Aim: The purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of the most effective factors in service recovery that companies apply when managing negative eWOM.  Method: With the help of a qualitative cross-sectional study based on a deductive research approach, five semi-structured interviews were conducted with marketing managers.  Conclusion: The results show that companies in this study use several components in the theory of service recovery to deal with negative eWOM. The most popular and advantageous methods that the majority of respondents use, to manage negative eWOM in the most optimal way, are done primarily by responding to criticism and preferably at an early stage, as well as an application of psychological recovery methods such as apologizing and showing empathy. Less popular factors in service recovery that companies in the study do not experience are as effective , but which some respondents use are concrete compensations, systems similar to web care, to maintain a continuous dialogue with their consumers and ensure that the same problems do not arise. / Syfte: Syftet med studien är att få en förståelse för de effektivaste faktorerna inom service recovery som företag tillämpar vid hantering av negativ eWOM. Metod: Med hjälp av en kvalitativ tvärsnittsstudie baserad på en deduktiv forskningsansats har fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med marknadsföringsansvariga. Slutsats: Resultatet visar att företag i studien använder sig av flera komponenter i teorin om service recovery för att hantera negativ eWOM. De populäraste och fördelaktigaste metoderna som majoriteten av respondenterna använder, för att hantera negativ eWOM på det mest optimala sättet, sker främst genom att bemöta kritik och helst i ett tidigt skede, samt en tillämpning av psykologiska återhämtningsmetoder såsom att be om ursäkt och visa empati. Mindre populära faktorer inom service recovery som företag i studien inte upplever är lika effektiva, men som vissa respondenter använder, är konkreta kompensationer, system som liknar webbvård, att upprätthålla en kontinuerlig dialog med sina konsumenter och se till att samma problem inte uppstår.

This study examined the impacts of service guarantees in terms of consumers' perceived risks, loyalty, and word-of-mouth intent in the casual dining restaurant segment. In addition, the study investigated what type of service guarantee consumers preferred. A total of seven research hypotheses were developed on the basis of relevant literature review. In an effort to test the research hypotheses, a scenario method was developed. A total of seven research scenarios were created based on the Virginia Tech web survey system, which allows subjects to complete the survey online. The subjects of the study were Virginia Tech Faculty. The scenarios were sent to faculty members via e-mail during the month of September. The results of the study are striking: 5 research hypotheses are supported, 1 research hypothesis is partially supported, and only 1 research hypothesis is rejected. The results of the study suggest that a well-executed service guarantee could reduce consumers' perceived risks, raise consumers' intent to complain, and increase positive word-of-mouth and loyalty. Furthermore, the results of the study indicate that a specific service guarantee is much more effective in reducing consumers' perceived risks, and increasing consumers' intent to claim initial service failures, in comparison to those of an unconditional service guarantee in the casual dining restaurant industry. On the other hand, a service guarantee which was executed poorly resulted in reducing consumers' loyalty and increasing consumers' negative word-of-mouth. In addition, the results of the study suggest that a service guarantee offered by independent restaurants could be a competitive advantage over a brand restaurant not offering a service guarantee. Overall, the results of the study suggest that a carefully designed, specific service guarantee could be a competitive advantage for independent restaurant operators in the competitive business environment. / Ph. D.

