Sample records for changing consumer preferences
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Applying Aerodynamics Inspired Organizational Dynamic Fit Model Disaster Relief Endeavors
2010-12-01
gusts, and a dynamically stable organization returns quickly to its intended profit level, for instance, after deviation by changed consumer preferences . Hence...dynamic stability limits the level, for instance, by changed consumer preferences . Hence static stability limits initial performance... consumer preferences Maneuverability Quickness of a controlled system’s planned change from one trajectory to another Quickness of planned
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2011-01-01
changed consumer preferences . Hence, static stability limits initial performance deviation (e.g., maintaining desired airplane altitude, maintaining...by changed consumer preferences . Hence, dynamic stability limits the duration of performance deviation (e.g., maintaining desired airplane altitude...altitude from wind gust. Initial resistance to deviation in profit level from change in consumer preferences . Dynamic stability Quickness of a
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2002-01-01
obtain competitive advantage, agribusinesses must focus on price and value- added products that meet consumer preferences and desires. In today’s global...Driven Market Increasingly, consumers define the food market. Changes in consumer preferences have resulted in declining markets for certain...concentrated to better meet consumer preferences and the demand for food. 8 CHALLENGES While the United States is the world leader in agribusiness, it
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2002-11-21
services, markets, and consumers. A Consumer-Driven Market Increasingly, consumers define the food market. Changes in consumer preferences have resulted...ownership and production becomes more concentrated to better meet consumer preferences and the demand for food. 8 CHALLENGES While the United States is...vie for market share. In order to obtain competitive advantage, agribusinesses must focus on price and value- added products that meet consumer
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Department of Defense Food service Program Needs Contracting and Management Improvements.
1981-10-20
in the ration, changes in consumer preferences , and advances in food technology, we believe composition changes could occur which would reduce the...accurately predict consumer preferences . The computer model which the DoD has developed to implement the proposed changes to Title 10 U.S.C. is based upon more
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Pork Preference for Consumers in China, Japan and South Korea
Oh, S.-H.; See, M. T.
2012-01-01
Competition in global pork markets has increased as trade barriers have opened as a result of free trade agreements. Japanese prefer both loin and Boston butt, while Chinese prefer pork offal. Frozen pork has increased in terms of imports into China. Japanese consumers consider pork meat origin along with pork price when making purchase decisions. While the Chinese prefer a strong tasting pork product, South Korean consumers show very strong preferences to pork that is higher in fat. Therefore, South Korean consumers have a higher demand for pork belly and Boston butt. Consequently, the supply and demand of pork in Korea is hardly met, which means that importation of high fat parts is inevitable. In Korea there is lower preference toward low fat parts such as loin, picnic shoulder, and ham. During the economic depression in South Korea there have been observable changes in consumer preferences. There remains steep competition among the pork exporting countries in terms of gaining share in the international pork market. If specific consumer preferences would be considered carefully, there is the possibility to increase the amount of pork exported to these countries. PMID:25049488
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Stenström, Helena; Li, Xin; Hunt, Melvin C; Lundström, Kerstin
2014-02-01
The objective of this study was to determine which ageing treatment of beef was sensorially preferred by consumers and how their preference changed when given information about the ageing treatment used. Longissimus thoracis et lumborum from four young bulls were randomly assigned three ageing treatments: dry ageing, vacuum ageing and ageing in a highly moisture permeable bag (bag dry-ageing); each was aged at 1.6 °C for another 13 days. A preference test (171 consumers) with questions about overall liking, tenderness, and juiciness was performed. Thereafter, a deceptive test (61 consumers) was performed with two taste samples, the first taste sample with correct information about ageing treatment and the second with false information. In the preference test, consumers preferred dry ageing and bag dry-ageing to vacuum ageing. In the deceptive test, dry ageing was preferred, but the information given influenced preference. © 2013.
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Effects of species information and furniture price on consumer preferences for selected woods
Matthew Bumgardner; David Nicholls; Geoffrey Donovan
2007-01-01
Changing consumer tastes and species availability are influencing the design and manufacture of hardwood products. In addition, the globalization of wood product markets is exposing U.S. consumers to new species. This research evaluates consumer preferences for six domestic wood species--three from the eastern United States and three from the western United States. The...
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Geiger, C J; Wyse, B W; Parent, C R; Hansen, R G
1991-07-01
This study estimated the effects of changing multiple levels and combinations of nutrition information format, load, expression, and order on consumers' perceptions of label usefulness in purchase decisions using adaptive conjoint analysis. A shopping mall intercept survey, which was administered by a marketing research firm, assessed consumer preferences for 12 label alternatives produced on Campbell's soup cans to portray nutrition information realistically; 252 of 258 respondents completed the computer interactive interview. Consumers significantly preferred the bar graph format to the bar graph/nutrient density and traditional label formats. Consumers considered the bar graph/nutrient density format to be as useful as the traditional label format. There was a highly significant difference among the three levels of information load; the most information load was preferred regardless of nutrient importance. Consumers significantly preferred nutrition information stated in absolute numbers and percentages vs in absolute numbers only in traditional, or in percentages only expressions. There was a significant difference between consumer preferences for the two types of information order. The findings indicate that consumers clearly preferred the nutrition label that displayed all nutrient values using a bar graph format, offered the most information load, and expressed nutrient values using both absolute numbers and percentages. Consumers also preferred nutrition information rearranged in an order that grouped nutrients that should be consumed in adequate amounts on the top, calories in the middle, and nutrients that should be consumed in lesser amounts on the bottom of the label.
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Prey diversity effects on ecosystem functioning depend on consumer identity and prey composition.
Wohlgemuth, Daniel; Filip, Joanna; Hillebrand, Helmut; Moorthi, Stefanie D
2017-07-01
Consumer diversity effects on ecosystem functioning are highly context dependent and are determined by consumer specialization and other consumer and prey specific traits such as growth and grazing rates. Despite complex reciprocal interactions between consumers and their prey, few experimental studies have focused on prey diversity effects on consumer dynamics and trophic transfer. In microbial microcosms, we investigated effects of algal prey diversity (one, two and four species) on the production, evenness and grazing rates of 4 ciliate consumers, differing in grazing preferences and rates. Prey diversity increased prey biovolume in the absence of consumers and had opposing effects on different consumers, depending on their specialization and their preferred prey. Consumers profited from prey mixtures compared to monocultures of non-preferred prey, but responded negatively if preferred prey species were offered together with other species. Prey diversity increased consumer evenness by preventing dominance of specific consumers, demonstrating that the loss of prey species may have cascading effects resulting in reduced consumer diversity. Our study emphasizes that not only the degree of specialization but also the selectivity for certain prey species within the dietary niche may alter the consequences of changing prey diversity in a food web context.
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[Preferential habits of consumers of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Mexico].
Castellanos, J Z; Guzmán Maldonado, H; Jiménez, A; Mejía, C; Muñoz Ramos, J J; Acosta Gallegos, J A; Hoyos, G; López Salinas, E; González Eguiarte, D; Salinas Pérez, R; González Acuña, J; Muñoz Villalobos, J A; Fernández Hernández, P; Cáceres, B
1997-06-01
A detailed knowledge of the consumer's preferences for the different classes of common bean is useful to define objectives in bean breeding and quality projects in a given region or country and it is also a valuable tool to design marketing strategies. The present work consisted on the application of a survey to 1514 common bean consumers in 14 states of Mexico. To facilitate the interpretation of the results the country was divided in four regions: North East, North West, Center and South. In the North West region, 98% of the surveyed individuals eat the "Azufrado" types (sulphur yellow); in the North East, 70% of the consumers prefer "pinto" (beige with brown mottles) and "Bayo" (cream) types; in the South, 90% of the consumers prefer the "Black" type; and in the Center of the country, all commercial classes are consumed. Within a commercial class, specific characteristics are demanded. For instance, in the black type, small and opaque seeds are preferred while in the "Flor de mayo" (Beige with pink mottles) type medium to large seeds having bright seed coat are preferred. The main characteristics utilized by consumers to select a given bean type are cooking time and flavor. It was observed that preferential classes are well established among the consumers since 70% responded that they would not change the preferred class even if the alternative class was sold to a lower price. Consumers do not soak the beans, because it changes the flavor and the aspect of the cooked beans and they do not add salt at the beginning of the cooking process due to the same reason. Organoleptic studies conducted in the laboratory confirmed that soaking of beans or addition of salts in the soaking water or at the beginning of the cooking process negatively affected acceptability of cooked beans by panelists. In this paper aspects related to ways of processing and consuming common beans as well as marketing aspects are discussed.
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KLEPSUDRA: How the Rio Grande Treaty Increased Instability in Mexico
2008-05-09
Projected changes in trade patterns, population growth, consumer preferences and climate change will require a reassessment of American policies towards...land (which increased by 44%) shifted towards water intensive crops to accommodate market demands in the United States, Canada and shifts in consumer ... preferences in Mexico.20 NAFTA triggered explosive growth in fruit and produce exports to the United States and represents a sizeable “virtual” water
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Exploration of Action Figure Appeals Using Evaluation Grid Method and Quantification Theory Type I
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chang, Hua-Cheng; Chen, Hung-Yuan
2017-01-01
Contemporary toy is characterized by accelerating social, cultural and technological change. An attractive action figure can grab consumers' attention, influence the latent consuming preference and evoke their pleasure. However, traditional design of action figure is always dependent on designer's opinion, subjective experience and preference. It…
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Changes in seafood consumer preference patterns and associated changes in risk exposure.
Jensen, Helen H
2006-01-01
Consumers world-wide are driving changes in the agriculture and food sector. Rising consumer income, changing demographics and lifestyles, and shifting preferences due to new information about the links between diet and health all contribute to new demands for foods. At the same time, technological changes in production, processing and distribution, growth in large-scale retailing, and changes in product availability, as well as expansion of trade world wide, have contributed to a rapidly changing market for food products. Changes in seafood consumption reflect these changes. The changes in consumer consumption patterns, new technologies and trade in product offer both expanded markets as well as new challenges to consumer exposure to food-borne risks. The strict quality control requirements of retail brokers, growth of private labels, and development of value-protecting marketing channels have become increasingly important in food markets. This paper addresses major trends that affect seafood consumption and the market for seafood products and the implications of these changes for consumer risk exposure to food safety hazards. The current economic environment highlights similarities and differences between the developed and developing countries, as well as diversity worldwide in consumption of seafood. Within this context, four major trends affect consumer consumption of foods, including seafood and fish products today: rising income; changing demographics; changing markets for food; and an increasingly global market for food products. Changes in consumer risk exposure to food safety problems are addressed in the context of these trends.
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Hill, Sophie; Spink, Janet; Cadilhac, Dominique; Edwards, Adrian; Kaufman, Caroline; Rogers, Sophie; Ryan, Rebecca; Tonkin, Andrew
2010-03-04
Communicating risk is part of primary prevention of coronary heart disease and stroke, collectively referred to as cardiovascular disease (CVD). In Australia, health organisations have promoted an absolute risk approach, thereby raising the question of suitable standardised formats for risk communication. Sixteen formats of risk representation were prepared including statements, icons, graphical formats, alone or in combination, and with variable use of colours. All presented the same risk, i.e., the absolute risk for a 55 year old woman, 16% risk of CVD in five years. Preferences for a five or ten-year timeframe were explored. Australian GPs and consumers were recruited for participation in focus groups, with the data analysed thematically and preferred formats tallied. Three focus groups with health consumers and three with GPs were held, involving 19 consumers and 18 GPs. Consumers and GPs had similar views on which formats were more easily comprehended and which conveyed 16% risk as a high risk. A simple summation of preferences resulted in three graphical formats (thermometers, vertical bar chart) and one statement format as the top choices. The use of colour to distinguish risk (red, yellow, green) and comparative information (age, sex, smoking status) were important ingredients. Consumers found formats which combined information helpful, such as colour, effect of changing behaviour on risk, or comparison with a healthy older person. GPs preferred formats that helped them relate the information about risk of CVD to their patients, and could be used to motivate patients to change behaviour.Several formats were reported as confusing, such as a percentage risk with no contextual information, line graphs, and icons, particularly those with larger numbers. Whilst consumers and GPs shared preferences, the use of one format for all situations was not recommended. Overall, people across groups felt that risk expressed over five years was preferable to a ten-year risk, the latter being too remote. Consumers and GPs shared preferences for risk representation formats. Both groups liked the option to combine formats and tailor the risk information to reflect a specific individual's risk, to maximise understanding and provide a good basis for discussion.
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Lahne, Jacob; Trubek, Amy B
2014-07-01
This research is concerned with explaining consumer preference for Vermont artisan cheese and the relationship between that preference and sensory experience. Artisan cheesemaking is increasingly an important part of Vermont's dairy sector, and this tracks a growing trend of artisan agricultural practice in the United States. In popular discourse and academic research into products like artisan cheese, consumers explain their preferences in terms of intrinsic sensory and extrinsic - supposedly nonsensory - food qualities. In laboratory sensory studies, however, the relationship between preference, intrinsic, and extrinsic qualities changes or disappears. In contrast, this study explains this relationship by adopting a social theory of sensory perception as a practice in everyday life. This theory is applied to a series of focus group interviews with Vermont artisan cheese consumers about their everyday perceptions. Based on the data, a conceptual framework for the sensory perception of Vermont artisan cheese is suggested: consumers combine information about producer practice, social context, and the materiality of the product through an active, learned practice of sensory perception. Particular qualities that drive consumer sensory experience and preference are identified from the interview data. Many of these qualities are difficult to categorize as entirely intrinsic or extrinsic, highlighting the need for developing new approaches of sensory evaluation in order to fully capture everyday consumer sensory perception. Thus, this research demonstrates that social theory provides new and valuable insights into consumer sensory preference for Vermont artisan cheese. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Citrus fruit quality assessment; producer and consumer perspectives
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Consumption of citrus fruit and juices is popular with consumers worldwide and makes an important contribution to a healthy diet. Nevertheless, consumer preferences for citrus have undergone significant changes over the last twenty years and it is important to understand what consumers are looking ...
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Røssvoll, Elin; Sørheim, Oddvin; Heir, Even; Møretrø, Trond; Olsen, Nina Veflen; Langsrud, Solveig
2014-02-01
The aim of this study was to relate consumer preferences and preparation of hamburgers to color change, internal temperature and reduction of shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups O157 and the "Big Six" (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145) under two ground beef packaging scenarios: 75% O2 MAP and vacuum. 75% O2 MAP hamburgers cooked to 60 °C core temperature appeared done and showed less internal red color (lower a*) than corresponding vacuum hamburgers. Similar STEC reduction (<4 log10) was found for both hamburgers at core temperatures ≤ 66 °C. In a representative survey (N=1046) most consumers reported to judge hamburger doneness by the color and many preferred undercooked hamburgers. Premature browning of 75% O2 MAP hamburgers represents a risk of foodborne illness, when considering consumers' food handling practices. The risk is even greater if such ground beef is prepared by consumers who prefer undercooked hamburgers and judge doneness by color. © 2013.
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Consumer preference for mandarins: Implications of a sensory analysis
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
While consumption of mandarins has grown steadily in the United States, mandarin cultivars being produced and consumed have been changing. The goal of this research is to identify factors that impact consumer choice of mandarins. In this analysis, consumers were presented with multiple mandarins for...
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Bakke, Alyssa J; Shehan, Catherine V; Hayes, John E
2016-04-01
Fat is an important source of both pleasure and calories in the diet. Dairy products are a major source of fat in the diet, and understanding preferences for fat in fluid milk can potentially inform efforts to change fat consumption patterns or optimize consumer products. Here, patterns of preference for fat in milk were determined in the laboratory among 100 free living adults using rejection thresholds. Participants also answered questions relating to their health concerns, the type of fluid milk typically consumed, and their declared preference for type of milk (in terms of fat level). When revealed preferences in blind tasting were stratified by these measures, we observed striking differences in the preferred level of fat in milk. These data indicate a non-trivial number of consumers who prefer low-fat milk to full fat milk, a pattern that would have been overshadowed by the use of a group mean. While it is widely assumed and claimed that increasing fat content in fluid milk universally increases palatability, present data demonstrate this is not true for a segment of the population. These results underscore the need to go look beyond group means to understand individual differences in food preference.
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Bakke, Alyssa J.; Shehan, Catherine V.; Hayes, John E.
2015-01-01
Fat is an important source of both pleasure and calories in the diet. Dairy products are a major source of fat in the diet, and understanding preferences for fat in fluid milk can potentially inform efforts to change fat consumption patterns or optimize consumer products. Here, patterns of preference for fat in milk were determined in the laboratory among 100 free living adults using rejection thresholds. Participants also answered questions relating to their health concerns, the type of fluid milk typically consumed, and their declared preference for type of milk (in terms of fat level). When revealed preferences in blind tasting were stratified by these measures, we observed striking differences in the preferred level of fat in milk. These data indicate a non-trivial number of consumers who prefer low-fat milk to full fat milk, a pattern that would have been overshadowed by the use of a group mean. While it is widely assumed and claimed that increasing fat content in fluid milk universally increases palatability, present data demonstrate this is not true for a segment of the population. These results underscore the need to go look beyond group means to understand individual differences in food preference. PMID:26752811
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Hamrosi, Kim K; Raynor, David K; Aslani, Parisa
2014-04-23
Written medicine information can play an important role in educating consumers about their medicines. In Australia, standardised, comprehensive written information known as Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is available for all prescription medicines. CMI is reportedly under-utilised by general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists in consultations, despite consumer desire for medicine information. This study aimed to determine consumers', GPs' and community pharmacists' preferences for CMI provision and identify barriers and facilitators to its use. Structured questionnaires were developed and administered to a national sample of Australian consumers (phone survey), community pharmacists and GPs (postal surveys) surrounding utilisation of CMI. Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted. Half of consumers surveyed wanted to receive CMI for their prescription medicine, with spoken information preferable to written medicine information for many consumers and healthcare professionals. GPs and pharmacists remained a preferred source of medicine information for consumers, although package inserts were appealing to many among all three cohorts. Overall pharmacists were the preferred provider of CMI primarily due to their medicine expertise, accessibility and perceived availability. GPs preferred CMI dissemination through both the GP and pharmacist. Some consumers preferred GPs as the provider of medicines information because of their knowledge of the patients' medicines and/or medical history, regularity of seeing the patient and good relationship with the patient. Common barriers to CMI provision cited included: time constraints, CMI length and perceptions that patients are not interested in receiving CMI. Facilitators to enhance provision included: strategies to increase consumer awareness, longer consultation times and counseling appointments, and improvements to pharmacy software technology and workflow. Medicine information is important to consumers, whether as spoken, written or a combination of both. A tailored approach is needed to ascertain individual patient preference for delivery and scope of medicine information desired so that appropriate information is provided. The barriers of time and perceived attitudes of healthcare practitioners present challenges which may be overcome through changes to workplace practices, adoption of identified facilitators, and education about the positive benefits of CMI as a tool to engage and empower patients.
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Kim, Min-A; Sim, Hye-Min; Lee, Hye-Seong
2016-11-01
As reformulations and processing changes are increasingly needed in the food industry to produce healthier, more sustainable, and cost effective products while maintaining superior quality, reliable measurements of consumers' sensory perception and discrimination are becoming more critical. Consumer discrimination methods using a preferred-reference duo-trio test design have been shown to be effective in improving the discrimination performance by customizing sample presentation sequences. However, this design can add complexity to the discrimination task for some consumers, resulting in more errors in sensory discrimination. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of different types of test instructions using the preference-reference duo-trio test design where a paired-preference test is followed by 6 repeated preferred-reference duo-trio tests, in comparison to the analytical method using the balanced-reference duo-trio. Analyses of d' estimates (product-related measure) and probabilistic sensory discriminators in momentary numbers of subjects showing statistical significance (subject-related measure) revealed that only preferred-reference duo-trio test using affective reference-framing, either by providing no information about the reference or information on a previously preferred sample, improved the sensory discrimination more than the analytical method. No decrease in discrimination performance was observed with any type of instruction, confirming that consumers could handle the test methods. These results suggest that when repeated tests are feasible, using the affective discrimination method would be operationally more efficient as well as ecologically more reliable for measuring consumers' sensory discrimination ability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Kaambwa, Billingsley; Lancsar, Emily; McCaffrey, Nicola; Chen, Gang; Gill, Liz; Cameron, Ian D; Crotty, Maria; Ratcliffe, Julie
2015-09-01
Consumer directed care (CDC) is currently being embraced internationally as a means to promote autonomy and choice for consumers (people aged 65 and over) receiving community aged care services (CACSs). CDC involves giving CACS clients (consumers and informal carers of consumers) control over how CACSs are administered. However, CDC models have largely developed in the absence of evidence on clients' views and preferences. We explored CACS clients' preferences for a variety of CDC attributes and identified factors that may influence these preferences and potentially inform improved design of future CDC models. Study participants were clients of CACSs delivered by five Australian providers. Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) approach undertaken in a group setting between June and December 2013, we investigated the relative importance to CACS consumers and informal (family) carers of gradations relating to six salient features of CDC (choice of service provider(s), budget management, saving unused/unspent funds, choice of support/care worker(s), support-worker flexibility and level of contact with service coordinator). The DCE data were analysed using conditional, mixed and generalised logit regression models, accounting for preference and scale heterogeneity. Mean ages for 117 study participants were 80 years (87 consumers) and 74 years (30 informal carers). All participants preferred a CDC approach that allowed them to: save unused funds from a CACS package for future use; have support workers that were flexible in terms of changing activities within their CACS care plan and; choose the support workers that provide their day-to-day CACSs. The CDC attributes found to be important to both consumers and informal carers receiving CACSs will inform the design of future CDC models of service delivery. The DCE approach used in this study has the potential for wide applicability and facilitates the assessment of preferences for elements of potential future aged care service delivery not yet available in policy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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2014-01-01
Background Written medicine information can play an important role in educating consumers about their medicines. In Australia, standardised, comprehensive written information known as Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is available for all prescription medicines. CMI is reportedly under-utilised by general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists in consultations, despite consumer desire for medicine information. This study aimed to determine consumers’, GPs’ and community pharmacists’ preferences for CMI provision and identify barriers and facilitators to its use. Method Structured questionnaires were developed and administered to a national sample of Australian consumers (phone survey), community pharmacists and GPs (postal surveys) surrounding utilisation of CMI. Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted. Results Half of consumers surveyed wanted to receive CMI for their prescription medicine, with spoken information preferable to written medicine information for many consumers and healthcare professionals. GPs and pharmacists remained a preferred source of medicine information for consumers, although package inserts were appealing to many among all three cohorts. Overall pharmacists were the preferred provider of CMI primarily due to their medicine expertise, accessibility and perceived availability. GPs preferred CMI dissemination through both the GP and pharmacist. Some consumers preferred GPs as the provider of medicines information because of their knowledge of the patients’ medicines and/or medical history, regularity of seeing the patient and good relationship with the patient. Common barriers to CMI provision cited included: time constraints, CMI length and perceptions that patients are not interested in receiving CMI. Facilitators to enhance provision included: strategies to increase consumer awareness, longer consultation times and counseling appointments, and improvements to pharmacy software technology and workflow. Conclusion Medicine information is important to consumers, whether as spoken, written or a combination of both. A tailored approach is needed to ascertain individual patient preference for delivery and scope of medicine information desired so that appropriate information is provided. The barriers of time and perceived attitudes of healthcare practitioners present challenges which may be overcome through changes to workplace practices, adoption of identified facilitators, and education about the positive benefits of CMI as a tool to engage and empower patients. PMID:24754890
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Effect of meat appearance on consumer preferences for pork chops in Greece and Cyprus.
Fortomaris, P; Arsenos, G; Georgiadis, M; Banos, G; Stamataris, C; Zygoyiannis, D
2006-04-01
The effect of meat appearance on consumers' preferences for pork chops was assessed using images manipulated for appearance characteristics. Data were collected from 412 consumers in Greece and Cyprus. Consumers were asked for their preference for pork chops from a book of computer-modified images and then completed a questionnaire of socio-demographic information, including eating and purchasing behaviour. Consumers under the age of 35 years showed preferences for dark red, lean pork, while consumers aged 35 years and older preferred either dark or light red pork. Gender appeared to be an important selection factor as men showed an increased preference for dark red pork while women preferred the light red. Consumers who stated that they like pork for its taste (91%) preferred either dark or light red pork chops while those who like pork for reasons other than taste preferred dark red, lean pork. Urban consumers preferred light red, fatty pork chops while the rural consumers preferred the dark red pork chops.
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Mere exposure: Preference change for novel drinks reflected in human ventral tegmental area
Ballard, Ian C.; Hennigan, Kelly; McClure, Samuel M.
2018-01-01
Preferences for novel stimuli tend to develop slowly over many exposures. Psychological accounts of this effect suggest that it depends on changes in the brain’s valuation system. Subjects consumed a novel fluid daily for 10 days and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging on the first and last days. We hypothesized that changes in activation in areas associated with the dopamine system would accompany changes in preference. The change in activation in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) between sessions scaled with preference change. Further, a network comprising the sensory thalamus, posterior insula, and ventrolateral striatum showed differential connectivity with the VTA that correlated with individual changes in preference. Our results suggest that the VTA is centrally involved in both assigning value to sensory stimuli and influencing downstream regions in order to translate these value signals into subjective preference. These results have important implications for models of dopaminergic function and behavioral addiction. PMID:28129051
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Mere Exposure: Preference Change for Novel Drinks Reflected in Human Ventral Tegmental Area.
Ballard, Ian C; Hennigan, Kelly; McClure, Samuel M
2017-05-01
Preferences for novel stimuli tend to develop slowly over many exposures. Psychological accounts of this effect suggest that it depends on changes in the brain's valuation system. Participants consumed a novel fluid daily for 10 days and underwent fMRI on the first and last days. We hypothesized that changes in activation in areas associated with the dopamine system would accompany changes in preference. The change in activation in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) between sessions scaled with preference change. Furthermore, a network comprising the sensory thalamus, posterior insula, and ventrolateral striatum showed differential connectivity with the VTA that correlated with individual changes in preference. Our results suggest that the VTA is centrally involved in both assigning value to sensory stimuli and influencing downstream regions to translate these value signals into subjective preference. These results have important implications for models of dopaminergic function and behavioral addiction.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Owusu-Sekyere, Enoch; Jordaan, Henry
2017-04-01
In recent years, governments, policy-makers, and managers of private food companies and agribusinesses are interested in understanding how consumers will react to environmentally sustainable attributes and information on food product labels. This study examines consumers' stated preferences for water and carbon footprints labelled food products from the viewpoint of black and white South Africans. Discrete choice experimental data was collected from black and white consumers to possibly assess cross-ethnic variations in preferences for environmentally sustainable products. Two widely purchased livestock products were chosen for the choice experiment. We found that consumers' preferences for environmentally sustainable attributes vary significantly between black and white South Africans. Our findings revealed that there are profound heterogeneous consumer segments within black and white respondents. The heterogeneity within both sub-samples is better explained at the segment level, rather than at individual level. For both product categories, the findings revealed that there are more distinct consumer segments among black respondents, relative to white respondents. The black respondents consist of water sustainability advocates, carbon reduction advocates, keen environmentalist and environmental neutrals. The white respondents entail keen environmentalist, environmental cynics, and environmental neutrals. The inherent significant variations in preferences for environmentally sustainable attributes across segments and racial groups would help in formulating feasible, and segment-specific environmental sustainability policies and marketing strategies aimed at changing consumers' attitude towards environmentally sustainable products. Demographic targeting of consumer segments, sustainability awareness and segment-specific educational campaigns meant to enhance subjective and objective knowledge on environmental sustainability are important tools for food companies and agribusinesses to promote and market environmentally sustainable food products.
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McCarthy, K S; Lopetcharat, K; Drake, M A
2017-03-01
Milk consumption in the United States has been in decline since the 1960s. Milk fat plays a critical role in sensory properties of fluid milk. The first objective of this study was to determine the change in percent milk fat needed to produce a detectable or just noticeable difference (JND) to consumers in skim, 1%, 2%, and whole milks. The second objective was to evaluate how milk fat affected consumer preferences for fluid milk. Threshold tests were conducted to determine the JND for each reference milk (skim, 1%, 2%, and whole milk), with a minimum of 60 consumers for each JND. The JND was determined for milks by visual appearance without tasting and tasting without visual cues. Serving temperature effect (4, 8, or 15°C) on tasting JND values were also investigated. The established JND values were then used to conduct ascending forced-choice preference tests with milks. Consumers were assigned to 3 groups based on self-reported milk consumption: skim milk drinkers (n = 59), low-fat milk drinkers (consumed 1% or 2% milk, n = 64), and whole milk drinkers (n = 49). Follow-up interviews were conducted where consumers were asked to taste and explain their preference between milks that showed the most polarization within each consumer segment. Descriptive sensory analysis was performed on the milks used in the follow-up interviews to quantify sensory differences. Visual-only JND were lower than tasting-only JND values. Preference testing revealed 3 distinct preference curves among the consumer segments. Skim milk drinkers preferred skim milk and up to 2% milk fat, but disliked milk higher in fat due to it being "too thick," "too heavy," "flavor and texture like cream," "too fatty," and "looks like half and half." Low-fat milk drinkers preferred 2% milk up to 3.25% (whole milk), but then disliked higher milk fat content. Whole milk drinkers preferred whichever milk was higher in milk fat regardless of how high the fat content was, distinct from skim and low-fat milk drinkers. The findings of this study provide insights on sensory characteristics of milk fat in fluid milk and consumer sensory perception of these properties. These results also provide insights on how the industry might adjust milk fat references for adjusting milk sensory properties to increase milk preference and remain within the standards of identity of milk. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Alayli-Goebbels, Adrienne F G; Dellaert, Benedict G C; Knox, Stephanie A; Ament, André J H A; Lakerveld, Jeroen; Bot, Sandra D M; Nijpels, G; Severens, J L
2013-01-01
Health promotion (HP) interventions have outcomes that go beyond health. Such broader nonhealth outcomes are usually neglected in economic evaluation studies. To allow for their consideration, insights are needed into the types of nonhealth outcomes that HP interventions produce and their relative importance compared with health outcomes. This study explored consumer preferences for health and nonhealth outcomes of HP in the context of lifestyle behavior change. A discrete choice experiment was conducted among participants in a lifestyle intervention (n = 132) and controls (n = 141). Respondents made 16 binary choices between situations that can be experienced after lifestyle behavior change. The situations were described by 10 attributes: future health state value, start point of future health state, life expectancy, clothing size above ideal, days with sufficient relaxation, endurance, experienced control over lifestyle choices, lifestyle improvement of partner and/or children, monetary cost per month, and time cost per week. With the exception of "time cost per week" and "start point of future health state," all attributes significantly determined consumer choices. Thus, both health and nonhealth outcomes affected consumer choice. Marginal rates of substitution between the price attribute and the other attributes revealed that the attributes "endurance," "days with sufficient relaxation," and "future health state value" had the greatest impact on consumer choices. The "life expectancy" attribute had a relatively low impact and for increases of less than 3 years, respondents were not willing to trade. Health outcomes and nonhealth outcomes of lifestyle behavior change were both important to consumers in this study. Decision makers should respond to consumer preferences and consider nonhealth outcomes when deciding about HP interventions. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Transportation-Related Consumer Preference Data | Transportation Research |
NREL Transportation-Related Consumer Preference Data Transportation-Related Consumer Preference Data Photo of reporters test driving Toyota prototype electric and fuel cell vehicles. Consumer consumer preference data related to alternative fuel and advanced vehicles and their effects on energy
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Bindon, Keren; Holt, Helen; Williamson, Patricia O; Varela, Cristian; Herderich, Markus; Francis, I Leigh
2014-07-01
A series of five Vitis vinifera L. cv Cabernet Sauvignon wines were produced from sequentially-harvested grape parcels, with alcohol concentrations between 12% v/v and 15.5% v/v. A multidisciplinary approach, combining sensory analysis, consumer testing and detailed chemical analysis was used to better define the relationship between grape maturity, wine composition and sensory quality. The sensory attribute ratings for dark fruit, hotness and viscosity increased in wines produced from riper grapes, while the ratings for the attributes red fruit and fresh green decreased. Consumer testing of the wines revealed that the lowest-alcohol wines (12% v/v) were the least preferred and wines with ethanol concentration between 13% v/v and 15.5% v/v were equally liked by consumers. Partial least squares regression identified that many sensory attributes were strongly associated with the compositional data, providing evidence of wine chemical components which are important to wine sensory properties and consumer preferences, and which change as the grapes used for winemaking ripen. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Risius, Antje; Hamm, Ulrich
2017-02-01
This paper evaluates communication treatments and price differentiation for beef raised organically and in conventional animal husbandry production systems. Data were obtained from a choice experiment, assessing animal husbandry, organic or conventional production and price, with 676 consumers in six grocery stores in three different German cities. When choosing beef, participants exhibited a high preference for enhanced husbandry conditions and organic production. Without further information about the husbandry conditions, 'organic' and 'pasture-based' production labelling was most likely to influence buying decisions. When informed about the conditions of 'extensive suckler cow husbandry', consumers were most likely to be motivated by the label 'extensive suckler cow husbandry', followed by 'organic production'; accordingly, willingness to pay for a beef steak was highest for 'extensive suckler cow husbandry'. Informing consumers about suckler cow husbandry results in a change of their preferences from 'organic' to 'extensive suckler cow husbandry'. This holds great potential for extensively produced beef. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Does Consuming Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners Change Taste Preferences?
Bartolotto, Carole
2015-01-01
Americans consume a lot of sugar, primarily from sweeteners that are added to processed foods and beverages. Data from the US Department of Agriculture reveals that in 2013, Americans consumed 22.3 teaspoons of added caloric sweeteners a day, which is significantly more than the American Heart Association’s recommendation. Artificial and alternative sweeteners have also been added to a plethora of foods. These sweeteners range from about 180 times sweeter to as much as 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. Consumption of both sugar and artificial sweeteners may be changing our palates or taste preferences over time, increasing our desire for sweet foods. Unfortunately, the data on this are lacking. In the summer of 2014, a group of 20 people from Kaiser Permanente facilities throughout California agreed to cut out all added sugars and artificial sweeteners for 2 weeks and then complete a survey to determine whether their taste preferences had changed. After the 2-week challenge, 95% of participants (18 out of 19 respondents) found that sweet foods and drinks tasted sweeter or too sweet, 75% (15 out of 20 respondents) found that other foods tasted sweeter, and 95% (19 out of 20 respondents) said moving forward they would use less or even no sugar. Additionally, 86.6% of participants (13 out of 15 respondents) stopped craving sugar after 6 days. Although this was a small survey, the results suggest that using a 2-week sugar challenge can help to reset taste preferences and make consuming less or no sugar easier. Physicians should consider recommending a sugar and artificial sweetener challenge to all their patients, especially those with obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. PMID:26176574
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Housing for persons with serious mental illness: consumer and service provider preferences.
Piat, Myra; Lesage, Alain; Boyer, Richard; Dorvil, Henri; Couture, Audrey; Grenier, Guy; Bloom, David
2008-09-01
This study evaluated the housing preferences of a representative sample of consumers with serious mental illness living in seven types of housing in Montreal, Quebec, and compared these with their case managers' housing preferences for them. An inventory of all housing for this population was developed in consultation with administrators of three psychiatric hospitals and the regional health board. The inventory included seven categories: housing in a hospital setting, hostels, group homes, foster homes, supervised apartments, social housing (low-income housing or cooperative), and private rooming homes. A stratified random sample of 48 consumers was selected in each category. In all, 315 consumers and their case managers completed the Consumer Housing Preference Survey. Most consumers preferred living in housing that offered them more autonomy than the housing in which they were currently living. Case managers preferred housing that offered some structure, such as supervised apartments. Forty-four percent of consumers preferred to live in their own apartment. More than a third of consumers preferred to live in their current housing. When evaluating housing preferences, it is important to elicit the viewpoints of mental health consumers as well as their case managers. Special attention should be given to the type of housing where consumers currently live. A variety of housing, not just autonomous housing, is needed to meet the specific housing preferences of individuals with serious mental illness.
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Dess, Nancy K; Chapman, Clinton D; Cousins, Laura A; Monroe, Derek C; Nguyen, Phuong
2013-01-17
Rats' voluntary ethanol intake varies with dispositional factors and energy status. The joint influences of these were of interest here. We previously reported that rats selectively bred for high voluntary saccharin intake (HiS) consume more ethanol and express more robust conditioning of preference for flavors paired with voluntarily consumed ethanol than do low-saccharin consuming counterparts (LoS). Three new experiments examined the effect of refeeding after an episode of food restriction on ethanol intake and on preference for ethanol-paired flavors in HiS and LoS rats. A 48-h episode of food restriction with wheel running reduced intake of and preference for 4% ethanol (Exp. 1a) and preference for an ethanol-paired flavor (Exp. 1b) during refeeding. Food restriction alone was sufficient to reduce the flavor preference (Exp. 2). Adding fat to the refeeding diet or extending the food restriction period exacerbated the effect (Exp. 3), yielding a frank aversion to ethanol-paired flavors in LoS rats. These studies indicate that rebound from negative energy balance shifts responses to ethanol-associated cues from preference toward aversion. Analyses of bodyweight changes and caloric intake during refeeding support this conclusion and further suggest that lower metabolic efficiency may be a marker for enhanced preference mutability. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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[Changes in emotional response to visual stimuli with sexual content in drug abusers].
Aguilar de Arcos, Francisco; Verdejo Garcia, Antonio; Lopez Jimenez, Angeles; Montañez Pareja, Matilde; Gomez Juarez, Encarnacion; Arraez Sanchez, Francisco; Perez Garcia, Miguel
2008-01-01
In a phenomenon as complex as drug dependence there is no doubt that affective and emotional aspects are involved. However, there has been little research to date on these emotional aspects, especially in specific relation to everyday affective stimuli, unrelated to drug use. In this work we investigate whether the consumption of narcotic substances causes changes in the emotional response to powerful unconditional natural stimuli, such as those of a sexual nature. To this end, I.A.P.S. images with explicit erotic content were shown to 84 drug-dependent males, in separate groups according to preferred substance. These groups' results were compared with each other and with the values obtained by non-consumers. The results indicate that drug abusers respond differently to visual stimuli with erotic content compared to non-consumers, and that there are also differences in response among consumers according to preferred substance.
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The Cost and Value of Marketing Analysis. AIR Forum Paper 1978.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Thompson, Fred
Product-market planning is an inherently difficult practice. It aims at a match between consumer preference and institutional behavior. Unfortunately, consumer reactions to changes in institutional behavior are often highly uncertain. This paper assumes that institutional planners should neither ignore uncertainty nor seek to avoid all actions…
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Sasaki, Keisuke; Ooi, Motoki; Nagura, Naoto; Motoyama, Michiyo; Narita, Takumi; Oe, Mika; Nakajima, Ikuyo; Hagi, Tatsuro; Ojima, Koichi; Kobayashi, Miho; Nomura, Masaru; Muroya, Susumu; Hayashi, Takeshi; Akama, Kyoko; Fujikawa, Akira; Hokiyama, Hironao; Kobayashi, Kuniyuki; Nishimura, Takanori
2017-08-01
Over the past few decades, beef producers in Japan have improved marbling in their beef products. It was recently reported that marbling is not well correlated with palatability as rated by Japanese consumers. This study sought to identify the consumer segments in Japan that prefer sensory characteristics of beef other than high marbling. Three Wagyu beef, one Holstein beef and two lean imported beef longissimus samples were subjected to a descriptive sensory test, physicochemical analysis and a consumer (n = 307) preference test. According to consumer classification and external preference mapping, four consumer segments were identified as 'gradual high-fat likers', 'moderate-fat and distinctive taste likers', 'Wagyu likers' and 'distinctive texture likers'. Although the major trend of Japanese consumers' beef preference was 'marbling liking', 16.9% of the consumers preferred beef samples that had moderate marbling and distinctive taste. The consumers' attitudes expressed in a questionnaire survey were in good agreement with the preference for marbling among the 'moderate-fat and distinctive taste likers'. These results indicate that moderately marbled beef is a potent category in the Japanese beef market. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Grazer responses to variable macroalgal resource conditions facilitate habitat structuring
Perissinotto, Renzo; Bird, Matthew S.; Pelletier, Noémie
2018-01-01
Consumer responses to altered resource conditions can vary depending on dietary preference, resource characteristics and secondary resource features such as shelter. These can have cascading effects, especially if the consumed resource impacts on overall ecological functioning. In this study, we assessed the dietary composition of grazer communities following seasonal changes in the characteristics of their staple food-source (macroalgae). This was conducted in the living stromatolite pools growing along the coast of South Africa. Stable isotope mixing models suggested that following macroalgal bleaching in summer, metazoan consumers shifted their diet from predominantly macroalgae to a generalist composition. This has important implications for the integrity of the stromatolite matrix and its layered deposition. Where previously in winter stromatolite microalgae comprised a minor component of metazoan consumer diets, in summer, following a change in the resource conditions of macroalgae, microalgae featured more prominently in grazer diets. This seasonal grazing pressure on stromatolite-related resources probably promotes the pattern of annual layering observed in the stromatolite accretion. It also demonstrates a mechanism whereby grazer dietary shifts following a change in their preferred food resource can affect the ecosystem structure of their environment, specifically the stromatolite layering process which responds to microalgal growth or grazing conditions. PMID:29410845
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Individuality in nutritional preferences: a multi-level approach in field crickets.
Han, Chang S; Jäger, Heidi Y; Dingemanse, Niels J
2016-06-30
Selection may favour individuals of the same population to differ consistently in nutritional preference, for example, because optimal diets covary with morphology or personality. We provided Southern field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) with two synthetic food sources (carbohydrates and proteins) and quantified repeatedly how much of each macronutrient was consumed by each individual. We then quantified (i) whether individuals were repeatable in carbohydrate and protein intake rate, (ii) whether an individual's average daily intake of carbohydrates was correlated with its average daily intake of protein, and (iii) whether short-term changes in intake of carbohydrates coincided with changes in intake of protein within individuals. Intake rates were individually repeatable for both macronutrients. However, individuals differed in their relative daily intake of carbohydrates versus proteins (i.e., 'nutritional preference'). By contrast, total consumption varied plastically as a function of body weight within individuals. Body weight-but not personality (i.e., aggression, exploration behaviour)-positively predicted nutritional preference at the individual level as large crickets repeatedly consumed a higher carbohydrate to protein ratio compared to small ones. Our finding of level-specific associations between the consumption of distinct nutritional components demonstrates the merit of applying multivariate and multi-level viewpoints to the study of nutritional preference.
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Causse, Mathilde; Friguet, Chloé; Coiret, Clément; Lépicier, Mélanie; Navez, Brigitte; Lee, Monica; Holthuysen, Nancy; Sinesio, Fiorella; Moneta, Elisabetta; Grandillo, Silvana
2010-01-01
Although tomato flavor has not been a major goal for breeders, nowadays it becomes important as it is a subject of consumer complaint. A better knowledge of tomato consumer preferences, at the European level, should provide the basis for improvement of fruit quality and for market segmentation. In the framework of a large European project, 806 consumers from 3 countries, The Netherlands, France, and Italy, were presented with a set of 16 varieties representing the diversity of fresh tomato offer in order to evaluate their preferences. In parallel, sensory profiles were constructed by expert panels in each country. Preference maps were then constructed in each country revealing the structure of consumer preferences and allowing identification of the most important characteristics. Then a global analysis revealed that preferences were quite homogeneous across countries. This study identified the overall flavor and firmness as the most important traits for improving tomato fruit quality. It showed that consumer preferences from different European countries, with different cultures and food practices, are segmented following similar patterns when projected onto a common referential plan. Moreover, the results clearly showed that diversification of taste and texture is required to satisfy all consumers' expectations as some consumers preferred firm tomatoes, while others preferred melting ones and were more or less demanding in terms of sweetness and flavor intensity. Detailed comparisons also showed the importance of the fruit appearance in consumer preference. © 2010 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Consumer preferences for fresh citrus: Impacts of demographic and behavioral characteristics
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
From 2000 to 2006, per capita consumption of fresh citrus fruit increased by 11.0%, but the relative shares of types of citrus consumed changed. Per capita consumption of the historically dominant citrus fruit, fresh oranges, experienced a continuous decline from 12.4 pounds to 7.4 pounds from 1990 ...
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Dragone, Davide; Ziebarth, Nicolas R
2017-01-01
This paper develops a dynamic model to illustrate how diet and body weight change when novel food products become available to consumers. We propose a microfounded test to empirically discriminate between habit and taste formation in intertemporal preferences. Moreover, we show that 'novelty consumption' and endogenous preferences can explain the persistent correlation between economic development and obesity. By empirically studying the German reunification, we find that East Germans consumed more novel Western food and gained more weight than West Germans when a larger variety of food products became readily accessible after the fall of the Wall. The observed consumption patterns suggest that food consumption features habit formation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jing, Jun; Xia, Lingdan; Li, Kai
2017-06-01
The aim of this work was to understand the development of defoliating insects and their preferences for host plants under varying temperatures in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China. We measured the main developmental parameters of three typical defoliating insects (i.e., Ourapteryx ebuleata szechuana, Biston marginata, and Euproctis angulata) and their preferences for five host plants at temperatures from 16°C to 31°C at 3°C intervals in the Tiantong National Forest Research station in eastern China. The results showed the following. 1) An appropriate rise in temperature increases the survival rate with an increase in the number of offspring. The developmental durations for these three insects were shortened, and pupal weight increased with an increase in temperature. 2) A shift in the preference for host plants for these three insects was observedat elevated temperatures. They all preferred to feed on Schima superba and Castanopsis sclerophylla at elevated temperatures, showing an opposite response to the other three plants. The daily leaf consumption of the three insects was positively correlated with their feeding preference, with more leaves being consumed from the plants they preferred. 3) For O. ebuleata szechuana larvae, daily leaf consumption initially increased and then decreased with increasing temperatures. In contrast, Biston marginata and Euproctis angulata larvae consumed more leaves at elevated temperatures. The feeding preferences of O. ebuleata szechuana and Biston marginata were more sensitive to changing temperatures than that of Euproctis angulata laevae. We concluded that increased numbers of offspring and generations, pupal weights, and a shift in preference to two plants for these three defoliating insects might lead to severe damage to these two plants which would enhance the fragmentation and decrease the stability of the forest communities under changing temperatures. Meanwhile, the variations in the responses of defoliating insects to the changing temperatures should be taken into consideration for the pest management of forests to adapt to the changing climate.
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Identification of Drivers of Liking for Bar-Type Snacks Based on Individual Consumer Preference.
Kim, Mina K; Greve, Patrick; Lee, Youngseung
2016-01-01
Understanding consumer hedonic responses on food products are of greatest interests in global food industry. A global partial least square regression (GPLSR) had been well accepted method for understanding consumer preferences. Recently, individual partial least square regression (IPLSR) was accepted as an alternative method of predicting consumer preferences on given food product, because it utilizes the individual differences on product acceptability. To improve the understanding of what constitutes bar-type snack preference, the relationship between sensory attributes and consumer overall liking for 12 bar-type snacks was determined. Sensory attributes that drive consumer product likings were analyzed using averaged-consumer data by GPLSR. To facilitate the interpretation of individual consumer liking, a dummy matrix for the significant weighted regression coefficients of each consumer derived from IPLSR was created. From the application of GPLSR and IPLSR, current study revealed that chocolate and cereal-flavored bars were preferred over fruit-flavored bars. Attributes connected to chocolate flavor positively influenced consumer overall likings on the global and individual consumer levels. Textural attributes affected liking only on the individual level. To fully capture the importance of sensory attributes on consumer preference, the use of GPLSR in conjunction with IPLSR is recommended. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Identifying the ideal profile of French yogurts for different clusters of consumers.
Masson, M; Saint-Eve, A; Delarue, J; Blumenthal, D
2016-05-01
Identifying the sensory properties that affect consumer preferences for food products is an important feature of product development. Different methods, such as external preference mapping or partial least squares regression, are used to establish relationships between sensory data and consumer preferences and to identify sensory attributes that drive consumer preferences, by highlighting optimum products. Plain French yogurts were evaluated by a sensory profiling method performed by 12 trained judges. In parallel, 180 consumers were asked to score their overall liking and complete a cognitive restraint questionnaire. After hierarchical cluster analysis on the liking scores, preference mapping using a quadratic regression model was performed. Five clusters of consumers were identified as a function of different preference patterns. Contrary to our expectations, fat levels were not discriminating. For each cluster, the results of preference mapping enabled the identification of optimum products. A comparison of the 5 sensory profiles revealed numerous differences between key sensory attributes. For example, one consumer cluster had a strong preference for products perceived as very thick, grainy, but with a less flowing texture, less sticky, whey presence and color, in contrast to other clusters. In addition, each segment of consumers was characterized according to the results of the cognitive restraint questionnaire. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Ratcliffe, Julie; Lancsar, Emily; Luszcz, Mary; Crotty, Maria; Gray, Len; Paterson, Jan; Cameron, Ian D
2014-06-25
Consumer-directed care is currently being embraced within Australia and internationally as a means of promoting autonomy and choice in the delivery of health and aged care services. Despite its wide proliferation little research has been conducted to date to assess the views and preferences of older people for consumer-directed care or to assess the costs and benefits of such an approach relative to existing models of service delivery. A comprehensive health economic model will be developed and applied to the evolution, implementation and evaluation of consumer-directed care in an Australian community aged care setting. A mixed methods approach comprising qualitative interviews and a discrete choice experiment will determine the attitudes and preferences of older people and their informal carers for consumer-directed care. The results of the qualitative interviews and the discrete choice experiment will inform the introduction of a new consumer-directed care innovation in service delivery. The cost-effectiveness of consumer-directed care will be evaluated by comparing incremental changes in resource use, costs and health and quality of life outcomes relative to traditional services. The discrete choice experiment will be repeated at the end of the implementation period to determine the extent to which attitudes and preferences change as a consequence of experience of consumer-directed care. The proposed framework will have wide applicability in the future development and economic evaluation of new innovations across the health and aged care sectors. The study is approved by Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee (Project No. 6114/SBREC). Findings from the qualitative interviews, discrete choice experiments and the economic evaluation will be reported at a workshop of stakeholders to be held in 2015 and will be documented in reports and in peer reviewed journal articles. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sahubawa, L.; Pertiwiningrum, A.; Rahmadian, Y.
2018-03-01
The research objectives were to design, assess the economic value and consumer preference level of stingray leather products. The research method included a product design, analysis of economic value and consumer preferences. Mondol stingray (Himantura gerardi) leather, with a length of 50 cm and width of 30 cm, were processed into ID card wallet, man and women’s wallet and key holder. The number of respondents involved to analyze the preference level is 75 respondents (students, lecturers and employees of Universitas Gadjah Mada). Indicators of consumer preferences were model, color, price and purchasing power. The price of ID card wallet is Rp. 450,000; women wallet is Rp. 650,000 and a key holder is Rp. 300,000. Consumer preferences on ID card wallet were as follow: 84 % stated very interesting model; 83 % stated very interesting color; 61 % stated cheap and 53 % had enough. Consumer preferences of women’s wallet were as follow: 81 % stated very interesting model; 84 % stated very interesting color; 56 % stated cheap and 57 % had enough. Consumer preferences on key holder were as follow: 49 % stated interesting model; 72 % stated very interesting color; 61 % stated cheap and 57 % had enough.
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Grebitus, Carola; Jensen, Helen H; Roosen, Jutta; Sebranek, Joseph G
2013-01-01
Consumers' perceptions and evaluations of meat quality attributes such as color and shelf life influence purchasing decisions, and these product attributes can be affected by the type of fresh meat packaging system. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) extends the shelf life of fresh meat and, with the inclusion of carbon monoxide (CO-MAP), achieves significant color stabilization. The objective of this study was to assess whether consumers would accept specific packaging technologies and what value consumers place on ground beef packaged under various atmospheres when their choices involved the attributes of color and shelf life. The study used nonhypothetical consumer choice experiments to determine the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for extended shelf life resulting from MAP and for the "cherry red" color in meat resulting from CO-MAP. The experimental design allowed determination of whether consumers would discount foods with MAP or CO-MAP when (i) they are given more detailed information about the technologies and (ii) they have different levels of individual knowledge and media exposure. The empirical analysis was conducted using multinomial logit models. Results indicate that consumers prefer an extension of shelf life as long as the applied technology is known and understood. Consumers had clear preferences for brighter (aerobic and CO) red color and were willing to pay $0.16/lb ($0.35/kg) for each level of change to the preferred color. More information on MAP for extending the shelf life and on CO-MAP for stabilizing color decreased consumers' willingness to pay. An increase in personal knowledge and media exposure influenced acceptance of CO-MAP negatively. The results provide quantitative measures of how packaging affects consumers' acceptance and willingness to pay for products. Such information can benefit food producers and retailers who make decisions about investing in new packaging methods.
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Factors affecting dry-cured ham consumer acceptability.
Morales, R; Guerrero, L; Aguiar, A P S; Guàrdia, M D; Gou, P
2013-11-01
The objectives of the present study were (1) to compare the relative importance of price, processing time, texture and intramuscular fat in purchase intention of dry-cured ham through conjoint analysis, (2) to evaluate the effect of dry-cured ham appearance on consumer expectations, and (3) to describe the consumer sensory preferences of dry-cured ham using external preference mapping. Texture and processing time influenced the consumer preferences in conjoint analysis. Red colour intensity, colour uniformity, external fat and white film presence/absence influenced consumer expectations. The consumer disliked hams with bitter and metallic flavour and with excessive saltiness and piquantness. Differences between expected and experienced acceptability were found, which indicates that the visual preference of consumers does not allow them to select a dry-cured ham that satisfies their sensory preferences of flavour and texture. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Preferences for lamb meat: a choice experiment for Spanish consumers.
Gracia, Azucena; de-Magistris, Tiziana
2013-10-01
This paper analyzes consumers' preferences for different lamb meat attributes using a choice experiment. In particular, preferences for the type of commercial lamb meat ("Ternasco" and "Suckling") and the origin of production (locally produced "Ojinegra from Teruel") were evaluated. Moreover, we endogenously identify consumers' segments based on consumers' preferences for the analyzed attributes. Data come from a survey administrated in Spain during 2009. A latent class model was used to estimate the effect of the attributes on consumer utility, derive the willingness to pay and determine consumers' segments. Results suggest that consumers' preferences for both attributes are heterogeneous and two homogenous consumers' segments were detected. The largest segment (79%) did not value any of the analyzed attributes while the smaller one (21%) valued both of them positively. In particular, consumers in this second segment are willing to pay an extra premium for the "Ternasco" lamb meat, around double the premium they are willing to pay for the locally produced lamb meat "Ojinegra from Teruel". Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Service Quality Management Systems: An Annotated Bibliography
1992-05-01
customers, Fortune, 122, 38-48. Key words: Consumer preferences , customer expectations Abstract: Rice presents a profile of the 1990 U.S. consumers...business process, 16 competitive advantage, 6, 10 consumer, 5 consumer affairs department, 19 consumer preferences , 30 consumer research, 10,24
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Sinesio, Fiorella; Cammareri, Maria; Moneta, Elisabetta; Navez, Brigitte; Peparaio, Marina; Causse, Mathilde; Grandillo, Silvana
2010-01-01
Sensory properties are important elements to evaluate the qualities of vegetable products and are also determinant factors in purchasing decision. Here we report the Italian results of a preference mapping study conducted within a larger European project with the aim of describing the preferences of European consumers in regard to the diversity of traditional and modern tomato varieties, available on the market. This study has allowed the assessment of fruit quality at 3 levels: objective description of sensory properties, consumer preference tests, and physicochemical measurements. A set of 16 tomato cultivars, with different fruit sizes and shapes, was described and classified according to 18 sensory attributes including flavor, appearance, and texture characteristics. The same cultivars were evaluated by 179 consumers in a "preference mapping" experiment with the goal of identifying the preferred varieties and the reasons for the choice. The consumer data are referred to hedonic ratings (aspect liking and overall liking), familiarity for the analyzed cultivars, and individual features collected by a questionnaire. A hierarchical analysis of the clusters allowed to distinguish, within the sampled Italian consumers, 4 segments with different preferences which represented 19%, 25%, 41%, and 15% of the population, respectively. A partial least square regression model allowed the identification of the sensory attributes that best described consumer cluster preferences for tomato cultivars. Both texture and flavor descriptors were important drivers of consumer preferences, but the relevance (predictive value) of individual descriptors to model tomato liking was different for each consumer segment. Information on demographic and behavioral characteristics, usage habits, and factors relevant for purchasing were also provided on the 4 groups of consumers.
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Choi, Jieun; Lee, Doo-Hee; Taylor, Charles R
2016-04-01
Existing research on personalization has found that consumers generally prefer personalized products over standardized ones. This study argued that consumer preference for personalized products is dependent on purchasing context and reversibility of choice. Results of an experiment conducted in this study found that consumers preferred personalized products when purchasing an item for personal use but preferred standardized products when purchasing an item as a gift. However, the effects of purchasing context were negated when consumers were given the assurance that personalized products could be returned (reversibility of choice); when presented with reversibility of choice, consumers preferred personalized products over standardized products regardless of purchasing context. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results were discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.
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[Analyzing consumer preference by using the latest semantic model for verbal protocol].
Tamari, Yuki; Takemura, Kazuhisa
2012-02-01
This paper examines consumers' preferences for competing brands by using a preference model of verbal protocols. Participants were 150 university students, who reported their opinions and feelings about McDonalds and Mos Burger (competing hamburger restaurants in Japan). Their verbal protocols were analyzed by using the singular value decomposition method, and the latent decision frames were estimated. The verbal protocols having a large value in the decision frames could be interpreted as showing attributes that consumers emphasize. Based on the estimated decision frames, we predicted consumers' preferences using the logistic regression analysis method. The results indicate that the decision frames projected from the verbal protocol data explained consumers' preferences effectively.
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Mesías, Francisco J; Martínez-Carrasco, Federico; Martínez, José M; Gaspar, Paula
2011-02-01
In the current context of growing consumer demand for foodstuffs that are healthy and safe and that are obtained in a manner respectful to the welfare of animals, the analysis of consumer preferences towards attributes of this type takes on particular importance. These trends are especially clear in the case of the consumption of eggs because of their strong negative association with cholesterol levels and their extremely intensive systems of production. The introduction of variants that are more in harmony with current consumer demands represents an interesting market alternative. The present study was aimed at investigating the preferences of Spanish consumers for these alternative types of egg that are entering the market. The survey was conducted with 361 consumers from October 2007 to March 2008. The conjoint analysis allowed us to estimate the relative importance of the main attributes that affect consumer preferences for eggs and to distinguish segments of consumers with similar preference profiles. It was found that price is the most important attribute determining consumer preferences, followed by the hens' feed and their rearing conditions. It was also found that only some groups of consumers are willing to pay the premium necessary for alternative methods of production. 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Model of personal consumption under conditions of modern economy
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rakhmatullina, D. K.; Akhmetshina, E. R.; Ignatjeva, O. A.
2017-12-01
In the conditions of the modern economy, in connection with the development of production, the expansion of the market for goods and services, its differentiation, active use of marketing tools in the sphere of sales, changes occur in the system of values and consumer needs. Motives that drive the consumer are transformed, stimulating it to activity. The article presents a model of personal consumption that takes into account modern trends in consumer behavior. The consumer, making a choice, seeks to maximize the overall utility from consumption, physiological and socio-psychological satisfaction, in accordance with his expectations, preferences and conditions of consumption. The system of his preferences is formed under the influence of factors of a different nature. It is also shown that the structure of consumer spending allows us to characterize and predict its further behavior in the market. Based on the proposed model and analysis of current trends in consumer behavior, conclusions and recommendations have been made that can be used by legislative and executive government bodies, business organizations, research centres and other structures to form a methodological and analytical tool for preparing a forecast model of consumption.
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Consumer preferences for maize products in urban Kenya.
De Groote, Hugo; Kimenju, Simon Chege
2012-06-01
New maize varieties have been biofortified with provitamin A, mainly a-carotene, which renders the grain yellow or orange. Unfortunately, many African consumers prefer white maize. The maize consumption patterns in Africa are, however, not known. To determine which maize products African consumers prefer to purchase and which maize preparations they prefer to eat. A survey of 600 consumers was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya, at three types of maize outlets: posho mills (small hammer mills), kiosks, and supermarkets. Clients of posho mills had lower incomes and less education than those of kiosks and supermarkets. The preferred maize product of the posho-mill clients was artisanal maize meal; the preferred product of the others was industrial maize meal. Maize is the preferred staple for lunch and dinner, eaten as a stiff porridge (ugali), followed by boiled maize and beans (githeri), regardless of socioeconomic background. For breakfast, only half the consumers prefer maize, mostly as a soft porridge (uji). This proportion is higher in low-income groups. Consumers show a strong preference for white maize over yellow, mostly for its organoleptic characteristics, and show less interest in biofortified maize. Maize is the major food staple in Nairobi, mostly eaten in a few distinct preparations. For biofortified yellow maize to be accepted, a strong public awareness campaign to inform consumers is needed, based on a sensory evaluation and the mass media, in particular on radio in the local language.
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Consumers' preferences for the communication of risk information in drug advertising.
Davis, Joel J
2007-01-01
Research was conducted to identify consumers' preferences regarding the form, content, and placement of drug side-effect information in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. Specific questions explored preferences for the presence or absence of numeric information, the use of placebo and discontinuation groups as a context for understanding drug risk, the sequence in which side effects are presented, and the placement of side-effect statements on DTC Web sites. Consumers prefer detailed, readily accessible risk information--preferences that are a major departure from current advertiser practices and from what current and proposed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations require.
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Effect of two Spanish breeds and diet on beef quality including consumer preferences.
Ripoll, Guillermo; Blanco, Mireia; Albertí, Pere; Panea, Begoña; Joy, Margalida; Casasús, Isabel
2014-03-30
Farmers in dry mountain areas are changing their management strategies to improve livestock farming efficiency, by using different forages or different breeds. The effect of breed (Parda de Montaña vs. Pirenaica) and finishing diet (grazing on meadows vs. a total mixed ration (50% alfalfa, 40% maize grain, 10% straw)) on carcass characteristics and meat quality of steers was studied. Parda de Montaña had a greater (P < 0.01) amount of intramuscular fat than Pirenaica. The finishing diet did not influence carcass fat color, but fatty acid composition was slightly affected. Finishing steers on a total mixed ration increased the percentage of fat of the 10th rib (P < 0.001). Supplementation with concentrates increased the diet energy concentration and also increased the dressing percentage. Both breeds had similar carcass characteristics. Consumers preferred beef from the Pirenaica breed because of its greater tenderness. Consumers did not differentiate between beef from animals fed different finishing diets. However, consumers who like meat very much preferred meat aged in a cooler at 4 °C for 15 days rather than 8 days. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Evolution of consumer information preferences with market maturity in solar PV adoption
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Reeves, D. Cale; Rai, Varun; Margolis, Robert
Residential adoption of solar photovoltaics (PV) is spreading rapidly, supported by policy initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels. Potential adopters navigate increasingly complex decision-making landscapes in their path to adoption. Much is known about the individual-level drivers of solar PV diffusion that steer adopters through this process, but relatively little is known about the evolution of these drivers as solar PV markets mature. By understanding the evolution of emerging solar PV markets over time, stakeholders in the diffusion of solar PV can increase policy effectiveness and reduce costs. This analysis uses survey data to compare two adjacent marketsmore » across a range of relevant characteristics, then models changes in the importance of local vs cosmopolitan information sources by combining theory relating market maturity to adopter behavior with event-history techniques. In younger markets, earlier, innovative adoptions that are tied to a preference for cosmopolitan information sources are more prevalent than expected, suggesting a frustrated demand for solar PV that segues into adoptions fueled by local information preferences contemporary with similar adoptions in older markets. Furthermore, the analysis concludes with policy recommendations to leverage changing consumer information preferences as markets mature.« less
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Evolution of consumer information preferences with market maturity in solar PV adoption
Reeves, D. Cale; Rai, Varun; Margolis, Robert
2017-07-04
Residential adoption of solar photovoltaics (PV) is spreading rapidly, supported by policy initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels. Potential adopters navigate increasingly complex decision-making landscapes in their path to adoption. Much is known about the individual-level drivers of solar PV diffusion that steer adopters through this process, but relatively little is known about the evolution of these drivers as solar PV markets mature. By understanding the evolution of emerging solar PV markets over time, stakeholders in the diffusion of solar PV can increase policy effectiveness and reduce costs. This analysis uses survey data to compare two adjacent marketsmore » across a range of relevant characteristics, then models changes in the importance of local vs cosmopolitan information sources by combining theory relating market maturity to adopter behavior with event-history techniques. In younger markets, earlier, innovative adoptions that are tied to a preference for cosmopolitan information sources are more prevalent than expected, suggesting a frustrated demand for solar PV that segues into adoptions fueled by local information preferences contemporary with similar adoptions in older markets. Furthermore, the analysis concludes with policy recommendations to leverage changing consumer information preferences as markets mature.« less
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Evolution of consumer information preferences with market maturity in solar PV adoption
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cale Reeves, D.; Rai, Varun; Margolis, Robert
2017-07-01
Residential adoption of solar photovoltaics (PV) is spreading rapidly, supported by policy initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels. Potential adopters navigate increasingly complex decision-making landscapes in their path to adoption. Much is known about the individual-level drivers of solar PV diffusion that steer adopters through this process, but relatively little is known about the evolution of these drivers as solar PV markets mature. By understanding the evolution of emerging solar PV markets over time, stakeholders in the diffusion of solar PV can increase policy effectiveness and reduce costs. This analysis uses survey data to compare two adjacent markets across a range of relevant characteristics, then models changes in the importance of local vs cosmopolitan information sources by combining theory relating market maturity to adopter behavior with event-history techniques. In younger markets, earlier, innovative adoptions that are tied to a preference for cosmopolitan information sources are more prevalent than expected, suggesting a frustrated demand for solar PV that segues into adoptions fueled by local information preferences contemporary with similar adoptions in older markets. The analysis concludes with policy recommendations to leverage changing consumer information preferences as markets mature.
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Cost-of-living indexes and demographic change.
Diamond, C A
1990-06-01
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), although not without problems, is the most often used mechanism for adjusting contracts for cost-of-living changes in the US. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics lists several problems associated with using the CPI as a cost-of-living index where the proportion of 2-worker families is increasing, population is shifting, and work week hours are changing. This study shows how to compute cost-of-living indexes which are inexpensive to update, use less restrictive assumptions about consumer preferences, do not require statistical estimation, and handle the problem of increasing numbers of families where both the husband and wife work. This study attempts to how widely in fact the CPI varies with alternative true cost-of-living varies with alternative true cost-of-living indexes although in the end this de facto cost-of-living measure holds up quite well. In times of severe price inflation people change their preferences by substitution, necessitating a flexible cost-of-living index that accounts for this fundamental economic behavior.
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Ngapo, T M; Fortin, J; Martin, J-F
2010-08-01
Québec consumers and pig farmers selected their preferred chop from 16 images that had been modified to give 16 treatments: two levels each of fat cover, colour, marbling and drip. The selection process was repeated eight times from different groups of chops. Fat cover (47% preferred lean) and colour (44%, light red) were the most frequently chosen characteristics. No significant differences were observed between farmers and consumers preferences (chi(2) test, P<0.05). Two preference-based clusters were found; 41% preferring dark red, lean meat and 59%, light red, lean meat, without marbling or drip. Choice-based clusters showed no significant links with either individual socio-demographic items, including pig farmer as occupation, or the three socio-demographic-based clusters observed (chi(2) test, P<0.05). No evidence was found to suggest that the choices of pig farmers differed from those of consumers and, therefore, inclusion of pig farmers in consumer panels would not bias consumer choice for pork. Crown Copyright (c) 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Preference mapping of lemon lime carbonated beverages with regular and diet beverage consumers.
