Consumer value conflicts surrounding ethical food purchase decisions: a focus on animal welfare

Ethical attitudes in relation to meat purchases were studied among urban and rural consumers in Scotland. All subjects perceived at least some ethical issues in relation to animal production systems, in particular, systems keeping animals in close confinement. Welfare‐friendly production systems were viewed as adding value to a food, but this value was not necessarily realizable to producers if purchases occurred only when foods were on special offer. Statements made by individuals were often contradictory, revealing ambivalence, unresolved value conflicts and a general lack of involvement in the nature of meat production. A number of barriers to the establishment of stable attitudes and behaviours in relation to the ethical treatment of food animals were also identified. A key finding of the study is that individuals can hold two views on animal welfare. On the one hand, they may think as citizens influencing societal standards, and on the other, as consumers at the point of purchase. As citizens, they support the notion of animals being entitled to a good life; as meat consumers, they avoid the cognitive connection with the live animal. This paper explores both the citizen–consumer relationship and purchase strategies used by consumers to resolve value conflicts. Lessons for public and commercial policy are highlighted in the context of the Curry Report (2002) which advocates more effective market segmentation where markets are finely attuned to their customers, with the development of a number of assurance schemes discussed in the article.     

青年农民工市民化的制约因素分析

青年农民工市民化,是指他们在身份上获得城市居民相同的合法身份和社会权利的过程,最明显的标志是获得所在地的城市户口及相应的社会权利。但是在推进青年农民工市民化过程中,仍然存在着思想障碍、制度障碍、政策障碍、组织障碍、青年农民工自身素质障碍等方面的限制,制约了青年农民工市民化的顺利推进。     

缩小城乡居民收入差距的财政思考

缩小城乡居民收入差距的关键在于提高农村居民的收入增长速度。要实现农村居民收入的较快增长,必须通过一定财政政策的支持,积极发展农业经济,改善农业经济结构,提高农业经济质量,增强农业的竞争力。通过农村税费改革,切实减轻农民负担。加快农村剩余劳动力从农业生产领域向非农产业领域的转移、从农业劳动力过剩地区向劳动力短缺地区转移,藉以提高农业劳动生产率,增加农民收入。     

城市老年人步行能力与建设其适合的居住区户外环境的研究——以南京市为例

参照国民体质监测方法测试10米步行速度,对调查区域附近部分人、车流量较大道路宽度直接测量和对路口交通信号灯时间值直接观察,调查测定了334名(其中男136名,女198名)60岁以上南京市城市老年人步行速度,了解老年人居住区的住区道路、信号交叉口、住宅建设、公共设施等户外环境的基本情况。结果表明:70岁及以上的老年人即使在健康状况允许快走的前提下仍有一部分无法在绿灯时间里通过街道,与60-69岁组相比呈现急剧上升的趋势。通过分析城市老年人步行能力和居住区户外环境现状,建议优化老年人居住区的交通;完善城市老年人的住宅建设,加强无障碍设计;配齐公共设施,加强社区服务。     

中国老年人生活成本和标准消费系数测算

采用直接支出法和2006年中国城乡老年人口状况追踪调查数据,对老年人的生活成本进行测算,得到不同地区、不同收入水平和不同年龄的老年人生活成本。该成本是一个年度的静态的成本,为了能够对年度的成本进行更新,提出老年人生活成本标准消费系数的概念,目的在于利用这个标准消费系数和每年国家统计局公布的家庭人均消费支出年度调查数据,对老年人的生活成本进行年度更新。据老年人生活成本标准消费系数,老年人的生活成本是家庭人均成本的1.9倍左右。需要尽快完善城乡老年人社会保障制度,加大养老保险的筹资力度,弥补其生活支出的不足,并在减贫和最低生活保障政策中考虑老年人的额外支出,以期有效改善我国老年人的生活质量。     

天津市民自我药疗行为调查与研究

当前,因看病难、看病贵及患者用药知识严重匮乏等原因,使市民非理性的自我药疗行为非常普遍。运用SPPSS统计软件对天津市民的自我药疗行为第一手调查数据进行相关分析得出结论:市民自我用药会经常失误,极易耽误病情。政府应加大宣传,鼓励市民除常见小病外,尽可能去医院看病;应通过多种途径宣传医药常识和用药知识,减少市民乱用药的行为;继续加强对虚假药品广告的监管。同时,加强对药店的监管,提高药店服务人员的专业知识水平。     

Exploring Civic Engagement Through Seniors' Good Citizenship Behavior Within Clubs

The argument for civic engagement is that it enables individuals to feel empowered and shapes their political and social attitudes which are attributes that promote individuals to be better citizens. This study focuses on senior citizens, and we use the place-attachment theory to better understand the good citizenship behavior of seniors within clubs, and we further explore how this behavior affects their civic engagement. The findings provide insights into seniors' civic engagement within the confines of clubs. As a result of these findings, we go on to suggest a framework for understanding the behavior of civic engagement. Our model of seniors' civic engagement in clubs provides greater insights for academics and policy makers on the sources and physical places that can foster communities to come together for shared interaction and cohesion.     

中外老年住宅供给模式的比较与借鉴

文章以我国老年住宅供给模式为出发点,通过与发达国家老年住宅供给模式的比较与借鉴,吸取其成功经验,并根据我国实际情况提出了相应的政策建议。     

关于完善山西农村养老保障制度的思考

由于计划生育政策的实施和山西经济的发展,山西农村人口发展呈现出了老龄化、流动人口增多等新特点,这对山西的社会保障制度提出了新的挑战和要求.因此,尽快建立健全农村计划生育养老保障制度,并将其纳入社会保障体系,就成为山西社会保障制度完善过程中必须考虑的重要课题.以山西农村人口发展特点对社会保障制度提出的新要求为起点,提出了现行农村计划生育养老保障制度存在的不足和完善建议.     

The impact of cognitive age on Internet use of the elderly: an introduction to the public policy implications

Despite the growth of the Internet, one area that has not really been discussed is the elderly's use of the Internet. Given the rapid growth of this population as well as the potential the Internet holds for them, it is a subject worth consideration. However, seniors cannot be defined simply by their chronological age, but by their cognitive age. This paper discusses the impact of cognitive age of a national random sample of American elderly consumers on their Internet use. The results suggest that those seniors with a younger cognitive age use the Internet more than those seniors with an older cognitive age. Additionally, seniors with a younger cognitive age have more social contact off‐line (but not online) than those seniors with an older cognitive age. Finally, in terms of demographic variables, chronological age is positively associated with cognitive age and women report a younger cognitive age than men. These results suggest that for policy makers interested in increasing the participation of seniors, they can utilize the Internet to reach those who are younger in terms of cognitive age; however, they will not be able to reach all seniors in this manner and they need to utilize the Internet as a complementing media to their traditional communication sources.