Geoffrey Lawrence

Bio: Geoffrey Lawrence is an academic researcher from University of Queensland. The author has contributed to research in topics: Agriculture & Globalization. The author has an hindex of 42, co-authored 256 publications receiving 7406 citations. Previous affiliations of Geoffrey Lawrence include Ewha Womans University & Monash University.

Eating ‘Green’: Motivations behind organic food consumption in Australia

Abstract: Central to the development of green lifestyles is the consumption of foods that by dint of their status as chemical-free, locally produced and/or free of genetically modified ingredients, reduce the environmental impact of food provision. Yet there are many other factors, such as health concerns, that may also encourage the consumption of 'green' foods. This paper explores the ways in which Australian consumers construct organic food-a sector of the food industry that is currently growing at between 20 and 50 percent per annum but is struggling to keep up with rising consumer demand. In order to examine the significance of 'green' signifiers in the consumption practices of Australian consumers a series of focus group interviews and a national consumer survey were conducted. These examined both those characteristics of food that were valued in general, and those meanings that were associated with organic food in particular. In very general terms, analysis reveals that while consumers believed organic foods to be healthy and environmentally sound-both of which were considered desirable-these characteristics were subsumed by an overarching concern with convenience. This does not mean that consumers did not hold genuinely positive environmental attitudes. Rather, it reflects a range of contradictory beliefs and practices that appeared to derive from the discursive conflict between conventional and organic food industries over environmental, health and safety claims. The paper concludes by identifying the barriers and opportunities for expanding the organic industry in Australia in the context of the ways organics is constructed by consumers.

A Future for Regional Australia: Escaping Global Misfortune

Abstract: This ten-chapter book was the first of its type in Australia, bringing a critical sociological perspective to the analysis of contemorary regional change. Synthesising results from over 15 years of research by the authors, the book sought to explain regional disadvantage. In then provided ideas for a platform for regional revitalisation, based upon the application of principles of 'sustainable regional development'. following publication of the book, over 30 interviews were given by the authors on national radio and television. Federal and State government ministers and departmental heads were briefed on the books findings

Towards a third food regime: behind the transformation

Abstract: Food regime theory focuses upon the dynamics, and agents, of change in capitalist food and farming systems. Its exponents have been able to identify relatively stable periods of capital accumulation in the agri-food industries, along with the periods of transition. Recently, scholars have argued that—following a first food regime based upon colonial trade in bulk commodities like wheat and sugar, and a second food regime typified by industrial agriculture and manufactured foods—there is an emerging third food regime. This new regime is one that is lead by global corporations that are profiting from the re-organisation of agri-food chains. The delivery of ‘fresh/healthy’ foods is one manifestation; another is the sale, by supermarkets, of ready-meals and other own-brand products. This paper argues that behind the movement to a putative Third Food Regime are changes to the financial system. ‘Financialisation’—the increased influence of finance capital on the agri-food system—not only provides new opportunities for profit-making by hedge funds and private equity consortia, but also creates a situation in which agri-food companies, including food manufacturers, international commodity traders and supermarkets, may benefit. Supermarkets for example, are moving into banking, and are altering their role as they move from being retailers of products, into the provision of capital. Food regime theory needs to consider what lies ‘behind’ the transformation of food and fibre production, to examine not only the role of finance capital in re-shaping relations up and down the agri-food supply chain, but also investigating the tendency for agri-food capitals to seek profits from financial transactions.

Globalization and Sport: Playing the World

Abstract: Sport is the most universal feature of popular culture. It crosses language barriers and slices through national boundaries, attracting both spectators and participants, to a common lingua franca of passions, obsessions and desires. This book brings to light the connections between sport and culture. It argues that although sport is obviously a source of pleasure, it is also part of the government of everyday life. The creation of a sporting calendar, movements of rational recreation and the development of physical education in the public sector, are read as ways of disciplining and shaping urban-industrial populations. In addition, sport is examined as a principal front of globalization. The sports process draws together dispersed communities and generates economic wealth. The book demonstrates how commodification, bureaucratization and ideology are fundamental to the organization of sporting cultures.

社会研究方法基础 = The Basics of Social Research

Abstract: Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY. 1. Human Inquiry and Science. 2. Paradigms, Theory, and Research. 3. The Ethics and Politics of Social Research. Part II: THE STRUCTURING OF INQUIRY: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 4. Research Design. 5. Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement. 6. Indexes, Scales, and Typologies. 7. The Logic of Sampling. Part III: MODES OF OBSERVATION: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 8. Experiments. 9. Survey Research. 10. Qualitative Field Research. 11. Unobtrusive Research. 12. Evaluation Research. Part IV: ANALYSIS OF DATA:QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE . 13. Qualitative Data Analysis. 14. Quantitative Data Analysis. 15. Reading and Writing Social Research. Appendix A. Using the Library. Appendix B. Random Numbers. Appendix C. Distribution of Chi Square. Appendix D. Normal Curve Areas. Appendix E. Estimated Sampling Error.

The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2016

Abstract: The 17th edition of The World of Organic Agriculture, published by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and IFOAM – Organics International, provides a comprehensive review of recent developments in global organic agriculture. It includes contributions from representatives of the organic sector from throughout the world and provides comprehensive organic farming statistics that cover area under organic management, specific information about land use in organic systems, numbers of farms and other operator types as well as selected market data. The book also contains information on the global market for organic food, information on standards and regulations, organic policy, as well as insights into current and emerging trends in organic agriculture in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Oceania. In addition, the volume contains reports about the organic sector in Australia, Canada, the Pacific Islands, Thailand, and the United States of America, as well as brief updates for various countries in Asia as well as Latin America and the Caribbean. New additions to this edition are an article on organic cotton from the Textile Exchange and a chapter reviewing eight key commodities certified by selected Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS). This book has been produced with the support of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and NurnbergMesse.