Southeastern wildrye (Elymus glabriflorus (Vasey ex L.H. Dewey) Scrib & C.R. Ball) is a relatively new perennial cool-season grass that has shown potential as a forage crop in the Southeastern United States. However, there is a lack of research on this species assessing its agronomic performance. To assess the agronomic performance and it’s tolerance to imazapic field trials were established in Newton and Starkville, MS. A forage production trial included five nitrogen (N) 0, 56, 112, 168, and 224 kg N ha -1 (high input) and five annual clover (low input) treatments. Tolerance to imazapic was assessed with applications of four pre- and early post-emergent applications applied at 0.0, 0.35, 0.7, 0.105, and 0.14 kg ai ha -1. Results from both field trials combine to validate southeastern wildrye as a potential forage crop and continued research and development of agronomic traits in this species.

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Temperate agroforestry systems are an important area of research and practice in Eastern North America with the goal of creating more diverse, productive, and environmentally sound agricultural landscapes by using trees as key crops. There is extensive published research on contemporary temperate agroforestry models as well as tropical indigenous agroforestry systems, but publicly accessible properties that demonstrate these practices are currently limited. These practices, which include: Alley Cropping, Multi-functional Riparian Buffers, Short-rotation coppice, Non-timber forest farming, and novel crop breeding have potential to radically reshape American agricultural practices. As sediment and erosion control becomes stricter in agricultural land, and if future carbon tax or pricing legislation comes into play, non-tillage based agricultural practices will become more prevalent throughout the United States and the rest of the world. In the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, where this project is based, orchards are a common perennial cropping system, but at present the industry is reliant on chemical inputs that have an economic and ecological cost associated with them. Developing, demonstrating, and popularizing systems that incorporate native, crop-bearing perennials, in a manner that is legible, aesthetically pleasing, and well-integrated into the surrounding topography and agricultural vernacular, this thesis will offer a proof-of-concept to landowners curious about incorporating low-input agroforestry practices. This thesis presents a series of unpublished manuscripts based on research of historical agroforestry practices in temperate North America. These manuscripts focus on agroforestry practices as they were practiced over nearly 500 years of American history. These findings culminate in the proposition of a design for an agroforestry research and demonstration farm in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The goal of this design is to recontextualize a historic dairy farm in Maryland, USA with the construction of a new education, production, and design center. This center, along with its associated infrastructure, the cropping layout, and an interpretive trail through a range of agroforestry systems proposes an immersive environment that allows a visitor to experience agroforestry at its many scales, from garden to wild-land. / Master of Landscape Architecture / Temperate agroforestry systems are an important area of research and practice in Eastern North America with the goal of creating more diverse, productive, and environmentally sound agricultural landscapes by using trees as key crops. There is extensive published research on contemporary temperate agroforestry models as well as tropical indigenous agroforestry systems, but publicly accessible properties that demonstrate these practices are currently limited. These practices, which include: Alley Cropping, Multi-functional Riparian Buffers, Short-rotation coppice, Non-timber forest farming, and novel crop breeding have potential to radically reshape American agricultural practices. As sediment and erosion control becomes stricter in agricultural land, and if future carbon tax or pricing legislation comes into play, non-tillage based agricultural practices will become more prevalent throughout the United States and the rest of the world. In the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, where this project is based, orchards are a common perennial cropping system, but at present the industry is reliant on chemical inputs that have an economic and ecological cost associated with them. Developing, demonstrating, and popularizing systems that incorporate native, crop-bearing perennials, in a manner that is legible, aesthetically pleasing, and well-integrated into the surrounding topography and agricultural vernacular, this thesis offers a masterplan to create a proof-of-concept demonstration site to landowners curious about incorporating low-input agroforestry practices. This thesis presents a series of unpublished manuscripts based on research of historical agroforestry practices in temperate North America. These manuscripts focus on agroforestry practices as they were practiced over nearly 500 years of American history. These findings culminate in the proposition of a design for an agroforestry research and demonstration farm in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The goal of this design is to recontextualize a historic dairy farm in Maryland, USA with the construction of a new education, production, and design center. This center, along with its associated infrastructure, the cropping layout, and an interpretive trail through a range of agroforestry systems proposes an immersive environment that allows a visitor to experience agroforestry at its many scales, from garden to cultivated wilds.

In 2003 eight peanut and cotton crop rotations were established in southeastern Virginia, 4 of which included 2 or 3 years of tall fescue or orchardgrass grown as high-value hay crops. Each crop rotation was evaluated for changes in soil quality indicators including soil carbon and nitrogen, water stable soil aggregates, plant available water content, bulk density, cone index values, and soil moisture. Cotton and peanut growth and yield were also observed to evaluate changes in crop growth associated with differences in soil quality. Soilborne plant pathogens including root-knot nematode, stubby root nematode, ring nematode, stunt nematode, and Cylindrocladium parasiticum microsclerotia were measured in the spring and fall of each year to determine differences associated with crop rotations. Water stable soil aggregates in 2007 were higher in rotations with 3 years of either perennial grass. Soil moisture tended to be the highest at depths 30 - 60 cm in the 3-year tall fescue rotation in August and September 2007. Cotton in 2006 and peanut in 2007 had higher growth and yield where the annual crop directly followed a perennial grass. Root-knot nematode tended to decrease in all rotations over time. Stubby root nematode populations tended to increase in rotations with either duration of orchardgrass. Including perennial grasses in cotton and peanut rotations has the potential to increase growth and yield as demonstrated in this research. / Master of Science

