ALBERT

Notes: The study aims to provide a critical review of the literature on the consumer interest in the UK in organic food, with a particular focus on organic meat. Given that people are more likely to purchase products if they have faith in them, the regulation of organic food standards is reviewed to explore issues affecting consumers. This is followed by a review of the organic meat sector. Aspects of the consumer interest considered in this paper include consumer information, consumer access, consumer safety, consumer choice and consumer representation. As the literature on organic food/meat in the UK is extensive, it was therefore necessary to be selective with regard to the publications suitable for this review. Most of the literature selected for this paper has been drawn from UK publications, although several European and international sources have also been used. The review found that there is a considerable level of interest in the UK organic meat sector. As the regulation of organic food produced is set at varying standards across the European Union, this could lead to consumers being misled regarding the quality of products offered. It was also found that, although consumers perceive organic foods as healthier, more nutritious and tasting better than non-organic products, the literature shows that this may have only a limited basis on fact. Contamination of organic products with pesticides and even genetically modified ingredients is always possible. Organic farmers are permitted to use other ingredients in organic meat products that may be harmful to health. Escherichia coli and Salmonella risks associated with conventional meat also appear to affect organic meat. Consumers need clear, accurate and reliable information about organic meat. They also need to be provided with safe products, a choice of organic products, access to organic products and to be represented effectively.

Notes: Many researchers have studied and documented the financial literacy of youth. Even more have developed educational programs or curricula to teach financial and consumer issues to youth; however, few have actually evaluated the effectiveness of their programs. The Money Talks: Should I be Listening? curriculum, developed by a University of California Cooperative Extension team, was created to appeal to teenagers as it increased their financial literacy. In order to develop a program that young people would readily use, and from which they would learn, teenagers were surveyed prior to program development to determine the topics that were relevant to them, the educational format that appealed to them, and when and where they preferred to receive the information (Varcoe, Peterson, Garrett, Martin, Rene, & Costello, 2001).This paper discusses the effectiveness of The Money Talks: Should I be Listening? curriculum on the financial knowledge and behaviour of participants using the series. The curriculum was designed for use as a part of school curriculum as well as for presentation in other venues.The findings indicate that using the curriculum did improve the financial literacy of high school students with significant positive changes in both knowledge and behaviour. They have a better understanding of the value of savings and have changed behaviours. It is interesting to note that the males demonstrated a significantly greater increase in knowledge from pre-test to post-test than females. Perhaps the females have more interest in or knowledge of financial issues prior to participation in this project?Overall the results of this study are consistent with the findings of others. Research based curricula in personal finance seem to yield results. This age group has specific requirements for method of delivery and location of the seminars suggesting that it is important to keep the materials interactive. To address this issue, a web-site was added to the program. Included on the web-site are interactive games and a video on the importance of saving. The teens are naturally more interested in learning about the consumer and financial issues they perceive as salient in their lives at that particular time. Educators should identify topics of interest to the teens and develop, or use existing, interactive methodology to present the information.

Notes: In a world where the role of women in decision-making is seldom adequately appreciated, they make a remarkable contribution due to their hard work and sense of confidence. It is observed that women are mostly involved in repetitive and monotonous household work irrespective of the fact that they share most of family responsibilities and perform a wide range of duties in and outside home. On the other hand men perform activities, which require skills, but there is sufficient evidence, which show a clear, although slow shift of stereotype sex roles.In early societies, decision-making was predominantly done by menfolk being the breadwinner of the family. With modernization and education women have been empowered to make the best use of human and non-human resources in management of the family with respect to efficient use of time and energy. So, a study was undertaken to know how far the working women of Faridkot district participate in the decision-making process with the following objectives:〈list style="custom"〉(a) to find out the level of participation of working women in the decision-making process as consumer.(b) to find out the level of difficulty among working women at different steps of the decision-making process.The present investigation pertaining to Faridkot district of Punjab state of India was exploratory in nature. A sample of 100 working women was selected by simple random sampling procedure. The responses were recorded through a well structured and pretested questionnaire including an index developed to measure level of participation and difficulty as realized by working women in the decision-making process. After collecting the data, it was analysed by employing simple statistical tests like frequency percentagesThe important findings emanated out of the present investigation are as follows:〈list style="custom"〉• Most of the respondents were middle aged, educated up to graduation level, having nuclear family, small size of family with monthly income more than Rs.5000.00. It was also observed that majority of the respondents were in the teaching and medical professions.• Working women were found to be involved more in the case of food items (79.0–93.0%) as compared to non-food items (6.0–46.0%) with an exception of their major participation (78.0%) at the stage of identifying the problem in case of non-food items.• The study revealed that the time consumed at various steps of consumer decision-making process is minimum for most of the steps in case of food items but moderate to maximum in case of non-food items. But for analysing the alternatives the time consumed was moderate to maximum for both the categories.• Findings also revealed that difficulty level was from moderate to high (32.0–98.0%) in most of the steps in case of food items whereas, in case of non-food items it was from low to high (11.0–78.0%)

Notes: The   main   criteria   that   consumers   use   during   the   decision making process when purchasing food has traditionally been a combination of prices, incomes, taste and social attitudes, with price being seen as the main determinant. However in the past 10 years risk has become a ‘new’ criterion that can affect the consumer's decision whether or not to purchase a particular food item. The effect of the increased awareness of risk has been observed during the numerous food scares in the last decade and in trends for the demand for foods that connote a healthy image.This research, carried out in Northern Ireland, looked at how consumers quantified and managed risk. The research involved 202 primary food consumers and identified the factors that were perceived to be important from both a societal and a personal perspective.Using principal component and cluster analysis societal food risks were seen as either processing or dietary and personal food risks were seen as either extrinsic or intrinsic. Further investigation into the attributes of the personal risk revealed a three-factor solution described as fear, involvement and newness.Although these factors cannot be used as predictors of the risk associated with a particular food, they help to describe and explain how the risk may be managed. The relationship between two of the factors, involvement and fear, provides a framework for understanding the way consumers manage their perception of the risk, particularly of high-risk items. Consumer and scientific knowledge of the risk in question, and the degree of control over the risk were seen as important. The conceptualisation of the mechanism by which risks are processed and acted upon provides information regarding risk management and communication strategies that should be employed by educators, food retailers and government policy makers.

Notes: People are becoming more health conscious nowadays, but most of them are not able to adopt a lifestyle with adequate physical exercise and a healthier eating pattern. Many attempt to compensate by taking ‘health foods’. Despite the recent economic recession, the functional food market expands rapidly in Asian countries. Recent statistics indicate a huge increase in weight loss and functional food product advertising expenditure in Hong Kong and other Asian countries. In a massive survey conducted by the Hong Kong Consumer Council, it was found that 85% of the medicines, health food and therapies sampled contain questionable claims and misleading messages (Consumer Council, 1999). In fact, young people do not understand much about modern food processing, in particular those present in low energy and functional foods, and they know very little about the modern food marketing strategies. The situation is detrimental to consumer welfare especially to the younger generation.This study attempts to reflect critically on the implications of these issues for the health and well-being of young people in Hong Kong. It explores directions for designing relevant and effective education programmes to empower young people in understanding food advertising strategies and making informed decisions on food choice. The paper will begin with a critical review on the current situation in Hong Kong. An interview survey on preservice and in-service teachers’ perception towards misleading food advertising and labelling will then be reported. The situations at schools will be defined and problems faced by teachers in providing relevant consumer education programmes to students will be identified. Finally, the study will look to the future, with a view to developing students’ critical skills in evaluating claims offered in food advertisements.

Notes: The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 76 million people get sick, more than 300 000 are hospitalised, and 5000 Americans die each year from food-borne illness. Research over the past 40 years has shown, however, that food irradiation can decrease the incidence of food-borne illness and disease. Despite this benefit, food irradiation has been the focus of much controversy for years. Proponents of irradiation claim that it will improve food product safety by reducing harmful bacteria. Opponents, on the other hand, raise concerns about its long-term health effects, nutrient loss, and worker safety at irradiation facilities. The debate intensified recently when the US government approved the use of irradiation to kill E. coli 0157:H7 and other harmful bacteria in ground beef and other raw meat. The US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are also expected to decide soon whether to allow the process to be used on sandwich meats, hot dogs, and similar packaged food products.This study examines consumer willingness to pay for irradiated beef products. About 58% of the respondents are willing to pay a premium for irradiated beef. An ordered probit with sample selection model was estimated. Our findings suggest that females and those who think that improper handling contributes to food poisoning are more likely to pay a premium of 50 cents per pound of irradiated beef than others. Those who trust the irradiation technology are more likely to pay a premium of between 5 and 25 cents per pound for irradiated beef.

Notes: A recent application of biotechnology to food is genetic modification. Genetically modified (GM) plants, animals and processed foods have been introduced to the international marketplace in the 1990s. As scientific and technological progress in modern biotechnology continues at a breakthrough pace, the consumers are presented with different types and levels of information that is potentially relevant for making choices.Findings from studies of consumer attitudes and awareness towards GM products have varied greatly. Many studies, however, have indicated that public opinions about GM products are not fully formed and the task of informing the public is far from over. This study expands on previous research by examining the factors that influence the search for information about GM products. Utilizing the theory of consumer behaviour and information search, we analyse consumers’ information search patterns about GM products. Specifically, we estimate the probability that consumers search for information actively, passively or do not search for information at all, and the factors influencing this search.An ordered probit model is formulated to measure the factors, both economic and behavioural, that influence in-formation search by consumers for GM products. Variables representing the informational attitudes and behaviour related to GM products have the greatest impact on the probability of searching for information about GM products. With the exception of age, demographic factors are not significant. The results point to information search, not, for the genetically modified characteristic, but instead for the absence of the characteristic.

