The thesis examines the relationship between consumer attitudes and a scented shopping environment. A relationship and phenomena concerning scent marketing, which could be seen as one of the more provocative forms of marketing since the human sense of smell, is connected to the limbic system where motivation and attitudes are created. The use of scent marketing has, so far, been proven effective in sales increasing whereas it is one of the less explored forms of marketing. The purpose of the thesis is to answer the following question: Is it possible to find differences in consumer attitudes in a scented buying environment compared to a nonscented buying environment, and thereby create new basis for segmentation? The thesis is based on a quantitative study where data has been gathered in a scent manipulated buying environment through structured interviews with consumers. The thesis applies a deductive approach to the main theories in the area of interest. The findings suggest new theory discussing that it is difficult to use consumer attitudes, towards a scented store environment, as a foundation for market segmentation. Further the results of the executed scent experiment comply with the existing theories about the affect of scent marketing as a sales increasing marketing tool.

Cash crops such as coffee, cotton, and tea have been an important income for farmers especially smallholder farmers in the Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). However, many farmers started to turn in to new cash crops with higher market prices. Vanilla (planifolia) is one of such alternative cash crops which has been attracting more and more smallholder farmers in Tanzania in the past three decades. This study explored vanilla and its sustainability in Tanzania using a Sustainability Opportunity Study (SOS) approach. The aim of this study is to research whether vanilla could bring new opportunities on poverty reduction for smallholders in the SSA. The thesis selected Kagera region in Tanzania as the case study area for being the first and leading vanilla production region in the country. Key stakeholders and their sustainable impacts such as the farmers’ cooperative Maendeleo Ya Wakulima (Mayawa) have been identified. Sustainable vanilla production in Tanzania is defined as generating maximal economic profits for the main stakeholders with minimal harm to the society and the environment. Results illustrate that vanilla is beneficial for smallholder farmers in many ways. However, it is currently not sustainable with a huge gap between the current performance and potential performance for key stakeholders. Both smallholder farmers and Mayawa have the improvement potentials for more income. The opportunity is there but with several serious challenges such as price fluctuations, climate change, smuggling, lacking stable market, and so on. Vanilla farmers cannot stop farming vanilla even when facing an unstable market. This study suggests that smallholder farmers and Mayawa must work together for a sustainable development of vanilla production in Tanzania.

No / This article begins by examining in general terms the remaking of European films by Hollywood and considers the reasons for the growth in this cultural phenomenon. It goes onto argue that analysis of this process has much to tell us about intertextuality: how texts are read and transformed. Focusing on Vanilla Sky (US 2002), the Hollywood remake by Cameron Crowe of Alejandro Amenábar's film, Abre los ojos (Spain 1997), it explores the similarities and differences between the two films. In addition, it also considers the extent to which a filmic remake like Vanilla Sky might be read as a self-conscious reflection on the processes which are at the very heart of intertextuality as we understand it.

