Factors Affecting Milk Consumption Among School Children In Urban And Rural Areas Of Selangor, Malaysia

Consumers who are getting more health conscious have encouraged the growth of healthy foods consumption in the Malaysia's market. One of the products that have been always closely related to healthy food is milk. Milk is being sold from hypermarkets to mini market in the country and it means that this product is getting familiar among Malaysians. However, the consumption of milk is still low. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the present beverage choice of school children and the other objectives of this study were to examine the most preferred flavor of milk that is available in the market and determine the effect of personal and environmental factors that influenced children's intention to consume milk. Knowing about the factors which affect on children’s intention will help marketers in profiling the children based on the factors which encourage them to consume milk. Understanding the factors that will influence children to drink milk is important in order to increase the consumption of this product. The study investigated eight factors that could influence children milk consumption. The eight factors investigated were attitude to sensory properties, belief to health benefits, packaging, consumption patterns, effect of family members, effect of friends, availability and advertising. A total of 400 students of 11 years old primary school children were chosen for this study. Several schools in different towns from urban and rural areas of Selangor were selected. Of the 400 students surveyed, 389 questionnaires were usable. Multiple linear regression, and cross-tabulation were used to analyze the factors affecting the intention to consume milk. This study found that the preferred beverages of children were: drinking water, Milo, fruit juice, milk, yoghurt drink, Ribena, tea and soft drinks. Among different types of milk, children preferred flavored milk rather than plain milk. From the results of this research, personal factors were more influential than environmental factors. Additionally, packaging and advertising had less effect on children's intention to consume milk. To increase milk intake among children, marketers need to focus and strengthen the acceptability of milk and increase consumption by altering perception of milk advertisements. This study gives new insights on children's perception. It provides the profile of children who are likely to drink milk based on personal and environmental factors in different living areas. Key words: Intention to consume, Social environment, Physical environment, milk consumption, primary school childre

An integrated approach for solving a MCDM problem, Combination of Entropy Fuzzy and F-PROMETHEE techniques

Purpose: The intention of this paper is the presentation of a new integrated approach for solving a multi attribute decision making problem by the use of Entropy Fuzzy and F- PROMETHEE (fuzzy preference ranking method for enrichment evaluation) techniques. Design/methodology/approach: In these sorts of multi attribute decision making problem, a number of criteria and alternatives are put forward as input data. Ranking of these alternatives according to mentioned criteria is regarded as the outcome of solving these kinds of problems. Initially, weights of criteria are determined by implementation of Entropy Fuzzy method. According to determined weights, F-PROMETHEE method is exerted to rank these alternatives in terms of desirability of DM (decision maker). Findings: Being in an uncertain environment and vagueness of DM’s judgments, lead us to implement an algorithm which can deal with these constraints properly. This technique namely called Entropy Fuzzy as a weighting method and F-PROMETHEE is performed to fulfill this approach more precisely according to tangible and intangible aspects. The main finding of applied approach is the final ranking of alternatives helping DM to have a more reliable decision. Originality/Value: The main contribution of this approach is the giving real significance to DM’s attitudes about mentioned criteria in determined alternatives which is not elucidate in former approaches like Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Furthermore, previous methods like Shanon Entropy do not pay attention sufficiently to satisfaction degree of each criterion in proposed alternatives, regarding to DM’s statements. Comprehensive explanations about these procedures have been made in miscellaneous sections of this article.Peer Reviewe

The rise of virtual food tourism experiences: integrating diffusion of innovation theory and self-determination theory

Purpose – The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the food tourism industry, leading to business closures and a drop in demand. In response to this challenge, virtual food tourism experiences such as VR have emerged as an alternative to traditional in-person experiences. Aim of this paper is to model consumer adoption of virtual food tourism by integrating the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Self-determination Theory. Methodology/Design/Approach – The Diffusion of Innovation Theory explains the process of innovation adoption, while the Self-determination Theory focuses on consumer motivation. This article proposes that intrinsic (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) and extrinsic (relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability, and observability) motivating factors influence virtual food tourism adoption. Findings – The study suggests that extrinsic motivators can act as mediators between intrinsic motivation and adoption intention. Integrating these two theories provides a comprehensive understanding of the motivations and mechanisms driving virtual food tourism adoption. It also paves the way for the exploration of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and specific mechanisms underlying adoption behaviours. Originality of the research – Destinations, businesses, and policy makers can better navigate the changing landscape of food tourism and leverage the potential of virtual food tourism to create engaging, accessible, and culturally enriching experiences

Factors affecting milk consumption among school children in urban and rural areas of Selangor, Malaysia

