Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Marking weight”

L’ensemble de ce travail vise à améliorer la compréhension des mécanismes conduisant à la libération, l'accumulation et l'utilisation des peptides par les bactéries. Afin d'étudier l'effet de la taille des peptides sur leur dégradation et leur prélèvement, nous avons réalisé différentes mesures cinétiques, in vitro puis in vivo. Pour les études in vitro, en ajoutant à un hydrolysat protéique total non marqué différentes fractions marquées extraites d'un hydrolysat similaire, et caractérisées par leur poids moléculaire, nous avons pu suivre le devenir successivement le devenir de chacune de ces fractions au sein d'un mélange complexe de peptides. In vitro, les peptides de faibles poids moléculaires (1 000 à 2 000 Da) sont assimilables beaucoup plus rapidement que les peptides les plus longs (5 000 à 10 000 Da). Les taux de disparition du marquage diffèrent aussi pour chaque fraction. Les peptides les plus longs disparaissent plus rapidement que les moyens, eux-mêmes hydrolysés plus rapidement que les petits. Le prélèvement des petits peptides semble être l'étape limitant l'utilisation de l'ensemble des peptides par les bactéries. Grâce à une cinétique d'hydrolyse de poids marqué au ¹⁵N in vivo, il a été possible de compléter le travail réalisé in vitro. La vitesse d'hydrolyse des protéines en peptides est un peu plus influencée par une diminution de l'accessibilité des protéines aux enzymes que par un apport plus élevé d'azote soluble. Le prélèvement des peptides de moins de 1 000 Da se révèle à nouveau être l'étape limitant de l'utilisation des peptides pris dans leur ensemble. La dégradation in sacco du poids montre que l'essentiel de l'azote contenu dans celui-ci disparait en 2 heures. 65% de l'azote total est constitué d'azote rapidement soluble et/ou fermentescible. Sa disparition est aussi observée sur les profils électrophorétiques réalisés à partir des protéines résiduelles et se répercute sur les quantités de peptides obtenues après hydrolyse enzymatique. In sacco, la majeure partie des peptides libérables par hydrolyse d'une source protéique donnée semble donc l'être dans les deux heures suivant l'ingestion de cette source, à partir d'azote rapidement fermentescible. L’originalite de notre travail est d'avoir cherche à déterminer à quel niveau de la chaine d'hydrolyse se produit l'accumulation et donc à mieux cerner les facteurs limitant de l'utilisation de l'azote protéique par les bactéries. Ceci a été permis grâce à l'utilisation combinée de deux techniques souvent employées séparément : marquage des peptides et séparation par tamisage moléculaire.

