Everyday experience of front-line professionals and in/formal carers: long term care of older people in England, the Netherlands and Taiwan

To address the risks to families of the availability of care for their older family members, this paper explores the impact of different care systems on the way that relevant care actors contribute to the long-term care of older people. It is based on an empirical study of the care needs assessment and care provision in England, the Netherlands and Taiwan. The participants in the study include 143 care actors at national, regional and local levels across the countries. It found that the objective of providing care needs is similar in each of the countries studied. However, the everyday life of professionals and in/formal carers differs based on the care culture and care policy in each country. Overall, care professionals and formal carers experience satisfaction in their caring role when sufficient time is available for them to work with individuals. Face-to-face contact with older people is important to care professionals if adequate needs assessment could be performed. Helping informal carers extend their ability to carry out their role may improve their well-being as carers and reduce the demand for formal care service

Using Social Networks Sites in the Purchasing Decision Process

The rise of Web 2.0 tools and mobile devices means that the image of the traditional consumer has to be replaced with an active, permanently connected, consumer who uses the Internet to find information about brands and to share opinions and shopping experiences with other consumers – a consumer who can be classified as a prosumer (producer + consumer). In this context it is important for marketers to know how consumers use social networks within their purchasing decision process. The present work describes an online survey of more than 500 Facebook users in Spain and Portugal, aimed at identifying which aspects most influence their intention to use this social network in their purchasing decisions. A structural equation model was constructed based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), in which the intended use of Facebook in purchasing decisions depends on two variables: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, with attitude being a mediating variable. The background variables considered were aptitude, network externalities, perceived privacy protection, and social influence. The results show that the intended use of Facebook in purchasing decisions is influenced by its perceived usefulness, by social influence, and by the attitude to Facebook. In contrast, the perceived ease of use does not have such direct influence