Consumers’ attitudes,knowledge, self‐reported and actual hand washing behaviour: a challenge for designers of intervention materials

Cross contamination by microbial pathogens in the kitchen environment may play an important role in many cases of food borne illnesses. Hand washing has been shown to be one of the most important factors in controlling the spread of microorganisms and in preventing the spread of disease. However, educational campaigns such as distribution of information leaflets, workshops, performance feedback and lectures have been, at best, associated with a transient improvement in compliance rates. In addition, the majority of research investigating UK consumers’ food safety behaviour has examined self‐reported as opposed to actual hand washing behaviour. This research utilises psychological theory in an attempt to understand how one might design a more effective hand washing campaign. Social cognition models were utilised to explore the relationship between consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, self‐reported and actual hand washing behaviour. The research was conducted in two stages. Firstly, salient beliefs of 100 consumers towards food safety were obtained using open‐ended questions. Secondly, the food handling practices of 40 consumers were observed and their food safety attitudes and knowledge determined using structured questionnaires. All the participants were knowledgeable about hand washing techniques, intended to wash their hands and generally had positive attitudes towards the importance of washing their hands. However, none of the participants adequately washed their hands on all appropriate occasions. The attitude statement results suggest measures of perceived behavioural control, perceived barriers and perceived risk may provide developers of food safety intervention materials with more useful information compared with measures of consumers’ knowledge or intention. Issues of habit and optimistic bias also need to be given consideration when designing intervention materials to change hand washing behaviour of consumers.     

To touch or not to touch; that is the question. Should consumers always be encouraged to touch products,and does it always alter product perception?

It has previously been suggested that consumers' product evaluations are positively affected by tactile interaction. However, it is not known if it is applicable to products that people usually touch for brief periods of time. This study sets out to explore whether it is possible to influence consumers' tactile perception of fast‐moving consumer goods by altering the surface texture. In this study individual tactile sensing and visual appreciation were compared with the combined visual and tactile sensing of surface textures for two types of products (soap and biscuits). Three types of textures on the outside of either a soap or biscuit box and three separate sample swatches of the textures used on the boxes were used in the study. The three soap or biscuit boxes were visually presented to the participants. This was followed by a blind haptic evaluation of the three textures, and then by a combined visual and tactile evaluation of three differently textured boxes (either soap or biscuit boxes). The results suggest that a consumer's perception of the packaging of fast‐moving consumer goods is affected more by vision than by touch, which raises some questions with regard to when marketers should encourage consumers to engage in extensive tactile interaction prior to purchase. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A comparison of the disinfectant action of a powder and liquid detergent during low-temperature laundering

The purpose of this research was to investigate the disinfectant action of a heavy-duty powder and heavy-duty liquid detergent at recommended and low washing temperatures. The effectiveness of the disinfectant action was measured in terms of removal, transfer and destruction of bacteria from infected test pieces of fabric. The investigation suggests that the temperature of the wash is important, since when reduced, less disinfectant action is observed. The results also indicate that liquid detergent is more effective at removing and destroying bacteria then powder at both temperatures used.     

The Rise of US Anti‐dumping Activity in Historical Perspective

Empirical studies of anti‐dumping activity focus almost exclusively on the period since 1980. This paper puts recent US anti‐dumping experience in historical context by studying the determinants of annual case filings over the past half century. The conventional view that few anti‐dumping cases existed prior to 1980 is not correct, although most did not result in the imposition of duties. The increased number of cases in recent decades largely reflects petitions that target multiple‐source countries; the number of imported products involved has actually fallen since the mid‐1980s. The annual number of anti‐dumping cases is influenced by the unemployment rate, the exchange rate, import penetration (closely related to the decline in average tariffs), and changes in the anti‐dumping law and its enforcement in the early 1980s.     

