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In this thesis the aim has been to analyse changes and continuity in the governing of economic behaviour in small-scale credit schemes in colonial Nyasaland and independent Malawi from 1930 until 2010. Furthermore, how the effects of history in terms of how colonial and post-colonial development discourses and practices have been rephrased and reused in the early 21st century are discussed. The study focuses on the teaching and fostering of borrowers’ economic behaviour in order to reach increased living standards. The genealogical approach to the history of small-scale credit has made it possible to analyse a selection of colonial and post-colonial small-scale credit programs and microcredit organisations operating in the early 21st century. To analyse the governing of economic behaviour in the small-scale credit schemes, three aspects of the Foucauldian concept of governmentality are used: problematics of government, political rationality and governmentality technologies. The findings of the thesis, which are based on interviews, unofficial and official written sources, show that the genealogy of governing economic behaviour through small-scale credit schemes has varied over time depending on perceptions of the ideal actor’s economic behaviour. Despite this, some continuities have been identified. For example, there is a continuity in the problematics of government, the analysis of the perceived development problem and how small-scale credit was to be a solution. The study indicates that a linear and universal financial history is used in theory and practice and consequently that the local Malawian national history of small-scale credit has been ignored. Despite different political rationalities during the period there is a continuity in funding small-scale credit with external money, and the government’s interest in small-scale credit has also persisted. One effect of history is that small-scale credit seems to be politically efficient, but economically inefficient. In the colonial period and in more recent times, it seems like governmentality technologies regarding lending are quite ad hoc, for example regarding the supervision and distributions of loans. One effect of history is subordinated positions for borrowers and a governing towards economic responsibility, rather than entrepreneurship.

This research study investigates the extent to which participatory schemes determine member participation and control in industrial cooperatives in Ghana. Recent studies on co-operative organizations in developing countries have indicated that the problems of self-management in co-operatives are due to low member participation in decision making and control over the affairs of co-operatives. These studies, coming from mainly sociological and anthropological studies, have further suggested that the low member participation and control in co-operatives are due to the problems in the implementation of the principles and ideals of co-operatives in developing countries. The studies have further argued that principles and ideals of co-operatives are difficult to implement because the are incompatible with the traditional social structures and norms in developing countries. A central argument of this study is that the problems of member participation and control in co-operatives should not be attributed solely to the influences of environmental factors in developing societies. The study points out that the degree of member participation and control in a co-operative will also be related to properties of the participatory schemes in the co-operatives. That is, the structures and processes along which participation takes place. The findings of the research study indicate that fundamental determinants of member participation and control are the structural attributes of participatory schemes in the co-operatives. The findings of the study also suggest that the participatory schemes in the cooperatives are influenced by the organizational conditions in the cooperatives. On the basis these findings, the research has contributed to our knowledge of the organization and the functioning of co-operatives in developing countries. Furthermore, the research has demonstrated the possibilities of the extension of modern organization theory to the study self-help and related self-managed enterprises in developing countries.

This study uses ordered logistic regression models with data collected from eighty-six online surveys completed by small-scale producers in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming to assess factors which most contribute to the overall success and profitability of small-scale diversified farms. Results indicate success and profitability may be partially explained by the number of acres owned/leased, use of wholesale outlets, farming as a primary occupation, years of experience, and use of outside business related services. Results may be useful as they indicate producer and operation characteristics that are lead to more profitable and successful operations and thus indicate areas in which a producer may most improve his or her business.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hawaiʻi, 2000. / Chairperson: Brian Murton. Includes bibliographical references.

