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1 – 10 of 36Amal M.H. Abdel-Haleem, Henar A. Seleem and Wafaa K. Galal
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential quality of Kamut® (triticum turgidum turanicum) as an ancient relative of modern durum wheat for food preparation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential quality of Kamut® (triticum turgidum turanicum) as an ancient relative of modern durum wheat for food preparation and Egyptian consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology included in this paper is based on quality evaluation of Kamut wheat of the Dashure-Fayume geographical origin physically, chemically and technologically compared to Beni Suef 1, Beni Suef 3 and Suhag 3, the most dominant durum varieties in Egypt. After that, producing a specific end product (traditional couscous) regarded the critical quality aspects in Kamut wheat.
Findings
The results obtained showed that Kamut grains had higher physical properties indicating higher milling yield potential. Besides, Kamut flour was remarkable with higher protein and oil content. The use of a farinograph for assessing the rheological properties of Kamut dough has proven a useful quality for its measured characteristics compared to the Egyptian durum varieties. The good physical and rheological properties, coupled with high protein content, validated that Kamut is a valuable addition to the Egyptian diet and suited for the production of pasta and/or couscous. The sensory attributes of traditional couscous were significantly (p < 0.05) highly acceptable to the panelists.
Originality/value
These results lead to valuable addition and improvement of the Egyptian diet which consider The Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy (SADS) towards 2030 in Egypt based on achieving higher rates of food security in strategic goods in regard to improve food quality and safety, especially Kamut wheat which produces high quality grains without artificial fertilizers and pesticides.
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Boutheina Ben Gamra Zinelabidine, Lilia Touzani, Norchène Ben Dahmane and Mourad Touzani
Adopting a customer-dominant logic perspective, the purpose of this paper is to understand how some tourists decide on unusual trips and how they associate meanings to transform…
Abstract
Purpose
Adopting a customer-dominant logic perspective, the purpose of this paper is to understand how some tourists decide on unusual trips and how they associate meanings to transform their experience into an event.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is exploratory and involves three qualitative data collection techniques. The authors conducted individual interviews complemented by travel narratives with tourists that decided to undertake off-track travel. The third method is ethnographic and focuses on tourists participating in a singular ritualistic festival.
Findings
Several factors explained how off-track travelers associate meanings to turn their real-life experience into a successful event. These factors cover three main concepts: discovery, social link and identity.
Practical implications
The authors propose managerial implications for ordinary service providers in the tourism sector. Managers should attempt to provide tourists with a framework within which they can create their own events and take initiatives. They must be supportive of tourists re-enhancing their experience and making efforts to create their own event.
Originality/value
This research explains how services must be less standardized to satisfy tourists looking for immersion, exoticism and authenticity and to support their initiatives.
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Julienne Brabet, Maria-Giuseppina Bruna, Jean-François Chanlat and Florimond Labulle
French Republican Model and ‘laïcité, the French version of secularism’, are supposed to protect the citizens, at work or elsewhere, against any form of discrimination and France…
Abstract
French Republican Model and ‘laïcité, the French version of secularism’, are supposed to protect the citizens, at work or elsewhere, against any form of discrimination and France has a long history of immigration. Ethnical and racial discriminations at work are nevertheless observable towards visible minorities today. People from North African ascendance as well as those from French overseas territories 1 ’ origins are heavily penalized in the job market. Neither direct and indirect laws nor the ‘voluntary initiatives’ introduced by companies seem able to solve this problem at a time when massive unemployment and terrorist Islamic attacks on the French soil are creating a situation of crisis.
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Belaïd Abrika, Bernard Paranque and Cécile Perret
In a period of moral and economic crisis all the alternative solutions to finance economic activities are interesting to study, specifically those embedded in solidarity…
Abstract
Purpose
In a period of moral and economic crisis all the alternative solutions to finance economic activities are interesting to study, specifically those embedded in solidarity practices. The nature of the ties (bonding ties, linking ties or bridging ties) and solidarities (institutional solidarity, formal or informal solidarity, intergenerational solidarity) must then be examined.
