Production Consumption Patterns Research Articles

Re-visiting copyright: is there a way to tackle selective enforcement and non-contextual algorithmic takedowns? A discussion through the lens of internet meme culture

ABSTRACT Internet memes, a bourgeoning form of communication, resemble accessory elements of language. However, internet memes are conceptually complex. Their collective re-creative process relies heavily on copying underlying works, usually without asking for prior-permission from their rightsholders. Internet memes challenge core copyright assumptions on reasons of re-creation and modes of exploitation. Without a fundamental rethink of this mismatch, internet meme culture may be threatened. Going forward, copyright reforms should be holistic and distinguish between traditional and newer forms of re-creative processes. This article proposes that existing copyright can be flexibly interpreted to limit private property rights of underlying works and meme variations when they are used as internet memes, so as to facilitate their adaptation and support socio-cultural discourse. This article proposes a two-step holistic interpretation: copyright can conceptualise and confer limited rights for underlying works and meme variations when they are copied and re-used as internet memes. Copyright can also conceptualise a narrower scope of property rights by flexibly interpreting a combination of fundamental notions, including joint authorship, fair dealing, idea-expression, or user rights. This holistic approach sits comfortably with user-creators and their blurry cultural production-consumption patterns, alongside their nuanced (non)economic use of internet memes.

Dynamics of combatting market-driven epidemics: Insights from U.S. reduction of cigarette, sugar, and prescription opioid consumption.

Misuse and overconsumption of certain consumer products have become major global risk factors for premature deaths, with their total costs in trillions of dollars. Progress in reducing such deaths has been slow and difficult. To address this challenge, this review introduces the definition of market-driven epidemics (MDEs), which arise when companies aggressively market products with proven harms, deny these harms, and resist mitigation efforts. MDEs are a specific within the broader landscape of commercial determinants of health. We selected three illustrative MDE products reflecting different consumer experiences: cigarettes (nicotine delivery product), sugar (food product), and prescription opioids (medical product). Each met the MDE case definition with proven adverse health impacts, well-documented histories, longitudinal product consumption and health impact data, and sustained reduction in product consumption. Based on these epidemics, we describe five MDE phases: market expansion, evidence of harm, corporate resistance, mitigation, and market adaptation. From the peak of consumption to the most recent data, U.S. cigarette sales fell by 82%, sugar consumption by 15%, and prescription opioid prescriptions by 62%. For each, the consumption tipping point occurred when compelling evidence of harm, professional alarm, and an authoritative public health voice and/or public mobilization overcame corporate marketing and resistance efforts. The gap between suspicion of harm and the consumption tipping point ranged from one to five decades-much of which was attributable to the time required to generate sufficient evidence of harm. Market adaptation to the reduced consumption of target products had both negative and positive impacts. To our knowledge, this is the first comparative analysis of three successful efforts to change the product consumption patterns and the associated adverse health impacts of these products. The MDE epidemiological approach of shortening the latent time to effective mitigation provides a new method to reduce the impacts of harmful products.

Impact of Economic Crisis and Socio-Demographic Factors on Milk and Milk Product Consumption of Undergraduates: A Case Study of Eastern University, Sri Lanka

Milk consumption is influenced by a wide range of factors, including gender, age, income, education, ethnicity, health condition, and presence of children in the household. The current study was designed to investigate the effects of the recent economic crisis and socio-demographic factors on the milk and milk product consumption patterns of undergraduates. The questionnaire survey was used as the primary data collection tool. The survey was conducted with a representative sample of undergraduates (n=238) using a self-structured online questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. As per the results, the majority of undergraduates in the sample size consume raw milk (83%). Therefore, cattle milk was the most widely consumed type of raw milk (84%). Ice cream is the most popular milk product (99%) in sample size. Despite the economic crisis, the majority of undergraduates (53%) maintain steady milk consumption habits. However, the milk consumption of undergraduates during the financial crisis was significantly associated with factors including locality (p=0.017), family size (p=0.014), monthly family income (p=0.000), parental educational level (p=0.000), and employment status (p=0.014). Further, this study investigated the fact that the purchasing frequency of milk and milk products was not associated with socio-demographic backgrounds (P>0.05).

