Nour Amin Elsahoryi, Refat Alkurd, Leena Ahmad, Amin N. Olaimat, Fwzieh Hammad and Richard Holley
People with food allergies rely to a great extent on restaurant staff to have a safe meal. The purpose of this paper is to acquire novel data to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and…
Abstract
Purpose
People with food allergies rely to a great extent on restaurant staff to have a safe meal. The purpose of this paper is to acquire novel data to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices of food allergy among the restaurant's staff and factors that could be associated with these domains.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study involving 306 restaurant staff in Amman City, Jordan was conducted using a validated self-reported questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP).
Findings
The results showed that most restaurant staff had moderate to excellent knowledge, positive attitudes, low to moderate risk practices regarding food allergy. Knowledge level was significantly associated with the staff's age, position, education level and restaurant class. Further, attitude level was significantly associated with staff age, experience, gender, education level, restaurant class and whether the restaurant held food safety certificates. Similarly, staff behavioral practices were significantly associated with staff position, restaurant class and the presence of valid food safety certificates.
Practical implications
This study suggests that more training for the staff in restaurants would be associated with a lower risk of providing unsafe meals.
Originality/value
This study demonstrated the need for the pre-employment theoretical and practical tests for restaurants’ staff to determine their knowledge level and provide them mandatory developing training programs to support and facilitate food allergy risk management and to develop food allergy policies.
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Nour Amin Elsahoryi, Amin Olaimat, Hanan Abu Shaikha, Batool Tabib and Richard Holley
This study examined the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding food safety and hygiene among street food vendors (SFVs) in Jordan, along with associated factors.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding food safety and hygiene among street food vendors (SFVs) in Jordan, along with associated factors.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilized a cross-sectional design and targeted a sample of 405 SFVs in Jordan's two most densely populated cities. Data were collected through in-person interviews using a validated and reliable structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and linear regression were conducted using SPSS v.25 software to examine associations and predict outcomes.
Findings
The findings reveal that SFVs possess a moderate level of knowledge but exhibit negative attitudes and inadequate practices regarding food safety. Significant associations were identified between age, education level, work experience, marital status, gender and the vendors' KAP. Older SFVs tend to exhibit lower knowledge and attitudes, whereas those with more experience and higher education levels demonstrate better KAP. Marital status and gender also influence knowledge and attitudes.
Originality/value
This study fills a critical gap in the research landscape by comprehensively examining the knowledge, attitudes and practices of street food vendors regarding food safety, with a focus on Jordan. Its findings shed light on the challenges facing the street food vending industry and offer actionable recommendations for enhancing food safety practices. As such, the study's originality and significance lie in its potential to drive positive change within this vital culinary tradition, safeguarding public health and economic livelihoods.
Highlights
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The study's novelty lies in its exploration of street food vendors' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to food safety, a facet critical to understanding and addressing the challenges facing this industry. It offers an in-depth examination of factors such as education, experience, age, and marital status that influence vendors' adherence to food safety measures. By focusing on the two most populous cities in Jordan, the study not only provides a comprehensive picture of the situation but also sets the groundwork for policy recommendations and interventions.
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The research highlights a series of concerning findings. Street food vendors exhibit a moderate level of knowledge regarding food safety, with substantial gaps in understanding specific pathogens and transmission routes. Negative attitudes towards food safety are prevalent, translating into suboptimal hygiene practices. The study's results underscore the urgent need for tailored interventions to address these challenges and improve overall food safety practices within the street food vending sector.
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The findings offer actionable insights for policymakers, public health authorities, and local governments. They suggest targeted educational initiatives to enhance vendors' understanding of food safety principles and their significance in preventing foodborne illnesses. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need for improved infrastructure, access to clean water, and proper sanitation facilities to support vendors in implementing safer practices. By highlighting the associations between socio-demographic factors and food safety KAP, the study offers a blueprint for crafting interventions that address the unique needs of different subgroups of street food vendors.
The study's novelty lies in its exploration of street food vendors' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to food safety, a facet critical to understanding and addressing the challenges facing this industry. It offers an in-depth examination of factors such as education, experience, age, and marital status that influence vendors' adherence to food safety measures. By focusing on the two most populous cities in Jordan, the study not only provides a comprehensive picture of the situation but also sets the groundwork for policy recommendations and interventions.
The research highlights a series of concerning findings. Street food vendors exhibit a moderate level of knowledge regarding food safety, with substantial gaps in understanding specific pathogens and transmission routes. Negative attitudes towards food safety are prevalent, translating into suboptimal hygiene practices. The study's results underscore the urgent need for tailored interventions to address these challenges and improve overall food safety practices within the street food vending sector.
The findings offer actionable insights for policymakers, public health authorities, and local governments. They suggest targeted educational initiatives to enhance vendors' understanding of food safety principles and their significance in preventing foodborne illnesses. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need for improved infrastructure, access to clean water, and proper sanitation facilities to support vendors in implementing safer practices. By highlighting the associations between socio-demographic factors and food safety KAP, the study offers a blueprint for crafting interventions that address the unique needs of different subgroups of street food vendors.
