This dissertation consists of three essays that collectively address the importance of accounting for spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependence of environmental assets and natural resources in policy making. The first essay examines the value of different wetland ecosystem services using an expanded meta-dataset of valuation studies in North America. The...
Ultra high temperature (UHT) processing can extend shelf life of milk to several months without refrigeration, which is more convenient and energy saving than pasteurized milk. However, the poor acceptance caused by "cooked" flavors limits its marketing growth, especially in United States. Ohmic heating, which has a more uniform and...
Citizen Science is a paradigm in which volunteers from the general public participate in scientific studies, often by performing data collection. This paradigm is especially useful if the scope of the study is too broad to be performed by a limited number of trained scientists. Although citizen scientists can contribute...