Consumer laundry practices in Germany

Sustainability is a guiding principle for a responsible, future‐oriented 21st century lifestyle and this already begins in private households with the daily household tasks. Approximately 25% of an average household's electricity consumption is required to do the laundry and dishwashing – 5% alone is for washing clothes with a corresponding energy consumption of 6 billion kilowatt hours. In addition, 600 000 tonnes of detergent and 330 million cubic metres of water are used for textile care in Germany. These figures provide the rationale for the scientific study of current practices of using washing machines and for a resulting estimate of the latent energy‐saving potential in German households. In the context of the in‐home study presented here, 236 private households throughout Germany were studied with respect to their washing practices and existing knowledge about topics on the sustainable, energy‐saving use of their washing machines. Overall, across all households 2867 wash cycles were individually recorded and subsequently analysed over a 4‐week period. The results of this study show that washing machines tend to be underloaded, and therefore maximum loading of the machines could lead to a reduction of wash cycles per household. With respect to detergent dosage, it was determined that the consumer does not adjust the dosage to the textile type, load size, soil level and/or water hardness, and this can lead to under‐ or overdosing depending on prevailing conditions. Finally, the selection of the wash temperature showed a 90°C/95°C programme was only chosen in 2.3% of all recorded wash cycles, however, every fourth cycle was completed at 60°C. Therefore, adjusting the load size and detergent dosage as well as selecting the right wash temperature are key themes to be taken into account in future consumer communication about energy‐saving households.     

纳米二氧化钛生产的工艺与设备(二)

洗涤过滤的主要原理是利用偏钛酸的水不溶性与杂质离子的水溶性进行液固分离。介绍了几种常用的洗涤过滤设备,通过对各种设备的比较,提出了500 t/a和1000 t/a两种规模工业生产的洗涤过滤方式:500 t/a规模采用多孔陶瓷膜洗涤、隔膜压滤机过滤,1000 t/a规模采用隔膜压滤机或摩尔过滤机一次洗涤、摩尔过滤机二次洗涤或摩尔过滤机二级水洗工艺,并对主要设备的选型进行了计算。     

Minimum‐variance futures hedging under alternative return specifications

It is widely believed that the conventional futures hedge ratio, is variance‐minimizing when it is computed using percentage returns or log returns. It is shown that the conventional hedge ratio is variance‐minimizing when computed from returns measured in dollar terms but not from returns measured in percentage or log terms. Formulas for the minimum‐variance hedge ratio under percentage and log returns are derived. The difference between the conventional hedge ratio computed from percentage and log returns and the minimum‐variance hedge ratio is found to be relatively small when directly hedging, especially when using near‐maturity futures. However, the minimum‐variance hedge ratio can vary significantly from the conventional hedge ratio computed from percentage or log returns when used in cross‐hedging situations. Simulation analysis shows that the incorrect application of the conventional hedge ratio in crosshedging situations can substantially reduce hedging performance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 25:537–552, 2005     

Manual dishwashing process – a pre‐assigned behaviour?

Global studies have observed many techniques of manual dishwashing causing different levels of performance and using quite different amounts of water, energy, time and detergent. It is not known, however, if these techniques are pre‐assigned to a person and persist when dishes are washed under different conditions, or are adapted to the specific type of dish‐cleaning process. Here we explored this question in a study with 40 test subjects selected equally from Germany and East European countries by asking them to wash two place settings of dishes with different amounts of soil three times. The results showed that the test subjects did not adapt their washing‐up behaviour to the amount of soil. In general, no significant differences were found in the water, energy and detergent consumption for all test subjects. Only the time used by the German test subjects to wash the fully soiled dishes was significantly longer compared with the dishes with only a quarter the quantity of soil, and no significant difference was observed for all other parts. The only significant difference found between the level of soiling of the dishes was the cleaning result achieved: The less soiled the dishes were, the better the final cleaning result was, and this related to all test subjects. This lends support to the proposition that the consumers did not adapt their washing‐up behaviour to the specific circumstances of the dishwashing job to be done but retained some pre‐assigned behaviour.     

