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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Robert Cole, Heli Gittins and Norman Dandy

This paper's purpose is to explore the current interest and knowledge that UK consumers hold around agroforestry. Despite the many reported benefits of agroforestry systems…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper's purpose is to explore the current interest and knowledge that UK consumers hold around agroforestry. Despite the many reported benefits of agroforestry systems, uptake in the UK, as well as other temperate nations, has been low. As the consumer has a role to play in the transition of agriculture to methods that are more environmentally friendly it is vital to have an understanding of their perceptions. Yet to date no work has looked at agroforestry from the perspective of the UK consumer.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was conducted using a convenience sample accessed by floating a link through social media and messaging apps. The survey was also shared to the members of a private Facebook group associated with an organic vegetable box service. A mix of multiple choice and open text boxes were used. The survey received 139 responses.

Findings

Non-parametric tests indicate that this sample of UK consumers would be mostly likely to buy, and willing to pay more for, agroforestry produce; and the sample showed a split group regarding familiarity. Inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data highlighted some important barriers to the purchase as well as capturing a snapshot of this sample's perceptions.

Originality/value

This paper presents, to the authors knowledge, the first set of data regarding a sample of UK consumers' perspective of agroforestry produce. The findings could bolster producers' confidence in adopting agroforestry practices, but also highlight the need for policymakers to bolster consumer support through parallel means.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 126 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 May 2019

Richard M. Friend, Samarthia Thankappan, Bob Doherty, Nay Aung, Astrud L. Beringer, Choeun Kimseng, Robert Cole, Yanyong Inmuong, Sofie Mortensen, Win Win Nyunt, Jouni Paavola, Buapun Promphakping, Albert Salamanca, Kim Soben, Saw Win, Soe Win and Nou Yang

Agricultural and food systems in the Mekong Region are undergoing transformations because of increasing engagement in international trade, alongside economic growth, dietary…

Abstract

Agricultural and food systems in the Mekong Region are undergoing transformations because of increasing engagement in international trade, alongside economic growth, dietary change and urbanisation. Food systems approaches are often used to understand these kinds of transformation processes, with particular strengths in linking social, economic and environmental dimensions of food at multiple scales. We argue that while the food systems approach strives to provide a comprehensive understanding of food production, consumption and environmental drivers, it is less well equipped to shed light on the role of actors, knowledge and power in transformation processes and on the divergent impacts and outcomes of these processes for different actors. We suggest that an approach that uses food systems as heuristics but complements it with attention to actors, knowledge and power improves our understanding of transformations such as those underway in the Mekong Region. The key transformations in the region include the emergence of regional food markets and vertically integrated supply chains that control increasing share of the market, increase in contract farming particularly in the peripheries of the region, replacement of crops cultivated for human consumption with corn grown for animal feed. These transformations are increasingly marginalising small-scale farmers, while at the same time, many other farmers increasingly pursue non-agricultural livelihoods. Food consumption is also changing, with integrated supply chains controlling substantial part of the mass market. Our analysis highlights that theoretical innovations grounded in political economy, agrarian change, development studies and rural livelihoods can help to increase theoretical depth of inquiries to accommodate the increasingly global dimensions of food. As a result, we map out a future research agenda to unpack the dynamic food system interactions and to unveil the social, economic and environmental impacts of these rapid transformations. We identify policy and managerial implications coupled with sustainable pathways for change.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1983

Richard J. Schonberger

Quality control circles, a Japanese management technique for improving quality, productivity, and worker morale, have been widely adopted in western industry. The apparent hope is…

Abstract

Quality control circles, a Japanese management technique for improving quality, productivity, and worker morale, have been widely adopted in western industry. The apparent hope is that the circles are a key to competing with the Japanese. In this article QC circles are shown to resemble, and potentially overlap with, six other western work improvement programmes, most of which have had successful histories. Case observations offer limited evidence that plant configuration considerations should be foremost among the factors emphasised in an industrial work improvement programme and that western industry should not expect too much from quality control circles.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1993

Anne Lundin

In the novel, The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers probes the American malaise through the longings of a young adolescent girl. Twelve‐year‐old Frankie no longer sees the…

Abstract

In the novel, The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers probes the American malaise through the longings of a young adolescent girl. Twelve‐year‐old Frankie no longer sees the world as round and inviting as a school globe. No, the world is huge and cracked and turning a thousand miles an hour. Indeed, the world seems separate from herself. In the midst of chaos, Frankie sees her brother's upcoming wedding as a chance to feel connected, to feel that she matters. The story focuses on Frankie's efforts to be a “member of the wedding,” as she recognizes, “they are the we of me.”

Details

Collection Building, vol. 12 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2013

Tim Hatcher

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ideals and activities of the nineteenth century Welsh industrialist and reformer Robert Owen (1771‐1858), and how they informed…

2775

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ideals and activities of the nineteenth century Welsh industrialist and reformer Robert Owen (1771‐1858), and how they informed modern human resource development (HRD) concepts and practices and provided evidence of Owen as a HRD pioneer.

Design/methodology/approach

Historiography provided a method to understand how historical figures, and the context in which they lived and worked, inform contemporary research and practice.