There is little evidence that the productivity of New Zealand beef herds has improved over time. Data from the NZ Meat and Wool Board’s Economic Service (2006) suggest that the average national calving percentage has declined over the last two decades. During the same period cattle carcass weights have increased but so too has the average cow live-weight which has resulted in increased maintenance costs of the cow herds. It is unclear whether production efficiency in the industry has improved or declined over time. The aim of this research was to develop means of improving productivity in commercial beef herds through practical methods of performance recording. The objectives were firstly to establish current management practices in commercial herds and secondly to develop an objective system for cow selection and culling which would have practical application in commercial herds. Beef management survey Ninety two commercial beef producers with more than 100 breeding cows from the greater Canterbury region of New Zealand were surveyed. Pasture control was the main reason given for owning a beef herd. Size and conformation were the main selection criteria for choosing replacement heifers and bulls. Over 80% of herds retained their own heifers as replacements and >60% mated yearling heifers to first calve at two years of age. Fertility was poor in the surveyed herds. In-calf rates at pregnancy testing averaged 88% for maiden heifers, 92% for rising second calvers and 93% for mixed age (m.a.) cows. There was no significant difference between in-calf rates of maiden heifers mated to first calve at two or three years of age; nor was there any significant difference between the re-breeding success of the two groups. Heifers mated at least one week earlier than m.a. cows, achieved a re-breeding success 4.7% greater (P<.01) than those mated at the same time. Reasons for cows not weaning a calf included wet dry (9.3% of pregnant cows wintered), pregnancy tested not-in-calf (7.4%) and dam death (2.6%). Only 87.9% of pregnant females wintered weaned a calf (89.4% of m.a. cows and 84.9% of heifers). Reasons why cows exited the herds included diagnosed empty (37.2% of all exits), involuntary culls (25.4%), sold wet dry (16.2%), deaths (13.1%) and poor calf production (5.1%). Vaccination was infrequent with clostridial vaccines the most common in m.a. cows (15.2%) and in calves (40.7%); vaccination against Leptospirosis was much less common. Very few of the surveyed farms used any system of performance recording; as a result there was very little performance-based selection or culling practiced. Evaluation of alternative measures of cow productivity Data from four performance recording beef herds were used to compare alternative measures of cow productivity with the industry standard which is calf weaning weight adjusted for sex (SOC) and age of calf and age of dam (AOD), i.e. the “200 day weight.” None of the alternative measures evaluated required knowledge of calving date and all were relatively easily obtainable in extensively managed beef herds. The assessment of cows was based not on their estimated breeding values but instead on their most probable producing ability which, as the sum of all of the permanent, repeatable aspects of the calf-rearing ability of the cow, explains considerably more of the variance of weaning weight than does breeding value alone. SOC and AOD-adjusted marking weight, weaning weight and average daily gain (ADG) between marking and weaning were the traits mostly highly correlated with the 200d wt of calves (r = 0.68, 0.90 and 0.74. respectively). An Extensively- Grazed-Cow-Weaning-Index of these three indicator traits was found to be more highly correlated than any of the individual traits on their own (r = 0.94). Index weights for the three indicator traits were calculated within each herd and then those within-herd index weights were regressed on readily obtainable herd descriptive variables to obtain a regression equation that could predict index weights for any herd. When the model was applied to data from two additional herd years not included in the original model, the EGCW Index was highly correlated with the 200d weights (r>0.90). Performance-based culling of previously unselected commercial beef herds based on the EGCW Index will result in improved productivity due to the moderately high repeatability of calf weaning weight. Objective data from extensively grazed commercial herds will also make possible the use of commercial herd data in genetic evaluations of herd sires.

Title: Is fat the new skinny? A study on weight and perception of models in green marketing. Date: 2018-05-22 Level: Bachelor Thesis in International Marketing Author: Oskar Wagrelius & Sara Eriksson Supervisor: Ulf Aagerup Problem formulation: How does the perceived weight and warmth/competence of a model in green marketing affect sales through perceived greenness and attractiveness? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge, for brands being green, about how the choice of models in their advertisement will impact the brand's perception and affect greenness, attractiveness, and sales. The goal is to understand if the choice of a diverse model (considering weight) might be more effective considering green marketing and brands who want to be perceived as warm and/or competent. Theoretical framework: In this thesis, the theoretical framework is made up of existing theories on brand positioning, brand identity, consumer behavior, the perception of people and the usage of models. Methodology: This thesis is conducted with a deductive approach through a quantitative study made up of 131 respondents since non-coffee drinkers and non-coffee buying respondents as well as, non-Swedish people were excluded from participating. A total of 160 people responded to the online survey. The groups were randomized as to which one of four different surveys they got to answer. Secondary sources are scientific articles and books, journals as well as websites since the topic is in an academic viewpoint under-researched. Empirical findings: This thesis and its findings consist of an analysis of the quantitative study which is presented through theoretical models, figures, diagrams and tables as well as text. Conclusion: The findings in this thesis shows that green products have a higher purchase propensity than neutral products. Therefore the first assumption is considered to be true. The second and third assumptions are however falsified through the findings that a brands (being either warm or competent) choice of model will not affect the perceived greenness, attractiveness or sales.