Notes: Advertisers use social marketing to inform and convince consumers of the available products. The most casual apparel like jeans also comes in several brands ranging from designer names with status appeal to economical choices. Labels and hangtags serve as the first connection between the consumers and the apparel product. They address both intrinsic and extrinsic traits. Consumers use labels for social identification, information acquisition and care instructions. The threefold purpose of the reported study was (1) to determine the compliance of the information on the labels of men's jeans with the federal requirements of permanent care labelling; (2) to examine the content and significance of information on the hangtags; and (3) to determine if the weight/unit of the men's jeans varied across various brands used for the study.A content analysis of the information on the labels and hangtags of 26 men's jeans was conducted. The information was tabulated and examined for compliance with federal regulations as well as additional information provided to convince the consumer of the products’ authenticity and performance for the intended use.The findings revealed that labels and hangtags had useful information for persuading the consumer of the longevity of the company and authenticity of the product. The analysed jeans varied for price, style, and weight to meet the satisfaction of a broad spectrum of consumers who could be price conscious, status-driven, and/or just information-seekers. The results support the role of social marketing in reaching a variety of consumers by offering choices. This work can be further extended to determine the impact of labels and hangtags on decision-making across various consumer markets for jeans as well as other apparel categories.

Notes: This study investigated consumers’ awareness and information need about food hygiene especially focused on pesticide residues and food borne illness in Korea. The data were collected from 350 adults living in Daegu and Busan, Korea by a self-administered questionnaire. Frequency and chi-square tests were conducted by SPSS. The results of the survey were as follows: Firstly the consumers’ concerns about food hygiene were high. About three-fourths of the respondents answered that they were ‘somewhat’ or ‘highly’ concerned about pesticide residues and food borne illness. Especially women and the older showed more concerns than men and the younger. Secondly, the respondents worried about eating vegetables, fruits and grains in turn because of pesticide residues, and did not trust the results from food hygiene tests by the Government. Thirdly, three-fourths of the respondents used the way to wash food stuffs with water several times to clean pesticide residues. Fourth, about four-fifths of the subjects worried about food borne illness caused by fish to the extreme and about two-thirds answered that un-fresh or contaminated food stuffs were the major factor of food borne illness in cooking. Finally, the respondents primarily wanted to get the information about harmfulness of pesticide residues in foods, and methods to choose fresh food regarding food borne illness. Under the situation of the lack of educational programs for food hygiene in Korea, the educational contents for food hygiene to improve public health can be developed on the basis of this study.

Notes: The diets of school children have been a major cause for concern for a considerable time. There is a whole host of evidence to suggest that inadequate dieting beginning in childhood is a major underlying cause of ill health in later life. The link between diet and disease is now well established, as is the need to improve the health of the nation. A number of issues have been raised in recent years including the need for nutritional standards for school meals, however, not enough has been done to eradicate these problems in schools.This research looks into one particular provision – breakfast clubs for primary school children. Research suggests that a large proportion of school children are missing out on this vital meal and the opportunity to gain a substantial proportion of the essential daily nutrients required for adequate growth and development. Breakfast clubs are intended to provide children with the opportunity to receive a nutritious breakfast at the beginning of the day.The objective of the work was to investigate breakfast clubs and establish how they could help to overcome some of the problems associated with poor nutrition in school children. An investigation was carried out using two samples of school children, one already attending a breakfast Club and one not. Comparisons were made between the two groups to see which was providing children with the most nutritious start to the day via a series of food diaries. It was concluded that the breakfast clubs provide children with higher intakes of all the nutrients surveyed and made a significant contribution towards improving the diets of the primary school children.

Notes: Consumer education is an important EU and United Nations priority. In most countries’ formal education systems, it is not a single discipline in its own right, but a cross-curricular subject involving many areas of the school curriculum. Adult consumers are expected to be critical and informed consumers but may not know how to acquire the appropriate skills. The formal school system in many countries has failed to deliver these skills and values and adults need consumer education through both formal and informal means. With increasingly varied societies consumer education will help to produce active socially responsible citizens and citizenship is an essential element of the delivery of consumer education to adults. It is particularly important that consumer education should reach the vulnerable groups in society. Increasing globalisation and business power necessitate ethical and sustainable business practices; an informed, educated and empowered consumer will strengthen the market place to the benefit of both consumers and business.Unlike school education, adult education across Europe is fragmented     with     a     mixture     of     formal     education,     including training for vocational qualifications, continuing and community education,   and   informal   education,   an   essential   contributor   to life-long   learning   delivered   through   media,   women's   groups, consumer groups and many other large and small organisations.The     issues     have     been     addressed     by     the     EU     Socrates supported     CEA     (Consumer     Education     for     Adults)     project which     has     10     partners     from     7     European     countries     drawn from non-government organisations, teacher training and adult education institutions, universities and research institutes. The project   has   produced   a   training   manual   for   adult   consumer education, a training module, piloted in Vienna, which includes a handbook of teaching materials and a video, and has initiated a dialogue between consumers, consumer educators, business and producers.

Notes: Consumer education is an integral part of the European Community's consumer policy. It plays a key role in consumer empowerment, helping consumers gain the skills, attitudes and knowledge they need to be able to gear the choices they make as consumers to their economic interests and to protecting their health and safety. In its policy statement, the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection states that the European Community is aware that joint   measures   at   national   and   Community   levels   should be more structured, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.This presentation/paper aims to set out the current policy and strategic context for consumer education and empowerment in the UK; review the role of UK government bodies and other agencies concerned with developments; review recent literature; present the results of interviews with an extensive range of key stakeholders and the results of a survey of service heads for Trading Standards throughout the UK. It will consider implementation, partnership, resources, ideas and opportunities.The research found that the agenda for consumer education in the UK is at an interesting stage of development. The Enterprise Act 2002 gives the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) a statutory power to carry out educational activities. Consumer education is also moving up the agenda in the Trading Standards Service. In addition, the teaching of citizenship in English schools is already stimulating new developments in consumer education.The paper will consider the need for organisations like these to work together to build on these policy developments and ensure that consumer education gains the profile it needs to influence consumer attitudes and behaviour.

Notes: At a time when the major dialogue in food labelling is directed towards the volume and type of information presented, it is important to understand whether adolescents leaving education have the abilities to comprehend and use the current label as they represent the next generation of consumers.Legislation has been created to protect consumers and to enable them to make informed food choices. Food labels carry a significant volume of mandatory and voluntary information, designed to fulfil a variety of commercial and consumer functions. For these laws to be effective at an individual level, it is important that information is framed correctly, and that people can manipulate the data in an accurate and meaningful manner.In order to optimise food label information consumers require some competence across three different conceptual dimensions: maths, English comprehension, and health and nutrition. Most individuals acquire such skills at school.The pilot research that this paper describes investigates changes in   the   abilities   to   frame,   comprehend   and   manipulate label information, of 19 schoolchildren at one secondary school in Scotland. The main research, to be conducted in 2003, will include over a thousand children from another seven Scottish schools.Statistical analysis indicates that there is a significant improvement in the dimensions of both maths and English comprehension between levels S1 and S5, whilst the health and nutrition dimension does not show such significance.Each dimension has been measured against attitudes towards the use of labels in shopping and cooking to determine if the differences between those who use labels and those who do not are significantThe research also proposes a new method of presenting nutrition information to make it more meaningful to individuals across a wide spectrum of competence by reducing the number of conceptual components required to comprehend it.

Notes: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the process of consumer socialization will determine adolescents’ decision-making styles. Eight decision-making styles were conceptualized as outcomes of the socialization process, which is acquired via interaction with socialization agents, namely parents, peers, printed media, television commercials and in-school education. The study also proposed five social structural variables (social class, gender, ethnicity, residence and religion) as being associated with the socialization agents and decision-making styles. The study sample consisted of 934 adolescents between the ages of 16 and 19 years. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analysed with the SPSS computer program. As a result of regression analyses, significant relationships were found between social structural factors and socialization processes, suggesting that the influence of socialization agents on adolescents may vary according to certain demographic characteristics. Significant relationships were also found between social structural factors and socialization processes. Peers appeared to be the most important agents of consumer socialization, contributing to a variety of desirable as well as undesirable consumer decision styles. Printed media and television commercials were also found to be significant sources of the acquisition of both desirable and undesirable decision-making styles. Parents and in-school education, however, were insignificant in the acquisition of any decision-making styles among adolescents. Information obtained from this study could be useful to government agencies and consumer educators. The most revealing finding of this study is that parents did not contribute to the formulation of decision-making orientation for adolescents. This points to the need for consumer educators to take steps in designing programmes that will involve parents as primary socialization agents at home; this may be facilitated via printed materials. Apart from this, the information can also be helpful in enabling marketers to be more effective in targeting various adolescent markets by formulating marketing strategies according to demographic factors, socialization process and decision-making styles.

Notes: The objective of this research was to investigate the family life of employed women from different occupational statuses (white collar, blue collar and professionals) on their work efficiency. The data were obtained from a survey of 300 randomly selected women who work in various offices, universities and factories in Ankara. The findings suggest that women in better conditions (high education, profession, etc.) experienced less negative spillover.

Notes: In 2002 and 2003, I was selected as a funded consumer representative and a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). This abstract describes the experience and what it means to empower consumers. Although the example given is from the US, the principles are applicable to other countries.NAIC is the association of the chief insurance regulators of the 50 states, four territories, and the District of Columbia. As a consumer representative I attend four national meetings each year to speak up on behalf of the fair and equitable treatment of consumers. The purpose of NAIC is to improve state insurance regulation by facilitating a degree of uniformity of regulation among the states (Cude, 1997). To ensure that consumers were heard, NAIC created its Consumer Participation Program in 1992 (Cude, 1995).At a typical meeting, there are about 500 regulators, 1000 industry representatives, and 13 consumer representatives. Five of the 13 are selected to serve on the Board. The consumer representatives include professors, lawyers, economists, and community activists. Being so few in number, the question arises: How effective can we be? The fundamental responsibility is to represent consumers’ viewpoints, to give authority to or to voice their perspective that is the definition of empowerment. This quite literally means going to the microphones at NAIC meetings, but it also means working behind the scenes drafting policy and model laws.According to A. Coskun Samli (2001), empowering the consumer will benefit society as a whole. It will expand the economy. Serving as a consumer representative is indeed a worthwhile challenge, a chance to change things for the better.

