This handbook is intended to help consumers exercise their rights in the marketplace in three ways: (1) it shows how to communicate more effectively with manufacturers, retailers, and service providers; (2) it is a self-help manual for resolving in dividual consumer complaints; and (3) it lists helpful sources of assistance. The handbook has two…

This catalog, for specialists in the Area Agencies on Aging system, outlines specialized products and services, currently available in the private marketplace, which may enhance the independence of the elderly. The body of the catalog is divided into nine sections according to technological areas; a brief description of each area and the types of…

Designed for intermediate and junior high level students, the handbook gives 11 lessons using newspaper activities for teaching consumer education. The activities help students (1) define consumer education terms and distinguish between wants and needs; (2) define the term "caveat emptor" and understand the concept of consumer…

An analysis was made of the extent to which the safety characteristics of new vehicles affect consumer purchase decisions. Using an extensive data set that combines vehicle data collected by the Automobile Club of Southern California Target Car Program with the responses from a national household survey of new car buyers, a statistical model of…

Four hundred eight female users of cosmetics in Madison, Wisconsin, responded to questionnaires which sought to discover correlations among the goal of the purchaser and the type and source of information sought in the buying decision. Two goals were identified: rational (cost, functional benefits of product, or possible undesirable consequences…

The article gives procedures for consumer foods teachers to use to actively involve students in making independent food purchasing decisions according to the school foods lab budget and food buying principles. Included are forms used to keep records for each lab: unit bank account, meat lab evaluation, and market order. (MF)

Used classical conditioning theory of learning to predict attitudes of junior high students toward spending for designer jeans. Found that students were likely to say that in comparison to the nondesigner jeans, they would spend more for the designer jeans, select them more often as gifts, and purchase them more often for themselves. (Author/ABB)

Advice on how to find the best software for institutional needs is presented. Purchasing prewritten software, acquiring custom-written software, and improving ready-made software are discussed. Questions to ask before buying software are provided. (MLW)

The authors formulate a model with which they can empirically test the decision-making hypothesis of utility maximization. The model takes into account the simultaneous nature of decisions about time allocation for husband and wife and purchases of goods and services. (SSH)

This article describes a functional mathematics activity to help secondary students with mild disabilities develop critical thinking, calculation, and reasoning skills by evaluating the "rent-to-own" option for furnishing an apartment. Suggestions address needed materials, prerequisite skills, procedures, sample worksheets, and modifications. (DB)

The construct of involvement, used by marketers and consumer behaviorists for many years as a predictive measure of the qualitative relationship between an individual and a stimulus, has long been defined as having affective or cognitive roots. However, definitions that favor one or the other too heavily are less helpful because they are too…

The guide for consumer education and economics k-12 resource materials focuses on money management. Multi-media kits, films and filmstrips, booklets, books and study materials, records and tapes, games and other teaching aids are enumerated and arranged by type of material. Full bibliographic information is provided for each citation. Most entries…

This experimental course of study for high school students was designed to prepare teenage consumers to understand the choice of products and services offered in the marketplace and to make their choices wisely. Billions of dollars annually are spent by teenagers on merchandise and services. The need for a course in consumer education is so…

The primary purpose of this report is to assist State and local education associations in their efforts to improve the compensation of teachers at all levels -- elementary, secondary, and higher education. This compendium of currently available data provides a single source of technical information for assessing and comparing the economic position…

Presents a study which attempts to link current theory to practical problems of applied communication. The power of coorientational variables is tested and compared with the power of commonly used individual characteristics in predicting the amounts and types of information sought by buyers of cosmetics. (JMF)