1,720,965 research outputs found
Assessing a localized food system response to the COVID-19 pandemic for resilience and food security
No full textThe purpose of this research was to examine the challenges faced, and responses made by localized food producers and distributors in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia during the COVID-19 pandemic to support food security and promote resiliency against future disruptions and global crisis phenomena. The research question for this study was: How, if at all, does the local food system enhance resilience in the face of global crisis phenomena like the COVID-19 pandemic? Ten semi-structured interviews were completed that included four food producers, three food
distributors and three policy-focused actors. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to the phenomenological lens of Hans-Georg Gadamer (1975). The results of this research indicated that small-scale, local food system actors were able to successfully adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain resilience and food security. However, local food system actors faced challenges with constantly adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic-related public health regulations, that included additional time required for the distribution of the food product and additional employees. While there were available provincial and government supports and structures, suchas advocacy and communication, and monetary funds and loans; there were important pieces of
systemic support missing. These missing pieces included increased education and government promotion for consumers around the importance of the local food system, as well as increased acknowledgement of the local food system from provincial and federal governments. To address these changes, the results of this research support key recommendations related to policies, structures, and supports that would benefit the resilience and food security outcomes of the local food system in the face of future disruptions and global crisis phenomena. These recommendations include an early-warning system of monitoring, infrastructure to provide an increased number of accessible distribution networks, a stronger integration between local food system actors and the government, and awareness and education for consumers around role of local food within the food system
The social determinants of health as barriers to food access: informing the design of a socioeconomically inclusive food hub in Wolfville, Nova Scotia
No full textThis thesis aims to provide detailed and context-specific information on how a food hub at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market (WFM) can help address the exclusion of low-income Nova Scotians from healthy food access. This was done by conducting a literature review to identify widespread barriers to food access, as well as the food hub design features that can help address these barriers. A Social Determinants of Health framework was used to analyze both participant observation field notes and secondary data analysis of qualitative focus group interviews. The barriers to food access at the WFM were identified as health risks and challenges, the perception of the WFM being a “White” space, time constraints, insufficient income, the cost of food, and, specific to university students, the acceptance and normalization of food insecurity. The facilitators of food access at the WFM were identified as the online shopping and food delivery program (WFM2Go), the wide range of food products, the “food bucks” program, and the physical and social accessibility of the WFM. Three of these facilitators of food access, food delivery, “food bucks”, and social accessibility, were also identified in the literature as food hub design features that help address food insecurity. Other design features which were identified, and that the WFM food hub is planning to implement, are partnering with a farm-to-school program, holding food skilling workshops, having a community kitchen, and involving those who experience food insecurity in the planning and management of the food hub. Recommendations for the design of a socioeconomically inclusive food hub were based on these identified design features and the facilitators of food access already in place.</p
Tradition and culture versus supply and demand: Traditional food access in Nova Scotia
No full textThe purpose of this research was to facilitate a better understanding of the barriers and supports that exist in accessing traditional food for Aboriginal Peoples in Nova Scotia. Two focus groups were held (n=16), one off-reserve and one on-reserve in a talking circle format to facilitate discussion on traditional food access. Focus groups were transcribed and analyzed using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and with use of the medicine wheel as an evaluation framework. Supports common between both groups were strength of cultural values, community engagement, and consultations and partnerships. Overall barriers were knowledge/education, identity, community, land access, cost, tourism, and policies. Main barriers on-reserve were land ownership, developments and construction; and off-reserve, limited community support and knowledge circulation. In conclusion, both supports and challenges exist for traditional
food access in Nova Scotia; however, barriers outweighed supports in both number and magnitude, which is in line with the increasing inequities experienced by Aboriginal peoples in Canada. In order to address barriers to food access, stronger
community and political partnerships along with consultations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups are necessary to address issues of common concern
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Inviting Community into the Development of Globally Sustainable Food Systems
No full textFood systems and human diets contribute to unsustainable socioecological conditions, which in turn negatively affect human health. These driver-impact relationships span multiple scales, prompting international governance bodies, nations, and communities alike to grapple with solutions for a better food future. Collaborative action across scales and sectors is necessary; however, how communities can align contributions with efforts at broader scales is unclear. The aim of this research is to develop theoretical and procedural supports for community engagement in globally sustainable food systems (SFS), and to provide concrete results relevant to one case community. The community of nutrition and dietetics professionals was chosen as the case community given its history of engagement with SFS, its integration throughout food system sectors, and because dietary shifts have significant potential to contribute to SFS. Furthermore, the researcher’s position as a member of this community supported the case study work. The research uses transdisciplinary methods guided by the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and Community Development theory. The FSSD provides a concrete definition of sustainability and includes methodological supports for co-creation of sustainability transitions. Community Development theory supports participatory approaches and welcomes different knowledge cultures in such co-creation. The Delphi Inquiry method was used to facilitate data collection and community engagement. For measurement-specific elements of the research, causal loop diagrams (CLD) informed by the Cultural Adaptation Template (CAT) theory were used, and Critical Dietetics was used as a framework for dietetics-specific analysis. High level insights include that: (i) participatory and multidimensional approaches are important to facilitate community engagement in SFS development; (ii) objective parametres for defining sustainability are critical to guide concerted action and can provide an innovation space that invites creative and diverse solutions within; (iii) systems thinking and related tools help simplify the complexity of food systems without disregarding broader context, and support assessment in the absence of all data. Specifically in relation to the case community explored, insights include that, (i) integrating an SFS lens into existing roles and activities is important, because dietitians already work across sectors and scales, making them well positioned to contribute in diverse ways; (ii) a shared language based on transdisciplinary understandings of SFS is required; (iii) engaging in activities that facilitate SFS knowledge development within the profession, prior to integrating it into roles and activities, is an important first step; (iv) collaborative and reflexive approaches to continued knowledge development and practice are important, such that in the end sustainability becomes integrated into a cultural way of thinking about food. Based on these insights, this dissertation outlines a procedure for collaborative community work for globally SFS. The procedure is adaptable to various community settings. The dissertation also provides specific guidance for how dietitians could utilise their strategic positions throughout food systems to contribute to SFS development
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