Notes: Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were first used to designate micro organisms that had had genes from other species transferred into their genetic material by the then-new techniques of ‘gene-splicing.’ Cultivation of GMOs has so far been most widespread in the production of soybeans and maize. The United States holds almost three-fourths of the total crop area devoted to GMOs. Because many crops have been imported from the US, there is a large possibility for consumers to intake the products of GMOs in Korea. The safety of GMOs is not scientifically settled at this time, however. Additionally, the research regarding the GMOs issue of consumers has rarely been conducted in Korea. This study therefore focused on the consumer attitudes about GMOs and willingness to purchase them. The data were collected from 506 adults living in Seoul, Daegu and Busan, Korea, by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Frequencies and chi-square tests were conducted by SPSS. The results of the survey were as follows. First, the consumer concerns about GMOs were high but recognition was low; many respondents answered they did not have exact information about GMOs, although they had heard about them. Second, almost 93% of the respondents desired the labelling of GMOs. Third, the level of acceptance of GMOs was high; two-thirds of the respondents showed that they were willing to buy GMOs. Finally, many respondents worried about the safety of GMOs in that 73% of the respondents primarily wanted to be informed about safety of GMOs. This study suggests that the consumer education about GMOs should be conducted through mass media and consumer protection organisations.

Notes: Recent subject benchmarking statements by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2002) have included the subject of consumer sciences at bachelor's level. This is significant in that part of the aim of subject benchmark statements is to describe the nature and characteristics of specific degree level subject areas and to identify the ‘typical substantive core’.Consumer science/studies have therefore been defined as: ‘interdisciplinary subjects which seek to understand the relationships between the consumer and the economic, technical, social and environmental forces which influence the development and consumption of goods and services’ (QAA, 2002).If we are seeking, therefore, to encourage empowered consumers, we need to have an understanding of how the context of consumption and consumerism is positioned within current course structures. During the last five years developments and change in both the subject area and courses has made it increasingly necessary to explore the boundaries and development of degree level courses in the subject area in the United Kingdom.Research is therefore being undertaken to investigate the existence of a unique body of knowledge that currently defines the subject field, given its inter and multidisciplinary focus.This research has also aimed to track the changes and developments in courses and to map the forms of knowledge within the subject field between higher education institutions. This has been undertaken by comparing original studies of degree content areas, interviews and surveys of core academic staff and undertaking a recent follow up of this work. The results of this research will be available for presentation at the conference.

Notes: Synthetic polymers are rarely degraded in nature and cause environmental pollution. Biodegradable films have been developed to alleviate the pollution. Many countries have great interests in biodegradable food packaging films. Poly (3-hydroxy butyric acid) (PHB) is a natural biodegradable plastic with biocompatibility. However, PHB has some problems of application to the food system because it is brittle and stiff. Because PHB has a poor site for chemical modification, the blends of PHB with flexible polymers can overcome these undesirable properties. Therefore, we prepared the blend films of PHB with chitosan, analysed the mechanical properties and barrier properties against water vapour, oxygen and lipid and monitored biodegradability of PHB/chitosan films in this study.The degree of crystallinity of PHB/chitosan films by X-ray diffraction decreased with increasing chitosan concentration. The granular sizes of the films were reduced with the addition of chitosan to the film in the micro structural observation by a scanning electron microscope. Mechanical properties, including tensile strength and percent elongation of the blend films increased with increasing chitosan ration in the films. It is demonstrated that mechanical properties of the films were improved by the addition of chitosan. The water vapour permeability (WVP) of the PHB film was the highest and WVP was decreased by the addition of chitosan. Oxygen permeability of the films decreased as chitosan amount increased. The films had very good barrier property against lipid. The consumed oxygen of PHB film was greater than that of chitosan film for incubation on the biodegradability determination of the films. Therefore, the blend films could be expected to increase the rate of degradation in natural environments.

Notes: Identifying the target audience for hot pot snacks and which factors influence their buyer behaviour is vital information for product developers and manufacturers. The reported market research evaluated the effect of changing lifestyles on the growth of the pot snack market and investigated consumer opinion of pot snacks with particular regard to their nutritional status. This information is of particular interest to health professionals involved in improving the nation's health.A consumer questionnaire measured the opinion of pot snacks, frequency of consumption and influences on the growth of the pot snack market. The 150 consumers comprised   86   males   and 64   females   aged   11–74 years.   The data was analysed using chi-square (Statistical Package for Social   Sciences).   Results indicated   that   within   the   pot snack market, there are a variety of reasons determining the demand for pot snacks. The frequency of consumption is influenced by knowledge and opinion about the nutritional content of the pot snack product, suggest-ing that consumers are now demanding health as well as convenience.

Notes: Perception of country of origin and purchasing habits for beef were examined for urban and rural Scottish consumers. Origin was identified as being as important as intrinsic quality cues of colour and leanness, with rural consumers giving more weight to origin than urban ones. Most consumers interpreted ‘Scotch Beef’ and ‘British Meat’ label logos as evidence that the beef animals were ‘born, raised and slaughtered in Scotland or Britain’ respectively. The logos were taken as indicators of quality and safety. Both urban and rural respondents had higher agreement levels with Scotch beef as a safer, higher quality and more expensive commodity than British meat. Rural consumers made more use of butcher shops for purchase, but both groups sought butcher beef for quality reasons and supermarket sources because of convenience.

Notes: This paper reports the findings of a consumer-driven investigation conducted by the Centre for Clinical Nursing Research at Epworth Hospital in conjunction with the Endometriosis Association (Victoria, Australia) aimed at identifying the information and support needs of women experiencing endometriosis. Women's experiences of endometriosis and laparoscopy were examined. A questionnaire was designed to explore women's experiences of, and informational need for, the four categories of: diagnosis of endometriosis, endometriosis, laparoscopy and managing at home. A total of 465 women who had a positive diagnosis of endometriosis, including patients at the Epworth Endometriosis Centre and members of the Endometriosis Association, were included. The data were analysed in terms of frequency of responses and themes that arose from the research. Five main themes consistently emerged from the overall analysis of the questionnaire; these included: lack of communication, no-one listens, the emotional turmoil, expressions of gratitude to the Endometriosis Association and being young and helpless. Also identified was a lack of understanding of endometriosis and laparoscopy, on behalf of both the patient and the practitioner, which has led to communication of misinformation, extended physical pain and emotional distress. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for education strategies to be focused towards increasing awareness of endometriosis and for information to be disseminated using the preferred printed format and to be made available from gynaecologists, hospitals and schools. Through consumer participation, the information obtained in this study is of benefit to all women who come in contact with endometriosis by (a) validating women's experiences of endometriosis and (b) identifying women's needs in relation to the disease.

Notes: In Spain, consumption of organic products has not kept pace with production. Up till now, foreign markets have been a natural destination for excess supply. However, world trade liberalization might cause important commercial problems to Spanish producers that could be partially solved by enlarging the domestic market. The goal of this paper is to assess the opportunity for such enlargement focusing on two main aspects: consumers’ and retailers’ attitudes and willingness to pay for organic products. Concerns about health, natural diets or environmental issues could stimulate consumption, while retailing dynamism and competition to gain new market segments might favour distribution. Both aspects are investigated through two surveys addressed to consumers and retailers in two Spanish towns. The results confirm that only a small proportion of consumers and distributors show attitudes that might favour demand expansion. The most sensitized segments are willing to pay more for organic products, but this premium is still very far from the prevailing gap between conventional and organic food products.

Notes: A honey-roasted peanut product, flavoured with ginger and anise, was recently developed in Haiti in an effort to increase the consumption of locally grown peanuts. The objective of this study was to compare quality and consumer acceptability of the Haiti product with a traditional US-manufactured brand. Haitian panellists (199) evaluated colour, appearance (dry/oily), crunchiness, peanut flavour and sweetness of the products using five-point just-about-right scales. Colour (Minolta chromameter), hardness (TA.XT2i texture analyser fitted with a TA42 knife blade) and moisture (Denver IR-30 moisture analyser), lipid (ethyl ether extraction) and sugar (Dionex DX-500 high pressure liquid chromatography system) contents of the products were also determined. The Haiti product was significantly (P 〈 0.05) darker brown, harder and contained more (P 〈 0.05) sucrose and glucose but less (P 〈 0.05) lipid and fructose than the US product. Panellists indicated that crunchiness, peanut flavour and sweetness of both products were just right. The US product had acceptable appearance but was rated too light (hue angle = 69.6 ± 0.70, L-value = 58.2 ± 0.47) in colour, whereas the Haiti product appeared too dry and dark (hue angle = 62.6 ± 2.79, L-value = 44.6 ± 2.22). The Haiti peanuts were not deskinned, and their testae may have decreased the acceptability of the product's appearance and colour. The Haiti product was significantly (P 〈 0.05) just right to the female panellists and to the 21-year plus panellists from all income groups. Deskinning of the peanuts and increased oil addition during roasting may improve the acceptability of the Haiti product, especially to 14–20 year olds. Decrease in sugar content may also make the Haiti product more appealing to this age group and to male Haitians.

Notes: Wearing clothes with prestigious brand names seems to be very important for adolescents. This phenomenon was studied in the context of consumer socialization by examining the influence of three socialization agents, namely parents, peers and TV, on the development of French Canadian adolescents’ brand sensitivity and their relative importance. Controlling for socio-economic variables, multiple regression analyses were conducted separately for boys and for girls. For both genders, brand sensitivity is related to peer influence. Girls’ brand sensitivity is related to the importance fathers give to clothing brands. TV exposure is not related to adolescents’ brand sensitivity. For boys and girls, peers represent the most important predictor of this consumer socialization. The results are discussed in the light of social and economic pressures and family relationships.

Notes: The majority of food poisoning cases occur in the domestic environment as a result of inadequate hygiene practices. The possibility of food safety errors may be increased in domestic kitchens that are shared. However, there is very little information concerning the hygiene of these kitchens. This study investigates the microbial load of key sites in six student communal kitchens. In addition, hygiene was evaluated visually and questionnaires were used to assess the hygiene practices of the kitchen users. Results show that visual hygiene assessments are not a good indicator of microbial contamination, which, in this study, reveal poor levels of hygiene. Food safety errors were commonly made by users of the kitchens and their food hygiene practices suggest limited food safety knowledge and/or an absence of feelings of responsibility for the hygiene standard of the kitchen.