Användandet av temporära upplevelser och exklusivitet har sett en ökning inom moderna Games-as-a-Service spel (GaaS-spel). Några exempel på detta är battle-pass i multiplayer-spel, konserter i Fortnite och viktiga narrativa event. Nytt innehåll kan vara limiterat till att endast kunna upplevas under specifika perioder, och sedan vara otillgängligt under en obestämd tid. Denna undersökning ämnar då att se hur spelare upplever ett spel huvudsakligen designat kring dessa aspekter. För att undersöka detta har vi skapat ett narrativt spel, som är uppdelat i sju delar. De sju delarna spelas av frivilliga deltagare under en veckas tid. Varje dag släpps en ny del som bara är tillgänglig under den dagen. En kontrollgrupp spelar delarna i sin egen takt, för att vi sedan ska kunna göra en jämförelse mellan de två grupperna. Deltagarna på de kvalitativa intervjuerna hade generellt en positiv bild på spelet självt, men flera svarade att deras spelupplevelse av olika anledningar påverkades negativt av användningen av temporära upplevelser och exklusivitet. Dessa anledningar tas upp i resultatet och diskuteras sedan för att dra slutsatsen att upplägget generellt hade en negativ påverkan på spelupplevelsen, men även potential för positiv påverkan. Vi diskuterar även de brister som uppkom under undersökningen, och potentiella åtgärder. Resultatet och kunskapen vi fått ut av undersökningen anser vi kan användas för framtida forskning inom ämnet, och inom design av GaaS-spel. / The usage of temporary experiences and exclusivity has increased within modern Games-as-a-Service games (GaaS-games). Some examples of this include battle passes in multiplayer games, virtual concerts in Fortnite and important narrative events. New content can be limited to only be experienced during specific time periods, and then be unavailable indefinitely. This study explores how a game designed around these ideas affects the player experience. To test this we developed a narrative game split into seven parts. These parts are played by willing participants during a week. Every day during the week a part of the game is released, and that part is only available during the day it was released. A control group will get to play the game without these time constraints at their own pace. We later do a comparison between these two groups. Participants in the qualitative interviews had a generally positive experience with the game itself, but several answered that their experience with the game for different reasons were affected negatively by the use of temporary experiences and exclusivity. These reasons are brought up in the results and are then discussed to draw the conclusion that the model had a generally negative effect on the experience, but also has the potential for a positive effect. We also discuss the flaws that came up during the study, and potentiel remedies. We believe that the results and knowledge we have gathered from this study can be used for further research in the subject, and also the design of GaaS-games.

Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / Scott A. Staggenborg / Volatile energy prices, energy independency, and environmental concerns have increased the demand for renewable fuel production in the United States. The current renewable fuel industry in the United States has developed around the conversion of starch into ethanol fuel, supplied mainly by corn (Zea mays L.) grain. Future energy demands cannot be met by corn grain alone; therefore greater amounts of biomass from traditional and alternative crops must be utilized. Nutrient removal by selected biofuel crops is important in order to determine biomass quality, required fertilizer inputs, and economic viability of biofuel cropping systems. The objectives of this study were to evaluate grain, stover, total biomass, and estimated ethanol yields of annual and perennial C4 crops grown under the same soil and weather conditions; and fermentable carbohydrate (FC) yields from extracted sweet sorghum juice. In addition, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) concentrations of biomass were evaluated to determine total nutrient removal for annual and perennial crops. Field trials, at two locations in northeast Kansas, included corn, sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and perennial warm-season grass cultivars. Yields and nutrient removal were greater for annual crops than perennial grasses. Annual crop yields varied among cultivars, but were similar between locations and years. Perennial grass yields improved significantly from the 2007 establishment year to 2008, however nutrient removal was not affected by the yield increase. The highest grain yield and grain nutrient removal amounts were observed for corn across both years and locations. Total biomass yields were greatest for sweet and photoperiod sensitive sorghum cultivars. Average extracted sweet sorghum FC yields were 4.8 Mg ha[superscript]1. Estimated ethanol yields of sweet sorghum were greater than all other crop cultivars. Overall, nutrient removal was most affected by biomass yield variation among crop cultivars; however P concentrations, and subsequent removal, were dependent upon soil P levels at individual locations. These results suggest that annual crops can achieve the greatest biomass yields for multiple renewable fuel conversion processes, but are associated with high nutrient removal levels which must be considered when evaluating biofuel energy cropping systems.

