Assessing Consumer Preferences for Organic Vegetables: A Case Study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

An increase in consumerâ€™s demand for environmental and health quality has generated the movement of organic agriculture in terms of high-value products. Understanding consumer preferences is very necessary and important for policy-makers to design appropriate policies promoting and developing organic agriculture. This study employed a dichotomous choice contingent valuation model to analyze consumerâ€™s willingness to pay for organic vegetables in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Results indicated that the majority of consumers were interested in organically grown products and willing to pay an average price premium of 59% for organic vegetables. Consumers concerned about health and food safety were more likely to purchase and those who have high household income and education also accepted to buy organic vegetables with higher price than conventional ones.

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Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance - A Case of Rural Bangladesh

ADVANCES IN BUSINESS RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ◽

10.24191/abrij.v3i2.10092 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Saida Parvin

Keyword(s):

Women's Empowerment ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

Case Study Method ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Theoretical Contribution ◽

Donor Agencies ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.

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Effects of Financial Inclusion on Startup Establishment in OECD Countries

VNU Journal of Science Economics and Business ◽

10.25073/2588-1108/vnueab.4146 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dinh Thi Thanh Van ◽

Nguyen Thuc Trang

Keyword(s):

Success Factors ◽

Oecd Countries ◽

Financial Inclusion ◽

Economic Research ◽

Mobile Banking ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Academic Researchers ◽

Financial Index ◽

Enterprise Survey

Financial inclusion and startup are two topics, which recently get attention of academic researchers and policy makers in Vietnam. One of the important factors for setting up a successful startup is the financial capability of the owners. Therefore, financial inclusion has a strong correlation with startup establishment. This article tested the effects of several factors in financial index (findex) developed by World Bank on startup establishment in some OECD countries. The result showed that borrowing from friends and relatives along with from credit institutions and opening a debit account at banks have significant impacts on startup establishment in these countries. Finally, the article presented several recommendations for policy makers to stimulate the startup growth in Vietnam in the next time. Key words startup, financial inclusion, startup establishment References 1. Colman Msoka (2015), “Financial inclusion and microfinance in Tanzania”, Inclusive growth: Tanzania Country Report2. Endeavor-GEM, 2011, “High-Impact Entrepreneurship Global Report”3. Eric Ries, 2012, “The Lean Startup” book”, http://www.stpia.ir/files/The%20Lean%20Startup%20.pdf 4. European Startup Monitor, 2015, “European Startup Monitor 2015”, http://europeanstartupmonitor.com/fileadmin/presse/download/esm_2015.pdf 5. Jennifer Dahlin Ivarsson (2014), “Mobile-banking and entrepreneurship: Is there a link? A case study on South Africa”, Nationalekonomiska Institutionen, Box 7082, ISSN 0283 – 15896. Maher Al-Mahouq (2010), “Success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs): The case of Jordan”, Anadol University jourmal of social sciences, Cilt/Vol.: 10 – Say/No:1-16 (2010)7. Mohammed S.Chowdhury (2013), “Success factors of entrepreneurs of small and medium sized enterprises: Evidence from Banladesh”, Business and Economic Research, ISSN 2162 – 4860, 2013, Vol.3, No.2.8. OECD, 2015, “Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2015”9. Roman Angela, 2011, “SME’s sector access to finance: An overview”10. Yao Wang, 2014, “What are the biggest obstacles to growth of SMEs in developing countries? An empirical evidence from an enterprise survey”, JED 210 Paper

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Information Literacy and Education Policy: An Instrumental Case Study of the Ontario Public School Curriculum

Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS / Actes du congrès annuel de l'ACSI ◽

10.29173/cais306 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Pia Liv Russell

Keyword(s):

Information Literacy ◽

Rhetorical Analysis ◽

School Curriculum ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Public Education System ◽

Instrumental Case Study ◽

Student Access ◽

Literacy Policy ◽

Étude Cas

This interdisciplinary case study explores information literacy policy in Ontario’s public education system. Using interviews with policy makers and a rhetorical analysis of information literacy policy documents, it finds Ontario’s current information literacy policy inadequate to the task of providing equitable student access to opportunities for information literacy development.Une étude cas interdisciplinaire explore la politique de littératie informationnelle du système d’éducation publique de l’Ontario. En utilisant des entrevues avec les décideurs et une analyse rhétorique des documents sur la politique de littératie informationnelle, il est démontré que la politique de littératie informationnelle actuelle de l’Ontario est inappropriée pour la mission qui vise à offrir aux étudiants un accès équitable aux possibilités de développement de la littératie informationnelle.

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An Analytical Approach to Cruise Tourism As an Option For Development: a Case Study of the Sultanate of Oman

Tourism in Marine Environments ◽

10.3727/154427320x15828792518754 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 95-109

Author(s):

Heba Aziz ◽

Osman El-Said ◽

Marike Bontenbal

Keyword(s):

Capital City ◽

Sultanate Of Oman ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship ◽

Average Expenditure ◽

Return Intention

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.