Notes: This research was conducted on 402 children going to kindergarten and primary schools with the purpose of analysing the children's interests, responsibilities, economic resources, purchasing activities, and socialization agents and purchase influences as consumers. Data were collected using a questionnaire, which was prepared by considering some previous research. The questionnaire was applied to subjects through face-to-face individual interview. The data were analysed by using explanatory variables, including age, gender, socio-economic status and family type. Findings indicated that consumer socialization of children was connected to selected demographic characteristics, especially age, and they were surprisingly independent and influential consumers. The results of this study are important for those involved in children's and adults’ markets, and for consumer educators.

Notes: In order to continue to move forward, the field of family resource management needs rich research programmes based on holistic, synergetic approaches. To this end, this paper presents a multi-perspective research framework for designing family resource management research programmes using insights from five existing perspectives to understand families: life cycle stages, life spiral across generations, unplanned life transitions, the historical context of the course of one's life, and the different levels of influence on daily life ranging from the cosmos to the unknown (spheres of influence perspective). A modernization of the life cycle perspective is proposed as well to accommodate the gap between the full nest and the empty nest. We then use this new research framework to shape the development of a programme targeting retirement preparedness of mid-life working couples with dependents (children and aged or infirm adults). We anticipate that deeper, more holistic insights into family resource management strategies can be gained from using this new research framework.

Notes: This article examines how the price knowledge of Finnish consumers has changed since the adoption of the euro. Our study measures price knowledge by comparing consumers’ price estimations with actual market prices at two points in time: before (October 2001) and after (March 2002) the changeover to the euro. Furthermore, we study potential differences between three different age groups. We approach the issue using four determinants, namely (1) response percentage (the percentage of respondents who were able to give a price estimate); (2) the difference between the median of the market prices and the median of the price evaluations; (3) the difference between the average of the market prices and the average of the price evaluations; and (4) the average of the absolute deviations between the average of product prices and consumer price evaluations. Our results indicate that, on average, consumers know the prices of grocery products quite well despite the prevailing dispersion of actual prices in the market. Price knowledge was found to be rather good both before and after the introduction of the euro. Nevertheless, the good price knowledge after the changeover was probably because consumers remembered the prices asked in the old currency and converted them to euros. The majority of respondents were able to give price estimates that were within the range of actual price dispersion in stores. The results also show some deterioration in price knowledge after the advent of the euro. There was variation between different age groups, and it seems that the introduction of the euro has affected various groups differently. Consumers aged 30–50 years knew prices best both before and after the euro, whereas the ability to estimate prices had declined most among consumers above 50 years after the euro changeover.

Notes: Food insecurity or lack of access to adequate and nutritious food is a major determinant of under-nutrition. Expenditure patterns accompanied by unemployment, low level of education, inflation and high food prices have a direct negative impact on food availability within households (Moller, 1997). Ghany and Schwenk (1993) found that as household income increases, the proportion of expenditures on food decreases, the proportion of expenditures on clothing, rent, fuel, and light stayed the same and that of sundries increased.The aim of this study was to investigate household expenditure patterns on food and non-food items in Khayelitsha. A total of 20 households (10 from the formal and 10 from the informal settlements) were randomly selected from those willing to participate in the study. A questionnaire with open ended and closed questions was used to collect data. The questionnaire comprised four sections namely: biographical information, socio-economic information which used wealth quintiles to assess households’ social economic status, total expenditure information and a food/hunger scale was used to assess households’ food availability.The findings revealed that households from informal settlements spent more money (62.2%) as a proportion of their income on food compared to households from the formal settlement (39%). There was higher unemployment rate (100%) at the informal settlement compared to the formal settlement (40%). Wealth quintiles scales did not reflect the social status of the households as equipment and assets owned by households were only used as fallback position during times of economic hardships.Households used different purchasing strategies; food and non-food items were mainly purchased from outside the township (60%). Forty percent of the households bought their items from local shops and spazas because they allowed them to buy items whenever little money was available or to take items on credit. All the respondents preferred to buy bread and small items from spazas and local shops. Prices of items in the spazas and local shops were higher compared to prices of items in bigger shops outside the townships.The food/hunger scale and wealth quintiles showed that informal settlement households were more food insecure (as they were all unemployed and about 50% of the households ran out of food always) and had fewer assets compared to the formal settlement households.The implications of these findings underscore the need to improve socio-economic conditions of low resource households through empowerment programs. These programs can be in the form of training in management/decision making, work related skills/literacy (to help them access formal employment), business management/income generation skills (to help them to be self-employed), budgeting, and food gardening. This approach can help to increase the resource base and alleviate food insecurity in low resource households.

Notes: An extensive body of evidence exists linking low income, poor diet and poor health (Graham, 1993; Dowler and Calvert, 1995; Parker, 1998). In response to this the UK government has long claimed the reason for such inequalities is not because of income per se, but is underpinned by lack of knowledge and skills and as such has focused much attention on the role of small scale community based educational initiatives. These initiatives however, can only be successful if those whom they are targeted at are motivated to become involved. To achieve change it has to be recognised that change is possible, but perhaps more importantly, that change is needed.Previous research has produced quantifiable evidence as to the quality of diet and it has also produced qualitative support of the difficulties faced by low income groups in attaining diet quality, but in many cases has not necessarily described the perception of diet quality amongst low income groups, and the influences upon such perceptions. If diet is not perceived to be nutritionally inadequate it may be the case that those whom initiatives would hope to influence do not feel the need to become involved.Using a mixed methodology, evidence is provided from a cohort of lone parents that suggests a confusion may exist between what constitutes a balanced diet as opposed to a healthy diet, or indeed a good diet as opposed to a bad diet. Evidence further demonstrates that many of the food choice decisions made by lone parents are linked to evaluations of the quality of parenting they provide. As such, choices are made subject to social norms yet lack of self-efficacy prevents many lone parents from challenging societal prescriptions. The paper concludes that knowledge alone may not be enough to facilitate an improvement in diet quality for this group and that this may only be achieved if knowledge and empowerment are addressed simultaneously.

Notes: This keynote address will cover the background to, research involved in and presentation of a Food and Health Strategy for Cardiff.The work involved:〈list style="custom"〉1A rapid appraisal of over 20 initiatives, which promote the availability and consumption of safe, healthy and sustainable food within Cardiff.2Recommendations for membership of a food and health strategy working party.3The preparation of a framework document as a starting point for the working party.4The meeting of the working party and key-stakeholders to produce a final strategy for Cardiff incorporating sustainable development, food quality, safety and hygiene, food availability, education and nutrition.5Ensuring that the Cardiff strategy reflected the broad aims and objectives of already existing pertinent documents, e.g. National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease, National Service Framework for Diabetes, Nutrition Strategy for Wales, Cardiff Strategy for a Healthy City, A Community Strategy for Cardiff, Local Sustainability Strategy for Cardiff.The presentation will consist of key findings in terms of best practice, evaluation of successful initiatives and intercollaborative working.

Notes: Participation at the local level is an important factor in determining the success of programmes developed to achieve sustainable development. This paper is concerned with debates over the role of the individual citizen in relation to that participatory process. In particular, it focuses on the UK government's citizens’ environmental initiative ‘Going for Green’. Through this initiative a five-point   Green   Code   was   developed   to   assist   in   the   delivering of its sustainable development message. The initiative's overall approach to participation was based on an assumption that the primary barrier to translating environmental concern into local action was a lack of information, and individuals would respond to messages in a similar way.As a research strategy, the case study was used to evaluate methods and processes used to implement the initiative's pilot Sustainable Communities Project in two comparative geographical communities in Merthyr Tydfil (South Wales). Research findings from this study have demonstrated that the case study was invaluable in terms of understanding the participatory process and experiences of a broad range of community stakeholders. Promoting a single model of participation was found to restrict the participatory process in terms of who was encouraged to participate, the scope of their participation, and those outcomes that could be achieved. This paper concludes that if significant progress is to be made in relation to achieving sustainable development, the role of individual citizens needs to be extended beyond that of a consumer of the environment, and also include active participation in a process that is based on collective action.

Notes: The aim of this paper is to analyse the responsibility of Spanish demand composition (particularly private and public consumption) in the actual levels of atmospheric pollution in Spain. To that end, and on the basis of an input–output model, we set out to identify the environmental pollution generated both directly and indirectly by the economic sectors in order to obtain a determined final demand. We focus on three atmospheric pollutants, namely SOx, NOx and CO2. After identifying the key sectors in the generation of these types of pollution, we estimate the effect that a change in final consumption will have on the global level of pollution. As a consequence, we can evaluate the effectiveness of different demand policies when seeking to control this global pollution. These policies, directed mainly towards a change in private and public consumption, can hopefully contribute towards the objective of achieving sustainable development.

Notes: Product safety is related to consumer/user competence. Pharmaceutical products usually have high associated risks that can be compounded by irregular consumption practices. Of particular concern are older people who, due to a variety of reasons, cannot comply with pharmacy instructions. Medication compliance for this group often depends on co-ordinating the efforts of formal and informal carers. Failure to co-ordinate can lead to both serious medical consequences and litigation against carers.Based on the experiences of an action research project, the paper initially details the substantive issues within a product/service-delivery framework. The roles of agents and surrogate shoppers are noted. The wider regulatory and legal context is then explored with reference to the pharmaceutical industry and health and social care providers. These local and global considerations give rise to a discussion of the applicability of existing theoretical approaches to the problem of ensuring the timely and accurate administration of medication for vulnerable older people. In formulating the specifications of service re-design using complexity and network theories, the continued relevance of traditional (e.g. 4Ps/7Ps) and current (e.g. relationship) marketing paradigms is demonstrated. In conclusion, the paper highlights the need to balance risks, rights and responsibilities in cases where strict forms of empowerment are inappropriate.

