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The purpose of this paper is to detect what experience and credence quality attributes contribute to the consumer decision to consume cactus pear fruit. The authors therefore try to measure the effect of each quality attribute on consumer choice.

As a theoretical basis, two principal quality attributes emphasised in the literature on consumer behaviour were analysed and adjusted to the specific fruit features. The empirical strategy was carried out by administering a telephone questionnaire survey of 270 interviewees who consume cactus pears in Italy. The questionnaire, consisting of 14 items expressed on a metric scale (five-point Likert scale), was used to rate the importance of cactus pear fruit quality attributes. An ordered logit model was employed for data analysis.

The results show that consumption of cactus pear fruit is mainly based on credence and experience attributes, which have different effects on the consumer decision to consume cactus pear fruit. Among experience quality attributes, the colour red, a low quantity of seeds, and being peeled are the attributes with major effects, following by credence attributes such as environmental sustainability, healthiness, and Italian origin.

The research was based on a particular fruit, and further comparative research is clearly needed. In fact, further advancement in cactus pear research would require that the validity of the empirical findings and their degree of generalisation be examined in other geographical areas.

The results of this study could help to identify some factors on which business could intervene to create a more effective consumer-based approach.

This study contributes to a better definition of cactus pear fruit quality for consumers with the aim of developing marketing strategies to increase farm business. To the best of the knowledge, no study has ever measured the effects of cactus pear fruit quality attributes on consumer choice.

This paper aims to provide evidence on the extent to which traditional agri-food products (TFPs) constitute a leverage to promote tourism in the province of Reggio Calabria, Italy, and discuss ways in which community-led local development governance institutions might enhance it.

The study is based on a review of existing information on Calabrian TFPs to classify them by area of production and identify those that are specific or relatively small areas, in addition to a qualitative analysis of the content of the texts of a sample of websites promoting tourism in the region.

Though food is one of the leverages used to promote tourism in Calabria, TFPs are not yet sufficiently exploited to attract tourists to the province of Reggio Calabria, in spite of their potential as a vital expression of local culture and traditions.

The selection of the websites used in the study may not be exhaustive of the full spectrum of Web-based promotion of tourism in Calabria.

The results provide useful insights to public and private institutions responsible for rural development and tourism promotion in Calabria. The database on the TFPs of the province of Reggio Calabria permits an easy reading of the geographical distribution of the different categories of products, useful as a resource for further studies and as a local development policy support tool.

Promoting a form of culturally sensitive, food-based tourism in the interior areas of Calabria may constitute an important factor to revert the trend towards impoverishment, migration of young people and depopulation of the interior areas of Calabria. This is a particularly sensitive issue in Italy today, in view of the difficulties that other strategies pursued in the area are facing.

Existing literature on typical food products in Italy focuses on those labelled by denomination of origin and geographic protection. This is one of the first papers focusing on TFPs labelled as Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali in the Italian legislation. By exploring the role of local food and traditions in promoting tourism, this paper expands the scope of existing studies of rural tourism and on rural development in Calabria, and beyond.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ willingness to accept irradiated food and the major factors related both to socio-demographic characteristics and to the perceived risk of consumers about the assumption of foods treated with novel technologies and irradiation, in particular, affecting their behavior. Consumers’ need for information has been investigated.

An online survey, involving 392 consumers living in Italy, was carried out to respond to the aim of the study. A Probit model was performed in order to identify major factors affecting the probability to accept food treated with ionizing radiation.

Findings show that the acceptability of irradiated foods is mainly affected by the consumers’ perceived risk to health consequent to their consumption. Equally influent are the socio-economic characteristics such as age, monthly income and geographical area in which consumers live.

This study provides some interesting suggestions both for policy makers and managers, primarily related to the need to start an effective promotion campaign aimed to familiarize the consumers about the principles, aims and benefits of irradiation technology.

Very few empirical studies have been carried out in order to evaluate the acceptability of foods products treated with ionizing radiation in Italy, where exist a growing problem related to the food loss and waste, and the need for information among consumers about the irradiated foods.

The purpose of this study is to address the situation that although the theoretical benefits of using drama projects in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) have been described in a number of studies, researchers have identified a lack of literature on their practical use, particularly in terms of different institutional settings, teaching styles, learning styles and proficiency levels. This paper therefore describes three case studies in universities in Korea, showing that the use of drama projects can be successfully used in different teaching situations and is an effective means of promoting meaningful language learning in students often demotivated by traditional methods and the test-driven classroom.

