Agriculture is a sector that today demands even greater efficiency; thus, it relies extensively on the use of precision agriculture technologies: IoT systems, mobile applications, and other ...digitalization technologies. Experience from a large-scale EU-funded project with a consortium made up of several software companies shows that software companies have a different and unequal knowledge/understanding of agricultural processes and the use of precision agriculture in agricultural processes. This finding coupled with what is known about the standard process model for IT governance (COBIT) triggered the idea of a reference standard process model for agriculture (RSPMA), which we present in this paper. We applied the Delphi technique to assess the RSPMA and evaluate its potential implementation in the area of agriculture. A panel of 20 members from Slovenia, Romania, Croatia, and Serbia was established for the study. The majority of RSPMA elements were identified as appropriate for the use in agriculture by the panel. The study results show that RSPMA is suitable for use in this field.
In this perspective analysis, we strive to answer the following question: how can we advance integrative biology research in the 21st century with lessons from animal science? At the University of ...Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science, we share here our three lessons learned in the two decades from 2002 to 2022 that we believe could inform integrative biology, systems science, and animal science scholarship in other countries and geographies. Cultivating multiomics knowledge through a conceptual lens of integrative biology is crucial for life sciences research that can stand the test of diverse biological, clinical, and ecological contexts. Moreover, in an era of the current COVID-19 pandemic, animal nutrition and animal science, and the study of their interactions with human health (and vice versa) through integrative biology approaches hold enormous prospects and significance for systems medicine and ecosystem health.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to provide additional insight into how the level of subjective knowledge (SK) related to wine explains differences in the wine-consumption behaviour of young ...adults. Particular attention was given to information search strategies employed by young adult wine consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
– A web-based survey was carried out on 287 young urban wine consumers who were recruited in specialised wine shops and at wine festivals. The key variables presenting the consumers’ wine searches were measured using the best-worst scaling method. Latent class cluster analysis (LCA) was used to segment the respondents into clusters based on their level of SK of wine.
Findings
– The study identifies three consumer segments with corresponding levels of SK related to wine. The segments present considerable differences in the wine-consumption-related behaviours and information search strategies.
Research limitations/implications
– Understanding young adults’ SK of wine will assist wine marketers in their efforts to establish marketing strategies for this generational cohort. In addition, research (preferably transnational) is recommended to validate the conclusions and to gain additional understanding of SK as an indicator of wine-related behaviours.
Originality/value
– This study contributes to a better understanding of the wine-purchasing behaviours of young adults with particular focus on SK related to wine. The results obtained may be applied by winemakers in the development of marketing and promotion strategies geared towards the promising young adult consumer segment.
Disruptive events such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have the potential to reshape even the most basic human systems and behaviors, including those related to food production, ...acquisition, and consumption. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of how the pandemic has changed the ratio of food-away-from-home (FAFH) expenditure to income in Mexico, as well as participation in this market. In 2020, household participation in FAFH expenditures declined in all income deciles and regions, but the impact on household shares is far from uniform. Using a detailed national database of household income and expenditures (N = 87,274), an Engel curve of the Working-Lesser functional form for FAFH including 19 independent variables was estimated using the Heckman method appropriate for censored response data. The results provide statistically significant estimates for income, which both increases the probability of participation in this expenditure and has a negative relationship with its budget share. The number of older adults and the exposure to food insecurity during the pandemic similarly limit participation and increase the budget share. In addition, remittances encourage participation and decrease the budget share. The corrected conditional income elasticity for FAFH is 0.4609; the sign and magnitude indicate that FAFH behaved as a necessary good in Mexico for the proportion of households that maintained spending during the lockdown conditions (about one-third of the sample). An increase or decrease in income will lead to a corresponding change in FAFH expenditure, but the change will be less than proportional.
As no study on attitudes towards local food has compared "organic" and national quality scheme consumer segments, this study aimed to provide further insights and clarifications on the issue of ...consumer segmentation in terms of trust towards organic food and food of selected quality perceived as local, along socioeconomic characteristics, and other important determinants of this complex interaction. The research examines consumers' attitudes and perceptions related to two quality schemes for special Slovenian foods: "Organic", which relates to production methods; and "Selected Quality", which relates to quality attributes. The study focused on two segments of consumers, who exhibit a high level of trust towards the two quality schemes. Comparative analysis of the consumer segments looked for the potential differences with respect to their sociodemographic profiles, as well as to their understanding of the definition of local food, attitudes towards local food, trust in actors and institutions, and willingness to purchase local food. The study combined qualitative approaches and a quantitative survey with a general population sample. The results showed that both consumer groups have similar understandings of local food, with region-based interpretations outperforming country-based interpretations. The "Organic" group was more cosmopolitan and supportive of the local community, regardless of geographic proximity, than the "Selected Quality" group. Older consumers occupy a larger share of both segments, with professionals and individuals with higher incomes more likely to be in the "Organic" group and retirees and students more likely to be in the "Selected Quality" group. To increase the consumers' interest in food with the "Organic" and "Selected Quality" schemes, more specific product propositions should be developed.
Salt plays a major role in food manufacturing and affects the technological and sensory properties of foods. At the same time, high dietary salt intake increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases ...and represents a considerable public health concern. In many populations, bread is a major contributor to salt intake and is therefore targeted by health policies recommending salt reduction reformulations. However, producers are often reluctant to reduce salt content due to fears of potential negative effects on consumer acceptability and drops in sales. The present work aims to assess the effect of salt content on consumers’ hedonic liking and perception of saltiness intensity, as well as the interaction of these two. The study was conducted using two market-leading bread types (white and multigrain) and bread samples with the national average (reference), reduced (−15%) and increased (+10%) salt levels. A sensory evaluation study (n = 200) was done including a questionnaire on attitudes and behaviour regarding bread and salt, enabling the exploration of individual differences in reactions to modified levels of salt content. The latter only affected hedonic liking for the multigrain sample with 15% salt reduction but not for others, which discloses the importance of the bread matrix; and it did not affect the perception of saltiness intensity. Penalty analysis revealed that perceived non-optimal saltiness results in significantly penalised hedonic liking scores. Segmentation based on perceived saltiness disclosed the explanatory importance of underlying consumer behaviour dimensions which should be considered in designing bread reformulations.
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