Leksrisompong, P P; Lopetcharat, K; Guthrie, B; Drake, M A
2013-02-01
The drivers of liking of lemon-lime carbonated beverages were investigated with regular and diet beverage consumers. Ten beverages were selected from a category survey of commercial beverages using a D-optimal procedure. Beverages were subjected to consumer testing (n = 101 regular beverage consumers, n = 100 diet beverage consumers). Segmentation of consumers was performed on overall liking scores followed by external preference mapping of selected samples. Diet beverage consumers liked 2 diet beverages more than regular beverage consumers. There were no differences in the overall liking scores between diet and regular beverage consumers for other products except for a sparkling beverage sweetened with juice which was more liked by regular beverage consumers. Three subtle but distinct consumer preference clusters were identified. Two segments had evenly distributed diet and regular beverage consumers but one segment had a greater percentage of regular beverage consumers (P < 0.05). The 3 preference segments were named: cluster 1 (C1) sweet taste and carbonation mouthfeel lovers, cluster 2 (C2) carbonation mouthfeel lovers, sweet and bitter taste acceptors, and cluster 3 (C3) bitter taste avoiders, mouthfeel and sweet taste lovers. User status (diet or regular beverage consumers) did not have a large impact on carbonated beverage liking. Instead, mouthfeel attributes were major drivers of liking when these beverages were tested in a blind tasting. Preference mapping of lemon-lime carbonated beverage with diet and regular beverage consumers allowed the determination of drivers of liking of both populations. The understanding of how mouthfeel attributes, aromatics, and basic tastes impact liking or disliking of products was achieved. Preference drivers established in this study provide product developers of carbonated lemon-lime beverages with additional information to develop beverages that may be suitable for different groups of consumers. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Baba, Yasmina; Kallas, Zein; Costa-Font, Montserrat; Gil, José María; Realini, Carolina E
2016-01-01
The impact of hedonic evaluation on consumers' preferences for beef attributes was evaluated (origin, animal diet, fat content, color, price) including its enrichment with omega-3 (n-3) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) fatty acids. One group of consumers (n=325) received information about n-3 and CLA, while the other group (n=322) received no information. Consumers conducted a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE), using the recently developed Generalized Multinomial Logit model; followed by a blind hedonic evaluation of beef samples, which were identified after tasting, and finally repeated the DCE. Results showed that hedonic evaluation had a significant impact on consumers' preferences, which were similar after tasting for all consumers, with less emphasis on the fat content, color, and origin attributes and greater emphasis on animal diet. Preference for n-3 enriched beef increased, while preference for CLA enriched beef was still not significant after tasting. The information provided had a significant effect on consumers' beef preferences, but no significant impact on beef liking scores. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Evaluation of different types of dry-cured ham by Italian and French consumers.
Cannata, S; Ratti, S; Meteau, K; Mourot, J; Baldini, P; Corino, C
2010-04-01
The aim was to analyse the distribution of preferences between two group of consumers (100 consumers each) from different countries (Italy and France), in order to establish which type of dry-cured ham is most acceptable and to compare results across countries using preference mapping. A preference test was carried out on four types of dry-cured hams: Parma ham (P), Italian non-branded ham (I) and hams derived from pigs fed a diet containing sunflower oil (2.5%) (S) or extruded linseed (5%) (L). The consumers were requested to evaluate each single descriptor using a hedonic scale and assigning a score between 1 (dislike extremely) and 9 (like extremely). The four different dry-cured hams were sensorially well differentiated by the consumers of different nationalities. Italian consumers preferred P and S hams while French consumers preferred S, I and P hams in terms of overall acceptability and acceptability of aroma and flavour. L ham was negatively discriminated, compared to the other hams, by both consumer groups. A good differentiation between the dry-cured hams was obtained using the internal preference map method: P was discriminated from the other hams. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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2002-01-01
e.g., employer or Medicare). Thus we focus on the details of theory of consumer preferences and choices in the discussion below, while providing similar...health status. Two important factors in consumer health plan choices are inherent to any insurance market. First, the consumer preferences that guide...important factors in consumer health plan choices are inherent to any insurance market. First, the consumer preferences that guide their choices of
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Foster, Michele M; Earl, Peter E; Haines, Terry P; Mitchell, Geoffrey K
2010-10-01
Accounting for consumer preference in health policy and delivery system design makes good economic sense since this is linked to outcomes, quality of care and cost control. Probability trade-off methods are commonly used in policy evaluation, marketing and economics. Increasingly applied to health matters, the trade-off preference model has indicated that consumers of health care discriminate between different attributes of care. However, the complexities of the health decision-making environment raise questions about the inherent assumptions concerning choice and decision-making behavior which frame this view of consumer preference. In this article, we use the example of primary care in Australia as a vehicle to examine the concept of 'consumer preference' from different perspectives within economics and discuss the significance of how we model preferences for health policy makers. In doing so, we question whether mainstream thinking, namely that consumers are capable of deliberating between rival strategies and are willing to make trade-offs, is a reliable way of thinking about preferences given the complexities of the health decision-making environment. Alternative perspectives on preference can assist health policy makers and health providers by generating more precise information about the important attributes of care that are likely to enhance consumer engagement and optimise acceptability of health care. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Exploring American and Italian consumer preferences for Californian and Italian red wines.
Torri, Luisa; Noble, Ann Curtis; Heymann, Hildegarde
2013-06-01
To increase the market share of Californian wines in other countries, wine preferences need to be explored in potential markets. This work studied the preferences of American and Italian consumers for red wines produced in California and Italy, focusing on wines made from the same varieties in each location. Descriptive analysis and consumer preference tests were performed. Americans scored each of the Californian wines significantly higher in preference than the Italian wines. In contrast, the Italian consumer preference scores for many Italian and Californian wines overlapped. By external preference mapping of the American consumer segments, the ideal flavour of one cluster was closest to the Californian Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah, which had the 'most balanced' flavour profiles. Another cluster of Italians also preferred the Californian wines. In addition, one Italian cluster was driven by a dislike of the leather, band-aid and medicinal aromas of the Italian Merlot and Refosco. The results provided information that can contribute to wine marketing research necessary for successfully exporting Californian red wines to Italy and vice versa. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Consumer preferences for telemedicine devices and services in South Korea.
Ahn, Joongha; Shin, Jungwoo; Lee, Jongsu; Shin, Kwangsoo; Park, Hayoung
2014-02-01
The scope of healthcare has been expanding from caring for sick people to keeping people from becoming sick, and telemedicine will play a significant role in this new healthcare paradigm. This study investigated consumer preferences and willingness to pay for attributes of telemedicine services in South Korea. A market simulation was conducted to examine the market shares of alternative services and their relationships to the perceived usefulness of service types and preferred device types. Using a conjoint survey, we collected data on consumer preferences for six telemedicine service attributes. Data analysis used the Bayesian mixed logit model. The market simulation estimated the probabilities of a specific service alternative being chosen using estimated model coefficients. Wearable devices were the most preferred, followed by smart-home and smartphone devices. Consumers perceived managing blood glucose to be the most useful telemedicine service, followed by monitoring oxygen saturation and blood pressure. The market simulation indicated that consumer preferences for device types were associated with the types of chronic diseases for which management through telemedicine services is perceived to be useful. As the focus of healthcare moves from treating patients to keeping individuals healthy, a key factor for the successful deployment of telemedicine services is understanding consumer perceptions and attitudes. The results of this study revealed the dynamics of consumer preferences with regard to service attributes.
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Bernabéu, Rodolfo; Rabadán, Adrián; El Orche, Nour E; Díaz, Mónica
2018-01-01
Analysis of the attributes determining the formation of consumers' preferences when buying lamb meat is a key aspect in increasing the demand for this product. To this end, by means of conjoint analysis, we determined lamb meat consumers' preferences according to their frequency of consumption, and we used logistic simulation to analyse market shares of the most valued attributes. After segmenting the market into habitual and occasional consumers of lamb meat, our results seem to suggest that while regular consumers base their preferences mostly on origin, occasional consumers take other attributes into account, such as Protected Geographical Origin (PGI) and organic production. An analysis of market shares shows that PGI significantly influences consumer preferences, while ecological production has a less marked impact. This finding confirms the usefulness of PGI in the lamb meat market and highlights the urgent need to improve the communication strategy of the organic production sector as a synergistic effect to increase its acceptance among consumers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Reisch, Lucia A; Gwozdz, Wencke; Barba, Gianvincenzo; De Henauw, Stefaan; Lascorz, Natalia; Pigeot, Iris
2013-01-01
To understand the rising prevalence of childhood obesity in affluent societies, it is necessary to take into account the growing obesity infrastructure, which over past decades has developed into an obesogenic environment. This study examines the effects of one of the constituent factors of consumer societies and a potential contributory factor to childhood obesity: commercial food communication targeted to children. Specifically, it investigates the impact of TV advertising on children's food knowledge and food preferences and correlates these findings with their weight status. Evaluations of traditional information- and education-based interventions suggest that they may not sustainably change food patterns. Based on prior consumer research, we propose five hypotheses, which we then test using a subsample from the IDEFICS study, a large-scale pan-European intervention study on childhood obesity. The results indicate that advertising has divergent effects on children's food knowledge and preferences and that food knowledge is unrelated to food preferences. This finding has important implications for both future research and public policy.
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Xia, Yixun; Zhong, Fang; O'Mahony, Michael
2016-09-01
One form of paired preference test protocol requires consumers to assess 2 pairs of products. One is the target pair under consideration, while the other is a putatively identical pair named the "placebo pair" which is also presented as a control. Counterintuitively, the majority of consumers report preferences when presented with the placebo pair. Their response frequencies are hypothesized to be those of consumers having "no preference" and are compared with the response frequencies elicited by a target pair, to determine whether the target pair elicits significant preferences. The primary goal of this paper was to study the robustness of 2 new so called disruptive protocols that reduced the proportion of consumers, who reported preferences when assessing a putatively identical pair of products. For this task, the tests were performed in a different language, in a different country, using different products from before. The results showed that the proportion of consumers reporting preferences for the placebo pair was reduced, confirming earlier work. Also, comparison of d' values showed a lack of significant overall differences between the placebo and target pairs, while chi-squared analyses indicated significant differences in the response frequencies. This indicated that the sample was segmented into 2 balanced groups with opposing preferences. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®
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The analysis of consumption level and preferences of freshshallots consumers in Medan
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Yani, F.; Supriana, T.
2018-02-01
Comprehension about consumer preferences gives a very important contribution to the consumer’s decision making process, which eventually affects the level of consumer consumption. This study aims to analyze the level of consumer consumption, consumer preferences, as well as the combination of the most preferred attributes by the fresh shallots consumers in Medan. The number of respondents in this study is 100 households. Consumer preferences were identified using conjoint analysis. Attributes of the product that were observed are the size of the root, aroma, price, and dryness. The result of this study shows that the average level of fresh shallots consumption in Medan is 11.67 grams/capita/day, which is higher compared to the 7 grams/capita/day average of national consumption. Consumers assume that the dryness is a very high importance value in judging and deciding whether to buy the fresh shallots, followed by the attribute of aroma, price, and size of the root. Meanwhile, the combination of attributes that is most preferred are fresh shallots with bulb diameter of 2.5 cm, strong aroma, low price ranging below Rp 35000/kg and dryness level in medium category which means the products are in a rather moist/dry condition, and has a little skin waste.
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Sluik, Diewertje; Brouwer-Brolsma, Elske M; de Vries, Jeanne H M; Geelen, Anouk; Feskens, Edith J M
2016-01-01
Objectives The preference for a specific alcoholic beverage may be related to an individual's overall lifestyle and health. The objective was to investigate associations between alcoholic beverage preference and several cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors, including adiposity, cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), liver enzymes and dietary patterns. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting The Dutch Longitudinal Nutrition Questionnaires plus (NQplus) Study. Participants 1653 men and women aged 20–77 years. Methods Diet, including alcohol, was assessed by Food Frequency Questionnaire. Based on the average number of reported glasses of alcoholic beverage, a person was classified as having a preference for beer, wine, spirit/no specific preference, or as a non-consumer. Mixed linear models were used to calculate crude and adjusted means of cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors across alcoholic beverage preference categories. Primary outcome measures Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, lipids, HbA1c, albumin, creatinine, uric acid, liver enzymes and dietary patterns. Results In the study population, 43% had a wine preference, 13% a beer preference, 29% had a spirit or no specific preference, and 15% did not consume alcohol. Men who preferred wine had lowest measures of adiposity; the preference for alcoholic beverages was not associated with adiposity measures in women. Wine consumers had higher high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, lower HbA1c and were more likely to follow the ‘Salad’ pattern. Beer consumers had highest levels of triglycerides and liver enzymes, and had higher scores for the ‘Meat’ and ‘Bread’ pattern. Conclusions Few differences in dietary patterns across alcoholic beverage preference categories were observed. Those differences in cardiometabolic parameters that were observed according to alcoholic beverage preference, suggested that wine consumers have a better health status than beer consumers. PMID:27311903
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Tilapia-waste flour as a natural nutritional replacer for bread: A consumer perspective.
Monteiro, Maria Lúcia G; Mársico, Eliane T; Soares Junior, Manoel S; Deliza, Rosires; de Oliveira, Denize C R; Conte-Junior, Carlos A
2018-01-01
Six bread formulations with different levels of tilapia-waste flour (BTF0%, BTF2.5%, BTF5%, BTF10%, BTF15%, and BTF20%) were analyzed for nutritional composition and sensory characterization. Tilapia-waste flour (TF) increased (P < 0.05) the lipid, protein and ash contents, and decreased (P < 0.05) the levels of carbohydrates and total dietary fiber. BTF0%, BTF2.5% and BTF5% received the highest (P < 0.05) scores for acceptance and preference. Despite this apparent consumer preference for low or no levels, TF can be added to bread at levels below 12.17% (P < 0.05) without triggering consumer rejection. TF changed (P < 0.05) the sensory characterization of bread because of a disagreeable flavor, aroma, and texture; however, airy appearance, sticky in the teeth and cream color did not influence the overall liking. TF at 5% enhanced the nutritional value while maintaining acceptable sensory scores for bread, constituting a potential strategy to satisfy consumer and industry requirements.
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Tilapia-waste flour as a natural nutritional replacer for bread: A consumer perspective
Mársico, Eliane T.; Soares Junior, Manoel S.; Deliza, Rosires; de Oliveira, Denize C. R.; Conte-Junior, Carlos A.
2018-01-01
Six bread formulations with different levels of tilapia-waste flour (BTF0%, BTF2.5%, BTF5%, BTF10%, BTF15%, and BTF20%) were analyzed for nutritional composition and sensory characterization. Tilapia-waste flour (TF) increased (P < 0.05) the lipid, protein and ash contents, and decreased (P < 0.05) the levels of carbohydrates and total dietary fiber. BTF0%, BTF2.5% and BTF5% received the highest (P < 0.05) scores for acceptance and preference. Despite this apparent consumer preference for low or no levels, TF can be added to bread at levels below 12.17% (P < 0.05) without triggering consumer rejection. TF changed (P < 0.05) the sensory characterization of bread because of a disagreeable flavor, aroma, and texture; however, airy appearance, sticky in the teeth and cream color did not influence the overall liking. TF at 5% enhanced the nutritional value while maintaining acceptable sensory scores for bread, constituting a potential strategy to satisfy consumer and industry requirements. PMID:29723283
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Understanding medication compliance and persistence from an economics perspective.
Elliott, Rachel A; Shinogle, Judith A; Peele, Pamela; Bhosle, Monali; Hughes, Dyfrig A
2008-01-01
An increased understanding of the reasons for noncompliance and lack of persistence with prescribed medication is an important step to improve treatment effectiveness, and thus patient health. Explanations have been attempted from epidemiological, sociological, and psychological perspectives. Economic models (utility maximization, time preferences, health capital, bilateral bargaining, stated preference, and prospect theory) may contribute to the understanding of medication-taking behavior. Economic models are applied to medication noncompliance. Traditional consumer choice models under a budget constraint do apply to medication-taking behavior in that increased prices cause decreased utilization. Nevertheless, empiric evidence suggests that budget constraints are not the only factor affecting consumer choice around medicines. Examination of time preference models suggests that the intuitive association between time preference and medication compliance has not been investigated extensively, and has not been proven empirically. The health capital model has theoretical relevance, but has not been applied to compliance. Bilateral bargaining may present an alternative model to concordance of the patient-prescriber relationship, taking account of game-playing by either party. Nevertheless, there is limited empiric evidence to test its usefulness. Stated preference methods have been applied most extensively to medicines use. Evidence suggests that patients' preferences are consistently affected by side effects, and that preferences change over time, with age and experience. Prospect theory attempts to explain how new information changes risk perceptions and associated behavior but has not been applied empirically to medication use. Economic models of behavior may contribute to the understanding of medication use, but more empiric work is needed to assess their applicability.
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Mexican consumers at the point of meat purchase. Beef choice.
Ngapo, T M; Braña Varela, D; Rubio Lozano, M S
2017-12-01
Within-consumer preference replication achieved through systematic image manipulation was used in consumer surveys in four cities across Mexico (Mexico City, n=195; Guadalajara, n=100; Hermosillo, n=132; Veracruz, n=61) to study beef preferences. Images of beef steaks controlled for lean and fat colour, fat cover and marbling were presented to consumers to determine the characteristics used in beef choice and the levels of preference of these characteristics. The most important choice criteria were fat cover (62% preferring little fat cover) and marbling (59% preferring non-marbled). Lean colour was also important with 24% and 29% choosing light and dark red beef, respectively. Fat colour was the least important of the four attributes studied (18% and 19% choosing white and yellow, respectively), but was nevertheless important given that 43% of consumers used three or four characteristics to make their choice. Imported and domestic beef in the Mexican marketplace appear to respond to the range of consumers' beef preferences at the point of purchase. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Li, Shu; Sun, Yan; Wang, Yong
2007-08-01
Previous studies on how framing differentially affects consumer perceptions of value from equivalent deals indicate that perceptions of deal value from price-saving versus extra-product promotions are moderated by the stock-up characteristic of the category. In this study, the authors explored the relationship between stock-up characteristic and frame preference and the influence of the consumable nature of goods on frame preference. An experiment involving 223 student participants showed that consumable nature, but not stock-up characteristic, affected frame preference. The authors discuss the implications of this finding for the study of information framing and how it impacts consumer judgment and decision making.
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García-Torres, S; López-Gajardo, A; Mesías, F J
2016-04-01
This paper evaluates consumer liking and preferences towards organic beef from two production systems allowed by EU regulation: i) free-range and ii) intensive (fattened in feed-lot with organic feedstuff) as compared with conventionally produced beef. Data were obtained in April-May 2014 with a sample of 150 regular beef consumers who completed two tasks: firstly a sensory test where consumers tasted and rated the meats and secondly a conjoint analysis to study beef purchasing preferences. Willingness-to-pay for the different meats was also calculated from conjoint results. Results show that consumers preferred organic-from-concentrate beef at sensory level while organic beef from animals fed on grass was preferred when process characteristics (i.e. farming system) or attributes perceived at the point of purchase (i.e. colour) were evaluated. It was also found that the price-premium for organic beef is over 40%, with organic-fed-on grass beef preferred slightly over that fed-on-concentrate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Mexican consumers at the point of meat purchase. Pork choice.
Ngapo, T M; Rubio Lozano, M S; Braña Varela, D
2018-01-01
Use of within-consumer preference replication and systematic image manipulation in surveying showed that consumers in four cities across Mexico had similar strategies for pork choice. New surveying tools also determined preferred levels of the characteristics used in the decision-making process. The most important choice criteria were colour (31% chose dark and 21% light red), and fat cover (42% chose lean and 8% fatty). Marbling and drip were less used, but are nevertheless important given that 21% of consumers used three or four characteristics to make their choice. Split colour and marbling preferences and a range of acceptable limits for both, and a preference for the leanest fat cover available were observed. Preferences within the normal range of pork colour, fat cover achieved through trimming and drip countered by an absorbent pad all favour industry practice. Unfortunately, preferences for minimal or no marbling and fat cover likely result in a compromised gustative experience for many Mexican consumers. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Fazlollahtabar, Hamed
2010-12-01
Consumer expectations for automobile seat comfort continue to rise. With this said, it is evident that the current automobile seat comfort development process, which is only sporadically successful, needs to change. In this context, there has been growing recognition of the need for establishing theoretical and methodological automobile seat comfort. On the other hand, seat producer need to know the costumer's required comfort to produce based on their interests. The current research methodologies apply qualitative approaches due to anthropometric specifications. The most significant weakness of these approaches is the inexact extracted inferences. Despite the qualitative nature of the consumer's preferences there are some methods to transform the qualitative parameters into numerical value which could help seat producer to improve or enhance their products. Nonetheless this approach would help the automobile manufacturer to provide their seats from the best producer regarding to the consumers idea. In this paper, a heuristic multi criteria decision making technique is applied to make consumers preferences in the numeric value. This Technique is combination of Analytical Hierarchy Procedure (AHP), Entropy method, and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). A case study is conducted to illustrate the applicability and the effectiveness of the proposed heuristic approach. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Romo-Muñoz, Rodrigo Alejandro; Cabas-Monje, Juan Hernán; Garrido-Henrríquez, Héctor Manuel; Gil, José María
2017-01-01
In relatively unknown products, consumers use prices as a quality reference. Under such circumstances, the utility function can be non-negative for a specific price range and generate an inverted U-shaped function. The extra virgin olive oil market in Chile is a good example. Although domestic production and consumption have increased significantly in the last few years, consumer knowledge of this product is still limited. The objective of this study was to analyze Chilean consumer preferences and willingness to pay for extra virgin olive oil attributes. Consumers were segmented taking into account purchasing frequency. A Random Parameter Logit model was estimated for preference heterogeneity. Results indicate that the utility function is nonlinear allowing us to differentiate between two regimes. In the first regime, olive oil behaves as a conspicuous good, that is, higher utility is assigned to higher prices and consumers prefer foreign products in smaller containers. Under the second regime, Chilean olive oil in larger containers is preferred.
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Mere exposure and the endowment effect on consumer decision making.
Tom, Gail; Nelson, Carolyn; Srzentic, Tamara; King, Ryan
2007-03-01
Previous researchers (e.g., J. A. Bargh, 1992, 2002) demonstrated the importance of nonconscious processes on consumer choice behavior. Using an advertisement, the authors determined the effect of two nonconscious processes--the mere exposure effect, which increases object preference by increasing consumer exposure to an object, and the endowment effect, which increases object valuation by providing consumer possession of an object--on consumer behavior. Although the mere exposure effect and endowment effect did not produce an interaction, they produced independent effects. The endowment effect increased object valuation but not object preference. The mere exposure effect increased object preference but not object valuation. Thus, at the unconscious level, an increase in object preference does not lead to an increase in object valuation, nor does an increase in object valuation lead to an increase in object preference. The authors discuss the importance of developing measures of unconscious process in advertising effectiveness.
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Consumer preferences for pork chops in five Canadian provinces.
Ngapo, T M
2017-07-01
The aim of this study is to identify the most important characteristics of fresh pork that determine consumer choice in five Canadian provinces. Within-consumer preference replication and systematic image manipulation in surveying showed differences in strategies for pork choice in lean colour (P<0.001) and marbling (P=0.006). High proportions of Nova Scotians (29%) chose light red pork, Albertans (42%) dark red and Quebecers (29%) non-marbled pork. Overall, the most important choice criteria were fat cover (57% preferred lean, 8% fatty) and lean colour (35% dark red, 18% light red). Marbling and drip were less used, but are important noting that 26% of consumers used three or four characteristics to make their choice. The preferences are readily met by the industry, but unfortunately, preferences for minimal or no marbling and fat cover likely result in a compromised gustative experience for many Canadian consumers. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Rai, Arun; Chen, Liwei; Pye, Jessica; Baird, Aaron
2013-08-02
Consumer use of mobile devices as health service delivery aids (mHealth) is growing, especially as smartphones become ubiquitous. However, questions remain as to how consumer traits, health perceptions, situational characteristics, and demographics may affect consumer mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. We examine how consumers' personal innovativeness toward mobile services (PIMS), perceived health conditions, health care availability, health care utilization, demographics, and socioeconomic status affect their (1) mHealth usage intentions and extent of mHealth assimilation, and (2) preference for mHealth as a complement or substitute for in-person doctor visits. Leveraging constructs from research in technology acceptance, technology assimilation, consumer behavior, and health informatics, we developed a cross-sectional online survey to study determinants of consumers' mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. Data were collected from 1132 nationally representative US consumers and analyzed by using moderated multivariate regressions and ANOVA. The results indicate that (1) 430 of 1132 consumers in our sample (37.99%) have started using mHealth, (2) a larger quantity of consumers are favorable to using mHealth as a complement to in-person doctor visits (758/1132, 66.96%) than as a substitute (532/1132, 47.00%), and (3) consumers' PIMS and perceived health conditions have significant positive direct influences on mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences, and significant positive interactive influences on assimilation and channel preferences. The independent variables within the moderated regressions collectively explained 59.70% variance in mHealth usage intentions, 60.41% in mHealth assimilation, 34.29% in preference for complementary use of mHealth, and 45.30% in preference for substitutive use of mHealth. In a follow-up ANOVA examination, we found that those who were more favorable toward using mHealth as a substitute for in-person doctor visits than as a complement indicated stronger intentions to use mHealth (F₁,₇₀₂=20.14, P<.001) and stronger assimilation of mHealth (F₁,₇₀₂=41.866, P<.001). Multiple predictors are shown to have significant associations with mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. We suggest that future initiatives to promote mHealth should shift targeting of consumers from coarse demographics to nuanced considerations of individual dispositions toward mobile service innovations, complementary or substitutive channel use preferences, perceived health conditions, health services availability and utilization, demographics, and socioeconomic characteristics.
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Consumer acceptance of fresh blueberries in bio-based packages.
Almenar, Eva; Samsudin, Hayati; Auras, Rafael; Harte, Janice
2010-05-01
Instrumental analyses have shown that non-vented bio-based containers made from poly(lactic acid) (PLA) have the capability to enhance blueberry shelf life as compared with commercial vented petroleum-based clamshell containers. However, consumer preference has not been explored so far. In this study, two sensory evaluations, triangle and paired preference tests, were performed after storing fruit in both containers at 3 and 10 degrees C for 7 and 14 days. In addition, physicochemical analyses were performed after each tasting in order to correlate instrumental findings with consumer preference. The results of the triangle test showed the capability of the consumer to differentiate (P < or = 0.001) between blueberries from different packages at both storage temperatures. A consumer preference for flavour, texture, external appearance and overall quality (P < or = 0.001) of blueberries packaged in PLA containers was observed in the paired comparison test. The instrumental analyses showed that blueberries in the PLA packages exhibited a weight loss below the limit for marketable life, a stable soluble solid content and titratable acidity and no fungal growth during storage. Consumers distinguished between blueberries from different packages and preferred those packaged in the PLA containers. The instrumental analyses showed that the usable life of the berries was extended in the PLA containers. A correlation between consumer preference and instrumental evaluations was found.
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Role of intrinsic search cues in the formation of consumer preferences and choice for pork chops.
Verbeke, Wim; De Smet, Stefaan; Vackier, Isabelle; Van Oeckel, Monique J; Warnants, Nathalie; Van Kenhove, Patrick
2005-02-01
This study investigates the role of drip, colour, marbling and fat cover as intrinsic search cues in the formation of pork chop preferences and individual determinants. Data are collected from a sample of 443 pork consumers in Belgium through using repeated selection of chops from randomised photobooks and questionnaires including socio-demographic, attitudinal and behavioural variables. Data analysis includes mixture regression analysis, bivariate descriptive statistics and the estimation of multivariate probit models. Consumers sampled in this study prefer pork chops without fat cover. Preference for fat cover is stronger among male, 35+ aged consumers with lower levels of awareness of the relation between food and health and who like pork for other reasons than taste and nutritional value (all p<0.05). Preference for colour is equally consistent within an individual, though fifty-fifty light-dark, with dark chops being more preferred by 35+ aged consumers (p<0.05). Preferences for marbling and drip are not consistent and not determined by joint socio-demographic, attitudinal and behavioural factors. Preferences for cue levels are not correlated, except a weak relation between preference for dark chops without drip (r=0.116). Preferences are apparently formed by deductions with the use of single cues as key information, mainly based on fat cover or colour, and random choice on marbling and drip.
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Stochastic modeling of consumer preferences for health care institutions.
Malhotra, N K
1983-01-01
This paper proposes a stochastic procedure for modeling consumer preferences via LOGIT analysis. First, a simple, non-technical exposition of the use of a stochastic approach in health care marketing is presented. Second, a study illustrating the application of the LOGIT model in assessing consumer preferences for hospitals is given. The paper concludes with several implications of the proposed approach.
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Agents Overcoming Resource Independent Scaling Threats (AORIST)
2004-10-01
20 Table 8: Tilted Consumer Preferences Experiment (m=8, N=61, G=2, C=60, Mean over 13 experiments...probabilities. Non-uniform consumer preferences create a new potential for sub-optimal system performance and thus require an additional adaptive...distribu- tion of the capacities across the sup- plier population must match the non- uniform consumer preferences . The second plot in Table 8
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2001 Industry Studies: Services Industry
2001-01-01
institutions. There is now a growing demand for an increasingly broader variety of services resulting from “demographic shifts, changes in consumer ... preferences , technological advancements, and increases in competitive pressures.”i Households seek increasingly sophisticated and higher quality services as
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Sluik, Diewertje; Brouwer-Brolsma, Elske M; de Vries, Jeanne H M; Geelen, Anouk; Feskens, Edith J M
2016-06-15
The preference for a specific alcoholic beverage may be related to an individual's overall lifestyle and health. The objective was to investigate associations between alcoholic beverage preference and several cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors, including adiposity, cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), liver enzymes and dietary patterns. Cross-sectional study. The Dutch Longitudinal Nutrition Questionnaires plus (NQplus) Study. 1653 men and women aged 20-77 years. Diet, including alcohol, was assessed by Food Frequency Questionnaire. Based on the average number of reported glasses of alcoholic beverage, a person was classified as having a preference for beer, wine, spirit/no specific preference, or as a non-consumer. Mixed linear models were used to calculate crude and adjusted means of cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors across alcoholic beverage preference categories. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, lipids, HbA1c, albumin, creatinine, uric acid, liver enzymes and dietary patterns. In the study population, 43% had a wine preference, 13% a beer preference, 29% had a spirit or no specific preference, and 15% did not consume alcohol. Men who preferred wine had lowest measures of adiposity; the preference for alcoholic beverages was not associated with adiposity measures in women. Wine consumers had higher high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, lower HbA1c and were more likely to follow the 'Salad' pattern. Beer consumers had highest levels of triglycerides and liver enzymes, and had higher scores for the 'Meat' and 'Bread' pattern. Few differences in dietary patterns across alcoholic beverage preference categories were observed. Those differences in cardiometabolic parameters that were observed according to alcoholic beverage preference, suggested that wine consumers have a better health status than beer consumers. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
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Analysis of Consumers' Preferences and Price Sensitivity to Native Chickens.
Lee, Min-A; Jung, Yoojin; Jo, Cheorun; Park, Ji-Young; Nam, Ki-Chang
2017-01-01
This study analyzed consumers' preferences and price sensitivity to native chickens. A survey was conducted from Jan 6 to 17, 2014, and data were collected from consumers (n=500) living in Korea. Statistical analyses evaluated the consumption patterns of native chickens, preference marketing for native chicken breeds which will be newly developed, and price sensitivity measurement (PSM). Of the subjects who preferred broilers, 24.3% do not purchase native chickens because of the dryness and tough texture, while those who preferred native chickens liked their chewy texture (38.2%). Of the total subjects, 38.2% preferred fried native chickens (38.2%) for processed food, 38.4% preferred direct sales for native chicken distribution, 51.0% preferred native chickens to be slaughtered in specialty stores, and 32.4% wanted easy access to native chickens. Additionally, the price stress range (PSR) was 50 won and the point of marginal cheapness (PMC) and point of marginal expensiveness (PME) were 6,980 won and 12,300 won, respectively. Evaluation of the segmentation market revealed that consumers who prefer broiler to native chicken breeds were more sensitive to the chicken price. To accelerate the consumption of newly developed native chicken meat, it is necessary to develop a texture that each consumer needs, to increase the accessibility of native chickens, and to have diverse menus and recipes as well as reasonable pricing for native chickens.
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Consumer experience of formal crisis-response services and preferred methods of crisis intervention.
Boscarato, Kara; Lee, Stuart; Kroschel, Jon; Hollander, Yitzchak; Brennan, Alice; Warren, Narelle
2014-08-01
The manner in which people with mental illness are supported in a crisis is crucial to their recovery. The current study explored mental health consumers' experiences with formal crisis services (i.e. police and crisis assessment and treatment (CAT) teams), preferred crisis supports, and opinions of four collaborative interagency response models. Eleven consumers completed one-on-one, semistructured interviews. The results revealed that the perceived quality of previous formal crisis interventions varied greatly. Most participants preferred family members or friends to intervene. However, where a formal response was required, general practitioners and mental health case managers were preferred; no participant wanted a police response, and only one indicated a preference for CAT team assistance. Most participants welcomed collaborative crisis interventions. Of four collaborative interagency response models currently being trialled internationally, participants most strongly supported the Ride-Along Model, which enables a police officer and a mental health clinician to jointly respond to distressed consumers in the community. The findings highlight the potential for an interagency response model to deliver a crisis response aligned with consumers' preferences. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.
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Roberts, Sarah P.; Siegel, Michael B.; DeJong, William; Naimi, Timothy S.; Jernigan, David H.
2014-01-01
Aims: We aimed to describe the sources from which youth in the USA commonly obtain alcohol, their role in selecting the brands they drink and the relationship of these variables to their indicated alcohol brand preferences. Methods: We recruited 1031 underage drinkers in the age range of 13–20 through an internet panel managed by Knowledge Networks. Respondents completed an online survey assessing their recent brand-specific alcohol use, the source of their most recently consumed alcohol and whether the respondent or another person selected the brand they drank. Results: Alcohol sources were more often passive than transactional. Nearly equal proportions of youth reported that they did versus did not choose the brand of their most recent drink. Analysis revealed that the brand preferences of passive versus active source drinkers were highly similar, as were the brand preferences of respondent versus non-respondent choice drinkers. Stratification of respondents by age did not significantly change these results. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that youth are consuming a homogenous list of preferred brands regardless of the source of their most recently obtained alcohol or who selected the brand they drank. PMID:25113176
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Roberts, Sarah P; Siegel, Michael B; DeJong, William; Naimi, Timothy S; Jernigan, David H
2014-01-01
We aimed to describe the sources from which youth in the USA commonly obtain alcohol, their role in selecting the brands they drink and the relationship of these variables to their indicated alcohol brand preferences. We recruited 1031 underage drinkers in the age range of 13-20 through an internet panel managed by Knowledge Networks. Respondents completed an online survey assessing their recent brand-specific alcohol use, the source of their most recently consumed alcohol and whether the respondent or another person selected the brand they drank. Alcohol sources were more often passive than transactional. Nearly equal proportions of youth reported that they did versus did not choose the brand of their most recent drink. Analysis revealed that the brand preferences of passive versus active source drinkers were highly similar, as were the brand preferences of respondent versus non-respondent choice drinkers. Stratification of respondents by age did not significantly change these results. Our findings suggest that youth are consuming a homogenous list of preferred brands regardless of the source of their most recently obtained alcohol or who selected the brand they drank. © The Author 2014. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Preferences for family involvement in care among consumers with serious mental illness.
Cohen, Amy N; Drapalski, Amy L; Glynn, Shirley M; Medoff, Deborah; Fang, Li Juan; Dixon, Lisa B
2013-03-01
Despite robust evidence of efficacy, family services for individuals diagnosed as having serious mental illness are of limited availability and drastically underutilized. This underutilization may be due to a mismatch between consumer and family preferences and the services offered. This study is the first systematic report on preferences expressed by consumers with serious mental illness for family involvement. The study enrolled 232 mental health consumers with serious mental illness who had contact with family but did not have any family regularly involved in their mental health care. Consumers were recruited from outpatient mental health clinics at three large medical centers in two Veterans Integrated Service Networks. Interviews elicited demographic characteristics, treatment preferences regarding family involvement, and perceived benefits and barriers to involvement. Chart diagnoses and measures of symptom severity, family functioning, and contact were collected. Seventy-eight percent (171 of 219) of the consumers wanted family members to be involved in their care, and many desired involvement through several methods. Consumers were concerned with the impact of involvement on both themselves and their family member. The consumer's degree of perceived benefit of family involvement significantly predicted the degree of desire for family involvement after analyses controlled for service need (family conflict, family-related quality of life, and symptom severity), enabling factors (family contact and family capacity), demographic variables (age, gender, race, living with family, and marital status), and barriers perceived by the consumer. The extent of overall support for family involvement in care coupled with the heterogeneity of preferred modes and concerns and anticipated benefits underscore the imperative to offer diverse family services and to elicit consumers' preferences regarding whether and how to involve their families.
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Consumer preferences for mild cheddar cheese flavors.
Drake, S L; Gerard, P D; Drake, M A
2008-11-01
Flavor is an important factor in consumer selection of cheeses. Mild Cheddar cheese is the classification used to describe Cheddar cheese that is not aged extensively and has a "mild" flavor. However, there is no legal definition or age limit for Cheddar cheese to be labeled mild, medium, or sharp, nor are the flavor profiles or flavor expectations of these cheeses specifically defined. The objectives of this study were to document the distinct flavor profiles among commercially labeled mild Cheddar cheeses, and to characterize if consumer preferences existed for specific mild Cheddar cheese flavors or flavor profiles. Flavor descriptive sensory profiles of a representative array of commercial Cheddar cheeses labeled as mild (n= 22) were determined using a trained sensory panel and an established cheese flavor sensory language. Nine representative Cheddar cheeses were selected for consumer testing. Consumers (n= 215) assessed the cheeses for overall liking and other consumer liking attributes. Internal preference mapping, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis were conducted. Mild Cheddar cheeses were diverse in flavor with many displaying flavors typically associated with more age. Four distinct consumer clusters were identified. The key drivers of liking for mild Cheddar cheese were: color, cooked/milky, whey and brothy flavors, and sour taste. Consumers have distinct flavor and color preferences for mild Cheddar cheese. These results can help manufacturers understand consumer preferences for mild Cheddar cheese.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Eiswerth, Mark E.; Kashian, Russell D.; Skidmore, Mark
2008-11-01
We use contingent behavior (CB) analysis to examine the potential impacts of a hypothetical change in the clarity of a lake. We collect and use both CB and revealed preference data to estimate a pooled negative binomial count data travel cost model. From this analysis we calculate the consumer surplus per angling party day for our case study lake to be about $104, or a total annual consumer surplus of $1.4 million. Using this consumer surplus measure and changes in the intended number of visits obtained from the CB survey, we estimate the loss in consumer surplus associated with a decline in water clarity from 10 to 3 feet (1 foot = 0.3048 m) to be about $522,000 annually (a 38% decrease). Since this is the first such application of CB analysis to estimate the effects of a water clarity change, the study may illustrate a method well suited to analyzing changes in water quality attributes that are easily observable and well understood by recreators.
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Using contingent choice methods to assess consumer preferences about health plan design.
Marquis, M Susan; Buntin, Melinda Beeuwkes; Kapur, Kanika; Yegian, Jill M
2005-01-01
American insurers are designing products to contain health care costs by making consumers financially responsible for their choices. Little is known about how consumers will view these new designs. Our objective is to examine consumer preferences for selected benefit designs. We used the contingent choice method to assess willingness to pay for six health plan attributes. Our sample included subscribers to individual health insurance products in California, US. We used fitted logistic regression models to explore how preferences for the more generous attributes varied with the additional premium and with the characteristics of the subscriber. High quality was the most highly valued attribute based on the amounts consumers report they are willing to pay. They were also willing to pay substantial monthly premiums to reduce their overall financial risk. Individuals in lower health were willing to pay more to reduce their financial risk than individuals in better health. Consumers may prefer tiered-benefit designs to those that involve overall increases in cost sharing. More consumer information is needed to help consumers better evaluate the costs and benefits of their insurance choices.
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Schmidt, T B; Schilling, M W; Behrends, J M; Battula, V; Jackson, V; Sekhon, R K; Lawrence, T E
2010-01-01
Consumer research was conducted to evaluate the acceptability of choice and select steaks from the Longissimus lumborum that were cooked to varying degrees of doneness using demographic information, cluster analysis and descriptive analysis. On average, using data from approximately 155 panelists, no differences (P>0.05) existed in consumer acceptability among select and choice steaks, and all treatment means ranged between like slightly and like moderately (6-7) on the hedonic scale. Individual consumers were highly variable in their perception of acceptability and consumers were grouped into clusters (eight for select and seven for choice) based on their preference and liking of steaks. The largest consumer groups liked steaks from all treatments, but other groups preferred (P<0.05) steaks that were cooked to various end-point temperatures. Results revealed that consumers could be grouped together according to preference, liking and descriptive sensory attributes, (juiciness, tenderness, bloody, metallic, and roasted) to further understand consumer perception of steaks that were cooked to different end-point temperatures.
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Zeilinger, Adam R; Olson, Dawn M; Andow, David A
2014-08-01
Consumer feeding preference among resource choices has critical implications for basic ecological and evolutionary processes, and can be highly relevant to applied problems such as ecological risk assessment and invasion biology. Within consumer choice experiments, also known as feeding preference or cafeteria experiments, measures of relative consumption and measures of consumer movement can provide distinct and complementary insights into the strength, causes, and consequences of preference. Despite the distinct value of inferring preference from measures of consumer movement, rigorous and biologically relevant analytical methods are lacking. We describe a simple, likelihood-based, biostatistical model for analyzing the transient dynamics of consumer movement in a paired-choice experiment. With experimental data consisting of repeated discrete measures of consumer location, the model can be used to estimate constant consumer attraction and leaving rates for two food choices, and differences in choice-specific attraction and leaving rates can be tested using model selection. The model enables calculation of transient and equilibrial probabilities of consumer-resource association, which could be incorporated into larger scale movement models. We explore the effect of experimental design on parameter estimation through stochastic simulation and describe methods to check that data meet model assumptions. Using a dataset of modest sample size, we illustrate the use of the model to draw inferences on consumer preference as well as underlying behavioral mechanisms. Finally, we include a user's guide and computer code scripts in R to facilitate use of the model by other researchers.
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Australian consumers are sceptical about but influenced by claims about fat on food labels.
Chan, C; Patch, C; Williams, P
2005-01-01
To explore the beliefs and attitudes of Australian consumers to claims about fat made on the labels of packaged food. Content analysis of transcripts from focus group discussions. A total of 26 female and 10 male participants aged 20-80 y, recruited by advertisement into six focus groups, stratified by age, sex and health status. Awareness of claims about fat was high in this sample of Australians and participants admitted that they influenced their purchase decisions. The most preferred form of claim was 'X% fat free'. Claims were considered most useful on foods that were high in fat. There was considerable scepticism about all nutrient claims, and consumers preferred to check claims about fat against the values in the nutrition information panel. Many claims were seen as advertising that could be misleading, deceptive or confusing. While claims about fat might prompt product trial, factors such as price, taste, naturalness, as well as other nutritional factors, also influenced purchase decisions. Some consumers believe low fat claims encourage over consumption of foods. Changes to regulations governing nutrition claims on food labels should be made to enhance their credibility and support their role in assisting consumers to make healthier food choices.
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Boonen, Lieke H H M; Schut, Frederik T; Koolman, Xander
2008-03-01
Consumer channeling is an important element in the insurer-provider bargaining process. Health insurers can influence provider choice by offering insurance contracts with restricted provider networks. Alternatively, they can offer contracts with unrestricted access and use incentives to motivate consumers to visit preferred providers. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of this alternative strategy of consumer channeling. Using data from two natural experiments in the Dutch pharmacy market, we examine how consumers respond to incentives used by health insurers to influence their choice of provider. We find that consumers are sensitive to rather small incentives and that temporary incentives may sort a long-term effect on provider choice. In addition, we find that both consumer and provider characteristics determine whether consumers are willing to switch to preferred pharmacies.
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Reisch, Lucia A.; Gwozdz, Wencke; De Henauw, Stefaan; Lascorz, Natalia; Pigeot, Iris
2013-01-01
To understand the rising prevalence of childhood obesity in affluent societies, it is necessary to take into account the growing obesity infrastructure, which over past decades has developed into an obesogenic environment. This study examines the effects of one of the constituent factors of consumer societies and a potential contributory factor to childhood obesity: commercial food communication targeted to children. Specifically, it investigates the impact of TV advertising on children's food knowledge and food preferences and correlates these findings with their weight status. Evaluations of traditional information- and education-based interventions suggest that they may not sustainably change food patterns. Based on prior consumer research, we propose five hypotheses, which we then test using a subsample from the IDEFICS study, a large-scale pan-European intervention study on childhood obesity. The results indicate that advertising has divergent effects on children's food knowledge and preferences and that food knowledge is unrelated to food preferences. This finding has important implications for both future research and public policy. PMID:23691285
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Help Preferences Among Employees Who Wish to Change Health Behaviors.
Persson, Roger; Cleal, Bryan; Jakobsen, Mette Øllgaard; Villadsen, Ebbe; Andersen, Lars L
2014-08-01
To examine the help preferences of employees in the Danish police who had acknowledged that they wished to change health behaviors. In addition, we explored whether preferences varied with age, gender, chronic health concerns, positive expectations of good health, and past experiences of in-house health promotion services (i.e., wellness service). Respondents to an electronic questionnaire who acknowledged wishing to change health behaviors in relation to smoking (n = 845), alcohol (n = 684), eating (n = 4,431), and physical activity (n = 5,179) were asked to choose up to three help alternatives on a predefined list. In descending order, smokers preferred help from nicotine gum, no help, and help and support from family and friends. Alcohol consumers preferred no help or help and support from family and friends or "other" forms. Employees who wanted to change eating habits preferred a free fruit bowl, free nutritional guidance, and healthy food at work. Employees who wanted to change physical activity patterns preferred exercise at work, offers of free exercise, and exercise in a social/collegial context. Wishing to change health behaviors is not always accompanied by perceiving a need for assistance. The no-help option was selected fairly frequently and mostly in relation to alcohol and smoking. A fruit bowl was the most preferred option for help, followed by exercise at work and free exercise. Help from traditional health services was ranked low, possibly reflecting that they are primarily viewed as a solution for stopping disease rather than promoting health. © 2013 Society for Public Health Education.
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Romo-Muñoz, Rodrigo Alejandro; Cabas-Monje, Juan Hernán; Garrido-Henrríquez, Héctor Manuel
2017-01-01
In relatively unknown products, consumers use prices as a quality reference. Under such circumstances, the utility function can be non-negative for a specific price range and generate an inverted U-shaped function. The extra virgin olive oil market in Chile is a good example. Although domestic production and consumption have increased significantly in the last few years, consumer knowledge of this product is still limited. The objective of this study was to analyze Chilean consumer preferences and willingness to pay for extra virgin olive oil attributes. Consumers were segmented taking into account purchasing frequency. A Random Parameter Logit model was estimated for preference heterogeneity. Results indicate that the utility function is nonlinear allowing us to differentiate between two regimes. In the first regime, olive oil behaves as a conspicuous good, that is, higher utility is assigned to higher prices and consumers prefer foreign products in smaller containers. Under the second regime, Chilean olive oil in larger containers is preferred. PMID:28892516
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Thomas, R. A.
1983-01-01
A case study of the production, sales, and marketing of spices by one of the major spice companies in Great Britain might be useful for business economics or industrial studies. Particular attention is paid to changing consumer preferences for spices and the company's response to those changes. (Author/IS)
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Fang, David; Fang, Chen-Ling; Tsai, Bi-Kun; Lan, Li-Chi; Hsu, Wen-Shan
2012-08-01
Improvements in communications technology enable consumers to receive information through diverse channels. In the case of avian influenza, information repeated by the mass media socially amplifies the consumer awareness of risks. Facing indeterminate risks, consumers may feel anxious and increase their risk perception. When consumers trust the information published by the media, their uncertainty toward avian influenza may decrease. Consumers might take some actions to reduce risk. Therefore, this study focuses on relationships among trust in messages, risk perception and risk reduction preferences. This study administered 525 random samples and consumer survey questionnaires in different city of Taiwan in 2007. Through statistical analysis, the results demonstrate: (1) the higher the trust consumers have in messages about avian influenza, the lower their risk perceptions are; (2) the higher the consumers' risk perceptions are and, therefore, the higher their desired level of risk reductive, the more likely they are to accept risk reduction strategies; (3) consumer attributes such as age, education level, and marital status correlate with significant differences in risk perception and risk reduction preferences acceptance. Gender has significant differences only in risk reduction preferences and not in risk perception.
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Preference mapping of dulce de leche commercialized in Brazilian markets.
Gaze, L V; Oliveira, B R; Ferrao, L L; Granato, D; Cavalcanti, R N; Conte Júnior, C A; Cruz, A G; Freitas, M Q
2015-03-01
Dulce de leche samples available in the Brazilian market were submitted to sensory profiling by quantitative descriptive analysis and acceptance test, as well sensory evaluation using the just-about-right scale and purchase intent. External preference mapping and the ideal sensory characteristics of dulce de leche were determined. The results were also evaluated by principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, partial least squares regression, artificial neural networks, and logistic regression. Overall, significant product acceptance was related to intermediate scores of the sensory attributes in the descriptive test, and this trend was observed even after consumer segmentation. The results obtained by sensometric techniques showed that optimizing an ideal dulce de leche from the sensory standpoint is a multidimensional process, with necessary adjustments on the appearance, aroma, taste, and texture attributes of the product for better consumer acceptance and purchase. The optimum dulce de leche was characterized by high scores for the attributes sweet taste, caramel taste, brightness, color, and caramel aroma in accordance with the preference mapping findings. In industrial terms, this means changing the parameters used in the thermal treatment and quantitative changes in the ingredients used in formulations. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Physical and sensory characterization and consumer preference of corn and barley-fed beef.
Wismer, W V; Okine, E K; Stein, A; Seibel, M R; Goonewardene, L A
2008-11-01
Steaks from corn-fed and barley-fed beef were characterized by a trained panel, which rated corn-fed beef higher (p<0.05) for tenderness attributes and overall flavor intensity. Canadian consumers preferred (p<0.01) cooked and raw steaks from barley-fed beef, while Mexican consumers showed no preference (p>0.05) for either type of finished beef. Japanese consumers showed a preference (p<0.05) for the appearance of raw barley-fed steaks but a preference for cooked corn-fed steaks (p<0.05). No differences (p>0.05) were observed for Warner-Bratzler shear, marbling scores, cooking losses or Hunter colorimeter values. There was a trend for higher concentrations (p<0.08) of the saturated fatty acids in the barley treatment, but no differences (p>0.10) in mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids.
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Lee, Kenneth; Hoti, Kreshnik; Hughes, Jeffery David; Emmerton, Lynne
2017-06-14
The Internet offers great opportunities for consumers to be informed about their health. However, concerns have been raised regarding its impact on the traditional health consumer-health professional relationship. Our recent survey of 400 Australian adults identified that over half of consumers required some form of navigational support in locating appropriate Web-based health information. We propose that support provided by health professionals would be preferred by consumers; this preference is regardless of whether consumers have a need for navigational support. Secondary analysis of the survey dataset is presented here to quantify consumer-reported support preferences and barriers when navigating Web-based health information. We aimed to quantitatively identify consumers' support preferences for locating Web-based health information and their barriers when navigating Web-based health information. We also aimed to compare such preferences and barriers between consumers identified as needing and not needing support when locating Web-based health information. Chi-square (χ 2 ) tests identified whether each listed support preference differed between subgroups of consumers classified as needing (n=205, 51.3%) or not needing (n=195, 48.8%) navigational support; degree of association, via phi coefficient (φ) tests, were also considered to ascertain the likely practical significance of any differences. This was repeated for each listed barrier. Free-text responses regarding additional support preferences were descriptively analyzed and compared with the quantitative findings to provide a richer understanding of desired support for health information searches. Of the 400 respondents, the most preferred mode of navigational support was involvement of health professionals; this was reported by participants identified as needing and not needing navigational support. While there was a significant difference between groups, the degree of association was small (χ 2 1 [N=400]=13.2; P<.001; φ=.18). Qualitative data from the free-text responses supported consumers' desire for health professional involvement. The two most commonly reported barriers when navigating desired Web-based health information were (1) volume of available information and (2) inconsistency of information between sources; these were reported by participants with and without a need for navigational support. While participants identified with a need for navigational support were more likely to report volume (χ 2 1 [N=387]= 4.40; P=.04; φ=.11) and inconsistency of information (χ 2 1 [N=387]= 16.10, P<.001, φ=.20) as barriers, the degrees of association were small to moderate. Despite concerns in the literature that the popularity of the Internet could compromise the health consumer-health professional relationship, our findings suggest the contrary. Our findings showed that health professionals were found to be the most commonly preferred mode of navigational support, even among consumers classified as not needing navigational support. Further research into how health professionals could assist consumers with Web-based health information seeking could strengthen the health consumer-health professional relationship amidst the growing use of "Dr Google." ©Kenneth Lee, Kreshnik Hoti, Jeffery David Hughes, Lynne Emmerton. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 14.06.2017.
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Ecolabeled paper towels: consumer valuation and expenditure analysis.
Srinivasan, Arun K; Blomquist, Glenn C
2009-01-01
Ecolabeled paper towels are manufactured using post-consumer recycled material and sold in markets using a recycle logo. Environmentally conscious consumers purchase these paper towels and thereby contribute to improving environmental quality. In this paper, we estimate the implicit value placed by consumers on ecolabeled paper towels using a hedonic price function and conduct an expenditure analysis using Heckman's selection model. Using the data set from the Internet-based grocery stores called as Peapod we find that some consumers recognize ecolabels on paper towels and place a substantial, positive price premium on them. The expenditure analysis indicates that for the preferred functional form, the demand for ecolabeled paper towels is inelastic for environmentally conscious consumers. The simulated results from the selection model indicate that a small subsidy for ecolabeled paper towels will not substantially change consumers' purchase decisions.
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Changing food preference as a function of mood.
Christensen, Larry; Brooks, Alisa
2006-07-01
The authors investigated the effect of mood on food selection. Participants (N = 98) indicated the likelihood of general eating and the likelihood of eating specific foods after reading and projecting themselves onto the events and emotions described in a sad and a happy vignette. Both men and women believed they were more likely to consume food following a happy versus a sad event, and men believed they were significantly more likely to eat than did women. However, the type of food men and women believed they would consume interacted with the type of event experienced. Vegetarian snack foods were more likely to be consumed following a happy versus a sad event, with men more likely to eat snack foods. Men did not significantly change in likelihood of consuming sweet foods as their mood changed. However, women believed they were more likely to consume sweet foods following a sad event. The authors discuss the results in terms of a self-medication hypothesis and the effect of carbohydrates on central serotonin and endogenous opioids. Overall, results demonstrated that mood influences belief in the likelihood of food selection.
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Kelson, Marcia; Akl, Elie A; Bastian, Hilda; Cluzeau, Françoise; Curtis, J Randall; Guyatt, Gordon; Montori, Victor M; Oliver, Sandy; Schünemann, Holger J
2012-12-01
Professional societies, like many other organizations around the world, have recognized the need to use rigorous processes to ensure that healthcare recommendations are informed by the best available research evidence. They are also realizing the need to involve consumers of healthcare (patients, caregivers, and the public) and integrate their values and preferences in clinical guideline development. This is the eighth of a series of 14 articles that were prepared to advise guideline developers in respiratory and other diseases. It focuses on where to find information about consumer values and preferences, at what points in the guideline development process to integrate their values and preferences, and why. In this review, we addressed the following questions: (1) What do we mean by "consumers"? (2) Why integrate the values and preferences of consumers of healthcare (patients, caregivers, and the public) into clinical practice guidelines? (3) What are the sources of information on consumer values? (4) When and how should consumer values and preferences be integrated into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease guideline recommendations? We defined consumers as patients, caregivers, and members of the public, excluding groups that may also be identified as consumers of guidelines including health professionals, providers, and commissioners of services. We searched PubMed and other databases of methodological studies for existing systematic reviews and relevant methodological research. We did not conduct systematic reviews ourselves. Our conclusions are based on available evidence, supplemented by a rapid appraisal of a selection of qualitative studies, experience of what guideline developers are doing, and workshop discussions. A clear distinction needs to be made between the use of information on consumer values and preferences by guideline developers, and the direct involvement of consumers in guideline development processes. Sources of information on consumer values include the research literature and direct elicitation of values both from organizations representing consumer interests and from individuals. To complement the identification of consumer values, there are a range of methods for involving consumers at all stages of guideline development, from consultation to direct membership of guideline development groups. Evidence-based guidelines need to consider explicitly the values and preferences of all relevant stakeholders (including those of consumers) and to provide opportunities for patients, caregivers, and the public to engage in the processes that consider and integrate those values into the development of guideline recommendations.
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Functionally specialised birds respond flexibly to seasonal changes in fruit availability.
Bender, Irene M A; Kissling, W Daniel; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Hensen, Isabell; Kühn, Ingolf; Wiegand, Thorsten; Dehling, D Matthias; Schleuning, Matthias
2017-07-01
Interactions between resource and consumer species result in complex ecological networks. The overall structure of these networks is often stable in space and time, but little is known about the temporal stability of the functional roles of consumer species in these networks. We used a trait-based approach to investigate whether consumers (frugivorous birds) show similar degrees of functional specialisation on resources (plants) in ecological networks across seasons. We additionally tested whether closely related bird species have similar degrees of functional specialisation and whether birds that are functionally specialised on specific resource types within a season are flexible in switching to other resource types in other seasons. We analysed four seasonal replicates of two species-rich plant-frugivore networks from the tropical Andes. To quantify fruit preferences of frugivorous birds, we projected their interactions with plants into a multidimensional plant trait space. To measure functional specialisation of birds, we calculated a species' functional niche breadth (the extent of seasonal plant trait space utilised by a particular bird) and functional originality (the extent to which a bird species' fruit preference functionally differs from those of other species in a seasonal network). We additionally calculated functional flexibility, i.e. the ability of bird species to change their fruit preference across seasons in response to variation in plant resources. Functional specialisation of bird species varied more among species than across seasons, and phylogenetically similar bird species showed similar degrees of functional niche breadth (phylogenetic signal λ = 0·81) and functional originality (λ = 0·89). Additionally, we found that birds with high functional flexibility across seasons had narrow functional niche breadth and high functional originality per season, suggesting that birds that are seasonally specialised on particular resources are most flexible in switching to other fruit resources across seasons. The high flexibility of functionally specialised bird species to switch seasonally to other resources challenges the view that consumer species rely on functionally similar resources throughout the year. This flexibility of consumer species may be an important, but widely neglected mechanism that could potentially stabilise consumer-resource networks in response to human disturbance and environmental change. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2017 British Ecological Society.
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Influence of branding on preference-based decision making.
Philiastides, Marios G; Ratcliff, Roger
2013-07-01
Branding has become one of the most important determinants of consumer choices. Intriguingly, the psychological mechanisms of how branding influences decision making remain elusive. In the research reported here, we used a preference-based decision-making task and computational modeling to identify which internal components of processing are affected by branding. We found that a process of noisy temporal integration of subjective value information can model preference-based choices reliably and that branding biases are explained by changes in the rate of the integration process itself. This result suggests that branding information and subjective preference are integrated into a single source of evidence in the decision-making process, thereby altering choice behavior.
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MOEs for Drug Interdiction: Simple Tests Expose Critical Flaws
1991-09-01
operations against illegal !rugs flowing into the U.S. Six candidate measures of effective (MOEs) are subjected to a structured assessment prcess that tests...supports spanning the decision space with a minimum number of MOEs. A small suite of MOEs reflecting relatively pure effects is preferred to long and...responds to changing consumer fashion--this year’s drug of choice may be overtaken by a new fad. Patterns of preference can vary widely by location as
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De Allegri, Manuela; Sanon, Mamadou; Bridges, John; Sauerborn, Rainer
2006-03-01
This paper presents a qualitative investigation of consumers' preferences regarding the single elements of a community-based health insurance (CBI) scheme recently implemented in a rural region in west Africa. The aim is to provide adequate policy-guidance to decision makers in low and middle income countries by producing an in-depth understanding of how consumers' preferences may affect decision to participate in such schemes. Although it has long been suggested that feeble levels of participation may very well be an expression of consumers' dissatisfaction with scheme design, little systematic efforts have so far been channelled towards supporting such argument with empirical evidence. Consumers' preferences were explored through means of 32 individual interviews with household heads. Analysis used the method of constant comparison and was conducted by two independent researchers. Data from 10 focus group discussions provided an additional valuable source of triangulation. Findings suggest that decision to enrol is closely linked to whether the single elements of the scheme match consumers' needs and expectations. In particular, consumers justified decision to join or not to join the insurance scheme in relation to their preference for the unit of enrolment, the premium level and the payment modalities, the benefit package, the health service provider network and the CBI managerial structure. The discussion of the findings focuses on how understanding consumers' preferences and incorporating them in the design of a CBI scheme may result in increased participation rates, ensuring that poor populations gain better access to health services and enjoy greater protection against the cost of illness.
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Crop load and harvest maturity effects on consumer preferences for apricots.
Stanley, Jill; Feng, Jinquan; Olsson, Shane
2015-03-15
Improving apricot fruit quality delivered to consumers is key to ensuring a successful apricot industry. Previous studies have focused on effects of either soluble solids content (SSC) or fruit firmness on consumer preferences, and results have been equivocal. This study evaluated the effects of crop load and harvest maturity how they affected on fruit SSC and firmness, and on subsequent consumer preferences. SSC of apricots was an important factor only when fruit were firmer than 15 N and not immature. When fruit were softer than 15 N, SSC had little influence on consumer liking. In general, consumers preferred fruit that were grown on trees thinned to approximately 10-20% less than typical commercial crop loads and were harvested in a more mature condition. Consumers also preferred fruit that had a higher sugar/acid ratio or BrimA value, which is the °Brix - k × titratable acidity, where k is a constant that varies between species and cultivars depending on the specific acids and sugars present. High apricot flavour and juiciness were associated with greater sweetness. Management practices that increase fruit SSC and sugar/acid ratio, such as reducing crop load, will improve consumer satisfaction as long as fruit are harvested at an adequate maturity stage and are maintained in storage so that they do not soften too quickly. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Wine consumption habits and consumer preferences between wines aged in barrels or with chips.
Pérez-Magariño, Silvia; Ortega-Heras, Miriam; González-Sanjosé, María Luisa
2011-03-30
The use of oak wood pieces in winemaking is increasing, but the acceptance of this technique by consumers is unknown. For that reason, the main aim of this study was to measure consumers' opinion of red wines made with this new technique, their acceptance of them and their intention to purchase these wines. A preference ranking test was also carried out. A specific questionnaire was drawn up for this study and 65 frequent red wine consumers tasted four wines, two aged traditionally in barrels and two macerated with chips, and a forced choice preference test was carried out. Fifty-five per cent of respondents said that they would not buy wines made using oak chips, although most respondents would buy these wines if, after tasting them, they were as pleasant and had the same quality as the wines aged traditionally in barrels. Wines obtained with oak wood fragments were not significantly rejected either by consumers who answered the questionnaire or by consumer tasters, which could be due to the large disparity of preferences found among tasters. The results clearly indicate that producers should develop each wine taking into account the specific preferences of each consumer group. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.
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de Boer, Joop; Schösler, Hanna; Aiking, Harry
2014-05-01
Adapting Western meat consumption to health and sustainability challenges requires an overall reduction of industrially produced animal proteins plus a partial replacement by plant proteins. Combining insights on food, environment, and consumers, this paper aims to explore change strategies that may help to meet these challenges, such as promoting smaller portions of meat ("less"), smaller portions using meat raised in a more sustainable manner ("less but better"), smaller portions and eating more vegetable protein ("less and more varied"), and meatless meals with or without meat substitutes ("veggie-days"). The underlying logic of the strategies was clarified by analyzing dietary choices. A nationwide sample of 1083 Dutch consumers provided information on current eating practices and potential changes. The results show that strategies to change meat eating frequencies and meat portion sizes will appeal to overlapping but partly different segments of consumers and that these strategies can be applied to address consumers in terms of their own preferences. The strategies appeared to have different strengths and weaknesses, making them complementary pathways to facilitate step-by-step changes in the amounts and the sources of protein consumed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ibrahim, Inas Rifaat; Ibrahim, Mohamed Izham Mohamed; Al-Haddad, Mahmoud Sa'di
2012-10-01
Beyond the direct pharmacological effect of medicines, preferences and perceptions toward a particular oral solid dosage form (OSDF) play a crucial role in recovery and may reduce adherence to the prescribed treatment. This study conducted to investigate the most preferred OSDF and the degree to which swallowing solid medication is an issue, to assess perceptions of the therapeutic benefits of the OSDF, and to find predictors of the most preferred OSDF. A cross-sectional study, through convenience sample method, was conducted to survey consumers visiting community pharmacies in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected by self-administered and pre-piloted questionnaires, and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science. Multiple logistic regression analysis and Chi-square tests were used at alpha level = 0.05. A total of 1,000 questionnaire were included in the analysis. Of all respondents, 52.9 % preferred capsule among other OSDF and this preference varied significantly with a number of socio-demographic factors. Ease of swallowing solid medication was the main issue which resulted in preferences for a particular form. A negative perception of the therapeutic benefits of the OSDF was found among 89.1 % of the consumers. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that gender, ease of swallowing, and perceptions of the therapeutic benefits of the OSDF were significant predictors of capsule preferences. Given the fact that consumers are the end users of medicines and their preferences may influence response to the treatment, efforts are worthwhile by the prescribers and medicines' manufactures to understand consumers' preferences of a particular dosage form in order to achieve successful therapy outcomes.
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Zare, Samane; Nemati, Mehdi; Zheng, Yuqing
2018-01-01
Systematic review of research examining consumer preference for the main electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) attributes namely flavor, nicotine strength, and type. A systematic search of peer-reviewed articles resulted in a pool of 12,933 articles. We included only articles that meet all the selection criteria: (1) peer-reviewed, (2) written in English, and (3) addressed consumer preference for one or more of the e-cigarette attributes including flavor, strength, and type. 66 articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. Consumers preferred flavored e-cigarettes, and such preference varied with age groups and smoking status. We also found that several flavors were associated with decreased harm perception while tobacco flavor was associated with increased harm perception. In addition, some flavor chemicals and sweeteners used in e-cigarettes could be of toxicological concern. Finally, consumer preference for nicotine strength and types depended on smoking status, e-cigarette use history, and gender. Adolescents could consider flavor the most important factor trying e-cigarettes and were more likely to initiate vaping through flavored e-cigarettes. Young adults overall preferred sweet, menthol, and cherry flavors, while non-smokers in particular preferred coffee and menthol flavors. Adults in general also preferred sweet flavors (though smokers like tobacco flavor the most) and disliked flavors that elicit bitterness or harshness. In terms of whether flavored e-cigarettes assisted quitting smoking, we found inconclusive evidence. E-cigarette users likely initiated use with a cigarette like product and transitioned to an advanced system with more features. Non-smokers and inexperienced e-cigarettes users tended to prefer no nicotine or low nicotine e-cigarettes while smokers and experienced e-cigarettes users preferred medium and high nicotine e-cigarettes. Weak evidence exists regarding a positive interaction between menthol flavor and nicotine strength.