The weight loss industry has come under fire from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in recent years due to consumer claims that many firms, marketing weight loss products, are using advertisements in an attempt to deceive consumers. Illegitimate weight loss claims have created so much concern that a White Paper call-to-action to investigate misleading weight loss advertisements has been filed. Despite recent interest, little attention has been garnered concerning the understanding of why consumers respond to potentially misleading weight loss claims. Intuitively, an understanding of why consumers fall prey to weight loss claims may aid academics, practitioners, and policy makers as they make important decisions relative to the weight loss industry and its practices. This study fills that void by applying a theory of visceral influences (TVI) to the context of weight loss advertising. Loewenstein's TVI was developed to aid in explaining why consumers make decisions contrary to their long-term self-interest. Visceral influences are drive states that have a direct hedonic impact, have an effect on the relative desirability of various goods and activities, and consequently, have a strong influence over the decisions consumers make. Common visceral cues (cues associated with any reward linked to a visceral factor) include proximity of reward, vividness of reward, and visual priming. To adequately test TVI in the context of weight loss advertising, a two step approach was used. First, advertiser intent was assessed through content analysis of weight loss advertisements. Second, composite advertisements were created from the content analysis to assess subject response to visceral cues common in weight loss advertising. MANOVA results show that the presence of visceral cues affected subjects' thoughts, buying impulse, affective reaction, intentions, and product evaluation. This research makes the following contributions. First, it addresses an area of public policy where there is a need for research to shape future legislation. Second, it provides an initial empirical examination of the effects of visceral cues on subjects' providing a foundation for further application and theory building. Third, it reveals that visceral cues effects are moderated by an individual's level of involvement with a reward.

Explanatory feeder cattle basis models were developed for 16 different Virginia markets by season, futures contract month, weight, lot size, sex, breed and USDA grade differentials. The models are more disaggregated and explain up to 80 percent more of feeder cattle basis variation than any previous research. Since the variables in these explanatory models are all known in advance, these basis models are also predictive. Basis estimates from these models make it possible for a Virginia feeder cattle forward pricing agency to offer forward price and minimum price contracts to small size operators.

