Public Policy towards Food Consumption*

Governments around the world are increasingly concerned about the rise in diet‐related chronic disease and there has been increased interest in policy interventions targeted at changing eating habits. In this paper, we discuss the ways in which food markets might fail to deliver the optimal outcome and how this may justify government intervention. We consider how well different types of policies – information campaigns, taxes and regulations – are able to counteract these market failures and we consider some of the implementation issues associated with targeting different consumers and anticipating firms' strategic responses.     

Influence of purchaser perceptions and intentions on price for forest land parcels: A hedonic pricing approach

A hedonic model was developed to analyze the market for undeveloped forest land in Minnesota. Variables describing in situ conditions, locational characteristics, buyer perceptions and intentions, and transactional terms were tested for their influence on sale price. The independent variables explained 67% of the per hectare sale price variation. Water frontage, road access and density, absentee ownership, future intentions, and financing arrangements had large, positive influences on price. Lack of a real-estate agent and agricultural land in the vicinity of the parcel had negative influences. A parcel's merchantable timber volume was not a significant predictor of price.     

Co-ethnic markets: Financial penalty or opportunity?

This paper applies the view of resource based theory to minority entrepreneurship. It examines minority entrepreneurs’ reliance on co-ethnic markets in terms of the impact this has on the financial performance of their firms. This research focuses on three minority groups in particular: African Americans, Korean Americans and Mexican Americans. Findings indicate that owner's age and marital status, but not business age, shape the extent to which a business owner relies on co-ethnic clients. Furthermore, Korean American owned firms are less likely to have high proportions of co-ethnic clients compared to Mexican- and African American owned firms. Having a large co-ethnic clientele results in a financial penalty in terms of the revenue an owner draws from his or her business. This penalty occurs in businesses owned by all three groups of entrepreneurs. Findings lend support to the resource based theory view of the firm in terms of the need to dynamically apply resources in order to achieve a competitive advantage. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Becoming a belly dancer: gender,the life course and the beginnings of a serious leisure career

Serious leisure careers have a beginning, middle and end, yet few studies examine the beginning stage of leisure careers dominated by women. Drawing from interviews with male and female belly dancers in the USA, this study examines how people join serious leisure activities. Results show that both men and women were interested in dance, arts and history, had personal ties to belly dance, and wanted an enjoyable form of exercise to match their capabilities when they entered the world of belly dance. Unlike men, the women in this study also experienced major life transitions, such as diminishing familial responsibilities, job and school issues, moving and shifting relationships. These findings have implications for the gendered nature of serious leisure.     

Making the Processes of Designing Explicit Within an Information Technology Environment

In this paper, technology is described as involving processes whereby resources are utilised to satisfy human needs or to take advantage of opportunities, to develop practical solutions to problems. This study, set within one type of technology context, information technology, investigated how, through a one semester undergraduate university course, elements of technological processes were made explicit to students. While it was acknowledged in the development and implementation of this course that students needed to learn technical skills, technological skills and knowledge, including design, were seen as vital also, to enable students to think about information technology from a perspective that was not confined and limited to `technology as hardware and software'. This paper describes how the course, set within a three year program of study, was aimed at helping students to develop their thinking and their knowledge about design processes in an explicit way. An interpretive research approach was used and data sources included a repertory grid `survey'; student interviews; video recordings of classroom interactions, audio recordings of lectures, observations of classroom interactions made by researchers; and artefacts which included students' journals and portfolios. The development of students' knowledge about design practices is discussed and reflections upon student knowledge development in conjunction with their learning experiences are made. Implications for ensuring explicitness of design practice within information technology contexts are presented, and the need to identify what constitutes design knowledge is argued.