Fiona Lavelle, Claire McKernan, Blain Murphy and Moira Dean
Foodborne disease remains a significant public health threat and cause for concern. Despite numerous studies indicating that the domestic kitchen is a high-risk area for foodborne…
Abstract
Purpose
Foodborne disease remains a significant public health threat and cause for concern. Despite numerous studies indicating that the domestic kitchen is a high-risk area for foodborne illness, consumers believe it is low-risk. The type of food being prepared in the kitchen has drastically changed, with an increased use of convenience products, perceived low-risk products. Little is known about consumers' behaviours with convenience meals. Therefore, it is essential to understand actual and perceived food safety behaviours in their use.
Methodology
A mixed-methods approach using in-home observations and semi-structured interviews was undertaken with participants from the UK and the Republic of Ireland (N = 50). Observational data was summarized using descriptive statistics and an inductive thematic analysis was conducted to interpret the qualitative data.
Findings
In this study general food safety behaviours, such as handwashing, use-by date checking, as well as identifying obvious safety hazard were suboptimal. However, participants' convenience meal safety behaviours were as optimal as possible with the provided instructions. The qualitative data supported the participants' struggle with the provided on-packet instructions. They also displayed participants' uncertain perceptions around different products, for example if oven-products could be reheated multiple times, and varying levels of concern around meat and dairy products. Consumers urged for more detailed and clearer instructions with these products. Recommendations for producers are provided to enhance consumer experience with the use of the products as well as contributing towards ensuring consumer safety.
Originality/value
Mixed-methods approach investigating consumers' real and perceived food safety behaviours.
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Milk and yoghurt provide essential sources of nutrition throughout the life cycle in the Irish diet. Health claims on dairy product labels were popular in the 1980s, and since the…
Abstract
Purpose
Milk and yoghurt provide essential sources of nutrition throughout the life cycle in the Irish diet. Health claims on dairy product labels were popular in the 1980s, and since the introduction of the nutrition and health claims (NHC) Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 in 2007, many new regulated claims have been used to communicate product benefits. Meanwhile, COVID-19 and the Farm to Fork strategy have heightened consumer awareness of health issues. All of these factors have contributed to a change in our food environment and interest in health. In addition, the European Commission is working to introduce a legislative proposal on nutrient profiles (NP) to restrict the use of NHC on foods that are high in salt, fat or sugar. This qualitative study aims to research knowledge on adults’ attitudes, perceptions and behaviour towards NHC on dairy products.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a thematic analysis using transcripts from a series of discussion groups, attended by adults (n = 24). The participants also completed an introductory questionnaire.
Findings
The study noted positive attitudes towards dairy protein. This attitude was common across age, gender or life stage. There were misperceptions regarding yoghurt composition and health benefits. There were negative perceptions of low-fat nutrition claims on yoghurt, which led to a preference for full-fat dairy products. This requires further insight and research.
Research limitations/implications
Participants from a wider socio-demographic group could have broadened the research limits of this project.
Originality/value
These findings will interest policymakers, regulators, dieticians and the food industry.
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A higher educational institution evaluates the concept of success in terms of student retention, equal access to education, graduation and at times with the grade point scored by…
Abstract
A higher educational institution evaluates the concept of success in terms of student retention, equal access to education, graduation and at times with the grade point scored by the students. It also applies for accreditation and global ranking to showcase their success rate. It is rarely seen that universities evaluate student’s success in terms of their actual learning. Some universities lay emphasis on creating a collaborative campus climate, supportive mentoring by the faculty members and at times engaging students in a participative manner as a cohort. Rarely do universities monitor the cumulative educational achievements of the students. Retention and graduating batches of students is an essential feature of a higher educational institution but is not a sufficient measure. A college degree proves to be beneficial to the student and is considered useful only when it is valued by society and helps in empowering the students. Universities need to address this issue; they need to create metrics to capture the evidence of quality learning and should try to explore approaches as to how students can broaden their horizon and knowledge base and develop their concept of social responsibility to create a sense of all round wellbeing. With the rise of liberal education, there has been a gradual phasing out of conventional classroom delivered curriculum. The curriculum has become more robust bridging the conventional with applied form of education. This book narrates case studies where academics speaks about strategic frameworks that they have implemented in their classroom based on high impact program design, as well as approaches to mentor and support students as academic program leaders. Authors have demonstrated through their chapters that high impact practice (HIP) can become effective only when it is future focused and teaches skills to students that allow them to develop their social competence and enable them to examine knowledge management with the lens of social wellbeing.
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Dmytro Serebrennikov, Zein Kallas, Fiona Thorne, Selene Ivette Ornelas Herrera and Sinéad N. McCarthy
The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of behavioural determinants, such as consumer attitude, subjective norm, behavioural control and sustainable buying behaviour…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of behavioural determinants, such as consumer attitude, subjective norm, behavioural control and sustainable buying behaviour, on organic food purchase behaviour in different EU countries.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured survey of more than 5000 individuals from Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Czech Republic was conducted to elicit consumer responses regarding behavioural determinants of organic food selection. Both a structural equation modelling approach and a multinomial logit model were employed to analyse the data.
