Browsing by Subject "Cooperative"
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Item A study of the organization of a dairy cooperative marketing association, as related to vocational agriculture(Texas Tech University, 1950-08) Logan, James MarvinNot availableItem A study on member education and communications programs in rural electric cooperatives(Texas Tech University, 2000-08) Haigh, Michael M.American agriculture has changed dramatically during the 20th century. Many rural electric cooperatives (RECs), which have provided a community framework for farming families for more than seventy-five years, are finding it necessary to consolidate into larger entities. The loss of community that often results is only the beginning of changes experienced by REC members. One way to prevent the loss of closeness with members is by having effective communications and education programs in place. Member education and communications are becoming more important in changing times. The impact of successful education and communications programs is often overlooked when cutting budgets to lower costs. These programs will play key roles in keeping the cooperative spirit alive in the next century. The foundation of cooperatives lies in its membership and their understanding of the cooperative principles. This research profiles the cooperative form of business, the history of rural electric cooperatives, the movement of deregulation, the merger process and cooperative options, and the impact of member education and conmaunications programs can have on cooperatives' success. The limited research in this field was expanded by this study. There were 103 rural electric cooperatives surveyed for information. Ninety-four responded (90.9%) to give information about the changing industry, the impact communications and education plays in keeping member owners informed, and what forms of communications and education are used most often in the changing environment.Item An Assessment of Communication Technology Adoption in Texas Cooperatives(2012-08-31) Murch, Matthew 1987-This study focuses on identifying communication technology adoption behaviors to provide educational benchmarks for Texas cooperatives. A survey was conducted with questions identifying a range of variables describing adoption behavior of communication technology from the background of cooperative managers to board management policy. The survey categorized 105 different cooperatives by current technology use and management practices. Once the data were collected, a factor analysis to understand underlying relationships of variables was conducted. The survey found that Texas cooperative managers are willing to expand on their current use of communication technology, however a clear definition of how to use new concepts as a powerful tool is needed. In terms of governance, we found that many cooperatives have no stated policies regarding the use of communication technologies. Generally, those cooperatives that had defined technology use policies were more likely to be using more forms of technology. Through a logistic and ordered logistic regression of the data, the study did not reflect our initial hypothesis that age of the respondent and the years working for a cooperative (manger characteristics) would be a significant factor in estimating Texas cooperatives? willingness to adopt new forms of communication technology and social media. However, the cooperatives? technology adoption behavior can best be explained by the data produced from descriptive cooperative information and the existence of employee communication technology policies. Likewise, cooperatives? willingness to adopt social media can best be explained by the data produced from manager attitudes and cooperatives? concerns.Item Cooperative optimal path planning for herding problems(2009-05-15) Lu, ZhenyuIn this thesis we study a new type of pursuit-evasion game, which we call the herding problem. Unlike typical pursuit evasion games where the pursuer aims to catch or intercept the evader, the goal of the pursuer in this game is to drive the evader to a certain location or region in the x-y plane. This herding model is proposed and represented using dynamic equations. The model is implemented in an effort to understand how two pursuers work cooperatively to drive multiple evaders to the desired destination following weighted time-optimal and effort-optimal control paths. Simulation of this herding problem is accomplished through dynamic programming by utilizing the SNOPT software in the MATLAB environment. The numerical solution gives us the optimal path for all agents and the corresponding controls as well as the relative distance and angle variables. The results show that the pursuers can work cooperatively to drive multiple evaders to the goal.Item Cooperative supervisory programs in Texas(Texas Tech University, 1956-08) Porter, Fallon BaxterNot availableItem High school principal's attitudes toward the handicapped and the work-study program(Texas Tech University, 1977-08) Smith, Thomas Earl CavetNot availableItem Is the international coffee market coming home to Ethiopia?(2012-05) Jeffrey, James Richard Francis; Dahlby, Tracy; Todd, RustyThis MA Report explains the impact coffee cooperatives are having on the Ethiopian coffee industry. It analyses how the current multi-billion dollar global coffee industry began in what remains one of the world’s poorest countries, where arabica coffee was discovered sometime before the sixth century. It explains the emergence of coffee cooperatives historically, as well as their present role offering an alternative to the country’s previous reliance on the assistance of Western nongovernmental organizations with their possible negative impact, including arguments they enforced a dependency on Ethiopia that impeded the country’s development. In discussing coffee buyers and coffee consumption, the report focuses on America, although the same points made apply to the vast majority of Western countries. The report investigates whether cooperatives offer a business model sufficient to achieve self-sustainability for Ethiopian coffee farmers, and discusses how the interaction between and among cooperatives, unions, the Ethiopian government, and specialty coffee buyers in America is enabling Ethiopian coffee to increase its leverage on the international coffee market, generating essential income for the struggling Ethiopian economy. The report focuses on the following areas: the connection between poverty and linkage to markets; how coffee travels from smallholding farmers in Ethiopia to be sold in American cities like Austin, Texas; the emergence of certification systems like Fair Trade to protect farmers and ensure they receive a fair price for their produce, as well as the chain of commerce that Fair Trade is part of; the quality and characteristics of Ethiopian coffee; and whether cooperatives and unions can remain true to the original goals of serving their farmer members—not turning into purely profit-orientated businesses. While this report focuses on Ethiopia, it dissects and debates economic trends that usually affect developing nations producing coffee. It explores the logistics and ethics of prices paid in the West for coffee from developing countries like Ethiopia. The report ultimately aims to enlighten readers so they’re able to make an ethical purchase of a good quality coffee, while aware of the myriad factors and trends affecting the international coffee market.Item Some tax considerations in the incorporation of the family agricultural business(Texas Tech University, 1959-05) Rackley, Charles LouisNot available