Changes In Consumption Habits Research Articles

The waste management sector of Hungary

Nowadays, the waste management sector faces a number of challenges. Changes in consumer habits generate huge amounts of industrial and household waste. Today’s trends, which involve a higher use of critical raw materials, such as in the manufacture of batteries and solar cells, make it urgent to extract valuable raw materials from waste. The waste sector as a whole, taking into consideration all levels of the waste hierarchy (prevention, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, landfilling), is a significant branch of the national economy, both in terms of employment and income-generating capacity. In addition, the sector can be considered a major intermediary in industrial value chains as it contributes to the generation of secondary raw materials that can be sold to industries and thus help to achieve a circular economy through the collection, treatment and processing of waste.

PECULIARITIES OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN COVID-19 CONDITIONS: BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

The events caused by COVID-19 are among the most significant and unpredictable events of recent years. Every country, economy, and human sphere could not ignore the Pandemic that unfolded in early 2020. And, of course, it has strongly influenced consumer behavior. Under these conditions, the main psychological factors influencing consumer behavior were anxiety and fear and the panic they caused. External and internal restrictions on business and consumer activity associated with the coronavirus pandemic have led to a temporary decline in production and consumption in the economy. Measures for social distancing, self-isolation, quarantine, adopted in many countries, and other factors have created new consumer trends that need to be detailed. Accordingly, the article aimed to determine the essence of research in the pandemic impact on consumer behavior, published in publications indexed by the leading database Scopus. As a result of bibliometric analysis of 1007 publications indexed by the Scopus database for 2020-2021 on the impact of the Pandemic on consumer behavior, four most potent clusters were identified: the impact of the Pandemic on changing consumer habits in all spheres of life; characteristics of consumer attitudes; health of different categories of the population; study of the effects on the body caused by coronavirus infection. Determining the impact of changes in consumer demand in terms of achieving economic and social goals by enterprises and states remains little studied. A study of the geographical affiliation of authors of scientific papers in this area showed the most significant number of publications published by scientists from the United States, China, Britain, India, Italy, Spain, South Korea, and Australia. At the same time, the number of publications in the Scopus database published by domestic authors is relatively insignificant, which once again confirmed the lack of research and timeliness of the study in Ukraine. Interest in the topic is constantly growing. Because the problem remains open – Covid-19 continues to change the lives of people around the world, changing not only consumer, food, etc. behavior of the population and the principles of doing business, but forms new and new goals of sustainable development of society.

A CONCEPTUAL STUDY ON CAR-SHARING SERVICES BASED ON SHARING ECONOMY

Sharing is indicated as an alternative form of distribution to the exchange of goods and gift-giving. It encourages a sense of community, saves resources and creates specific synergies. Many factors such as the increase in the use of internet services and smartphones, globalization and urbanization, increasing e-commerce transaction volume, the reliance on online payments, the global economic recession, changes in general attitudes and more attention to sustainability in consumption have led to the development of the sharing economy in recent years. The sharing economy has given the possibility to the people to use the resources efficiently and to distribute them to where it is much needed when they are sitting idle. The shared mobility, which is one of the central areas in sharing economy, is having a growth in the last decade, due to the increased urbanization, high cost of ownership and changes in consumption habits. Even though there are different modes of shared mobility services, the most common one in Turkey is car-sharing. In this conceptual study on car-sharing services based on the sharing economy, a comprehensive literature review is conducted. In these regards, firstly the concept and importance of sharing economy is emphasized and then shared mobility services, and types are discussed individually. Lastly, car-sharing services and their types are examined. With this study, it is aimed to make a total contribution to the sharing economy literature on car-sharing services.