La vanille, utilisée en alimentation et parfumerie, est une orchidée originaire d’Amérique centrale et maintenant cultivée dans l’océan indien (Vanilla planifolia, 97% de la production mondiale) et dans l’océan pacifique (Vanilla tahitensis, 3% de la production mondiale, essentiellement en Polynésie française).J’ai montré que Vanilla tahitensis était aussi sensible que Vanilla planifolia à la fusariose et représentait la maladie principale de la vanille en Polynésie française comme dans le reste des zones de production des vanilles aromatiques. J’ai participé à démontrer qu’il s’agissait d’une nouvelle espèce de Fusarium oxysporum « f. sp. radicis-vanillae » car elle ne s’attaque qu’au cortex racinaire et ne pénètre que peu dans les tissus vasculaires. J’ai suivi pendant 4 ans l’évolution qualitative et quantitative des dégâts dus à 6 pathogènes et ravageurs dans 51 plantations à Raiatea, principalement des ombrières. J’ai ainsi montré que, contrairement aux autres pathologies et ravageurs, la fusariose connaissait un développement presqu’exponentiel ces 3 dernières années, comme c’est également le cas sur Vanilla planifolia dans le reste du monde. Ayant, par ailleurs, conduit un travail d’enquête auprès des producteurs, j’ai indiqué (l’analyse statistique et la modélisation afférente ne sont pas terminées) que le soin apporté aux lianes par les producteurs était essentiel au bon contrôle de la fusariose. / Vanilla species, used for aroma and flagrances, are orchidaceae originated from central America. They are now mostly cultivated in the Indian ocean (Vanilla planifolia, 97%, mainly in Madagascar, Indonesia, India and smaller islands from the Indian ocean) and in the Pacific ocean (Vanilla tahitensis, 3%, mainly French Polynesia).I have shown that Vanilla tahitensis was as susceptible as Vanilla planifolia towards fusarium root rot. It does represent the major losses on Vanilla tahitensis in Raiatea like reported for all the other areas of vanilla production worldly. I have participated to show that this fungus was delimited to root cortex maceration and did not invade vascular tissues, reason for which we use a new name for this pathogen : Fusarium oxysporum f sp radicis-vanillae.I have followed the etiological and epidemiological characteristics of this disease and of 5 other pathogens and insects on 51 Vanilla plantations, mainly shade-houses, during 4 years, for each vine in cohort analysis manner. I have shown, among this 6 biological causes of loss, fusarium root rot was the only one to present an exponential trajectory within the last 3 years, while the other causes remain stable or display a year increase because of climatic reasons. I did interview all the producers owning these plantations and analyze statistically the answers to the very numerous questions. The statistical and modelling analysis is not yet finished. Nevertheless, I can already claim that regular vine cleaning is absolutely necessary to maintain the vanilla plantations healthy, something which, unfortunately is not a rule for everyone.

Fusarium oxysporum Schl. var. vanillae (Tucker) Gondon is known to cause root rot in Vanilla planifolia Andrews in most regions where it is grown, including the major plantations in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province of China. This is of serious economic concern to the Province since the vanilla flavouring extractable from the beans of the plant is a valuable food product and an important export commodity. There are no fungicides registered for the control of Fusarium root rot and the only available chemical control methods are ineffective and cause serious contamination of the soil. Breeding for resistance is difficult when no dominant gene is known or where little information is available on fungal pathogenicity. Biocontrol is the main alternative for disease control in this crop, an attractive approach because of increasing concerns for environmental protection. The investigation considers two biocontrol strategies: first the introduction of virulent, antagonistic, non-pathogenic strains, closely-related to the pathogen, to overcome pathogenic populations in infected soils; second the use of essential oils with antimicrobial properties when applied to infected soils. Pathogenicity tests have been done on 81 out of 87 F. oxysporum isolates collected in Yunnan Province. Among these, 32 isolates were non-pathogenic and 49 were pathogenic. The pathogenicity results showed the complexity of F. oxysporum in Yunnan. Seventeen isolates were recovered from the Daluo plantation, of which 14 were pathogenic isolates and 3 non-pathogenic isolates; 26 from the Menglun plantation, in which 12 were pathogenic and 14 were non-pathogenic; 18 isolates from the Manjingdai plantation, in which 12 isolates were pathogenic, whilst the other 6 were non-pathogenic and 20 were obtained from the plantation in Hekou i County, of which 11 were pathogenic isolates and 9 were non-pathogenic. Genetic diversity within this population of F. oxysporum has been investigated with respect to vegetative compatibility and to determine the relationship between VCGs and virulence. The VCG results showed that the 87 strains of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp vanillae isolated from Yunnan Province were complex. They could be distributed into 12 different VCGs and that a direct relationship between VCGs group and virulence could not be drawn. Two non-pathogenic strains, ML-5-2 and HK-5b-4-1, have been screened from 87 strains as candidate biocontrol agents by pathogenicity and VCG, which are self-incompatible and closely related to the pathogens. These two strains were effective in vanilla root rot control in controlled environments, but their effects in field experiments were less conclusive. Seven essential oils, which have long been regarded as having inhibitory effects on pathogens in nature, have also been investigated as biocontrol agents. Three oils, cinnamon oil, thyme oil and clove oil, were effective in inhibiting the growth of pathogen in vitro. These oils may develop into useful components of different management strategies with non-pathogenic strains. For the future, consideration will need to be given to the mechanism(s) of the interaction of the antagonistic components with the soil microbe population and host plant and also to appropriate formulation, to take account of soil type, crop status, cultural practices, environmental and economic factors. Biocontrol methods have considerable potential but must be acceptable to farmers as part of an overall crop management programme.

