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The purpose of this research is to investigate the difficulties and challenges faced by the older supermarket consumers in order to form insights into potential ways of applying IT support and design solutions within the supermarket service for older consumers. The rationale for this research stemmed from observations and discussions with supermarkets with regards to the use of IT and better process design for a growing segment of their consumer base.

A mixed research methodology was used for this research. Firstly, an ethnographic approach based on direct observations was felt appropriate as this would offer a visual unbiased view of the processes involved in the shopping experience. Secondly, it was felt that it would be appropriate to support these findings with semi‐structured interviews. The data was clustered to provide contextual awareness of the problems involved within the shopping experience.

The findings indicated a range of areas where senior consumers faced difficulties. One major problem was around understanding where certain products were placed on shelves and why. The other areas of concern were access to products (shelf height), poor signage, labelling and inappropriate portion sizes.

The main research limitation is the small sample size that was studied. Obviously with a much larger sample a wider range of problems would be uncovered. The other area of concern is the fact that studying particular customers invades the privacy of customers that are inadvertently caught up on videos. In future, it may make sense to get participants to film themselves and talk into smart mobiles, recording real‐time data.

The research indicates that it is important for supermarkets to improve signage and customer support, and use IT more freely in most areas. The use of electronic ink signage is a new and important area that they could invest in. This would allow real‐time updates.

As many countries are faced with growing numbers of senior citizens, it is important that their lives are made easier and the shopping experience improved.

There are limited attempts at the use of an ethnographic approach to explore elderly consumers’ shopping experiences in the UK. The existing studies do not look at the practicalities of everyday shopping problems faced by this segment of the population. It also adds value to the retailers’ understanding of the behaviour patterns of this important customer segment, at the same time offering solutions to certain problems such as signage and directions through the utilisation of IT.

Many factors affect the store patronage decision, e.g. location, service levels, pricing policies, merchandise assortment, store environment and store image, but very little research has considered stress as a determinant. This is despite the increase in dual income families and longer working hours which are making general shopping a more stressful activity for many families because of time pressure and lack of response by retailers. This exploratory research confirms grocery shopping to be stressful, but time pressure was mentioned as only one factor causing shopping stress; other factors included: crowd density, staff attitude and training, store layout/relocation, impulse purchasing pressure, location, product assortment, music, and lighting. The article concludes by proposing a shopping stress curve for future examination.

THE new library building has been open for six months now. It is pleasantly situated in an area of new buildings, and occupies a prominent island site just on the edge of the shopping centre. The old library was in the middle of a shopping area, and it has been interesting to note that our removal from that site has had a more considerable effect on the traffic pattern than one would have thought.

Ubiquitous information and communication technologies are radically changing what organizations look like, and in many cases rendering formal organizations unsustainable. As ongoing organizations are replaced by supply chains and pop-up enterprises, we face renewed philosophical questions around ontology (what counts as a “firm?”), epistemology (can organizations know things?), and ethics (who can and should be held responsible in a world of dispersed enterprise?). Organization theorists have a number of advantages in helping construct both new theories and new institutions to help channel the economic forces unleased by ICTs for human benefit.

Fully autonomous self-driving cars not only hold the potential for significant economic and environmental advantages but also introduce complex ethical dilemmas. One of the highly debated issues, known as the “trolley problems,” revolves around determining the appropriate actions for a self-driving car when faced with an unavoidable crash. Currently, the discourse on autonomous vehicle (AV) crash algorithms is primarily shaped by Western ethical traditions, resulting in a Eurocentric bias due to the dominant economic and political influence of the West. However, considering that AV technology will be deployed across diverse cultural and religious contexts, this paper aims to contribute to the discourse by providing an Islamic perspective on programming the response of AVs in the event of an imminent crash.

This study proposes a novel methodology based on the Islamic concept of maṣlaḥa for the normative assessment of ethical decisions related to AV programming.

Drawing upon the works of classic Islamic jurists, this study highlights two distinct normative visions within Islamic traditions (akin to deontology and consequentialism) concerning the preservation of human lives in the context of AVs. This study explores the shared and divergent elements between Islamic and Western ethical approaches proposed for AVs.

This pioneering work examines AV crash algorithms from an Islamic perspective, filling a void in the global ethical discourse. This work will also serve an important role to bridge the gap between the theoretical Islamic ethical principles and their practical application in the realm of AVs.

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) promise great benefits, including improving safety, reducing congestion, and providing mobility for elderly and the disabled; however, there are discussions on how they should be programmed to respond in an ethical dilemma where a choice has to be made between two or more courses of action resulting in loss of life. To explore this question, the authors examine the current academic literature where the application of the existing philosophical theories to ethics settings in AVs has been discussed, specifically the utilitarianism and the deontological ethics. These two theories are widely regarded as rivals, and are useful in demonstrating the complex ethical issues that must be addressed when programming AVs. We also look at the legal framework, specifically normative principles in criminal law used to regulate difficult choices in an emergency, which some have suggested as a plausible defence for manufacturers who seek to program AVs using a utilitarian framework. These include the doctrine of necessity, the sudden emergency doctrine, and the duty of care. The authors critique each theory, highlighting their benefits and limitations. The authors then make a case for programming AVs using a randomized decision system (RDS) and propose that it could be a viable solution in dealing with certain moral dilemmas. Finally using our assessment, the authors suggest certain objectives for manufacturers and regulators in designing and programming AVs that are technically viable, and would make them morally acceptable and fair.

Originally undertaken on behalf of a national multiple food retailing chain concerned about a 50 per cent fall off in sales at a new store within six months of its opening, this research includes a comparative study of two other supermarkets in the same town. Interviews were conducted with 321 store customers and 189 people at random locations elsewhere and a standard questionnaire completed to determine the store features important in attracting their patronage, including price, layout, selection and variety of goods, opening hours, parking facilities and convenience of location. It was established that there was nothing radically wrong with the client company′s store and subsequent implementation of recommended “fine tuning” of a number of its features has led to its developing a comparably favourable level of popularity. However, it is concluded that marketing research should be commissioned at the initial planning stage, with particular reference to suitability of location, rather than as a means of sorting out deficiencies which become apparent only after completion and opening.

The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 stipulate the need for the control of food hazards. One such measure which satisfies this requirement is the use of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP). Considers some of the problems that occur when HACCP programmes are introduced to catering establishments. Documents risks, hazards and critical control points in the case of a medium‐sized hospital in Northern Ireland. Cites monitoring and control procedures for the control of HACCP and proposes specific recommendations for future education and training.

I present a framework for thinking about personal happiness. Ideas from philosophy are combined with research on happiness from various scientific traditions. But treatments in philosophy tend to be atomistic, focusing on one narrow approach at the exclusion of others; treatments in psychology tend also to be circumscribed, emphasizing specific hypotheses but at the neglect of overarching theory. My approach posits a far-reaching theoretical model, rooted in goal-directed action, yet mindful of nonpurposive sources of happiness as well. The heart of the theory is self-regulation of desires and decisions, which rests on self-conscious examination and application of self-evaluative standards for leading a moral life in the broadest sense of guiding how we act in relation to others. Seven elements of happiness are then developed and related to the conceptual framework. These encompass love and caring; work as a calling; brain systems underpinning wanting, liking, and pleasure; the need to deal with very bad and very good things happening to us; the role of moral concerns and emotions; the examined life and its distractions; and finally spirituality and transcendental concerns. The final section of the chapter sketches everyday challenges and choices academics face.