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Configuring The Qualification Of Good Coffee An Ethnography On The Specialty Coffee Industry In Milwaukee, Yang Liu

Theses and Dissertations

I put qualification at the center of this research, because the intensive emphasis on coffee quality in the Third Wave Coffee Movement is the first thing that drew me to this research. When I talked with people in the specialty coffee industry in Milwaukee, they did not always admit they are part of the movement but they did highlight coffee quality as the core value of the specialty coffee market.

The concept of qualification comes from Michael Callon and his colleagues’ (2002) theoretical framework “the economy of qualities.” It refers to an economy in which tradable goods in the market …

Get A Lot For Less: Evaulation Of The $1 Vacant Lot Pilot Program In Milwaukee's 15th Aldermanic District, Sierra Starner-Heffron

Theses and Dissertations

Between July, 2014 and July, 2015, the city piloted a program in which City-owned vacant lots could be sold for $1 to adjacent homeowners exclusively in the 15th Aldermanic District. The focus of this research was to determine the effectiveness of the $1 lot program in revitalizing the neighborhoods within that District. Using a visual assessment, this research observed the condition of 26 vacant lots sold approximately one year prior to the assessment and scored them based on a unique set of factors including the presence of a fence (a proxy for defensible space) the presence of gardens, whether any …

Babies And Biomedicine: Knowledge System Negotiation In The Domain Of Infant Care, Maisie Buntin

Theses and Dissertations

In 2011, the city of Milwaukee launched a controversial public service campaign intended to minimize infant deaths by highlighting the dangers of cosleeping. In Wisconsin, about 28% of mothers bedshare with their infants, with the highest rates among women of color, averaging about 40% (Wisconsin Department of Health Services 2014). These data suggest that multiple knowledge systems might exist in the domain of infant care. This thesis proposes that Milwaukee’s current campaign is based in biomedicine, the predominant knowledge system surrounding infant care. Yet, its target demographic (cosleeping families) may not subscribe as strictly to a biomedical system of knowledge, …