Dirty weekends and personal hygiene products: The embodiment of casual sex in marketing

In the current inquiry, we propose that reminders of casual sex might lead individuals to feel physically dirty, and this would then motivate consumers to acquire and like personal hygiene products such as toothpaste, body soap, and face wash. We further test the possibility that our hypothesized effect would arise mainly for those who link casual sex with impurity. In three studies, reminders of casual sex increase liking for personal hygiene products mainly among conservative (Study 1), religious (Study 2), and individuals who see “casual sex” to be “dirty,” “wrong,” or even “immoral” (Study 3). These findings are consistent with embodied cognition, suggesting that abstract representations can effect concrete sensations. We study this possibility in a novel domain in sex and sexuality. Our work is relevant to marketers of personal hygiene products, but we situate our findings in the broader discourse of how mere reminders of casual sex might influence individuals’ choices and behaviors.     

Consumer Decision Making Regarding a “Green” Everyday Product

One of the techniques marketers use to convert low‐involvement products into high‐involvement ones is adding an important product feature. A case in point is the common practice of adding a “green” or environmentally friendly product feature to an everyday product, something which is often assumed to elevate consumer involvement in the choice of the product. However, there is a lack of research investigating whether adding such a “green” product attribute actually makes any difference to how consumers make choices. Does the way in which consumers make decisions about groceries change when both “green” and conventional alternatives are available? Does it make them deliberate more or do they just develop another, simple choice heuristic? Based on observation and follow‐up interviews of consumers at the milk counter in two supermarkets which stock both organic (a “green” attribute) and conventional milk, it is concluded that, rather than changing the way consumers make decisions when buying this type of product, the availability of a “green” alternative seems to make “green” consumers develop a new, simple choice heuristic that allows them to do their shopping as effortless and time‐efficient as consumers buying conventional products.     

The role of taxonomic and goal‐derived product categorization in,within, and across category judgments

Consumers can face two types of judgment and choice situations: They may be considering products that are classified in a single product category, or products that may belong to several different product categories. This article compares these within‐ and across‐category judgments on the basis of the distinction between taxonomic and goal‐derived categorization. The first study examines how products that belong to taxonomic and goal‐derived categories are represented in memory. The findings support the view that taxonomic categories differ from goal‐derived categories in terms of the ease with which the features shared between members of the category are accessible and the type of features that are used to represent the members. In turn, these differences influence consumer beliefs, judgments, and choice sets when consumers make within‐ and across‐category product comparisons. A second study examines how consumers' familiarity with consumption situations influences the construction of choice sets. Results indicate that as familiarity with consumption situations increases, consumers construct more narrowly defined, within‐category choice sets, whereas in less‐familiar situations consumers construct broader, across‐category choice sets. The implication of these findings on marketing action is discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Product Heterogeneity and Cost Allocations in Contingent Trade Protection

The WTO allows members to impose contingent protection, including anti‐dumping duties, within agreed constraints. Anti‐dumping proceedings typically name a single captioned product but include large numbers of individual products within that caption. The inclusion of multiple products creates a variety of issues for both anti‐dumping and other contingent protection measures, issues that have been prominent in national actions and WTO dispute settlements, but have been largely ignored in research. This work focuses on the most important such area, the allocation of costs among products in anti‐dumping proceedings. We develop a comprehensive economic analysis for cost allocation issues, and couple it with the accounting tools that must be used for its implementation, to derive the first‐best allocation methods for anti‐dumping purposes. These results have direct relevance in other contingent trade contexts, such as injury determinations and subsidy pass‐through analysis.     

