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The business environment of the EU dairy sector has altered drastically because of changes in EU agricultural and trade policy, consumer demand, and innovations since the turn of the millennium. This created new market income opportunities for dairy processors, but also fostered the necessity for investments to access these markets. A literature review sees cooperatives to be disadvantaged at this point, because their organisational structure hinders their access to external financial resources. Confronted with these equity constraints, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how German dairy marketing cooperatives adapted to the new business environment and have been performing from 2000 to 2012.

An approach combining descriptive data from public sources and financial ratio analysis was used to test hypotheses, derived from Transaction Cost Theory.

Contrary to assumptions, cooperatives gained market shares on the German dairy market. However, dairy cooperatives managed to overcome the internal equity constraints only partially via mergers, which intensified structural change. Focusing on cost leadership, German cooperatives were not able to successfully diversify their product portfolio and still operate mainly in the fluid, low margins dairy market segments. Frustrated by their diminishing influence on the decision making process in the vastly grown cooperatives, a majority of farmers cancelled their cooperative membership.

Until today an absolute turning point for the cooperative organisational form has not yet occurred, but if cooperatives do not find the means to invest more heavily in the new markets, a slow decline of cooperatives is expected.

The paper contributes to the existing literature on marketing cooperatives by providing insights on the performance of cooperatives through combination of from theory derived assumptions with qualitative and quantitative analysis methods.

In the USA, the well-being of older people is increasingly precarious. There is a paucity of research into methods of care outside of traditional, costly, intensive methods. Moreover, any literature that does so fails to connect different fields of study or aspects of well-being. This paper aims to identify alternate, cheaper methods to traditional care methods that also take a more holistic approach to older peoples’ lives.

Connecting research conducted by gerontologists, psychologists and neurologists, and framing the results through Census data and economic research, the author proposes music therapy interventions for older people.

Music therapy has significant benefits on physical, cognitive and psychological well-being. Moreover, these treatment methods are significantly cheaper than traditional methods and are even more effective in specific cases. Specifically, though, the research methods reveal that music therapy that engages participants formally, is group-based and uses participants’ preferred music is the most potent form of therapy to achieve the stated goals. Implementing such interventions across the country could be easily done by coordinated efforts by legislatures, administrative agencies, community groups and health-care infrastructure.

As opposed to varied methods used, which undermine the broad application of results, research should primarily use the proposed three-pronged approach as “music therapy” in future investigation. Moreover, proposing music therapy as a valuable alternative in some cases of elderly care may alleviate some stress on future American health-care resources.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the features and tendency of cost indices in the global construction setting.

Data from 22 countries/regions are collected and analyzed using maximum variance formulation and Kendall rank correlation coefficient.

It is found that global construction cost indexes (CCIs) have commonly maintained a steady increase for decades, and the CCIs synchronize with each other. Overall synchronicity and synchronicity of different countries pairs have increased with time significantly.

The major limitation, however, is the availability of data: only 22 regions/countries are examined, the distribution of these regions/countries is imbalanced between different continents and various indices are adopted around the world, of which statistical methods are not same.

The implication is that a better perception of CCIs enables contractors to have a robust estimation for bidding prices and to improve the efficiency of construction projects management. The research findings also provide a useful reference for those countries that have not established construction cost indices databases to forecast the tendency of domestic construction industries.

This paper contributes to the overall body of knowledge by presenting the co-movement of global CCIs and measuring the changes of CCI synchronicity with time and in different countries pairs.

A confluence of events has created an opportunity to rethink special education, including the lingering effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic, advances in technology, and changes in how special education is conceptualized and delivered. In this chapter, I discuss each of these in turn and then describe three possible futures for special education: maintain the status quo, revolutionize and revitalize special education, or abandon special education completely. The possibilities and implication of these alterative futures for students with disabilities are then considered.

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals who choose to begin a gender affirmation journey often find the experience challenging. This can be a highly stigmatized process, and TGD consumers must strategically interact with brands and products to successfully construct authentic identities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to obtain a better understanding of the TGD individual’s identity transformation within the consumption context.

Interviews were conducted with 27 TGD individuals about their gender affirmation journeys. The process of in vivo coding and thematic coding were applied for inductive analysis. Through subsequent analysis, parities with concepts from stigma management theory and Alvesson’s (2010) self-identity metaphors were identified.

