Consumer Preferences for Organic and Fair Trade Chocolate: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture in the Developing World

This paper examines results of a consumer survey measuring consumer awareness and attitudes concerning two labels, certified organic and certified Fair Trade. These labels provide information about the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the production and marketing practices of goods imported from the developing world. Conjoint analysis is used to measure how consumers value organic and fair trade compared to other attributes like price. Results indicate favorable attitudes and value placed on these the sustainable attributes, and imply a role for these labels to provide incentives for the adoption of more sustainable practices.conjoint analysis, Fair Trade, organic, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Simulation-assisted control in building energy management systems

Technological advances in real-time data collection, data transfer and ever-increasing computational power are bringing simulation-assisted control and on-line fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) closer to reality than was imagined when building energy management systems (BEMSs) were introduced in the 1970s. This paper describes the development and testing of a prototype simulation-assisted controller, in which a detailed simulation program is embedded in real-time control decision making. Results from an experiment in a full-scale environmental test facility demonstrate the feasibility of predictive control using a physically-based thermal simulation program

PAN AIR: A computer program for predicting subsonic or supersonic linear potential flows about arbitrary configurations using a higher order panel method. Volume 2: User's manual (version 3.0)

A comprehensive description of user problem definition for the PAN AIR (Panel Aerodynamics) system is given. PAN AIR solves the 3-D linear integral equations of subsonic and supersonic flow. Influence coefficient methods are used which employ source and doublet panels as boundary surfaces. Both analysis and design boundary conditions can be used. This User's Manual describes the information needed to use the PAN AIR system. The structure and organization of PAN AIR are described, including the job control and module execution control languages for execution of the program system. The engineering input data are described, including the mathematical and physical modeling requirements. Version 3.0 strictly applies only to PAN AIR version 3.0. The major revisions include: (1) inputs and guidelines for the new FDP module (which calculates streamlines and offbody points); (2) nine new class 1 and class 2 boundary conditions to cover commonly used modeling practices, in particular the vorticity matching Kutta condition; (3) use of the CRAY solid state Storage Device (SSD); and (4) incorporation of errata and typo's together with additional explanation and guidelines

Pathways to treatment retention for individuals legally coerced to substance use treatment: The interaction of hope and treatment motivation

Although several states have adopted policies diverting individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses to substance use treatment, in lieu of incarceration or as a condition of probation, previous research has produced inconsistent findings on the effectiveness of such programs when comparing outcomes for legally coerced individuals to more voluntary entrants. Less studied in these populations is within group variation in treatment expectations and motivation influences, which have been shown to affect retention as well. As motivation has traditionally been viewed as contributing to treatment retention and higher levels of hope (the perception that goals can be met) are viewed as an asset in treatment, the role of these factors in predicting better retention between legally coerced and more voluntary clients were examined in a sample of 289 treatment admissions in California. Results found that motivation mediates the relationship between hope and retention for participants in general. Although the differences in mediation between the legally coerced and the non-legally coerced were not significant, when examining the groups separately, there was a significant mediation of the relationship between hope and retention by motivation only for those individuals who were not legally coerced into treatment (p\u3c.05). The findings imply that while being legally coerced may lead to different pathways to treatment retention, for individuals who were not legally coerced, higher levels of hope may play an important role in determining treatment retentio

Pathways to treatment retention for individuals legally coerced to substance use treatment: The interaction of hope and treatment motivation

Although several states have adopted policies diverting individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses to substance use treatment, in lieu of incarceration or as a condition of probation, previous research has produced inconsistent findings on the effectiveness of such programs when comparing outcomes for legally coerced individuals to more voluntary entrants. Less studied in these populations is within group variation in treatment expectations and motivation influences, which have been shown to affect retention as well. As motivation has traditionally been viewed as contributing to treatment retention and higher levels of hope (the perception that goals can be met) are viewed as an asset in treatment, the role of these factors in predicting better retention between legally coerced and more voluntary clients were examined in a sample of 289 treatment admissions in California. Results found that motivation mediates the relationship between hope and retention for participants in general. Although the differences in mediation between the legally coerced and the non-legally coerced were not significant, when examining the groups separately, there was a significant mediation of the relationship between hope and retention by motivation only for those individuals who were not legally coerced into treatment (p\u3c.05). The findings imply that while being legally coerced may lead to different pathways to treatment retention, for individuals who were not legally coerced, higher levels of hope may play an important role in determining treatment retentio

Muon-fluorine entangled states in molecular magnets

The information accessible from a muon-spin relaxation experiment is often limited since we lack knowledge of the precise muon stopping site. We demonstrate here the possibility of localizing a spin polarized muon in a known stopping state in a molecular material containing fluorine. The muon-spin precession that results from the entangled nature of the muon-spin and surrounding nuclear spins is sensitive to the nature of the stopping site and we use this property to identify three classes of site. We are also able to describe the extent to which the muon distorts its surroundings.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

COVID-19 Impacts on Vermont Farms and Food Businesses: Pivots, Needs and Opportunities for the Future

This report highlights results from a survey of Vermont farm and food businesses conducted during August and September 2020, with a total of 223 respondents. The survey was distributed via a number of non-profit, business, and state agencies in Vermont. Respondents included farms, food and farm product retail, agritourism operators, on-farm food processors, food and beverage manufacturers, nurseries/greenhouses/garden centers, and food hubs/aggregators. Overall, we find the majority of respondents experienced a COVID-19 business impact, especially in market and financial ways. We also find that the majority of respondents had business changes they wanted to make, but couldn\u27t because of a lack of financial resources, inadequate equipment, or personal challenges. While the majority of respondents didn\u27t apply for COVID-19 grants and programs, those that did were significantly more likely to agree they had the financial resources to make necessary business changes. We also identify help recovery strategies including the need for market assistance to shift to online platforms. Finally, we identify that the majority of respondents indicated perceived stress at the time of the survey, further highlighting the need for mental health resources related to COVID-19. We discuss future opportunities for recovery efforts and resilience in the Vermont food system

Agent-Based Modeling of Intracellular Transport

We develop an agent-based model of the motion and pattern formation of vesicles. These intracellular particles can be found in four different modes of (undirected and directed) motion and can fuse with other vesicles. While the size of vesicles follows a log-normal distribution that changes over time due to fusion processes, their spatial distribution gives rise to distinct patterns. Their occurrence depends on the concentration of proteins which are synthesized based on the transcriptional activities of some genes. Hence, differences in these spatio-temporal vesicle patterns allow indirect conclusions about the (unknown) impact of these genes. By means of agent-based computer simulations we are able to reproduce such patterns on real temporal and spatial scales. Our modeling approach is based on Brownian agents with an internal degree of freedom, $\theta$, that represents the different modes of motion. Conditions inside the cell are modeled by an effective potential that differs for agents dependent on their value $\theta$. Agent's motion in this effective potential is modeled by an overdampted Langevin equation, changes of $\theta$ are modeled as stochastic transitions with values obtained from experiments, and fusion events are modeled as space-dependent stochastic transitions. Our results for the spatio-temporal vesicle patterns can be used for a statistical comparison with experiments. We also derive hypotheses of how the silencing of some genes may affect the intracellular transport, and point to generalizations of the model