Buying seafood: Understanding barriers to purchase across consumption segments

Most consumers have positive attitudes toward seafood and consider it to be an important part of a healthy and balanced diet. However when purchasing seafood, consumers also weigh up various risks which may act as barriers to consumption. In this paper, the findings of an online survey of Australian consumers (. n=. 899) which explored both drivers and barriers to seafood consumption are discussed. The primary focus of this paper is to explore the perceived risks of seafood consumption and how these vary across consumption levels. Perceived risks associated with seafood consumption include functional, social, physical, psychological, and financial risk. With the exceptions of physical and financial risk, perceptions of risk varied across regular, light and very light seafood consumption segments. Lighter fish consumers were more likely to perceive functional risk associated with being less informed and less familiar with fish, experience more difficulties with selecting fish, recognising if fish is fresh, and preparing and serving fish than more regular fish consumers. Regular seafood consumers were less likely than lighter seafood consumers to perceive social risk arising from other members of their household not liking fish. Moreover, regular seafood consumers were less likely to perceive psychological risks associated with unpleasant past experiences or unpleasant sensory qualities, such as not liking the smell of fish and not liking to touch fish. Based on these results strategies for reducing perceived risks as a means of stimulating fish consumption are proposed for further investigation. © 2012

An exploratory study into the role and interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic cues in Australian consumers’ evaluations of fish.

This study explores the role and interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic cues when evaluating fish quality and in shaping consumers' attitudes toward fish consumption. A sensory analysis of nine different fish including five variants of barramundi was conducted to determine how consumers evaluated the fish on intrinsic cues. Focus groups were then conducted to explore the impact of extrinsic cues on attitudes and purchase intentions. While the sensory analysis revealed distinct differences between barramundi variants on intrinsic cues (notably taste), the focus groups revealed that, as a brand, barramundi is perceived much more favourably and consistently. Consumers used extrinsic cues, particularly country of origin, as surrogate indicators of quality. Aquaculture producers need to ensure intrinsic product quality and consistency, as while consumers use the extrinsic cue of "Australian grown" as a surrogate indicator of quality, as their familiarity and confidence with seafood grows, this overreliance on extrinsic cues may diminish

Avanços recentes em nutrição de larvas de peixes

Os requisitos nutricionais de larvas de peixes são ainda mal compreendidos, o que leva a altas mortalidades e problemas de qualidade no seu cultivo. Este trabalho pretende fazer uma revisão de novas metodologias de investigação, tais como estudos com marcadores, genómica populacional, programação nutricional, génomica e proteómica funcionais, e fornecer ainda alguns exemplos das utilizações presentes e perspectivas futuras em estudos de nutrição de larvas de peixes

HRS1 Acts as a Negative Regulator of Abscisic Acid Signaling to Promote Timely Germination of Arabidopsis Seeds

In this work, we conducted functional analysis of Arabidopsis HRS1 gene in order to provide new insights into the mechanisms governing seed germination. Compared with wild type (WT) control, HRS1 knockout mutant (hrs1-1) exhibited significant germination delays on either normal medium or those supplemented with abscisic acid (ABA) or sodium chloride (NaCl), with the magnitude of the delay being substantially larger on the latter media. The hypersensitivity of hrs1-1 germination to ABA and NaCl required ABI3, ABI4 and ABI5, and was aggravated in the double mutant hrs1-1abi1-2 and triple mutant hrs1-1hab1-1abi1-2, indicating that HRS1 acts as a negative regulator of ABA signaling during seed germination. Consistent with this notion, HRS1 expression was found in the embryo axis, and was regulated both temporally and spatially, during seed germination. Further analysis showed that the delay of hrs1-1 germination under normal conditions was associated with reduction in the elongation of the cells located in the lower hypocotyl (LH) and transition zone (TZ) of embryo axis. Interestingly, the germination rate of hrs1-1 was more severely reduced by the inhibitor of cell elongation, and more significantly decreased by the suppressors of plasmalemma H+-ATPase activity, than that of WT control. The plasmalemma H+-ATPase activity in the germinating seeds of hrs1-1 was substantially lower than that exhibited by WT control, and fusicoccin, an activator of this pump, corrected the transient germination delay of hrs1-1. Together, our data suggest that HRS1 may be needed for suppressing ABA signaling in germinating embryo axis, which promotes the timely germination of Arabidopsis seeds probably by facilitating the proper function of plasmalemma H+-ATPase and the efficient elongation of LH and TZ cells

