Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Animal welfare – United States'

Silvopasture, the sustainable integration of livestock and trees on the same unit of land, may have the potential to contribute to agricultural productivity in the Northeastern United States and concurrently encourage the ecosystems services which trees provide. Extremely little is known regarding the ecological characteristics of silvopastures being utilized, their social and economic drivers, or their agricultural productivity. Silvopasture characteristics, management, and reasons for use were documented through a purposeful sample of silvopasture practitioners in New York and New England. Results document the functional role of silvopastures on regional farms. This research also investigated the ecological and production dynamics of silvopastures in the Northeastern United States, their management, and the reasons for their use. Forest conversion to silvopasture, open pasture, and heavily thinned forests were utilized to investigate the ecological and production dynamics during the establishment phase of forest conversion to pasture. Results suggest the potential for silvopasture as a competitive management option for forestland. This dissertation establishes a baseline for future investigations into the management of silvopastures in the Northeastern United States.

Efforts are currently underway in the US federal context to improve and strengthen evaluation practice and increase the use of evaluation results to inform policies and programs. However, these efforts remain unrealized, due partly to the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework that views evaluation and related organizational processes and institutions as part of a larger system. Early intuitive theoretical taxonomies of evaluation policy suffer from the lack of connection to specific examples and instances, and are missing clear classification criteria that would allow practical application. To generate a grounded taxonomy of evaluation policy, this study surveyed members of the American Evaluation Association in 2009, asking them to generate examples of evaluation policy, and then to sort and rate these suggested policies. Results are analyzed using the concept mapping method of Trochim (1989), which first translates aggregate sorting decisions into conceptual “distances” on a two-dimensional dot map, then uses hierarchical cluster analysis to generate groupings of ideas. These groupings become the foundation for categories in a theoretical taxonomy. Findings reveal several different dimensions by which participants grouped evaluation policies, including the dimensions of “value” and “policy mechanism.” A values-by-mechanisms taxonomy and instructions for its use in an evaluation policy inventory process are proposed.

In public policy literature, there is a lack of research that integrates social construction theory within the advocacy coalition framework, and far less is known about how these theories address policy change and processes related to programs for disabled veterans.The purpose of this study was to conduct a policy analysis to evaluate how well the needs of veterans are met through the U.S. Veterans' Disability Compensation (USVDC) program. In a case study of a city in the southeastern U.S., gaps between formulation and implementation of USVDC policy were examined. The theoretical frameworks used in this study were Hacker's formulation and implementation gap to analyze policy, Schneider and Ingram's conceptualization of social construction, and Sabatier and Weible's advocacy coalition framework. The central research question for this study explored the extent to which the USVDC program meets the needs of disabled veterans (DVs). Data consisting of over 355 USVDC formulation and implementation documents, from March 2007 through August 2013, were coded using a priori codes and content analysis methodology.Findings indicate the USVDC policy subsystem struggled to manage the claims backlog that grew to over one million claims. Between April 2013 and September 2013, an emphasis to reduce the claims backlog improved stalled policy formulation, resulting in a shift to positive social constructions for DVs.Implications for positive social change include improved collaboration between policy makers, the Veterans' Administration, and recently transitioned target group DVs, to reshape policy formulation and implementation to further improve the quality of life for sick and injured veterans when entering the USVDC policy subsystem.

Among the new technologies heralded as part of the emerging bioeconomy are plastics made from plant material, known as bioplastics. This dissertation examines the political and historical underpinnings of the bioplastics that are now being offered as an alternative to petrochemicals in the United States. As a case study of "green" technological development, bioplastics challenge dominant conceptions of innovation for sustainability. The bioplastics being developed and marketed today are the outcome of interventions in commodity crop prices, incubation of research on biomass during periods of fossil fuel dominance, and the commercialization of publicly funded research. Their origins can be traced at least as far back as the 1920s, when advocates of "chemurgy" encouraged the federal government to create research centers to discover new industrial uses of agricultural crops.

