Abstract: At the Savonia University of Applied Sciences (UAS),
curriculum and studies have been improved by applying an Open
Innovation Space approach (OIS). It is based on multidisciplinary
action learning. The key elements of OIS-ideology are work-life
orientation, and student-centric communal learning. In this approach,
every participant can learn from each other and innovations will be
created. In this social innovation educational approach, all practices
are carried out in close collaboration with enterprises in real-life
settings, not in classrooms. As an example, in this paper, Savonia
UAS’s Future Food RDI hub (FF) shows how OIS practices are
implemented by providing food product development and consumer
research services for enterprises in close collaboration with
academicians, students and consumers. In particular one example of
OIS experimentation in the field is provided by a consumer research
carried out utilizing verbal analysis protocol combined with audiovisual
observation (VAP-WAVO). In this case, all co-learners were
acting together in supermarket settings to collect the relevant data for
a product development and the marketing department of a company.
The company benefitted from the results obtained, students were
more satisfied with their studies, educators and academicians were
able to obtain good evidence for further collaboration as well as
renewing curriculum contents based on the requirements of working
life. In addition, society will benefit over time as young university
adults find careers more easily through their OIS related food science
studies. Also this knowledge interaction model re-news education
practices and brings working-life closer to educational research
institutes.
Abstract: The acceptance of sustainable products by the final
consumer is still one of the challenges of the industry, which
constantly seeks alternative approaches to successfully be accepted in
the global market. A large set of methods and approaches have been
discussed and analysed throughout the literature. Considering the current need for sustainable development and the
current pace of consumption, the need for a combined solution
towards the development of new products became clear, forcing
researchers in product development to propose alternatives to the
previous standard product development models. This paper presents, through a systemic analysis of the literature
on product development, eco-design and consumer involvement, a set
of alternatives regarding consumer involvement towards the
development of sustainable products and how these approaches could
help improve the sustainable industry’s establishment in the general
market. Still being developed in the course of the author’s PhD, the initial
findings of the research show that the understanding of the benefits of
sustainable behaviour lead to a more conscious acquisition and
eventually to the implementation of sustainable change in the
consumer. Thus this paper is the initial approach towards the
development of new sustainable products using the fashion industry
as an example of practical implementation and acceptance by the
consumers. By comparing the existing literature and critically analysing it, this
paper concluded that the consumer involvement is strategic to
improve the general understanding of sustainability and its features.
The use of consumers and communities has been studied since the
early 90s in order to exemplify uses and to guarantee a fast
comprehension. The analysis done also includes the importance of
this approach for the increase of innovation and ground breaking
developments, thus requiring further research and practical
implementation in order to better understand the implications and
limitations of this methodology.
Abstract: Environmental concerns about the scarcity of marine
resources are critical driving forces for firms aiming to prepare their
supply chains for sustainability. Building on previous work, this
paper highlights the implementation of good practices geared towards
sustainable operations in the seafood department, which were
pursued in an exploratory retailer case. Outcomes of the adopted
environmentally and socially acceptable fish retailing strategies,
ranged from traceability, to self-certification and eco-labelling. The
consequences for business were, as follows: stronger collaboration
and trust across the chain of custody, improvement of sponsors’
image and of consumers’ loyalty and, progress in the Greenpeace
retailers’ evaluation ranking.
Abstract: The purposes of this research are to make comparisons in
respect of the behaviors on the use of the services of metered taxi
classified by the demographic factor and to study the influence of the
recognition on service quality having the effect on usage behaviors of
metered taxi services of consumers in Bangkok Metropolitan Areas. The
samples used in this research were 400 metered taxi service users in
Bangkok Metropolitan Areas and questionnaire was used as the tool for
collecting the data. Analysis statistics are mean and multiple regression
analysis. Results of the research revealed that the consumers recognize the
overall quality of services in each aspect include tangible aspects of the
service, responses to customers, assurance on the confidence,
understanding and knowing of customers which is rated at the moderate
level except the aspect of the assurance on the confidence and
trustworthiness which are rated at a high level. For the result of
hypothetical test, it is found that the quality in providing the services on
the aspect of the assurance given to the customers has the effect on the
usage behaviors of metered taxi services and the aspect of the frequency
on the use of the services per month which in this connection. Such
variable can forecast at one point nine percent (1.9%). In addition, quality
in providing the services and the aspect of the responses to customers
have the effect on the behaviors on the use of metered taxi services on the
aspect of the expenses on the use of services per month which in this
connection, such variable can forecast at two point one percent (2.1%).