Comparative Treatment Outcomes for Patients With Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadImportance: Surgical treatment comparisons in rare diseases are difficult secondary to the geographic distribution of patients. Fortunately, emerging technologies offer promise to reduce these barriers for research. Objective: To prospectively compare the outcomes of the 3 most common surgical approaches for idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS), a rare airway disease. Design, setting, and participants: In this international, prospective, 3-year multicenter cohort study, 810 patients with untreated, newly diagnosed, or previously treated iSGS were enrolled after undergoing a surgical procedure (endoscopic dilation [ED], endoscopic resection with adjuvant medical therapy [ERMT], or cricotracheal resection [CTR]). Patients were recruited from clinician practices in the North American Airway Collaborative and an online iSGS community on Facebook. Main outcomes and measures: The primary end point was days from initial surgical procedure to recurrent surgical procedure. Secondary end points included quality of life using the Clinical COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) Questionnaire (CCQ), Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10), Eating Assessment Test-10 (EAT-10), the 12-Item Short-Form Version 2 (SF-12v2), and postoperative complications. Results: Of 810 patients in this cohort, 798 (98.5%) were female and 787 (97.2%) were white, with a median age of 50 years (interquartile range, 43-58 years). Index surgical procedures were ED (n = 603; 74.4%), ERMT (n = 121; 14.9%), and CTR (n = 86; 10.6%). Overall, 185 patients (22.8%) had a recurrent surgical procedure during the 3-year study, but recurrence differed by modality (CTR, 1 patient [1.2%]; ERMT, 15 [12.4%]; and ED, 169 [28.0%]). Weighted, propensity score-matched, Cox proportional hazards regression models showed ED was inferior to ERMT (hazard ratio [HR], 3.16; 95% CI, 1.8-5.5). Among successfully treated patients without recurrence, those treated with CTR had the best CCQ (0.75 points) and SF-12v2 (54 points) scores and worst VHI-10 score (13 points) 360 days after enrollment as well as the greatest perioperative risk. Conclusions and relevance: In this cohort study of 810 patients with iSGS, endoscopic dilation, the most popular surgical approach for iSGS, was associated with a higher recurrence rate compared with other procedures. Cricotracheal resection offered the most durable results but showed the greatest perioperative risk and the worst long-term voice outcomes. Endoscopic resection with medical therapy was associated with better disease control compared with ED and had minimal association with vocal function. These results may be used to inform individual patient treatment decision-making.Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute - PCOR