Submitted in fulfillment for the Degree Master of Arts in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2004. / Isahluko sokuqala siphethe isethuIo socwaningo-jikeIeIe. Lapha kubukwa izinhIoso zocwaningo; intshisekeIo; indIeIa yokuqhuba ucwaningo, umkIamo wocwaningo nemibono yongoti. Isahluko sesibiIi siphethe ukuqhathaniswa kohIeIo oIwakbeIwe phezu kwegama nesiqu; ukuthi IufundeIwani uhIeIo IoIimi; isayensi yohIeIo IoIimi; umsuka wohIeIo Iolimi; ukubunjwa kohIeIo IoIimi esiZuIwini; umahluko phakathi kwesiqu nomsuka; ukuchazwa kabusha kwamatemu 'isiqu nomsuka'; umsuka nomphumeIa wawo; imofoIoji encike kwiziqu namagama; imofoIoji esuseIwe eziqwini zoIimi nokuthi ikuphi okuyikonakona phakathi kwemofoIoji esuseIwa emabizweni noma eziqwini. Isahluko sesithathu siphethe ukubhalwa kwamagama ngokuwahlanganisa noma ngokuwahlukanisa okuqukethe ukuthi ingabe ahlanganiseIwani futhi ahIukaniseIwani amagama uma ebhaIwa; indIeIa yokuhIukanisa amagama, indIeIa engapheIeIe yokuhIukanisa amagama; okubekwe endaweni yokunye; ingabe abaIetha inkoIo kubantu bawahIukanis~ kanjani amabizo; ukuhIukaniswa kwamagama ngokuka van Wyk; ukuhIukanisa kube kodwa;" okunokuphambaniswa ukwahlukanisa; okunokubuyiseIwa endaweni; ukubunjwa kobhalo-jikeIeIe egameni eIiIodwa nesiphetho. Isahluko sesme siphethe ukuhIeIwa kwamabizo ngezigaba zawo okuqukethe Iezi zihIokwana ezithi ingabe amabizo ahleIeIwani ngezigaba zawo; izigaba zamabizo; ubuthakathaka ngezindIeIa uDoke noCoIe abahleIa ngazo izigaba zamabizo; ukuhIeIwa kwamabizo ngezigaba z awo ngokukaDoke; ukugxekwa k wendIeIa uDoke ahleIa ngayo izingcezu zenkuIumo. IsahIuko sesihIanu siphethe ukuhIeIwa kwamabizo nezingcezu zenkuIumo ngendIeIa kavan Wyk okuqukethe Iezi zihIokwana ezithi izingcezu zenkuIumo ngokukavan Wyk; (v) okulandelayo kutshengisa isigabazwana; ukublelwa kweziphawulo, izibaluli, maru nezibanjalo ngohlelo luka van Wyk. Isahluko sesithupha siphethe lokho okuthiwa isiphawulo esiZulwini; umIando omfuphi ngokuthiwa isiphawulo; ubuthaka balokhu okuthiwa" isiphawulo; indlela engandulelwa ukubhekana nobuthakathaka nalokho okuthiwa isiphawulo nesiphetho. Isahluko sesikhombisa esibhekene nokuhlaziywa kocwaningo jikelele, lzincomo nesiphetho.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, 2001. / Word-formation has received very little attention in isiZulu in the past. This situation has been caused by the approach of word analysis which was pioneered by grammarians like Doke (1956), Nyembezi (1965) and others that followed in their steps. The main aim of this study is therefore to put word-formation into its rightful place in isiZulu grammar, that is at the centre of every morphological application. Word-formation and word-formation rules should form the basis for every grammatical practice of every language. Although word-formation is as old as the languages themselves, it is noticeable that there are no methods or approaches that has been agreed upon in any language. This implies that this study also attempts to develop the theoretical framework for word-formation in isiZulu since most studies done on word-formation are on English which is different from isiZulu. It therefore attempts to deal with processes that are vital in word-formation in isiZulu. It includes the processes like : affixation, grammaticalization, compounding, reduplication, word coinage as well as borrowing. This means that it covers both the morphological and lexical processes. IsiZulu is one of the most flexible and ever developing languages and through contact with other languages like English, Afrikaans and other African languages, isiZulu has proved to be developing rapidly. This phenomenon has led to the researcher undertaking the study of this nature. This study will form the basis for linguistically approach to the study of isiZulu. A close look is put on topics like word coinage, word borrowing, compounding, grammaticalization and affixation. Various conclusions and recommendations are drawn in an attempt to lead the way to rechanneling the focus of studies in isiZulu grammar. This study shows that isiZulu is not as backward and short of appropriate vocabulary as it is perceived to be. The shortage of words is remedied by processes like word borrowing, word coinage and extension of meaning in existing terms. On that note, isiZulu is at par with other languages of the world and this study says it.

The young child's ability to learn to read (defined in this study "to recognize") words was studied in an attempt to determine the influence of age. Fourteen, three-year-old children and 16, four and one-half year old children, 14 girls and 16 boys, were instructed to read eight words. Groups of three were taught in four, ten minute sessions and were then tested one at a time for word recognition. A retention test was given two weeks later. The hypotheses, that three-year-old children will learn to read more readily than children nearer five years old and that girls will read better than boys, were not confirmed. The four-year-old girls gained the highest scores and the four-year-olds learned an average of one more word than the three-year-olds but the differences were not significant. It may be concluded that age and sex differences in ability to learn to read words appear to develop at a later age than three or four years. It appears, however, that learning to read words is not beyond the capabilities of three and four-year-old children.

