One of the central themes in marketing's consumer research has been that of isolating various desired product attributes that determine consumer purchasing patterns. The best way to identify determinant attributes, however, has become the subject of a controversy that has yet to be resolved. Overall, marketing researchers have generally embraced…

Discussion of the trend of increasing journal prices includes an examination of possible reasons for such price increases and methods by which libraries may alleviate this trend through consumer awareness and competitive market techniques. (CLB)

Two interpretations are presented of the social dimensions of consumer education: the social/political interpretation and the personal/moral interpretation. Both contain a moral dimension involving questions of obligations and responsibilities to others. (MD)

This paper reviews the literature on consumer involvement in dental quality assessment, argues for inclusion of this information in quality assessment measures, outlines a conceptual model for measuring dental consumer quality assessment, and presents data relating to the development and validation of an instrument based on the conceptual model.…

Applying a consumer satisfaction model to higher education program administration provides the manager with a systemic view of satisfaction, related variables, and postpurchase (alumni) actions. By manipulating the variables leading to consumer satisfaction, the institution can satisfy its consumers and increase the likelihood the consumer will…

Describes "ZAPME!," a company operating an Internet site geared toward educators, students, and parents offering computer hardware to schools in exchange for student-targeted classroom web advertising. Examines the design and web content of the site, and visits the corporate web site. Finds a calculated attempts to influence pedagogy and the…

Using data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey 1998, this study analyzes how much money different types of households spend for domestic services on "female" and "male" tasks. We test alternative hypotheses based on economic and sociological theories of gender differentiation. Contrary to arguments that marriage lowers the risk to one…

We investigate the educational value of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements from 58 popular magazines published in 1992 and 2002. We find that the number of DTC prescription drug ads increased nine-fold from 1992 to 2002, while the advertisements for other health care products increased only slightly. We examine changes in…

Between 1986 and 2004, textbook prices rose 186 percent in the United States, or slightly more than six percent per year. Meanwhile, other prices rose only about three percent per year. This paper examines the economic reasons why textbook prices have escalated so briskly and what reasonable alternatives are available that might slow down these…

Children's spirituality has become a significant for-profit enterprise in North American consumer culture. This article explores the marketing of children's spirituality as an aspect of the larger construction of children as consumers in the context of late globalized capitalism. Playing off of parental anxieties over the need to avail their…

Data from the Center for Outcome Analysis were subjected to independent secondary analysis involving comparisons by ethnic group of eight indicators of service quality for users of adult developmental disability services in four states. Ethnic group membership had very limited or no association with the consumer outcomes and service inputs…

Three papers consider various aspects of the AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph Company) court-ordered divestiture. The first paper, "InterLATA Toll Alternatives for the Bell Regional Holding Companies" (Elizabeth A. La Blanc, Ann M. Wolf, and Richard M. Wolf), examines six options available to the RHCs (regional holding…

Examines the role of the stability of consumer tastes in descriptive theory. Summarizes the traditional approach to the derivation of the consumer's preference structure, considers ways in which the conventional theory has been extended, presents the Stigler-Becker theory of consumer choice, and evaluates both approaches. (GEA)

A model of student enrollment behavior based on the concept of consumer choice is proposed as an alternative to traditional models of college choice. (MSE)

Borg, Mason, and Shapiro in "The Economic Consequences of State Lotteries" (Praeger, 1991) argue that the Florida lottery creates an implicit tax that is inequitable and inefficient. These conclusions are unconvincing. Are lotteries really responsible for 35% reductions in pupil spending in lottery states? Additional work by Borg and…