Culture Production and Consumption in Post-COVID Era: A Meta-Analysis of OTT Industry in India

Web series and video on demand services destabilised and efficiently replaced popular entertainment in the past one year, due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The subsequent lockdown not only impacted the traditional creative industries, such as TV and films, but it has also catalysed the way narratives are produced and consumed over the internet. Narratives on the web have been posing challenges to traditional storytelling since the past decade, but the changes in the Indian market have been slow until this year. The industry has also been studied extensively from the perspective of various disciplines, film studies, marketing, psychology, and communication being a few of them. These studies have elaborated upon the evolution of the industry, its popularity, challenges and roadblocks specifically in relation to the Indian market. The study in concern tries to trace the evolution of the industry in comparison to the predictions. It tries to verify if the predictions and scope have been met by trajectory and what quantum of growth can be credited to the COVID pandemic lockdown period. This research starts with gathering studies conducted on the industry, specifically in the Indian market, since its existence. With the help of a qualitative meta-analysis, this paper tries to analyse the trends and trajectories predicted vis-a-vis the actual growth in numbers over the years, specifically in the post-COVID era. Researchers aim to suggest a model on the production–consumption patterns and the functioning of the industry.

A Comprehensive 3-Phase Framework for Determining the Customer’s Product Usage in a Food Supply Chain

A fundamental issue in manufacturing systems is moving a local manufacturer into a supply chain network including wholesalers and retailers. In this research, a 3-phase framework is proposed to determine the food consumption pattern in food supply chains. In the first stage of this research, the consumer, availability and society factors for product classification according to the features of populations in Malaysia are identified (phase 1). Then, using statistical analysis, the effective factors are recognised (phase 2). In the third phase, the product clusters are recognised using a hybrid PCA and agglomerative clustering method. For this purpose, different clusters for the training step are used. The outcomes indicated that Age (0.94), City (0.79), Health Benefit Awareness (0.76) and Education (0.75) are the most effective factors in product consumption patterns, respectively. Moreover, the efficiency of the outcomes is evaluated using the Silhouette Coefficient, indicating that the proposed algorithm could provide solutions with a 68% score. Moreover, using Calinski-Harabasz Index, it was found that the algorithm provided more logic scores while the number of product patterns was 3 for the studied region (707.54).

Food in the cold: exploring food security and sovereignty in Whitehorse, Yukon

ABSTRACT Harsh weather patterns that are unpredictable owing to climate change, remoteness, dependence on food imports and limited local food production place Arctic and Subarctic food systems under serious pressure. The model of food sovereignty provides a surprisingly interesting contribution to address the food insecurity in these regions; it promotes long-term stable provision of healthy foods (sustainable) that are accessible to all (equity) and fosters local food production–consumption patterns (localisation). This study aims to deepen the understanding of food insecurity in the Subarctic regions and explores the possibilities for a food sovereignty approach at both individual and regional level. The study focuses on Whitehorse, capital of Yukon, Canada, and uses a cross-sectional online survey among residents of Whitehorse and semi-structured in-depth interviews with food-systems experts in Yukon. The findings indicated a need for affordable year-round local food production. Application of food sovereignty has provided the opportunities for local food procurement, innovation hubs, and several types of greenhouses including hydroponics and vertical farming, to work towards a more localised food system, thereby improving food security and sovereignty in Yukon. The findings constitute the scientific knowledge base for the formulation of prospective scenarios in the spirit of the food sovereignty theory.

