This thesis is an investigation of the Buy Local food movement which has become a motivating factor for producers, consumers, and community organizations. The growth of this sector has taken place in the context of a differentiated food system, one in which alternative rural food economies are intertwined with industrial “placeless” agriculture. Producers operating in the food system are exploring local food economies as part of their enterprise development trajectories. Although there are many perceived benefits to a local food system, producers often face challenges in managing multiple aspects of production and marketing. Numerous organizations have stepped in to act as intermediaries, providing producers with resources and promoting local food with media campaigns, local food maps, and special events. Intermediary organizations have varying levels of capacity that often changes as the organization evolves to adapt to available funding, community support, and stakeholder involvement. This work expands the theoretical and empirical work on local food systems in two ways. First, it incorporates work by Quinn and Cameron (1983) and Jawahar and McLaughlin (2001) on organizational lifecycle stages with current work on local food organizations. This provides a unique way of understanding the capacity of an organization to meet identified goals and work well within their communities. Second, the work expands upon the notion of hybridity in the food system, introduced by Ilbery and Maye (2006), and provides empirical evidence of such activity. The research draws upon interviews with 32 producers and 18 organizing members to examine the characteristics, structure, and relations of two local food organizations and producers using the Buy Local Buy Fresh brand in Southern Ontario to examine the characteristics and relations of local food organizations and producers and further to explore the marketing and enterprise strategies of producers participating in the local food initiatives supported by the two organizations. Findings from this study indicate several key factors that are important for building a strong local food organization capable of meeting the needs of its stakeholders. Producers are showing an increased interest in garnering support from regional intermediary organizations, therefore there is a strong interest in strengthening the capacity to grow and support the diverse local food economy.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2004. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

In a time where fast trends and shorter product lifecycles are dominating the clothing industryfashion companies must constantly deliver revolutionary products in order to survive. Theconsumers are more demanding than ever before and collections that used to be released twicea year are almost nothing but a memory lost. Some companies are now releasing theircollections continuously and have abandoned the seasons completely. Media has put attentionon the speed that the fashion industry is moving in now and asks whether we can expect it toimplode?The purpose of the thesis is to establish how the creative process in a company operating onthe Swedish or the Danish clothing market is affected by external factors i.e. the everdecreasing life span of products and consumers becoming increasingly savvy, amongst manyother factors. It also attempts to determine whether what the media is broadcasting isconsistent with how designers experience the evolution of the clothing industry in this area orthe world.This study is conducted using a qualitative research method with a deductive approach. Basedon the theories collected empirics were formed relating to the subject. The empirics werecreated through qualitative interviews conducted with respondents from four differentcompanies. The companies and the respondents have been chosen with a non-probableselection in order to obtain varied and relevant empirics. The data gathered from theseinterviews was then analyzed and compared to the chosen theory to ascertain patterns ofsimilarities or dissimilarities.The drawn conclusion is that the creativity suffers on account of many different factors, forexample; stress, organizational structure, freedom within the organization and sales. Theworry that has been expressed in the media is justified and the workload has partly increased.The study also showed that the designers wanted to follow their own path but had to considerthe consumer’s wishes and the demands of the company. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Terfezia pfeilii is an edible mycorrhizal fungus that thrives in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa. It is best known by desert dwellers for its flavour and as a source of nutrition. Although the genus Terfezia is generally regarded as being an ectomycorrhizal mycobiont, the exact mycorrhizal type formed by T. pfeilli and its' associated host plants remains uncertain. Discovery of the host plants for T. pfeilii would first be required in order to further investigate the life cycle and cultivation of this truffle. This study focussed on the isolation of mycelia from the ascocarp, optimising the growth conditions of the mycelial cultures, rapid molecular identification of T. pfeilii, investigation of potential helper bacteria and mycorrhizal synthesis experiments. T. pfeilii ascocarps were harvested from the Spitskop Nature Reserve in Upington, South