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Yemen Coffee - DNA Mapping in Order to Create a Market Segment for Premium Third Wave Coffee Marketing - Background Paper “If Yemen had proprietary terms that are widely recognized—as Mocha once was—then it could have enormous value in the marketplace. In order to achieve this, the issue of varietals, their characterization, and their taxonomy must first be addressed. More than most countries, Yemen lends itself to differentiation based on unique flavors and corresponding agro-ecological zones.” USAID Yemen Coffee Assessment "Hybrids vs Heirlooms – Kevin Knox in “Coffee Basics”, states that ---“As is the case with many domesticated agricultural products today, the issue of growing heirloom varieties versus modern varieties is a great concern to the specialty coffee industry. Older versions of the arabica plant are preferred by many specialty coffee buyers for their superior and distinctive taste qualities. Specialty coffee buyers concerned about flavor and the future existence of fine coffee encourage growers to continue cultivating heirloom plants. They are also willing to pay the higher price that support growers in doing so.” The link above is to a recent study by Luis Fernando Samper on the Coffee Marketing Intangibles . This multi-billion dollar market offers unique opportunities for Yemen's coffee sector. The following is a program description of a coffee marketing initiative in Yemen. Yemen Coffee - Unique & Valuable Yemen is creating a unique and valuable market segment for its Arabica coffee. Finding Ways to Capture Market Value Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is the basis of the global specialty coffee market and commands premium prices for high quality, unique origin, and special taste or cup characteristics. Yemen, the origin of cultivated Arabica coffee began growing this crop as early as the 6th century C.E. with genetic material brought from Ethiopia. Yemen’s coffee is considered the basis for all specialty coffee production worldwide.* Finding ways to market this uniqueness is key. Yemen - Origin of Commercial Coffee Cultivation of Coffea arabica started in Yemen as early as the 6th century. Original genetic material came from Ethiopia where the greatest diversity is found. In terms of modern specialty coffee, the entire genetic base is built on two genotypes from Yemen: (1) Typica; and (2) Bourbon. The specialty coffee industry highly values the taste and cup characteristics of “heirloom” varieties of Coffea arabica. Source:”Coffee Species and Varietal Identification,” Tools for Identifying Biodiversit DNA Mapping - Key to Marketing Using DNA mapping, coffee type and origin can be certified which could form the basis of an appellation process that identifies coffee as a product category linked to a specific geographic and genetic origin comparable to wine and cheese product categories certified by geographic origin. Quality & Transparency Yemen lacks the national institutions to create a verifiable certification system but there is the potential to create a benchmark system through DNA mapping to verify geographic and genetic origin. This system could be implemented by the World Coffee Research Center at the Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG). This certification system could form the basis for a premium coffee marketing program. Potential is There Yemen has progressive coffee exporters that are already developing their own certification and traceability program (e.g., Al-Ezzi Coffee Exporters, Al-Hamdani Coffee Company, Yemen Coffee Export Company, etc.).DNA Mapping could provide the type of independent certification that would provide the basis for establishing a product category of geographic and genetic origin. These coffee product categories could create an appellation framework for Yemeni coffee. Show More Your details were sent successfully! Send

David Bathrick: Reviving Rural Economies A Call to Action David Bathrick's strategy document proposes a plan to address global poverty and its connection to immigration, focusing on revitalizing agriculture in low- and middle-income economies. It argues that decades of neoliberal policies and inadequate aid have hindered agricultural development, leading to increased poverty and migration. The plan suggests a multi-faceted approach involving agricultural diversification, policy reforms, and increased international cooperation. A key element is convening a forum of experts to advise the new administration on a more effective approach to foreign aid and immigration. The ultimate goal is to create sustainable economic growth and reduce the root causes of migration. Reviving Rural Economies_ A Call to Action 00:00 / 17:01

Christopher James Goughnour Scholarship The first Christopher James Goughnour Scholarship was awarded on September 1, 2020. Please see links below to see the award announcement and the essays submitted by the five finalists. A $500 award was made to Maryann Calderon. A $50 honorarium was given to the other four finalists. Their stories and the struggles they are overcoming to further their education are inspiring and set an example of service and dedication that honors Chris' memory. Christopher James Goughnour Scholarship