Methodology/approach
The exchanges between the people are governed by three different modes: the market, the redistribution and the reciprocity which acts to maintain the relation (Lavoué, Jézequel, & Janvier, 2010, p. 34). The exchanges are not only of economic order and also participate in the symbolic world. Our main question is: can the relations of exchange become emancipated from the reification? We illustrate this chapter with the case of the Kabylian traditional society and market (Benet, 1957–1975) where the practices of exchanges are not only of economic order (redistribution …) but also matter with the symbolic world (honour).
Findings
Even today, in Kabylia, the survival of an ancestral social organisation (tajmaat) which has anchored in tradition and rooted values (tirugza) and practices (tiwiza) sometimes allows the local populations to offer the missing public goods or the solidarity towards those who need help (elders, orphans).
Originality/value
In traditional Kabyle society, exchange practices are not only economic in nature (they contribute to mutual assistance, redistribution, etc.), but are also symbolic.
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Poppy Arsil, Hoa Le Dang, Rumpoko Wicaksono and Afik Hardanto
The research objective is to explore consumers' (those of ethnic origin and non-ethnic origin) motivation for choosing ethnic food.
Abstract
Purpose
The research objective is to explore consumers' (those of ethnic origin and non-ethnic origin) motivation for choosing ethnic food.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 120 respondents were approached at Padang restaurants in Jakarta, and personal interviews were conducted using soft laddering techniques linking to means-end chain (MEC) analysis. The associations among attributes, consequences and values were mapped into a graphical hierarchy to depict the cognitive structure of consuming ethnic food.
Findings
The unique and spicy taste of Padang food, as well as preferences for the cuisine, was identified as the determinants of consumption of Padang food. In addition, the Minang people still considered the food's origin and tradition when consuming it. “Financial security” and “happiness” were identified as the desired values that consumers want to achieve.
Research limitations/implications
The extent to which acculturation affects consumers' decision-making on consuming ethnic food has not been significantly investigated.
Practical implications
Padang food can be promoted by highlighting its traditions and unique, spicy taste. These are key messages to attract consumers of Padang ethnic food.
Originality/value
The paper presents an original motivations and cognitive structures for eating Padang food.
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Rachid Jabbouri, Yann Truong and Helmi Issa
We explore how NGO’s local entrepreneurial initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs can compensate for weak state policies for women in a context of male-dominated…
Abstract
Purpose
We explore how NGO’s local entrepreneurial initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs can compensate for weak state policies for women in a context of male-dominated socio-cultural norms.
Design/methodology/approach
We use the case of a local entrepreneurial initiative launched in the Atlas region of Morocco, the Empowering Women in the Atlas Initiative (EWA). We collected data through 51 semi-structured interviews of women entrepreneurs in three cooperatives which exploit the natural resources of their region to establish a social venture. Our data are longitudinal as they were collected at two time periods: before and after the initiative.
Findings
The findings of this study suggest that local entrepreneurial initiatives can have a significant impact on rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. The improved perception of empowerment has not only helped them develop capacities to leverage the business opportunities linked to the natural resources of their region, but it has also increased their status and role within their family and community.
Practical implications
We make recommendations for policymakers to encourage this type of initiative to compensate for the absence of supporting policies geared toward women.
Originality/value
Our study is one of the first to look at empowerment as a policy instrument to develop women entrepreneurial activities in rural areas of developing countries. Our paper uses a unique hierarchical perspective and a multidimensional framework for analyzing social cooperative ventures and rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. Our paper unravels interesting insights for women entrepreneurs’ narration strategies.
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Saoussen Lakhdar and Fatma Smaoui
This paper aims to explore the socio-cultural meanings of functional foods for Tunisian consumers and to understand how these meanings shape their preferences and practices in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the socio-cultural meanings of functional foods for Tunisian consumers and to understand how these meanings shape their preferences and practices in the particular context of a Middle-East and North African (MENA) region.
Design/methodology/approach
A constructivist perspective based on multi-qualitative methods was designed allowing data collection in a natural setting through focus groups interviews, individual in-depth interviews and projective techniques among Tunisian consumers.
Findings
Findings show the complexity and importance of conscious and unconscious non-health-related socio-cultural factors in the construction and acceptance of functional foods by the Tunisian consumer. Common sense knowledge, social environment and tradition shape the constructions and practices of functional foods. These factors may act as a shortcut to compensate for unhealthy behaviour and as a social marker to reflect trendiness and identity.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are specific to the Tunisian setting and may be not transferable to other settings.