Africa. Ascocarps were successfully identified using both morphological and molecular methods. Despite the delayed growth mostly caused by contaminating microorganisms, the isolation of T. pfeilii mycelia culture was successful. Molecular techniques were used to confirm the identity of the pure culture. Further studies were conducted on ways to improve the growth conditions of the mycelial culture on Fontana medium. An optimum temperature of 32°C, the addition of Bovine Serum Albumin as a nitrogen source and a pH of 7.5 significantly improved the growth of T. pfeilii in vitro. A rapid PeR-based molecular method was developed to speed up the identification of T. pfeilii. Specific primers that can exclusively amplify the ITS region of T. pfeilii were designed and used to identify both the ascocarps and the mycelial culture. The specificity of these primers was confirmed by their inability to amplify DNA from the isolates of contamining fungi obtained during the isolation process. Molecular comparison was made to confirm the reclassification of South African samples of T. pfeilii as Kalaharituber pfeilii as proposed by Ferdman et al.,(2005). However, in this study, the name T. pfeilii has been retained. A total of 17 bacterial isolates were obtained from the fruiting bodies of T. pfeaii and these were tested for stimulation of mycelial growth in vitro, indole production and phosphate solubilising capabilities. Bacterial isolates that showed potential to be Mycorrhization Helper Bacteria (MHB) were identified as Paenibacillus sp., Bacillus sp. and Rhizobium tropici. Selected plant seedlings were inoculated with T. pfeilii cultures or ascocarp slurry in order to re-establish the mycorrhizal association. After 8 months, light microscopy observations revealed an endomycorrhizal type association between Cynodon dactylon and T. pfeilii. This was confirmed with molecular analysis using specific T. pfeilii ITS primers. After 15 months, molecular methods confirmed Acacia erioloba as another host plant. These results have provided essential information paving the way for further investigation into the life cycle and biology of the Kalahari truffle. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original hard copy / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: What are the definite goals that organisations should strive for in modern-day business? How do we create sustainable competitive advantage in the world of business today? The ideal situation for an organisation is one in which it has important competitive advantages that are sustainable over time. This however is not as easy as a few years ago and the competition is more intense in basically every industry and business sector than it has ever been in the past. The last remaining source of truly sustainable competitive advantage lies in the unique ways in which each organisation structures its work and motivates its people to achieve clearly articulated strategic objectives - strategy is a company's formula for winning. An organisational life cycle model could be defined as a model that identifies a number of discreet stages that a firm goes through as it develops over time, following a growth strategy. Furthermore, the analysis of organisational life cycles, push us to ask new questions about organisations and lead us to take serious the proposition that history and prehistory powerfully shape organisations here and now. It also causes us to rethink the relationship between theory and methods. Despite some arguments on the relevancy of organisational life cycles, or the problems that may exist in the acceptance of organisational life cycle models, there is a strong belief that not only individual organisations, but industries as a whole may benefit from the identification of a valid organisational life cycle model, based on their business. The stages of an organisation's life cycle are predictable and repetitive, therefore enabling management to take proactive preventative measures, enabling them to deal with future problems earlier or avoid them altogether. It is thus evident that, if the life cycle of an organisation can be predicted, it is a right step towards creating a learning organisation, in turn, enhancing the possibility to achieve a higher level of success sooner in its life cycle. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wat is die doelwitte waarna 'n organisasie in die hedendaagse besigheidswêreld moet streef? Hoe ontwikkel ons vandag volhoubare kompeterende voordele in die besigheidswêreld? Die ideale situasie vir 'n organisasie is een waarin hy belangrike kompeterende voordele het wat oor tyd volgehou kan word. Dit is egter nie so maklik soos 'n paar jaar gelede nie en die kompetisie is meer intens in feitlik elke industrie en besigheids-sektor van die mark as ooit te vore. Die laaste oorblywende bron van ware volhoubare kompeterende voordeel, lê in die unieke manier waarop elke organisasie sy werk struktureer en die wyse waarop hy sy mense motiveer om duidelike uiteengesette strategiese doelwitte te bereik - strategie is 'n organisasie se formule vir oorwining. 