How can consumer trust in organic products be enhanced?

The study presented explores consumer trust in organic food and the effectiveness of enhancing consumer trust by communication strategies on traceability. The research is based on the general finding that trust is one of the most crucial aspects when consumer decide whether to buy or not to buy organic products. However, there are hardly any empirical works which analyse in detail consumer trust in organic food and the ways it can be enhanced. First, based on a quantitative inquiry of 600 persons in Germany the study presented investigates consumer trust in the different actors involved in the organic supply chain (farmers, processors, traders, labels), in distinct attributed qualities such as benefits for health, ecology and animal welfare as well as the customers’ criteria for assessing trustworthiness of the organic products. Empirical data is analysed by multivariate statistics such as cluster analysis to identify distinct consumer segments with respect to their trust characteristics. In a second step there will be a qualitative research method using interviews combined with a visualizing technique. The aim of this method is to understand the consumers’ attitudes towards the supply chain of organic food and the complex construct of trust better. The results shall help to develop communication strategies for enhancing consumer trust in organic food

Einfluss produktionsbezogener Kommunikation auf das Verbrauchervertrauen in (Bio-)Lebensmittel

Untersuchungsgegenstand in der vorliegenden Arbeit ist der Einfluss von Vertrauen in Lebensmittel auf den Kaufentscheidungsprozess und die Bedeutung von produktionsbezogener Kommunikation auf das Verbrauchervertrauen. Die Entscheidungsgründe für oder gegen bestimmte Lebensmittel wurden bereits in einigen Studien untersucht. Dabei werden beispielsweise die Bedeutung des Preises, des Gesundheitswertes und des Tier- und Umweltschutzes erfasst. Ebenso werden Ängste der Konsumenten in Bezug auf Lebensmittel in Zeiten von Lebensmittelskandalen aufgezeigt. Wenig Berücksichtigung hingegen findet der Einfluss von produktionsbezogener Kommunikation auf das Vertrauen der Konsumenten. Mit dieser Arbeit soll diese Forschungslücke geschlossen werden. Es wird analysiert, welche Rolle Vertrauen im Kaufentscheidungsprozess von Lebensmitteln spielt und ob ein Zusammenhang zwischen dem interpersonellen Vertrauen und dem Vertrauen in bestimmte Lebensmittel, an dieser Stelle Biolebensmittel, besteht. Weiterhin wird der Einfluss produktionsbezogener Kommunikation auf das Verbrauchervertrauen erörtert.This scientific paper aims to analyze the effect of trust in food on the purchasing-decision-making process and the importance of production-related communication on consumer confidence. The decision-making rationale in favor of or against buying a special kind of food has already been examined in several studies including the importance of price, health value, protection of animals, and environmental protection. Another aim is to illustrate consumers’ fear and to discover whether consumers get worried about food in times of food scandals. But the influence of production-related communication on consumers’ confidence is not been investigated, yet. The aim of this study is to close this research gap. The role of trust in the purchasing-decision-making process and the connection between interpersonal trust and trust in a special kind of food, i.e. organic food, are analyzed. Furthermore, the influence of production-related communication on consumer confidence is discussed

Verbrauchervertrauen in Biolebensmittel

Heutzutage existiert ein sehr komplexer und anonymer Lebensmittelmarkt. Somit ist das Vertrauen in Lebensmittel für den Verbraucher zu einem Schlüsselproblem bei seiner Lebensmittelauswahl geworden. Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, ob Verbraucher dem Produktionsprozess von Biolebensmitteln oder dem Produkt als solches vertrauen. Weiterhin soll der Einfluss von Rückverfolgbarkeitssystemen auf den Kaufentscheidungsprozess untersucht werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Verbraucher in zwei Gruppen eingeteilt werden können, Verbraucher die dem Produktionsprozess vertrauen und Verbraucher, die dem Produkt vertrauen. Bezogen auf Rückverfolgbarkeitssysteme wird deutlich, dass sie im Prozess der Kaufentscheidung des Verbrauchers für oder gegen Biolebensmittel keine bedeutsame Rolle spielen. Allerdings ist die Herkunft des Lebensmittels, wie regionale Herkunft oder Ursprungsland, ein wichtiges Kriterium bei der Entscheidung des Verbrauchers für oder gegen ein Lebensmittel. Die Ergebnisse der Studie sollen helfen, Kommunikationsstrategien für die Stärkung des Verbrauchervertrauens in Biolebensmittel zu entwickeln

