Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Local knowledge food'

Research with local farmers and local food consumers in the North Texas area which captures a contemporary understanding of the challenges and successes present in North Texas local farm-and-food networks. Through ethnographic research methods, including participant-observation and semi-structured interviews, the network of producers and consumers around several farmers' markets were evaluated to understand where the strengths of local food lie, and where networks need development to promote a more stable local food environment. Texas is newer to the trend of farmers' market development, with the local food system developed to foster community, educate, and promote the advantages of locally sourced goods. This research led to the academic discovery of climate adaptive ecological knowledge and farm commodification strategies; which are tools that farmers may use to build greater defense against threats to a farm's livelihood.

This thesis explores if and how an alternative certification system for agricultural products, the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), could support small-scale farmers to preserve and promote biocultural and food heritage, linked to the landscape they inhabit, their identity as farmers and traditional knowledge. The PGS has been identified by Slow Food as an efficient low-cost and local 'bottom-up' quality assurance system, in order to develop their Presidia project and to re-embed agricultural productions within their traditional socio-ecological contexts. Small-holder farmers all over the world encounter problems in accessing conventional certification systems because of their complexity and strict quality compliance standards, which tend to marginalize this category of producers. I have critically analyzed the extent to which actors and stakeholders agree with the PGS core principles and if, and how, a well-formulated PGS certification can be regarded as a democratic process which fulfils its broader goals. In order to re-structure society from an agri-food perspective, towards a more democratic governance, the core problem lays in how standards and certifications are formed, assessed and applied. The crux of this study is to examine the degree to which a different type of governance, such as the PGS, can induce democratic and participatory methods of food certification. I have conducted semi-structured interviews with various local actors who belong to the social field of alternative food productions underneath the umbrella of Slow Food. Here I investigate the social dimension, the debate and comprehension of the PGS, and the concept of Governmentality by Foucault, as applied to Presidia. In the thesis I show that the PGS provide social benefits to local communities that undergo this certification process. The PGS is able to contribute to the creation of solidarity among actors within the food system, designing a transparent certification system against the logic of commodification.

The Mackenzie River Delta is an ecologically rich freshwater environment in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It is vulnerable to multiple stressors such as climate change, resource development activities (oil and natural gas) and upstream-downstream linkages related to extraction activities in the southern part of the Mackenzie River watershed. Resultant socio-ecological impacts affect fishing livelihoods, which represent a significant component of the country food system and ways of life for Inuvialuit (Inuit of the Western Arctic), whose Settlement Area overlaps with the Delta. This thesis analyzes the implications of socio-ecological changes in the Mackenzie River Delta for Inuvialuit fishing livelihoods and the country food system, drawing from Local and Traditional Knowledge. In collaboration with the Fisheries Joint Management Committee in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, the westernmost Inuit region in Canada, I undertook a participatory-qualitative research, while also drawing on relevant literature and complementary data. Using 28 semi-structured interviews about changes in the Mackenzie River Delta and the importance of fishing livelihoods, results indicated that fishing livelihoods are essential contributors to the Inuvialuit food system, as well as cultural practices surrounding fishing as an activity. Moreover, some results imply the importance of previously ignored species for food security, such as burbot and inconnu, which receive limited attention in other studies. Key findings also indicate that multiple environmental changes are occurring in the Delta, including lower water levels, increasing land erosion, decreasing fish populations, and changes in Delta-reliant wildlife populations (e.g. more beavers), warmer water temperatures, poorer fish quality (e.g. softer flesh, parasites), thinner ice, climate variability, and an escalating cost of living. These changes affect primarily fishing access and raise important concerns about the safety of fish consumption for human health. Ultimately, limited access and declining fish quality have a negative impact on food security, given the key role of fish in the country food system and the importance of socio-cultural dimensions such as fishing knowledge and skills, and sharing practices.

The local food movement has become a prominent force in the U.S. food market, as represented by the explosive expansion of direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketplaces across the country. Concurrent with the expansion of these DTC marketplaces has been the development of the social ideal of localism: a political and ethical paradigm that valorizes artisanal production and smallness, vilifies globalization, and seeks to recapture a sense of place and community that has been lost under the alienating conditions of capitalism’s gigantism. Supporters of localism understand the movement to be a substantial political and economic threat to global capitalism, and ascribe distinct, counter-hegemonic attributes to localized consumption and production. However, critics argue that localism lacks the political imagination and economic power to meaningfully challenge global capitalism, and that it merely represents an elite form of petite bourgeois consumption. While scholars have debated this issue feverishly, there is a dearth of empirical cases measuring whether or not actual local consumers understand their local consumption within the political and ethical frame of localism, leaving much of the discussion in the realm of esoteric theorizing. This study seeks to uncover whether or not local consumers interpret their local consumption habits within localism’s moral framework by using an original survey instrument to gather primary data, and conducting an exploratory quantitative inquiry.

