Hibiscus calyces have anti-inflammatory effects, reduce metabolic risk factors, and act as a prebiotic in the human gut. Bioactive compounds in hibiscus include dietary fiber, polyphenols and vitamins and hibiscus calyces have a well appreciated flavor. Preparation of juice from hibiscus is done using hot or cold aqueous maceration procedures. When hibiscus beverages are made, the remaining biomass, the spent calyces, is discarded. Little information is available on the composition of the spent calyces. To determine whether the spent calyces have potential value, it is important to evaluate the composition of major bioactive elements and other potentially valuable components like aromas. The overall goal of this work was to determine if hibiscus spent calyces have components that would be of nutritional value, and to investigate consumer interest in hibiscus consumption in the U.S. The first objective was to measure the contents of sugar, fiber, anthocyanins, other phenolics, vitamin C, and organic acids (hibiscus/garcinic, citric, succinic, fumaric acid) in spent calyces. The second objective was to identify and quantify flavor compounds in the spent calyces. The third objective was to assess American consumers knowledge and perception of hibiscus products. Cold and hot aqueous extractions were carried out on whole calyces of red and white hibiscus using a calyces:water ratio of 1:15. The spent calyces were freeze-dried and analyzed for sugar, fiber, anthocyanins, total phenolics, vitamin C, organic acids and flavor compounds and compared to whole calyces. Soluble and insoluble dietary fiber were measured using sequential enzymatic digestion and gravimetric filtration according to the AOAC method. HPLC was used to determine sugars, anthocyanins and vitamin C, acids. UPLC to identify polyphenols and GCMS with SPME to identify and quantify aroma compounds. Results of the survey show that most of the American consumers who participated in this study have consumed hibiscus products before and were aware of the health attributes of hibiscus products. The most liked products were tea and juices. Main reason for hibiscus consumption was in order: taste, health, flavor, and trend. The health statement provided to the participants of the survey did not affect their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for hibiscus beverages. Spent calyces contained significant amounts of sugars, anthocyanins, total phenolic, organic acids, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and aroma compounds. More fiber was found in the spent calyces than in the raw ones; volatiles profile and phenolics profile were similar to those of the raw calyces. These important nutritional compounds make hibiscus spent calyces useful as a functional ingredient in food products or for producing nutraceutical products. Use of spent calyces will increase value of hibiscus products benefit to both consumers and industrials and help reduce economic and environmental issues related to food waste management. / Doctor of Philosophy / Hibiscus is a plant native to the tropics. Two types of hibiscus plants exist: red and white; both have been used in traditional medicine, in cooking and for making beverages. Both share the following characteristics: sour taste, pleasant natural flavor, refreshing properties, and high content of elements such as dietary fiber and antioxidants that promote health. Hibiscus calyces are reported to have potential to retard early aging, fight against inflammation, and reduce metabolic risk factors (diabetes, obesity, and high blood cholesterol). Fiber acts as prebiotic in the human gut and therefore facilitate bowl movement. Hibiscus calyces are consumed in the forms of tea, juice, smoothies, jam and marmalade and are highly appreciated by consumers. However, despite these attributes and possible uses, the whole calyces' byproducts, spent calyces, are discarded after obtaining the juice from the whole calyces. They are considered as a waste product. As hibiscus is mostly produced and mainly known in places like India and Africa, we were interested in learning about American consumers knowledge and perception of hibiscus products. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the spent calyces' major components and investigate American consumers' knowledge of hibiscus. Red and white hibiscus were obtained from Senegal. Nutrients in spent calyces obtained from cold or hot aqueous extraction of each type of hibiscus was determined. The waste calyces obtained from both hibiscus types contain significant amounts of fiber, sugars, acids, anthocyanin pigments and other phenolic compounds. Phenolic compounds were idenuutified and many are known to have positive effects on health. Many aroma compounds were present in the waste product as well. The results revealed that most American consumers were familiar with and had consumed hibiscus products before. They were most interested in teas followed by juice. Taste was the prime reason why they consume hibiscus products then health properties. participants` willing to pay (WTP) did not increase after they were provided with information on hibiscus health benefits. Hibiscus spent calyces could be used for new food products manufacturing as they can add value to our diet and help consumers stay healthy. The findings can help in the promotion of hibiscus products consumption and commercialization and in reducing food waste.

