SAMMANFATTNING  Datum: 2022-01-13 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 hp  Institution: Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, Mälardalens universitet Författare: Dolshi Hayllie  Ranim, Mashhadi  Mohammed Salman  (000517) (920627) (960229) Titel: Kundlojalitet ur kundens perspektiv Handledare: Ulf Andersson Nyckelord: CRM, engagemang, word of mouth, kundlojalitet, förtroende, relation Frågeställning: Vilka faktorer påverkar lojalitet hos digitala klädföretag ur kundens perspektiv? Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att öka kunskapen kring kundlojalitet och undersöka vilka faktorer som kan påverka lojalitet. Syftet är också att skapa förståelse kring hur CRM kan påverka kunders lojalitet i digitala klädföretag. Metod: Denna studie är baserad på en kvalitativ metod. Insamling av primärdata kommer att tas via en strukturerad intervju hos två fokusgrupper. Kvalitativ metod valdes då den lägger vikt på ord vid datainsamling snarare än kvantifiering. Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera dessa faktorer som kan påverka kunders lojalitet i digitala klädföretag, har det valts att använda en kvalitativ metod. Studien utgår från det deduktiva synsättet för att redogöra förhållandet mellan teori och forskning. Slutsats: Studien visade att flera faktorer har bidragit till en ökad kundlojalitet och att CRM är ett effektivt sätt för att hantera sina kundrelationer. Engagemang, förtroende och relation har visat sig vara de mest centrala faktorerna samt att CRM bör nyttjas hos alla företag Digitala klädföretag har sina utmaningar med att upprätthålla kundrelationer och att ett digitalt CRM förenklar processen och gör det möjligt att ta reda på hur man skapar, värvar och behåller kunder i längden.

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This study was an investigation of the association between executive functioning (EF) ability and language development in the latter half of the second year. Fifty-five typically developing 18- month-olds were brought into the lab. The elicited imitation with inappropriate object substitution (EIIOS) task was used as a developmentally sensitive measure of EF. Language acquisition was assessed using a real-time word learning task as well as a parent report measure of vocabulary size (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Sentences Version). Contrary to expectations, very few statistically significant associations were found between the EF measure and either language measure. Despite these findings there is still a need for research to identify an appropriate measure of EF in the latter half of the second year.

The process of acquiring language requires children to learn grammatical categories and apply these categories to new words. Researchers have proposed various explanations of this process in the form of algorithms and computational modeling. Recently, adaptation and selection models have been tested and applied as a possible explanation to the process of acquiring grammatical categories. These studies have proven promising, however, the external validity of this approach has not been examined by grammatically coding samples outside the training corpus. The current thesis applies an adaptation and selection model, which pauses the evolution of dictionaries after every thousand cycles to allow the tagging of 30 outside samples, which are then checked for tagging accuracy. The accuracy across the five training corpora by the six thousandth cycle averaged 76.75%. Additional research is needed to explore the effects of altering the parameters in the model.

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to analyze the differences in word recognition abilities between the Auditec (male) and VA (female) speakers for the Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) word lists for young adults with normal hearing for pure tones. Based on the literature, the hypothesis was recognition performance would be better on the Auditec version than on the VA version. The results were considered with respect to the mean data, individual subject data, and individual word data. Methods: Twelve young listeners with normal-hearing for pure tones (≤20 dB HL) participated (M = 24 years). The pure-tone thresholds were obtained using an automated test protocol. The pure-tone average (PTA) at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz in the first session was used to reference the presentation levels of the words [-2 to 28 dB sensation level (SL) in 6-dB steps]. Each participant was presented 1200 recorded words (100 words by six presentation levels by two speakers), over three, 1-hour sessions. The NU-6 words, which were compiled with a waveform editor and in-house routines, were presented in a randomized order and at randomized presentation levels. The participants completed a questionnaire to determine the perceived difficulty level for each speaker. Results: The overall recognition performances on the Auditec and VA versions of NU-6 were 71.4% and 64.1% respectively. All subjects performed better on the Auditec version. Recognition performances on the two versions were nearly identical at higher presentation levels. The difference between the two 50% points on the overall mean psychometric functions was 3.3 dB (Auditec, 3.8-dB SL; VA, 7.0-dB SL), with equivalent slopes (4.9 and 4.8%/dB respectively). Using the Spearman- Kärber equation, the difference between the two 50% points on each of the 200 words was 2.6 dB (Auditec, M = 5.3-dB SL, SD = 3.7 dB; VA, M = 7.9-dB SL, SD = 3.7 dB), which was a significant difference. A bivariate lot of individual word performances demonstrated that Auditec had had 140 words with better performances, VA had 47 words with better performances, and 13 words were equal. The questionnaire revealed that 11 of the 12 participants indicated that the Auditec version of the NU-6 was easier to understand. Conclusions: Overall, recognition performance was better on the Auditec version but at high presentation levels, recognition performance was equivalent on both versions of NU-6. At the lower presentation levels, recognition performance was poorer with the VA speaker. It should be noted that calibration differences could account for the differences.

