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The industrial hemp market is expected to grow in upcoming years due to increased use in food, paper, and personal care products, opening new opportunities for farmers across the United States. An increase in hemp products provides an opportunity to better understand consumer preferences and to educate consumers on hemp. The purpose of this research was to understand what influences consumers’ purchases of hemp products. This study was guided by the spiral of silence theory, which proposed that people will conform their attitudes and behaviors to match the perceived majority’s opinion. Students in college-level introductory science courses were surveyed and their attitude toward industrial hemp, perceptions of others’ attitude toward industrial hemp, and knowledge on hemp were measured. Data were analyzed using means, frequencies, and logistic regression. Most respondents reported not having purchased a hemp product in the past six months. The only predictors of hemp purchases were gender and attitude. When accounting for spiral of silence variables and personal characteristics, females were more likely than males to purchase hemp products. Extension educators should partner with hemp growers and processors to discuss how people are commonly using hemp products and to communicate to producers how consumers are using the products. more...

Abstract Background Sex tourism is defined as travel planned specifically for the purpose of sex, generally to a country where prostitution is legal. While much of the literature on sex tourism relates to the commercial sex worker industry, sex tourism also finds expression in non-transactional sexual encounters. This narrative review explores current concepts related to travel and sex, with a focus on trans-national sex tourism. Methods The PubMed database was accessed to source relevant literature, using combinations of pertinent search terms. Only articles published in the English language were selected. Reference lists of published articles were also examined for relevant articles. Results With regard to preferred destinations, South/Central America and the Caribbean were more likely to receive tourists looking for casual sex. Longer duration of travel, travelling alone or with friends, alcohol or drug use, being younger and being single were factors associated with higher levels of casual sex overseas. The majority of literature retrieved on sex workers focused on risk behaviours, sexually transmitted infections (STI), mobility of sex workers and how these factors affected their lives. Sex tourists require better access to effective methods of preventing HIV, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, and better education on HIV prevention. Drugs and alcohol play a major role as risk factors for and cofactors in casual sexual behaviour while abroad. Conclusions Travellers need to be informed of the increased risks of STI before travel. They should be aware of the local prevalence of STIs and the risks associated with their sexual practices when they travel, including engaging with commercial sex workers, having unprotected sexual intercourse and becoming victims of sexual violence. more...