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Developing a community-based local food system in Will County, Illinois: Insights from stakeholders ’viewpoints
Get PDFThe interest in and enthusiasm for shifting food systems to community-based and local trajectories have increased exponentially over the past decade. Part of the appeal of community-based, local food systems is their potential to secure access to healthy food for local communities, expand sustainable farming practices, promote local food economies, and advance environmental and food justice. Interactions and collaborations within the spectrum of the food system’s stakeholders—from farmers to local officials and organizations to local businesses and residents—are the cornerstone for effective food systems tailored to their community’s needs. An increasing number of food system studies have applied stakeholder assessment approaches to map out complex situations among multiple stakeholder groups with different values and viewpoints regarding food system change. However, despite being an essential and influential political unit to target, counties have received very little attention in food system studies, as researchers and practitioners often focus on the federal and state levels of intervention to design food policies.
This study examined the food system in Will County, Illinois, by applying the advocacy coalition framework and using a qualitative, semi-structured survey to engage a diverse set of stakeholders. The answers to the survey questions offered insights into three overlapping and divergent Will County stakeholder viewpoints (Pragmatic, Environmental and Food Justice Advocate, and Visionary), with the intent of informing and enacting food system transformation at the county level. The discussion within this paper focuses on coalition-building and collaboration between formal and informal groups to empower local communities to develop a distinctive food system identity that promotes community support, collaborative networks, and food justice at the county level
Design of “Low Stress” Post-CMP Cleaning Processes for Advanced Technology Nodes
No full textThe Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) process can cause various defects, and they can be classified as mechanical (i.e., scratching), chemical (i.e., corrosion), or physiochemical (i.e., adsorbed contaminants) according to the mechanism of formation. Traditionally, a contact cleaning method involving a poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) brush is used to transfer cleaning chemistry to the substrate of interest as well as provide the necessary mechanical energy for defect removal. While this process is effective in contaminant removal its reliance on shear forces can induce secondary defect modes, such as scratching. To minimize the aforementioned induced defectivity during contact p-CMP processes, the implementation of non-contact modalities has become of the utmost importance. This work will focus on the rationale design of p-CMP cleaning systems for emerging materials such as SiC, carbon-doped oxides, and metals. Soft cleaning chemistry structure (i.e., shape and charge), and processes play a critical role in cleaning efficacy under low stress conditions
Food to Fuel: Biodiesel Processing for Campus and Community Use
Get PDFThe Come Clean, Go Green competition is a program dedicated to making Lewis a more sustainable campus with ideas from Lewis Students across all disciplines. The program is sponsored by the Lewis University Sustainability Council and supported by, the sustainability fee, which was approved last year. The fee will fund the implementation of sustainability projects on campus that are chosen by students
Exploring college students’ assessments of racially-coded language
No full textPolitical scientists have examined racially-coded language for decades, particularly as such language relates to policies impacting African Americans. This research builds on that foundation, by considering how such language is interpreted by college students. College students represent an important population because their political attitudes are somewhat malleable and colleges and universities are typically somewhat diverse in terms of both instruction and student demographics. We, therefore, use a survey administered via Qualtrics to a convenience sample of college students representing five universities to assess how the college experience influences how students perceive racially-coded language. While we expect those students that are involved on campus and those that have been on campus longer to respond more negatively toward negative racial cues, our analysis provides mixed results and raises questions for further research
Impact of Behavioral Biases on Investment Decisions of Fund Managers: Mediating Role Of Investor\u27s Risk Perception During COVID-19