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Fang, David; Fang, Chen-Ling; Tsai, Bi-Kun; Lan, Li-Chi; Hsu, Wen-Shan
2012-01-01
Improvements in communications technology enable consumers to receive information through diverse channels. In the case of avian influenza, information repeated by the mass media socially amplifies the consumer awareness of risks. Facing indeterminate risks, consumers may feel anxious and increase their risk perception. When consumers trust the information published by the media, their uncertainty toward avian influenza may decrease. Consumers might take some actions to reduce risk. Therefore, this study focuses on relationships among trust in messages, risk perception and risk reduction preferences. This study administered 525 random samples and consumer survey questionnaires in different city of Taiwan in 2007. Through statistical analysis, the results demonstrate: (1) the higher the trust consumers have in messages about avian influenza, the lower their risk perceptions are; (2) the higher the consumers’ risk perceptions are and, therefore, the higher their desired level of risk reductive, the more likely they are to accept risk reduction strategies; (3) consumer attributes such as age, education level, and marital status correlate with significant differences in risk perception and risk reduction preferences acceptance. Gender has significant differences only in risk reduction preferences and not in risk perception. PMID:23066394
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Effects of Adolescent Caffeine Consumption on Cocaine Sensitivity
O'Neill, Casey E; Levis, Sophia C; Schreiner, Drew C; Amat, Jose; Maier, Steven F; Bachtell, Ryan K
2015-01-01
Caffeine is the most commonly used psychoactive substance, and consumption by adolescents has risen markedly in recent years. We identified the effects of adolescent caffeine consumption on cocaine sensitivity and determined neurobiological changes within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) that may underlie caffeine-induced hypersensitivity to cocaine. Male Sprague-Dawley rats consumed caffeine (0.3 g/l) or water for 28 days during adolescence (postnatal day 28–55; P28–P55) or adulthood (P67–P94). Testing occurred in the absence of caffeine during adulthood (P62–82 or P101–121). Cocaine-induced and quinpirole (D2 receptor agonist)-induced locomotion was enhanced in rats that consumed caffeine during adolescence. Adolescent consumption of caffeine also enhanced the development of a conditioned place preference at a sub-threshold dose of cocaine (7.5 mg/kg, i.p.). These behavioral changes were not observed in adults consuming caffeine for an equivalent period of time. Sucrose preferences were not altered in rats that consumed caffeine during adolescence, suggesting there are no differences in natural reward. Caffeine consumption during adolescence reduced basal dopamine levels and augmented dopamine release in the NAc in response to cocaine (5 mg/kg, i.p.). Caffeine consumption during adolescence also increased the expression of the dopamine D2 receptor, dopamine transporter, and adenosine A1 receptor and decreased adenosine A2A receptor expression in the NAc. Consumption of caffeine during adulthood increased adenosine A1 receptor expression in the NAc, but no other protein expression changes were observed. Together these findings suggest that caffeine consumption during adolescence produced changes in the NAc that are evident in adulthood and may contribute to increases in cocaine-mediated behaviors. PMID:25328052
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A Methodology for Determining Consumer Attitudes and Behavior Air Force Appropriated Dinning
1990-08-01
concerns and some 8 deal with consumer preferences . Though none of the information was used as such for the questionnaires developed for this study, they...D.C.: National Restaurant Association, Research and Information Service Department. National Restaurant Association. (1984). Consumer preferences for
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Data and Tools | Transportation Research | NREL
Projection Tool Lite Tool for projecting consumer demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the technologies or for selecting a technology to invest in. Transportation-Related Consumer Preference Data Consumer preference data related to alternative fuel and advanced vehicle technologies to support the
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Bringing text display digital radio to consumers with hearing loss.
Sheffield, Ellyn G; Starling, Michael; Schwab, Daniel
2011-01-01
Radio is migrating to digital transmission, expanding its offerings to include captioning for individuals with hearing loss. Text display radio requires a large amount of word throughput with minimal screen display area, making good user interface design crucial to its success. In two experiments, we presented hearing, hard-of-hearing, and deaf consumers with National Public Radio stories converted to text and examined their preferences for and reactions to midsized and small radio text displays. We focused on physical display attributes such as text color, font style, line length, and scrolling type as well as emergency alert messages and emergency prompts for drivers, announcer identification schemes, and synchronization of audio and text. Results suggest that midsized, Global Positioning System (GPS)-style displays were well liked, synchronization of audio and text was important to comprehension and retrieval of story details, identification of announcers was served best with a combination of name change in parenthesis and color change, and a mixture of color and flashing symbols was preferred for emergency alerting.
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Consumer Acceptability of Intramuscular Fat
Frank, Damian; Joo, Seon-Tea
2016-01-01
Fat in meat greatly improves eating quality, yet many consumers avoid visible fat, mainly because of health concerns. Generations of consumers, especially in the English-speaking world, have been convinced by health authorities that animal fat, particularly saturated or solid fat, should be reduced or avoided to maintain a healthy diet. Decades of negative messages regarding animal fats has resulted in general avoidance of fatty cuts of meat. Paradoxically, low fat or lean meat tends to have poor eating quality and flavor and low consumer acceptability. The failure of low-fat high-carbohydrate diets to curb “globesity” has prompted many experts to re-evaluate of the place of fat in human diets, including animal fat. Attitudes towards fat vary dramatically between and within cultures. Previous generations of humans sought out fatty cuts of meat for their superior sensory properties. Many consumers in East and Southeast Asia have traditionally valued more fatty meat cuts. As nutritional messages around dietary fat change, there is evidence that attitudes towards animal fat are changing and many consumers are rediscovering and embracing fattier cuts of meat, including marbled beef. The present work provides a short overview of the unique sensory characteristics of marbled beef and changing consumer preferences for fat in meat in general. PMID:28115880
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Do region and gender influence hardwood product selection?
Delton Alderman
2013-01-01
Consumer preference is a fundamental focus of marketing research as it is used in developing marketing strategy and the positioning of products against competitors. This study evaluated consumer hardwood preferences of consumers from three United States geographical regions, which included six different metropolitan areas. Seven hardwood species and three laminate...
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Chen, Liwei; Pye, Jessica; Baird, Aaron
2013-01-01
Background Consumer use of mobile devices as health service delivery aids (mHealth) is growing, especially as smartphones become ubiquitous. However, questions remain as to how consumer traits, health perceptions, situational characteristics, and demographics may affect consumer mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. Objective We examine how consumers’ personal innovativeness toward mobile services (PIMS), perceived health conditions, health care availability, health care utilization, demographics, and socioeconomic status affect their (1) mHealth usage intentions and extent of mHealth assimilation, and (2) preference for mHealth as a complement or substitute for in-person doctor visits. Methods Leveraging constructs from research in technology acceptance, technology assimilation, consumer behavior, and health informatics, we developed a cross-sectional online survey to study determinants of consumers’ mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. Data were collected from 1132 nationally representative US consumers and analyzed by using moderated multivariate regressions and ANOVA. Results The results indicate that (1) 430 of 1132 consumers in our sample (37.99%) have started using mHealth, (2) a larger quantity of consumers are favorable to using mHealth as a complement to in-person doctor visits (758/1132, 66.96%) than as a substitute (532/1132, 47.00%), and (3) consumers’ PIMS and perceived health conditions have significant positive direct influences on mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences, and significant positive interactive influences on assimilation and channel preferences. The independent variables within the moderated regressions collectively explained 59.70% variance in mHealth usage intentions, 60.41% in mHealth assimilation, 34.29% in preference for complementary use of mHealth, and 45.30% in preference for substitutive use of mHealth. In a follow-up ANOVA examination, we found that those who were more favorable toward using mHealth as a substitute for in-person doctor visits than as a complement indicated stronger intentions to use mHealth (F 1,702=20.14, P<.001) and stronger assimilation of mHealth (F 1,702=41.866, P<.001). Conclusions Multiple predictors are shown to have significant associations with mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. We suggest that future initiatives to promote mHealth should shift targeting of consumers from coarse demographics to nuanced considerations of individual dispositions toward mobile service innovations, complementary or substitutive channel use preferences, perceived health conditions, health services availability and utilization, demographics, and socioeconomic characteristics. PMID:23912839
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2016-01-01
Convenience, taste, and prices are the main determinants of food choices. Complying with dietary recommendations therefore imposes a “taste cost” on consumers, potentially hindering adoption of those recommendations. The study presents and applies a new methodology, based on economic theory, to quantify this taste cost and assess the health and welfare effects of different dietary recommendations. Then, by comparison of those effects, we identify socially desirable recommendations that are most compatible with consumer preferences (i.e., that best balance health benefits against”taste cost”) and should be prioritized for promotion. The methodology proceeds in three-steps: first, an economic-behavioral model simulates how whole diets would change if consumers complied with dietary recommendations; second, an epidemiological model estimates the number of deaths avoided (DA) due to the dietary change; third, an efficiency analysis weighs the health benefits against the taste and policy costs of each recommendation. The empirical model is calibrated using French data. We find that recommendations to reduce consumption of red meat and soft-drinks, or raise consumption of milk products and fish/seafood impose relatively moderate taste costs. By comparison, recommendations related to F&V consumption and, to a lesser extent, butter/cream/cheese, snacks, and all meats impose larger taste costs on consumers. The F&V recommendation is the costliest for consumers to comply with, but it also reduces diet-related mortality the most, so that a large budget could be allocated to promoting F&V consumption while keeping this policy cost-beneficial. We conclude that promotion of most dietary recommendations improves social welfare. Our framework complements the programming models available in nutrition and public health: those models are best used to identify dietary targets, following which our framework identifies cost-beneficial ways of moving towards those targets. PMID:27362764
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Irz, Xavier; Leroy, Pascal; Réquillart, Vincent; Soler, Louis-Georges
2016-01-01
Convenience, taste, and prices are the main determinants of food choices. Complying with dietary recommendations therefore imposes a "taste cost" on consumers, potentially hindering adoption of those recommendations. The study presents and applies a new methodology, based on economic theory, to quantify this taste cost and assess the health and welfare effects of different dietary recommendations. Then, by comparison of those effects, we identify socially desirable recommendations that are most compatible with consumer preferences (i.e., that best balance health benefits against"taste cost") and should be prioritized for promotion. The methodology proceeds in three-steps: first, an economic-behavioral model simulates how whole diets would change if consumers complied with dietary recommendations; second, an epidemiological model estimates the number of deaths avoided (DA) due to the dietary change; third, an efficiency analysis weighs the health benefits against the taste and policy costs of each recommendation. The empirical model is calibrated using French data. We find that recommendations to reduce consumption of red meat and soft-drinks, or raise consumption of milk products and fish/seafood impose relatively moderate taste costs. By comparison, recommendations related to F&V consumption and, to a lesser extent, butter/cream/cheese, snacks, and all meats impose larger taste costs on consumers. The F&V recommendation is the costliest for consumers to comply with, but it also reduces diet-related mortality the most, so that a large budget could be allocated to promoting F&V consumption while keeping this policy cost-beneficial. We conclude that promotion of most dietary recommendations improves social welfare. Our framework complements the programming models available in nutrition and public health: those models are best used to identify dietary targets, following which our framework identifies cost-beneficial ways of moving towards those targets.
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Cliff, Margaret A; Stanich, Kareen; Lu, Ran; Hampson, Cheryl R
2016-04-01
This research compared four new apple selections with 16 established apples using descriptive analysis (DA), instrumental analyses and preference mapping, in order to identify suitable selections for commercialization and further research. DA revealed that the new apple selections (PARC1, PARC2, PARC3, PARC4) were very similar in texture/mouthfeel (T) but differed in their flavor (F) and appearance (A) characteristics. Preference mapping revealed that consumers' T preferences were driven primarily by crispness, juiciness and lack of skin toughness, while F preferences were driven by sweetness, lack of tartness and presence of fruity flavor. Consumers' A preferences were driven by a high percentage of red color and degree of striping. The majority of consumers had similar T (82-85%) and F (88-92%) preferences for the early- and mid/late-harvest apples. In contrast, consumers' A preferences were differentiated into three subgroups (60%, 24%, 16%) for the early-harvest apples, but not for the mid/late-harvest apples. The new apple selections were among those most liked for T, F and A. This early-stage consumer research confirmed that the new apples were comparable, if not superior, to the established apples. As such, it provided the necessary feedback to industry to proceed with commercialization and optimization of cultural and storage practices. © 2015 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
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A real-time error-free color-correction facility for digital consumers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Shaw, Rodney
2008-01-01
It has been well known since the earliest days of color photography that color-balance in general, and facial reproduction (flesh tones) in particular, are of dominant interest to the consumer, and significant research resources have been expended in satisfying this need. The general problem is a difficult one, spanning the factors that govern perception and personal preference, the physics and chemistry of color reproduction, as well as wide field of color measurement specification, and analysis. However, with the advent of digital photography and its widespread acceptance in the consumer market, and with the possibility of a much greater degree of individual control over color reproduction, the field is taking on a new consumer-driven impetus, and the provision of user facilities for preferred color choice now constitutes an intense field of research. In addition, due to the conveniences of digital technology, the collection of large data bases and statistics relating to individual color preferences have now become a relatively straightforward operation. Using a consumer preference approach of this type, we have developed a user-friendly facility whereby unskilled consumers may manipulate the color of their personal digital images according to their preferred choice. By virtue of its ease of operation and the real-time nature of the color-correction transforms, this facility can readily be inserted anywhere a consumer interacts with a digital image, from camera, printer, or scanner, to web or photo-kiosk. Here the underlying scientific principles are explored in detail, and these are related to the practical color-preference outcomes. Examples are given of the application to the correction of images with unsatisfactory color balance, and especially to flesh tones and faces, and the nature of the consumer controls and their corresponding image transformations are explored.
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Consumer nueroscience: a new area of study for biomedical engineers.
Babiloni, Fabio
2012-01-01
In scientific literature, the most accepted definition of consumer neuroscience or neuromarketing is that it is a field of study concerning the application of neuroscience methods to analyze and understand human behavior related to markets and marketing exchanges. First, it might seem strange that marketers would be interested in using neuroscience to understand consumer's preferences. Yet in practice, the basic goal of marketers is to guide the design and presentation of products in such a way that they are highly compatible with consumer preferences. To understand consumers preferences, several standard research tools are commonly used by marketers, such as personal interviews with the consumers, scoring questionnaries gathered from consumers, and focus groups. The reason marketing researchers are interested in using brain imaging tools instead of simply asking people for their preferences in front of marketing stimuli, arises from the assumption that people cannot (or do not want to) fully explain their preference when explicitly asked. Researchers in the field hypothesize that neuroimaging tools can access information within the consumer's brain during the generation of a preference or the observation of a commercial advertisement. The question of will this information be useful in further promoting the product is still up for debate in marketing literature. From the marketing researchers point of view, there is a hope that this body of brain imaging techniques will provide an efficient tradeoff between costs and benefits of the research. Currently, neuroscience methodology includes powerful brain imaging tools based on the gathering of hemodynamic or electromagnetic signals related to the human brain activity during the performance of a relevant task for marketing objectives. These tools are briefly reviewed in this article.
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Patrick, M; Ditunno, P; Ditunno, J F; Marino, R J; Scivoletto, G; Lam, T; Loffree, J; Tamburella, F; Leiby, B
2011-12-01
Blinded rank ordering. To determine consumer preference in walking function utilizing the walking Index for spinal cord injury II (WISCI II) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI)from the Canada, the Italy and the United States of America. In all, 42 consumers with incomplete SCI (25 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar) from Canada (12/42), Italy (14/42) and the United States of America (16/42) ranked the 20 levels of the WISCI II scale by their individual preference for walking. Subjects were blinded to the original ranking of the WISCI II scale by clinical scientists. Photographs of each WISCI II level used in a previous pilot study were randomly shuffled and rank ordered. Percentile, conjoint/cluster and graphic analyses were performed. All three analyses illustrated consumer ranking followed a bimodal distribution. Ranking for two levels with physical assistance and two levels with a walker were bimodal with a difference of five to six ranks between consumer subgroups (quartile analysis). The larger cluster (N=20) showed preference for walking with assistance over the smaller cluster (N=12), whose preference was walking without assistance and more devices. In all, 64% (27/42) of consumers ranked WISCI II level with no devices or braces and 1 person assistance higher than multiple levels of the WISCI II requiring no assistance. These results were unexpected, as the hypothesis was that consumers would rank independent walking higher than walking with assistance. Consumer preference for walking function should be considered in addition to objective measures in designing SCI trials that use significant improvement in walking function as an outcome measure.
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A fuzzy set preference model for market share analysis
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Turksen, I. B.; Willson, Ian A.
1992-01-01
Consumer preference models are widely used in new product design, marketing management, pricing, and market segmentation. The success of new products depends on accurate market share prediction and design decisions based on consumer preferences. The vague linguistic nature of consumer preferences and product attributes, combined with the substantial differences between individuals, creates a formidable challenge to marketing models. The most widely used methodology is conjoint analysis. Conjoint models, as currently implemented, represent linguistic preferences as ratio or interval-scaled numbers, use only numeric product attributes, and require aggregation of individuals for estimation purposes. It is not surprising that these models are costly to implement, are inflexible, and have a predictive validity that is not substantially better than chance. This affects the accuracy of market share estimates. A fuzzy set preference model can easily represent linguistic variables either in consumer preferences or product attributes with minimal measurement requirements (ordinal scales), while still estimating overall preferences suitable for market share prediction. This approach results in flexible individual-level conjoint models which can provide more accurate market share estimates from a smaller number of more meaningful consumer ratings. Fuzzy sets can be incorporated within existing preference model structures, such as a linear combination, using the techniques developed for conjoint analysis and market share estimation. The purpose of this article is to develop and fully test a fuzzy set preference model which can represent linguistic variables in individual-level models implemented in parallel with existing conjoint models. The potential improvements in market share prediction and predictive validity can substantially improve management decisions about what to make (product design), for whom to make it (market segmentation), and how much to make (market share prediction).
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Hunger enhances consistent economic choices in non-human primates.
Yamada, Hiroshi
2017-05-24
Hunger and thirst are fundamental biological processes that drive consumption behavior in humans and non-human animals. While the existing literature in neuroscience suggests that these satiety states change how consumable rewards are represented in the brain, it remains unclear as to how they change animal choice behavior and the underlying economic preferences. Here, I used combined techniques from experimental economics, psychology, and neuroscience to measure food preferences of marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus), a recently developed primate model for neuroscience. Hunger states of animals were manipulated by scheduling feeding intervals, resulting in three different conditions: sated, non-sated, and hungry. During these hunger states, animals performed pairwise choices of food items, which included all possible pairwise combinations of five different food items except for same-food pairs. Results showed that hunger enhanced economic rationality, evident as a decrease of transitivity violations (item A was preferred to item B, and B to C, but C was preferred to A). Further analysis demonstrated that hungry monkeys chose more-preferred items over less-preferred items in a more deterministic manner, while the individual food preferences appeared to remain stable across hunger states. These results suggest that hunger enhances consistent choice behavior and shifts animals towards efficient outcome maximization.
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U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Processing Industries.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Buckley, Katharine C.; And Others
Because of shifts in consumer tastes and preferences, demographics, technology, government regulation, and the expanding interdependence of world markets, the United States fruit and vegetable processing industries must operate in a constantly changing and uncertain economic environment. U.S. per capita use of processed fruits and vegetables is…
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Klingaman, Elizabeth A; Medoff, Deborah R; Park, Stephanie G; Brown, Clayton H; Fang, Lijuan; Dixon, Lisa B; Hack, Samantha M; Tapscott, Stephanie L; Walsh, Mary Brighid; Kreyenbuhl, Julie A
2015-09-01
Although dissatisfaction is a primary reason for disengagement from outpatient psychiatric care among consumers with serious mental illnesses, little is known about predictors of their satisfaction with medication management visits. The primary purpose of this study was to explore how dimensions of consumer preferences for shared decision making (i.e., preferences for obtaining knowledge about one's mental illness, being offered and asked one's opinion about treatment options, and involvement in treatment decisions) and the therapeutic relationship (i.e., positive collaboration and type of clinician input) were related to visit satisfaction. Participants were 228 Veterans with serious mental illnesses who completed a 19-item self-report questionnaire assessing satisfaction with visits to prescribers (524 assessments) immediately after visits. In this correlational design, a 3-level mixed model with the restricted maximum likelihood estimation procedure was used to examine shared decision-making preferences and therapeutic alliance as predictors of visit satisfaction. Preferences for involvement in treatment decisions was the unique component of shared decision making associated with satisfaction, such that the more consumers desired involvement, the less satisfied they were. Positive collaboration and prescriber input were associated with greater visit satisfaction. When consumers with serious mental illnesses express preferences to be involved in shared decision making, it may not be sufficient to only provide information and treatment options; prescribers should attend to consumers' interest in involvement in actual treatment decisions. Assessment and tailoring of treatment approaches to consumer preferences for shared decision making should occur within the context of a strong therapeutic relationship. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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Consumer attitudes and preferences for fresh market tomatoes.
Oltman, A E; Jervis, S M; Drake, M A
2014-10-01
This study established attractive attributes and consumer desires for fresh tomatoes. Three focus groups (n = 28 participants) were conducted to explore how consumers perceived tomatoes, including how they purchased and consumed them. Subsequently, an Adaptive Choice Based Conjoint (ACBC) survey was conducted to understand consumer preferences toward traditional tomatoes. The ACBC survey with Kano questions (n = 1037 consumers in Raleigh, NC) explored the importance of color, firmness, size, skin, texture, interior, seed presence, flavor, and health benefits. The most important tomato attribute was color, then juice when sliced, followed by size, followed by seed presence, which was at parity with firmness. An attractive tomato was red, firm, medium/small sized, crisp, meaty, juicy, flavorful, and with few seeds. Deviations from these features resulted in a tomato that was rejected by consumers. Segmentations of consumers were determined by patterns in utility scores. External attributes were the main drivers of tomato liking, but different groups of tomato consumers exist with distinct preferences for juiciness, firmness, flavor, and health benefits. Conjoint analysis is a research technique that collects a large amount of data from consumers in a format designed to be reflective of a real life market setting and can be combined with qualitative insight from focus groups to gain information on consumer consumption and purchase behaviors. This study established that the most important fresh tomato attributes were color, amount of juice when sliced, and size. Distinct consumer clusters were differentiated by preference for color/appearance, juiciness and firm texture. Tomato growers can utilize the results to target attributes that drive consumer choice for fresh tomatoes. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Vital, Ana Carolina Pelaes; Guerrero, Ana; Kempinski, Emilia Maria Barbosa Carvalho; Monteschio, Jessica de Oliveira; Sary, Cesar; Ramos, Tatiane Rogelio; Campo, María Del Mar; Prado, Ivanor Nunes do
2018-09-01
Fresh animal products are highly perishable and characterized by a short shelf-life. Edible coatings with natural antioxidants (essential oils: EOs) could improve stability, ensure quality, and increase the shelf-life of fresh products. Due to the strong flavor of EOs, their use should consider consumer preferences and sensory acceptability. This study evaluated the effects of edible coating (with oregano and rosemary essential oil) on beef in relation to consumer preferences, besides the determination of habits of consumption and buying intentions of consumers. Acceptability scores from three clusters of consumers was described. Coating with oregano was the preferred. The higher consumer acceptance and willingness to buy this product indicate a great potential and possibility of using coatings with essential oils in fresh animal products. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Oh, Woon Yong; Lee, Ji Woong; Lee, Chong Eon; Ko, Moon Seok; Jeong, Jae Hong
2009-12-01
In this study, a structured survey questionnaire was used to determine consumers' preferences and behavior with regard to horse meat at a horse meat restaurant located in Jeju, Korea, from October 1 to December 24, 2005. The questionnaire employed in this study consisted of 20 questions designed to characterize six general attributes: horse meat sensory property, physical appearance, health condition, origin, price, and other attributes. Of the 1370 questionnaires distributed, 1126 completed questionnaires were retained based on the completeness of the answers, representing an 82.2% response rate. Two issues were investigated that might facilitate the search for ways to improve horse meat production and marketing programs in Korea. The first step was to determine certain important factors, called principal components, which enabled the researchers to understand the needs of horse meat consumers via principal component analysis. The second step was to define consumer segments with regard to their preferences for horse meat, which was accomplished via cluster analysis. The results of the current study showed that health condition, price, origin, and leanness were the most critical physical attributes affecting the preferences of horse meat consumers. Four segments of consumers, with different demands for horse meat attributes, were identified: origin-sensitive consumers, price-sensitive consumers, quality and safety-sensitive consumers, and non-specific consumers. Significant differences existed among segments of consumers in terms of age, nature of work, frequency of consumption, and general level of acceptability of horse meat.
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Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P.; Matthias, Marianne S.; Collins, Linda; Thompson, John; Coffman, Melinda; Torrey, William C.
2014-01-01
The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine elements of shared decision making (SDM), and to establish empirical evidence for factors correlated with SDM and the level of agreement between consumer and provider in psychiatric care. Transcripts containing 128 audio-recorded medication check-up visits with eight providers at three community mental health centers were rated using the Shared Decision Making scale, adapted from Braddock’s Informed Decision Making Scale (Braddock et al., 1997; 1999; 2008). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that greater consumer activity in the session and greater decision complexity significantly predicted the SDM score. The best predictor of agreement between consumer and provider was “exploration of consumer preference,” with a four-fold increase in full agreement when consumer preferences were discussed more completely. Enhancing active consumer participation, particularly by incorporating consumer preferences in the decision making process appears to be an important factor in SDM. PMID:23299226
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USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Consumers and growers in China sometime complain that Kiwifruits treated with an ethylene action inhibitor 1-MCP are difficult to ripen and show poor eating quality. This study addresses the quality parameters affecting consumer preferences and reevaluates the necessity of 1-MCP application for stor...
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Realini, C E; Font i Furnols, M; Sañudo, C; Montossi, F; Oliver, M A; Guerrero, L
2013-09-01
The effect of country of origin (local, Switzerland, Argentina, Uruguay), finishing diet (grass, grass plus concentrate, concentrate), and price (low, medium, high) on consumer's beef choice and segmentation was evaluated in Spain, France and United Kingdom. Sensory acceptability of Uruguayan beef from different production systems was also evaluated and contrasted with consumers' beef choices. Origin was the most important characteristic for the choice of beef with preference for meat produced locally. The second most important factor was animal feed followed by price with preference for beef from grass-fed animals and lowest price. The least preferred product was beef from Uruguay, concentrate-fed animals and highest price. Sensory data showed higher acceptability scores for Uruguayan beef from grass-fed animals with or without concentrate supplementation than animals fed concentrate only. Consumer segments with distinct preferences were identified. Foreign country promotion seems to be fundamental for marketing beef in Europe, as well as the development of different marketing strategies to satisfy each consumer segment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Parpinello, Giuseppina Paola; Plumejeau, François; Maury, Chantal; Versari, Andrea
2012-04-01
The main objective of this study was to improve the structure of a Cabernet Sauvignon red wine in a short period of time by micro-oxygenation (MOX) at high rates (25 and 50 mL L(-1) month(-1) ), the effects of which were evaluated based on sensory characteristics and consumer preference. Sensory data were analysed by principal component analysis, discriminant analysis and ordinal logistic regression (OLR). MOX led to significant differences in the colour, colour stability and phenolic compounds of wine. Sensory characteristics also changed through MOX treatment, and wine experts were able to discriminate between MOX-treated and untreated samples, with olfactory intensity, complexity, astringency and roundness being the main discriminating characteristics. Ordinal logistic regression enabled identification of the sensory characteristics that drove consumer preference. MOX at high rates improved the sensory characteristics of wine and may therefore be considered a valid technique for obtaining structured wines in a short period of time, i.e. within just a few months after the vintage. The results highlight the need for (i) careful selection of the MOX dosage rate and duration (the 25 mL L(-1) month(-1) dose for 6 days provided the best result) and (ii) continuous monitoring of the MOX treatment. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Guinard, Jean-Xavier; Myrdal Miller, Amy; Mills, Kelly; Wong, Thomas; Lee, Soh Min; Sirimuangmoon, Chirat; Schaefer, Sarah E; Drescher, Greg
2016-10-01
We tested the hypothesis that because of their flavor-enhancing properties, mushrooms could be used as a healthy substitute for meat and a mitigating agent for sodium (salt) reduction without reduction in sensory appeal among consumers. In a fully-randomized design for each product, 147 consumers evaluated blind two carne asada and six taco blend recipes in which beef had been partially substituted with mushrooms and/or salt had been reduced by 25%, for overall liking, liking of appearance, flavor, texture and mouth feel on the 9-point hedonic scale, and adequacy of level of saltiness, spiciness and moistness on 5-point just-about-right (JAR) scales. Overall consumer acceptance of the carne asada, and liking for its appearance, flavor and texture/mouth feel decreased significantly when half the steak was substituted with mushrooms. The taco blend recipes with full sodium were also liked more overall than those with 25% less sodium. But there was no significant difference in overall liking among the three full-salt recipes, nor among the three reduced-salt recipes, indicating that across the consumer population we tested, acceptance of the mushroom-containing recipes was on par with that of the 100% beef recipe. The preference mapping analysis of the overall liking ratings of the taco blends uncovered four preference segments, two of which, representing a majority of the consumers, gave higher acceptance scores to the mushroom-substituted recipes. Furthermore, the largest preference segment liked the full- and reduced-sodium recipes equally, and another liked the reduced-sodium recipes significantly more. This research demonstrates that through their flavor enhancing properties, mushrooms can be used successfully to substitute for beef and even possibly mitigate sodium reduction without significant change in acceptance for a majority of consumers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Hedonic Changes in Food Choices Following Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass.
Hansen, Thea Toft; Jakobsen, Tine Anette; Nielsen, Mette Søndergaard; Sjödin, Anders; Le Roux, Carel W; Schmidt, Julie Berg
2016-08-01
It has been suggested that a shift in food choices leading to a diet with a lower energy density plays an important role in successful weight loss after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery. A decreased hedonic drive to consume highly palatable foods may explain these changes in eating behavior. Here, we review the literature examining postoperative changes in mechanisms contributing to hedonic drive (food preferences, reinforcing value of food, dopamine signaling, and activity reward-related brain regions). The majority of studies reviewed support that RYGB decrease the hedonic drive to consume highly palatable foods. Still, in order to fully understand the complexity of these changes, we need studies combining sociological and psychological approaches with objective measures of actual food choices examining different measures of hedonic drive.
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Hoti, Kreshnik; Hughes, Jeffery David; Emmerton, Lynne
2017-01-01
Background The Internet offers great opportunities for consumers to be informed about their health. However, concerns have been raised regarding its impact on the traditional health consumer-health professional relationship. Our recent survey of 400 Australian adults identified that over half of consumers required some form of navigational support in locating appropriate Web-based health information. We propose that support provided by health professionals would be preferred by consumers; this preference is regardless of whether consumers have a need for navigational support. Secondary analysis of the survey dataset is presented here to quantify consumer-reported support preferences and barriers when navigating Web-based health information. Objective We aimed to quantitatively identify consumers’ support preferences for locating Web-based health information and their barriers when navigating Web-based health information. We also aimed to compare such preferences and barriers between consumers identified as needing and not needing support when locating Web-based health information. Methods Chi-square (χ2) tests identified whether each listed support preference differed between subgroups of consumers classified as needing (n=205, 51.3%) or not needing (n=195, 48.8%) navigational support; degree of association, via phi coefficient (φ) tests, were also considered to ascertain the likely practical significance of any differences. This was repeated for each listed barrier. Free-text responses regarding additional support preferences were descriptively analyzed and compared with the quantitative findings to provide a richer understanding of desired support for health information searches. Results Of the 400 respondents, the most preferred mode of navigational support was involvement of health professionals; this was reported by participants identified as needing and not needing navigational support. While there was a significant difference between groups, the degree of association was small (χ21 [N=400]=13.2; P<.001; φ=.18). Qualitative data from the free-text responses supported consumers’ desire for health professional involvement. The two most commonly reported barriers when navigating desired Web-based health information were (1) volume of available information and (2) inconsistency of information between sources; these were reported by participants with and without a need for navigational support. While participants identified with a need for navigational support were more likely to report volume (χ21 [N=387]= 4.40; P=.04; φ=.11) and inconsistency of information (χ21 [N=387]= 16.10, P<.001, φ=.20) as barriers, the degrees of association were small to moderate. Conclusions Despite concerns in the literature that the popularity of the Internet could compromise the health consumer-health professional relationship, our findings suggest the contrary. Our findings showed that health professionals were found to be the most commonly preferred mode of navigational support, even among consumers classified as not needing navigational support. Further research into how health professionals could assist consumers with Web-based health information seeking could strengthen the health consumer-health professional relationship amidst the growing use of “Dr Google.” PMID:28615156
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Application of information theory methods to food web reconstruction
Moniz, L.J.; Cooch, E.G.; Ellner, S.P.; Nichols, J.D.; Nichols, J.M.
2007-01-01
In this paper we use information theory techniques on time series of abundances to determine the topology of a food web. At the outset, the food web participants (two consumers, two resources) are known; in addition we know that each consumer prefers one of the resources over the other. However, we do not know which consumer prefers which resource, and if this preference is absolute (i.e., whether or not the consumer will consume the non-preferred resource). Although the consumers and resources are identified at the beginning of the experiment, we also provide evidence that the consumers are not resources for each other, and the resources do not consume each other. We do show that there is significant mutual information between resources; the model is seasonally forced and some shared information between resources is expected. Similarly, because the model is seasonally forced, we expect shared information between consumers as they respond to the forcing of the resources. The model that we consider does include noise, and in an effort to demonstrate that these methods may be of some use in other than model data, we show the efficacy of our methods with decreasing time series size; in this particular case we obtain reasonably clear results with a time series length of 400 points. This approaches ecological time series lengths from real systems.
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Sensory properties and consumer acceptance of imported and domestic sliced black ripe olives.
Lee, Soh Min; Kitsawad, Kamolnate; Sigal, Abdulkadir; Flynn, Dan; Guinard, Jean-Xavier
2012-12-01
Table olives are healthy and nutritious products with high contents of monounsaturated fatty acids, phenolics, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Understanding sensory cues affecting consumer preferences would enable the increase of olive consumption. The objectives of this study were to characterize the sensory properties of commercial sliced black ripe olives from different regions, including California, Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, and to examine the preferences of California consumers for sliced black ripe olives. Sensory profiles and preferences for 20 sliced olive samples were determined using descriptive analysis with a trained panel and a consumer test with 104 users and likers of table olives. Aroma and flavor characteristics separated the olives according to country of origin, and were the main determinants of consumer preferences for sliced olives, even though the biggest differences among the samples were in appearance and texture. Total of 2 consumer segments were identified with 51 and 53 consumers, respectively, that both liked Californian products, but differed in the olives they disliked. Negative drivers of liking for both segments included alcohol, oak barrel, and artificial fruity/floral characteristics; however, consumers from Cluster 1 were further negatively influenced by rancid, gassy, and bitter characteristics. This study stresses the need for sound and appealing flavor quality for table olives to gain wider acceptance among U.S. consumers. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Shan, Liran C; De Brún, Aoife; Henchion, Maeve; Li, Chenguang; Murrin, Celine; Wall, Patrick G; Monahan, Frank J
2017-09-01
Recent innovations in processed meats focus on healthier reformulations through reducing negative constituents and/or adding health beneficial ingredients. This study explored the influence of base meat product (ham, sausages, beef burger), salt and/or fat content (reduced or not), healthy ingredients (omega 3, vitamin E, none), and price (average or higher than average) on consumers' purchase intention and quality judgement of processed meats. A survey (n=481) using conjoint methodology and cluster analysis was conducted. Price and base meat product were most important for consumers' purchase intention, followed by healthy ingredient and salt and/or fat content. In reformulation, consumers had a preference for ham and sausages over beef burgers, and for reduced salt and/or fat over non reduction. In relation to healthy ingredients, omega 3 was preferred over none, and vitamin E was least preferred. Healthier reformulations improved the perceived healthiness of processed meats. Cluster analyses identified three consumer segments with different product preferences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Sugimoto, Masahiro; Obiya, Shinichi; Kaneko, Miku; Enomoto, Ayame; Honma, Mayu; Wakayama, Masataka; Tomita, Masaru
2016-11-01
We conducted a consumer acceptability analysis of dry-cured ham based on sensory evaluation. Consumer acceptability data are rendered heterogeneous by the diverse backgrounds and assessment abilities of the participants, requiring versatile analytical methods for their interpretation. Totally, 9 sensory attributes of 12 kinds of dry-cured ham samples collected from Japan (n=9), Italy (n=1), Spain (n=1), and Germany (n=1) were tasted by 117 Japanese consumers who showed acceptable evaluation abilities during blind sampling. Common techniques, such as hierarchical clustering, principal component analysis, and external preference mapping, were simultaneously utilized to analyze each characteristics scored in modified hedonic scale. These analyses revealed the relationships between the features and preferences of the assessors. For example, consumers aged 20-30 with smoking and drinking habits preferred sweetness and saltiness, and gave high ratings to Spanish Jómon serrano and Italian prosciutto. Our approach could assist ham marketers to identify potential purchasers and the preferred characteristics of their products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Tong, Vivien; Raynor, David K; Blalock, Susan J; Aslani, Parisa
2016-06-01
Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is a brand-specific and standardized source of written medicine information available in Australia for all prescription medicines. Side-effect information is poorly presented in CMI and may not adequately address consumer information needs. To explore consumer opinions on (i) the presentation of side-effect information in existing Australian CMI leaflets and alternative study-designed CMIs and (ii) side-effect risk information and its impact on treatment decision making. Fuzzy trace, affect heuristic, frequency hypothesis and cognitive-experiential theories were applied when revising existing CMI side-effects sections. Together with good information design, functional linguistics and medicine information expertise, alternative ramipril and clopidogrel CMI versions were proposed. Focus groups were then conducted to address the study objectives. Three focus groups (n = 18) were conducted in Sydney, Australia. Mean consumer age was 58 years (range 50-65 years), with equal number of males and females. All consumers preferred the alternative CMIs developed as part of the study, with unequivocal preference for the side-effects presented in a simple tabular format, as it allowed quick and easy access to information. Consumer misunderstandings reflected literacy and numeracy issues inherent in consumer risk appraisal. Many preferred no numerical information and a large proportion preferred natural frequencies. One single method of risk presentation in CMI is unable to cater for all consumers. Consumer misunderstandings are indicative of possible health literacy and numeracy factors that influence consumer risk appraisal, which should be explored further. © 2014 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Change in Classroom Relations: An Attempt that Signals Some Difficulties.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gutierrez, Roberto
2002-01-01
The instructor of a human resource class proposed a different division of labor between teacher and students. Analysis of four critical class incidents (essay sharing, class discussion, prejudices involved in a student presentation, student objections to course methods) showed that students preferred to preserve their identity as consumers and…
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Changes in taste preference after colorectal surgery: A longitudinal study.
Welchman, Sophie; Hiotis, Perryhan; Pengelly, Steven; Hughes, Georgina; Halford, Jason; Christiansen, Paul; Lewis, Stephen
2015-10-01
Nutrition is a key component of surgical enhanced recovery programmes. However, alterations in food preferences are often reported as reasons for patients not eating in the early postoperative period. We hypothesised that taste preferences are altered in the early postoperative period and this dysgeusia affects patients' food choices during this critical time. This is a longitudinal study looking at taste preferences of patients recovering from surgery. Patients undergoing colonic resections were recruited. Using visual analogue scales participants completed a questionnaire, taste tests and preference scoring of food images for the 6 groups of taste (bitter, salty, savoury, sour, spicy and sweet) preoperatively and on postoperative days 1-3. Patients were also offered snacks postoperatively, which represented foods from the six groups and consumption was measured. Differences from baseline were assessed using the Friedman's and Wilcoxon tests. 31 patients were studied. In the immediate postoperative period participants reported deterioration in their sense of taste (p ≤ 0.001), increased nausea (p < 0.001) and hunger (p = 0.03). Sweet, savoury and spicy tastes were the most popular during the perioperative period. However, only palatability for salty taste increased (p = 0.001) following surgery. The highest rated images were for savoury food with only the ratings for salty food increasing after surgery (p < 0.05). These findings concurred with the sweet, savoury and salty snacks being the most consumed foods in the postoperative period. Bitter, sour and spicy foods were the least frequently consumed. This is the first study to investigate postsurgical patients' food preferences. A consistent change in all the individual tastes with the exception of salty in the postoperative period was observed. The most desirable tastes were for savoury and sweet, reflecting patients' preoperative preferences. An improved understanding of taste may improve the resumption of eating after colonic surgery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.
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David Nicholls; Matthew Bumgardner
2007-01-01
This technical note describes consumer preferences within selected demographic categories in two major Pacific Northwest markets for six domestic wood species. These woods were considered for construction of four furniture pieces. Chi-square tests were performed to determine species preferences based on gender, age, and income. Age and income were statistically...
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David Nicholls; Matthew Bumgardner
2007-01-01
This technical note describes consumer preferences within selected demographic categories in two major Pacific Northwest markets for six domestic wood species. These woods were considered for construction of four furniture pieces. Chi-square tests were performed to determine species preferences based on gender, age, and income. Age and income were statistically...
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Consumer preferences for food allergen labeling.
Marra, Carlo A; Harvard, Stephanie; Grubisic, Maja; Galo, Jessica; Clarke, Ann; Elliott, Susan; Lynd, Larry D
2017-01-01
Food allergen labeling is an important tool to reduce risk of exposure and prevent anaphylaxis for individuals with food allergies. Health Canada released a Canadian food allergen labeling regulation (2008) and subsequent update (2012) suggesting that research is needed to guide further iterations of the regulation to improve food allergen labeling and reduce risk of exposure. The primary objective of this study was to examine consumer preferences in food labeling for allergy avoidance and anaphylaxis prevention. A secondary objective was to identify whether different subgroups within the consumer population emerged. A discrete choice experiment using a fractional factorial design divided into ten different versions with 18 choice-sets per version was developed to examine consumer preferences for different attributes of food labeling. Three distinct subgroups of Canadian consumers with different allergen considerations and food allergen labeling needs were identified. Overall, preferences for standardized precautionary and safety symbols at little or no increased cost emerged. While three distinct groups with different preferences were identified, in general the results revealed that the current Canadian food allergen labeling regulation can be improved by enforcing the use of standardized precautionary and safety symbols and educating the public on the use of these symbols.
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Nemati, Mehdi; Zheng, Yuqing
2018-01-01
Objective Systematic review of research examining consumer preference for the main electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) attributes namely flavor, nicotine strength, and type. Method A systematic search of peer-reviewed articles resulted in a pool of 12,933 articles. We included only articles that meet all the selection criteria: (1) peer-reviewed, (2) written in English, and (3) addressed consumer preference for one or more of the e-cigarette attributes including flavor, strength, and type. Results 66 articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. Consumers preferred flavored e-cigarettes, and such preference varied with age groups and smoking status. We also found that several flavors were associated with decreased harm perception while tobacco flavor was associated with increased harm perception. In addition, some flavor chemicals and sweeteners used in e-cigarettes could be of toxicological concern. Finally, consumer preference for nicotine strength and types depended on smoking status, e-cigarette use history, and gender. Conclusion Adolescents could consider flavor the most important factor trying e-cigarettes and were more likely to initiate vaping through flavored e-cigarettes. Young adults overall preferred sweet, menthol, and cherry flavors, while non-smokers in particular preferred coffee and menthol flavors. Adults in general also preferred sweet flavors (though smokers like tobacco flavor the most) and disliked flavors that elicit bitterness or harshness. In terms of whether flavored e-cigarettes assisted quitting smoking, we found inconclusive evidence. E-cigarette users likely initiated use with a cigarette like product and transitioned to an advanced system with more features. Non-smokers and inexperienced e-cigarettes users tended to prefer no nicotine or low nicotine e-cigarettes while smokers and experienced e-cigarettes users preferred medium and high nicotine e-cigarettes. Weak evidence exists regarding a positive interaction between menthol flavor and nicotine strength. PMID:29543907
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Bimbo, Francesco; Bonanno, Alessandro; Nocella, Giuseppe; Viscecchia, Rosaria; Nardone, Gianluca; De Devitiis, Biagia; Carlucci, Domenico
2017-06-01
This systematic literature review collects and summarizes research on consumer acceptance and preferences for nutrition-modified and functional dairy products, to reconcile, and expand upon, the findings of previous studies. We find that female consumers show high acceptance for some functional dairy products, such as yogurt enriched with calcium, fiber and probiotics. Acceptance for functional dairy products increases among consumers with higher diet/health related knowledge, as well as with aging. General interest in health, food-neophobia and perceived self-efficacy seem also to contribute shaping the acceptance for functional dairy products. Furthermore, products with "natural" matches between carriers and ingredients have the highest level of acceptance among consumers. Last, we find that brand familiarity drives consumers with low interest in health to increase their acceptance and preference for health-enhanced dairy products, such as probiotic yogurts, or those with a general function claim. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Kallas, Zein; Escobar, Cristina; Gil, José Maria
2012-02-01
Our paper seeks to assess the impact of information and advertisement on consumers' preference for wines in special occasions (Christmas) in Catalonia (Spain). We apply the Choice Experiments method to study the relative importance of attributes that describe consumers' decision to purchase wine by using the Heteroskedastic Extreme Value (HEV) model. Data were obtained from two questionnaires applied to a pre and post spot samples formed by 299 and 400 individuals, respectively. Results suggest that the proposed spot does not affect the ranking of the preferred attributes, nevertheless this preference is heterogeneous. After advertising preferences scores have revealed significant differences. The relative importance of the "Catalan" wine has increased compared to the "Spanish" wine. The most preferred product is a Catalan wine made from the "Cabernet Sauvignon" variety. Wines that have been previously tasted by the consumer seem to be preferred over recommended or prestigious wines. However, advertising increases the relative importance of prestigious wines. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ottmann, Goetz; Allen, Jacqui; Feldman, Peter
2013-11-01
Consumer-directed care is increasingly becoming a mainstream option in community-based aged care. However, a systematic review describing how the current evaluation research translates into practise has not been published to date. This review aimed to systematically establish an evidence base of user preferences for and satisfaction with services associated with consumer-directed care programmes for older people. Twelve databases were searched, including MedLine, BioMed Central, Cinahl, Expanded Academic ASAP, PsychInfo, ProQuest, Age Line, Science Direct, Social Citation Index, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library. Google Scholar and Google were also searched. Eligible studies were those reporting on choice, user preferences and service satisfaction outcomes regarding a programme or model of home-based care in the United States or United Kingdom. This systematic narrative review retrieved literature published from January 1992 to August 2011. A total of 277 references were identified. Of these 17 met the selection criteria and were reviewed. Findings indicate that older people report varying preferences for consumer-directed care with some demonstrating limited interest. Clients and carers reported good service satisfaction. However, research comparing user preferences across countries or investigating how ecological factors shape user preferences has received limited attention. Policy-makers and practitioners need to carefully consider the diverse contexts, needs and preferences of older adults in adopting consumer-directed care approaches in community aged care. The review calls for the development of consumer-directed care programmes offering a broad range of options that allow for personalisation and greater control over services without necessarily transferring the responsibility for administrative responsibilities to service users. Review findings suggest that consumer-directed care approaches have the potential to empower older people. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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The pursuit of optimal distinctiveness and consumer preferences.
He, Lingnan; Cong, Feng; Liu, Yanping; Zhou, Xinyue
2010-10-01
This article investigates the effect of optimal distinctiveness on consumer product consumption. The authors argue that consumers acquire and display material possessions to restore their optimal levels of distinctiveness. Results showed that placing consumers in a state of low distinctiveness increased desire to acquire distinctive products, whereas perceptions of high distinctiveness reduced desire to acquire such products. Consumers' desire for distinctiveness-related products held true for various consumer choices, including willingness to pay more for limited-edition products and preference for unpopular gifts. This finding has implications for understanding consumer choice in expressing identity. © 2010 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2010 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
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Consumer preferences in social health insurance.
Kerssens, Jan J; Groenewegen, Peter P
2005-03-01
Allowing consumers greater choice of health plans is believed to be the key to high quality and low costs in social health insurance. This study investigates consumer preferences (361 persons, response rate 43%) for hypothetical health plans which differed in 12 characteristics (premium, deductibles, no-claim discount, extension of insurance and financial services, red tape involved, medical help-desk, choice of family physicians and hospitals, dental benefits, physical therapy benefits, benefits for prescription drugs and homeopathy). In 90% the health plan with the most attractive characteristics was preferred, indicating a predominantly rational kind of choice. The most decisive characteristics for preference were: complete dental benefits, followed by zero deductibles, and free choice of hospitals.
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Goto, Nobuhiko; Mushtaq, Faisal; Shee, Dexter; Lim, Xue Li; Mortazavi, Matin; Watabe, Motoki; Schaefer, Alexandre
2017-09-01
We investigated whether well-known neural markers of selective attention to motivationally-relevant stimuli were modulated by variations in subjective preference towards consumer goods in a virtual shopping task. Specifically, participants viewed and rated pictures of various goods on the extent to which they wanted each item, which they could potentially purchase afterwards. Using the event-related potentials (ERP) method, we found that variations in subjective preferences for consumer goods strongly modulated positive slow waves (PSW) from 800 to 3000 milliseconds after stimulus onset. We also found that subjective preferences modulated the N200 and the late positive potential (LPP). In addition, we found that both PSW and LPP were modulated by subsequent buying decisions. Overall, these findings show that well-known brain event-related potentials reflecting selective attention processes can reliably index preferences to consumer goods in a shopping environment. Based on a large body of previous research, we suggest that early ERPs (e.g. the N200) to consumer goods could be indicative of preferences driven by unconditional and automatic processes, whereas later ERPs such as the LPP and the PSW could reflect preferences built upon more elaborative and conscious cognitive processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Patterns of sweetness preference in red wine according to consumer characterisation.
Sena-Esteves, Maria Madalena; Mota, Mariana; Malfeito-Ferreira, Manuel
2018-04-01
The preference for sweet taste in red wine was examined according to consumer categories of age, gender, drinking experience and personality type (Big-5 personality-test). A total of 114 subjects revealed their preferences for sweetness after tasting dry red wine spiked with equal concentrations of glucose and fructose at 2g/L, 4g/L, 8g/L, 16g/L and 32g/L, following an ascending forced choice paired comparison method (2-AFC). The overall preference for sweetness was shown within the range of 4.8 to 21.9g/L, with maximal liking at 8g/L. Three patterns of response to sweetness were observed (sweet dislikers, sweet likers and indifferent to sweet) according to the different categories of consumers. Differences (p>0.05) were not found in sweetness preference among the categories up to 16g/L sugar except for the trait extraversion at 8g/L, where low extraverts showed a higher proportion of responses preferring the sweeter sample. Most significant differences were found only under the highest tasted concentration (32g/L). Females and novices preferred sweeter samples (p<0.05) when compared with the response of males and experienced consumers, respectively. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Fernández-Vázquez, Rocío; Stinco, Carla M; Hernanz Vila, Dolores; Heredia, Francisco J; Chaya, Carolina; Vicario, Isabel M
2018-01-01
The individual preferences of 100 consumers between 20 and 30 years old for the color of 16 milk-fruit juice beverages (MFJB) were investigated by preference mapping technique. Consumers were asked to evaluate, just by looking at the samples, how much they liked them (from "Extremely dislike" to "Extremely like"). The color of the samples was analyzed by two different instrumental techniques. Results obtained from the instrumental color measurement showed the wide diversity in hues of the beverages available in the market, and correlations between techniques proved that both of them were appropriate to analyze color. Results showed that participants preferred samples with orangish appearance instead of those with a whiter look. Anyway, punctuations given by the consumers suggest that generally, color of these products is not highly evaluated by consumers, as the best mean punctuation was 6.6.
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Colson, Gregory; Rousu, Matthew C
2013-01-01
Assessing consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for genetically modified (GM) foods has been one of the most active areas of empirical research in agricultural economics. Researchers over the past 15 years have delivered well over 100 estimates of consumers' willingness to pay for GM foods using surveys and experimental methods. In this review, we explore a number of unresolved issues related to three questions that are critical when considering the sum of the individual contributions that constitute the evidence on consumer preferences for GM foods.
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Comparison of two methods to explore consumer preferences for cottage cheese.
Drake, S L; Lopetcharat, K; Drake, M A
2009-12-01
In the past 2 decades, total sales of cottage cheese have declined 17% despite increases in sales for low-fat cottage cheese. There are no recent published studies investigating consumer preferences for cottage cheese. This study was conducted to identify and define sensory characteristics of commercial cottage cheese and to compare 2 approaches for characterizing consumer preferences: traditional preference mapping and a new composite qualitative approach, qualitative multivariate analysis (QMA). A sensory language was identified to document the sensory properties (visual, flavor, and texture) of cottage cheeses. Twenty-six commercial cottage cheeses with variable fat contents (4, 2, 1, and 0% fat) were evaluated by trained panelists using the sensory language. Eight representative cottage cheeses were selected for consumer acceptance testing (n = 110) and QMA with consumer home usage testing (n = 12), followed by internal and external preference mapping to identify key drivers. Principal component analysis of descriptive data indicated that cottage cheeses were primarily differentiated by cooked, milkfat, diacetyl, and acetaldehyde flavors and salty taste, and by firmness, smoothness, tackiness, curd size, and adhesiveness texture attributes. Similar drivers of liking (diacetyl and milkfat flavors, smooth texture, and mouthcoating) were identified by both consumer research techniques. However, the QMA technique identified controversial distinctions among the cottage cheeses and the influence of brand and pricing. These results can be used by processors to promote cottage cheese sales.
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A Study of Metric Conversion of Distilled Spirits Containers: A Policy and Planning Evaluation.
1981-10-28
possibilities. Confused consumer input could be misrepresentative of true consumer preferences and could do more harm than good. Thus, the campaign...would also be perceived by BATF as being most interested in and knowledgeable of consumer preferences , regarding metrication in general and, perhaps...on the production problems and costs, and lack of a market for such a smaller size from the 500ml. USMB comments should have focussed on consumer
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Moon, Lisa A.
2017-01-01
An individual's choice to share or have control of the sharing or withholding of their personal health information is one of the most significant public policy challenges associated with electronic information exchange. There were four aims of this study. First, to describe predictors of health data sharing preferences of consumers. Second, to…
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Cantini, Claudio; Salusti, Patrizia; Romi, Marco; Francini, Alessandra; Sebastiani, Luca
2018-03-01
A new set of cocoa bars named Toscolata ® were developed containing top-quality extra virgin olive oil, dried apples cultivars, and chestnut flour. The present work has been conducted to define the sensory profile of these products through tasting by trained experts and consumers to study the acceptability, preference, and quality perception. The four sensorial profiles of the bars differed in the level of persistence, bitterness, aromaticity, acidity, astringency, and tastiness. In particular, the sour attribute could be traced to the presence of dried apple. Bars containing apple and chestnut flour obtained higher acceptance ratings, compared to those with extra virgin olive oil. The bar with chestnut flour was preferred by consumers who considered it to be sweeter due to the presence of natural sugars, which lowered the bitter sensation of cocoa. These results showed that the selection of the preferred bar by consumers was mainly based on the level of bitterness and, in particular, elderly consumers expressed a strong preference for the sweetest product. As far as we know, this is the first study comparing the results of a panel of expert tasters with that of consumers in the tasting of dark chocolate.
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Drivers of high-involvement consumers' intention to buy PDO wines: Valpolicella PDO case study.
Capitello, Roberta; Agnoli, Lara; Begalli, Diego
2016-08-01
This study investigates whether different sensory profiles of wines belonging to the same Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) are perceived as different products by consumers. It identifies the drivers of consumers' intention to buy preferred wines. Descriptive sensory analysis, consumer tests and consumer interviews were conducted to reach research aims. To perform the consumer tests and interviews, 443 consumers participated in the survey. The tasted wines comprised five samples representative of Valpolicella PDO wine. Analysis of variance tests, principal component analysis and linear and logit regressions were employed to verify the research hypotheses. The results demonstrated: (1) different sensory profiles exist within the Valpolicella PDO wine; (2) these sensory profiles result in consumers having the perception of diversified products; (3) the perception of differences was less marked for consumers than for trained assessors due to the different weight attributed to visual, aroma and the taste/mouthfeel hedonic dimensions; and (4) consumers' liking, as well as general perceptions, attitudes, preferences, wine knowledge and experience, contribute to consumers' intentions to buy more than the socio-demographic characteristics of consumers. The analysis of the drivers of consumers' intention to buy certain PDO wines provides new marketing insights into the roles of intrinsic quality, preferences and consumers' subjective characteristics in market segmentation. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Identifying Key Flavors in Strawberries Driving Liking via Internal and External Preference Mapping.
Oliver, Penelope; Cicerale, Sara; Pang, Edwin; Keast, Russell
2018-04-01
Australian consumers desire the development of a more flavorsome Australian strawberry cultivar. To aid in the development of well-liked strawberries, the attributes driving liking need to be identified. The objective of this research is to apply Preference Mapping (PM) techniques to the descriptive profile of commercial and newly bred strawberry cultivars, together with consumer preference data to determine the flavors contributing to liking. A trained sensory panel (n = 12) used Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA®) methodology to evaluate two appearance, seven aroma, five texture, 10 flavor and 10 aftertaste attributes of three commercial strawberry cultivars and six elite breeding lines grown in Victoria, Australia. Strawberry consumers (n = 150) assessed their liking of the same strawberry cultivars. QDA® significantly discriminated strawberries on 28 of the 34 sensory attributes. There were significant differences in hedonic ratings of strawberries (F(8,714) = 11.5, P = 0.0001), with Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) identifying three consumer clusters each displaying differing patterns of preference. Internal and external PM techniques were applied to the data to identify the attributes driving consumer acceptability. Sweet, berry, caramel, fruity and floral attributes were identified as most contributing to liking. Sour, citrus, green, astringent, firm and gritty attributes were conversely associated with a reduction in consumer liking. Elite Lines 2 and 6 have been identified as having the broadest appeal, satisfying between 60% and 70% of consumers in the population assessed, thus the introduction of these cultivars should satisfy the largest group of consumers in the Australian market. The results of this research could be applied to breeding programs, to ensure newly bred cultivars express characteristics that were identified as well-liked amongst consumers. In addition, this research provides evidence for marketing strawberries by cultivar, to assist consumers in identifying those strawberries for which they have a preference. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.
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Does Consuming Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners Change Taste Preferences?
Bartolotto, Carole
2015-01-01
Americans consume 22.3 teaspoons of added caloric sweeteners a day. Sweeteners range from 180 to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. In summer 2014, 20 people from Kaiser Permanente California facilities cut out all added sugars and artificial sweeteners for 2 weeks: 95% of participants found that sweet foods and drinks tasted sweeter or too sweet, 75% found that other foods tasted sweeter, and 95% said moving forward they would use less or even no sugar. Additionally, 86.6% of participants stopped craving sugar after 6 days.
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Curriculum Change at Liberal Arts Colleges: The Influence of Financial Conditions.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Paulsen, Michael B.
1990-01-01
A study tested the hypothesis: The greater the amount of philanthropic income per dollar of tuition, the smaller the fraction of bachelor's degrees in occupational fields. Findings support the contention that a college's tuition dependence is associated with its tendency to adjust its curriculum to match student consumer preferences. (MLW)
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Spencer, Molly; Guinard, Jean-Xavier
2018-01-01
The American diet is lacking in plant-based foods and vegetables, higher in protein than necessary, and too centered on meat and poultry. Two major dietary shifts recommended by the 2015-2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines are to increase vegetable intake and to increase the variety of protein food sources. One suggested strategy for doing this is to partially replace meat and poultry with vegetables and plant-based ingredients in mixed dishes. This research tested the potential of flavor modalities (taste, aroma, trigeminal, and their combination) as strategies to increase the sensory appeal of plant-forward dishes. Consumer testing (n = 141) was conducted in a cross-sectional design in a laboratory setting on 24 recipe variations. Three factors were tested: cuisine (Latin American, Mediterranean, and Asian), meat proportion (high-meat/low-vegetable versus low-meat/high-vegetable), and flavor strategy (taste, aroma, trigeminal, and a reduced-intensity trimodal combination). Statistical analysis was performed in R and XLSTAT-Sensory ® 2017. Four consumer preference segments were uncovered. The low-meat dishes achieved parity or higher in consumer acceptance across all recipes and flavor strategies. The taste and trigeminal strategies both had higher overall acceptability scores than the aroma strategy, and the differences were significant (P < 0.05) in some consumer preference segments. The consumers successfully characterized the samples using a Check-All-That-Apply task, verifying the flavor strategy design. This research provides insight into consumer preferences regarding flavor strategies to partially replace meat with vegetables in mixed dishes. The trigeminal and trimodal combination strategies were found to be the most promising flavor modalities to use to implement this shift. There is little knowledge of American consumer preferences regarding vegetables in mixed dishes. Mixed dishes are a strategy recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines to increase vegetable consumption and variety of protein sources. This research explores various flavor and culinary strategies with which to carry out the mixed dish meat-vegetable swap and to test the potential of the Flexitarian Flip ™ (the shift from meat-centric to plant-centric diets). This research shows that individuals have different preferences regarding the type of flavor they prefer in mixed dishes (for example, some consumers prefer salty and some prefer spicy), so if the dietitian can recommend recipes that cater to that client's food and flavor preferences, the client will be more likely to adhere to their diet. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.
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O'Quinn, T G; Woerner, D R; Engle, T E; Chapman, P L; Legako, J F; Brooks, J C; Belk, K E; Tatum, J D
2016-02-01
Sensory analysis of ground LL samples representing 12 beef product categories was conducted in 3 different regions of the U.S. to identify flavor preferences of beef consumers. Treatments characterized production-related flavor differences associated with USDA grade, cattle type, finishing diet, growth enhancement, and postmortem aging method. Consumers (N=307) rated cooked samples for 12 flavors and overall flavor desirability. Samples were analyzed to determine fatty acid content. Volatile compounds produced by cooking were extracted and quantified. Overall, consumers preferred beef that rated high for beefy/brothy, buttery/beef fat, and sweet flavors and disliked beef with fishy, livery, gamey, and sour flavors. Flavor attributes of samples higher in intramuscular fat with greater amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids and lesser proportions of saturated, odd-chain, omega-3, and trans fatty acids were preferred by consumers. Of the volatiles identified, diacetyl and acetoin were most closely correlated with desirable ratings for overall flavor and dimethyl sulfide was associated with an undesirable sour flavor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Maison, Dominika; Maliszewski, Norbert
2016-01-01
The goal of this project was to investigate whether consumer ethnocentrism is purely conscious mechanism based on ideology, as suggested by Shimp and Sharma (1987), or rather is an automatic, unconscious process. The aim of the project was an introduction of the Implicit Consumer Ethnocentrism (ICE) concept, measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The goal of the four studies conducted was to investigate the following issues: (a) whether ICE - an automatic mechanism underlying the preference for local products over foreign - this could be observed next to the more ideologically based classic consumer ethnocentrism; (b) what happens when the consumer's automatic preference for local products (ICE) is confronted by objective evidence of the superiority of foreign products or by the inferiority of local products. It was assumed that ICE could be reduced when foreign products were associated with a higher level of competence than local products, and this could explain the preference for foreign products over local often observed in less developed countries. In study 1 the ICE for different product categories of existing brands was tested, and in study 2 the ICE was measured in the context of non-existent brands. Both studies showed a strong in-group brand preference and confirmed the existence of new phenomena - ICE. The results of studies 3 and 4 again indicated a strong, automatic in-group brand favoritism effect as measured by IAT - participants preferred local brands over foreign. However, the inclusion of well-known foreign brands associated with high competence reduced the IAT effect (in-group preference).
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Determining Consumer Preferences for a Cash Option: Arkansas Survey Results
Simon-Rusinowitz, Lori; Mahoney, Kevin J.; Desmond, Sharon M.; Shoop, Dawn M.; Squillace, Marie R.; Fay, Robert A.
1997-01-01
As long-term care(LTC) expenditures have risen, policymakers have sought ways to control costs while maintaining consumer satisfaction. Concurrently, there is increasing interest within the aging and disability communities in consumer-directed care. The Cash and Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation (CCDE) seeks to increase consumer direction and control costs by offering a cash allowance and information services to persons with disabilities, enabling them to purchase needed assistance. The authors present results from a telephone survey conducted to assess consumer preferences for a cash option in Arkansas and describe how findings from the four-State CCDE can inform consumer information efforts and policymakers. PMID:10345407
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Determining consumer preferences for a cash option: Arkansas survey results.
Simon-Rusinowitz, L; Mahoney, K J; Desmond, S M; Shoop, D M; Squillace, M R; Fay, R A
1997-01-01
As long-term care (LTC) expenditures have risen, policymakers have sought ways to control costs while maintaining consumer satisfaction. Concurrently, there is increasing interest within the aging and disability communities in consumer-directed care. The Cash and Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation (CCDE) seeks to increase consumer direction and control costs by offering a cash allowance and information services to persons with disabilities, enabling them to purchase needed assistance. The authors present results from a telephone survey conducted to assess consumer preferences for a cash option in Arkansas and describe how findings from the four-State CCDE can inform consumer information efforts and policymakers.
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Hack, Samantha M; Medoff, Deborah R; Brown, Clayton H; Fang, Lijuan; Dixon, Lisa B; Klingaman, Elizabeth A; Park, Stephanie G; Kreyenbuhl, Julie A
2016-06-01
Person-centered psychiatric services rely on consumers actively sharing personal information, opinions, and preferences with their providers. This research examined predictors of consumer communication during appointments for psychiatric medication prescriptions. The Roter Interaction Analysis System was used to code recorded Veterans Affairs psychiatric appointments with 175 consumers and 21 psychiatric medication prescribers and categorize communication by purpose: biomedical, psychosocial, facilitation, or rapport-building. Regression analyses found that greater provider communication, symptomology, orientation to psychiatric recovery, and functioning on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Attention and Language indices, as well as consumer diagnostic label, were positive predictors of consumer communication, though the types of communication impacted varied. Provider communication is the easiest variable to intervene on to create changes in consumer communication. Future research should also consider how cognitive and symptom factors may impact specific types of consumer communication in order to identify subgroups for targeted interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for value-added chicken product attributes.
Martínez Michel, Lorelei; Anders, Sven; Wismer, Wendy V
2011-10-01
A growing demand for convenient and ready-to-eat products has increased poultry processors' interest in developing consumer-oriented value-added chicken products. In this study, a conjoint analysis survey of 276 chicken consumers in Edmonton was conducted during the summer of 2009 to assess the importance of the chicken part, production method, processing method, storage method, the presence of added flavor, and cooking method on consumer preferences for different value-added chicken product attributes. Estimates of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) premium prices for different combinations of value-added chicken attributes were also determined. Participants'"ideal" chicken product was a refrigerated product made with free-range chicken breast, produced with no additives or preservatives and no added flavor, which could be oven heated or pan heated. Half of all participants on average were willing to pay 30% more for a value-added chicken product over the price of a conventional product. Overall, young consumers, individuals who shop at Farmers' Markets and those who prefer free-range or organic products were more likely to pay a premium for value-added chicken products. As expected, consumers' WTP was affected negatively by product price. Combined knowledge of consumer product attribute preferences and consumer WTP for value-added chicken products can help the poultry industry design innovative value-added chicken products. Practical Application: An optimum combination of product attributes desired by consumers for the development of a new value-added chicken product, as well as the WTP for this product, have been identified in this study. This information is relevant to the poultry industry to enhance consumer satisfaction of future value-added chicken products and provide the tools for future profit growth. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Annunziata, A; Pomarici, E; Vecchio, R; Mariani, A
2016-11-01
This paper aims to contribute to the current debate on the inclusion of nutritional information and health warnings on wine labels, exploring consumers' interest and preferences. The results of a survey conducted on a sample of Italian wine consumers (N = 300) show the strong interest of respondents in the inclusion of such information on the label. Conjoint analysis reveals that consumers assign greater utility to health warnings, followed by nutritional information. Cluster analysis shows the existence of three different consumer segments. The first cluster, which included mainly female consumers (over 55) and those with high wine involvement, revealed greater awareness of the links between wine and health and better knowledge of wine nutritional properties, preferring a more detailed nutritional label, such as a panel with GDA%. By contrast, the other two clusters, consisting of individuals who generally find it more difficult to understand nutritional labels, preferred the less detailed label of a glass showing calories. The second and largest cluster comprising mainly younger men (under 44), showed the highest interest in health warnings while the third cluster - with a relatively low level of education - preferred the specification of the number of glasses not to exceed. Our results support the idea that the policy maker should consider introducing a mandatory nutritional label in the easier-to-implement and not-too-costly form of a glass with calories, rotating health warnings and the maximum number of glasses not to exceed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Sluik, Diewertje; Jankovic, Nicole; O’Doherty, Mark G.; Geelen, Anouk; Schöttker, Ben; Rolandsson, Olov; Kiefte-de Jong, Jessica C.; Ferrieres, Jean; Bamia, Christina; Fransen, Heidi P.; Boer, Jolanda M. A.; Eriksson, Sture; Martínez, Begoña; Huerta, José María; Kromhout, Daan; de Groot, Lisette C. P. G. M.; Franco, Oscar H.; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Boffetta, Paolo; Kee, Frank; Feskens, Edith J. M.
