Industry Websites Research Articles

Characteristics of Food Industry Web Sites and “Advergames” Targeting Children

Objective To assess the content of food industry Web sites targeting children by describing strategies used to prolong their visits and foster brand loyalty; and to document health-promoting messages on these Web sites. Design A content analysis was conducted of Web sites advertised on 2 children's networks, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. A total of 290 Web pages and 247 unique games on 19 Internet sites were examined. Results Games, found on 81% of Web sites, were the most predominant promotion strategy used. All games had at least 1 brand identifier, with logos being most frequently used. On average Web sites contained 1 “healthful” message for every 45 exposures to brand identifiers. Conclusions and Implications Food companies use Web sites to extend their television advertising to promote brand loyalty among children. These sites almost exclusively promoted food items high in sugar and fat. Health professionals need to monitor food industry marketing practices used in “new media.”

A review of pharmaceutical scheduling processes in six countries and the effect on consumer access to medicines

Abstract Objective This analysis determined and compared pharmaceutical scheduling arrangements in six selected countries and explored how these different scheduling arrangements affect the availability of medicines to the public for self-medication. Method A comparison of the pharmaceutical scheduling requirements for medicines in six countries was undertaken in September 2003. The six countries of comparison were Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand (NZ), the United States (US), and the United Kingdom (UK). The World Self-Medication Industry website, in September 2003, listed 216 medicines available in 27 countries. Of these, 104 medicines were available in each of the six countries selected for the study. As different scheduling arrangements pertain to different forms (external, internal) or doses and pack sizes, the total number of medicines and medicine forms for comparison was 119. The scheduling of each of the 119 products was determined and compared across the six countries. Results Of the 119 medicines and medicine forms available, Australia and NZ have 38 and 34 ‘prescription-only’ medicines and 81 and 85 medicines available without a prescription respectively. UK, Canada and France have 47, 53, and 55 ‘prescription-only’ medicines and 72, 66 and 64 medicines available without a prescription. US, which has only two schedules, ‘prescription-only’ and ‘general sale’, has the highest number of ‘prescription-only’ drugs (66) and the least number of medicines available without a prescription (53). Conclusion The results indicate that there is a tendency for more products to be made available without a prescription in countries that have schedules with pharmacy involvement (Australia, NZ, Canada, France and UK) and a matching tendency for preparations to be held in ‘prescription-only’ schedules in the USA where ‘pharmacy-only’ schedules do not exist. The presence of ‘pharmacy-only’ schedules provides a structure whereby greater consumer access to medication is available.

Food and Beverage Brands That Market to Children and Adolescents on the Internet: A Content Analysis of Branded Web Sites

Objective To identify food and beverage brand Web sites featuring designated children's areas, assess marketing techniques present on those industry Web sites, and determine nutritional quality of branded food items marketed to children. Design Systematic content analysis of food and beverage brand Web sites and nutrient analysis of food and beverages advertised on these Web sites. Setting The World Wide Web. Participants One-hundred thirty Internet Web sites of food and beverage brands with top media expenditures based on the America's Top 2000 Brands section of Brandweek magazine's annual “Superbrands” report. Main Outcome Measures A standardized content analysis rating form to determine marketing techniques used on the food and beverage brand Web sites. Nutritional analysis of food brands was conducted. Results Of 130 Web sites analyzed, 48% featured designated children's areas. These Web sites featured a variety of Internet marketing techniques, including advergaming on 85% of the Web sites and interactive programs on 92% of the Web sites. Branded spokescharacters and tie-ins to other products were featured on the majority of the Web sites, as well. Few food brands (13%) with Web sites that market to children met the nutrition criteria set by the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity. Conclusions and Implications Nearly half of branded Web sites analyzed used designated children's areas to market food and beverages to children, 87% of which were of low nutritional quality. Nutrition professionals should advocate the use of advertising techniques to encourage healthful food choices for children.

Greening corporate identity: CSR online corporate identity reporting

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations for and the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) online reporting on organisational identity development and stakeholder relationship management through corporate web communication and information strategies.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis method is utilised to critique evidence of the use and impact of online CSR reporting in three selected corporate web sites from the automotive industry. In particular, sustainability and environmental social responsibility reporting, evidence of stakeholder engagement and acknowledgement of societal concerns for corporate identity and reputation management are critiqued from a framework of persuasion and credibility alongside organisational role responsibility.FindingsThe findings concurred with current research in corporate communication that documents the significant rise in the use of corporate web sites for the reporting of CSR activities and in corporate attempts to acknowledge and respond to changing local/national and global societal expectations concerning business practices. The automotive industry web sites showed recognition of this increase in societal expectations, projection of a desired corporate identity and the subsequent monitoring of a consistent and accessible communication strategy directed at all stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the findings reflect the literature, the evaluation of three selected global web sites within one industry sector only allows for conclusions reflecting generalisations. Future research will necessarily incorporate consideration of both traditional and contemporary national cultures, into such evaluations.Originality/valueExploring the traditional and non‐traditional motivations for CSR and their impact on CSR reporting for a globalised world.