Yes / In recent years, lifestyle products have emerged to help improve people’s physical and mental performance. The Internet plays a major role in the spread of these products. However, the literature has reported issues regarding the authenticity of medicines purchased from the Internet and the impact of counterfeit medicines on public health. Little or no data are available on the authenticity of lifestyle products and actual toxicity associated with their use and misuse. Our aim was to investigate consumer and patient attitudes toward the purchase of lifestyle products from the Internet, their knowledge of product authenticity and toxicity, and their experiences with counterfeit lifestyle products. A Web-based study was performed between May 2014 and May 2015. Uniform collection of data was performed through an anonymous online questionnaire. Participants were invited worldwide via email, social media, or personal communication to complete the online questionnaire. A total of 320 participants completed the questionnaire. The results of the questionnaire showed that 208 (65.0%) participants purchased lifestyle products from the Internet mainly due to convenience and reduced cost. More than half (55.6%, 178/320) of participants purchased cosmetic products, whereas only a minority purchased medicinal products. Yet, 62.8% (201/320) of participants were aware of the presence of counterfeit lifestyle products from the Internet, and 11.9% (38/320) experienced counterfeit products. In only 0.9% (3/320) of those cases were counterfeit lifestyle products reported to authorities. Moreover, 7.2% (23/320) of the participants experienced adverse effects due to counterfeit lifestyle products. In summary, patients experienced counterfeit lifestyle products that resulted in adverse effects on their health. Although certain adverse effects were reported in this study, counterfeit products were underreported to authorities. Further public awareness campaigns and patient education are needed.

The purpose of this research was to better understand consumer knowledge, its constituents, antecedents and consequences or implications for other consumer behaviours so as to assist wine marketers and marketers of other information-intensive products with their marketing strategy development.  Wine is a complex product difficult for consumers to evaluate particularly prior to purchase but it is also a difficult product for marketers.  Wine has a very large number of both intrinsic and extrinsic attributes.  As a result of the numerous attributes and the multitude of combinations of these attributes there is a plethora of wine brands available making for a highly competitive industry and a complicated product for consumers.    Consumer knowledge affects all aspects of consumer purchasing behaviour and is thus an important phenomenon for marketers to research and understand.  Consumer knowledge also affects all aspects of the marketing strategy developed to satisfy target segments.  Marketing decision makers need to understand consumers to be able to analyze and profile segments, choose target markets and develop marketing strategies that will best align with those target markets.  Calls particularly for better understanding of different segments within the wine market provide justification for this research. The research problem was divided into three components: Consumer wine knowledge constituents, Antecedents of consumer wine knowledge and the Implications of consumer wine knowledge.  The latter component of the research problem explored the implications of consumer wine knowledge for segmentation, as well as the relationships between consumer wine knowledge and exploratory purchasing behaviour, variety-seeking behaviour and opinion leadership and opinion-seeking behaviours.  This study provides evidence of the existence of two distinct constituents of consumer knowledge i.e. what consumers know (objective knowledge) and what they think they know (subjective knowledge) and these constituents in the context of wine are significantly related.  However it is also clear that these constituents are significantly different, with different antecedents and implications for other consumer behaviours.  This study provides a visual depiction of a simplistic nomological map developed for the construct of consumer knowledge based on the studies reported in this thesis in the context of an information-intensive product such as wine.  Objective knowledge is largely driven by demographic antecedents, specifically age, gender and education while subjective knowledge is mostly driven by, or affected by consumption.  On the implications side of the map, objective knowledge significantly positively correlates with exploratory acquisition, and opinion leadership while subjective knowledge is positively related to opinion leadership and negatively to opinion-seeking behaviours.  Theoretical implications as well as recommendations for wine marketers and researchers are provided. / <p>QC 20151217</p>

O desenvolvimento de alimentos industrializados que contemplam alegações orgânicas e funcionais consiste em uma estratégia que vem sendo adotada pela indústria processadora de alimentos. Entretanto, o conhecimento e a percepção do consumidor sobre alimentos industrializados orgânicos e alimentos orgânicos com propriedades funcionais permanecem pouco estudados, sobretudo no Brasil. Nesse contexto, um estudo exploratório foi conduzido considerando dois objetivos: i) avaliar o conhecimento e a percepção de consumidores brasileiros sobre alimentos industrializados orgânicos, e ii) avaliar a percepção de consumidores brasileiros em se tratando da combinação de alegações orgânicas e funcionais. Com relação ao primeiro objetivo, 1.619 participantes responderam a um questionário online em que foram avaliados em termos de sua capacidade de identificar alimentos industrializados orgânicos e de seu conhecimento