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to identify the main
differences in the way men and women perceive TV ads. This paper
is based on a research project conducted partly as a review of relevant
papers, which deals with gender influence on the cognitive process
and postmodern perception of advertising. In addition to that,
qualitative research was conducted by means of interviews and
structured questionnaires. Furthermore, data acquired from the
research were used to evaluate our objectives and hypotheses. The
goal of this paper is to compare women's and men's perception of
advertisement. Although women are able to perceive more details
than men, men are more susceptible to sexual appeals in advertising.
Significant differences were also found in the perception of sexual
appeals in the context of gender.
Abstract: This research aimed to investigate the relationship
between attitude towards marketing mix, brand image and consumer
behavior of the passengers of low-cost airlines service. This study
employed by quantitative research and the questionnaire was used to
collect the data from 400 sampled of the passengers who have ever
used the low-cost airline services based in Bangkok, Thailand. The
descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis were used to
analyze data. The research results revealed that the attitude of the marketing mix
of the low-cost airline services including product, price, place,
promotion and process had related to the consumer behavior on the
aspects of duration of service and frequency of service. While, the
brand image of the low cost airline including the characteristics of
organization, service quality and company identity had related to the
consumer behavior on duration of service, frequency of service and
cost of service at the significant statistically acceptable levels.
Abstract: The plastic industry plays very important role in the
economy of any country. It is generally among the leading share of
the economy of the country. Since metals and their alloys are very
rarely available on the earth. Therefore, to produce plastic products
and components, which finds application in many industrial as well
as household consumer products is beneficial. Since 50% plastic
products are manufactured by injection moulding process. For
production of better quality product, we have to control quality
characteristics and performance of the product. The process
parameters plays a significant role in production of plastic, hence the
control of process parameter is essential. In this paper the effect of
the parameters selection on injection moulding process has been
described. It is to define suitable parameters in producing plastic
product. Selecting the process parameter by trial and error is neither
desirable nor acceptable, as it is often tends to increase the cost and
time. Hence, optimization of processing parameter of injection
moulding process is essential. The experiments were designed with
Taguchi’s orthogonal array to achieve the result with least number of
experiments. Plastic material polypropylene is studied. Tensile
strength test of material is done on universal testing machine, which
is produced by injection moulding machine. By using Taguchi
technique with the help of MiniTab-14 software the best value of
injection pressure, melt temperature, packing pressure and packing
time is obtained. We found that process parameter packing pressure
contribute more in production of good tensile plastic product.
Abstract: Electronic mediums such as websites, feeds, blogs and
social media sites are on a daily basis influencing our decision
making, are improving our productivity and are shaping futures of
many consumers and service/product providers. This research
identifies that both customers and business providers heavily rely on
smart phone applications. Based on this, mobile applications
available on iTunes store were studied. It was identified that fruit and
vegetable related applications used by consumers can broadly be
categorized into purchase applications, diaries, tracking health
applications, trip farm location and cooking applications. On the
other hand, applications used by farmers can broadly be classified as:
weather tracking, pests / fertilizer applications and general social
media applications such as Facebook. To blur this farmer-consumer
application divide, our research utilizes Context Specific
eTransformation Framework and based on it identifies characteristic
future consumer-farmer applications will need to have so that the
current divide can be narrowed and consequently better farmerconsumer
supply chain link established.
Abstract: The UK is leading in online retail and mobile
adoption. However, there is a dearth of information relating to mobile
apparel retail, and developing an understanding about consumer
browsing and purchase behaviour in m-retail channel would provide
apparel marketers, mobile website and app developers with the
necessary understanding of consumers’ needs. Despite the rapid
growth of mobile retail businesses, no published study has examined
shopping behaviour on fashion mobile apps and websites. A mixed method approach helped to understand why fashion
consumers prefer websites on smartphones, when diverse mobile
apps are also available. The following research methods were
employed: survey, eye-tracking experiments, observation, and
interview with retrospective think aloud. The mobile gaze tracking
device by SensoMotoric Instruments was used to understand
frustrations in navigation and other issues facing consumers in
mobile channel. This method helped to validate and compliment
other traditional user-testing approaches in order to optimize user
experience and enhance the development of mobile retail channel.