L'espèce cultivée Vanilla planifolia G. Jackson est un exemple typique de plante cultivée à reproduction végétative introduite depuis son aire d'origine (l'Amérique) vers de nouvelles régions où ses pollinisateurs naturels sont absents. Dans ces conditions, comment peuvent être expliquées les variations phénotypiques observées parmi les cultivars de Vanilla dans les zones d'introduction telles que l'île de La Réunion (Océan Indien) ? Elles peuvent être le résultat de différents évènements d'introduction, de mutations somatiques, de la reproduction sexuée (à travers la pollinisation manuelle), de la polyploïdie ou de phénomènes épigénétiques.<br />Les marqueurs AFLP ont été utilisés pour élucider les schémas d'introduction de V. planifolia et ils montrent que la plupart des accessions cultivées de nos jours dans les îles de l'Océan Indien dérivent d'un seul génotype introduit. A l'exception d'un phénotype particulier, ‘Aiguille' découvert à La Réunion et issu de reproduction sexuée, les accessions cultivées présentent de très faibles niveaux de diversité génétique et ont évolué grâce à l'accumulation de mutations ponctuelles à travers la multiplication végétative. Un schéma de diversification similaire a été révélé pour V. tahitensis J.W. Moore, espèce cultivée en Polynésie dérivant vraisemblablement de V. planifolia. L'analyse comparative des niveaux de diversité chez des espèces spontanées américaines génétiquement proches a révélé des niveaux faible pour V. bahiana Hoehne et élevé pour V. pompona Schiede, corrélés avec l'étendue de leur aire naturelle de dispersion et a confirmé l'existence d'un régime mixte de reproduction chez ses espèces (sexuée et végétative). Ces résultats sont confirmés par les marqueurs microsatellites développés chez V. planifolia. Les marqueurs transférables et polymorphes aux espèces sauvages américaines, africaines et asiatiques ont révélé une différenciation robuste des espèces, ainsi qu'une forte dichotomie du genre entre Ancien Monde et Nouveau Monde. Ces microsatellites seront très utiles pour les études de diversité, d'hybridation et de phylogéographie dans le genre Vanilla.<br />La cytométrie en flux, la microdensitométrie, les comptages chromosomiques et les longueurs de stomates ont montré que la polyploïdisation a joué un rôle important dans la diversification de V. planifolia à la Réunion. Trois niveaux de ploïdie (2x, 3x, 4x) ont été révélés permettant d'expliquer les particularités des phénotypes réunionnais ‘Stérile' auto-triploïde et ‘Grosse Vanille' auto-tétraploïde. V. pompona possède les caractéristiques d'un ancien tétraploïde ayant évolué soit par fusions de chromosomes soit par contraction génomique. La forte variation de la quantité d'ADN nucléaire et la fréquence élevée de l'aneuploïdie chez toutes les espèces de Vanilla étudiées, montrent de toute évidence que la polyploïdisation est un phénomène majeur et récurrent dans l'évolution du genre.<br />Il existe de la méthylation dans le génome de V. planifolia mais aucun polymorphisme de méthylation n'a permis d'expliquer les particularités des phénotypes ‘Variegata' et ‘Mexique'. L'origine de ces particularités doit être recherchée par ailleurs.<br />Comme beaucoup d'autres espèces tropicales introduites pour leur culture, le vanillier possède donc une base génétique très restreinte qui le rend vulnérable aux maladies. Chez une plante d'importance économique comme le vanillier, l'accroissement de la variabilité génétique et l'apport de nouvelles potentialités agronomiques et organoleptiques sont donc des enjeux majeurs pour la recherche. Le vanillier est d'autre part un modèle de choix pour étudier les conséquences de la domestication (à travers la reproduction végétative) mais également pour élucider l'histoire évolutive de la plus grande famille de plantes : les orchidées.

