At a symposium to be held in frame of the annual leadership meeting of the International Federation for Home Economics (IFHE) I will give a presentation on the use of new media in higher education exemplified by experiences by courses that I taught in the consumer area. Therein, I will highlight blogs and wikis as a powerfull tool in consumer education, explicating the use of these types of new media to be applied in courses that are organised according to the idea of constructive alignment.
Recently I got involved in an international research project focussing on the concept of “local food” and the importance of the relationship between the consumer and the producer in the agricultural field. The aim of this research project is to understand the perception of the local food by consumers in different cultures. Indeed, today’s consumers are rediscovering local flavor and recognizing the benefits of buying locally to support local farmers. What could have once been deemed as a trendy behavior is now much more. Unlike, food fashions that disappear with each passing season, local foods are here to stay and gaining momentum. Furthermore, alternative food systems and new forms of consumer involvement in sustainable consumption have emerged. These forms have modified the relationships between producers and consumers, including fair trade and short circuits.
Food systems have led to intense debates between the main stakeholders: consumers, companies, NGOs, producers, and consumer cooperatives. These debates reflect the heterogeneity of ways of organizing types of relationships between food producers and food consumers. Therefore, this project assesses consumer’s understanding of the term ‘local food’ underlining the role of local food for more sustainable futures. The main points in this research aim to respond the following objectives: (1) the perception of the concept ‘local food’ in different cultures, (2) the understanding of consumer’s motivations and attitudes regarding the local food, and (3) the analysis of the relationships between the consumers and the producers (agricultures, farmers) at both national and international level.
More information will be uploaded as the project is developing.
The Finnish Society for Environmental Social Sciences (Yhteiskuntatieteellisen ympäristötutkimuksen seura ry (YHYS)) will hold its autumn colloquium 2009 at November 26 and 27 in the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) in Helsinki. Around the topic of “Environmental governance of natural resources, the economy, and consumption” the two days colloquium will consist of keynote speeches from international outstanding scientist of social science environmental research according to each sub-theme of the conference. Alongside several workshops will give a more in-depth state-of-the-art insight into selected topics. In the workshop 3 on responsible citizenship and consumption I will give a presentation on the routine character of consumption practices and a possible role for more sustainable futures.
In my presentation I would like to stress that the routine character of many consumption processes is often, if not neglected, underrepresented in discussions on responsible and/ or sustainable consumption governance. Preliminary research results from an analysis of diary data elucidates, that consumption routines come along in repetitive and iterative consumption practices. This fact should be considered in consumer policy as a promoter of a more sustainable development.
