Shifting centres: crafting a world through language in translingual writing

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DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES IN ADDIS ABABA RESTAURANTS

This study was proposed to explore the determinants of consumer preferences in Addis Ababa restaurants. Using consumer behavior literatures and theories it was hypothesized that disposable income, price, quality, hygiene practices, friendliness of restaurant staff, safety of food and range or menu variety are important determinants of consumer choice for restaurants. Primary data were generated from 265 customers of 55 restaurants randomly selected with the use of questionnaire of which 258 of the questionnaire ended usable. The non parametric hypothesis testing statistical tool, chi –square tests, and measures of variation were used for statistical analysis purposes. The anticipation of the researcher was that the hypothesis testing results would be significant in parallel with the hypothesized facts. The findings of the research suggest that income has insignificant impact up on quality price trade of among consumers of different income categories. Other hypothesis associated with price, quality, friendliness of restaurant staff, quick table service and range or menu varieties are found to be statistically significant. Over all, the research results suggest that restaurateurs should design marketing strategy that integrates the attributes used in this study to satisfy the needs and wants of their customers and differentiation of their products and services on the basis of the variables scored as they are significant considerations by consumers.consumer preferences, determinants, deposable income, price, quality.

Tobacco habits : attitudes and beliefs among the Maltese medical and dental profession

Health professionals, particularly doctors and dentists are the vanguard of any society’s battle against tobacco. They are knowledgeable on the impact of tobacco smoking on health and generally receive updated scientific information on this relationship. Doctors and dentists both witness the effects of smoking on their patients, often on a daily basis. They are inevitably viewed as role-models for health related behaviour, influencing that of their patients as well as their families. In their turn patients are quick to point out particular doctors who smoke as a justification for their own habits. It is, therefore, of particular interest to study the habits of doctors and dentists, as well as their attitudes to this particular form of risk behaviour and to assess their collective views.peer-reviewe

The male to female ratio at birth

The factors that influence the male to female ratio at birth are legion. Males are usually born in excess and stress decreases the ratio while wellbeing and good health tends to increase it. This paper reviews the multitudes of factors that have been implicated as affecting this ratio, from historical times to date.peer-reviewe

Gendercide : a review of the missing women

The term gendercide was first coined in 1985 and refers to the deliberate extermination of persons of a particular sex. The notion and its potential consequences had been conceived as far back as 1793, when the Marquis Nicolas de Condorcet had speculated “what might be [the effect] on humankind [of] the discovery of a means of producing a male or female child according to the will of the parents [...]. Supposing that this is likely to become a common practice, [...] would it [not] lead to [changes] in the social relations of human beings, whose consequences could be harmful to the peaceable development of that indefinite perfectibility with expectations of which we have flattered humankind?”peer-reviewe

Terrorist attacks and the male to female ratio at birth : the bombings of Madrid (3/2004) and London (7/2005)

Introduction: Males are usually in excess of females at birth and the ratio is often expressed as M/F (male divided by total births). Several factors have been shown to be associated with changes in M/F, including major terrorist attacks. These are associated with a transient lowering of M/F for a one month period, three to five months after such events. This study was carried out in order to ascertain whether the Madrid March 2004 bombings and the London July 2005 bombings were similarly associated with changes in M/F in their respective populations. Methods: Monthly live births by gender for Madrid and Spain for 2004 and for England and Wales for 2005 were obtained from the two countries’ National Statistics Offices. Results: There were no significant dips in M/F for any of the months following the March 2004 bombings in Madrid or in Spain. There were no significant dips in M/F for any of the months following the July 2005 London bombings. Discussion: Research to date has shown M/F dips following catastrophic or tragic events, including major terrorist actions with extensive media coverage. Equivalent dips were not noted in this study for the terrorist acts in these instances. The reasons for this may be one or a combination of the following. The population size was not sufficiently large in order to detect an M/F dip. Alternatively, the events were not felt to be sufficiently momentous by the populace such that an M/F dip was not produced. Yet another possibility is that these particular populations are somehow hardier and more resistant to such influences. Not all terrorist events universally cause a significant reduction in M/F.peer-reviewe

The male to female ratio at birth following the Scottish Independence Referendum, September 2014

Human male live births exceed female live births by approximately 3%. This sex ratio is conventionally expressed as M/F (male divided by total live births). Many factors have been implicated as influencing this ratio, such as stress. This phenomenon occurred following the Quebec sovereignty referendum of 1995. This study was carried out in order to ascertain whether the Scottish referendum of September 2014 had any effect on the M/F ratio in Scotland. Monthly live births by gender for Scotland were obtained from Scottish Office of National Records for the period January 2004 to July 2015. They were analysed for any significant period changes as witnessed in Quebec in 1995. There were 661166 total births (338850 male and 322316 female births), with an overall M/F of 0.5125 (95% CI: 0.5113-0.5137). There were no changes in M/F in the first five months after the referendum. However, there was a non-significant rise in M/F toward the end of 2014 which continued during much of 2015. The rise in M/F reached its peak in May-June 2015, 8-9 months after the referendum (M/F 0.5199 compared to M/F of 0.5124 for aggregated May-June values 2004-14). There was no significant drop in M/F in the Scottish population in relation to the Scottish referendum. This may be due to a type 2 error since this study was less powered (12 times smaller) than the Quebec study. The non-significant rise may have potentially been caused by increased coital rates as observed after the birth of Prince William in 1982 and for Hong Kong in relation to Dragon years. It will be interesting to analyse the rest of the UK data when this becomes officially available.peer-reviewe