Master of Science

[EN] The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the productive performance of a rabbit line (OR-LS) selected by ovulation rate during first 6 generations (period 1), and later by ovulation rate (OR) and litter size (LS) during 11 generations using independent culling levels (Period 2). Genetic parameters, direct response for OR and LS and the correlated response for embryo (ES), foetal (FS) and prenatal survival (PS) were estimated. Also, the correlated response on growth rates (GR), weaning (WW) and marketing weight (MW) were estimated. The objective of chapter 3 was to estimate the genetic parameters of the productive traits and the response to selection by OR and LS of OR-LS line. For traits analysis, Bayesian methods were used. Heritability values of litter size traits were low, 0.10, 0.07, 0.07 and 0.07 for litter size, number of born alive (NBA), number of kits at weaning (NW) and marketing (NM), respectively. Heritability for OR was moderate (0.25), while it was low (0.13 and 0.14) for number of implanted embryos (IE) and number of live foetuses at 12 days of gestation (LF12), respectively. Low heritability values for survival traits were found, 0.09 for embryo survival (ES), 0.16 for foetal survival (FS) and 0.14 for prenatal survival (PS). In the second period, after 11 generations of selection by OR and LS, a genetic response of 0.17 kits per generation for LS was achieved. This response was higher than the obtained in period 1 (0.07 kits per generation), in which just selection by OR was performed. The opposite effect was found for OR; the highest response for OR appeared in the first period (0.24 ova per generation) versus the second period (0.17 ova per generation). This reduction in OR response can be due to the decrease in selection differential during the second period of selection. Since high genetic correlations were obtained for LS and other litter size traits, a positive correlated response was observed for NBA, NW and NM (0.12, 0.12 and 0.11 kits per generation, respectively) in the second period. In the first period, no correlated response on ES was observed and a decrease in FS (-0.04) was found. Nevertheless, in the second period a correlated response on PS appeared due to an improvement in both ES (0.04) and FS (0.03). Summarizing, the improvement in litter size in the second period is due to an increase in ovulation rate as well as an increase in prenatal survival. The objective of chapter 4 was to study the correlated response on growth traits in the OR-LS line in both periods of selection, the selection by OR during six generations and the selection by independent levels by OR and LS during 11 generations. The heritability estimates were low for weaning weight (WW), marketing weight (MW) and growth rate (GR), 0.09, 0.13 and 0.14, respectively. The estimated genetic correlations of WW, GR and MW with LS were around zero and with OR were positive and from low (0.19) to moderate (0.38). The positive moderate genetic correlation estimated between OR and MW could explain the correlated response found in MW. Correlated response on WW could be explained by positive and high genetic correlation between MW and WW. The aim of chapter 5 was to investigate magnitude and timing of embryo and early foetal survival in females with high OR using hormonal treatment as a model for selection by OR. Two groups of females (treated and untreated) were used. Treated females were injected with 50 IU eCG 48 hours before mating. Females were slaughtered at day 18 of gestation. OR, IE, LF12 and LF18 were recorded. Besides, ES (IE/OR), FSLF18 (LF18/IE), FSLF18/LF12 (LF18/LF12) and PSLF18 (LF18/OR) were estimated. Treated females had a higher OR than untreated females. According to the previous results for OR and LF18, treated females showed a lower survival rate from ovulation to 18 d of gestation. Treated females also had lower embryo and foetal survival. Main difference in foetal survival appeared from day 12 to 18 of gestation.
[ES] El objetivo de esta tesis fue evaluar el tamaño de camada de una línea de conejo seleccionada por tasa de ovulación durante las primeras seis generaciones (periodo 1) y después por tasa de ovulación (OR) y tamaño de camada (LS) durante 11 generaciones mediante el método de niveles independientes (periodo 2). Se estimaron los parámetros genéticos, así como la respuesta en OR y LS y la respuesta correlacionada en los caracteres reproductivos (capítulo 3). Además, se evaluó la respuesta correlacionada en los caracteres de crecimiento (capítulo 4); peso al destete (WW), peso al sacrificio (MW) y ganancia de peso entre el destete y el sacrificio (GR). Para el análisis de los caracteres se utilizaron métodos bayesianos. El objetivo del capítulo 3 fue estimar los parámetros genéticos de los caracteres reproductivos y la respuesta a la selección. Los valores de heredabilidad de los caracteres del tamaño de camada fueron bajos (alrededor de 0.10). La heredabilidad estimada para OR fue moderada (0.25), mientras que fue baja para el número de embriones implantados (IE) y el número de fetos vivos a los 12 días de gestación (LF12). Se obtuvieron valores bajos de heredabilidad; 0.09 para la supervivencia embrionaria (ES), 0.16 para la supervivencia fetal (FS) y 0.14 para la supervivencia prenatal (PS). En el periodo 2, se obtuvo una respuesta genética de 0.17 gazapos por generación para LS. Esta respuesta fue mayor que la obtenida en el periodo 1. En el caso de la tasa de ovulación, la mayor respuesta en OR se obtuvo en el periodo 1 (0.24 óvulos por generación) versus (0.17 óvulos por generación) en el periodo 2. Esta reducción en la respuesta de OR se puede atribuir a la disminución del diferencial de selección durante el período 2 de selección. De acuerdo con la alta correlación genética entre LS y otros caracteres del tamaño de camada, también se observó una respuesta correlacionada positiva en el número de nacidos vivos (NBA), destetados (NW) y comercializados (NM); 