A Study of Gen MZers’ Vinyl LP Collecting and Purchasing Experience

This study examines the vinyl collection craze among members of Gen MZ (20 to 30 year olds), with particular attention to their experiences, motivations, and interactions with other collectors and buyers. The Gen MZers who are driving the vinyl phenomenon did not grow up with vinyl records so why are they so enthusiastic about a retro media? We analyze research on cultural product consumption patterns and our field data and use grounded theory to apprehend the experiential world of Gen MZ vinyl record collectors through individual and focus group interviews and participant action research. Our goal is to gain insight into how their vinyl collecting, purchasing, and product creation activities affords them satisfaction, builds cultural capital, and contributes to shaping this moment in popular culture. In general, we found that the vinyl collecting craze among Gen MZers is driven by several factors, notably a strong sense of dissatisfaction with popular culture and the typically passive consumption of its products, coupled with the sense of fulfillment the collectors get from developing the specialized and exclusive knowledge that builds cultural capital. These factors intersect with certain distinctive personality traits of collectors, expressed in their impulse to establish themselves as uniquely discerning arbiters of musical taste and value, to produce a typically nostalgic trajectory through the world of collecting and consuming yesterday’s commercial audio technology.

Key Determinants of Organic Food Consumption: The Case of Olive Oil in Spain

The literature on organic consumer behavior has provided some knowledge about the main constructs and variables related to the purchase and consumption of organic foods and could be used to plan strategies to increase demand. However, the recommendations are not clear, varying among different authors, products, and markets; so, it seems necessary to study each case separately. This study aims to isolate the key variables that could influence the purchase of organic olive oil in the Spanish market and to analyze which of these variables have a major effect on the intent to purchase. Using data from a survey of 800 individuals, variables involved in the purchase decision process are included in a linear regression model of latent classes. The results indicate that the product consumption patterns do not respond to a uniform consumption profile but point to a coexistence of groups of people with different propensities to buy and different sensitivities to different commercial stimuli. The main conclusion is that the most effective actions to develop demand should focus on directly linking consumption of the product to consumer benefits such as leading a healthier life, eating a higher-quality product, or enjoying nature, rather than to other variables such as difficulties, perceived costs, or confidence in the certification process.

Mahatma Gandhi and the model of fashion education, activism and system(s) in India

Abstract Prominent fashion educators, namely Lidewij Edelkoort and Jose Teunissen, have time and again pointed towards the crisis of a fast-fashion system marked by the rapid and excessive production–consumption patterns that manifest a throwaway society within the vast cultural wastelands. As Edelkoort has pointed out in her manifesto ‘Anti_Fashion’ (2015), it may sound quite ironic but we still educate our young people to become catwalk designers and unique individuals. However, our society demands exchange, new economy and working together in teams as well as groups. Pedagogy, in this precise sense apropos to the fast-fashion system, is indeed based upon a flat ontological ground or singular identity, which resembles a vast agricultural field protected by the scarecrow in order to harvest only a particular type of crop. What is required is a type of wilderness – an ecosystem; an interdependent as well as symbiotic relationship among the heterogeneous groups of individuals to realize life’s capacity to flourish and maximize its true potential. Here, the question is this: in what ways does fashion education play an active role in inculcating the values of cooperative, collaborative, correlative and collective modes of production–consumption within contemporary fashion system(s)? This article argues that the Gandhian model has great potential in articulating possibilities that are quite timely and crucial in relation to the present discourse on fashion system(s). The Gandhian model encompasses Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of ecology, work, crafts, education and fashion. The article suggests that the Gandhian model is subversive in nature and does inculcate the values of cooperative, collaborative, correlative and collective modes of production–consumption whilst facilitating a spirit of activism in order to imagine fashion outside the purview of industrial and post-industrial capitalism. Here, the dialectics of the life (praxis) versus mechanization (techne) appear to be an obvious trap, which the article avoids by developing a kind of dialogical framework – a relationship to the environment quite radically different than that of humanism and anthropocentrism.

Territorial Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): What exactly is it about? A proposal towards using a common terminology and a research agenda