Notes: Children and youth are a dominant consumer force in the media marketplace and restricted media content is part of the near environment of many adolescents, both at home and in their communities. Yet, little attention has been paid to adolescents as consumers of film, video, DVD, Internet, video games, pay per view, satellite and digital cable television content that has been deemed ‘adult’ or restricted content by government and industry regulators. Using a human ecology framework, this research assess what types of restricted media content 13 and 14 years olds are exposed to at home and in the community, how they come to have access to different types of restricted material, how they regulate their own consumption of sexually and violently explicit media content, what they think is appropriate viewing for themselves.The media environment of adolescents is continually changing with the proliferation of new technologies, and restricted content is pervasively and aggressively marketed to adolescents. Market forces, government regulation, parental guidance, and media in its social context determine what children are exposed to. This research investigates the interaction between these forces and their outcomes for adolescents in the province of Alberta, Canada. Adolescents in Alberta have the highest rates of film, video, and DVD viewing in Canada, as well as the highest saturation of Internet in homes. Alberta's system of film classification (age restrictions   on   film,   video,   and   DVD)   is   similar   to   that   of most EU countries, providing a context for international comparison.Findings from this research are critical to policy makers, regulatory bodies, media producers, educators, and parents in establishing practices to protect and educate young consumers. Information about Alberta adolescents’ consumption of restricted media content and how they gain access to it will ultimately affect children and youth by informing the societal forces which govern their media use.

Notes: Considering the large sums of money young people spend on goods and services and the huge importance marketers grant to them, it is easy to agree on the very important role they play in today's consumer society. Autonomous role enactment involves the attainment of a certain level of performance which implies certain socially desirable behaviours. However, studies about consumer skills are rather sparse. Consequently, we do not know if young people present the necessary abilities to make educated choices, protecting their own interests and exerting their responsibilities as citizens in the community and by this, contributing to balancing the market forces. The data presented are an extract from the qualitative part of a larger study about the consumer skills of French Canadian college students. Thirteen students, aged from 18 to 22 years old, were recruited in three colleges of the Quebec City area through personal contacts with academic members. They participated in semistructured interviews during the months of November and December 2001. During the discussions, they expressed their perceptions of the skills necessary for being an educated consumer, their own level of competence in this area, the general level of competence of people of their age and that of older adults. They identified the most significant agents in their consumer socialisation and detailed the nature and content of these influences. This information implements research in consumer behaviour from a non-commercial perspective and has helped to plan the quantitative stage of the study which is presently under way. The study is financed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Notes: School is a major area for providing young people with nutritional knowledge and skills. In Northern Ireland home economics is taught to 11–12 years olds (CCEA,1998). The 1988 Education Reform Act introduced the national curriculum and home economics as a subject was effectively abolished in English schools. Key stage 3 pupils in England are taught nutrition in Science, Design and Technology and in the cross curricular theme of health education (SCAA, 1996).The aim of the study was to compare the attitudes and nutritional knowledge of children in Merseyside, England (M) and Northern Ireland (NI). A questionnaire was designed, which examined attitudes to aspects of healthy eating and tested the subject's knowledge, practical and theoretical, on nutrition and healthy eating. Subjects aged 11–12 years were recruited (M:541, NI:128).The results indicate that the healthy food message seems to have been better learnt by children in Merseyside but results of surveys in Merseyside into eating habits suggest that many have not put this knowledge into practice.

Notes: Consumer education in Latvia is in the early stages of development and should be seen in the context of the rapidly changing society in the post-Soviet era and the increasing influence of the marketplace, and Latvia's position as a new accession   country. The   Latvia   University   of   Agriculture   is in the process of developing an adult consumer education programme.A comparative study between the UK and Latvia was designed to test the hypothesis that many adult consumers lack knowledge and understanding of their consumer rights and responsibilities. A sample of adults in both countries completed a consumer rights questionnaire investigating attitude, knowledge and critical thinking ability. The UK questionnaire was modified, taking into account the different consumer environment in the two countries, to compare the need for adult consumer education in Latvia and the United Kingdom.In the United Kingdom results showed that the group overall were not confident that they knew enough about consumer rights and legislation or to resolve consumer problems and were unsure about their consumer responsibilities. Levels of knowledge were poor, leaving adults vulnerable to exploitation in the marketplace, uninformed about their responsibilities to voice dissatisfaction about goods and services, and unaware of how their consumer behaviour can affect the wider community.Adult participants in Latvia thought that they lacked education in consumer legal rights and responsibilities and did not have the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to manage consumer problems effectively.Results in both countries indicate that adult consumer education is needed, supplemented by a comprehensive package of adult consumer education. Despite the cultural differences between the two countries, the analysis showed that similar adult consumer skills and attitudes were needed.This joint research has shown that this methodology could be used to determine adult consumer and life-long consumer education needs in other European countries and internationally.

Notes: The aim of this presentation is to introduce some new frameworks that have been under discussion in developing university studies in the field of home economics or family and consumer sciences in Finland. The empirical data is derived from students’ contributions during their university studies in the degree program for home economics teachers at the Master's level. The main data is based on students’ opinions and conceptions about strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T) of their university discipline and field to meet the future challenges. All students are at the level of advanced studies (mainly 4th year), and the number of students is 34. All have some school experience as a home economics teacher and most also have some other work experience in the field of home economics, family and consumer sciences.The research questions were: (1) How do the students see their field according to the SWOT analysis? and (2) What type of developments do they pose for the future? There was also an implementation section. Students were asked to produce their own ‘action plan’ for the next few years.The preliminary data analysis reveals that inside the discipline and the field there are several empowerment elements, but also that they are not used as efficiently as they could be.In conclusion, most students have a very realistic view of their studies. They can analyse them in diverse ways, and reveal important qualifications. They are aware of the various challenges that face us in both the present and future societies. Students also see that home economics not only gives them tools that are relevant in present school situations, but the subject includes such future potentials that can be used in directing the school towards the more open learning environments. Home economics has its place inside the education system. Both the idea of ‘home economics teacher as a researcher’ and ‘home economics teacher as an educator’ were seen as important aims to maintain in the university degree.

Notes: The research presents a case study about the way that women make decisions about colour and dress prior to, and after a visit to an image consultancy, Colour Me Beautiful. It specifically asks to what extent women feel they have benefited from such a consultation in relation to the fashion system and the experience of shopping.The first section argues that the interviewees, prior to a consultation, had adopted a narrow and restricted mode of decision-making in relation to clothes and colour due to a variety of social and personal reasons. The second section explores the processes by which the majority of interviewees began to gain confidence and a renewed interest in selecting clothes after a colour consultation. Such a ‘technology of the self’ enabled the respondents to ‘play’ with the fashion system, in a way that they had not felt able to do before. In particular the mechanisms of expertise and meaning were central to this process of change.

Notes: Retailers may lose profits as a result of shoplifting and other unethical consumer behaviour. Research focusing on consumer ethical decision making is needed. Information provided by 1117 undergraduate students from universities within the US revealed that women are less accepting of unethical consumer behaviour than men. Subjects who reported that they very consistently follow the teachings of their primary faith are less accepting of unethical consumer behaviour than subjects who reported that they do not very consistently follow the teachings of their primary faith. Relationships between consumer ethical response scores and other demographic characteristics are discussed.

Notes: The Japanese and Korean dietary styles are the most similar in the world. The dietary changes of two Asian countries, which are concomitant with their economic growth, have also followed a similar course. Exteriorization is progressing in eating habits, which is connected with a change of lifestyle and food consciousness. The environment surrounding consumers is changing, and consumption behaviour is gradually changing too. Generally, human action depends on a subjective judgement and involves uncertainty. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the consumer's eating-out behaviour from 1976 to 1998 by fuzzy regression, which is able to deal with a vague and uncertain phenomenon, and to show the effect of this method between the two countries. As a result, the fuzzy parameters showed fairly similar trends both in Japan and Korea. The relative price and habit-formation effect influenced the expenditure of eating-out directly, whereas income had an indirect influence on eating-out expenditure. Moreover, Korean consumer behaviour had become much more vague and complicated than that in Japan.

Notes: The use of biotechnology in food production has generated considerable debate involving the benefits and risks associated with its use. Consumer acceptance of genetically modified foods is a critical factor that will affect the future of this technology. Using data from a national survey, this study examines how public acceptance of food biotechnology is related to consumers’ socioeconomic and value attributes as well as the benefits associated with the use of this technology. Empirical results suggest that consumer acceptance of food biotechnology increases considerably when the use of this technology brings tangible benefits for the public. Consumers with different socioeconomic and demographic attributes have diverging views of food biotechnology only when its use brings specific benefits to them. When the use of genetic technology confers no additional benefit, public attitudes towards genetically modified foods are driven primarily by their scientific knowledge, views of scientists and corporations associated with biotechnology as well as public trust and confidence in government.

Notes: The sensory quality characteristics of four flavoured soymilk samples including vanilla, banana, coffee and chocolate were evaluated at varying concentrations of the flavour. This was done to establish the most acceptable flavour and desired concentration for commercial production of soymilk and also to facilitate increased consumption of soymilk for improved nutrition. Hot extraction of the milk from blanched soybeans was achieved by blending in hot water and sieving through muslin cloth. Different concentration levels of the flavours being assessed, namely chocolate, coffee, vanilla and banana, were added. Consumer preference for the various samples was assessed using a nine-point hedonic scale. Addition of flavours was found to improve the sensory characteristics and consumer preference of soymilk. Colour, taste, aroma, mouthfeel and hence overall acceptability of the soymilk samples were improved significantly by the addition of vanilla, banana, coffee and chocolate flavours. The maximum concentrations of the individual flavours for optimal sensory impact were established. Based on the results, the following flavour concentrations are recommended per 100 ml of soymilk: 0.03% vanilla, 0.01% banana, 1.5% coffee and 4% chocolate.

