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Military service members and their families have unique environmental factors that may influence their lifestyle and behaviors. This study, using the Social Ecological Model, was designed to explore the body image perceptions among military family members. Exploratory qualitative focus group interviews were conducted at Child Development Centers on two military bases in the southwest United States. Researchers conducted a total of eight group discussions with twenty-four parents. Four themes emerged from the discussions, and these included: Military Requirements, Partnership, Negative Fat Talk, and Encouraging Communication. These themes can inform future research about body image perceptions and weight management in military families and guide education programs.

This study is designed to understand body sizes of female college students wanting to be fashion models. Also, this study examines body size discrepancies between the actual and perceived body sizes for college students involved in fashion. Data were collected from 127 female college students who applied to be fashion models. The actual body dimensions were assessed with Body Mass Index weight status, and ASTM D 5585-11e1 standard size charts for adult female misses figure types. The result indicates that college students with fashion involvement tend to be confident about their body sizes. They seem to know or pretend not to know about their body sizes. Although this might be related to current inconsistent sizing systems in the apparel industry, we found that students involved in fashion have a discrepancy between the actual and perceived body sizes. This result is beneficial to the fashion industry’s understanding of the young generation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence travelers’ decision-making process while searching and booking hotel deals. This study indicated that consumers’ cognition directly and significantly influenced their intent to book hotel deals. Although consumers’ affection did not have a positive and significant influence on booking intentions in general, consumers’ tendency toward being a market maven moderated the effect in consumers’ emotions of deal-searching. The findings suggested that hospitality marketers should develop promotional messages that are tailored to evoke consumers’ cognitive and affective states in terms of their tendency to be a market maven.

The purpose of this study was to explore students' ability via journaling to recognise and respond to social responsibility issues in the apparel industry. Undergraduates (n=75) enrolled in a global sourcing course were asked to read Timmerman's book [(2012). Where am I wearing? A global tour to the countries, factories, and people that make our clothes (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons], and write a journal entry for each chapter. These journal entries were content-analysed for evidence of students' ability to identify and react to incidents in the book related to three areas of social responsibility (i.e. economic, environmental, social). Five themes emerged from the analysis of the journals: Identification of Economic Issues, Impact on Women and Children, Environment Impact, Appreciation for Their Standard of Living, and Call to Action. Based on students' journal entries, it seems that Timmerman's book can be used to effectively teach undergraduates studying fashion about social responsibility ...

The study examined direct and indirect effects of retail environmental characteristics on impulse buying behavior. Guided by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model and impulse buying literature, the study investigated whether and how three characteristics (i.e. ambient, design, and social) of the retail environment influenced consumers' positive emotional responses which, in turn, affected impulse buying behavior. Whether and how individual factors (i.e. hedonic motivation) moderated the relationship between these characteristics and consumers' positive emotional responses were also examined. Survey data were collected using a store intercept method from 212 consumers of a retail store offering outdoor merchandise. The study found direct effects of (a) ambient/design characteristics of the retail environment on consumers' positive emotional responses to the retail environment and (b) consumers' positive emotional responses to the retail environment on impulse buying behavior. Hedonic motivation mode...