In an attempt to reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, manufacturers have been adopting strategies such as Delayed Product Differentiation (DPD) while managing broader product lines. In this study, first a general framework on DPD is formed in the light of basic articles in the literature. The vanilla box assembly process which is a special form of modular design type of DPD is modeled and analyzed. In the vanilla box assembly process, inventory is stored in a special form of semi-finished products, called vanilla boxes, that can serve more than one final product. We model the vanilla box assembly process considering the costs of inventory and unsatisfied demand under the capacity limitations, stochastic demand and bill of material requirements. We formulate the model as an extensive form of stochastic integer program in which stochastic demand is modeled using a set of demand scenarios each of which is assigned a probability of occurrence. The model is solved as a standard integer programming model that minimizes the expected value of the objective function. The impact of product demand scenarios, common component levels, shortage penalty cost to holding cost ratio levels and capacity restrictions on the total cost and fill rates is studied. We compare the performance of vanilla box assembly process to assemble-to-order process and provide insights on their performances. Computational results indicate that the vanilla box assembly process is a promising alternative to the assemble-to-order process in most of the problem instances.

No description available.

The dairy food industry is continuously striving towards products with higher quality and longer shelf-life available to the customer at low prices. Arla Foods in Linköping, Sweden, is currently investigating the possibilities of changing the material in yogurt packaging containers by replacing the currently used carton with a different and cheaper alternative. A successful switch will give the company an economical advantage without affecting the sensory attributes (smell, taste, sight, and consistency), aroma profile or other important trademarks of the yogurt. This study is designed to examine and compare yogurt that has been stored in different packaging cartons, one coated with a single-layered low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and one coated with a currently used multi-layered ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH). The study was based on the analysis and measurement of sensory attributes performed by experts, physical properties in laboratory and chemical composition in GC-FID/MS together with a discriminative test where a group of people would identify any difference between the yogurts. Together, these analyses would provide an explanation about any differences between the packaging materials by connecting physical, chemical and/or sensory characteristics. The collected results would give a better and more comprehensive picture than each analysis would do separately. The results from the study show that there is a difference between yogurts stored in LDPE-based containers and yogurts stored in EVOH-based containers and that the product was chemically affected, mainly by the level of oxygen in contact with the food. The overall assessment is that the largest difference was discovered in the taste.

