THE CONSUMER AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

Whether you are a business person, a tourist, or a consumer, you are affected by foreign exchange rates. Quite often a person feels that foreign exchange rates are too complex to understand. The following is a simplified explanation of foreign exchange rates, touching on factors, which influence the rates. A brief history, the spot and forward market, and monetary policy is also covered. It is hoped this approach will give a better understanding of a subject that is often presented in a very complex way.     

THE CONSUMER MOVEMENT AND ITS DOCUMENTATION

This review of the literature of the consumer movement discusses the history of the development of resources. It also considers contemporary sources throughout the world.     

DOMESTIC ENERGY CONSERVATION AND THE CONSUMER*

This study identifies factors influencing the behaviour of the household in energy conservation, and reports on a survey carried out to investigate knowledge in the area of energy and its conservation and the extent to which knowledge is put into practice to save energy. The survey showed that, amongst working class women, the need to reduce the bill, or at least stop it rising so fast is the greatest incentive to conservation. Knowledge of how and where heat is lost from the house is poor and there is little awareness of the need for insulation. Conservation practices in cooking are poor and where money is less tight, women easily become careless users of hot water. Most women do not have the knowledge to choose between fuels and appliances. The knowledge of women over 60 is significantly lower than that of younger women.     

SMALL SHOPS AND THE CONSUMER COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT

This paper examines the implications of some recent changes in the structure of the retail trades. Particular attention is paid to research carried out within the Cooperative Movement, and to the emphasis cooperative societies place on furthering consumers’ interests.     

THE LANGUAGE OF POSSESSIONS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSUMER STUDIES

In this paper the author considers the way in which consumers regard their possessions and how this can influence consumer behaviour. The need for change in consumer education and consumer protection is considered and the idea of consumer responsibility is proposed.     

THE CONSUMER FOOD AND NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS

Over 4000 prospective secondary and elementary teachers were tested in a national study to determine their knowledge of fourteen consumer subject areas. In the area of consumer food and nutrition knowledge the prospective teachers achieved only 48%. This area of consumer food and nutrition was found to be a critical weakness of prospective teachers relative to their performance in the other consumer subject areas. Prospective home economics and agriculture teachers scored higher than other majors on the food and nutrition questions but still revealed a poor cognitive grasp of the subject. Because of their impact on children's attitudes toward food and their eating patterns, prospective teachers need to be knowledgeable about food concepts. This study has implications for educators and college curriculum committees concerning the need for college level courses which deal with food and nutrition concepts.     

ABTA,THE CONSUMER AND THE RESTRICTIVE TRADE PRACTICES COURT DECISION

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has operated since 1965 a set of restrictive practices known as the stabilizer. Such practices in service industries became illegal in 1976 and the stabilizer agreement which was defended by ABTA came before the Restrictive Practices Court in the Summer of 1982. The Court accepted the argument that the stabilizer was in the interest of consumers in that ABTA rescued and reimbursed holiday-makers when tour firms ceased to operate, and concluded that ABTA should continue its practice of exclusive dealing.     

COST OF COMPLAINING AND THE EFFICIENCY OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AGENCIES

In this paper an attempt is made to analyse the activity of complaining from an economic point of view and a model of consumer complaints is proposed as an aid in this analysis. The author discusses the implications of the analysis and assesses the efficiency and role of consumer complaints agencies.     

CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE,RIGHTS AND BEHAVIOUR OF COMMUNITY CONSUMER LEADERS

Research has indicated that the attitudes of teachers are often reflected in their students.¹ If so, then what are the attitudes that potential community consumer educators may pass on to the people in their localities? Is there a relationship between their knowledge of consumer rights and responsibilities, and their opinions and behaviours? The knowledge, opinions and behaviours concerning consumer rights and responsibilities of community consumer educators may be reflected in their effectiveness in conducting community programs. Are they knowledgeable of their consumer rights and responsibilities? Do their own reported marketplace behaviours support their attitudes, or are they different? This study was designed to seek answers to these and related questions.²     

THE FUTURE IN CONSUMER EDUCATION

A model of the household enterprise is examined in the light of significant socio-economic trends and the uncertainties these produce. The implications of the growth of the household-enterprise sector of the economy is examined for relationships between consumers and industry. The case is argued for a shift in the emphasis of consumer education from consumer technology to an awareness of alternative futures.     