The aims of this research were to investigate the present beverage choice preference of school children and to examine the most preferred type of milk that is available in the market. As well as to determine the effect of personal and environmental factors on children’s intention to consume milk and its comparison between rural and urban area of Selangor. A total of 389 of 5th grade primary school children were selected in this study. This research was supported by social cognitive theory. Multiple linear regression, Pearson product-moment correlation, and cross-tabulation were used for forecasting the factors affecting to consumption of milk. It was found that the preferred beverages of children were: Mineral water, Milo, fruit juice, milk, yoghurt, Ribena, tea and soft drinks and it was the same amongst children in urban and rural areas. Among different types of milk, children preferred flavored milk rather than plain milk. Based on the findings, personal factors were more effective than environmental factors. To increase milk intake among children, marketers need to focus and strengthen the acceptability of milk and increase consumption by altering perception of milk advertisements. This article also profiled the children who are likely to drink milk based on personal and environmental factors in different areas

Behavioral Operations Management: A Review of the Field

Behavioral operations management (BOM) is one of the new areas in operations management. In the past 12 years, the field has made huge progress and researchers have become interested in this new perspective to solving operational problems. BOM is now one of the major subfields of operations management. In this paper, we examine and categorize areas of BOM based on the mainstream literature. Key areas include behavioral issues in new product development and project management, quality management, production management, inventory management, service operations, and forecasting. Studies in each area are divided into three subcategories, including OM context, individual attributes, heuristics, and biases, and individual differences. In OM context category, feedback and reward, training, work monitoring, teamwork and group decision making, goal setting, task assignment, and flexibility are among the main topics. In individual attributes, heuristics, and biases category, sunk cost effect and escalation of commitment, endowment effect, overprecision bias, planning fallacy, pull-to-center effect, anchoring and insufficient adjustment, and misperceptions of feedback are mainly discussed. In individual differences, analytic thinking and system thinking are mainly studied. New areas for research are suggested in each related section and are summarized in future directions and conclusion sections. In contexts such as new product development, project management, and inventory management, a shift to finding solution to performance improvement is beneficial instead of focusing on heuristics and biases and considering them as a deficiency in human decision making. Regarding individual differences category, a shift toward attributes other than cognitive abilities, such as global processing, creative thinking, and design thinking are recommended

Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Locus of Control With Decision-making Styles among Corporate Managers in Iran

Emotional intelligence is defined as the facilitator of the perception, expression, attraction, understanding, and regulation of relationships that stimulates intellectual and emotional growth. Those who are more conscious about their emotions have more skills in managing emotional problems. They also have higher decision-making power. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and locus of control with decision-making styles in corporate executives. The research method is descriptive and in terms of nature, it is a correlative study. The statistical population of the research is all managers and supervisors of Iran Khodro Company. The results of this study indicate that there is a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and styles of decision making in managers and supervisors of this company, but there is not a significant relationship between locus of control and decision making styles