Ce travail de recherche prend sa source dans les dynamiques actuelles qui affectent les liens entre agricultures et territoires. L'activité agricole n'est plus évaluée à l'aune de son seul rôle alimentaire, son inscription sur le territoire est aujourd'hui renégociée au regard d'enjeux sociaux et environnementaux. Cet examen de l'agriculture sous l'angle d'une pluralité de fonctions ouvre une fenêtre de réflexion sur la place au sein des territoires de filières agricoles à la marge des modèles d'intensification et de modernisation promus depuis une cinquantaine d'années par les politiques agricoles. Nous nous interrogeons en particulier sur l'incidence pour ces filières de l'attention accrue accordée à la biodiversité. En déplaçant le curseur, dans les représentations des acteurs, entre agriculture auxiliaire et agriculture prédatrice, l'enjeu biodiversité est susceptible de modifier les ressources et les contraintes avec lesquelles se construit l'inscription territoriale d'une filière agricole. Nous faisons l'hypothèse que ce processus ne se résume pas à un encadrement de la fonction environnementale, mais est le résultat de compromis territoriaux faisant également intervenir les représentations des autres fonctions de l'activité agricole, économiques, sociales, culturelles. A partir des concepts et des outils de la géographie sociale, en considérant une filière agricole, à l'instar du territoire, comme un objet socio-spatial, nous proposons une analyse en deux temps. A partir des discours d'un panel d'acteurs intervenant sur le territoire, nous analysons, dans un premier temps les représentations des fonctions de l'activité agricole, et, dans un second temps, l'intégration de ces représentations dans leurs stratégies, et les ajustements induits sur les ressources (géographiques, économiques, politiques, symboliques) que mobilise une filière agricole. Nous appliquons cette démarche d'analyse à une filière agricole réunionnaise, la vanille, héritière d'une histoire économique florissante aujourd'hui fragilisée. L'analyse montre que l'attention accrue portée à la biodiversité réunionnaise est un facteur d'évolution de l'inscription territoriale de cette filière : porteuse de contraintes, elle s'accompagne également de nouvelles opportunités. Les arbitrages observés font intervenir, au-delà des seuls enjeux écologiques, les représentations des fonctions sociales, culturelles, et économiques de cette filière. Les acteurs de la filière construisent notamment différentes stratégies de reterritorialisation, s'appuyant à des degrés divers sur ces fonctions attribuées à l'activité agricole. La mise en perspective de cette étude de cas avec celle de la filière café guadeloupéenne pose les bases d'une discussion sur la pertinence de la mobilisation du concept de « service environnemental » dans le cas de ces filières à la marge des modèles promus par les politiques agricoles. L'intervention du Parc National de Guadeloupe sur les dynamiques de relance des filières patrimoniales guadeloupéennes fournit des éléments de discussion sur le rôle d'un Parc National vis-à-vis de ce type de filières agricoles. Leur fragilité met en balance des enjeux économiques, sociaux, culturels et environnementaux dont l'imbrication invite à dépasser leur prise en compte segmentée dans le cadre des politiques sectorielles. / This research deals with changing interactions between agriculture and territories. Food production is no longer the only criteria used to assess agricultural systems efficiency. Social and environmental issues are increasingly taken into account. This new understanding of the role of agriculture within territories raises the issue of the role of some extensive marginal agricultural models, aside intensive models promoted by agricultural policies. We focus on how increasing concerns on biodiversity may impact these models. Addressing biodiversity issues may change the way agriculture is considered, from a threat to a potential ally in natural areas management. We assume that this redefinition of agriculture’s role goes beyond a mere reframing of environmental functions but results of genuine trade-offs with other cultural and social functions. Considering an agricultural industry as a geographical object, we propose a two-stage analysis. Using actor’s discourses, we analyze (i) their perceptions of agricultural functions, then (ii) the integration of these perceptions in their strategies, that contribute to transforming resources (geographical, economical, political, and ideological resources) used by agriculture. This analytical framework is applied on a small but emblematic Reunionese agricultural industry, vanilla, whose economical profitability is questioned today. Our analysis reveals that biodiversity issues both raise new constraints and restriction but also generate new opportunities for actors to make their strategies evolve. Trade-offs between ecological, economical, social and cultural issues are part of these dynamics. The comparison with another marginal insular agricultural industry, coffee in Guadeloupe, reveals similar dynamics, and allows us to discuss the way agriculture could be managed, especially considering environmental and ecological aspects. Although the concept of « environmental service » offers new perspectives, its actual implementation isn’t suited to such agricultural systems, whose characteristics are not those of conventional productivist models. In Guadeloupe, the support the National Park granted to this type of agriculture models (coffee and vanilla) give us some elements to discuss the relevance and the interest of such an intervention. The vulnerability of such marginal industries, and the close intertwining of economic, social, cultural and environmental issues at stake, suggest to cross sectoral settings and to promote a territorial governance allowing a transverse consideration of their specificities.