Evaluating holistically environmental impacts of land planning policies implies to take into account several aspects, intimately related both to territorial features and to production-consumption patterns, which have a specific local character and a potential impact at different scales. To address these challenges, life cycle thinking and assessment methods are crucial. Indeed, beyond the traditional application of Life Cycle Assessment as a product-oriented methodology, a new LCA-based approach called “territorial LCA” has gradually emerged to assess geographically or administratively defined systems. This paper aims to analyze how this new LCA-based approach differs from conventional LCA, highlighting main differences and added values. Territorial LCAs can be divided into two main approaches, i.e., i) type A, which focuses on the assessment of a specific activity or supply chain anchored in a given territory, and ii) type B, which attempts to assess all production and consumption activities located in a territory, including all environmental pressures embodied in trade flows with other territories. These two approaches are described and compared according to the four LCA phases to highlight differences and similarities with conventional LCA. This comparison is based on a detailed case study analysis for each territorial LCA type and it shows that most of the differences are in the goal and scope definition, especially for the territorial LCA of type B where the functional unit definition is no more the starting point of the assessment. Concerning territorial LCA of type A, there are no main divergences with conventional LCA as territorial contextualization already exists in some LCA applications, even if not systematically applied. Improvements in the application may entail a comprehensive contextualization of the four LCA phases, developing the synergies with the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. Other specific challenges affecting both type A and B are related to i) territorial unique intrinsic multifunctionality determined by all human activities located within its boundaries, ii) specific territorial characteristics (i.e., spatial variability and organization), and iii) multiscale issues and the consideration of interactions between territories.

Tobacco Product Use Patterns, and Nicotine and Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Exposure: NHANES 1999-2012.

Background: Few studies have examined differences in product consumption patterns and nicotine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) exposure between single versus dual- and poly-tobacco users. We applied the Tobacco Product Use Patterns (T-PUPs) model to fill this gap in the literature.Methods: Data from adults (age ≥18 years) who used any tobacco products during the 5 days prior to participating in the 1999-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analyzed. Participants were classified into seven T-PUPs: (1) cigarettes only, (2) noncigarette combustibles only, (3) noncombustibles only, (4) dual noncigarette combustibles and noncombustibles, (5) dual cigarettes and noncombustibles, (6) dual cigarettes and noncigarette combustibles, and (7) poly-tobacco use. Weighted regression models were used to compare product consumption, serum cotinine, and urinary total 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (i.e., NNAL) levels between single-, dual-, and poly-tobacco T-PUPs.Results: Dual- and poly-tobacco T-PUPs were associated with lower product consumption compared with single-product T-PUPs only in some cases (e.g., dual cigarette and noncombustible users smoked cigarettes on 0.6 fewer days in the past 5 days compared with cigarette-only users; P < 0.05). Dual- and poly-tobacco T-PUPs had either nondistinguishable or higher levels of serum cotinine and urinary total NNAL than corresponding single-product T-PUPs.Conclusions: Product consumption, and nicotine and TSNAs exposure of dual- and poly-tobacco product category users somewhat differ from those of single-product category users as defined by the T-TUPs model.Impact: Higher levels of cotinine and NNAL among dual- and poly-tobacco T-TUPs users compared with the single-product T-TUPs users may indicate health concerns. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(10); 1525-30. ©2017 AACR.

Aquatic product consumption patterns and perceptions among the Chinese middle class

The Chinese market for aquatic products is the largest in the world, and growing rapidly. An increasingly large proportion of Chinese aquatic product consumption is coming from imported sources, making the market of high significance not only for stakeholders in China, but from around the world. Yet little is understood about the key characteristics of this market. In this paper we surveyed 300 middle-class urban consumers of aquatic products in Beijing and Shanghai about patterns of aquatic product consumption and attitudes towards sustainability. We asked about the major types of aquatic products consumed, the forms of aquatic products consumed, the different types of venues aquatic products are consumed in, the purchasing location of aquatic products, and the different types of motivation behind aquatic product consumption. We also examined awareness of and attitudes towards a range of public awareness campaigns on environmentalism, understandings of the endangered status of different types of aquatic products, and attitudes towards a range of topics related to sustainability and consumption. Our results indicate limited levels of awareness on a range of issues to do with sustainability among urban middle-class Chinese consumers. Education level was closely correlated with support for Marine Stewardship Council concepts and environmental advertisements. Our results highlight some of the opportunities and challenges faced by both government and market actors in improving sustainability in the Chinese consumer market.