The USDA Economic Research Service shows that 17.7% of Pinal County residents are living in poverty. Pinal County Cooperative Extension offers a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and an Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) to low-income residents. Through their nutrition education programs, they encourage participants to purchase fresh foods from different locations. Typically, locally grown or locally produced foods are much fresher than imported foods. Local food also preserves open space, reduces food miles, and can support a more diverse and sustainable environment. Research shows that when shopping for their groceries, low-income consumers tend to shop at discount centers and supercenters where prices are lower than alternative locations. Research also shows that low-income SNAP participants who shop at discount centers and supercenters purchase less fresh foods than SNAP participants who shop at alternative locations. This study was created to answer the question, "How does knowledge of environment sustainability affect the purchase of local food in low-income consumers participating in nutrition education programs in Pinal County, Arizona?". The results of surveys suggested there is an association between the behavior of buying locally grown food and a participant's knowledge of environmental sustainability.

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FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas
The study aimed to analyze the processes of food security and conservation of plant genetic resources in agroecosystems in the border region in the “Alto Rio Solimões”. To this end, sought to characterize the different landscapes in family units, identify the work processes used in production systems for plant genetic resources conservation sites, in addition to listing the products consumed in the diet and used for obtaining monetary income. The study it was in the locality named “Nova Aliança”, in the municipality of Benjamin Constant, AM. As adopted theoretical referential methodological strategy the dialectic of complexity, with the intervention of the field design case study. In the agroecosystems in“Nova Aliança” is a recursive association with the environmental system and knowledge transmitted reproduce and rebuilt generationally by the residents and by express structural coupling process. Work on agroecosystems is based primarily on the social group formed by the family in whose organization is seated the collectivist practice of reciprocity, seeking to make your social reproduction. The residents produce and reproduce the agricultural diversity in agroecosystems to achieve the maintenance of family unity. The channels of obtaining food via work on agroecosystems and reciprocal relations, by residents of “Nova Aliança”, are a durable and transposable arrangements system integrated with know.Unitas Multiplex System complexity of food emerges from the reciprocity between the established by real, with multifunctional characteristics, organization and interactions themselves, since emergencies. The forms of production adopted correspond to agriculture integrators systems to various ecosystems accessed. This is because the organization of agroecosystems presented by the conjunction of terrestrial and aquatic. And environments and are presented as a set of expressions of knowledge and differentiated knowledge resulting from the use, management and conservation of places, cultivated species and the material and immaterial culture in Its living practice, and for it, resulting from the common life experience of the Kokama people.
O estudo teve por objetivo analisar os processos de segurança alimentar e conservação dos recursos genéticos vegetais nos agroecossistemas na região de fronteira no Alto Rio Solimões. Para tanto, buscou-se caracterizar as diferentes paisagens nas unidades familiares, identificar os processos de trabalho utilizados nos sistemas produtivos para conservação dos recursos genéticos vegetais locais, além de listar os produtos consumidos na dieta alimentar e os utilizados para obtenção de renda monetária. O estudo foi realizado na localidade denominada Nova Aliança, no município de Benjamin Constant, AM. Adotou-se, como referencial teórico da estratégia metodológica, a dialética da complexidade, tendo como delineamento de intervenção de campo o Estudo de Caso. Nos agroecossistemas em Nova Aliança, ocorre uma associação recursiva com o sistema ambiental e os saberes transmitidos são reproduzidos e reconstruídos geracionalmente por manifestarem o processo de acoplamento estrutural. O trabalho nos agroecossistemas apoia-se, fundamentalmente, no grupo social formado pela família em cuja organização está assentada a prática coletivista de reciprocidade, buscando viabilizar sua reprodução social. Os moradores produzem e reproduzem a diversidade agrícola nos agroecossistemas para viabilizar a manutenção da unidade familiar. Os canais de obtenção de alimentos via trabalho nos agroecossistemas e relações de reciprocidade, pelos moradores de Nova Aliança, apresentam-se como um sistema de disposições duráveis e transponíveis integradas ao saber. A complexidade do Sistema Unitas Multiplex da comida emerge da reciprocidade entre o estabelecido pelo real, com características multifuncionais, organização e interações próprias, desde emergências. As formas de produção adotadas correspondem a sistemas integradores da agricultura aos diversos ecossistemas acessados. Isto porque, a organização dos agroecossistemas é representada pela conjunção dos ambientes terrestres e aquáticos e apresentam-se como um conjunto de expressões de conhecimentos e saberes diferenciados resultantes do uso, manejo e conservação dos lugares, das espécies cultivadas e da cultura material e imaterial em sua prática viva, e por ela, resultantes da experiência comum de vida do povo Kokama.

