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Consider the Following Passage About a "Smart" Vending Machine

question 104

Multiple Choice

Consider the following passage about a "smart" vending machine. Taking full advantage of the law of supply and demand, the Coca-Cola Company has quietly begun testing a vending machine that can automatically raise prices for its drinks in hot weather. "This technology is something the Coca-Cola Company has been looking at for more than a year," said Rob Baskin, a company spokesman, adding that it had not yet been placed in any consumer market. . . . The process appears to be done simply through a temperature sensor and a computer chip, not any breakthrough technology, though Coca-Cola refused to provide any details yesterday. While the concept might seem unfair to a thirsty person, it essentially extends to another industry what has become the practice for airlines and other companies that sell products and services to consumers. The falling price of computer chips and the increasing ease of connecting to the Internet has made it practical for companies to pair daily and hourly fluctuations in demand with fluctuations in price-even if the product is a can of soda that sells for just 75 cents.
Source: Constance L. Hays, "Variable-Price Coke Machine Being Tested," New York Times, October 28, 1999, C1.
If the "smart vending machine" described in the excerpt above were available today on a 100-degree day in Atlanta, Georgia, Coca-Cola would be purchased by the:

Definitions:

Unethical

Actions or behaviors that are deemed wrong or unacceptable according to moral principles or societal standards.

Naturalistic Observation

An investigational approach where observers watch subjects in their inherent environments without any influence from the observer.

Survey Research

A method of gathering information from a sample of individuals through their responses to questions.

Applied Research

Research focused on finding practical solutions to real-world problems.