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Analyses the advertising content of three self‐image projective products (perfume, cosmetics, and women′s apparel) in the UK, German, French, Spanish, and Italian editions of Vogue magazine. Tests for the degree of standardisation versus localisation of the advertising of these products. Suggests that marketers/advertisers standardise perfume advertisements to a greater degree and apparel to a lesser degree.

Advertising for three self‐image projective products (perfumes, cosmetics and women′s apparel) were content‐analysed in UK, German and US editions of Vogue. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between market similarity and advertising standardization of these products over a longitudinal period. Based on the literature reviewed, suggests that, due to their degree of similarity in markets, the UK. and the USA would have a higher degree of advertising standardization than that which existed between the UK and Germany. Moreover, given the finalization of the European unification process by December 1992, the researchers sought to determine if market similarity remained a dominant criterion in advertising standardization practices. Results showed that advertising standardization was higher overall among UK and German advertisements than between UK and US ads. Moreover, findings indicated that only a single brand showed a higher degree of standardization over the six‐month period for all countries investigated, suggesting that market similarity still remains as the dominant factor in advertising standardization practices.

The Victorian School of Languages began on the margins of the Victorian education system in 1935 as a “special experiment” supported by the Chief Inspector of Secondary Schools, J.A Seitz. The purpose of this paper is to present a historical analysis of the first 15 years of the “special experiment” and it reports on the school’s fragile beginnings.

The historical analysis draws on archival materials, oral sources and other primary documents from the first 15 years of the Saturday language classes, to explore its fragile role and status within the Victorian education system.

The Saturday language classes were experimental in nature and were initially intended to pilot niche subjects in the languages curriculum. Despite support from influential stakeholders, widespread interest and a promising response from teachers and students, the student enrolments dwindled, especially in the war years. As fate would have it, the two languages initially established (Japanese and Italian) faced a hostile war environment and only just survived. Questions about the continuing viability of the classes were raised, but they were championed by Seitz.

To date, this is one of few scholarly explorations of the origins of the Victorian School of Languages, a school which became a model for Australia’s other State Specialist Language Schools. This paper contributes to the literature about the VSL, a school that existed on the margins but played a pioneering role in the expansion of the language curriculum in Victoria.

In the advertising of self‐projective products, marketers have focused on image advertising. However, today advertisers are integrating direct response with image based advertising, in essence, to “get more bang for the buck”. Hence, the purpose of the study was to investigate direct response advertising in upscale fashion magazines in the European Union as well as the USA. Eight hundred and seventy advertisements of perfumes, women’s apparel and cosmetics were evaluated via the editions of Vogue. Direct response advertisements were most prevalent among advertisements of women’s apparel and primarily in US editions of Vogue. Furthermore, advertisements for perfumes and women’s apparel were image based while advertisements for cosmetics were balanced. Implications of the findings are given regarding advertising fashion products in the European Community.

Reports on a study to determine the influence of acculturation in Hispanic, Asian and black communities to US customs and practices regarding direct response purchasing behavior of self‐image projective products. A survey of students attending a western state university was conducted. The self‐administered questionnaire was developed to assess the following information: degree of acculturation; attitudes toward direct marketing; previous direct purchasing experiences; intention to respond to direct response advertisements of selected self image projective products; and demographic information. Results of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) yielded significant results at the 0.001 level regarding degree of acculturation by ethnic group. Degree of acculturation by Asians was significantly lower than any other ethnic group as well as compared to American whites. Discusses implications of the findings.

The purpose of this study is to show manufacturers and dealers of residential air‐conditioning systems how to raise the equity of their brands, enabling them to sell more premium systems and increase their revenues and profit margins.

For such products the consumer decision‐making process is complex and high involvement, and most purchasers are unacquainted with brands. A self‐administered survey was developed to assess which attributes were most important to consumers, to what degree brand influenced the price they would pay, and where they searched for product information, as well as demographic characteristics.

In total, 140 homeowners showed that reliability, serviceability and energy‐saving features were the attributes consumers desired most. Brand name communicated quality to them, but was not an important choice criterion. However, consumers were willing to pay more for an air‐conditioner with a reputation for quality. Results also indicated that consumers searched for product information from friends and family, manufacturers' websites and brochures, but not from the Yellow Pages or through salespeople. However, dealers were highly influential during the decision‐making process by helping consumers to refine their choice criteria and choose systems that satisfied their end goals.

If consumers were better informed about the important attributes of a particular brand (reliability, serviceability and energy efficiency), they would be willing to pay more for it. To raise brand awareness, HVAC manufacturers should use broadcast media that include television and radio frequently and seasonally, and supplement them with outdoor or print to gain brand awareness and knowledge, thus increasing the likelihood that brand becomes a criterion in the decision‐making process. All advertising and promotion should steer consumers to the manufacturers' website, which should be filled with home‐owner‐oriented information about the features and, most importantly, the benefits of the brand. Manufacturers can raise brand equity among consumers through comparative executions that spell out the positive attributes of their system versus other brands. This will differentiate their brand(s) from competitors, and position themselves differently in the minds of consumers.