Water Use in Global Livestock Production—Opportunities and Constraints for Increasing Water Productivity

AbstractIncreasing population, change in consumption habits, and climate change will likely increase the competition for freshwater resources in the future. Exploring ways to improve water productivity especially in food and livestock systems is important for tackling the future water challenge. Here we combine detailed data on feed use and livestock production with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) statistics and process‐based crop‐water model simulations to comprehensively assess water use and water productivity in the global livestock sector. We estimate that, annually, 4,387 km3 of blue and green water is used for the production of livestock feed, equaling about 41% of total agricultural water use. Livestock water productivity (LWP; protein produced per m3 of water) differs by several orders of magnitude between livestock types, regions, and production systems, indicating a large potential for improvements. For pigs and broilers, we identify large opportunities to increase LWP by increasing both feed water productivity (FWP; feed produced per m3 of water) and feed use efficiency (FUE; protein produced per kg of feed) through better crop and livestock management. Even larger opportunities to increase FUE exist for ruminants, while the overall potential to increase their FWP is low. Substantial improvements of FUE can be achieved for ruminants by supplementation with feed crops, but the lower FWP of these feed crops compared to grazed biomass limits possible overall improvements of LWP. Therefore, LWP of ruminants, unlike for pigs and poultry, does not always benefit from a trend toward intensification, as this is often accompanied by increasing crop supplementation.

Competitive Strategies for Wine Cooperatives in the German Wine Industry

The wine industry is significantly affected by globalization and changes in consumption habits and shifts in lifestyle, which lead to changes in the market environment and intensity of competition in the wine markets. Overall, wine cooperatives have a market share of more than 40 % in Europe. In Germany, they account for around one third of the total wine production. The decreasing number of wine cooperatives and their members leads to the assumption that wine cooperatives have difficulties adapting to the different market environment and though, need to select and implement competitive strategies. The aim of this paper is to identify and develop competitive strategies for wine cooperatives in the German wine industry. Therefore, the external forces affecting competitive rivalry in the wine industry are being evaluated for wine cooperatives in Germany. A qualitative approach has been applied including in-depth interviews with managing directors and chairmen of the board (n=15). Data were transcribed verbatim and content analysed. Results showed that the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors is high. Bargaining power of wine cooperatives towards buyers and suppliers strongly depends on their size. However, generally the bargaining power of retailers is high, although this depends on the retail channel (discounters, food retail, specialized retail, specialized wholesale, gastronomy). Five main strategy dimensions emerged: (1) the cost leadership and cost focus strategy, (2) the differentiation and differentiation focus strategy, (3) collaboration among producers, (4) offering additional services, and (5) options for improved membership relations and increased youth involvement.

Spatial Analysis of Urban Water Use Management in the Northern Border Region of Mexico

This paper estimates water price elasticity and examines spatial patterns of urban water management variables in 70 localities of more than 2 500 inhabitants of the six northern border Mexican states. By using ordinary least squares, spatial econometrics, Lagrange Multipliers, and exploratory spatial data analysis techniques, four variables were analyzed: water price (P), a Non-revenue water index (NRWI), total urban water connections, and water billed volume (BV). In accordance with the literature, we found that water demand is price sensitive but inelastic. Then price as an instrument for controlling water consumption does not offer an efficient alternative for reducing it, as water price increases would have to rise very high to reflect changes in consumption habits. Instead, it could be just a revenue-raising tool. Our findings also confirm a significant spatial autocorrelation in P and the NRWI. More interestingly, we found robust spatial effects on BV. This result implies that the performance of urban water utilities is determined by its counterparts' performance in the region. Given the results and characteristics of water resources in the region, we argue that management policies must consider a regional approach to be effective.

Process stress, stability and resilience in wastewater treatment processes: A novel conceptual methodology

Stress on wastewater infrastructure and process equipment has increased dramatically due to climate change, changing consumer habits, population increase, and under investment for existing assets. These stress factors have resulted in significant fines being issued by the financial regulator Ofwat (>£6 million to UK water utilities in 2018). In addition, Ofwat's Price Review 2019 identified that UK water companies are struggling to secure the long-term resilience of their assets. In response, this research presents a simple visual methodology for characterising, both the process stress and resilience in discrete wastewater treatment processes which can be communicated simply to plant and operational management staff. Initially, the study focusses on the conceptual modelling of process stress and resilience, before moving on to how they can be de-coupled to characterise dynamic resilience. A six-step process stress evaluation methodology is presented, where; (1) is the selection of an existing process model; (2) is data entry and includes benchmarking of existing processes; (3) is the iteration of the process model using Monte-Carlo simulations; (4) is the computation of benchmark variation; (5) is the scaling of variance, with scalar values of −1 to 0 representing process stress and 0 to 1 resilience and, (6) is the visualisation of the variance from a benchmarked condition using contour plots. The outputs of the six-step modelling process are then used to compute the probability of process failure, reliability and estimation of process stability. All the parameters are then used to identify process related failure conditions; with process stress, and resilience being visualised in a contour plot heat map. These visualisations of process stress and resilience presented here, provide a conceptual methodology that allows plant and operational managers to discretely evaluate the stress, and resilience of their wastewater treatment processes. Also, as water chemistry monitoring instrumentation for wastewater treatment processes becomes more reliable, the methodology could be adapted to provide real-time process stress visualisations for both, wastewater and chemical processes.