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A Comprehensive Framework for Standardising System Boundary Definition in Life Cycle Energy Assessments

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings11060230 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 230

Author(s):

Hossein Omrany ◽

Veronica Soebarto ◽

Jian Zuo ◽

Ruidong Chang

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Use ◽

Embodied Energy ◽

Building Energy Efficiency ◽

System Boundary ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Energy Assessment ◽

Boundary Definition ◽

Comprehensive Framework

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework’s capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.

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Consumer preferences for low-salt foods - a Danish case study based on a comprehensive supermarket intervention

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021002056 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-26

Author(s):

Sigrid Denver ◽

Tove Christensen ◽

Jonas Nordström

Keyword(s):

Consumer Preferences ◽

Salt Content ◽

Dietary Advice ◽

Scanner Data ◽

Statistical Regression ◽

Salt Consumption ◽

Dietary Choices ◽

Low Salt ◽

Reduced Salt

Abstract Objective: The objective is to analyze Danish consumers’ attitudes to buying food with reduced salt content. Design: The study is based on a comprehensive store intervention that included 114 stores belonging to the same supermarket chain. Three different salt claims were tested for eight weeks on six test products within the categories bread, cornflakes and frozen pizzas. Scanner data were supplemented with 134 brief interviews with consumers in nine selected stores. Setting: Stores spread across Denmark. Participants: Consumers who buy food in the stores. Results: Statistical regression analyses of the scanner data indicated that none of the three claims significantly affected demand for any of the test products. The interviews confirmed that many consumers were more focused on other elements of the official dietary advice than reduced salt consumption, such as eating plenty of vegetables, choosing products with whole grains and reducing their intake of sugar and fat. Conclusions: Overall, both the scanner data and the interviews pointed in the same direction, toward the conclusion that salt content is often a secondary factor when Danish consumers make dietary choices.

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Climate change and livelihood resilience capacities in the Mekong Delta: a case study on the transition to rice–shrimp farming in Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province

Climatic Change ◽

10.1007/s10584-021-02973-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 164 (1-2) ◽

Author(s):

Thijs Poelma ◽

Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak ◽

Duong Van Nha ◽

Thong Anh Tran

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mekong Delta ◽

Shrimp Farming ◽

Livelihood Resilience

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Non-R&D Innovation Patterns in Chinese SMEs: An Empirical Study from Zhejiang Province

International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management ◽

10.1142/s0219877016400149 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (06) ◽

pp. 1640014

Author(s):

Gang Zheng ◽

Yanting Guo ◽

Yajuan Wang

Keyword(s):

Organizational Innovation ◽

Zhejiang Province ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Marketing Innovation ◽

Innovation Activities ◽

Use Of Resources ◽

And Performance ◽

Innovation Patterns ◽

Policy Incentives

During the last few decades, research and development (R&D) have always been regarded as the most important or even the only factor in the attempt to explain the innovation capability and performance of enterprises, industries and economies, while to a large extent, those heterogeneous innovation activities beyond formal R&D are ignored or underestimated. Some research has shown that non-R&D innovation activities contribute to make full use of resources beyond R&D to promote performance, especially to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with weak R&D capability. However, non-R&D innovators’ behavior is still a black box by far, and especially few empirical research have been conducted in China context. This paper first explores the heterogeneous innovation patterns of non-R&D innovation by survey among Chinese SMEs in Zhejiang Province. It shows that, product and service customization, imitation and design, technology adoption and incremental modification, organizational innovation and marketing innovation are the main patterns of non-R&D innovation in China. Then, a case study is followed to cross-validate the patterns and relationships between non-R&D innovation and growth of SMEs in China. Generally, this study has implications for both academia and policy-makers. As it demonstrates, non-R&D innovation is an effective way for SMEs to quickly grow and sustain competitiveness in competition. On the other hand, this study helps to optimize some of current innovation policies for SMEs in China, where policy incentives are mainly R&D-focused. It also likely sheds light on the SMEs in other emerging economies.

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Performance Evaluation of a Solar Water Heating System for Industrial Application

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.512-515.130 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 512-515 ◽

pp. 130-136

Author(s):

Keh Chin Chang ◽

Wei Min Lin ◽

Yi Mei Liu ◽

Tsong Sheng Lee ◽

Kung Ming Chung

Keyword(s):

Performance Evaluation ◽

Heating System ◽

Economic Viability ◽

Solar Collectors ◽

Water Heating ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Solar Water Heating ◽

Solar Water ◽

Solar Water Heating System

The total area of solar collectors installed in Taiwan had exceeded 2 million square meters by the end of 2010. However, there were only 98 systems in operation with area of solar collectors installed exceeding 100 square meters from 2001 to 2010. To increase industrial awareness of solar water heating technologies, a nursery greenhouse was chosen as the case study to evaluate its thermal performance throughout the months of May 2010 to April 2011. The results showed that the solar energy collected and heat loss during the night hours would affect the thermal efficiency, economic viability and attractiveness of a SWH. This study would provide useful information for all parties related to this market, manufacturers, potential users and policy-makers.

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