50 research outputs found
How Personal is the Political? Understanding Socially Responsible Consumption.
Why do far fewer people incorporate social and environmental concerns into purchasing decisionsâa practice that I term âsocially responsible purchasingââthan express an intention to do so? Do the same people âbuy localâ as purchase products that claim to be environmentally-friendly, fair trade, or sweat-freeâand if not, why? In this dissertation, I put forth novel answers to these two questions, which have not been adequately addressed in existing studies.
First, while many researchers have traced the gap between concern and action to consumersâ socioeconomic characteristics or market failures, I argue that the subjective experience of purchasing activities also shapes whether people make everyday shopping a political practice. Drawing on in-depth interviews with a socioeconomically diverse sample of individuals, I show that shopping trips for household needs are often associated with crowded stores, impersonal interactions, and the everpresent possibility of being duped. The frequently unpleasant and even degrading experience of everyday shopping presents significant impediments to reflection on ethical concerns and the emotional rewards of activism. Specifically, to the extent that a person experiences shopping as a tedious chore, that person may be less willing to pay non-monetary costsâin time and energyâassociated with socially responsible purchasing. Having developed this hypothesis, I then use a survey of sustainability-related beliefs and behaviors to systematically test the relationship of feelings about food shopping to the purchase of ethical food.
Second, again drawing on in-depth interviews with consumers, I find that many people who practice locally-focused purchasing do not, in fact, engage in other forms of socially responsible purchasing or political activities. But I argue that surprisingly widespread support for locally-focused purchasing across socioeconomic lines does not reflect insular thinking or lack of concern for other people. Rather, locally-focused purchasing, compared to other ways of taking political action, is experienced as uniquely enjoyable, accessible, andâcruciallyâlikely to achieve its desired aims. In a world where much of what goes on in the âpoliticalâ realm seems frivolous or harmful, locally-focused purchasing appears as a rare opportunity to have a direct and verifiable impact on issues that hit close to home.PHDSociologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99990/1/edavsch_1.pd
Engaging Farmers, Culinary Schools, and Communities in Value-Added Production to Strengthen Local Food Systems
Value-added products can generate farm income and improve community food access, yet lack of available kitchen infrastructure and labor can limit farm production capacity. This project explored how community-based culinary schools might fill the gap. A unique âproduct shareâ model was identified and piloted, meeting the collective needs of farmers, a culinary school, and urban consumers. By researching farmer crop availability and business model preferences, and aligning value-added production with community food preferences, we demonstrate a successful pilot indicative that similar initiatives can be replicated in other metropolitan areas, with potential to engage cross-disciplinary extension professionals
The Relationship Between Plasma Flow Doppler Velocities and Magnetic Field Parameters During the Emergence of Active Regions at the Solar Photospheric Level
A statistical study has been carried out of the relationship between plasma
flow Doppler velocities and magnetic field parameters during the emergence of
active regions at the solar photospheric level with data acquired by the
Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
(SOHO). We have investigated 224 emerging active regions with different spatial
scales and positions on the solar disc. The following relationships for the
first hours of the emergence of active regions have been analysed: i) of peak
negative Doppler velocities with the position of the emerging active regions on
the solar disc; ii) of peak plasma upflow and downflow Doppler velocities with
the magnetic flux growth rate and magnetic field strength for the active
regions emerging near the solar disc centre (the vertical component of plasma
flows); iii) of peak positive and negative Doppler velocities with the magnetic
flux growth rate and magnetic field strength for the active regions emerging
near the limb (the horizontal component of plasma flows); iv) of the magnetic
flux growth rate with the density of emerging magnetic flux; v) of the Doppler
velocities and magnetic field parameters for the first hours of the appearance
of active regions with the total unsigned magnetic flux at the maximum of their
development.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. The results of article were presented at the
ESPM-13 (12-16 September 2011, Rhodes, Greece, Abstract Book p. 102-103,
P.4.13,
http://astro.academyofathens.gr/espm13/documents/ESPM13_abstract_programme_book.pdf
The Horizontal Component of Photospheric Plasma Flows During the Emergence of Active Regions on the Sun
The dynamics of horizontal plasma flows during the first hours of the
emergence of active region magnetic flux in the solar photosphere have been
analyzed using SOHO/MDI data. Four active regions emerging near the solar limb
have been considered. It has been found that extended regions of Doppler
velocities with different signs are formed in the first hours of the magnetic
flux emergence in the horizontal velocity field. The flows observed are
directly connected with the emerging magnetic flux; they form at the beginning
of the emergence of active regions and are present for a few hours. The Doppler
velocities of flows observed increase gradually and reach their peak values
4-12 hours after the start of the magnetic flux emergence. The peak values of
the mean (inside the +/-500 m/s isolines) and maximum Doppler velocities are
800-970 m/s and 1410-1700 m/s, respectively. The Doppler velocities observed
substantially exceed the separation velocities of the photospheric magnetic
flux outer boundaries. The asymmetry was detected between velocity structures
of leading and following polarities. Doppler velocity structures located in a
region of leading magnetic polarity are more powerful and exist longer than
those in regions of following polarity. The Doppler velocity asymmetry between
the velocity structures of opposite sign reaches its peak values soon after the
emergence begins and then gradually drops within 7-12 hours. The peak values of
asymmetry for the mean and maximal Doppler velocities reach 240-460 m/s and
710-940 m/s, respectively. An interpretation of the observable flow of
photospheric plasma is given.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. The results of article were presented
at the ESPM-13 (12-16 September 2011, Rhodes, Greece, Abstract Book p. 102,
P.4.12,
http://astro.academyofathens.gr/espm13/documents/ESPM13_abstract_programme_book.pdf
Sustainability centres and fit: how centres work to integrate sustainability within business schools
For nearly as long as the topic of sustainable business has been taught and researched in business schools, proponents have warned about barriers to genuine integration in business school practices. This article examines how academic sustainability centres try to overcome barriers to integration by achieving technical, cultural and political fit with their environment (Ansari, Fiss, & Zajac, 2010). Based on survey and interview data, we theorise that technical, cultural and political fit are intricately related, and that these interrelations involve legitimacy, resources and collaboration effects. Our findings about sustainability centres offer novel insights on integrating sustainable business education given the interrelated nature of different types of fit and misfit. We further contribute to the literature on fit by highlighting that incompatibility between strategies to achieve different types of fit may act as a source of dynamism
Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins
The three-pillar conception of (social, economic and environmental) sustainability, commonly represented by three intersecting circles with overall sustainability at the centre, has become ubiquitous. With a view of identifying the genesis and theoretical foundations of this conception, this paper reviews and discusses relevant historical sustainability literature. From this we find that there is no single point of origin of this three-pillar conception, but rather a gradual emergence from various critiques in the early academic literature of the economic status quo from both social and ecological perspectives on the one hand, and the quest to reconcile economic growth as a solution to social and ecological problems on the part of the United Nations on the other. The popular three circles diagram appears to have been first presented by Barbier (Environ Conserv 14:101, doi: 10.1017/s0376892900011449, 1987), albeit purposed towards developing nations with foci which differ from modern interpretations. The conceptualisation of three pillars seems to predate this, however. Nowhere have we found a theoretically rigorous description of the three pillars. This is thought to be in part due to the nature of the sustainability discourse arising from broadly different schools of thought historically. The absence of such a theoretically solid conception frustrates approaches towards a theoretically rigorous operationalisation of âsustainabilityâ