sobre a legislação referente a alimentos dessa categoria. Do total de participantes, 58,5% afirmaram conhecer alimentos industrializados orgânicos, embora apenas 8,4% tenham acertado todas as questões propostas. O número de respostas corretas foi influenciado positivamente por atributos socioeconômicos, especificamente idade, nível educacional, faixa de renda, responsabilidade por compras domésticas, região de residência e envolvimento do participante com o mercado de alimentos dessa categoria. Ademais, participantes foram classificados considerando a sua percepção sobre alimentos industrializados orgânicos, de tal forma que três clusters distintos foram identificados: Idealistas, Ponderados e Céticos. Diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os clusters foram encontradas para idade e frequência de consumo, de modo que os Idealistas incluíram participantes significativamente mais velhos e os Céticos apresentaram uma frequência de consumo significativamente inferior aos demais. Esses resultados evidenciaram a oportunidade para políticas públicas e privadas que promovam o esclarecimento e a informação do consumidor considerando a assimetria informacional que marca a categoria de alimentos industrializados orgânicos. Em se tratando do segundo objetivo, participantes responderam a um questionário online em que os conceitos de chocolate orgânico com propriedades funcionais e leite fermentado orgânico com propriedades funcionais foram comparados aos seus correspondentes convencionais, orgânicos e com propriedades funcionais em termos de aceitação e respostas emocionais usando a metodologia EsSense25. Os resultados indicaram que o chocolate orgânico com propriedades funcionais não foi caracterizado por nenhum termo emocional quando comparado aos demais tipos de chocolate. Por sua vez, o leite fermentado orgânico com propriedades funcionais foi principalmente caracterizado pelos termos emocionais \'aventureiro\' e \'interessado\' em comparação aos demais tipos de leite fermentado. No entanto, nenhum desses alimentos apresentou diferenças estatisticamente significativas em termos de aceitação ou respostas emocionais quando comparados aos seus correspondentes orgânicos ou com propriedades funcionais. Esses resultados mostraram que a combinação de alegações orgânicas e funcionais não deve ser usada indiscriminadamente pela indústria processadora de alimentos. Adicionalmente, os resultados indicaram que as notas das respostas emocionais foram dependentes de associações relacionadas ao tipo de alimento, tendo em vista as distinções entre vício e virtude, de modo que o leite fermentado (virtude) foi considerado mais adequado para as alegações orgânicas em comparação ao chocolate (vício). / The development of organic processed food with functional properties consists on a strategy used by the food processing industry. However, studies concerning consumer knowledge and perception about organic processed food and organic functional food remain limited, especially in Brazil. In this context, an exploratory study was conducted considering two main objectives: i) to evaluate the knowledge and perception of Brazilian consumers about organic processed food, ii) to evaluate the perception of Brazilian consumers concerning the combination of organic and functional claims. Regarding the first objective, 1,619 participants answered an online questionnaire in which they were evaluated in terms of their ability to identify organic processed food and in terms of their knowledge of the organic legislation. Of the total number of participants, 58.5% stated that they knew organic processed food, although only 8.4% answered all the proposed questions correctly. The number of correct answers was positively influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors, specifically age, education and income level, responsibility for domestic purchases, region of residency and whether the participant worked or knew someone who worked with organic processed food. In addition, participants were classified into three different clusters considering their perception about organic processed food: Idealists, Moderates, and, Skeptics. Significant differences between the clusters were found for age and frequency of consumption, so that Idealists included significantly older participants and Skeptics presented a significantly lower frequency of consumption than participants from the other clusters. These results highlighted that further efforts could be made by public and private policies in order to provide consumers with clear information, considering the informational asymmetry that characterizes the organic processed food category. Concerning the second objective, participants answered an online questionnaire in which the concepts of organic chocolate with functional properties and organic fermented milk with functional properties were compared to their conventional, organic and functional counterparts in terms of acceptance and emotional responses using the EsSense25 methodology. Results indicated that organic chocolate with functional properties was not characterized by any emotion term when compared to other chocolate products, while organic fermented milk with functional properties was mainly characterized by emotion terms \'adventurous\' and \'interested\' when compared to the remaining fermented milk products. However, neither of these food products presented significant differences in terms of liking or emotional response scores when compared to their organic or functional counterparts. These results showed that the combination of organic and functional claims should not be used indiscriminately by the food processing industry. Furthermore, results revealed that emotional response scores were dependent on vice and virtue distinctions and that fermented milk products (virtue) were considered better suited for organic claims when compared to chocolate products (vice).