Syfte: Kundlojalitet är viktigt för företags framgång då det medför återkommande kunder. Negativ word-of-mouth (NWOM) är något som kan påverka kundlojaliteten och därför är det intressant att studera förhållandet mellan dessa. Därav är syftet med denna studie att bidra med kunskap om negativ word-of-mouths påverkan på kundlojaliteten gentemot snabbmatskedjor. Denna studies forskningsfrågor är “Hur och i vilken utsträckning påverkar negativ word-of-mouth kundlojaliteten gentemot snabbmatskedjor?” samt “Hur påverkar negativ word-of-mouth attitydbaserad- respektive beteendebaserad lojalitet gentemot snabbmatskedjor?”. Metod: Vi har i denna studie haft ett deduktivt tillvägagångssätt och genomfört en kvantitativ undersökning. Dataunderlaget till studien har samlats in genom enkäter som skickats ut via sociala plattformar. Totalt har 318 enkätsvar inkommit vilka har kodats och analyserats. Analysen har genomförts med hjälp av statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet av denna studie tyder på att NWOM har effekt på kundlojaliteten, dock i liten utsträckning. Vidare framkommer det att både den attitydbaserade- och den beteendebaserade lojaliteten har förändrats. Men att den attitydbaserade lojaliteten har minskat mer än den beteendebaserade lojaliteten till följd av NWOM. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar med kunskap om NWOM och dess påverkan på kundlojalitet inom snabbmatsbranschen. Denna studies resultat visar att kundlojalitet påverkas negativt av NWOM, dock i lite utsträckning. Detta stämmer överens med tidigare studier som har gjorts inom området. Resultatet indikerar vidare att både den attitydbaserade- och beteendebaserade lojaliteten påverkas av NWOM, samt att det finns ett samband mellan den attitydbaserade- och beteendebaserade lojaliteten. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Ett förslag till fortsatt forskning är att genomföra en liknande studie som denna studie men att den studien istället handlar om en annan form av snabbmatskedjor. Ett annat förslag till fortsatt forskning är att fokusera på attitydbaserad- och beteendebaserad lojalitet samt hur dessa påverkas av NWOM. / Aim: Customer loyalty is important for companies because it results in returning customers. Negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) can affect customer loyalty and therefore it is interesting to examine the relationship between the two. Therefore, the aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge about word-of-mouths effect on customer loyalty towards fast-food chains. This study's research questions are “How and to what extent does negative word-of-mouth affect customer loyalty towards fast-food chains?” and “How does negative word-of-mouth affect attitudinal and behavioral loyalty towards fast-food chains?”.  Method: In this study we had a deductive approach and have done a quantitative analysis. The data for the study has been collected through surveys that have been distributed via social platforms. A total of 318 survey answers have been received which have been coded and analyzed. The statistical program SPSS was used to analyze the data.  Result and Conclusions: The result of this study shows that NWOM influences customer loyalty, but to a small extent. Furthermore, the results show that both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty has changed. But the attitudinal loyalty has decreased more than the behavioral loyalty because of NWOM. Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes with knowledge about NWOM and its effect on customer loyalty in the fast-food industry. The result of this study shows that customer loyalty is negatively affected by NWOM, but to a small extent. This result corresponds with previous studies that have been done within this field. The result also shows that both the attitudinal and behavioral loyalty is affected by NWOM, and that there is a relationship between attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Suggestions for future research: A proposal for future research is to do a similar study but to examine another form of fast-food chain. Another proposal for future research is to focus on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty and how they are affected by NWOM.

User generated reviews, like those found on Yelp and Amazon, have become important reference material in casual decision making, like dining, shopping and entertainment. However, very large amounts of reviews make the review reading process time consuming. A text visualization can speed up the review reading process. In this thesis, we present the clustered layout word cloud -- a text visualization that quickens decision making based on user generated reviews. We used a natural language processing approach, called grammatical dependency parsing, to analyze user generated review content and create a semantic graph. A force-directed graph layout was applied to the graph to create the clustered layout word cloud. We conducted a two-task user study to compare the clustered layout word cloud to two alternative review reading techniques: random layout word cloud and normal block-text reviews. The results showed that the clustered layout word cloud offers faster task completion time and better user satisfaction than the other two alternative review reading techniques. [Permission email from J. Huang removed at his request. GMc March 11, 2014] / Master of Science

Thesis. 1978. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Psychology. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND HUMANITIES. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 112-118. / Ph.D.

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