In a world with diverse consumer preferences, it can be challenging for producers to determine marketing strategies and production practices that maximize their profits while meeting consumer demand for fresh products. Consumers could be willing to pay for products that reduce environmental impact, but producers must know whether these changes will pay off. This study estimated consumers’ willingness to pay for specific environmental factors pertaining to fresh tomato production using a choice experiment survey. This study found that Southeastern consumers are willing to pay a price premium for specific environmental factors: water conservation, reduced pesticide residue, fewer miles between production location and purchase location, and tomatoes grown without petroleum-based fertilizers. The results of this study are beneficial to regional tomato producers, who could incorporate specific environmental practices into current production schedules that lead to incremental changes in the environmental attributes that were evaluated in this survey.

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Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Also available in print.

Niobium and rare earth elements (REE) are considered as strategic metals in industrialised countries, and are mainly derived from carbonatite-related deposits. Indicator mineral methods for carbonatites using of portable XRF and Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN®), shows promise in exploration for Nb and REE. Portable XRF analysis of stream sediments from the Aley, Lonnie, and Wicheeda carbonatites identified 125-250 μm as the ideal size fraction for indicator mineral studies. QEMSCAN® provides (with no additional processing) detection and characterisation of indicator minerals (when found in high concentrations) from carbonatite deposits. Preconcentration by Mozley C800 separator is recommended for sediment samples with low concentrations of indicator minerals. Discrimination diagrams for pyrochlore supergroup and columbite-tantalite series minerals show that minerals from carbonatites occupy the pyrochlore field and extend slightly into the betafite field. Columbite-tantalite series minerals from carbonatites have Mn/(Mn+Fe) atomic ratios ≤0.25 and Ta/(Ta+Nb) ≤0.20. The compositional fields for pyrochlore supergroup and colubmite-tanatlite series minerals from different deposit types partially overlap. / Graduate / 0996 / 0411 / 0372

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Andrew P. Barkley / The objectives of this thesis is to use regression models and market trends to determine whether the changing product mix of Ardent Mills has an impact on volume, sales dollars, and margin dollars. The results will be used to build a market analysis of Ardent Mills’ product mix strategy. Flour milling is a highly competitive industry. Ardent Mills is constantly looking to increase profits and become more valuable to its customers. Specialty products have created a new opportunity, but the opportunity costs must also be considered. Determining what new products to develop, where to manufacture them, and whether to create new capacity or convert existing capacity are difficult decisions that must be made. The data used in this thesis were collected from Ardent Mills’ sales records from June 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016. Type of product, sales volume, sales dollars, and margin dollars were collected for each month to be analyzed. The study determined that increasing the volume of whole wheat flour sales decreases white flour volume, total flour volume, white flour sales dollars, and total flour sales dollars. Increasing the volume of UltraGrain increases white flour sales dollars and total flour sales dollars. Increasing the volume of wheat-based specialty products increases the volume of white flour and the volume of total flour. As the demand for UltraGrain and wheat-based specialty products increases, the demand for white flour increases as well. Decreasing wheat prices have allowed for additional margin to be captured.

The focus of this study was perceptions of professional school counselors' (PSC) graduate preparation in their roles as school counselors. The relationships examined were PSCs' roles and the number of hours completed in the school counselors' graduate programs, PSCs' roles and the level of their professional identity, and PSCs' roles and the number of school counseling specialty courses completed in their school counseling graduate programs. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 2005) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP, 2001) have established standards for school counselors to master in their programs. These standards were used to develop the 30 roles identified in this study. Graduate programs referred to the number of hours PSCs completed in their graduate school counseling programs. Professional identity was defined as the certifications and licensures, the memberships in professional organizations, and the number of professional conferences and workshops PSCs attend. Specialty courses included school counseling courses taken by PSCs in their school counseling graduate programs. PSCs perceived themselves to be somewhat prepared in their overall preparation in their roles as school counselors. Results of the correlations between PSCs' perceptions of their preparation in their roles and the number of hours completed in the school counseling graduate programs, the professional identity of PSCs, and the number of specialty coursed completed were statistically significant but not practically significant. PSCs perceived themselves to need additional preparation in serving students with learning differences, seeking funding sources, and using technology. The factor analysis supported the construct validity of the survey instrument. It validated the roles of PSCs as outlined by ASCA standards (2005) and CACREP standards (2001). The factors included (a) Factor 1, Tasks/Advocacy/Professional Identity, (b) Factor II, Personal/Social/Career, (c) Factor III, Academics, and (d) Factor IV, Cultural/Legal/Ethical Issues. In conclusion, PSCs need additional training in student learning differences, seeking funding sources for school counseling programs, and on-going training in technology. PSCs want the term "educator" to be included in their description of their professional identity. PSCs also want additional specialty courses added to their curricula. They believe that the focus should be on the specialty of school counseling rather than a mental health focus.