Economic security of tourism in Germany: models for overcoming the crisis

Purpose – to analyze the models of overcoming the crisis of the tourism business in Germany.
 Design/Method/Approach of the research. The research method is an expert opinion analysis on possible scenarios for the Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic crisis development, the consequences for German tourism, and possible models of overcoming the crisis.
 Findings. The paper analyzes the models of overcoming the crisis in Germany's tourism business during the gradual attenuation of the Covid-19/ Coronavirus pandemic and the beginning of the national borders lento opening. That allowed us to formulate an assumption of possible scenarios while crisis overcoming in the tourism business in Germany.
 Theoretical and practical implications. The analysis of possible scenarios while overcoming the crisis in the tourism business in Germany phenomena in Germany's tourism industry can be very interesting both for practitioners and for theorists studying the problems of tourism development worldwide.
 Originality/Value. The article investigates the regional differences of the tourism crisis developed during the Covid-19/ Coronavirus pandemic. Based on a logical analysis of the models for overcoming the tourism business crisis in Germany, the paper analyzed factors that can affect changes in consumer habits and include vital economic aspects of the tourism business restoration. This paper expands researchers’ capabilities in the crisis phenomena analysis in the tourism business and assists in the most accurate and reasonable forecasting for the long-term sustainable development and competitive advantages of tourism enterprises.
 Paper type – theoretical.
 Keywords: tourism business; model; crisis; Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic.

Milk and meat consumption and production in Chile, c. 1930-2017: A history of a successful nutrition transition

This article shows how Chile experienced a profound nutrition transition within a short period of time. Before the early 1990s, the diet of most Chileans was poor in animal proteins and calcium. Today, Chileans enjoy a diet characterized by high consumption of meat and dairy products. The rapid rise in consumption of these products can be attributed to various factors: Chile belatedly joining the international agribusiness revolution; government support from the 1930s to the 1960s; increasing GDP per capita; macro-economic stability; changes in consumption habits; trade liberalization; and the fall in food prices, as both meat and milk had high income elasticity. These revolutions in both production and consumption have greatly improved the nutrition of the Chilean population and partly explain the improvement in Chile’s biological well-being.

New generations – new trends in the spa industry

Today's tourism market is a scene of rapid changes that equally affect the demand and the supply side. In the spa industry market, due to the presence of both wellness and medical services, a wide range of generations appear as consumers, with different expectations toward the service providers. Therefore, the changes taking place in the present and the upcoming years are worth exploring, which, in addition to the changes in consumer habits, visualize the expansion of consumer needs. Current article attempts to describe the expected spa services by examining the nature of generations and identifying future changes that can be predicted. The author primarily tries to summarize the market trends that contribute significant changes, using international and national secondary resources and the professional experience gained in the industry.

P4TREE TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION AT THE BELO HORIZONTE CARNIVAL