In order to help ESL missionaries teach the gospel from their hearts using their own words, I have developed a 500-word list of core gospel vocabulary in English. To enhance the 500-word list, I included a lexicon with simple definitions, some grammatical information, and examples of the words in context. The resulting product complies with the standards for master's projects established by the Department of Linguistics and English Language. Published literature shows that the development of specialized corpora can be beneficial for students learning another language. Additionally, specialized corpora act as a catalyst for in-depth vocabulary analysis and the development of other materials associated with the field of language acquisition. Using the 5,013 lexical items from the Preach My Gospel manual and related materials, I developed a specialized vocabulary list of 500-words. To achieve this, I used a number of strategies to reduce the larger compilation of words into the most useful and essential core vocabulary: a pre-rating selection that resulted in 2,419 words, a non-native ESL-instructor rating that resulted in the selection of 994 words, a post-rater researcher analysis that resulted in 425 words, a range-and-frequency analysis that resulted in 634 words, and a think-out-loud analysis that resulted in 500 words. After creating the 500-word list, I implemented and tested the materials with ESL missionaries at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. I gathered feedback from ESL teachers and missionaries through interviews and a questionnaire. Based on their responses, I determined that the 500-word list is useful in helping missionaries learn essential vocabulary and to teach gospel topics in English. Furthermore, the materials have drawn attention from administrators and developers at the MTC, creating a springboard for future projects at the MTC.

The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate a set of Tongan bisyllabic word lists for use in measurement of word recognition testing. Commonly used bisyllabic words were digitally recorded by male and female native talkers of Tongan. The psychometric performance of the words was measured at ten intensity levels (- 5 to 40 dB HL) in 5 dB increments by 20 listeners with normal hearing acuity. The 200 words with the highest rate of listener identification were included in four relatively psychometrically equivalent word lists of 50 words each and eight half-lists of 25 words each. Using logistic regression, the mean psychometric slope across the created word lists at 50% intelligibility was found to be 6.3%/dB for materials created from the male talker recordings and 6.2%/dB for the female talker recordings. To increase auditory homogeneity of the word recognition lists, the intensity of words in each list was digitally adjusted so that the threshold of each list was equal to the midpoint between the mean thresholds of the male and female half-lists. Digital recordings of the psychometrically equivalent word recognition lists are available on compact disc.

One of the major questions in second language (L2) phonological learning is whether perception precedes (and therefore guides) production. This question is important for knowing what types of training most benefit L2 learners. While most theories assume that perception always precedes production (e.g., Best, 1995; Flege, 1995), several recent studies have found that production may precede perception (e.g., Baker & Trofimovich, 2006; Beach, Brunham, & Kitamura, 2001; Goto, 1971; Sheldon & Strange, 1982; Underbakke, 1993), demonstrating that this complex relationship may differ depending on how and when the L2 is learned. The current study seeks to further explore this relationship by examining how perception and production influence each other on the suprasegmental (i.e., primary word stress) level. While many studies have examined whether perceptual training can influence production accuracy of suprasegmentals, little to no research has examined whether the opposite is true. Thus the goal of this study was to examine whether ESL learners who were trained in suprasegmental pronunciation accuracy improved in listening and speaking more than similar students who were trained in perception accuracy. Comparisons of pre- and post-tests suggest that focusing on accurate production improves not only production accuracy, but also listening comprehension more than does training in listening comprehension. These results enlighten our understanding of how perception and production influence each other, and may underscore the importance of providing bottom-up pronunciation skills for improving L2 phonological learning.

Hearing can be evaluated through the presentation of tones or speech. Speech audiometry determines an individual's speech recognition threshold and word recognition score. Traditionally these materials were developed using familiar, frequently used, monosyllabic words. Currently, there are various types of word recognition materials including those which use word lists, short half-lists, and materials which use sentences level stimuli with competing noise. Word recognition materials were first developed in Standard American English; today, materials are now readily available in many other languages. When possible, word recognition materials are developed digitally to standardize their presentation. Currently, no recorded word recognition materials are commercially available for native speakers of Samoan. Bisyllablic words were chosen, rated, recorded, and prepared for subject testing. All subjects were native speakers of Samoan with adequate hearing, meeting required standards for audiological research. Results indicated that no significant differences were found among bisyllabic word lists or half-lists developed in the current study. Subject word recognition performance and psychometric function slopes were comparable to the results of other related studies. All materials were recorded onto CD and made commercially available. It is hoped that this resource will aid trained professionals in the diagnosis and remediation of hearing loss in Samoan-speaking individuals.

By the later preschool years, most children have a knowledge of the grammatical categories of their native language and are capable of expanding this knowledge to novel words. To model this accomplishment, researchers have created a variety of explicit, testable models or algorithms. These have had partial but promising success in extracting grammatical word categories from transcriptions of caregiver input to young children. Additional insight into children's learning of the grammatical categories of words might be gained from evolutionary computing algorithms, which apply principles of evolutionary biology such as variation, adaptive change, self-regulation, and inheritance to computational models. The current thesis applied such a model to the language addressed to five children, whose ages ranged from 1;1 to 5;1 (years;months). The model evolved dictionaries linking words to their grammatical tags and was run for 4000 cycles; four different rates of mutation of offspring dictionaries were assessed. The accuracy for coding the words in the corpora of language addressed to the children averaged 92.74%. Directions for further development and evaluation of the model are proposed.