Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, March, 2010. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until April 1, 2015. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of San Francisco, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 198-206).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Barbara Dyer ; submitted to the School of Human Environmental Sciences. Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-180).

Thesis (M. Sc.)(Consumer science)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 11, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-239).

The objective of the study was to determine perceptions of the consumers on how they judged behaviour and beef quality of cattle slaughtered for traditional ceremonies in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A survey was conducted where a sample of 200 consumers were randomly selected and interviewed. Fifty non-descript cattle were slaughtered during traditional ceremonies and two hundred and twenty four (224) cattle were slaughtered at 3 through-put abattoirs (high, medium and low). Meat quality attributes were determined from the cattle slaughtered for traditional ceremonies and from cattle slaughtered at the abattoirs. Data for questionnaires was summarized as frequencies for each ceremony and statistical differences were analysed using chi square test (X2). The effect of Age, breed and sex on beef pH, colour, meat tenderness, temperature and cooking loss of cattle slaughtered during traditional ceremonies, at low, medium and high throughput abattoirs were analyzed using General Linear Model (PROG GLM) of SAS (2003). There was a significant age effect (P < 0.05) on beef tenderness and cooking loss of cattle slaughtered for traditional ceremonies. Age of cattle that have milk teeth to 1 year and age of 6 years to 8 years had an effect on the beef tenderness (25.55 ± 8.05) and cooking loss (48.00 ± 4.26) of cattle slaughtered for traditional ceremonies in Table 4.1. There was no significant sex effect on beef tenderness and cooking loss of cattle slaughtered for traditional ceremonies. Non-descript and Angus cattle slaughtered at low throughput abattoir had an effect on the colour of the beef in Table 4.2. The lightness (27.49 ± 2.53) and yellowness (21.16 ± 0.79) of the beef shows that there was a significant breed effect on cattle that are slaughtered at Low throughput abattoir, however redness of the meat was not affected by breed after slaughter. Cattle that are slaughtered at high throughput abattoir between ages of 6 to 8 years and also cattle that are more than 8 years in Table 4.4 had an effect on cooking loss (p < 0.05). Age between 6 to 8 years had an effect on the beef tenderness from cattle that are slaughtered at medium throughput abattoir. It was concluded that the meat tenderness of the young cattle with milk teeth slaughtered for traditional ceremonies was affected. On the other hand the meat tenderness and cooking loss of beef from the cattle slaughtered from low, medium and high throughput abattoir were affected by sex and breed mostly.

From amusement parks to casinos, cruises to video games, large sectors of the economy market consumer fun. Yet surprisingly, little research has been devoted to understanding the consumer psychology of fun—both the experience and its main psychological drivers in marketplace settings. This dissertation aims to develop a psychological theory of consumer fun that can help inform how fun experiences are engineered and managed by both businesses and consumers. I use a multimethod approach combining in-depth interviews and narrative analyses with controlled experiments, structural equation modeling, and field data analysis of consumer selfies. Two psychological pillars of consumer fun are identified: (1) hedonic engagement and (2) a sense of liberation. Each pillar in turn rests on two sub-pillars: (1a) perception of novelty and (1b) connectedness, and (2a) a sense of spontaneity and (2b) impressions of boundedness. My dissertation research shows that fun is an experience of liberating engagement, a temporary release from psychological restriction via a hedonically engaging activity. Importantly, a digital ethnography of consumer selfies showed that compared to other positive experiences such as happiness, pride, or relaxation, fun is much more likely to be situated in commercial settings, thus substantiating the business relevance of fun. Through five experiments, I show that marketers can engineer fun by directly activating feelings of liberation through situational cues such as boundedness. Using a proprietary dataset by Brand Asset Valuator, I show that fun emerges as a major brand image attribute that is significantly related to brand preference and key financial outcomes such as revenue. Broadly, my dissertation reveals that fun leads to increased consumer well-being, independently from the meaningful, eudaimonic path toward happiness.

Most research on the consumer decision-making process has been conducted on literate adults. More that 20% of the adult population in South Africa is classified as being functionally illiterate, lacking the numeric and language skills required to perform basic retail tasks. Research examining the challenges faced by functionally illiterate consumers is practically nonexistent. With the lack of research on the shopping behaviour of such consumers in grocery stores, retail marketing decisions are likely to be based on implicit assumptions about literate consumers. Furthermore, this leads to a lack of understanding of how functionally illiterate consumers can be empowered in the grocery store environment. The main purpose of this study was to examine how functionally illiterate consumers in South Africa make decisions to accomplish marketplace activities and also to investigate the coping mechanisms they used in the marketplace. The study specifically examined these issues in the context of grocery shopping. This study therefore aims to assist consumer behaviour researchers to compare the traditional consumer decision-making process with that of functionally illiterate consumers. At the same time, this study attempts to enlighten marketers about the characteristics of a significant proportion of the South African consumer market. A qualitative inquiry, specifically semi-structured interviews, was used to gather data amongst twelve adult literacy learners. The study reveals that functionally illiterate consumers are faced with difficulties in grocery stores. These difficulties are either related to the actual store environment or product choice. Functionally illiterate consumers make purchase decisions differently from commonly held perspectives. The major difference is the fact that functionally illiterate consumers make purchase decisions based on a single product attribute, disregarding other attributes. Functionally illiterate consumers employ coping mechanisms to complement their deficient literacy skills. In this study, a total of 18 coping mechanisms were identified. A number of these mechanisms are behavioural strategies that aid these consumers to solve the problems of satisfying their needs in the marketplace. The coping mechanisms reveal that these consumers have varying levels of literacy. In other words, functionally illiterate consumers are not a single homogeneous group of individuals. This further substantiates the notion that literacy is not static whereby an individual is either literate or not. Literacy implies a range of skills that demand competency in specific contexts. Some of these participants are ready to fight the shame of illiteracy by empowering themselves; this includes asking for help which improves their subsequent shopping experience. The participants that are free to talk to other people seem to have reasonably gained confidence. However, there are still some participants who prefer to hide their limited literacy skills and who tend to experience the same recurring problems. An implication for consumer behaviour research is that existing consumer decision models do not adequately reflect the decisions of functionally illiterate consumers. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Marketing Management / MCom / Unrestricted

This study investigated female consumers’ awareness of and preference for brand name apparel, sought to determine the relationship between these variables and the purchase of brand name apparel, and attempted to determine the sample’s perceptions of branded apparel. The respondents’ brand name apparel awareness, preference, and perception were also investigated in relation to several demographic variables. Women professors and secretaries employed at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI&SU) were chosen as the sample for this study. A questionnaire was developed to ascertain the needed information and was distributed to 471 women by the intercampus mail system during the summer of 1985. The sample consisted of 97 secretaries and 73 professors, for a total of 170 participants. It was found that the brand name of apparel was unimportant to the sampled consumers in the purchase of dresses for the job, sleepwear and casual clothing. Within these classifications, consumers were generally more concerned with intrinsic garment features such as fit, construction, material, care, and style. Magazines were not found to be a major vehicle to provide clothing information, nor was magazine readership found to be related to the respondents’ levels of overall recognition and preference for name brand clothing. Consumers who were exposed to brand name apparel via media or store displays had a greater level of brand recognition and recall, which ultimately lead to greater preference for brand name apparel. Occupation and total household income were not found to be significant determinants of brand name awareness and preference. / M.S.