Economic analysis of in-store experiments regarding sales of locally grown tomatoes to urban consumers in Knox County, Tennessee

Limited market access is a major problem facing many small fruit and vegetable producers. Developing viable markets in which small producers can sell their produce is of particular importance to Tennessee growers who are small relative to producers presently utilized by the commercial-wholesale market system for fresh produce. Increasing amounts of research are being collected on the possibil-ities of various forms of direct-marketing operations as alternatives for small producers. One such alternative form is sales of locally grown produce through urban supermarket outlets. The purpose of this study was to gather information from urban consumers as to the receptability of locally grown produce offered for sale in their local supermarket. Two methods were employed to address this objective--an in-store pricing and labeling experiment and a mail-in questionnaire survey. Vine-ripened Tennessee-grown tomatoes were the locally grown produce item tested. The in-store study was conducted in three Knoxville supermarkets in July of 1986. The in-store experiment involved incremental price adjustments to the Tennessee tomato in order to test the sensitivity of consumers to price changes of the locally grown tomato relative to a base price for the tomatoes that the store normally stocked. In conjunction with the pricing treatments, the Tennessee Country Fresh (TCF) logo was used to identify the origin of the locally grown tomato. Therefore, a possible bias among consumers for or against locally grown tomatoes could be revealed. Each purchaser of bulk display tomatoes was given a postage paid mail-in questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to assess consumers\u27 attitudes, perceptions, and preferences for locally grown produce in general and TCF tomatoes specifically. Socioeconomic information of purchasers was also collected. The questionnaire was designed not only to gather information concerning attitudes of consumers with regard to locally grown produce, but also to provide possible insight into purchasers\u27 actual marketplace behaviors during the in-store experiment. Results from the in-store experiment revealed a preference among the purchasers in this study for locally grown tomatoes. This preference was based on physical attributes of the tomatoes. The logo had a positive effect on increasing sales of the locally grown tomato. Some consumers in the study preferred the locally grown tomato, and they were willing to pay a somewhat premium price for the Tennessee- grown tomato. Results from the questionnaire survey reinforced the in-store experiment results. Consumers stated that origin of fresh tomatoes was of concern to them, and therefore they were influenced by the TCF logo to buy the locally grown tomato. Consumers rated the TCF tomato better than other tomatoes in terms of freshness, taste, and appearance, which lead a majority of the purchasers to state that they would patronize a store which featured TCF produce

Economic analysis of in-store experiments regarding sales of locally grown tomatoes to urban consumers in Knox County, Tennessee

Limited market access is a major problem facing many small fruit and vegetable producers. Developing viable markets in which small producers can sell their produce is of particular importance to Tennessee growers who are small relative to producers presently utilized by the commercial-wholesale market system for fresh produce. Increasing amounts of research are being collected on the possibil-ities of various forms of direct-marketing operations as alternatives for small producers. One such alternative form is sales of locally grown produce through urban supermarket outlets. The purpose of this study was to gather information from urban consumers as to the receptability of locally grown produce offered for sale in their local supermarket. Two methods were employed to address this objective--an in-store pricing and labeling experiment and a mail-in questionnaire survey. Vine-ripened Tennessee-grown tomatoes were the locally grown produce item tested. The in-store study was conducted in three Knoxville supermarkets in July of 1986. The in-store experiment involved incremental price adjustments to the Tennessee tomato in order to test the sensitivity of consumers to price changes of the locally grown tomato relative to a base price for the tomatoes that the store normally stocked. In conjunction with the pricing treatments, the Tennessee Country Fresh (TCF) logo was used to identify the origin of the locally grown tomato. Therefore, a possible bias among consumers for or against locally grown tomatoes could be revealed. Each purchaser of bulk display tomatoes was given a postage paid mail-in questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to assess consumers\u27 attitudes, perceptions, and preferences for locally grown produce in general and TCF tomatoes specifically. Socioeconomic information of purchasers was also collected. The questionnaire was designed not only to gather information concerning attitudes of consumers with regard to locally grown produce, but also to provide possible insight into purchasers\u27 actual marketplace behaviors during the in-store experiment. Results from the in-store experiment revealed a preference among the purchasers in this study for locally grown tomatoes. This preference was based on physical attributes of the tomatoes. The logo had a positive effect on increasing sales of the locally grown tomato. Some consumers in the study preferred the locally grown tomato, and they were willing to pay a somewhat premium price for the Tennessee- grown tomato. Results from the questionnaire survey reinforced the in-store experiment results. Consumers stated that origin of fresh tomatoes was of concern to them, and therefore they were influenced by the TCF logo to buy the locally grown tomato. Consumers rated the TCF tomato better than other tomatoes in terms of freshness, taste, and appearance, which lead a majority of the purchasers to state that they would patronize a store which featured TCF produce

Student perception of content master and engagement in using an e-authoring tool

Examination of student comments and end of course surveys from previous courses revealed two content design themes: request for additional graphics and visuals to support content and improved quality and opportunities to master content. Researchers wanted to investigate if incorporating SoftChalk, an e-authoring tool, would effectively address these expressed design concerns. As such, the purpose of the study was to explore the students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the newly implemented e-authoring tool. A mixed-method survey design, which included Likert scales and qualitative responses, was utilized. All students enrolled in five sections of the three online graduate education courses (N=81) were eligible to participate in the anonymous online survey. Response data were collected at the beginning of the term through an external link outside of the course website to allow for voluntary participation in the study. Implied consent was demonstrated through completion of the survey. Student participation or lack of participation did not impact student grades. The qualitative and quantitative data support the addition of an e-authoring tool to an online module as an effective method for increasing students’ perception of their engagement with and mastery of the course content as compared to the previous more static Word format.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i3.10