2016-01-01
Introduction The differential associations of beer, wine, and spirit consumption on cardiovascular risk found in observational studies may be confounded by diet. We described and compared dietary intake and diet quality according to alcoholic beverage preference in European elderly. Methods From the Consortium on Health and Ageing: Network of Cohorts in Europe and the United States (CHANCES), seven European cohorts were included, i.e. four sub-cohorts from EPIC-Elderly, the SENECA Study, the Zutphen Elderly Study, and the Rotterdam Study. Harmonized data of 29,423 elderly participants from 14 European countries were analyzed. Baseline data on consumption of beer, wine, and spirits, and dietary intake were collected with questionnaires. Diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI). Intakes and scores across categories of alcoholic beverage preference (beer, wine, spirit, no preference, non-consumers) were adjusted for age, sex, socio-economic status, self-reported prevalent diseases, and lifestyle factors. Cohort-specific mean intakes and scores were calculated as well as weighted means combining all cohorts. Results In 5 of 7 cohorts, persons with a wine preference formed the largest group. After multivariate adjustment, persons with a wine preference tended to have a higher HDI score and intake of healthy foods in most cohorts, but differences were small. The weighted estimates of all cohorts combined revealed that non-consumers had the highest fruit and vegetable intake, followed by wine consumers. Non-consumers and persons with no specific preference had a higher HDI score, spirit consumers the lowest. However, overall diet quality as measured by HDI did not differ greatly across alcoholic beverage preference categories. Discussion This study using harmonized data from ~30,000 elderly from 14 European countries showed that, after multivariate adjustment, dietary habits and diet quality did not differ greatly according to alcoholic beverage preference. PMID:27548323
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Sudha, Vasudevan; Spiegelman, Donna; Hong, Biling; Malik, Vasanti; Jones, Clara; Wedick, Nicole M; Hu, Frank B; Willett, Walter; Bai, Mookambika Ramya; Ponnalagu, Muthu Mariyammal; Arumugam, Kokila; Mohan, Viswanathan
2013-01-01
To study consumer acceptance of unmilled brown and undermilled rice among urban south Indians. Overweight and normal weight adults living in slum and nonslum residences in Chennai participated (n = 82). Bapatla (BPT) and Uma (red pigmented) rice varieties were chosen. These rice varieties were dehusked (unmilled, 0% polish) and further milled to 2.3% and 4.4% polishing (undermilled). Thus, 9 rice samples in both raw and parboiled forms were provided for consumer tasting over a period of 3 days. A 7-point hedonic scale was used to rate consumer preferences. A validated questionnaire was used to collect demographic, anthropometric, medical history, physical activity, dietary intake data, and willingness of the consumers to switch over to brown rice. Consumers reported that the color, appearance, texture, taste, and overall quality of the 4.4% polished rice was strongly preferred in both varieties and forms. Ratings for 0% polished (brown rice) were substantially lower than those of 2.3% polished rice, which were intermediate in ratings between 0% and 4.4% polishing. However, most of the consumers (93%) expressed a willingness to substitute brown or 2.3% polished rice, if affordable, after the taste tests and education on nutritional and health benefits of whole grains. Though most consumers preferred polished white rice, education regarding health benefits may help this population switch to brown or undermilled rice. Cooking quality and appearance of the grains were perceived as the most important factors to consider when purchasing rice among Chennai urban adults.
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Klingaman, Elizabeth A.; Medoff, Deborah R.; Park, Stephanie G.; Brown, Clayton H.; Fang, Lijuan; Dixon, Lisa B.; Hack, Samantha M.; Tapscott, Stephanie L.; Walsh, Mary Brighid; Kreyenbuhl, Julie A.
2017-01-01
Objective Although dissatisfaction is a primary reason for disengagement from outpatient psychiatric care among consumers with serious mental illnesses, little is known about predictors of their satisfaction with medication management visits. The primary purpose of the present study was to explore how dimensions of consumer preferences for shared decision-making (i.e., preferences for obtaining knowledge about one’s mental illness, being offered and asked one’s opinion about treatment options, and involvement in treatment decisions) and the therapeutic relationship (i.e., positive collaboration and type of clinician input) were related to visit satisfaction. Methods Participants were 228 Veterans with serious mental illnesses who completed a 19-item self-report questionnaire assessing satisfaction with visits to prescribers (n=524 assessments) immediately after visits. In this correlational design, a 3-level mixed model with the restricted maximum likelihood estimation procedure was used to examine shared decision-making preferences and therapeutic alliance as predictors of visit satisfaction. Results Preferences for involvement in treatment decisions was the unique component of shared decision-making associated with satisfaction, such that the more consumers desired involvement, the less satisfied they were. Positive collaboration and prescriber input were associated with greater visit satisfaction. Conclusions and Implications for Practice When consumers with serious mental illnesses express preferences to be involved in shared decision-making, it may not be sufficient to only provide information and treatment options; prescribers should attend to consumers’ interest in involvement in actual treatment decisions. Assessment and tailoring of treatment approaches to consumer preferences for shared decision-making should occur within the context of a strong therapeutic relationship. PMID:25664755
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Girolami, Antonio; Napolitano, Fabio; Faraone, Daniela; Di Bello, Gerardo; Braghieri, Ada
2014-01-01
The object of the investigation was the Lucanian dry sausage appearance, meant as color and visible fat ratio. The study was carried out on dry sausages produced in 10 different salami factories and seasoned for 18 days on average. We studied the effect of the raw material origin (5 producers used meat bought from the market and other 5 producers used meat from pigs bred in their farms) and of the salami factories or brands on meat color, fat color and visible fat ratio in dry sausages. The sausages slices were photographed and the images were analysed with the computer vision system to measure the changes in the colorimetric characteristics L*, a*, b*, hue and chroma and in the visible fat area ratio. The last parameter was assessed on the slice surface using image binarization. A consumer test was conducted to determine the relationship between the perception of visible fat on the sausage slice surface and acceptability and preference of this product. The consumers were asked to look carefully at the 6 sausages slices in a photo, minding the presence of fat, and to identify (a) the slices they considered unacceptable for consumption and (b) the slice they preferred. The results show that the color of the sausage lean part varies in relation to the raw material employed and to the producer or brand (P<0.001). Besides, the sausage meat color is not uniform in some salami factories (P<0.05-0.001). In all salami factories the sausages show a high uniformity in fat color. The visible fat ratio of the sausages slices is higher (P<0.001) in the product from salami factories without pig-breeding farm. The fat percentage is highly variable (P<0.001) among the sausages of each salami factory. On the whole, the product the consumers consider acceptable and is inclined to eat has a low fat percentage (P<0.001). Our consumers (about 70%) prefer slices which are leaner (P<0.001). Women, in particular, show a higher preference for the leanest (P<0.001). © 2013.
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Determining Consumer Preference for Furniture Product Characteristics
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Turner, Carolyn S.; Edwards, Kay P.
1974-01-01
The paper describes instruments for determining preferences of consumers for selected product characteristics associated with furniture choices--specifically style, color, color scheme, texture, and materials--and the procedures for administration of those instruments. Results are based on a random sampling of public housing residents. (Author/MW)
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Teng, Ching-I; Tseng, Hsu-Min; Wu, Heng-Hui
2007-06-01
This study of how positive mood mediates the influences of musical preference and postconsumption product evaluation on consumer satisfaction focuses specifically on a model in which positive mood fully mediates the influences. The proposed model is compared with two competing models, and a structural equation model is used to test and compare the three theory-driven models. This study sampled 247 students majoring in management at a single university. They had mean age of 23 yr. (SD=2.5). This study used questionnaires to measure subjects' evaluations of a cup of coffee, preference for the music broadcast in the coffee shop, positive mood, and satisfaction after they had the coffee. Analysis indicated that the proposed model outperformed the two competing models in describing the data using chi-square difference tests. Positive mood was identified as a full mediator of the relationship between musical preference and consumer satisfaction. Moreover, the results demonstrate for service managers the importance of creating positive consumer mood.
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Assessment of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Policy in Korea Based on Consumer Preference.
Jeong, Gicheol
2017-01-01
In June 2016, Korea permitted direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) on 42 genes. However, both the market and industry have not yet been fully activated. Considering the aforementioned context, this study provides important insights. The Korean DTC-GT policy assessment is based on consumer preference analysis using a discrete choice experiment. In August 2016, a web-based survey was conducted to collect data from 1,200 respondents. The estimation results show that consumers prefer a DTC-GT product that is cheap, tests various items or genes, offers accurate test results, and guarantees the confidentiality of all information. However, consumers are not entirely satisfied by current DTC-GT products due to the existence of insufficient and/or inadequate policies. First, the permitted testing of 42 genes is insufficient to satisfy consumers' curiosity regarding their genes. Second, the accuracy of the DTC-GT products has not been fully verified, assessed, and communicated to consumers. Finally, regulatory loopholes that allow information leaks in the DTC-GT process can occur. These findings imply that DTC-GT requires an improvement in government policy-making criteria and the implementation of practical measures to guarantee test accuracy and genetic information. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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Gidlöf, Kerstin; Anikin, Andrey; Lingonblad, Martin; Wallin, Annika
2017-09-01
There is a battle in the supermarket isle, a battle between what the consumer wants and what the retailer and others want her to see, and subsequently to buy. Product packages and displays contain a number of features and attributes tailored to catch consumers' attention. These are what we call external factors comprising the visual saliency, the number of facings, and the placement of each product. But a consumer also brings with her a number of goals and interests related to the products and their attributes. These are important internal factors, including brand preferences, price sensitivity, and dietary inclinations. We fit mobile eye trackers to consumers visiting real-life supermarkets in order to investigate to what extent external and internal factors affect consumers' visual attention and purchases. Both external and internal factors influenced what products consumers looked at, with a strong positive interaction between visual saliency and consumer preferences. Consumers appear to take advantage of visual saliency in their decision making, using their knowledge about products' appearance to guide their visual attention towards those that fit their preferences. When it comes to actual purchases, however, visual attention was by far the most important predictor, even after controlling for all other internal and external factors. In other words, the very act of looking longer or repeatedly at a package, for any reason, makes it more likely that this product will be bought. Visual attention is thus crucial for understanding consumer behaviour, even in the cluttered supermarket environment, but it cannot be captured by measurements of visual saliency alone. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Do consumer reports of health plan quality affect health plan selection?
Spranca, M; Kanouse, D E; Elliott, M; Short, P F; Farley, D O; Hays, R D
2000-01-01
OBJECTIVE: To learn whether consumer reports of health plan quality can affect health plan selection. DATA SOURCES: A sample of 311 privately insured adults from Los Angeles County. STUDY DESIGN: The design was a fractional factorial experiment. Consumers reviewed materials on four hypothetical health plans and selected one. The health plans varied as to cost, coverage, type of plan, ability to keep one's doctor, and quality, as measured by the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study (CAHPS) survey. DATA ANALYSIS: We used multinomial logistic regression to model each consumer's choice among health plans. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the absence of CAHPS information, 86 percent of consumers preferred plans that covered more services, even though they cost more. When CAHPS information was provided, consumers shifted to less expensive plans covering fewer services if CAHPS ratings identified those plans as higher quality (59 percent of consumers preferred plans covering more services). Consumer choices were unaffected when CAHPS ratings identified the more expensive plans covering more services as higher quality (89 percent of consumers preferred plans covering more services). CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes that, under certain realistic conditions, CAHPS ratings could affect consumer selection of health plans and ultimately contain costs. Other studies are needed to learn how to enhance exposure and use of CAHPS information in the real world as well as to identify other conditions in which CAHPS ratings could make a difference. PMID:11130805
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Cross-cultural acceptance of a traditional yoghurt-like product made from fermented cereal.
Akissoé, Noël H; Sacca, Carole; Declemy, Anne-Laure; Bechoff, Aurelie; Anihouvi, Victor B; Dalodé, Générose; Pallet, Dominique; Fliedel, Géneviève; Mestres, Christian; Hounhouigan, Joseph D; Tomlins, Keith I
2015-07-01
Akpan is a traditional ready-to-drink fermented yoghurt-like cereal beverage consumed in urban and rural areas in Benin. With the aim of adapting the product to new local and export markets, this work maps African and European consumer preferences for different types of Akpan. A sensory profile of Akpan was created and consumer tests were conducted with 103 consumers of African origin and 74 consumers of European origin. Consumer acceptance was significantly correlated with fermented odour (r = -0.94) and milky taste (r = 0.92-0.97) attributes. Cluster analysis revealed different behaviour by African and European consumers with respect to acceptability of Akpan; European consumers did not like the sour taste and African consumers liked an intense sweet milky taste. This study provides information on how Akpan, and other fermented yoghurt-type cereal products, could be adapted to African and European consumer preferences. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Future year emissions depend highly on economic, technological, societal and regulatory drivers. A scenario framework was adopted to analyze technology development pathways and changes in consumer preferences, and evaluate resulting emissions growth patterns while considering fut...
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Davidson, Graeme R; Giesbrecht, Timo; Thomas, Anna M; Kirkham, Tim C
2018-06-01
Implicit attentional processes are biased toward food-related stimuli, with the extent of that bias reflecting relative motivation to eat. These interactions have typically been investigated by comparisons between fasted and sated individuals. In this study, temporal changes in implicit attention to food were assessed in relation to natural, spontaneous changes in appetite occurring before and after an anticipated midday meal. Non-fasted adults performed an emotional blink of attention (EBA) task at intervals, before and after consuming preferred, pre-selected sandwiches to satiety. Participants were required to detect targets within a rapid visual stream, presented after task-irrelevant food (preferred or non-preferred sandwiches, or desserts) or non-food distractor images. All categories of food distractor preferentially captured attention even when appetite levels were low, but became more distracting as appetite increased preprandially, reducing task accuracy maximally as hunger peaked before lunch. Postprandially, attentional capture was markedly reduced for images of the specific sandwich type consumed and, to a lesser extent, for images of other sandwich types that had not been eaten. Attentional capture by images of desserts was unaffected by satiation. These findings support an important role of selective visual attention in the guidance of motivated behaviour. Naturalistic, meal-related changes in appetite are accompanied by changes in implicit attention to visual food stimuli that are easily detected using the EBA paradigm. Preprandial enhancement of attention capture by food cues likely reflects increases in the incentive motivational value of all food stimuli, perhaps providing an implicit index of wanting. Postprandial EBA responses confirm that satiation on a particular food results in relative inattention to that food, supporting an important attentional component in the operation of sensory-specific satiety. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Babaskin, D V; Babaskina, L I; Pavlova, A V
2017-12-28
The development of modern technologies in physiotherapy with the use of mineral waters, the expansion of the assortment of the medicinal and medicinal table waters as well as increasing the competitive advantages of domestic products require the more extensive marketing survey of the consumers' preferences in the market of mineral waters. The objective of the present study was the marketing evaluation of the consumers' preference in the segment of medicinal and medicinal table mineral waters in the city of Moscow. The survey involved 697 consumers of medicinal and medicinal table mineral waters. The sampling was carried out by the deterministic quota method. The field research was conducted by means of personal verbal interviews (32%) and the CATI to Web method (phone recruiting and on-line questioning) (68%) with the use of the structured questionnaire. Positioning was carried out making use of the two-dimensional schematic map and scoring assessment on an individual basis with calculation of integrated indicators. The marketing evaluation has demonstrated that the principal motive for purchasing mineral waters in more than 40% of respondents was the treatment and prevention of various diseases including disturbances in the urogenital system as well as digestive and respiratory disorders that appear to be the most frequent reasons for the consumption of mineral waters. The main factors that form the preferences of the consumers as regards the use of a concrete variety of mineral waters were elucidated. Of crucial importance for approximately 40% of the consumers (p<0.01) proved to be their health condition, the medical indications, and the available information about the therapeutic effectiveness of one or another type of mineral waters. Other factors were the quality of mineral water, its cost, the manufacturer and/or place of production, the attractiveness of the packaging, etc. The evaluation of the positioning of the mineral water consumers' preferences made it possible to identify the most preferable products in the group of medicinal mineral waters and in the group of medicinal table mineral waters. The mechanisms governing the formation of the consumers' preferences as regards the use of various mineral waters have been clarified in the course of the present study.
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Giraud, Georges; Amblard, Corinne; Thiel, Elise; Zaouche-Laniau, Martine; Stojanović, Zaklina; Pohar, Jure; Butigan, Ružica; Cvetković, Miljan; Mugosa, Boban; Kendrovski, Vladimir; Mora, Cristina; Barjolle, Dominique
2013-11-01
Western Balkan countries (WBCs) have a long-standing culinary tradition. The promotion of traditional foods may be a tool for coping with modernisation trends in such transition economies. This paper explores consumer preferences toward food in this region, focusing on a traditional fresh cow cheese locally called 'Mladi Sir'. This product was quoted in all the preliminary focus groups as a common traditional product present in the six WBCs studied: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. After a literature review investigating the concept of traditional food in WBCs and the implementation of focus groups, a survey including a conjoint analysis on preferences for fresh cow cheese was carried out in 2011 to collect data from 1200 respondents. Four clusters of consumers were identified: one focused more on the local origin; one oriented more toward the scale of production (on-farm and small dairy); the third favouring low prices and the fourth preferring high prices and industrial products. Policy makers and the supply chain could take these differences in consumer preferences regarding traditional food products into account in order to develop specific strategies. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Analysis of skin conductance response during evaluation of preferences for cosmetic products
Ohira, Hideki; Hirao, Naoyasu
2015-01-01
We analyzed skin conductance response (SCR) as a psychophysiological index to evaluate affective aspects of consumer preferences for cosmetic products. To examine the test-retest reliability of association between preferences and SCR, we asked 33 female volunteers to complete two experimental sessions approximately 1 year apart. The participants indicated their preferences in a typical paired comparison task by choosing the better option from a combination of two products among four products. We measured anticipatory SCR prior to expressions of the preferences. We found that the mean amplitude of the SCR elicited by the preferred products was significantly larger than that elicited by the non-preferred products. The participants' preferences and corresponding SCR patterns were well preserved at the second session 1 year later. Our results supported cumulating findings that SCR is a useful index of consumer preferences that has future potential, both in laboratory and marketing settings. PMID:25709593
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Buhagiar, Mark A; Naylor, Justine M; Simpson, Grahame; Harris, Ian A; Kohler, Friedbert
2017-06-19
To understand private consumer and clinician preferences towards different rehabilitation modes following knee or hip arthroplasty, and identify factors which influence the chosen rehabilitation pathway. Mixed methods cross-sectional study involving 95 semi-structured interviews of consumers (patients and carers) and clinicians (arthroplasty surgeons, physiotherapists and rehabilitation physicians) in Sydney, Australia, during 2014-2015. Participants were asked about the acceptability of different modes of rehabilitation provision, and factors influencing their chosen rehabilitation pathway. Interviews were in person or via the telephone. Qualitative analysis software was used to electronically manage qualitative data. An analytical approach guided data analysis. Pre-operative preferences strongly influenced the type of rehabilitation chosen by consumers. Key factors that influenced this were both intrinsic and extrinsic, including; the previous experience of self or known others, the perceived benefits of the chosen mode, a sense of entitlement, the role of orthopaedic surgeons and influence of patient preference, a patient's clinical status post-surgery, the private hospital business model and insurance provider involvement. The acceptability of rehabilitation modes varied between clinician groups. No one rehabilitation mode provided following arthroplasty is singularly preferred by stakeholders. Factors other than the belief that a particular mode was more effective than another appear to dominate the pathway followed by private arthroplasty consumers, indicating evidence-based policies around rehabilitation provision may have limited appeal in the private sector.
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Understanding consumer preference and willingness to pay for improved cookstoves in Bangladesh.
Rosenbaum, Julia; Derby, Elisa; Dutta, Karabi
2015-01-01
The USAID/WASHplus project conducted a comprehensive assessment to understand consumer needs and preferences as they relate to increasing the uptake and consistent, exclusive, and correct use of improved cookstoves (ICSs) in Bangladesh. The assessment included household ICS trials, fuel and stove use monitoring, and consumers' perceived value of and willingness to pay for ICSs. Results showed that cooks appreciated and liked the ICS, but that no models met consumer needs sufficiently to replace traditional stoves. Initially, many preferred ICSs over traditional stoves, but this preference decreased over the 3-week trial period. Complaints and suggestions for improvement fell into two general categories: those that can be addressed through fairly simple modifications to the stove design, and those more appropriately addressed through point-of-purchase consumer education and follow-up from service agents or health outreach workers. Most households using the ICS realized fuel use reductions, although these were lower than expected, partly because of continued parallel traditional stove use. When given the option to purchase the stoves at market value, only one of 105 households did so; however, a separate assessment showed that 80% of participants (12 of 15 households) preferred to keep the stove rather than receive a cash buyout at market value. This indicates that users value the ICS when acquisition barriers are removed and highlights the need for better financing options.
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Not just for consumers: context effects are fundamental to decision making.
Trueblood, Jennifer S; Brown, Scott D; Heathcote, Andrew; Busemeyer, Jerome R
2013-06-01
Context effects--preference changes that depend on the availability of other options--have attracted a great deal of attention among consumer researchers studying high-level decision tasks. In the experiments reported here, we showed that these effects also arise in simple perceptual-decision-making tasks. This finding casts doubt on explanations limited to consumer choice and high-level decisions, and it indicates that context effects may be amenable to a general explanation at the level of the basic decision process. We demonstrated for the first time that three important context effects from the preferential-choice literature--similarity, attraction, and compromise effects--all occurred within a single perceptual-decision task. Not only do our results challenge previous explanations for context effects proposed by consumer researchers, but they also challenge the choice rules assumed in theories of perceptual decision making.
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Eliciting consumer preferences for health plans.
Booske, B C; Sainfort, F; Hundt, A S
1999-10-01
To examine (1) what people say is important to them in choosing a health plan; (2) the effect, if any, that giving health plan information has on what people say is important to them; and (3) the effect of preference elicitation methods on what people say is important. A random sample of 201 Wisconsin state employees who participated in a health plan choice experiment during the 1995 open enrollment period. We designed a computer system to guide subjects through the review of information about health plan options. The system began by eliciting the stated preferences of the subjects before they viewed the information, at time 0. Subjects were given an opportunity to revise their preference structures first after viewing summary information about four health plans (time 1) and then after viewing more extensive, detailed information about the same options (time 2). At time 2, these individuals were also asked to rate the relative importance of a predefined list of health plan features presented to them. Data were collected on the number of attributes listed at each point in time and the importance weightings assigned to each attribute. In addition, each item on the attribute list was content analyzed. The provision of information changes the preference structures of individuals. Costs (price) and coverage dominated the attributes cited both before and after looking at health plan information. When presented with information on costs, quality, and how plans work, many of these relatively well educated consumers revised their preference structures; yet coverage and costs remained the primary cited attributes. Although efforts to provide health plan information should continue, decisions on the information to provide and on making it available are not enough. Individuals need help in understanding, processing, and using the information to construct their preferences and make better decisions.
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Data on customer perceptions on the role of celebrity endorsement on brand preference.
Ibidunni, Ayodotun Stephen; Olokundun, Maxwell Ayodele; Ibidunni, Oyebisi Mary; Borishade, Taiye Tairat; Falola, Hezekiah Olubusayo; Salau, Odunayo Paul; Amaihian, Augusta Bosede; Fred, Peter
2018-06-01
This research presents data on the effect of celebrity endorsement on consumers' brand preference. Copies of structured questionnaire were administered to 384 customers of telecommunication industry. Using descriptive, correlation and regression statistical analysis, the data revealed that celebrity image has an effect on consumer brand loyalty, celebrity trustworthiness has an influence on consumer brand association. More so, the relationship between celebrity expertise and perceived quality of the product was established.
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Sutrisna, Aang; Izwardy, Doddy
2017-01-01
Although it is generally accepted that the addition of micronutrient powders (MNPs) to foods causes no or negligible changes to organoleptic properties, there are anecdotal reports of low acceptability of the MNP (locally known as “Taburia”) distributed in Indonesia. We hypothesized that the organoleptic properties of Taburia do not reduce the acceptability of foods if used as recommended. Acceptability of Taburia and a comparison MNP (MixMe™) were evaluated among 232 children aged 6–24 months and their caregivers. Both caregivers’ perceptions of child acceptance, and their own assessments of organoleptic qualities when added to rice porridge or meals commonly consumed by young children, were assessed. Changes to the organoleptic properties of foods mixed with Taburia and comparison MNP were reported by caregivers, even when following preparation instructions. Taburia was found to enhance texture, sweetness, saltiness, and umami taste, but was also perceived as slightly bitter. Ratings for overall appearance and taste did not differ between rice porridge, plain or with Taburia, but the overall taste of Taburia was preferred over comparison MNP (p = 0.012). Meals consumed by children were preferred without the addition of MNP (p < 0.001). We demonstrate that the addition of Taburia to foods, commonly consumed by Indonesian infants and young children, affects organoleptic properties of the foods, even when prepared according to recommendations. However, these changes are unlikely to be the cause of reported adherence problems in Indonesia. This needs to be taken into consideration for product development and communication strategies promoting adherence.
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Consumer sensory acceptance and value of wet-aged and dry-aged beef steaks.
Sitz, B M; Calkins, C R; Feuz, D M; Umberger, W J; Eskridge, K M
2006-05-01
To determine sensory preference and value of fresh beef steak differing in aging technique, strip steaks were evaluated by consumers in Denver (n = 132 consumers) and Chicago (n = 141 consumers). Wet-aged Choice strip loins were matched with dry-aged Choice strip loins, whereas wet-aged Prime strip loins were matched with dry-aged Prime strip loins. Dry-aged strip loins were commercially aged in air in a controlled environment for 30 d and vacuum-aged for 7 d during shipping and storage. Wet-aged strip loins were vacuum-packaged and aged for 37 d in a 1 degrees C cooler. Pairs of strip loins were matched to similar Warner-Bratzler shear force values and marbling scores. Twelve sensory evaluation panels (of 12 scheduled panelists each) were conducted over a 3-d period in each city. Individual samples from a pair of steaks were evaluated by the panelists for sensory traits. Bids were placed on the samples after sensory traits were obtained utilizing a variation of the Vickery auction with silent, sealed bids. No significant differences for sensory traits of flavor, juiciness, tenderness, or overall acceptability were detected between wet-aged Choice samples and dry-aged Choice samples. Although wet-aged Choice samples were numerically superior for all sensory traits, consumers placed similar bid values (P = 0.12) on wet- and dry-aged Choice samples ($3.82 per 0.45 kg and $3.57 per 0.45 kg, respectively). Wet-aged Prime samples were rated more desirable (P < 0.001) for flavor, tenderness, and overall acceptability than dry-aged Prime samples. Wet-aged Prime samples were valued at $4.02 per 0.45 kg, whereas dry-aged Prime samples brought $3.58 per 0.45 kg (P = 0.008). Consumers (29.3%) who preferred the dry-aged Choice samples over the wet-aged Choice samples were willing to pay $1.99/0.45 kg more (P < 0.001) for dry-aged samples. The consumers who preferred the wet-aged Choice over the dry-aged Choice samples (39.2%) were willing to pay $1.77/0.45 kg more (P < 0.0001). Consumers who preferred wet-aged Prime over dry-aged Prime samples (45.8%) paid $1.92/0.45 kg more (P < 0.0001). Consumers who preferred dry-aged Prime samples (27.5%) were willing to pay $1.92/0.45 kg more than for the wet-aged Prime samples. Although more consumers preferred wet-aged samples, markets do exist for dry-aged beef, and consumers are willing to pay a premium for this product.
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Discrete choice experiments to measure consumer preferences for health and healthcare.
Viney, Rosalie; Lancsar, Emily; Louviere, Jordan
2002-08-01
To investigate the impact of health policies on individual well-being, estimate the value to society of new interventions or policies, or predict demand for healthcare, we need information about individuals' preferences. Economists usually use market-based data to analyze preferences, but such data are limited in the healthcare context. Discrete choice experiments are a potentially valuable tool for elicitation and analysis of preferences and thus, for economic analysis of health and health programs. This paper reviews the use of discrete choice experiments to measure consumers' preferences for health and healthcare. The paper provides an overview of the approach and discusses issues that arise when using discrete choice experiments to assess individuals' preferences for health and healthcare.
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2011-08-01
design space is large. His research contributions are to the field of Decision-based Design, specifically in linking consumer preferences and...Integrating Consumer Preferences into Engineering Design, to be published in 2012. He received his PhD from Northwestern University in Mechanical
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Gere, Attila; Losó, Viktor; Györey, Annamária; Kovács, Sándor; Huzsvai, László; Nábrádi, András; Kókai, Zoltán; Sipos, László
2014-12-01
Traditional internal and external preference mapping methods are based on principal component analysis (PCA). However, parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and Tucker-3 methods could be a better choice. To evaluate the methods, preference maps of sweet corn varieties will be introduced. A preference map of eight sweet corn varieties was established using PARAFAC and Tucker-3 methods. Instrumental data were also integrated into the maps. The triplot created by the PARAFAC model explains better how odour is separated from texture or appearance, and how some varieties are separated from others. Internal and external preference maps were created using parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and Tucker-3 models employing both sensory (trained panel and consumers) and instrumental parameters simultaneously. Triplots of the applied three-way models have a competitive advantage compared to the traditional biplots of the PCA-based external preference maps. The solution of PARAFAC and Tucker-3 is very similar regarding the interpretation of the first and third factors. The main difference is due to the second factor as it differentiated the attributes better. Consumers who prefer 'super sweet' varieties (they place great emphasis especially on taste) are much younger and have significantly higher incomes, and buy sweet corn products rarely (once a month). Consumers who consume sweet corn products mainly because of their texture and appearance are significantly older and include a higher ratio of men. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Samant, Shilpa S; Chapko, Matthew J; Seo, Han-Seok
2017-10-01
Traditional methods of sensory testing focus on capturing information about multisensory perceptions, but do not necessarily measure emotions elicited by these food and beverages. The objective of this study was to develop an optimum model of predicting overall liking (rating) and preference (choice) based on taste intensity and evoked emotions. One hundred and two participants (51 females) were asked to taste water, sucrose, citric acid, salt, and caffeine solutions. Their emotional responses toward each sample were measured by a combination of a self-reported emotion questionnaire (EsSense25), facial expressions, and autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses. In addition, their perceived intensity and overall liking were measured. After a break, participants re-tasted the samples and ranked them according to their preference. The results showed that emotional responses measured using self-reported emotion questionnaire and facial expression analysis along with perceived taste intensity performed best to predict overall liking as well as preference, while ANS measures showed limited contribution. Contrary to some previous research, this study demonstrated that not only negative emotions, but also positive ones could help predict consumer liking and preference. In addition, since there were subtle differences in the prediction models of overall liking and preference, both aspects should be taken into account to understand consumer behavior. In conclusion, combination of evoked emotions along with sensory perception could help better understand consumer acceptance as well as preference toward basic taste solutions. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Cavaliere, Alessia; De Marchi, Elisa; Banterle, Alessandro
2014-12-01
Individual time preference has been recognized as key driver in explaining consumers' probability to have a healthy weight or to incur excess weight problems. The term time preference refers to the rate at which a person is disposed to trade a current satisfaction for a future benefit. This characteristic may affect the extent at which individuals invest in health and may influence diet choices. The purpose of this paper is to analyse which could be the role of time preference (measured in terms of diet-related behaviours) in explaining consumers' healthy or unhealthy body weight. The analysis also considers other drivers predicted to influence BMI, specifically information searching, health-related activities and socio-demographic conditions. The survey was based on face-to-face interviews on a sample of 240 consumers living in Milan. In order to test the hypothesis, we performed a set of seven ORM regressions, all having consumers' BMI as the dependent variable. Each ORM contains a different block of explanatory variables, while time preference is always included among the regressors. The results suggest that the healthy weight condition is associated with a high orientation to the future, with a high interest in nutrition claims, a low attention to health-related claims, and a high level of education. On the opposite, the probability to be overweight or obese increases when consumers are less future-concerned and is associated with a low searching for nutrition claims and to a high interest in health claims. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Adverse Selection and Inertia in Health Insurance Markets: When Nudging Hurts.
Handel, Benjamin R
2013-12-01
This paper investigates consumer inertia in health insurance markets, where adverse selection is a potential concern. We leverage a major change to insurance provision that occurred at a large firm to identify substantial inertia, and develop and estimate a choice model that also quantifies risk preferences and ex ante health risk. We use these estimates to study the impact of policies that nudge consumers toward better decisions by reducing inertia. When aggregated, these improved individual-level choices substantially exacerbate adverse selection in our setting, leading to an overall reduction in welfare that doubles the existing welfare loss from adverse selection.
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Consumer choice of pork chops in Taiwan.
Chen, M T; Guo, H L; Tseng, T F; Roan, S W; Ngapo, T M
2010-07-01
Digital photographs of pork chops varying systematically in appearance were presented to 716 Taiwanese consumers in a study that aimed to identify the most important characteristics of fresh pork which determine consumer choice in Taiwan. Relationships between consumer segmentation in choice and socio-demographic and cultural differences were also investigated. Colour and fat cover were the most frequently chosen of the four characteristics studied. Dark red colour was preferred by 64% of consumers and lean fat cover by 44%. Marbling and drip were less important in the decision making process being used by less than a half of consumers. The four preference-based clusters of consumers showed no correlation with socio-demographic-based consumer clusters, but did show significant links with possession of a refrigerator, age at which schooling was completed, liking pork for its price and gender of consumer. Crown Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Consumer Perception of the Quality of Lamb and Lamb Confit
2018-01-01
The patterns of food consumption in general and those of meat, in particular, are constantly changing. These changes are due not only to socioeconomic and cultural trends that affect the whole society but also to the specific lifestyles of consumer groups. Due to the importance of consumer lifestyle, the objectives of this study were (i) to identify the profiles of lamb meat consumers according to their orientation toward convenience, as defined by their eating and cooking habits; (ii) to characterize these profiles according to their socioeconomic characteristics and their preferences regarding the intrinsic and extrinsic quality signals of lamb meat; and (iii) to analyze the willingness to pay for lamb confit. In this study, four types of consumers have been differentiated according to their lifestyles related to lamb consumption. These groups, due to their characteristics, could be called “Gourmet”, “Disinterested”, “Conservative”, and “Basic”. The Gourmet group has characteristics that make it especially interesting to market a product such as lamb confit. However, this group is unaware of this product. Therefore, a possible strategy to expand the commercialization of light lamb and the confit product would be guided marketing to this niche market. PMID:29786652
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Consumer Perception of the Quality of Lamb and Lamb Confit.
Ripoll, Guillermo; Joy, Margalida; Panea, Begoña
2018-05-22
The patterns of food consumption in general and those of meat, in particular, are constantly changing. These changes are due not only to socioeconomic and cultural trends that affect the whole society but also to the specific lifestyles of consumer groups. Due to the importance of consumer lifestyle, the objectives of this study were (i) to identify the profiles of lamb meat consumers according to their orientation toward convenience, as defined by their eating and cooking habits; (ii) to characterize these profiles according to their socioeconomic characteristics and their preferences regarding the intrinsic and extrinsic quality signals of lamb meat; and (iii) to analyze the willingness to pay for lamb confit. In this study, four types of consumers have been differentiated according to their lifestyles related to lamb consumption. These groups, due to their characteristics, could be called "Gourmet", "Disinterested", "Conservative", and "Basic". The Gourmet group has characteristics that make it especially interesting to market a product such as lamb confit. However, this group is unaware of this product. Therefore, a possible strategy to expand the commercialization of light lamb and the confit product would be guided marketing to this niche market.
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Attitudes towards honey among Italian consumers: A choice experiment approach.
Cosmina, Marta; Gallenti, Gianluigi; Marangon, Francesco; Troiano, Stefania
2016-04-01
Honey is becoming increasingly popular with consumers for its nutritional benefits as well as many other functions. The objective of this article is to determine which factors influence consumers' purchase intentions and to assess the importance of certain honey characteristics to enable identification of the constituents of an ideal honey profile. This information will lead to satisfaction of consumers' preferences and formulation of marketing strategies that support honey makers. We applied a choice experiment to the Italian honey market to define the preferences and the willingness to pay for key characteristics of the product. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted in 2014 (January-July) among Italian consumers; it was completed by 427 respondents. A latent class model was estimated and four classes were identified, with different preferences, illustrating that respondents seem to be heterogeneous honey consumers. Results suggest the "organic" attribute was more important than others factors, such as the place where the honey was produced (landscape), but less important than the country of origin; local Italian honey was preferred to foreign honey. Respondents showed a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for honey from their country of origin versus the production method used. Our results suggest that while organic beekeeping might be an important strategy for diversification, if suitable communication is not taken into consideration, the added value of the production method might not be perceived by consumers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Reprint of "Attitudes towards honey among Italian consumers: A choice experiment approach".
Cosmina, Marta; Gallenti, Gianluigi; Marangon, Francesco; Troiano, Stefania
2016-11-01
Honey is becoming increasingly popular with consumers for its nutritional benefits as well as many other functions. The objective of this article is to determine which factors influence consumers' purchase intentions and to assess the importance of certain honey characteristics to enable identification of the constituents of an ideal honey profile. This information will lead to satisfaction of consumers' preferences and formulation of marketing strategies that support honey makers. We applied a choice experiment to the Italian honey market to define the preferences and the willingness to pay for key characteristics of the product. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted in 2014 (January-July) among Italian consumers; it was completed by 427 respondents. A latent class model was estimated and four classes were identified, with different preferences, illustrating that respondents seem to be heterogeneous honey consumers. Results suggest the "organic" attribute was more important than others factors, such as the place where the honey was produced (landscape), but less important than the country of origin; local Italian honey was preferred to foreign honey. Respondents showed a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for honey from their country of origin versus the production method used. Our results suggest that while organic beekeeping might be an important strategy for diversification, if suitable communication is not taken into consideration, the added value of the production method might not be perceived by consumers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Intergenerational care: an exploration of consumer preferences and willingness to pay for care.
Vecchio, N; Radford, K; Fitzgerald, J A; Comans, T; Harris, P; Harris, N
2017-05-25
To identify feasible models of intergenerational care programmes, that is, care of children and older people in a shared setting, to determine consumer preferences and willingness to pay. Feasible models were constructed in extensive consultations with a panel of experts using a Delphi technique (n = 23) and were considered based on their practical implementation within an Australian setting. This informed a survey tool that captured the preferences and willingness to pay for these models by potential consumers, when compared to the status quo. Information collected from the surveys (n = 816) was analysed using regression analysis to identify fundamental drivers of preferences and the prices consumers were willing to pay for intergenerational care programmes. The shared campus and visiting models were identified as feasible intergenerational care models. Key attributes of these models included respite day care; a common educational pedagogy across generations; screening; monitoring; and evaluation of participant outcomes. Although parents were more likely to take up intergenerational care compared to the status quo, adult carers reported a higher willingness to pay for these services. Educational attainment also influenced the likely uptake of intergenerational care. The results of this study show that there is demand for the shared campus and the visiting campus models among the Australian community. The findings support moves towards consumer-centric models of care, in line with national and international best practice. This consumer-centric approach is encapsulated in the intergenerational care model and enables greater choice of care to match different consumer demands.
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Disgust, Sadness, and Appraisal: Disgusted Consumers Dislike Food More Than Sad Ones.
Motoki, Kosuke; Sugiura, Motoaki
2018-01-01
According to the affect-as-information framework, consumers base judgments on their feelings. Disgust is associated with two kinds of appraisal: one in which the consumer avoids and distances him/herself immediately from the object concerned, and another in which the consumer is disgusted due to contamination and impurities within the environment. The first instance indicates that disgust can decrease a consumer's preference for a product, regardless of its category. In contrast, the second case suggests that a product's degree of depreciation is greater in products vulnerable to contamination, such as foods. However, it remains largely unknown how incidental disgust affects product preferences in accordance with the two appraisal-related goals. The present research investigates how incidental disgust (as opposed to sadness, an equally valenced but distinct emotion of appraisal) influences consumer preferences for products with or without a risk of contamination. Twenty-four participants repeatedly judged foods or household products after seeing an emotional image (conveying disgust, sadness, or neutrality). Foods and household products are the two representative product categories in grocery stores, but only foods are associated with a risk of contamination. The results showed that incidental disgust led to negative evaluations of both types of products; however, compared to sadness, incidental disgust demonstrated a stronger negative effect on preference for foods than household products. These findings elucidate that disgust and the appraisal of contamination specifically devalue foods, and broaden the application of the appraisal-information framework in consumer settings.
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If you build it, will they eat it? Consumer preferences for plant-based and cultured meat burgers.
Slade, Peter
2018-06-01
In a hypothetical choice experiment consumers were given the option of purchasing burgers that were made from beef, plant-based protein, or cultured meat. Willingness to purchase plant-based and cultured meat burgers is linked to age, sex, views of other food technologies, and attitudes towards the environment and agriculture. Although consumers were told that all burgers tasted the same, there was a marked preference for beef burgers. A mixed-logit model predicts that, if prices were equal, 65% of consumers would purchase the beef burger, 21% would purchase the plant-based burger, 11% would purchase the cultured meat burger, and 4% would make no purchase. Preferences for plant-based and cultured meat burgers are found to be highly, but not perfectly, correlated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Feeding by coral reef mesograzers: algae or cyanobacteria?
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cruz-Rivera, Edwin; Paul, Valerie J.
2006-11-01
Marine studies on herbivory have addressed the role of algae as food and shelter for small consumers, but the potential of benthic cyanobacteria to play similar roles is largely unknown. Here, feeding preferences were measured for eight invertebrate consumers from Guam, offered four common macroalgae and two cyanobacteria. The survivorship of another consumer raised on either macroalgae or cyanobacteria was also assessed. From the choices offered, the sacoglossans Elysia rufescens and E. ornata consumed the green macroalga Bryopsis pennata. The crab Menaethius monoceros preferred the red alga Acanthophora spicifera. The amphipods Parhyale hawaiensis and Cymadusa imbroglio consumed macroalgae and cyanobacteria in equivalent amounts, with C. imbroglio showing less selectivity among diets. In contrast to these patterns, in these assays the gastropods Stylocheilus striatus, Haminoea cymbalum, H. ovalis, and Haminoea sp. fed exclusively, or survived only, on cyanobacteria. Preferences for different cyanobacteria varied. Field surveys of cyanobacteria-associated species yielded 34 different invertebrate taxa and suggested different degrees of specificity in these associations. Tropical mesograzers exploit considerably different food resources, with some species adapted to consume cyanobacterial mats. Benthic cyanobacteria may play important roles as food and shelter for marine consumers and may indirectly influence local biodiversity through their associated fauna.
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What consumers don't know about genetically modified food, and how that affects beliefs.
McFadden, Brandon R; Lusk, Jayson L
2016-09-01
In the debates surrounding biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) food, data from consumer polls are often presented as evidence for precaution and labeling. But how much do consumers actually know about the issue? New data collected from a nationwide U.S. survey reveal low levels of knowledge and numerous misperceptions about GM food. Nearly equal numbers of consumers prefer mandatory labeling of foods containing DNA as do those preferring mandatory labeling of GM foods. When given the option, the majority of consumers prefer that decisions about GM food be taken out of their hands and be made by experts. After answering a list of questions testing objective knowledge of GM food, subjective, self-reported knowledge declines somewhat, and beliefs about GM food safety increase slightly. Results suggest that consumers think they know more than they actually do about GM food, and queries about GM facts cause respondents to reassess how much they know. The findings question the usefulness of results from opinion polls as a motivation for creating public policy surrounding GM food.-McFadden, B. R., Lusk, J. L. What consumers don't know about genetically modified food, and how that affects beliefs. © FASEB.
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Zhi, Ruicong; Zhao, Lei; Shi, Jingye
2016-07-01
Developing innovative products that satisfy various groups of consumers helps a company maintain a leading market share. The hedonic scale and just-about-right (JAR) scale are 2 popular methods for hedonic assessment and product diagnostics. In this paper, we chose to study flavored liquid milk because it is one of the most necessary nutrient sources in China. The hedonic scale and JAR scale methods were combined to provide directional information for flavored liquid milk optimization. Two methods of analysis (penalty analysis and partial least squares regression on dummy variables) were used and the results were compared. This paper had 2 aims: (1) to investigate consumer preferences of basic flavor attributes of milk from various cities in China; and (2) to determine the improvement direction for specific products and the ideal overall liking for consumers in various cities. The results showed that consumers in China have local-specific requirements for characteristics of flavored liquid milk. Furthermore, we provide a consumer-oriented product design method to improve sensory quality according to the preference of particular consumers. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Where's the beef? Retail channel choice and beef preferences in Argentina.
Colella, Florencia; Ortega, David L
2017-11-01
Argentinean beef is recognized and demanded internationally. Locally, consumers are often unable to afford certified beef products, and may rely on external cues to determine beef quality. Uncovering demand for beef attributes and marketing them accordingly, may require an understanding of consumers' product purchasing strategies, which involves retailer choice. We develop a framework utilizing latent class analysis to identify consumer groups with different retailer preferences, and separately estimate their demand for beef product attributes. This framework accounts for the interrelationship between consumers' choice of retail outlets and beef product preferences. Our analysis of data from the city of Buenos Aires identifies two groups of consumers, a convenience- (67%) and a service- (33%) oriented group. We find significant differences in demand for beef attributes across these groups, and find that the service oriented group, while not willing to pay for credence attributes, relies on a service-providing retailer-namely a butcher-as a source of product quality assurance. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Reicks, A L; Brooks, J C; Garmyn, A J; Thompson, L D; Lyford, C L; Miller, M F
2011-04-01
Surveys completed by 1370 consumers determined the motivational factors affecting consumer purchasing decisions for fresh beef steaks and roasts in three regions in the United States. Females placed greater importance on tenderness, ease of preparation, and nutritional value of steaks and roasts when compared to males. Age influenced tenderness, product consistency, and nutritional value of steaks, but influenced flavor, product consistency, and nutritional value of roasts. Consumers felt juiciness, nutritional value, and natural products were less important in determining their purchasing choices of steaks and roasts as their level of education increased. The preferred degree of doneness of steaks influenced the value placed on six of the nine purchasing motivators. Beef preferences and demographics influenced consumer purchasing decisions for fresh beef steaks and roasts. Results from this study can be used to help identify factors to positively influence purchasing decisions within targeted market segments. © 2010 The American Meat Science Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Defining skilled nursing facility residents' dining style preferences.
Adams, Katy; Anderson, Janet B; Archuleta, Martha; Smith Kudin, Janette
2013-01-01
The desire of skilled nursing facilities to increase quality of service to meet changes in residents' expectations, improve marketability, and adhere to regulations warrant a new look at culture change and homelike dining as defined by residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). The objectives of this study were to determine residents' home dining practices, to define residents' desired dining style practices in the SNF, and to determine the relationship between home dining practices and dining preferences in SNF. One hundred and four residents in three SNF in the central Texas area who met the cognition criteria and consumed facility-provided food were engaged in a standardized interview using the Resident Dining Style Preferences Survey. Data were analyzed to determine the degree to which home practices determine SNF dining preferences. Our findings showed that the majority of the participants want hot, home cooked meals served in the dining room. They want to be seated at the table with friends and neighbors and served on every day plates in a quiet atmosphere, with food served restaurant or table service style. Length of stay and generational group were not significant predictors of dining style preferences. Study limitations included small sample size and lack of ethnic diversity. Our study results show that removing dining time restrictions may be the most valuable adaptation for a SNF looking to initiate culture change.
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Sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of fermented soybean paste (Doenjang).
Kim, H G; Hong, J H; Song, C K; Shin, H W; Kim, K O
2010-09-01
This study was conducted to examine the sensory profiles of fermented soybean paste (Doenjang), to understand consumers' acceptability of different types of Doenjang samples and to identify the sensory characteristics that drive consumer acceptability of Doenjang products. Descriptive analysis and consumer acceptability test were conducted for 7 different types of Doenjang samples. The samples included 2 types of Doenjang made by either traditional or commercially modified methods. For the descriptive analysis, 8 trained panelists developed and evaluated 31 descriptors. There were significant differences in all 31 attributes among the samples. Principal component analysis was also performed to summarize the sensory characteristics of the samples. In consumer testing, 200 consumers evaluated the acceptability of Doenjang samples. Significant differences in consumer acceptability were observed among the samples. The consumers preferred the Doenjang samples manufactured using a commercially modified method. In overall point of view, most consumers liked the Doenjang samples that had strong "sweet" and "MSG (monosodium glutamate)" tastes. It appears that "sweet" and "MSG" tastes are the drivers of liking for Doenjang. "Salty" taste, "meju,"traditional Korean soy sauce," and "fermented fish" odor/flavors seem to be the drivers of disliking for Doenjang. Cluster analysis identified 3 subconsumer segments sharing a common preference pattern for the 7 samples within a cluster. The results showed that each consumer cluster preferred different Doenjang samples. External preference mapping was performed to establish the relationships between the sensory attributes and consumer acceptability in each cluster. Consumption of the fermented soybean products is gradually expanding around the world, due to their various health benefits. Therefore, understanding sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of Doenjang are becoming increasingly important. The intense and complex flavor characteristics of Doenjang make it difficult to obtain a comprehensive sensory profiling and drivers of liking. The finding of this study can be applied to development of a new product that has better consumer acceptability. Also this study can be a useful and effective guideline to researchers who intend to examine the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of fermented soybean pastes.
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ACCEPTANCE OF FUNCTIONAL FOOD AMONG CHILEAN CONSUMERS: APPLE LEATHER.
van Vliet, Maya; Adasme-Berrios, Cristian; Schnettler, Berta
2015-10-01
the aim of this study is to measure acceptance of a specific functional food: apple (fruit) leather, based on organoleptic characteristics and to identify consumer types and preferences for natural additives which increase the product's functionality and meet current nutritional needs. a sample of 800 consumers provided an evaluation of apple leather in terms of acceptance (liking). A sensorial panel was carried out using a 9-point hedonic scale. Cluster analysis was used to identify different acceptance-based consumer types. In addition, a conjoint analysis was carried out to determine preference for different additives. the cluster analysis resulted in four groups with significant differences in the average likings obtained from the sensory panel. Results indicate that the sweetness of the tested apple leather was evaluated best among all groups and, on average, color was rated as the worst attribute. However, overall likings differ significantly between groups. Results from the conjoint analysis indicate that, in general, consumers prefer natural additives included in the product which enhance functionality. although there is a "global acceptance" of the product, there are significant differences between groups. The results of the conjoint analysis indicate that, in general, consumers prefer the aggregation of natural additives which increase the product's functionality. Apple leather with natural additives, such as anticariogenics and antioxidants, can be considered a functional substitute of unhealthy snacks and/or sweets. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.
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Yılmaz, Emin; Öǧütcü, Mustafa; Arifoglu, Nazan
2015-01-01
In this study, strawberry and lemon flavored fish oil organogels (FOO) were prepared with beeswax as the organogelator. The physical, thermal and textural characteristics as well as the consumer preferences of the flavored organogels were determined in comparison with fish oil and FOO containing no flavor. Furthermore, the stability of the organogels was evaluated during 90 day storage at 4°C. The results revealed that, structurally stable fish oil organogels as spreadable products might be formed and that flavoring of the gels enhances consumer preference. Thus, flavoring of fish oil organogels could be a challenge in increasing the consumption of fish oil.
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Neely, Erika A; Lee, Youngsoo; Lee, Soo-Yeun
2010-08-01
Although many researchers have studied potential ways to deliver soy in novel forms, little is known about specific sensory attributes associated with soy snacks, or how those attributes drive liking for consumers. The first objective of this study was to use sensory descriptive analysis to characterize 9 extruded soy snacks with varying soy levels and soy grits contents. A total of 12 trained panelists used a descriptive analysis method to evaluate the snacks and found 14 attributes to be significantly different across the samples. Furthermore, it is not known how preferences of Indian snack consumers living in the United States and India may vary for sensory attributes of soy snacks. The 2nd objective was to correlate descriptive profiling data and previously collected consumer data to construct preference maps illustrating consumers' attitudes toward the snacks. Results indicate that consumers generally accept samples characterized by attributes such as crunchy, cumin, curry, salty, and umami, but dislike samples with wheat, rough, or porous attributes. Indian consumers differed from the U.S. consumers in that their preferences were more varied, and they tended to be more tolerant of wheat and porous attributes. Therefore, different strategies should be utilized when developing products for these groups to cater to their specific inclinations.
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Cross-cultural perception of six commercial olive oils: A study with Spanish and US consumers.
Vázquez-Araújo, L; Adhikari, K; Chambers, E; Chambers, D H; Carbonell-Barrachina, A A
2015-09-01
A cross-cultural study was conducted with Spanish and US consumers to gain an insight into the preferred characteristics of olive oils in both countries. Six commercial olive oils (four samples from Spain and two samples from the US) were analyzed by a highly trained panel (descriptive analysis) and also by two consumers' groups (100 consumers from Spain and 100 from the US). Demographic, acceptability, and Just-About-Right data were collected to study the preferences of both groups, and the relationships with descriptive data were explored to determine the drivers of like/dislike. The Spanish extra virgin olive oils and the imported US extra virgin olive oil were characterized by having bitter, pungent, and more green notes, and were preferred by the Spanish consumers. The US consumers liked the bland Spanish refined olive oil, and the Californian olive oil that was characterized by fruity, floral, and sweet notes. The results showed that the Spanish consumers were more aware about olive oil quality in general than their US counterparts, maybe because of a higher usage of the product in Spain. The present study provides essential data which might help producers in designing and promoting olive oils matching US consumers' requirements, an emerging market for this Mediterranean product. © The Author(s) 2014.
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The effects of preference for information on consumers' online health information search behavior.
Zhang, Yan
2013-11-26
Preference for information is a personality trait that affects people's tendency to seek information in health-related situations. Prior studies have focused primarily on investigating its impact on patient-provider communication and on the implications for designing information interventions that prepare patients for medical procedures. Few studies have examined its impact on general consumers' interactions with Web-based search engines for health information or the implications for designing more effective health information search systems. This study intends to fill this gap by investigating the impact of preference for information on the search behavior of general consumers seeking health information, their perceptions of search tasks (representing information needs), and user experience with search systems. Forty general consumers who had previously searched for health information online participated in the study in our usability lab. Preference for information was measured using Miller's Monitor-Blunter Style Scale (MBSS) and the Krantz Health Opinion Survey-Information Scale (KHOS-I). Each participant completed four simulated health information search tasks: two look-up (fact-finding) and two exploratory. Their behaviors while interacting with the search systems were automatically logged and ratings of their perceptions of tasks and user experience with the systems were collected using Likert-scale questionnaires. The MBSS showed low reliability with the participants (Monitoring subscale: Cronbach alpha=.53; Blunting subscale: Cronbach alpha=.35). Thus, no further analyses were performed based on the scale. KHOS-I had sufficient reliability (Cronbach alpha=.77). Participants were classified into low- and high-preference groups based on their KHOS-I scores. The high-preference group submitted significantly shorter queries when completing the look-up tasks (P=.02). The high-preference group made a significantly higher percentage of parallel movements in query reformulation than did the low-preference group (P=.04), whereas the low-preference group made a significantly higher percentage of new concept movements than the high-preference group when completing the exploratory tasks (P=.01). The high-preference group found the exploratory tasks to be significantly more difficult (P=.05) and the systems to be less useful (P=.04) than did the low-preference group. Preference for information has an impact on the search behavior of general consumers seeking health information. Those with a high preference were more likely to use more general queries when searching for specific factual information and to develop more complex mental representations of health concerns of an exploratory nature and try different combinations of concepts to explore these concerns. High-preference users were also more demanding on the system. Health information search systems should be tailored to fit individuals' information preferences.
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Analysis of Consumers’ Preferences and Price Sensitivity to Native Chickens
Lee, Min-A; Jung, Yoojin; Jo, Cheorun
2017-01-01
This study analyzed consumers’ preferences and price sensitivity to native chickens. A survey was conducted from Jan 6 to 17, 2014, and data were collected from consumers (n=500) living in Korea. Statistical analyses evaluated the consumption patterns of native chickens, preference marketing for native chicken breeds which will be newly developed, and price sensitivity measurement (PSM). Of the subjects who preferred broilers, 24.3% do not purchase native chickens because of the dryness and tough texture, while those who preferred native chickens liked their chewy texture (38.2%). Of the total subjects, 38.2% preferred fried native chickens (38.2%) for processed food, 38.4% preferred direct sales for native chicken distribution, 51.0% preferred native chickens to be slaughtered in specialty stores, and 32.4% wanted easy access to native chickens. Additionally, the price stress range (PSR) was 50 won and the point of marginal cheapness (PMC) and point of marginal expensiveness (PME) were 6,980 won and 12,300 won, respectively. Evaluation of the segmentation market revealed that consumers who prefer broiler to native chicken breeds were more sensitive to the chicken price. To accelerate the consumption of newly developed native chicken meat, it is necessary to develop a texture that each consumer needs, to increase the accessibility of native chickens, and to have diverse menus and recipes as well as reasonable pricing for native chickens. PMID:28747834
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An experimental methodology for a fuzzy set preference model
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Turksen, I. B.; Willson, Ian A.
1992-01-01
A flexible fuzzy set preference model first requires approximate methodologies for implementation. Fuzzy sets must be defined for each individual consumer using computer software, requiring a minimum of time and expertise on the part of the consumer. The amount of information needed in defining sets must also be established. The model itself must adapt fully to the subject's choice of attributes (vague or precise), attribute levels, and importance weights. The resulting individual-level model should be fully adapted to each consumer. The methodologies needed to develop this model will be equally useful in a new generation of intelligent systems which interact with ordinary consumers, controlling electronic devices through fuzzy expert systems or making recommendations based on a variety of inputs. The power of personal computers and their acceptance by consumers has yet to be fully utilized to create interactive knowledge systems that fully adapt their function to the user. Understanding individual consumer preferences is critical to the design of new products and the estimation of demand (market share) for existing products, which in turn is an input to management systems concerned with production and distribution. The question of what to make, for whom to make it and how much to make requires an understanding of the customer's preferences and the trade-offs that exist between alternatives. Conjoint analysis is a widely used methodology which de-composes an overall preference for an object into a combination of preferences for its constituent parts (attributes such as taste and price), which are combined using an appropriate combination function. Preferences are often expressed using linguistic terms which cannot be represented in conjoint models. Current models are also not implemented an individual level, making it difficult to reach meaningful conclusions about the cause of an individual's behavior from an aggregate model. The combination of complex aggregate models and vague linguistic preferences has greatly limited the usefulness and predictive validity of existing preference models. A fuzzy set preference model that uses linguistic variables and a fully interactive implementation should be able to simultaneously address these issues and substantially improve the accuracy of demand estimates. The parallel implementation of crisp and fuzzy conjoint models using identical data not only validates the fuzzy set model but also provides an opportunity to assess the impact of fuzzy set definitions and individual attribute choices implemented in the interactive methodology developed in this research. The generalized experimental tools needed for conjoint models can also be applied to many other types of intelligent systems.
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Sluik, D; van Lee, L; Geelen, A; Feskens, E J
2014-03-01
The habitual consumption of a specific type of alcoholic beverage may be related to the overall dietary pattern. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate associations between alcoholic beverage preference and dietary intake in The Netherlands. A total of 2100 men and women from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2007-2010 were studied. A general questionnaire assessed alcoholic beverage preference and two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls assessed overall diet. Mean nutrient and food group intakes, and adherence to the 2006 Dutch dietary guidelines across categories of alcoholic beverage preference were compared and adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), education, smoking, physical activity, energy intake and frequency and absolute alcohol consumption. Largest differences in dietary habits were detected between persons who preferred wine and those who preferred beer. Persons with a beer preference had a higher absolute intake of meat, soft drinks, margarine and snacks. In contrast, persons with a wine preference had a higher absolute consumption of healthy foods. However, after multiple adjustments, wine consumers still consumed less energy and more vegetables and fruit juices compared with beer consumers. Adherence to the Dutch dietary guidelines did not differ between preference categories after multiple adjustments. In this cross-sectional analysis in a representative sample of the Dutch population, a beer preference was associated with less healthy dietary behaviour, especially compared with wine preference. However, these differences were largely explained by other socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. These results suggest that alcoholic beverage preference may not be independently related to diet.
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Banović, Marija; Grunert, Klaus G; Barreira, Maria Madalena; Fontes, Magda Aguiar
2010-01-01
This study investigated the differences in the consumers' quality perception of national branded, national store branded, and imported store branded beef. Partial Least Squares analysis is used for modelling the quality perception process. Results show that consumers perceived national branded Carnalentejana beef, as better on all quality cues and quality aspects than the other two store branded beefs. Preference for Carnalentejana beef stayed highly consistent even after the blind test, where consumers differentiated this beef from the other two beef brands on all sensory dimensions: taste, tenderness, and juiciness, and chose it as the preferred one. Consumers utilized more perceived intrinsic cues to infer expected eating quality of store branded beefs.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fraas, John W.; Newman, Isadore
1996-01-01
In a conjoint-analysis consumer-preference study, researchers must determine whether the product factor estimates, which measure consumer preferences, should be calculated and interpreted for each respondent or collectively. Multiple regression models can determine whether to aggregate data by examining factor-respondent interaction effects. This…
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Roasted and Ground Coffee: A Study of Extenders, Substitutes and Alternative Coffee Sources
1984-02-01
other large food service organizations. The policy of adjusting the amount of R&G coffee used in brewing recipes according to consumer preferences , as...health, such as in the reduction of caffeine levels, as well as’ general consumer preferences for hot beverages with lower levels of coffee- like
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1987-06-01
consumer preferences provide influences that can stimulate the rate of growth of the endogenous and/or exogenous income industries. B. EXPORT INDUSTRIES...location quotient was selected to alleviate 12 some of the problems created by consumer preferences and expendi- ture patterns. This value was compared
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Consumer preferences for kitchen cabinets made from red alder: a comparison to other hardwoods.
David L. Nicholls; Geoffrey H. Donovan; Joseph Roos
2004-01-01
In Alaska, red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) is an abundant but commercially underutilized species despite having properties suitable for higher value products, including furniture and cabinetry. However, it laces the name recognition of mote traditional hardwoods. Our research measured the effect of this lack of familiarity on consumer preferences...
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Sensory characteristics and consumer preference for chicken meat in Guinea.
Sow, T M A; Grongnet, J F
2010-10-01
This study identified the sensory characteristics and consumer preference for chicken meat in Guinea. Five chicken samples [live village chicken, live broiler, live spent laying hen, ready-to-cook broiler, and ready-to-cook broiler (imported)] bought from different locations were assessed by 10 trained panelists using 19 sensory attributes. The ANOVA results showed that 3 chicken appearance attributes (brown, yellow, and white), 5 chicken odor attributes (oily, intense, medicine smell, roasted, and mouth persistent), 3 chicken flavor attributes (sweet, bitter, and astringent), and 8 chicken texture attributes (firm, tender, juicy, chew, smooth, springy, hard, and fibrous) were significantly discriminating between the chicken samples (P<0.05). Principal component analysis of the sensory data showed that the first 2 principal components explained 84% of the sensory data variance. The principal component analysis results showed that the live village chicken, the live spent laying hen, and the ready-to-cook broiler (imported) were very well represented and clearly distinguished from the live broiler and the ready-to-cook broiler. One hundred twenty consumers expressed their preferences for the chicken samples using a 5-point Likert scale. The hierarchical cluster analysis of the preference data identified 4 homogenous consumer clusters. The hierarchical cluster analysis results showed that the live village chicken was the most preferred chicken sample, whereas the ready-to-cook broiler was the least preferred one. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) type 1 showed that 72% of the sensory data for the first 2 principal components explained 83% of the chicken preference. The PLSR1 identified that the sensory characteristics juicy, oily, sweet, hard, mouth persistent, and yellow were the most relevant sensory drivers of the Guinean chicken preference. The PLSR2 (with multiple responses) identified the relationship between the chicken samples, their sensory attributes, and the consumer clusters. Our results showed that there was not a chicken category that was exclusively preferred from the other chicken samples and therefore highlight the existence of place for development of all chicken categories in the local market.
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Do isolated packaging variables influence consumers' attention and preferences?
García-Madariaga, Jesús; Blasco López, Maria-Francisca; Burgos, Ingrit Moya; Virto, Nuria Recuero
2018-04-25
Developments in neuroscience have provided the opportunity to know unconscious consumer reactions and acknowledge direct measures of cognitive constructs like attention. Given the ever-increasing concern over packaging's contribution to creating a positive first impression, the current research seeks to examine consumers' attention and declarative preferences regarding the three main different packaging attributes as isolated variables: images, texts and colours. The experiment exposed participants (N = 40) to 63 stimuli, which were based on modifications of the three main packaging attributes of three products of three different food categories. This study used electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye-tracking (ET) to measure attention, and a declarative test was employed to examine preference. First, the results presented herein show that the presence of visual elements, either images or texts on packages, increased the participants' level of attention. Second, the results reveal that colour modifications do not have a significant effect on participants' neurophysiological attention levels. Third, the results demonstrated that the neurophysiological effects among the participants do not necessarily coincide with their subjective evaluations of preference. Hence, this study increases awareness of the relevance of combining traditional market research tools that rely on explicit consumer responses with neuroscientific techniques. These findings indicate, first of all, that more research is needed to ascertain the extent to which consumers' neurophysiological outcomes correspond to their declarative preferences and second, that neurophysiological methods should be given more attention in research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Cross-Cultural Consumer Acceptability and Purchase Intent of Forage-Finished Rib-Eye Steaks.
Torrico, Damir Dennis; Wardy, Wisdom; Pujols, Kairy Dharali; Carabante, Kennet Mariano; Jirangrat, Wannita; Scaglia, Guillermo; Janes, Marlene E; Prinyawiwatkul, Witoon
2015-10-01
Rib-eye steaks, from 3 forage-finished systems (S1, S2, and S3) and 1 commercial steak (C), either cooked by 1-sided-grilling or 2-sided-grilling, were evaluated for sensory acceptability [overall appearance (ORA) and overall appearance of fat (OAF) for raw steaks; overall appearance (OCA), overall beef aroma (OBA), overall beef flavor (OBF), juiciness, tenderness and overall liking (OL) for cooked steaks] and purchase intent by Hispanic, Asian and U.S. consumers. They also indicated preferred degree of doneness and cooking methods. Cross-cultural differences in preferences and consumer acceptability of rib-eye steaks were observed. Grilling was the most preferred cooking method. Hispanics and Asians preferred medium and/or medium well, while U.S. consumers preferred medium and/or medium rare. For cooked steaks, the population effect was significant for all sensory attributes; Asians generally scored lower than did Hispanics and U.S. consumers. C and S3 generally had higher scores for all sensory attributes across 3 populations. Purchase intent for all forage-finished steaks was higher for Hispanics and U.S. consumers compared to Asians (50.0% to 77.8% compared with 43.2% to 65.9%). Attributes influencing purchase intent of forage-finished steaks differed among populations: tenderness (odds ratio = 1.4) for Hispanics, OCA (odds ratio = 1.5) for Asians, and OBF (odds ratio = 1.3) for U.S. consumers. Overall, this study demonstrated that the type of forage-finished system and ethnic differences influenced sensory acceptability and purchase intent of forage-finished rib-eye steaks. Demand for forage-finished beef has increased worldwide due to its potential health benefits. Little is known regarding the cross-cultural effects on the consumer acceptance of forage-finished beef. We evaluated sensory acceptance and purchase intent of raw and cooked forage-finished rib-eye steaks using Hispanic, Asian, and U.S. (White and African American) populations. This study demonstrated that consumer acceptability and purchase intent of forage-finished rib-eye steaks differed among Hispanic, Asian, and U.S. populations. This information can be used to guide development and marketing strategies for beef products. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Consumer preference models: fuzzy theory approach
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Turksen, I. B.; Wilson, I. A.