Findings
Consumer attitudes, subjective norms and behavioural control were shown to significantly influence the frequency of organic food purchasing behaviour for the whole sample and to varying degrees across each of the countries. The effect of a sustainable buying behaviour was found to be more pronounced for Germany, Netherlands and Italy than for Czech Republic and Spain.
Research limitations/implications
Analysis is based on self-reported data on frequency of organic food purchases, which might be subject to recall bias. Overestimation may arise as consumers tend to report increased purchasing due to the “desirable” qualities of organic food. We tried to ensure that the translations bore similar meanings cross country although some miscomprehension by survey respondents was a possibility.
Practical implications
To stimulate consumer demand for organic products, it is important to design policies and interventions that take into account the impact of both behavioural factors and demographic attributes on consumer decision-making across various locations. For example, market analysts and policymakers may find it useful to exploit the impact of consumer attitude towards the qualities of organics to induce sales of such food in their locations.
Originality/value
This paper combines unique survey data from five EU countries using a common model to explore and compare consumer behavioural preferences for multiple organic food products. In addition to a classic triad of behavioural factors believed to influence organic food purchases, sustainable buying behaviour as a determinant of organic purchasing behaviour was included in the analysis.
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Good soldiers are people who engage in citizenship behaviors “to do good” instead of “to look good”. The purpose of this article is to explore the motivations behind and the…
Abstract
Purpose
Good soldiers are people who engage in citizenship behaviors “to do good” instead of “to look good”. The purpose of this article is to explore the motivations behind and the specific characteristics of behaviours of the good soldiers in the context of work using social exchange theory (SET) as a theoretical framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 47 dyadic interviews with 94 individuals from three organisations where good soldiers are most likely to be observed were conducted.
Findings
Data analysis revealed that good soldiers are driven by concern for others and generalised reciprocity, but not by expectations of self-benefits. Their actions were further found to be discretionary, reactive and proactive and associated with different levels of self-sacrifice.
Practical implications
The findings of this study point human resources (HR) practitioners' attention towards qualitatively unique acts of good soldiers. An assumption is made that awareness of such behaviours can help organisations to stimulate individual self-motivation, so that the quality of helping behaviours could be improved.
Originality/value
Arguing for a fundamental rethink of the psychological foundations underpinning helpful behaviours, this paper departs from predominantly individualistic view on work motivation and reinforces the other-oriented, altruistic dimension of SET. In doing so, it addresses the lack of conceptual and theoretical clarity on differently motivated helping and extends the existing limited research evidence in this area. It further addresses a need for a comprehensive understanding of other-oriented behaviours and accounts for vital – yet neglected – features of such acts.
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Jennifer Oates and Rasiha Hassan
The purpose of this paper is to explore occupational health (OH) clinicians’ perspectives on employee mental health in the mental health workplace in the English National Health…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore occupational health (OH) clinicians’ perspectives on employee mental health in the mental health workplace in the English National Health Service.
Design/methodology/approach
Thematic analysis of data from seven semi-structured interviews is performed in this paper.
Findings
Three themes emerged under the core theme of “Situating OH services”: “the Uniqueness of the mental health service setting”, “the Limitations of OH services” and “the Meaning of mental health at work”. An important finding came from the first theme that management referrals in mental health may be due to disputes about workers’ fitness to face violence and aggression, a common feature of their working environment.
Research limitations/implications
This was a small scale study of a previously unresearched population.
Practical implications
These findings should be used to refine and standardise OH provision for mental healthcare workers, with a particular focus on exposure to violence and workers’ potential “lived experience” of mental illness as features of the mental health care workplace.
Originality/value
This is the first study to explore OH clinicians’ perspectives on the mental health service working environment.
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John Woolham, Paul Freddolino, Grant Gibson and Sarah Daniels
This paper aims to report on a structured attempt to develop new directions for research into telecare. Current research evidence suggests that telecare in the UK is not optimally…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on a structured attempt to develop new directions for research into telecare. Current research evidence suggests that telecare in the UK is not optimally cost-effective and does not deliver better outcomes than more traditional forms of care and support. To address this problem, an analysis of expert opinion about future directions for research is provided.
Design/methodology/approach
Two electronic surveys of UK based academic experts were conducted. Participants were drawn from a range of professional disciplines, including medicine, social care, occupational therapy and social policy and identified were by their contribution in this, or allied fields. The first survey included nine questions intended to identify at least one new research question that could form the basis of a funding proposal to the Nuffield Foundation, which provided “seedcorn” funding to support this work. Ten themes were identified following thematic analysis. The second survey asked participants to prioritise three of these themes.
Findings
Key themes emerging as priority areas for future research were as follows: the role of assessment in ensuring technology deployment meets the needs of service users; ethical implications of technology and how these might be addressed in the future; and the use of end user co-production/co-creation approaches in the development of new assistive technologies and digital enabled care.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on academic expert opinion; perspectives of practitioners, service users and family members are unrepresented.
Practical implications
The findings of this study could contribute to development of new directions for telecare research, and future strategic funding decisions in this rapidly changing field.
Originality/value
Evidence for sub-optimal outcomes for telecare requires new thinking. The authors are not aware of any other study that offers an analysis of expert opinion of fruitful areas for new research into telecare.