In whose interest? Relationships between health consumer groups and the pharmaceutical industry in the UK

This paper explores how health consumer groups in the UK disclose and manage links with pharmaceutical companies in the context of their growing involvement in the policy process. In particular, it examines claims that industry engages with groups in an attempt to capture the groups' policy agenda, thereby increasing industry's political influence. Drawing on theories of disclosure, analysis of group and industry websites revealed a varying level of detail on the nature and extent of relationships. Only 26 per cent of consumer groups known to be in receipt of industry financial or in-kind support openly acknowledged this. Interviews undertaken with representatives from consumer groups, industry and other health-care stakeholders, highlighted a coincidence of aims between the two sectors, an acknowledgement that collaboration was inevitable, and tacit support for policy guidelines to manage conflicts of interest. The paper concludes by arguing that while claims of organisational capture are over-stated, the shallow approach to transparency adopted by the majority of companies and groups strengthens critiques of undue influence. This may ultimately reduce policy makers' willingness to see consumer groups as the legitimate voice of patients, users and carers in the policy process.

Tobacco industry research and protection of human subjects: A case study of R. J. Reynolds

Companies that conduct research are under no obligation to follow guidelines regarding treatment of human subjects in clinical trials. By contrast, clinical researchers funded by federal agencies or under U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority are required to follow federal regulations, and academics must adhere to their institutions' standards. We examined how one tobacco company, R. J. Reynolds, treated human subjects in internal research conducted from 1985 to 2000. We then compared this treatment with standards of the time. We focused on R. J. Reynolds because the company conducted a significant amount of research using human subjects. Tobacco industry documents were retrieved from the UCSF/Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, Tobacco Documents Online, and industry Web sites. Materials from 73 research projects, including informed consent forms, were analyzed. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 45 Part 46, Protection of Human Subjects (the Common Rule) was the primary source for human subjects research guidelines and standards. R. J. Reynolds formed a human subjects review committee in 1985. The committee's structure and procedures did not meet generally accepted practices of the time regarding community representation, written procedures for adverse events, and other factors. In all 73 studies, consent procedures failed to meet five or more human subjects research standards. Policymakers should consider expanding the scope of federal human subjects research regulations to cover research undertaken by private firms such as tobacco companies.

A Comparative Analysis of Restaurant Websites and Hospitality School Restaurant Websites

This is a comparative analysis of industry restaurant websites and academic restaurant websites. The sites were evaluated with over 400 individual criteria in seven major categories including: technical specifications, technology used, site attractiveness, ease of navigation, ease of contact, marketing effectiveness, and legal compliance. This study highlights the areas where the sites are performing well, and those areas in need of improvement. By creating an index it is possible to compare industry and academic sites and create a “best practices” standard for comparison.

Bodies, cybercars and the mundane incorporation of automated mobilities

Cars are technologies that re-shape corporeal existence, material environments and social temporalities in diverse and complex ways, with impacts on all people, spaces and times, not only those that are explicitly ‘automobilized’. This article aims to interrogate claims that the new technologies of mobile data processing, information transmission and wireless communication that have been brought into the ‘banal’ performance of car driving are affecting not only the driving experience but the entire body-person. The first part reviews recent phenomenological approaches to the embodied car driver–road assemblage, including claims that kinaesthetics and haptics are significantly transforming ‘movement-space’. The second part presents a content analysis of US corporate advertising, car industry websites, sales brochures and media reports on new technologies to consider whether and how reconfigurations of mundane mobility systems might be impinging upon the performances, practices and materialities of the human and the car, in particular the habituation of the luxury car driver to new technologies. In contrast, participant observation in the Philadelphia International Auto Show (5–13 February 2005) and analysis of local advertising markets suggests that changes in the embodied experience of driving have been minimal. The third part draws on internal industry reports and publications by road safety and oversight agencies in the USA (with some attention to Europe) to show that the most significant changes are actually taking place in less visible software-driven systems, automated communication, surveillance and ‘intelligent transport systems’, which are transforming the quotidian infrastructures and ‘infostructures’ of cars, streets, highways and cities in ways that are more mundane yet more far-reaching than the individualistic and personalized rhetoric of commodity marketing would suggest.

A Methodology and Investigation of an eLoyalty Metric, Consumer Bookmarking Behavior

This paper presents a simple and novel method to investigate an important indicator of a website's appeal as well as the relationship between a firm and its online consumers — namely, bookmarking behavior. Analyzing data from two inter-related hospitality industry websites and a genealogy site demonstrated the applicability, validity and future research directions for this eLoyalty metric. Similar to past studies of interest in a site, bookmarking a site becomes increasingly likely as a visitor views more pages on the site. Bookmarking was more likely during non-work hours, suggesting non-work related browsing on these sites. Finally, those visitors using the latest browser version were slightly more likely to engage in bookmarking.