1993-12-01
Consumer preference models are widely used in new product design, marketing management, pricing and market segmentation. The purpose of this article is to develop and test a fuzzy set preference model which can represent linguistic variables in individual-level models implemented in parallel with existing conjoint models. The potential improvements in market share prediction and predictive validity can substantially improve management decisions about what to make (product design), for whom to make it (market segmentation) and how much to make (market share prediction).
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Chemical evaluation, antioxidant capacity, and consumer acceptance of several oak infusions.
Rocha-Guzmán, Nuria Elizabeth; Medina-Medrano, Jose Roberto; Gallegos-Infante, José Alberto; Gonzalez-Laredo, Rubén Francisco; Ramos-Gómez, Minerva; Reynoso-Camacho, Rosalía; Guzmán-Maldonado, Horacio; González-Herrera, Silvia Marina
2012-02-01
As part of an ongoing screening on natural products, 4 oak leaves were analyzed as potential nutraceutical beverages. The phenolic composition, antioxidant capacity, and sensory preferences of leaves infusions from Quercus resinosa, Q. sideroxyla, Q. eduadii, and Q. durifolia in comparison with 2 commercial green teas were investigated. Herbal infusions from oak leaves and Green teas (1%, 80 °C, 10 min) were evaluated for total polyphenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), HPLC analysis, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), soluble solids, pH, color, and consumer preference analysis. Q. resinosa leaves infusions have shown the highest TPC, TEAC, and ORAC values but they have attained the lowest preference score. Quercus leaves infusions with higher content of gallic acid and catechins showed best antioxidant capacity but lower consumer preference. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Amarra, Ma Sofia V; Yee, Yeong Boon; Drewnowski, Adam
2008-01-01
Food consumption patterns in Asia are rapidly changing. Urbanization and changing lifestyles have diminished the consumption of traditional meals based on cereals, vegetables and root crops. These changes are accompa-nied by an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases among Asian populations. ILSI Southeast Asia and CSIRO, Australia jointly organized the Symposium on Understanding and Influencing Food Behaviours for Health, focusing on the use of consumer science to improve food behaviour. The goals of the Symposium were to present an understanding of Asian consumers and their food choices, examine the use of consumer research to modify food choices towards better health, illustrate how health programs and food regulations can be utilized effectively to promote healthier choices, and identify knowledge gaps regarding the promotion of healthy food behaviour in Asian populations. There is no difference in taste perception among Asians, and Asian preference for certain tastes is determined by exposure and familiarity largely dictated by culture and its underlying values and beliefs. Cross-cultural validity of consumer science theories and tools derived from western populations need to be tested in Asia. Information on consumption levels and substitution behaviours for foods and food products, obtained using consumer research methods, can guide the development of food regulations and programs that will enable individuals to make healthier choices. Existing knowledge gaps include consumer research techniques appropriate for use in Asian settings, diet-health relationships from consumption of traditional Asian diets, and methods to address the increasing prevalence of over- and undernutrition within the same households in Asia.
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Consumer demand as a driver of improved working conditions: the 'Ergo-Brand' proposition.
Neumann, W Patrick; Dixon, Shane M; Nordvall, Anna-Carin
2014-01-01
This article develops and explores the 'Ergo-Brand' proposition, which posits that consumers may prefer to buy goods that are made under good working conditions (GWCs). This preference would enhance a differentiation strategy for companies, thereby fostering the application of ergonomics in production. This proposition is developed in the context of a narrative review of the literature on 'ethical consumerism'. This is supplemented with a survey study, conducted in both Canada and Sweden (n = 141) to explore this proposition. Results indicate that consumers would prefer goods made under GWCs, but not unconditionally as quality and price concerns were ranked higher. Access to information on the working conditions in production was seen as a barrier. Nevertheless, the Ergo-Brand concept may be a viable avenue in promoting attention towards ergonomics in companies - particularly if consumer habits are subject to intervention by advertising. Further research on this strategy is warranted.
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Pagliarini, Ella; Laureati, Monica; Dinnella, Caterina; Monteleone, Erminio; Proserpio, Cristina; Piasentier, Edi
2016-02-01
This study investigated the sensory properties and acceptability of different Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) dry-cured hams. For each PDO, two genotypes were selected: IL×LW (reference hybrid) and Goland (commercial hybrid). According to descriptive analysis, genetic variance affected few attributes describing Toscano and San Daniele ham sensory quality. The commercial hybrid Parma ham was distinct from the traditional one, the Goland genotype being significantly higher in red color, saltiness, dryness and hardness and showing a lower intensity of pork-meat odor/flavor and sweetness than the IL×LW genotype. Consumer acceptance was mainly influenced by the PDO technology. A genotype effect on acceptance was only observed in Toscano ham. Principal component regression analysis revealed that Toscano ham was the preferred sample. Considering that the consumers involved were from Tuscany, it is likely that Toscano ham was preferred owing to their higher familiarity with this product. Sensory properties of ham samples were better discriminated according to their PDO than their genotype. Likewise, consumer liking was more affected by the specific PDO technology than by genetic type. Toscano ham was the most preferred and most familiar product among Tuscan consumers, indicating that familiarity with the product was the best driver of dry-cured ham preference. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Knowledge, perceptions and preferences of elderly regarding protein-enriched functional food.
van der Zanden, Lotte D T; van Kleef, Ellen; de Wijk, René A; van Trijp, Hans C M
2014-09-01
Promoting protein consumption in the elderly population may contribute to improving the quality of their later years in life. Our study aimed to explore knowledge, perceptions and preferences of elderly consumers regarding protein-enriched food. We conducted three focus groups with independently living (ID) elderly (N = 24, Mage = 67 years) and three with elderly living in a residential home (RH) (N = 18, Mage = 83 years). Both the ID and RH elderly were predominantly sceptical about functional food in general. Confusion, distrust and a perceived lack of personal relevance were main perceived barriers to purchasing and consuming these products, although a majority of the participants did report occasionally consuming at least one type of functional food. For the ID elderly, medical advice was an important facilitator that could overcome barriers to purchasing and consuming protein-enriched food, indicating the importance of personal relevance for this group. For the RH elderly, in contrast, sensory appeal of protein-enriched foods was a facilitator. Carrier preferences were similar for the two groups; the elderly preferred protein-enriched foods based on healthy products that they consumed frequently. Future studies should explore ways to deal with the confusion and distrust regarding functional food within the heterogeneous population of elderly. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The colour preference control based on two-colour combinations
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hong, Ji Young; Kwak, Youngshin; Park, Du-Sik; Kim, Chang Yeong
2008-02-01
This paper proposes a framework of colour preference control to satisfy the consumer's colour related emotion. A colour harmony algorithm based on two-colour combinations is developed for displaying the images with several complementary colour pairs as the relationship of two-colour combination. The colours of pixels belonging to complementary colour areas in HSV colour space are shifted toward the target hue colours and there is no colour change for the other pixels. According to the developed technique, dynamic emotions by the proposed hue conversion can be improved and the controlled output image shows improved colour emotions in the preference of the human viewer. The psychophysical experiments are conducted to investigate the optimal model parameters to produce the most pleasant image to the users in the respect of colour emotions.
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Zhang, Yan; Leach, Matthew J; Bishop, Felicity L; Leung, Brenda
2016-04-01
To determine whether acupuncture use, sociodemographic characteristics, and existing health conditions differ between acupuncture-preferred consumers (i.e., those who deem acupuncture to be one of the three most important complementary and alternative medicine [CAM] modalities used) and non-acupuncture-preferred consumers who used acupuncture in the past 12 months This is a secondary analysis of the National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult File and Adult Alternative Medicine datasets collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during 2012. The sample was drawn from the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United States. The datasets yielded 34,525 respondents aged 18 years and older. Measures included in the analysis were acupuncture use in the past 12 months, sociodemographic characteristics, and existing health conditions. Analyses were performed by using Stata software, version 9.0 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX). Of the 10,158 adults who responded to the question regarding the "three most important" CAM modalities used, 572 (5.6%) had used acupuncture in the past 12 months. Of these, 456 (79.7%) chose acupuncture as one of the top three CAM modalities most important to their health. Acupuncture-preferred consumers reported significantly more visits to acupuncturists (7.46 versus 3.99 visits; p < 0.001), as well as higher out-of-pocket costs ($342.8 versus $246.4; p < 0.001), compared with non-acupuncture-preferred consumers. The logistic regression model revealed that with every additional CAM modality used, the likelihood of deeming acupuncture as one of the three CAM modalities most important to one's health decreased by 39% (odds ratio, 0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-0.71; p < 0.001). Health conditions were not statistically significant predictors. A consumer's preference for acupuncture appeared not to be driven by health conditions but rather was related to sociodemographic factors. This suggests that health education regarding acupuncture may need to be tailored to certain consumer groups, such as those residing in the South, and could provide more information on the comparative effectiveness of acupuncture for various health conditions.
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Annunziata, Azzurra; Pomarici, Eugenio; Vecchio, Riccardo; Mariani, Angela
2016-07-07
The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some significant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of significant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used.
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Annunziata, Azzurra; Pomarici, Eugenio; Vecchio, Riccardo; Mariani, Angela
2016-01-01
The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some significant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of significant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used. PMID:27399767
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Sudha, Vasudevan; Spiegelman, Donna; Hong, Biling; Malik, Vasanti; Jones, Clara; Wedick, Nicole M.; Hu, Frank B.; Willett, Walter; Bai, Mookambika Ramya; Ponnalagu, Muthu Mariyammal; Arumugam, Kokila; Mohan, Viswanathan
2013-01-01
Objectives To study consumer acceptance of unmilled brown and under milled rice among urban south Indians. Methods Overweight and normal weight adults living in slum and non-slum residences in Chennai participated (n=82). Bapatla (BPT) and Uma (red pigmented) rice varieties were chosen. These rice varieties were dehusked (unmilled, 0% polish) and further milled to 2.3% and 4.4% polishing (under milled). Thus nine rice samples in both raw and parboiled forms were provided for consumer tasting over a period of three days. A hedonic 7-point scale was used to rate the consumer preferences. A validated questionnaire was used to collect demographic, anthropometric, medical history, physical activity, dietary intake data and willingness of the consumers to switch over to brown rice. Results Consumers reported that the color, appearance, texture, taste and overall quality of the 4.4% polished rice was strongly preferred in both varieties and forms. Ratings for 0% polished (brown rice) were substantially lower than those of 2.3% polished rice, which were intermediate in ratings between 0% and 4.4% polishing. However, most of the consumers (93%) expressed willingness to substitute brown or 2.3% polished rice if affordable after the taste tests and education on nutritional and health benefits of whole grains. Conclusion While most consumers’ preferred polished white rice, education regarding health benefits may help this population switch to brown or under milled rice. Cooking quality and appearance of the grains were perceived as the most important factors to consider when purchasing rice among Chennai urban adults. PMID:24015699
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Sobolewski, Marissa; Allen, Joshua L.; Morris-Schaffer, Keith; Klocke, Carolyn; Conrad, Katherine; Cory-Slechta, Deborah A.
2017-01-01
Prenatal stress and nutrition are well-known to alter a broad range of physiological systems, notably metabolic, endocrine and neurobehavioral function. Commonly used methods for oral administration of xenobiotics can, by acting as a stressor or altering normal nutrition intake, alter these physiological systems as well. Taken together, oral administration methods may unintentionally introduce confounding physiological effects that can mask or enhance toxicity of xenobiotics, particularly if they share biological targets. Consequently, it should be preferable to develop alternative methods without these potential confounds. The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of mealworms as an alternative treat-based method to deliver xenobiotics via the orogastric route. Accurate oral administration is contingent on motivation and preference; mice reliably preferred mealworms over wafer cookie treats. Further, ingestion of wafer cookies significantly increased mouse blood glucose levels, whereas unaltered mealworms produced no such change. Mealworms functioned effectively to orally administer glucose, as glucose-spiked mealworms produced a rise in blood glucose equivalent to the ingestion of the wafer cookie. Mealworms did not interfere with the physiological function of orally administered d-amphetamine, as both mealworm and oral gavage administered d-amphetamine showed similar alterations in locomotor behavior (mice did not fully consume d-amphetamine-dosed cookies and thus could not be compared). Collectively, the findings indicate that mealworms are a preferred and readily consumed treat, which importantly mimics environmental-relevant nutritional intake, and mealworms per se do not alter glucose metabolic pathways. Additionally, mealworms accurately delivered xenobiotics into blood circulation and did not interfere with the physiological function of administered xenobiotics. Thus mealworm-based oral administration may be a preferable and accurate route of xenobiotic administration that eliminates physiological alterations associated with other methods of delivery. PMID:27094606
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Sobolewski, Marissa; Allen, Joshua L; Morris-Schaffer, Keith; Klocke, Carolyn; Conrad, Katherine; Cory-Slechta, Deborah A
2016-01-01
Prenatal stress and nutrition are well-known to alter a broad range of physiological systems, notably metabolic, endocrine and neurobehavioral function. Commonly used methods for oral administration of xenobiotics can, by acting as a stressor or altering normal nutrition intake, alter these physiological systems as well. Taken together, oral administration methods may unintentionally introduce confounding physiological effects that can mask or enhance toxicity of xenobiotics, particularly if they share biological targets. Consequently, it should be preferable to develop alternative methods without these potential confounds. The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of mealworms as an alternative treat-based method to deliver xenobiotics via the orogastric route. Accurate oral administration is contingent on motivation and preference; mice reliably preferred mealworms over wafer cookie treats. Further, ingestion of wafer cookies significantly increased mouse blood glucose levels, whereas unaltered mealworms produced no such change. Mealworms functioned effectively to orally administer glucose, as glucose-spiked mealworms produced a rise in blood glucose equivalent to the ingestion of the wafer cookie. Mealworms did not interfere with the physiological function of orally administered d-amphetamine, as both mealworm and oral gavage administered d-amphetamine showed similar alterations in locomotor behavior (mice did not fully consume d-amphetamine-dosed cookies and thus could not be compared). Collectively, the findings indicate that mealworms are a preferred and readily consumed treat, which importantly mimics environmental-relevant nutritional intake, and mealworms per se do not alter glucose metabolic pathways. Additionally, mealworms accurately delivered xenobiotics into blood circulation and did not interfere with the physiological function of administered xenobiotics. Thus mealworm-based oral administration may be a preferable and accurate route of xenobiotic administration that eliminates physiological alterations associated with other methods of delivery. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Family and Consumer Sciences Curricula: What Do Students, Parents, Faculty and Community Want?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pauley, Elizabeth D.
1996-01-01
A survey of 317 Pennsylvania middle school students, 237 parents, 29 faculty, 39 family/consumer professionals, and 19 community members indicated that the program teaches only 4 of adults' top 10 subject preferences and none of the top 3 (family, parenting, communicating). All four top subjects preferred by students (banking, sewing, child care,…
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Consumer preferences for food product quality attributes from Swedish agriculture.
Carlsson, Fredrik; Frykblom, Peter; Lagerkvist, Carl Johan
2005-06-01
This paper employs a choice experiment to obtain consumer preferences and willingness to pay for food product quality attributes currently not available in Sweden. Data were obtained from a large mail survey and estimated with a random parameter logit model. We found evidence for intraproduct differences in consumer preferences for identical attributes, as well as interproduct discrepancies in ranking of attributes. Furthermore, we found evidence of a market failure relating to the potential use of genetically modified animal fodder. Finally, we found support for the idea that a cheap-talk script can alleviate problems of external validity of choice experiments. Our results are useful in forming product differentiation strategies within the food industry, as well as for the formation of food policy.
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Music Audiences 3.0: Concert-Goers' Psychological Motivations at the Dawn of Virtual Reality.
Charron, Jean-Philippe
2017-01-01
Reviewing consumers' motivations to attend performances in a continuously evolving social and technological context is essential because live concerts generate an important and growing share of revenues for the music industry. Evolving fans' preferences and technological innovations constantly alter the way music is distributed and consumed. In a marketing 3.0 era, what consumers do with music is becoming more significant than simply owning or listening to a song. These changes are not only blurring the lines between production and consumption (i.e., co-creation), but also distorting the concept of live attendance altogether. Although mediated performances typically lack presence and authenticity, recent advances in immersive technologies, such as spherical videos and virtual reality goggles, could represent a new form of experiencing live music.
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Preference Mapping of Soymilk with Different U.S. Consumers.
Lawrence, S E; Lopetcharat, K; Drake, M A
2016-02-01
This study determined and compared drivers of liking for unflavored soymilk with different U.S. consumer groups. A highly trained panel documented appearance, mouthfeel and flavor attributes of 26 commercial soymilks. Twelve representative soymilks were then selected for evaluation by consumers from 3 age/cultural categories (n = 75 each category; Caucasian/African American females aged 18 to 30 y; Asian females aged 18 to 30 y; Caucasian/African American females aged 40 to 64 y). Consumers evaluated overall liking and liking and intensity of specific attributes. Results were evaluated by analysis of variance, followed by internal and external preference mapping. Age had no effect on overall liking, while ethnicity did (Caucasian/African American compared with Asian; P < 0.05). Caucasians/African Americans differentiated soymilks more than Asians and assigned a wider range of liking scores than Asians (2.1 to 7.2 compared with 4.0 to 6.1). Three consumer clusters were identified. Sweet taste with vanilla/vanillin and sweet aromatic flavors and higher viscosity were preferred by most consumers and differences between consumer clusters were primarily in drivers of dislike. Drivers of dislike were not identified for Cluster 1 consumers while Clusters 2 and 3 consumers (n = 84, n = 80) disliked beany, green/grassy and meaty/brothy flavors and astringency. Cluster 3 (n = 80) consumers scored all soymilks higher in liking (P < 0.05) than Cluster 2 consumers, and were willing to overlook disliked attributes with the addition of sweet taste, whereas the Cluster 2 consumers were not. These findings can be utilized to produce soymilks with attributes that are well liked by target consumers and to tailor attributes for segments of the population that have not yet been accommodated. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®
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McLean, K G; Hanson, D J; Jervis, S M; Drake, M A
2017-11-01
Bacon is one of the most recognizable consumer pork products and is differentiated by appearance, flavor, thickness, and several possible product claims. The objective of this study was to explore the attributes of retail bacon that influence consumers to purchase and consume bacon. An Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint (ACBC) survey was designed for attributes of raw American-style bacon. An ACBC survey (N = 1410 consumers) and Kano questioning were applied to determine the key attributes that influenced consumer purchase. Attributes included package size, brand, thickness, label claims, flavor, price, and images of the bacon package displaying fat:lean ratio. Maximum Difference Scaling (MaxDiff) was used to rank appeal of 20 different bacon images with variable fat:lean ration and slice shape. The most important attribute for bacon purchase was price followed by fat:lean appearance and then flavor. Three consumer clusters were identified with distinct preferences. For 2 clusters, price was not the primary attribute. Understanding preferences of distinct consumer clusters will enable manufacturers to target consumers and make more appealing bacon. Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint (ACBC) is a research technique that allows consumers to react to assembled products and identify product attributes that they prefer. Kano questions allow researchers to look at the individual aspects of a product and understand consumer sentiment and expectations towards those product qualities while Maximum Difference scaling allows consumers to directly rank single attributes of a product relative to one another. A combination of these 3 approaches can provide key understandings on consumer perception of retail bacon allowing companies to optimize and maximize their development and advertising resources. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.
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Kohli, Erol; Buller, Allison
2013-02-01
US consumers spend more than $20 billion/year on over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Although generic and brand name OTC drugs share the same active ingredients and undergo the same rigorous Food and Drug Administration approval process, brand name formulations continue to lead the OTC drug market with a higher market share. There is a limited amount of publicly available information regarding consumer perceptions and awareness about generic and brand name OTC drugs. The main objective of this research was to understand what factors influence US consumers to purchase generic versus brand name OTC drugs. The researchers used a 20-question, self-administered, multiple-choice survey to collect data on the factors influencing consumers' preferences for generic versus brand name OTC drugs. Results revealed that the single most influential factor for participants when purchasing OTC drugs was lower cost. Although economic factors play an important role in influencing consumers to choose generic formulations, a variety of other factors including advertisements, duration of the OTC effectiveness, severity of sickness, preferable form of OTC medication, safety of the OTC, relief of multiple symptoms, and preferred company will persuade others to pay more for brand name drugs. Ultimately, increased awareness and use of generic OTC drugs may result in substantial cost savings for consumers.
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Consumer liking of fruit juices with different açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) concentrations.
Sabbe, Sara; Verbeke, Wim; Deliza, Rosires; Matta, Virginia M; Van Damme, Patrick
2009-06-01
Overall liking, flavor, and perceived healthiness of one newly developed fruit juice with high açaí content (40% açaí) and 5 commercially available fruit juices with lower (4% to 20%) açaí concentrations were evaluated by consumers in Belgium. General trends for the overall sample were examined by means of analysis of variance, whereas individual consumer preferences were evaluated using internal preference mapping and hierarchical cluster analysis. The relative contribution of flavor and perceived health benefits as predictors of consumers' overall liking of the 6 açaí-based fruit juices was estimated through linear regression analysis. The results showed a negative relationship between the juices' overall liking and their açaí concentrations. Although the vast majority of consumers preferred the juices having a low açaí content (4% to 5% açaí), a small consumer segment liked the juice with 40% açaí. Flavor or taste experience superseded consumers' perceived health benefits as the primary determinant of the fruit juices' overall liking. The impact of perceived health benefits on the overall liking of the açaí juices decreased with higher taste dissatisfaction.
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Vecchio, Riccardo; Lisanti, Maria Tiziana; Caracciolo, Francesco; Cembalo, Luigi; Gambuti, Angelita; Moio, Luigi; Siani, Tiziana; Marotta, Giuseppe; Nazzaro, Concetta; Piombino, Paola
2018-05-28
The present research aims to analyse, by combining sensory and experimental economics techniques, to what extent production process, and the information about it, may affect consumer preferences. Sparkling wines produced by Champenoise and Charmat methods were the object of the study. A quantitative descriptive sensory analysis with a trained panel and non-hypothetical auctions combined with hedonic ratings involving young wine consumers (N=100), under different information scenarios(Blind, Info and Info Taste), were performed. Findings show that the production process impacts both the sensory profile of sparkling wines and consumer expectations. In particular, the hedonic ratings revealed that when tasting the products, both with no information on the production process (Blind) and with such information (Info Taste), the consumers preferred the Charmat wines. On the contrary, when detailed information on the production methods was given without tasting (Info), consumers liked more the two Champenoise wines. It can be concluded that sensory and non-sensory attributes of sparkling wines affect consumers' preferences. Specifically, the study suggests that production process information strongly impacts liking expectations, while not affecting informed liking. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Disgust, Sadness, and Appraisal: Disgusted Consumers Dislike Food More Than Sad Ones
Motoki, Kosuke; Sugiura, Motoaki
2018-01-01
According to the affect-as-information framework, consumers base judgments on their feelings. Disgust is associated with two kinds of appraisal: one in which the consumer avoids and distances him/herself immediately from the object concerned, and another in which the consumer is disgusted due to contamination and impurities within the environment. The first instance indicates that disgust can decrease a consumer’s preference for a product, regardless of its category. In contrast, the second case suggests that a product’s degree of depreciation is greater in products vulnerable to contamination, such as foods. However, it remains largely unknown how incidental disgust affects product preferences in accordance with the two appraisal-related goals. The present research investigates how incidental disgust (as opposed to sadness, an equally valenced but distinct emotion of appraisal) influences consumer preferences for products with or without a risk of contamination. Twenty-four participants repeatedly judged foods or household products after seeing an emotional image (conveying disgust, sadness, or neutrality). Foods and household products are the two representative product categories in grocery stores, but only foods are associated with a risk of contamination. The results showed that incidental disgust led to negative evaluations of both types of products; however, compared to sadness, incidental disgust demonstrated a stronger negative effect on preference for foods than household products. These findings elucidate that disgust and the appraisal of contamination specifically devalue foods, and broaden the application of the appraisal-information framework in consumer settings. PMID:29467697
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Patwardhan, Anjali; Patwardhan, Prakash
2009-01-01
In the recent climate of consumerism and consumer focused care, health and social care needs to be more responsive than ever before. Consumer needs and preferences can be elicited with accepted validity and reliability only by strict methodological control, customerisation of the questionnaire and skilled interpretation. To construct, conduct, interpret and implement improved service provision, requires a trained work force and infrastructure. This article aims to appraise various aspects of consumer surveys and to assess their value as effective service improvement tools. The customer is the sole reason organisations exist. Consumer surveys are used worldwide as service and quality of care improvement tools by all types of service providers including health service providers. The article critically appraises the value of consumer surveys as service improvement tools in health services tool and its future applications. No one type of survey is the best or ideal. The key is the selection of the correct survey methodology, unique and customised for the particular type/aspect of care being evaluated. The method used should reflect the importance of the information required. Methodological rigor is essential for the effectiveness of consumer surveys as service improvement tools. Unfortunately so far there is no universal consensus on superiority of one particular methodology over another or any benefit of one specific methodology in a given situation. More training and some dedicated resource allocation is required to develop consumer surveys. More research is needed to develop specific survey methodology and evaluation techniques for improved validity and reliability of the surveys as service improvement tools. Measurement of consumer preferences/priorities, evaluation of services and key performance scores, is not easy. Consumer surveys seem impressive tools as they provide the customer a voice for change or modification. However, from a scientific point-of-view their credibility in service improvement in terms of reproducibility, reliability and validity, has remained debatable. This artcile is a critical appraisal of the value of consumer surveys as a service improvement tool in health services--a lesson which needs to be learnt.
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Product Manuals: A Consumer Perspective.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Showers, Linda S.; And Others
1993-01-01
Qualitative analysis of insights from consumer focus groups on product manual usage reveals consumer perceptions and preferences regarding manual and safety message format. Results can be used to improve manual design and content. (JOW)
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Pasta with unripe banana flour: physical, texture, and preference study.
Agama-Acevedo, Edith; Islas-Hernandez, José J; Osorio-Díaz, Perla; Rendón-Villalobos, Rodolfo; Utrilla-Coello, Rubí G; Angulo, Ofelia; Bello-Pérez, Luis A
2009-08-01
Banana is a starchy food that contains a high proportion of undigestible compounds such as resistant starch and nonstarch polysaccharides. Products with low glycemic response such as pasta are considered favorable to health. The objective of this study was to use unripe banana flour to make spaghetti with low-carbohydrates digestibility and evaluate its physical and texture characteristics, as well as consumer preference. Formulations with 100% durum wheat semolina (control) and formulations with 3 semolina: banana flour ratios (85: 15, 70: 30, and 55: 45) were prepared for spaghetti processing. The use of banana flour decreased the lightness and diameter of cooked spaghetti, and increased the water absorption of the product. Hardness and elasticity of spaghetti were not affected by banana flour, but adhesiveness and chewiness increased as the banana flour level in the blend rose. Spaghettis prepared in the laboratory (control and those with banana flour) did not show differences in preference by consumers. In general, the preference of spaghettis with different banana flour level was similar. The addition of a source of undigestible carbohydrates (banana flour) to spaghetti is possible without affecting the consumer preference.
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A distributed algorithm for demand-side management: Selling back to the grid.
Latifi, Milad; Khalili, Azam; Rastegarnia, Amir; Zandi, Sajad; Bazzi, Wael M
2017-11-01
Demand side energy consumption scheduling is a well-known issue in the smart grid research area. However, there is lack of a comprehensive method to manage the demand side and consumer behavior in order to obtain an optimum solution. The method needs to address several aspects, including the scale-free requirement and distributed nature of the problem, consideration of renewable resources, allowing consumers to sell electricity back to the main grid, and adaptivity to a local change in the solution point. In addition, the model should allow compensation to consumers and ensurance of certain satisfaction levels. To tackle these issues, this paper proposes a novel autonomous demand side management technique which minimizes consumer utility costs and maximizes consumer comfort levels in a fully distributed manner. The technique uses a new logarithmic cost function and allows consumers to sell excess electricity (e.g. from renewable resources) back to the grid in order to reduce their electric utility bill. To develop the proposed scheme, we first formulate the problem as a constrained convex minimization problem. Then, it is converted to an unconstrained version using the segmentation-based penalty method. At each consumer location, we deploy an adaptive diffusion approach to obtain the solution in a distributed fashion. The use of adaptive diffusion makes it possible for consumers to find the optimum energy consumption schedule with a small number of information exchanges. Moreover, the proposed method is able to track drifts resulting from changes in the price parameters and consumer preferences. Simulations and numerical results show that our framework can reduce the total load demand peaks, lower the consumer utility bill, and improve the consumer comfort level.
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Ahmed, Selena; Stepp, John Richard; Orians, Colin; Griffin, Timothy; Matyas, Corene; Robbat, Albert; Cash, Sean; Xue, Dayuan; Long, Chunlin; Unachukwu, Uchenna; Buckley, Sarabeth; Small, David; Kennelly, Edward
2014-01-01
Climate change is impacting agro-ecosystems, crops, and farmer livelihoods in communities worldwide. While it is well understood that more frequent and intense climate events in many areas are resulting in a decline in crop yields, the impact on crop quality is less acknowledged, yet it is critical for food systems that benefit both farmers and consumers through high-quality products. This study examines tea (Camellia sinensis; Theaceae), the world's most widely consumed beverage after water, as a study system to measure effects of seasonal precipitation variability on crop functional quality and associated farmer knowledge, preferences, and livelihoods. Sampling was conducted in a major tea producing area of China during an extreme drought through the onset of the East Asian Monsoon in order to capture effects of extreme climate events that are likely to become more frequent with climate change. Compared to the spring drought, tea growth during the monsoon period was up to 50% higher. Concurrently, concentrations of catechin and methylxanthine secondary metabolites, major compounds that determine tea functional quality, were up to 50% lower during the monsoon while total phenolic concentrations and antioxidant activity increased. The inverse relationship between tea growth and concentrations of individual secondary metabolites suggests a dilution effect of precipitation on tea quality. The decrease in concentrations of tea secondary metabolites was accompanied by reduced farmer preference on the basis of sensory characteristics as well as a decline of up to 50% in household income from tea sales. Farmer surveys indicate a high degree of agreement regarding climate patterns and the effects of precipitation on tea yields and quality. Extrapolating findings from this seasonal study to long-term climate scenario projections suggests that farmers and consumers face variable implications with forecasted precipitation scenarios and calls for research on management practices to facilitate climate adaptation for sustainable crop production.
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Ahmed, Selena; Stepp, John Richard; Orians, Colin; Griffin, Timothy; Matyas, Corene; Robbat, Albert; Cash, Sean; Xue, Dayuan; Long, Chunlin; Unachukwu, Uchenna; Buckley, Sarabeth; Small, David; Kennelly, Edward
2014-01-01
Climate change is impacting agro-ecosystems, crops, and farmer livelihoods in communities worldwide. While it is well understood that more frequent and intense climate events in many areas are resulting in a decline in crop yields, the impact on crop quality is less acknowledged, yet it is critical for food systems that benefit both farmers and consumers through high-quality products. This study examines tea (Camellia sinensis; Theaceae), the world's most widely consumed beverage after water, as a study system to measure effects of seasonal precipitation variability on crop functional quality and associated farmer knowledge, preferences, and livelihoods. Sampling was conducted in a major tea producing area of China during an extreme drought through the onset of the East Asian Monsoon in order to capture effects of extreme climate events that are likely to become more frequent with climate change. Compared to the spring drought, tea growth during the monsoon period was up to 50% higher. Concurrently, concentrations of catechin and methylxanthine secondary metabolites, major compounds that determine tea functional quality, were up to 50% lower during the monsoon while total phenolic concentrations and antioxidant activity increased. The inverse relationship between tea growth and concentrations of individual secondary metabolites suggests a dilution effect of precipitation on tea quality. The decrease in concentrations of tea secondary metabolites was accompanied by reduced farmer preference on the basis of sensory characteristics as well as a decline of up to 50% in household income from tea sales. Farmer surveys indicate a high degree of agreement regarding climate patterns and the effects of precipitation on tea yields and quality. Extrapolating findings from this seasonal study to long-term climate scenario projections suggests that farmers and consumers face variable implications with forecasted precipitation scenarios and calls for research on management practices to facilitate climate adaptation for sustainable crop production. PMID:25286362
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Khanfar, Nile; Loudon, David; Sircar-Ramsewak, Feroza
2007-01-01
The effect of direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertising of prescription medications is a growing concern of the United States (U.S.) Congress, state legislatures, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This research study was conducted in order to examine consumers' perceived preferences of DTC television advertisement in relation to "reminder" "help-seeking," and "product-claim" FDA-approved advertisement categories. An additional objective was to examine the influence of DTC television advertising of prescription drugs on consumers' tendency to seek more information about the medication and/or the medical condition. The research indicates that DTC television drug ads appear to be insufficient for consumers to make informed decisions. Their mixed perception and acceptance of the advertisements seem to influence them to seek more information from a variety of medical sources.
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Consumer preferences and values as an integral key to evidence-based practice.
Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Fineout-Overholt, Ellen
2006-01-01
Although evidence-based practice (EBP) integrates the best evidence from well-designed studies with a clinician's expertise and patient preferences and values, most of what is emphasized in books and reports on EBP is the 5-step EBP process. However, the consideration of patient values and preferences in making clinical decisions is essential to deliver the highest quality of care. This article briefly reviews the status of EBP in the United States, described the ARCC mentorship model, and highlights how to engage consumers in the EBP process.
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Maison, Dominika; Maliszewski, Norbert
2016-01-01
The goal of this project was to investigate whether consumer ethnocentrism is purely conscious mechanism based on ideology, as suggested by Shimp and Sharma (1987), or rather is an automatic, unconscious process. The aim of the project was an introduction of the Implicit Consumer Ethnocentrism (ICE) concept, measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The goal of the four studies conducted was to investigate the following issues: (a) whether ICE – an automatic mechanism underlying the preference for local products over foreign – this could be observed next to the more ideologically based classic consumer ethnocentrism; (b) what happens when the consumer’s automatic preference for local products (ICE) is confronted by objective evidence of the superiority of foreign products or by the inferiority of local products. It was assumed that ICE could be reduced when foreign products were associated with a higher level of competence than local products, and this could explain the preference for foreign products over local often observed in less developed countries. In study 1 the ICE for different product categories of existing brands was tested, and in study 2 the ICE was measured in the context of non-existent brands. Both studies showed a strong in-group brand preference and confirmed the existence of new phenomena – ICE. The results of studies 3 and 4 again indicated a strong, automatic in-group brand favoritism effect as measured by IAT – participants preferred local brands over foreign. However, the inclusion of well-known foreign brands associated with high competence reduced the IAT effect (in-group preference). PMID:27920746
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The Interface Among Poverty, Air Mattress Industry Trends, Policy, and Infant Safety.
Doering, Jennifer J; Salm Ward, Trina C
2017-06-01
Infants can suffocate on air mattresses, even when the mattress is fully inflated. The interfacing issues of poverty, the bedbug epidemic, and changes in the design and marketing of air mattresses may be increasing consumer use of air mattresses as primary sleep environments and thus increasing the potential for infant death. Despite recent changes to improve air mattress safety labeling, the National Child Death Review Case Reporting System found that between 2004 and 2015 across 24 states, an air mattress was the incident sleep place for 108 infants whose deaths were either during sleep or in a sleep environment. At the same time, design components such as inflatable headboards and memory foam pillow tops potentially increase the hazard to infants, and marketing changes represent air mattresses as a preferred low-cost primary sleep environment. Analysis of current data surveillance systems, published position statements, and consumer materials from national organizations and federal agencies reveal opportunities for changing policy to better protect infants from this hazard.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Smart, Denise T.; Martin, Charles L.
1992-01-01
Evaluation of manufacturers' responses to 300 consumer letters of praise or complaint as well as consumer's reactions to responses concluded that (1) businesses should tell consumers their input is appreciated; (2) sincere, personal responses are preferred; and (3) coupons, refunds, or similar gifts should be sent with letters. (SK)
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Modeling Individual Differences in Unfolding Preference Data: A Restricted Latent Class Approach.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bockenholt, Ulf; Bockenholt, Ingo
1990-01-01
A latent-class scaling approach is presented for modeling paired comparison and "pick any/t" data obtained in preference studies. The utility of this approach is demonstrated through analysis of data from studies involving consumer preference and preference for political candidates. (SLD)
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Conditions of honey consumption in selected regions of Poland.
Kowalczuk, Iwona; Jeżewska-Zychowicz, Marzena; Trafiałek, Joanna
2017-01-01
The nutritional value of honey is a factor that encourages the increase of its consumption. The aim of the study was to identify consumers' behaviours and preferences towards honey and their determinants. Quantitative (PAPI method) survey was carried out in 2015 on a sample of 690 respondents from Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie and Zachodniopomorskie voivodeships. The data analyzed were: the frequency of and reasons for honey consumption, preferred buying locations, preferred types of honey, factors considered during purchase and different uses of honey. The study showed that Poles consume honey several times per month. The main incentives for honey consumption were: health benefits, a wide range of culinary uses, flavour and habits. It was established that Polish consumers buy honey mainly in apiaries and open-air markets. Primary factors considered during purchase were the type of honey (preferred types being lime, polyfloral and acacia), price and colour. Honey was chiefly used for consumption, most commonly as a sandwich spread and sweetener. Less popular ap- plications included medical and cosmetic purposes. Some socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, place of residence, income), self-assessment of nutritional knowledge and, to a lesser extent, education sig- nificantly differentiated consumer behaviours in the honey market. The study has shown that Poles consume honey relatively seldom. For the increase of honey consumption nutritional education is needed. Further studies will allow a more detailed diagnosis, which is required for the development of effective information and marketing strategies.
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Consumers' preferences for fresh yam: a focus group study.
Barlagne, Carla; Cornet, Denis; Blazy, Jean-Marc; Diman, Jean-Louis; Ozier-Lafontaine, Harry
2017-01-01
In West and Central Africa and in the Caribbean, yam is one of the most important sources of carbohydrates and has a great potential to improve food security. The yam production sector is, however, now challenged by the satisfaction of evolving consumers' preferences. Since little is known about consumers' preferences regarding yams' characteristics, product quality, and the drivers of yam purchase, six focus group discussions were conducted (for a total of 31 participants). Among the purchasing criteria, price was considered more important than the others. It was followed by the external damage, the origin, and the size of the tuber. The most frequently cited consumption criteria were the taste, the texture, and color of flesh after cooking. Taste was considered more important than the other criteria. Three consumers' profiles were established reflecting heterogeneity in preferences, especially as concerns the willingness to pay for yam and consumption habits. They were designated as the Hedonistic, the Thrifty and the Flexible. Our results suggest that innovations can be implemented to sustain and stimulate the development of the yam sector in Guadeloupe. Two main development paths were identified. The first path is the valorization of the great existing diversity of yam varieties and the increase in the level of information for consumers about product attributes such as the cooking mode, the origin, and the mode of production. Building a marketing strategy based on the valorization of this diversity can help maintain and preserve yam's agro-biodiversity and the satisfaction of rapidly evolving consumption habits. The second path is the definition of yam ideotypes that suit consumers' needs. We expect that tailoring the production to consumers' needs will have a positive impact on global food security in the Caribbean region.
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Hinkes, Cordula; Schulze-Ehlers, Birgit
2018-05-04
The majority of farmed fish produced in Bangladesh is consumed domestically, while global demand for fish is increasing. Non-tariff barriers resulting from consumers' concerns about sustainability and food safety or attitudes towards the country of origin might be one reason for limited export. The purpose of this study is to analyze consumer preferences for frozen pangasius and tilapia fillets from Bangladesh in order to explore market opportunities in Germany. A discrete choice experiment was conducted to estimate marginal utilities and willingness-to-pay for different product attributes, focusing on sustainability certification and the country of origin. Vietnam as a major exporter of pangasius to Germany was selected as a reference country for the analysis. The results of fitted mixed logit models indicate that German consumers are price-sensitive and prefer fish produced in Germany over fish farmed in either Bangladesh or Vietnam. While this finding seems not to be attributable to consumer ethnocentrism, country image constructs might play a role. A significant positive utility was identified for both sustainability and fair trade certification. The overall opt-out rate of the choice experiment was relatively high, indicating a general reluctance to consume pangasius and tilapia. Older respondents as well as those concerned about sustainability and those having less positive attitudes towards aquaculture were more likely to opt out. Overall, concerns about sustainability and the country of origin are relevant factors influencing purchase decisions, but aspects of taste and preferences for certain fish species might be even more significant in this context, limiting the market potential of pangasius and tilapia in Germany. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Gutner, Cassidy A; Pedersen, Eric R; Drummond, Sean P A
2018-05-01
Inclusion of consumer preferences to disseminate evidence-based psychosocial treatment (EBPT) is crucial to effectively bridge the science-to-practice quality chasm. We examined this treatment gap for insomnia, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and comorbid symptoms in a sample of 622 young adult veterans through preference in symptom focus, treatment modality, and related gender differences among those screening positive for each problem. Data were collected from veteran drinkers recruited through targeted Facebook advertisements as part of a brief online alcohol intervention. Analyses demonstrated that veterans reported greater willingness to seek insomnia-focused treatment over PTSD- or depression-focused care. Notably, even when participants screened negative for insomnia, they preferred sleep-focused care to PTSD- or depression-focused care. Although one in five veterans with a positive screen would not consider care, veterans screening for both insomnia and PTSD who would consider care had a preference for in-person counseling, and those screening for both insomnia and depression had similar preferences for in-person and mobile app-based/computer self-help treatment. Marginal gender differences were found. Incorporating direct-to-consumer methods into research can help educate stakeholders about methods to expand EBPT access. Though traditional in-person counseling was often preferred, openness to app-based/computer interventions offers alternative methods to provide veterans with EBPTs. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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Brown, J Lynne; Ping, Yanchao
2003-02-01
To determine whether perceived benefit alters personal risk perception associated with eating genetically engineered soybeans, consumer desire for labeling, preferred phrase on a label symbol, and desired information in an educational brochure. Comparison of responses of two consumer groups who completed one of two survey versions. One hundred fifty supermarket shoppers, age 21 years and older, for each survey or n=300 total. Focus groups and a pilot test were used to develop the final survey in which consumers read a description of a genetically engineered soybean with either no obvious consumer benefit or an obvious consumer benefit and then completed a set of attitude questions and evaluated a voluntary label design and educational brochure content. Main outcome measures were mean opinion scores of personal risk and desire for labeling and ranking of desired label phrase and brochure topics. Chi;(2) and t Tests were used. Consumers reading about the soybean with obvious consumer benefit were significantly more comfortable eating these than those reading about the soybean with no obvious consumer benefit (2.9+/-1.1 vs 3.4+/-1.0, respectively; P
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Mawad, Franco; Trías, Marcela; Giménez, Ana; Maiche, Alejandro; Ares, Gastón
2015-08-01
Cognitive styles are characteristic and stable ways in which people acquire, organize and use information for solving problems and making decisions. Field dependence/independence is one of the most studied cognitive styles. Field independent subjects are characterized by having less difficulty in separating information from its contextual surroundings and being less likely to be influenced by external cues than field dependent individuals. The present work aimed at studying the influence of field dependence/independence cognitive style on consumers' visual processing and choice of yogurt labels. One hundred and thirty three consumers completed a choice conjoint task. They were asked to select their preferred yogurt label from each of 16 pairs of labels. While they completed the task their eye movements were recorded using an eye-tracker. Then, consumers were asked to complete the Group Embedded Figure Test to determine their cognitive style. Consumers were divided into two groups with different cognitive styles: 58% of the sample was characterized as field dependent and 42% as field independent. When making their choices, field dependent consumers tended to engage in less thoughtful information processing than field independent consumers and they made fewer fixations on traditional nutritional information. Besides, cognitive style significantly affected the relative importance of fat and sugar content on consumer choices and modulated the influence of the traffic light system. Field dependent consumers gave less importance to the nutritional composition of the yogurts than field independent consumers for selecting their preferred label. Results from this work suggest that studying the psychological underpinnings of consumers' decision making process when selecting food products has a great potential to contribute to a better understanding of how eating patterns and consumer preferences are shaped. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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How important is local food to organic-minded consumers?
Hempel, Corinna; Hamm, Ulrich
2016-01-01
The study deals with German consumers' attitudes towards organic food and local food, their food purchase behaviour and their personal characteristics. The purpose is to investigate the differences in attitudes and willingness-to-pay values between consumers who consider the organic production of food (very) important and those who consider it less important. This study combines a consumer survey with an in-store, discrete choice experiment. In the analysis, findings from the consumer survey were related to the choices made by consumers in the experiment. Consumers' preferences and willingness-to-pay values were estimated through random parameter logit modelling. Organic-minded consumers (i.e. those who regarded organic food production as (very) important in the survey) have stronger preferences and estimated willingness-to-pay values for organic as well as local products. Locally produced food, as opposed to food from neighbouring countries or non-EU countries, is preferred over organically produced food by both consumer groups which demonstrates that organic-minded consumers do not only consider organic food production as important, but also value local food production in a purchase situation. Hence, it can be assumed that local food production complements organic food production for the group of organic-minded consumers. This contribution is the first study dealing with local and organic food purchase behaviour in Germany that examines four different products and is carried out in rural as well as urban locations in four different regions. Due to the application of a choice experiment including no-choice options and binding purchase decisions, the results are expected to be closer to real purchase situations than results of direct questioning and choice experiments in online applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ma, Xiu Q; Verkuil, Julia M; Reinbach, Helene C; Meinert, Lene
2017-05-01
Due to the economic growth achieved by China over the past 20 years, Chinese consumers have changed their purchasing behavior regarding meat. Instead of buying locally produced pork, they are increasingly willing to purchase imported pork. A conjoint analysis investigated how intrinsic pork attributes ( fat content and processing) and extrinsic pork attributes ( origin , price , and packaging ) relate to the perceived quality of pork and the choices made by Chinese consumers. A questionnaire distributed among a sample of Chinese consumers ( n = 81) revealed that processing (fresh/frozen) is the most important determinant of pork choice (36%), followed by fat content (27%), origin (18%), price (12%), and packaging (6.6%). Estimates of utility showed that Chinese consumers value fresh pork highly (0.147), followed by lean pork (0.111) and pork imported from countries other than China (0.073). The findings indicate that Chinese consumer's value both intrinsic and extrinsic attributes, and these results may help the meat industry improve China's competitive meat market by developing new and more products that are tailored to the needs of the consumer.
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Health care consumer reports: an evaluation of employer perspectives.
Longo, Daniel R
2004-01-01
The proliferation of health care consumer reports (also known as "consumer guides," "report cards," and "performance reports") designed to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions makes it vital to understand the perspective of employers who provide the vast majority of health insurance to the working population regarding the use of these reports. There is little empirical evidence on how consumer reports are used by employers to make health care purchasing decisions. This study fills that gap by surveying 154 businesses in Boone County, Missouri, regarding their evaluation of a consumer guide. The majority of employers surveyed indicate that the report will not have a direct effect on their health care purchasing decisions. However, they indicate that the reports are "positive and worthwhile" and their responses reflect a favorable view of the health care organization that developed and disseminated the report. Additionally, findings indicate that employers generally prefer consumer reports as a means to compare local health care institutions, rather than reviewing national averages to locate the same information. Report developers should take precautions to determine the intent of such reports, as they may not achieve the objective of changing employers' health care purchasing behavior.
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Investigating factors influencing consumer willingness to buy GM food and nano-food
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Yue, Chengyan; Zhao, Shuoli; Cummings, Christopher; Kuzma, Jennifer
2015-07-01
Emerging technologies applied to food products often evoke controversy about their safety and whether to label foods resulting from their use. As such, it is important to understand the factors that influence consumer desires for labeling and their willingness-to-buy (WTB) these food products. Using data from a national survey with US consumers, this study employs structural equation modeling to explore relationships between potential influences such as trust in government to manage technologies, views on restrictive government policies, perceptions about risks and benefits, and preferences for labeling on consumer's WTB genetically modified (GM) and nano-food products. Some interesting similarities and differences between GM- and nano-food emerged. For both technologies, trust in governing agencies to manage technologies did not influence labeling preferences, but it did influence attitudes about the food technologies themselves. Attitudes toward the two technologies, as measured by risk-benefit comparisons and comfort with consumption, also greatly influenced views of government restrictive policies, labeling preferences, and WTB GM or nano-food products. For differences, labeling preferences were found to influence WTB nano-foods, but not WTB GM foods. Gender and religiosity also had varying effects on WTB and labeling preferences: while gender and religiosity influenced labeling preferences and WTB for GM foods, they did not have a significant influence for nano-foods. We propose some reasons for these differences, such as greater media attention and other heuristics such as value-based concerns about "modifying life" with GM foods. The results of this study can help to inform policies and communication about the application of these new technologies in food products.
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Tourism as a driver of conflicts and changes in fisheries value chains in Marine Protected Areas.
Lopes, P F M; Mendes, L; Fonseca, V; Villasante, S
2017-09-15
Although critical tools for protecting ocean habitats, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are sometimes challenged for social impacts and conflicts they may generate. Some conflicts have an economic base, which, once understood, can be used to resolve associated socioenvironmental problems. We addressed how the fish trade in an MPA that combines no-take zones and tourist or resident zones creates incentives for increased fisheries. We performed a value chain analysis following the fish supply and trade through interviews that assessed consumer demand and preference. The results showed a simple and closed value chain driven by tourism (70% of the consumption). Both tourists and local consumers preferred high trophic level species (predators), but the former preferred large pelagics (tuna and dolphinfish) and the latter preferred reef species (barracuda and snapper). Pelagic predators are caught with fresh sardines, which are sometimes located only in the no-take zone. Pelagic species are mainly served as fillet, and the leftover fish parts end up as waste, an issue that, if properly addressed, can help reduce fishing pressure. Whereas some of the target species may be sustainable (e.g., dolphinfish), others are more vulnerable (e.g., wahoo) and should not be intensively fished. We advise setting stricter limits to the number of tourists visiting MPAs, according to their own capacity and peculiarities, in order to avoid conflicts with conservations goals through incentives for increased resource use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Stadler, Michael; Marnay, Chris; Azevedo, Ines Lima
The increasing concern about climate change as well as the expected direct environmental economic impacts of global warming will put considerable constraints on the US building sector, which consumes roughly 48percent of the total primary energy, making it the biggest single source of CO2 emissions. It is obvious that the battle against climate change can only be won by considering innovative building approaches and consumer behaviors and bringing new, effective low carbon technologies to the building / consumer market. However, the limited time given to mitigate climate change is unforgiving to misled research and / or policy. This is themore » reason why Lawrence Berkeley National Lab is working on an open source long range Stochastic Lite Building Module (SLBM) to estimate the impact of different policies and consumer behavior on the market penetration of low carbon building technologies. SLBM is designed to be a fast running, user-friendly model that analysts can readily run and modify in its entirety through a visual interface. The tool is fundamentally an engineering-economic model with technology adoption decisions based on cost and energy performance characteristics of competing technologies. It also incorporates consumer preferences and passive building systems as well as interactions between technologies (such as internal heat gains). Furthermore, everything is based on service demand, e.g. a certain temperature or luminous intensity, instead of energy intensities. The core objectives of this paper are to demonstrate the practical approach used, to start a discussion process between relevant stakeholders and to build collaborations.« less
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Taylor, Susan J.; Armour, Carol L.
2000-09-01
AIM: The purpose of the study was to assess the acceptability to consumers of two methods of induction of labour using a willingness-to-pay (WTP) approach. The methods compared were amniotomy plus oxytocin and prostaglandin E2 vaginal gel, followed by oxytocin if necessary. METHODS: A description of each method was presented, in questionnaire format, to pregnant women attending a public hospital ante-natal clinic. Women were asked to choose one of the two treatments, then give a valuation in dollar terms for both their preferred treatment and the alternative. RESULTS: It was found that 73.7% of patients preferred gel. The mean maximum WTP for amniotomy plus oxytocin was Aus$133 while that for gel was Aus$178 (P=0.0001). Those who chose amniotomy plus oxytocin were WTP 90% more for their preferred treatment compared with the alternative (Aus$180 vs. Aus$95). Similarly, those who preferred gel were WTP 90% more for their preferred treatment compared with the alternative (Aus$222 vs. Aus$119). CONCLUSION: Consumers were able to assess drug information provided on the two therapies, make an informed choice and to value that choice. Information obtained in this way, combined with information on costs, could be used in policy decision-making.
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Taylor, Susan J.; Armour, Carol L.
2001-01-01
Aim The purpose of the study was to assess the acceptability to consumers of two methods of induction of labour using a willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) approach. The methods compared were amniotomy plus oxytocin and prostaglandin E2 vaginal gel, followed by oxytocin if necessary. Methods A description of each method was presented, in questionnaire format, to pregnant women attending a public hospital ante‐natal clinic. Women were asked to choose one of the two treatments, then give a valuation in dollar terms for both their preferred treatment and the alternative. Results It was found that 73.7% of patients preferred gel. The mean maximum WTP for amniotomy plus oxytocin was Aus$133 while that for gel was Aus$178 (P=0.0001). Those who chose amniotomy plus oxytocin were WTP 90% more for their preferred treatment compared with the alternative (Aus$180 vs. Aus$95). Similarly, those who preferred gel were WTP 90% more for their preferred treatment compared with the alternative (Aus$222 vs. Aus$119). Conclusion Consumers were able to assess drug information provided on the two therapies, make an informed choice and to value that choice. Information obtained in this way, combined with information on costs, could be used in policy decision‐making. PMID:11281930
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Consumer food choices: the role of price and pricing strategies.
Steenhuis, Ingrid H M; Waterlander, Wilma E; de Mul, Anika
2011-12-01
To study differences in the role of price and value in food choice between low-income and higher-income consumers and to study the perception of consumers about pricing strategies that are of relevance during grocery shopping. A cross-sectional study was conducted using structured, written questionnaires. Food choice motives as well as price perceptions and opinion on pricing strategies were measured. The study was carried out in point-of-purchase settings, i.e. supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and sports canteens. Adults (n 159) visiting a point-of-purchase setting were included. Price is an important factor in food choice, especially for low-income consumers. Low-income consumers were significantly more conscious of value and price than higher-income consumers. The most attractive strategies, according to the consumers, were discounting healthy food more often and applying a lower VAT (Value Added Tax) rate on healthy food. Low-income consumers differ in their preferences for pricing strategies. Since price is more important for low-income consumers we recommend mainly focusing on their preferences and needs.
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Lankov, A; Ojaveer, H; Simm, M; Põllupüü, M; Möllmann, C
2010-12-01
The feeding ecology of four pelagic fish species was studied in relation to their prey availability in the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea) during the summer 1999-2006. The zooplankton community was dominated by the cladoceran Bosmina longispina, rotifers Keratella cochlearis and K. quadrata and the copepod Eurytemora affinis, with the highest interannual variability in abundance recorded for B. longispina. The last influenced the diet of adult sprat Sprattus sprattus, juvenile smelt Osmerus eperlanus and three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus as these were strongly selecting for B. longispina. The fish feeding activity did not match the abundance dynamics of their preferred prey, suggesting that fishes may switch to consume other prey in case the preferred diet was limited. A considerable dietary overlap indicated high potential competition between pelagic fish species. While herring Clupea harengus membras and G. aculeatus were relying on very different food, the diets of young O. eperlanus and G. aculeatus were very similar. Interannual variability in zooplankton composition and abundance significantly affected the diet composition of fishes, but those changes were insufficient to exert a consistent influence upon fish feeding activity and total amounts of zooplankton consumed. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology © 2010 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.
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Operationalising the health aspects of sustainable diets: a review.
Mertens, Elly; Van't Veer, Pieter; Hiddink, Gerrit J; Steijns, Jan Mjm; Kuijsten, Anneleen
2017-03-01
Shifting towards a more sustainable food consumption pattern is an important strategy to mitigate climate change. In the past decade, various studies have optimised environmentally sustainable diets using different methodological approaches. The aim of the present review was to categorise and summarise the different approaches to operationalise the health aspects of environmentally sustainable diets. Conventional keyword and reference searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge and CAB Abstracts. Inclusion criteria were: (i) English-language publication; (ii) published between 2005 and October 2015; (iii) dietary data collected for the diet as a whole at the national, household or individual level; (iv) comparison of the current diet with dietary scenarios; and (v) for results to consider the health aspect in some way. Consumer diets. Adult population. We reviewed forty-nine studies that combined the health and environmental aspects of consumer diets. Hereby, five approaches to operationalise the health aspect of the diet were identified: (i) food item replacements; (ii) dietary guidelines; (iii) dietary quality scores; (iv) diet modelling techniques; and (v) diet-related health impact analysis. Although the sustainability concept is increasingly popular and widely advocated by nutritional and environmental scientists, the journey towards designing sustainable diets for consumers has only just begun. In the context of operationalising the health aspects, diet modelling might be considered the preferred approach since it captures the complexity of the diet as a whole. For the future, we propose SHARP diets: environmentally Sustainable (S), Healthy (H), Affordable (A), Reliable (R) and Preferred from the consumer's perspective (P).
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Beef customer satisfaction: cooking method and degree of doneness effects on the top loin steak.
Lorenzen, C L; Neely, T R; Miller, R K; Tatum, J D; Wise, J W; Taylor, J F; Buyck, M J; Reagan, J O; Savell, J W
1999-03-01
The objective of this research was to evaluate the consumer-controlled factors of cooking method and degree of doneness on Top Choice, Low Choice, High Select, and Low Select top loin steaks. The in-home product test was conducted in Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Consumers (n = 2,212) evaluated each top loin steak for overall like (OLIKE), tenderness (TEND), juiciness (JUIC), flavor desirability (DFLAV), and flavor intensity (IFLAV) using 23-point hedonic scales. Respondents in San Francisco and Philadelphia cooked their top loin steaks to lower degrees of doneness than those in Chicago and Houston. Outdoor grilling was the most common method of cookery for top loin steaks in all cities. Consumers had the highest preference for Top Choice steaks (P < .05) and the lowest preference for Low Select steaks (P < .05). Consumer OLIKE scores were the highest (P < .05) for steaks cooked to a medium rare or lesser degree of doneness. Consumers preferred (P < .05) medium and well done or more degrees of doneness over medium well. The interaction of city x cooking method was significant for all steak palatability attributes. The differences in consumer preparation techniques among cities present challenges for the beef industry to develop market-specific promotional campaigns.
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Mauracher, C; Tempesta, T; Vecchiato, D
2013-04-01
The introduction of new products on the market poses several challenges; in particular, whether the characteristics of the proposed product will be judged positively by potential consumers. This paper analyses the preferences of consumers regarding the introduction on the Italian market of a new product: organic Mediterranean sea bass. The aim of this study is to assess the importance given by consumers to four main characteristics of sea bass (country of origin, size, production method - organic or conventional - and price) so as to be able to formulate marketing strategies. We applied a choice experiment (CE) in order to define not only the ordinal ranking of preferences but also the willingness to pay (WTP) for the key characteristics of the newly-introduced product. We found that consumers show a higher WTP for the sea bass country of origin than for the breeding method used. Our results suggest that while organic aquaculture might be a new and important strategy for diversification, if suitable communication, either from a public policy or commercial perspective, and labelling/certification are not taken into consideration, the added value of the production method might not be perceived by the final consumers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Steinhauser, Johann; Hamm, Ulrich
2018-08-01
The research on nutrition, health, and risk reduction claims (NHR claims) shows a lack of consensus as to whether these claims have a positive or negative effect on consumer's preferences and purchase behavior. This issue has been highlighted by many authors. Therefore, a comprehensive literature review was performed to find reasons for contradictory results. First, a theoretical framework was developed which divided the determinants of the effects of NHR claims on consumers' preferences and purchase behavior into consumer and product-specific characteristics. Additionally, a categorization for the different NHR claim types was constructed to make the studies comparable. Afterwards, the scientific literature from the 1980s until May 2017 was scanned and 66 articles were found to be relevant. Consumer-specific characteristics such as nutrition knowledge, health motivation, familiarity, and socio-demographic characteristics were found to influence the NHR claim effect. Important product-specific characteristics were the perceived healthiness of the food product, the interaction between the product and the nutrient in the NHR claim, and the interaction between the claimed benefit and the NHR claim type. The consumer's nutrition knowledge and the product's perceived healthiness were deemed to be the most promising determinants for further investigation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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A Critique of the Controversy about the Stability of Consumers' Tastes.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Daniel, Coldwell, III
1988-01-01
Examines the role of the stability of consumer tastes in descriptive theory. Summarizes the traditional approach to the derivation of the consumer's preference structure, considers ways in which the conventional theory has been extended, presents the Stigler-Becker theory of consumer choice, and evaluates both approaches. (GEA)
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Using the animal to the last bit: Consumer preferences for different beef cuts.
Scozzafava, Gabriele; Corsi, Armando Maria; Casini, Leonardo; Contini, Caterina; Loose, Simone Mueller
2016-01-01
Meat is expensive to produce, making it is essential to understand the importance consumers pay to different meat cuts. Previous research on consumers' meat choices has mainly focused on meat species, while consumer preferences for meat cuts has so far only received limited interest. The aim of this study is to shed some light into this relatively unexplored area by answering four research questions. First, this study intends to show the relative importance meat cuts play in relation to other extrinsic product attributes. Secondly, this paper looks into differences in choice criteria between regular and special occasions. Third, consumer segments that differ in their preferences and beef purchase are identified, and, finally, the meat purchase portfolios of these segments are revealed. A stated preference methodology of a discrete choice experiment with cut-specific prices covering several meat cuts simultaneously is proposed to answer the research questions. The sample consists of 1500 respondents representative of the Italian population in terms of age, gender and geographic location The results shows that meat cut is the most important factor when choosing bovine meat followed by quality certification (origin), production technique, the type of breed and price. In terms of consumption occasions, we observe significantly lower price sensitivity for marbled steaks and cutlets for special occasions compared to normal occasions. Segmentation analysis shows that while the choices of two segments (comprising about 40% of the sample) are mostly driven by extrinsic product attributes, the remaining segments are mostly driven by meat cuts. These varying preferences are also reflected in the purchase portfolios of the different segments, while less variability is detected from a socio-demographic perspective. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Scandinavian consumer preference for beef steaks packed with or without oxygen.
Aaslyng, M D; Tørngren, M A; Madsen, N T
2010-07-01
Beef steaks retail-packed with (80% O(2), 20% CO(2)) or without oxygen (either skin-packed or gas-packed (69.6% N(2), 30% CO(2), 0.04% CO or 70% N(2), 30% CO(2))) were compared by consumers in Denmark (n=382), Norway (n=316) and Sweden (n=374). Two pairs of two steaks - one steak packed in a high oxygen atmosphere and one packed without oxygen - were given to the consumers. They were instructed to prepare the steaks at home on two consecutive days, and two persons had to taste each steak. In Denmark, the oxygen-free packing was either gas packing with CO (69.6% N(2), 30% CO(2), 0.04% CO) or without CO (70% N(2), 30% CO(2)), in Norway it was either gas packing with CO (69.6% N(2), 30% CO(2), 0.04% CO) or skin packing, and in Sweden it was either skin packing or gas packing without CO (70% N(2), 30% CO(2)). The meat represented animals that were between 17 and 80 months old (Denmark) and young bulls (Norway and Sweden). Consumers in all three countries clearly preferred steaks packed without oxygen, in terms of overall liking, willingness to pay and their preferred choice of one steak. Furthermore, they preferred the oxygen-free steaks in terms of both overall liking and liking of tenderness, juiciness and flavour. In Sweden, many consumers would pay more than usual for the skin-packed steak, and it was more often chosen as the preferred steak out of the four compared with gas-packed without oxygen. No difference was seen between the two oxygen-free packing methods in Denmark and Norway. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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McMahon, Kenneth M; Diako, Charles; Aplin, Jesse; Mattinson, D Scott; Culver, Caleb; Ross, Carolyn F
2017-09-01
The dosage liquid, added at the final stage of sparkling wine production, imparts residual sweetness to the wine. No study has yet analyzed the influence of dosage composition on the final wine's sensory profile or consumer acceptance. In this study, dosage composition was altered through the addition of different sugar types (ST; fructose, glucose, or sucrose) to produce seven sparkling wines of varying residual sugar levels (RSL), including no sugar added, brut (5.3-8.4gST/L) or demi sec (34.9-37.8gST/L). As evaluated by a trained panel (n=9), the interaction between ST and RSL influenced the perception of caramelized/vanilla/honey (CVH) flavor, sweet taste, and sour taste attributes (p<0.05). Demi sec wines displayed lower intensities of green flavor, yeasty flavor, and sour taste compared to the no sugar added wine (p<0.05). Consumers (n=126) also evaluated the sparkling wines and ST, RSL, and their interaction influenced consumer acceptance of different attributes, as well as the perception of the "refreshing" aspect of the wine (p<0.05). Overall consumer acceptance of sparkling wines was highly correlated (r 2 ≤0.88) to CVH, floral, and fruity flavors, as well as sweet taste and creamy mouthfeel. External preference mapping revealed two clusters of consumers. Both consumer clusters liked wines sweetened with fructose, but Cluster 1 liked the demi sec sparkling wine sweetened with fructose (32.8g/L fructose) while Cluster 2 preferred the brut wine sweetened with fructose (8.4g/L fructose). These results suggest that consumer preference for sparkling wine was segmented based on sweetness preference. The results of this study offer winemakers knowledge about the influence of dosage composition on the sensory profile of sparkling wine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Enhancing Consumer Choice: Are We Making Appropriate Recommendations?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lee, Jinkook; Geistfeld, Loren V.
1998-01-01
This study used conjoint analysis to identify consumer choice models. Results suggest a need to base choice-making aids on ideal choice models if the aid is to lead consumers to decisions consistent with true preferences. (Author/JOW)
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Japanese consumer preferences for milk certified with the good agricultural practice(GAP) label.
Aizaki, Hideo; Nanseki, Teruaki; Zhou, Hui
2013-01-01
This study examined Japanese consumers' valuation of a good agricultural practice (GAP) label on packaged milk and investigated the effect of detailed GAP information on valuation. A total of 624 Japanese consumers were asked to select their most preferred milk through an online survey. The milk was assumed to have three attributes: the GAP label, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points certification, and price. The results showed that consumers' valuation of GAP was significantly positive. Although providing additional GAP information to a respondent who was aware of GAP and what it means had a positive effect on the consumers' valuation of GAP, provision of this information had no effect if the respondent knew about GAP either moderately or slightly, and had a negative effect if the respondent did not know about GAP at all. To increase broad consumer awareness and valuation of GAP, it is important to provide GAP information according to the requirements of consumers. © 2012 The Authors. Animal Science Journal © 2012 Japanese Society of Animal Science.