Ce travail décrit les processus de production des savoirs locaux sur le manioc et leurs modes d’apprentissage et circulation par les paysans centrafricains, lesquels se confrontent à l’exécution des politiques publiques agricoles et agroalimentaires du pays. Les savoirs locaux sur le manioc constituent un ensemble de techniques et de savoir-faire construits et acquis par les paysans à travers des apprentissages qui mettent en interaction des acteurs appartenant à des mondes sociaux différents. Mes recherches s’appuient sur des enquêtes de terrain multi-situées, à Pissa, à Yaloké et à Sibut, et sur une expérience d’observation participante aux travaux agricoles et à l’apprentissage du « savoir-cultiver » qui m’ont conduit à identifier des changements socio-économiques et des mutations de connaissances induits par l’émergence de ces savoirs paysans. Ceux-ci sont des connaissances hybrides construites selon les contextes sociaux, économiques et agro-écologiques en interactions avec les savoirs scientifiques diffusés en milieu paysan. Les transferts de savoirs technico-scientifiques portés par les projets de production du manioc conduisent les agriculteurs à des réinterprétations qui adaptent les informations reçues à leurs besoins. L’exemple des pratiques de bouturages précoces et tardives comme techniques adaptatives aux changements climatiques invite à repenser la question de la considération des savoirs paysans par les scientifiques en termes de savoirs sociaux répondant aux besoins des agriculteurs
This work describes the production processes of local knowledge on cassava and their learning styles and circulation by Central African farmers, who are confronted with the implementation of agricultural policy and food of the country. Local knowledge on cassava are a set of techniques and know-how acquired and built by farmers through learning that highlight interaction of the actors belonging to different social worlds. My research is based on multi-located field surveys to Pissa at Yaloké and Sibut, and participant observation of experience in farm work and learning "know-grow" that led me to identify socio-economic changes and knowledge of mutations induced by the emergence of farming knowledge. These are hybrid knowledge built by the social, economic contexts and agro-ecological interactions in scientific knowledge broadcast on-farm. Transfers of technical-scientific knowledge carried by cassava production projects led farmers to reinterpretations which adapt the information received to their needs. The example of the practice early and late cuttings as adaptive techniques to climate change calls to rethink the question of consideration of the farmers' knowledge by scientists in terms of social knowledge to the needs of farmers

Cette thèse intitulée Histoire du peuplement Ambaama et étude des savoirs locaux de gestion de l’environnement (fin XVIIIe-milieu XXe siècle) ambitionne de réaliser une étude historique des savoirs locaux initiés pour administrer l’environnement dans la société ambaama. Elle étudie le contexte dans lequel ces savoirs ont été produits et insérés dans les modes d’organisation et de fonctionnement de cette société. Tout d’abord, elle vise surtout à montrer en quoi ces savoirs jouent un rôle décisif dans la protection de l’environnement et des ressources naturelles. Ensuite, elle envisage d’étudier les dynamiques socio-culturelles qui rendent valides ces savoirs. Dans cette perspective, nous voulons mettre en évidence de potentiels changements intervenus au moment où les Européens nouent des contacts avec les Ambaama. Enfin, nous voulons voir comment les Ambaama ont-ils réagi face à l’instauration du système réglementaire colonial, ce, dans le but maintenir l’équilibre de leur organisation sociale. Autrement dit, nous voulons montrer comment les nouvelles politiques coloniales, en matière de gestion et protection des ressources forestières, se sont imposées, tout en détricotant systèmes endogènes. Cette recherche se situe à la croisée de l’histoire culturelle, l’environnementale, des techniques, des idées voire de l’anthropologie, particulièrement religieuse. La recherche entreprise s’appuie sur deux types de sources complémentaires. D’une part, les sources écrites européennes, comprenant les récits de voyageurs du XIXe siècle et les documents d’archives. D’autre part, des sources orales recueillies pendant nos enquêtes de terrain réalisées au Gabon, en particulier dans la région du haut-Ogooué et dans quelques villages situés sur l’axe routier Makokou-Okondja
This thesis entitled « Story of the Ambaama settlement and study of local knowledge of environnemental management » aims to carry out a historical study of local knowledge to manage the environment in Ambaama community. It studies the context in which this knowledge was produced and put into the modes of organisation and functioning of that society. First of all, it aims above all to show how this knowledge plays an important role in the protection of the environment and natural resources. Then, it plans to study the socio-cultural dynamics that make this knowledge valid. In this way, we want to highlight the potential changes that have occurred when Europeans established contacts with the Ambaama. Next, we are going to see how the Ambaama reacted to the establishment of the colonial regulatory system in order to maintain the balance of their social organisation. In other words, we want to show the new colonial policies, in terms of management and protection of forest resources were imposed, with unraveling endogenous systems. This study is located at the crossroads of cultural and environmental history, techniques, ideas and even anthropology, particularly religious. Our thesis is based on two types of complementary sources. On the one band, we have European written sources including travelers' accounts from the 19th century and archival documents. On the other hand, there are oral sources collected during our surveys carried out in Gabon (in Haut-Ogooue and in some villages located between Makokou and Okondja)

