Linking participatory and GIS-based land use planning methods: A case study from Burkina Faso

Sustainable land use planning is crucial for realizing the aim of food security and for combating land degradation in the Sahel. A participatory land use planning workshop was organised in a village in the eastern region of Burkina Faso to investigate land use problems, their causes, effects and possible solutions. Participatory research tools and GIS were combined to get insight into possible conflicts or synergies between different land use options as mapped by different ethnic groups. Pictograms were used to locate alternative land use options on the map, after which they were digitised for analysis with GIS. The workshop confirms the importance of integrating scientific and local knowledge to develop concrete options for sustainable land use that fit to local realities and aspirations. Local people are knowledgeable about the driving forces behind land degradation, they take actions to combat the effects of degradation, and they have concrete ideas about alternative land use options. The use of GIS proved its added value in the participatory process of integrated land use planning. The maps that were produced also facilitate discussions between community members, researchers and government representatives at the regional level, both regarding current land use problems and regarding alternative options as perceived by the local population.     

Effects of store image and store brand price-image on store brand purchase intention: Application to an emerging market

Several factors have been underlined to explain store brands' (SBs) purchase behavior. This research investigates jointly the effect of store image perceptions, SB price-image and perceived risk toward SBs on SB purchase intention in the context of an emerging market (Brazil). Data were collected from a consumer survey with 379 respondents randomly selected. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Our results show that store image perceptions and SB price-image influence significantly SB purchase intention directly or indirectly via the effect of perceived risk toward SBs. These findings are discussed and their theoretical and managerial implications are provided.     

Real options and cost-based access pricing: Model and methodology

This paper proposes a model and methodology for valuing the option to delay network investment decisions and calculating cost-based access prices. It argues that an option value multiple must be applied to the investment cost component of each network element in order to account for the value of the delay option that is extinguished at the time of investment. Option value multiples are calculated for the investment decision in three main network elements, each representing a different part of the Brazilian fixed telecommunications network, subject to different technological and demand uncertainties. After applying the markup factors, network costs must be assigned to network services on the basis of how much each service uses each network element.     

Perennial grain crops in the West Soudanian Savanna of Mali: perspectives from agroecology and gendered spaces

Perennial grain crops may play an important role in environmentally sound and socially just food systems for Africa. We study the future possibility of integrating perennial grains into Malian farming systems from the perspective of agroecology, and more specifically using a gendered space approach. We interviewed 72 farmers across the sorghum-growing region of Mali. We found that perennial grains offer a vision for transforming human relations with nature that mirrors the resource sharing of customary land tenure, including patterns of extensive and intensive land use in time and space. Women interviewees identified a broad set of potential advantages and challenges to perennial grain production. Advantages include reduced labour, saving seed, and improving food security. Women farmers were concerned about livestock, water access, and resource limitations. We argue that perennial grains may increase access to land and natural resources for women farmers. Perennial grains may improve soil quality, reduce labour early in the rainy season, and provision more resources from fallow lands. Pastoralists stand to benefit from improved pastures in the dry season. We conclude that investments are needed to develop viable crop types in consideration of the complexity of West African farming systems and the local needs of women farmers and pastoralists.     

How Do Price Perceptions of Different Brand Types Affect Shopping Value and Store Loyalty?

This research investigates the relationships among price perceptions for different brand types (national brands, standard store brands, regional store brands, organic store brands), shopping value dimensions (quality, price, social, and emotion value), and store loyalty (retention and word of mouth (WOM)). A comprehensive model depicts determinants of customer store loyalty. Using structural equation modeling, the model test includes 671 consumers intercepted during shopping trips. The data analysis yields several surprising results. In particular, low product price perceptions do not necessarily signal negative store quality evaluations. Shopping value dimensions influence store retention loyalty and WOM behavior differently. Furthermore, different brand types exert distinct effects on the value creation process. Favorable prices for national and standard store brands have comparable positive effects on store price value and emotional value creation; appealing prices of regional store brands instead reduce the emotional value of the store, and low prices for organic store brand products significantly increase social value creation.     

Rising BRIC and Changes in Sub‐Saharan Africa's Business Cycle Patterns

This paper assesses the extent to which Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA)'s business cycle is synchronized with that of the rest of the world (RoW). SSA's business cycle has not only moved in the same direction as that of the RoW, but has also gradually drifted away from the G7 in favor of the BRIC. Trade with the BRIC has been the strongest driver of this shift. As fiscal policy stances in SSA and the BRIC are not synchronized, they have not caused output correlation. Also, financial openness, which is at an early stage in SSA, has acted as a neutral force.     

Challenges of the maize seed industry in eastern and southern Africa: A compelling case for private–public intervention to promote growth

Following the liberalization and restructuring of the seed sector, the maize seed industry in eastern and southern Africa has witnessed a proliferation of private seed companies. Whereas the total number of registered maize seed companies in major maize producing countries increased four-fold between 1997 and 2007, the quantity of seed marketed barely doubled suggesting that the seed production and deployment environment is less than perfect.     

Do National Cultures Matter for External Audits? Evidence from Eastern Europe and the Middle East

Journal of Business Ethics - This study aims to examine the relationship between national cultural dimensions and the probability of a firm being externally audited. It uses a large set of...