Stjórnunarmat í leik- og grunnskólum Reykjanesbæjar

Verkefni þetta fjallar um stjórnunarmat sem framkvæmt var í þremur leikskólum og þremur grunnskólum í Reykjanesbæ. Markmið verkefnisins er að sýna fram á hvernig stjórnendum við þessar stofnanir gengur í sínu starfi og hvernig starfmönnum líkar við stjórnunina. Samhliða stjórnunarmatinu var gerð starfsmannakönnun þar sem könnuð var starfsánægja, starfsandi og hollusta við stofnunina. Ætlunin er að skoða hvort samband sé milli ánægju með stjórnun og ánægðra starfsmanna. Stjórnunarmatið er fyrst og fremst hugsað sem tæki fyrir stjórnendurna sjálfa til að þeir fái tækifæri til að vita hug sinna starfsmanna og fái upplýsingar um sína styrkleika og veikleika. Til að svo megi verða hefur höfundur útbúið skýrslu fyrir hvern skóla þar sem niðurstöður eru birtar auk þess sem birtar eru samanburðartölur við þátttökuskóla á sama skólastigi og síðan alla þátttökuskólana. Skýrslunni var fylgt eftir með samtali höfundar við skólastjórnendur. Í því samtali var farið yfir niðurstöður hverrar spurningar og rætt um þær. Einnig var farið yfir hugsanlegar leiðir til úrbóta en síðan hvatti höfundur skólastjóra til að taka málið upp með sínu starfsfólki til að leyfa þeim að koma með sínar hugmyndir að umbótum þar sem umbóta er þörf. Helstu niðurstöður voru þær að almenn ánægja ríkir með stjórnendur skólanna. Starfsmenn voru mjög ánægðir með almenna stjórnun, skiptingu verkefna milli starfsmanna og deilda og ákvarðanatöku í erfiðum málum. Gott samband var milli stjórnenda og starfsmanna og gátu starfsmenn vel hugsað sér að leita til þeirra ef þeir þyrftu á því að halda. Starfsmenn voru líka sáttir við hvernig tekið var á starfsmannamálum og stjórnendur tóku vel ábendingum starfsmanna og leituðu almennt til þeirra áður en mikilvægar ákvarðanir voru teknar. Almennt er upplýsingaflæði gott og starfsfólk var ánægt í sínu starfi. Í ljós kom að stjórnendur minni stofnana virðast vera í betra sambandi við sína starfsmenn heldur en stjórnendur á stærri vinnustöðum. Góður starfsandi ríkir í þessum skólum en þó er ljóst að stjórnendur grunnskólanna þurfa að huga að ýmsum þáttum sem komu ekki eins vel út eins og í leikskólunum og þurfa þeir að vera á varðbergi varðandi ýmsa þætti er móta starsfánægju fólks. Ætla má að samband sé milli ánægju með stjórnun og ánægju starfsmanna. Þó svo stjórnunarmatið hafi almennt komið vel út gagnvart stjórnendum og almenn starfsánægja ríki er mælt með því að stjórnendur láti gera annað sambærilegt mat eftir eitt til tvö ár til að fá viðmið og samanburð. Stjórnendur þurfa í millitíðinni að skoða vel niðurstöður og gera áætlun um úrbætur þar sem þeirra er þörf.This assignment will cover a management survey which was performed in three kindergartens and three grade schools in Reykjanesbær. The goal of this assignment is to show and evaluate how the administrators manage their work and what the employees think of their mangement abilities. Co management survey is an employee survey where job satisfaction, overall morale and loyalty to the institution will be checked. This survey evaluation is first and foremost thought as a tool for the administrators to get the chance to know their employees thoughts and that they get some information and an overall understanding about their strengths and weaknesses. For that to be established author has prepared a report for each school where the results are published as well as comparative numbers of the participating schools of same educational levels are published, ending with the results from all participating schools in all. The report was made by following a conversation between author and school administrators. In that conversation each question result was carefully discussed as well as debating possible ways of improvement with each administrator. In the end the author encouraged school administrators to bring up the the matter with their employees and allow them to suggest their thoughts on improvement and how to achieve them fully. It is also important to let the employees see how good the evaluation results were and how happy they were in general. Main results indicated that most employees were satisfied with their manager. Employees were very satisfied with general management, dividing of workload was fair and decisions on difficult matters were handled well. There was a good relationship between the employees and administrator were the employees felt they could discuss and seek help on different matters. Employees were also satisfied with how staffing matters were dealt with and administrator was open to thoughts and ideas from employees and sought out agreement from staff on almost all major issues. In all information flow was high and employees are happy during their work hours. Results indicate that administrators in smaller organizations had a closer relationship with their staff. Bigger organization did not reach that closeness the smaller once seem to have established. Good morale dominates in these school, though grade school administrators need to keep extra thought on different aspects were results were quite lower then the results for kindergarten administrators in those same aspects. Grade school managers need to find a way to boost their staffs morale in the work place. From these results it is expected that a connection is between satisfied management and satisfied employees. Even though the management survey had mostly positive results towards administrators and employee morale was in general quite high it is recommended that administrators keep making these kinds of surveys every other year for criteria and comparison to past surveys. Administrators need to look over the results carefully in the meantime and plan improvements where it is needed

Inntak umboðssvikaákvæðis 249. gr. almennra hegningarlaga nr. 19/1940 fyrir og eftir bankahrun

