Information and Knowledge as Antecedents of Consumer Attitudes and Intentions to Buy and Recommend Fair-Trade Products

The authors propose and empirically test a causal model to understand how the availability of fair-trade information and consumer knowledge about this issue affect consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward fair-trade products. The model is built upon the attitude-behavior paradigm and the premises of agency theory. It is tested through structural equation modeling with a sample of 292 Spanish consumers. The findings are that consumers do not have good knowledge about fair trade and that this is significantly determined by the lack of information about this in the market. It is also observed that consumers’ perceptions about the availability of fair-trade information have negative effects on their concern about this issue and that such information as is available is not effective in reducing consumer skepticism. The research represents an extension of previous fair-trade literature because the role of information and communication in improving consumer attitudes and buying intentions has rarely been explored in the case of ethical products.     

Application of collective knowledge diffusion in a social network environment

ABSTRACT

We present a group dynamics model that shows knowledge integration as a process occurring over time. As each individual in the group contact others, his own knowledge changes, and over time the collective knowledge is obtained. This allows modeling knowledge diffusion in a social network and while the models presented in this paper are not competitive in that area, they approach the problem from previously unconsidered direction. We test the behavior of the model in a multi-agent simulation and we test a simple advertisement campaign in a social network. We provide discussion of elements needed for making model more competitive.     

Organizational versus Market Knowledge: From Concrete Embodiment to Abstract Representation

Synopsis In contrast to the neoclassical economic presumption in favor of markets, we argue that organizations, not markets should be taken as our default assumption. We do so on information processing grounds. We distinguish between Zen and market Knowledge. The first is embodied and hard to articulate and the second abstract-symbolic. In human evolution, the first type of knowledge came first, and, on any pragmatic definition of knowledge, it still incorporates most of what we mean by the term. We take codification and abstraction as the two data processing activities that lead to the articulation of knowledge into an abstract-symbolic form. We develop a conceptual framework, the Information-Space (I-Space) to show how far the articulation of knowledge leads to its being shared. Whereas an unlimited sharing of information and knowledge leads to market-oriented outcomes, a more limited sharing leads to organizational outcomes. A market-oriented economics has tended to look to physics for its models; the field of organization theory has tended to look to biology. A more organization-oriented economics would thus look more to biology for its models.     

工商管理类专业课程教学质量监控体系研究

课程教学质量是高等学校的生命线，学分制模式下，工商管理类专业课程因其本身固有的特性，课程教学质量的提升在较大程度上依托于一个完善的质量监控体系的有效运作，为此高校要采取措施，在内部构建起课程教学质量的监控体系来确保人才培养质量，从而提高办学水平。     

关于旅游管理专业双语教学的实践与思考

以桂林旅游高等专科学校旅游管理专业专业课程《旅游企业人力资源管理》实施双语教学的实践为个案，分析了该专业实施双语教学所面临的困难，提出了加强双语教学实践的对策和建议。     

基础力学课程教学改革的研究与实践

该文在深入分析基础力学各相关课程相互关系的基础上，认为基础力学课程的改革，应该优化组合备相关课程内容，减少重复内容，形成新的教学体系；应该在教学手段上注意现代化教学手段与传统教学手段的结合，激发学生的学习兴趣，提高课堂的效率；也强调实验环节的重要性，要注重学生动手能力的培养。     

高校女生体育课堂教学的现状及对策

调查发现女生中只有33．97％对体育课有兴趣，原因是：体育意识不成熟、教材存在重复现象、有严重的心理障碍、没有突破传统的教学方法、课外活动缺乏行之有效的组织管理等。应采取的措施有：明确高校体育教育理念、加强思想教育、改革体育教学模式、合理选择教学内容和方法等。     

从功能出发进行对外汉语语法教学的研究与实践

该文系统地总结了作者进行对外汉语语法教学的实践经验——从功能出发进行对外汉语语法教学，具体从三个方面入手：一、语法教学和词汇教学相结合；二、句法结构和语义结构相结合；三、语法知识和语言环境相结合。     

经济管理类专业计算机实践教学平台的搭建

该文以经济管理类专业计算机实践教学硬件和软件平台建设的实例,阐述了经济管理类专业实验室建设过程,给出了该类实验室建设的一种模式,最后提出了在硬件和软件平台建设中的一些建议。