Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Agricultural and Extension Education

More than half of the world today lives in urban areas. By 2050, this percentage is expected to reach 66 percent. As the shift toward urbanization occurs, individuals begin to participate in urban livestock production to supplement their diets with animal protein. Urban livestock production presents a myriad of challenges, including zoonotic disease and risk of bodily harm. An exploratory study, utilizing a concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach, was designed to identify management practices that impact overall safety and health of livestock producers in Managua, Nicaragua. Through quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and researcher observations, the data were collected and analyzed in an 18-month U.S. Borlaug Fellowship in Global Food Security, sponsored by USAID. Immersed in the culture, the researcher interacted with 100 urban and peri-urban livestock owners. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, the study protocol used personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as a structure for identifying themes within urban and peri-urban livestock production. The themes related to producers' attitudes were safety, diseases and parasites, cleanliness, and enjoyment. Themes related to subjective norms were experts, family, other livestock producers, and neighbors. Perceived behavioral control themes were authority, knowledge, access, and income. Results found urban livestock producers think first of the safety and health of the animals, then of their family, a strong motivator. Producers would like to perform safe and healthy livestock handling procedures, but do not have the knowledge to improve safety and health. Income is also a limiting factor. Intention to perform safe and healthy livestock handling procedures is primarily limited by the producer's perceived control combined with actual control. Through researcher interaction during Phase 1 the livestock producers expressed interest in learning more about (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Shelly Dee Jepsen (Advisor); Mary Rodriguez (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Agriculture; Animal Sciences

Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2009, College of Arts and Sciences - Economics

While the past two decades have seen Major League Baseball's market scope increase at an unprecedented rate, there is reason to believe that the best is yet to come. As the league has already become well-established in Japan, officials have set their sights on expanding the league's revenue channels by pushing into continental Asia, with China as the centerpiece of the plan. The league's future expansion, however, is not solely reliant on Asian-based revenue streams. While China does stand as the next stepping-stone in expansion, the game has an undeniable opportunity to go global. A logical next stepping stone would land Major League Baseball in Europe. This thesis discusses the potential for Major League Baseball to expand its market to Europe, and outlines operational and marketing plans for such a movement. The justification for expansion itself is vested in past actions by Major League Baseball, while justifications for specifically targeting Europe draw largely on the economic and social conditions in modern Europe. The expansion plan itself is attributable to analyzing the successes and failures of professional football (NFL Europe), specifically focusing on the critical elements of brand extension involved in the process. The plan is centered around the development of a European baseball league, MLBeyond, and the marketing angles that will be used to launch the league

Committee: Janice Taylor Ms (Advisor); Deborah Fletcher PhD (Committee Member); Dennis Sullivan PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Marketing