Provides a brief history of the consumer rights movement in Japan and discusses the recent reinvigoration of the movement by the emergence of environmental issues as a global concern. (LZ)

Enrollment trends suggest a decline in interest in consumer studies. New curricular approaches include movement toward a root discipline such as economics or toward professional degree programs, such as consumer affairs in business or financial counseling and planning. (JOW)

This theme issue discusses maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks of drug therapy for older people. It includes articles on psychoactive drugs, drug-related problems, medication compliance, geriatric psychopharmacotherapy, consumer guidelines, and outpatient prescriptions drug coverage as it relates to health care reform. (JOW)

This article explores the views of several UK officials on the concepts of performativity and the culture of performance on knowledge management. In his recorded statement in a new BBC4 series, Chancellor Gordon Brown stated that the markets provide opportunities for prosperity, but equally they are not automatically equated with the public…

This article, through an investigation of the development of the concept of the "consumer", argues that recent thinking on consumerism is likely to radically change the metaphors and processes of much business management, and that these changes are likely to feed through into further calls for a restructuring of concepts and practices in the…

The author argues that home economics educators must plan better for retrenchment, since currently the courses being cut (consumer education and family relations) are the ones that are most relevant to modern life. (CH)

A primary goal of any economics program should be a strong commitment to citizenship education. Other criteria are development of critical thinking skills, emphasis on basic conceptual tools of economics, objectivity of the materials, variety of instructional approaches, local curriculum goals, and a strong evaluation component. (Author/MLF)

Discusses consumer researchers' and consumer practitioners' differing cultures, identifies practitioners' needs, and offers research priorities that support the improvement of consumer education. (Author)

Technological literacy is necessary to make informed decisions about personal and societal choices. The competitive global economy also requires more intelligent use of technology. (SK)

Presents a conceptual outline for incorporating the subject of computers into a home economics program, through such topics as consumer education, family living, privacy, and decision making. (SK)

The use of community resources in teaching consumer education provides teachers who are inherently interesting to students. Combining community resources with an experiential approach will encourage students to discover principles and develop reasoning skills important to consumer education. (JOW)

Cost-benefit analyses suggest that consumer information strategies are preferred to direct regulation, and less restrictive strategies are preferred to more restrictive. Choice of strategies depends on the goal of intervention: changing behavior or improving overall welfare. (SK)

The Consumer Judging contest conducted by the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service focuses on decision-making skills. Objectives are to help teenagers (1) make knowledgeable, rational decisions about purchases; (2) maximize resources; (3) obtain goods and services reflecting lifestyles, values, and goals; and (4) be responsible consumers. (JOW)

Offers consumer education curriculum ideas to increase understanding of households as ecosystems, analyze eco-consciousness and decision making, and examine lifestyle flexibility and the role of values. (SK)

Examines the public policy issue of handgun control from a consumer perspective. Summarizes and analyzes research that investigates attitudes toward and use of handguns. Offers recommendations that are consumer based and attempt to balance the needs of gun owners with the interests of society. (JOW)