In the previous time, the grand occasion of Taiwanese money flooding over the foot, which means the plenty of jobs were offered everywhere and money were absolutely easy to be earned in Taiwan, no longer exists nowadays. Moreover, along with mainland China emerging advantageously as playing the role of the world factory, the small and medium-scale Taiwanese enterprises, once reached the peak in issuing the economic miracle, have either closed the business, or moved out to other countries. Furthermore, the part of Taiwanese enterprises which still defends tenaciously in Taiwan, even including the Hi-Tech star's industry, has to conduct the business cautiously with frightened under Chinese market dramatic rising. That is to prove, it is certain to conclude that the small and medium-scale Taiwanese enterprises should make their effort carefully as well. It is fortunately for me to work for this sort of Taiwanese traditional small and medium- scale enterprise that is under the global economic overbearing tide seriously. Thus, from the specific experience of my service, I found the most essential concerned factor of regarding to plow Taiwan deeply or enter the mainland is frequently for survival besides seeking the development of enterprises. Within the fast change of the economic circumstance nowadays, the purpose of this study is to analyze the cause and effect of enterprises in accordance with economic environment of globalization and those fierce change. Additionally, this study also attempts to discovery a set of decision logic, which is suitable for the medium and small-scale industry according to the analysis. Initially, the chapter 2, literature review, tries to analyze the motivation and strategic module of Taiwanese traditional medium and small-scale industry proceeding globalization through reviewing the theory of economics and management. Moreover, the chapter 4, the strategy analysis of a case industry, intends to discovery the advantage and disadvantage of globalization by data analysis. One is to examine the impact and threaten on enterprises¡¦ operation and the other is to find opportunities brought under the wave of globalization from the operator¡¦s view of enterprises. Eventually, the chapter 6, revolution and conclusion, approaches to provide specific suggestions about the strategic operation for that case industry as well as to conclude with the influence of globalization on Taiwanese traditional medium and small-scale industry. Overall, due to the economic environment having the rapid change constantly, framing and executing the enterprise¡¦s conducting strategy must do some prediction to the future economic circumstance in addition to solve the problem which has been discovered. However, the focus point of prediction is not on the degree of accuracy but mainly on the direction. Thus, it can be illustrated in the other way, no matter whether the enterprise changes or not at present that is all for variable situations in the future. In conclusion, the basic principle of enterprises conducting continuously forever is only to control the direction and adjust their organization

This Bachelor’s thesis examines if and how the perceptions towards agricultural development differs between small-scale farmers, agricultural advisors and entrepreneurs with various age and level of knowledge. The case study was conducted in Babati District, Tanzania, during three weeks in the spring of 2015. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted, and to analyze the empirical results a theoretical framework was created to explain how poverty traps occur and point at possible strategies to dissolve them. The majority of the respondents expressed that the biggest obstacles and needs for small-scale farmers to be able to develop their farming is lack of capital to invest in inputs and knowledge on how to intensify their land use. The perception towards agricultural development seem to differ between generations, in that young farmers are taking part of new technology and methods when cultivating, unlike the older generation. The respondents’ general attitude towards foreign investments was predominantly negative, arguing that local knowledge is of importance if sustainable agricultural development is to be reached. To ease the agricultural development, increased knowledge on how to intensify the agricultural production and how to organize farmers’ associations is suggested.

Fouling, a problem since the first heat exchanger was created, has been the focus of various studies since the 1970s. In particular, crude oil fouling is a costly and problematic type of heat exchanger fouling that occurs in the preheat train to the atmospheric distillation column in petroleum refineries. Previous experiments have been designed to determine the causes of fouling using less than one gallon of crude oil and accumulating test results within a day. These experiments will be the basis of the Rotating Fouling Unit (RFU) at Heat Transfer Research Inc. (HTRI). The RFU focuses on better controlling the shear stress and heat transfer distribution along the surface of the heated test section by analyzing Taylor-Couette flow experiments and using them as a basis to better predict the flow across the heated surface of the test section in the RFU. Additionally, the equations for Taylor-Couette flow are used to verify the 2D flow simulations of the RFU to ensure the accuracy of the results. The design of the RFU incorporates data acquisition with a variety of measurements that will facilitate automatic and accurate data collection, so the results can be easily compared to previous fouling experiments. The RFU will act as a supplement to the High Temperature Fouling Unit (HTFU) at HTRI, and provide data comparable to that of the HTFU in order to better understand crude oil fouling. Computer simulations can accurately predict the shear stress and heat transfer coefficient along the surface of the test probe and help verify the improvements made to the original batch stirred cell designs.

It is projected that energy demand worldwide will double from 2009 until 2050. There is a demand for additional clean renewable energy, which can be supplied by biogas. Farm-based biogas plants exist in small numbers in Sweden; for the benefit of society it important to increase their numbers throughout the country. The aim of this report is to create the tools to allow for a competent evaluation of newly built farm-based biogas plants from an energy efficiency and environmental perspective. In this thesis data from newly built plants has been analyzed to determine mistakes that could be avoided in future expansion. Research has been performed within the bounds of a SLF financed project focusing on the role of cooperation in achieving profitability and environmental benefits in farm based biogas plants. The thesis has found that the investment cost during the technical lifetime of the plant is 11-16 kWh/MWh and 2.65 – 3.65 kg CO2-eq. per MWh. The initial investment is repaid by a factor of at least 50 during the technical lifetime of the plant. Energy ratios have been calculated for two of the plants that express the usable energy produced from each. It has been found that 29 % of Högryd’s 2 GWh in energy production becomes usable electricity and heat; at Lövsta 62 % of its 10 GWh became usable electricity and heat. A larger biogas plant benefits from a higher electrical efficiency, however, the impact of the heat utilization is significant. Replacement of 120 MWh of oil and electricity reduces the import of fossil-fuels more than 1.5 GWh of wood chips.