Hispanic Political Views Hispanic Political Views and Presidential Election Voting Patterns Michael Maxey As part of the requirements for completion of a statistics course at Duke University provided by Coursera.com ("Data Analysis and Statistical Inference"), I proposed the following statistical analysis exercise to assess whether there is a correlation in values and voting records of Hispanics over the last forty years of Presidential elections in the US. This proposal (1) identifies a research question, (2) specifies a dataset and (3) provides exploratory analysis to if data set is appropriate for the answer the research question. Research Question : Are Hispanics as a population more liberal or more conservative and does their voting record in Presidential elections since 1972 correlate to their political views? The U.S. Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority group in the country with Census projections estimating that by the year 2050, one out of four Americans will be Hispanic. In the latest Presidential election, more than 75% of Hispanics voted for the Democratic candidate running on platform that could be considered liberal by many Americans. The question my research wants to explore to determine dependence between two variables (1) Hispanic ethnicity and (2) political views. The specific question is: “What are the political views of U.S. Hispanic residents?”Intuitively, one might think that Hispanics are liberal given their strong voting patterns for Democratic candidates in U.S. Presidential elections. By analyzing the data, I seek to provide a historical description of the political views of Hispanics. I want to then compare Hispanic historical voting records, assess how those voting records relate, or not, to GSS survey results for Hispanic political values, and develop an argument for actions needed to align Hispanic voting with values. The overall objective of this research is to create a departure point for discussing future political strategy considerations required to ensure that Hispanic voting patterns match political views. Data Set : Using the General Social Survey (GSS) Cumulative File (1972 – 2012), two variables were identified to determine the political views of Hispanics: (1) “hispanic” – representing non-specific Hispanics; and (2) “polviews” – representing political persuasion (moderate, liberal, conservative, etc.). These two categorical variables will be used to obtain an overall assessment of Hispanic political views over time. These views will then be matched against Presidential election outcomes and the percentage of Hispanics that voted for the two primary parties (Republican and Democrat). Exploratory Data Analysis : R software was downloaded to my personal computer and the data set represented by “url(http://bit.ly/dasi_gss_data)) was loaded. A preliminary analysis using the command “plot(gss$hispanic~gss$polviews)” was used to create a rough table showing the political views of Hispanics during the period (1972 – 2012). For my project I will work to analyze this data set by year, country of origin and political views to break out different aspects of the impact of political views on voting in U.S. Presidential elections. R table based on Hispanic & Political Views provided the graph below showing a large majority of Hispanics are moderate to extremely conservative in their political viewpoints. The next step in my project will be to disaggregate this data by year, graph political views over time, and compare that to Hispanic voting percentages in U.S. Presidential elections for the two major political parties – Republicans and Democrats. This data analysis exercise is still underway.

Implementation Constraints at the Millenium Challenge Corporation I wrote a paper on constraints faced by the Millenium Challenge Corporation in 2006/2007 as it tried to initiate projects around the world. A debate involving economic theory (there were 30 economists in an organization with a total staff of only 300) tended to distract the organization from focusing on project implementation. MCC Program Execution Discussion Paper Final.pdf

How to Change the World Raising Awareness for Actions to Lower Child Mortality Rates Michael Maxey What do we know? In the developing world, infant and child mortality continue to be critical problems that impact millions of children per year. There are environmental causes of disease (e.g., unsanitary water provoking diarrheal diseases) and communicable diseases (e.g., malaria) which kill a disproportionately high number of children. In the developed world, 7 of 10 deaths are among people over 70 years of age and are usually due to chronic disease, while in the developing world, only 2 of 10 deaths are of elderly patients. Most of the deaths in the developing world are of children, and a majority of these deaths can be prevented. Finding ways to reduce these deaths is a critical aspect of addressing global development needs where survival to contribute to the global economy must be a key objective.[i] Why is it important? Aside from the moral issue of the suffering and loss of human life, there is an economic price for disease and death among the most vulnerable. In sub-Saharan Africa, alone, the annual impact of malaria on economic productivity, foreign investment and trade is estimated to be $12 billion.[ii] Finding ways to limit the impact of this disease which is particularly devastating on children under 5 years of age is critical to long term development of Africa. All other aspects of demographic growth, workforce development, competitiveness and nation-building are moot if children cannot survive into adolescent and adulthood. The good news is there are proven technologies that can have an immediate impact; relatively simple techniques can be employed to significantly reduce infant and child mortality: hand-washing, pre-natal care, sanitation, and use of low cost technology (e.g., pesticide treated mosquito nets). What can we do about it? Through (1) creating social consensus, (2) provoking care and involvement, (3) marshalling resources, and (4) designing effective patterns of intervention, we can affect change. Different presenters provided examples of what can be done – promote democracy, “get in the game,” keep learning, etc. The message was clear that the most important thing we can do to reduce childhood mortality is to engage, to learn the issues and to advocate for support whether it is low cost HIV treatment, pesticide treated mosquito nets, or low cost pre-natal outreach. Others have shown the way, from Sharkey County, Mississippi and the Carey Christian Center cutting infant mortality by 60 percent through community outreach or Africa seeing a 50 percent reduction in malaria deaths from mosquito net use. The key is to (1) find what works, (2) make it cheap, and (3) educate people in how to use it. The expansion of the ability to lead a thoughtfully chosen life depends on surviving childhood for the poor in developing countries. Advocacy and outreach are two critical things each of us can do through a variety of mechanisms to create positive change in the world. The moral and economic importance of becoming involved is becoming more evident as social consciousness increases and the time and means for each of us to take action is at hand . [i] James W. McGuire, Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America (Cambridge University Press, 2010). [ii] http://www.one.org/international/issues/infectious-diseases/mala ria/

Howard Van Vranken Article for Army War College "Interagency Team-making - Lessons Learned from the "Surge" in Iraq PKSOI Bulletin, Vol. 2, Issue 4, 2010 This article was published in July 2010 and it tells the lessons learned from the Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team that I served on in 2008 in North Babil. The article is on pages 6 - 10. You can download a copy of the article -- here. I served as the USAID Representative on ePRT North Babil. Part of the article -- see below --describes my role and how we were able to support stabilization in concert with our military counterparts. PKSOI Bulletin, July 2010

Essays of Scholarship Recipients June 2021 Wendy Marin - Essay.pdf Isamar Cabrales - Essay.pdf Eva Salas - Essay.pdf Destiny Gonzalez - Essay.pdf

Latest Statistics on Unaccompanied Minors Unaccompanied Children Released to Spons

Ironman South County Church Summary of Romans Chapter 8

The following is a schematic showing how a Guest Worker Housing Program could be established. Think Piece - Guest Worker Program and R