Denise M. Brown

Managing Sales of Beverages in Schools to Preserve Profits and Improve Children's Nutrition Intake in 15 Mississippi Schools

School environments that provide consistent and reliable nutrition information promote the development of healthful eating in children. High-energy, nutrient-poor beverages offered for sale to children during the school day compete with healthful choices. The primary objective of this prospective, quasiexperimental study was to encourage children to choose more healthful beverages during the school day without adversely affecting the profits realized from vending sales. Fifteen of 18 schools completed voluntary changes to beverage sales practices during the school day between August 2005 and May 2006. Twelve of 15 schools reported increased profits from the previous year (2004-2005) while offering more healthful beverage choices at discounted prices. Units of carbonated soft drinks sold declined when sports drinks, 100% fruit juice, and water were made available in their place. Passive marketing in the form of vending machine fronts, attractive pricing with a nominal 10% to 25% discount, and changing the types and proportions of beverages offered encouraged children to make more healthful choices. Local school administrators were receptive to making changes to beverage sales when local needs were incorporated into the study design. Profit information from this study informed state legislators and the Mississippi State Board of Education in the development and adoption of statewide snack and beverage vending guidelines. Registered dietitians serve as advocates to foster these collaborative efforts, inform key decision makers, and work in their local communities to develop and promote healthful practices in K-12 school settings.

Theory of Planned Behavior and Multivitamin Supplement Use in Caucasian College Females

The objective of this study was to identify predictors of the use of multivitamin supplements (MVS) among Caucasian college females utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Variables of the TPB and the self-reported use of multivitamin supplements were measured by two separate surveys within 1 week with a convenience sample of 96 Caucasian college student females. Two attitudinal beliefs and one control belief significantly predicted behavioral intention to use multivitamin. A belief that taking multivitamin supplements helps to feel and look good was the most important predictor of the use of multivitamin supplements. Editors’ Strategic Implications: Findings from this study, although in need of replication, suggest that prevention campaigns would be more successful if messages used to reach these females were consistent with perceived beliefs regarding benefits of using MVS. More broadly, TPB appears to offer a useful framework for understanding or predicting behavior based on psychological constructs theorized to influence behavior.

Multi‐factor menu analysis using data envelopment analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a multi‐dimensional, holistic model that: avoids the variable interdependency found in earlier tools; and integrates multiple factors that characterize menu item costs more accurately by considering more than gross profit.Design/methodology/approach – Using data gathered during a three‐month period from three same‐brand units of a full‐service chain restaurant firm, the paper applies data‐envelopment analysis (DEA), a non‐parametric approach that accounts for both controllable (discretionary) and uncontrollable (non‐discretionary) variables, producing a single relative‐to‐best index based on an efficiency rating calculated on a 0 to 1 scale.Findings – The findings suggest that the DEA‐equipped model, which is not constrained by the limitations of traditional matrix approaches, supports a more robust approach by incorporating more cost determinants than traditional menu engineering approaches.Research limitations/implications – The paper consists of only a ...

Stakeholder Service Perspectives: A Triadic Analysis of Service Quality in South Mississippi Fine Dining Restaurants

The primary goal of this study was to replicate and extend earlier work by Fallon and Schofield that examined the relationship between customer, wait staff and manager perceptions in fine dining restaurants. Subjects included 266 participants from three fine-dining restaurants in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Participants completed a survey instrument revised from the Fallon and Schofield instrument. Participants ranked the most important question in each section of the survey instrument to determine which factor in each quality dimension was most important. There were no significant differences among the participants by restaurant. Composite data were examined to identify differences in perception among participants using analysis of variance. A relationship between wait staff and customers confirmed the earlier work by Fallon and Schofield that managers ranked quality service dimensions higher than other participant groups. Customers ranked service higher as compared with wait staff, which is a new finding for this research.