New Releases by Martin Wood

This dissertation focuses on the impact that major life transitions (e.g., marriage, divorce, first job, retirement) have on consumer response to marketing communications. Household life-cycle models have revealed reliable classifications of purchase behavior across stages in the life course, but no models to date have attempted to address the points of transition between life stages where purchase decisions for the next life stage are being made. In particular, there is a need in the marketing literature for research that describes the nature of the mechanisms and processes associated with consumer adjustment to life transitions, and how these processes influence consumer preferences for new role-related products and attitudes toward advertising. This dissertation advances and tests a general model of life transitions which proposes that a consumer''s appraisal of the role transition is a key mediator of subsequent response to marketing activities for role-related products. The results are expected to make contributions to marketing practice, theory development, and public policy. An experimental design was used to test the hypotheses presented. The main study examined and compared the response of two groups to new products and advertisements with positive and problem-focused tone executions. One group consisted of consumers in the midst of adapting to the career entry transition (9 months or less on the job since graduation), and the other group consisted of consumers who had completed and adapted to the transition (on the job 2-6 years since graduation). The results of the analyses provide support for the basic premise for research in this area of marketing that consumers undergoing a life transition respond differently to marketing communications than do consumers of like age, income, education, and gender who have already completed and adapted to the transition. Support is also found for the mediating role of appraisal in predicting the differential response of transitioning consumers and more experienced consumers. A significant transition group x appraisal group interaction was found to predict the level of consumer interest in role-related products. Also, a three-way (transition group x appraisal group x advertisement tone) interaction was as found to predict overall consumer response to advertisements for role-related products. The results also provide support for role acquisition frameworks and prior research in the appraisal and mood literatures, and pave the way for future marketing research on this important phenomenon.

There is currently great interest in the biology of soil, stimulated by an increased concern to conserve natural resources, not only in agriculture but also in natural ecosystems. Recent developments in molecular biology have increased the possibilities of manipulating soil organisms and the processes they carry out, to improve food production and the quality of the environment. But important environmental questions associated with the application ofthis new biotechnology to soils are still to be resolved. Issues such as the desirability of using genetically-engineered microorganisms in soil can be discussed sensibly only in the light of an understanding of naturally-occurring organisms in soil. Although on a global basis food production continues to increase, man''s current relationship with the soil in many parts ofthe world is characterised by decreasing soil fertility and increasing population pressure. Soil Science has an important role to play in the future, helping to solve these problems. Although not all areas of this large and expanding subject are covered in this book, I hope that I have been able to present the principles of soil biology in such a way that will interest the reader.

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This report presents the results of the 1975. The purposes of the study are: 1) describe the characteristics of different types of soil surfaces in Aridisols; 2) evaluate methods to increase vegetative cover and the amount of coppice dune through revegetation techniques; and, 3) determine the effects of ORV traffic on infiltration and sediment production characteristics of soils with vesicular surface horizons.