of the West Bottoms provided the basis for the design proposed here. The successional design of the area will progress from a contaminated landscape to a landscape that holds floodwater. The final design holds all of the stormwater from the 100 year 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hour rain events. The final design incorporates areas of learning, a variety of paths and seating, a live-work-play community, clean and creative industry, and an art culture that sustains the excitement for the timeline of succession. Overtime this landscape will evolve into a new destination for Kansas City using an integrated solution remediating the soil and holding flood waters as an amenity for the new population.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Environmental Design & Planning Program / Lee R. Skabelund / The Restorative Urban Design (RUD) calls for a new urban design and planning approach targeting environmentally responsible re/development of urbanized areas through ecologically responsive impact mitigations. If implemented in a systematic manner, such re/developments can help move urban areas toward the successful restoration of the natural environment of which they are an inseparable part. The RUD model advocates more rigorous assessment and mitigation of urban impacts by carefully evaluating the environmental performance of urban re/developments within five primary dimensions: Atmosphere (emissions, pollutants, ozone depletion); Hydrosphere (stormwater, domestic water, wastewater); Lithosphere (land use, land cover, food and wastes); Ecology (habitat resilience, biodiversity, population and resources); and Energy (renewability, reduction and efficiency, transportation). The model relies on a scenario-comparison process in order to evaluate and optimize the performance of urban re/development projections through four critical scenarios, which are respectively: 1) Natural Baseline (NBASE); 2) Historic Progression (HPROG); 3) Trajectory Forecast (TFORE); and 4) Restorative Projection (RPROJ). The RUD Case Study illustrates how the principles and strategies of Restorative Urban Design can be applied specifically to a typical (densely developed) urban area, namely River North District in Chicago Metropolitan Area. The case study focuses exclusively on mitigation of a single critical human impact on the natural environment: Anthropogenic CO₂ Emissions. The case study focuses on the design assumptions by which the restorative urban re/development scenarios might exceed beyond the full mitigation of emissions into the global remediation by 2040. The restorative projections illustrate that only a certain portion of emissions can be effectively mitigated onsite (5 to 55%), and that the remainder of projected emissions (45 to 95%) need to be mitigated offsite in order to achieve the necessary sequestration and storage. The restorative research suggests that the mitigation of major human impacts on the natural environment – not only CO₂ emissions but also other major impacts – are likely to require significant urban transformations. Moving beyond the strategies of preservation and/or conservation, the restorative approach asserts that comprehensive environmental restoration is achievable if urban impacts are adequately estimated and then entirely mitigated onsite as well as offsite through a systematic process of urban re/development.