Notes: This research seeks to understand the perceived sources of acquisition of living skills by young people and to examine the formal and informal channels of acquisition. The study focuses particularly on the concept of living skills. These are the skills of transition, of growing up, and independence. For the purpose of the research the skills investigated are those associated (or formerly associated) with the school subject of Home Economics and were distilled from past curricula and documentation (DES, 1985; SCP, 1971). They cover three types of skill: social/interpersonal, cognitive and manual. Social skills include awareness of others, and a sense of responsibility, which is the basis of child-care and showing tolerance of and concern and consideration for others. Cognitive skills are those associated with decision-making and management, they involve thinking, reasoning and the use of knowledge. Manual skills are concerned with the use of the hands, with dexterity and with the achievement of specific goals, for example the ability to use tools and appliances with emphasis on the safe handling of them. They can also be linked to knowledge in terms of, for example aspects of food safety and hygiene.Research to date has failed to tackle the concept of acquisition of the skills of transition from home to independent living. Most research is focused on skills pertaining to a particular occupation role (Newman and Newman, 1988; Blustein et al., 1989; Nurmi et al., 1994) rather than those of living skills.Respondents were asked where they had learnt most about manual, cognitive and social skills. To facilitate analysis the channels were condensed to family (mother, father, other family members), community (friends, voluntary organisations), self (trial and error, television, books and magazines), taught (at school, university and work), with a final category of ‘never learnt’ (categories adapted from Macbeth, 1989).The findings revealed that the perceived acquisition of these living skills was through informal channels. From this research it can be argued that the family, being the main perceived source of acquisition of living skills creates the right time, the right place and facilitates exchange efficiencies. However, in this over-dependence on an informal framework it is unlikely that discrepancies of skill provision can be alleviated. Additionally, standardisation may be difficult if not impossible to achieve. Compounding this is the tendency of young people to have to resort to self-learning, which it could be argued is acceptable for some skills but not for those reliant on correct information input (such as food hygiene and nutrition).

Notes: The   ‘food   desert’  is   a   fairly   recent   phenomenon   with   emotive and  political  overtones.  It  has  been  described  as  an  area  of social deprivation where people do not have easy access to healthy   and   affordable   food.   Northern   Ireland   has   undergone a retail revolution with the arrival of the UK mainland multiples, the   spatial   restructuring   of   the   retailing   industry   to   edge-of-town   sites   and   the   associated   effects   on   town   centre   food stores. The research initiative has been considerable in Britain but deficient in Northern Ireland; hence the urgent need for this studyThis study investigated the food accessibility and ultimate potential existence of food deserts in both rural and urban areas of Northern Ireland using microstudies of four provincial towns. The research methodology was both intensive and extensive using perceptual and experiential evidence of principal shoppers from 1094 Northern Ireland households. The study allowed for the validation of results via a varied range of research tools, e.g. case studies, focus groups, interviews, observations and an extensive questionnaire.Results indicated that certain consumer cohorts (particularly the car-less and lower income consumers) were excluded from equitable shopping provision. Evidence suggested that urban consumers might exist in somewhat self-imposed food deserts, exacerbated by the fact that consumers on lower incomes shopped locally and more frequently than their higher income counterparts. Low-income family units also exhibited lower levels of cooking skills, and therefore tended to purchase convenience foods from higher priced local retail outlets. Shopping basket analyses revealed the price disparities that existed within store types and between towns while consumer focus groups qualified the extent of consumer disadvantage experienced by vulnerable consumer groups. While no town or area was assigned the label ‘food desert’ areas of low provision could be identified with worrying signs that food access was ultimately disparate and inequitable. This situation is likely to worsen as the full effects of the retail revolution are realised. Recommendations suggest incremental changes to effect long-term change and an interdisciplinary approach is foreseen as the optimal way to address the problem. Control of retail developments is seen as essential in town planning together with the control of retail monopolies in such areas.

Notes: Modern societies are lipophobic: they express a deep anxiety about fat and fatness. On the other hand, the public discourses about health and well being, though biased towards lipophobia, are far from unanimous. The general question is how consumers experience and negotiate contradictory messages of hedonism and ascetics from commercial and governmental agents? This study more specifically examines the hypothesis that the governmental campaigns and official messages mediated through TV, newspapers and other media are largely failing their target, since they tend to have the biggest impact on people, that do not have a serious weight problem, but who nevertheless perceive themselves to be overweight. This is investigated through an adapted use of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique approach with 20 younger female informants as well as a set of interviews with selected medical and political experts and representatives of consumer groups.The results provide a culturally rooted image of consumers’ fat intake and dietary practices as well as an attempt to de-stigmatise consumers’ body imagery, informing future food policies and the food industry's satisfaction of public and private interests in consumers’ dietary patterns. This ends up in a critique of a certain approach to social marketing in the food domain. Rather than focusing on informational campaigns spreading messages that are already known to most people, more efforts should be put into the basic build-up of a better general food culture – one that stresses quality over quantity and which is lipo-conscious rather than lipophobic.

Notes: Cross contamination by microbial pathogens in the kitchen environment may play an important role in many cases of food borne illnesses. Hand washing has been shown to be one of the most important factors in controlling the spread of microorganisms and in preventing the spread of disease. However, educational campaigns such as distribution of information leaflets, workshops, performance feedback and lectures have been, at best, associated with a transient improvement in compliance rates. In addition, the majority of research investigating UK consumers’ food safety behaviour has examined self-reported as opposed to actual hand washing behaviour.This research utilises psychological theory in an attempt to understand how one might design a more effective hand washing campaign. Social cognition models were utilised to explore the relationship between consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, self-reported and actual hand washing behaviour. The research was conducted in two stages. Firstly, salient beliefs of 100 consumers towards food safety were obtained using open-ended questions. Secondly, the food handling practices of 40 consumers were observed and their food safety attitudes and knowledge determined using structured questionnaires.All the participants were knowledgeable about hand washing techniques, intended to wash their hands and generally had positive attitudes towards the importance of washing their hands. However, none of the participants adequately washed their hands on all appropriate occasions. The attitude statement results suggest measures of perceived behavioural control, perceived barriers and perceived risk may provide developers of food safety intervention materials with more useful information compared with measures of consumers’ knowledge or intention. Issues of habit and optimistic bias also need to be given consideration when designing intervention materials to change hand washing behaviour of consumers.

Notes: The number of intestinal infections that are acquired in the domestic environment is substantial; for The Netherlands 2 million infections per year are estimated. Some of these infections are caused by the consumption of contaminated food. But others are caused by other sources like contaminated surfaces and objects in the living environment, pets and contaminated air. According to present insights this second group of infections might even be bigger then the nutritional part. So it is evident that soil and dirt in a living environment pose a health risk for the people involved.Domestic cleaning is a proper means to raise the level of hygiene in the home. Efficient cleaning processes do not only remove visible soil and stains but remove micro organisms also in an effective way. Therefore the hidden target of cleaning is the elimination of germs from the living environment.Traditional cleaning processes were highly efficient in removing both soil and germs. When objects and surfaces were perceivably clean this implied also that they were clean from a hygienic point of view. In the last decades this picture has changed substantially. Visually clean does not imply any longer that the level of hygiene is adequate. Several social changes and technological measures meant to achieve a sustainable society appear to be responsible for this phenomenon. The results of various researches including a recent study on European level into this relationship support this statement.In the paper the impact of past social and technological changes on home hygiene and the nature of the relation between cleanliness and hygiene in the domestic setting will be elaborated. In addition it will be discussed what implications this change can have for the members of the household, and how a household has to deal with it.

Notes: Patients’ use of health-related information from the Internet is increasing at an exponential rate. Although we have some information about how health professionals use the Internet (Roscoe, 1998; Wilson, 1999) we know little about how patients utilise this information. Some patients may actively seek information to assume more responsibility for their health. However, others may feel forced into doing so because of failing confidence in health care provision. Health professionals have the potential to assist patients to make sense of health information from the Internet; however, they may not necessarily welcome this role (Wilson, 1999; Eberhart-Phillips et al., 2000). This study aims to evaluate patient use of such information in primary care and to establish how this can be directed in the future.851 adult patients from general practice were surveyed about the health information they use, including the Internet. 50 patients from     the     survey     were     then     randomly     selected     for     interview. 12     health     care     professionals     were     also     interviewed     about how patients use the Internet and the impact this has on consultations.The majority of patients (80%) prefer to use their GP as a source of health information. The remaining sources of information received significantly lower ratings. However, the Internet was the second most preferred source of information (7%).Of those using the Internet about two thirds felt more prepared and able to participate in decision-making about treatments.The majority of patients rely on their doctor for health information. However, many patients actively use the Internet as an information source. The use of Internet information during consultations is on the increase, and although patients are positive about such use, doctors do not necessarily welcome Internet informed patients. It is now necessary to identify the training needs of health care professionals for dealing appropriately with Internet informed patients.

Notes: Consumers are essentially decision-makers, with a strong influence in the product chain. Establishing sustainable global resource systems, across developed and developing nations, is dependent on finding ways to encourage consumers to prioritise environmental issues as one of the key determinants of their consumption decisions. More than this, all stakeholders in the product chain must become aware of their impacts on the psychological, social, cultural, physical and economic environments that predispose consumers to certain approaches when making consumption decisions.Conventional science has not provided the solutions for several reasons. Pure science and technology have developed according to different agendas and interests. Science has generally not been communicated in ways that allow consumers to make day-to-day decisions, fully informed of the implications. The barriers to genuine interdisciplinary research required to generate socially relevant solutions to the complex problems associated with traditional consumption patterns are only now being slowly overcome.Due to its interdisciplinary and integrated nature, consumer science provides a theoretical platform from which to formulate the core questions, articulated within a framework in which all stakeholders can contribute in synergistic ways to reverse the escalating rates of resource depletion, disparities of resources between groups, loss of species and pervasive pollution. There is no other discipline which offers an encompassing and integrated framework for the responsible communication of science necessary to describe the problems. Most importantly, consumer science has the capacity to research and interpret individual and social behaviour in ways which lead to innovative and effective controls to improve and sustain new standards for living on this vulnerable plant.

Notes: Huge strides in technological development combined with marketing strategies have led to dramatic changes in the way information is transmitted and communicated to the consumers, and subsequently used by the consumers. Information has become a dominant factor in determining why, where, what, and how consumers shop, process information, and make decisions. While marketing information has always been an important factor in consumer decision-making, its provision on demand and added convenience via the Internet has created a need to research the nature and amount of information that these technologies provide.Advertisements use different forms of persuasion to gain consumer attention, meet their economic and emotional shopping needs, to create a positive image of the product, brand, and the shopping medium, and influence consumers to purchase the product. Persuasion may be classified as functional congruity and self-congruity routes to persuasion (Johar & Sirgy, 1991). Fifty websites were studied for utilitarian and value-expressive forms of persuasion by product differentiation. The websites were classified as those selling tangible products only and those selling intangible products only, and those selling both tangible and intangible products. The paper will present results of the study along with a discussion and conclusion with implications on consumer well-being.

