Perceptual maps analysis for organic food consumers in China: a study on Shanghai consumers

Although in Europe and in the USA many studies focus on organic, little is known on the topic in China. This research provides an insight on Shanghai consumers’ perception of organic, aiming at understanding and representing in graphic form the network of mental associations that stems from the organic concept. To acquire, process and aggregate the individual networks it was used the “Brand concept mapping” methodology (Roedder et al., 2006), while the data analysis was carried out also using analytic procedures. The results achieved suggest that organic food is perceived as healthy, safe and costly. Although these attributes are pretty much consistent with the European perception, some relevant differences emerged. First, organic is not necessarily synonymous with natural product in China, also due to a poor translation of the term in the Chinese language that conveys the idea of a manufactured product. Secondly, the organic label has to deal with the competition with the green food label in terms of image and positioning on the market, since they are easily associated and often confused. “Environmental protection” also emerged as relevant association, while the ethical and social values were not mentioned. In conclusion, health care and security concerns are the factors that influence most the food consumption in China (many people are so concerned about food safety that they found it difficult to shop), and the associations “Safe”, “Pure and natural”, “without chemicals” and “healthy” have been identified as the best candidates for leveraging a sound image of organic food .

For God'sake! Lift the embargo to Spain

Intorno alla metà degli anni trenta la Spagna diventò il centro dell’attenzione del mondo e tutte le grandi potenze internazionali, vecchie e nuove, vennero coinvolte, in misura diversa, nella guerra civile. Già nell’agosto del 1936, un mese dopo l’esplosione del conflitto, tutti gli Stati più rappresentativi caldeggiavano l’ipotesi di una politica comune di “non intervento”. Il ruolo guida in tal senso venne assunto dal governo inglese, capace di dissuadere, in tempi estremamente rapidi, il governo frontista francese di Leon Blum dall’intento di sostenere economicamente e militarmente il legittimo governo repubblicano spagnolo. La preoccupazione che il conflitto potesse degenerare in uno scontro più generale fu quindi la ragione principale per la quale qualche settimana dopo nacque il “Comitato di Non Intervento”, cui aderirono ben ventisette nazioni europee tra cui Francia, Inghilterra, URSS, Italia, Germania e Portogallo. Il mio progetto di ricerca dottorale esamina il ruolo, le scelte ed i relativi dibattiti in merito all’unica grande potenza, gli Stati Uniti d’America, che, pur scegliendo di rimanere neutrale, si astenne dal partecipare al suddetto Comitato. In ambito statunitense particolare rilievo assumono due aspetti del dibattito politico sulla Spagna: il primo maturato in seno all’Amministrazione Roosevelt, il secondo elaborato dalla componente Liberal della coalizione del New Deal attraverso i settimanali, “The Nation” e “The New Republic”. Il confronto pubblico acceso dalla guerra civile spagnola fu infatti l’occasione per la società civile americana per dibattere apertamente e francamente circa l’opportunità e la capacità della nazione di assumere o meno un ruolo internazionale corrispondente al prestigio socio-economico in via di acquisizione a livello mondiale. Approfondire ed esaminare il dibattito sulla guerra civile spagnola negli USA significa dunque andare alla ricerca delle radici culturali di quello che sarà uno dei più vasti ed articolati confronti politici e teorici del ventesimo secolo: l’internazionalismo americano.

Linking rural tourism to agriculture. Evidences from comparative case studies in Kosovo, Italy and Spain

Rural tourism has been widely promoted in the European Union as an effective measure counteracting economic and social challenges facing rural areas especially those with declining agriculture economies. Particularly its role is seen in provision and maintenance of public goods which are more and more demanded by the public and considered in the policymaking. In Kosovo, rural tourism has been developed through the support of the international organizations and private sector initiatives, with primary aim to generate additional income for rural households and sustainable management of natural and cultural resources. Anyhow, it could be stated that the use of territorial capital to enhance the quality of the tourist offer and undertake promotion at wider circles of people has not been well explored so far, particularly possible links with agriculture that would satisfy visitors demand. In this regard this research study analyzes involvement of local stakeholders and use of territorial capital to develop tourist offer in rural areas of Kosovo. Beside, study applies comparative approach with other two areas of the European Union, Appennino Bolognese in Italy and Alpujara in Spain, to understand and compare the process of rural tourism development and demand characteristics between Kosovo and these areas. A survey has been conducted in all three study areas with rural tourism visitors to understand their preferences for public and private goods and services when visiting rural areas and the role of agriculture in sustaining rural tourism. Results show that there is a potential to link rural tourism with agriculture in Kosovo, which would help in sustaining agriculture and add additional value to local food products, which in return would enhance the tourist offer and make it more attractive for the visitors but also for the farmers as an additional revenue generating sector.