In arid environments such as Arizona, agricultural producers are burdened by constraints placed on them by inhospitable weather and limited access to water and fertile soil when attempting to grow produce. Farms in the arid Southwest often have to build greenhouses to overcome such constraints; however, such greenhouses may be relatively space, water, and pesticide intensive and often have demanding maintenance needs and overhead costs. In addition, many current agricultural practices exhaust land resources disparagingly, leading to irreversible environmental degradation. In an effort to improve agricultural production for those limited by weather and resource constraints while simultaneously increasing sustainability in land, resource and pesticide use, we have created Valleyponics, a hydroponic growth services company centered around creating a minimal farming footprint. The company uses a consultative services approach, leveraging NASA Veggie Growth System Technology to provide solutions to large businesses by automating their agricultural production processes and minimizing resource use year-round. Valleyponics aims to cultivate consultative partnerships which will allow our clients, their communities, and the environment to flourish.

This thesis examines hiring and retention challenges in the retail sector. Using a case study format, I interviewed 2 retail firms to determine in what ways they are experiencing these issues and what strategies they use to combat them. I use Lazear & Shaw (2007) and their personnel economic theories about compensation structure, nonmonetary benefits, and sorting to discuss the data I obtained.

This thesis seeks to explore issues of media governance and engagement in nations at the margin of democracy, subsequently establishing the basis of a policy framework which can bolster media freedom and enhance the potential for democratic consolidation. The paper conducts a case study on the domestic media markets of Hungary and Poland, and explores foreign-influence efforts in Ukraine. It concludes with an analysis of the policy or market-based tools available to promote and protect media freedom.

This story ---Under Still Faces--- is a horror fiction story. It is influenced primarily by classic, gothic literature with themes from the horror and true crime genres. The story includes critical/theoretical concepts, literary devices, and techniques from gothic literature primarily including Freud’s Uncanny, uneven framing, and an unreliable narrator. It employs themes from Edgar Allan Poe’s novels as well as his thesis regarding plot in The Philosophy of Composition. Particular descriptive themes in conjunction with the use of gothic elements surprise the reader about the story’s true ending similar to Poe’s The Oval Portrait. Included is an analysis of the literary decisions made in the piece to evoke specific reactions and feelings from the reader.