0.12, 0.12 y 0.11 gazapos por generación, respectivamente, en el segundo periodo. En el primer periodo no se observa respuesta correlacionada en la SE y se produce una disminución de la SF (-0.04). Sin embargo, en el segundo periodo se produce una respuesta correlacionada positiva en la SP que se debe a una mejora de la SE (0.04) y SF (0.03). En resumen, la mejora del tamaño de camada en el segundo periodo se debe tanto a un aumento de la tasa de ovulación como a un aumento de la supervivencia prenatal. El objetivo del capítulo 4 fue estudiar la respuesta correlacionada en los caracteres de crecimiento en esta línea. Las estimas de heredabilidad fueron bajas para los caracteres WW (0.09), MW (0.13) y GR (0.14). Las correlaciones genéticas estimadas de LS con WW, MW y GR fueron cercanas a cero; con la tasa de ovulación, las correlaciones fueron positivas y variaban de bajas a moderadas (de 0.19 a 0.38). La correlación genética moderada entre OR y MW podría explicar la respuesta correlacionada observada en MW. La alta correlación entre MW y WW podría explicar la respuesta correlacionada obtenida para WW. Finalmente, el objetivo de capítulo 5 fue estudiar en hembras con alta tasa de ovulación en qué momento se producen las mayores pérdidas fetales y cómo se ve afectado el desarrollo fetal. Para ello, de un total de 51 hembras, 24 hembras fueron pinchadas con 50 UI de eCG 48 horas antes de la cubrición para aumentar la tasa de ovulación. Las hembras fueron sacrificadas a los 18 días de gestación. Se registró OR, IE y el número de fetos vivos a los 12 y 18 días de gestación (LF18). Las hembras tratadas tuvieron una tasa de ovulación mayor que las no tratadas. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos para OR y LF18, las hembras tratadas mostraron una supervivencia más baja desde la ovulación hasta los 18 días de gestación y tuvieron una menor supervivencia embrionaria y fetal. Las principales diferencias en l
[CAT] L'objectiu d'esta tesi va ser avaluar la millora de la grandària de ventrada d'una línia de conill seleccionada per tasa d'ovulació durant les primeres sis generacions (període 1) i després per tasa d'ovulació (OR) i la grandària de ventrada (LS) durant 11 generacions per mitjà del mètode de nivells independents (període 2). Es van estimar els paràmetres genètics, així com la resposta en OR i LS i la resposta correlacionada en caràcters reproductius (capítol 3). A més, es va estudiar la resposta correlacionada en els caràcters de creixement (capítol 4); pes al deslletament (WW), pes al sacrifici (MW) i guany de pes entre el deslletament y el sacrifici (GR). Per a l'anàlisi dels caràcters es van utilitzar mètodes bayesians. L'objectiu del capítol 3 va ser estimar els paràmetres genètics dels caràcters reproductius i la resposta a la selecció. Els valors d'heretabilitat dels caràcters de la grandària de ventrada van ser baixos (al voltant de 0.10). L'heretabilitat estimada per a OR va ser moderada (0.25), mentres que va ser baixa per al nombre d'embrions implantats (IE) i el nombre de fetus vius als 12 dies de gestació (LF12). Es van obtindre valors baixos d'heretabilitat; 0.09 per a ES, 0.16 per a FS i 0.14 per a PS. En el període 2, es va obtindre una resposta genètica de 0.17 llorigons per generació per a LS. Esta resposta va ser major que l'obtinguda en el període 1. En el cas de la tasa d'ovulació, la major resposta per a OR va ser en el primer període (0.24 òvuls per generació) versus (0.17 òvuls per generació) en el període 2. Esta reducció en la resposta d'OR es pot atribuir a la disminució del diferencial de selecció durant el període 2 de selecció. Donada l'alta correlació genètica entre LS i altres caràcters de la grandària de ventrada, també es va observar una resposta correlacionada positiva en el nombre de nascuts vius (NBA), deslletats (NW) i comercialitzats (NM); 0.12, 0.12 i 0.11 llorigons per generació, respectivament, en el segon període. En el primer període no s'observa resposta correlacionada en la SE i es produeix una disminució de la SF (-0.04). No obstant això, en el segon període es produeix una resposta correlacionada en la SP que es deu a una millora de la SE (0.04) i SF (0.03). En resum, la millora de la grandària de ventrada en el segon període es deu tant a un augment de la tasa d'ovulació com a un augment de la supervivència prenatal. L'objectiu del capítol 4 va ser estudiar la resposta correlacionada en els caràcters de creixement en aquesta línia. Les estimes d'heretabilitat van ser baixes per als caràcters WW (0.09), MW (0.13) i GR (0.14). Les correlacions genètiques estimades de LS amb WW, MW i GR van ser pròximes a zero; amb la tasa d'ovulació, les correlacions van ser positives i variaven de baixes a moderades (de 0.19 a 0.38). La correlació genètica moderada entre OR i MW podria explicar la resposta correlacionada trobada per a MW. D'altra banda, l'alta correlació entre MW i WW podria explicar la resposta correlacionada obtinguda per a WW. Finalment. l'objectiu del capítol 5 va ser estudiar en femelles amb alta tasa d'ovulació en quin moment es van produir les majors pèrdues fetals i com es veu afectat el desenvolupament fetal. Per a això, d'un total de 51 femelles, 24 femelles van ser punxades amb 50 UI d'eCG 48 hores abans del cobriment per a augmentar la tasa d'ovulació. Les femelles van ser sacrificades al 18 dies de gestació. Es va registrar OR, IE i el nombre de fetus vius al 12 i 18 dies de gestació (LF18). Les femelles tractades van tindre una tasa d'ovulació major que les no tractades. D¿acord als resultats obtinguts per OR i LF18, les femelles tractades van mostrar una supervivència més baixa des de l'ovulació fins als 18 dies de gestació i van tindre una menor supervivència embrionària i fetal. Les principals diferències en la supervivència fetal van aparèixer entre els dies 12 i 18 de gestaci
Yehia Badawy Elmoghazy, A. (2016). SELECTION FOR OVULATION RATE AND LITTER SIZE IN RABBITS [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/73265
TESIS