Get PDFThis study examined the relationship of one of the important factors observed during the COVID situation where different behavioral biases impact the risk perceptions and investment decisions of fund managers of Pakistan. Data has been gathered from fund managers of various organizations located in Rawalpindi and Islamabad through a structured questionnaire. The snowball sampling technique has been utilized. SPSS has been utilized for the data analysis. To test hypotheses, regression analysis has been done. The mediation and moderation results have been determined through Preacher and Hayes PROCESS macro. Model 7 of PROCESS macro has been utilized as it is best suited with moderated-mediation models. The findings of the study revealed that both the behavioral biases i.e. underconfidence bias and self-attribution bias do not influence the investment decisions of fund managers directly but both indirectly influence investment decisions when mediated with investor’s risk perception. Moreover, financial literacy also significantly moderates the relationship between underconfidence bias and investor’s risk perceptions and also moderates the relationship between self-attribution bias and investor’s risk perception during COVID-19. The study filled the gap by taking into account financial literacy as the moderator on the relationship between behavioral biases (underconfidence bias and self-attribution bias) and investor’s risk perceptions. The study is a significant contribution to the behavioral finance literature. This research helps stock market regulators and policy makers to better understand the investment mechanism
Utilizing an α,β-Unsaturated Dicarboxylic Acid for a Defect Initiated Residue Removal During Cu post-Chemical Mechanical Planarization Cleaning
Get PDFThe development of post-Chemical Mechanical Planarization (p-CMP) cleaning processes is critical for the continued miniaturization of Integrated Circuit (IC) and logic device architecture. In order for further extension of Moore’s Law the minimization of critical defects is essential. This work focuses on the development of surface-active cleaning chemistries via the implementation of an α, β-unsaturated dicarboxylic acid additive to create synergy at the liquid-brush-wafer interface. More specifically, the implementation of Itaconic Acid (ItA) will chemically activate an organic residue (i.e., Cu(I)-BTA film) resulting in effective removal at significantly reduced CoF. This work demonstrates that the conjugated structure present in ItA significantly enhances the removal of organic residues at the surface of a Cu substrate without the expense of effective SiO2 removal resulting in little to no p-CMP cleaning induced defectivity
Exploring the Role of Work Orientation and Parental Influence on the Presence of a Calling in College Students; Implications for Academic Motivation and Satisfaction
No full textOver the last several decades, there have been numerous studies of both workers and college students who have a calling to a particular line of work. Many positive outcomes have been associated with the presence of a calling, but still much is unknown about both predictors and antecedents of having a calling. This pair of studies explored the extent to which college students\u27 work orientation and parental influence (parents\u27 work orientation and parental pressure) relates to students\u27 presence of a calling, and how, in turn, all of these factors play a role in students\u27 autonomous motivation, satisfaction, and commitment to their major/career path. Two separate samples of undergraduate students (n = 178; n=84) completed online surveys measuring the variables of interest to this study. The most notable results of these studies suggest that students\u27 work orientation is associated with the presence of a calling, and that both presence of a calling and student calling orientation are associated with higher levels of autonomous motivation, and satisfaction and commitment to their major/career path. We found some evidence that perceived influence of parental pressure relates negatively to presence of a calling, autonomous motivation, and satisfaction. This research has implications for universities in supporting student development of a calling orientation and discernment of a calling. It also has implications for parents in how they can best support their children in pursuing a particular major and/or career path
Harnessing Fe(III)–Carboxylate Photochemistry for Radical-Initiated Polymerization in Hydrogels
No full textCoordination of Fe(III) to carboxylates in polyuronic acid hydrogels was used to impart photochemical reactivity to polysaccharide-based hydrogels. This photochemical reaction was then used for light-initiated polymerization to create hydrogels with advanced mechanical and conductive properties by capturing the photogenerated radical with a monomer, either acrylamide, methyl methacrylate, or aniline. The photopolymerization of acrylamide using the Fe(III)–polyuronic acid was quantified in solution and the polymerization efficiency was determined under different conditions. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-modified hydrogels were analyzed by the contact angle, optical microscopy, and rheology. This confirmed formation of a stiff, hydrophobic, PMMA layer on polysaccharide hydrogels after light irradiation in methyl methacrylate. Polyaniline-modified hydrogels were characterized by current–voltage sweeps, which showed the formation of conductive polyaniline integrated into the hydrogel after light irradiation in the aniline monomer. This strategy provided a facile approach to create either layered hydrogels with different stiffness and hydrophobicity or hybrid conductive hydrogels using the simple photochemical reaction of blue light irradiation of Fe(III) coordinated to polyuronic acids