The study involved eight participants - females aged 18 to 35 years
old, who are existing mobile shoppers. The participants used the
Topshop mobile app and website on a smart phone to complete a task
according to a specified scenario leading to a purchase. The
comparative study was based on: duration and time spent at different
stages of the shopping journey, number of steps involved and product
pages visited, search approaches used, layout and visual clues, as
well as consumer perceptions and expectations. The results from the data analysis show significant differences in
consumer behaviour when using a mobile app or website on a smart
phone. Moreover, two types of problems were identified, namely
technical issues and human errors. Having a mobile app does not
guarantee success in satisfying mobile fashion consumers. The
differences in the layout and visual clues seem to influence the
overall shopping experience on a smart phone. The layout of search
results on the website was different from the mobile app. Therefore,
participants, in most cases, behaved differently on different
platforms. The number of product pages visited on the mobile app
was triple the number visited on the website due to a limited visibility
of products in the search results. Although, the data on traffic trends
held by retailers to date, including retail sector breakdowns for visits
and views, data on device splits and duration, might seem a valuable
source of information, it cannot explain why consumers visit many
product pages, stay longer on the website or mobile app, or abandon
the basket. A comprehensive list of pros and cons was developed by
highlighting issues for website and mobile app, and recommendations
provided. The findings suggest that fashion retailers need to be aware of
actual consumers’ behaviour on the mobile channel and their expectations in order to offer a seamless shopping experience. Added
to which is the challenge of retaining existing and acquiring new
customers. There seem to be differences in the way fashion
consumers search and shop on mobile, which need to be explored in
further studies.
Abstract: The aim of optimization of store management is not
only designing the situation of store management itself including its
equipment, technology and operation. In optimization of store
management we need to consider also synchronizing of
technological, transport, store and service operations throughout the
whole process of logistic chain in such a way that a natural flow of
material from provider to consumer will be achieved the shortest
possible way, in the shortest possible time in requested quality and
quantity and with minimum costs. The paper deals with the
application of the queuing theory for optimization of warehouse
processes. The first part refers to common information about the
problematic of warehousing and using mathematical methods for
logistics chains optimization. The second part refers to preparing a
model of a warehouse within queuing theory. The conclusion of the
paper includes two examples of using queuing theory in praxis.
Abstract: Since the last decade, there has been a rapid growth in
digital multimedia, such as high-resolution media files and threedimentional
movies. Hence, there is a need for large digital storage
such as Hard Disk Drive (HDD). As such, users expect to have a
quieter HDD in their laptop. In this paper, a jury test has been
conducted on a group of 34 people where 17 of them are students
who are the potential consumer, and the remaining are engineers who
know the HDD. A total 13 HDD sound samples have been selected
from over hundred HDD noise recordings. These samples are
selected based on an agreed subjective feeling. The samples are
played to the participants using head acoustic playback system, which
enabled them to experience as similar as possible the same
environment as have been recorded. Analysis has been conducted and
the obtained results have indicated different group has different
perception over the noises. Two neural network-based acoustic
annoyance models are established based on back propagation neural
network. Four psychoacoustic metrics, loudness, sharpness,
roughness and fluctuation strength, are used as the input of the
model, and the subjective evaluation results are taken as the output.
The developed models are reasonably accurate in simulating both
training and test samples.
Abstract: The growing concerns for physical wellbeing and
health have been reflected in the way we choose food in our table.
Nowadays, we are all more informed consumers and choose healthier
foods. On the other hand, stroke, cancer and atherosclerosis may be
somehow minimized by the intake of some bioactive compounds
present in food, the so-called nutraceuticals and functional foods. The
aim of this work was to make a revision of the published studies
about the effects of some bioactive compounds, namely lycopene in
human health, in the prevention of diseases, thus playing the role of a
functional food. Free radical in human body can induce cell damage
and consequently can be responsible for the development of some
cancers and chronic diseases. Lycopene is one of the most powerful
antioxidants known, being the predominant carotenoid in tomato. The
respective chemistry, bioavailability, and its functional role in the
prevention of several diseases will be object of this work. On the
other hand, the inclusion of lycopene in some foods can also be made
by biotechnology and represents a way to recover the wastes in the
tomato industry with nutritional positive effects in health.
Abstract: The paper aims to evaluate the effect of online
advertising on consumer purchase behavior in Malaysian
organizations. The paper has potential to extend and refine theory. A
survey was distributed among Students of UTM university during the
winter 2014 and 160 responses were collected. Regression analysis
was used to test the hypothesized relationships of the model. Result
shows that the predictors (cost saving factor, convenience factor and
customized product or services) have positive impact on intention to
continue seeking online advertising.