Increasingly unpredictable, extreme and erratic rainfall with higher temperatures threatens to undermine the adaptive capacity of food systems and ecological resilience of smallholder landscapes. Despite growing concern, land managers still lack quantitative techniques to collect empirical data about the potential impact of climatic variability and change. This thesis aims to assess how ecosystem services and function and how this links with biodiversity and human wellbeing in smallholder agro-ecosystems in a changing climate. To this end, rather than relying on scenarios or probabilistic modelling, space was used as a proxy for time to compare states in disparate climatic conditions. Furthermore, an integrated methodological framework to assess ecosystem services at the field and landscape level was developed and operationalised, the results of which can be modelled with measures of wellbeing. Various multidisciplinary analytical tools were utilised, including ecological and socio-economic surveys, biological assessments, participatory open enquiry, and documenting ethnobotanical knowledge. The study was located within monsoon rice farms in the Terai Plains of Nepal, and dry season vegetable farms in Northern Ghana. Sites were selected that are climatically and culturally diverse to enable comparative analysis, with application to broad areas of adaptive planning. The linkages that bring about biophysical and human changes are complex and operate through social, political, economic and demographic drivers, making attribution extremely challenging. Nevertheless, it was demonstrated that within hotter and drier conditions in Ghana long-tongued pollinators and granivores, important for decomposition processes and pollination services, are more abundant in farms. Results further indicated that in cooler and drier conditions in Nepal, the taxonomic diversity of indigenous and close relative plant species growing in and around farms, important for the provisioning of ecosystem services, decreases. All other things equal, in both Nepal and Ghana findings indicate that overall human wellbeing may be adversely effected in hotter conditions, with a potentially significantly lower yields, fewer months of the year in which food is available, higher exposure to natural hazards and crop loss, unemployment, and psychological anxiety. Yet, surveys indicate smallholders continue to maintain a fair diversity of species in and around farms, which may allow them to secure basic necessities from provisioning ecosystem services. Moreover, farmers may employ adaptive strategies such as pooling labour and food sharing more frequently, and may have greater access to communication, technology, and infrastructure. Novel methodological and empirical contributions of this research offer predictive insights that could inform innovations in climate-smart agricultural practice and planning.

Face à la crise environnementale et climatique, les pratiques basées sur la gestion des processus écologiques ouvrent un nouvel horizon pour l’agriculture. L’enjeu actuel de l’agroforesterie basée sur les associations d’arbres, de cultures et d’élevage, n’est plus limité à la seule production, mais touche aussi à la durabilité́ de cette production, à la résilience du milieu cultivé vis-à-vis des aléas climatiques, à la fourniture des services écosystémiques et à la création de nouveaux « terroirs ». Il s’agit de concrétiser sa multifonctionnalité́ et son inscription dans le long terme. Or, ces pratiques agroécologiques ne peuvent pas résulter d’une pure application de recettes techniques ; elles se développent avec les caractères propres de chaque milieu accompagné par chaque agriculteur. L’entrée par les connaissances naturalistes et agroécologiques des agriculteurs, et par ce que l’on nomme paysage, peut-elle devenir un vecteur de transmission des pratiques agroforestières essentiellement par effet de voisinage et par apprentissage collectif ? Une étude critique des modalités et des dispositifs d’apprentissage, de transmission et d’accompagnement des pratiques agroforestières du Bassin francilien est menée à travers une démarche ethnopaysagère et géographique et par la sociologie pragmatique. Les récits des trajectoires agroforestières et en agriculture biologique ou de conservation des sols sont retracés à travers l’enquête ethnographique auprès d’agriculteurs et la collecte documentaire de terrain (photographies, dessins d’agriculteurs, plans de projets). Une typologie des différentes formes de paysages agroforestiers (linéaires d’arbres intra-parcellaire, complantés parfois d’une strate arbustive, maillage de haies champêtres, etc.) et la gamme des savoirs écologiques et de diversification qui y sont associés, est proposée. En regard, la méfiance envers les arbres chez certains agriculteurs de conservation des sols est identifiée. Dans un deuxième temps, l’enquête sur les modalités d’accompagnement par les parties prenantes du développement territorial (agriculteurs, propriétaires fonciers, agents des parcs naturels régionaux et des communautés de communes, vulgarisateurs), éclaire les conflits et les alliances entre acteurs territoriaux. Les outils et les processus d’apprentissage collectif de cette université agroforestière du dehors sont mis en évidence à travers les chroniques des ateliers de collectifs d’agriculteurs et des projets de recherche-participative autour du patrimoine de semences et de ligneux adaptés localement (enquête écologique, index-botanique, lecture et design paysager, ateliers de projets et de taille, sélection participative). Ce travail propose une synthèse des freins (le temps long, le manque de références locales et de savoir-faire de gestion, l’arbre dans le bail rural) et des conditions de transmission des pratiques agroforestières (implication des pionniers dans un groupe de pratiques, approche par l’expérience, implication des acteurs territoriaux). Celles-ci s’articulent entre différentes échelles : de la parcelle à la plaine, jusqu’à la communauté d’acteurs du « grand paysage ». Enfin, cette thèse identifie un ensemble d’expériences patrimoniales du vivant qui, à travers les bénéfices agro-écosystémiques et les filières alimentaires issus de ces nouveaux paysages agricoles, pourrait devenir le socle d’un projet local garant de la durabilité environnementale, sociale et économique du territoire
Faced with the environmental and climatic crisis, practices based on the management of ecological processes are opening up a new horizon for agriculture. The current challenge of agroforestry, based on associations of trees, crops and/or animals, is no longer limited to production alone, but also affects its sustainability and in particular the provision of ecosystem services and the food resilience of territories. However, these agroecological practices cannot result from the application of technical recipes. Can farmers’ naturalistic and agroecological knowledge of landscapes, become a vector for the transmission of agroforestry practices mainly through neighborhood effect and collective learning ? A critical study of the methods and mechanisms of learning, transmission and support of agroforestry practices in the Paris Basin is carried out through a transdisciplinary, ethno-geographic and pragmatic approach. The stories of their agroecological trajectories are retraced through ethnographic investigation and documentary collection from the field (photography, drawing of farmers, project plan). A typology of the different forms of agroforestry landscapes (intra-plot tree lines, diversified hedgerows gridding, etc.) and the range of ecological and diversification knowledge associated with them is proposed. In contrast, the mistrust of trees among some soil conservation farmers is identified. Secondly, the survey on the methods of support by stakeholders in territorial development (farmers, landowners, agricultural development associations, agents of regional nature parks and communities of municipalities), sheds light on conflicts and alliances between actors. The tools and collective learning processes of this outside agroecological university are highlighted through the chronicles of farmers' collective workshops and participatory research projects around the heritage of locally adapted seeds and woody plants (ecological survey, botanical index, reading and landscape design, project and pruning workshops, participatory selection). This work offers a synthesis of the brakes (the long time, the lack of local references and management know-how, the tree in the rural lease). And the conditions of transmission of agroforestry practices (pioneering attitudes, empirical and transversal approaches, involvement of territorial actors) are articulated between different scales: from the plot to the plain, to the community of actors in the large landscape. Finally, this thesis identifies a set of updating of living heritage which, through the agro-ecosystem benefits and the local food systems resulting from these new agricultural landscapes; could become the basis of a local project guaranteeing the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the territory