Biomass produced from perennial energy crops, Miscanthus and willow or poplar grown as short-rotation coppice, is expected to contribute to UK renewable energy targets and reduce the carbon intensity of energy production. The UK Government has had incentives in place, targeting farmers and power plant investors to develop this market, but growth has been slower than anticipated. Market expansion requires farmers to select to grow these crops, and the construction of facilities, such as biomass power plants, to consume them. Farmer behaviour and preferences, including risk-aversion, are believed to be important to crop selection decisions. Existing research estimating the total potential resource has either only simplistically considered the farmer decision-making and opportunity costs, or has not considered spatial variability. No previous work has modelled the contingent interaction of farmers’ decisions with the construction of biomass facilities. This thesis provides an improved understanding of the behaviour of the perennial energy crop market in the UK, by addressing these limitations, to understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of energy crop adoption. It attempts to determine the factors that govern the rate and level of adoption, to quantify the greenhouse gas abatement potential, and to assess the cost effectiveness of policy mechanisms. A farm-scale mathematical programming model was implemented to represent the crop selection of a risk-averse farmer. This was applied using spatially specific data to produce maps and cost curves economic supply, for the UK. To represent the contingent interaction of supply and demand within the market, an agent-based model was then developed. The results indicate that perennial energy crop supply may be substantially lower than previously predicted, due to the time lags caused by the spatial diffusion of farmer adoption. The model shows time lags of 20 years, which is supported empirically by the analogue of oilseed rape adoption. Results from integrating a greenhouse gas emissions balance shows that directly supporting farmers, via establishment grants, can increase both the carbon equivalent emissions abatement potential and cost effectiveness of policy measure. Results also show a minimum cost of carbon abatement is produced from scenarios with an intermediate level of electricity generation subsidy. This suggests that there is a level of support for electricity generated from energy crops that reduces emissions in the most cost effective manner.

There are currently numerous alternative food production models that may have potential to contribute substantially to improved environmental sustainability. However, such alternatives are not well studied, particularly within the context of the Canadian Prairies. To increase knowledge in this area, this thesis performed a preliminary agronomic trial for food grain production in intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium), investigating the effects of legume intercropping and residue management. Mean grain yields were 520 and 447 kg/ha in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and a significant yield increase was observed following grazing with sheep. A series of farm case studies were also conducted in order to characterize ecological farming approaches on the Canadian prairies. The most consistent strategy among the farms was to increase diversity in multiple facets for both environmental and economic benefit, including more crop and livestock species, system and landscape components, and marketing strategies. / October 2016

Studies have shown that significant amounts of nitrate-N is leached beyond root zones of annual crops while small amounts of nitrate-N is leached beyond the root zones of perennial forage grasses. This study investigated short-term ammonium-N persistence and root nitrogen content of annual crop and perennial forage grasses following application of pig manure to a sandy loam soil at Carman, Manitoba. Results showed that ammonium-N in liquid pig manure (LPM) amended treatment peaked four days after manure application (DAM) in perennial cropping system (PCS; 50 - 74 kg ha-1) and annual cropping system (ACS; 18 - 29 kg ha-1) in 2014 and 2015. Ammonium-N persisted up to 7 DAM in LPM amended PCS, but did not persist beyond 4 DAM in LPM amended ACS. Ammonium-N measured in solid pig manure (SPM) amended ACS and PCS was low throughout the sampling days in both years. There was a greater percentage increase in accumulation of nitrate-N at 15 - 30 cm soil depth of LPM and SPM amended ACS than PCS. In both years, dry weight below-ground plant biomass ranged from 5,258 to 9,627 kg ha-1 at 0 - 60 cm depth in PCS while that of ACS ranged from 1,088 to 1,456 kg ha-1. Also, root N content in PCS ranged from 43 to 118 kg N ha-1 in both years while that of ACS ranged from 9 to 20 kg N ha-1. In conclusion, ammonium-N persisted longer in PCS than ACS in the short-term and total plant N was greater in PCS than ACS. Greater total plant N in PCS than ACS was mainly due to its greater root N content rather than above-ground N uptake. The order of magnitude of the difference in root N content (34 to 98 kg N ha-1) between ACS and PCS was sufficient to account for the 20 to 60 kg N/ha of nitrate-N leached in ACS in previous study at the same site. / October 2016

The primary objective and intent of this paper is to explain the problem of continuous high turnover among the employees of the City of Atlanta workforce, and identify the factors and major variables that are responsible for this problematic situation. The City of Atlanta has been burdened with high turnover among its employees in the past several years and that problem has continued to the present time. Findings from this research indicate significantly that employees are not motivated by economic factors alone; other factors, socio-psychological in nature, have much impact on workers' motivational behavior. Research method for this paper consisted of informal interviews (primary data) and exit interviews (secondary data). The main sources of information were documents, records, and materials collected from the Bureau of Personnel and Human Resources, City of Atlanta. Other sources of information included magazines, periodicals, and books. Research findings indicated the following significant factors. 1. A perennial, persistent employee turnover. 2. A very high mark of resignations in good standing. 3. Dissatisfaction with the city employment. Based on the findings of this research, it is conclusive that the city must arrest this problematic situation in order to improve employee performance, productivity, and retention. To achieve this, the city must change some aspects of its personnel policies. Some important recommendations have been made which if implemented, will help to arrest the situation.