Abstract: Home Energy Management System (HEMS), which makes the residential consumers, contribute to the demand response is attracting attention in recent years. An aim of HEMS is to minimize their electricity cost by controlling the use of their appliances according to electricity price. The use of appliances in HEMS may be affected by some conditions such as external temperature and electricity price. Therefore, the user’s usage pattern of appliances should be modeled according to the external conditions, and the resultant usage pattern is related to the user’s comfortability on use of each appliances. This paper proposes a methodology to model the usage pattern based on the historical data with the copula function. Through copula function, the usage range of each appliance can be obtained and is able to satisfy the appropriate user’s comfort according to the external conditions for next day. Within the usage range, an optimal scheduling for appliances would be conducted so as to minimize an electricity cost with considering user’s comfort. Among the home appliance, electric heater (EH) is a representative appliance, which is affected by the external temperature. In this paper, an optimal scheduling algorithm for an electric heater (EH) is addressed based on the method of branch and bound. As a result, scenarios for the EH usage are obtained according to user’s comfort levels and then the residential consumer would select the best scenario. The case study shows the effects of the proposed algorithm compared with the traditional operation of the EH, and it represents impacts of the comfort level on the scheduling result.
Abstract: In the past few years, high consumption of soft drinks
has attracted negative attention world-wide due to its possible
adverse effects, leading the health conscious people to find
alternative nutraceutical or herbal health drinks. In the present study,
a nutraceutical soft drink was developed utilizing some easily
available and well known traditional herbs having nutritional
potential. The key ingredients were selected as bael, amla, lemon
juice, ashwagandha and poppy seeds based on their household routine
use in the summer with proven refreshing, cooling and energetic
feeling since ages. After several trials made, the final composition of
nutraceutical summer soft drink was selected as most suitable
combination based on the taste, physicochemical, microbial and
organoleptic point of view. The physicochemical analysis of the
prepared drink found to contain optimum level of titratable acidity,
total soluble solids and pH which were in accordance of the
commercial recommendations. There were no bacterial colonies
found in the product therefore found within limits. During the nine
point’s hedonic scale sensory evaluation, the drink was strongly liked
for colour, taste, flavour and texture. The formulation was found to
contain flavonoids (80mg/100ml), phenolics (103mg/100ml), vitamin
C (250mg/100ml) and has antioxidant potential (75.52%) apart from
providing several other essential vitamins, minerals and healthy
components. The developed nutraceutical drink provides an
economical and feasible option for the consumers with very good
taste combined with potential health benefits. The present drink is
potentially capable to replace the synthetic soft drinks available in the
market.
Abstract: For the shrimp companies to remain relevant to its local
and international consumers, they must offer new shrimp product and
services. It must work actively not just to create value for the consumer,
but to involve the consumer in co-creating value for shrimp product
innovation in the market. In this theoretical work, we conceptualize the
business concept of value co-creation in the context of shrimp products,
and propose a framework of value co-creation for shrimp product
innovation in shrimp industries. With guidance on value co-creation in
in shrimp industry, and shrimp value chain actors mapped to the
co-creation cycle, companies can use the framework to offer new
shrimp product to consumer communities. Although customer
co-creation is known approach in the world, it is not commonly used
by the companies in Bangladesh. This paper makes an original
contribution by conceptualizing co-creation and set the examples of
best co-creation practices in food sector. The results of the study
provide management with guidelines for successful co-creation
projects with an innovation- and market-oriented approach. The
framework also provides a basis for further research in this area.
Abstract: This research will give the introductory ideas for
cultural adaption of B2C E-Service design in Germany. By the
intense competition of E-Service development, many companies have
realized the importance of understanding the emotional and cultural
characteristics of their customers. Ignoring customers’ needs and
requirements throughout the E-Service design can lead to faults,
mistakes, and gaps. The term of E-Service usability now is changed
not only to develop high quality E-Services, but also to be extended
to include customer satisfaction and provide for them to feel local.