Change has become a ubiquitous force in a highly globalized and interconnected world. Coastal systems are being restructured by overfishing, globalization, climate change and other factors. Further, social and ecological changes in coastal systems interact across spatial and temporal scales creating challenges that are complex, nonlinear and often difficult to predict. These new challenges have the potential to push social-ecological systems past their experienced range of variability and thus have immense consequences for the both the health of marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people who depend on marine resources for their survival. Addressing these challenges will require collaborative efforts informed by site-specific research on the dynamics of social-ecological systems. Ultimately, this dissertation aims to contribute to efforts towards social-ecological system sustainability. Specifically, the purpose of the research is to improve our understanding of how small-scale fishers in Mozambique have adapted over time to cope with a particular set of challenges and how likely fishers are to cope effectively with future changes in their complex social-ecological systems. The dissertation is organized around four research chapters, each of which addresses a specific research objective. Detailed knowledge of historical social-ecological conditions is a critical entry point for understanding small-scale fisheries systems. While fisheries landings data are often the primary source for historical reconstructions of fisheries, reliance on data of a single type and/or from a single-scale can lead to incomplete or misleading conclusions. Moreover, in the case of many small-scale fisheries landings statistics are often incomplete and/or inaccurate. Therefore, Chapter 2 combines data from multiple sources and scales to reconstruct historical social-ecological system dynamics along the Mozambican coast. At the national scale, my analysis points towards trends of fishing intensification and decline in targeted species, and highlights the significant impact of small-scale fisheries on marine stocks. At the local scale, fishers are experiencing changes in fish abundance and distribution, as well as in their physical, social and cultural environments and have responded by increasing their fishing effort. In the context of multiple drivers of change, it has become increasingly important to identify how communities are responding to livelihood stressors. In Chapter 3, I examine how fishers are adapting to social-ecological change, and identify factors that facilitate adaptation and factors that inhibit adaptation. Primarily, fishers are adapting through intensifying their fishing efforts or by diversifying their livelihoods. Adaptation is facilitated by fishers’ groups, occupational pride and family networks. It is inhibited by limited assets, adaptive actions with negative social and ecological impacts, competition over declining resources and pervasive poverty. My data suggest that it is not the poorest fishers who are least able to adapt to change, but fishers who are locked into a declining fishery. I argue that adaptations are spatially and social differentiated and place-specific. Therefore, future adaptation initiatives aimed at strengthening the capacity of threatened communities to respond to livelihood stressors need to explicitly consider this complexity. Millions of people around the world depend on shrimp aquaculture for their income and livelihood. Yet, the phenomenal growth of shrimp aquaculture during the last two decades has given rise to considerable environmental damage and social disruption at the local level. In Chapter 4, I analyze the impacts of employment at an export-oriented shrimp farm in central Mozambique on livelihood vulnerability of farm and non-farm employees. My data indicate that shrimp farm employees are less vulnerable to chronic stressors, such a pervasive poverty, than non-farm employees, but more vulnerable to acute shocks, such as the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), associated with shrimp production than non-farm employees. I argue that future vulnerability research will need to account for this duality as aquaculture development spreads along the Western Indian Ocean. In response to the speed and magnitude of contemporary change, understanding how much disturbance communities will absorb, where social thresholds lie and what coastal community systems might look like after a threshold is crossed are critical research questions. Chapter 5 evaluates the resilience of two fishing communities in central Mozambique and forecasts the outcome of moving past socially defined thresholds. My results indicate that coastal communities are continuously absorbing multiple sources of disturbance without shifting into different states. However, a 90% decline in catch rates would represent a threshold for both communities. At Zalala Beach, fishers would respond by permanently moving to another location whereas in Inhangome, fishers would respond by changing their professions. These results contribute to our understanding of social resilience. Deliberate progress towards the goal of long-term sustainability depends on understanding the dynamics of social-ecological systems. Therefore, this dissertation aims to contribute to a growing body of theory and empirical evidence on how fishers negotiate livelihoods under conditions of rapid change and increasing vulnerability. The dissertation concludes by summarizing seven key research findings and by discussion some of the theoretical, methodological and policy contributions of my research to the literature. / Graduate / 0366