Product placement in US and New Zealand television soap operas: an exploratory study

Although the soap opera as a television genre has consistently captured the imagination of millions of people around the world, surprisingly little has been written about it in the marketing literature. Understanding the consumption imagery in soaps may allow marketers to assess the relevance of product placement for their promotion strategy better, as well as providing valuable insight into the consumption habits of their considerable viewing audiences. Data were collected through content analysis from two soap operas, one in the USA and one in New Zealand. The results indicated a high level of consumption imagery, including brand references. Furthermore significant differences in the types of product and the emotional outcome of product use were found between the countries.     

Influence of negative age stereotypes and anti‐aging needs on older consumers’ consumption‐coping behaviours: A qualitative study in South Korea

The number of older people in South Korea is growing dramatically, and the socio‐psychological needs of these people have begun to change from those of elderly people in the previous Confucian culture. The anti‐aging industry is popular among older South Korean consumers, and the Korean mass media have begun to broadcast new images of older people. The purpose of this research was to explore older Korean people's anti‐aging needs by examining their consumption‐related thoughts and behaviours in daily life. A theoretical framework is formulated to organize the coping processes and psychological mechanisms used by older Koreans to meet their anti‐aging needs. A total of 25 older Korean consumers were interviewed, and the qualitative data are analysed to determine the main causes and, attributes of, and reactions to their anti‐aging needs. The analysis of the in‐depth‐interviews shows that the older consumers’ negative age stereotypes act as a stressor and that their need for anti‐aging products is a defensive reaction. It is also found that older Korean consumers change their consumption behaviours to cope with negative age stereotypes and to satisfy their anti‐aging needs, and two types of coping behaviours (problem‐focused and emotion‐focused) are revealed. The results of this study contribute to the academic explanations of the anti‐aging phenomenon among older Koreans and enhance understanding of the perspectives of older Eastern consumers by revealing the existence of their anti‐aging needs.     

Older consumers’ perceptions of functional foods and non‐edible health‐enhancing innovations

Increasing interest in health and well‐being is likely to drive a growth in demand for products that have positive effects on health. Consumers’ acceptance of and willingness to buy functional foods has been widely studied, but there has not been research on consumers’ attitudes towards innovative non‐edible products with health effects. This study examines how older consumers perceive functional foods and novel non‐edible health‐enhancing products, how willing they are to purchase such products, and how health orientation influences their views. As an example of a ‘radical’ innovation, consumers’ acceptance of rubbing their hands in a specific soil‐based mixture to modulate the immune system is explored. The research material, 13 thematic interviews, was collected in Lahti region, Finland, in 2015. The study indicates that the older consumers’ market is not homogeneous. Based on a qualitative, in‐depth approach, the study distinguishes four consumer segments with different lay understandings of health and attitudes towards health‐enhancing products, which influence people's willingness to purchase such products. The segments are health‐seeking consumers, cautious consumers, critical consumers and natural health consumers. Various motives and barriers for using products with health claims are also identified. The case of rubbing hands in organic soil‐based mixture indicates the difficulty of predicting which consumer segment will first adopt this kind of ‘radical’ innovation. The results highlight that the credence qualities of a novel product must be communicated and advertised before entering the market while also taking into account the sensory properties of the product. ‘Radical innovations’ must be in a form that consumers can easily accept.     

An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Anti‐dumping Behaviour in India

The use of anti‐dumping measures as a trade protection tool, has increased phenomenally during the last decade. One significant aspect of this new trend is the increasing involvement of developing countries. India is one such country which has emerged as a very frequent user of anti‐dumping measures, surpassing even the traditional users. It had initiated more than 300 anti‐dumping cases by the end of 2002–03. Many of these cases are against developing countries. Most of the cases are concentrated in narrow range product groups, like chemicals and petrochemicals, iron and steel, pharmaceuticals and textiles. This study examines India's experience with anti‐dumping measures. The main objective of the study is to identify the factors which might have influenced the anti‐dumping behaviour in India. Discussion of these factors shows that imports have increased considerably. This is particularly true for a number of developing countries facing dumping charges in India. At the same time, many of the domestic producers of the like products have performed poorly during the last decade. Such trends may instigate the import‐competing industries to seek anti‐dumping protection and may also influence the authority to provide that. However, the results of our statistical exercise show that, although imports and performance of the domestic industry might have influenced the initiation of anti‐dumping cases, these factors did not seem to significantly influence the final decision of the authority. The results rather indicated a tendency on the part of the authority to provide anti‐dumping protection to industries, which are characterised by a large number of firms.     