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Tucker, Jalie A; Foushee, H Russell; Simpson, Cathy A
2009-01-01
A large gap exists in the United States between population need and the utilization of treatment services for substance-related problems. Surveying consumer preferences may provide valuable information for developing more attractive services with greater reach and impact on population health. A state-level telephone survey using random digit dialling sampling methods assessed preferences for available professional, mutual help, and lay resources, as well as innovative computerized and self-help resources that enhance anonymity (N=439 households in Alabama). Respondents preferred help that involved personal contact compared to computerized help or self-help, but were indifferent whether personalized help was dispensed by professional or lay providers. Attractive service features included lower cost, insurance coverage, confidentiality, rapid and convenient appointments, and addressing functional problems and risks of substance misuse. Respondents in households with a member who misused substances rated services more negatively, especially if services had been used. The findings highlight the utility of viewing substance misusers and their social networks as consumers, and the implications for improving the system of care and for designing and marketing services that are responsive to user preferences are discussed.
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Diverging Influences of Money Priming on Choice.
Kim, Hee Jin
2017-01-01
Prior research on money priming has suggested two seemingly contradicting findings. On the one hand, money has been shown to highlight the importance of cost saving, leading to the choice of a low-quality/low-price option. On the other hand, individuals primed with money as a symbol of social status, and capabilities may focus on social value of money, e.g., higher spending symbolizes higher status and prefer an option with high quality/high price. Current research proposes and demonstrates that whether money priming will lead different choices depends on the nature of the consumption context. Specifically, when the product is to be consumed privately, money priming will highlight the importance of cost, thus increasing the preference for lower price at a lower quality. However, when the product is to be consumed publicly, reversed pattern of consumer preference will be found.
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Consumer peach preferences and purchasing behavior: a mixed methods study.
Kelley, Kathleen M; Primrose, Rachel; Crassweller, Robert; Hayes, John E; Marini, Richard
2016-05-01
Peaches (Prunus persica (L.) Stokes) are grown in several regions throughout the USA, are eaten fresh, and used as ingredients in value-added processed products. An Internet survey was conducted to investigate Mid-Atlantic consumers' fresh and processed peach purchasing behaviors, and whether packaging certain numbers of peaches together, providing information about nutritional content, and other factors would increase purchases. Additionally, laboratory-based sensory testing was used to better understand peel color, texture, sweetness, sourness, and flavor preferences for cultivars commonly grown in the Mid-Atlantic region. Irrespective of fresh peach consumption frequency, certain value-added products were of interest. For some products, interest in purchasing was higher than reported purchasing behavior. Preference for certain fresh peach characteristics, such as peel color, differed between less frequent fresh peach consumers and those who consumed fresh peaches more often. Of the four peach cultivars included in the sensory test, most were liked; however, there were some cultivar differences pertaining to color, texture, sweetness, tartness, and flavor liking. Potential marketing strategies can be developed based on frequency of fresh peach consumption and household demographics. Data can be used to select peaches that best appeal to consumers. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Galambos, Colleen; Rantz, Marilyn; Back, Jessie; Jun, Jung Sim; Skubic, Marjorie; Miller, Steven J
2017-07-01
Aging in place is a preferred and cost-effective living option for older adults. Research indicates that technology can assist with this goal. Information on consumer preferences will help in technology development to assist older adults to age in place. The study aim was to explore the perceptions and preferences of older adults and their family members about a fall risk assessment system. Using a qualitative approach, this study examined the perceptions, attitudes, and preferences of 13 older adults and five family members about their experience living with the fall risk assessment system during five points in time. Themes emerged in relation to preferences and expectations about the technology and how it fits into daily routines. We were able to capture changes that occurred over time for older adult participants. Results indicated that there was acceptance of the technology as participants adapted to it. Two themes were present across the five points in time-safety and usefulness. Five stages of acceptance emerged from the data from preinstallation to 2 years postinstallation. Identified themes, stages of acceptance, and design and development considerations are discussed.
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Cohen, M A
1998-02-01
A number of key trends are emerging in long-term care related to financing, new models of service delivery, and shifts in consumer expectations and preferences. Taken together, changes occurring in these areas point to a rapidly transforming long-term care landscape. Financing responsibility is shifting away from the federal government to states, individuals, and their families; providers are integrating and managing acute and long-term care services and adding new services to the continuum of care; and consumers are thinking more seriously about how to plan and pay for their future care needs, as well as how to independently navigate the long-term care system.
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Sanders, Matthew R; Kirby, James N
2012-06-01
A consumer perspective can contribute much to enhancing the "ecological fit" of population-level parenting interventions so they meet the needs of parents. This approach involves building relationships with consumer groups and soliciting consumer input into the relevance and acceptability of interventions, clarifying the enablers and barriers to engagement and involvement of parents, and clarifying variables that influence a parent's program completion. The adoption of a more collaborative approach to working with consumers is important if meaningful population-level change in the prevalence of serious social, emotional, and behavioral problems in children and young people is to be achieved. Parents seeking assistance for their children's behavior come from a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds, educational levels, cultures, and languages. This paper examines consumer engagement strategies that can be employed throughout the process of program development, evaluation, training, and dissemination, and in "scaling up" the intervention. We argue that a multilevel public health approach to parenting intervention requires a strong consumer perspective to enable interventions to be more responsive to the preferences and needs of families and to ensure improved population reach of interventions. Examples from large-scale dissemination trials are used to illustrate how consumer input can result in an increasingly differentiated suite of evidence-based parenting programs. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Sanders, Matthew R.; Kirby, James N.
2013-01-01
A consumer perspective can contribute much to enhancing the “ecological fit” of population level parenting interventions so they meet the needs of parents. This approach involves building relationships with consumer groups and soliciting consumer input into the relevance and acceptability of interventions, clarifying the enablers and barriers to engagement and involvement of parents, and clarifying variables that influence a parent’s program completion. The adoption of a more collaborative approach to working with consumers is important if meaningful population level change in the prevalence of serious social, emotional and behavioral problems in children and young people is to be achieved. Parents seeking assistance for their children’s behavior come from a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds, educational levels, cultures and languages. This paper examines consumer engagement strategies that can be employed throughout the process of program development, evaluation, training and dissemination and in “scaling up” the intervention. We argue that a multi-level public health approach to parenting intervention requires a strong consumer perspective to enable interventions to be more responsive to the preferences and needs of families and to ensure improved population reach of interventions. Examples from large scale dissemination trials are used to illustrate how consumer input can result in an increasingly differentiated suite of evidence-based parenting programs. PMID:22440062
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Etilé, Fabrice; Sharma, Anurag
2015-09-01
This study compares the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) tax between moderate and high consumers in Australia. The key methodological contribution is that price response heterogeneity is identified while controlling for censoring of consumption at zero and endogeneity of expenditure by using a finite mixture instrumental variable Tobit model. The SSB price elasticity estimates show a decreasing trend across increasing consumption quantiles, from -2.3 at the median to -0.2 at the 95th quantile. Although high consumers of SSBs have a less elastic demand for SSBs, their very high consumption levels imply that a tax would achieve higher reduction in consumption and higher health gains. Our results also suggest that an SSB tax would represent a small fiscal burden for consumers whatever their pre-policy level of consumption, and that an excise tax should be preferred to an ad valorem tax. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Furusaka, Shino; Kozakai, Chinatsu; Nemoto, Yui; Umemura, Yoshihiro; Naganuma, Tomoko; Yamazaki, Koji; Koike, Shinsuke
2017-01-01
The present study aimed to investigate the nutritional aspects of the bear diet quantitatively, in order to understand plant food selection in spring. Bears were observed directly from April to July in 2013 and 2014, to visually recognize plant species consumed by bears, and to describe the foraging period in the Ashio-Nikko Mountains, central Japan. Leaves were collected from eight dominant tree species, regardless of whether bears fed on them in spring, and their key nutritional components analyzed: crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and total energy. Bears tended to consume fresh leaves of specific species in May, and nutritional analysis revealed that these leaves had higher CP and lower NDF than other non-food leaves. However, CP in consumed leaves gradually decreased, and NDF increased from May to July, when the bears' food item preference changed from plant materials to ants. Bears may consume tree leaves with high CP and low NDF after hibernation to rebuild muscle mass.
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Sensory properties, consumer liking and choice determinants of Lucanian dry cured sausages.
Braghieri, Ada; Piazzolla, Nicoletta; Carlucci, Angela; Bragaglio, Andrea; Napolitano, Fabio
2016-01-01
Based on a food choice questionnaire we identified as the most influential aspects affecting consumer choice of Lucanian dry cured sausages: taste, animal health and addition of preservatives. Therefore, as a second step we conducted a study to assess the effect of preservative addition on sausage sensory properties and consumer liking, with a particular emphasis on taste. The addition of preservatives did not change the perception of taste attributes by an experienced panel, whereas differences were detected in terms of odor, texture and color attributes. However, consumers did not express a preference for a particular product in terms of overall liking, taste/flavor liking and texture liking, whereas appearance liking was higher for sausages containing preservatives. Since sausage taste was unaffected by the addition of preservative, in order to prevent the potentially detrimental effect of a label indicating their presence, producers should make an effort to obtain high quality Lucanian dry cured sausages without using them. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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26 CFR 1.247-1 - Deduction for dividends paid on preferred stock of public utilities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-04-01
... consumers as are the rates within the regulated territory. (c) Preferred stock. (1) For the purposes of... distributions, and payable in preference to the payment of dividends on other stock, and (iii) the rate of...
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Consumer preference for dinoprostone vaginal gel using stated preference discrete choice modelling.
Taylor, Susan; Armour, Carol
2003-01-01
To assess consumer preference for two methods of induction of labour using stated preference discrete choice modelling. The methods of induction were artificial rupture of the membranes (ARM) plus oxytocin and dinoprostone (prostaglandin E(2)) vaginal gel, followed by oxytocin if necessary. Consumer preference was measured in terms of willingness to pay for each of the attributes. These attributes were the method of administration, place of care, length of time from induction to delivery, need for epidural anaesthetic, type of delivery and cost. Levels were assigned to each of the attributes. Pregnant women attending a public hospital antenatal clinic were asked to read a description of the two methods and then to choose between them in 18 different scenarios in which the levels of the attributes were varied. Women were willing to pay 11 Australian dollars for a 1% reduction in the chance of needing oxytocin as well as the gel and 55 Australian dollars for every 1 hour reduction in the length of time from induction to delivery. For a 1% reduction in the chance of needing an epidural anaesthetic or Caesarean section, women expressed a willingness to pay of 20 Australian dollars and 90 Australian dollars, respectively. All estimates were obtained in 1998 and expressed in Australian dollars (1 Australian dollar = 0.63 US dollars). Women valued the less invasive method of administration of the gel and the associated greater freedom of movement during labour. However, they valued the shorter time from induction to delivery associated with ARM plus oxytocin more highly. A policy which allows women access to the gel for up to two doses would accommodate this consumer preference.
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Elliott, Marc N; Haviland, Amelia M; Dembosky, Jacob W; Hambarsoomian, Katrin; Weech-Maldonado, Robert
2012-03-01
Little is known about the healthcare experiences of Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto Rico. We compare the experiences of elderly Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto Rico with their English-preferring and Spanish-preferring Medicare counterparts in the U.S. mainland. Linear regression models compared mean Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores for these groups, using cross-sectional data from the 2008 Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older (6733 in Puerto Rico, 282,654 in the U.S. mainland) who completed the 2008 Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. Six composite measures of beneficiary reports and two measures of beneficiary-reported immunization. Beneficiaries in Puerto Rico reported less positive experiences than both English-preferring and Spanish-preferring U.S. mainland beneficiaries for getting needed care, getting care quickly, and immunization (P<0.05 in all cases). Beneficiaries in Puerto Rico reported better customer service than Spanish-preferring U.S. mainland beneficiaries and better doctor communication experiences than English-preferring U.S. mainland beneficiaries. Additional analyses find little variation in care experiences within Puerto Rico by region, plan type, or specific plan. Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto Rico report generally worse healthcare experiences than beneficiaries in the U.S. mainland for several Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems outcomes and lower immunization rates. Lower funding of healthcare services in Puerto Rico relative to the U.S. mainland may affect healthcare. Strategies such as patient and provider education, provider financial incentives, and increased use of information technologies may improve adherence to the recommended preventive care practices.
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Consumer preference of fertilizer in West Java using multi-dimensional scaling approach
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Utami, Hesty Nurul; Sadeli, Agriani Hermita; Perdana, Tomy; Renaldy, Eddy; Mahra Arari, H.; Ajeng Sesy N., P.; Fernianda Rahayu, H.; Ginanjar, Tetep; Sanjaya, Sonny
2018-02-01
There are various fertilizer products in the markets for farmers to be used for farming activities. Fertilizers are a supplements supply to soil nutrients, build up soil fertility in order to support plant nutrients and increase plants productivity. Fertilizers consists of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, micro vitamins and other complex nutrient in farming systems that commonly used in agricultural activities to improve quantity and quality of harvest. Recently, market demand for fertilizer has been increased dramatically; furthermore, fertilizer companies are required to develop strategies to know about consumer preferences towards several issues. Consumer preference depends on consumer needs selected by subject (individual) that is measured by utilization from several things that market offered and as final decision on purchase process. West Java is one of province as the main producer of agricultural products and automatically is one of the potential consumer's fertilizers on farming activities. This research is a case study in nine districts in West Java province, i.e., Bandung, West Bandung, Bogor, Depok, Garut, Indramayu, Majalengka, Cirebon and Cianjur. The purpose of this research is to describe the attributes on consumer preference for fertilizers. The multi-dimensional scaling method is used as quantitative method to help visualize the level of similarity of individual cases on a dataset, to describe and mapping the information system and to accept the goal. The attributes in this research are availability, nutrients content, price, form of fertilizer, decomposition speed, easy to use, label, packaging type, color, design and size of packaging, hardening process and promotion. There are tendency towards two fertilizer brand have similarity on availability of products, price, speed of decomposition and hardening process.
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Yarborough, Bobbi Jo H; Yarborough, Micah T; Janoff, Shannon L; Green, Carla A
2016-06-01
The goal of this study was to better understand mental health recovery from the point of view of mental health consumers to identify opportunities for practice improvements that closely align services with consumer goals and consumer-preferred outcomes. As part of an exploratory study of recovery, semistructured interviews were conducted with 177 integrated health plan members diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or affective psychosis. Transcripts of in-depth interviews were coded using Atlas.ti, and definitions of recovery were further subcoded. A qualitative analysis using a modified grounded theory approach and constant comparative method identified common themes and less common but potentially important recovery-related experiences and perspectives. Three primary and 2 cross-cutting themes emerged. "Getting by" meant coping and meeting basic needs. "Getting back" meant learning to live with mental illness. "Getting on" meant living a life where mental illness was no longer prominent. Regaining control and recouping losses were cross-cutting themes. Mental health recovery is complex and dynamic; individuals' recovery goals can be expected to change over time. Person-centered care must accommodate changing consumer priorities, services must be flexible and responsive, and outcomes need to match consumers' objectives. Clinicians can assist in (a) identifying recovery goals, (b) monitoring progress toward and recognizing movement away from goals, (c) tailoring support to different phases/stages, and (d) supporting transitions between phases/stages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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Yang, Jun; Goddard, Ellen
2011-01-01
In this study the dynamics of risk perceptions related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) held by Canadian consumers and cow-calf producers were evaluated. Since the first domestic case of BSE in 2003, Canadian consumers and cow-calf producers have needed to make decisions on whether or not their purchasing/production behavior should change. Such changes in their behavior may relate to their levels of risk perceptions about BSE, risk perceptions that may be evolving over time and be affected by BSE media information available. An econometric analysis of the behavior of consumers and cow-calf producers might identify the impacts of evolving BSE risk perceptions. Risk perceptions related to BSE are evaluated through observed market behavior, an approach that differs from traditional stated preference approaches to eliciting risk perceptions at a particular point in time. BSE risk perceptions may be specified following a Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) derived from sociology, psychology, and economics. Based on the SARF, various quality and quantity indices related to BSE media information are used as explanatory variables in risk perception equations. Risk perceptions are approximated using a predictive difference approach as defined by Liu et al. (1998). Results showed that Canadian consumer and cow-calf producer risk perceptions related to BSE have been amplified or attenuated by both quantity and quality of BSE media information. Government policies on risk communications need to address the different roles of BSE information in Canadian consumers' and cow-calf producers' behavior.
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Toschi, Tullia Gallina; Bendini, Alessandra; Barbieri, Sara; Valli, Enrico; Cezanne, Marie Louise; Buchecker, Kirsten; Canavari, Maurizio
2012-11-01
The sensory properties of food products are an important success factor, especially in the organic market, where many producers and distributors of organic food claim superior taste for their products compared to the conventional alternative. For this reason consumer expectations and preferences, as well as the sensory properties of conventional and organic yogurt, have to be investigated in depth. In this work, the sensory profiling and consumer data of six nonflavored organic and conventional Italian yogurts were elaborated. Some results on the data segmentation (heavy and light users of organic food) and on the effect of information on liking (blind and labeled test) were obtained. Multivariate analysis was carried out to study how the sensory characteristics of 'natural yogurts' drive consumer liking. Consumers' preferences were oriented towards a creamy mouthfeel and smooth visual appearance and for a less acid and fresh taste. In particular, a conventional yogurt was the least accepted, because it was not creamy enough. This paper shows there is room to improve unflavored yogurt to better meet consumer expectations. Sensory profiling did not allow a distinction in odor/taste/texture between organic and conventional samples. However, three of four organic samples were in the region of highest consumer acceptability, fitting well consumers' preference. There was no clear tendency that heavy or light users scored differently in the blind and labeled tests regarding overall liking but, for all, the most liked conventional yogurt scored higher when labeled as organic. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Consumer Perception and Preference of Drinking Water Sources
Sajjadi, Seyed Ali; Alipour, Vali; Matlabi, Mohammad; Biglari, Hamed
2016-01-01
Introduction Understanding consumer perception of drinking water can contribute to improvements in water management and consumer satisfaction. The aim of this study was to assess the consumer perception of tap water quality and other drinking water sources in Gonabad as a small semiarid city. Methods This study was performed in autumn and winter 2013. For collection data a researcher-made a questionnaire consisting of nine questions, based on demographic information prepared. Questions were asked for participants to provide information regarding household drinking water usage and patterns, opinion about tap water safety, taste and reasons for purchasing bottled water. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS version 16 was applied in this study. Results Results showed that demographic variables had a significant relationship with consumer satisfaction (p < 0.05). Office employees, women and poor families had the most satisfaction from tap water quality. Peoples’ preferences for tap water, commercial softener, domestic softener, ghanat (a type of underground cistern) and bottled water were 27.8, 19, 27.8, 40.4 and 3.5% respectively. Dissatisfaction from production of foam, unsuitable taste, unacceptable appearance and other problems in tap water was 11.1, 95.6, 27.8 and 0.4% respectively. Consumer reasons for using domestic water softeners are: suitable taste (80%), easy availability (71%), economical (56%) and low health side effects (34%). Conclusion According to these results it was clear that each consumer group, based on self-condition, prefers using a specific drinking water source. PMID:28070256
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Consumer Perception and Preference of Drinking Water Sources.
Sajjadi, Seyed Ali; Alipour, Vali; Matlabi, Mohammad; Biglari, Hamed
2016-11-01
Understanding consumer perception of drinking water can contribute to improvements in water management and consumer satisfaction. The aim of this study was to assess the consumer perception of tap water quality and other drinking water sources in Gonabad as a small semiarid city. This study was performed in autumn and winter 2013. For collection data a researcher-made a questionnaire consisting of nine questions, based on demographic information prepared. Questions were asked for participants to provide information regarding household drinking water usage and patterns, opinion about tap water safety, taste and reasons for purchasing bottled water. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS version 16 was applied in this study. Results showed that demographic variables had a significant relationship with consumer satisfaction (p < 0.05). Office employees, women and poor families had the most satisfaction from tap water quality. Peoples' preferences for tap water, commercial softener, domestic softener, ghanat (a type of underground cistern) and bottled water were 27.8, 19, 27.8, 40.4 and 3.5% respectively. Dissatisfaction from production of foam, unsuitable taste, unacceptable appearance and other problems in tap water was 11.1, 95.6, 27.8 and 0.4% respectively. Consumer reasons for using domestic water softeners are: suitable taste (80%), easy availability (71%), economical (56%) and low health side effects (34%). According to these results it was clear that each consumer group, based on self-condition, prefers using a specific drinking water source.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lustig, Daniel C.; Zanskas, Stephen
2014-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the work value preferences of individuals with disabilities with the work value preferences for a sample of individuals without disabilities. Methods: The preferred work values of a sample of vocational rehabilitation consumers were compared to workers employed in a Southeastern university.…
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What Do Patients Want? Patient Preference in Wound Care
Corbett, Lisa Q.; Ennis, William J.
2014-01-01
Patient preferences are statements made or actions taken by consumers that reflect their desirability of a range of health options. The concept occupies an increasingly prominent place at the center of healthcare reform, and is connected to all aspects of healthcare, including discovery, research, delivery, outcome, and payment. Patient preference research has focused on shared decisions, decisional aids, and clinical practice guideline development, with limited study in acute and chronic wound care populations. The wound care community has focused primarily on patient focused symptoms and quality of life measurement. With increasing recognition of wound care as a medical specialty and as a public health concern that consumes extensive resources, attention to the preferences of end-users with wounds is necessary. This article will provide an overview of related patient-centered concepts and begin to establish a framework for consideration of patient preference in wound care. PMID:25126474
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Sound quality evaluation of air conditioning sound rating metric
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hodgdon, Kathleen K.; Peters, Jonathan A.; Burkhardt, Russell C.; Atchley, Anthony A.; Blood, Ingrid M.
2003-10-01
A product's success can depend on its acoustic signature as much as on the product's performance. The consumer's perception can strongly influence their satisfaction with and confidence in the product. A metric that can rate the content of the spectrum, and predict its consumer preference, is a valuable tool for manufacturers. The current method of assessing acoustic signatures from residential air conditioning units is defined in the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI 270) 1995 Standard for Sound Rating of Outdoor Unitary Equipment. The ARI 270 metric, and modified versions of that metric, were implemented in software with the flexibility to modify the features applied. Numerous product signatures were analyzed to generate a set of synthesized spectra that targeted spectral configurations that challenged the metric's abilities. A subjective jury evaluation was conducted to establish the consumer preference for those spectra. Statistical correlations were conducted to assess the degree of relationship between the subjective preferences and the various metric calculations. Recommendations were made for modifications to improve the current metric's ability to predict subjective preference. [Research supported by the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute.
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Insurance choice and tax-preferred health savings accounts.
Cardon, James H; Showalter, Mark H
2007-03-01
We develop an infinite horizon utility maximization model of the interaction between insurance choice and tax-preferred health savings accounts. The model can be used to examine a wide range of policy options, including flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, and health reimbursement accounts. We also develop a 2-period model to simulate various implications of the model. Key results from the simulation analysis include the following: (1) with no adverse selection, use of unrestricted health savings accounts leads to modest welfare gains, after accounting for the tax revenue loss; (2) with adverse selection and an initial pooling equilibrium comprised of "sick" and "healthy" consumers, introducing HSAs can, but does not necessarily, lead to a new pooling equilibrium. The new equilibrium results in a higher coinsurance rate, an increase in expected utility for healthy consumers, and a decrease in expected utility for sick consumers; (3) with adverse selection and a separating equilibrium, both sick and healthy consumers are better off with a health savings account; (4) efficiency gains are possible when insurance contracts are explicitly linked to tax-preferred health savings accounts.
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Ng'ong'ola-Manani, Tinna A; Mwangwela, Agnes M; Schüller, Reidar B; Østlie, Hilde M; Wicklund, Trude
2014-01-01
Fermented pastes of soybeans and soybean–maize blends were evaluated to determine sensory properties driving consumer liking. Pastes composed of 100% soybeans, 90% soybeans and 10% maize, and 75% soybeans and 25% maize were naturally fermented (NFP), and lactic acid bacteria fermented (LFP). Lactic acid bacteria fermentation was achieved through backslopping using a fermented cereal gruel, thobwa. Ten trained panelists evaluated intensities of 34 descriptors, of which 27 were significantly different (P < 0.05). The LFP were strong in brown color, sourness, umami, roasted soybean-and maize-associated aromas, and sogginess while NFP had high intensities of yellow color, pH, raw soybean, and rancid odors, fried egg, and fermented aromas and softness. Although there was consumer (n = 150) heterogeneity in preference, external preference mapping showed that most consumers preferred NFP. Drivers of liking of NFP samples were softness, pH, fermented aroma, sweetness, fried egg aroma, fried egg-like appearance, raw soybean, and rancid odors. Optimization of the desirable properties of the pastes would increase utilization and acceptance of fermented soybeans. PMID:24804070
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Environmental degradation and remediation: is economics part of the problem?
Dore, Mohammed H I; Burton, Ian
2003-01-01
It is argued that standard environmental economic and 'ecological economics', have the same fundamentals of valuation in terms of money, based on a demand curve derived from utility maximization. But this approach leads to three different measures of value. An invariant measure of value exists only if the consumer has 'homothetic preferences'. In order to obtain a numerical estimate of value, specific functional forms are necessary, but typically these estimates do not converge. This is due to the fact that the underlying economic model is not structurally stable. According to neoclassical economics, any environmental remediation can be justified only in terms of increases in consumer satisfaction, balancing marginal gains against marginal costs. It is not surprising that the optimal policy obtained from this approach suggests only small reductions in greenhouse gases. We show that a unidimensional metric of consumer's utility measured in dollar terms can only trivialize the problem of global climate change.
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Day, Jenny; Thorington Taylor, Ann C; Hunter, Sharyn; Summons, Peter; van der Riet, Pamela; Harris, Margaret; Maguire, Jane; Dilworth, Sophie; Jeong, Sarah; Bellchambers, Helen; Haydon, Gunilla; Higgins, Isabel
2018-06-12
To explore the experiences of older people receiving home care package (HCP) support following the introduction of consumer-directed care (CDC) by the Australian government on 1 July 2015. Thirty-one older people with existing HCP support from two service providers in regional New South Wales, Australia, participated in a face-to-face interview and/or a qualitative survey. Analysis revealed the theme of Choices: Preferences, constraints, balancing and choosing. Participants described choosing to live at home with HCP support; however, they were constrained by poor communication and information about service changes and options, personal budgets and access to future care. HCP services remained largely unchanged during transition to CDC. Many aspects of the initial implementation of CDC were challenging for older people. Clear, relevant and timely communication and information about CDC and its consequences for consumers appear to be needed to enhance CDC. © 2018 AJA Inc.
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Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South.
Mandle, Jessie; Tugendhaft, Aviva; Michalow, Julia; Hofman, Karen
2015-01-01
To identify peer-reviewed research on consumers' usage and attitudes towards the nutrition label and the food industry's response to labelling regulations outside Europe, North America, and Australia and to determine knowledge gaps for future research. Narrative review. This review identified nutrition labelling research from 20 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Consumers prefer that pre-packaged food include nutrition information, although there is a disparity between rates of use and comprehension. Consumer preference is for front-of-pack labelling and for information that shows per serving or portion as a reference unit, and label formats with graphics or symbols. Research on the food and beverage industry's response is more limited but shows that industry plays an active role in influencing legislation and regulation. Consumers around the world share preferences with consumers in higher income countries with respect to labelling. However, this may reflect the research study populations, who are often better educated than the general population. Investigation is required into how nutrition labels are received in emerging economies especially among the urban and rural poor, in order to assess the effectiveness of labelling policies. Further research into the outlook of the food and beverage industry, and also on expanded labelling regulations is a priority. Sharing context-specific research regarding labelling between countries in the global South could be mutually beneficial in evaluating obesity prevention policies and strategies.
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Explaining tolerance for bitterness in chocolate ice cream using solid chocolate preferences.
Harwood, Meriel L; Loquasto, Joseph R; Roberts, Robert F; Ziegler, Gregory R; Hayes, John E
2013-08-01
Chocolate ice cream is commonly formulated with higher sugar levels than nonchocolate flavors to compensate for the inherent bitterness of cocoa. Bitterness, however, is an integral part of the complex flavor of chocolate. In light of the global obesity epidemic, many consumers and health professionals are concerned about the levels of added sugars in foods. Once a strategy for balancing undesirable bitterness and health concerns regarding added sugars has been developed, the task becomes determining whether that product will be acceptable to the consumer. Thus, the purpose of this research was to manipulate the bitterness of chocolate ice cream to examine how this influences consumer preferences. The main goal of this study was to estimate group rejection thresholds for bitterness in chocolate ice cream, and to see if solid chocolate preferences (dark vs. milk) generalized to ice cream. A food-safe bitter ingredient, sucrose octaacetate, was added to chocolate ice cream to alter bitterness without disturbing other the sensory qualities of the ice cream samples, including texture. Untrained chocolate ice cream consumers participated in a large-scale sensory test by indicating their preferences for blinded pairs of unspiked and spiked samples, where the spiked sample had increasing levels of the added bitterant. As anticipated, the group containing individuals who prefer milk chocolate had a much lower tolerance for bitterness in their chocolate ice cream compared with the group of individuals who prefer dark chocolate; indeed, the dark chocolate group tolerated almost twice as much added bitterant in the ice cream before indicating a significant preference for the unspiked (control) ice cream. This work demonstrates the successful application of the rejection threshold method to a complex dairy food. Estimating rejection thresholds could prove to be an effective tool for determining acceptable formulations or quality limits when considering attributes that become objectionable at high intensities. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Explaining tolerance for bitterness in chocolate ice cream using solid chocolate preferences
Harwood, Meriel L.; Loquasto, Joseph R.; Roberts, Robert F.; Ziegler, Gregory R.; Hayes, John E.
2016-01-01
Chocolate ice cream is commonly formulated with higher sugar levels than nonchocolate flavors to compensate for the inherent bitterness of cocoa. Bitterness, however, is an integral part of the complex flavor of chocolate. In light of the global obesity epidemic, many consumers and health professionals are concerned about the levels of added sugars in foods. Once a strategy for balancing undesirable bitterness and health concerns regarding added sugars has been developed, the task becomes determining whether that product will be acceptable to the consumer. Thus, the purpose of this research was to manipulate the bitterness of chocolate ice cream to examine how this influences consumer preferences. The main goal of this study was to estimate group rejection thresholds for bitterness in chocolate ice cream, and to see if solid chocolate preferences (dark vs. milk) generalized to ice cream. A food-safe bitter ingredient, sucrose octaacetate, was added to chocolate ice cream to alter bitterness without disturbing other the sensory qualities of the ice cream samples, including texture. Untrained chocolate ice cream consumers participated in a large-scale sensory test by indicating their preferences for blinded pairs of unspiked and spiked samples, where the spiked sample had increasing levels of the added bitterant. As anticipated, the group containing individuals who prefer milk chocolate had a much lower tolerance for bitterness in their chocolate ice cream compared with the group of individuals who prefer dark chocolate; indeed, the dark chocolate group tolerated almost twice as much added bitterant in the ice cream before indicating a significant preference for the unspiked (control) ice cream. This work demonstrates the successful application of the rejection threshold method to a complex dairy food. Estimating rejection thresholds could prove to be an effective tool for determining acceptable formulations or quality limits when considering attributes that become objectionable at high intensities. PMID:23769376
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Sañudo, C; Alfonso, M; San Julián, R; Thorkelsson, G; Valdimarsdottir, T; Zygoyiannis, D; Stamataris, C; Piasentier, E; Mills, C; Berge, P; Dransfield, E; Nute, G R; Enser, M; Fisher, A V
2007-04-01
This paper describes the responses of consumers in six European countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Iceland and United Kingdom) tasting meat from twelve different local types of lambs produced in those same six countries. Animals represented 10 breeds and crossbreeds, three sexes, several diets composed of either milk, concentrates and various forages as main ingredients and different slaughter ages, from 1 and 12 months, and carcass weights, from 5.5 to 30.4kg. Tests were conducted by 36 volunteer families in each of the six countries involved in the study. Families were asked to roast the joints using their own cooking criteria, evaluating (from "dislike extremely" to "like extremely") flavour, tenderness, juiciness and overall liking. Also the cook was asked to rate the odour during cooking. Country and lamb type and their interaction were statistically significant for all the variables analysed. Results suggest a link between the assessments of a given lamb type and the consumers' culinary background, showing clear associations between country and lamb type preferences. It was possible to separate, independently of the country, different groups of families with similar preferences. Five family groups, which included 88 families (40.74%), had a clear Mediterranean origin and preferred types of lamb fed either milk or mainly concentrate diets. Seven family groups, which included 93 families (43.06%) with a clear northern origin, preferred types reared on grass or with grass included in the diet. The rest of the groups (four) that included 35 families (16.20%) had no clear composition (northern or Mediterranean), and they had a wider taste preference. It can clearly be seen that there are two categories of consumers of lamb in the analysed European market: those who prefer "milk or concentrate taste" and those who prefer "grass taste".
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Nursery, gutter, or anatomy class? Obscene expression in consumer health
Smith, Catherine Arnott
2007-01-01
This paper presents results of a consumer health vocabulary study of text appearing on Web-based bulletin boards. Consumers used obscenities and euphemisms to refer to certain body parts, functions, and behaviors. The female genitalia are the body region most often described with an obscenity (29% of all instances); male genitalia, in contrast, were rendered as obscene only 3% of the time. Consumers responding on the bulletin boards appear genuinely to prefer euphemistic slang and baby talk (62%) over obscenities (24%) when referring to the buttocks. From an anatomical perspective, this large dataset reveals a consumer health vocabulary of euphemisms and outright obscenities coexisting with professional medical terminology. The evident preference for euphemisms and slang for some anatomical parts has important implications for the design of health information controlled vocabularies and translation systems, faced with a lay language more informal than expected. PMID:18693922
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The Neuroscience of Consumer Choice
Hsu, Ming; Yoon, Carolyn
2015-01-01
We review progress and challenges relating to scientific and applied goals of the nascent field of consumer neuroscience. Scientifically, substantial progress has been made in understanding the neurobiology of choice processes. Further advances, however, require researchers to begin clarifying the set of developmental and cognitive processes that shape and constrain choices. First, despite the centrality of preferences in theories of consumer choice, we still know little about where preferences come from and the underlying developmental processes. Second, the role of attention and memory processes in consumer choice remains poorly understood, despite importance ascribed to them in interpreting data from the field. The applied goal of consumer neuroscience concerns our ability to translate this understanding to augment prediction at the population level. Although the use of neuroscientific data for market-level predictions remains speculative, there is growing evidence of superiority in specific cases over existing market research techniques. PMID:26665152
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Fukui, Sadaaki; Matthias, Marianne S; Salyers, Michelle P
2015-01-01
Shared decision-making (SDM) is imperative to person-centered care, yet little is known about what aspects of SDM are targeted during psychiatric visits. This secondary data analysis (191 psychiatric visits with 11 providers, coded with a validated SDM coding system) revealed two factors (scientific and preference-based discussions) underlying SDM communication. Preference-based discussion occurred less. Both provider and consumer initiation of SDM elements and decision complexity were associated with greater discussions in both factors, but were more strongly associated with scientific discussion. Longer visit length correlated with only scientific discussion. Providers' understanding of core domains could facilitate engaging consumers in SDM.
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Kallas, Zein; Realini, Carolina E; Gil, José Maria
2014-08-01
This paper uses Choice Experiments (CE) to investigate Spanish consumers' preferences towards beef meat enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and conjugated linoleic acid). Data were gathered from self-completed questionnaires in a controlled environment with two different samples (320 and 322 consumers) differentiated by the information received. The surveys were carried out in three main Spanish cities (Barcelona, Zaragoza and Pamplona), representing the average consumer. A variation of the "Dual Response Choice Experiments" (DRCE) design was used due to its ability to emphasize the purchase context. Results showed that consumers who received information attach higher preference for enriched meat with polyunsaturated fatty acids. The utility associated with the higher content of fat increase for informed consumers, showing a substitute effect. Informed consumers are willing to accept meat with a higher amount of visible fat if it is enriched with beneficial fatty acids. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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On Consumer Self-Direction of Attendant Care Services: An Empirical Analysis of Survey Responses.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Asher, Cheryl C.; And Others
1991-01-01
The concept of attendant care--provision of personal services to severely disabled individuals--is presented. Data from a survey of about 340 out of 718 consumers of attendant care indicate the existence of a mix of consumer-oriented programs. Consumer preference for a particular program design appeared to be governed by experience. (SLD)
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Health Insurance for "Humans": Information Frictions, Plan Choice, and Consumer Welfare.
Handel, Benjamin R; Kolstad, Jonathan T
2015-08-01
Traditional models of insurance choice are predicated on fully informed and rational consumers protecting themselves from exposure to financial risk. In practice, choosing an insurance plan is a complicated decision often made without full information. In this paper we combine new administrative data on health plan choices and claims with unique survey data on consumer information to identify risk preferences, information frictions, and hassle costs. Our additional friction measures are important predictors of choices and meaningfully impact risk preference estimates. We study the implications of counterfactual insurance allocations to illustrate the importance of distinguishing between these micro-foundations for welfare analysis.
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Frosch, Dominick L; May, Suepattra G; Tietbohl, Caroline; Pagán, José A
2011-10-01
Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs is the most common form of health communication Americans are exposed to. The effects of DTCA on prescription requests and utilization are well established, but little is known about the effects of advertisements on health behaviors. Many advertisements, especially those promoting drugs to prevent or treat cardiovascular disease, refer to lifestyle change as a way to improve health. However, no studies have examined how consumers interpret these frequently ambiguous messages. We used in-depth interviews with 45 participants, recruited in Los Angeles, USA between April 2007 and July 2008, to explore perceptions of 5 advertisements for drugs that prevent or treat cardiovascular disease (Lipitor(®), Vytorin(®), Zetia(®), Caduet(®), Plavix(®)). We found that participants interpreted advertising messages within their own life context and identified four trajectories for enacting behavior change versus taking prescription drugs: Negotiators, Avoiders, Embracers and Jumpstarters. Underlying these four typologies were beliefs about whether lifestyle change was something an individual could do or was willing to do. Our results also show how an advertisement narrative could potentially shift perceptions of causality by suggesting that high cholesterol is primarily hereditary, thereby obviating the need for lifestyle change. Some participants stated that they would prefer lifestyle change to a particular prescription drug, but felt that others would be more likely to embrace taking a prescription drug. This "Third Person Effect" may be masking participants' intentions by identifying a more socially desirable route to therapeutic change. These findings raise questions about how the typologies are distributed in the population and how advertising may shift consumers' beliefs over time, thereby contributing to new forms of medicalization. Effective regulation of DTCA may require expanding scrutiny beyond the accuracy of claims about benefits and risks, to also considering the broader narratives in which these claims are made. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Distinguishing the Spending Preferences of Seniors.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zimmer, Zachary; Chappell, Neena L.
1996-01-01
The consumer spending preferences of 1,406 senior Canadians were surveyed. Age distinguished those who had product-specific preferences. Income and health status separated those interested in recreational spending from those more interested in basic needs. Diversity of health and social characteristics in this population extends to their…
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Steckowych, Kathryn; Smith, Marie; Spiggle, Susan; Stevens, Andrew; Li, Hao
2018-01-01
The role of the community pharmacist has traditionally been a medication dispenser; however, community pharmacists' responsibilities must expand to include more direct patient care services in order to transform primary care practice. Use case-based scenarios to (1) determine factors that contribute to positive and negative consumer perceptions of expanded community pharmacist patient care roles, (2) identify facilitators and barriers that contribute to consumer perceptions of the value of expanded community pharmacist patient care services, and (3) develop a successful approach and strategies for increasing consumer advocacy for the value of expanded community pharmacist patient care services. Two consumer focus groups used scenario-based guided discussions and Likert scale questionnaires to elicit consumer reactions, facilitators, and barriers to expanded community pharmacist services. Convenience, timeliness, and accessibility were common positive reactions across all 3 scenarios. Team approach to care and trust were viewed as major facilitators. Participant concerns included uncertainty about pharmacist training and qualifications, privacy, pharmacists' limited bandwidth to accept new tasks, and potential increased patient costs. Common barriers to service uptake included a lack of insurance payment and physician preference to provide the services. Consumer unfamiliarity with non-traditional community pharmacist services is likely an influencer of consumers' hesitancy to utilize such services; therefore, an opportunity exists to engage consumers and advocacy organizations in supporting expanded community pharmacist roles. This study can inform consumers, advocates, community pharmacists, primary care providers, and community-based organizations on methods to shape consumer perceptions on the value of community pharmacist expanded services.
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Material efficiency: providing material services with less material production
Allwood, Julian M.; Ashby, Michael F.; Gutowski, Timothy G.; Worrell, Ernst
2013-01-01
Material efficiency, as discussed in this Meeting Issue, entails the pursuit of the technical strategies, business models, consumer preferences and policy instruments that would lead to a substantial reduction in the production of high-volume energy-intensive materials required to deliver human well-being. This paper, which introduces a Discussion Meeting Issue on the topic of material efficiency, aims to give an overview of current thinking on the topic, spanning environmental, engineering, economics, sociology and policy issues. The motivations for material efficiency include reducing energy demand, reducing the emissions and other environmental impacts of industry, and increasing national resource security. There are many technical strategies that might bring it about, and these could mainly be implemented today if preferred by customers or producers. However, current economic structures favour the substitution of material for labour, and consumer preferences for material consumption appear to continue even beyond the point at which increased consumption provides any increase in well-being. Therefore, policy will be required to stimulate material efficiency. A theoretically ideal policy measure, such as a carbon price, would internalize the externality of emissions associated with material production, and thus motivate change directly. However, implementation of such a measure has proved elusive, and instead the adjustment of existing government purchasing policies or existing regulations— for instance to do with building design, planning or vehicle standards—is likely to have a more immediate effect. PMID:23359746
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Material efficiency: providing material services with less material production.
Allwood, Julian M; Ashby, Michael F; Gutowski, Timothy G; Worrell, Ernst
2013-03-13
Material efficiency, as discussed in this Meeting Issue, entails the pursuit of the technical strategies, business models, consumer preferences and policy instruments that would lead to a substantial reduction in the production of high-volume energy-intensive materials required to deliver human well-being. This paper, which introduces a Discussion Meeting Issue on the topic of material efficiency, aims to give an overview of current thinking on the topic, spanning environmental, engineering, economics, sociology and policy issues. The motivations for material efficiency include reducing energy demand, reducing the emissions and other environmental impacts of industry, and increasing national resource security. There are many technical strategies that might bring it about, and these could mainly be implemented today if preferred by customers or producers. However, current economic structures favour the substitution of material for labour, and consumer preferences for material consumption appear to continue even beyond the point at which increased consumption provides any increase in well-being. Therefore, policy will be required to stimulate material efficiency. A theoretically ideal policy measure, such as a carbon price, would internalize the externality of emissions associated with material production, and thus motivate change directly. However, implementation of such a measure has proved elusive, and instead the adjustment of existing government purchasing policies or existing regulations-- for instance to do with building design, planning or vehicle standards--is likely to have a more immediate effect.
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Effect of tasting and information on consumer opinion about pig castration.
Kallas, Zein; Gil, José Maria; Panella-Riera, Nuria; Blanch, Marta; Font-i-Furnols, Maria; Chevillon, Patrick; De Roest, Kees; Tacken, Gemma; Oliver, Maria Angels
2013-10-01
Our research explored the relative importance of pig castration amongst other aspects of animal welfare, and the potential impact of information and sensory experiences on European Union (EU) consumers' preferences. The EU is considering a future ban on surgical pig castration by 2018 which may affect markets and consumers' preferences. We carried out an empirical study using consumer-level data obtained from questionnaires completed in a controlled environment by a total of 825 consumers. The experiment was carried out in six EU countries (Spain, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany) which account for 66.0% of the EU-27's and 76.3% of the EU-15's meat production. Results show that consumers do not perceive pig castration to be a relevant aspect of animal welfare nor its relationship with meat quality. Consumers with healthy life styles, concerned about animal welfare and who have had a negative sensory experience with boar meat are willing to accept paying more to avoid boar taint. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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A rapid review of consumer health information needs and preferences.
Ramsey, Imogen; Corsini, Nadia; Peters, Micah D J; Eckert, Marion
2017-09-01
This rapid review summarizes best available evidence on consumers' needs and preferences for information about healthcare, with a focus on the Australian context. Three questions are addressed: 1) Where do consumers find and what platform do they use to access information about healthcare? 2) How do consumers use the healthcare information that they find? 3) About which topics or subjects do consumers need healthcare information? A hierarchical approach was adopted with evidence first sought from reviews then high quality studies using Medline (via PubMed), CINAHL, Embase, the JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, the Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews, EPPI-Centre, and Epistemonikos. Twenty-eight articles were included; four systematic reviews, three literature reviews, thirteen quantitative studies, six qualitative studies, and two mixed methods studies. Consumers seek health information at varying times along the healthcare journey and through various modes of delivery. Complacency with historical health information modes is no longer appropriate and flexibility is essential to suit growing consumer demands. Health information should be readily available in different formats and not exclusive to any single medium. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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Park, John S; Post, David M
2018-01-01
Consumers with different seasonal life histories encounter different communities of producers during specific seasonal phases. If consumers evolve to prefer the producers that they encounter, then consumers may reciprocally influence the temporal composition of producer communities. Here, we study the keystone consumer Daphnia ambigua, whose seasonal life history has diverged due to intraspecific predator divergence across lakes of New England. We ask whether grazing preferences of Daphnia have diverged also and test whether any grazing differences influence temporal composition patterns of producers. We reared clonal populations of Daphnia from natural populations representing the two diverged life history types for multiple generations. We conducted short-term (24 hr) and long-term (27 days) grazing experiments in equal polycultures consisting of three diatom and two green algae species, treated with no consumer, Daphnia from lakes with anadromous alewife, or from lakes with landlocked alewife. After 24 hr, life history and grazing preference divergence in Daphnia ambigua drove significant differences in producer composition. However, those differences disappeared at the end of the 27-day experiment. Our results illustrate that, despite potentially more complex long-term dynamics, a multitrophic cascade of evolutionary divergence from a predator can influence temporal community dynamics at the producer level.
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Apparent competition with an invasive plant hastens the extinction of an endangered lupine.
Dangremond, Emily M; Pardini, Eleanor A; Knight, Tiffany M
2010-08-01
Invasive plants may compete with native plants by increasing the pressure of native consumers, a mechanism known as "apparent competition." Apparent competition can be as strong as or stronger than direct competition, but the role of apparent competition has rarely been examined in biological invasions. We used four years of demographic data and seed-removal experiments to determine if introduced grasses caused elevated levels of seed consumption on native plant species in a coastal dune system in California, USA. We show that the endangered, coastal dune plant Lupinus tidestromii experiences high levels of pre-dispersal seed consumption by the native rodent Peromyscus maniculatus due to its proximity to the invasive grass, Ammophila arenaria. We use stage-structured, stochastic population models to project that two of three study populations will decline toward extinction under ambient levels of consumption. For one of these declining populations, a relatively small decrease in consumption pressure should allow for persistence. We show that apparent competition with an invasive species significantly decreases the population growth rate and persistence of a native species. We expect that apparent competition is an important mechanism in other ecosystems because invasive plants often change habitat structure and plant-consumer interactions. Possible implications of the apparent-competition mechanism include selective extinction of species preferred by seed consumers in the presence of an invasive species and biological homogenization of communities toward non-preferred native plant species.
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Galmarini, Mara V; Loiseau, Anne-Laure; Visalli, Michel; Schlich, Pascal
2016-10-01
Though the gastronomic sector recommends certain wine-cheese associations, there is little sensory evidence on how cheese influences the perception of wine. It was the aim of this study to dynamically characterize 4 wines as they would be perceived when consumed with and without cheese. The tasting protocol was based on multi-intake temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) coupled with hedonic rating. In the 1st session, 31 French wine and cheese consumers evaluated the wines (Pacherenc, Sancerre, Bourgogne, and Madiran) over 3 consecutive sips. In the following sessions, they performed the same task, but eating small portions of cheese (Epoisses, Comté, Roquefort, Crottin de Chavignol) between sips. All cheeses were tasted with all wines over 4 sessions. TDS data were mainly analyzed in terms of each attribute's duration of dominance by analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of variance, and canonical variate analysis. Results showed that cheese consumption had an impact (P < 0.1) on dominance duration of attributes and on preference for most wines. For example, in Madiran, all cheeses reduced dominance duration (P < 0.01) of astringency and sourness and increased duration of red fruit aroma. Although the number of consumers was small to make extended general conclusions on wine's preference, significant changes were observed before and after cheese intake. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®.
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Preference for wine is associated with lower hip fracture incidence in post-menopausal women
2013-01-01
Background Past studies of relationships between alcohol and hip fracture have generally focused on total alcohol consumed and not type of alcohol. Different types of alcohol consist of varying components which may affect risk of hip fracture differentially. This study seeks to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption, with a focus on type of alcohol consumed (e.g. beer, wine, or hard liquor) and hip fracture risk in post-menopausal women. Methods The longitudinal cohort consisted of U.S. post-menopausal women aged 50–79 years enrolled between 1993–1998 in the Women’s Health Initiative Clinical Trials and Observational Study (N=115,655). Results Women were categorized as non-drinkers, past drinkers, infrequent drinkers and drinkers by preference of alcohol type (i.e. those who preferred wine, beer, hard liquor, or who had no strong preference). Mean alcohol consumption among current drinkers was 3.3 servings per week; this was similar among those who preferred wine, beer and liquor. After adjustment for potential confounders, alcohol preference was strongly correlated with hip fracture risk (p = 0.0167); in particular, women who preferred wine were at lower risk than non-drinkers (OR=0.78; 95% CI 0.64-0.95), past drinkers (OR=0.85; 95% CI 0.72-1.00), infrequent drinkers (OR=0.73; 95% CI 0.61-0.88), hard liquor drinkers (OR=0.87; 95% CI 0.71-1.06), beer drinkers (OR=0.72; 95% CI 0.55-0.95) and those with no strong preference (OR=0.89; 95% CI 0.89; 95% CI 0.73-1.10). Conclusions Preference of alcohol type was associated with hip fracture; women who preferentially consumed wine had a lower risk of hip fracture compared to non-drinkers, past drinkers, and those with other alcohol preferences. PMID:24053784
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Content-Based Personalization Services Integrating Folksonomies
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Musto, Cataldo; Narducci, Fedelucio; Lops, Pasquale; de Gemmis, Marco; Semeraro, Giovanni
Basic content-based personalization consists in matching up the attributes of a user profile, in which preferences and interests are stored, with the attributes of a content object. The Web 2.0 (r)evolution has changed the game for personalization, from ‘elitary’ Web 1.0, written by few and read by many, to web content generated by everyone (user-generated content - UGC), since the role of people has evolved from passive consumers of information to that of active contributors.
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Lykomitros, Dimitrios; Fogliano, Vincenzo; Capuano, Edoardo
2018-04-01
Roasted peanuts are a popular snack in Europe, but their drivers of liking and perceived freshness have not been previously studied with European consumers. Consumer research to date has been focused on U.S. consumers, and only on specific peanut cultivars. In this study, 26 unique samples were produced from peanuts of different types, cultivars, origins, and with different process technologies (including baking, frying, and maceration). The peanut samples were subjected to sensory (expert panel, Spectrum TM ) and instrumental analysis (color, headspace volatiles, sugar profile, large deformation compression tests, and graded by size) and were hedonically rated by consumers in The Netherlands, Spain, and Turkey (n > 200 each). Preference Mapping (PREFMAP) on mean liking models revealed that the drivers of liking are similar across the three countries. Sweet taste, roasted peanut, dark roast, and sweet aromas and the color b * value were related to increased liking, and raw bean aroma and bitter taste with decreased liking. Further partial least square regression (PLSR) modeling of liking and perceived freshness against instrumental attributes showed that the color coordinates in combination with sucrose content and a select few headspace volatiles were strong predictors of both preference and perceived freshness. Finally, additional PLSR models focusing on the headspace volatiles only showed that liking and ''fresh'' attributes were correlated with the presence of several pyrroles in the volatile fraction, and inversely related to ''stale'' and to hexanal and 2-heptanone. This study provides insight into which flavor, taste, and appearance attributes drive liking and disliking of roasted peanuts for European consumers. The drivers are linked back to analytical attributes that can be measured instrumentally, thereby reducing the reliance on costly sensory panels. Particular emphasis is placed on color as a predictor of preference, because of the low cost of the measuring equipment, it is available to even smaller producers. In addition to preference, the study also examines whether product attributes that drive perceived freshness exist. The results can be used to design products with high acceptability across several countries within Europe. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.
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Time to address continued poor vegetable intake in Australia for prevention of chronic disease.
Chapman, Kathryn; Havill, Michelle; Watson, Wendy L; Wellard, Lyndal; Hughes, Clare; Bauman, Adrian; Allman-Farinelli, Margaret
2016-12-01
Australian and most international Dietary Guidelines recommend people consume more fruits and vegetables (F&V) to maintain a healthy weight and reduce chronic disease risk. Previous Australian and international surveys have shown sub-optimal consumption of F&V. This study aimed to assess adults' F&V consumption, knowledge of recommended servings, readiness to change, barriers/enabling factors, so that this knowledge might be used for campaigns that support improved consumption. An online survey of a representative sample of adults living in New South Wales, Australia (n = 2474) measuring self-reported F&V consumption; attitudes towards F&V consumption; stage of change for increasing F&V; barriers to consumption; and knowledge of cancer-health benefits. F&V consumption was below recommendations, with vegetable consumption notably low. Only 10% of participants ate at least five servings of vegetables/day (median intake was two daily servings), and 57% consumed two servings fruit/day. There was poor recognition that intake of vegetables was inadequate and this was a barrier to improving vegetable consumption; with preferences for other foods, habit and cost also important barriers. Key barriers to increasing fruit intake were habit, preferences for other foods, perishability, and cost. For vegetable consumption, 49% of participants were in the pre-contemplation stage of change, whereas for fruits 56% were in the action/maintenance stage. Sixty-four percent of respondents believed that eating F&V would protect against cancer, with 56% reporting they thought not eating enough F&V would cause cancer. Understanding what motivates and prevents people from consuming F&V is important for developing effective health promotion programs. Similar to previous surveys, there has been little shift in F&V consumption. Social marketing campaigns have been shown to improve health-related behaviours, and this study may assist in identifying audience segmentation for better targeted campaigns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Increasing market share through consumer marketing: a case study in obstetrics.
Kingsley, V H
1986-05-01
Consumers are becoming ever more selective in their choice of health care providers. Hospitals that are aware of local preferences and how to reach and influence consumers will gain a competitive advantage. Outlined in this article are consumer marketing techniques that can be utilized for all product lines. The concept is applied here as a case study in obstetrics.
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Intelligent Systems Approaches to Product Sound Quality Analysis
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pietila, Glenn M.
As a product market becomes more competitive, consumers become more discriminating in the way in which they differentiate between engineered products. The consumer often makes a purchasing decision based on the sound emitted from the product during operation by using the sound to judge quality or annoyance. Therefore, in recent years, many sound quality analysis tools have been developed to evaluate the consumer preference as it relates to a product sound and to quantify this preference based on objective measurements. This understanding can be used to direct a product design process in order to help differentiate the product from competitive products or to establish an impression on consumers regarding a product's quality or robustness. The sound quality process is typically a statistical tool that is used to model subjective preference, or merit score, based on objective measurements, or metrics. In this way, new product developments can be evaluated in an objective manner without the laborious process of gathering a sample population of consumers for subjective studies each time. The most common model used today is the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), although recently non-linear Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approaches are gaining popularity. This dissertation will review publicly available published literature and present additional intelligent systems approaches that can be used to improve on the current sound quality process. The focus of this work is to address shortcomings in the current paired comparison approach to sound quality analysis. This research will propose a framework for an adaptive jury analysis approach as an alternative to the current Bradley-Terry model. The adaptive jury framework uses statistical hypothesis testing to focus on sound pairings that are most interesting and is expected to address some of the restrictions required by the Bradley-Terry model. It will also provide a more amicable framework for an intelligent systems approach. Next, an unsupervised jury clustering algorithm is used to identify and classify subgroups within a jury who have conflicting preferences. In addition, a nested Artificial Neural Network (ANN) architecture is developed to predict subjective preference based on objective sound quality metrics, in the presence of non-linear preferences. Finally, statistical decomposition and correlation algorithms are reviewed that can help an analyst establish a clear understanding of the variability of the product sounds used as inputs into the jury study and to identify correlations between preference scores and sound quality metrics in the presence of non-linearities.
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Transcriptome analysis for pork color – the ham halo effect in biceps femoris
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Pork color is a major indicator of product quality that guides consumer purchasing decisions. For hams, consumers prefer a uniform pink color. Recently, industry has received an increase in consumer complaints about the lightness and non-uniformity of ham color, primarily lighter color in the periph...
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Variations in Consumer Self-Determination within US Psychiatric Advance Directives
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zeman, Laura Dreuth; Swanke, Jayme
2008-01-01
Advance directives are legal documents that formalize consumer psychiatric care preferences. This article examines the statutes and goals of US psychiatric advance directives within the framework of consumer self-determination, a priority in national mental health reform. It seeks to distinguish between state models based on the degree that…
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Achieving Consumer Purchase Payoffs: A Used Car Purchase.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Maynes, E. Scott; Maynes, Blanche R.
1997-01-01
This case study of a used car purchase illuminates the concepts and principles that should guide purchase decisions. It suggests that consumers should be aware there is little correlation between price and quality; competent shopping yields better quality; and consumers must decide their preferred trade-off between price and quality. (SK)
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Donahue, Elizabeth; Crowe, Kristi Michele; Lawrence, Jeannine
2015-02-01
Protein-enhanced soups (PES) may improve protein intake among older adults. This study examined sensory attributes (aroma, texture, taste, and overall acceptability) and preferences of PES (chicken noodle and cheddar broccoli) compared with flavor-matched control soups (FCS) among older adults (≥65 years) and evaluated dietary profile changes of a standard menu based on the substitution of one PES serving/d for a standard soup. Modified paired preference tests and 5-point facial hedonic scales were administered to participants (n = 44). No significant differences in sensory attributes between either PES compared with FCS were identified, but significant gender- and age-related differences (p < 0.05) were observed. About Sixty-one percent of participants preferred protein-enhanced chicken noodle soup while only 38% preferred protein-enhanced cheddar broccoli soup to their respective FCS. Substituting one PES serving for one non-fortified soup serving per day resulted in significantly higher (p < 0.001) protein profile. Results suggest that all attributes of PES were consistent with sensory expectations and PES substitution could improve protein provision.
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Consumer preference, behavior and perception about meat and meat products: an overview.
Font-I-Furnols, Maria; Guerrero, Luis
2014-11-01
Meat and meat products currently represent an important source of protein in the human diet, and their quality varies according to intrinsic and extrinsic parameters that can sometimes be shaped to make a product more desirable. Because consumers are the final step in the production chain, it is useful to identify which factors affect their behavioral patterns. This would allow the meat sector to better satisfy consumer expectations, demands and needs. This paper focuses on features that might influence consumer behavior, preferences and their perception of meat and meat products with respect to psychological, sensory and marketing aspects. This multidisciplinary approach includes evaluating psychological issues such as attitudes, beliefs, and expectations; sensory properties such as appearance, texture, flavor and odor; and marketing-related aspects such as price and brand. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Reisenwitz, T H; Wimbish, G J
1996-01-01
The capsule dosage form in nonprescription pharmaceuticals persists as being one of the most vulnerable to product tampering. This study examines consumer preference toward three solid oral dosage forms (capsules, caplets, and tablets) in nonprescription products. Thirteen independent variables representing dosage form attributes are measured on semantic differential scales. The data are analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and factor analysis. Implications for the pharmaceutical marketer are noted. Future directions for research are also outlined.
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Consumer preferences for teledermoscopy screening to detect melanoma early.
Spinks, Jean; Janda, Monika; Soyer, H Peter; Whitty, Jennifer A
2016-01-01
'Store and forward' teledermoscopy is a technology with potential advantages for melanoma screening. Any large-scale implementation of this technology is dependent on consumer acceptance. To investigate preferences for melanoma screening options compared with skin self-examination in adults considered to be at increased risk of developing skin cancer. A discrete choice experiment was completed by 35 consumers, all of whom had prior experience with the use of teledermoscopy, in Queensland, Australia. Participants made 12 choices between screening alternatives described by seven attributes including monetary cost. A mixed logit model was used to estimate the relative weights that consumers place on different aspects of screening, along with the marginal willingness to pay for teledermoscopy as opposed to screening at a clinic. Overall, participants preferred screening/diagnosis by a health professional rather than skin self-examination. Key drivers of screening choice were for results to be reviewed by a dermatologist; a higher detection rate; fewer non-cancerous moles being removed in relation to every skin cancer detected; and less time spent away from usual activities. On average, participants were willing to pay AUD110 to have teledermoscopy with dermatologist review available to them as a screening option. Consumers preferentially value aspects of care that are more feasible with a teledermoscopy screening model, as compared with other skin cancer screening and diagnosis options. This study adds to previous literature in the area which has relied on the use of consumer satisfaction scales to assess the acceptability of teledermoscopy. © The Author(s) 2015.
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Meyerding, Stephan G H; Gentz, Maria; Altmann, Brianne; Meier-Dinkel, Lisa
2018-08-01
Consumer perspectives of beef quality are complex, leading to a market that is increasingly differentiating. Thus, ongoing monitoring and assessment of changes in consumer perspectives is essential to identify changing market conditions. Often only credence and search characteristics are evaluated in consumer studies; therefore the object of the present study is to examine consumer preferences and perceptions towards beef steaks, also including experience characteristics, using a mixed methods approach. For this reason, 55 consumers participated in an experiment in Germany, including a sensory acceptance test, stated willingness to pay, and choice-based conjoint analysis (CBCA). Different quality characteristics were included, but a focus on the quality labels of 'dry aged beef', 'Block House beef', and 'Angus beef' was predominant throughout the experiment with the results showing that quality labels significantly increased overall liking as well as the stated willingness to pay. Quality labels were also the one of the most important characteristics in the conjoint analysis, after origin and price. The results of all applied methods are comparable for the characteristic quality label. The combination of sensory acceptance test and CBCA were additionally able to evaluate all three kinds of beef quality characteristics, which could not be evaluated together only using a single method. This suggests that a mixture of methods should be used to gain better knowledge on the true behavior of beef consumers. Experience and credence characteristics, including beef quality labels, present opportunities for future research as well as the potential for determining product and market differentiation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Treadwell, D. F.
2003-01-01
Presents names of college and universities unfamiliar to potential students. Finds that one cluster of respondents had a clear preference for geographic or aspirational names while a second cluster had a preference for proper names. Notes that there was an overall preference for proper names. (SG)
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Magnezi, Racheli; Bergman, Lisa Carroll; Urowitz, Sara
2015-01-01
Objectives. To understand how patient preferences and perceptions of their relationship with their doctor (as patient, friend, partner, client, consumer, or insured) affects confidence in care provided and participation in health care. Methods. Telephone questionnaire to 2,135 households, representative of the population in Israel. Results. A…
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Interest, Not Preference: Dewey and Reframing the Conceptual Vocabulary of School Choice
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wilson, Terri S.
2016-01-01
School choice positions parents as consumers who select schools that maximize their preferences. This account has been shaped by rational choice theory. In this essay, Terri Wilson contrasts a rational choice framework of "preferences" with John Dewey's understanding of "interest." To illustrate this contrast, she draws on an…
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Flavor preferences conditioned by intragastric monosodium glutamate in mice.
Ackroff, Karen; Sclafani, Anthony
2013-11-01
The consumption of monosodium glutamate (MSG) solutions has been shown to reinforce preferences for MSG and for MSG-paired flavors in mice. These effects appear to have a strong postoral component, such that MSG detected in the gut is associated with concurrently consumed flavors. Two experiments investigated postoral MSG reward by infusing 400mM MSG intragastrically (IG) to C57BL/6 mice as they consumed a conditioned stimulus (CS+) flavor. An alternate CS- flavor was paired with IG water. In Experiment 1, the grape and cherry CS flavors were unsweetened, and intakes and preferences for the CS+ flavor were modest. Experiment 2 attempted to generate stronger preferences by adding 0.05% saccharin to the CS flavors. Sweet taste did enhance intakes during training and testing but did not significantly increase percent CS+ intake or persistence of the preference. However, only conditioning with the sweet CS+ resulted in the mice expressing a preference for oral MSG in an initial choice test with water. These findings extend recent studies demonstrating postoral MSG conditioning in rats.
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A study about the young consumers' consumption behaviors of street foods.
Sanlier, Nevin; Sezgin, Aybuke Ceyhun; Sahin, Gulsah; Yassibas, Emine
2018-05-01
As in almost every country in the world, street foods are frequently used in Turkey. To determine the preferences for these foods, a questionnaire was given to 847 individuals constituted by randomly selected high school and university students. Of the participants, 43.4% were male and 56.6% were female; the majority of them were between 19 and 22 years of age. It was found that 40.1% of the young people ate street food 2-3 times per week, whereas 23.3% were found to eat it every day. Turkish bagels, döner, boiled corn in a cup and toast are most preferred street foods. A statistically significant negative correlations were found between consumption preference scores and education, gender, and age. Although consumers know that street foods can cause contamination with microorganisms, that sellers do not pay attention to hygiene, and that these foods are raw or not cooked well, they prefer because of their cheapness, deliciousness, variety and fast service. Street foods are widely consumed in Turkish young students and because of preventing food poisoning, they should be educated about food hygiene and safety. Also, educating vendors in personal hygiene and good manufacture practice can minimize contamination risk.
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Vecchiato, Giovanni; Maglione, Anton Giulio; Cherubino, Patrizia; Wasikowska, Barbara; Wawrzyniak, Agata; Latuszynska, Anna; Latuszynska, Malgorzata; Nermend, Kesra; Graziani, Ilenia; Leucci, Maria Rita; Trettel, Arianna; Babiloni, Fabio
2014-01-01
Neuromarketing is a multidisciplinary field of research whose aim is to investigate the consumers' reaction to advertisements from a neuroscientific perspective. In particular, the neuroscience field is thought to be able to reveal information about consumer preferences which are unobtainable through conventional methods, including submitting questionnaires to large samples of consumers or performing psychological personal or group interviews. In this scenario, we performed an experiment in order to investigate cognitive and emotional changes of cerebral activity evaluated by neurophysiologic indices during the observation of TV commercials. In particular, we recorded the electroencephalographic (EEG), galvanic skin response (GSR), and heart rate (HR) in a group of 28 healthy subjects during the observation of a series of TV advertisements that have been grouped by commercial categories. Comparisons of cerebral indices have been performed to highlight gender differences between commercial categories and scenes of interest of two specific commercials. Findings show how EEG methodologies, along with the measurements of autonomic variables, could be used to obtain hidden information to marketers not obtainable otherwise. Most importantly, it was suggested how these tools could help to analyse the perception of TV advertisements and differentiate their production according to the consumer's gender.
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Maglione, Anton Giulio; Wasikowska, Barbara; Wawrzyniak, Agata; Graziani, Ilenia; Trettel, Arianna
2014-01-01
Neuromarketing is a multidisciplinary field of research whose aim is to investigate the consumers' reaction to advertisements from a neuroscientific perspective. In particular, the neuroscience field is thought to be able to reveal information about consumer preferences which are unobtainable through conventional methods, including submitting questionnaires to large samples of consumers or performing psychological personal or group interviews. In this scenario, we performed an experiment in order to investigate cognitive and emotional changes of cerebral activity evaluated by neurophysiologic indices during the observation of TV commercials. In particular, we recorded the electroencephalographic (EEG), galvanic skin response (GSR), and heart rate (HR) in a group of 28 healthy subjects during the observation of a series of TV advertisements that have been grouped by commercial categories. Comparisons of cerebral indices have been performed to highlight gender differences between commercial categories and scenes of interest of two specific commercials. Findings show how EEG methodologies, along with the measurements of autonomic variables, could be used to obtain hidden information to marketers not obtainable otherwise. Most importantly, it was suggested how these tools could help to analyse the perception of TV advertisements and differentiate their production according to the consumer's gender. PMID:25147579
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Efficacy and consumer preferences for different approaches to calorie labeling on menus.
