Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Arlo Biere / In the world of fast paced competition with a focus on profits, small businesses are always looking for ways to stay ahead of their competition. One way to maintain the competitive advantage is to join forces with another small business that sells and services similar products. Mergers and acquisitions have been very common in agribusiness since the farm economy collapse in the early 1980s. Farms have been increasing in size, equipment has been growing in complexity with new technologies and size to keep up with growing farm size and equipment manufacturers are merging to create larger corporations that offer more solutions to the end user. Additionally, fewer machines are being purchased by growers and producers each year and the machines that are being purchased are able to do more than previous models. The new complexities require highly trained and skilled technicians to make repairs and service these machines. Farming practices continue to evolve with more limited- and no-till crop production. These factors are contributing to dealers forming larger multi-store operations with trade areas large enough to provide an adequate return on investment to attract the resources required to sell and support technologically advanced agricultural equipment. Large multi-store organizations support the requirement of customers by providing higher levels of customer service. As these large organizations increase in size they ensure a more sustainable business model with reduced fixed expenses leading to higher returns on sales and increased total sales. This study will examine two multi-store farm equipment farm equipment dealerships with a total of a total of eleven locations and make recommendations to create a merger of equals. The analysis will include a review of current sales data at each location and make recommendations for any new locations strategy using industry data as well. This information will help determine which locations should be eliminated or combined into single locations to reduce expenses. The study will also provide data to support implementing standard job pricing in the new organization. A new functional management structure will also be recommended to guide the new company towards increased sales revenues and position the organization for long term growth and sustainability.

Over recent years, community resilience has been increasing in popularity as a topic for detailed study. During that time, academic researchers have been working to untangle the complex network of social relationships that define the concept. In parallel, some institutions have set the achievement of enhanced community resilience as a policy goal. This research has sought to assist in both areas: first, by contributing to the academic debate and second, to build a clearer understanding of how institutions can tailor policies to ensure success in their goal of enhancing community resilience. A case study approach was adopted for the research, centring on three communities in the Teign Estuary of South Devon (Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Shaldon). All three communities were vulnerable to tidal flooding and links between the communities and institutions responsible for managing flood risk (FRM framework) were analysed. In the analysis, a specific form of social capital was studied: social capital derived from community-institution links (CISC). CISC was found to be effective in revealing links with the greatest potential to enhance the resilience of communities against flood risks. To assess resilience at the individual and community level, a maturity based model was used. The assessment found disparities between how resilience matures at the community level compared to the individual level. Specifically, resilience maturity in communities was revealed as a less linear process. As such, the case study communities were able to exhibit traits associated with low resilience maturity at the same time as exhibiting traits associated with high resilience maturity. This research concluded that the UK FRM policy framework was robust, aligning well with academic theory. However, the FRM system was revealed as being dominated by expert elites. These elites are mainly public sector based and were judged to be stifling the engagement of the private sector at the local level. To enhance their resilience, this study determined that communities need to investment in CISC, but that investment must not just be targeted at public sector FRM institutions alone, it also needs to target private sector FRM institutions.

This thesis is a critical examination of the „new vision‟ strategies that the Libyan government undertook in order to promote the deeper integration of the Libyan economy into the global economy of the Modern Orientalist World-System (MOWS). This process has been taking place since the lifting of the trade embargo on Libya by President Bush in April 2004. A crucial part of this new vision strategy was the promotion of human capital development amongst the Libyan population and with a particular emphasis upon English Language Acquisition (ELA). The argument, derived from neo-liberal thought, is that for Libya to transform itself it must embrace neo-liberal ideas that will see the government adopt the role of the enabling state, preparing Libyans for employment in a newly established private sector. ELA, the learning of what is called „global English‟, is the central part of the new vision human capital development goals. The assumption here is that by developing the English language skills of Libyans it will enhance their job prospects with foreign firms arriving in Libya. This strategy is being pursued in the aftermath of a state directed ban on the learning of English that was first decreed in 1986 and the consequences of which placed a significant obstacle in the way of the immediate employment prospects of a generation of young Libyan graduates. If the state developmental strategy now embraced by the Libyan government is to be successful then it must promote the rapid improvement in the second language skills of its young people (specifically „global English‟) if they are to take advantage of the opportunities offered by a newly opened economy. However, this strategy is fraught with dangers for the government as liberalising the Libyan economy weakens the control of the state over society. Thus the thesis addresses a number of key questions regarding the relationship between human capital (language skills) and the sociology of development; of human capital as a concept in the „modern Orientalist world-system‟; and the changing nature of state-society relations in Libya as the government attempts to integrate it more firmly into the MOWS. To what extent can the Libyan government transform its economy and society in a way that enhances its position in the MOWS rather than simply rendering it more dependent upon the power of the core?

