The Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order enacted in August of 2000 resulted in increased production and consumption of blueberries in the United States. As blueberry plantings increased, grower profitability was threatened. A mail survey addressed to blueberry growers of four Southeastern states. A binary logit model analyzed the grower’s decision of organic adoption and a cumulative logit analyzed those growers not producing organic blueberries but indicated some likelihood in the future. Results were based on 234 eligible responses. Positive significant relationships existed between organic blueberry growers and total acres of blueberry production, transfer of ownership of the blueberry operation and the average fresh price received of blueberries. Growers that indicated some likelihood of adopting organic blueberries in the future showed significant positive relationships with those willing to take more risks, transfer of ownership of the blueberry operation, concern about stability of blueberry prices and those of Hispanic descent.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1992. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2962. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Univ., Diss.--Kiel, 2006.

ABSTRACT ADOPTION RATES AMONG EVANGELICALS: A MIXED METHODS STUDY Matthew Scott Thompson, Ed.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015 Chair: Dr. Anthony W. Foster The purpose of this study was to examine the adoption rates of evangelical Christian adoption agencies and to determine what factors, if any, contribute to the current adoption rates. A mixed methods approach, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative elements was used for completion of this study. The quantitative section of the research utilizes historical, numerical data from select adoption agencies to determine the pattern of adoption rates. The qualitative portion of the research utilizes an electronic survey, which contains simple answer questions, Likert scale questions, and open-ended questions to determine potential factors that have an effect on the adoption rates. The data was reviewed and analyzed to determine the conclusions of the research study. KEYWORDS: Adoption, Adoption Agency, Adoption Rates, Evangelical, Foster Care, Orphan Care

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Düsseldorf, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 2, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-167).

Project (B.S.W.)--James Madison University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--Queen's University, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-180). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD%5F0009/MQ31235.pdf.

Intercountry adoption (ICA) is growing in controversy as it grows in popularity. While heart-warming stories of families with babies from abroad dominate the media coverage on this subject, this represents only a small segment of the entire situation. Using Korea and China as case examples, this thesis extensively reviews and analyzes policy and the cultural, social, economic and political layers of the ICA mechanism from a political-economy perspective and argues that children are treated as commodities in both supplying and receiving countries. ICA is used by governments to solve internal social problems while promoting international relations. The thesis concludes that only a small number of children and parents actually benefit from ICA and the majority of persons involved--unadopted children in both countries, birth parents and some adoptive applicants--do not gain from ICA and may actually experience suffering as a result of it.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Recent sociological literature on family life focuses on the apparently increasing scope for individual choice in forming meaningful, intimate relationships. One important arena for the exercise of such choice is adoption, which is increasingly taking place across national boundaries, taking the form of intercountry adoption. Little attention, however, has been paid to this aspect of contemporary family life by these broader accounts of family change. The research which deals specifically with intercountry adoption focuses on the development and trends of the practice as well as outcome studies, often undertaken in the fields of social work and psychology, and there is little research which investigates the interaction between the general trends in family structure and intercountry adoption. This study responds to these gaps in the literature by examining the experiences of individuals choosing to form families through intercountry adoption in the Australian social policy environment. Documentary evidence was used to understand the development of Australian intercountry adoption and provide the historical and social policy context for the qualitative component of the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted to develop an understanding of the choice participants made to form their family through intercountry adoption, and to examine how the state manages this area of social policy. My study found that individuals choose to form families through intercountry adoption because children are a crucial means by which they can add meaning to their lives and intimate relationships by providing another human being to love and nurture. This child focus was seen as ‘natural’ and, for some, as an inevitable extension of their relationship. The research also generated findings about the nature of relationships within intercountry adoptive families and the factors which influence how these families are different from biological families. The complex policy environment in Australia creates difficulties for individuals negotiating the system and diversity in legislation and practice among states results in an unclear policy orientation. The movement of children across international boundaries, while not new, has been influenced by a number of global forces including improved transport, enactment of international treaties, media coverage and the introduction of the internet. These advances have resulted in increased knowledge and access to information about intercountry adoption and a more developed understanding of how the process operates in other countries, which impacts on the experience of the process in Australia. The sociological account of family formation involving intercountry adoption in Australia that I have developed in this thesis confirms that relationships of choice are being formed in postmodern society, despite messages from a variety of authorities regarding family life which are often mixed, contradictory and dominated by particular family types, rather than by the concept of choice. My study differs from existing studies on intercountry adoption in its achievement of an account of the personal experiences of the intercountry adoption process and family life that links the two together, to show both how broader issues in postmodern family formation structure intercountry adoption, and how intercountry adoption constitutes a vital element of contemporary family formation.