With cost reductions in dispatching information on the Internet, web sites have appeared which collect information by consumers evaluating various products (product evaluation sites). These sites, in addition to traditional forms of information spread through magazines and direct word of mouth communication are seen to influence the selective purchasing activity of consumers. In order to determ...

Networked digital media present new challenges for people to locate information that they can trust. At the same time, societal reliance on information that is available solely or primarily via the Internet is increasing. This article discusses how and why digitally networked communication environments alter traditional notions of trust, and presents research that examines how information consu...

A large-scale data dissemination application is characterized by a large number of information flows and information consumers. Consumers are interested in different, yet overlapping, subsets of the flows. Multicast is used to deliver subsets of the flows to subsets of the consumers. Since multicast groups are a limited resource, each consumer must filter out a large number of unneeded flows. W...

We introduce the concept of the epistemic consumption object. Such consumption objects are characterized by two interrelated features. First, epistemic consumption objects reveal themselves progressively through interaction, observation, use, examination, and evaluation. Such layered revelation is accompanied by an increasing rather than a decline the object’s complexity. Second, such objects d...

Customer satisfaction was surveyed for 6 product categories (consumer electronics, daily commodities, home equipment, information systems, cars, and health appliances) by questionnaires based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Analyzing weight of evaluation factors, the 6 product categories were reorganized into 4 categories, those were related to 4 aspects in daily living that formed by two ax...

Consumer psychology and sentiment analysis become more and more flourishing. This paper presents fuzzy inference rules with comprehensive evaluation and emotion as antecedents and accomplishes reasoning recommendation to consumers with four different motivations. A fuzzy model for the evaluation and emotion of online review texts is proposed using the theory of consumption motivation type. It h...

Product packaging serves a number of distinct functions and influences the way in which consumers respond to various product offerings. The research reported here examines whether the haptic characteristics of a non-diagnostic product packaging cue, namely its weight, affects the response of consumers. This article reviews existing research on haptic transference and proposes a conceptual frame...

Fresh juices from mandarin varieties, from hybrids and from blends of these raw materials were evaluated by 100 consumers to determine acceptability and by 10 trained panellists to quantify sensory attributes. Trained panellists found the juice from Clemenules richer in both mandarin and fresh flavour (odour and taste) whereas Nova juice presented minimum scores for these attributes. These aspe...

This three-phase study aimed to develop and evaluate an information guide for potential consumers of residential aged care. Phase 1 consisted of a series of six focus groups with 41 seniors to determine the information needs of potential consumers. Phase 2 comprised a 2 round Delphi survey in which a panel of 10 industry stakeholders prioritised the themes identified by the focus groups. Phase ...