Pang, Jocelyn; Hammond, David
2013-01-01
To evaluate the efficacy and consumer preferences of calorie labeling on menus. Between-group experiment. Participants were randomized to view menu items according to 1 of 4 experimental conditions: no calorie information, calorie-only information, calorie plus health statement (HS), and calorie plus the Physical Activity Scale. Participants selected a snack and then rated menus from all conditions on the level of understanding and perceived effectiveness. University of Waterloo, Canada. A total of 213 undergraduate university students recruited from classrooms. The calorie amount of menu selection and ratings of understandability and perceived effectiveness. Linear regression models and chi-square tests. Participants who selected items from menus without calorie information selected snacks with higher calorie amounts than participants in the calorie-only condition (P = .002) and the calorie plus HS condition (P = .001). The calorie plus HS menu was perceived as most understandable and the calorie plus calorie plus Physical Activity Scale menu was perceived as most effective in helping to promote healthy eating. Calorie labeling on menus may assist consumers in making healthier choices, with consumer preference for menus that include contextual health statements. Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Swanepoel, Monlee; Leslie, Alison J; Hoffman, Louwrens C
2016-04-01
The study compared the chemical and sensory characteristics and consumer preference of a semi-dried, cured meat product, cabanossi, produced with warthog meat and with domestic pork. The warthog and pork cabanossi had similar total moisture (59.0%±2.07 and 54.3%±1.26) and protein (26.3%±2.20 and 24.2%±2.15) contents, while the warthog cabanossi was lower in total fat content (6.9%±1.01) compared to pork cabanossi (13.7%±1.77, P=0.007). Descriptive sensory analysis found that the warthog cabanossi appeared darker red (P=0.001) and less fatty (P=0.001), while the pork cabanossi had a higher overall pork flavour (P=0.001). There were no differences in consumer preference of the appearance and taste between the two types of cabanossi, while the majority of consumers (91%) supported the use of game meat in meat products. The study concluded that warthog meat can be used in processed products without compromising the associated technical or organoleptic properties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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An annual quasidifference approach to water price elasticity
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bell, David R.; Griffin, Ronald C.
2008-08-01
The preferred price specification for retail water demand estimation has not been fully settled by prior literature. Empirical consistency of price indices is necessary to enable testing of competing specifications. Available methods of unbiasing the price index are summarized here. Using original rate information from several hundred Texas utilities, new indices of marginal and average price change are constructed. Marginal water price change is shown to explain consumption variation better than average water price change, based on standard information criteria. Annual change in quantity consumed per month is estimated with differences in climate variables and the new quasidifference marginal price index. As expected, the annual price elasticity of demand is found to vary with daily high and low temperatures and the frequency of precipitation.
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Grimaldi, Loredana
2012-01-01
Recently, there has been a concentrated effort by companies to better understand the needs and desires of their consumers. Such efforts usually employ different and sophisticated analysis techniques for monitoring the consumers preferences and how such consumers perceive the advertising communication campaign from a specific company.
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Jagadeesan, L; Jyothibabu, R; Arunpandi, N; Anjusha, A; Parthasarathi, S; Pandiyarajan, R S
2017-09-11
Results of the experimental studies on the feeding habit and daily ration (DR) of 12 dominant copepods from a tropical coastal water (off Kochi, Southwest coast of India) on different food items (phytoplankton, rotifers, and detritus) are presented. Even though, all species of copepods consumed all types of food items in the experiments, they showed noticeable feeding preferences, having important ecological implications. Calanoid Paracalanus parvus and Acrocalanus gracilis consumed phytoplankton and rotifers equally in mono diets (74-89% of DR) and mixed diets (53-82% of DR), which indicated their ability to shift their diet in natural environment based on the availability of food items. Calanoid Acartia erythraea and A. danae consumed more phytoplankton (DR 83 and 72%, respectively) than rotifers (DR 51 and 46%, respectively) in mono diets, and in mixed diets, their consumption was high in phytoplankton combined food mixtures (P + R DR and P + D DR) rather than the R + D food type, indicated their preference for mixed diets of phytoplankton. Similarly, Calanoid Temora turbinata, Pseudodiaptomus serricaudatus, and Centropages tenuiremis preferred a herbivorous diet as evidenced by their high ingestion rate on phytoplankton mono (70 to 87% to their DR) and mixed diets (58 to 80% of DR). On the other hand, Cyclopoid Oithona similis and Poecilostomatoid Corycaeus danae preferred a carnivorous diet, consuming more rotifers (> 80% of DR) than phytoplankton (18-20% of DR) and detritus (5-6% of DR). Harpacticoids Macrosetella gracilis and Euterpina acutifrons equally preferred phytoplankton (78-92% of DR) and detritus (65-89% of DR). The study showed that the dominant copepods in the coastal waters off Kochi occupy different trophic niches available in the environment, which may be applicable in other similar environments as well.
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Meyerding, Stephan G H
2016-08-01
In many studies, consumer preferences are determined by using direct surveys. For this method social desirability is problematic. This leads to the effect that participants answer in a way that they perceive as desired by society. This leads to the stated importance of certain features in these studies not being reflected in real purchasing decisions. Therefore, the aim of the study is to compare consumer preferences measured by a quasi-experiment to those quantified by direct questions. Another objective is to quantify the part-worth utilities of product characteristics such as origin, price and food labels. Part-worth utilities are estimated on an interval scale with an arbitrary origin and are a measure for preferences. The real purchasing situation was simulated in a quasi-experiment using a choice-based conjoint analysis. The part-worth utilities were then compared with the results of a conventional preference assessment (Likert scale). For this purpose, 645 consumers from all over Germany were surveyed in 2014. The participants were on average 44 years old and 63% were women. The results of the conjoint analysis report the highest part-worth utility (2.853) for the lowest price (1.49€), followed by the characteristic "grown locally" (2.157). For the labels, the German organic label shows the highest part-worth utility (0.785) followed by Fairtrade/"A heart for the producer" (0.200). It is noticeable that the carbon footprint labels have negative part-worth utilities compared to tomatoes without a label (-0.130 with CO2 indication, -0.186 without CO2 indication). The price is ranked 12th in the importance of the characteristics of purchasing tomatoes in the survey with a Likert scale, whereas it is first in the evaluation of the quasi-experiment (conjoint analysis), which supports the assumption of a social desirability bias. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Matejkowski, Jason; McCarthy, Kevin S; Draine, Jeffrey
2011-01-01
A measure of an individual's level of internalization of the norm of reciprocity may signal exchange preferences and indicate whether "active" or "passive" mental health services are preferable to consumers. We evaluated the psychometric properties of one such measure, the Personal Norm of Reciprocity (PNR) scale. We recruited 70 persons receiving mental health services and 65 comparison participants to complete questionnaires assessing reciprocity tendencies and correlates of mental illness. Two of three subscales of a shortened PNR showed evidence of reliability and validity. Consumers endorsed higher levels of the reciprocity norm than persons not seeking services. Persons in "active" service settings displayed greater rigidity in application of the reciprocity norm than individuals in "passive" service settings or comparison participants. The shortened PNR can be a useful measure of individual reciprocity preferences. Measurement of the internalization of the norm of reciprocity may assist practitioners in identifying what types of services are more likely to retain and benefit mental health service consumers.
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Consumer knowledge, preference, and perceived quality of dried tomato products in Ghana.
Owureku-Asare, Mavis; Ambrose, R P Kingsly; Oduro, Ibok; Tortoe, Charles; Saalia, Firibu K
2017-05-01
Postharvest losses (PHL) are incurred in the tomato value chain in Ghana and solar drying of tomato is a promising technology for reducing the loss. However, there are concerns on the usage, functionality and sensory appeal of the dried products to consumers, compounded with the lack of information and research on dried tomato processing in Ghana. A survey was carried out by administering semistructured questionnaires to 395 randomly selected and willing respondents in the Accra Metropolis. Information was obtained on the socioeconomic profile, consumption pattern, knowledge, and acceptance of tomato processing technologies and assessment of quality attributes important to consumers. Most consumers (74%) preferred tomato powder that is conveniently packaged to retain the characteristic intense taste and the flavor using Friedman's rank mean procedure. The study indicated that consumers were more concerned about good manufacturing practices during the production of solar-dried tomato (48.8%) rather than the quality attributes (8.6%). These findings indicate the need for safe solar drying procedures in order to increase consumer acceptability of solar-dried tomato products in Ghana.
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Bell, Luke; Methven, Lisa; Wagstaff, Carol
2017-05-01
Seven accessions of Eruca sativa ("salad rocket") were subjected to a randomised consumer assessment. Liking of appearance and taste attributes were analysed, as well as perceptions of bitterness, hotness, pepperiness and sweetness. Consumers were genotyped for TAS2R38 status to determine if liking is influenced by perception of bitter compounds such as glucosinolates (GSLs) and isothiocyanates (ITCs). Responses were combined with previously published data relating to phytochemical content and sensory data in Principal Component Analysis to determine compounds influencing liking/perceptions. Hotness, not bitterness, is the main attribute on which consumers base their liking of rocket. Some consumers rejected rocket based on GSL/ITC concentrations, whereas some preferred hotness. Bitter perception did not significantly influence liking of accessions, despite PAV/PAV 'supertasters' scoring higher for this attribute. High sugar-GSL/ITC ratios significantly reduce perceptions of hotness and bitterness for some consumers. Importantly the GSL glucoraphanin does not impart significant influence on liking or perception traits. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Evolution of esthetic considerations in orthodontics.
Turley, Patrick K
2015-09-01
The importance of facial esthetics to the practice of orthodontics has its origins at the beginning of our specialty. In 1900, Edward H. Angle believed that an esthetic or a "harmonious" face required a full complement of teeth, but many who came after him questioned this notion. In the 1930s, the development of cephalometrics laid the foundation for studying growth and development, treatment effects, facial forms, and esthetics. By the 1950s, the importance of diagnosing and planning treatment for an esthetic result was established, but the measurement of soft tissue variables was lacking, and this became an important area of research. In the 1970s, researchers were looking at the stability of hard tissue changes over time, and they were also interested in how the soft tissues change with age. Although the early studies of esthetics in orthodontic treatment focused on how clinicians viewed their patients, changing demographics and cultural attitudes led researchers to look more seriously at consumer preferences and the public's attitudes. Their findings--that consumers preferred fuller lips--led to a swing back toward nonextraction treatment. Expansion appliances and molar distalization techniques became popular, and surgical procedures to obtain more ideal esthetic results became more common. Since the 1990s, advances in computers and technology have allowed us to study, predict, and produce esthetic results previously thought unattainable. Today, more so than at any other time in our specialty, we have the ability to provide esthetic results to our patients. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Resano, H; Olaizola, A M; Dominguez-Torreiro, M
2018-07-01
In Europe, in the last decades, public administration has encouraged extensive livestock farming systems, usually related to high quality meat and the preservation of endangered local breeds. Nevertheless, its continuity in the near future should be based on adapting it to the market requirements. This paper investigates consumers' preferences heterogeneity towards veal attributes, as well as the linkage between a wide range of consumer traits and attributes that motivate purchasing of veal with unique characteristics. Main method of analysis included a choice experiment method. Findings showed that regional origin and health information play a stronger role than tenderness degree guarantee at the moment of choice. Moreover, regional origin is more relevant when it is linked to a local breed. Nevertheless, heterogeneous preferences have been detected. In contrast to the general trend, one-person households attach greater importance to the presence of a high degree of tenderness guarantee. Furthermore, younger consumers value more this guarantee, while expert consumers do not. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Varela Mallou, J; Rial Boubeta, A; Braña Tobío, T
2001-05-01
Brand is a product attribute that, for many types of goods or services, makes a major contribution to consumer preferences. Conjoint analysis is a useful technique for the assessment of brand values for a given consumer or group of consumers. In this paper, an application of conjoint analysis to the estimation of brand values in the Spanish daily newspaper market is reported. Four newspaper attributes were considered: brand (i.e., newspaper name), price (0.60, 1.05, or 1.50 euros), Sunday supplement (yes/no), and daily pullout (yes/no). A total of 510 regular readers of the national press, stratified by age and sex, were asked to rank 16 profiles representing an orthogonal fraction of the possible attribute-level combinations. Brand was by far the most important attribute, whereas price had negligible effect. More generally, the results confirm the utility of conjoint analysis for assessing brand equity in the newspaper market and for estimating the relative importance of the various attributes to different subgroups of consumers.
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Wilson, Emily M; Johanningsmeier, Suzanne D; Osborne, Jason A
2015-06-01
Fermentation of cucumbers in calcium chloride (CaCl2 ) brine has been proposed as an alternative process to reduce the environmental impact of traditional, high salt fermentations. The objective of this research was to determine whether consumer acceptability of pickle products would be impacted by fermentation and storage of cucumbers in CaCl2 brine. Cucumbers were fermented and stored with 0.1M CaCl2 or 1M sodium chloride (NaCl) in open-air, 3000 gal tanks at a commercial facility and processed into hamburger dill chips containing 0.38M NaCl. Cucumbers fermented in CaCl2 required additional desalting to reduce CaCl2 concentrations to that of current products. Consumers (n = 101) showed no significant preference for pickles from different fermentation treatments, whether stored for 2 mo (P = 0.75) or 8 mo (P = 0.68) prior to processing. In contrast, NaCl fermented pickles were preferred over CaCl2 fermented pickles stored for 10 mo and desalted only once (P < 0.01). A series of preference tests indicated that the taste of CaCl2 was not the factor affecting consumer preference, and the 50% detection threshold of CaCl2 in dill pickle chips was found to be 61.8 ± 7.6 mM, indicating that processors could potentially use CaCl2 fermentations with a single desalting step. Consumer liking of flavor (n = 73) was not influenced by fermentation in CaCl2 or by 23 or 35 mM CaCl2 in finished products (P > 0.05), but variability in texture decreased consumer liking (P < 0.05). Although promising, individual fermentation variability and texture quality of CaCl2 fermented products should be further evaluated prior to broad implementation of this process. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
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Investigating comfort properties of 3/1 Z twill weaved denim fabrics
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Taştan Özkan, E.; Kaplangiray, B.
2017-10-01
Denim jeans are preferred because of durability and easy washing properties. Nowadays the expectations of consumers from denim fabrics are changed towards design and comfort properties. Fort this reason, thermal and moisture comfort properties of denim fabrics should be examined. This paper aims to investigate thermal, air permeability and moisture management properties of 3/1 Z twill weaved denim fabrics. These fabrics are produced mainly from cotton with different yarn count and cover factors are close to each other.
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Insurees' preferences in hospital choice-A population-based study.
Schuldt, Johannes; Doktor, Anna; Lichters, Marcel; Vogt, Bodo; Robra, Bernt-Peter
2017-10-01
In Germany, the patient himself makes the choice for or against a health service provider. Hospital comparison websites offer him possibilities to inform himself before choosing. However, it remains unclear, how health care consumers use those websites, and there is little information about how preferences in hospital choice differ interpersonally. We conducted a Discrete-Choice-Experiment (DCE) on hospital choice with 1500 randomly selected participants (age 40-70) in three different German cities selecting four attributes for hospital vignettes. The analysis of the study draws on multilevel mixed effects logit regression analyses with the dependent variables: "chance to select a hospital" and "choice confidence". Subsequently, we performed a Latent-Class-Analysis to uncover consumer segments with distinct preferences. 590 of the questionnaires were evaluable. All four attributes of the hospital vignettes have a significant impact on hospital choice. The attribute "complication rate" exerts the highest impact on consumers' decisions and reported choice confidence. Latent-Class-Analysis results in one dominant consumer segment that considered the complication rate the most important decision criterion. Using DCE, we were able to show that the complication rate is an important trusted criterion in hospital choice to a large group of consumers. Our study supports current governmental efforts in Germany to concentrate the provision of specialized health care services. We suggest further national and cross-national research on the topic. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Kim, Jeong-Weon; Samant, Shilpa S; Seo, Yoojin; Seo, Han-Seok
2015-01-01
Little is known about the effect of serving temperature on saltiness perception in food products such as soups that are typically consumed at high temperature. This study focused on determining whether serving temperature modulates saltiness perception in soup-base products. Eight trained panelists and 62 untrained consumers were asked to rate saltiness intensities in salt water, chicken broth, and miso soup, with serving temperatures of 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C. Neither trained nor untrained panelists were able to find significant difference in the saltiness intensity among salt water samples served at these five different temperatures. However, untrained consumers (but not trained panelists) rated chicken broth and miso soup to be significantly less salty when served at 70 and/or 80 °C compared to when served at 40 to 60 °C. There was an interaction between temperature-related perceived saltiness and preference; for example, consumers who preferred soups served at lower temperatures found soups served at higher temperatures to be less salty. Consumers who frequently consumed hot dishes rated soup samples served at 60 °C as saltier than consumers who consumed hot dishes less frequently. This study demonstrates that soup serving temperature and consumer dietary habits are influential factors affecting saltiness perception of soup. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Ringang, Rory R.; Cantero, Sean Michael A.; Toonen, Robert J.
2015-01-01
We investigate the survivorship, growth and diet preferences of hatchery-raised juvenile urchins, Tripneustes gratilla, to evaluate the efficacy of their use as biocontrol agents in the efforts to reduce alien invasive algae. In flow-through tanks, we measured urchin growth rates, feeding rates and feeding preferences among diets of the most common invasive algae found in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi: Acanthophora spicifera, Gracilaria salicornia, Eucheuma denticulatum and Kappaphycus clade B. Post-transport survivorship of outplanted urchins was measured in paired open and closed cages in three different reef environments (lagoon, reef flat and reef slope) for a month. Survivorship in closed cages was highest on the reef flat (∼75%), and intermediate in the lagoon and reef slope (∼50%). In contrast, open cages showed similar survivorship on the reef flat and in the lagoon, but only 20% of juvenile urchins survived in open cages placed on the reef slope. Urchins grew significantly faster on diets of G. salicornia (1.58 mm/week ± 0.14 SE) and Kappaphycus clade B (1.69 ± 0.14 mm/wk) than on E. denticulatum (0.97 ± 0.14 mm/wk), with intermediate growth when fed on A. spicifera (1.23 ± 0.11 mm/wk). Interestingly, urchins display size-specific feeding preferences. In non-choice feeding trials, small urchins (17.5–22.5 mm test diameter) consumed G. salicornia fastest (6.08 g/day ± 0.19 SE), with A. spicifera (4.25 ± 0.02 g/day) and Kappaphycus clade B (3.83 ± 0.02 g/day) intermediate, and E. denticulatum was clearly the least consumed (2.32 ± 0.37 g/day). Medium-sized (29.8–43.8 mm) urchins likewise preferentially consumed G. salicornia (12.60 ± 0.08 g/day), with less clear differences among the other species in which E. denticulatum was still consumed least (9.35 ± 0.90 g/day). In contrast, large urchins (45.0–65.0 mm) showed no significant preferences among the different algae species at all (12.43–15.24 g/day). Overall consumption rates in non-choice trials were roughly equal to those in the choice trials, but differences among feeding rates on each species were not predictive of feeding preferences when urchins were presented all four species simultaneously. In the choice feeding trials, both small and medium urchins clearly preferred A. spicifera over all other algae (roughly twice as much consumed as any other species). Again, however, differences were less pronounced among adult urchins, with adults showing a significant preference for A. spicifera and Kappaphycus clade B compared to the other two algal species. These findings indicate that outplanted urchins are surviving on the reef flats and eating a variety of alien invasive algae as intended. Although juvenile urchins show stronger feeding preferences, these animals grow quickly, and adult urchins are more generalist herbivores that consume all four alien invasive algae. PMID:26401450
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Differences in alcohol brand consumption between underage youth and adults-United States, 2012.
Siegel, Michael; Chen, Kelsey; DeJong, William; Naimi, Timothy S; Ostroff, Joshua; Ross, Craig S; Jernigan, David H
2015-01-01
The alcohol brand preferences of US underage drinkers have recently been identified, but it is not known whether youth are simply mimicking adult brand choices or whether other factors are impacting their preferences. This study is the first to compare the alcohol brand preferences of underage drinkers and adults. The authors conducted a cross-sectional assessment of youth and adult alcohol brand preferences. A 2012 Internet-based survey of a nationally representative sample of 1032 underage drinkers, ages 13-20, was used to determine the prevalence of past-30-day consumption for each of 898 alcohol brands, and each brand's youth market share, based on the total number of standard drinks consumed. Data on the brand-specific prevalence of past-30-day or past-7-day consumption among older youth (ages 18-20), adults (ages 21+), and young adults (ages 21-34) was obtained from Gfk MRI's Survey of the Adult Consumer for the years 2010-2012. Overall market shares for each brand, also measured by the total number of standard drinks consumed, were estimated from national data compiled by Impact Databank for the year 2010. Although most alcohol brands popular among underage drinkers were also popular among adult drinkers, there were several brands that appeared to be disproportionately consumed by youth. This article provides preliminary evidence that youth do not merely mimic the alcohol brand choices of adults. Further research using data derived from fully comparable data sources is necessary to confirm this finding.
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Trujillo, Antonio J; Ruiz, Fernando; Bridges, John F P; Amaya, Jeannette L; Buttorff, Christine; Quiroga, Angélica M
2012-03-01
In many countries, health insurance coverage is the primary way for individuals to access care. Governments can support access through social insurance programmes; however, after a certain period, governments struggle to achieve universal coverage. Evidence suggests that complex individual behaviour may play a role. Using a choice experiment, this research explored consumer preferences for health insurance in Colombia. We also evaluated whether preferences differed across consumers with differing demographic and health status factors. A household field experiment was conducted in Bogotá in 2010. The sample consisted of 109 uninsured and 133 low-income insured individuals. Each individual evaluated 12 pair-wise comparisons of hypothetical health plans. We focused on six characteristics of health insurance: premium, out-of-pocket expenditure, chronic condition coverage, quality of care, family coverage and sick leave. A main effects orthogonal design was used to derive the 72 scenarios used in the choice experiment. Parameters were estimated using conditional logit models. Since price data were included, we estimated respondents' willingness to pay for characteristics. Consumers valued health benefits and family coverage more than other attributes. Additionally, differences in preferences can be exploited to increase coverage. The willingness to pay for benefits may partially cover the average cost of providing them. Policy makers might be able to encourage those insured via the subsidized system to enrol in the next level of the social health insurance scheme through expanding benefits to family members and expanding the level of chronic condition coverage.
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Marengo, Emilio; Robotti, Elisa; Gennaro, Maria Carla; Bertetto, Mariella
2003-03-01
The optimisation of the formulation of a commercial bubble bath was performed by chemometric analysis of Panel Tests results. A first Panel Test was performed to choose the best essence, among four proposed to the consumers; the best essence chosen was used in the revised commercial bubble bath. Afterwards, the effect of changing the amount of four components (the amount of primary surfactant, the essence, the hydratant and the colouring agent) of the bubble bath was studied by a fractional factorial design. The segmentation of the bubble bath market was performed by a second Panel Test, in which the consumers were requested to evaluate the samples coming from the experimental design. The results were then treated by Principal Component Analysis. The market had two segments: people preferring a product with a rich formulation and people preferring a poor product. The final target, i.e. the optimisation of the formulation for each segment, was obtained by the calculation of regression models relating the subjective evaluations given by the Panel and the compositions of the samples. The regression models allowed to identify the best formulations for the two segments ofthe market.
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An Appetite for Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Protein Content Claims in Canada.
Marinangeli, Christopher P F; Foisy, Samara; Shoveller, Anna K; Porter, Cara; Musa-Veloso, Kathy; Sievenpiper, John L; Jenkins, David J A
2017-08-23
The need for protein-rich plant-based foods continues as dietary guidelines emphasize their contribution to healthy dietary patterns that prevent chronic disease and promote environmental sustainability. However, the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations provide a regulatory framework that can prevent Canadian consumers from identifying protein-rich plant-based foods. In Canada, protein nutrient content claims are based on the protein efficiency ratio (PER) and protein rating method, which is based on a rat growth bioassay. PERs are not additive, and the protein rating of a food is underpinned by its Reasonable Daily Intake. The restrictive nature of Canada's requirements for supporting protein claims therefore presents challenges for Canadian consumers to adapt to a rapidly changing food environment. This commentary will present two options for modernizing the regulatory framework for protein content claims in Canada. The first and preferred option advocates that protein quality not be considered in the determination of the eligibility of a food for protein content claims. The second and less preferred option, an interim solution, is a framework for adopting the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score as the official method for supporting protein content and quality claims and harmonizes Canada's regulatory framework with that of the USA.
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El Labban, Sibelle; Safadi, Bassem; Olabi, Ammar
2015-12-01
Data on gastrointestinal (GI) and dietary changes following bariatric surgery are scarce in the Middle Eastern region. The objective of this work was to retrospectively compare dietary intake, food preferences, and GI symptoms in subjects with extreme obesity after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Sixty subjects equally divided between RYGB and SG with a postoperative period of ≥6 months were recruited for a retrospective, non-randomized, and observational study. All subjects completed three questionnaires (GI symptoms, food preferences, and quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)) and three 24-h recalls. At one year postoperatively, both surgical groups showed similar percentage of excess weight loss that exceeded 50%. In addition, percentage of carbohydrate, protein, and sugar intake from total energy, frequency of daily consumption from the eight food categories and daily energy intake were comparable between surgical groups. RYGB subjects consumed significantly more fruits and juices from total energy (P < 0.05) whereas SG subjects tended to consume more sweets and desserts. Heartburn (P < 0.001), regurgitation (P < 0.01), nausea (P < 0.01), vomiting (P < 0.001), and constipation (P < 0.05) were significantly more frequent among SG subjects. Flatulence (P < 0.001) and diarrhea (P < 0.05), as well as dizziness (P < 0.001), and fast heartbeat (P < 0.05) after eating were significantly more frequent after RYGB. There were no major differences in dietary intake and food preferences between RYGB and SG groups. There was a trend for sweet-eating in SG subjects with less dumping symptoms to suggest different mechanisms of action for each procedure, which might impact eating behavior.
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Hahnel, Ulf J J; Arnold, Oliver; Waschto, Michael; Korcaj, Liridon; Hillmann, Karen; Roser, Damaris; Spada, Hans
2015-01-01
Green products are appealing. Thus, labeling products as environmentally friendly is an effective strategy to increase sales. However, the labels often promise more than the products can actually deliver. In the present research, we examined the expectation that consumers with high ecological motivation have strong preferences for green-labeled products - even when presented product information contradicts the label's image. This unsettling hypothesis is grounded in the labels' potential to create a cognitive match between the labeled product and consumers' motives. For labels indicating environmental friendliness (green product labels), this link should be strongest when consumers' ecological motivation is high. Findings in a series of three experiments support our assumption, showing that consumers with high ecological motivation had strong preferences (i.e., product evaluations, purchase intentions, and simulated purchase decisions) for green-labeled products as compared to consumers with low ecological motivation (Studies 1-3). Crucially, these preferences were robust, despite contradicting environmental product information (Studies 1 and 2). We extended our findings by additionally examining the impact of product labels and motivation on moral self-regulation processes. This was established by assessing participants' pro-social behavior after the purchase task: participants with high ecological motivation acted, consistent with their motives, more pro-socially in post-decision occasions. In accordance with moral cleansing effects, pro-social behavior was intensified after purchasing conventional products (Studies 2 and 3). Green labels protected participants with high ecological motivation from moral threats due to the purchase, thus making pro-social behavior less likely. Findings suggest that highly ecologically motivated consumers are most susceptible to green labels, which may override detailed product information.
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Consumer Preference for Graded Maple Syrup
Paul E. Sendak
1978-01-01
The three grades of maple syrup and a commercial table syrup containing artificial flavor and 3 percent pure maple syrup were evaluated by 1,018 women in four cities. The results indicate that differences in preference for flavor are related to how close the respondents are to a maple syrup-production region. Differences in preference among grades of pure maple syrup...
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC.
Aging and housing professionals must reexamine housing policy and practices, and reshape housing opportunities for older persons without undermining their preferences and values. A nationwide survey of 1,500 adults age 60 and older was conducted to determine their housing needs, concerns, and preferences. The results revealed that 70% of…
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Bonny, S P F; Gardner, G E; Pethick, D W; Allen, P; Legrand, I; Wierzbicki, J; Farmer, L J; Polkinghorne, R J; Hocquette, J-F
2017-08-01
The beef industry must become more responsive to the changing market place and consumer demands. An essential part of this is quantifying a consumer's perception of the eating quality of beef and their willingness to pay for that quality, across a broad range of demographics. Over 19 000 consumers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Ireland and France each tasted seven beef samples and scored them for tenderness, juiciness, flavour liking and overall liking. These scores were weighted and combined to create a fifth score, termed the Meat Quality 4 score (MQ4) (0.3×tenderness, 0.1×juiciness, 0.3×flavour liking and 0.3×overall liking). They also allocated the beef samples into one of four quality grades that best described the sample; unsatisfactory, good-every-day, better-than-every-day or premium. After the completion of the tasting panel, consumers were then asked to detail, in their own currency, their willingness to pay for these four categories which was subsequently converted to a proportion relative to the good-every-day category (P-WTP). Consumers also answered a short demographic questionnaire. The four sensory scores, the MQ4 score and the P-WTP were analysed separately, as dependant variables in linear mixed effects models. The answers from the demographic questionnaire were included in the model as fixed effects. Overall, there were only small differences in consumer scores and P-WTP between demographic groups. Consumers who preferred their beef cooked medium or well-done scored beef higher, except in Poland, where the opposite trend was found. This may be because Polish consumers were more likely to prefer their beef cooked well-done, but samples were cooked medium for this group. There was a small positive relationship with the importance of beef in the diet, increasing sensory scores by about 4% in Poland and Northern Ireland. Men also scored beef about 2% higher than women for most sensory scores in most countries. In most countries, consumers were willing to pay between 150 and 200% more for premium beef, and there was a 50% penalty in value for unsatisfactory beef. After quality grade, by far the greatest influence on P-WTP was country of origin. Consumer age also had a small negative relationship with P-WTP. The results indicate that a single quality score could reliably describe the eating quality experienced by all consumers. In addition, if reliable quality information is delivered to consumers they will pay more for better quality beef, which would add value to the beef industry and encourage improvements in quality.
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The science on front-of-package food labels.
Hawley, Kristy L; Roberto, Christina A; Bragg, Marie A; Liu, Peggy J; Schwartz, Marlene B; Brownell, Kelly D
2013-03-01
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Institute of Medicine are currently investigating front-of-package (FOP) food labelling systems to provide science-based guidance to the food industry. The present paper reviews the literature on FOP labelling and supermarket shelf-labelling systems published or under review by February 2011 to inform current investigations and identify areas of future research. A structured search was undertaken of research studies on consumer use, understanding of, preference for, perception of and behaviours relating to FOP/shelf labelling published between January 2004 and February 2011. Twenty-eight studies from a structured search met inclusion criteria. Reviewed studies examined consumer preferences, understanding and use of different labelling systems as well as label impact on purchasing patterns and industry product reformulation. The findings indicate that the Multiple Traffic Light system has most consistently helped consumers identify healthier products; however, additional research on different labelling systems' abilities to influence consumer behaviour is needed.
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Let's call it "aphasia": Rationales for eliminating the term "dysphasia".
Worrall, Linda; Simmons-Mackie, Nina; Wallace, Sarah J; Rose, Tanya; Brady, Marian C; Kong, Anthony Pak Hin; Murray, Laura; Hallowell, Brooke
2016-10-01
Health professionals, researchers, and policy makers often consider the two terms aphasia and dysphasia to be synonymous. The aim of this article is to argue the merits of the exclusive use of the term aphasia and present a strategy for creating change through institutions such as the WHO-ICD. Our contention is that one term avoids confusion, speech-language pathologists prefer aphasia, scholarly publications indicate a preference for the term aphasia, stroke clinical guidelines indicate a preference for the term aphasia, consumer organizations use the title aphasia in their name and on their websites, and languages other than English use a term similar to aphasia. The use of the term dysphasia in the broader medical community may stem from the two terms being used interchangeably in the ICD10. Aphasia United http://www.shrs.uq.edu.au/aphasiaunited , an international movement for uniting the voice of all stakeholders in aphasia within an international context, will seek to eliminate the use of the term dysphasia.
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Music Audiences 3.0: Concert-Goers’ Psychological Motivations at the Dawn of Virtual Reality
Charron, Jean-Philippe
2017-01-01
Reviewing consumers’ motivations to attend performances in a continuously evolving social and technological context is essential because live concerts generate an important and growing share of revenues for the music industry. Evolving fans’ preferences and technological innovations constantly alter the way music is distributed and consumed. In a marketing 3.0 era, what consumers do with music is becoming more significant than simply owning or listening to a song. These changes are not only blurring the lines between production and consumption (i.e., co-creation), but also distorting the concept of live attendance altogether. Although mediated performances typically lack presence and authenticity, recent advances in immersive technologies, such as spherical videos and virtual reality goggles, could represent a new form of experiencing live music. PMID:28588528
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Patient preferences for direct-to-consumer telemedicine services: a nationwide survey.
Welch, Brandon M; Harvey, Jillian; O'Connell, Nathaniel S; McElligott, James T
2017-11-28
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine providers has the potential to change the traditional patient-physician relationship. Professional medical organizations recommend that telemedicine exist within the medical home. This study aims to understand patients' preferences and desires for DTC telemedicine. We conducted a nationwide survey of 4345 survey respondents demographically balanced to represent the United States adult population. The survey consisted of questions assessing the respondents' attributes and their willingness and comfortability using telemedicine as well as the importance and desired attributes of a provider providing care via telemedicine. Relatively few respondents (3.5%) had ever had an online video visit with their care provider. Respondents were more willing to see their own provider via telemedicine than unwilling (52% vs. 25%). Additionally, respondents were less willing to use telemedicine to see a different provider from the same healthcare organization (35%) and were least willing to see a different provider from a different organization (19%). Forty-one percent of respondents felt it was unimportant that their current provider offer telemedicine, and only 15% would consider leaving their current provider to a new provider who offers telemedicine as an option. More than half (56%) of respondents felt it was important to have an established relationship with a provider they're having a telemedicine visit with. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (60%) felt it was important for a telemedicine provider to have access to their health records. Patients prefer to use telemedicine with their own doctor with whom they have an established relationship.
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-07-13
... like or directly competitive products, (ii) consumers, (iii) imports under specified U.S. preference... Initiative programs and that could be provided under the Generalized System of Preferences once Congress...
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CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERRED ELECTRICITY. (R826618)
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...
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A statistical study on consumer's perception of sustainable products
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pater, Liana; Izvercian, Monica; Ivaşcu, Larisa
2017-07-01
Sustainability and sustainable concepts are quite often but not always used correctly. The statistical research on consumer's perception of sustainable products has tried to identify the level of knowledge regarding the concept of sustainability and sustainable products, the selected criteria concerning the buying decision, the intention of purchasing a sustainable product, main sustainable products preferred by consumers.
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Sweet taste of prosocial status signaling: When eating organic foods makes you happy and hopeful.
Puska, Petteri; Kurki, Sami; Lähdesmäki, Merja; Siltaoja, Marjo; Luomala, Harri
2018-02-01
As the current research suggests that there are links between prosocial acts and status signaling (including sustainable consumer choices), we empirically study (with three experiments) whether food consumers go green to be seen. First, we examine how activating a motive for status influences prosocial organic food preferences. Then, we examine how the social visibility of the choice (private vs. public) affects these preferences. We found that when consumers' desire for status was elicited, they preferred organic food products significantly over their nonorganic counterparts; making the choice situation visible created the same effect. Finally, we go beyond consumers' evaluative and behavioral domains that have typically been addressed to investigate whether this (nonconscious) "going green to be seen" effect is also evident at the level of more physiologically-driven food responses. Indeed, status motives and reputational concerns created an improved senso-emotional experience of organic food. Specifically, when consumers were led to believe that they have to share their organic food taste experiences with others, an elevation could be detected not only in the pleasantness ratings but also in how joyful and hopeful they felt after eating a food sample. We claim that the reason for this is that a tendency to favor organic foods can be viewed as a costly signaling trait, leading to flaunting about one's prosocial tendencies. According to these findings, highlighting socially disapproved consumption motives, such as reputation management, may be an effective way to increase the relatively low sales of organic foods and thereby promote sustainable consumer behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Prey selectivity affects reproductive success of a corallivorous reef fish.
Brooker, Rohan M; Jones, Geoffrey P; Munday, Philip L
2013-06-01
Most animals consume a narrower range of food resources than is potentially available in the environment, but the underlying basis for these preferences is often poorly understood. Foraging theory predicts that prey selection should represent a trade-off between prey preferences based on nutritional value and prey availability. That is, species should consume preferred prey when available, but select less preferred prey when preferred prey is rare. We employed both field observation and laboratory experiments to examine the relationship between prey selection and preferences in the obligate coral-feeding filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris. To determine the drivers of prey selection, we experimentally established prey preferences in choice arenas and tested the consequences of prey preferences for key fitness-related parameters. Field studies showed that individuals fed almost exclusively on live corals from the genus Acropora. While diet was dominated by the most abundant species, Acropora nobilis, fish appeared to preferentially select rarer acroporids, such as A. millepora and A. hyacinthus. Prey choice experiments confirmed strong preferences for these corals, suggesting that field consumption is constrained by availability. In a longer-term feeding experiment, reproductive pairs fed on non-preferred corals exhibited dramatic reductions to body weight, and in hepatic and gonad condition, compared with those fed preferred corals. The majority of pairs fed preferred corals spawned frequently, while no spawning was observed for any pairs fed a non-preferred species of coral. These experiments suggest that fish distinguish between available corals based on their intrinsic value as prey, that reproductive success is dependent on the presence of particular coral species, and that differential loss of preferred corals could have serious consequences for the population success of these dietary specialists.
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Pastor-Bernier, Alexandre; Plott, Charles R.; Schultz, Wolfram
2017-01-01
Revealed preference theory provides axiomatic tools for assessing whether individuals make observable choices “as if” they are maximizing an underlying utility function. The theory evokes a tradeoff between goods whereby individuals improve themselves by trading one good for another good to obtain the best combination. Preferences revealed in these choices are modeled as curves of equal choice (indifference curves) and reflect an underlying process of optimization. These notions have far-reaching applications in consumer choice theory and impact the welfare of human and animal populations. However, they lack the empirical implementation in animals that would be required to establish a common biological basis. In a design using basic features of revealed preference theory, we measured in rhesus monkeys the frequency of repeated choices between bundles of two liquids. For various liquids, the animals’ choices were compatible with the notion of giving up a quantity of one good to gain one unit of another good while maintaining choice indifference, thereby implementing the concept of marginal rate of substitution. The indifference maps consisted of nonoverlapping, linear, convex, and occasionally concave curves with typically negative, but also sometimes positive, slopes depending on bundle composition. Out-of-sample predictions using homothetic polynomials validated the indifference curves. The animals’ preferences were internally consistent in satisfying transitivity. Change of option set size demonstrated choice optimality and satisfied the Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference (WARP). These data are consistent with a version of revealed preference theory in which preferences are stochastic; the monkeys behaved “as if” they had well-structured preferences and maximized utility. PMID:28202727
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Pastor-Bernier, Alexandre; Plott, Charles R; Schultz, Wolfram
2017-03-07
Revealed preference theory provides axiomatic tools for assessing whether individuals make observable choices "as if" they are maximizing an underlying utility function. The theory evokes a tradeoff between goods whereby individuals improve themselves by trading one good for another good to obtain the best combination. Preferences revealed in these choices are modeled as curves of equal choice (indifference curves) and reflect an underlying process of optimization. These notions have far-reaching applications in consumer choice theory and impact the welfare of human and animal populations. However, they lack the empirical implementation in animals that would be required to establish a common biological basis. In a design using basic features of revealed preference theory, we measured in rhesus monkeys the frequency of repeated choices between bundles of two liquids. For various liquids, the animals' choices were compatible with the notion of giving up a quantity of one good to gain one unit of another good while maintaining choice indifference, thereby implementing the concept of marginal rate of substitution. The indifference maps consisted of nonoverlapping, linear, convex, and occasionally concave curves with typically negative, but also sometimes positive, slopes depending on bundle composition. Out-of-sample predictions using homothetic polynomials validated the indifference curves. The animals' preferences were internally consistent in satisfying transitivity. Change of option set size demonstrated choice optimality and satisfied the Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference (WARP). These data are consistent with a version of revealed preference theory in which preferences are stochastic; the monkeys behaved "as if" they had well-structured preferences and maximized utility.
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Beshears, John; Choi, James J.; Laibson, David; Madrian, Brigitte C.
2009-01-01
Revealed preferences are tastes that rationalize an economic agent’s observed actions. Normative preferences represent the agent’s actual interests. It sometimes makes sense to assume that revealed preferences are identical to normative preferences. But there are many cases where this assumption is violated. We identify five factors that increase the likelihood of a disparity between revealed preferences and normative preferences: passive choice, complexity, limited personal experience, third-party marketing, and intertemporal choice. We then discuss six approaches that jointly contribute to the identification of normative preferences: structural estimation, active decisions, asymptotic choice, aggregated revealed preferences, reported preferences, and informed preferences. Each of these approaches uses consumer behavior to infer some property of normative preferences without equating revealed and normative preferences. We illustrate these issues with evidence from savings and investment outcomes. PMID:24761048
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Raymond, Catherine; Marin, Marie-France; Hand, Anne; Sindi, Shireen; Juster, Robert-Paul; Lupien, Sonia J.
2016-01-01
The self-help industry generates billions of dollars yearly in North America. Despite the popularity of this movement, there has been surprisingly little research assessing the characteristics of self-help books consumers, and whether this consumption is associated with physiological and/or psychological markers of stress. The goal of this pilot study was to perform the first psychoneuroendocrine analysis of consumers of self-help books in comparison to nonconsumers. We tested diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol levels, personality, and depressive symptoms in 32 consumers and nonconsumers of self-help books. In an explorative secondary analysis, we also split consumers of self-help books as a function of their preference for problem-focused versus growth-oriented self-help books. The results showed that while consumers of growth-oriented self-help books presented increased cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to other groups, consumers of problem-focused self-help books presented higher depressive symptomatology. The results of this pilot study show that consumers with preference for either problem-focused or growth-oriented self-help books present different physiological and psychological markers of stress when compared to nonconsumers of self-help books. This preliminary study underlines the need for additional research on this issue in order to determine the impact the self-help book industry may have on consumers' stress. PMID:26839713
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Raymond, Catherine; Marin, Marie-France; Hand, Anne; Sindi, Shireen; Juster, Robert-Paul; Lupien, Sonia J
2016-01-01
The self-help industry generates billions of dollars yearly in North America. Despite the popularity of this movement, there has been surprisingly little research assessing the characteristics of self-help books consumers, and whether this consumption is associated with physiological and/or psychological markers of stress. The goal of this pilot study was to perform the first psychoneuroendocrine analysis of consumers of self-help books in comparison to nonconsumers. We tested diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol levels, personality, and depressive symptoms in 32 consumers and nonconsumers of self-help books. In an explorative secondary analysis, we also split consumers of self-help books as a function of their preference for problem-focused versus growth-oriented self-help books. The results showed that while consumers of growth-oriented self-help books presented increased cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to other groups, consumers of problem-focused self-help books presented higher depressive symptomatology. The results of this pilot study show that consumers with preference for either problem-focused or growth-oriented self-help books present different physiological and psychological markers of stress when compared to nonconsumers of self-help books. This preliminary study underlines the need for additional research on this issue in order to determine the impact the self-help book industry may have on consumers' stress.
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Lehmer, E.M.; Biggins, D.E.; Antolin, M.F.
2006-01-01
Several laboratory studies have shown that the ingestion of dietary linoleic (18:2 ??6) acid before winter can promote deep and continuous torpor, whereas excess consumption of ??-linolenic acid (18:3 ??3) can interfere with an animal's ability to reach and maintain low body temperatures during torpor. As mammalian heterotherms obtain linoleic and ??-linolenic acid strictly from the diet, diet selection has been proposed as a mechanism that allows hibernators to ingest levels of linoleic and ??-linolenic acid that promote favorable torpor patterns. Here diet, dietary nutrient content and patterns of forage preference of a representative hibernator, the Utah prairie dog Cynomys parvidens, and a facultative heterotherm, the black-tailed prairie dog Cynomys ludovicianus, were examined under natural field conditions. Diets of black-tailed (BTPD) and Utah prairie dogs (UTPD) differed across seasons (BTPD F26,108=9.59, P<0.01; UTPD F38,80=3.25, P<0.01) and elevations (BTPD F26,108=20.15, P<0.01; UTPD F38,80=20.51, P<0.01), and forage preference indices indicate that neither species randomly selected plant species relative to their abundance on colonies in any season. Black-tailed prairie dogs did not consume or avoid consumption of plant species based on levels of total lipids, linoleic acid, ??-linolenic acid or nitrogen. Considering only the plants consumed, black-tailed prairie dogs appeared to prefer plants with low levels of ??-linolenic acid (F1,19=5.81, P=0.03), but there were no detectable relationships between preference and other nutrients. Utah prairie dogs consumed plants higher in ??-linolenic acid (t=1.98, P=0.05) and avoided plants high in linoleic acid (t=-2.02, P=0.04), but consumption-avoidance decisions did not appear to be related to nitrogen or total lipids. Of the plants consumed, Utah prairie dogs again preferred plants high in ??-linolenic acid (F1,17=4.62, P=0.05). Levels of linoleic and ??-linolenic acid were positively correlated in plants consumed by prairie dogs (BTPD Pearson r=0.66, P<0.01; UTPD Pearson r=0.79, P<0.01), reducing the opportunity for independent selection of either lipid. ?? 2006 The Authors.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Duarte, Cristian; Acuña, Karin; Navarro, Jorge M.; Gómez, Iván; Jaramillo, Eduardo; Quijón, Pedro
2014-03-01
The feeding behavior of algal consumers inhabiting sandy beaches and the consequences of this behavior on their performance are poorly understood. Food quality has been shown to influence the food preference of algal consumers. However, food preference can often be altered or subordinated to habitat choice. This study analyzes the feeding behavior (preference and consumption rate), absorption efficiency and growth rates of the talitrid amphipod Orchestoidea tuberculata (Nicolet, 1849) in relation to the nutritional characteristics of two of the most common macroalgae stranded in the Chilean north-central region. Our experiments show that these amphipods prefer Macrocystis integrifolia over Lessonia nigrescens when presented with fresh fragments of both algae simultaneously. However, this preference did not match the performance of the amphipods when reared on diets of a single algal species: in that growth rates were not different. These results suggest that M. integrifolia is not a superior food item compared to L. nigrescens. The lower content of proteins and total organic matter found in M. integrifolia supports this interpretation. The preference of the amphipods for L. nigrescens over M. integrifolia when dry powdered algae of each species were provided (artificial food), suggested that some aspect of the physical structure of these two algae determined food preference. When the amphipods were maintained with each of the algal species in no choice experiments, they consumed 2 times more M. integrifolia, but showed higher absorption efficiency on L. nigrescens. These results suggest that food quantity and not absorption efficiency was used to compensate for the lower nutritional quality of M. integrifolia. The feeding behavior documented in this study differs significantly from that observed in populations of the same species inhabiting southern Chile, cautioning against generalizing results obtained even within a single species. Our results suggest that physical features rather than chemical characteristics of the food drive feeding preferences, including the potential (indirect) roles played by the fronds of these seaweeds as refuges against competition and desiccation.
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1980-01-01
their livelihood. U.S. consumers in- directly beccme members of this alliance because their interest in taste, nutrition and price leads them to...factor arises when U.S. consumer groups become involved in the issue. Three elements trigger consumer defense of Mexican tomato imports: price, nutrition ...addition, some consumers prefer Mexican tomatoes because they are vine-ripened, a process utilizing more labor but producing more nutritional and more
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cashman, Linda; Tripurana, Madhuri; Englund, Tim; Bergman, Ethan A.
2010-01-01
Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of the study was to assess the food group preferences of second through fifth grade children based on ethnic background, gender, and grade. Food group preferences were determined by the amount of various food groups consumed in meals served as part of the National School Lunch Program at selected schools. Research…
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Garrett, Rachael D.; Rueda, Ximena; Lambin, Eric F.
2013-12-01
The land use impacts of globalization and of increasing global food and fuel demand depend on the trade relationships that emerge between consuming and producing countries. In the case of soybean production, increasing trade between South American farmers and consumers in Asia and Europe has facilitated soybean expansion in the Amazon, Chaco, and Cerrado biomes. While these telecouplings have been well documented, there is little understanding of how quality preferences influence trade patterns and supply chains, incentivizing or discouraging particular land use practices. In this study we provide empirical evidence that Brazil’s continued production of non-genetically modified (GM) soybeans has increased its competitive advantage in European countries with preferences against GM foods. Brazil’s strong trade relationship with European consumers has facilitated an upgrading of the soybean supply chain. Upgraded soybean supply chains create new conservation opportunities by allowing farmers to differentiate their products based on environmental quality in order to access premiums in niche markets in Europe. These interactions between GM preferences, trade flows, and supply chain structure help to explain why Brazilian soybean farmers have adopted environmental certification programs on a larger scale than Argentinian, Bolivian, Paraguayan, and Uruguayan soybean producers.
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Schumm, Jeremiah A; Walter, Kristen H; Bartone, Anne S; Chard, Kathleen M
2015-06-01
To maximize accessibility to evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has widely disseminated cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE) therapy to VA clinicians. However, there is a lack of research on veteran preferences when presented with a range of psychotherapy and medication options. This study uses a mixed-method approach to explore veteran satisfaction with a VA PTSD specialty clinic pre-treatment orientation group, which provides education about available PTSD treatment options. This study also tested differences in treatment preference in response to the group. Participants were 183 US veterans. Most were White, male, and referred to the clinic by a VA provider. Results indicated high satisfaction with the group in providing an overview of services and helping to inform treatment choice. Most preferred psychotherapy plus medications (63.4%) or psychotherapy only (30.1%). Participants endorsed a significantly stronger preference for CPT versus other psychotherapies. PE was significantly preferred over nightmare resolution therapy and present-centered therapy, and both PE and cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy were preferred over virtual reality exposure therapy. Results suggest that by informing consumers about evidence-based treatments for PTSD, pre-treatment educational approaches may increase consumer demand for these treatment options. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Duarte, Cristian; López, Jorge; Benítez, Samanta; Manríquez, Patricio H; Navarro, Jorge M; Bonta, Cesar C; Torres, Rodrigo; Quijón, Pedro
2016-02-01
The effects of global stressors on a species may be mediated by the stressors' impact on coexisting taxa. For instance, herbivore-algae interactions may change due to alterations in algal nutritional quality resulting from high CO2 levels associated with ocean acidification (OA). We approached this issue by assessing the indirect effects of OA on the trophic interactions between the amphipod Orchestoidea tuberculata and the brown alga Durvillaea antarctica, two prominent species of the South-east Pacific coast. We predicted that amphipod feeding behavior and performance (growth rate) will be affected by changes in the palatability of the algae exposed to high levels (1000 ppm) of CO2. We exposed algae to current and predicted (OA) atmospheric CO2 levels and then measured their nutritive quality and amphipod preference in choice trials. We also assessed consumption rates separately in no-choice trials, and measured amphipod absorption efficiency and growth rates. Protein and organic contents of the algae decreased in acidified conditions and amphipods showed low preference for these algae. However, in the no-choice trials we recorded higher grazing rates on algae exposed to OA. Although amphipod absorption efficiency was lower on these algae, growth rates did not differ between treatments, which suggests the occurrence of compensatory feeding. Our results suggest that changes in algal nutritional value in response to OA induce changes in algal palatability and these in turn affect consumers' food preference and performance. Indirect effects of global stressors like OA can be equally or more important than the direct effects predicted in the literature.
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Relationship Between Consumer Acceptability and Pungency-Related Flavor Compounds of Vidalia Onions.
Kim, Ha-Yeon; Jackson, Daniel; Adhikari, Koushik; Riner, Cliff; Sanchez-Brambila, Gabriela
2017-10-01
A consumer study was conducted to evaluate preferences in Vidalia onions, and define consumer acceptability thresholds for commonly analyzed flavor compounds associated with pungency. Two varieties of Vidalia onions (Plethora and Sapelo Sweet) were grown at 3 fertilizer application rates (37.5 and 0; 134.5 and 59.4; and 190 and 118.8 kg/ha of nitrogen and sulfur, respectively), creating 6 treatments with various flavor attributes to use in the study. Bulb soluble solids, sugars, pyruvic acid, lachrymatory factor (LF; propanethial S-oxide), and methyl thiosulfinate (MT) content were determined and compared to sensory responses for overall liking, intensity of the sharp/pungent/burning sensation (SPB), and intent to buy provided by 142 consumers. Onion pyruvate, LF, MT, and sugar content increased as fertilization rate increased, regardless of onion variety. Consumer responses showed participants preferred onions with low SPB, which correlated positively to lower pyruvate, LF and MT concentrations, but showed no relationship to total sugars in the onion bulb. Regression analyses revealed that the majority of consumers (≥55%) found the flavor of Vidalia onions acceptable when the concentrations of LF, pyruvic acid, and MT within the bulbs were below 2.21, 4.83, and 0.43 nmol/mL, respectively. These values will support future studies aimed at identifying the optimal cultivation practices for production of sweet Vidalia onions, and can serve as an industry benchmark for quality control, thus ensuring the flavor of Vidalia onions will be acceptable to the majority of consumers. This study identified the relationship between consumer preferences and commonly analyzed flavor compounds in Vidalia onions, and established thresholds for these compounds at concentrations which the majority of consumers will find desirable. These relationships and thresholds will support future research investigating how cultural practices impact onion quality, and can be used to assist growers in variety selection decisions. In addition, this information will provide a benchmark to Vidalia onion producers for quality control of the sweet onions produced, ensuring that the onions are consistently of a desired quality, thereby increasing consumer's reliability in the Vidalia onion brand. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.
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Sherwood, Nancy E; Story, Mary; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Adkins, Sarah; Davis, Marsha
2003-11-01
Card-sorting tasks for assessing food and activity preferences and patterns among African American girls were developed. Associations among food preference and intake frequency, activity preference and frequency, and body mass index were examined. Participants completed newly developed card-sorting tasks assessing food and activity preferences and patterns. Height and weight were measured. Ninety-six 8- to 10-year-old African American girls from schools and community centers in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Preference and frequency data for 64 foods/beverages and 34 activities. Frequencies for food and activity preference and frequency categories were computed. Pearson correlations among food and activity preference, frequency, and body mass index were computed. High-sugar (eg, fruit drinks, soda) and/or high-fat (eg, ice cream, cookies) foods were among the most popular and frequently consumed. Ninety-six percent of girls liked fruit drinks, with 35% consuming them "almost every day." Less-structured activities such as biking, games, jump rope, and dance were most popular. Biking was preferred by 85% of girls, with 48% biking "almost every day." Food preference and frequency categories were moderately correlated (r=0.30 to 0.58), as were activity preference and frequency (r=0.37 to 0.49). The card-sorting tasks are useful tools for assessing food and activity preferences and patterns in girls. Obesity prevention programs for African American girls should include preferred activities such as dance, jump rope, and active play. Programs may also benefit from a focus on replacing high fat/high sugar snacks and sweetened beverages with low-fat, lower-calorie snacks and beverages (eg, fruit, vegetables, water).
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Budget Constraints Affect Male Rats' Choices between Differently Priced Commodities.
van Wingerden, Marijn; Marx, Christine; Kalenscher, Tobias
2015-01-01
Demand theory can be applied to analyse how a human or animal consumer changes her selection of commodities within a certain budget in response to changes in price of those commodities. This change in consumption assessed over a range of prices is defined as demand elasticity. Previously, income-compensated and income-uncompensated price changes have been investigated using human and animal consumers, as demand theory predicts different elasticities for both conditions. However, in these studies, demand elasticity was only evaluated over the entirety of choices made from a budget. As compensating budgets changes the number of attainable commodities relative to uncompensated conditions, and thus the number of choices, it remained unclear whether budget compensation has a trivial effect on demand elasticity by simply sampling from a different total number of choices or has a direct effect on consumers' sequential choice structure. If the budget context independently changes choices between commodities over and above price effects, this should become apparent when demand elasticity is assessed over choice sets of any reasonable size that are matched in choice opportunities between budget conditions. To gain more detailed insight in the sequential choice dynamics underlying differences in demand elasticity between budget conditions, we trained N=8 rat consumers to spend a daily budget by making a number of nosepokes to obtain two liquid commodities under different price regimes, in sessions with and without budget compensation. We confirmed that demand elasticity for both commodities differed between compensated and uncompensated budget conditions, also when the number of choices considered was matched, and showed that these elasticity differences emerge early in the sessions. These differences in demand elasticity were driven by a higher choice rate and an increased reselection bias for the preferred commodity in compensated compared to uncompensated budget conditions, suggesting a budget context effect on relative valuation.
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Cui, Licong; Carter, Rebecca
2014-01-01
Background Numerous consumer health information websites have been developed to provide consumers access to health information. However, lookup search is insufficient for consumers to take full advantage of these rich public information resources. Exploratory search is considered a promising complementary mechanism, but its efficacy has never before been rigorously evaluated for consumer health information retrieval interfaces. Objective This study aims to (1) introduce a novel Conjunctive Exploratory Navigation Interface (CENI) for supporting effective consumer health information retrieval and navigation, and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of CENI through a search-interface comparative evaluation using crowdsourcing with Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT). Methods We collected over 60,000 consumer health questions from NetWellness, one of the first consumer health websites to provide high-quality health information. We designed and developed a novel conjunctive exploratory navigation interface to explore NetWellness health questions with health topics as dynamic and searchable menus. To investigate the effectiveness of CENI, we developed a second interface with keyword-based search only. A crowdsourcing comparative study was carefully designed to compare three search modes of interest: (A) the topic-navigation-based CENI, (B) the keyword-based lookup interface, and (C) either the most commonly available lookup search interface with Google, or the resident advanced search offered by NetWellness. To compare the effectiveness of the three search modes, 9 search tasks were designed with relevant health questions from NetWellness. Each task included a rating of difficulty level and questions for validating the quality of answers. Ninety anonymous and unique AMT workers were recruited as participants. Results Repeated-measures ANOVA analysis of the data showed the search modes A, B, and C had statistically significant differences among their levels of difficulty (P<.001). Wilcoxon signed-rank test (one-tailed) between A and B showed that A was significantly easier than B (P<.001). Paired t tests (one-tailed) between A and C showed A was significantly easier than C (P<.001). Participant responses on the preferred search modes showed that 47.8% (43/90) participants preferred A, 25.6% (23/90) preferred B, 24.4% (22/90) preferred C. Participant comments on the preferred search modes indicated that CENI was easy to use, provided better organization of health questions by topics, allowed users to narrow down to the most relevant contents quickly, and supported the exploratory navigation by non-experts or those unsure how to initiate their search. Conclusions We presented a novel conjunctive exploratory navigation interface for consumer health information retrieval and navigation. Crowdsourcing permitted a carefully designed comparative search-interface evaluation to be completed in a timely and cost-effective manner with a relatively large number of participants recruited anonymously. Accounting for possible biases, our study has shown for the first time with crowdsourcing that the combination of exploratory navigation and lookup search is more effective than lookup search alone. PMID:24513593
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Cui, Licong; Carter, Rebecca; Zhang, Guo-Qiang
2014-02-10
Numerous consumer health information websites have been developed to provide consumers access to health information. However, lookup search is insufficient for consumers to take full advantage of these rich public information resources. Exploratory search is considered a promising complementary mechanism, but its efficacy has never before been rigorously evaluated for consumer health information retrieval interfaces. This study aims to (1) introduce a novel Conjunctive Exploratory Navigation Interface (CENI) for supporting effective consumer health information retrieval and navigation, and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of CENI through a search-interface comparative evaluation using crowdsourcing with Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT). We collected over 60,000 consumer health questions from NetWellness, one of the first consumer health websites to provide high-quality health information. We designed and developed a novel conjunctive exploratory navigation interface to explore NetWellness health questions with health topics as dynamic and searchable menus. To investigate the effectiveness of CENI, we developed a second interface with keyword-based search only. A crowdsourcing comparative study was carefully designed to compare three search modes of interest: (A) the topic-navigation-based CENI, (B) the keyword-based lookup interface, and (C) either the most commonly available lookup search interface with Google, or the resident advanced search offered by NetWellness. To compare the effectiveness of the three search modes, 9 search tasks were designed with relevant health questions from NetWellness. Each task included a rating of difficulty level and questions for validating the quality of answers. Ninety anonymous and unique AMT workers were recruited as participants. Repeated-measures ANOVA analysis of the data showed the search modes A, B, and C had statistically significant differences among their levels of difficulty (P<.001). Wilcoxon signed-rank test (one-tailed) between A and B showed that A was significantly easier than B (P<.001). Paired t tests (one-tailed) between A and C showed A was significantly easier than C (P<.001). Participant responses on the preferred search modes showed that 47.8% (43/90) participants preferred A, 25.6% (23/90) preferred B, 24.4% (22/90) preferred C. Participant comments on the preferred search modes indicated that CENI was easy to use, provided better organization of health questions by topics, allowed users to narrow down to the most relevant contents quickly, and supported the exploratory navigation by non-experts or those unsure how to initiate their search. We presented a novel conjunctive exploratory navigation interface for consumer health information retrieval and navigation. Crowdsourcing permitted a carefully designed comparative search-interface evaluation to be completed in a timely and cost-effective manner with a relatively large number of participants recruited anonymously. Accounting for possible biases, our study has shown for the first time with crowdsourcing that the combination of exploratory navigation and lookup search is more effective than lookup search alone.
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Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South
Mandle, Jessie; Tugendhaft, Aviva; Michalow, Julia; Hofman, Karen
2015-01-01
Background To identify peer-reviewed research on consumers’ usage and attitudes towards the nutrition label and the food industry's response to labelling regulations outside Europe, North America, and Australia and to determine knowledge gaps for future research. Design Narrative review. Results This review identified nutrition labelling research from 20 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Consumers prefer that pre-packaged food include nutrition information, although there is a disparity between rates of use and comprehension. Consumer preference is for front-of-pack labelling and for information that shows per serving or portion as a reference unit, and label formats with graphics or symbols. Research on the food and beverage industry's response is more limited but shows that industry plays an active role in influencing legislation and regulation. Conclusions Consumers around the world share preferences with consumers in higher income countries with respect to labelling. However, this may reflect the research study populations, who are often better educated than the general population. Investigation is required into how nutrition labels are received in emerging economies especially among the urban and rural poor, in order to assess the effectiveness of labelling policies. Further research into the outlook of the food and beverage industry, and also on expanded labelling regulations is a priority. Sharing context-specific research regarding labelling between countries in the global South could be mutually beneficial in evaluating obesity prevention policies and strategies. PMID:25623608
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Risius, Antje; Janssen, Meike; Hamm, Ulrich
2017-06-01
Fish from aquaculture is becoming more important for human consumption. Sustainable aquaculture procedures were developed as an alternative to overcome the negative environmental impacts of conventional aquaculture procedures and wild fisheries. The objective of this contribution is to determine what consumers expect from sustainable aquaculture and whether they prefer sustainable aquaculture products. A combination of qualitative research methods, with think aloud protocols and in-depth interviews, as well as quantitative methods, using choice experiments and face-to-face interviews, was applied. Data was collected in three different cities of Germany. Results revealed that sustainable aquaculture was associated with natural, traditional, local, and small scale production systems with high animal welfare standards. Overall, participants paid a lot of attention to the declaration of origin; in particular fish products from Germany and Denmark were preferred along with local products. Frequently used sustainability claims for aquaculture products were mostly criticized as being imprecise by the participants of the qualitative study; even though two claims tested in the choice experiments had a significant positive impact on the choice of purchase. Similarly, existing aquaculture-specific labels for certified sustainable aquaculture had an impact on the buying decision, but were not well recognized and even less trusted. Overall, consumers had a positive attitude towards sustainable aquaculture. However, communication measures and labelling schemes should be improved to increase consumer acceptance and make a decisive impact on consumers' buying behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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van Voorst, Sabine F; Ten Kate, Chantal A; de Jong-Potjer, Lieke C; Steegers, Eric A P; Denktaş, Semiha
2017-10-01
Preconception care (PCC) is care that aims to improve the health of offspring by addressing risk factors in the pre-pregnancy period. Consultations are recognized as a method to promote perinatal health. However, prospective parents underutilize PCC services. Uptake can improve if delivery approaches satisfy consumer preferences. Aim of this study was to identify preferences of women (consumers) as a first step to social marketed individual PCC consultations. In depth, semi-structured interviews were performed to identify women's views regarding the four components of the social marketing model: product (individual PCC consultation), place (setting), promotion (how women are made aware of the product) and price (costs). Participants were recruited from general practices and a midwife's practice. Content analysis was performed by systematic coding with NVIVO software. The 39 participants reflected a multiethnic intermediately educated population. Product: Many participants had little knowledge of the need and the benefits of the product. Regarding the content of PCC, they wish to address fertility concerns and social aspects of parenthood. PCC was seen as an informing and coaching service with a predominant role for health-care professionals. the general practitioner and midwife setting was the most mentioned setting. Promotion: A professional led promotion approach was preferred. Price: Introduction of a fee for PCC consultations will make people reconsider their need for a consultation and could exclude vulnerable patients from utilization. This study provides consumer orientated data to design a social marketed delivery approach for individual PCC consultations. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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The Study on the Preferences of Customer Personal Values with Chinese Culture Background in Services
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Li, Yi; Zhao, Hong; Yang, Yue
Customer personal values are the important factors which affect customer behaviors, and they guide and decide the customer's attitudes and behaviors on the products or the services. The paper thinks there are only several important customer personal values to guide customer's decisions, and these values will have -strong cultural differences. This study focuses on discussing the preferences of customer personal values with Chinese culture background when customers consume service and analyzes on the customer preferences of customer personal values with the deep interview method. After interviewing 16 responders with the semi-structured questionnaires, the study finds out some interesting results: (1) Some customers have recognized the existent of customer personal values, even though customer perceived values still have the strong influences on customer behaviors. (2) As they pursue to high quality lives, customers enjoy the lives in easy and pleasure way and care about the safe of the family. Quick response, simple and professional services contribute to enhance the experiences of easy and pleasure lives. (3) Non-rational consumers need the respect from the staff and the companies seriously. In comparison, the rational customers care less about the respect. (4) The sociable requirements have become a common consuming psychology of the customers. More and more customers try to gain the friends by consuming some services. (5) The preferences of customer personal values have a close relationship with the Chinese culture, such as collective values, family conception and "face" culture. The results benefit for service companies improving service brands and service quality.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Glazerman, Steven M.
Those who favor expansion of consumer choice in education claim that competition would force schools to improve. Critics claim that it would sort students by race and class. A competitive market will provide what consumers demand, yet neither side has empirical evidence on such consumer preferences to back up their claims. This paper offers such…
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Almli, Valérie Lengard; Naes, Tormod; Enderli, Géraldine; Sulmont-Rossé, Claire; Issanchou, Sylvie; Hersleth, Margrethe
2011-08-01
This study explores consumers' acceptance of innovations in traditional cheese in France (n=120) and Norway (n=119). The respondents were presented with 16 photographs of a traditional cheese from their respective countries, varying according to six factors: pasteurisation, organic production, omega-3, packaging, price and appropriateness. For each of the scenarios the consumers indicated their willingness to buy the cheese on a nine-point scale. Results show that consumers' willingness to buy traditional cheese is highly driven by price, appropriateness and pasteurisation in both countries. However, on average consumers in the French sample prefer buying raw milk cheese, while consumers in the Norwegian sample prefer buying pasteurised cheese. These general trends are led by a pro-raw milk segment in France and a pro-pasteurised milk segment in Norway. Several interaction effects involving appropriateness are detected, indicating the importance of the consumption context on the acceptance of innovations in traditional cheese. On a general level, the results indicate that well-accepted innovations in traditional cheese are those that reinforce the traditional and authentic character of the product. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Centolella, P.A.
