To address the negative environmental, political, and social consequences of the dominant, industrialized global food system, communities around the world have developed goals and values underlying a sustainable food system. Conceptualizing food production, distribution, and consumption as systems helps clarify the ways food affects social and natural environments, with the distribution element as the critical juncture where the product reaches the consumer. Urban food systems are a particularly important environment in which to study movements toward sustainability. This paper focuses on the movement for a sustainable food system in Portland, Oregon, with particular focus on the city’s markets for food acquisition – food retail, farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture endeavors, restaurants, food service and distribution companies, institutional purchasing programs, and community gardens, as well as the organizations that support the work of these businesses and programs. Leaders in the field of sustainable food systems are now beginning to operate with a strategy for change that emphasizes incorporating sustainable food products and sustainable food system values into mainstream food markets instead of remaining in niche, alternative markets as has occurred in the past. This notion is supported by economic and social theories including the consumer information model, stakeholder theory, social movement theories of change, and network theories. This paper explores the extent to which Portland food distribution businesses, programs, and organizations attempt to fulfill the goals of a sustainable food system movement with moving from niche to mainstream in mind. The fact that the movement is in fact acting according to new strategies for change emphasizing the mainstream is indicated by the movement’s extensive consumer education and creative use of marketing, strong social and business networks, and organized local policy influences.

This thesis uses an efficiency analysis of agricultural systems to assert that, in lieu of rising prices of fossil fuel, people need to come into more direct contact with their food systems. With a switch to smaller, more efficient farms that rely less on fossil fuel and are connected with the communities they supply for, we can avoid an energy crisis turning into a famine. These smaller-scale systems can help create self-contained, carbon-neutral communities.

Wind power will be an important component of California's aggressive strategies to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets by the year 2020. However, the costs of integrating wind power's variable and uncertain output are often ignored. I argue that California must take prudent action to understand, minimize, and allocate wind integration costs. A review of numerous studies suggests that for wind penetration levels below 20%, integration costs should remain modest. However, costs are heavily dependent on market structure, and I suggest numerous ways that California can optimize its market design to manage wind integration costs.

Agriculture contamination is very common in karst systems due to the vulnerability of these aquifers. Animal waste is often spread across crop land to enrich the soil with nitrates and phosphates. Herbicides and pesticides are also applied to the crops. The transport of these pollutants through the soil and epikarst is a difficult process to monitor due to the complex, heterogeneous behavior of the groundwater as it makes its way down to the aquifer below. An experimental site at Crumps Cave lended a unique opportunity to monitor the vadose zone at a waterfall in the cave below. A previous dye trace established the connection between an 11.15 m2 grass plot and this underground waterfall. The field design used here, utilizing a rainfall simulator, allowed control of the input of precipitation and tracers to understand more about the movement of stormwater infiltrating the soil and the differences in transport of solute particles and bacteria in the epikarstic zone. Two particle transport experiments were used to better understand these processes. The first trace involved injection of fluorescein dye and sodium chloride. The 2,650 liters of solution were injected over a period of 3.6 hours at a rate of 6.6 cm/hr. An electrical resistivity traverse, perpendicular to the hypothesized straight-line path of the established dye trace connection, showed a peak in lower resistance at the upper epikarst layers 4 hours and 15 minutes after the beginning of the injection. Dye concentrations reached a peak of 1,600 ppb 3 hours and 15 minutes after the beginning of the injection. The conductivity also peaked at this time with a value of 814 µS. This first trace showed that rapid transportation of solutes happened in localized conduits causing a peak of both solutes in the cave before the widespread mobilization of sodium chloride was seen in the epikarst by the resistivity images an hour later. In the second trace, 2,605 liters of a sulphorhodamine dye solution was injected over 180 kg of dairy cattle manure spread on the 11.15 m2 plot of grass for a period of 3.6 hours at a rate of 6.6 cm/hr. Dye concentrations reached a peak of 27 ppm 4 hours and 15 minutes after the beginning of the injection. Fecal coliform reached its first peak of 2,755 MPN (most probable number of viable cells per 100 mL of water) 90 minutes prior to the dye peak and a second peak of 2,481 MPN occurred 15 minutes prior to the dye peak. These results showed that solutes travelling through the soil and epikarst follow similar paths while bacteria prefer conduits that offer more rapid transmission to the underground waterfall.

This thesis focuses on the idea that food insecurity and access are real issues in the lives of many Americans. Simply stated, food insecurity is when a person does not have enough food to eat or does now know where his/her next meal is coming from. More importantly when looking at food insecurity is the realization that healthy, local food access is even more prevalent an issue – with increasingly more under-resourced individuals and families being food insecure and unhealthy at the same time. This thesis includes a literature review on diet and nutrition in the United States, a chapter on methodology, history of Bowling Green, Kentucky, where this case study is focused, the benefits of shopping at farmers’ markets, perceived barriers to shopping at those farmers’ markets, and suggestions for overcoming these barriers. Local, sustainable food is the hope for a future of planet earth. It is what nourishes and sustains lives. And, it should not be a privilege. Through researching the benefits and barriers to farmers’ markets, examining these barriers, developing suggestions for overcoming these barriers, and implementing as many as these initiatives as possible in Bowling Green, Kentucky, I have not only compiled a detailed thesis, but I have also been a small part of creating change in the food community in Bowling Green. This thesis can serve as a nationwide model and describes the way to overcome food accessbarriers in urban/rural communities.

