Hong Kong parents' perceptions of the transference of food preparation skills

Food preparation skills among young adults are associated with healthy food choices, better diets and a greater likelihood of an independent, healthy adult life. This study conducted in Hong Kong aimed to investigate parents' perceptions of cooking skills; to explore the transference of cooking skills in the home setting; to identify parents' expectations regarding the transference of cooking skills; and to inform the development of educational initiatives for developing healthy eating habits. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect information of the subjects' cooking experience, attitudes about cooking skills, cooking habits at home, family meal habits, transference of cooking culture in the family and the factors influencing the choice of ingredients and cooking. It was administered to 1009 Hong Kong parents (of students aged between 11 and 18, studying in 15 secondary schools). The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 12.0, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and cross‐tabulation analyses were used to compare the responses of the parents by gender, employment status and income. The results show that parents valued cooking as important life skills for both boys and girls. Parents generally perceived their cooking skills either good (41.9%) or mediocre (54.5%), yet children are rarely taught these skills in the home. Family meals prepared primarily with fresh ingredients are still an important part of the daily routine, and mothers are dominating the roles in food choice decision, cooking and buying the ingredients for family meals. Mothers and schools are expected to be the major channel to teach children cooking skills. Findings suggest that parents are well‐disposed towards providing food and nutrition education at home, but need more support (50% reported that home should be a primary support for learning cooking skills; 36% indicated that the school should have a responsibility to teach children to cook starting in elementary school). Schools may do well to collaborate with families in food literacy education initiatives. Developing individuals' cooking skills paves the way for long‐term health benefits and the well‐being of the local population.     

Combating deceptive advertisements and labelling on food products – an exploratory study on the perceptions of teachers

People are becoming more health conscious nowadays, but most of them are not able to adopt a lifestyle with adequate physical exercise and a healthier eating pattern. Many attempt to compensate by taking ‘health foods’. Despite the recent economic recession, the functional food market is expanding rapidly in Asian countries. Recent statistics indicate a huge increase in weight loss and functional food product advertising expenditure in Hong Kong and other Asian countries. In a large scale survey conducted by the Hong Kong Consumer Council on advertisements, it was found that 85% of the medicines, health food and therapies sampled contain questionable claims and misleading messages, which was the second most problematic category of the survey. In addition, young people do not understand much about modern food processing, in particular with regard to low energy and functional foods, and they know very little about modern food marketing strategies. The situation is potentially detrimental to consumer welfare, especially to the younger generation. This study was conducted to reflect critically on implications of the issue on the health and well‐being of young people in Hong Kong. Attempts are made to explore directions for designing relevant and effective education programmes to empower young people's abilities in understanding food advertising strategies and making informed decisions on food choice. This paper begins with a critical review of the current situation with regard to Hong Kong. Then, the results of an interview survey and a questionnaire survey on pre‐service and in‐service teachers’ perception towards misleading food advertising and labelling are reported. The situations at schools are defined and problems faced by teachers in providing relevant consumer education programmes to students are identified. Finally, some prospective foci for further investigation of this important issue, with a view to developing students’ critical skills in evaluating claims offered in food advertisements, will be considered.     

The UK's Legacy Promotion Campaign: a review after nearly two years of public influence

• Launched in October 2002, uniquely the Legacy Promotion Campaign has brought together over 100 charities in a common cause. Donations in wills provide approximately a third of all voluntary income, but relatively few charity supporters take this step. Using a combination of advertising, direct marketing and press activity, the Campaign seeks to increase the level of giving, making it normal behaviour, rather than the exception. Focusing on both the public and professional audiences the Campaign is already shifting opinions and laying the groundwork for a long-term increase in voluntary income.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

I am therefore I own: Implications of organization-based identity for employee stock ownership

Most research on employee stock plan participation investigates the effects of such forms of ownership on employee attitudes, leaving our understanding of the individual differences that contribute to employee ownership largely unknown. Drawing from the consumer behavior literature, our study explores the effect of organization-based identity on the decision to participate in an employee stock purchase plan. The study was conducted in a newly public firm where we examine the effect of organization-based identity on the purchase decision in two time periods. The first point in time was the initial public offering (IPO), when the employee has little information on how the firm's stock will perform in the market. The second point in time was the first quarter following the IPO, when employees have market data to help them with decision-making. Results indicate that, as predicted, organization-based identity is associated with participation in an employee stock purchase plan, at both points in time, above and beyond the influence of several economic and psychological predictors reported in prior studies.     

Assessing the Impacts of US‐Japan Bilateral Trade Agreements, 1980–1995

The paper presents three different viewpoints on the effects of US‐Japan bilateral trade agreements and finds some evidence to support each one using trade data from 1980–1995. For most of the 25 industry‐agreement cases, the data do not support a conclusion of significant positive impacts of the agreements on Japan's imports of targeted manufactured products from either the US or non‐US sources. In at least one high‐profile case involving autos, I find evidence suggesting positive impacts on imports from the US, but in this case the data suggests trade diversion benefiting US0based producers at the expense of European ones. I also find a few cases where the agreements may have produced positive effects on Japan's imports from non‐US sources.     

South Africa’s transition from apartheid: The role of professional closure in the experiences of black chartered accountants

As apartheid gave way to political freedom in South Africa in the last quarter of the 20th century, chartered accounting firms began to hire black South African trainees for the first time. The study examines the oral histories of black chartered accountants within the context of social closure theory and South Africa’s changing political and ideological landscape. The evidence indicates that processes of professional closure and credentialing excluded the majority population from the ranks of the profession on basis of race and class throughout the period 1976–2000.