Browsing by Subject "Qualitative research methods"

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    Consumer Perceptions of the Connection Between Food Production and Climate Change at Five Farmers’ Markets in North Carolina
    (2009-04-24T20:29:35Z) Hozyash, Krista
    Farmers’ markets have been increasing in number across the United States since the 1970s, rising to 4, 685 in 2008. An alternative form of agriculture has increased along with the rise in farmers’ markets, focused on sustainable farming practices and civic engagement. Many reasons have been identified for increased support of alternative food systems, including the ability to purchase fresh foods of high quality, to support local farmers, to address environmental concerns, and to avoid mass production that can lead to food security problems. This study examines the main reasons for shopping locally that were identified by respondents at five farmers’ markets in North Carolina. In particular, focus is placed on environmental reasons for shopping and on whether an effort to limit personal or household climate footprints is part of the decision to shop at farmers’ markets. In 2005, the agricultural sector in the United States was responsible for 7% of total greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide (7260 Tg CO2 eq). Sustainable agriculture is capable of lessening greenhouse gas contributions to global climate change through farming practices that avoid petro-chemical pesticides and fertilizers, that adopt reduced tillage techniques, and that limit fossil fuel-based inputs. Survey results showed that most respondents did not shop at farmers’ markets to reduce climate footprints, but did state that environmental concerns were important in the decision to shop locally at markets. Evidence of support for sustainable farming practices from respondents could encourage more farmers in the state to adopt sustainable farming practices. The most significant reasons given for shopping at farmers’ markets were to purchase fresh foods of high quality that were healthy for consumers, and to support local farmers. Information from and education by farmers about their farming practices may help inform more market customers of agricultural effects on the environment.
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    Description and Evaluation of an Environmental Education Program in Madagascar
    (2012-04-27) Angiolillo, Gina; West, Niki; Sangodkar, Sanjyot; Wyman, Noelle
    The Duke Lemur Center (DLC) is a founding member of the Madagascar Fauna Group (MFG), a consortium of zoos and botanical gardens that promotes biodiversity conservation in Madagascar. The MFG’s in-country programs include an environmental education component with a cascade training program that targets upper level regional staff (Chef ZAPs). This program trains the Chef ZAPs in the hopes that they will disseminate information on ecology and environmental issues to teachers, who will then pass the information along to their students. Although the program has been in place for more than 20 years, no formal description or evaluation had previously been undertaken. The DLC is in the process of implementing the MFG’s model in a fledgling training program in another region of Madagascar. Our research seeks to provide recommendations to the DLC’s new program by evaluating the MFG’s existing environmental education platform. A review of literature regarding accepted practices in environmental education and evaluation was compiled to inform the evaluation. Using a mixed-methods approach, interviews with key informants, participant surveys, and material culture were analyzed. Five interviews were conducted with MFG and DLC staff members. Surveys were designed to garner the opinion of Malagasy participants and were juxtaposed with the statements made by interviewees. The qualitative analyses of interviews and surveys were conducted using Nvivo 9 software, and additional quantitative analysis of Likert Scale responses was completed using Stata 12 statistical software. This analysis informed the final recommendations made to our client, the Duke Lemur Center. Our recommendations focus on shifts in organizational and programmatic structure that are important considerations for the expansion of the program within the SAVA region. The suggestions fall into two categories: administrative and field. We hope these recommendations will allow the DLC to build upon the successes seen in the current Chef ZAP training program. In this evaluation, we identify challenges which we found to pose a hindrance to the evolution and future success of the environmental education program; and we suggest recommendations that ensure that the future environmental education programs in Madagascar can contribute to long-term social and environmental change.
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    Green Dining at Duke University: Facilitating Local and Sustainable Food Procurement
    (2010-04-16T17:27:33Z) Giuliano, Meghan
    The global food system is responsible for feeding billions of people each day. To accomplish this at the lowest cost, food is produced in a predominantly industrialized manner, causing significant environmental degradation and public health issues, and resulting in social and economic injustices throughout the world. While most chains of food production and consumption are national or even global in scale, some food chains have moved towards revitalizing local and sustainable food systems, which emphasize environmentally responsible agriculture, social justice, and locally-oriented economic structures. Duke Dining Services oversees more than thirty individually contracted eateries on the Duke campus, monitoring their performance through an innovative quality assurance program called PACE. While some eateries at Duke purchase local and sustainable foods, others do not or cannot, facing financial constraints or restrictions imposed by parent companies, or daunted by a lack of experience. The objective of this case study is to (a) better understand Duke’s local food system – from farm to consumer – and potential roles for the university within this system, and (b) to recommend a means of measuring, stimulating, and celebrating the progress of Duke’s eateries towards more sustainable food purchasing. I conducted interviews with individuals involved in the local food system, including farmers, food distributors, eatery managers, and students, among others. I analyzed interview data using NVivo software and inductive coding, and performed content analysis of documents, web materials, and previous research at Duke. Finally, I created recommendations for Duke Dining Services and Sustainable Duke, encouraging them to (1) incorporate food procurement data tracking and reporting requirements into the PACE system, (2) create a Green Dining Award, (3) build and foster a culture of environmental awareness and concern surrounding sustainable and local food issues, focusing on the student body at Duke, and (4) encourage leadership at Duke to make an institutional commitment to sustainable food procurement.