The Brazilian Carnival is considered one of the best known tourist products internationally, and is responsible for the movement and composition of flows of people, motivation for travel, generation of income and jobs, changes in supply and demand and changes in consumption habits. The events surrounding the carnival also have social, cultural, economic, political and environmental impacts on the host cities. These impacts deserve attention, along with efforts to reduce the more negative ones. The Belo Horizonte Tourism Office - Belotur, an organization linked to the Belo Horizonte City Hall, in partnership with the Department of Chemistry of the Federal University of Minas Gerais – UFMG introduced measures for the “P4Tree Technology Application at Belo Horizonte Carnival”. P4Tree is a technology developed at UFMG that consists of in the formulation of a tablet capable of holding the phosphorus element in contact with waste. This material is manipulated in the laboratory and transformed into fertilizer for use in various crops. This is because phosphorus is a fundamental nutrient for the development of any living being. The project was tested at the Belo Horizonte Carnival in 2018 and based on the results, it was replicated at the 2019 Carnival. It consisted of the application of P4Tree technology in 100 chemical toilets around the stage dedicated to the family and children’s programming of the Carnival, in the central region of Belo Horizonte, with high flow and movement of people. The toilets supplied and installed by Belotur were labeled with the project's visual identity, and were later equipped by the team of students from the UFMG Chemistry Department with P4Tree tablets in the tanks. The tablets were left in the toilets until the end of each day, before suction of the waste by the company responsible for cleaning the toilets. The P4Tree material collected was properly packaged and transferred to the University Laboratory where it was handled and made into fertilizer. This fertilizer was used/tested on five different crops at the Belo Horizonte Zoobotany Foundation, including Ipê, a tree symbol of Belo Horizonte. Tests were conducted to compare with traditional fertilizer used by the Zoobotany Foundation. The proposal is to use the seedlings of these crops to replant other areas of the city. Actions to promote the use of technology that enables the sustainability to be incorporated at one of the biggest urban events in Belo Horizonte. Due to the visibility and results achieved, it can be replicated at events with different characteristics. Interdisciplinary combination relevant to the sector, considering events as one of the main links in the tourism production chain.

TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF UKRAINE IN THE PLANE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN CLUSTERS ON THE BASIS OF INDUSTRY 4.0 IN THE POST-COVID PERIOD

Purpose. The aim of the article is to identify the possibility of using the best practices of the Marshall Plan on the basis of Industry 4.0 during the deep social and economic crisis for the effective functioning of the economic system in the new realities of the post-COVID period. Methodology of research. The following methods are used to achieve this goal: abstract and logical – in the study of the essence of categories and concepts in the field of Industry 4.0; comparative and economic – in the analysis of domestic and world experience of the transition to production in the new realities of the post-COVID period on the basis of Industry 4.0; statistical analysis and generalization – to process an array of statistical and empirical data and formulate the relevant conclusions of the study. Findings. The need to adapt the mechanisms of economic systems to the new reality of the post-COVID period for the development of the social and economic sphere of the countries is determined. The need to analyze changes in consumer habits and preferences during the global economic crisis of the early third decade of the XXI century, which is due to quarantine measures, is established. It is proposed to carry out the transformation of social and economic systems for developing countries on the basis of the “Marshall Plan” and using the technologies of Industry 4.0. It is proved that for Ukraine it is necessary to concentrate efforts in the main clusters of the national economy. The expediency of concentrating efforts in the development of Ukraine's economy on knowledge-intensive production, on increasing the scientific and technological components in all clusters of the economy, as well as on the need to take into account best practices in the implementation of the “Marshall Plan”. Originality. The substantiation of the possibilities of transformation of the national economy in the conditions of the global social and economic crisis with the use of the Marshall Plan on the basis of Industry 4.0 and the use of data on the development potential of the main clusters of the economy was further developed. Practical value. The obtained results of the research can be used to identify opportunities for the development of the main clusters of the economy of Ukraine on the basis of Industry 4.0 and the means of the “Marshall Plan”. Key words: major economic clusters, Industry 4.0, the post-COVID period, the “Marshall Plan”.

Mapping evidence of food safety at transport stations in Africa: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionIn Africa, travels, urbanisation and changing consumer habits are increasing the number of people buying and eating food prepared/sold at public spaces including transport stations, particularly in the urban and...