Abstract: The properties of hollow sandcrete blocks produced in
Minna, Nigeria are presented. Sandcrete block is made of cement,
water and sand binded together in certain mix proportions. For the
purpose of this work, fifty (50) commercial sandcrete block industries
were visited in Minna, Nigeria to obtain block samples and
aggregates used for the manufacture, and to take inventory of the mix
composition and the production process. Sieve analysis tests were
conduction on the soil sample from various block industries to
ascertain their quality to be used for block making. The mix ratios
were also investigated. Five (5) nine inches (9’’ or 225mm) blocks
were obtained from each block industry and tested for dimensional
compliance and compressive strength. The results of the soil test
shows that the grading fall within the limit for natural aggregate and
can easily are used to obtain workable mix. Physical examinations of
the block sizes show slight deviation from the standard requirement
in NIS 87:2000. Compressive strength of hollow sandcrete blocks in
range of 0.12 N/mm2 to 0.54 N/mm2 was obtained which is below the
recommendable value of 3.45 N/mm2 for load bearing hollow
sandcrete blocks. This indicates that these blocks are below the
standard for load-bearing sandcrete blocks and cannot be used as load
bearing walling units. The mix composition also indicated low
cement content resulting in low compressive strength. Most of the
commercial block industries visited does not take curing very serious.
Water were only sprinkled ones or twice before the blocks were
stacked and made readily available for sale. It is recommended that a
mix ratio of 1:4 to 1:6 should be used for the production of sandcrete
blocks and proper curing practice should be adhered. Blocks should
also be cured for 14 days before making them available for
consumers.
Abstract: Consumers are demanding novel beverages that are
healthier, convenient and have appealing consumer acceptance. The
objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of adding grape
polyphenols and the influence of presenting health claims on the
sensory acceptability of wines. Fresh red sorrel calyces were
fermented into wines. The total soluble solids of the pectinase-treated
sorrel puree were from 4°Brix to 23.8°Brix. Polyphenol in the form
of grape pomace extract was added to sorrel wines (w/v) in specified
levels to give 0. 25. 50 and 75 ppm. A focus group comprising of 12
panelists was use to select the level of polyphenol to be added to
sorrel wines for sensory preference The sensory attributed of the
wines which were evaluated were colour, clarity, aroma, flavor,
mouth-feel, sweetness, astringency and overall preference. The sorrel
wine which was most preferred from focus group evaluation was
presented for hedonic rating. In the first stage of hedonic testing, the
sorrel wine was served chilled at 7°C for 24 h prior to sensory
evaluation. Each panelist was provided with a questionnaire and was
asked to rate the wines on colour, aroma, flavor, mouth-feel,
sweetness, astringency and overall acceptability using a 9-point
hedonic scale. In the second stage of hedonic testing, the panelist
were instructed to read a health abstract on the health benefits of
polyphenolic compounds and again to rate sorrel wine with added 25
ppm polyphenol. Paired t-test was used for the analysis of the
influence of presenting health information on polyphenols on hedonic
scoring of sorrel wines. Focus groups found that the addition of
polyphenol addition had no significant effect on sensory color and
aroma but affected clarity and flavor. A 25 ppm wine was liked
moderately in overall acceptability. The presentation of information
on the health benefit of polyphenols in sorrel wines to panelists had
no significant influence on the sensory acceptance of wine. More
than half of panelists would drink this wine now and then. This wine
had color L 19.86±0.68, chroma 2.10±0.12, hue° 16.90 ±3.10 and
alcohol content of 13.0%. The sorrel wine was liked moderately in
overall acceptability with the added polyphenols.
Abstract: Grains, including oats (Avena sativa L.), have been
recognized functional foods, because provide beneficial effect on the
health of the consumer and decrease the risk of various diseases. Oats
are good source of soluble fibre, essential amino acids, unsaturated
fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Oat breeders have developed oat
varieties and improved yielding ability potential of oat varieties.
Therefore, the aim of investigation was to analyze the composition of
perspective oat varieties and breeding lines grains grown in different
conditions and evaluate functional properties. In the studied samples
content of protein, starch, β-glucans, total dietetic fibre, composition
of amino acids and vitamin E were determined. The results of
analysis showed that protein content depending of varieties ranged
9.70% to 17.30% total dietary fibre 13.66 g100g-1 to 30.17 g100g-1,
content of β-glucans 2.7 g100g-1 to 3.5 g100g-1, amount of
vitamin E (α-tocopherol) determined from 4 mgkg-1 to 9.9 mgkg-1.
The sums of essential amino acids in oat grain samples were
determined from 31.63 gkg-1 to 54.90 gkg-1. It is concluded that
amino acids composition of husked and naked oats grown in organic
or conventional conditions is close to optimal for human health.