In these adult-learner EFL settings, a process approach to drama projects aimed to promote meaningful language acquisition and holistic learning in students of different proficiencies and majors. Drama projects were used as: syllabus supplementation by an individual teacher in a Korean-mediated English program (Case Study 1); core content on an English-mediated pre-service teacher training course (Case Study 2); and syllabus content on a Freshman English program taught by 25 native-speaking instructors (Case Study 3). Data were collected from pre/post-course questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and students’ evaluations. These were then triangulated to identify trends in participant perceptions.

Results indicated positive attitude change and promotion of cognition, positive affect and social skills in all three case studies, confirming earlier research findings and showing that the drama project is a viable and effective educational tool for the foreign language teacher, from individual syllabus supplementation to incorporation into a language program curriculum. Rather than resisting the innovation presented by drama projects, the adult learners involved welcomed the opportunities for creativity, autonomy, group work and performance.

The practical confirmation of the theoretical benefits of EFL drama projects across individual and institutional settings indicates the potential value of including them in university language programs and teacher-training EFL curricula, enabling and encouraging language teachers to promote holistic, meaningful language learning.

Focussing on the links among people, places and traditions, this study aims to present the reflections derived from five in-depth personal interviews on traditions regarding wine, fish, cheese making and rural hospitality, collected in a journey across the province of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. It provides an original view of the “stories” behind the places and the products, useful to inform local development strategies centred on traditional food products.

The article presents a novel approach in conducting research that involves collecting information via empathetic interviews and presenting the findings in a reflexive, narrative storytelling style.

Empathetic personal interviewing is key to elicit information useful to frame the links among people, places and traditions. The economic motivation is not the main one for people to remain engaged in the production of traditional food products in the province of Reggio Calabria. Pride in linking their activities and the products they make to the territory, its traditions and the culture embedded therein, clearly contribute to define a sense of place that might be further drawn upon in participatory, rural development initiatives.

Due to the way in which the interviewees have been selected, not all findings can be generalized as applicable to the entire Province or beyond.

Recognizing the people and the stories behind a product may offer insights on how to design effective, socially sustainable policies that would preserve important traditions. Personal food narratives might contribute, in a unique way, to an effective branding of the products and the territory.

Doing more empathetically participatory research, rather than taking a “neutral” stance in data collection and data crunching, which has traditionally characterized the work of agricultural economists, may help in making the institutions being perceived as less distant by the ultimate beneficiary of development policies and make participatory planning much more effective.

The article contributes to an emerging area of research at the intersection between agricultural economics and rural development policy. How to highlight and protect the people and their stories as fundamental aspects of the “places”, “products” and “traditions”, remains an area of research that has not yet been fully explored, at least in the rhetoric and discourse on integrated rural development in Italy.

The purpose of this research is to examine the potential impact of technologies on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain performance inside healthcare organizations, with a particular focus on cost and quality improvement.

The present investigation employs the survey method to examine the research hypothesis and objective. A total of 630 surveys were collected using an online platform, all of which were deemed to be valid. The gathered data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and Smart-PLS version 3.0 software.

The finding represents a holistic investigation into Industry 4.0 technologies, quality management practices, supply chain performance and organizational performance is essential for the healthcare industry’s evolution. Embracing these elements collectively has the potential to redefine healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes and drive operational excellence. The results seek to shed light on the broader implications for enhancing patient care, optimizing resources and improving organizational effectiveness within the evolving landscape of Industry 4.0-driven healthcare environments.

Exploration of the incorporation of Industry 4.0 technologies within the healthcare domain has the potential to augment operational efficacy, patient care and data administration. Examination of the repercussions of these technologies on quality management procedures in healthcare environments imparts an understanding of the enhancement of healthcare service quality and patient outcomes.

Implementing Industry 4.0 technologies, which encompass Internet of Things devices and analytics driven by artificial intelligence, within the healthcare sector has the potential to streamline operational procedures, minimize errors and optimize resource distribution. This, in turn, may result in heightened precision of diagnostic procedures, refined treatment strategies and an overall enhancement in the quality of care provided to patients.

There exist certain constraints inherent to this study. In the initial instance, the data were gathered from moderately sizable medical institutions situated within India. As the present investigation was conducted in India, it is possible to examine other countries in order to identify potential disparities in social conditions. Future research should consider, cross-cultural and longitudinal studies of organizational performance.

In the present investigation, the writer presents innovative research that may assist the healthcare industry in identifying the most crucial component of Industry 4.0 technologies for the relevant personnel. There is a notable relationship between the technologies of Industry 4.0 and the supply chain of healthcare, which was formerly the central focus. With a specific emphasis on big data, the Internet of things, cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence and 3D printing, the authors of the current study have showcased a connection between the practice of quality management and the performance of the supply chain by employing industry 4.0 technologies. This paves the way for the healthcare sector to place a heightened emphasis on organizational performance.