National prevalence surveys indicate that lifetime and recreational drug use among all social classes have increased steadily over the last decade in Ireland (Moran et al., 2001a, Mayock, 2002, National Advisory Committee on Drugs, 2008a). Drugs research has been traditionally based on the identification, weighting and interrelatedness of risk and protective factors within a "risk prevention paradigm". This paradigm has been criticised for its lack of inclusion of individual, group and wider structural aspects, and occurs within a greater awareness of greater social discourse and societal shifts. The research papers in this portfolio of work are thematically analysed and conceptualised within the theoretical framework of cognitive and structural social capital. The descriptive research and later, more conceptual papers investigating drug use among rural youth, Travellers and cocaine use, are thereby explored in terms of the potential ‘normalisation of rural youth drug use’ within contemporary risk discourse, the assimilatory threat of increasing drug use among the ‘Traveller community’., and the emergence of the ‘recreational cocaine user’ in Irish society. The social processes of individualisation, reciprocity and trust which constitute social capital are deemed to provide potent collective frameworks for the navigation of risk in day to day ‘localised’ settings. The ‘interrelated normative frameworks’ and ‘processes of risk neutralisation’ are underpinned within a wider social capital understanding of the meaning of drug activity in associational life based on ‘interpersonal and institutional trust’ and ‘mutual resource acquisition’. Contemporary drug policies must consider the contextual constraints of the ‘risk society’, which impact on inherent individual ‘power resources’, whereby individual agency and drug taking is better understood within situational agency of ‘localised’ social, gender, ethnic and cultural capital.

It has long been argued that Social Capital, a concept represented by the value embedded in the social relationships of individuals or collectives constitute strategic resources for individuals and organisations. Social networks are thus perceived by businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, as a means to access those resources, for example gaining privileged access to strategic information that could secure financial resources. In reality, and because of the inherent characteristics of Social Capital, entrepreneurs or business owner/managers who effectively use resources available within social networks are driven by a clear and compelling vision and sustained by a set of leadership attributes which are in line with the process of recognising, evaluating and exploiting opportunities. This study reinforces the concept of Entrepreneurship as a multi-social construct. Using survey data from 359 SMEs in UK South West food and drink manufacturing, this study uses a structural equation model to evaluate the relationships of interdependence between Social Capital, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Process. The mediating role of leadership in this interaction first, explains the relationship between Social Capital and Entrepreneurship Process and second, exposes the entrepreneurial behaviour common among SW food and drink manufacturers as the underlying explanatory factor of the competitiveness. Notwithstanding the prevalence of social networks, the level of brokerage appears to be very concentrated on closed networks with providers of professional services and local associations. This inadequate level of brokerage heightens the existence of structural holes which points to a situation of ‘over-socialisation’ suggesting that social norms prescribe economic action. The lack of appropriate market knowledge among ii owners/managers of small medium enterprises in the UK South West food and drink manufacturing frustrates the formulation of a comprehensive vision, in spite of the fact that values of ‘hard work’, ‘continued improvement’ and ‘ambition are largely shared among them. The main findings contribute toward a better understanding of Social Capital as distinct from social networks and the leadership role in business competitiveness. It makes a significant contribution to the debate on the integration of individual and environmental perspectives as a direction of future research on the understanding of Entrepreneurship. The study implications address policy-makers and business managers in filling the skills and knowledge gaps which are restraining the competitiveness of SMEs in this important and strategic sector

This research is about the Social Networks and Social Capital of British-Bangladeshi Young Women in relation to their identity, cultural context and social aspects. It is a qualitative study based on the lives of a small sample of Bangladeshi young women, who are second or third generation British-born Bangladeshis between the ages of 16 and 29, living in London. They are British citizens and were born or grew up in Britain. The main area that the research takes place in is the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Methods encompass in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. This research investigation has found that the social networks and social capital of Bangladeshi young women were impacted by their identity, ethnicity, social and cultural contexts, such as religious and gender identity, patriarchal practice within households and racism. Accordingly, for many women the construction of social networks was enabling; but for others, there were constraints in relation to their identity. On the other hand, the social networks through various places, especially places of study and work, significantly enabled the women to acquire their identity with regard to their social position, which has been helpful for agency and negotiation power. Consequently, their social networks were shaped based on their subjective experience, cultural expectations and social aspects. However, the women were active in order to create and maintain their social life, as well as to negotiate and develop their own ‘strategies to manage’ techniques to cope with the constraints. In this study, my main argument aims to emphasise how social networks are formed and maintained by the Bangladeshi young women in relation to their identity, cultural context and social aspects. I contend that these women actively negotiate a multitude of personal, familial and structural concerns in developing their social networks. I also argue that agency and negotiation power positively contribute to mitigate cultural constraints and inequalities with regard to the social networks of these young women; however social structures and inequalities create significant boundary conditions for these women to acquire negotiation power.