O desenvolvimento de alimentos industrializados que contemplam alegações orgânicas e funcionais consiste em uma estratégia que vem sendo adotada pela indústria processadora de alimentos. Entretanto, o conhecimento e a percepção do consumidor sobre alimentos industrializados orgânicos e alimentos orgânicos com propriedades funcionais permanecem pouco estudados, sobretudo no Brasil. Nesse contexto, um estudo exploratório foi conduzido considerando dois objetivos: i) avaliar o conhecimento e a percepção de consumidores brasileiros sobre alimentos industrializados orgânicos, e ii) avaliar a percepção de consumidores brasileiros em se tratando da combinação de alegações orgânicas e funcionais. Com relação ao primeiro objetivo, 1.619 participantes responderam a um questionário online em que foram avaliados em termos de sua capacidade de identificar alimentos industrializados orgânicos e de seu conhecimento sobre a legislação referente a alimentos dessa categoria. Do total de participantes, 58,5% afirmaram conhecer alimentos industrializados orgânicos, embora apenas 8,4% tenham acertado todas as questões propostas. O número de respostas corretas foi influenciado positivamente por atributos socioeconômicos, especificamente idade, nível educacional, faixa de renda, responsabilidade por compras domésticas, região de residência e envolvimento do participante com o mercado de alimentos dessa categoria. Ademais, participantes foram classificados considerando a sua percepção sobre alimentos industrializados orgânicos, de tal forma que três clusters distintos foram identificados: Idealistas, Ponderados e Céticos. Diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os clusters foram encontradas para idade e frequência de consumo, de modo que os Idealistas incluíram participantes significativamente mais velhos e os Céticos apresentaram uma frequência de consumo significativamente inferior aos demais. Esses resultados evidenciaram a oportunidade para políticas públicas e privadas que promovam o esclarecimento e a informação do consumidor considerando a assimetria informacional que marca a categoria de alimentos industrializados orgânicos. Em se tratando do segundo objetivo, participantes responderam a um questionário online em que os conceitos de chocolate orgânico com propriedades funcionais e leite fermentado orgânico com propriedades funcionais foram comparados aos seus correspondentes convencionais, orgânicos e com propriedades funcionais em termos de aceitação e respostas emocionais usando a metodologia EsSense25. Os resultados indicaram que o chocolate orgânico com propriedades funcionais não foi caracterizado por nenhum termo emocional quando comparado aos demais tipos de chocolate. Por sua vez, o leite fermentado orgânico com propriedades funcionais foi principalmente caracterizado pelos termos emocionais \'aventureiro\' e \'interessado\' em comparação aos demais tipos de leite fermentado. No entanto, nenhum desses alimentos apresentou diferenças estatisticamente significativas em termos de aceitação ou respostas emocionais quando comparados aos seus correspondentes orgânicos ou com propriedades funcionais. Esses resultados mostraram que a combinação de alegações orgânicas e funcionais não deve ser usada indiscriminadamente pela indústria processadora de alimentos. Adicionalmente, os resultados indicaram que as notas das respostas emocionais foram dependentes de associações relacionadas ao tipo de alimento, tendo em vista as distinções entre vício e virtude, de modo que o leite fermentado (virtude) foi considerado mais adequado para as alegações orgânicas em comparação ao chocolate (vício). / The development of organic processed food with functional properties consists on a strategy used by the food processing industry. However, studies concerning consumer knowledge and perception about organic processed food and organic functional food remain limited, especially in Brazil. In this context, an exploratory study was conducted considering two main objectives: i) to evaluate the knowledge and perception of Brazilian consumers about organic processed food, ii) to evaluate the perception of Brazilian consumers concerning the combination of organic and functional claims. Regarding the first objective, 1,619 participants answered an online questionnaire in which they were evaluated in terms of their ability to identify organic processed food and in terms of their knowledge of the organic legislation. Of the total number of participants, 58.5% stated that they knew organic processed food, although only 8.4% answered all the proposed questions correctly. The number of correct answers was positively influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors, specifically age, education and income level, responsibility for domestic purchases, region of residency and whether the participant worked or knew someone who worked with organic processed food. In addition, participants were classified into three different clusters considering their perception about organic processed food: Idealists, Moderates, and, Skeptics. Significant differences between