Practical implications
The role of information is central in functional food acceptance. Communication on health effects should consider not only the formal nutritional health benefit but also lay knowledge.
Social implications
The findings of this research contribute in the government’s understanding of Tunisian’s constructions of health and well-being by suggesting that besides health motives, non-health-related factors such as lay knowledge, social influences and conspicuous consumption play an important role in functional foods choice.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to extend functional foods literature by exploring the complex interconnected conscious and unconscious socio-cultural constructions behind functional food choice. It contributes also to the understanding of the food consumer behaviour in the specific cultural context of the Arab-Muslim MENA region, an under investigated setting.
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Naimeh Rezaei and Abdelaziz Khouadja
The ancient settlements of the M'zab Valley in Algeria, called ksour, are still being used by local inhabitants a thousand years after their construction. The main objective of…
Abstract
Purpose
The ancient settlements of the M'zab Valley in Algeria, called ksour, are still being used by local inhabitants a thousand years after their construction. The main objective of this study was to discover why, despite the formation of new residential areas, these settlements have been able to survive and maintain their original functions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used the concept of living heritage sites as an analytical framework. The field data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through qualitative content analysis.
Findings
This study revealed that the reasons for the survival of these settlements were cultural and social rather than physical. Four main factors play a role in the survival of these settlements: (1) solidarity and unity among the inhabitants, (2) built environment as an ancestral heritage and a symbol of identity, (3) comfort and convenience in ksour and (4) social control and adherence to tradition. However, some concerns have arisen in recent decades that may endanger the viability of these settlements in the future, requiring more attention from the government.
Originality/value
While previous studies on urban heritage and World Heritage Sites (WHSs) have mainly focused on tourism development and conservation issues, this paper emphasized a less-studied aspect of these sites, i.e. continuity and sustainability. All previous studies on the WHSs of the M'zab Valley have addressed the traditional architecture and the climatic design of houses without sufficiently addressing other factors that have contributed to the sustainability and resilience of these settlements.
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Fiona H. McKay, Megan Bugden, Matthew Dunn and Chantelle Bazerghi
The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of asylum seekers who were entitled to use a foodbank but who had ceased attending the service, to understand why they were…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of asylum seekers who were entitled to use a foodbank but who had ceased attending the service, to understand why they were not using the charity, and to investigate their food-related experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a mixed-method approach utilising telephone interviews. Interviews were conducted with 70 asylum seekers in Melbourne, Australia, between September 2015 and February 2016. Interviews explored food-related settlement experiences, food insecurity and experiences of hunger.
Findings
Two-thirds of participants were identified as experiencing food insecurity. Despite food and financial insecurity, participants were not using the foodbank as frequently as they were entitled as: the food was not culturally or religiously appropriate to them; asylum seekers with income felt uncomfortable taking food from others who were perceived to be in greater need; or because they were experiencing transport barriers. Participants also experienced a range of physical and mental health concerns.
Originality/value
Ensuring asylum seekers have access to culturally appropriate foods and services is essential. However, given the diversity in foodbank membership, it may not be feasible to provide all of the desired foods at no cost; instead, increased access to culturally appropriate foods may be achieved through a subsidy programme. Novel or alternative approaches to community engagement and food distribution may be needed to increase food security and to decrease hunger in this group.
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Robin Patric Clair, Isaac Clarke Holyoak, Theon E. Hill, Prashant Rajan, Elizabeth L. Angeli, Melissa L. Carrion, Sydney Dillard, Rati Kumar and Shaunak Sastry
This study uses ethnographic methods to explore the discursive practices that give life to ethnic restaurants, establishing identity, and addressing community engagement…
Abstract
This study uses ethnographic methods to explore the discursive practices that give life to ethnic restaurants, establishing identity, and addressing community engagement. Employing postcolonial and postmodern perspectives that discuss discursive practices of hybridity, authenticity, and commoditization, the research focused on five culture-specific restaurants: Irish, Italian, Korean, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern. The restaurants' stories are studied through observation, interviews, and the situated approach as discussed by Denzin (1994). The findings suggest that some restaurants openly embraced hybridity, defied and debunked stereotypes, and resisted hegemonic constructions of individuals and of culture by enacting narratives of defiance, while others attempted to maintain traditional images or commodify the culture. Using the situated approach revealed a post-postcolonial tension between certain restaurants within the community.