The impact of anti‐consumption on consumer well‐being

Although consumption is a symbol of an individual's socio‐economic status, an increasing number of individuals voluntarily prefer to consume less. This phenomenon is called anti‐consumption and it mainly occurs in developed countries where consumption levels have reached excessive amounts. One of the main aims of individuals following an anti‐consumption lifestyle is to increase their own well‐being. However, researchers have yet to investigate whether anti‐consumption, indeed, leads to greater positive consumer well‐being. Hence, through this paper this gap in research is addressed by first deriving a conceptual framework and hypotheses, followed by developing an anti‐consumption scale, and then by testing the impact of anti‐consumption on consumer well‐being. The insights of our analysis highlight the implications for both academia and consumers.     

Anti‐dumping duty circumvention through trade rerouting: Evidence from Chinese exporters

We study the evasion of US anti‐dumping duties by some Chinese exporters through trade rerouting via third countries or regions. Using detailed monthly trade data reported by China and the US Customs during the period of 2002–06, we find that US anti‐dumping actions against China lead to a stronger positive correlation between US imports from third countries and Chinese exports to the same third countries. Such a positive correlation is more pronounced for the products subject to anti‐dumping duties (treatment groups) than similar products not subject to these duties (control groups). The evidence is stronger for less‐differentiated products whose certificates of origins are easier to be modified and is stronger for third countries where the rerouting cost is low. These findings are consistent with a trade rerouting story, rather than a simple story of trade diversion (i.e., increase in some third countries' imports from China) and trade deflection (i.e., increase in some third‐country exports to the US). We also rule out other alternative stories, consider prior production in third countries and concurrent anti‐dumping actions against China or third countries, pay a particular attention to the many zero trade flows in the monthly level data and check the robustness to using an alternative control group and quarterly data, etc.     

Choices and using of washing machines in Chinese households

Rapid urbanization and improvement in living standard skyrocket the demand for washing machines in Chinese households, especially in urban households. This paper discusses the owning rate of different types of washing machines, using frequency, load capacity, factors affect choices of washing machines, etc. in Chinese households and suggest possible strategies in choosing washing machines considering economic expenditure. Quantitative information relates to choice and use of household washing machines was collected through in‐depth interview of the key person who carried out household laundering. A total of 993 households that were randomly selected in eight provinces and a municipality were successfully interviewed. Impeller washing machine is still in a dominate place whereas drum washing machine increasing steadily. Households with higher income tend to buy drum washing machines for their better performances in detergency and superior quality. Load capacity between 4 and 6 kg is very common at present. Larger load capacity is a trend of washing machine choices in Chinese households. Washing machine with better energy efficiency is more popular for its lower expenditure in use. This is more obvious for drum washing machine. Washing machines are often used once every 1 or 2 days in summer, whereas one wash per week and two washes per week are very common in winter. Consumer will expend much more money with the choice of a drum washing machine, not only for paying for the machine, but also for the consumed electricity and water and wastewater discharges in every use.     

HOME LAUNDERING PART II. A LABORATORY EVALUATION OF THE WASHING PERFORMANCE OF FOUR DETERGENT PRODUCTS AT 40°C

A detailed comparison of the washing performance of four detergent products is discussed. The results of experiments using stained tea and terry towels and fabrics having standard stains, clearly indicate that the performance of liquid home laundering formulations commercially available in the U.K. and France does not compare favourably with the results obtained from perborate-containing powder products.