the clusters were found for age and frequency of consumption, so that Idealists included significantly older participants and Skeptics presented a significantly lower frequency of consumption than participants from the other clusters. These results highlighted that further efforts could be made by public and private policies in order to provide consumers with clear information, considering the informational asymmetry that characterizes the organic processed food category. Concerning the second objective, participants answered an online questionnaire in which the concepts of organic chocolate with functional properties and organic fermented milk with functional properties were compared to their conventional, organic and functional counterparts in terms of acceptance and emotional responses using the EsSense25 methodology. Results indicated that organic chocolate with functional properties was not characterized by any emotion term when compared to other chocolate products, while organic fermented milk with functional properties was mainly characterized by emotion terms \'adventurous\' and \'interested\' when compared to the remaining fermented milk products. However, neither of these food products presented significant differences in terms of liking or emotional response scores when compared to their organic or functional counterparts. These results showed that the combination of organic and functional claims should not be used indiscriminately by the food processing industry. Furthermore, results revealed that emotional response scores were dependent on vice and virtue distinctions and that fermented milk products (virtue) were considered better suited for organic claims when compared to chocolate products (vice).

The research was undertaken to quantify the power of selected extrinsic (price and country of origin) and intrinsic cues (acid in chardonnay and fat in brie) on consumer evaluations of both experienced and expected product quality, and further, to measure the respective influences of objective knowledge, subjective knowledge and self-confidence on these quality assessments. The study also seeks to determine if a survey conducted measuring expectations of quality would yield comparable results with quality assessments based on actual product experience. The study was comprised of sensory experiments using full profile conjoint analysis experimental design to measure quality perception, followed by a survey where only product description profiles were provided. The analysis from both stages show findings that are remarkably similar in most respects. Results of the sensory experiment for chardonnay show both extrinsic cues tested to be more important than acid levels, while results for the survey show price maintained the strongest influence, with comparable expectations regarding the importance of country of origin and acid. For brie (both stages) consumer opinions were consistent; with price found the most influential; and while country of origin was considered relatively important, fat levels were more influential for both groups. Whilst for chardonnay (both stages) respondents held consistent beliefs regarding each acid level tested, for brie respondents experiencing the highest level of fat held an opposite view to respondents assessing quality based on their expected liking for this type of product. The influence of knowledge (objective and subjective) and self-confidence was found to be sporadic and weak, likely due to respondents’ general lack of objective knowledge in both stages of the survey. In the case of self-confidence, results are surprising given that respondents in both studies exhibited reasonably healthy degrees of self-confidence. The research provides important information to marketers seeking to exploit the most attractive aspects of their products and platform for a number of subsequent studies. / Thesis(PhD)-- School of Commerce, 2007

The aim of this thesis is to examine how the central museums in Stockholm, Sweden, design and market their offerings by utilizing consumer knowledge. Current museum marketing research suggests that museums should be marketed as any organization; however, public museums are challenged by their mission to provide an offering that is framed by the state, and at the same time to attract visitors. Through semi-structured interviews with representatives from seven of the central museums in Stockholm, and a case study of a marketing campaign for an exhibition, information concerning the museums’ designing and marketing of offerings has been gathered. This information was analysed according to the theoretical framework which, building on co-creation of value theory, is an extended version of the DART-model to include word of mouth. The authors conclude that the museums are limited in their ability to adapt their offerings to consumer preferences due to their state given mission and a desire to be credible. Instead, online communication platforms are used to make the offerings available to more people and to market the offerings through the consumers’ online social networks.