碩士
國立臺北藝術大學
博物館研究所
107
Food as a discourse has been discussed in various media, such as multi-sensory workshops, performances, ritual festivals and magazines. Interpreting food in non-daily forms involves the public to care about its cultural knowledge, even serves the means to engage community resources. Food presentation and performance in contemporary time therefore educed new methods and meanings, becoming a novel approach in local cultural practices. Badouzi fishing village, located in the Northeast harbour of Keelung, Taiwan, has been facing industry transformation due to climate change and resource scarcity. The well-known fishing method in Badouzi applying light to attract fish has a long tradition of 200 years. The specific historical fish processing factories were created. Although with changes in functions, the processing factory sites remain in the village. Aside from this, the features of fishing method allow Badouzi to be one of the most prolific catch and important area with the use of lights in night fishing. The field study in this research indicates that the neritic squid in Badouzi fishing village plays the crucial role in local festivals, displays in local museum and in merchandise, which makes Badouzi fishing village a valuable researching case to study about contemporary food performance. With the methodology of document analysis, participant observation and qualitative interview, this research focuses on the local presentation and its underlying meaning of neritic squid in Keelung's Badouzi fishing village. Three kinds of performative media mentioned above, namely local festivals, local museum and merchandises, present the industry chain of neritic squid in Badouzi, as well as their viewpoints through their displays and contents. First of all, local neritic squid festival shows the viewpoint of local government, emphasizing fishery industry transformation and catch sales. Additionally, local museum presents research results from professionals and scholars about local fishery knowledge to the general public. Finally, merchandise display shows the crossing ideas of merchants, fishermen, and local residents. In conclusion, neritic squid represents diverse voices from local government, local museum, fishermen, merchants and local people, addressing to the issues of local industry transformation in Badouzi fishing village.

This dissertation is a policy driven ethnography of smallholder and alternative farmers in Indiana that centers food justice and utilizes interdisciplinary frameworks to analyze the adaptive strategies that farmers use to address the specific challenges they face. Through the implementation of adaptive strategies such as regenerative growing practices, the cultivation of community, stewardship of the land, and an emphasis on transparency, the smallholders I worked with over the course of this study negotiate complex agricultural spaces and build the resilience of their farmsteads and the communities they serve. Smallholder and alternative farmers in Indiana are reimagining the agricultural spaces they occupy and driving transformational change of dominant narratives and local food systems. Critiques of conventional agriculture and commodity production are not intended to reify binary perceptions of the agricultural paradigm, but rather to demonstrate that the critical role of smallholder and alternatives farmers should be valued as well.