The study showed that brand name was not an important criterion in the consumer decision‐making process for purchasing replacement residential air‐conditioning (HVAC) systems. Since consumers are not knowledgeable about air‐conditioning brands, they assume homogeneity and shop for price.

Given the growth of health maintenance organizations and preferred physician organizations, the purpose of this study was to determine the salient factors considered when choosing a primary care physician. A list of informational items about physicians not normally included in provider directories but which were indicated by the literature to be important were included in the survey instrument. Employees of a major state university in a south‐western state were surveyed. Results indicated that at the point of selection, the degree of patient satisfaction with the quality of care received and the accessibility of the physician were the two most relevant factors that impacted the choice of a physician. Other factors considered important included interpersonal skills and competence.

The purpose of the research was to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of e‐markets as members of their value chain.

A questionnaire was developed and sent electronically to members of a textile industry e‐market.

The research showed that most of the companies participated in more than one e‐market. As indicated by the research, only 52 percent of respondents indicated that they had a positive experience with e‐markets, suggesting that there was room for improvement. However, 72 percent of respondents agreed that e‐markets increased business opportunities, 52 percent said it increased distribution channels, 60 percent noted it increased exposure of their company and 64 percent of members noted that they provided more transparent competition.

The research was limited to a small sample of textile e‐markets which may limit the generalizability of the results. Like all e‐commerce, e‐markets need to generate enough traffic so they can generate profit through revenue streams such as advertisement, memberships, transactions, and specific services.

To have an effective e‐market site managers and marketers need to provide a critical mass of accurate up‐to‐date knowledgeable information. Moreover, e‐markets need to establish trust with prospective buyers and sellers. “Community message boards” are important because they provide members opportunities to exchange all kinds of information on the e‐market, thus building trust among each other.

Electronic commerce has revolutionized the process of creating and distributing products and services. It is now asserted that electronic transactions can take place wherever there is access to the internet, a development that technically erases the geographic borders of traditional markets.

The purpose of this article is to compare the consumer decision‐making behavior between married and cohabiting couples.

Data were collected from 40 cohabiting couples and 53 married couples in a western state via a self‐administered questionnaire. The structure and the instrument used replicated the Gadis et al. study in exploring consumer decision‐making processes of married couples.

Married couples tended to be more syncratic than cohabiting couples in their decision to purchase forms of savings in this phase, but more autonomic when purchasing alcoholic beverages. Cohabiting couples were found to be more syncratic in their decision making for these products at this phase than married couples. The results, when compared to those of 18 years ago found that men and women of married couples make purchasing decisions separately, while men and women of cohabiting couples made most of theirs together. Implications of the findings were then discussed.

Marketers, when attempting to reach married couples today, should focus media and advertising communication efforts on two audiences rather than one since either the husband or wife may be making the decision. The communication strategy used should focus on the joint nature of both processes since cohabiters showed a propensity toward syncratic strategies in all three phases. Advertising and message strategies should focus on how single people of the opposite sex decide on product purchases together since cohabiters are more like single people in their decision‐making behavior.

This study compares consumer decision making among married and cohabiting couples.

The digital technological revolution offers new ways for classrooms to operate and challenges the concept of whether brick and mortar schools should exist at all. At the same time, the changes to society as we move from a knowledge-based economy to an intelligent and innovation-based economy challenges us to reassess the purpose of education. This chapter investigates an overarching counterfactual question, “What if compulsory schooling was invented in the twenty-first century”? We used a foresight methodology, based on “anticipation,” to conceptualize possible models for a future system of compulsory schooling arising from an analysis of contemporary catalysts for remodeling. While anticipation does not predict the future, the concept is that when a current system and a model of a system interplay, they impact each other to change both the present as well as possible futures. The design principles of cities, such as Freiburg (Germany), Poundbury (England), and Christie Walk (Australia), which have been developed around the idea of ecologically sustainable and decentralized cities, are focused on approaches to living that can provide a springboard for exploring the impact of changing employment, economic, technological, and social change on future schooling models. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has opened up a new field of study to investigate neuroscience, which can inform teaching practice. Postmodern and indigenous ways of thinking provide different insights about how schooling might be reconceptualized. Alternative models of future schooling are conceptualized about (i) the role of the learner and teacher, (ii) design of a school, and (iii) the purpose of compulsory schooling. For each area of remodeling, deviations to current practices as well as paradigm shifts are framed as part of scenario building. Related questions include: how schooling might be different if it had been created today for the first time? How might it better meet the needs of contemporary society? What aspects of schooling now might be lost if it was only invented in the twenty-first century? What are possible side effects from any change ideas as part of research practice? A vital aspect of this chapter is to explore the concept of learning as a general concept versus the more specific concept of schooling. We are at the precipice of a new vision of schooling based on a counterfactual way of thinking about the future of schooling as we have known it in the West.