This thesis deals with the question of prestige of subject Geography. Its aim is to explain how much prestige university students attach to Geography, with the help of semantic differential method, and where they place this term in the semantic field of terms. The research was conducted with questionnaire survey which focused on the comparison between the perception of Geography and other subjects, and at the same time the comparison of value judgement of Geography students and students of different programmes. The first part of the thesis explains the key words and the methods of the research into prestige conducted so far. They were analysed and on the basis of this analysis notional parameters of prestige attached to a subject were set. The following part is the main part. It consists of the questionnaire survey, including the evaluation and interpretation of the results, which is followed by suggestions for improvement of the prestige of Geography, with the use of chosen marketing tools. Key words: prestige; social status; value judgement; attitude; geography; semantic differential; marketing

This study investigated the problem of how to assess the visiting public's perceptions of the outcomes of their visit to an Interactive Science and Technology Centre. The study was carried out in several phases. First the researcher immersed himself as a participant observer over 15 months in the day-to-day activities of a science centre. Second, data to describe perceptions of visit outcomes were collected from one-to-one interviews with randomly selected visitors and professional staff, and four focus groups of explainers and visitors. Third, these data were used to structure the collection of further descriptions, in visitors' own words, about the visit experience. In the fourth and fifth stages, data from the second and third stages were pooled to develop two new instruments, the Perceptions of Visit Impact Instrument, a semantic differential survey designed to be administered at the point of exit from a science centre, and the Profile of Visit Outcomes Instrument, a nine part survey designed to be administered several weeks after the visit. The two instruments were refined through local review and field testing, and replication using data from large samples of randomly selected visitors at five and three centres, respectively, in Australia and New Zealand. Staff at these centres found the instruments easy to use and considered that they provided valuable data. Implications are drawn for future use of the instruments for evaluation and research.

This study discusses product form perception within the context of communication. The emphasis is on meanings attributed to product visual form, and more specifically the correspondence between messages designers intend users to receive and the messages that users actually receive. Four groupings of appearance-based product attributes are identified / 1) social values and positions / 2) usability and interaction / 3) visual qualities / and 4) personality characteristics. The study was driven by the main research question / &lsquo / do users perceive the same meaning from product appearance as designers intended, or is there a level of mismatch?&rsquo / . An empirical study was conducted using newly-designed Turkish seating furniture to investigate the relationship between designers&rsquo / and users&rsquo / ascription of meanings to products based on appearance, as a means to validate or refute opposing answers to the main research question. The results of the study reveal that there exist some considerable differences between designers&rsquo / intended messages and users&rsquo / perceived messages decoded from product visual form. The study suggests that designers perform less well at communicating product meanings related to two of the four groupings: usability and interaction, and personality characteristics. Accordingly, these are identified as priority areas for improved message transmission.

Most of the previous research focused on the increasing number of out-dining population; seldom concerned the lived meaning of out-dining for those who have to do so. The current research explored the out-dining phenomenon in Taiwan and examined the feelings regarding out-dining in the minds of Kaohsiung citizens. The current research applied both quantitative and qualitative research methods. To understand the basic ideas and investigate their experiences and feelings of out-dining, the researcher interviewed six subjects. In the stage of quantitative method, three meal-buffet stores were observed for three days, each and individually, where 241 respondents were acquired for brief questionnaires at the same time. The current research shifted out six dimensions of the lived meanings for out-dining: enjoyment, efficiency, powerless, expenditure, non-home, and out-of-home by demographic variables. Differences in the dimensions were scrutinized as well as by the data collected.

This experimental study investigates the connotative meaning of the concept “cash”, as it relates to the cash flow statement, held by the three key parties to the accounting communication process: preparers, auditors and users. Concerns raised in the accounting profession regarding the susceptibility of the cash flow statement to manipulation, coupled with the recent introduction of NZ IAS 7 (cash flow statement) provide the motivation for investigating the potential for miscommunication (either intentional or unintentional) between the main parties to the financial reporting process. The study investigates inter and intra group differences in measured connotative meaning of the old and new definitions of “cash”, and determines the effect of connotative meaning on decision outcomes. Further, the study considers the overall quality of the two definitions, as perceived by the three financial reporting groups. Three key findings are indicated. The first is that the three financial reporting groups do not share the same cognitive structure in which the meaning of the concept “cash” is held. An important implication is that comparisons between the connotative meanings held by the three financial reporting groups cannot be validly made. Secondly, significant differences in the measured meaning were observed across the two definitions within each of the three subject groups. Thirdly, the decision outcomes for each of the three subject groups were significantly different under the two definitions. Also there was some evidence that the differences in the decision outcomes were linked to the differences in the measured connotative meaning. These results raised several concerns regarding the potential for miscommunication between the three key parties to the accounting communication process and highlighted the importance of standard-setters assessing the effect on connotative meaning of possible changes in wording to key concepts within the cash flow statement.