The Shapley Value, a cooperative game theory model, is adapted for use as a category preference measure in marketing. The model collects overall ratings for bundles of choices. These are then decomposed into individual preference scores by estimating the average marginal contribution of each choice over all applicable bundles. The technique provides a holistic rating alternative to constant sum for estimating preferences. It is applicable where choices are disparate, incommensurable, and apportionment difficult, where the questioning might gain from indirection or obfuscation, or where unambiguous attribute sets are not available. It provides a metric in circumstances when respondents are reluctant to choose between alternatives, but when one can elicit ratings (that do not appear to yield preference orderings). The Shapley Value is compared to weighted additive and indirect share preference models based upon proximity to a constant sum standard. Proximity is measured by two distance metrics: a Euclidean distance and a directional cosine (correlation) measure. Statistical testing demonstrates that Shapley Value is significantly closer to constant sum than either weighted additive or indirect share in two categories--fast food restaurants and actors in Seinfeld. Testing was conducted in a computer-aided laboratory setting. Subjects were 93 undergraduate business majors enrolled in an introductory marketing course. They were compensated for their participation with both a monetary and course credit incentives.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Animal Science
Jim L. Nelssen and Michael D. Tokach
The optimum sampling method swine producers should use to estimate the mean and SD of pig BW within a barn was determined based upon both the time required to conduct and the precision and accuracy of each sampling method. Weighing 5 pigs from 15 pens was determined to be the optimal sampling method. This should require approximately 55 min to complete. Weighing 5 pigs from 15 pens had a CI range of 7.2 to 8.0 kg for estimating the mean BW and 5.6 kg for estimating SD. Next, a meta-analysis was conducted using data from existing literature to generate equations to predict finishing pig back, belly, and jowl fat iodine value. While numerous factors were evaluated, dietary essential fatty acids, dietary net energy content, and backfat thickness had the greatest influence on predicting iodine value of the 3 distinct fat depots. Lastly, 6 experiments were conducted to determine the effects of added Zn on growth performance, pork quality, plasma Zn, and ileal mucosal inflammation mRNA expression of finishing pigs fed diets containing ractopamine-HCl (RAC; Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN). Additional Zn increased plasma Zn and reduced relative expression of IL-1β, but did not improve growth performance of pigs fed diets containing RAC in 5 of the experiments. However, in 1 of the experiments, adding Zn to diets containing RAC resulted in a trend for improved growth performance of pigs. Supplementing the RAC diets with dietary Zn decreased the percentage of type IIA fibers and tended to increase the percentage of type IIX fibers compared to pigs fed the RAC diet without added Zn. Ractopamine-HCl produced chops that were lighter and less red, but possessed reduced metmyoglobin reducing ability at the end of the display period. However, adding Zn to RAC diets increased metmyoglobin reducing ability levels at the end of the display period.

