This thesis enhances our understanding of the British Kitchen Front through the examination of primary sources from Mass Observation Archive. It illuminates the everyday life of civilians, the impact of the war food restrictions on their eating habits and practices, but also on their perspectives and behaviours. Moreover, it argues that while the food practices of these civilians were modified by the wartime rationing and food scarcity, other factors of influence, namely social class, personal and familial circumstances and time were critical regarding eating habits, food choice and priorities. In order to conduct this research and respond to the difficulties presented by the sources examined, a tailor-made method of data extraction, categorisation and analysis has been designed. Using the advantages of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this method allowed an unusual quantitative treatment of massive qualitative data, the creation of measurable and comparable figures as well as their qualitative contextualisation. It was found that scarcity of food effectively modified the diet of the diarists, but also their actions and perspective. The food difficulties generated new behaviours, some unlikely to have existed prior to the war, and modified relationships. The value of food changed as well, modifying its role in private and public sphere. However, as argued, the social class and the familial status of the diarists were a key dimension of the management and perception of the food situation, influencing their choice, decision and priorities as well as their response to it. The passing of time also proved to be influential regarding the adaptation and the evolution of the opinion and feelings of the diarists. Rather than drastically challenging the existent literature, the present research suggests that some interpretative differences concerning the Home Front experience could be the result of a variation of focus and of sources employed, indicating the need to enlarge the historical perspective, to include more in depth analysis of qualitative data, and to take into account the factors of influence presented into this work.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 100 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-91).

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Gothenburg, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-131).

The term "Food Crops" as used in this thesis embraces Root Crops (which are generally referred to as "Ground Provisions" in Barbados), Fruit trees, Vegetables, and Seasonings. There are many types of these food crops cultivated in Barbados and it would be beyond the scope of this work to treat the cultivation of all of them in detail. All that shall be attempted therefore is a consideration of those crops commonly cultivated on the island. [...]

No description available.

New and emerging virus species are becoming an increasing threat to our way of life economically and physically. Plant viruses are particularly significant as they affect our food supply and are capable of rapidly spreading to new plant species. Geminiviruses are a group of viruses that highlight this phenomenon well. Indeed Geminiviruses are some of the earliest recorded plant viruses being described as far back as 752 AD in a Japanese poem written to describe geminivirus symptoms in eupatorium leaves (Saunders et al.,2003). More recently, and in a more threatening manner, Geminiviruses have adapted to infect key crop species such as maize, sugarcane, tomatoes, beet and many more. An example of this is the introduction of grasses such as Maize into Africa, which allowed a species jump for mastreviruses, which were endemic in native grasses (Varsani et al.,2008a). Over a relatively short period of evolutionary time a number of new Geminiviruses have emerged, making them a good model for understanding the evolution and spread of new plant pathogens. The economic importance of Geminiviruses also makes an understanding of their mechanisms of adaptation crucial in preventing new emergence and minimising the impact of current strains.

No description available.

When grain production falls short of consumption expectations in self-provisioning households, a range of responses is possible. How each household selects from and manages these responses provides the theoretical and empirical focus of this thesis. Several problematic issues in the 'coping strategies' literature are addressed, including questions of response sequencing and 'discrete stages', the timing of asset sales for food, and the relationship between consumption protecting and consumption modifying strategies. Among other theoretical advances, criteria for response sequencing are identified which explain decisions about which assets to sell for food, and when, in terms of each asset's expected return rather than its immediate 'entitlement' value. This thesis is grounded in fieldwork conducted in the West African semi-arid tropics, a region characterised by seasonally, agricultural risk and market imperfections. Drought and armyworms undermined crop production in the fieldwork village in 1987/8. The community is highly stratified economically, and striking cross-sectional contrasts in household behaviour and nutritional outcomes were observed. Food secure households practice demographic, agronomic and economic diversification, which provide access to sources of food and income that are not correlated to local economic fluctuations. Consumption insecure households have narrower options and respond to production deficits by wealth depletion (asset monetisation, debt acquisition) and severe food rationing. Responses to production deficits are not confined to strategies for acquiring food. Multiple objectives - economic, nutritional and social - are retained. Nutritional adjustments are motivated by intertemporal economic priorities. The poorest households protected their assets and rationed consumption most severely: the cost of consuming resources rises as the number and value of assets owned falls. Within households, nutritional surveillance revealed that adults rationed their food consumption earlier and more severely than their children. Adult anthropometric status may therefore be a more robust predictor of food insecurity and economic stress than child anthropometry.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-111). Also available on the World Wide Web.