Valuations of ‘Sustainably Produced’ Labels on Beef, Tomato, and Apple Products

This study evaluates consumer perceptions of what “sustainably produced†food labels imply and estimates corresponding demand for products carrying these labels. Results suggest that the typical U.S. consumer is not willing to pay a positive premium for beef, tomatoes, or apple products labeled as “sustainably produced.†Demand is particularly sensitive to inferences consumers make regarding what a “sustainably produced†food label implies. Suggestions for future work and implications of standardizing the definition of sustainability are provided.consumer perceptions, credence labeling, production practices, sustainable, U.S. consumer demand, willingness to pay, Marketing,

Popoia te reo kia penapena: Nurture the language

Research to develop a Māori language screening tool (Specialist Education Services, 2001), identified that students entering Māori Medium at five, could be classified into one of four Māori language competency, groups. Concurrently, teachers raised their need to identify the Māori language proficiency of five year olds entering Māori Medium so that more appropriate teaching strategies could be incorporated in preparation for literacy. Accordingly, three Māori oral-language assessment tools, to help identify the Māori language competency of students entering Māori Medium settings at five years of age and provide formative information, were developed in response to this need. This paper details the development and trial of these tools

Consumer Perceptions of Sustainable Farming Practices: A Best-Worst Scenario

This paper uses data collected in the summer and fall of 2010 from a national, web-based survey of 1002 households to initiate the process of examining consumer inferences and valuations of food products making "sustainably produced” claims. A Best-Worst scaling framework was implemented to identify what consumers believe “sustainably produced” labels mean and their preferences for each of the individual sustainable farming practices. The best-worst survey method forces respondents to make trade-offs by simultaneously choosing the most and least preferred attributes. The measured level of concern is then applied to a ratio scale. The ability of a firm to differentiate their product hinges critically on an accurate understanding of the perceptions consumers hold regarding what a credence labelling claim implies. Building upon existing work evaluating other food attribute labels (e.g., genetically-modified products, region of origin, use of growth hormones) and the impact of consumer inferences (e.g., implicit associations made from explicitly provided information), this work begins to address gaps in the literature regarding food products with “sustainably produced” claims.Sustainably Produced Food, Consumer Perceptions, Best-Worst, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q01, Q13, Q11,

Map Use in Small-Town Planning Documents in Northeast Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Geography and Planning, University of AkronMaps are of fundamental importance to the planning profession. This paper examines the use of maps in planning documents from small towns in northeast Ohio. It considers the frequency of map use, the types of maps utilized, and their quality. Map quality is evaluated by determining the presence or absence of basic map elements and the utilization of a lettering hierarchy for the various map elements. Maps are found in all the plans (median =10) and these represent about one-quarter of non-textual materials. Maps of community facilities and land use are most common, accounting for over half of all maps. Key map elements are included on almost all maps, but few incorporate a lettering hierarchy to reflect the importance of the various elements. The increasing availability of computer mapping programs and the ease with which inadequate maps can be produced make it imperative that planners become more cognizant of the proper techniques for effective cartographic communication. More comprehensive studies are warranted examining the use of maps in planning documents from a wider range of types and sizes of administrative units—i.e., cities, metropolitan areas, and countie

Isolation, characterisation and experimental evolution of phage that infect the horse chestnut tree pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. aesculi

Bleeding canker of horse chestnut trees is a bacterial disease, caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. aesculi, estimated to be present in ~ 50% of UK horse chestnut trees. Currently, the disease has no cure and tree removal can be a common method of reducing inoculum and preventing spread. One potential method of control could be achieved using naturally occurring bacteriophages infective to the causative bacterium. Bacteriophages were isolated from symptomatic and asymptomatic horse chestnut trees in three locations in the South East of England. The phages were found to be belonging to both the Myoviridae and Podoviridae families by RAPD PCR and transmission electron microscopy. Experimental coevolution was carried out to understand the dynamics of bacterial resistance and phage infection and to determine whether new infective phage genotypes would emerge. The phages exhibited different coevolution patterns with their bacterial hosts across time. This approach could be used to generate novel phages for use in biocontrol cocktails in an effort to reduce the potential emergence of bacterial resistance

When Things Go Wrong in the Clinic: How to Prevent and Respond to Serious Student Misconduct

This article documents the types of misconduct that students commit, explores why serious misconduct occurs, examines whether such conduct can be anticipated and reduced by prescreening and monitoring potentially problematic students, and suggests how misconduct might be addressed once it occurs. The authors\u27 analysis thus encompasses both legal obligations and pedagogical considerations, and it takes account of the differing perspectives of clinical professors, law school administrators, and bar examiners. The authors operate from a student centered perspective that emphasizes the support and development of law students. This article is prescriptive, therefore, in the extent to which it emphasizes preventive actions and constructive responses. The purpose of this article is not to prescribe how a clinical professor should deal with any particular instance of misconduct, but rather to empower clinical professors to deal thoughtfully with such situations by providing them with helpful information and an analytic framework

Study of Red-Ox Reactions and Potentials

Study was made in various chemistry reference books and selected college texts which serve as references for this report. The report consists of a summary of studies related to oxidation-reduction reactions and the fundamental behavior of the constituents of electrolytic solutions. Examples of calculations of certain potentials, their use in predicting the possible course of chemical reactions, and the description of some methods for obtaining unknown potentials follows. The relation of the oxidation potential to some thermodynamic properties of chemical reactions is then considered. The theory has been generalized and the specific examples of chemical reactions used are those which most high-school chemistry teachers will be familiar with. An explanation of the arbitrary conventions used in the theory of oxidation-reduction reactions is included to aid in the understanding of this study. Unfortunately the high-school chemistry teacher may be poorly acquainted with this unit of chemistry, since treatment of it in the conventional courses is often scanty; lacking this background, the teacher may not be able to give adequate explanation of the principles involved. By comoining the fundamental theory with the study of various reactions and their potentials, a better perception of this phase of chemistry may be obtained.Natural Scienc