Notes: This study sets out to investigate claims made by manufacturers regarding the medical benefits of some functional foods. A range of functional foods has come onto the market, providing the potential for customers to tailor their food choices more closely to their needs, providing they understand how to incorporate the appropriate products into their diet.Claims regarding beneficial effects include: prevention or reduced risk of a symptom or disease such as osteoporosis with those foods enriched with calcium, enhancement of the digestive system by using probiotic yoghurt drinks or the treatment of disease by introducing plant sterols to reduce LDL cholesterol and thus the risk of heart disease.Data were collected from the nutritional information provided by the manufacturers and analysed comparatively by contrasting the functional food with their ‘everyday’ alternative, which do not make any special claims.Results     show     that     in     the     majority     of     cases     the     actual claims     made     by     the     manufacturer     were     not     substantiated and actually proved misleading and deceptive. It was considered that most products were over-rated with regard to price and function.The work concludes that whilst functional foods are now established on the market in many cases the claims are not substantiated and in some cases products have been withdrawn.

Notes: In order to assess the influence of social desirability in a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), 483 Portuguese university students (133 women and 350 men) were recruited to a two-part self-administered questionnaire: the first part included the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M-CSDS), physical activity data and self-reported height and weight; the second part, a validated semiquantitative FFQ. All subjects completed the first part of the questionnaire but only 40.2% returned the FFQ fairly completed (no statistically significant differences were found between the two groups, for any of the variables studied). Statistical analysis included reliability and test–retest of M-CSDS, correlation and general linear model (GLM).The Cronbach's alpha of M-CSDS was 0.64 and a test–retest correlation of 0.80 was obtained in a subsample of 35 subjects who completed the scale twice. We found a significantly positive correlation between social desirability and vitamin E for women; when adjusted for physical activity, body mass index and energy, social desirability was positively correlated with vitamin E, magnesium and fibre for women; and vitamin C, magnesium and fibre, for men. In GLM, social desirability produced a significant upward bias in dietary fibre, sugars, β-carotene, vitamins C, E, magnesium, potassium and iodine, for women; and in dietary fibre, pufa n-3, folate, vitamins C, E, magnesium, manganese and potassium, for men.In GLM, and for both genders, social desirability produced a significant upward bias in vegetable consumption. Moreover, social desirability produced for women a significant downward bias in white bread, onion and beer, and for men in biscuits.

Notes: The aim of consumer education has mainly been to teach and educate students to be and act as informed, rational and prudent consumers. This understanding of consumption as reasoned behaviour or action is inadequate in the late modern society, where consumerism is first and foremost characterised by globalisation, cultural change and the liberation of the individual.The results of a research study involving Danish pupils aged 12–19 present a picture where consumption is both connected to material and immaterial aspects of life. Consumption as such has a significant impact on and meaning for the single person: it becomes a way human beings communicate and interact. Consumption is part of children's and youngsters’ formation and socialisation, and     plays     a     role     in     the development     of     identity   and self-conception.Formal institutional consumer enlightenment and the education     of     students     in     a     class     stand     in     contradiction to informal consumer socialisation and the education of individuals. The educational project may be described as ‘educating for critical consumer awareness and action competence’. But consumer education is located in the field of tension between ‘consumership’ and ‘citizenship’. The pilot study seeks to address and integrate consumer socialization and consumer education in order to reflect on empowerment as part of education.

Notes: We make use of proteins in all aspects of our daily lives from soft-centred sweets to biological washing powders, yet we often misunderstand their fundamental role in our diet.This paper will draw on the findings of a three-phase research project into initial teacher trainee's perception of food and eating. Trainees demonstrated several similar misconceptions about the food they eat and in particular, the role of proteins. Examples included the role of proteins as an energy source, the relationship between proteins, amino acids and nitrogen and the role of DNA in synthesising proteins. These misconceptions were often translated into practice in the diet the trainees consumed and the messages they passed on, with confidence, to their pupils. In addition to the misconceptions, teaching approaches used by the trainees were highly mechanistic, with little reference being given to the relationship between food and the circumstances in which it is eaten.The relationship between dietary intake and exercise/circumstance is explored in secondary schools within food technology lessons. Often, however, it is too late to rectify the deeply entrenched misconceptions, attitudes and eating habits that school children have developed in their primary years. This paper makes the firm recommendation that we should reconsider the dietary messages we are sending out either directly or indirectly, to children. It emphasises the need to relate teaching and learning to everyday experiences. The paper concludes by suggesting possible strategies by which this may be achieved, with the protein featuring centre-stage.

Notes: The children's perception of dinner and dinner conversation with their parents was surveyed for sixth-grade students of elementary school in Japan. The data were analysed from the gender of children and attending parents. The children had dinner and dinner conversation more frequently with their mother than with their father. With father attendance, girls and boys had the same frequency of dinner and dinner conversation, although, with mother attendance, girls had dinner conversation more frequently than boys. Most of the children felt happy when they had dinner with their parents. However, a lower percentage of children felt happy when having dinner conversation with their parents, thought that they were important to their parents and thought dinner conversation was useful. More children felt happy during dinner and dinner conversation with their mother than with their father. However, there was no perceived difference in the usefulness of the conversation based on the father or the mother attending. The contents of conversation were greatly affected by which parent was attending. Subjects concerning children's manners were talked about more frequently in conversation with mothers than with fathers. Children had more frequent conversations with their father about ‘social issues’ and the ‘parents’ surroundings’ than with their mother. Girls had more frequent conversations on a wider variety of subjects with their mothers than boys. Girls could more easily share in their mothers’ knowledge or sense of values through dinner conversation. Boys were, for the most part, excluded from this process in conversation with either parent.

Notes: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the changes in total non-durables expenditures, prices and US demographics on demand for different clothing categories and shoes in a time-series framework. The basis for the demand model was the almost ideal demand system model. Demographic variables included in the model were age distribution of US population (median age and variance) and proportion of non-white population to the total US population. The results indicate that total non-durable expenditures and price variables are significantly related to consumers’ non-durable budget allocations for clothing categories and shoes. The results of the study also show that, among the demographic variables examined in the study, the median age and non-white population were significant variables affecting US aggregate non-durable expenditure allocation on men's and boy's clothing and shoes. All the demand elasticities with respect to total expenditures, own, cross-price and demographics were also estimated.

Notes: The technical approach assumes that risk assessments made by technical experts are relatively objective and value-free evaluations of the probability of negative consequences arising from use of a technology. Risk communication strategies associated with the technical approach focus upon educating an uninformed public about ‘actual’ risk. When consumer perceptions do not agree with technical assessments, consumers are deemed to be uniformed, irrational and sometimes dangerous to public health programmes. The social process approach assumes that technical assessments and applications of technology are influenced by political, social and economic interests. Consumer perceptions arise from social interaction with family and friends and depend strongly upon trust in societal institutions. Risk communication strategy emphasizes the importance of two-way communication that encourages well reasoned public discourse and trust in societal institutions. Findings from examining the cognitive, emotional, and social determinants of perceptions of food irradiation for 164 adults residing in the Mid-western USA indicate that the technical and social process approaches are complementary, but most of the variance in acceptance and perceived risk was explained by variables associated with the social process approach.

Notes: The purpose of this research was to determine consumer preferences for attributes of mandarins in Indonesia, in particular the preferences between domestic and imported mandarins. A focus group was conducted to identify some salient attributes of mandarins to Indonesian consumers. Intrinsic fruit attributes that are important to consumers include the appearance, taste, texture and overall quality of fruit segments and skin colour. Based on the results of the focus group, a survey questionnaire was developed and used in the interview process with the consumers. Evaluations were made on a seven-point intensity scale for two domestic lines of mandarins and one imported line. Respondents did not know the origins of the fruit when evaluating the intrinsic qualities of mandarins. The results from 113 respondents in the city of Surabaya showed that domestic mandarins were rated higher on all intrinsic attributes. Imported mandarins were rated the best only on skin colour as domestic fruit are normally green or only partially orange when ripe. The fact that imported mandarins continue to command premium prices in the Indonesian market is an interesting phenomenon. Two possible explanations are suggested. The prestige of supermarket retailers (where imported produce is mostly sold) may advantage imported fruits. Alternatively, consumers may hold persistently favourable perceptions of imported fruits. Whether this represents the influence of subjective psychological and status factors requires further investigation.

Notes: A study to compare milk yield, some physico-chemical properties and the chemical composition of milk from 23 indigenous Malawi goats and 10 Malawi local × Saanen crosses was carried out from January to March 2000. The results showed that the average milk yield from the crosses (102.0 ± 11.21 kg) was higher (P 〈 0.01) than that from the indigenous goats (37.1 ± 4.79 kg). However, the pH and specific gravity of both milk samples did not differ significantly from each other. The latter was attributed to the fat and total solids contents, which did not differ significantly in the two milk samples. Although the crude protein content was not significantly different, lactose and minerals, namely calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and chloride, were higher (P 〈 0.01) in milk from the crosses than in milk from the indigenous goat. The results have shown that the levels of nutrients in goat milk are high, and this is indicative of its potential to improve the diets of rural Malawians. Also, as smallholder farmers sell raw unheated milk to the processing plants, such milk should not be kept for〉 33 h in the cool dry season and for not〉 20 h in the hot dry season. Farmers can also adopt a charcoal cooler to save the milk for an even longer time than they can at room temperature. In this case, the raw milk can only be stored for not〉 20 h in the cool dry season and not〉 16 h in the hot dry season.