The subject of the thesis is design a marketing survey of purchasing behavior in weight-loss products and mapping of customer awareness of product line of XL-S Medical. This survey is based on a single personal interviews, from which the results are analyzed. Based on these results, the suggested measures that will lead to an increase of merchantability XL-S Medical.

Healthy and active lifestyle is one of the biggest phenomena in today´s society. People want more than ever to look good, have a perfect figure, feel fit, take care of themselves a lot and try to eat a healthier way. They search for a variety of ways to exercise, lose weight and sculpt the figure. At the same time, they are daily overloaded with plenty of information and advertisements from this area, primarily from large fitness and sports centers that have advertising sufficient funds. However, smaller companies also have a chance to reach their potential customers and get them to buy if they choose a suitable form of marketing communication and differentiate sufficiently from their competitors. The aim of this thesis is to critically evaluate the current marketing communication of the Ladies Body Toning Studio MODELACE and then make recommendations for its improvement. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is focused on the meaning of marketing, as well as on communication process, marketing communication tools, trends in this area and marketing research. The practical part is dedicated to the Ladies Body Toning Studio MODELACE and its marketing communication. It is based on my own online questionnaire survey.

Obesity is one of the major public health issues in the United States, often regarded as part of a global crisis. Companies invest billions of dollars each year towards television advertising campaigns aimed at convincing audiences how their ground-breaking discovery 'battles the bulge' or somehow offers an increased health benefit. This study examined how advertisers presented health-related claims, including health and nutrient-content claims, in U.S. adult-targeted television food commercials. The claims were compared to FTC, FDA, and USDA laws, regulations, and recommendations. A content analysis of food advertising was conducted of commercials from major and cable network programs broadcast during prime-time in the first quarter of 2009. The majority of claims match current regulations when compared to Federal references. The results show that Nutrient and Wellness claims were the most frequently cited. The type of benefit, Healthy Eating, emerged almost 3 times more than any other benefit type. This is also similar to those results which suggest advertisers' intentions were to promote overall wellness in their content delivery. As such, the Wellness Approach was identified and conceptualized, leading towards full development of a Wellness Effect theory. Implications and future research opportunities are discussed on both a theoretical and practical level.
M.A.
Nicholson School of Communication
Sciences
Communication MA

Background: Overweight and obesity affects almost 30% of Canadian children and adolescents aged 2-17 years old which can lead to chronic disease later on in life. Research shows that healthy weight programs are effective at reducing BMI but have issues regarding recruitment and retention. One way to address these problems is by using a Social Marketing framework to determine what adolescents need in a community-based healthy weight program. Methods: Open-ended and closed-ended question surveys were conducted with multiple perspectives including youth aged 13-17 years, parents, and youth workers in Fall 2018. Open-ended question answers were a priori categorized by the ‘4Ps’ of the SM framework (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) while frequency count data was generated for closed-ended question answers. Open-ended answer data were managed using NVivo 12 and were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step approach to thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results: A ‘marketing mix’ was thematically generated to identify elements of a healthy weight program that adolescents need in order to participate from all three perspectives. Based on the findings, programs should include physical activity, nutrition, and emotional/social health components that are relevant and fun (Product). They should also emphasize benefits to participating such as improvement to physical and mental health, having fun, receiving incentives, and building relationships (Product) while minimizing barriers including emotional health concerns, lack of time, financial cost, transportation, boring programs (Price). Differences were found amongst perspectives in terms of types of incentives, transportation, and cost of program. Programs should take place in convenient, appealing, and safe locations that may already exist including schools or recreation centres (Place) and should also be promoted using social media and peer word-of-mouth or create partnerships with youth-relevant organizations and use body positive language (Promotion). Conclusion: Using this foundational work of a ‘marketing mix’ can help program developers design programs that will help recruit and retain youth in community-based healthy weight programs. Elements of social marketing were not considered in this study including competition, segmentation, and branding which further highlights the need for exploring competing behaviours in youths’ lives, different priority audience segments of BC, and brands that can be used to recruit and retain youth.
Graduate

碩士
國立臺灣大學
國際企業管理組
103
Overweight or obese population in Taiwan is growing up, and the demand for losing weight is also increasing acutely day by day. Commercial advertisements of various weight loss products are in abundant growth, and people nowadays are pursuing for much higher medical quality than before, therefore, the marketing points of “customer first” and “medical service” have been beyond what people want. Therefore, jumping out of the frame and making a difference to others are necessary for a better operation performance. This research reveals the innovative business model and key success factors by interviewing paramedical and administration personnel and patients, and the research result tells, when it comes to developing a weight-loss specialized medical center and discussing available business model for it, the first thing that administration have to think about is, for certain disease, such as obesity, which multi-disciplinary treatment can be offered to patients and what expanding products can be provided, and then find out the customer segments, key partnerships(such as consumables suppliers and patients support group), key activities and channels to contact with customers, with above key factors to make differentiation to others. We are expecting the result of this study could be an advice for hospitals or clinics those who would like to develop weight-loss specialized medical centers in the future.