This research draws on four years of ethnographic research, archival sources, and close readings of policy measures and media reports to illuminate the historical context that has positioned smallholders in juxtaposition to large-scale conventional agriculture, and the critical role of smallholder farmers in driving food systems change while centering food justice and community resiliency. The driving research questions for the following essays follow: Why have small scale and alternative farmers chosen to farm (and farm differently)? What specific challenges do they face and how might these challenges be better addressed by existing support systems and new legislation? What can be learned from the alternative narratives and reimagined spaces smallholder farmers engage with? This work joins the growing body of research that challenges agricultural meta-narratives by presenting a counter-narrative of smallholder resilience and the a priori notion that posits agricultural technology as a panacea for everything from world hunger to economics to environmental concerns.

PhDRDV
Institute for Rural Development
Many countries provide food to school children through school feeding programmes (SFPs). This is designed to alleviate short-term hunger and encourage learners to attend school. Many children in South Africa attend school hungry and lack general knowledge of nutrition, which negatively affects their learning abilities. Not much research attention has been paid to the potential of SFPs to improve learners‟ knowledge of nutrition. Nor has there been significant effort to stimulate local production of food involving community members, which might contribute to the development of rural areas. In the current study, the degree to which SFPs have alleviated hunger, promoted nutrition education, and enhanced the development of rural communities in Blouberg Local Municipality (BLM) was investigated. Data were collected from 11 primary schools in BLM where the South African Department of Basic Education implemented SFPs. At each school, quantitative data were collected from learners aged from 10 to 15 years using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with learners, teaching staff, community members and government officials involved in the implementation of SFPs. Document analysis, direct observation, and taking notes, photographs, Venn and seasonal -diagraming were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, crosstabulation and binary logistic regression were used to analyse quantitative data. Qualitative data obtained in the form of interview transcripts and field notes were analysed using thematic content analysis. An inductive approach was followed. This entails coding the data and observing emerging patterns, culminating in organising the results into common themes. A composite index was used as a measure of the quality of SFPs. Perceived benefits of SFPs were assessed based on a validated and standardised 5-point ordinal scale. It was observed that 80 % school children who participated in the study were satisfied with the quality of the SFPs provided to them. The results confirmed those obtained through focus group discussions and individual interviews. Overall satisfaction with the quality of the SFP in BLM significantly and positively depended on the following knowledge, in descending order of importance: fewer sugary foods should be consumed; fewer fatty foods should be consumed and eating various foods helps in proper growth and development. Four predictor variables significantly influenced satisfaction with SFPs. These were: knowledge that a variety of food types is helpful for growth and development [OR = 3.72; P < 0.001; 95% C.I. = 1.77, 7.83]; knowledge that eating too much fatty food is harmful [OR = 2.93; P < 0.001; 95% C.I. = 1.83, 4.68]; knowledge that eating too much sugary food is harmful [OR = 2.18; P < 0.001; 95% C.I. = 1.45, 3.29]; and knowledge that eating too much sweet food is harmful because it can make people fat [OR = 1.58; P < 0.05; 95% C.I. = 1.01, 2.50]. All participants agreed that SFPs alleviated hunger and benefited the learners and their families. Although the participants cited numerous other benefits accrued through SFPs, there were challenges that should be addressed. The involvement of community members in the SFPs was reported to be minimal such as cooking and serving food and working in the school gardens. This could be maximised because SFPs presented an opportunity for local food production and rural community development. Non-delivery of food by suppliers and the negative impact it had on learners was the major challenge. This observation implied that the SFPs constituted a readily available market, which the rural communities could exploit to improve their income, create jobs and enhance the rural economy. Therefore, SFPs and school gardens should be integrated with nutrition education to improve the learners‟ level of nutrition knowledge and reinforce the consumption of healthy foods. Although initially, the SFP had a community development component, this seemed to be overlooked. A framework that underscores strong partnerships among government departments, NGOs and the private sector in implementing community and/or rural development initiatives was developed. The framework is based on strong partnerships between key stakeholders, policy support, investments in resources and infrastructure for rural development and capacity building.
NRF

碩士
國立臺灣海洋大學
食品科學系
107
The aim of this study are to compare the different attitudes of before and after implementing computerized knowledge management system(KMS) among different departments and individuals regarding to their job performances in County Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Division. Further, it is to identify whether use of workflow to construct a knowledge map and the difference in the effectiveness of importing knowledge management. Fifty-six FDA employees divided into "self/newbie/senior staff/section head" were involved in the project by given questionnaires to assess departmental knowledge management, personal knowledge management and individual job performance. A total of 5 tests were performed before and after the implementation. Data was analyzed by regression analysis, analysis of variance, and independent sample t tests. Implementing the KMS were divided into five stages: preparation, feedback, modification, report and fully implementing stages. After introducing KMS, departmental knowledge management has a partial direct impact on individual job performance in terms of self, newbie, and section head. Comparing before and after the implementation of KMS, each variable showed a significant positive impact. There was no significant difference among variables between preparation and modification stages. It showed that after the 4 months’ experiencing KMS, employees had become unfamiliar with knowledge management. There was no significant difference among variables between feedback and report stages, which indicated that KMS training was not gaining effect by comparing the first week & three months after. There was a significant difference in the department knowledge management after the introduction of workflows to constructing knowledge maps, showing that the workflow process has its effectiveness. This study shows the importance of departmental knowledge management for individual job performance. And the introduction of knowledge management does have its effectiveness. It is better to use a workflow to construct a knowledge map. Knowledge management training should be about 3 months in terms of maintaining the effectiveness of knowledge management. And share the improvement plan and results in real time, to avoid people who are unfamiliar with the knowledge management architecture and system settings.