The Role of Religion and Acculturation in the Consumer Ethnocentrism of Turkish Immigrants in Germany

Researchers have invested much effort in the understanding of acculturation-relevant factors that influence immigrants’ psychological and socio-cultural adaptation. Factors that might have an impact on immigrants’ product consumption decisions have comparatively received scarce attention by acculturation and marketing researchers. Immigrants show different product consumption patterns and therefore constitute big consumer groups that can have an impact on both the economy of immigrants’ culture of origin and the host society. The present study investigated Turkish immigrants’ product consumption ethnocentrism. The sample consisted of 599 youth and adult Turkish in Germany drawn from Cologne, the city with the highest ratio of Turkish people in the country. The study sample represented a very similar demographic make-up of the Turkish people in Cologne. The associations between acculturation strategies, loyalty to religion, and product consumption ethnocentrism were quantitatively analyzed based on a field survey. Research findings indicated that participants in the acculturation mode of separation scored significantly higher for consumer ethnocentrism than those showing other orientations, and those with an assimilation orientation scored the least for consumer ethnocentrism. Among the three religiosity dimensions (behavioral, emotional, cognitive) investigated in the present study, analyses controlling for a range of socio-demographic variables revealed a positive relationship between the behavior dimension of religiosity and consumer ethnocentrism.

Eco-efficient biorefineries: Techno-fix for resource constraints?

An eco-efficient bioeconomy has been widely promoted to alleviate resource constraints of rising global demand. An integrated, diversified biorefinery would convert diverse non-food biomass into valuable products, thus providing input-substitutes for fossil fuels within current infrastructures. This agenda intensifies various resource burdens and market competition to supply cheap biomass. Biorefinery innovation trajectories have the same drivers as the current production-consumption patterns expanding global demand for food, feed, fuel, etc. More efficient, flexible conversion of biomass will strengthen financial incentives to intensify resource extraction, especially by industrialising agri-forestry systems. Such a techno-fix depends on cheapening resource supplies without paying for their societal and environmental costs.

The Comparison of Virtual Water Consumption among the Various Consumption Patterns of Diet

Water resource is the basic and necessary input in the process of production and various consumption patterns of products and goods causes cause different impacts on the water resource using. It is very important to analysis and measures those different influences, which is especially good for the sustainability of water resource, construction of sustainable consumption pattern and the implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management. In this text, the virtual water consumption of Gansu in 1992-2005 is taken as a case study to analysis the relationship between the consumption pattern and virtual water. Then, three replaceable patterns presumed to examine and measure the change of virtual water. Based the results of this study, the per capita virtual water have decreased 43% and the total virtual water 40% in 2005 (relative to 1992). The quantity of food consumption decreases and the milk increases evidently. The key issue to decline the virtual water is the per capita virtual water consumption taken as the “quality” aspect of the virtual water and the more vegetable less meat can save virtual water 9% utmost.

Stocks and flows of PBDEs in products from use to waste in the U.S. and Canada from 1970 to 2020.

The time-dependent stock of PBDEs contained in in-use products (excluding building materials and large vehicles) was estimated for the U.S. and Canada from 1970 to 2020 based on product consumption patterns, PBDE contents, and product lifespan. The stocks of penta- and octaBDE peaked in in-use products at 17,000 (95% confidence interval: 6000-70,000) and 4,000 (1,000-50,000) tonnes in 2004, respectively, and for decaBDE at 140,000 (40,000-300,000) tonnes in 2008. Products dominating PBDE usage were polyurethane foam used in furniture (65% of pentaBDE), casings of electrical and electronic equipment or EEE (80% of octaBDE), and EEE and automotive seating (35% of decaBDE for each category). The largest flow of PBDEs in products, excluding automotive sector, to the waste phase occurred between 2005 and 2008 at ∼10,000 tonnes per year. Total consumption of penta-, octa-, and decaBDE from 1970 to 2020 in products considered was estimated at ∼46,000, ∼25,000, and ∼380,000 tonnes, respectively. Per capita usage was estimated at 10-250, 10-150, and 200-2000 g·capita(-1)·y(-1) for penta-, octa-, and decaBDE, respectively, over the time span. Considering only the first use (no reuse and/or storage) of PBDE-containing products, approximately 60% of the stock of PBDEs in 2014 or ∼70,000 tonnes, of which 95% is decaBDE, will remain in the use phase in 2020. Total emissions to air of all PBDEs from the in-use product stock was estimated at 70-700 tonnes between 1970 and 2020, with annual emissions of 0.4-4 tonnes·y(-1) for each of penta- and octaBDE and 0.35-3.5 tonnes·y(-1) for decaBDE in 2014.