Í kjölfar bankahruns er varð á Íslandi 2008 komu upp margar ákærur vegna umboðssvika en áður hafði ekki mikið reynt á ákvæðið í framkvæmd. Í ritsmíð þessari verður stiklað á stóru á atvikum bankahrunsins og útskýrt í grófum dráttum með hvaða hætti umboðssvik fóru fram. Með því að skoða nokkra Hæstaréttardóma verður reynt að skilgreina með skilmerkilegum hætti hvort dómstóllinn hefur túlkað ákvæði 249. gr. almennra hegningarlaga nr. 19/1940 með öðrum hætti en gert var fyrir hrun. Hæstaréttardómar sem fallið hafa fyrir og eftir hrun verða bornir saman og niðurstöður þeirra, með það að sjónarmiði að leggja mat á hvernig dómstóllinn hefur túlkað m.a. verulega fjártjónshættu, auðgunarásetning sbr. 243. gr. hgl., misnotkun á aðstöðu og aðstæður á fjármálamarkaði

Mörk riftanlegra ráðstafana samkvæmt lögum um gjaldþrotaskipti o.fl. og refsiverðra skilasvika

Það er gömul saga og ný, þegar þrengja fer að í rekstri einstaklinga og fyrirtækja eða þegar fjárhagsörðugleikar verða óyfirstíganlegir og þrotamaður sér eða má sjá fyrir að bú hans verði tekið til gjaldþrotaskipta, að hann grípi til ráðstafana í því skyni að koma eignum undan skiptum og/eða mismuna kröfuhöfum. Hefur löggjafinn reynt að stemma stigu við slíkri mismunun og undanskoti í aðdraganda gjaldþrotaskipta, annars vegar með ákvæðum um riftunarheimildir skv. lögum nr. 21/1991 um gjaldþrotaskipti o.fl. og hins vegar með almennum hegningarlögum nr. 19/1940 um skilasvik, sbr. 4. og 5. tölul. 250. gr. laganna. Í fyrsta lagi er viðfangsefni ritgerðarinnar að varpa ljósi á það hvort og þá hvaða munur er á skilyrði um ásetning (culpa) þrotamanns og/eða viðsemjanda hans þegar kemur að beitingu almennu riftunarreglunnar annars vegar og hins vegar saknæma háttsemi í skilningi skilasvikaákvæðisins. Í öðru lagi er þeirri spurningu svarað hvar mörkin liggja á milli ótilhlýðilegrar háttsemi í skilningi riftunarreglna gjaldþrotaréttarins og refsiverðra skilasvika með samanburði á verknaðarlýsingu ákvæðanna. Í þriðja lagi eru reifaðir nokkrir sérvaldir dómar og lagt mat á hvort ætla megi að til staðar hafi verið refsiverð háttsemi. Í fjórða lagi er reynt að svara því hvers vegna svo mörg riftunarmál hafa náð fram að ganga þar sem rift hefur verið á grundvelli almennu riftunarreglunnar, miðað við hversu fáir dómar hafa gengið um riftanlegar ráðstafanir sem jafnframt eru refsiverðar. Því til hliðsjónar er rannsakað hvort refsivörslukerfið hér á landi horfi í of miklum mæli fram hjá hugsanlega refsiverðri háttsemi sem til staðar kunni að vera þegar dæmt er um riftun gerninga. Niðurstöður eru þær að saknæmisskilyrðið er að einhverju leyti strangara í skilasvikaákvæðinu, en í riftunarreglum laga um gjaldþrotaskipti þar sem krafa er gerð um ásetning skv. 18. gr. hgl. og auðgunarásetning skv. 243. gr. hgl. Samanburður á riftanlegum ráðstöfunum skv. gþl. við verknaðarlýsingu 250. gr. hgl. hefur leitt í ljós að ákvæðin eru lík að mörgu leyti og eru ýmsar riftanlegar ráðstafanir til þess fallnar að vera refsiverðar skv. 4. tölul. 1. mgr. 250. gr. hgl., en með hliðsjón af orðalagi ákvæðisins er talið varhugavert að fella alla háttsemi undir ákvæðið. Með hliðsjón af þeim dómum sem reifaðir eru í ritgerðinni er greinilegt að hafa þurfi hugfast að ekki eiga við sömu sönnunarreglur þegar kemur að því að meta hvort háttsemi er ótilhlýðileg í skilningi 141. gr. gþl. eða refsiverð háttsemi skv. skilasvikaákvæðinu. Sökum þess hve fáir dómar hafa gengið um refsiverðar ráðstafanir, miðað við fjölda riftunarmála, er ómögulegt að staðfesta með óyggjandi hætti hvers vegna skilasvikadómar um riftanlegar ráðstafanir eru ekki fleiri