博士
國立中山大學
公共事務管理研究所
95
In the current pluralistic societies, public policy-makings had to take into account various stakeholders as well as the social values. The research, based on the integrated public affairs management（PAM） framework (Wang et al., 2004a) and place marketing strategy (Kotler, 1999), defined the applicable operational variables which includes three major factors of economical, social and political, and government, and nine derivative attributes, two situations of direct three-links between Taiwan and Mainland China, and status quo are used as the scenario. Altogether they will influence the stakeholders as decision-makers while deciding if they should invest, live, or work in Kaohsiung. For research design, we employed three major multiple-attribute theories or methods for individual stakeholders’information processing and integration, Information Integration Theory（IIT）, Analytical Hierarchy Process（AHP）, Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique（SMART）, and Rating. In particular, the way the information is integrated cognitively is empirically examined instead of assumed with the averaging model of the IIT (Anderson, 1991a), and the scale values (equivalent to the utility component in MAUT or AHP) and the weights are concurrently separated and measured as results of the examination. Such separation rendered measurement of the psychological weights with theoretical validity possible, and could be used as the standard so that weights measured with the other three methods are evaluated and compared. Findings of the research are as follow, in the aspect of multiple-attribute weight measurement methods applied in the place marketing of Kaohsiung： 1. Among the three major factors, the most important is “economic development”, the second is “government function”, and then the third is “social and political development”. 2. For economic development, under the situation of maintain status quo, the most crucial derivative attribute is“ the level of economic globalization of Kaohsiung”. The second one is “the industrial structure of Kaohsiung city”. The last one is “the competitiveness of Kaohsiung Port and Airport project”；Under the situation of opening for three direct-links, the most crucial derivative attribute is still “the level of economic globalization of Kaohsiung”. The second one is “the competitiveness of Kaohsiung Port and Airport project”. The last one is “the industrial structure of Kaohsiung city”. 3. For the factor of social and political development, the most important attribute is “the level of citizen participation in public affairs and the extent they influence public policies”, the second is “the public values and culture”, the last is “the operational mechanism of politics and election”. 4. As for government function, the most essential attribute is “the provision of public infrastructures”. The second is “the elected officials’ perception of place marketing and capabilities of policy planning”. The third is“the career officials’ identifications for the elected officials’ ambitions and abilities to carry out the place marketing policies”. 5. The second group examinees think that direct-links has positive effects on the developments of Kaohsiung and most of them approve of the policy of three direct-links；the first group examinees have diverse opinions on it. 6. Based on PAM framework, we will sum up the problems of place marketing of Kaohsiung and brings out policy suggestions for Kaohsiung city. In the aspect of Multiple-attribute weight measurement methods theory： 1. Take the weight parameters derived from IIT’s averaging model as the standard, weights from rating、AHP and SMART are all theoretically valid. The theoretical validity of rating outperforms that of AHP, AHP outperforms that of SMART. Among the convergence validity or consistence of four methods, between rating and AHP with IIT’s averaging model fit better in convergence validity, between SMART and IIT’s averaging model don’t. 2. All three models had fairly high predictability and notable for subjects’ holistic judgments. The predictability of IIT is the a little bit higher than SMART, the third one is AHP, and the last one is rating. 3. For convergence, measured with accumulative weights derived from subjects selected 15-20 examinees randomly, IIT was better than SMART, and SMART was better than AHP. 4. In terms of perceived performance, degree of operational easiness and fondness, the three models are not significantly different. As for the degree of confidence, IIT outperformed AHP, and AHP outperformed SMART.

This work follows the studies focused on obesity, its global extent and its serious health and economic impact. At the same time, the work examines the unsuccessful fight of public policies which try to reverse growing prevalence of obesity. Nevertheless, the main goal of the thesis is a discussion about priorities of new orientation in the research on the causes of the obesity epidemic and effectiveness of precautions that were taken in many countries and international organizations with the main aim to stop the obesity and its consequences. The discussion leads to the more detailed description of the problems connected with obesity, for instance, environmental aspects, housing culture in relation to physical activities, lifestyle in relation to advertisement/marketing, psychological and socio- psychological aspects, combating stress, etc. My intention was to find out utility of contemporary research on obesity for setting of policy fighting against obesity. At the same time, I wanted to find out other possible directions in the research into this field and discover how the discussion about priorities of the research in the experimental community proceeds. Two international dimensions of paradigmatic approaches separated to the certain degree can be considered as relevant with regard to the global...