Product form is the principal factor that affects the consumer response. It influences the consumer preferences in many ways and affects the success of the product in the market. The response is moderated by several influences including individual tastes and preferences, personal characteristics, cultural and social context and other situational factors. The purpose of this study is to find whether gender as a personal characteristics, has an influential effect on the perception of the product form. A survey was conducted with a sample set of mobile phones. To quantify the participants&amp / #8217 / perceptions, semantic differential method was used in which participants were asked to rate characteristics over a set of opposite adjective pairs. It is found out that, with respect to particular adjectives, responses to product form might be significantly different for males and females.

This thesis explores the relationship between designer intent and consumer response. A novel approach to evaluate the degree of correspondence between designer intent and consumer perceptions has been proposed. The empirical results have shown the influence of consumers’ cultural backgrounds on the way they perceive semantic and symbolic product personalities (characteristics of a product and its owner, respectively), comparing British and Japanese consumer groups. Semantic product personalities are more likely to be universally perceived and more easily intentionally elicited from consumers than symbolic product personalities. The research project consists of a pilot study (Phases I) and an experiment (Phase II) in which mixed methods of interview and survey are employed. Phase I seeks to explore the in-depth understanding of a designer’s thoughts by interviews, and to develop and test newly elaborated consumer surveys termed Designer-driven semantic differentials and Consumer-driven adjective selection. The findings have been considered to construct an analytical framework, characterised by Agreement among consumer perceptions and Correspondence between designer intent and the consumer perceptions, for evaluation of designers’ elicitation of intended product personalities from consumers. Phase II conducts a statistical examination of the impact of cultural difference on consumer perceptions under experimental conditions. The perception of target and non-target consumer groups as categorised by nationality were gauged by Designer-driven semantic differentials and Personality selection, specifically perception of USB sticks designed by three different designers. The survey results are analysed by using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and Chi-squared test within the analytical framework. Subsequently, the results from Phase I and II are extensively discussed based on a framework based on brand personality and Affect Control Theory, both of which may involve potential impact on the development of design research into product development with emotional attachment. The scene is set for future research opportunities based on the approach and findings of this study.

The thesis maps the subjective meaning ascribed to the terms of mathematics and physics by students of secondary schools in České Budějovice. We investigate whether the perception of these tems is influenced by the offer of non-formal education. Main part of thesis is based on research supported by theoretical findings. The theoretical part deals with mathematics and physics in formal and non-formal education, describes the offer of informal education at high schools selected by us and we also describe there the semantic differential method used by us, which is proven in exploring connotative meanings of terms. In the practical part of the work we describe a project of empirical research in detail, the process of data collection and in conclusion, we describe the results obtained.

This diploma thesis provides information how students of chosen faculties of the University of South Bohemia evaluate their teachers, what attitudes they have developed to them, what is particularly important for them and which requirements they impose on the teachers. The theoretical part deals with attitudes, teaching, personalities of a teacher and a student, a current tertiary education in the Czech Republic and mutual relations of students and educators. The empirical part presents a quantitative research that I realized through a semantic differential. Here I describe characteristics of the population and the research sample. Furthermore, I bring results of obtained data and information about students´ attitudes to their teachers. The data collection took place in March 2012 in a form of questionnaires. The research was conducted at the University of South Bohemia, Pedagogical, Health Social and Theological Faculties. Fields of study of similar focus were chosen within each of given faculties. In total 240 questionnaires were distributed. The return was 75%, thus altogether 180 questionnaires. Three hypotheses were defined for the research. The first hypothesis assumed that the preferred field of study positively influenced students´ attitudes to their teachers and the conducted research confirmed this hypothesis. The second hypothesis stated the students studying a prestigious field of study evaluated their teachers more positively than students studying a not prestigious field of study. This hypothesis was not confirmed. The third hypothesis was that women-students were less critical in the evaluation of teachers than men-students. The carried out research did not confirm nor this hypothesis. The thesis can be used to compare attitudes of women-students and men-students from individual faculties of the University of South Bohemia and for publishing activities.

The goal of this thesis on the theme: "Brand perception" is, based upon the analyzation and comparison of chosen brand from the point of view of the public and the company, to create suggestions of the changes in comunication of this brand.