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(1 - 4 of 4)
Title
The transition to industrial farming landscapes and methods in western lower Michigan and the resulting community awareness
Creator
Jacques, Michelle Lynne-Larkins
Date
2011
Collection
Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description
Using an Environmental Justice Framework (EJF) and risk perception theory this research investigates the perceptions of residents of one West Michigan agricultural community regarding the density of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in their area. Using a case study approach, semi-structured interviews (n=11) with operational stakeholders and orally administered surveys (n=296) with the community at large were conducted. Hispanic community members and farmworkers were purposively...
Show moreUsing an Environmental Justice Framework (EJF) and risk perception theory this research investigates the perceptions of residents of one West Michigan agricultural community regarding the density of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in their area. Using a case study approach, semi-structured interviews (n=11) with operational stakeholders and orally administered surveys (n=296) with the community at large were conducted. Hispanic community members and farmworkers were purposively sampled due to their unique status in the community. Results indicate that community perceptions of risk differ significantly among demographic groups. Hispanic community members were more likely to perceive the employment benefits of CAFOS as being more important and the likelihood of environmental pollution or human health effects to be lower in importance than non-Hispanic community members. In contrast, women were more likely to perceive the potential of environmental pollution effects of CAFOs to be more significant and the economic benefits to be less important than men. Our findings support risk perception theory and also suggest directions for future research regarding educational attainment and perception.
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Title
Incorporating environmental concerns into decisions about food : contributions from research on decision-making
Creator
Campbell-Arvai, Victoria
Date
2011
Collection
Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description
This dissertation research addresses the issue of how to incorporate concerns about the health of the environment into food decisions, be they the small choices we make every day or the much larger decisions relating to what foods should be served in a university or made available within a community. This research takes as its starting point insights from the interdisciplinary fields of behavioral decision research and decision analysis, which suggest why it may be challenging to make...
Show moreThis dissertation research addresses the issue of how to incorporate concerns about the health of the environment into food decisions, be they the small choices we make every day or the much larger decisions relating to what foods should be served in a university or made available within a community. This research takes as its starting point insights from the interdisciplinary fields of behavioral decision research and decision analysis, which suggest why it may be challenging to make decisions that are in line with these goals, e.g., the systematic shortcuts and biases that tend to pervade our decision-making (often without our awareness), as well as what approaches we can take to account for these short-cuts and biases, e.g., structured decision-making and behavioral interventions. The context for this research is Michigan State University's (MSU) Environmental Stewardship program, which is charged with exploring all aspects of the university's approach to sustainability and has the ultimate goal of reducing the university's environmental footprint. The university's food system is well positioned to make contributions towards the achievement of a broad range of health and environmental sustainability outcomes, and provided an ideal context within which to apply emerging ideas from behavioral decision research and decision analysis. The research for this dissertation unfolded in two complementary phases. First, key objectives that MSU students associate with their food choices on campus were documented using a semi-structured open-ended interview protocol, with an eye to identifying and elucidating how objectives relating to environmental health and sustainability factor into student food choices (if at all). Second, a factorial experimental design was used to compare a behavioral intervention that presented students with meat-free menu items as the default option (representing a more pro-environmental choice) with the provision of information linking less meat consumption with positive environmental outcomes. Several social psychological and demographic factors were incorporated into the design of the experiment as well. In terms of the first phase of research, students discussed objectives relating to taste, health, enjoying the dining experience, and safety, and this is in keeping with what has been found in other studies. Connections between food and environmental sustainability, e.g., through food overproduction and waste, dining hall practices, organic food, local food, modern food production practices, and the implications of raising animals for food, were also noted. In terms of the second phase of research, logistic regression analysis revealed that the default menu configuration was a significant predictor of choice of a meat-free menu item; the presence of information was not a significant predictor of choice. In addition, neither an individual's values or worldview contributed directly to the model; only gender was a significant additional predictor of meat-free meal choice. Default interventions and other behavior-based decision-structuring efforts can be important tools in motivating pro-environmental behavior, and can also serve to complement information and education efforts over the long term, as long as concerns about individual autonomy are addressed.
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Title
Michigan Black farm owners perceptions about farm ownership credit acquisition : a critical race analysis
Creator
Tyler, Shakara
Date
2013
Collection
Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description
This qualitative study served to gather the perceptions of selected Black farm owners in Michigan about the meaning of their farm ownership, credit acquisition experiences, and recommendations to improve the process. Through a critical race methodology of 11 semi-structured interviews, key findings indicate the preference of non-government loans, private lending difficulty, and lack of outreach. Key recommendation findings include promoting fairness among all farm loan applicants and better...
Show moreThis qualitative study served to gather the perceptions of selected Black farm owners in Michigan about the meaning of their farm ownership, credit acquisition experiences, and recommendations to improve the process. Through a critical race methodology of 11 semi-structured interviews, key findings indicate the preference of non-government loans, private lending difficulty, and lack of outreach. Key recommendation findings include promoting fairness among all farm loan applicants and better education. A thematic grounded analysis of the findings using a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework suggests a history of mistrust with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) impacts farm loan preference for these Black farm owners. FSA may not be "the lender of last resort" for these farmers due to historical discriminatory lending and lack of access to pertinent information that often doesn't reach small, Black farmers. Race, farm size, and farm type presents an intersectional barrier that needs to be considered in the construction of farm loan policy.
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Title
Resource management in a developing country context : improving decisions by confronting difficult tradeoffs in Costa Rica
Creator
Kellon, Delanie S. (Delanie Suzanne)
Date
2011
Collection
Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description
ABSTRACTRESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT: IMPROVING DECISIONS BY CONFRONTING DIFFICULT TRADEOFFS IN COSTA RICAByDelanie Suzanne KellonThough laudable and necessary, the international development field's recent shift toward more holistic approaches and methods presents a significant challenge to governments and stakeholder groups throughout developing regions of the world. The presence of critically important--but often conflicting--social, economic, and environmental...
Show moreABSTRACTRESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT: IMPROVING DECISIONS BY CONFRONTING DIFFICULT TRADEOFFS IN COSTA RICAByDelanie Suzanne KellonThough laudable and necessary, the international development field's recent shift toward more holistic approaches and methods presents a significant challenge to governments and stakeholder groups throughout developing regions of the world. The presence of critically important--but often conflicting--social, economic, and environmental objectives in decision making for international development point to the inevitability of some difficult tradeoffs; the need to give up something valued in order to gain something else that is also valued but for different reasons. This dissertation seeks to better understand, and gauge the effectiveness of, two approaches for confronting these kinds of tradeoffs in an international development context. Presented in three chapters, the dissertation begins by using insights from the decision sciences to discuss ways to address common pitfalls in decision making about the environment. The second and third chapters then report results from research that draws on these concepts and explores two approaches for confronting environment-development tradeoffs in Costa Rica: (1) a stated choice (SC) approach that relies upon conjoint analysis and (2) a decision analytic method based on insights from multiattribute utility theory. In addition to responding to policy oriented research questions, the second and third papers also set the stage for future analysis of both approaches from a methodological perspective.
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