Research in science and technology studies (STS) indicates that social structures shape perceptions of problems, condition viable solutions, and limit the diversity of stakeholders and ideas present in the social construction of technology. This study examines these processes in the history and current debates about bioplastics. The dissertation asks who has influenced the social construction of bioplastics and why bioplastics have become part of a larger bioeconomic vision now. Theoretical insights are drawn from the sociological theory of the treadmill of production, which argues that environmental problems cannot be solved in a capitalist system in which the federal government, private industries, and organized labor continuously seek the expansion of production and consumption at the expense of environmental sustainability. Major players in the chemical and biotechnology industries have pursued bioplastics as a means of continuing economic growth and consumption of goods, even as petroleum becomes costly and environmentalists voice objections to petrochemicals. There are many critiques of bioplastics and their impacts at every stage of bioplastics, from sourcing feedstocks from food crops to disrupting existing recycling and composting systems. Nevertheless, the bioplastics currently on the market were not designed to resolve these environmental concerns. Increasingly, however, activists are using non-governmental institutions, particularly the development of voluntary standards, to shape the industry and technology. The study examines the extent to which such reforms might lead to the production of more sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals.

Ultimately, this dissertation presents the history and politics surrounding the field of bioplastics in order to highlight how things "might have been otherwise" and what changes in society could be useful for producing more sustainable technologies.

This research tests and answers the main question: Should the Environmental Protection Agency’s Policy on the Technical Impracticability Waivers be changed? This research uses public and private databases for collecting information on the Comprehensive Environmental Recovery and Liability Act sites with Technical Impracticability Waivers and examines the process the Environmental Protection Agency uses to make Technical Impracticability Waivers evaluations. Existing data demonstrates the Environmental Protection Agency has been very conservative and has granted few Technical Impracticability Waivers over the last 30 years. Several arguments for changing Environmental Protection Agency’s policy are made. A comparison of approved Technical Impracticability Waivers sites and sites that meet the criteria for approval but have not been submitted for the waiver are used in this research. The results indicate that the policy should be changed. A policy change would be beneficial to appropriate funds to the more complex and critical sites. A change in policy would also save taxpayers funds instead of being spent on experimentation on sites that are impracticable to clean up, these funds would go to more critical sites. The research also shows a need for collecting a database of sites that Environmental Protection Agency has rejected for a Technical Impracticability Waiver.

Millions of people are adversely affected by crises and disasters each year. Response to disasters relies heavily on volunteer organizations to assist in the aftermath of these traumatic events. HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (AACR) is one organization that provides needed support to those impacted by way of specially trained crisis dogs. Unfortunately, there is a lack of these certified teams able to effectively respond. The research question for this study was how can HOPE AACR expand (recruit and train qualified new teams) into currently unoccupied areas. This question was answered through collaborative action research (AR) with this organization's members, those who possess the specialized knowledge and training for AACR work. Due to the fact that the nature of this AR did not contain sensitive information that posed risk to participants and that written permission was obtained to use the site name, an exemption was granted to name the site in this study. In particular, this study worked with regional directors in charge of various areas of the U.S., elected board of directors responsible for oversight and approval of organizational changes, and a group of current certified volunteer team members. Participants engaged in various interviews and focus groups in order to share perspectives and experiences to solve the identified problem. Through this AR process, this research team determined a plan of action (target area for expansion and strategies to recruit and train new members). The goal of this study was to document a process which can be refined and re-used for future expansion efforts. Implementation of this action plan will also result in expanded territory, increased ability to meet requests for services, and ultimately enhanced recovery for those exposed to crises and disasters.

Keyword: Animal-Assisted Crisis Response

The amending of the Volstead Act and repeal of national prohibition did not answer the "liquor question" but passed the issue to the states. This thesis examines New York's reaction to the change in national alcohol policy and the states decision to legalize and regulate the beverage with the establishment of the New York State Liquor Authority. It traces the activities of Jean Sheppard who led the state division of the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR) and became one of the key architects of New York's modern alcohol control system. As an expert in alcohol control policies Sheppard developed a plan she believed would be respected by the public while also mitigating the problems associated with alcohol. Sheppard proposed an elaborate system of control which made temperance the objective. Through her position as Chairman of the New York State WONPR Sheppard gained the attention of Governor Herbert H. Lehman who nominated her to the New York State (Conway) Commission on Alcoholic Beverage Control Legislation. As a member of the Commission and then the New York State Alcohol Beverage Control Board, Sheppard was given the opportunity to propose her theories on control. The final legislation creating the New York State Liquor Authority embodied Sheppard's plan in regards to administrative structure but fell well short of her dream of a system that used the full power of the state to put temperance ahead of revenue.