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Tareq Osaili, Anas A. Al-Nabulsi, Balqees I.H. Albluwi, Amin Olaimat, Reyad Shaker Obaid, Sadi Taha, Mutamed Ayyash and Richard Holley
This study examined the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Jordanian dairy employees about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) characteristics and the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Jordanian dairy employees about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) characteristics and the effect of precautionary measures on food safety risk during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was conducted between Dec 17, 2020 and Feb 22, 2021, involving a total of 428 participants across 34 random chosen dairy facilities in Jordan. KAP related to COVID-19 were measured by 46 items, while 13 items were used to examine perceived notions regarding COVID-19 precautionary measures on food safety.
Findings
The results indicated that 32.2% of the respondents had sufficient knowledge, 60.3% had a good attitude, and 27.1% followed correct practices concerning COVID-19. Moreover, female respondents had higher total KAP scores of COVID-19 characteristics than males. Furthermore, older and more experienced respondents had higher total KAP scores than younger respondents. This study also observed that the total KAP scores were not affected by education, marital status, and job position. Characteristics and measures taken by the dairy industry were at large significantly associated with (p < 0.05) knowledge and practice of employees about COVID-19 attributes. Results of this study suggested that Jordanian dairy workers were not adequately aware about COVID-19.
Originality/value
No such study on dairy workers has been conducted previously to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Moreover, studies which analyse the association of industry response and characteristics on the KAP of employees are very limited.
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Debbie Holley and Richard Haynes
This paper explores issues raised during the development and implementation of a new multimedia learning experience, outlining the context to the research and focussing on the…
Abstract
This paper explores issues raised during the development and implementation of a new multimedia learning experience, outlining the context to the research and focussing on the changing roles for teachers and learners in the light of evolving new technologies. A backdrop of successive government policies to widening participation is provided to show the current rationale for higher education institutions encouraging staff to move towards on‐line learning. At institution level, this paper discusses the potential issues in the classroom that arise by asking both staff and students to change from more traditional ways of learning. Then the second part of the paper details the teaching problem behind the “INCOTERMS challenge” and covers the development of the multimedia tool. The final section of the paper reviews the evaluation of the tool by the students and discusses the findings in relation to the issues raised in the literature review.
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As we approach the millennium, we find ourselves in a world that places ever greater weight and significance on the outcome of polls, surveys, and market research. The advent of…
Abstract
As we approach the millennium, we find ourselves in a world that places ever greater weight and significance on the outcome of polls, surveys, and market research. The advent of modern polling began with the use of scientific sampling in the mid‐1930s and has progressed vastly beyond the initial techniques and purposes of the early practitioners such as George Gallup, Elmo Roper, and Archibald Crossley. In today's environment, the computer is an integral part of most commercial survey work, as are the efforts by academic and nonprofit enterprises. It should be noted that the distinction between the use of the words “poll” and “survey” is somewhat arbitrary, with the mass media seeming to prefer “polling,” and with academia selecting “survey research.” However, searching online systems will yield differing results, hence this author's inclusion of both terms in the title of this article.
Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our…
Abstract
Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our profession precisely because its roots and implications extend far beyond the confines of just one service discipline. Its reflection is mirrored in national debates about the proper spheres of the public and private sectors—in matters of information generation and distribution, certainly, but in a host of other social ramifications as well, amounting virtually to a debate about the most basic values which we have long assumed to constitute the very framework of our democratic and humanistic society.
Douglas J. Ernest and Holley R. Lange
With the introduction of optical disc technologies in the mid‐1980s, access to periodical literature has entered a new era. Although librarians perceive inadequacies with some of…
Abstract
With the introduction of optical disc technologies in the mid‐1980s, access to periodical literature has entered a new era. Although librarians perceive inadequacies with some of the new systems and the means by which they deliver information, users have embraced them enthusiastically.
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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A mainstay of conventional trade theory, the Heckscher‐Ohlin theorem, dates back to an article published in 1919 by the Swedish economist Eli Heckscher. Bertil Ohlin, a student of…
Abstract
A mainstay of conventional trade theory, the Heckscher‐Ohlin theorem, dates back to an article published in 1919 by the Swedish economist Eli Heckscher. Bertil Ohlin, a student of Heckscher's, developed the ideas in greater detail in 1933. A footnote in an article by Stolper and Samuelson specifically designated the “Heckscher‐Ohlin theorem” as such.
The most obvious symptom of the most obvious trend in the building of new libraries is the fact that, as yet, no spade has entered the ground of the site on Euston Road, London…
Abstract
The most obvious symptom of the most obvious trend in the building of new libraries is the fact that, as yet, no spade has entered the ground of the site on Euston Road, London, upon which the new building for the British Library Reference Division has to be erected. Some twenty years of continued negotiation and discussion finally resulted in the choice of this site. The UK and much more of the world awaits with anticipation what could and should be the major building library of the twentieth century. The planning and design of a library building, however large or small, is, relatively speaking, a major operation, and deserves time, care and patience if the best results are to be produced.