1998-07-01
Most of the economic efficiency benefits of electric restructuring--consumer choice based on price and risk preferences, efficient capacity utilization, capacity expansion that reflects marketability, and innovative products--depend upon consumer access to information and opportunities to respond to time- and location-specific prices and customized products. Information and communications technologies from back-room data management centers to intelligent consumer gateways will play an essential role in marketing energy services in a retail access environment. This paper describes the role of information and communications technology in electric industry restructuring and retailing of energy services. It includes a survey of economic analyses on the likelymore » variability in competitive generation prices and consumer responses if such prices are effectively communicated. The paper describes the potential benefits and cost savings associated with flexible consumer responses to price variability. It identifies consumer loads and preferences. Finally, the paper describes the building blocks of information systems being developed to facilitate price-responsive energy management and provide a range of other energy services. Intelligent gateways, analytical tools for facility load prediction and optimizing energy management responses, and electronic commerce applications are discussed.« less
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Contemporary Minangkabau food culture in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
Lipoeto, N I; Mmedsci; Agus, Z; Oenzil, F; Masrul, M; Wattanapenpaiboon, N
2001-01-01
Diet has a strong relationship with food culture and changes in it are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of newly emergent degenerative diseases. To obtain in-depth opinions about the food culture of Minangkabau people, focus group discussions were conducted in a Minangkabau region, represented by four villages in West Sumatra, Indonesia, from January to March 1999. The members of the discussion groups were principally women aged from 35 to 82 years old. Minangkabau culture is matriarchal and matrilineal which accounts for female gender dominants in the discussions. Rice, fish, coconut and chilli are the basic ingredients of the Minangkabau meals. Meat, especially beef and chicken, is mainly prepared for special occasions; pork is not halal and therefore not eaten by Muslim Minangkabau people; and for reasons of taste preference and availability, lamb, goat and wild game are rarely eaten. However, rendang, a popular meat dish, has been identified as one of the Minangkabau food culture characteristic dishes. Vegetables are consumed daily. Fruit is mainly seasonal, although certain kinds of fruit, such as banana, papaya and citrus, can be found all year around. Coconut has an important role in Minangkabau food culture and is the main source of dietary fat. While almost all food items consumed by the Minangkabau can be cooked with coconut milk, fried food with coconut oil is considered to be a daily basic food. Desiccated coconut is also used as a food ingredient on about a weekly basis and in snack foods almost every day. Although there have been no changes in food preparation and there is a slight difference in taste preference between the young and the old generations, there has been a dramatic shift in food preferences, which is reflected in the changing percentage of energy consumed over the past 15 years. The traditional combination of rice, fish and coconut in Minangkabau culture goes back hundreds of years, long before the emergence of the degenerative diseases of the newer economies, and is likely to offer food security and health protection to the Minangkabau for as long as the lifestyle remains traditional. Whether or not a recent increase in energy intake from fat and the quality of fat may contribute to the shift of disease pattern is fundamentally important for the Minangkabau, it seems unlikely the traditional use of coconut and its products was a health issue. Moreover, it was clear from the focus group discussions that the use of coconut encouraged the consumption of fish and vegetables.
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The influence of lifestyle on health behavior and preference for functional foods.
Szakály, Zoltán; Szente, Viktória; Kövér, György; Polereczki, Zsolt; Szigeti, Orsolya
2012-02-01
The main objective of this survey is to reveal the relationship between lifestyle, health behavior, and the consumption of functional foods on the basis of Grunert's food-related lifestyle model. In order to achieve this objective, a nationwide representative questionnaire-based survey was launched with 1000 participants in Hungary. The results indicate that a Hungarian consumer makes rational decisions, he or she seeks bargains, and he wants to know whether or not he gets good value for his money. Further on, various lifestyle segments are defined by the authors: the rational, uninvolved, conservative, careless, and adventurous consumer segments. Among these, consumers with a rational approach provide the primary target group for the functional food market, where health consciousness and moderate price sensitivity can be observed together. Adventurous food consumers stand out because they search for novelty; this makes them an equally important target group. Conservative consumers are another, one characterized by positive health behavior. According to the findings of the research, there is a significant relationship between lifestyle, health behavior, and the preference for functional food products. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kosasih, Wilson; Salomon, Lithrone Laricha; Hutomo, Reynaldo
2017-08-01
This paper discusses the development of new products of Micro, Small and Medium Entreprises (SMEs) to identify what attributes are considered by consumers, as well as combinations of attributes that need to be analyzed into the main preferences of consumers. The purpose of this research is to increase the added value and competitiveness of SMEs through product innovation. The object of this study is banana chips produced by SMEs from the province of Lampung which it considered to be unique souvenirs of the province. The research data were collected by distributing questionnaires in Jakarta which has heterogeneous population, in order to develop banana chip's marketing and increase its market share in Indonesia. Data processing was performed using conjoint analysis and cluster analysis. Segmentation was performed using conjoint analysis based on the importance level of attributes and part-worth of level attributes of each cluster. Finally, characteristics and consumer preferences of each cluster will be a consideration in determining the product development and marketing strategies.
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Li, Xin; Babol, Jakub; Wallby, Anna; Lundström, Kerstin
2013-10-01
This study investigated meat quality and consumer preference after ageing beef gluteus medius in a water vapour-permeable dry-ageing bag or in vacuum for 14 days. Higher ageing and trim losses but lower thawing loss, cooking loss and water content were found in samples aged in dry ageing bags compared to those aged in vacuum. Samples aged in dry ageing bags had higher total bacteria and yeast counts but lower lactic acid bacteria counts than those aged in vacuum, both before and after trimming. Meat aged in dry ageing bag was more tender and juicier and overall preferred by consumers compared with samples aged in vacuum. Female participants outperformed the males in detecting differences in palatability. No differences were found in pH, smell, shear force, colour, Enterobacteriaceae, and mould counts. Thus, by using a dry ageing bag, it is possible to produce dry-aged meat in a more controlled condition without negative effects on sensory or other quality attributes. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Monteiro, Maria João P; Costa, Ana Isabel A; Fliedel, Geneviève; Cissé, Mady; Bechoff, Aurélie; Pallet, Dominique; Tomlins, Keith; Pintado, Maria Manuela E
2017-06-15
The need to increase sustainability and add value to traditional foods claiming health benefits led to the introduction of key improvements in the production of hibiscus beverages in Senegal. The physicochemical and sensory properties of three resulting products (an under-vacuum concentrate, a dilute-to-taste syrup and a ready-to-drink infusion) were assessed, vis-à-vis those of conventionally manufactured beverages, and their impact on local consumer preference determined (n=146). New beverages had more intense, redder colour and higher monomeric anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. Moreover, their colour evaluations by trained panellists were mainly linked to colour density and anthocyanin/polyphenol content, while flavour assessments were associated to titratable acidity and sugar-to-acid ratio. Consumer evaluations, in turn, were driven by the beverages' red colour intensity, aroma strength and balance between sweetness and acidity. This explained why they overwhelmingly preferred the under-vacuum concentrate, regardless of their age, gender or frequency of hibiscus beverage consumption. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Increased consumer density reduces the strength of neighborhood effects in a model system.
Merwin, Andrew C; Underwood, Nora; Inouye, Brian D
2017-11-01
An individual's susceptibility to attack can be influenced by conspecific and heterospecifics neighbors. Predicting how these neighborhood effects contribute to population-level processes such as competition and evolution requires an understanding of how the strength of neighborhood effects is modified by changes in the abundances of both consumers and neighboring resource species. We show for the first time that consumer density can interact with the density and frequency of neighboring organisms to determine the magnitude of neighborhood effects. We used the bean beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, and two of its host beans, Vigna unguiculata and V. radiata, to perform a response-surface experiment with a range of resource densities and three consumer densities. At low beetle density, damage to beans was reduced with increasing conspecific density (i.e., resource dilution) and damage to the less preferred host, V. unguiculata, was reduced with increasing V. radiata frequency (i.e., frequency-dependent associational resistance). As beetle density increased, however, neighborhood effects were reduced; at the highest beetle densities neither focal nor neighboring resource density nor frequency influenced damage. These findings illustrate the importance of consumer density in mediating indirect effects among resources, and suggest that accounting for consumer density may improve our ability to predict population-level outcomes of neighborhood effects and our use of them in applications such as mixed-crop pest management. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Russell, Cheryl
1983-01-01
Describes the geographic distribution, demographic characteristics, and consumer preferences of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Cubans in the United States. Suggests that a projected rapid growth in numbers of Hispanics with unique characteristics will produce a consumer market that will require special attention from businesses. (Author/MJL)
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European citizen and consumer attitudes and preferences regarding beef and pork.
Verbeke, Wim; Pérez-Cueto, Federico J A; Barcellos, Marcia D de; Krystallis, Athanasios; Grunert, Klaus G
2010-02-01
This paper presents the combined mid-term findings of the consumer research components of two EU Sixth Framework Programme integrated projects concerning meat, ProSafeBeef and Q-PorkChains. The consumer pillar of ProSafeBeef carried out eight focus group discussions in May 2008, in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. Q-PorkChains conducted a large-scale, web-based, consumer survey in January 2008 in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Poland. The first project provides a set of qualitative data from a small cohort of focus groups and the second a set of quantitative data from a larger consumer sample. This paper draws together the main findings of both projects and provides a comprehensive overview of European citizens' and consumers' attitudes towards and preferences regarding beef and pork. In general, consumers consider meat to be a healthy and important component of the diet. Consumers support the development of technologies that can improve the health attributes of meat products and guarantee eating quality, but they have a negative view of what they see to be excessive manipulation and lack of naturalness in the production and processing of beef products. In the Q-PorkChains study consumer and citizen segments are identified and profiled. Consumer segments were built upon the frequency and variety of pork consumption. The citizen segments were built upon their attitudes towards pig production systems. Overall, the relationship between individuals' views as citizens and their behaviour as consumers was found to be quite weak and did not appear to greatly or systematically influence meat-buying habits. Future studies in both projects will concentrate on consumers' acceptance of innovative meat product concepts and products, with the aim of boosting consumer trust and invigorating the European beef and pork industries.
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Trickle-Down Preferences: Preferential Conformity to High Status Peers in Fashion Choices.
Galak, Jeff; Gray, Kurt; Elbert, Igor; Strohminger, Nina
2016-01-01
How much do our choices represent stable inner preferences versus social conformity? We examine conformity and consistency in sartorial choices surrounding a common life event of new norm exposure: relocation. A large-scale dataset of individual purchases of women's shoes (16,236 transactions) across five years and 2,007 women reveals a balance of conformity and consistency, moderated by changes in location socioeconomic status. Women conform to new local norms (i.e., average heel size) when moving to relatively higher status locations, but mostly ignore new local norms when moving to relatively lower status locations. In short, at periods of transition, it is the fashion norms of the rich that trickle down to consumers. These analyses provide the first naturalistic large-scale demonstration of the tension between psychological conformity and consistency, with real decisions in a highly visible context.
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Colour changes of orthodontic elastomeric module materials exposed to in vitro dietary media.
Ardeshna, Anil P; Vaidyanathan, Tritala K
2009-09-01
To evaluate the colour stability of orthodontic elastomeric module material exposed to dietary media. An in vitro laboratory study. Coloured and clear orthodontic elastomeric modules from four companies were exposed to coffee, cola, tea and spices for 72 h. The difference in colour components was measured with a Minolta chromameter before and after exposure. Significant changes in colour, including grey level and chromaticity, both as a function of colour and company of elastomeric ligature module were found following exposure to beverages and spices. Colour change was most affected by Deltab* (yellowness) and most significant in clear modules. Modules made using injection mouldings were more resistant to colour change than those by extrusion. Spice mix had the most effect and cola beverage the least. Clinically, these changes compromised both colour stability and esthetics of the elastomeric module. Clinicians should make patients aware of the effect of consuming beverages and spices on the colour stability of their selected ligature modules. Clinicians should favour modules made with injection moulding. Darker colour modules may be preferred to clear modules to avoid excessive colour degradation through dietary media such as beverages and food spices. Patients consuming large amounts of spices or coffee should avoid clear modules made by extrusion processing because of their tendency to discolour.
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-01-01
... CONSUMER INFORMATION Soybean Promotion and Research Order United Soybean Board § 1220.203 Nominations. All... be filled. (e) Nominations may be submitted in order of preference and for the initial Board, in order of preference for staggered terms. Should the Secretary reject any nomination submitted and there...
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Consumption of SC45647 and sucralose by rats selectively bred for high and low saccharin intake.
Dess, Nancy K; Chapman, Clinton D; Monroe, Derek
2009-03-01
Mammals' affinity for sweet tastes exists alongside dramatic variation among species and individuals in responses to sweeteners. The present paper focused on consumption by Occidental High- (HiS) and Low-Saccharin (LoS)-consuming rats in 23-h 2-bottle tests of 2 sweeteners for which few data from rats are available: SC45647 and sucralose. Every HiS and LoS rat preferred SC45647 to water at every concentration, with HiS rats consuming it more avidly. Most HiS rats preferred sucralose to water at one or more concentrations; some HiS rats and most LoS rats avoided sucralose at every concentration. However, both HiS and LoS rats preferred a sucralose-maltodextrin mixture (Splenda) to water; thus, Splenda's "bulking" ingredient maltodextrin transforms highly variable responses to sucralose into a relatively homogeneous preference for the product. Implications for the study of variation in sweet taste are discussed.
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Visschers, Vivianne H M; Siegrist, Michael
2015-12-01
Food consumption comprises a significant portion of the total environmental impact of households. One way to reduce this impact may be to offer consumers more climate-friendly meal choices, such as when eating out. However, the environmental benefits of such an intervention will depend on not only consumers' liking of the climate-friendlier meals, but also on the perceived environmental impact. We therefore investigated the relationship between the global warming potential (GWP) of and consumers' liking of meals in two field studies in the same restaurant. Visitors to the restaurant were asked to rate the taste of the meal they had just consumed. These taste ratings were then related to the meals' GWP and number of purchases. In the second study, an intervention was tested consisting of a climate-friendly choice label and information posters. Contrary to expectations, it was found in both studies that the GWP of the meals was unrelated to the taste or the number of purchases. Offering more climate-friendly meals did not change consumer satisfaction. As expected, the introduction of the climate-friendly choice label increased the number of climate-friendly meal purchases. Therefore, offering more climate-friendly meals with a climate-friendly choice label can affect consumers' meal choices, but not their preferences or satisfaction, which is beneficial for the climate, consumers and gastronomic establishments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Hygreeva, Desugari; Pandey, M C; Radhakrishna, K
2014-09-01
Growing concern about diet and health has led to development of healthier food products. In general consumer perception towards the intake of meat and meat products is unhealthy because it may increase the risk of diseases like cardiovascular diseases, obesity and cancer, because of its high fat content (especially saturated fat) and added synthetic antioxidants and antimicrobials. Addition of plant derivatives having antioxidant components including vitamins A, C and E, minerals, polyphenols, flavanoids and terpenoids in meat products may decrease the risk of several degenerative diseases. To change consumer attitudes towards meat consumption, the meat industry is undergoing major transformations by addition of nonmeat ingredients as animal fat replacers, natural antioxidants and antimicrobials, preferably derived from plant sources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Suh, Hae Sun; Lee, Donghyun; Kim, Sang Yong; Chee, Dong Hyun; Kang, Hye-Young
2011-08-01
To examine consumers' attitudes toward direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for prescription drugs in Korea. We conducted a survey of 350 patients visiting community pharmacies to fill their prescriptions. Consumers' attitudes toward DTCA were assessed in terms of whether they felt DTCA was necessary, their trust in the information provided by DTCA, and their intention to use the information provided by DTCA. We examined consumers' preferences regarding the regulation of DTCA and their expectations of the effects of DTCA. About 60% of the respondents responded that DTCA is necessary and that they intended to use the information from DTCA. Less than half of the respondents reported that they would trust DTCA information. About 70% of the participants expressed the need for prior vetting of the DTCA content. Respondents had the highest expectation on the effect of DTCA as an information source for patients. Positive consumer expectations regarding the effects of DTCA were significantly associated with positive consumer attitudes toward DTCA (odds ratio=4.70, 95% confidence interval: 2.25-9.82). This study provides evidence that consumers in South Korea generally have positive attitudes toward DTCA. However, most of the respondents wanted a prior examination system of DTCA content to ensure that the information conveyed to them via DTCA was trustworthy. Policy-makers should be cautious and well-prepared if they decide to introduce DTCA in Korea. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The Effects of Preference for Information on Consumers’ Online Health Information Search Behavior
2013-01-01
Background Preference for information is a personality trait that affects people’s tendency to seek information in health-related situations. Prior studies have focused primarily on investigating its impact on patient-provider communication and on the implications for designing information interventions that prepare patients for medical procedures. Few studies have examined its impact on general consumers’ interactions with Web-based search engines for health information or the implications for designing more effective health information search systems. Objective This study intends to fill this gap by investigating the impact of preference for information on the search behavior of general consumers seeking health information, their perceptions of search tasks (representing information needs), and user experience with search systems. Methods Forty general consumers who had previously searched for health information online participated in the study in our usability lab. Preference for information was measured using Miller’s Monitor-Blunter Style Scale (MBSS) and the Krantz Health Opinion Survey-Information Scale (KHOS-I). Each participant completed four simulated health information search tasks: two look-up (fact-finding) and two exploratory. Their behaviors while interacting with the search systems were automatically logged and ratings of their perceptions of tasks and user experience with the systems were collected using Likert-scale questionnaires. Results The MBSS showed low reliability with the participants (Monitoring subscale: Cronbach alpha=.53; Blunting subscale: Cronbach alpha=.35). Thus, no further analyses were performed based on the scale. KHOS-I had sufficient reliability (Cronbach alpha=.77). Participants were classified into low- and high-preference groups based on their KHOS-I scores. The high-preference group submitted significantly shorter queries when completing the look-up tasks (P=.02). The high-preference group made a significantly higher percentage of parallel movements in query reformulation than did the low-preference group (P=.04), whereas the low-preference group made a significantly higher percentage of new concept movements than the high-preference group when completing the exploratory tasks (P=.01). The high-preference group found the exploratory tasks to be significantly more difficult (P=.05) and the systems to be less useful (P=.04) than did the low-preference group. Conclusions Preference for information has an impact on the search behavior of general consumers seeking health information. Those with a high preference were more likely to use more general queries when searching for specific factual information and to develop more complex mental representations of health concerns of an exploratory nature and try different combinations of concepts to explore these concerns. High-preference users were also more demanding on the system. Health information search systems should be tailored to fit individuals’ information preferences. PMID:24284061
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Srivastava, Viraj; Makhmalbaf, Atefe; Parker, Graham B.
The research reported is part of a collaborative with Honeywell, Inc. to bring novel home energy management concepts and technologies to reduce energy consumption, reduce peak electricity demand, integrate renewable energy and storage technology, and change homeowner behavior to manage and consume less energy. The objective of the collaborative is to create a Context-Aware Smart Home Energy Manager (CASHEM) that dynamically schedules major home appliances according to conditions and homeowner convenience of service (CoS) preferences, monitors and analyzes energy consumption of appliances, recommends further energy saving actions, and engages/motivates the homeowner to adopt those recommendations.
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Zeeman, Heidi; Kendall, Elizabeth; Whitty, Jennifer A; Wright, Courtney J; Townsend, Clare; Smith, Dianne; Lakhani, Ali; Kennerley, Samantha
2016-03-15
Identifying the housing preferences of people with complex disabilities is a much needed, but under-developed area of practice and scholarship. Despite the recognition that housing is a social determinant of health and quality of life, there is an absence of empirical methodologies that can practically and systematically involve consumers in this complex service delivery and housing design market. A rigorous process for making effective and consistent development decisions is needed to ensure resources are used effectively and the needs of consumers with complex disability are properly met. This 3-year project aims to identify how the public and private housing market in Australia can better respond to the needs of people with complex disabilities whilst simultaneously achieving key corporate objectives. First, using the Customer Relationship Management framework, qualitative (Nominal Group Technique) and quantitative (Discrete Choice Experiment) methods will be used to quantify the housing preferences of consumers and their carers. A systematic mixed-method, quasi-experimental design will then be used to quantify the development priorities of other key stakeholders (e.g., architects, developers, Government housing services etc.) in relation to inclusive housing for people with complex disabilities. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 1 (experimental group) will participate in a series of focus groups employing Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) methodology. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 2 (control group) will participate in focus groups employing existing decision making processes to inclusive housing development (e.g., Risk, Opportunity, Cost, Benefit considerations). Using comparative stakeholder analysis, this research design will enable the AHP methodology (a proposed tool to guide inclusive housing development decisions) to be tested. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will enable stakeholders to incorporate consumer housing preferences into commercial decisions. Housing designers and developers will benefit from the creation of a parsimonious set of consumer-led housing preferences by which to make informed investments in future housing and contribute to future housing policy. The research design has not been applied in the Australian research context or elsewhere, and will provide a much needed blueprint for market investment to develop viable, consumer directed inclusive housing options for people with complex disability.
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Miklavec, Krista; Pravst, Igor; Raats, Monique M; Pohar, Jure
2016-12-01
Many nutrition and/or health symbols were introduced in different countries in the past years and Slovenia is no exception. The objective of our study was to examine familiarity with and perception of the Protective Food symbol (PF symbol) in Slovenia and to investigate consumers' associations related to the symbol, and the influence of symbols' appearance on their preferences. The study was conducted through online questionnaire with incorporated word-association tasks and conjoint analysis; GfK consumer panel and social media (Facebook) were used for recruitment of Slovenian adults (n=1050; 534 men, 516 women). The majority (78%) of the participants reported they had previously seen the PF symbol, and 64% declared familiarity with it. Familiarity was verified using a word-association task in which we analysed the nature of the symbol's description, distinguishing the description of symbol's visual appearance or its meaning. In this task, 73% of the participants described the symbol's meaning with reference to health or a healthy lifestyle, confirming their familiarity with it. Women and those responsible for grocery shopping were significantly more familiar with the symbol. The impact of the symbol's appearance on consumers' preferences was investigated using conjoint analysis consisting of two attributes - three different symbols found on foods in Slovenia (PF symbol, Choices Programme symbol and Keyhole symbol), and accompanying worded claims. Although worded claims had less relative importance (29.5%) than the symbols (70.5%), we show that careful choice of the wording can affect consumers' preferences considerably. The lowest part-worth utility was observed without an accompanying claim, and the highest for the claim directly communicating health ("Protects your health"). The fact that most participants are well familiar with the PF symbol indicates the symbol's potential to promote healthier food choices, which could be further improved by an accompanying worded claim that clearly describes its meaning. In addition, the use of Facebook ads is shown to be a useful alternative recruitment method for research with consumers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Jennings, Bryan W.; Berry, Kristin H.
2015-01-01
Previous studies of desert tortoise foraging ecology in the western Mojave Desert suggest that these animals are selective herbivores, which alter their diet according to the temporal availability of preferred food plants. These studies, however, did not estimate availability of potential food plants by taking into account the spatial and temporal variability in ephemeral plant abundance that occurs within the spring season. In this study, we observed 18 free-ranging adult tortoises take 35,388 bites during the spring foraging season. We also estimated the relative abundance of potential food plants by stratifying our sampling across different phenological periods of the 3-month long spring season and by different habitats and microhabitats. This methodology allowed us to conduct statistical tests comparing tortoise diet against plant abundance. Our results show that tortoises choose food plants non-randomly throughout the foraging season, a finding that corroborates the hypothesis that desert tortoises rely on key plants during different phenological periods of spring. Moreover, tortoises only consumed plants in a succulent state until the last few weeks of spring, at which time most annuals and herbaceous perennials had dried and most tortoises had ceased foraging. Many species of food plants—including several frequently eaten species—were not detected in our plant surveys, yet tortoises located these rare plants in their home ranges. Over 50% of bites consumed were in the group of undetected species. Interestingly, tortoises focused heavily on several leguminous species, which could be nutritious foods owing to their presumably high nitrogen contents. We suggest that herbaceous perennials, which were rare on our study area but represented ~30% of tortoise diet, may be important in sustaining tortoise populations during droughts when native annuals are absent. These findings highlight the vulnerability of desert tortoises to climate change if such changes alter the availability of their preferred food plants.
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Jennings, W Bryan; Berry, Kristin H
2015-01-01
Previous studies of desert tortoise foraging ecology in the western Mojave Desert suggest that these animals are selective herbivores, which alter their diet according to the temporal availability of preferred food plants. These studies, however, did not estimate availability of potential food plants by taking into account the spatial and temporal variability in ephemeral plant abundance that occurs within the spring season. In this study, we observed 18 free-ranging adult tortoises take 35,388 bites during the spring foraging season. We also estimated the relative abundance of potential food plants by stratifying our sampling across different phenological periods of the 3-month long spring season and by different habitats and microhabitats. This methodology allowed us to conduct statistical tests comparing tortoise diet against plant abundance. Our results show that tortoises choose food plants non-randomly throughout the foraging season, a finding that corroborates the hypothesis that desert tortoises rely on key plants during different phenological periods of spring. Moreover, tortoises only consumed plants in a succulent state until the last few weeks of spring, at which time most annuals and herbaceous perennials had dried and most tortoises had ceased foraging. Many species of food plants--including several frequently eaten species--were not detected in our plant surveys, yet tortoises located these rare plants in their home ranges. Over 50% of bites consumed were in the group of undetected species. Interestingly, tortoises focused heavily on several leguminous species, which could be nutritious foods owing to their presumably high nitrogen contents. We suggest that herbaceous perennials, which were rare on our study area but represented ~30% of tortoise diet, may be important in sustaining tortoise populations during droughts when native annuals are absent. These findings highlight the vulnerability of desert tortoises to climate change if such changes alter the availability of their preferred food plants.
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Jennings, W. Bryan; Berry, Kristin H.
2015-01-01
Previous studies of desert tortoise foraging ecology in the western Mojave Desert suggest that these animals are selective herbivores, which alter their diet according to the temporal availability of preferred food plants. These studies, however, did not estimate availability of potential food plants by taking into account the spatial and temporal variability in ephemeral plant abundance that occurs within the spring season. In this study, we observed 18 free-ranging adult tortoises take 35,388 bites during the spring foraging season. We also estimated the relative abundance of potential food plants by stratifying our sampling across different phenological periods of the 3-month long spring season and by different habitats and microhabitats. This methodology allowed us to conduct statistical tests comparing tortoise diet against plant abundance. Our results show that tortoises choose food plants non-randomly throughout the foraging season, a finding that corroborates the hypothesis that desert tortoises rely on key plants during different phenological periods of spring. Moreover, tortoises only consumed plants in a succulent state until the last few weeks of spring, at which time most annuals and herbaceous perennials had dried and most tortoises had ceased foraging. Many species of food plants—including several frequently eaten species—were not detected in our plant surveys, yet tortoises located these rare plants in their home ranges. Over 50% of bites consumed were in the group of undetected species. Interestingly, tortoises focused heavily on several leguminous species, which could be nutritious foods owing to their presumably high nitrogen contents. We suggest that herbaceous perennials, which were rare on our study area but represented ~30% of tortoise diet, may be important in sustaining tortoise populations during droughts when native annuals are absent. These findings highlight the vulnerability of desert tortoises to climate change if such changes alter the availability of their preferred food plants. PMID:25635840
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Montossi, F; Font-i-Furnols, M; del Campo, M; San Julián, R; Brito, G; Sañudo, C
2013-12-01
There are increasing concerns of society towards the consumption of animal products which have been produced and transformed in a sustainable manner. This trend influences consumer purchasing decision making, particularly in developed countries. On the other hand, in the next years, the pressure to increase the volume and efficiency of meat production will be much higher to cope with the expected unsatisfied demand. At least in part, current and future technologies could contribute to solve this challenge. However, the use of some of these innovations could have a negative effect on consumer preferences. There is no consensus in our society about this dilemma. The objective of this paper is to review the scientific evidence related to these topics and to analyze and discuss the effect of some of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors linked with the sheep industry which could affect the acceptability of lamb meat by consumers. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Consumer acceptance and stability of spray dried betanin in model juices.
Kaimainen, Mika; Laaksonen, Oskar; Järvenpää, Eila; Sandell, Mari; Huopalahti, Rainer
2015-11-15
Spray dried beetroot powder was used to colour model juices, and the consumer acceptance of the juices and stability of the colour during storage at 60 °C, 20 °C, 4 °C, and -20 °C were studied. The majority of the consumers preferred the model juices coloured with anthocyanins or beetroot extract over model juices coloured with spray dried beetroot powder. The consumers preferred more intensely coloured samples over lighter samples. Spray dried betanin samples were described as 'unnatural' and 'artificial' whereas the colour of beetroot extract was described more 'natural' and 'real juice'. No beetroot-derived off-odours or off-flavours were perceived in the model juices coloured with beetroot powder. Colour stability in model juices was greatly dependent on storage temperature with better stability at lower temperatures. Colour stability in the spray dried powder was very good at 20 °C. Betacyanins from beetroot could be a potential colourant for food products that are stored cold. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Effect of freezing method and frozen storage duration on lamb sensory quality.
Muela, E; Sañudo, C; Campo, M M; Medel, I; Beltrán, J A
2012-01-01
This study assessed the effect of three freezing methods with three frozen storage durations (1, 3, and 6 months) on the sensory quality of lamb. Methods were: air blast freezer, freezing tunnel+air blast freezer, and nitrogen chamber+air blast freezer. Meat was frozen after 48 h of ageing (0-4°C). Fresh meat (72 h ageing at 2-4°C) was used as control. Sensory analyses (trained panel and consumer tests) were performed on loin chops (Longissimus lumborum) after 24 h of thawing. Results from the trained panel test showed that freezing (method and/or storage duration) had no significant effect. Consumers found that freezing affected sensory quality. Cluster analysis for overall acceptability divided the population into four classes with different preference patterns, and none of them showed a significant preference for fresh meat. The small differences between fresh and thawed meat shown in this study should not give consumers concerns about buying frozen meat or consuming thawed meat. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Chan, Sheung-Hang; Moss, Bruce W; Farmer, Linda J; Gordon, Alan; Cuskelly, Geraldine J
2013-02-15
Photographs have been used to enhance consumer reporting of preference of meat doneness, however, the use of photographs has not been validated for this purpose. This study used standard cooking methods to produce steaks of five different degrees of doneness (rare medium, medium well, well done and very well done) to study the consumer's perception of doneness, from both the external and internal surface of the cooked steak and also from corresponding photographs of each sample. Consumers evaluated each surface of the cooked steaks in relation to doneness for acceptability, 'just about right' and perception of doneness. Data were analysed using a split plot ANOVA and least significant test. Perception scores (for both external and internal surfaces) between different presentation methods (steak samples and corresponding photos), were not significantly different (p>0.05). The result indicates that photographs can be used as a valid approach for assessing preference for meat doneness. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Analyzing the Sensitivity of Hydrogen Vehicle Sales to Consumers' Preferences
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Greene, David L; Lin, Zhenhong; Dong, Jing
2013-01-01
The success of hydrogen vehicles will depend on consumer behavior as well as technology, energy prices and public policy. This study examines the sensitivity of the future market shares of hydrogen-powered vehicles to alternative assumptions about consumers preferences. The Market Acceptance of Advanced Automotive Technologies model was used to project future market shares. The model has 1,458 market segments, differentiated by travel behavior, geography, and tolerance to risk, among other factors, and it estimates market shares for twenty advanced power-train technologies. The market potential of hydrogen vehicles is most sensitive to the improvement of drive train technology, especially cost reduction.more » The long-run market success of hydrogen vehicles is less sensitive to the price elasticity of vehicle choice, how consumers evaluate future fuel costs, the importance of fuel availability and limited driving range. The importance of these factors will likely be greater in the early years following initial commercialization of hydrogen vehicles.« less
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Governing the ethical consumer: identity, choice and the primary care medical encounter.
McDonald, Ruth; Mead, Nicola; Cheraghi-Sohi, Sudeh; Bower, Peter; Whalley, Diane; Roland, Martin
2007-04-01
Government policy promoting consumerism in healthcare can be seen as offering up certain preferred identities to which its citizens are encouraged to aspire. Whilst many commentators reject the notion that health services users should be conceived of as consumers, this paper outlines the relevance of the concept to our understanding of the ways in which individuals manage their health and service use. The paper examines the identity work undertaken by individuals in relation to decisions about healthcare preferences and assesses the extent to which this is compatible with the identities promoted in Government policy. We suggest that in circumstances where individuals feel both a sense of personal entitlement and a desire to be supportive of the needs of other members of the community, 'doing' ethical consumer can be fraught with discomfort and anxiety. These anxieties are exacerbated in a context where citizenship is increasingly being defined in terms of consumer identities, and making good (health) choices might be seen as distinguishing the civilised from the marginalised.
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Jimenez, Daniel E; Bartels, Stephen J; Cardenas, Veronica; Dhaliwal, Sanam S; Alegría, Margarita
2012-06-01
Beliefs concerning the causes of mental illness may help to explain why there are significant disparities in the rates of formal mental health service use among racial/ethnic minority elderly as compared with their white counterparts. This study applies the cultural influences on mental health framework to identify the relationship between race/ethnicity and differences in 1) beliefs on the cause of mental illness, 2) preferences for type of treatment, and 3) provider characteristics. Analyses were conducted using baseline data collected from participants who completed the cultural attitudes toward healthcare and mental illness questionnaire, developed for the Primary Care Research in Substance Abuse and Mental Health for the Elderly study, a multisite randomized trial for older adults (65+) with depression, anxiety, or at-risk alcohol consumption. The final sample consisted of 1,257 non-Latino whites, 536 African Americans, 112 Asian Americans, and 303 Latinos. African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos had differing beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness when compared with non-Latino whites. Race/ethnicity was also associated with determining who makes healthcare decisions, treatment preferences, and preferred characteristics of healthcare providers. This study highlights the association between race/ethnicity and health beliefs, treatment preferences, healthcare decisions, and consumers' preferred characteristics of healthcare providers. Accommodating the values and preferences of individuals can be helpful in engaging racial/ethnic minority patients in mental health services.
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An Appetite for Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Protein Content Claims in Canada
Marinangeli, Christopher P. F.; Foisy, Samara; Shoveller, Anna K.; Porter, Cara; Musa-Veloso, Kathy; Sievenpiper, John L.; Jenkins, David J. A.
2017-01-01
The need for protein-rich plant-based foods continues as dietary guidelines emphasize their contribution to healthy dietary patterns that prevent chronic disease and promote environmental sustainability. However, the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations provide a regulatory framework that can prevent Canadian consumers from identifying protein-rich plant-based foods. In Canada, protein nutrient content claims are based on the protein efficiency ratio (PER) and protein rating method, which is based on a rat growth bioassay. PERs are not additive, and the protein rating of a food is underpinned by its Reasonable Daily Intake. The restrictive nature of Canada’s requirements for supporting protein claims therefore presents challenges for Canadian consumers to adapt to a rapidly changing food environment. This commentary will present two options for modernizing the regulatory framework for protein content claims in Canada. The first and preferred option advocates that protein quality not be considered in the determination of the eligibility of a food for protein content claims. The second and less preferred option, an interim solution, is a framework for adopting the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score as the official method for supporting protein content and quality claims and harmonizes Canada’s regulatory framework with that of the USA. PMID:28832556
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Hernández-González, I A; Cruz-Rodríguez, J A
2018-04-05
The wild cochineal (Dactylopius opuntiae Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) is considered to be the most important pest in cactus pear plantations. In Mexico, there are seven natural enemies that provide natural biological control of D. opuntiae. However, their role and impact have not been evaluated. In this article, we report on aspects of the population biology of Chilocorus cacti L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), which is considered one of the main natural enemies of D. opuntiae. We also conducted experiments to evaluate the consumption of C. cacti by this predator when fed nymphs and adult females of D. opuntiae. Changes in the survival function of D. opuntiae in the presence or absence C. cacti were also identified. Both larvae and adults of C. cacti prefer to consume D. opuntiae nymphs because the wax produced by adult females presents a significant obstacle. The survival analysis showed that the presence of C. cacti had significant negative effects on D. opuntiae survival. C. cacti significantly increased its abundance while reducing the density of adult female D. opuntiae, but this impact occurred only after they had consumed the more preferred nymphs. For this reason, natural enemies other than C. cacti may be required to achieve adequate levels of biological control.
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Perry, B D; Grace, D C
2015-12-01
Many societies are spoiled for choice when they purchase meat and other livestock products, and around the globe food choice has grown dramatically in the last two decades. What is more, besides the cost and obvious health concerns influencing commodity section, an increasing proportion of choices is made to contribute to the achievement of certain ideals, such as natural resource management, climate change mitigation, animal welfare concerns and personal lifestyle. At the same time, human health considerations are becoming more important for consumption choices as richer societies, and increasingly the urban poor in low- and middle-income countries, face an unprecedented epidemic of over-consumption and associated diet-related non-communicable diseases. Animal source foods are considered significant contributors to this trend. This paper reviews this complicated arena, and explores the range of considerations that influence consumers' preferences for meat and other animal source foods. This paper also argues that deeper drivers of consumption behaviour of many foods may act in opposition to the articulated preferences for choices around animal source food consumption. We review how the returns to different causes are being valued, how emerging metrics are helping to manage and influence consumption behaviours, and draw conclusions regarding options which influence food choice.
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Lenaerts, Marijke; Abid, Lamis; Paulussen, Caroline; Goelen, Tim; Wäckers, Felix; Jacquemyn, Hans; Lievens, Bart
2016-10-01
To meet their carbohydrate requirements, adult parasitoids exploit a broad range of sugar resources, including floral and extrafloral nectar and honeydew. Although honeydew might be the predominant sugar source, especially in agricultural systems, it often is nutritionally inferior to sugar sources like nectar. Given its broad availability, it may be expected that sugar-feeding insects have evolved specialized adaptations to deal with this typically inferior sugar source. This would apply especially to organisms that have a close association with honeydew producers. Here, we hypothesized that parasitoids of honeydew-producing insects should show a pronounced response to sugars, such as fructose, sucrose, melezitose, and trehalose, and to a lesser extent glucose. To test this hypothesis, we investigated sugar consumption, feeding behavior and survival of the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi on several sugars (equiweight solutions). Our results show that A. ervi adults consumed typical honeydew sugars (sucrose, fructose, trehalose, and melezitose) the most, while consuming considerably less glucose or melibiose. Rhamnose, which does not occur in aphid honeydew, was not, or was only marginally, consumed. When different sugars were provided at the same time, A. ervi adults preferred sucrose or fructose over glucose or melezitose. Furthermore, pre-exposure to sucrose or fructose significantly reduced subsequent intake of glucose, suggesting an acquired distaste for glucose after being previously exposed to highly preferred sugars such as sucrose and fructose. Altogether, this study shows that A. ervi adults prefer sugars (fructose, melezitose, trehalose, and sucrose) that are overrepresented in aphid honeydew and show a lower preference to one (glucose) that is underrepresented in honeydew.
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Exploring consumer understanding and preferences for pharmacy quality information
Shiyanbola, Olayinka O.; Mort, Jane R.
2014-01-01
Objective: To describe consumer understanding of pharmacy quality measures and consumer preferences for pharmacy quality information. Methods: Semi-structured focus group design was combined with survey methods. Adults who filled prescription medications for self-reported chronic illnesses at community pharmacies discussed their understanding of Pharmacy Quality Alliance approved quality measures. Questions examined preference of pharmacy quality information rating systems (e.g. stars versus percentages) and desired data display/formats. During the focus group, participants completed a survey examining their understanding of each pharmacy quality measure. All focus group discussions were transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. Results: Thirty-four individuals participated (mean age= 62.85; SD=16.05). Participants were unfamiliar with quality measures information and their level of understanding differed for each quality measure. Surveys indicated 94.1% understood “Drug-Drug Interactions” and “Helping Patients Get Needed Medications” better than other measures (e.g., 76.5% understood “Suboptimal Treatment of Hypertension in Patients with Diabetes”). Qualitative analysis indicated participants preferred an overall pharmacy rating for quick access and use. However, participants also wanted quality measures information displayed by health conditions. Participants favored comparison of their pharmacy to city data instead of state data. Most participants liked star ratings better than percentages, letter grades, or numerical ratings. Conclusions: Individuals who have a chronic illness and regularly use community pharmacies are interested in pharmacy quality measures. However, specific quality measures were not understood by some participants. Participants had specific preferences for the display of pharmacy quality information which will be helpful in the design of appropriate quality report systems. PMID:25580169
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gonzalez, Felisa; Garcia-Burgos, David; de Brugada, Isabel; Gil, Marta
2010-01-01
In two experiments, thirsty rats consumed a compound of sucrose and a non-preferred flavor. In Experiment 1, a conditioned preference was observed in the experimental group when animals were tested both thirsty and hungry, but not when they were tested just thirsty. Animals in the control group, which experienced the flavor and the sucrose…
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Miyagi, Atsushi
2017-09-01
Detailed exploration of sensory perception as well as preference across gender and age for a certain food is very useful for developing a vendible food commodity related to physiological and psychological motivation for food preference. Sensory tests including color, sweetness, bitterness, fried peanut aroma, textural preference and overall liking of deep-fried peanuts with varying frying time (2, 4, 6, 9, 12 and 15 min) at 150 °C were carried out using 417 healthy Japanese consumers. To determine the influence of gender and age on sensory evaluation, systematic statistical analysis including one-way analysis of variance, polynomial regression analysis and multiple regression analysis was conducted using the collected data. The results indicated that females were more sensitive to bitterness than males. This may affect sensory preference; female subjects favored peanuts prepared with a shorter frying time more than male subjects did. With advancing age, textural preference played a more important role in overall preference. Older subjects liked deeper-fried peanuts, which are more brittle, more than younger subjects did. In the present study, systematic statistical analysis based on collected sensory evaluation data using deep-fried peanuts was conducted and the tendency of sensory perception and preference across gender and age was clarified. These results may be useful for engineering optimal strategies to target specific segments to gain greater acceptance in the market. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
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New Trends in the Uses of Yeasts in Oenology.
Querol, Amparo; Pérez-Torrado, Roberto; Alonso-Del-Real, Javier; Minebois, Romain; Stribny, Jiri; Oliveira, Bruno M; Barrio, Eladio
2018-01-01
The most important factor in winemaking is the quality of the final product and the new trends in oenology are dictated by wine consumers and producers. Traditionally the red wine is the most consumed and more popular; however, in the last times, the wine companies try to attract other groups of populations, especially young people and women that prefer sweet, whites or rosé wines, very fruity and with low alcohol content. Besides the new trends in consumer preferences, there are also increased concerns on the effects of alcohol consumption on health and the effects of global climate change on grape ripening and wine composition producing wines with high alcohol content. Although S. cerevisiae is the most frequent species in wines, and the subject of most studies, S. uvarum and hybrids between Saccharomyces species such as S. cerevisiae×S. kudriavzevii and S. cerevisiae×S. uvarum are also involved in wine fermentations and can be preponderant in certain wine regions. New yeast starters of non-cerevisiae strains (S. uvarum) or hybrids (S. cerevisiae×S. uvarum and S. cerevisiae×S. kudriavzevii) can contribute to solve some problems of the wineries. They exhibit good fermentative capabilities at low temperatures, producing wines with lower alcohol and higher glycerol amounts, while fulfilling the requirements of the commercial yeasts, such as a good fermentative performance and aromatic profiles that are of great interest for the wine industry. In this review, we will analyze different applications of nonconventional yeasts to solve the current winemaking demands. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Ares, Gastón; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Curutchet, María Rosa; Antúnez, Lucía; Machín, Leandro; Vidal, Leticia; Giménez, Ana
2018-05-01
The reformulation of the food products available in the marketplace to improve their nutritional quality has been identified as one of the most cost-effective policies for controlling the global obesity pandemic. Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling is one of the strategies that has been suggested to encourage the food industry to reformulate their products. However, the extent to which certain FOP labels can encourage product reformulation is dependent on consumer reaction. The aim of the present work was to assess consumers' perception towards product reformulation in the context of the implementation of nutritional warnings, an interpretive FOP nutrition labelling scheme. Three product categories were selected as target products: bread, cream cheese and yogurt, each associated with high content of one target nutrient. For each category, six packages were designed using a 3 × 2 experimental design with the following variables: product version (regular, nutrient-reduced and nutrient-free) and brand (market leader and non-market leader). A total 306 Uruguayan participants completed a choice experiment with 18 choice sets. Reformulated products without nutritional warnings were preferred by participants compared to regular products with nutritional warnings. No apparent preference for products reformulated into nutrient-reduced or nutrient-free product versions was found, although differences depended on the product category and the specific reformulation strategy. Preference for reformulated products without nutritional warnings was more pronounced for non-market leaders. Results from the present work suggest that reformulation of foods in the context of the implementation of nutritional warnings holds potential to encourage consumers to make more healthful food choices and to cause a reduction of their intake of nutrients associated with non-communicable diseases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ong, Z Y; Muhlhausler, B S
2014-01-01
This study aimed to determine whether the negative effects of maternal 'junk food' feeding on food preferences and gene expression in the mesolimbic reward system could be reversed by weaning the offspring onto a low-fat diet. Offspring of control (n = 11) and junk food-fed (JF, n = 12) dams were weaned onto a standard rodent chow until 6 weeks (juvenile) or 3 months (adult). They were then given free access to both chow and junk food for 3 weeks and food preferences determined. mRNA expression of key components of the mesolimbic reward system was determined by qRT-PCR at 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months of age. In the juvenile group, both male and female JF offspring consumed more energy and carbohydrate during the junk food exposure at 6 weeks of age and had a higher body fat mass at 3 months (P < 0.05). Female juvenile JF offspring had higher tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine receptors and dopamine active transporter expression in the ventral tegmental area (P < 0.05). In the adult group, there was no difference between control and JF offspring in energy and macronutrient intakes during exposure to junk food; however, female JF offspring had a higher body fat mass at 6 months (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the effects of perinatal junk food exposure on food preferences and fat mass can be reversed by consuming a low-fat diet from weaning to adulthood in males. Females, however, retain a higher propensity for diet-induced obesity even after consuming a low-fat diet for an extended period after weaning. © 2013 Scandinavian Physiological Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Boonen, Lieke H H M; Schut, Frederik T
2011-04-01
We investigate the impact of the transition towards managed competition in the Dutch health care system on health insurers' contracting behaviour. Specifically, we examine whether insurers have been able to take up their role as prudent buyers of care and examine consumers' attitudes towards insurers' new role. Health insurers' contracting behaviour is investigated by an extensive analysis of available information on purchasing practices by health insurers and by interviews with directors of health care purchasing of the four major health insurers, accounting for 90% of the market. Consumer attitudes towards insurers' new role are investigated by surveys among a representative sample of enrollees over the period 2005-2009. During the first four years of the reform, health insurers were very reluctant to engage in selective contracting and preferred to use 'soft' positive incentives to encourage preferred provider choice rather than engaging in restrictive managed care activities. Consumer attitudes towards channelling vary considerably by type of provider but generally became more negative in the first two years after the reform. Insurers' reluctance to use selective contracting can be at least partly explained by the presence of a credible-commitment problem. Consumers do not trust that insurers with restrictive networks are committed to provide good quality care. The credible-commitment problem seems to be particularly relevant to the Netherlands, since Dutch enrollees are not used to restrictions on provider choice. Since consumers are quite sensitive to differences in provider quality, more reliable information about provider quality is required to reduce the credible-commitment problem.
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Paulos, Kátia; Rodrigues, Sandra; Oliveira, António Filipe; Leite, Ana; Pereira, Etelvina; Teixeira, Alfredo
2015-07-01
The main objective of this study was the sensory characterization, by a taste and a consumers' panel, of fresh sausages from 140 culled goats and 140 culled ewes. Species and type of preparation effects were studied. All data were previously analyzed by analysis of variance. Taste panel data were analyzed by a Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA). Consumers' panel data were analyzed by Preference Mapping. The 1st 2 factors explained 88.22% of total variation in GPA. Different sausages samples were perfectly differentiated by assessors. Goat sausages have been considered harder, more fibrous, and less juicy than sheep sausages. The panelists observed that sheep sausages without paprika had greater intensity of flavor, tasted spicy, and had an off-odor, while goat sausages with paprika were considered sweeter. Consumers' panel did not show any preference for the different types of sausages. This means that all types of sausages can have market opportunity. The present study was a result of a project in co-promotion between 2 breeder associations, an industry unit and a research center. Results indicated that the meat from animals out of quality commercial brands could be useful as processed meat in a product with consumer acceptability. Also these new meat products brought diversity to meat industry to reach new markets and originating 2 new meat brands recorded at INPI (Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial—Natl. Industrial Property Inst.) with the numbers of 489664 and 489662 of National Brands of sheep and goat meat, respectively. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Shim, Eugene; Ryu, Ha-Jung; Hwang, Jinah; Kim, Soo Yeon
2013-01-01
Dietary sodium intake is considered one of the major causal factors for hypertension. Thus, to control the increase of blood pressure and reduce the risk of hypertension-related clinical complications, a reduction in sodium intake is recommended. The present study aimed at determining the association of dietary sodium intake with meal and snack frequency, snacking time, and taste preference in Korean young adults aged 20-26 years, using a 125-item dish-frequency questionnaire. The mean dietary sodium intakes of men and women were 270.6 mmol/day and 213.1 mmol/day, which were approximately 310% and 245% of the daily sodium intake goal for Korean men and women, respectively. Dietary sodium intake was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure in the total group, and BMI in the total and men-only groups. In the total and men-only groups, those who consumed meals more times per day consumed more dietary sodium, but the number of times they consumed snacks was negatively correlated with dietary sodium intake in the total, men-only, and women-only groups. In addition, those who consumed snacks in the evening consumed more sodium than those who did so in the morning in the men-only group. The sodium intake was also positively associated with preference for salty and sweet taste in the total and women-only groups. Such a high intake of sodium in these young subjects shows that a reduction in sodium intake is important for the prevention of hypertension and related diseases in the future. PMID:23766880
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Lupien, John R
2007-01-01
Food systems are rapidly changing as world population grows, increasing urbanization occurs, consumer tastes and preferences change and differ in various countries and cultures, large scale food production increases, and food imports and exports grow in volume and value. Consumers in all countries have become more insistent that foods available in the marketplace are of good quality and safe, and do not pose risks to them and their families. Publicity about food risk problems and related risks, including chemical and microbiological contamination of foods, mad-cow disease, avian flu, industrial chemical contamination all have made consumers and policy makers more aware of the need of the control of food safety risk factors in all countries. To discuss changes in food systems, and in consumer expectations, that have placed additional stress on the need for better control of food safety risks. Food producers, processors, and marketers have additional food law and regulations to meet; government agencies must increase monitoring and enforcement of adequate food quality and safety legislation and coordinate efforts between agriculture, health, trade, justice and customs agencies; and academia must take action to strengthen the education of competent food legislation administrators, inspectorate, and laboratory personnel for work in government and industry, including related food and food safety research . Both Government and the food industry must assure that adequate control programs are in place to control the quality and safety of all foods, raw or processed, throughout the food chain from production to final consumption. This includes appropriate laboratory facilities to perform necessary analysis of foods for risk and quality factors, and to carry out a wide range of food science, toxicological and related research.
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Poínhos, Rui; Oliveira, Bruno M P M; van der Lans, Ivo A; Fischer, Arnout R H; Berezowska, Aleksandra; Rankin, Audrey; Kuznesof, Sharron; Stewart-Knox, Barbara; Frewer, Lynn J; de Almeida, Maria D V
2017-01-01
Personalised nutrition has potential to revolutionise dietary health promotion if accepted by the general public. We studied trust and preferences regarding personalised nutrition services, how they influence intention to adopt these services, and cultural and social differences therein. A total of 9,381 participants were quota-sampled to be representative of each of 9 EU countries (Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, and Norway) and surveyed by a questionnaire assessing their intention to adopt personalised nutrition, trust in service regulators and information sources, and preferences for service providers and information channels. Trust and preferences significantly predicted intention to adopt personalised nutrition. Higher trust in the local department of health care was associated with lower intention to adopt personalised nutrition. General practitioners were the most trusted of service regulators, except in Portugal, where consumer organisations and universities were most trusted. In all countries, family doctors were the most trusted information providers. Trust in the National Health Service as service regulator and information source showed high variability across countries. Despite its highest variability across countries, personal meeting was the preferred communication channel, except in Spain, where an automated internet service was preferred. General practitioners were the preferred service providers, except in Poland, where dietitians and nutritionists were preferred. The preference for dietitians and nutritionists as service providers highly varied across countries. These results may assist in informing local initiatives to encourage acceptance and adoption of country-specific tailored personalised nutrition services, therefore benefiting individual and public health. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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Cultivar preference and sensory evaluation of vegetable pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) in Eastern Kenya
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Preference and acceptability of twelve vegetable pigeon pea genotypes of medium maturity was evaluated in Eastern Kenya based on six seed cultivar parameters of color, appearance, taste, odor, tenderness and overall seed acceptability. The sensory characteristics were scored by consumers and farmers...
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7 CFR Exhibit B to Subpart L of... - Section 515 Nonprofit Set Aside (NPSA)
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-01-01
... with or controlled by a for-profit organization; and E. May be a consumer cooperative, Indian tribe or... rating/ranking lists. F. Provisions for providing preference to loan requests from nonprofit... qualify for nonprofit preference. VIII. Exception authority. The Administrator, or his/her designee, may...
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An Empirical Study on the Preference of Supermarkets with Analytic Hierarchy Process Model
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Weng Siew, Lam; Singh, Ranjeet; Singh, Bishan; Weng Hoe, Lam; Kah Fai, Liew
2018-04-01
Large-scale retailers are very important to the consumers in this fast-paced world. Selection of desirable market to purchase products and services becomes major concern among consumers in their daily life due to vast choices available. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to determine the most preferred supermarket among AEON, Jaya Grocer, Tesco, Giant and Econsave by the undergraduate students in Malaysia with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model. Besides that, this study also aims to determine the priority of decision criteria in the selection of supermarkets among the undergraduatestudents with AHP model. The decision criteria employed in this study are product quality, competitive price, cleanliness, product variety, location, good price labelling, fast checkout and employee courtesy. The results of this study show that AEON is the most preferred supermarket followed by Jaya Grocer, Tesco, Econsave and Giant among the students based on AHP model. Product quality, cleanliness and competitive price are ranked as the top three influential factors in this study. This study is significant because it helps to determine the most preferred supermarket as well as the most influential decision criteria in the preference of supermarkets among the undergraduate students with AHP model.
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Materialism, status consumption, and consumer independence.
Goldsmith, Ronald Earl; Clark, Ronald A
2012-01-01
Materialism influences many people. We focus on two aspects of this influence: reactions to prestige products and to the influence of others. A study of 187 U.S. student consumers shows that materialism is positively related to buying products that confer status. In contrast, materialism is negatively related to consumer independence, an enduring tendency to pay minimal attention to the prescribed norms of other consumers and to make product and brand decisions according to personal preferences. Consuming products for status is also negatively related to consumer independence. Moreover, the association between materialism and consumer independence is completely mediated by consuming for status. Materialism urges consumers to be status conscious so that they follow social norms in purchasing, but seeking status through goods is avoided by less materialistic, independent consumers. A second study (n = 258) also using student consumers confirmed these results.
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Wilkins, Jennifer L; Farrell, Tracy J; Rangarajan, Anusuya
2015-09-01
The objective of the present study was to explore the influence of participation in community-supported agriculture (CSA) on vegetable exposure, vegetable intake during and after the CSA season, and preference related to locally produced vegetables acquired directly from CSA growers. Quantitative surveys were administered at three time points in two harvest seasons to four groups of CSA participants: new full-paying, returning full-paying, new subsidized and returning subsidized members. Questionnaires included a vegetable frequency measure and measures of new and changed vegetable preference. Comparisons were made between new and returning CSA members and between those receiving subsidies and full-paying members. The research was conducted in a rural county in New York, USA. CSA members who agreed to participate in the study. Analysis was based on 151 usable questionnaires. CSA participants reported higher intake of eleven different vegetables during the CSA season, with a sustained increase in some winter vegetables. Over half of the respondents reported trying at least one, and up to eleven, new vegetables. Sustained preferences for CSA items were reported. While those who choose to join a CSA may be more likely to acquire new and expanded vegetable preferences than those who do not, the CSA experience has the potential to enhance vegetable exposure, augment vegetable preference and increase overall vegetable consumption. Dietary patterns encouraged through CSA participation can promote preferences and consumer demand that support local production and seasonal availability. Emphasis on fresh and fresh stored locally produced vegetables is consistent with sustainable community-based food systems.
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Preference for C4 shade grasses increases hatchling performance in the butterfly, Bicyclus safitza.
Nokelainen, Ossi; Ripley, Brad S; van Bergen, Erik; Osborne, Colin P; Brakefield, Paul M
2016-08-01
The Miocene radiation of C4 grasses under high-temperature and low ambient CO 2 levels occurred alongside the transformation of a largely forested landscape into savanna. This inevitably changed the host plant regime of herbivores, and the simultaneous diversification of many consumer lineages, including Bicyclus butterflies in Africa, suggests that the radiations of grasses and grazers may be evolutionary linked. We examined mechanisms for this plant-herbivore interaction with the grass-feeding Bicyclus safitza in South Africa. In a controlled environment, we tested oviposition preference and hatchling performance on local grasses with C3 or C4 photosynthetic pathways that grow either in open or shaded habitats. We predicted preference for C3 plants due to a hypothesized lower processing cost and higher palatability to herbivores. In contrast, we found that females preferred C4 shade grasses rather than either C4 grasses from open habitats or C3 grasses. The oviposition preference broadly followed hatchling performance, although hatchling survival was equally good on C4 or C3 shade grasses. This finding was explained by leaf toughness; shade grasses were softer than grasses from open habitats. Field monitoring revealed a preference of adults for shaded habitats, and stable isotope analysis of field-sampled individuals confirmed their preference for C4 grasses as host plants. Our findings suggest that plant-herbivore interactions can influence the direction of selection in a grass-feeding butterfly. Based on this work, we postulate future research to test whether these interactions more generally contribute to radiations in herbivorous insects via expansions into new, unexploited ecological niches.
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Consumer Perceptions of the Media and Their Advertising Content.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Larkin, Ernest F.
To determine consumer preference regarding four forms of mass communication, an 18-item questionnaire was devised that asked individuals where they sought information on national and world affairs, local events, entertainment, and shopping (advertising). Results from the 108 respondents in the random sample indicated the following: newspapers…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Figg, Stephanie D.; Rogers, Karen B.; McCormick, John; Low, Renae
2012-01-01
The study aimed to empirically verify findings from qualitative studies that showed selective consumers could be distinguished from underachievers with regard to academic self-perception and thinking style preference. Participants, gifted males from an independent secondary boys' school in Sydney, Australia, were categorized as achieving,…
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Syakir Shukor, Muhamad; Sulaiman, Zuraidah; Chin, Thoo Ai; Zakuan, Norhayati; Merlinda Muharam, Farrah
2017-06-01
One of the toughest challenges in social marketing is behaviour intervention. Previous research have developed various models and theories to simultaneously examine behaviour changes and their effects. Due to resources scarcity and global warming, automakers have come out with an innovative idea of Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) which has been a great improvement in the automotive industry. This invention targets for behavioral change or behavioral adoption for consumers to adjust their preferences from conventional vehicle to EEV. High market growth in automotive industry have encouraged social marketers, policymakers, governments and academics to propose suitable intervention approach in motivating preferences toward EEV. This study will explore the causal model of Environmental Responsible Behaviour (ERB) in measuring the purchase intention of EEV in Malaysia. In specific, this study focuses on two types of EEV - hybrid car and fuel efficient car. This study will hopefully add onto the body of knowledge for value orientation that influences green behaviour. From the practical perspective, this study may provide insights in assisting the stakeholders and automotive industry players on promoting the pro-behaviour toward EEV.
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Banovic, Marija; Arvola, Anne; Pennanen, Kyösti; Duta, Denisa E; Brückner-Gühmann, Monika; Lähteenmäki, Liisa; Grunert, Klaus G
2018-06-01
Foods with increased protein content have rapidly become one of the fastest-growing product categories targeting image- and health-focused consumers. However, it is not clear whether consumers really understand the difference between 'inherently rich in protein' and 'artificially increased protein'. This study used a qualitative focus group approach to investigate the consumer preferences and perceptions of foods with increased protein content among mixed-age and older population in four European countries. In total fifty-two participants were involved in the study. Understanding of the concept of foods with 'increased protein' content was limited. Both older and mixed-age participants could not differentiate between natural sources of protein and foods with increased protein content, no matter whether foods with animal or plant proteins were mentioned. Older participants expressed more scepticism towards foods with increased protein content than mixed-age participants. The combination of protein type and food carrier closer to conventional foods received more acceptance among both older and mixed-age participants. Future use and acceptance of foods with increased protein content will depend on the extent to which consumer concerns about incorporating additional protein into a diet can be responded. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Morais, E C; Esmerino, E A; Monteiro, R A; Pinheiro, C M; Nunes, C A; Cruz, A G; Bolini, Helena M A
2016-01-01
The addition of prebiotic and sweeteners in chocolate dairy desserts opens up new opportunities to develop dairy desserts that besides having a lower calorie intake still has functional properties. In this study, prebiotic low sugar dairy desserts were evaluated by 120 consumers using a 9-point hedonic scale, in relation to the attributes of appearance, aroma, flavor, texture, and overall liking. Internal preference map using parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using the consumer data. In addition, physical (texture profile) and optical (instrumental color) analyses were also performed. Prebiotic dairy desserts containing sucrose and sucralose were equally liked by the consumers. These samples were characterized by firmness and gumminess, which can be considered drivers of liking by the consumers. Optimization of the prebiotic low sugar dessert formulation should take in account the choice of ingredients that contribute in a positive manner for these parameters. PARAFAC allowed the extraction of more relevant information in relation to PCA, demonstrating that consumer acceptance analysis can be evaluated by simultaneously considering several attributes. Multiple factor analysis reported Rv value of 0.964, suggesting excellent concordance for both methods. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®
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Young, Ian; Waddell, Lisa
2016-01-01
Foodborne illness has a substantial health and economic burden on society, and most cases are believed to be due to unsafe food handling practices at home. Several qualitative research studies have been conducted to investigate consumers’ perspectives, opinions, and experiences with safe food handling at home, and these studies provide insights into the underlying barriers and facilitators affecting their safe food handling behaviours. We conducted a systematic review of previously published qualitative studies in this area to synthesize the main across-study themes and to develop recommendations for future consumer interventions and research. The review was conducted using the following steps: comprehensive search strategy; relevance screening of abstracts; relevance confirmation of articles; study quality assessment; thematic synthesis of the results; and quality-of-evidence assessment. A total of 39 relevant articles reporting on 37 unique qualitative studies were identified. Twenty-one barriers and 10 facilitators to safe food handling were identified, grouped across six descriptive themes: confidence and perceived risk; knowledge-behaviour gap; habits and heuristics; practical and lifestyle constraints; food preferences; and societal and social influences. Our overall confidence that each barrier and facilitator represents the phenomenon of interest was rated as high (n = 11), moderate (11), and low (9). Overarching analytical themes included: 1) safe food handling behaviours occur as part of a complex interaction of everyday consumer practices and habituation; 2) most consumers are not concerned about food safety and are generally not motivated to change their behaviours based on new knowledge about food safety risks; and 3) consumers are amenable to changing their safe food handling habits through relevant social pressures. Key implications and recommendations for research, policy and practice are discussed. PMID:27907161
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Maciejovsky, Boris; Budescu, David V
2013-06-01
Many Web sites provide consumers with product recommendations, which are typically presented by a sequence of verbal reviews and numerical ratings. In three experiments, we demonstrate that when participants switch between formats (e.g., from verbal to numerical), they are more prone to preference inconsistencies than when they aggregate the recommendations within the same format (e.g., verbal). When evaluating recommendations, participants rely primarily on central-location measures (e.g., mean) and less on other distribution characteristics (e.g., variance). We explain our findings within the theoretical framework of stimulus-response compatibility and we make practical recommendations for the design of recommendation systems and Web portals.
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Woodside, A G; Nielsen, R L; Walters, F; Muller, G D
1988-06-01
The results of a national segmentation study are reported. The findings extend the empirical work of Finn and Lamb and the benefit-seeking conjectures by Kotler and Clarke that consumers with preferences toward specific hospitals can be segmented into a few distinct groups. The groups described in the findings are identified as the value conscious, the affluents, the old-fashioneds, and the professional want-it-alls. Each segment has a unique demographic profile. The substantial importance of doctors' recommendations in influencing hospital choice is supported for all four consumer segments. Suggestions for additional research and hospital marketing strategies are provided.
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Brousseau, D J.; Filipowicz, A; Baglivo, J A.
2001-07-30
Laboratory studies have shown that the nonindigenous Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, readily consumes three species of commercial bivalves: blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria, and oysters, Crassostrea virginica. Although crabs can eat bivalves of a wide size range, they preferred the smaller prey (
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Trickle-Down Preferences: Preferential Conformity to High Status Peers in Fashion Choices
Galak, Jeff; Gray, Kurt; Elbert, Igor; Strohminger, Nina
2016-01-01
How much do our choices represent stable inner preferences versus social conformity? We examine conformity and consistency in sartorial choices surrounding a common life event of new norm exposure: relocation. A large-scale dataset of individual purchases of women’s shoes (16,236 transactions) across five years and 2,007 women reveals a balance of conformity and consistency, moderated by changes in location socioeconomic status. Women conform to new local norms (i.e., average heel size) when moving to relatively higher status locations, but mostly ignore new local norms when moving to relatively lower status locations. In short, at periods of transition, it is the fashion norms of the rich that trickle down to consumers. These analyses provide the first naturalistic large-scale demonstration of the tension between psychological conformity and consistency, with real decisions in a highly visible context. PMID:27144595
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Ozone affects growth and development of Pieris brassicae on the wild host plant Brassica nigra.
Khaling, Eliezer; Papazian, Stefano; Poelman, Erik H; Holopainen, Jarmo K; Albrectsen, Benedicte R; Blande, James D
2015-04-01
When plants are exposed to ozone they exhibit changes in both primary and secondary metabolism, which may affect their interactions with herbivorous insects. Here we investigated the performance and preferences of the specialist herbivore Pieris brassicae on the wild plant Brassica nigra under elevated ozone conditions. The direct and indirect effects of ozone on the plant-herbivore system were studied. In both cases ozone exposure had a negative effect on P. brassicae development. However, in dual-choice tests larvae preferentially consumed plant material previously fumigated with the highest concentration tested, showing a lack of correlation between larval preference and performance on ozone exposed plants. Metabolomic analysis of leaf material subjected to combinations of ozone and herbivore-feeding, and focussing on known defence metabolites, indicated that P. brassicae behaviour and performance were associated with ozone-induced alterations to glucosinolate and phenolic pools. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Taylor, Johanne; van de Ven, Remy; Hopkins, David L
2014-03-01
SmartShape™ is a novel meat processing technology that uses air pressure to compress and elongate whole cold-boned primals and packages them to retain form. A two stage study was conducted. The first stage established the ability of the SmartShape™ treated beef cube roll (m. longissimus lumborum) to retain shape in a commercial setting. Twelve hours chilling time following treatment was found to be adequate for steaks to retain their shape for up to 24h after slicing. Steak shape and size did not change substantially until after cooking, when the steaks looked less formed. In the second stage a survey was conducted of 421 consumers to clarify the response to the shaping of a subset of raw and cooked scotch fillet steaks. There was no difference in preference for shaped or control steaks. A secondary survey found that informed consumers were more amenable to the SmartShape™ scotch fillet steaks presented here, but would not pay a premium for them. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.