The business model of the food industry, as it stands today, is unsustainable.  To counter these negative trends, organizations like Slow Food International have begun to champion the importance of “quality” for health, the environment, and the art of gastronomy. But what does quality mean and what will be its impact on the global food industry? An analysis of wines produced in France and labeled with the government-sponsored quality certification system, Appelation d’Origine Contrôlée, reveals that an emphasis on quality and geography, rather than brand, makes the food market more monopolistically competitive, more inclusive yet hierarchical.

People Emily Gullickson Researcher Thierry Warin Sponsor and Associate Professor of Economics Lynn Owens Sponsor and Assistant Professor of Sociology

Related Links Spring Student Symposium

Downloads Presentation Slides Watch the Presentation with the Slides (RealMedia)

At the dawn of Europe’s global age, England and the Dutch Republic clashed in a series of violent naval battles known as the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654). I argue that the First Anglo-Dutch War was the direct result of the calculated political and economic strategies of the English East India Company (EIC).  Through carefully crafted popular marketing campaigns and the consistent, calculated lobbying and infiltration of England’s monarchy and national government, the EIC definitively influenced English foreign policy – a strategy that would establish the foundation for the greatest global empire the world had yet seen.

People Andrew Van Horn Ruoss Researcher Paul Monod Advisor & A. Barton Hepburn Professor of History

Related Links 1651: A true relation of the unjust, cruel, and barbarous proceedings against the English 1614: Englands vvay to vvin vvealth, and to employ ships and marriners 1651: An act for increase of shipping

Downloads Presentation Slides

The One Child Policy (OCP) has had an enormous impact on Chinese society over the past thirty years and has further exacerbated the gender imbalance of the nation. The ensuing ?”marriage market shortages” in China have had important implications for marriageable-aged Chinese men and women. The scarcity of Han women in Chinese marriage markets and the concessions of the OCP with regard to ethnic minorities may increase the propensity of female Han to marry out when they see gains to marriage such as being able to have more than one child. Given this and other potential gains to intermarriage, under certain circumstances, interethnic marriage may be a rational choice for females in Chinese society.

People Rachel Butera Researcher Thiery Warin Thesis Advisor& Associate Professor of Economics Hang Du Second Reader & Assistant Professor of Chinese

(click to enlarge)

Related Links National Population and Family Planning Commission

Downloads Read the Thesis

One of the presenters for TEDxMonterey was Kelley Calvert, a MIIS alumna and faculty member. Kelley spent the summer of 2009 on a cross-country road trip exploring the nation for signs of hope and change. This was no ordinary journey; she traveled via a twenty-year-old retrofitted biodiesel Jetta. This adventure has inspired her book, Hope Walks into a Bar Looking for Change, a fast-moving tale on the open road that attempts to learn if hope can emerge from change. The cross-country journey and the process of documenting her experience inspired her TEDxMonterey talk where she encouraged participants to add their hope to her online map.

People Kelley Calvert Author, Assistant Professor & Writing Center Director Lynn McDonald Postgraduate Fellow in the Teaching & Learning Collaborative

Related Links TEDxMonterey Conference Interactive Hope Map

Downloads Read Chapters from Hope Walks into a Bar Looking for Change

My research looks at the success of the Slow Food movement in the United States, and how it was a contributing factor to a mental shift from fast unhealthy food to local healthy ones in a portion of the population. The movement was started in Italy, and while support for the movement has grown at the grass roots level, new pro-fast food elements have become present in Italian politics. Since its arrival in 2000 to the United States, the movement encouraged a process of education that promotes an understanding of the food industry. This study focuses on the changes in the food culture that were spurred by the Slow Food movement and have led to educational programs across the country and how this compares to Italy’s current situation.

People Darcy Mullen Researcher Sandra Carletti Sponsor and Professor of Italian

Related Links Let’s Move Community Supported Agriculture

Downloads Watch the Presentation with Slides (requires RealMedia player) Presentation Slides

A high mortality of seeds and seedlings has been documented in areas of high conspecific adult density as a result of increased predation and disease. Although this phenomenon has received significant attention in the scientific literature, the long-term evolutionary and ecological impact of density-dependent seedling mortality remains poorly understood. The purpose of the present study is to determine the population-level impact of density-dependent seedling mortality on heavily exploited big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).

People Chris Free Researcher Matt Landis Faculty Sponsor

Related Links Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna Undergraduate Research Office Senior Work Fund

Downloads Watch the Presentation with Slides (requires RealMedia player) Presentation Slides

Tim Parsons, the College’s Horticulturalist developed an interactive map of all the trees on campus. In Tim’s Urban Forest class, his students took the tree population and ran it through modeling software called iTree to look at carbon sequestration, pollution abatement, etc. Students in other classes have used the map for tree identification. For example, a student recently contacted Tim because she was looking for Cherry trees to evaluate for a plant community ecology class.

People Tim Parsons College Horticulturalist and Project Lead Bill Hegman GIS Specialist Katie Clagett and Chris Rodgers LIS GIS Interns

Related Links BIOL 1003: Trees in the Urban Forest Campus Tree Map Updated Campus Tree Map FAQs Case study in Teaching with Technology

Downloads Google Earth Campus Tree Map Heritage Elm Collection Memorial and Class Trees

From the Spring 2010 issue of the student-published Middlebury Geographic magazine, Andrea Jones examines the economic and geographic conditions that lead to the creation of slums and shantytowns across three continents.

People Andrea Jones Author Emily Allison Photographer

Related Links Middlebury Geographic Spring 2010 Middlebury Geographic Spring 2009

Downloads

Can a fiction based upon a hoax tell us anything about who we are? “Spinning Into Butter” is a controversial and award-winning play, inspired by a racial incident that occurred while playwright Rebecca Gilman was a student at Middlebury in the early ’80s. On April 9th a multi-racial cast presented scenes from “Spinning Into Butter,” interspersed with audience reactions, to explore the script, its source material, and how we experience and respond to race at Middlebury in 2010.

People

Related Links After the play, audience members were asked to write a question they were left with on the back of their programme. We collected these questions and posted them on our project blog. Please share your perspective on these issues.

Downloads Show Poster