The Future of Sustainability as a Product of the Present: Lessons from Modern Food in Ecuador

Drawing on historical research in the northern highlands of Ecuador, the authors summarize how 75 years of state-supported agricultural modernization and subsequent food policies have led to diverse, wide-scale socio-environmental decline. Despite this global trend, they find considerable heterogeneity in familylevel farming and food practices, with highly diverse and important implications for human health, economy and the environment. Following a study of ‘positive deviance’, they argue that certain production-consumption patterns are more sustainable than others, representing a time-proven, yet largely neglected resource for policy reform. Nevertheless, Ecuador’s investment in modern food poses formidable institutional challenges to change, while sparking increasingly influential social counter-movements.

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, and Organochlorine Pesticides in Adipose Tissues of Korean Women

Studies on residue levels and accumulation profiles of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human adipose tissues of Korean populations are scarce. In this study, concentrations and accumulation features of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in adipose tissues of Korean women age 40-68years. The highest concentrations were found for PCBs and DDTs, which were 1-2 orders of magnitude greater than the concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexanes, chlordanes, and PBDEs. The concentrations of PCBs and OCPs were lower than those reported for other countries. However, PBDE concentrations were greater than those reported for other countries, suggesting that ongoing exposure to PBDEs is a concern in Korea. The profiles of PBDEs were characterized by the predominance of BDE 209, followed by nona- and octa-BDEs, which are consistent with the consumption patterns of products containing PBDEs in Korea. The concentrations of PCBs and some OCPs were significantly correlated with each other, whereas PBDEs showed low or moderate correlations with other POPs, suggesting differences in exposure routes and biotransformation potentials of the compounds studied. The concentrations of organochlorines and PBDEs were not correlated with subjects' age and body mass index. The results of this study provide baseline information on POPs in adipose tissues of the general population in Korea.

Coevolutionary ecological economics

This paper maps a coevolutionary research agenda for ecological economics. At an epistemological level coevolution offers a powerful logic for transcending environmental and social determinisms and developing a cross-disciplinary approach in the study of socio-ecological systems. We identify four consistent stories emerging out of coevolutionary studies in ecological economics, concerning: environmental degradation and development failure in peripheral regions; the lock-in of unsustainable production–consumption patterns; the vicious cycle between human efforts to control undesirable micro-organisms and the evolution of these organisms; and the adaptive advantages of other-regarding, cooperative behaviors and institutions. We identify challenges in the conceptualization of coevolutionary relationships in relation to: the interaction between different hierarchical levels of evolution; the role of space and social power; uneven rates of change and crises. We conclude with the political implications of a coevolutionary perspective based on the premises of pragmatism.

THE NEUROTOXICITY OF POLYBROMINATED BIPHENYLS: RESULTS OF A MEDICAL FIELD SURVEY*

Neurologic symptoms were the earliest and most prominent symptoms recorded in Michigan farm residents exposed to PBB as compared to a non-PBB exposed control farm population in Wisconsin. In Michigan (particularly among males) those who exhibited the most marked symptoms tended to show diminished performance as assessed by special tests, although population differences in performance were not as marked. Low indices of performance were also significantly correlated with intake of home-produced foodstuffs, particularly during the years 1972--1974 and store-bought products during the years 1975--1976. Between 1972 and 1976 the Michigan farm residents studied made significant changes in their consumption patterns of products suspected to be contaminated with PBB, as compared to those of Wisconsin farm residents. Serum PBB levels were not found to be significantly higher in Michigan males and females exhibiting the most prominent neurologic symptoms. Serum PBB levels were negatively correlated with performance test scores, particularly in males in older age groups.