ÇEVRE SORUNLARI, NEDENLERİ VE ÇÖZÜM ÖNERİLERİ: YOZGAT ÖRNEĞİ

Bilim ve teknoloji alanında yaşanan gelişmelere bağlı ortaya çıkan ihtiyaçlar ve değişen tüketim alışkanlıkları insanların doğal çevre üzerindeki etkilerinin artmasına neden olmuştur. İnsanın çevreye olan müdahalesi arttıkça doğal dengenin bozulması sonucunda oluşan çevre sorunları tüm canlıların yaşamını olumsuz etkilemektedir. Bu araştırmada Yozgat’ta yaşayan insanların çevre sorunlarına ilişkin görüşlerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma nitel bir çalışma olup görüşme yöntemi ile gerçekleştirilmiş betimsel bir çalışmadır. Araştırmada elde edilen veriler içerik analizi yöntemiyle analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini Yozgat’ta yaşayan 170 kişi oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcıların görüşlerine göre Yozgat’ta yaşanan en önemli çevre sorunları çöpler, atıklar, hava, su ve gürültü kirliliği, kentleşme ve ormanların tahrip edilmesidir. Bu sorunların sebepleri eğitim eksikliği, bilinçsizlik ve duyarsızlık olarak ifade edilmiştir. Katılımcılar, çevre sorunlarının çözümü için çevre eğitimi etkinliklerinin arttırılmasını, denetim ve ceza uygulanmasını önermişlerdir. Katılımcıların gösterdikleri çevre dostu davranışların çevreye çöp atmamak, atanları uyarmak, geri dönüşüme özen göstermek ve düzenlenen çevre etkinlilerine katılmak olduğu belirlenmiştir.

Understanding Spatial Variations in Accessibility to Banks Using Variable Floating Catchment Area Techniques

In response to changing consumer habits driven by the advance of online services and mobile apps, substantial reductions in the provision of bank branches have been widely documented over the last decade. Such closures have economic consequences for the sustainability of local businesses and the state of local high streets and may disproportionately affect demographic groups such as the elderly, those on low incomes, and those experiencing poor public transport and digital broadband connectivity. Geographical modelling can help to examine and better understand the impacts of bank closures, inform and guide future reductions, and contribute to impact assessment exercises. Many recent studies concerned with the spatial provision of services have adopted Floating Catchment Area techniques, exploring their use in a wide range of thematic and geographical contexts, but hitherto not to retail banking. This study documents the trialling of several approaches to the implementation of variable sized catchments within FCA tools in order to address previous concerns regarding the use of a fixed size catchment in study areas that encompass a wide range of settlement types. Findings suggest considerable potential in applying these tools to the banking sector, whilst also drawing attention to current limitations in the type of data available to differentiate settlement areas and guide parameter settings. However, with the future inclusion of supply-side measures such as branch opening hours and the incorporation of multi-modal travel, FCA tools can enhance existing impact assessment exercises and provide the public with greater confidence that the implications of bank branch closures have been fully considered.

Virus entéricos humanos en alimentos: detección y métodos de inactivación

Los principales patógenos víricos que podemos ad­quirir ingiriendo alimentos contaminados son los norovirus, el virus de la hepatitis A y el virus de la hepatitis E que se propagan principalmente a través de la vía fecal oral. En los últimos años, la incidencia de brotes de transmisión alimentaria causados por estos patógenos ha experimentado un aumento considerable, en parte debido al comercio globalizado y a los cambios en los hábitos de consumo. Las matrices alimentarias que mayor riesgo representan para el consumidor son los moluscos bivalvos, ve­getales de IV gama, frutas tipo baya y platos listos para comer. Actualmente las técnicas moleculares son las más habituales para la detección de estos patógenos en alimentos, aunque toda­vía existen dudas acerca del significado de la presencia de estos genomas víricos en términos de seguridad alimentaria. La infec­tividad de estos patógenos en alimentos viene también determi­nada por su elevada persistencia ambiental y por su resistencia a los tratamientos aplicados para la conservación de los alimentos.

In Search of the Lost Balassa–Samuelson Effect – The Changing Role of Services in the 21st Century

It is a generally observed phenomenon that there is a positive relationship between the level of economic development and the general price level. According to the Balassa–Samuelson effect, the convergence observed in the price level is largely achieved through higher services inflation. Based on the update of our previous regression estimation results on the effect, the textbook Balassa–Samuelson effect can be detected less and less in the case of Hungary. Moreover, the phenomenon also shows a similar shift in the case of a wider group of countries. The structural transformation taking place in the world economy nowadays, globalisation and the infocommunication revolution are fundamentally transforming the role, tradability and productivity of services, which also influences the fulfilment of the assumptions of the theory. These factors – in particular with regard to market services – have been assessed in terms of several aspects: based on growth patterns, the role of the services sector in the growth path of modern economies is becoming increasingly important, which is proved by both international and domestic data. Current megatrends – such as globalisation, digitalisation, technological development and artificial intelligence – are accelerating the rising productivity of services and leading to changes in consumer habits and the globalisation of services. New structural shifts affecting the services sector are also transforming the conditions associated with the theory, thus weakening the practical operability of the Balassa–Samuelson effect.

