Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 150 p.: ill. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Wern S. Chem, Dept. of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-150).

The Sustainable Consumption Research and Action initiative, or SCORAI, is an international online dialogue between scholars and practitioners through discussion of current events and theories concerning sustainable consumption. In this research, I use SCORAI as a case study to identify current topics important in the field of sustainable consumption and then synthesize these topics with discourses and actors in sustainable architecture and design. The methods used to achieve this synthesis include analysis of existing foundational SCORAI literature to "ground" the research, data coding of primary SCORAI scholarly conversation, and participatory research and feedback with both SCORAI contributors and designers. First, a theoretical grounding in sustainable consumption literature provided a foundation to interpret data both as an "insider" expert and as well as an analytic observer. Next, building on the foundational insider, or "in-vivo," knowledge, a contemporary segment of the SCORAI mailing list was coded in order to articulate patterns and observations of relevant SCORAI themes. Lastly, SCORAI researchers and architectural practitioners participated in the research in the development and implementation of a focus group in order to identify what SCORAI concepts might mean to design students and practitioners. As a result of this process and focus group, I present two concluding lists: seven research observations, and another eight resulting propositions to inform future research and practice. These observations and propositions are presented in an effort to further understanding on how future sustainable consumption ideas might synthesize with design to address systemic sustainability problems. / text

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignancy in South Asia and North Africa. In recent years, NPC incidence is dramatically decreasing which cannot be explained by the current etiological factors. Moreover, milk consumption is promising as factor to be investigated and showed declining trend in worldwide. To our knowledge, there are no population level studies to examine the association between NPC and milk & dairy products consumption. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between NPC incidence and per capita consumption of milk at the population level. Methods: These were two types of ecological studies (cross-sectional and longitudinal ecological study). NPC incidence data were collected from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Vol. IX (1998-2002) and several population-based cancer registries. Data of per capita consumption of milk & dairy were obtained from Food Agriculture Organization (FAO). Results: In cross-sectional ecological study, age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of NPC is negatively associated with per capita consumption of milk & dairy products in 48 countries/ regions from 1961 to 2009. Moreover, in one-way sensitivity analysis, the result was consistent with the above. In longitudinal ecological study from around 1980 to 2009, ASIR of NPC (both genders) was negatively correlated with milk consumption per capita in Hong Kong and Singapore. The ASIR of NPC (both genders) was decreased with per capita consumption of milk from around 40 to 140 kg/capita/year in Hong Kong and Singapore. Further, such negative associations were found statistically significantly between NPC and milk consumption in Hong Kong after adjusting for HDI. Conclusion: Our study provided information on the protective association between NPC and milk & dairy products. Our ecological study shows that higher per capita consumption of milk & dairy products is associated with a lower risk of NPC development. However, our finding need to future confirm since there are major limitations on data and methods. Further research is needed for confirmation of the link between milk consumption and NPC. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

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This thesis presents a sociological framework for understanding food allergy. Food allergy is increasingly appearing on policy and media platforms in contemporary Western societies. Debates have emerged about the prevalence of food allergy and also about the “rights” of those experiencing food allergies in a number of public and private spheres. Food allergy is a specifically social phenomenon, emerging as a consequence of modernization processes. Additionally, the allergy “zone” is comprised of a number of actors and agents including the institutions of medicine, pharmaceutical companies, politicians, governments, lay actors and an array of medical technologies. Despite being an issue of major sociological significance, few empirical studies have explored the everyday experience of food allergy. Therefore, in order to understand the lived experience of food allergy, I construct a conceptual framework which draws upon theories of risk and social governance, the sociology of consumption and sociological studies of science and embodiment. These literatures shed important light upon how individuals negotiate and (de)construct the risks associated with their conditions. Drawing on data acquired from eight in-depth interviews with those who identify as food allergic, I argue food allergy need be understood as a form and practice of consumption. Thus, far from being passive subjects, this approach characterises individuals as being embodied and reflexive agents who actively deconstruct notions of risk and recurrently engage in practices of “edgework”. These actors negotiate the medical and scientific parameters of their conditions as well as the parameters and demands of consumer culture. Whilst these theoretical and conceptual frameworks are useful for understanding the experience of food allergy, I recommend further studies of food allergy acknowledge the diversity of actors/institutions involved in the discursive production and circulation of information about food allergy; specifically homeopathic and alternative practitioners and organizations. Additionally, I argue that future studies of allergy must acknowledge the fundamentally embodied experience of the condition and the consequences this has for its definition and experience. For the purposes of future studies of food allergy, I also suggest it would be worthwhile to further explore the ways in which individuals who experience food allergies and intolerances are enrolled and participate in biopolitical regimes. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-14 14:03:42.479

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The focus of this dissertation is on the dynamics of sensorial pleasure and the relationship between its intensity and subsequent behavior. The aim is to challenge the assumption that the relationship between pleasure intensity and approach behavior remains stable over time and across contexts. Two experiments were performed to test the proposition, consistent with opponent process theory, that different levels of initial pleasure intensity change at different rates over time and produce behavioral manifestations unpredicted by traditional approach-avoidance models. The objectives of Experiment 1 were to model the changes in online ratings (pleasure and desire to consume) associated with pleasures of different intensity, and to study the relationship between pleasure intensity and consumption. Testing was conducted in a naturalistic context and stimuli consisted of different flavors of dark chocolate selected on an idiosyncratic basis to produce a range of pleasure intensity. On separate days, 22 subjects ate at their discretion a different flavor out of a known quantity. Results revealed that online ratings possessed a Markov quality, and that increases in initial pleasure intensity were associated with diminishing marginal pleasure and desire overall. When accounting for contextual and individual-level factors, consumption did not reflect any influence of pleasure intensity. In Experiment 2, contextual variables were manipulated on a between-subject basis to test the possibility of influencing pleasure intensity and its behavioral manifestations. In a controlled environment, prior to consumption, 85 subjects read a booklet containing either the history of chocolate or a vocabulary of its sensory properties, and during consumption their attentional focus was directed toward either their sensations or a word puzzle. Subjects ate a piece of cinnamon-flavored milk chocolate at regular intervals while rating their sensorial pleasure, desire to eat the next piece, an

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