For many of Latin America’s small farmers, a future in agriculture may be short lived. Due to increasing mechanization, land consolidation, and globalization, the demand for agricultural labor is declining, and small landowners are feeling the brunt of this change. Given this reality, the non-farm rural economy should become a much greater priority on the rural development agenda. Many non-farm positions demonstrate significant potential for poverty alleviation, but these jobs often present substantial barriers to entry. In order for smallholders to access these positions rather than low-skilled, low-productivity, and low-paying jobs, government involvement is essential. By helping small farmers build non-farm skills and knowledge, facilitating profitable land transactions, and fostering a business environment that supports rural job creation, governments can ensure that small farmers are not only able to transition to non-farm employment, but that they are able to do so in a way that maximizes the impact on overall rural welfare.

This research studies variations in biodiesel upon addition of different concentrations of antioxidant and petrodiesel additives. Oxidation onset temperature, oxidation induction time, oxidative stability, thermal stability, crystallization onset temperature and moisture retention properties of the biodiesel, with and without antioxidants have been studied. Antioxidants like BHT, BHA, PrG, Vit E and Vit C were added to the biodiesel during the study. These samples were analyzed using the PDSC, TGA, DSC and TGA-SA instrumentation. The results of this research show an improvement in the OOT, OIT and Oxidative stability of biodiesel with the addition of antioxidants and by blending the biodiesel with different amounts of Petro-diesel. A significant improvement in oxidative stability of biodiesel has been observed with the addition of antioxidants and petrodiesel. There was no significant change noticed in the thermal stability, crystallization and the moisture retention properties of biodiesel. I hope that this research would help improving the oxidative stability of the biodiesel. The results from the analysis made in this study would also be helpful in designing a better antioxidant and aid in improving the present experimental methods for the OIT and thermal analysis.

To assess what factors are driving the exponential growth of farmers’ markets in Kentucky, geospatial and statistical analysis of a database of 121 farmers’ markets was conducted. A statewide survey of market leaders and a case study of a single farmers’ market both identified reasons for growing support of farmers’ markets in Kentucky. Market distribution, vendor levels, and gross sales were mapped against a backdrop of county urban classification, median household income, and education levels. Kruskal-Wallace analysis was used to identify if Kentucky’s rural, micropolitan, and metropolitan markets differ significantly in terms of their age, number of vendors, and market sales. Geospatial analysis indicates that farmers’ markets are more concentrated in metropolitan areas of the Commonwealth. However, statistical analysis reveals that farmers’ markets have been established longer in micropolitan areas of the state. Markets across urban classes have significantly different ages and gross sales, but all markets tend to sustain a similar number of vendors. Population levels appear to have the strongest correlation with the variables studied, although education and household median income also may play a role in farmers' market strength. Market stakeholders believe that markets are gaining popularity as consumers become more aware of food safety and environmental problems in the mass market system. Farmers’ markets are considered an important tool for strengthening the local economy, connecting farmers with consumers, and increasing local availability of fresh and nutritious foods.

Personalentwicklung ist mit erheblichem Aufwand für Humankapitalinvestitionen für Unternehmen verbunden, wobei die Aneignung des Investitionsobjektes selbst und auch der Erträge aus der Investition unsicher sind. Zunächst werden aus realgeschichtlichen Befunden betriebswirtschaftliche Begründungen für die Personalentwicklung abgeleitet, und ökonomisch interpretiert. Im Hauptteil wird die Personalentwicklung innerhalb des Rahmens eines dreigeteilten Arbeitsmarktes ökonomisch analysiert. Schlussendlich werden einige Prognosen zur künftigen Rolle der Personalentwicklung auf Basis der aktuellen Entwicklungen am Arbeitsmarkt erstellt.

Losing a spouse is as devastating an experience anyone will ever deal with in his or her life. Research, however, shows that men have a harder and longer time coping with the loss of a spouse than women. When the widower’s profession is farming, there are no resources to specifically help that individual with their loss. The purpose of this research was to gain insight into the lives of widowed farmers with particular focus on transitions in their farming operation and their family life. Through their stories, we learn what is happening before the loss of the female spouse on the farm, during the bereavement period, and how the farmer handles the situation after the bereavement period has ended. Findings indicate that the Cooperative Extension Service can play a major role in supporting our widowed farmers as they seek a new normal for their farm operation and family life. Also, farming widowers have more stress following the loss of a spouse due to the added aspect of managing the farm and the home simultaneously after the passing of their spouse. Recommendations include further expanding spousal bereavement materials to include a section for males and in particular farming widowers.