Orientador: Giuliana Aparecida Santini Pigatto / Coorientador: Gessuir Pigatto / Resumo: O segmento de produtos Specialty Foods vem ganhando reconhecimento nos mercados globais, por apresentar atributos cada vez mais demandados pelos consumidores. Nessa perspectiva, esse segmento vem se caracterizando como uma oportunidade de atuação de organizações produtoras brasileiras que desejam acessar mercados internacionais, tendo em vista o potencial do Brasil na produção e exportação de alimentos, e as ações da Agência Brasileira de Promoção de Exportações e Investimentos (Apex-Brasil), no desenvolvimento dos projetos setoriais para promoção internacional de empresas exportadoras. Nesse aspecto, e levando-se em conta as peculiaridades de se acessar os mercados internacionais, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo analisar o processo de internacionalização das organizações e instituições vinculadas aos projetos setoriais da Apex-Brasil na categoria de produtos Specialty Foods. Para tanto, foi utilizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, cujos objetivos foram descritivos. Os procedimentos metodológicos envolveram o desenvolvimento teórico abordando questões ligadas à internacionalização de empresas, do marketing internacional e do papel da esfera pública nesse processo; a pesquisa de campo, com profissionais da instituição Apex-Brasil e uma Associação, e estudos de casos com cinco empresas do estado de São Paulo. Os resultados indicaram que a estratégia utilizada pelas empresas tem sido o modelo de exportação direta, justificada pela vantagem de controle sobre as atividades de exp... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The Specialty Foods product segment has been gaining recognition in global markets because of the increasingly demanding attributes of consumers. In this perspective, this segment has been characterized as an opportunity for Brazilian producer organizations wishing to access international markets, in reason of Brazil's potential in the production and export of food, and the actions of the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Apex-Brasil), in the development of sectoral projects for the international promotion of export companies. In this regard, and taking into account the peculiarities of accessing international markets, the objective of this work was to analyze the internationalization organizations process and institutions linked to Apex-Brasil's sectorial projects in the category of Specialty Foods products. For that, a qualitative research was used, whose objectives were descriptive. The methodological procedures involved the theoretical development addressing issues related to the internationalization of companies, international marketing and the role of the public sphere in this process; the field research, with professionals from the Apex-Brazil institution and an Association, and case studies with five companies from the state of São Paulo. The results indicated that the strategy used by the companies has been the direct export model, justified by the advantage of control of the export activities. It was identified that the marketing environment has a strong impact on the strategic planning of the companies, challenging them in the adaptation and innovation of strategies to be more competitive in the markets, having as booster the cultural force. In relation to the access barriers, companies are subject to sanitary and phytosanitary barriers due to the category of food products as well as technical and environmental barriers. In relation to the actions of Apex-Brasil [...]. / Mestre

Purpose: To determine the characteristics influencing periodontal practices in Virginia and report on the anticipated changes in practice. Methods: A REDCap survey was emailed to Virginia based American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) members assessing personal and practice demographics, trends in dental treatment and practice models, and how periodontists will adjust to account for these trends. Results: The response rate was 31% (n=46). Respondents report greater referrals from more experienced general practitioners (GPs). Student debt was associated with age. Respondents ranked biologic advances, treatment of peri-implantitis, digital dentistry, development of corporate and group practice models, and GPs incorporating more periodontal services in their practices as most likely to impact periodontal practices. The most reported periodontal practice adjustments included expansion of existing services, increasing the number of periodontists in the practice, and joining with other specialists or GPs to create group practices. Conclusions: Periodontists perceive the need to expand services, increase number of providers in their practices or create group practice models as future practice adjustments.

The medical care is one of the service encounters. Patients evaluate the service quality based on the interaction with the physician. This research integrates the babyface and gender stereotypes into the model of service encounter. The research examines how these stereotypes affect people¡¦s perceptions and judgments, especially after a negative event occurs. The present study uses an experimental design to investigate the effects of the level of babyface (high vs. low), gender of physician (male vs. female) and the type of specialty (the surgical department vs. the internal medical department). A 2x2x2 factorial design is conducted. Eight different scenarios are established and the effects are measured by satisfaction and loyalty(the attitude toward the medical care). In addition, health consciousness is incorporated into this research to observe the responses under those scenarios. The results indicate that the babyfaced physicians are more effective than the maturefaced physicians in terms of patient¡¦s satisfaction and loyalty. More importantly, the results demonstrate that in the babyfaced group, the male physicians are more effective than the female ones, but no such difference is found in the maturefaced physicians. After the negative even happened, due to the Teddy-bear effect arise, the female babyfaced physicians in the surgical department earned higher loyalty than male ones. On the other hand, the female maturefaced physicians in the internal medical department earn stronger loyalty from patients than male ones. Regarding the aspect of attribution in this study, the results show that the female maturefaced physicians are more likely to be perceived as frauds, and the female babyfaced physicians are more likely to be deemed to be responsible for such the negative event. When considering perceived severity of the negative event, people are more likely to attribute it to the male babyfaced physicians within the surgical department, and the female babyfaced physicians within the internal medical department. Overall speaking, the results suggest that stereotypes of babyface and gender exist in the service encounter with physicians.