Business Commons^™

Eastern Australian Farmers Managing And Thinking Differently: Innovative Adaptation Cycles, David K. Mckenzie, Janine Joyce, Kerstin K. Zander, Penelope A.S. Wurm, Kim M. Caudwell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The uncertainty of climate change is a significant challenge prompting Australian farmers to create different thinking and different management systems that ensure sustained farm business viability and continuity, particularly in extreme environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the conditions and adaptive processes for managing farm resilience and cyclic adaptation pathways, in response to climate change. A positive deviance sample of farmers was interviewed, and data was collected from a cohort of twenty-two climate change innovators across Eastern Australia. Grounded theory analysis of data identified three processes and two transactional maps of climate change adaptation, in this under …

Integrated Assessment—How Does It Help Unpack Water Access By Marginalized Farmers?, Serena H. Hamilton, Wendy S. Merritt, Mahanambrota Das, M. Wakilur Rahman, Sumana S. Bhuiya, Lucy Carter, Michaela Cosijn, Christian H. Roth, Sambhu Singha, Geoffrey J. Syme

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Water is critical to the lives and livelihoods of rural communities in developing countries; however, access to water can be inequitable within communities. This paper uses a generalized integrated assessment approach to explore the determinants of water access by marginalized farmers in two villages in coastal Bangladesh, before and after the setup of local water institutions. The study was part of a broader project aimed at promoting socially inclusive agricultural intensification. An integrative framework was developed in this study to capture and link the diverse range of factors that influence the …

An Integrated Approach To Improving Rural Livelihoods: Examples From India And Bangladesh, Barry Croke, Wendy Merritt, Peter Cornish, Geoffrey J. Syme, Christian H. Roth

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper presents an overview of work in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and SW Bangladesh through a series of projects from 2005 to the present, considering the impact of farming systems, water shed development and/or agricultural intensification on livelihoods in selected rural areas of India and Bangladesh. The projects spanned a range of scales spanning from the village scale (∼  1 km²) to the meso-scale (∼  100 km²), and considered social as well as biophysical aspects. They focused mainly on the food and water part of the food-water-energy nexus. These projects were in collaboration with a …

The Agricultural Co-Operative Business Structure In Context: A Western Australian Study, Elizabeth Cheong

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Agricultural co-operative businesses are the focus of considerable academic research overseas, particularly from the perspective of agricultural economics. Research on Australian agricultural co-operatives, however, is very limited. This exploratory study investigates agricultural co-operatives at two inter-related levels. Firstly, the thesis examines the broader political economy shaping the agricultural co-operative sector, specifically policy and institutional arrangements affecting agricultural co-operatives. Secondly, the thesis considers how this external world influences the internal behaviour of the agricultural co-operative business. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology, principally using the case study method. Over 50 in-depth interviews were conducted with actors associated with the agricultural …

The `Good Oil': The Role Olive Oil Plays In The Lives Of Western Australian Consumers, Trudie Michels

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Throughout Australia, a great number of resources have been devoted to the burgeoning billion dollar Australian olive industry. Recently a rapid increase in olive oil production has been witnessed. This growth combined with aggressive international competition will see pressure put on Australian producers to supply quality and price-effective olive oil into the Australian market. This will require a detailed understanding of consumers' perceptions of and thoughts about olive oil and a comprehension of how, when, where and why consumers utilise olive oil.

Perceptions Of Wine Quality, Stephen J. Charters

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The term `quality' is regularly used by those who produce, promote and consume wine. However, the nature and features of wine quality are rarely explained. This study was designed to explore what drinkers consider to be the nature of wine quality and what they believe its features to be. Focus groups and individual and small group interviews were used to explore the conceptualisation and dimensions of wine quality, how that quality is assessed, and what its relevance may be. There were 105 informants, sourced from three states across Australia primarily by utilising friends and acquaintances of the researcher. Informants included …

Main Issues Rural Women Experience With Information & Communication Technology, Teresa Maiolo

Research outputs pre 2011

This brief report will outline the main issues rural women encountered with information and communications technology. This information was derived from interviewing twenty-one rural women from the South West, Eastern Goldfields, Murchison, Gascoyne, and Kimberley regions of Western Australia. Recommended actions are given to address each of the main issues.

The Australian Family Farm: Is It Soon To Be An Illusive Myth?, Fiona M.H. Mckenzie

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper examines the challenges faced by Western Australian rural enterprises since 1961 and the effects of economic and demographic change on the agricultural industry over the last thirty years.

Increasing capitalisation and technological advances have led to major shifts in the way the business of farming is conducted. There is evidence to suggest that these changes have contributed to an oversupply of agricultural products, the development of large-scale agri-business firms and a general depopulation of the agricultural sector.

The family farm has always been considered the backbone of Australian agriculture but there is evidence to suggest that in this …

An Evaluation Of The Social And Economic Impacts Of The Ppaep On Rural Philippines : The Case Of Luyong Bonbon And Pagalungan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines, Maria R. Hechanova

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the social, economic and other impacts of the Pilot Provincial Agricultural Extension Project (PP AEP), an Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) project in the villages of Luyong Bonbon and Pagalungan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. This study has examined the literature related to technology transfer in agriculture, the notion of appropriate technology and Australia's current development program in the Philippines. This study utilises a multiple case study of qualitative methodology. The Group Ecology Model (GEM) is utilised as a conceptual framework of this study and the process/ outcome matrix is utilised to analyse …