Benchmarking on-line services industries

The Web Quality Analyser (WQA) is a new benchmarking tool for industry. It has been extensively tested across services industries. Forty five critical success features are presented as measures that capture the user’s perception of services industry websites. This tool differs to previous tools, in that it captures the information technology (IT) related driver sectors of website performance, along with the marketing-services related driver sectors. These driver sectors capture relevant structure, function and performance components.

Internet Provides Platform for Education

This article discusses the importance of connecting with customers through the Internet, and highlights details of two exceptional utility websites. The first is Long Beach (California) Water Department's website, which is easy to navigate and find information on seven broad categories that serve as entry points. The second is St. Petersburg (Florida) Water Resources Department's website, which shares a clear conservation message, along with an obvious concern with source water protection. Further resources for water industry websites are provided.

Limb entrapment in a swimming pool suction outlet: A multidisciplinary approach to in-hospital extrication

Entrapment in a swimming pool's suction outlet is well described. However, a search of the Department of Trade and Industry (UK) website failed to find a mention of this. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (USA) has documented 126 cases of entrapment from 1990 to 2003 resulting in 25 deaths (11 due to hair entrapment and 14 due to limb/body entrapment). The deaths occurred in swimming pools full of water. The CPSC also issues guidelines on prevention of such incidents as well as guidelines for design improvement of suction outlets.

An Evaluation of Information Available on the Internet Regarding Minimally Invasive Hip Arthroplasty

The Internet is a popular source of information regarding health care especially when seeking advice on new and less invasive surgical techniques. We evaluated 150 Web sites (3 search engines) for authorship and quality of information regarding minimally invasive hip arthroplasty. The results revealed that 45% were authored by a hospital/university, 26% were news stories, 25% were private medical groups, and 6% were orthopedic industry Web sites. Forty-five percent offered the opportunity to make an appointment, 41% described the surgical technique, and only 15% explained eligibility. Thirteen percent described the risks, whereas 9% made reference to peer-reviewed publications. More than 91% made specific claims regarding the advantages of minimally invasive surgery. Our study suggests the information on the Internet regarding minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty is misleading and of poor quality.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: should we believe the mass media or peer-reviewed literature?

Bailly's review describes the author's perspectives on the ‘intense controversies' surrounding attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its treatment with stimulant medications. Drawing on a range of literature sources, including the UK press, pharmaceutical industry websites and peer-reviewed scientific papers, he questions the validity of ADHD as a concept and disorder, the accuracy and reliability of diagnosis, the use of stimulant medications and the impact of advertising by the pharmaceutical industry. There are, however, additional sources and alternative interpretations.

The Beat

The Beat

Competing with kreteks: transnational tobacco companies, globalisation, and Indonesia

Objective: To examine the strategies employed by transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) to compete more effectively compete with the dominant kretek manufacturers in Indonesia, and to consider implications of their failure....

Informational Content of Official Pharmaceutical Industry Web Sites about Treatments for Erectile Dysfunction

In the last 5 years, several treatments have become available for erectile dysfunction (ED). During this same period, consumer use of the Internet for health information has increased rapidly. In traditional direct-to-consumer advertisements, viewers are often referred to a pharmaceutical company Web site for further information. To evaluate the accessibility and informational content of 5 pharmaceutical company Web sites about ED treatments. Using 10 popular search engines and 1 specialized search engine, the accessibility of the official pharmaceutical company-sponsored Web site was determined by searching under brand and generic names. One company also manufactures an ED device; this site was also included. A structured, explicit review of information found on these sites was conducted. Of 110 searches (1 for each treatment, including corresponding generic drug name, using each search engine), 68 yielded the official pharmaceutical company Web site within the first 10 links. Removal of outliers (for both brand and generic name searches) resulted in 68 of 77 searches producing the pharmaceutical company Web site for the brand-name drug in the top 10 links. Although all pharmaceutical company Web sites contained general information on adverse effects and contraindications to use, only 2 sites gave actual percentages. Three sites provided references for their materials or discussed other treatment or drug options, while 4 of the sites contained profound advertising or emotive content. None mentioned cost of the therapy. The information contained on pharmaceutical company Web sites for ED treatments is superficial and aimed primarily at consumers. It is largely promotional and provides only limited information needed to effectively compare treatment options.

Development of industrial ventilation course website

Development of industrial ventilation course website

Tobacco and transition: an overview of industry investments, impact and influence in the former Soviet Union

Objectives: To quantify the contribution the tobacco industry has made to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the former Soviet Union (FSU) as an indicator of its political and economic leverage;...

Public health under attack: the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST) and the tobacco industry.

We describe the tobacco industry's response to the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST). Tobacco industry documents from the University of California, San Francisco/Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and industry Web sites were analyzed. LexisNexis and the Library of Congress's Thomas Web site were searched for legislative history. We found that the tobacco industry considered ASSIST a major threat because of its emphasis on policy and creation of local tobacco control infrastructures. The industry mobilized resources for a well-coordinated attack on ASSIST. Although industry executives were sometimes frustrated in their efforts, they ultimately had a chilling effect on ASSIST. This evidence suggest that tobacco control advocates should expect a vigorous response from the tobacco industry to policy advocacy efforts, particularly at the local level.