The results of this study illustrated seven themes of TGD consumption patterns in relation to the gender affirmation journey. Awakening marks the watershed realization of a TGD identity, a cessation of some consumption habits and an emergence of new ones. Exhibiting is a form of information control and often transpired with new clothing purchases. Shifting one’s name and pronouns on identification documents is a means of covering. Remaking typically involves the procurement of medical services such as hormonal prescriptions and/or surgical procedures. Disclosing to individuals in one’s reference groups is a method of assessing (and maintaining) the wise, the curious and the oblivious. Rebelling against the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity in media portrayals and leisure activities is a technique to express one’s eccentricity and quirkiness. Finally, releasing describes the potentially waning TGD label and a somewhat stabilizing pattern of consumption. A model of TGD consumers is presented, and key assertions are discussed.

The variety and complexity of consumer purchases associated with gender affirmation journeys were investigated, and it was revealed that many of these consumption choices aided in the TGD individual’s stigma management as well. The key assertions presented here progress the literature on gender affirmation journeys by predicting patterns of consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of functional properties of the polysaccharide-based component and their application in developing edible film and coating for the food processing sector.

In this review study, approximately 271 research and review articles focusing on studies related to polysaccharide-based components and their film-forming properties. This article also focused on the application of polysaccharide-based edible film in the food sector.

From the literature reviewed, polysaccharide components and components-based edible film/coating is the biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging of the materials and directly consumed by the consumer with food. It has been reported that the polysaccharide components have excellent properties such as being nontoxic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal and with good nutrients. The polysaccharide-based edible film has lipid and gas barrier properties with excellent transparency and mechanical strength. In various studies, researchers worked on the development of polysaccharide-based edible film and coating by incorporating plant based natural antioxidants. This was primarily done for obtaining improved physical and chemical properties of the edible film and coating. In future, the technology of developing polysaccharide-based edible film and coating could be used for extending the shelf life and preserving the quality of fruits and vegetables at a commercial level. There is more need to understand the role of edible packaging and sustainability in the food and environment sector.

Through this review paper, possible applications of polysaccharide-based components and their function property in the formation of the edible film and their effect on fruits, vegetables and other food products are discussed after detailed studies of literature from thesis and journal article.

This review discusses the concept of edible nanocoatings (ENCs), the biomaterials used in the coating matrices, techniques of coating development, applications, challenges and safety regulations associated with nanotechnology in food products. These ENCs are capable of imparting increased shelf life, improved appearance, better physiological qualities and bioactive potentials such as antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. ENCs can be developed using the layer-by-layer method which forms multiple alternative layers adhered together primarily by electrostatic interactions.

Various keywords such as edible coatings (ECs), safety aspects and nanocoatings were used to search the literature from Google Scholar, Research Gate, ScienceDirect, Springer Link, Taylor and Francis and PubMed. After searching enough literature, 113 articles and research papers were examined, which provides the updated overview of different aspects of edible nano-coatings.

Consumers today are very much aware of the food quality and its safety. They demand food products with longer shelf life, which are minimally processed with natural or no preservatives. ECs based on biopolymers is an alternative technique, which is biodegradable and can be consumed as such without posing any safety risks. The emergence of nanotechnology in food processing has provided new insights to develop ECs at the nanoscale with improved mechanical and barrier properties

ECs are beneficial to consumers and to the environment. ECs have generated significant attention over years as an alternative to fossil-based plastics, considering their renewable and biodegradable features

Conversations surrounding gender are sweeping the globe as the voices and lived experiences of people are being heard and shared at unprecedented rates. Discourses about gender in advertising are embedded in cultural narratives and legitimatized by a broad system of institutional structures and actors, at both macro and micro/consumer levels. This study aims to explore how consumers (one type of institutional actor) engage in legitimizing/delegitimizing messages of gender in the marketplace.

This research draws on a qualitative approach, specifically the use of in-depth interviews with men across three global contexts.

This research identifies the ways in which men engage in (de)legitimizing messages of masculinity in advertising such as reiteration, reframing, ascribing to alternate logics and prioritizing personal norms.

Across three contexts, this research theorizes the (de)legitimization of gender ideals in advertising and situates consumer narratives within broader institutional forces, providing a holistic understanding of the phenomenon.

Understanding the ways in which individuals either accept or reject gendered ideals in media aids advertising and marketing professionals in tailoring messages that resonate with audiences.

Understanding how individuals negotiate their gender and the messages they deem as legitimate are crucial to understanding gender issues related to consumer welfare and public policy.

While research has examined advertising practitioners’ views regarding gender from an institutional perspective, research on how consumers construct and maintain the legitimacy of gendered messages in the marketplace is scarce. This research theorizes and illustrates the (de)legitimization of gender ideals across three contexts.