The study focused primarily on the socio-economic benefit(s) of land reform beneficiaries with regard to food security. The study further investigated the socio-economic impact of selected land reform projects in the Limpopo Province which is also very critical for many parts of South Africa. Apart from the traditional output based evaluation of land reform projects, the study managed to identify key significant variables that could be the focus in reforming land reform projects in the future. The study also highlights variables that could contribute positively or negatively to the attainment of socio-economic deliverables of the objectives of land reform. The conclusive data for the study was obtained from 170 beneficiaries of the land reform programme. Beneficiaries have benefited from Land Redistribution and Agricultural Development (LRAD) and Settlement Land Acquisition Grant (SLAG) sub-programmes of land reform in the area of Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality within the Greater Sekhukhune District Local Municipality. The Multinomial Logic Model (MLM) was regarded as the best model for data analysis and was used to analyse the degree of contribution of socio-economic factors to food security among beneficiaries of LRAD and SLAG. Three categories were selected to determine the level of beneficiaries satisfaction with food security, namely; 1) None; 2) Moderate and 3) High. Dependent variables selected were 1) Number of beneficiaries, 2) Gender, 3) Farm size/ha, 4) Enterprise, 5) Land reform sub programme, 6) Proximity to the project, 7) Decision, 8) Knowledge, 9) Skills, 10) Training, 11) participation in Development organisation, 12) Sustaining production, and 13) Sustaining financial obligation. The study indicated that the participation of beneficiaries in decision making could contribute positively to the attainment of food security. A positive relationship with food security was determined and confirmed the study hypothesis. Knowledge was also found to have a significant relationship with the attainment of household food security. Knowledge was again found linked to training of beneficiaries which in general was inadequate. The study further revealed that almost all beneficiaries were failing to maintain production and financial obligations. Contrary to the hypothesis, enterprise was not found to be significant to the attainment of beneficiaries’ household food security. v The study concluded that land reform is still relevant to food security in the area. It was also concluded that there is a need to develop a comprehensive agricultural development plan to advance the objective of the land reform programme.
Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology
M.Sc. (Agriculture)

The relationship between international regimes regulating intellectual property, traditional knowledge and biodiversity has received much attention in recent times. Of the many complex and controversial issues in contemporary international legal discourse on this matter, the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) stands out as a significant challenge. Choices abound in the search for modalities to regulate rights to use and control TK systems and their underlying biodiversity. In recent times, the protection of geographical indications (GIs) has emerged as an option for protecting TK. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over it, there is appreciable research dearth on how far and in what context GIs can be used as a protection model. Indeed, not only is the concept of GIs itself widely misunderstood. As well, analyses as to their applicability for protecting TK often reflect underlying cultural differences in the nature, scope and the jurisprudence regarding GIs across jurisdictions. This thesis examines the relationship between GIs and TK, focusing on the responsiveness of GIs to the needs and desires of indigenous peoples and local communities (ILCs). The thesis posits that the search for a model to protect TK should involve identifying different modalities, including those based on intellectual property, to fit to the nature and uses of TK in particular contexts. The analysis conceptualizes GIs as a form of IP that are structurally and functionally suitable to protect aspects of TK in traditional knowledge-based agricultural products (TKBAPs). Substantively, the thesis draws attention to the conceptual underpinnings of GIs as encompassing cultural and economic objectives in the protection of TK. As such, it is argued that stronger protection of GIs should be achieved by integrating the negotiations and discussion concerning GIs and TK at the international level. Further, the case is made for the determination of immediate challenges and long-term opportunities in choosing a legal means for protecting GIs at the national level. In this connection, the thesis suggests that the potential of GIs to meet national and local imperatives to protect TK be assessed, inter alia, based on their instrumentality for economic, biodiversity, cultural and food security objectives in protecting TKBAPs.

