Quality of life and its predictors among Pakistani head of household in district Abbottabad,Pakistan

Quality & Quantity - This study aimed to measure the quality of life (QOL) and its predictors among male and female heads of household in Pakistan. A population-based cross-sectional study in...     

Aggressive Legalism: The Rules of the WTO and Japan’s Emerging Trade Strategy

Over the course of the last decade there has been a significant change in Japan’s trade strategy, one that has remained seriously unappreciated for both its contents and its policy implications. The heart of this unfolding strategy is the active use of the legal rules in the treaties and agreements overseen by the WTO to counter what the Japanese government deems to be the unreasonable acts, requests, and practices of its major trade partners. To wit, the Japanese government is deliberately using both the procedural and substantive rules of the WTO to matter to the results and outcomes of major trade disputes involving Japan. And in a relatively short time, it has shown how these rules can be made to serve as both ‘shield’ and ‘sword’ in high‐profile trade disputes. This is the strategy that Japan has embraced as the principal means of dealing with its major trade partners, and it reveals much about both a new Japan and the power of international law.     

Integrating Behavioural and Branding Perspectives to Maximize Green Brand Equity: A Holistic Approach

The aim of this study is to expand the existing understanding of green consumers' behaviour by proposing and testing an integrated conceptual model that explores the influence of consumers' personal concerns for the environment and general attitudes towards green products on brand‐related knowledge structures (image and associations) and relationship preferences (trust and brand equity) for green brands. A questionnaire‐based survey method was used to collect data using convenience sampling. One hundred and ninety‐nine usable responses were obtained. A structural equation modelling procedure was used to test the proposed hypotheses. The results confirmed that a positive relationship exists between consumer concern for environmental values and general attitudes towards green products. Both these constructs influence consumers' knowledge structure of a green brand (image and associations). Furthermore, a strong relationship exists between consumers' knowledge structure (image and associations) and their relational preference (trust and brand equity) with green brands. These findings are important for business strategy formulation by providing empirical support for the idea that a firm should invest its resources not only to project its environmentally friendly brands but also to build consumers' concern for environmental values and their attitude towards green products. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment