Matching Items (4)
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- All Subjects: Sustainable development
- Creators: Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977-
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
Farmers' markets are a growing trend both in Arizona and the broader U.S., as many recognize them as desirable alternatives to the conventional food system. As icons of sustainability, farmers' markets are touted as providing many environmental, social, and economic benefits, but evidence is mounting that local food systems primarily serve the urban elite, with relatively few low-income or minority customers. However, the economic needs of the market and its vendors often conflict with those of consumers. While consumers require affordable food, farmers need to make a profit. How farmers' markets are designed and governed can significantly influence the extent to which they can meet these needs. However, very little research explores farmers' market design and governance, much less its capacity to influence financial success and participation for underprivileged consumers. The present study examined this research gap by addressing the following research question: How can farmers' markets be institutionally designed to increase the participation of underprivileged consumers while maintaining a financially viable market for local farmers? Through a comparative case study of six markets, this research explored the extent to which farmers' markets in Central Arizona currently serve the needs of farmer-vendors and underprivileged consumers. The findings suggest that while the markets serve as a substantial source of income for some vendors, participation by low-income and minority consumers remains low, and that much of this appears to be due to cultural barriers to access. Management structures, site characteristics, market layout, community programs, and staffing policies are key institutional design features, and the study explores how these can be leveraged to better meet the needs of the diverse participants while improving the markets' financial success.
ContributorsTaylor, Carissa (Author) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Thesis advisor) / York, Abigail (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This study investigates how well prominent behavioral theories from social psychology explain green purchasing behavior (GPB). I assess three prominent theories in terms of their suitability for GPB research, their attractiveness to GPB empiricists, and the strength of their empirical evidence when applied to GPB. First, a qualitative assessment of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Norm Activation Theory (NAT), and Value-Belief-Norm Theory (VBN) is conducted to evaluate a) how well the phenomenon and concepts in each theory match the characteristics of pro-environmental behavior and b) how well the assumptions made in each theory match common assumptions made in purchasing theory. Second, a quantitative assessment of these three theories is conducted in which r2 values and methodological parameters (e.g., sample size) are collected from a sample of 21 empirical studies on GPB to evaluate the accuracy and generalize-ability of empirical evidence. In the qualitative assessment, the results show each theory has its advantages and disadvantages. The results also provide a theoretically-grounded roadmap for modifying each theory to be more suitable for GPB research. In the quantitative assessment, the TPB outperforms the other two theories in every aspect taken into consideration. It proves to 1) create the most accurate models 2) be supported by the most generalize-able empirical evidence and 3) be the most attractive theory to empiricists. Although the TPB establishes itself as the best foundational theory for an empiricist to start from, it's clear that a more comprehensive model is needed to achieve consistent results and improve our understanding of GPB. NAT and the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior (TIB) offer pathways to extend the TPB. The TIB seems particularly apt for this endeavor, while VBN does not appear to have much to offer. Overall, the TPB has already proven to hold a relatively high predictive value. But with the state of ecosystem services continuing to decline on a global scale, it's important for models of GPB to become more accurate and reliable. Better models have the capacity to help marketing professionals, product developers, and policy makers develop strategies for encouraging consumers to buy green products.
ContributorsRedd, Thomas Christopher (Author) / Dooley, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Basile, George (Committee member) / Darnall, Nicole (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Advancing sustainable food systems requires holistic understanding and solutions-oriented approaches that transcend disciplines, so expertise in a variety of subjects is necessary. Proposed solutions are usually technically or socially oriented, but disagreement over the best approach to the future of food dominates the dialogue. Technological optimists argue that scientific advances are necessary to feed the world, but environmental purists believe that reductions in consumption and waste are sufficient and less risky. Life cycle assessment (LCA) helps resolve debates through quantitative analysis of environmental impacts from products which serve the same function. LCA used to compare dietary choices reveals that simple plant-based diets are better for the environment than diets that include animal products. However, analysis of soy protein isolate (SPI) demonstrates that certain plant-based proteins may be less preferable for the environment than some unprocessed meats in several categories due to additional impacts that come from industrial processing. LCAs' focus on production risks ignoring consumers, but the food system exists to serve consumers, who can be major drivers of change. Therefore, the path to a sustainable food system requires addressing consumption issues as well. Existing methods for advancing sustainable food systems that equate more information with better behavior or performance are insufficient to create change. Addressing food system issues requires sufficient tacit knowledge to understand how arguments are framed, what the supporting content is, the findings of primary sources, and complex and controversial dialogue surrounding innovations and interventions for food system sustainability. This level of expertise is called interactional competence and it is necessary to drive and maintain holistic progress towards sustainability. Development strategies for interactional competence are informed by studying the motivations and strategies utilized by vegans. A new methodology helps advance understanding of expertise development by assessing levels of expertise and reveals insights into how vegans maintain commitment to a principle that influences their daily lives. The study of veganism and expertise reveals that while providing information to debunk fallacies is important, the development of tacit knowledge is fundamental to advance to a stage of competence.