Contexte : Un accès adéquat aux aliments sains dans les environnements résidentiels peut contribuer aux saines habitudes alimentaires. Un tel accès est d’autant plus important pour les personnes âgées, où les changements associés au vieillissement peuvent accentuer leur dépendance aux ressources disponibles dans le voisinage. Cependant, cette relation n’a pas encore été établie chez les aînés. Objectifs : La présente thèse vise à quantifier les associations entre l’environnement alimentaire local et les habitudes alimentaires de personnes âgées vivant à domicile en milieu urbain. La thèse s’est insérée dans un projet plus large qui a apparié les données provenant d’une cohorte d’aînés québécois vivant dans la région métropolitaine montréalaise avec des données provenant d’un système d’information géographique. Trois études répondent aux objectifs spécifiques suivants : (1) développer des indices relatifs de mixité alimentaire pour qualifier l’offre d’aliments sains dans les magasins d’alimentation et l’offre de restaurants situés dans les quartiers faisant partie du territoire à l’étude et en examiner la validité; (2) quantifier les associations entre la disponibilité relative de magasins d’alimentation et de restaurants près du domicile et les habitudes alimentaires des aînés; (3) examiner l’influence des connaissances subjectives en nutrition dans la relation entre l’environnement alimentaire près du domicile et les habitudes alimentaires chez les hommes et les femmes âgés. Méthodes : Le devis consiste en une analyse secondaire de données transversales provenant de trois sources : les données du cycle 1 pour 848 participants de l’Étude longitudinale québécoise « La nutrition comme déterminant d’un vieillissement réussi » (2003-2008), le Recensement de 2001 de Statistique Canada et un registre privé de commerces et services (2005), ces derniers regroupés dans un système d’information géographique nommé Mégaphone. Des analyses bivariées non paramétriques ont été appliquées pour répondre à l’objectif 1. Les associations entre l’exposition aux commerces alimentaires dans le voisinage et les habitudes alimentaires (objectif 2), ainsi que l’influence des connaissances subjectives en nutrition dans cette relation (objectif 3), ont été vérifiées au moyen d’analyses de régression linéaires. Résultats : Les analyses ont révélé trois résultats importants. Premièrement, l’utilisation d’indices relatifs pour caractériser l’offre alimentaire s’avère pertinente pour l’étude des habitudes alimentaires, plus particulièrement pour l’offre de restaurants-minute. Deuxièmement, l’omniprésence d’aspects défavorables dans l’environnement, caractérisé par une offre relativement plus élevée de restaurants-minute, semble nuire davantage aux saines habitudes alimentaires que la présence d’opportunités d’achats d’aliments sains dans les magasins d’alimentation. Troisièmement, un environnement alimentaire plus favorable aux saines habitudes pourrait réduire les écarts quant à la qualité de l’alimentation chez les femmes ayant de plus faibles connaissances subjectives en nutrition par rapport aux femmes mieux informées. Conclusion : Ces résultats mettent en relief la complexité des liens entre l’environnement local et l’alimentation. Dans l’éventualité où ces résultats seraient reproduits dans des recherches futures, des stratégies populationnelles visant à résoudre un déséquilibre entre l’accès aux sources d’aliments sains par rapport aux aliments peu nutritifs semblent prometteuses.
Context: Adequate access to healthful foods in residential environments may contribute to healthful dietary practices. Such access is important for older adults where changes associated with aging may accentuate their dependence on resources available in their residential neighborhood. However, this relationship has not been established for seniors. Objectives: This thesis aims to quantify associations between the local food environment and dietary patterns of independent urban-dwelling older adults. The thesis is part of a larger project involving the linkage of data from a cohort of Québec seniors living in the Montréal metropolitan area and data from a geographic information system. Three studies addressed the following specific objectives: (1) to develop relative indices of local-area food sources outlets to qualify stores potentially selling healthful foods and supply of restaurants in neighborhoods that were part of the study area, (2) to quantify associations between the relative availability of food stores and restaurants in residential area and dietary patterns of members of the cohort, (3) to examine the influence of subjective nutrition knowledge in the relationship between the residential food environment and dietary patterns among older men and women. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of data from three different sources was performed: (1) person-level data on 848 participants from cycle 1 of the Québec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging , (2) 2001 Census data from Statistics Canada and (3) data from private businesses and services registry (2005), these two gathered in a geographic information system called Megaphone. Nonparametric bivariate analyses were applied to address objective 1. Associations between exposure to residential-area food sources and dietary patterns (objective 2), as well as moderating effect of nutrition knowledge (objective 3), were tested using linear regression analyses. Results: Analyses revealed three important results. First, the use of relative indices to characterize availability of local-area food sources is relevant to the study of dietary patterns, particularly regarding the supply of fast food restaurants. Second, the ubiquity of unfavorable aspects in the food environment, characterized by relatively higher fast food restaurants offer seem more detrimental to healthful eating habits that the presence of opportunities to buy healthful foods in food stores. Third, a residential food environment more favorable to healthful dietary patterns could reduce disparities in diet quality between women with low nutrition knowledge compared to women more knowledgeable. Conclusion: These results highlight the complex links between local environment and diet. If findings can be replicated in future research, population-based strategies to address an imbalance between accessibility to healthful food sources relative to unhealthful food sources, would be promising.