PERCEIVED RISK AND CONSUMER DECISION MAKING

The home economist has long been interested in effective family and consumer decision making and has tended to take a holistic or macro approach to decision theory. Recently, some applications of normative decision theory to consumer decision making—including the creation of rules for dealing with risk and uncertainty—have been advanced in home management textbooks. Since the early 1960s, consumer behaviour researchers in other disciplines have been developing a behavioural, micro-decision perspective centring upon the presence of perceived risk in the purchase decision of any customer. The empirical literature in home economics does not appear to have dealt with either of these perspectives. This paper identifies perceived risk as a useful analytical variable in the study of consumer product and store decisions and presents empirical data depicting the dual components of perceived risk and its four dimensions. The relationship of the normative and behavioural approaches to decision risk is discussed and implications for future research and application in home economics are identified.     

CONSUMER PROTECTION,CONSUMERS AND BUSINESS

This paper is based on a speech given to an OYEZ-IBC Conference in London on 10 November 1979. It argues that U.K. consumers and business generally have benefited from recent changes in the law. The ‘backlash’ against consumer protection legislation by some elements in business is wholly misguided.     

CONSUMER SATISFACTION AND LOCAL REDRESS ALTERNATIVES

Local consumer protection agencies have proliferated in the United States in the last decade. Attention is given to the need for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of these systems in order to better serve the consumer. The overall objective of this study is the assessment of the effectiveness of two major systems of consumer redress, the Better Business Bureau and the Small Claims Court. The study documents the nature of the formal third party consumer complaint system at the local level with empirical data from the two major consumer redress systems in a large, eastern, metropolitan area of the United States. Significant differences are found in the complaint characteristics and the redress probabilities of the two systems. Significant differences in consumer satisfaction with the two systems are discussed.     

PUBLIC PROVISION: THE CONSUMER DILEMMA

In this paper the author considers the origins of consumer activity in the public ‘social’ sector in the nineteenth century and makes suggestions about consumer activity in such areas as health and welfare, education, housing and the law in the twentieth century.     

THE WORK OF THE CONSUMER STANDARDS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The paper contains a historical survey of consumer representation in the formation of British Standards and the establishment of the present Consumer Standards Advisory Committee (CSAC). The terms of reference and the methods of work are fully described and the importance of the safety aspect of BSI work is emphasized. The work of the CSAC in the formation of international standards is described and the paper ends with a discussion of the information and education activity necessary to ensure the recognition of standards by the consumer.     

ELDERLY CONSUMER DECISIONAL PROCESSES AND PUBLIC POLICY

The growing proportion of elderly consumers in the United States and western European countries suggests that public policy makers should direct increased attention to the information needs of this group. In this paper, a review of multi-disciplinary research reveals differences in the way that consumers of various ages process information, engage in risk-taking behaviour, seek out consumer information, and view business practices. These findings have major implications for the formulation of governmental information policies designed to benefit the elderly consumer. Besides indicating directions for additional research throughout, this paper concludes with recommendations for methodological improvements in further studies of this important subject.     

THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION IN CONSUMER EDUCATION ACADEMIC UNITS ON CONSUMER ECONOMIC PROFICIENCY *

This research sought to determine whetehr formal classroom instruction improves students' consumer economic competencies. Students who were enrolled in a course that presented information in the areas of credit use, money management, savings and investment, and insurance when compared to students who did not take the course demonstrated a higher level of consumer economic competency. Significant differences in competency were also found when social class, post-high school career plans, and sex of student were considered.