ContributorsBerardy, Andrew (Author) / Seager, Thomas P (Thesis advisor) / Hannah, Mark (Committee member) / Costello, Christine (Committee member) / Landis, Amy (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Mobile healthy food retailers are a novel alleviation technique to address disparities in access to urban produce stores in food desert communities. Such retailers, which tend to exclusively stock produce items, have become significantly more popular in the past decade, but many are unable to achieve economic sustainability. Therefore, when local and federal grants and scholarships are no longer available for a mobile food retailer, they must stop operating which poses serious health risks to consumers who rely on their services.
To address these issues, a framework was established in this dissertation to aid mobile food retailers with reaching economic sustainability by addressing two key operational decisions. The first decision was the stocked product mix of the mobile retailer. In this problem, it was assumed that mobile retailers want to balance the health, consumer cost, and retailer profitability of their product mix. The second investigated decision was the scheduling and routing plan of the mobile retailer. In this problem, it was assumed that mobile retailers operate similarly to traditional distribution vehicles with the exception that their customers are willing to travel between service locations so long as they are in close proximity.
For each of these problems, multiple formulations were developed which address many of the nuances for most existing mobile food retailers. For each problem, a combination of exact and heuristic solution procedures were developed with many utilizing software independent methodologies as it was assumed that mobile retailers would not have access to advanced computational software. Extensive computational tests were performed on these algorithm with the findings demonstrating the advantages of the developed procedures over other algorithms and commercial software.
The applicability of these techniques to mobile food retailers was demonstrated through a case study on a local Phoenix, AZ mobile retailer. Both the product mix and routing of the retailer were evaluated using the developed tools under a variety of conditions and assumptions. The results from this study clearly demonstrate that improved decision making can result in improved profits and longitudinal sustainability for the Phoenix mobile food retailer and similar entities.
To address these issues, a framework was established in this dissertation to aid mobile food retailers with reaching economic sustainability by addressing two key operational decisions. The first decision was the stocked product mix of the mobile retailer. In this problem, it was assumed that mobile retailers want to balance the health, consumer cost, and retailer profitability of their product mix. The second investigated decision was the scheduling and routing plan of the mobile retailer. In this problem, it was assumed that mobile retailers operate similarly to traditional distribution vehicles with the exception that their customers are willing to travel between service locations so long as they are in close proximity.
For each of these problems, multiple formulations were developed which address many of the nuances for most existing mobile food retailers. For each problem, a combination of exact and heuristic solution procedures were developed with many utilizing software independent methodologies as it was assumed that mobile retailers would not have access to advanced computational software. Extensive computational tests were performed on these algorithm with the findings demonstrating the advantages of the developed procedures over other algorithms and commercial software.
The applicability of these techniques to mobile food retailers was demonstrated through a case study on a local Phoenix, AZ mobile retailer. Both the product mix and routing of the retailer were evaluated using the developed tools under a variety of conditions and assumptions. The results from this study clearly demonstrate that improved decision making can result in improved profits and longitudinal sustainability for the Phoenix mobile food retailer and similar entities.
ContributorsWishon, Christopher John (Author) / Villalobos, Rene (Thesis advisor) / Fowler, John (Committee member) / Mirchandani, Pitu (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016