Partition Noise Extraction Using TCAD Simulations

As Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology scales down, partition noise may start to play a bigger role in reducing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in sample-and-hold circuits and other capacitive sensing circuits that reset the voltage across a capacitor. Previous studies on partition noise lack a reliable and accurate measurement method to quantify partition noise. In our study, we have developed a method using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) simulations to estimate partition noise. Through simulation, we determined the transistor dimensions and sense capacitance required to measure partition noise. Furthermore, we designed a test circuit based on our simulation results with the flexibility to study partition noise. The test circuit has a buffer that allows us to measure partition noise without interference from test measurement equipments. Finally, we presented a method to measure and extract partition noise using our test circuit

Guangzhou Buyers Preference for Premium Hawaiian Grown Product Gift Baskets

Guangzhou buyers' preference for premium Hawaiian grown product gift baskets with conjoint analysis was examined. Relative importance of three gift basket attributes: container type, products origin, and price were examined. Expenditure equivalent index to evaluate how much more each of the gift basket attributes is worth to the buyer was estimated. Main conclusions are: products have to be 'made in Hawaii' to receive the premium price; business buyers are generally less willing to pay a high price; and individual buyers are more willing to pay the higher priced Koa gift basket.Chinese survey data, conjoint analysis, buyer preference, Hawaii gift baskets, Demand and Price Analysis,

The Decentralisation Of Health Management Systems Through Small And Medium Enterprises In Bric-Countries: A Semantic Model

This article has been developed to provide an analytical framework about the process of health decentralisation that has emerged in BRIC-countries. For this purpose, this study offers a reflection about the process of decentralisation in emerging BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) with theoretical argumentative issues about public health systems, and the reorganisation of the public health sector. The following review consequently focuses upon the managerial aspects of health systems, and SMEs' contribution to services delivery. In accordance, a semantic model organises current key determinants of involved actors in the public health sector for a contribution to understanding the affirmation of multiple forms of development in which the delivery of healthcare services has been critically implemented

Building Legitimacy for Green IS Innovations in Taiwan

The environmental concerns are leading to the growing interest in the adoption of Green IS. From legitimacy perspective, this paper argues that the adoption and diffusion of Green IS among organizations are modulated by pragmatic, normative, and cultural-cognitive influences in the institutional environment. The study therefore applies topology of legitimacy to develop a taxonomy to understand actors’ strategies in shaping the understanding and development of Green IS. Using content analysis of news articles in Taiwan, the study contributes to a practical understanding of the complex institutional influences in forming the greener industry

Comparison of family centered care with family integrated care and mobile technology (mFICare) on preterm infant and family outcomes: a multi-site quasi-experimental clinical trial protocol.

BackgroundFamily Centered Care (FCC) has been widely adopted as the framework for caring for infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) but it is not uniformly defined or practiced, making it difficult to determine impact. Previous studies have shown that implementing the Family Integrated Care (FICare) intervention program for preterm infants in the NICU setting leads to significant improvements in infant and family outcomes. Further research is warranted to determine feasibility, acceptability and differential impact of FICare in the US context. The addition of a mobile application (app) may be effective in providing supplemental support for parent participation in the FICare program and provide detailed data on program component uptake and outcomes.MethodsThis exploratory multi-site quasi-experimental study will compare usual FCC with mobile enhanced FICare (mFICare) on growth and clinical outcomes of preterm infants born at or before 33 weeks gestational age, as well as the stress, competence and self-efficacy of their parents. The feasibility and acceptability of using mobile technology to gather data about parent involvement in the care of preterm infants receiving FCC or mFICare as well as of the mFICare intervention will be evaluated (Aim 1). The effect sizes for infant growth (primary outcome) and for secondary infant and parent outcomes at NICU discharge and three months after discharge will be estimated (Aim 2).DiscussionThis study will provide new data about the implementation of FICare in the US context within various hospital settings and identify important barriers, facilitators and key processes that may contribute to the effectiveness of FICare. It will also offer insights to clinicians on the feasibility of a new mobile application to support parent-focused research and promote integration of parents into the NICU care team in US hospital settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, ID NCT03418870. Retrospectively registered on December 18, 2017

DNA methylases for site-selective inhibition of type IIS restriction enzyme activity

DNA methylases of the restriction-modifications (R-M) systems are promising enzymes for the development of novel molecular and synthetic biology tools. Their use in vitro enables the deployment of independent and controlled catalytic reactions. This work aimed to produce recombinant DNA methylases belonging to the R-M systems, capable of in vitro inhibition of the type IIS restriction enzymes BsaI, BpiI, or LguI. Non-switchable methylases are those whose recognition sequences fully overlap the recognition sequences of their associated endonuclease. In switch methylases, the methylase and endonuclease recognition sequences only partially overlap, allowing sequence engineering to alter methylation without altering restriction. In this work, ten methylases from type I and II R-M systems were selected for cloning and expression in E. coli strains tolerant to methylation. Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentrations and post-induction temperatures were tested to optimize the soluble methylases expression, which was achieved with 0.5 mM IPTG at 20 °C. The C-terminal His6-Tag versions showed better expression than the N-terminal tagged versions. DNA methylation was analyzed using purified methylases and custom test plasmids which, after the methylation reactions, were digested using the corresponding associated type IIS endonuclease. The non-switchable methylases M2.Eco31I, M2.BsaI, M2.HpyAII, and M1.MboII along with the switch methylases M.Osp807II and M2.NmeMC58II showed the best activity for site-selective inhibition of type IIS restriction enzyme activity. This work demonstrates that our recombinant methylases were able to block the activity of type IIS endonucleases in vitro, allowing them to be developed as valuable tools in synthetic biology and DNA assembly techniques