Molecular Characterization of Lung Dysplasia Induced by c-Raf-1

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is a multistage process with poor prognosis and high morbidity. Importantly, the genetics of dysplasia, a facultative cancer, at the edge of malignant transformation is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We employed laser microdissection to harvest c-Raf1- induced dysplastic as opposed to transgenic but otherwise morphologically unaltered epithelium and compared findings to non-transgenic lung. We then employed microarrays to search genome wide for gene regulatory networks. A total of 120 and 287 genes were significantly regulated, respectively. Dysplasia was exclusive associated with up-regulation of genes coding for cell growth and proliferation, cell-to-cell signalling and interaction, lipid metabolism, development, and cancer. Likewise, when dysplasia was compared with non-transgenic cells up-regulation of cancer associated genes, tight junction proteins, xenobiotic defence and developmental regulators was observed. Further, in a comparison of the data sets of dysplasia vs transgenic and dysplasia vs non-transgenic 114 genes were regulated in common. We additionally confirmed regulation of some genes by immunohistochemistry and therefore demonstrate good concordance between gene regulation and coded protein. CONCLUSION: Our study identified transcriptional networks at successive stages of tumor-development, i.e. from histological unaltered but transgenic lungs to nuclear atypia. Our SP-C/c-raf transgenic mouse model revealed interesting and novel candidate genes and pathways that provide clues on the mechanism forcing respiratory epithelium into dysplasia and subsequently cancer, some of which might also be useful in the molecular imaging and flagging of early stages of disease

Compensating for low topic interest and long surveys: a field experiment on nonresponse in web surveys

Certain survey characteristics proven to affect response rates, such as a survey’s length and topic, are often under limited control of the researcher. Therefore, survey researchers sometimes seek to compensate for such undesired effects on response rates by employing countermeasures such as material or nonmaterial incentives. The scarce evidence on those factors’ effects in web survey contexts is far from being conclusive. This study is aimed at filling this gap by examining the effects of four factors along with selected interactions presumed to affect response rates in web surveys. Requests to complete a web-based, selfadministered survey were sent to 2,152 owners of personal websites. The 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 fully crossed factorial design encompassed the experimental conditions of (a) high versus low topic salience, (b) short versus long survey, (c) lottery incentive versus no incentive, and (d) no feedback and general feedback (study results) versus personal feedback (individual profile of results). As expected, highly salient and shorter surveys yielded considerably higher unit-response rates. Moreover, partial support was found for interaction hypotheses derived from the leverage-salience theory of survey participation. Offering personalized feedback compensated for the negative effects of low topic salience on response rates. Also, the lottery incentive tended to evoke more responses only if the survey was short (versus long), but this interaction effect was only marginally significant. The results stress the usefulness of a multifactorial approach encompassing interaction effects to understand participation differences in web surveys. (auhtor'S abstract

Transparent Food and Consumer Trust

Nowadays the food market is very complex and anonymous. Consequently, consumer trust in food has become a key issue for food choice. For example, the production process of food is not always transparent for consumers. To provide more transparency and to enhance consumer trust, different initiatives communicating traceability to the consumers exist. Visualised traceability systems such as the initiative ‘Bio mit Gesicht’ allow consumers to gather information about the farmer who has produced the food as well as information about his farm and family.This study explores consumer trust in organic food, the impact of trust in the buying decision and the effectiveness of enhancing consumer trust by communication strategies on traceability. The research is grounded on the general finding that trust is one of the most crucial aspects when consumers decide whether or not to buy organic products. The study consists of two tasks, a quantitative and a qualitative survey. In this paper the focus is laid on the second task, a qualitative survey. The used method is the structure formationtechnique. The aim is to combine an interview with a visualising technique. With the help of this method the factors which influence the decision of consumers to buy or not to buy organic food should become clear. Furthermore, the role of trust in the buying decision will be explored. Moreover, an investigation should be made as to whether or not traceability systems influence consumer trust in organic food. This research is currently being conducted but preliminary results can already be presented.The results of the study will help develop communication strategies for enhancing consumer trust in organic food

Pretreatment thrombocytosis: A prognostic marker for oral squamous cell carcinoma?