SAMMANFATTNING Bakgrund Elevers grupparbeten utgör en betydande del av HKK-undervisningen. Tidigare forskning kring elevers grupparbeten i allmänhet är omfattande, men forskning gällande elevers grupparbeten inom HKK är ytterst begränsad. Som utpräglat processämne är det av största vikt att eleverna ges möjlighet att träna på praktiska moment inom hem- och konsumentkunskap (HKK), för att eleverna ska kunna utveckla kunskap i handling vilket sedermera ska bedömas av undervisande lärare. Syfte Syftet med studien var att utforska lärares uppfattningar, upplevelser och erfarenheter av grupparbete i HKK. Metod Kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med tio HKK-lärare runtom i Sverige. Intervjuerna analyserades med stöd av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat Det mest framträdande resultatet i studien var att arbetsformen grupparbete var dominerande i såväl praktiskt som teoretiskt arbete inom HKK. Ramfaktorer påverkade, styrde och begränsade undervisningen. Samarbete, kamratlärande, trygghet och praktisk träning var främsta syften med grupparbeten inom HKK. Det sociala klimatet, elevernaskunskapsnivå och särskilda behov var de faktorer som främst togs i beaktning vid sammansättning av elevgrupper. Lärarnas arbete kring elevgruppernas varaktighet skilde sig åt. Observationer var den vanligaste bedömningsformen när elever arbetade i grupp. Bedömning av elever som arbetade i grupp upplevdes vara svårt och utmanande bland lärarna i studien. Slutsats Grupparbete som undervisningsmetod framstår som rådande kutym inom ämnet. Studien påvisade brister med denna undervisningsmetod, främst utifrån bedömningsaspekten. Med mer noggrant uttänkta strategier för varför, hur och när det vore lämpligt att använda grupparbete som undervisningsmetod anser vi att HKK-läraren har möjlighet att höja kvaliteten på såväl undervisning som bedömning. / ABSTRACT  Background Students' group work constitutes a significant part of the teaching in Home and Consumer Studies (HCS). Previous research on students 'group work in general is extensive, but research on students' group work within HCS is extremely limited. As a distinct process subject, it is of the utmost importance that students are given the opportunity to practice practical elements in HCS, so that students can develop ”knowledge in action”, which will be assessed by the teacher.  Objective The aim of the study was to explore the teachers’ perceptions and experiences regarding group work in HCS.  Method Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten teachers in HCS within Sweden. The interviews were analyzed on the basis of content analysis.  Results The most prominent result in the study was that group work was dominant in both practical and theoretical work within HCS. Framework factors influenced, controlled and limited teaching. Cooperation, peer learning, safety and practical training were the main purposes of group work within HCS. The social climate, the students' level of knowledge and special needs were the factors that were mainly taken into account when composing student groups. The teachers' work on the duration of the student groups differed. Observations were the most common form of assessment when students worked in groups. Assessment of students who worked in groups was perceived as difficult and challenging among the teachers in the study.  Conclusion Group work as a teaching method appears to be the prevailing custom within the subject. The study demonstrated shortcomings with this teaching method, mainly based on the assessment aspect. With more carefully thought out strategies for why, how and when it would be appropriate to use group work as a teaching method, we believe that the HCS teacher has the opportunity to raise the quality of both teaching and assessment.