Betonisandwich-julkisivut, korjausvaihtoehtojen vertailua

Tämä työ tehtiin arkkitehti- ja insinööritoimisto Doventus Oy:lle. Työssä oli tarkoitus vertailla laaja-alaisesti erilaisia betonisandwich-julkisivujen korjausvaihtoehtoja. Yrityksen pääosaamisalue on ollut korjaushankkeiden toteutussuunnittelu, toistaiseksi yritykseltä on puuttunut työkaluja hankesuunnitteluvaiheesta. Betonisandwich-ulkoseinä rakentuu betonisista sisä- ja ulkokuorista sekä niiden välissä olevasta lämmöneristeestä, tämä onkin suomalaisten asuinkerrostalojen tyypillisin ulkoseinärakenne. Asuinrakentamisen huippuvuodet ovat Suomessa olleet 1960- ja 70-luvuilla, tällöin ei vielä ollut ohjeita elementtien valmistukseen ja tiedot esimerkiksi betonirakenteiden pitkäaikaiskestävyyteen vaikuttavista tekijöistä olivat puutteellisia. Suomessa sandwich-elementtien ulkokuorien merkittävimmät rasitustekijät ovat kosteus ja lämpötilavaihtelut, erityisesti toistuva jäätyminen ja sulaminen. Pääasiallisesti vauriot syntyvät betonin karbonatisoitumisesta ja siitä johtuvasta raudoitteiden korroosiosta sekä pakkasrapautumisesta. Vaurioiden syiden selvittäminen on aina lähtökohta oikean korjaustavan valinnalle. Tutkimusta varten luotiin kuvitteellinen korjauskohde. Tutkimukseen valittiin vertailtavaksi kolme vaihtoehtoa, joissa elementin ulkokuorta ei tarvitse purkaa ja kolme vaihtoehtoa, joissa elementin ulkokuori sekä sen takana olevat eristeet puretaan. Valituista vaihtoehdoista käytiin läpi rakennetyypit ja tietyt liittymät muihin rakenteisiin. Fysikaalisista ominaisuuksista vertailtiin rakenteiden lämpö-, kosteus- ja ääniominaisuuksien muutoksia. Vertailtavista vaihtoehdoista laskettiin toteutus- ja elinkaarikustannukset. Työn perusteella syntyi yritykselle erilaisten korjausvaihtoehtojen rakenneliittymistä kirjasto, lisäksi erilaisiin korjausvaihtoehtoihin luotiin kustannuslaskentaa varten pohjia. Jatkossa yrityksessä voidaan luoda työn pohjalta vaihtoehtoja erilaisilla lämmöneristeillä ja eristepaksuuksilla sekä selvittää näiden vaikutuksia elinkaarikustannuksiin. Purettavan betonisen ulkokuoren tilalle tehtävissä lämpörappauksissa on ääneneristävyyden kannalta jatkoselvitettävää.This thesis was created for architecture and engineering consultant company Doventus Ltd. The idea of the thesis was to compare a wide range of repair options for concrete sandwich facades. The company mainly operates in the field of implementation design for renovation projects. So far the company has lacked the tools for project design stage. A concrete sandwich external wall comprises of inner and outer envelopes and the insulation layer between them. This is the most common type of wall for Finnish apartment houses. Peak years for building of residences in Finland were in the 1960’s and 1970’s. At that time there were no instructions for the production of concrete elements and the information regarding factors in long-term durability of concrete structures was inadequate. Moisture and temperature changes are the most significant stress factors for concrete sandwich elements in Finland, especially continuous freezing and melting. Damages are mainly caused by carbonization of concrete which causes corrosion in reinforcing steels and also because of frost weathering. Investigation of the causes of damages is always a basis for the choice of proper repairs. A fictional renovation project was created for the purposes of the research. Three different options were selected to be compared which did not include deconstruction of outer envelope, and also three others in which outer envelope and the insulation would be deconstructed. Then structural compositions and connections into particular structures were researched. Changes in physical attributes of structures (heat, moisture, and acoustics) were compared. After that, implementation and life-cycle costs were calculated for all of the options. Based on this thesis, a library was created for different structural connections in repair constructions for the use of the company. In addition, layouts were produced for cost calculations in different types of repair options. Based on this thesis, the company is able to create repair options with different types of insulations with varying layer thicknesses and find out effects of these two on life cycle costing. There is still further investigation to be made on acoustic effects of plastering on thermal insulation that is applied after outer concrete envelope is deconstructed

Designing a Comprehensive Internet Banking Website Usability Model

Nowadays Due to the increasing advances in technology in the banking industry and changes in the expectations of bank customers, especially the desire to eliminate unnecessary face-to-face Services and the need to receive 24-hour banking services, virtual portals, especially Internet banking websites have been welcomed. According to many experts success of websites is closely related to their degree of usability, so ease of use can act as a powerful leverage to attract customers to a bank that has a more usable website. In this study, after a comprehensive review of the literature, interviews with 41 experts in this field and then by a qualitative method of theme analysis, a comprehensive model of internet banking website was presented. In this model, usability is affected by two groups of external dimensions and internal dimensions, which in case of compatibility with users' expectations, the website is evaluated as usable and as a result, user satisfaction is achieved. Due to the wide range of customers of commercial banks, in addition to traditional segmentation, it is recommended that intelligent segmentation of target users done to improve the usability of Internet banking websites

Banks and Social Networks Marketing: A Content Analysis

This paper aims at comparing the banks’ activities in the social networks using the content analysis method. In this study, 54 profiles for 14 external and internal banks in 4 popular social networks are analyzed. The banks are chosen using the purposive sampling method. Results show that most banks use missions/goals on their social page to explain the bank information. They use the augmented product to present the product information. They use the company image to explain corporate identity. They use meetings and conferences to present bank events. They use music style for their videos. They use lifestyle pictures for their photos. They use information support for customer support. They use intimate/ interactive/ harmonious/ poetic style for their slogan and use their campaign albums for their albums. They also use sport and environmental issues to explain their corporate social responsibility. Moreover, they use services as the bank’s marketing messages. They use news announcements to release information. Furthermore, they use social responsibility and public consultation for socialization and finally, they use public partnerships for interactive customer engagement

Factors affecting educational tourism development among local communities in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing educational tourism development among local communities in Malaysia. The results denote that socio-cultural impact, economic impact, and local community attitudes towards educational tourism were significantly related to residents’ practice and communication with international students. In addition, residents’ attitude can affect local communities’ interaction with international students more than other variables. Since educational tourism plays an increasingly important role in the development of communities in Malaysia, the implications of this study provide new insights into future researches by highlighting this current challenge