Notes: The Welsh Consumer Council launched its online interactive consumer network in July 2001 with the aim of linking up individual consumers across the country, stimulating discussion and debate on consumer issues and strengthening the voice of consumers in Wales.By October 2002, the network had recruited 300 members. The Council aims to reach a membership of 1000 by 2004. As well as individual consumers, the network has recruited 34 voluntary and community organisations that are committed to working with the Council to ensure that disadvantaged consumers without home Internet access can participate in the networkAt the heart of the network is a bilingual discussion area within the Council's one-stop consumer information website where members can post their views, comments and observations on any consumer issue that concerns them. Over the past year, lively discussions have developed on subjects as diverse as IT and electronic communications, customer call centres, recycling, money-making schemes and energy saving in the home. Early in 2002, the network began to run regular online surveys on topical consumer issues. The first survey asked about members’ experiences of returning goods and their knowledge of consumer rights. The second asked about members’ attitudes to recycling and reducing waste. Both surveys received a high level of response and provided valuable and up to date information on the experiences and views of consumers from all parts of Wales on these important issues.The continuing expansion of the consumer network is central to the Council work in helping to foster a consumer movement in Wales which is informed, responsible, demanding and assertive.

Notes: Ethical attitudes in relation to meat purchases were studied among urban and rural consumers in Scotland. All subjects perceived at least some ethical issues in relation to animal production systems, in particular, systems keeping animals in close confinement. Welfare friendly production systems were viewed as adding value to a food, but this value was not necessarily realisable to producers if purchases occurred only when foods were on special offer. Statements made by a particular individual were often contradictory, revealing ambivalence, unresolved value conflicts and a general lack of involvement in the nature of meat production. A number of barriers to the establishment of stable attitudes and behaviours in relation to the ethical treatment of food animals were identified, including a lack of transparency of competing production systems, problems with product availability and a general aversion to confront animal production. Whilst adequate labelling implies that labels are transparent and revealing all the essential features of a food, this is not the case with most farm assurance quality marks. Free-range chicken may be widely available as a complete carcass, but portions often are not. Attitude-inconsistent purchasing behaviours were thereby related to a lack of perceived control on the part of the purchaser in certain food choice scenarios.A key finding of the study is that individuals can hold two views on animal welfare. On the one hand, they may think as citizens influencing societal standards, and on the other, as consumers at the point of purchase. As citizens, they support the notion of animals being entitled to a good life, as meat consumers, they avoid the mental connection with the live animal. The paper explores this citizen/consumer relationship and strategies used by consumers to resolve any resultant value conflicts. Lessons for public and commercial policy are highlighted in the context of the Curry Report (2002), which advocates more effective market segmentation where markets are finely attuned to their customers, with the development of higher-level assurance schemes based on the existing ‘Little Red Tractor’ standard.

Notes: A community-based food hygiene initiative was piloted in the Toxteth–Granby area of Liverpool between December 2001 and March 2002. The project aimed to increase awareness and behaviour, related to poor food purchase, storage and handling practices,     by     actively     involving     members of the local community in home-based peer-facilitated training.Facilitators (23) were actively recruited from within the Toxteth–Granby community, and undertook a 4-day induction and training programme, which included successful completion of the CIEH Basic Food Hygiene course. Facilitators subsequently recruited and visited nearly 1000 households (992) within the Toxteth–Granby electoral ward, undertook an observation sheet, a detailed questionnaire, and spent approximately 1 hour delivering food hygiene training. Facilitators returned to all households within an 8-week period, and completed further observation sheets and questionnaires, for use in a comparative analysis. Facilitators and householders received incentives for their involvement in the project.Analysis of the data collected showed that general awareness of a range of food hygiene issues was high (such as hand washing before handling food), and most participants (73.8%) were able to recognise the main symptoms of food borne disease. As a result of the home-based hygiene training there were significant changes in knowledge, attitudes, and food handling practices, including the use of refrigerators, purchase of chilled and frozen foods, washing or peeling of fruits and vegetables, and the cooking of meat-based products.The project demonstrates that it is possible for communities to improve their food hygiene awareness and food handling behaviours through home-based peer-facilitated training programmes, with minimal input from professionals.

Notes: Sustainability is one of the most important issues facing the world today, and yet many consumers are confused about what the term means. The question of how to create and maintain a sustainable lifestyle is a complicated one. How can we live in a way that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? Would consumers understand the issue better if we used the phrase ‘responsible consumption’?The Welsh Consumer Council is working on a number of projects that look at different aspects of sustainable development. Wales has one of the only governments in the world with a statutory duty to promote sustainable development, and yet patterns of consumption are spiralling out of control. If everyone in the world lived like consumers in Wales, we would need nearly two extra planets to sustain ourselves. In the fields of energy, food, waste, water, and travel, we are using up far more resources than can be replenished.This paper will examine the progress of sustainable development in Wales in the wake of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August 2002. It will provide an overview of current consumption patterns and will identify some of the main factors inhibiting people in Wales from making more sustainable consumer choices. It will examine the popular image of sustainability, and will also identify what drivers are in place to encourage sustainable consumption.

Notes: A web-based survey was completed by 130 faculty and staff from a university located in the south-eastern United States. The purposes of this study were to investigate: (a) consumer characteristics related to online shopping; (b) benefits of online shopping as perceived by online shoppers; and (c) concerns about online shopping as perceived by non-online shoppers. Responses were analysed using SPSS for tests of chi-square. Findings suggest that the differences between online shoppers and non-online shoppers correspond with Rogers’1 categories of adopters, and that the educational needs of consumers also differ based on their previous experience with online shopping.

Notes: Citizen engagement (involvement of everyday citizens in policy decisions) is now seen as a major component of governance and policy making. Government transparency is a central tenet of citizen engagement. This study was sought by Health Canada in order to learn from citizen groups in other countries about the nature and degree of transparency related to food and health product review in their country. Health Canada anticipated learning from their experiences and perceptions so that it could increase the transparency of its own review and regulatory process. The opinions of a cross-section of stakeholders in the United States, the European Union (especially the UK), Australia and New Zealand, solicited via an e-mail survey, were analysed. The results clearly indicate that, in general, respondents do not feel that their food and health product review system is transparent. These opinions varied depending on which of the seven dimensions of transparency was being examined. Of the 64 recommendations tendered for increasing government transparency, the 32 suggestions for improving their own systems were quite different from the 32 made for Health Canada to consider. Collectively, they provide rich insights into the refinement and clarification of the food and health product review process.

Notes: The purpose of this study was to identify shopping orientation segments for US female consumers. The sample included 151 women, aged 18 years and over. This research examined differences in the segments relative to store patronage preferences (i.e. department, discount, specialty), attitude toward the environment of the store selected as first choice when shopping for a specific apparel item (i.e. a dress), and demographic characteristics. Cluster analysis revealed that four shopping segments described the female consumers. The segments were named Decisive Apparel Shopper, Confident Apparel Shopper, Highly Involved Apparel Shopper, and Extremely Involved Apparel Shopper, based on several shopping factors. Differences were found among the shopping orientation segments for store of first choice, attitude and household income. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Notes: Community expectations and research demonstrate that consumers play an important role in shaping services for women with breast cancer. Consumer contribution has been mandated recently in Victoria, Australia, to ensure the inclusion of consumer involvement in the planning and decision-making processes within health organizations. As part of the redevelopment of breast services in Victoria, Southern Health has been funded to plan local improvements to care co-ordination for women diagnosed with breast cancer in the southern metropolitan area of Melbourne. The establishment of effective consumer participation in breast services is an integral aspect of this project and a range of initiatives has been undertaken to achieve meaningful consumer involvement including the appointment of a consumer advisor; appointment of staff with extensive knowledge in women's health and community development to the project; establishment of a consumer reference group; and plans made to improve the receptivity of health service systems to consumer input. A preliminary evaluation of this ongoing project has indicated that a productive role for consumers in service practice review and policy and planning activities has been established and some change and engagement of staff has occurred. There is still work to be done to promote the involvement of a wider range of health professionals and to increase the level of trust between consumers and staff.

Notes: The chilled ready meal market on the island of Ireland is relatively young but is growing rapidly. This paper focused on a consumer questionnaire (n = 702), designed to examine consumer attitudes to and consumption of chilled ready meals, in both the north and south of Ireland. This formed part of a larger study, with the questionnaire findings contributing to an in-depth sensory study on a selected range of chilled ready meals. For a significant number of Irish consumers, consumption of these products is higher than on the UK mainland. For others, the products are purchased as a convenient alternative or a weekly treat. Respondents in urban locations were significantly more likely to consume chilled ready meals, as were men and younger, single respondents. Irish consumers are becoming more accustomed to ethnic cuisine although traditional meals remain popular. There is a clear need for developers to continue to enhance the sensory quality of these products, particularly as the primary barrier to consumption was a preference for home cooked food. However, they must also strive to maintain consumer interest in the sector, fulfil the desire for convenience and satisfy a more discerning palate.

Notes: Worldwide incidence of food-borne disease has increased in recent years and data suggest that inadequate food-handling behaviour in the domestic environment may be an important factor. As a consequence of this, research into aspects of consumer food safety has been undertaken, especially in the UK and USA. The overall aims of conducting such research have been to investigate aspects of consumer food safety behaviour and to utilize information in the development of effective food safety education initiatives. In the past 25 years, 87 consumer food safety studies have been undertaken using different research methodologies; 75% utilized survey techniques (questionnaires and interviews), 17% were based on direct observation, and 8% utilized focus groups. The advantages and disadvantages of the different research methods used are discussed. Similarly, different forms of reliability and validity have been considered in the context of each research method used. A comparison of results from consumer food safety studies has shown that use of different research designs and approaches has resulted in differences in the findings about consumer food safety behaviour. Survey responses have provided a more optimistic portrayal of consumer food safety behaviour than data obtained from focus groups and direct observation. Although consumers have demonstrated knowledge, positive attitudes and intentions to implement safe practices, substantially larger proportions of consumers have been observed to implement frequent malpractices. This suggests that observational data provide the most reliable information denoting consumers’ actual food safety behaviour and should be used preferentially with risk-based data for the design of communication strategies.

Notes: Derrick Bell is one of the US' most forthright and best-known commentators on race and ethics. Bell, now visiting professor at New York University's School of Law, attracted headlines when he became the first tenured African-American professor at Harvard Law School in 1971, only to leave in protest about the lack of African-American women on the faculty. He also resigned as dean of Oregon Law School after the school refused to hire a qualified Asian-American woman. His latest book, Ethical Ambition, applies his thinking on ethics to the world of business.