'n Organisasie se lewensiklusmodel kan gedefiniëer word as 'n model waarvolgens 'n aantal diskrete stadiums, waardeur 'n firma beweeg soos hy oor tyd ontwikkel, indien 'n groeistrategie gevolg word, geïdentifiseer kan word. Verder forseer die analisering van organisasie-lewensiklusse ons om nuwe vrae te vra oor organisasies en skep dit die bewustheid dat die verlede sowel as die toekoms 'n groot rol speel in hoe 'n organisasie vandag daar uitsien. Ook dwing organisasie-lewensiklusse ons om die verhouding tussen teorie en metodes te heroorweeg. Afgesien van sommige redenasies oor die relevansie van organisasie-lewensiklusse, of die probleme wat mag bestaan in die aanvaarding van organisasie-lewensiklus modelle, is daar 'n sterk vertroue dat nie alleenlik individuele organisasies nie, maar industrieë as 'n geheel, kan baat vind by die identifisering van 'n relevante organisasie lewensiklusmodel, gebaseer op hul besondere tipe besigheid. Die stadiums van 'n organisasie se lewensiklus is voorspelbaar en repeterend, en skep dus vir die bestuur van 'n organisasie die geleentheid om proaktiewe maatreëls daar te stel, wat hulle dan in staat stel om toekomstige probleme vroeër te identifiseer of totaal te vermy. Dit is dus duidelik dat, indien die lewensiklus van 'n organisasie voorspel kan word, dit 'n stap in die regte rigting is om 'n dinamiese maatskappy daar te stel, wat op sy beurt dan hoër vlakke van sukses vroeër in sy lewensiklus behoort te bereik. In 'n poging om 'n relevante lewensiklusmodel vir die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf daar te stel, is die eerste vraag om jouself af te vra, "Beskik Suid-Afrikaanse wynkelders oor die historiese inligting benodig om 'n kwantitatiewe lewensiklusmodel saam te stel?" Hoewel nie altyd in die verlangde formaat nie, blyk dit uit die opname dat 'n hoë persentasie historiese data aangaande produksie-syfers (91%), bemarking-syfers (78%), finansiële-syfers (91%) en struktuur (81%) by wynkelders beskikbaar is. Die beskikbaarheid van bruikbare inligting, ouer as tien jaar, is: 65% vir produksie- syfers, 39% vir bemarking- syfers, 56% vir finansiële syfers en 57% vir strukture by wynkelders. lndien die behoefte ooit sou ontstaan om hierdie informasie te versamel, word daar voorgestel dat die vraelys (Byvoegsel B) gebruik word, gevolg deur 'n onderhoud gebaseer op die raamwerk soos aangedui in dieselfde byvoegsel. Die verantwoordelikheid om die vraelys te voltooi moet op die uitvoerder van die studie val. Dit moet egter in gedagte gehou word dat die informasie nie dikwels beskikbaar sal wees vir die periode van tyd soos deur die vraelys verlang word nie. Tydens die periode van insameling van inligting sal die persoon bereid moet wees om ten minste 'n paar dae by elk van die kelders deur te bring. Realisties gesproke kan 'n paar dae, in sommige van die gevalle, selfs weke word.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:20:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 23875589 bytes, checksum: 12051b9d89a12f49003764d5c3e321e9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This work is the result of a Technical Project and is scoped to analyze the life cycle of the Faculdade Independente do Nordeste - FAINOR with an aim to build strategies, to leverage academic policies focusing on designing Learners Organizations. As based on the methodological theory of life cycles as dynamic processes of transformation and or duration in which phases are presented as a continuum. Guided by documentary analysis. The choice of methodology sought to contribute to the production of a vision, capable of embracing life stages within the institution s logic and cyclical rhythm of time. The dilemma of the project upward mobility and sets the tone of the changes needed in the pursuit of management innovation. Actions to improve the quality of teaching was marked by tensions between financial sustainability and building-innovation s indicators. The life cycles of FAINOR were defined by dividing the time of the actions to comply with the Improvement Plan required by the Ministry of Education, in a complex context, in which still coexist traces of traditional management models and traces of innovations. The results obtained in the analysis of life cycles created the bases for the the creation of academic policies of teaching, research, innovation and extension, based on the needs that were identified. / O trabalho é resultado de um Projeto Técnico Aplicado e tem como escopo analisar o ciclo de vida da Faculdade Independente do Nordeste - FAINOR - com vistas à construção de estratégias para alavancar políticas acadêmicas, com foco na concepção de Organizações Aprendentes. Teve como diretriz metodológica a teoria dos ciclos de vida como processos dinâmicos de transformação e/ou duração, nos quais as suas fases são apresentadas como um contínuo. A estruturação dos ciclos foi guiada por uma análise documental. A escolha metodológica buscou contribuir para a produção de um olhar capaz de abarcar as fases da vida da instituição dentro da lógica cíclica e rítmica do tempo. O dilema do projeto de mobilidade ascendente dá o tom das mudanças necessárias em busca da inovação gerencial. Ações de melhoria da qualidade do ensino foram marcadas por tensões entre sustentabilidade financeira e construção de indicadores de inovação. Os ciclos de vida da FAINOR foram definidos pela demarcação do tempo das ações para cumprimento do Plano de Melhoria exigido pelo Ministério de Educação, em um contexto complexo onde ainda coexistem os traços de modelos de gestão tradicionais e traços de inovações. Os resultados obtidos na análise dos ciclos de vida embasaram a criação de políticas acadêmicas de ensino, pesquisa, inovação e extensão a partir das necessidades detectadas.