This research addresses how socioeconomic status impacts the ways that students with learning disabilities and their families interact with the school system and the consequences of these interactions. This will inform policy on special education, and college level services and accommodations for students with learning disabilities. In addition to exploring general patterns of college attendance for students with learning disabilities, this research will include an analysis of what factors best predict college attendance and persistence for students with learning disabilities. Specifically, the forms of capital framework including economic, social, and cultural capital along with habitus are used to understand issues of access and success in college. The primary findings of this study include a) the intersection of socioeconomic status and disability create an extreme form of stratification in college attendance for students with learning disabilities, b) each form of capital is significantly related to college attendance, c) measures of habitus are some of the strongest predictors of college attendance, d) forms of capital best predict college attendance at four-year colleges and universities and are less predictive for other forms of post-secondary education, and e) current models of college persistence may not be accurate for this population of students.

While community college transfer students who successfully matriculate into the four-year institution enjoy high persistence and graduation rates, inequities continue to be inherent throughout the process. In order to succeed during this transition, students must employ effective help-seeking strategies that provide them with access to timely and accurate information. This study seeks to be a formal examination of these informational networks. It describes the extensity, composition and positionality of these networks as transfer students exit the community college and enter a large research-extensive university. It also studies the effect that participation in a transfer course has on these informational networks. The results imply that informational networks remain relatively similar throughout the transfer process but that certain populations, including first-generation students and females, are less likely to rely on institutional agents for information. In addition, the effects of a transfer success course appear to be short-term, although it may reap larger benefits for at-risk populations. These findings suggest that socio-academic integration theories are more relevant to community college transfer students than theories based on traditional populations who enter four-year institutions directly out of high school.

This dissertation documents my active involvement in anthropological research on elder well-being in Comitan, Chiapas, Mexico, and how my research was a springboard for local dialogue on the need for primary health care for the elderly, an issue with global significance. I describe my work as part of a larger process, still unfolding, that I helped initiate and continue to trace as an ethnographer engaged in participant observation. My long-term residence and applied health research in Chiapas, graduate training in medical anthropology, and institutional backing from the Comitan Center for Health Research (an NGO where I have worked since 1994) equipped me to catalyze engagement around elder health in Comitan. To do so, I drew on formative research, a multi-stage participatory process that is iterative and draws upon multiple methods and actors to identify and define a problem, then develop, monitor, and assess locally-congruent interventions. Specifically, I conducted: 1) ethnographic research on middle and lower class elders living alone and with family; 2) an elder health needs and resources survey of 300 households; 3) interviews with elders, home-based caregivers, and formal care providers; 4) an interinstitutional elder health conference and 5) a strategic planning meeting, which spawned 6) an independent working group that is currently exploring potential elder care strategies, with 7) my ongoing facilitation. In detailing elders' lives, problems, and care, I at once address the specific issue of elder well-being in Chiapas as seen by elders, caregivers, and providers, and describe the social relations of community action to provide basic elder care. I take stock of historical factors that have altered family relations and elder care dynamics in Chiapas, including structural adjustment, epidemiological and demographic transitions, globalization, and migration, as well as resultant local and regional socio-political struggles. I give special consideration to the household production of health, gendered differences in elder health and care resources, and the social relations of health care-seeking and therapy management. My findings challenge popular misconceptions regarding elder entitlement and access to economic, cultural, and social capital, and indicate potential solutions. This dissertation, then, illuminates how anthropological research can facilitate community-based problem solving.

As much as the psychosocial nature of mental illness cannot be ignored, it is generally agreed that social ties play a beneficial role in the maintenance of psychological well-being. Small social networks, few close relationships, and low perceived adequacy of social support and quality of life have all been linked to depressive symptoms. Conversely, the challenges of establishing a causal relationship to social ties are generally greater for mental health than they are for other health outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to identify the association between social capital and overall psychological well-being among Canadian citizens aged 12 and older, by conducting a secondary analysis of microdata using the 2009/2010 cross-sectional Canadian Community Health Survey. The present study included a weighted sample of 124,188 individuals aged 12 years or older who participated in the Canadian Community Health Survey from 2009-2010. Ordinal regression was used to examine the association between self-perceived mental health and social capital in the context of community involvement and sense of belonging in the community. Respondents who felt a sense of belonging in their local community reported mental health superior to individuals who did not have a community-based sense of belonging. This association was explained by respondent’s age, sex, marital status and was mediated by voluntary organization membership and immigration status. Results provided evidence of a relationship between elements of social capital and mental health. Positive social relationships and civic engagement are relevant to positive mental health. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2013-11-22 00:31:17.297