Purpose: Thrombocytosis associated with poorer prognoses seems to be a frequent preoperative finding in different kind of cancers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether thrombocytosis can be used as a prognostic marker for oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Methods: Altogether, 288 patients with oral SCC were considered, as well as all platelet counts between 1 and 5days prior to surgical treatment, recurrence rate, and lymph node metastasis. The minimum follow-up time was 12months. Results: The mean preoperative thrombocyte score of the patients who received surgery was 259.55 ± 83.8 Tsd/μl; 273 out of 288 patients were in the normal thrombocyte range, and 12 had a thrombocytosis. From 51 patients with recurrence, three were in the thrombocytosis group, and 45 patients with recurrence were in the normal thrombocyte range. Conclusion: The present results do not confirm that thrombocytosis can be seen as marker for poor tumor prognosi

«Man må regne med å dø når man er over 60 år». En KLoK-oppgave om utfylling av dødsattest og unaturlige dødsfall

Gruppen har valgt utfylling av Legeerklæring om dødsfall/Melding om unaturlig dødsfall (dødsattest) som tema i denne prosjektoppgaven, nærmere bestemt delen som omhandler registrering og melding av unaturlige dødsfall. Problemstillingen lyder som følger: Hvordan endre dødsattesten for å forbedre registrering ,og melding til politiet, av unaturlige dødsfall? Kunnskapsgrunnlaget for oppgaven baseres i stor grad på det norske lovverket, i tillegg også publiserte forskningsresultater fra Akershus Universitetssykehus (Ahus). Kvalitetsforbedringsprosjektet finner sted på Ahus og skal gjennomføres ved å gjøre endringer i dødsattestskjemaet i DIPS. Gruppen planlegger å benytte seg av en resultatindikator der man sammenligner andel unaturlige dødsfall som blir registrert og meldt til politiet før og etter prosjektperioden. Vi vurderer vårt tiltak til å være gjennomførbart. Hvis tiltaket fungerer på Ahus, bør det også innføres på nasjonalt plan

Wie lässt sich das Vertrauen der Konsumenten in Bio-Lebensmittel erhöhen?

Trust is seen as one of the most crucial aspects when consumers decide whether or not to buy organic products. Our research investigates consumer trust in organic food and the effectiveness of enhancing consumer trust by communication strategies on traceability in a quantitative survey of 900 consumers in Germany. The survey focuses on consumer trust in the different actors involved in the organic supply chain as well as on criteria for assessing trustworthiness of organic products. The data analysis includes descriptive statistics and correlation analysis as well as multivariate analysis to identify distinct consumer segments with respect to specific trust characteristics and organic food consumption frequency. The results shall contribute to develop communication strategies for enhancing consumer trust in organic food

The role of membrane lipids in the induction of macrophage apoptosis by microparticles

Microparticles are membrane-derived vesicles that are released from cells during activation or cell death. These particles can serve as mediators of intercellular cross-talk and induce a variety of cellular responses. Previous studies have shown that macrophages undergo apoptosis after phagocytosing microparticles. Here, we have addressed the hypothesis that microparticles trigger this process via lipid pathways. In these experiments, microparticles induced apoptosis in primary macrophage cells or cell lines (RAW 264.7 or U937) with up to a 5-fold increase. Preincubation of macrophages with phosphatidylinositol-3,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(3,5)BP) reduced the microparticle-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. PtdIns(3,5)BP is a specific inhibitor of the acid sphingomyelinase and thus can block the generation of pro-apoptotic ceramides. Similarly, the pre-incubation of macrophages with PtdIns(3,5)BP prevented microparticle-induced upregulation of caspase 8, which is a major target molecule of ceramide action in the apoptosis pathway. PtdIns(3,5)BP, however, had no effect on the spontaneous rate of apoptosis. To evaluate further signaling pathways induced by microparticles, the extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK-) 1 was investigated. This kinase plays a role in activating phospholipases A2 which cleaves membrane phospholipids into arachidonic acid; microparticles have been suggested to be a preferred substrate for phospholipases A2. As shown in our experiments, microparticles strongly increased the amount of phosphorylated ERK1/2 in RAW 264.7 macrophages in a time-dependent manner, peaking 15 min after co-incubation. Addition of PD98059, a specific inhibitor of ERK1, prevented the increase in apoptosis of RAW 264.7 macrophages. Together, these data suggest that microparticles perturb lipid homeostasis of macrophages and thereby induce apoptosis. These results emphasize the importance of biolipids in the cellular cross-talk of immune cells. Based on the fact that in clinical situations with excessive cell death such as malignancies, autoimmune diseases and following chemotherapies high levels of circulating microparticles might modulate phagocytosing cells, a suppression of the immune response might occur due to loss of macrophage