Stål är ett material som används i olika byggnadskonstruktioner. I de byggnadskonstruktioner som utsätts för upprepade belastningar kan utmattning ske i materialet. Utmattning leder till permanenta skador i form av sprickbildning och slutligen brott. I svetsade konstruktioner är det ofta svetsar som har den lägsta utmattningsstyrkan. För att förbättra en svets utmattningsstyrka finns efterbehandlingsmetoder som benämns Post Weld Treatment (PWT). Idag används den beräkningsmetod som är föreskriven i Eurokod vid verifiering av svetsar. Beräkningsmetoden är förenklad och kan underskatta objektets livslängd med hänsyn till utmattning. Syftet med arbetet är att studera olika dimensioneringsmetoder som behandlar utmattningsbelastade svetsar samt hur tillämpning av PWT kan förbättra en typsvets livslängd. Målet med arbetet är att studera en typsvets och visa skillnaden i antalet lastcykler mellan beräkningsmetoderna samt hur många lastcykler samma typsvets förväntas öka med PWT. Teorin och resultaten utgår från vetenskapliga artiklar, litteraturstudier och enfallstudie som behandlar både en genomsvetsad stumsvets samt en kälsvets lokaliserade på en I-balk. Resultatet pekar mot att den metod som används idag underskattar livslängden och att PWT kan markant kan förbättra en svetsutmattningsstyrka. / Steel is a material used in various building structures. Fatigue can occur in the material if building structures is exposed for repeated loads. Fatigue leads to permanent damages such as crack initiations and fracture. It is common that welds in welded structures have the lowest fatigue strength. A welds fatigue strength can be improved with treatments termed Post Weld Treatment (PWT). Today a welds fatigue strength is verified with a method described in Eurocode. The calculation method is simplified which can underestimate the objects number of lifecycles regarding fatigue. The purpose with this essay is to study different structural design methods for fatigue exposed welds and how many lifecycles a typeweld will increase when applying PWT. The goal with this essay is to study a typeweld and calculate the number of lifecycles between the calculation methods and to show how many lifecycles the same type weld will increase when applying PWT. The results and theory are based on scientific articles, literature studies and a casestudy which both contains a through welded butt weld and a fillet weld placed on an I-beam. The results points at that the calculation method that is used today underestimates the number of lifecycles and that the number of lifecycles increased significant after PWT.

In an ever-more complex and unstable global environment, the threats of supply chain disruptions are increasing. Furthermore high-growth firms, which are main contributors to the global economy, have no specific guidance as it pertains to this issue, while academics perceive a gap in knowledge with respect to these types of firms. Scholars have previously highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience for firms to withstand disruptions but have thus far only assumed the perspectives of industries or incumbent firms. Thus, the purpose of this thesis was to explore the role of organizational characteristics of a high-growth firm and how these affect supply chain resilience and its antecedents. Empirical findings propose that a high-growth firm can achieve sufficient resilience without high risk management orientation. Hence, the characteristics of a high-growth firm may inherently increase resilience. Further, it is proposed that the antecedents relating to supply chain resilience do not carry equal importance throughout an organization’s lifecycle. Hence, high-growth organizations need to apply resilience targets and actions that are in line with the overall growth roadmap of the firm, while considering the dynamic nature of their own growth. / I en alltmer komplex och instabil global miljö ökar hoten om störningar i försörjningskedjan. Dessutom har högväxtföretag, som är bland de viktigaste bidragande faktorerna till den globala ekonomin, ingen specifik vägledning vad gäller denna fråga, medan akademiker upplever en kunskapslucka med avseende på dessa typer av företag. Forskare har tidigare betonat vikten av motståndskraft i försörjningskedjan för att företagen ska kunna motstå störningar och katastrofer, men har hittills bara antagit perspektiven hos industrier eller etablerade företag. Syftet med denna avhandling var således att utforska rollen som organisatoriska egenskaper i ett företag med hög tillväxt spelar och hur dessa påverkar leveranskedjans motståndskraft och dess konceptuella komponenter. Empiriska resultat föreslår att ett företag med hög tillväxt kan uppnå tillräcklig motståndskraft utan etablerad riskhantering. Därför kan egenskaperna hos ett företag med hög tillväxt i sig öka motståndskraften. Vidare föreslås att de konceptuella komponenterna som avgör leveranskedjans motståndskraft inte har lika betydelse under hela organisationens livscykel. Därför måste organisationer med hög tillväxt tillämpa motståndsmål och åtgärder som är i linje med företagets övergripande tillväxtplan, samtidigt som de tar hänsyn till den dynamiska karaktären av deras egen tillväxt.