Findings

Contextual factors of economics, politics and societal demands and the influences of Owen's early life, his immersion within the British factory system and the creation of the New Lanark mill village, Owen's great work experiment, revealed a strong impact on his thinking and actions. Thematic findings included: managing people and profit, education and training, pioneering workplace innovations, and the failure of the New Harmony, Indiana community. Themes provided unique historical evidence that education and development of workers, and the creation of humane work and community environments are linked across time and contexts to modern concepts of human resource development and thus supported Owen as a HRD pioneer.

Practical implications

Understanding the ideals and workplace experiments and contextual influences on a historical figure such as Robert Owen illustrate how modern concepts of workforce training and education, diversity, equality and justice and social responsibility originated and the importance of contexts on their development and success.

Social implications

Contexts of economics, politics and societal demands greatly influence organizations and the creation of humane workplaces that nurture human potential.

Originality/value

The study brings history and historiography as a research method to the forefront of HRD research and practice. The study provides the beginnings of a collective historical memory that can contribute to HRD defining itself and establishing its identity as a discipline.

Book part
Publication date: 6 December 2005

Patrick Primeaux

In 1981, the noted psychologist Robert Coles lectured at the University of Southwestern Louisiana on Kenneth Toole's Pulitzer Prize winning book, A Confederacy of Dunces (Coles

Abstract

In 1981, the noted psychologist Robert Coles lectured at the University of Southwestern Louisiana on Kenneth Toole's Pulitzer Prize winning book, A Confederacy of Dunces (Coles, 1983). When asked about Dr. Coles’ interpretation of the book's central character, Ignatius J. Reilly, as a metaphor for the Roman Catholic Church, the author's mother responded, “He would be. Ignatius is a booby and a prophet” (Fletcher, 2005, p. 140). That paradoxical combination of foolishness and wisdom describes not only the Catholic Church, but also the professional role of the priest at the beginning of the second millennium. Torn between two opposing structural ideologies governing the identity of the Church and his role within it, the priest treads a fine line between buffoonery and prophecy.

Details

Crisis and Opportunity in the Professions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-378-5

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1979

“All things are in a constant state of change”, said Heraclitus of Ephesus. The waters if a river are for ever changing yet the river endures. Every particle of matter is in…

Abstract

“All things are in a constant state of change”, said Heraclitus of Ephesus. The waters if a river are for ever changing yet the river endures. Every particle of matter is in continual movement. All death is birth in a new form, all birth the death of the previous form. The seasons come and go. The myth of our own John Barleycorn, buried in the ground, yet resurrected in the Spring, has close parallels with the fertility rites of Greece and the Near East such as those of Hyacinthas, Hylas, Adonis and Dionysus, of Osiris the Egyptian deity, and Mondamin the Red Indian maize‐god. Indeed, the ritual and myth of Attis, born of a virgin, killed and resurrected on the third day, undoubtedly had a strong influence on Christianity.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1997

Connie Rae Bateman, Neil C. Herndon and John P. Fraedrich

This paper represents a discussion of transfer pricing (TP). Key factors are identified and propositions developed from tax accounting and other perspectives. Stages of the TP…

Abstract

This paper represents a discussion of transfer pricing (TP). Key factors are identified and propositions developed from tax accounting and other perspectives. Stages of the TP decision process are identified along with the critical factors directly affecting sales and a TP audit. Propositions are derived which show relationships among these variables and tax rates, competition, and TP methodologies. Finally, academic research implications are suggested.

Details

International Journal of Commerce and Management, vol. 7 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1056-9219

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 3 September 2019

Jeffrey Berman

Abstract

Details

Mad Muse: The Mental Illness Memoir in a Writer's Life and Work
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-810-0

Book part
Publication date: 8 August 2015

Michael G. Goldsby and Robert Mathews

Entrepreneurial pursuits are all situational and relative. Business opportunities come and go based on many fluid factors. Those factors are also multidimensional, as market…

Abstract

Entrepreneurial pursuits are all situational and relative. Business opportunities come and go based on many fluid factors. Those factors are also multidimensional, as market pressures and demands, skills of entrepreneurs, resources of entrepreneurs, and environmental factors make each opportunity and execution strategy unique. Since every entrepreneurial venture is essentially a one-of-a-kind enterprise, each startup is a chance for the entrepreneur to express their unique vision, values, and goals. Philosophers would recognize this exercise as existential in nature. This paper explains how reading existential literature provides inspirational heroes for entrepreneurs seeking to build companies that stand out from their peers. The paper provides an overview and history of existentialism and then applies it to entrepreneurship. The paper is conceptual and provides a brief overview of existentialism and explains how it relates to entrepreneurship. It provides a collection of existential writings that relate to entrepreneurship. Guidance for reading and applying the literature is given. Existentialism is a subject that has not been covered in the entrepreneurship literature. Thus, the paper introduces this popular philosophical perspective to the entrepreneurship literature. The authors hope to create interesting discussions between philosophy and entrepreneurship scholars.

Details

The Challenges of Ethics and Entrepreneurship in the Global Environment
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-950-9

Keywords

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