Determinants of University Students’ Response to Safety Instructions on Household Product
CHAPTER ONE
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of this study is to ascertain the determinants of university students’ response to safety instructions on household products (pesticides) in Imo and Enugu states of Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to ascertain:
- the determinants of university students’ response to safety instruction on household (pesticide) products in Imo and Enugu States of Nigeria.
- the level to which media for receipt and recognition determine university students’ response to safety instructions on household (pesticide) products in Imo and Enugu states of Nigeria.
- the level to which reading and comprehension features determine university students’ response to safety instructions on household (pesticide) products in Imo and Enugu states of Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The literature reviewed was organized under the following sub–headings:
Conceptual framework
- Household Products (Pesticides).
- Safety Instructions on Household Products
- Concept of Determinant
- Concept of University Students
- Media for Receipt and Recognition of a Safety Instruction.
- Reading and Comprehension of Safety Instructions.
- Storage and Recollection of Safety Instructions on Household Products.
- Students’ Risk Perception of Safety Instructions.
- Students’ Response to Safety Instructions.
Theoretical Framework
- Thorndike’s theory of connectionism.
- Sigmund Freud’s theory of motivation.
- Abraham Maslow’s theory of needs.
- Frederick Herzberg’s theory of perception.
Related empirical studies.
Summary of literature Reviewed.
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework of the study was discussed under the following sub-headings.
Household Products (Pesticides)
Household products are convenient products. They are products that we use in and around our homes. Household products are purchased without extra efforts. Osakwe (2003) described household products as regulated products. Regulated products are those products which their manufacture, importation, exportation, storage, distribution and advertisement are controlled by regulatory bodies through legislation. Ezie, (2004) classified regulated products into pharmaceuticals, Nuclear, Agrochemicals, Household and Laboratory products. Household products are substances or materials used in the course of housekeeping or personal routine. They include consumables like house cleaning products, auto products, home furnishings, and electronics, pesticides, landscape/yard products, arts and crafts, pet care products, personal care products etc. Hammond, (2005) described household products as substances and materials used in and around the home in the course of housekeeping or personal routine. The regulatory body ensures that the products are safe for consumption and registers it before it is allowed to be advertised and marketed (Ifedu, 2004).Among the household products that are frequently and commonly used in the home are pesticides.
The term pesticides covers a wide range of compounds including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, molluscides, nematicides, plant growth regulators and others. Pesticides are the only toxic substances released o intentionally into our environment to kill living things. The use of toxic pesticides to manage pest problems has become a common practice around the world. Pesticides are used almost everywhere, not only in agricultural fields, but also in homes, parks, schools, buildings, forests and roads. It is difficult to find somewhere where pesticides are not used, from the can of bug spray under the kitchen sink to airplane, crop dusting acres of farmland. In addition, pesticides can be found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink (Gilden, Huffling, and Sattler, 2010).
Pesticides are used to control various pests and disease carriers, such as mosquitoes, ticks, rats and mice. Pesticides are used in agriculture to control weeds, insect infestation and diseases. There are different types of pesticides, each is meant to be effective against specific pests. Some examples include:
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, the researcher presents a description of the procedure adopted in carrying out the study. The procedure is presented under the following sub-headings: design of the study, area of the study, population for the study, sample and sampling technique, instrument for data collection, method of data collection and method of data analysis.
Design of the Study
The study adopted descriptive survey research design to find out the determinants of university students‘response to safety instructions on household (pesticide) products in Imo and Enugu States. According to Kerlinger (2009) survey research focuses on people, vital facts about people, their belief, opinions, attitudes, motivations and behaviors. The design was considered appropriate because it examined people’s opinions, attitudes, perceptions, preferences, motivations and interest on the subject through the use of questionnaire or interview.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.
This chapter presents the analysis of data collected. The analyses and presentation of data were organized according to the research questions and hypotheses.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter preaents the re-statement of the problem, summary of the procedure used in the study, summary of findings, implication of the findings for marketing education, conclusion, recommendations and suggestion for further research.
Re-Statement of the Problem
The problem was the need for the students to respond promptly and positively by receiving, reading, comprehending and storing and recollecting the safety instructions. Students find it difficult to pay attention, read, comprehend and respond to safety instruction messages on pesticides and other household products and the consequences are impaired health challenges such as mimicking and antagonizing natural hormones in the body, immune suppression, diminished intelligence, reproductive abnormalities, cancer and death. The extent to which people or consumers respond to safety instructions on products would determine the level of success or health impairment from their use.
Summary of Findings
Based on the data analysed and the hypotheses tested the following findings were made.
Many determinants of university students’ actual response to safety instructions were found to include: increased perception of the risk involved, belief in controllability of the injury, irreversibility of the injury, belief in immediacy of effect, cost of response to safety instruction messages, seriousness of the danger, obviousness of the danger, motivation for response, constant public enlightenment and specification of desired response.
Conclusion
Based on the data analysed and findings made, the following conclusions were drawn.
University students including those in Imo and Enugu States response to safety instructions on household (pesticide) products can be determined by certain factors such as media for receipt and recognition, reading and comprehension features, storage and recollection features and risk perception of the students about the product. It is also on conclusion that the level to which university students’ respond to safety instructions on household (pesticide) products would depend largely on the medium through which safety instructions are received, the read and comprehension features the perceived risks and stored and recollection features built in the safety instructions. Producers, advertising agents and consumers protection agencies that regulate household products should as much as possible take into consideration those features when launching safety instruction campaigns to ensure effective response from the consumers especially the university students.
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