A EFETIVAÇÃO DO DIREITO À INFORMAÇÃO AMBIENTAL, POR MEIO DA QUESTÃO PREJUDICIAL, NO TRIBUNAL DE JUSTIÇA DA UNIÃO EUROPEIA

Resumo: O presente artigo analisa a efetivação do direito à informação ambiental, na União Europeia (UE), por meio da atuação do Tribunal de Justiça da União Europeia (TJ/UE), em sede de questão prejudicial, mecanismo que permite um diálogo horizontal entre o juiz comunitário e o juiz nacional. A temática se justifica diante da relevância da informação ambiental para a vida em sociedade, a fim de se alcançar a meta das Nações Unidas vinculada ao consumo sustentável. Assim, o problema de pesquisa que guiou esse estudo se refere a se a questão prejudicial é o mecanismo apto para se alcançar a uniformização da interpretação e posterior aplicação, pelo juiz nacional, do direito à informação ambiental, erigido pelas instituições da UE, diante da disparidade ainda presente na legislação de cada Estado Membro. Entre os objetivos buscados estão: analisar a cooperação jurídica entre o TJ/UE e os tribunais nacionais, na esfera da questão prejudicial; identificar os principais casos decididos pelo TJ/UE, entre 1992 e junho de 2019, relativos ao direito à informação ambiental; e, por fim, estudar a fonte originária e derivada do Direito da União, com foco na informação ambiental. Para tanto, utilizou-se o método de análise normativo-descritivo, de cunho documental, sob uma perspectiva crítica e interdisciplinar, enquanto o método utilizado para o levantamento de casos foi o empírico por amostragem. Desse modo, fez-se possível concluir que a questão prejudicial é essencial na efetivação do direito à informação ambiental nos moldes adotados pela UE, a fim de gerar mudanças dos hábitos dos consumidores.

Gentrification and functional change in Budapest – ‘ruin bars’ and the commodification of housing in a post-socialist context

AbstractThe growth of the tourism and hospitality industry played an important role in the gentrification of the post-socialist city of Budapest. Although disinvestment was present, reinvestment was moderate for decades after 1989. Privatisation of individual tenancies and the consequent fragmented ownership structure of heritage buildings made refurbishment and reinvestment less profitable. Because of local contextual factors and global changes in consumption habits, the function of the dilapidated 19th century housing stock transformed in the 2000s, and the residential neighbourhood which was the subject of the research turned into the so called ‘party district’. The process was followed in our ongoing field research. The functional change made possible speculative investment in inner city housing and played a major role in the commodification of the disinvested housing stock.

Does basic education students know the importance of agroecology production systems for the conservation of biodiversity?

The perception of a basic education of the importance of agroecological agricultural systems for human and environmental health is fundamental for changes in consumption habits, the conservation of local biodiversity and long-term social transformation. We analyzed, by utilizing a questionnaire consisting of open and closed questions, the perceptions about agroecological and conventional agricultural production systems in 360 final students of basic education residing in nine Functional Planning Regions of southern Brazil. We used classification categories for answers within thematic axes, expressed in percentages and analyzed by means of Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests. In general, students recognize agroecological systems as healthier for their families and for soil and water conservation, largely because they do not use agrochemicals. However, they demonstrated difficulties when arguing their importance for the conservation of biodiversity, ecosystems and for ensuring the food security of populations. Television was the main source of information related to agroecology, mainly for students residing in rural areas, thus pointing out shortcomings in basic education regarding the approach of the theme in schools. Our results show the need to build a complex network of knowledge and discussions on agroecological agricultural systems in basic education, involving changes in student perceptions, behaviors and sustainable choices.