Business Commons^™

Barriers To Adoption Of Methane Digester Technology On California Dairies, Desiree Lee Libarle

Master's Theses

The goal of this research was to analyze the barriers to adoption of methane digesters on California dairies. Methane digesters have long existed as a technology in the dairy industry, both in the United States and abroad. Much research has been done to attest to the viability and economic sustainability of methane digesters; however in 2014, there were 26 dairies in California that have methane digesters installed, and of these, only 17 of those were still in operation, according to the USEPA AgStar Anaerobic Digester Database. Hence, the question remains, as to why this technology has not been widely adopted …

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

The Impact Of Local On Meat Purchasing Decisions, Steven Mclennan

Master's Theses

The research examines the target market for a meat product produced by the local university. Further, desirable attributes of meat and how consumers definition of “locally produced and/or raised” are identified. A total of 290 personal interviews were completed in San Luis Obispo County, California on the consumers’ willingness to purchase Cal Poly meat. Likely purchasers are found to be 31 percent of the San Luis Obispo population. The target buyer of Cal poly meat products are both male and females, who tend to be older, and make more than $60,000 a year. Local is defined by 31 percent of …

A Study To Determine Student Perceptions Of The Cal Poly Veterinary Clinic, Fallon Bliss Sheridan

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the important benefits of Cal Poly Veterinary Clinic (CPVC) and establish areas of interest for the students at the CPVC. The CPVC is a student run veterinary clinic that exposes students to teachable hands-on veterinary experiences by addressing the needs of animals on campus as well as animals in the San Luis Obispo.

This study thoroughly investigated the student who have taken or are currently taking any of the five courses taught at the CPVC. The research was accomplished through a survey questionnaire. The student questionnaire was conducted by the researcher at …

Beef Export Price Response To Sanitary Status And Traceability Systems: Implications For Paraguay, Silvana Careaga

Master's Theses

Global beef markets are highly influenced by sanitary issues, mainly related to animal health and food safety, which have been determining levels and trends in global beef trade. Food safety issues affecting human health such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) associated with Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (vCJD) in humans, and other diseases affecting production such as foot and mouth disease (FMD) has encouraged putting these issues to beef trade attention. A way to address these concerns and comply with international standards is the use of traceability systems in order to quickly identify hazard sources and assure beef quality and safety. The goal …

Vegetable Production Concentration In Northwest Mexico, Desiree Michelle Danel

Master's Theses

An American company that supplies premium quality hybrid vegetable seed to commercial growers in the southern part of the US, Mexico, and Central America sought an assessment of the market potential in the Northwest region of Mexico by identifying land area and production concentrations of vegetables by location, crop, and cultivation method, whether open-field, greenhouse, or shade house.

Data on the cultivated area of four states in the Northwest region of Mexico was collected for 12 crops of interest for the period of 2003-2012 from secondary sources. Data was entered into a statistical software program to complete frequency distribution charts …

City Of Los Angeles Arts District Form-Based Code, Ryan Jupiter Banuelos

Master's Theses

Los Angeles is experiencing a loss of inventory with Industrial land due to adaptive reuse and property conversion. The primary factors behind the conversions are

inconsistent land use regulations and a strong market

demand for residential property. In an effort to streamline land use regulation,

the city will create a new zoning code. In conjunction with the zoning update,

the purpose of this project will be to develop a form-based code for the Los

Angeles Arts District. The new land use regulation will explore methods to

preserve job producing industrial space and accommodate the growing

residential market in the area. …

Future Of Payment Platforms, Salim Benjamin Youssefzadeh

Master's Theses

With the vast increase in smartphones, there have been an increasing number of opportunities growing in the app industry. One in particular is the way we deal with money. There are huge overheads in the current payment systems around the world particularly in the United States, many of which include large transaction fees. Many new businesses have grown to solve these inefficiencies and create a new platform that provides a new user experience, security, and convenience among many other things. However, many of these platforms are still centralized, making them more susceptible to attacks. This thesis goes over the various …

Multi-Criteria Decision Modeling For Best Value Selections In Target Value Design Integrated Project Delivery, Brent Patrick Griffis

Master's Theses

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) combined with Target Value Design (TVD) is a better way to deliver value for the client than traditional guaranteed maximum price (GMP) methods. With traditional GMP delivery methods, the interests of the parties are often at odds. The goal of IPD is to align all party interests in order to achieve a win-win scenario. Due to the aligning nature of IPD and the fact that each party’s success is dependent on achieving the project objectives as a whole; a non-biased, transparent, decision-making process is necessary in order to deliver the project objectives within the constraints of …